Shadow
The pace of walking was fast, unstoppable and it had a distinct rhthym that matched the speed of his heart rate and his desperation to see his partner; alive. The hospital was buzzing with life, both people and machinery making alot of noise, humming and speaking. People were rushing around trying to get information from staff members and others were in a trance, in shock as they slowly walked with no where to go.
Bobby looked behind him to see that Ross was trying to keep up with him. The thing with Bobby was that he had tall legs and he could move a hell of a lot faster than Ross could. Bobby didn't particularly care at this point either, all he cared about was his partner, his best friend. Spotting sight of Mike sitting on some chairs that were lined up against the wall, Bobby realised he'd reached his destination. "Logan?" He called out, no sign of his rushing in his breath just the sound of desperation in his voice.
Mike looked up at him and Bobby stopped for a moment. He saw the anguish on his face and he could see that this was also hitting this man hard and why wouldn't it? As far as Bobby could tell Mike cared for Alex deeply, and despite how much Bobby cared for her he knew that he could never match the way Mike cared for her; loved her. "She's alive. They're, uh, just tending to her injuries." Bobby nodded and sat down next to him.
They both sat quietly. Not saying a word to each other. Bobby rubbed his face as Mike leaned forward in his seat, resting his arms on his knees and clasping his hands together in front of him. Ross finally caught up with them and took a deep breath. "How is she?" he asked. Ross needed to know, not just because he was a Captain but because the pained expressions on their faces gave him cause for concern.
"We're waiting for someone to tell us." Mike replied, quietly but with frustration. He didn't like waiting.
Ross nodded in understanding, he sighed as he looked at them both. Extremely tired, worn out and both men looking a little fragile right now. "I got a call from Wheeler." Ross started but Mike looked out him out the corner of his eye and Ross realised that this wasn't the time or place. Ross was having difficulty. This was his first week as Captain of Major Case and already an officer had been kidnapped. He had hoped his first week would be uneventful. He wanted to get to know his detectives and officers on a level that was easy, not hard. Looking at Mike, he realised that this man was going to be more difficult to figure out than he thought and so was Bobby. It did annoy him that it seemed Bobby couldn't even function without his partner, although he believed it was because she was in mortal danger as opposed to just not being at work. He hoped that was the case.
The three men were disturbed out of their musings when a Doctor approached them, wearing green surgical clothing, a stethoscope and a face mask around his neck. "How is she?" Mike asked, spotting him and immediately standing up. Desperate to know how she was.
"Physically, she's going to be fine. Her upper biceps have some tear in them. She has a minor concussion and lacerations of her wrists." The Doctor replied, speaking quietly but he delivered her injuries in a very matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Minimal blood loss. She's dehydrated. And we're gonna keep her for a few days for observation."
"So - So she's gonna be fine?" Bobby asked, looking at him.
The Doctor nodded, "Yes, we're gonna give her something to help her sleep." He looked at Ross, "If you need any information out of her, now would be the time to do it." Ross nodded, and the Doctor gave them a small smile before leaving them alone.
"Goren. Speak to her, see what she can tell you." Ross told him and Bobby slowly nodded but before he left he hesitated, looking at Mike.
Mike's was clearly hiding how he truly felt about that but Mike had seen her already and he knew that he'd never ask the right questions, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what had happened to her. But then Bobby didn't exactly plan on grilling her about it either. Mike looked at him, a voice screaming at him to say that he'd rather see her but he just nodded, letting Bobby see her. Bobby didn't need anything else, he quickly left them. Mike slowly sat back down and closed his eyes, leaning his head back. He allowed himself to at least feel relieved that she was okay, that she was going to be okay.
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When Bobby walked into the room the first thing he spotted was how small she looked compared to the size of the bed. A bandage wrapped around her head and an oxygen tube in her nose. She spotted him and gave him a small smile. "You look like hell." The Alex-style comment made Bobby smile. Bobby looked at the seat and went to sit in it, looking at the nurse as she spoke to him.
"Five minutes, she'll probably conk out in four." The nurse finished injecting the drugs into her IV and then left, closing the curtain around the bay as she did so.
The sound of the curtain dragging across the bar caused feelings in Alex that she didn't expect. Fear. She tried to move away from it but she couldn't and her breathing quickened as she tried to. Bobby saw her reaction, "What?" He asked, concerned, looking towards the curtain. "That sound?"
Alex wasn't sure whether she wanted to say this but she did, "There was a curtain where he kept me." Her voice was just a whisper and he could hear the fear, on the verge of tears although she was holding it back. "There was a young woman on the other side, screaming." Alex took some more deep breaths and looked at her partner, "He tortured her all night." Her voice breaking.
"Amanda." Bobby told her calmly, Alex recognised the name but couldn't place it. "The video clerk."
Alex sighed in sadness as she realised who that was, remembered her face. She closed her eyes and tried to steady herself. She knew Bobby would want information but she wasn't sure what he was after so she continued, " He blindfolded me. He kept me blindfolded but he took my gag off. He wanted me to scream so I didn't." She looked at him and he could see her determination, the spirit that made her who she was.
Bobby couldn't help but feel pride. That's why she was a good cop. "That's what kept you alive." He realised, he'd wondered what had kept her alive and now he knew, her own determination to survive, along with her pride.
"Mmmm." Alex agreed as if she was only half there, falling into sleep. As if she couldn't hold on to the waking world anymore to speak.
Bobby looked at her, he had to say this, he had to let her know, "I'm sorry." Alex looked at him, shaking her head - he had nothing to be sorry for. She smiled to let him know that, she didn't want him feeling guilty. Bobby smiled a little. Bobby then realised that he needed to get her to say who it was, was it Declan? "You didn't recognise his voice?" Bobby asked, knowing she'd met Declan so she would know if it was him.
Alex looked at him as if she was struggling to focus. Her mind becoming a haze as sleep overtook her. His image fading in front of her. She tried to answer but she no longer had the energy to do that. Bobby watched as she slipped into a sleep in front of him, the drugs taking effect and doing their job. Although she probably would've fallen to sleep without them.
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Bobby walked out of the room and back into the coridor where Mike and Ross were sitting. Mike had a faraway look in his eyes so he didn't notice him straight away but Ross did. "What's going on?" Ross asked, Mike woke himself up and looked at them both, sitting up straighter.
Bobby sighed, "W-we need to go t-to the crime scene." He told Ross and he nodded.
Ross looked at Mike, "I'm going to take guess here but, you're staying?"
Mike shot him a look and snorted, "I'm not leaving her." His tone of voice spoke volumes about his determination. He looked at them as if to say I-dare-you-to-challenge-me-on-this. Ross just nodded.
"Alright." Ross looked at Bobby as he stood up, "Let's go." Bobby nodded and they quickly left, leaving Mike on his own outside of the room where Alex slept.
Of course, Mike didn't actually plan on staying there. Once he stood up he found that his feet took him into the room without him even having to consider it. Seeing the chair next to the bed, Mike sat in it with a heavy thud. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even, she seemed relaxed but she had a frown on her face that she usually didn't have when she slept. He'd watched her sleep before and she usually looked peaceful but she wasn't now. He lifted his hand up and rested it on her forehead, his thumb gently caressing the middle, above her eyes. He watched as her face twitched a little at the movement and the frown changed a little. Mike wasn't really aware of it but he was comforting her.
And he was being comforted by being in her presence, seeing her alive and breathing was enough for him right now. He trusted Bobby to deal with the case, it wasn't his case anyway, although he did know that when he had the chance he'd beat the crap out of the man responsible. Taking a look at her injuries just made his blood boil with anger and his temper was always on a short fuse. Something to doctor did say burned into his mind. "Physically, she's going to be fine." Mike wasn't an idiot, he knew that she'd suffer from this emotionally but he worried about it all the same. He wasn't good with emotional stuff at the best of times. How was he supposed to help her with this? What good could he do?
He just knew that he'd never leave her.
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"We've got her."
Mike let go of her fingers as someone pulled on her from the other side of the world. They'd reached her, they'd found her. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't see her being saved. He stood up and looked around the alley.
People moving. People talking. People rushing. His blood was pumping so fast he thought he was going to pass out. When he saw someone helping her walk out from the building he rushed towards her, getting to her at the right moment.
The moment where her legs gave in and they collapsed from under her own weight. Her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck and he held her, checking if she was real. God, she was real. He couldn't see anyone else, they were all a blur of movement passed his eyes and around them. She was all that existed. He could feel her trembling as she fought the tears that threatened to overtake her completely. "Mike?" She whispered into his neck and Mike looked down at her, unable to keep the emotion from his voice.
"You're okay." He breathed heavily as he felt her resolve crumble and her body shake from the tears that were flowing from her. He took a hold of her legs and lifted her up so that she was no longer having to stand or do anything.
He could just make out the paramedics who were waiting for her. Realising she needed to get to hospital, he carried her to them. He didn't care about anyone else, or about how it would've been easier for them to bring a stretcher. He could feel her breathing on his neck and that gave him some comfort.
"Mike?" He rested her on the gourney that was waiting for her. She kept a tight grip on his shirt, her fingers tight into a fist around the cloth. "I'm cold." Mike looked at her.
"...cold." Mike opened his eyes a little and realised that he'd been dreaming, remembering.He hadn't intended to fall to sleep but the sound of her steady breathing had obviously relaxed him more than he thought it would. He looked over at Alex and saw that she was tugging at her oxygen tube and that she was wide awake.
"Alex?" Mike quickly sat up and put his hand back on her forehead. Mike took hold of her hand with his other and pulled her fingers away from the oxygen tube. Alex looked pale and he could feel her shivering. "You're cold?" Mike asked, realising that that last part might not have been a dream. Alex slowly nodded and he smiled at her, as if he was trying to comfort her that way.
Turning away from her he looked around the room for a nurse but couldn't find one. He looked back at her and saw that she was shivering quite hard. Mike sighed and spotted that the bed next to her was empty. He couldn't wait for a nurse and he didn't want to leave her so he reached behind him and grabbed the blanket off of that bed instead. Looking at her, giving her a small smile, he covered her with the blanket and she immediately tried to warm up from it. Mike carefully held her hand and looked at her, silently wondering if she'd be okay.
She had to be.
Alex looked at him and saw that he was thinking but she couldn't see what that was. Reaching out one of her hands she slowly stroked his face with her index finger. He took her hand and kissed it, never taking his eyes off her as he did so. He saw the way that made her smile, "I love you." she whispered, almost to the point where she didn't speak it at all. Mike closed his eyes, he couldn't help it.
When he opened them she was still looking at him. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, gently. "I love you, too." She smiled and took a deep breath, as if she was steadying herself again. Mike watched as she started to look around the room, realising how late it was when she looked back at him she had a puzzled expression on her face, which was developing into a confused frown. Mike shrugged, stroking her cheek, "I'm not going anywhere." He saw that she was still fighting the need to go back to sleep and he started stroking her forehead, wondering if that actually did help. He continued to watch her as she fought her own fatigue, her eye lids drooping but she was quite insistent that she didn't want to sleep but eventually she lost the fight, her body winning her over and sleep overtook her slowly and gently.
Forcing her back into dreams and memories; ones that she didn't want to relive.
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TBC
What do you think so far? I wanted to try to balance the relationships Alex had with both Mike and Bobby in this chapter. Obviously they both have a different kind but they are both on a deep level. I hope it works.