Sorry for the late update.

Chapter Seven: A Few Surprises

Hale's POV

I thought we were home free until we found Barney's truck it's passengers not moving. Gunnar parked the car and we hit the ground running to Barney.

"Barney!"I said loudly when we reached the truck, "I'm alright, you two grab Lee, I'll get Nicole. We need to get out of here."he told us.

Gunnar and I got Lee, I could tell he was out cold which meant one nasty head wound and an unhappy Mel to deal with later. We got him in the truck, Barney put Nicole in the front before hopping in the back with blankets for Lee.

I got in beside Nicole and Gunnar resumed driving, "What happened?"I asked Barney through the back window.

"Bomb explosion."he said, "I didn't think about traps out here."he added. I could hear it in his voice he blamed himself for Nicole and Lee getting hurt.

"Don't worry about it man, they'll be fine."I said trying to reassure him.

"Thanks Hale but it doesn't change what happened."he told me as Gunnar reached Tools and came to a stop.

Barney's POV

I helped get Lee inside and addressed his wounds as well as Nicole's best I could, I'd slipped on my lucky ring earlier; hopefully they would wake up soon but for now I needed to tell Toll and Melanie what happened.

Yang sat in with Lee while Hale sat with Nicole, Gunnar had gone out to get something for supper and Tool was working on a client's tattoo of a tiger.

I flipped open my phone and dialed Toll's number, "Hey Toll, I have something to tell you and Melanie."I said when he picked up.

"Just a minute."he said, I could hear movement in the background which was probably Mel, then her voice came over the phone. "What happened Barney?"she asked me.

"We got Nicole out but on the way back to Tools a bomb exploded making us swerve all over the road before I managed to hit the brakes. Nicole hit her head but she'll be fine, Lee was in the truck bed, he got a little banged up."I explained and waited.

"I can't believe this!"Mel yelled but she must have been turned away from the phone because it wasn't too loud. "Should we come back?" asked Toll.

"No, Mel will be safer there. I'll call you as soon as they're awake, I'm sorry this happened you guys."I said looking at the ceiling knowing they were hurt because of me.

"I know Barney, and I know you're doing everything you can for them."Toll said, "I know that too Barney, I don't blame you for what happened."Mel put in.

"Thanks guys, I'll check in again in a few hours."I said and hung up befor Gunnar came through the door carrying big take out bags.

Nicole's POV

I smelled food, I sniffed harder and found it was chicken. I opened my eyes pain flowed through my head but I caught sight of the food on a plate in man's lap.

"Hi, is there some left for me?"I asked figuring he must be one of Barney's men.

"You bet there is, I'll get you some but how are you feeling?"he asked.

"My head hurts, I'm hungry, thirsty and tired."I replied looking around the bedroom.

"Alright, I'll let Barney know and get you some food and drink. Be back soon."he said and left closing the door behind him.

Since the guy was going to tell Barney how I was doing, he was alright but what about Lee? I hoped he wasn't hurt too badly, Melanie wouldn't be happy if he was.

I thought about the escape and remembered that Hunter hadn't been caught or killed which meant he was still a threat to everyone but then again he was all alone now so he would back off.

The door opened again and the man returned with a plate for me, bottled water, and Barney. "Hi Barney, how are you? how is Lee doing?"I asked and coughed because my mouth and throat were dry.

The other man opened the water and held it for me to drink some slowly, "Thank you."I said when he removed it and put it on the nightstand.

"No problem, I'm Hale by the way."Hale said circling around the bed to sit beside me.

"I'm doing fine, Lee hasn't woke up yet but he should be soon. Hale is going to look after you, listen to him."Barney told me, I nodded.

"Once you've rested some more, you can call Melanie."he added, I smiled it was a fair deal. Barney left and Hale got the plate of food and started to feed me.

"Thanks but I should be able to eat for myself."I told him,

"Yeah but this way there won't be any mess and you need to save your strength anyway."he told me, I shrugged taking the next bite.

Afterwards he let me drink and went to the door so I could rest, "Hale."I said wanting to tell him something before he left, he turned to me. "Thank you, it feels good to be catered too."I said with a smile, "Any time Nicole."he said matching my smile before he left, and I relaxed enough to rest.

Melanie's POV

I didn't like the safe house, sure I was with Toll, and it was for my protection but did it have to be in freaking Pheonix! I hated the heat, and I hated being hours away from everyone I cared about but specifically Lee.

I was doing the best I could to keep positive since Barney called but I was tired and worried which often lead to my mind running away with me. I imagined all kinds of things I didn't sleep much at all not that I had much before with the heat.

Toll tried to keep me from thinking about Lee and got me to take naps here and there so I wouldn't be exhausted but at the end of the day it didn't help much.

"Toll, why hasn't Barney called?"I asked poking at my dinner which was a pasta dish.

"He'll call when he knows something, you know he will and Lee is strong so is Nicole remember that."he said between bites, and tossed a glare at me when he saw my plate.

"Sorry Toll, I'm not all that hungry."I said pushing away the food.

"You finish that plate Cole or I'm going to tell Barney what's been going on with you since we got here."he said he was serious I could tell and I didn't want another hard lecture from both Barney and Lee so I ate.

"Why haven't you told him?"I asked when I was done, it wasn't really like Toll not to tell Barney about something like this.

"Honestly, I'm hoping you'll snap out of it and get back the way you were before this mission started. Stay on the straight path or decide what you really want because you can't stay this way and still be on the team."he explained, it stung but it was completely true, I nodded.

Toll's phone rang, "Hello." he answered, "Yeah, just a minute."he said and placed the phone on the table. "Go ahead Barney."he told him as I moved closer to the phone.

"I've got good news and bad news; Nicole woke up and managed to eat before she fell asleep again. I'll have her call you Mel if she's up to it. The bad news is Lee hasn't woke up yet but he is worse than Nicole was.

We're going to give him until morning, if isn't awake by then we'll take him to the hospital." Barney told us.

"That's good, I look forward to talking to Nicole. Take care of Lee."I said and went to the bedroom locking the door.

Barney's POV

Melanie didn't sound like herself, she didn't even ask if she'd be going to the hospital or not. Of course she wouldn't be allowed to but still something was off.

"Sorry about that, she's been pretty stressed lately."Toll said.

"No problem, how are things on your end?"I asked, needing to know their status.

"Good, no trouble here. I think whoever the big bad guy is bidding his time." he said.

"Yeah, I think you're right stay sharp and keep a close eye on her."I told him and hung up the phone.

I looked in on Nicole, she was asleep still and Hale had pulled a chair into the hallway to sleep in but close to the room if something happened. I nodded to him as I passed and went to Lee's room.

Gunnar was sitting off in the corner chair, "Hey, how is he?"I asked going to stand next to him but I was watching Lee.

"He's still the same, he isn't showing any signs of waking up any time soon."he said.

"Alright, you and Yang go get some sleep. I'll stay with Lee and Hale isn't leaving Nicole."I told him, he nodded and left the room.

I settled into the chair but I dragged over right next to the bed and said, "Lee, buddy we need you most importantly Melanie needs you. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."