Twice Into The Same Stream
Chapter 5
by Kate04
January 2005
Looking at her was painful. They had cleaned the blood away from her face, had even gotten most of it out of her hair, but it only made the bruises more visible. She had a split lip, a cut over her right eye and one at the side of her head close to the hairline. The doctor had spoken to him earlier after the tests were done and they had Sharon settled in ICU. She had a severe concussion, a broken nose, a hairline fracture in her right tibia as well as several cracked ribs, not to mention countless bruises and they were still in the process of bringing her body temperature up. The reassuringly regular beeping of the heart rate monitor and the visible rise and fall of her chest calmed him slightly, but he would feel a lot better if she just opened her eyes.
The doctor didn't seem to be very concerned about the fact that she was still unconscious. He had told Andy that her body took the time to heal and that there was no reason to worry for now. The brain scans hadn't shown anything that would suggest a reason for her not to wake up. As far as the baby was concerned, he wouldn't say anything specific. For now, it was still alive and that was a good sign, but with her age and the trauma of the attack the risk of miscarriage was considerable. Sharon would have to be extremely careful over the next few months, spending as much time as possible off her feet, which her injuries would require anyway. It also meant that they were very cautious with the pain medication they gave her, until she regained consciousness and was able to make a coherent and informed decision about her pain management. Andy was certain that she would rather suffer through the pain than risk hurting the child, and there would be a lot of it for quite a while. Maybe it was a good thing that she wasn't awake yet.
He must have dozed off for a little while and it took him a moment to figure out what had startled him awake before he felt the small hand that he had still clasped in his twitch slightly. It was followed by a soft moan and a gasp that drew another, louder moan from her, no doubt from the pain her broken ribs caused when she breathed too deeply. Her face transformed from the mostly relaxed expression of unconsciousness to a mask of pain and confusion as she fought her way back to the world of the living. Andy held his breath as he studied her, wincing every time she flinched or moaned or frowned in pain. Before she even opened her eyes, her free hand slowly shifted to cover her belly, moving over the still flat expanse, searching for something, anything that would give her the answer she sought. Covering her hand with his and stopping her motion, he spoke quietly so as not to startle her.
"It's okay, Sharon. It's all right." He felt a large part of the tension leave her body on a soft sigh as both their hands rested protectively over the tiny being. Her gaze finally met his, the sparkling green eyes he had thought about so many times over the last weeks were clouded with pain and the lingering haze of unconsciousness. When she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was a cough that left her breathless and moaning as it jolted her body. Andy reached over to the bedside table to grab the waiting glass of water and helped her take a few small sips. Her voice was hoarse and it took several attempts to force the words out, despite the warm water soothing her scratchy throat.
"What happened? What are you doing here?"
He tried not to let her question sting because she had a point. He had no business being here. They had decided to forget about what had happened between them, to move on and ignore the burning in their chests when they thought about it. What she didn't know was that he could not forget, that her sparkling, green eyes haunted him whenever he closed his, that he frequently turned around when he walked down the street because he thought he'd heard her velvety voice behind him, that he woke up from dreams of her sweet kisses and the feel of her soft skin against his. And she probably hadn't worked out that he was aware of the baby and who its father was. She could deny it, but it was pretty obvious. The timing worked and they had talked a little that night. She had told him that it had been a while for her and she didn't strike him as the type to jump right into someone else's bed. Not after what they had shared. It was something they would have to talk about later. The time for that would come. First they had to find whoever had hurt her and make sure they paid for their actions. Taking her hand in his, he drew gentle circles around her knuckles, relieved that it felt a lot warmer than it had earlier that day.
"You were attacked in the parking garage at work." He let that sink in for a moment, before he continued, "Can you tell me what you remember?"
Her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to unearth the memories. Frustration was scrawled all over her features and he squeezed her hand in reassurance. "It's all right. Take your time." Andy didn't have to tell her that they needed her statement if they wanted to nail the son of a bitch. She didn't need to know that they had absolutely nothing if she couldn't help them. The additional pressure was the last thing she should have to deal with. "Why don't you start somewhere easy? What's the last thing you clearly remember? Tell me about that and let's see where that leads us."
She thought for a while longer, sorting through fuzzy images and snippets of conversations inside her mind before she was able to lock onto something specific. "I was in my office working on a case. It was late and the rest of my team had gone home already." Slowly, everything slid into place, the puzzle pieces coming together one after the other. "I came across some problems with Gang and Narcotics that I was looking into. It turned out to be a bit more complicated than it initially appeared." Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to get a hold of those last elusive fragments that she knew would clear everything up.
Andy prodded gently, his question an attempt to guide her through the haze of her memories. "Who were you working with? Maybe if they tell us what that case was about it will all start to make sense."
Shaking her head slightly she went on, having caught another piece. "No, I was working alone. The investigation involved a high ranking…" Her eyes widened in sudden realization and she gasped as it all came rushing back, every last detail of the case and that evening, up to the moment she passed out. "Captain Sanders! That's who attacked me."
A slightly doubtful look on his face he tried to keep his voice neutral, wanting to believe that she had indeed identified her attacker, but needing to be absolutely certain. "Are you sure? Were you able to see his face?"
She started to fidget with the need to do something, or at the very least to get him to do something, but her body didn't appreciate her restlessness, making her grunt in discomfort. Unable to move as much as she wanted to, Sharon put all her frustration and impatience into her tone. "No, I did not see his face, but I recognized his clothes. His jacket had a torn sleeve that I had seen earlier while I interviewed him. He must have figured out that I was on to him."
Captain Sanders was an idiot as far as Andy was concerned. He had never liked the guy, but to think that he would beat a fellow officer to within an inch of her life over some bullshit FID investigation was a little hard to believe, even though Sanders had a bit of a temper. When he voiced his doubts, he saw exasperation in her eyes and in the way her lips curled, so he raised a questioning eyebrow, waiting for her to explain.
"This is not about roughing up a suspect, Andy. It started there, but I came across some things that didn't add up and it made less and less sense with every new piece of evidence I dug up. He's not just dirty. Sanders is heavily involved with the Sinaloa Cartel."
At this point she had his full attention, her story suddenly making a whole lot of sense. "Son of a… So he's the asshole inside the department who's been giving tips to the gang bangers we're trying to find." Nothing annoyed him as much as one of their own working against them and he had a hard time containing his anger.
"I think he's doing more than giving them information. Look, I was going to call Chief Johnson in the morning, because I think Sanders is connected to the case you're working on. There's a folder with everything I found out so far in my desk drawer. It's not sufficient to nail him, but it should help shed some light on your case. The key to my desk is in my purse." She frowned again, trying to remember where it might be. She remembered dropping it during the attack and when Andy lifted it off the floor beside his chair, she was even more confused. Her brain was starting to shut down again, exhaustion trying to pull her under again, but she fought against it, watching him retrieve her keys with a triumphant smile before he took his phone out of his pocket and began to dial a number.
"I'll just let Provenza know what you told me and tell him to come and get the keys. I'll be right back." When he stood to leave the room, Sharon caught hold of his arm, wincing as pain that shot through her body at the sudden move.
"It would be faster if you just brought the keys to them."
Andy turned back towards her, a frown on his face as he took her in, eyes already starting to droop, only kept open by sheer stubbornness. "I won't leave you alone, Sharon." He didn't care that he might be giving away more of his feelings than he should, not after some lunatic had almost killed her. She just rolled her eyes at him, her voice heavy with fatigue, but still carrying her usual determination.
"That's very sweet of you, but I'll be all right. I doubt that I'll stay awake for another five minutes and there are really more useful things for you to do than sit beside my bed and watch me sleep. Go help your team solve that case."
She was right. Staying here wouldn't do much good once she fell asleep again. It didn't make him feel better about leaving her alone, however. Letting his hand rest against her shoulder, he studied her eyes closely to see if she meant it. "Are you sure?"
His response was nothing more than a quiet hum, as her eyes were already closed. Gently brushing a strand of hair out of her face he let his fingers feather over her cheek. After a moment's hesitation, he bent down to place a soft kiss against her temple, his lips lingering close to her ear. "I'll be back soon," he whispered before he straightened, grabbed her keys and his jacket, and left to do his job. He only hoped that someone else would get to Sanders before he did, because he really didn't feel like dealing with one of Sharon's minions. Visiting FID wouldn't be any fun when she wasn't there to glare at him.
- TBC -
