Slipping Into Darkness
Slipping Into Darkness
Author's Note: A special thanks to Ukeleleboy for her help in getting the plot bunnies working again. By the way, I have no medical knowledge whatsoever. So, please don't hold it against me if I made any mistakes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Without A Trace or any of its character. They belong to Jerry Bruckheimer and company, so please don't sue.
Previously on Slipping Into Darkness: Sean exited the elevator on the third floor, but he had no idea that he was being admired by the stranger who had remained hidden in the shadows unnoticed.
"Well, well, if it isn't little Sean. I should've made sure back then that I'd killed you. But that's all right. Where there was one, there was always the other. Enjoy, while you can, little piggy because you're going to lead me to Danny and then I'll kill you both like the murderous, filthy pigs that you are." Ritchie thought to himself silently as he laid in wait until the moment came where he could carry out his final revenge.
Chapter 16
Ritchie, hiding in the stairwell, immediately recognized Sean. So, he called the hospital and had Sean paged. Unknowingly, Sean answered the page. But when he called the number that paged him, Ritchie answered.
"Yes, I'm returning a page." Sean said kindly but then heard someone chuckling softly but evilly on the other end, causing him to get a very sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Who is this and what do you want?" Sean said seriously.
"Well, well, if it isn't Little Sean." Ritchie sneered evilly as he watched Sean grow paler as he stood, still hidden, in the stairwell.
"Who the hell are you?" Sean said angrily through gritted teeth but deep inside, his heart cringed in sheer terror.
"Aw. You disappoint me, Sean. How could you forget me so soon? We had so much fun the last time we saw each other. You wouldn't tell me where Little Danny was, so I beat you to death, or so I thought." Ritchie sneered and then chuckled softly when he saw the look of shock and fury that Sean's face now bore.
"Ritchie. You, son of a bitch. I'm going to kill you." Sean said furiously through gritted teeth, causing Ritchie to softly chuckle more evilly.
"You're not going to do anything, unless, of course, you want Little Danny to die. You're going to do what I tell you, Sean. I'm in charge of this little game, not you. It's simple. Unless you do what I tell you, your little brother is going to pay the consequences. Now, are you going to take me to him or aren't you?" Ritchie quietly sneered evilly.
"Go to hell, you sick, son of a bitch!" Sean said through gritted teeth.
"That's enough, Sean. You're wearing my patience thin. But I'm going to tell you what you're going to do to redeem yourself. You're going to lead me to Danny or innocent people are going to die—starting with that hot, little number that's been following you around." Ritchie said calmly but angrily as he looked at Sean, causing him to sneer evilly when he saw Sean looking around. "Don't waste your time, Sean. You'll come to me when I call you. Don't do anything stupid or that hot nurse of yours is the first one that I'm going to kill." He said calmly but evilly.
"What the hell do you want?" Sean said angrily but defeated through gritted teeth.
"Good boy, Little Sean. Now, we're talking. You're going to that stairwell that's to your right. In there, there's an envelope with instructions. A word to anyone about what's going on and a lot of people are going to die. And you better be convincing because, remember, I can hear and see everything you do. Now, you've got thirty minutes. The clock is ticking." Ritchie said calmly but evilly as he ended the call, causing him to smile evilly with content when he saw the tears that Sean was now angrily wiping at.
Sean angrily wiped at the tears that fell from his ears. What was he going to do? He didn't want to lead that cold-blooded killer Ritchie, to Danny. But he didn't want anyone else to die either. He fisted his hands and headed to the stairwell.
Ritchie closed the door and lay in wait as he pulled out a fifteen-inch hunting knife, causing him to tightly grab Sean from behind in a chokehold and hold the knife to his throat, when Sean entered the stairwell.
"Hello, Sean. Are you ready to start playing 'Where's Little Danny' now? I sure as hell am. I've been waiting fifteen years to revenge Sebastian's death and you're not going to get in the way now." Ritchie said angrily but calmly through gritted teeth as he held the knife a bit tighter to Sean's throat, causing Sean to gasp and shake.
"Ritchie." Sean said furiously through gritted teeth. "Let me go, you sick bastard." He said furiously as he shook and swallowed hard.
"Like hell I'm letting you go. Just shut up and listen. I don't know where the hell you hid Danny, but you're going to take me to him right now or your precious Vicky is going to die first." Ritchie said viciously as he pulled Sean's hair, causing Sean to groan and hiss pained.
"All right. I'll tell you but you have to do something for me first. I hid Danny in a room with an elderly woman that I'm treating. Please, I'll do whatever you want but let me get her and her husband out of there." Sean said as he shook and sweat stained his face.
"Forget it. They're staying right there. The more, the merrier." Ritchie said coldly as he pulled Sean's hair tighter, causing tears to escape Sean's eyes.
"Ritchie, please. She doesn't have anything to do with this. She hasn't done anything to you. Please, Ritchie. For Christ's sake, she's ninety-one. Please, just let me call over there and have her moved to a different room—her and her husband." Sean pled somewhat desperately as he swallowed hard and sweat and tears stained every crevice of his face.
"Shut up!" Ritchie said viciously as he pulled Sean's hair again and continued to hold the knife to his throat. "Fine. Get the stupid old bags out of Danny's room. And once they're cleared, we're going to take the stairs and you're going to take me to Danny. Now, hurry up and make the call before I change my mind." Ritchie said callously, causing Sean to grab his phone with shaking hands and call the nurse's station on the third floor as Ritchie forced him to put the phone on speaker.
"Nurse's station, third floor. How may I direct your call?" A nurse said kindly.
"Yeah. This is Dr. Novak. I want Nurse Vicky on the phone this instant." Sean said gruffly.
"Yes, sir, Dr. Novak. One moment please." The nurse said kindly but nervously, causing Nurse Vicky to answer the phone a minute later.
"This is Nurse Vicky." She said kindly.
"Vicky, I want you to head up to Danny's room with an orderly and escort the elderly couple that's with Danny, downstairs to the 4th floor. It's ninety-one year old Mrs. Gonzalez. I want her and her husband downstairs right now. Is that understood?" Sean said sternly.
"But, Dr. Novak…" Vicky said concerned but Sean quickly cut her off.
"But nothing, Nurse. When I give you an order, you follow it. Don't you dare question me again. Now, have Mrs. Gonzalez and her husband downstairs on 4th, within five minutes or it's your job. Do I make myself clear? I can't hear you." Sean said harshly but silently he prayed that Vicky would know that something was wrong.
"Yes, Sir. I understand, doctor." Nurse Vicky said a bit shakened.
"You better. Now, call me back as soon as they're on the 4th floor. Go." Sean said harshly as he ended the call, causing Ritchie to softly chuckle evilly and hold the knife tighter to Sean's throat but then he loosened it a bit momentarily.
Upstairs in Danny's Room…
Nurse Vicky called for an orderly and they headed upstairs to Danny's room, causing Jack to look at her questioningly.
"What's going on?" Jack said gruffly.
"Mrs. Johnson's being transferred to the 4th floor and you have to come with me also." Nurse Vicky said kindly.
"I'm not leaving them here alone." Jack said gruffly as he pointed to Danny and Martin as they lay in their beds sleeping.
"Please calm down, Agent Malone. Danny and Martin are safe here. No one knows of this location except for you, Dr. Novak, Dr. Foster and myself. Now, please come with me." Nurse Vicky said kindly as they escorted Vivian out of the room and into the elevator when it opened.
Vivian and Jack were escorted to the 4th floor, causing Nurse Vicky to immediately dial Sean's number from the 4th floor nurses' station.
"Dr. Novak? Sir, I followed your orders. Your elderly patient, Mrs. Gonzalez and her husband were escorted to the 4th floor." Nurse Vicky said kindly.
"Fine. I'm taking the rest of the day off, so don't call me again. Do I make myself clear?" Sean said harshly, causing Nurse Vicky to swallow hard as his harshness caused tears to escape her eyes.
"Yes, sir, Dr. Novak." Nurse Vicky said as her voice broke a bit.
"Fine. Get back to work." Sean said harshly and then ended the call.
"Let's go, Sean. It's time to end this game. Take me to Danny now." Ritchie said calmly but viciously as he held the knife to Sean's throat and held his hair tighter, causing tears to fall freely down Sean's face as they began walking up the stairs.
Back in the 4th Floor…
Jack was angry that he'd been sent to a different floor from the boys and went to confront Vicky about it. But when he stepped up to the nurses' station, he found her crying as she filled some paperwork.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked a bit gruffly but he felt that something wasn't right.
"I'm sorry, Agent Malone. There's nothing wrong." Nurse Vicky said kindly as she sniffled and pretended that she was okay, causing her to flinch a bit when Jack looked at her sternly. "I'm sorry. I'm just upset because of Dr. Novak." She softly cried sniffling.
"What about Sean? What's going on with him?" Jack said gruffly but Vicky shrugged.
"I don't know. He just called me five minutes ago, almost yelling at me. He said that he wanted you and Mrs. Johnson transferred out of there within five minutes or he was going to fire me. But the strange thing is that he kept saying that she's a ninety-one year old woman and that you're her elderly husband. I was confused and tried to ask him what he was talking about but he yelled at me and told me not to dare question him again. Then, he said not to call him again because he was taking off the rest of the day and he hung up. I don't understand what's going on. In the years that I've worked with him, he's never once been so cruel to me." Nurse Vicky quietly cried upset, causing Jack to immediately know that something was horribly wrong.
"Wait a minute. Something's not right. He told you that we were an old couple?" Jack said concerned as he got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach when Nurse Vicky nodded crying, causing Jack to pick up his phone and immediately dial Jeff's number.
"Jack, where have you been? I've been trying to reach you. Ritchie's somewhere in this hospital, Jack." Jeff said urgently.
"Jeff, I'm on the 4th floor. You need to get up here now. Sean had me and Viv transferred down here but he told Vicky that Viv was a ninety-one year old woman and that I was her husband. Then he told her that he was taking off for the rest of the day and not to call him. But, Jeff, I'm almost positive that he's with Ritchie." Jack said as he unholstered and cocked his gun, causing Jeff to suddenly come out of the stairwell with Agent Chuck.
"Jack, are you sure about that?" Jeff said urgently as he and Agent Chuck also unholstered and cocked their guns.
"I'm almost positive. Why else would Sean say that we were an old couple and have us moved down here?" Jack said with conviction.
"Then we have to get up there. We can't let that son of a bitch kill Danny, Jack." Jeff said urgently.
"We're not going to let that happen. Nobody else is getting hurt because of that twisted freak—not Danny, Martin, Sean, no one." Jack said with conviction and then turned to a crying Vicky. "Look, I know that you're scared but I need you to calm down right now. I won't let anything happen to Sean. But right now, you need to stay down here with Viv and have armed security, guard her room. Is that understood?" Jack said a bit sternly but compassionately, causing Nurse Vicky to nod crying.
"I understand." Nurse Vicky cried shaken as she tried to regain her composure. "I'll call security right away. But please, please don't let anything happen to Dr. Novak." She cried shaken and then turned away from Jack and began speaking into the phone.
"Jack, we need to go now." Agent Chuck said somewhat urgently and concerned, causing them to immediately head into the stairwell carefully.
They were cautiously heading up the stairs when, Jack, Jeff and Chuck, stopped dead in their tracks. As they headed up the stairs, they saw a fresh bloodied handprint on the wall and fresh blood drops on the steps heading upwards to the floors above them.
"Jack, that blood's fresh. What if we're too late?" Jeff said as his heart clenched in his throat.
"Shut up." Jack growled angrily out of concern. "We're not too late, all right? We're going get that animal once and for all. Let's go." Jack said sternly out of concern as they held their cocked guns and continued walking up the flight of stairs cautiously.
Upstairs in Danny's Room…
By the time they made it to the outside of Danny and Martin's room, Sean had torn a piece of his shirt to apply pressure to the knife wound that Ritchie had caused when he hit Ritchie and tried to run away.
"Try anything stupid like that again, you piece of shit, and I'll gut you like a fish where you stand whether Danny sees it first or not. Do you understand me?" Ritchie said viciously as he held the 15-inch hunting knife to Sean's throat as Sean shook and sweat and tears stained his face—but he shook and cried out of fear for Martin and Danny's safety and not his own, causing Sean to nod crying.
"I swear. I won't try anything again." Sean cried shaking.
Martin and Danny were in the room talking about Sean, when the door suddenly opened, causing the heart monitors to beep violently and Danny and Martin to gasp violently at the horror before them when they saw someone holding a large hunting knife to Sean's already bloody throat.
"Sean!" Danny and Martin both yelled out but then Danny then bugged out horribly when Ritchie finally revealed his face.
"Ritchie!" Danny gasped horrified and bugged out horribly as he struggled to breathe. "Sean!" He gasped, struggling to breathe as he saw the blood on Sean's throat.
"Shhh. Just breathe! I'm okay, kiddo! Breathe for me, come on! Please! Just listen to me!" Sean cried shaking, causing Danny to breathe as tears escaped his eyes.
"Let him go, you fucking animal! It's me you want, not him! You only wanted me!" Danny suddenly cried furiously as he shook, causing him to stop and growl furiously when Ritchie tightened the knife on Sean's throat.
"Shut your mouth right now or he's going to die right now before he even hits the floor, you murderer. I've waited fifteen years to get my revenge and today's the day. You never should've run away that day when I was going to kill you. If you hadn't, none of your friends would've been hurt or possibly dying, you miserable coward. It's all your fault and you're a filthy disgrace. A murderer like you never should've been given a badge after killing Sebastian." Ritchie said sadistically and enjoyed as his words caused Danny to grab his head in anguish, causing Martin to growl wrathfully at Ritchie's words and Danny's reactions.
"You shut the fuck up! You're the only one to blame for all of this, you sick son of bitch! Danny didn't kill Sebastian! He told Sebastian to put the damn gun down but Sebastian wouldn't listen and Danny did what he had to, to save his father! If anyone's to blame here, it's your fucking twisted family!" Martin said wrathfully as tears of fury stained his face, causing Martin to bleed profusely when Ritchie sent a wrathful fist across his face and mouth.
"You don't know a damn thing about my family, Martin! That's right! I know who you are you piece of shit! And you've been able to get away from me, but I'm going to enjoy gutting you like a fish right now!" Ritchie said viciously and then turned to Sean. "Tie him with the restraints. Now!" He said ferociously as he tightened the knife on Sean's throat.
"Let them go, you son of a bitch! Kill me!" Danny cried furiously and fearfully as he tried to sit up in bed but couldn't.
"Forget it, you sick freak! I didn't do back then what you asked and I'm not going to do it now!" Sean cried furiously as he shook, causing Ritchie to suddenly pull a cocked gun from behind his back and aim it at Danny's head as he simultaneously attempted to cut Sean's throat with the knife.
"This is for Sebastian, you murderer!" Ritchie roared wrathfully as he put his finger on the trigger.
"Noooooo!" Martin and Sean both screamed out in horror as they both jumped on Ritchie and Danny cried terrified but he could barely manage to move from his injuries and all the drugs Sean had given him, causing gunfire to erupt in the room.
All of a sudden, Danny's eyes and mouth widened in agony and horror and then closed before his lifeless body fell to the bed, his arms fell to his side and then the monitors began beeping a deafening shrill as he flatlined.
But that wasn't the only surprise as Jack, Jeff and Chuck burst through the door with their guns drawn and Ritchie fell to the floor covered in blood.
"Daneeee! Noooooo!" Sean and Martin screamed and cried in horror as they checked on him.
"He killed him!" Martin cried furiously as he angrily pulled at Danny, causing Jeff to grab a hold of him.
"Shut up! I'm not going let him die! I didn't let that son of a bitch kill him when we were kids and I'm not going to lose him now!" Sean yelled crying angrily as he cut away Danny's hospital gown with shears, gave him drugs through the IV and shocked him twice but Danny remained lifeless, causing everyone to gasp horrified when Sean filled a very large syringe with medication and stabbed Danny's chest with it, then he shocked Danny twice more.
"Damn it, Danny, come on! I'm not going lose you! You're not dead! You're not shot, so wake the hell up! Please, wake up!" Sean pled desperately as he cried and shocked Danny once more, causing the monitor to beep once. "Come on. Come on, Danny, please." He cried as he rubbed a very hard fist on Danny's chest, causing the monitor to beep more. "Wake up, Danny. Please. Come on, munchkin. Let me see those puppy dog eyes of yours, little brother. I know you can do it. I know you can." Sean said crying as he soothed and kissed Danny's head like a child, causing him to cry more and embrace Danny tightly but carefully, as he shook, when Danny took a breath and opened his eyes to a crack.
Meanwhile, Jeff checked on Ritchie's injuries as he placed two fingers on his neck.
"You don't have to worry about him ever again. He's dead." Jeff said, slightly pleased.
As soon as he heard those words, Danny began shaking and crying weakly but emotionally, causing Sean to hold him tighter as he continued crying.
"Sean, calm down. Danny's okay, but you're hurt. We've got to get you downstairs now. Come on." Jack said compassionately as he and Jeff tried to gently stand him up, causing Sean to push away from them and hold Danny tighter until Danny cried pained.
"Like hell I'm leaving him. I'm not going anywhere. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me." Sean cried angrily and emotionally out of fear as the events of the past and present collided like runaway freight trains and he shook violently.
All of a sudden, Dr. Foster showed up in the room with several FBI agents in tow.
"Sean!" Dr. Foster gasped fearfully when he saw Sean's throat, chest and hands covered in blood. Apparently, in the scuffle with Ritchie over the gun, Ritchie had managed to stab him several times.
"I'm sorry, Sir. I tried to stop him but he came anyway." An FBI said somewhat nervously of Jack's reaction.
"It's fine. Start processing the scene and hurry up and get this piece of shit out of here. He's already caused enough trouble." Jack said gruffly out of concern and then rushed to Martin's side when he noticed the blood.
"Martin, you're bleeding." Jack said as he grabbed Martin's arm.
"Forget about me, Jack. Danny and Sean need the help now. What's the matter with him?" Martin said sniffling, still shaken as he gestured toward Sean and tried to regain his composure, causing Dr. Foster to grab a hold of Sean and force him to let go of Danny.
"Let me go." Sean cried fearfully and terribly upset as he tried to grab a hold of a Danny.
"Calm down right now and look at me, Sean. It's me, your father. Daniel is fine and Richard can't hurt either of you anymore. You're safe. Now, leave Daniel alone and sit still so that I can take care of your injuries." Dr. Foster said sternly as he held Sean's face in his hands, causing him to shake Sean's face roughly when Sean growled and cried furiously. "Sean Novak, you stop that right now." He said very harshly, causing Sean to suddenly blink rapidly and cry confused but somewhat fearfully as he looked around the around the room.
"Dad? What happened?" Sean cried fearfully and then tried to take a hold of Danny when he saw him. "Danny!" He cried fearfully but Dr. Foster wouldn't let him hold Danny.
"Calm down, son. Everything is going to be. But right now, I have to take care of yours and Agent Fitzgerald's injuries." Dr. Foster said with a heavy sigh of relief as he sat Sean down on a chair and began treating his injuries.
"What's wrong with him?" Jack asked somewhat gruffly.
"I'm sorry that you had to see that. But ever since Ritchie attacked him and left him for dead, Sean has suffered from panic attacks. He hasn't had one in a very long time, but with everything that's been going on and that animal hurting them again, it was bound to happen again. But he'll be okay soon." Dr. Foster said kindly as he finished bandaging Sean's wounds and injected a medication into Sean's arm, causing Dr. Foster to softly chuckle amused when Sean growled angrily at him like a petulant child.
"It's your turn, Agent Fitzgerald. How are you feeling? Besides your arm and emotionally, did that animal hurt you anywhere else?" Dr. Foster said kindly but concerned as he put on new gloves and began cleaning and stitching the knife wound on Martin's arm.
"No, I'm fine. Now, forget about me. How's Danny? He was just dead a minute ago, damn it." Martin said angrily as more tears escaped his eyes but then he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Dr. Foster. I know that you're just trying to help." Martin said regretfully as he sniffled but Dr. Foster smiled softly and shook his head.
"Don't worry about it, Agent Fitzgerald. I understand." Dr. Foster said kindly as he smiled softly. "That's a pretty good cut. You're lucky. Another inch and he would've severed an artery. Okay, so, it took fourteen stitches to close up your wound. Now, I'm going to need you to keep it dry and change the dressings twice a day. And I'm also going to need you to return in two weeks to remove the stitches, okay? And before I forget…don't tell me that you don't need it either, because you were cut with a hunting knife and we have no idea if it's clean or not. So, you're getting the Tetanus Booster as well." Dr. Foster said a bit sternly but kindly as he prepared a syringe.
"But…Ow!" Martin yelped in pain, causing everyone, including Danny, to suddenly laugh, when Dr. Foster injected him without telling him.
"That's it. I'm all finished." Dr. Foster chuckled amused.
"You're such a wuss, Fitzy." Danny chuckled weakly but then began coughing violently.
"Danny!" Martin said fearfully as he tried getting out of bed, causing Jack and Jeff to sit him back down.
"Calm down. He'll be all right in a moment. But he's not supposed to be laughing." Dr. Foster said caringly as he raised Danny's oxygen level to the highest pressure, causing Danny to stop coughing a minute later as he shook. "Now, Daniel, I know that it hurts but you must calm down and take slow breaths." He said caringly, causing Danny to nod and breathe slowly.
Danny was going to say something, when Chuck suddenly called out to Jack.
"Jack." Agent Chuck said with a serious look on his face after he read and now held an envelope that he found in Ritchie's pocket, causing Jack to read it and look at him furiously.
"Burn this piece of shit as soon as you get outside of this hospital and don't ever let Danny know that it ever existed. Do you understand me?" Jack whispered sternly but barely audible, causing Agent Chuck to clench his teeth.
"I understand, Jack. I'll make sure he never reads this sick son of a bitch's letter to him." Agent Chuck whispered irately as he shook a bit out of anger and made a tight fist, causing Jack to gently squeeze and tug his shoulder.
"Calm down, Chuck. Ritchie's dead and he'll never hurt anyone again. We've already got men on the rest of his accomplices and Danny and the others are going to be okay, all right? Just get rid of the letter and this garbage cleared away from here. I don't want Danny to keep seeing it." Jack whispered compassionately.
"You're right, Jack. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose it like that." Agent Chuck whispered with a heavy sigh as he put the letter in his pocket without the others noticing.
"No worries, Chuck. Just get that garbage out of here and this mess cleaned up and processed. Then afterwards, you can take off for the weekend but I do expect your reports in by Monday morning when you come into work, got it?" Jack said in a mock gruff tone to Chuck and the other agents who were in the room, causing them to nod smiling.
"Yes, Sir." The agents said respectfully as they gathered Ritchie's body into a body bag. "We'll send some of our own to clean the rest of this off now, sir. Excuse us." One agent said respectfully and then they all left as they carried out Ritchie's covered body on a gurney.
"Are you getting soft on me, Jack? Oh, man. You're getting old." Danny quipped with a weak smile as he chuckled weakly, causing him to stop laughing when Dr. Foster smiled but gave him a serious look.
"Not too old that I can't still kick your ass. Now, quit scaring the hell out of me, will you? You see that?" Jack said in a mock stern tone as he pointed to the top of his head. "That's a bald spot with your name on it, so cut it out. I want your lazy butt out of bed already; all of you. Do you understand me?" Jack said caringly as he took a tight but careful hold of Danny's hand in a brotherhood grip, causing Danny to grip his hand weakly as tears escaped his eyes and he shook a bit.
"Thank you." Danny cried softly but weakly until his entire body went limp and his lolled to the side as his eyes closed, causing Jack and Martin to gasp horrified.
"Danny? Danny!" Jack and Martin said fearfully but Sean and Dr. Foster shook their heads.
"Calm down, you guys. My little brother's going to be okay now. But he's going to be sleeping a lot during the next few days. He's going to be in a lot of pain but I'm going to keep him comfortable. Nobody else is going to hurt him again." Sean said softly as he carefully embraced Danny and soothed and kissed his head like a child as tears escaped his eyes.
"And you guys and the rest of your team are going to be okay too. You'll see." Sean said kindly as he sniffled and tried to shake their hands but Jack and Martin embraced him tightly, causing Sean to laugh crying.
"First you guys were trying to kick my ass and now you hug me? I hate to see what you do to my little brother's enemies." Sean laughed crying, causing everyone to laugh amused. "Anyway, about your other friends, Vivian's going to be okay. The one we're a little concerned about is Sam's injuries. So, the best orthopedic surgeons we have, great friends of ours, are going to do her surgery in three days and they're going to do everything they can to make everything okay again." Sean said kindly as he sniffled, causing Jack and Martin to nod and sigh heavily.
"I guess all we can really do now is wait and hope for the best." Martin said softly but with conviction, causing everyone to nod.
3 Days Later…
"Sean? How is she? How's Sam?" Danny said softly as he swallowed hard when Sean entered his hospital room, causing Sean to embrace him protectively tight and soothe his head like a child.
"I'm sorry, kiddo. Sam's still not awake but I do have some good news." Sean said caringly as he sat next to Danny and took a hold of his hand in a brotherhood grip.
"What good news are you talking about?" Danny said softly as his voice shook and he sniffled, causing Sean to smile softly and hold his hand a little tighter.
"Well, we were very concerned about Sam having extensive nerve and other damage. But thankfully, the surgery this morning went well. The surgeon was able to repair the damage that her assailant caused when he slashed her wrists. Now, she will need to wear special splints for a couple of months that go from her fingers to her forearms. And she's also going to need extensive rehabilitative therapy but we feel that she's going to make a complete recovery and she'll be able to return to work eventually. But more importantly, she's going to need to need the love and support of her family and friends, including you, Danny. You all need to get through all of this together." Sean said caringly as he smiled softly but Danny shook his head and began crying softly as he covered his face.
"I already told you that I can't go back. I already told Jack that I'm quitting the FBI and told him to expect my letter of resignation as soon as you let me out of here. I'm not going back after almost getting everyone killed Sean, so you can forget it." Danny cried somewhat angrily, but at himself, as he angrily wiped away his tears.
"Danny, you can't quit. You love being an FBI agent more than anything. And if you think that Jack is going to let you quit, you're sadly mistaken, little brother. Jack's not taking your stupid resignation. Like he told me, if you so much as try to quit on him, he'll drag your ass back to headquarters in handcuffs. But you know what--I'm not going to let you quit either, Danny." Sean said a bit sternly but caringly, causing Danny to look at him angrily as he cried.
"Well, that's not up to any of you, is it? That's my choice and whether anyone likes it or not, I'm quitting, damn it. I don't deserve to wear the badge after almost getting everyone killed. And like Ritchie said, a murderer like me never should've been given a badge after I killed Sebastian." Danny cried angrily through gritted teeth as his mouth quivered violently and tears stained every crevice of his face, causing tears to escape Sean's eyes as he held Danny's hand tightly with one hand and Danny's face and head with the other as he forced Danny to look at him.
"That garbage you just said never better leave your mouth again. Do you understand me? Or I swear that I'll kick your sorry ass for letting Ritchie get in your head like that. You are not a murderer. The only murderer here was Ritchie and now he's dead. He can't ever hurt anyone again. And how dare you sit there and tell me that you don't deserve that badge, Danny? Why don't we ask all those victims you've helped, since becoming an agent and even before that, if you don't deserve to wear the badge? Look, you're just saying all this because you're hurting and afraid, Danny. But don't let Ritchie torture you anymore from beyond the grave because that's what he wants and you're not going to give it to him. You know why? Because it'll be a cold day in hell before me or anyone else lets you quit what you live for. So, get that shit out of your head once and for all." Sean cried sternly but caringly and with conviction through gritted teeth.
"Just leave me alone, Sean. My mind's made up and nothing's going to change it." Danny cried through gritted teeth as he sniffled and tried to look away, causing Sean to force Danny to look at him.
"You're not quitting and that's final." Sean cried sternly but caringly through gritted teeth as he forced Danny to look at him.
Danny was going to argue with Sean again, when there was a knock on Danny's hospital room door. It was Nurse Vicky with a wheelchair. "What's going on?" He cried softly but angrily through gritted as he looked at Sean harshly but Sean just sniffled and smiled softly.
"Come on. Help me get him into the chair. Be careful." Sean said kindly as he smiled softly and they carefully sat Danny on the wheelchair.
"What are you doing? I thought you said that I didn't need anymore tests for now." Danny quietly cried angrily but almost like a child, causing Sean to smile softly and soothe and kiss his head.
"No. No more tests for now, munchkin. I'm taking you to visit Sam downstairs." Sean said caringly as they wheeled Danny into the elevator, causing Danny to immediately cry and shake his head as he tried to get up but Sean and Nurse Vicky carefully sat him down. "No, Danny. You have to see her." Sean said a bit sternly but caringly as he held on to Danny, causing Danny to quietly cry furiously but like a child.
"I almost killed her, you asshole! She almost died because of me! I'm not going to see her! So, just stay out of my life!" Danny quietly cried furiously but like a child as he held his head, causing Sean to embrace him protectively tight as tears escaped his eyes.
"Shut up! Just shut up, Danny! You didn't almost kill her, all right! Now, you're going to go in to see Sam and that's final. Otherwise, this is all going to eat away at you and I'm not going to lose you now after everything that we've been through. I'm never going to lose you. So, calm down and breathe because you're going in to see her and you're going now. So, let's go." Sean cried sternly as he soothed and kissed Danny's head repeatedly and then released him.
"Vicky, take him inside to see Sam and I'll be right there." Sean said when they arrived at the ICU. "Oh, and if he tries to run, restrain him to the damn chair." Sean said gruffly but caringly as he ruffled Danny's head once more, causing Danny to move away angrily as he quietly cried like an angry child.
Nurse Vicky smiled sympathetically and led Danny to Sam's ICU room, causing him to cover his face and quietly cry more when he saw Sam covered in bandages up to her elbow, tubes and wires connected to every crevice in her body and a ghastly black and blue bruising revealing where here her assailant had nearly succeeded in squeezing the life out of her.
"Shhh. I know she looks terrible, but she's actually doing better, honey. Her vitals are more stable, there's no sign of infection…" Nurse Vicky said caringly but couldn't continue when Danny cut in.
"That doesn't matter. She hasn't woken up and it's all my fault. I caused this." Danny quietly cried upset, causing Nurse Vicky to suddenly embrace him from behind.
"You're wrong, sweetie. You didn't cause this; that Ritchie person did. And I know it's hard, but you have to learn to accept that you haven't done anything wrong. And you may tell me to shut up and mind my business or that I don't know you. But caring for you these last several days, I've learned all I need to know about you. You're a good person with a wonderful heart. In all this time, with that madman on the loose here, you've never once cared about yourself. Instead, you've spent your time worrying only for your brother, your friends and their families. So, for your sake and for everyone you love, do not let that madman Ritchie ruin your life anymore. Move on with your life, all of you, together." Nurse Vicky said caringly as she soothed Danny's head softly and then released him.
Danny sat there shaking and quietly crying emotionally as Nurse Vicky's words hit him hard like a ton of bricks, causing her to softly smile sympathetically and gently squeeze his shoulder.
"You take all the time you need, sweetie. And when you're ready, you just call me and I'll come back to take you upstairs." Nurse Vicky whispered caringly and then left the room.
As soon as Nurse Vicky left the room, Danny laid his forehead carefully on Sam's shoulder and quietly cried very emotionally as he held his head. He continued crying for five minutes until he calmed down enough to talk five minutes later as he soothed Sam's head.
"Sam, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. None of this would've happened if I would've just let Ritchie kill me that morning. You got hurt because of me. Because I ran away like a miserable coward, Ritchie went after all of you to get revenge. I did this to you, to all of you. That's why I'm turning in my badge to Jack as soon as Sean gives me the okay to get out of here. And after that, none of you'll have to see me ever again. You won't ever get hurt again because of me--none of you." Danny quietly cried hurt but couldn't continue any longer, causing him to lay his head next to Sam and hold it as he quietly cried extremely emotionally and shook.
Danny hadn't realized it, but Sam had been awake before he entered the room and she'd also heard what he'd just said. So, tears escaped her closed eyes, causing her to open her eyes slowly and weakly soothe Danny's head with her own as her heart ached. But Danny wouldn't look up though, causing Sam to weakly soothe his head again with her own head as more tears escaped her eyes.
"If you quit, I quit, Danny." Sam cried weakly as tears continued streaming down her face and she weakly soothed Danny's face again with her own, causing Danny to quietly cry more emotionally and shake his head.
"Sam, please, just shut up. Please. You don't know what you're talking about." Danny quietly cried emotionally as he held his head.
"I know perfectly well I'm talking about. So, if you think you're going to quit the team alone, think again. If you quit, then I'm leaving with you. We're a family, Danny and what one does, the others do too. But either way…you're…not…a…damn…quitter. So, put…that…resig…nation…where…the sun…doesn't…shine…Danny. you're…stuck…with us…forever." Sam cried weakly until complete darkness took over, causing Danny to lay his head next to Sam and quietly cry distraught as he held his head.
Several minutes passed and Danny managed to calm down. Sean went in to check on Sam and found her deeply asleep and began to lead Danny outside of the room, in the wheelchair, when tears escaped his eyes and he looked back at Sam.
"No one will ever hurt you again because of me, baby. I'll always love you like a kid sister. Goodbye, Sam. Forever." Danny silently cried heartbroken and then Sean led him out of the room and led him away.