"Stop! Drop the weapon and face me with your hands up!" commands Sharon, her voice steely as she addresses Samuel.
Between Sharon, Sanchez and Andy, they manage to surround Samuel, with Flynn standing behind him, gun cocked at his back. In front of Samuel, Sharon and Julio stand with their weapons firmly trained on him as he grips his own gun loosely in his hand. A look of sheer terror crosses his features; in Sharon's experience, this look can mean one of two things. One, he's going to drop the gun and attempt to plead for a deal; or two, he's going to steady his grip on the gun and make some sort of threat in an attempt to escape unscathed. Unfortunately, Samuel does neither, directing his gun instead at Sharon and squeezing the trigger.
For a beat, silence seems to fill the air as Samuel is deafened by his own shot and Flynn and Sanchez freeze, their responses momentarily distracted by the possibility of one of their own being injured. Without warning, Sharon's body seems to arc backwards before folding in on itself, yet she remains standing. In the same moment, Flynn and Sanchez cock their guns at Samuel, Sanchez's bullet reaching Samuel first and hitting him square in the chest.
Just as before, silence rings out following the shots, and Sharon clasps her blouse tightly to her, attempting to stem the flow of blood. Pain spears through her body, her shoulder throbbing and pulsating as it sends waves of agony undulating through her body. Her fingers become instantly soaked with her own blood, but still she clamps her hand down firmly, knowing that she has to try and pressurise the wound as much as possible – she just can't remember why, right now.
"Sharon!" Andy calls, rushing to her side as he tucks his firearm into its holster on his hip. Reaching her hunched frame, he takes her elbow, supporting her weight. "Where were you hit?"
"Shoulder," she grunts, gritting her teeth.
Pulling her towards a nearby fence, Andy sets Sharon down, signalling to Julio to call for an ambulance. "You're going to be alright, Sharon," he murmurs gently.
She nods sharply, clenching her jaw against a wave of pain that seems to radiate down her spine, her vision blurring due to its intensity. Andy kneels in front of her, placing his hand on her wounded shoulder, his jaw setting at the sight of her blood soaking through the plum blouse he'd admired this morning.
"This is going to hurt," he warns her quietly as he presses his hand firmly to her wound, attempting to ignore the look of pain that contorts the very crevices of Sharon's face.
She sucks in a pained breath, nodding harshly as she exhales an "I'm fine".
"Good, then we can still go to dinner tonight," he murmurs charmingly, hoping to distract her from the pain, noting the tracks of tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I don't think I'll be able to wear anything scanty with the dressings," she groans semi-apologetically, her throat constricted by her effort to stop from crying out.
"Guess I'll just have to use my imagination," jokes Andy, eliciting a pained and breathy chuckle from Sharon.
Behind Andy there appears to be some commotion as the EMTs arrive on-scene and are directed to Sharon's side by Julio.
"We've got her from here," says one firmly but reassuringly to Andy, placing her own hand over Sharon's small shoulder. At the same time, a second EMT busies himself with Sharon, checking her pulse and cognition as he helps her sit up on the gurney. Andy steps away and is pained by the sight of Sharon being pushed towards the Ambulance. Striding rapidly over to Julio, Andy ascertains that he isn't needed on-scene - after all, it was Julio's shot that hit the suspect, so FID won't need to interview him. Clear on the details, he borrows Julio's keys to the unmarked squad car, intending to follow Sharon to the hospital.
He arrives moments after she does, waiting impatiently in the visitors' room for some sign that he can see her. His stomach twists at the thought that she might suffer complications – something to do with her age or some underlying medical condition that he isn't aware of. His mind can't help but veer into the realm of worst case scenarios, and Andy feels himself becoming more and more agitated as time wears on. His hands ball into tight fists each time a new thought strikes him, his nails digging cruelly into the palms of his hands. Concern for Sharon drowns all other thoughts, as he waits in silence, refusing even to get himself some water or coffee until he hears that she's fine.
Two hours later, Andy is directed to a curtained bed by a nurse. He approaches it nervously, hoping that she's fine, but also conscious of the fact that she's probably been undressed to deal with the wound. The sound of Sharon's protestations can be heard from an impressive distance, and Andy chuckles with relief, surmising that if she's well enough to protest, she's well enough to go home with him. Stepping behind the curtain, Andy lifts his lips in a smile, greeting Sharon silently as she turns to see who has just entered her cubicle. Noting that it's him, she returns his smile confidently, reassuring him that she's fine.
"Please tell the nurse that I am capable of caring for myself, Andy," mutters Sharon with distaste, wanting nothing more than to relax at home – preferably with Andy.
"Can't do that, Sharon. You might need further medical attention," he murmurs back, concern colouring his features.
"It's a graze – not nearly as bad as what you had when you were attacked or as other shots I've taken in the line of duty," she reasons.
"I can hear you, you know," states the nurse with some amusement. "Now, look, all I said was that I don't want you going home alone and trying to take care of yourself, by yourself, at least, not for tonight."
"No need to worry about that, ma'am," says Andy clearly, "I'll be taking her home and keeping an eye on her."
"Good! Then by all means, go home. Just remember not to wet your stitches, and to come back in a couple of months to get them removed. If there's any pain or swelling, take a painkiller. If it persists and you're feverish, come back as quick as you can and we'll see what the problem is. Other than that, you're free to go home, Ms. Raydor."
"Great," mutters Sharon sarcastically, annoyed that the nurse feels the need to treat her like an invalid for a shoulder injury. That said, she's seen some pretty nasty shoulder wounds in her day, and she thinks that she should probably count herself lucky that she just has a nasty (took-a-chunk-out-of-her-shoulder, nasty) graze. That, and she probably won't be cleaning the blood out of her hair anytime soon, and that in itself is infuriating enough.
"I'll just get your paperwork sorted out, and you can be on your way," smiles the nurse, turning on her heel to dispose of the latex gloves that had encased her hands moments previously.
As the nurse leaves, Andy fires a sardonic grin at Sharon, noting the irritation on her features. "See, I bust you out of here, just like you asked," he jokes, a chuckle bubbling from his lips.
"No, you promised to babysit me – two very different things," retorts Sharon, only half-annoyed by the fact that he'd had to do it. At least it means that she's definitely spending the rest of the day with him.
"Babysit, bust out – same difference really," he grins charmingly, "and now you get to spend a lovely evening with me – as prescribed by the doctor, no less."
"And they'd told me that I'd hate my medicine," she purrs sarcastically.
"Ouch," responds Andy easily, "you wound me. Medicine? I'd say I'm more of a treat," he replies suggestively.
"And does my treat plan to feed me? I'm starving," she fires back, deadpan.
"Discharge then dinner – get your priorities straight, woman!"
At this, Sharon allows herself to laugh, truly happy that she has Andy to herself for the night, even if it meant getting shot to achieve it.
"Discharge then dinner it is, then."
Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please leave a review :) I'd like to thank the reviewers I'm unable to via PM: Maggles and Deb57 - I really appreciate the reviews! Things are going to get a little crazy for me in the next few weeks (deadline week followed by finals) so I might not be able to update as frequently. I promise to try, though!