First Date

These good fellows don't belong to me but I promise when I'm done to pick um up, dust um off and with a kiss on the cheek return them safely home.

"A life is a incredibly fragile thing, but the human mind is even more so."

Endless thanks for the reviews! More please.

Chapter 12

Roy was so proud of Chris and how well he had handled the whole situation. His children were strong and interacted very well with adults and a part of him had to credit that to Joanne. He was the more shy of the pair but thier mother had encouraged their independence all along the way. As long as they knew that someone was watching over them they were adventurous and brave. He stood tall next to his dad and calmly identified all three of the men for the police that he had seen in the barn that day. For Roy it was an internal comfort to know that they were in the hands of the police as his mind went back to the one he loved. It was now up to the police to get the truth from them so, with their part done, the father and son headed back to the ranch to join the others.

After pulling down the long driveway to the front of the house Chris eagerly jumped out full of excitement to tell his Uncle Johnny about his trip and what he had done. He was very proud of himself and the way his dad looked at him made him feel so much more grown up. Roy watched him run up the stairs as he closed his own door. It was getting dark now and the chilly night air was settling in. With his stomach now growling he hoped that Johnny had started dinner. Lost in his own thoughts he ran straight into Chris who was in the doorway and not moving.

"Keep moving buddy," Roy said with a smile until he looked over Chris's head to see a body lying in the hallway. His first thought was Johnny and as his stomach tightened he pushed Chris to the side and rushed past him and down the hall to find it was Paul. The paramedic came out instantly in him as he ripped open his shirt to better assess the blood all over his chest. It looked like a gunshot wound and his mind went in twenty directions at once. The marked pallor of his skin and the ever growing pool of blood in the floor told Roy that he had been there for a while. Placing his fingers at his neck, Roy felt for a pulse. "Come on Paul," he whispered. It was very faint and very slow but it was there. He looked up to see Chris staring at the injured man in front of them. He knew Chris was fond of Paul, the man who helped him so much to gain his confidence in not only riding but handling the horses at the farm.

"Chris, go to the kitchen and call dispatch. Hurry son." Roy's voice was calm and controlled even though all he wanted to do was scream. He knew that Chris needed to stay calm and be able to follow his directions.

"Paul!" He shook his shoulder. Getting no response he took his fist and did a sternal rub on his chest. He had to know what happened. Deep down he calculated that the fire response would be too long. The ranch was off the beaten path and it would take up to twenty minutes for a squad to respond. He knew that Paul didn't have that time left.

Slowly his eyes opened up.

"Paul, its Roy. What happened?"

The man licked his dry lips as he body worked hard to draw in each breath. He needed to tell Roy what he saw but even though the words were in his head they weren't coming out his mouth like he wanted them to.

"Man…"

Roy shook his head in a quick motion. Getting just bits and pieces was expected from the dying man. "A man was here?"

His eyes started to close again, his breaths were now ragged and gasping. Nothing moved on his body except his chest and the sensation of no longer feeling the rest was more than a little odd. "Paul! Where are they?" Roy's chest was held in a vice grip of fear. "Paul, please."

They were too heavy, he couldn't open his eyes anymore but he heard Roy's plea, "Took…them."

Roy knew that his time with this man was almost up, "Did you know the man?"

"No," it was barely a whisper.

"Paul, did Kanda or Johnny now him?" He had to find something out and fast.

"He …had…Jenn." He took a gasp.

Roy felt nauseated; chest pain was taking his own breath away. Jenny. God, where were they. He looked back down to Paul.

"Kanda…sorry. Didn't…protect…her."

"Don't give up Paul," Roy said knowing what this was going to do to her. But Paul took a shuddering breath then stopped. Placing his hand on his chest Roy felt no movement then moving it to his carotid he could no longer find a pulse. He began chest compressions.

"Dad, where's Jenny?"

Roy turned to see the very scared face of his son, "We'll find her Chris. Did you get dispatch?"

"Yes sir. They are on the way." He was trembling as he watched his father try to help Paul. He knew what his dad did at work but he had never seen it. He watched the grown up that he looked up to more than anyone else in the world press onto the chest then move to his face and breathe air into his lungs. The rhythmic movements were almost mesmerizing until he looked down and saw the pool of blood press against his shoes. Stepping back he felt the wall behind him and for a moment he felt trapped.

Roy watched his oldest child closely, "Chris, can you go call Mr. Stanley for me? The number is in my wallet." He knew that Hank couldn't do anything right now but he needed Chris to stop watching him. He could see the fear behind the brave front that Chris was trying to show him.

Chris moved to his side and he quickly stopped and pulled out his wallet and handed it to Chris. As he resumed the cycle of compressions and breaths he watched him go back into the kitchen. Turning around he asked, "What do I tell him?"

"Just get him on the phone and I'll talk to him okay?"

Chris nodded and went back to the kitchen.

Compressions and breaths. Paul only continued to bleed as each pump of his heart force more blood to come out of his chest. Roy knew it was too much. His arms ached and his breath was short as he continued to hard work alone. There was no sense of time for him while he tried to focus his mind away from the horrible thoughts and images it seemed to come up with. They were all so important to him and loving them all he felt a urgency to find them quickly. Being in the dark over who took them and where they were was all that consumed his thoughts. Paul said the man had Jenny. It was not an image he wanted to think about but it brought back the man in the truck from his memory. Who was he? What was his connection with Kanda?

"Dad, I hear them." Chris's voice wavered slightly.

Thank God, Roy thought. He knew that Paul was gone but couldn't bring himself to stop. He continued to try for Kanda. This man was her friend and he wouldn't give up yet. Soon it would be in their hands to make that decision.

Within a few seconds the sirens were close enough that Roy could focus and hear them too. He could hear the three different sounds of the police, fire and rescue vehicles. It was too late for Paul. He only prayed it wasn't too late for his family. He struggled to hold the tears back if for no one else than for Chris's sake. The boy's eyes had never left him and he knew he had to be strong for him.

Footsteps stomped up the stairs and they both jumped at the loud banging on the door. Roy just yelled "Come in" as he continued his work.

The first men through the door were sheriff deputies, followed by the men from Engine 110 and Squad 86. Brice and Collins moved right in to begin their vital signs and assessment.

"Roy, stop for a minute," Collins told him as they looked at the monitor.

They obtained vital signs, or tried to but there was no longer anything to hear, nothing to palpate. Roy sat back on his heels and watched them work for a moment and talked on the biophone. He felt someone take him by the arm. Looking up he could see Captain Layton from 110 talking to him but he wasn't hearing anything.

The Captain could see that the man was in not only in shock but there was blood all over his hands and knees. "Roy?" The blue eyes looked at him but were not seeing him. He shook his shoulder, "Roy!" He needed to make sure that none of the blood was his. "Are you hurt?"

"Cap?" He leaned against the wall as he watched the two medics close up their boxes and put a blanket over Paul's body. Layton motioned for Brice to come over and assess the dazed fireman.

"Make sure that none of this blood is his," the Captain directed him then went over to the deputies. After taking a moment to talk to them he returned.

"He's uninjured Captain," Brice firmly reported.

Layton took him and pulled him down the hall to the living room. Pushing on his shoulder he made the senior medic sit down in a chair. He bent over to him, "Roy, what happened?" A man was dead, his blood all over Roy and the police wanted answers.

Roy knew he had to pull it together for the sake of his family. "I don't know. Chris and I just got back and found him."

The first officer walked up to Roy. The blood and the implication were strong to him and not knowing who Roy was didn't help matters. "How do you know this man?"

"He's the ranch manager, Paul Jackson." Roy looked up to suddenly realize that he was surrounded by people. He focused on the familiar face, "This is Kanda Gage's farm, Johnny's sister."

The Captain nodded, "Where are they at Roy?"

Roy stood up quickly, "He stood them. The man that shot Paul took them Cap."

"They were taken?" The officer asked.

"Yes. Call Detective Carter he knows about the threats made against Kanda and my family. We were out here today because we thought it was one of her ranch hands."

"Seems we were way off base Roy."

Roy was never so glad to see him walk through the door, "Carter it's someone else. He took Kanda, Johnny and he has Jenny."

The man took Roy by the shoulder, "We'll find them." The grief in the mans eyes were obvious and the blood all over him told he had been through a lot already.

Roy was now getting upset, "How? The only man that saw him is dead."

That caught the detective off guard since he hadn't gotten fully updated yet. "Who?"

Roy lowered his head, "He shot Paul."

Carter was saddened by this information. Paul had been a possible suspect that had then turned out to be nothing but a good close friend and guardian of Kanda. It was a wasted loss of life but he had a more urgent concern. They had spent all day trying to put the threat to Kanda away and now they were back at square one. He had three kidnapped victims to find as fast as possible.

"Carter," an officer called out to him and waved him over. "Take a look at this."

Roy followed him over and watched him kneel down to inspect the pool of blood on the floor. Carter pondered for a moment as he looked down the hall. "There's no blood between here and there." Standing up he looked at the officer, "Someone else is hurt."