"Mickey." Jack spread his hands in a gesture of despair. "Have you thought about your career?"
Mickey smiled. "Of course."
Zain moved a little, and stiffened. Mickey carefully shifted his grip as Zain burrowed closer. His good hand came up to clutch at Mickey's shirt front.
"Zain..." Mickey tried to soothe his injured friend, as Zain's face contorted in agony.
Jack moved to press the bell for assistance, Mickey held on while Zain clung to him, shivering.
The nurse clucked her disapproval of Mickey sitting on the bed, but Zain refused to let go his grip of Mickey's shirt. Since he was already tired and distressed and the operation on his shoulder was only a few hours away, Mickey was staying.
The nurse increased the painkiller dose, and left them alone again.
Jack passed a weary hand through his hair, pulled off his overcoat, carefully hanging it on the hook provided by the door. Pulling up a chair he sat by the bed.
"If you're staying, I should."
Mickey frowned. "Jack..."
"Why do you think you have to do this?" Jack looked Mickey right in the eye.
Mickey flushed, he wasn't sure what he could say in the circumstances, the truth? What the hell was the truth?
"He doesn't." The words were so faint, Jack almost couldn't be sure he had heard them. Zain opened his eyes, "he doesn't..." a spasm of pain crossed his face and he coughed a little, as though it was too much effort to speak.
Mickey's fingers caressed the back of Zain's neck in a soothing motion, almost absently as though he were not aware of doing it. Jack took in the expression on his DC's face and realised that something had changed. The feeling he'd had when Zain and Mickey had worked together come true. Whatever the difficulties, Mickey would be standing by Zain.
This was no one-sided love. Through the light of suffering in his disgraced former officer's eyes, Jack could read that this emotion was returned. A tightness in his throat, as he wished that this had happened before, before Kirsten and the destruction of Zain Nadir's life.
Before Zain had been beaten and broken like this.
Because unless Jack was very much mistaken, Zain's one last hope in the world was this love he shared. It was all he had left to cling to, and if he lost that; Jack didn't want to think about the consequences.
Whatever Zain had done, Jack could not abandon him entirely. In that moment Jack knew he was going to do whatever he could to help.
...ooo0ooo...
Mickey's hip ached from holding the same position for so long, but he didn't want to let go. Zain was resting almost peacefully in his arms. It was the early hours of the morning, a hint of grey in the pre-dawn light outside; Jack had gone, finally convinced that his DC hadn't taken leave of his senses. That Mickey knew what he was doing both personally and professionally.
On the personal front Mickey was sure. Professionally?
His original job had been to get Zain to talk about what had happened to him. Even hints about it had caused Zain very real distress. He was already in so much physical pain, Mickey couldn't bear to make his suffering any worse.
It was getting harder to be detached about this, he had to ask, there was no force on earth that could force Zain to tell. And Mickey did not want to even try to force him.
Alone with Zain, with no one watching, Mickey could be himself. Surprised by love, up until two days ago he had believed that he hadn't really thought of Zain in that way except perhaps in quiet dark moments alone; then Kirsten Shaw had appeared and Zain had destroyed himself for her. Mickey had tried to forget his friend with Mia.
It hadn't worked. He had known he was all washed up with Mia. He tried to hate Zain. He thought he'd finally had a handle on that; until he had pushed open the door to Zain's hospital room and seen him again.
Zain moved. Stiffening a little, and Mickey's hand went out to reach for the bell.
"No." Zain groaned.
"Mate... you're in agony."
"Won't be... feeling ... a ... thing." Zain gasped.
Mickey gently rubbed the back of Zain's neck. "Sssshhh... save your strength."
Zain shook his head. A very slight movement.
"Zain?" Mickey was worried. This was not like Zain at all. "Zain, what happened to you?" he prompted gently. His friend burrowed closer, shivering in pain, his distress over-whelming.
"did they..?" Mickey trailed off, he just couldn't ask that, but Zain nodded as he fell to pieces.
Mickey could only hold him close, as grief and fear let loose.