Like Eating Glass-Chapter 13
Not done yet but I wanted to thank everyone who read and reviewed this so far. As much as I say that I write for myself, hearing your feedback, or frustration, or responses, or suggestions really motivates me to keep going. I'm glad I have an audience who appreciates the writing that I try to put out. Thanks! Oh, and I still don't own Flashpoint.
The snow was still falling rapidly as Wordy pulled in to the driveway of a familiar home, but not his own. He looked out into the night for a moment before fishing his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans and dialing the long memorized number. He looked at the clock as he heard the phone ringing, only now realizing how late it was.
"Lane." Ed's tired voice came over the phone as Wordy took another breath.
"Hey Ed, sorry to wake you..." Wordy squeezed his steering wheel, part of him regretting stopping before heading home.
"Nah, not a problem Wordy, what's up?" Ed sounded a bit more alert but he was whispering, not wanting to wake his sleeping wife.
"I...ah..." Wordy took a few deep breaths before speaking again. "You think you can come outside? I'm in your driveway."
"Let me get a sweater, I'll be down in two." Wordy hung up the phone and tried to catch his breath. It had been a long night on top of a long day that never felt like it was ending. Wordy yawned. The coffee that Greg had given him was wearing off and though he knew all he wanted to do was go to sleep, he also knew that he wouldn't be able to yet. Though he knew that Greg hadn't particularly wanted to let Wordy leave yet, they both knew that they couldn't stay there all night. Greg had driven Wordy back to Headquarters to get his car, change into his own clothes, and fill out the paperwork for the time off. He had left a message for Dr. Luria but when they stepped outside and saw the snowy conditions they knew that most things would be closed in the morning.
He saw a light come on in the hallway and took another deep breath. Doing good Wordy, this is a good thing. He said to himself as he saw the front door open and Ed jog towards his minivan. He ran around the front of the van and jumped into the passenger seat, quickly closing the door behind him. Ed rubbed his hands together quickly before turning and smiling.
"How you doing, buddy?" Ed had a bruise up the left side of his face and Wordy grimaced a bit as he thought about the afternoon.
"How...ah...how's your face?" He shrugged and dropped his gaze a bit.
"Hey, I always knew you could beat me up, should have remembered that before sneaking up on you." Ed jokingly punched Wordy's arm. "Seriously, it's fine, Wordy."
"I'm really sorry about that." Wordy said softly as he raised his gaze and looked towards Ed.
"Forget about it." Ed said seriously as he looked into Wordy's eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. After a few minutes of silence Ed spoke again to break the silence. "So, what brings you here at midnight in a blizzard, Wordy?" Ed propped himself against the door and the seat so that he could see Wordy despite the darkness between them. Wordy looked at his friend and then through the windshield before speaking.
"I had a long talk with Greg tonight..." He paused and looked at Ed again. "I'm gonna take some time off to...well to regroup." He looked at the snow falling on his car again and kept his gaze away from Ed.
"Sounds like a really good idea, Wordy." Ed said genuinely. "Hey, you get a snow day with your girls tomorrow, that'll be fun." Wordy nodded but didn't really seem to be paying attention. "Something else on your mind?" Ed asked gently. He didn't want to push, he was sure that Wordy's conversation with Greg had taken a lot out of him considering how quiet he usually was but a nagging feeling made Ed think that there was something else to be said.
"How do you do it Ed?" Wordy asked suddenly, looking directly into Ed's eyes. "How do you get Scorpio and just...just take the shot and move on?" His tone was just short of begging for an answer as Ed shook his head slightly.
"I don't know if I'm the best example, Wordy." He said carefully. Wordy quickly shook his head.
"Please...how do you do it?" Now he was closer to begging. Ed bit his lip as he saw a tear forming in Wordy's eye.
"I don't know, one day it kind of just clicked for me." Ed started as he looked into Wordy's eyes. "I kind of just tell myself that if I didn't do my job, if I didn't take that shot, someone who was relying on me would have been hurt." He saw Wordy nod but he didn't seem totally satisfied with the answer.
"Wordy," Ed said seriously to grab his attention again. "you'll have that moment when it clicks and everything falls into place, you've just got to give it a little time." Wordy nodded again and bit his lip.
"What do I do until then though?" He asked softly, almost meekly. Ed thought hard for a minute before nodding to himself.
"Just live." He said simply with a slight shrug. "Play with your girls, make dinner with Shelly, do your job, just keep on living and learn from what happened because, next time," He paused and gave a sad kind of smile. "next time we're going to save her." There was a long silence as they both looked at the snow falling before Wordy nodded.
"Thanks Ed, that helps a lot." Wordy said genuinely with a small smile.
"Anytime, Wordy. Seriously, anytime." Ed nodded and tried to hold back a yawn but it came anyway.
"I'll let you get back to sleep, thanks a lot Ed." Wordy said as Ed gently placed his hand on his shoulder again.
"You sure, Wordy?" He asked gently.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, Ed, thanks." Wordy smiled as Ed nodded and moved to get out of the van. "One...one more thing though if you don't mind." Wordy felt his chest growing tighter but he knew that he needed to do this for his peace of mind.
"What's up?" Ed turned back towards Wordy with a calm face.
"Could you ah...could you hold onto something for me until I come back to work?" His heart was racing again as Ed nodded. Wordy fished the key to the glovebox out of one of the cup holders. "My gun is in the glovebox," He gave Ed the key and then looked back through the windshield at the snow. "Could you hold onto it for me until my leave is up?" Ed looked at Wordy cautiously before getting the gun and the cartridge of ammunition from the box.
"Anything I should know, Wordy?" He asked as calmly as he could, not liking the implications of Wordy's request.
"It...it's nothing that Greg doesn't already know about." He said kind of vaguely. Ed nodded, still not really satisfied by the explanation. "I'm okay, Ed. I just...just don't want to tempt fate."
"Okay..." Worry was obvious in Ed's voice.
"Ed, you know I'd tell you if it was something serious. I just don't want to have to think about it being there." Wordy didn't want to end up in this conversation again so he hoped that it would be enough of an explanation for Ed.
"I trust you, Wordy." He said confidently though he was obviously still a bit worried.
"Thanks buddy, I owe you."
"Nah, we're all good, right?" Ed cracked the door open and was about to get out as he looked over his shoulder.
"We're good. I'll call you tomorrow." Wordy said as he turned the key to get the engine running again.
"I'll be waiting. Build a snow man for me with the girls." They both smiled as Ed jogged back to the warmth of his house and Wordy started to back out of the driveway, feeling like a bit of weight had been lifted from his chest, like he could finally breathe at least a bit easier.
Okay, making good time. Maybe another two chapters. Depending on how short things go in the next section it might only be one chapter, we'll see. Please review. Thanks!