Note from Author: I just read all the reviews. I have a thing. I don't like to read critiques while I have thoughts and ideas in the works. Sometimes it messes me up. But I guess I will start answering some questions. First, no. I don't ever write fan fiction stories, but I am a writer and have had a couple tiny things published. Thanks to everyone who complemented my writing! I really enjoy it! And Yes, there will be more. I will probably start to update more slowly due to.. Personal life complications. But I right now will be finishing this story up here shortly, and I have another "maltara"-tactical story in the works that I have already begun writing. So yayyyyyyyyy for that! Anyways, thanks again everyone. Enjoy this next chapter. There isn't as much of that… what do you guys call it.. 'maltara', in it as the previous chapters. But my next story definitely does! Hang tight new homies. J

Blaise Corso POV

The TV screen was still consumed with images of the hostage situation down at the bank. The same, young reporter that had been on all day jumped back onto the screen. "Yes, Blake, our hostages have all been released, but there is no sign of Special Agent Natara Williams of the FBI, or of the San Francisco Police Department's Mal Fallon, who is believed to have snuck into the bank in order to save Natara, who he actually confessed he is in love with, about one week ago at her wedding to District Attorney Oscar Santos."

"Wow, that sure sounds like a giant love triangle to me. But either way, I hope that both of them are returned to our city unharmed. Hopefully soon, we have acting Captain of the police department on site, trying to control the situation."

Then, Lieutenant Anders' big head occupied the rest of the screen. "This situation is mostly under control, we're assuming the captors are still inside the building, seeing as there is still movement spotted in the main lobby area, however, I am waiting until the situation has quieted down a little further before I send my SWAT team inside the building."

"Thank you sir, but this situation has been underway for almost ten hours, when do you anticipate that it will end?"

"Like I said, Soon. We're just waiting on the tiniest of signals from either Natara or Mal, trained police agents, that it is safe to proceed into the building, and we will do so."

I had a bad feeling about it. Just a straight up bad feeling.

Mal Fallon

Natara's head had gracefully planted itself on my shoulder. It had been a few hours, and sure, I was tired, but not tired enough to let myself fall asleep while Natara was sleeping. Not here, anyways.

I waited and waited, just eyeing the guards. I didn't know what my plan was. I knew that as far as escaping went, we would have to do it soon.

But not soon enough, right then, Esmeralda came strolling right back into the room, but this time, she didn't look like she was feeling too well.

"Rise and shine, kitty cats!" She started screaming, looking like Godzilla, getting ready to bulldoze San Francisco. Her eyes were popping out of her head, her hair was frizzy. Her face looked pale, despite her naturally tan skin. I nudged Natara awake gently, but her eyes weren't opening. Out like a light, I realized that maybe I'd be working alone here.

Esmeralda laughed. "Oh, yeah. She won't be rising anytime soon."

I looked at Natara, confused as to what she meant.

"Her gag was dipped in a highly toxic chemical, Mal. At least I had the decency to kill her softly. She didn't suffer."

My jaw dropped, seeing that Esmeralda was being honest. Natara looked very sick, the color washed from her face. Her breathing seemed slow. Her body was completely limp against my shoulder. It was disgusting, seeing her like that. I wanted to fix her. But something told me, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, that I was losing her. I had to act fast.

"Esmeralda, are you on something right now?"

She looked shocked. "No! What makes you say that? Is it the way my mind is freakin' racing? That must be it!" She picked up a giant crate that was laying in the middle of the room that the guard had been using as a chair earlier and slammed it against the wall, smashing it into a few shards of wood that fell to the floor. But she caught one. "But either way, Detective. It's been fun. It really really has. However, somebody has to do the dirty work here. And I guess… Well, I guess that's me. And it's just that… ugh. This is SO cute! Romeo and Juliet style."

I didn't have a plan, but I needed to get one. The piece of wood in her hand was sharp, and aimed right at my throat. "Be careful, Wouldn't want you to get a splinter. That wood looks quite sharp."

She looked confused, but not confused enough to remove the wood from my throat.

"… But unfortunately, Mrs. Salazar, your wood isn't sharp enough to penetrate skin. Anybody with eyes and common sense can see that. Maybe it's the drugs… you know… affecting your perception of things."

She tensed up and her teeth clenched, unleashing a vicious growl. After throwing the wood to the floor, and it crashing to pieces, she pulled out a midnight black pistol, aimed at my temple. "Mr. Fallon, I will see you in hell. Tell Jacob I send my regards."

I waited for the click, accepting my fate, but when I heard it, I didn't feel anything. ,My eyes were tightly closed shut. 'Huh.' I thought. Quick and painless.

Was I really dead? I didn't feel dead. It just felt as though my eyes were closed. So I tried to open them, and what I saw was astounding. Three dead bodies were at my feet, including the body of Esmeralda Salazar. There was a thick, velvet-like blood coming from her mouth and nose. The same had happened to the guards.

I looked over at Natara, still looking pale, her nose leaking blood just as theirs did, and decided I had to act now. I had to get Natara out of there. I scooped her up into my arms and as soon as I made it towards the door of the room. I was greeted with another gun. "FREEZE! SFPD!"

I moved to the side of the hall and out of the way. It was the SWAT teams. "I need an ambulance! Now!" I shouted towards the door, where more members still came rushing in. I checked all of her vitals. Her pulse was still there, but it was very slow. Her breathing was almost non-existent. And her heartbeat was thick and heavy. I just hoped I really wasn't too late.

5 more hours later: San Francisco General Hospital

I tried to make myself comfortable in the lobby, but it was pretty difficult. The nurses and doctors all said it was a fifty-fifty. All they can do is supply her with an oxygen pump and hope it brings her back. I leaned over my knees with my palms on my forehead, praying for Natara.

It made me think: Could I really do this? Could I be with Natara and watch her undergo life and death situations regularly, while still being her boyfriend. She wasn't my partner anymore. And as a matter of fact, she was supposed to leave and go back to Quantico today- which was something else I didn't know if I could deal with. But at the moment, all I wanted was for her to wake up and be alright.

Another hour or so later, a surprising face wandered in through the front doors. "Anders? What are you doing here? Where's Captain Yeong?"

He plopped down on the chair next to me. "Great to see you, too. I needed to talk to you. Look, with everything that's happened today… I made a decision."

"Continue." I expected the worst.

"I realized that… I can't do it. If I make Natara work alone, you're just gonna follow her. So.. You two can be partners again, Mal. I'm not going to take that away from you. However, in order for me to be able to justify this, you're going to need to keep things quiet around the station. If you two ever start dating, you cannot let the public or anybody at the precinct know."

I wondered if that was really possible, but I didn't say anything else. "Thanks, will do, Lieutenant."

"And also, today, no matter how this looks, you did the right thing. If you wouldn't have gone in there, she would have been dead."

"I trust Natara, it's Esmeralda I don't trust."

He nodded. "Rightfully so. Speaking of, Did you want to know why she died?"

"Of course."

"Well, There was trace amounts of cocaine in her system, and it made us wonder, she passed out so suddenly, was it an unintentional overdose? But actually, she's much more stupid than she lets on. The toxic chemical that she soaked Natara's rag in, she neglected to wash her hands before she laid down a line or two upstairs. So as soon as the drugs took their effect, so did the poison."

"What was the chemical?"

"They call it 'Nitro 1'. It's very popular among the drug cartels. They slip it into their client's substances sometimes, it's an easy, very quiet kill."

Easy. Quiet. Kill. I didn't like those words being tied to Natara. Anders claimed he had to go, and to take a couple of days off. I thanked him and despite my surprise, I had to contain it. The doctor came walking up to me. "Hello Mr. Falcon, I am Dr. Edwards. How are you?"

I studied the man. He was very short, but he made up for it with his muscular features. He had the hint of some kind of accent. "I'd be better if people didn't mess up my name."

He looked down at his clipboard. "Oh my- sorry, Detective Fallon. Follow me this way. Your partner is looking promising. Very promising. Is she single?"

My jaw dropped, fists clenched. "Nope. In fact, you're looking at her boyfriend."

The color drained from his face. "I was just playing around! Besides, I'm married. Anyways though, her heart monitor says she's stabilizing, and she'll be awake now any minute. Just.. Don't expect her to be super alert. It will take a few more hours for her to gain full sobriety back."

"So… she's going to be okay?" That was such a dumb question, Natara was always okay.

"Yes Sir, she will." He unlocked the door to her room, where I heard the beep… beep… beep…of her heart monitor. Combined with that were the subtle inhales and exhales of her oxygen pump. I watched her, pale, lifeless, and didn't know if I could keep my promise of not overwhelming her when she woke up.

Natara Williams

Being dead was strange. My life didn't even flash before my eyes, nor did I see Ken, or Shawn, or anybody else that died recently. Everything was just black.

However, I also felt sort of conscious. I felt like I was waking up from a very long nap. And before I could adjust, my lungs started burning. I began coughing uncontrollably. I felt suddenly warm, even though I had been cold for a while. I wanted it to stay. And then I heard a soft voice. A voice I loved. "Natara…"

I still couldn't open my eyes. The coughing stayed persistent and I didn't know what to do. I thought that death wanted to take me again. Besides, Esmeralda was going to kill me, anyways. Maybe this was better. "Natara… Come on, you're so close. Don't give up."

It was Mal. Scratch what I said, I wanted to wake up. I wanted to be with Mal. I wanted to live with him. Be near him every day, kiss him every night before bed. Kiss him every morning before the day started, hold him when he feels like giving up, hug him whenever I felt lost. I wanted to wake up. I needed to wake up.

I fought my lids with everything I had, and I pushed towards the surface. Yes, as if I was swimming up from the bottom of the ocean. I was fighting. I just wanted to breathe again. I was so close, so close… and then… I opened my eyes.