AN: I haven't been motivated to write in so long. But hey, my first lady-crush is finally having her gay awakening and it's inspired me.
Bang. Bang, Bang.
Silence.
Everything became silent. The hustle and bustle of the unfolding hostage situation suddenly ceased to exist. Just for a few moments. Just for a second.
They knew that he was armed - the entire building had been locked down when the threat came in. Lisa stood helplessly, hopelessly glaring at the Underworld factory doors. She couldn't move, rooted to the ground. She wasn't allowed to move.
It had become such an intense scene. A Detective Sergeant wasn't enough, given everything that was going on. Lisa's DI had been summoned when news spread that there were multiple hostages and several casualties. This was no longer her scene, she was no longer the incident commander. She was merely a pawn, waiting with baited breath for her next order.
In a desperate attempt to ease her growing fears, she reminded herself persistently that Betsy was at college. She wouldn't - couldn't - be inside.
Crash.
The door swung open with a loud crash, it felt like the ground shook as three of Carla's employees ran from the building. Paramedics were on hand within seconds, a pair of them running to Sean who was holding his blood-soaked shoulder.
Then she heard it.
"Mrs Connor has been shot."
Fight or flight.
Fight.
Lisa ran.
Two uniformed officers shoved her, hard, as she ran at the door. She barely felt it. She elbowed PC Tinker in the ribs and pushed past him, ignoring the demands of DI Costello. Yelling for her to return to her post, the area hasn't been confirmed to be safe. As if she could.
There were muffled cries and bloody footprints on the floor as she quickly, and quietly, made her way through the factory. She drew her pistol from her belt, feeling the weight of her stab-vest on her chest. She pressed her back against the factory wall as she slid against it to the main factory floor. Following the sounds of the cries.
Sally was tied to a chair with tape over her mouth. Realistically, the quietest that Lisa had ever seen her. Lisa bent down to untie her feet quickly - her hands could be untied when she got outside.
"Don't speak. Once you're untied, don't stand up. Get down on the ground and crawl." The instruction was simple, yet final. "Where's the attacker?"
Sally moved her head a few millimeters in the direction of Carla's office. The blinds were drawn, but Lisa could make out two figures through the shadows.
"Go." She hissed quietly once the binds loosened. "Walk out of the door with your hands in the air, there are armed police and they won't take any risks if you don't show that you're not a threat." Lisa wasn't there anymore, Detective Sergeant Swain had taken over. She was firm and Sally was quick.
She inhaled, shakily.
The factory floor was deserted. At least, Lisa assumed it was. Then she heard a whimper.
She snapped her head around quickly and saw Izzy lying on the floor, her wheelchair lying on its side a few feet away from her, staring at her with eyes that resembled a puppy that had been kicked.
"I have to disable the threat, then I'll be back for you." She whispered to her, unsure that she would even hear her. Carla had been shot, she didn't have time for anything else. She'd already delayed herself releasing Sally.
She could be dead.
This wasn't happening again. It couldn't be.
Lisa approached the office door.
"Stop messing about, Mason, do her." This was her cue. This was her moment. The moment of hesitation by the perpetrator was her time to swoop in. Be the knight in shining armor. Be DS Swain.
The office door crashed open and swung hard, Lisa hoping desperately that she'd pushed it hard enough to knock one of them over at least.
No such luck.
It all happened in a split second. She grabbed the nearest person to her and flipped him into a hold against the wall, cuffing him within seconds and kneeing him, hard, in an area that he wouldn't thank her for going forwards. One down.
Mason turned to her, pointed his gun at her with menace.
"DS Swain, how good of you to come to her rescue." He sounded confident, but Lisa could see his hands visibly shaking.
She glanced behind him and saw what she had most feared. A pool of crimson, leading to Carla, who was pale and panting desperately, slumped against her desk. Awake, but unlikely to be lucid judging by the blood coming from her flank.
Then it got worse.
There was a hand sticking out from behind the desk, holding Carla's hand for dear life. She'd know that hand anywhere, she'd seen it before. On her wife's hospital bed, doing exactly the same thing, squeezing Becky's hand for dear life as her life support was withdrawn. She wasn't supposed to be here.
"Go on then, Mason, do your worst." She was surprisingly calm.
He aimed. He fired.
He missed.
She knew her cue, she had been doing the job long enough to know. That second, when the bullet hit the glass window behind her and shattered it. That was her time. She leapt forwards and tackled the teenager to the ground, kicking the gun from his hand for good measure. She was on top of him, pressing his face into the ground with her knee. Her cuffs had been used on the other man, so she held his wrists tightly.
"Bets, pass me that tape." Betsy withdrew from her place behind the desk and quickly threw the roll of black tape from on top of it. Lisa wasted no time in wrapping layer upon layer of it around the teenagers wrists as he writhed beneath her. She pressed her knee into the back of his head harder. Once she was done taping his wrists, she grabbed her radio from her belt.
"The threat has been neutralised, the area is clear. I need medical assistance immediately, civilians down." She switched her radio to a different channel, she didn't need an answer.
"Are you ok, Bets?" She looked ok, Carla was her concern. But she was a mother first.
"Carla shoved me behind the desk and took the bullet. It was meant for me." Lisa's whole body shook and suddenly, she had a lot more strength in her knee. She withdrew it from the back of Mason's head and slammed it back down. There was a crack, likely his nose. A small price to pay. A much smaller price than Carla was paying.
Carla's breathing was shallow, her chest moving rapidly but barely. Lisa felt sick. She had seen this before. It hadn't ended well.
The office door swung open with several police officers. Lisa removed herself from the teenager's back as soon as they were in and crawled gingerly over to her friend. She removed her jacket quickly and pressed down on the wound. Police first, paramedics second. Her word wasn't good enough, they would need confirmation from the commanding office that the area was clear before the paramedics would be allowed to enter.
"Lisa," Carla began weakly, but was hushed as quickly as she spoke.
"Shh, the paramedics are coming. They'll fix you. I've got you." Lisa positioned herself behind Carla and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, leaving Carla to slump against her instead of the desk. Betsy was crying.
Lisa couldn't possibly tell anyone what happened after that.
—-
It had been a week since the shooting. Carla still hadn't woken up. It was all too familiar.
"I have every confidence that Carla will wake up." Roy's voice was focused, like he was deep in thought. Lisa hadn't left Carla's bedside since she was brought back from surgery. She waited at the hospital for 9 hours whilst surgeons operated on her and then parked herself in the chair next to Carla's bed. She only moved when she needed the bathroom. "It isn't her time. Not yet. Not for quite some time, I should presume."
"I hope so," Lisa breathed gently, holding Carla's hand loosely, tracing patterns on her soft skin. "But I thought that about Bex, too. I've been here before." She sounded broken. Roy, who was constantly observing and had a talent for reading peoples' body language, shook his head softly.
"I was sorry to hear about your wife's passing, DS Swain. It must have been a very difficult time for you." He spoke gently, not daring to place a hand on the woman that had previously wrongfully arrested him.
"It was, but Carla has really helped me to heal. Helped me to become a little bit more Lisa and a bit less DS Swain." Roy had a small smile across his lips, a knowing one. Lisa wanted to ask what he was smiling about, but she didn't really care. She looked at the factory owner's face again. The woman who had selflessly thrown herself in front of a bullet to protect her daughter, and likely to prevent her from enduring any further loss. The woman who had not considered that she, herself, would also be an astronomical loss to the Detective Sergeant.
The suspended Detective Sergeant. She knew that was coming, she defied a direct order from her superior and risked the lives of 'herself and the hostages', apparently. But the doctors at the hospital had said differently - another ten minutes, and Carla would have been dead. There were no two ways about it. Lisa had given her a fighting chance.
"Come on, lazy, it's time to wake up now. Please," Lisa's voice broke. She hadn't cried this much since the last time she was glued to the chair next to a hospital bed. She had hoped she would never have to again. Her walls had been gradually broken down by the endearing brunette and now she was exactly where she didn't ever want to be again.
—-
Ten days since the shooting.
Lisa's back was agonising from sleeping on the chair next to Carla's bed. The hospital staff had brought her cushions and a blanket to make her sleep as comfortable as possible, but all she wanted to do was crawl into the bed next to Carla and hold her whilst she slept.
The clock in the room read 09:53 when the door was pushed open gently.
"Morning, DS Swain," Lisa sighed. She had asked that Roy address her as Lisa when she was off duty, but the man held a manner of respect that was rarely found these days. How could she have ever thought that he was capable of murder? "Have you been home yet?" He knew the answer before Lisa spoke.
"Betsy brings me clothes and toiletries." She was short with her response and it told Roy everything that he needed to know. He looked down at her hands, grasping at Carla's.
He sat down in the chair that had become his. "If I might make an observation, DS Swain, if you're interested in the musings of an old man." His voice was so gentle, calming. Lisa looked up at him, silently giving him permission to continue. "It seems that you care a great deal for Carla, perhaps beyond the boundaries of friendship." It was the first time anyone had addressed it directly with her. Except for Betsy some months ago. She wasn't thrilled, but she seemed to have moved past it. At the time, Lisa couldn't admit it to herself, let alone anyone else. Funny how things seem less important at times of great need.
"Perhaps you're right, Roy," she began softly. "But it's irrelevant, Carla isn't interested in women." As if she wasn't sad enough about the whole situation.
"I don't believe that to be a deterrent for Carla. I do believe, however, that the feeling is mutual on her part." Lisa's eyes snapped up. She stared at Roy, bewilderment etched onto her face. "My wife, Hayley, she meant a great deal to Carla. And Carla to her. I don't know if Carla has ever disclosed to you that Hayley wasn't born Hayley. She was christened Harold. Gender dysmorphia, I believe is the term, but back then it wasn't as commonly accepted as it is now." Roy paused for a moment, smiling sadly to himself, clearly taking a moment to reminisce. "It took me far too long to realise, back then, that the things I fell in love with about Hayley were what was inside her, not necessarily pertaining to the body that carried them. The body, gender, it's all just a shell." Lisa could see where this was leading.
"In the many years that I have known Carla, I have always known her to fall in love so strongly with the person. She loves so fiercely and entirely, she doesn't leave anything behind, nor does she allow anything to sway her when she does fall in love. I don't believe, in my many years of experience, that something as trivial as the fact that you are female, would deter Carla from finding contentment in you."
The room was silent with the exception of the machines beeping steadily in the background. Reminding Lisa that Carla was still alive. She was breathing on her own and stood a good chance at waking up. Her body just needed to heal.
Lisa hated hospitals.
"Thank you," Roy was wise, so very wise. And very 'to the point'. "There have been moments, but I've always rebuffed her because I'm not interested in being a tour guide."
"Tour guide?" Roy's confusion was evident.
"Carla's only ever been with men, I don't want to be the one that she experiments with and then decides that it isn't for her."
"Alas, I do see the way you two interact. I see the way that Carla looks at you when she thinks that no one is looking, there is so much love there. I don't claim to be a psychologist, but I know Carla well enough to know that she is sure about you."
The room went silent again.
And then, a light squeeze of her hand. Lisa jumped at the movement and looked at Carla. Her eyelids began to flutter gently.
"Lisa," she breathed gently.
"Welcome back," Lisa's heart was thudding against her chest. Her throat was tight and the palms that were grasping Carla's were sweating profusely. "You had me worried there, Mrs Connor." Half Lisa, half DS Swain. Both women thought they were past formalities, but Lisa couldn't stop it from slipping out of her mouth.
Carla's eyes were only half open. She smiled weakly. "Tough as old boots, me," Tears threatened Lisa's eyes. Lisa was back, DS Swain was parked. "Is Betsy okay? Did they hurt her? I tried to stop them." She sounded desperate.
"Betsy's fine, darling, you saw to that." Gratitude.
The reality of what had happened set in for Lisa.
"You took a bullet for her." It was like something from a film.
Then Lisa's mind whipped around and did a full three-sixty. Now wasn't the time to worry how much of her conversation with Roy had been heard.
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Carla tried to sit up. Roy stood from his chair and gently pushed her shoulders back down.
"I don't believe that to be wise, Carla, I shall see if I can summon a nurse." He left the room. Lisa was sure she saw tears in his eyes but allowed him the dignity of leaving. He probably needed some time to gather himself, she knew that she did.
It felt so surreal, seeing Carla lying in her hospital bed where she had been for the last ten days. Only this time, she was awake.
The room was silent for a few minutes, the air heavy. "Carla, I don't even know how to thank you. You saved Betsy." There wasn't enough gratitude in the world to express how Lisa felt. Having already lost her wife, she could never have coped with losing her daughter too. Carla sighed.
"Well, the gobby little mare wasn't doing herself any favours. She didn't see the gun, thought they were messing around." Lisa rolled her eyes, of course Betsy had antagonised the deranged teenagers. Despite losing her other mother to a gunshot wound, she didn't see danger. She was just a kid.
"It was the bravest thing." Lisa pondered aloud. "I couldn't bare to lose you too, Carla. When Sean said that you'd been shot, my world stopped. I couldn't wait outside anymore, I had to run in. God, I'm in so much trouble, my DI gave me a verbal battering." It sounded so trivial, given the circumstances, that Lisa was concerned about the trouble she was in at work. She'd give it all up if it meant keeping the object of her affections safe. "Sorry, that's not important. I'm so relieved that you're awake."
Carla half-chuckled, half-whimpered as she grabbed her side where her wound was dressed. "What, you? Detective Sergeant Swain, the pinnacle of rules, defied orders?" She was astounded.
"You had been shot!" Lisa was frustrated that Carla was surprised - she'd run into a burning building to save her. She ran into a hostage situation blindly.
Roy returned, opening the door gently and bringing a doctor in tow. "Could I ask you both to leave the room please whilst I run through some observations with Mrs Connor? You can both wait outside, it shouldn't take too long." Lisa's heart sank. She needed to hear first-hand what was going on. She didn't trust Carla to be honest with her if there were any issues. "How are you feeling, Mrs Connor?"
"Heroic," Same old Carla, sarcasm dripping from her words. "And sore." She admitted, still holding her side.
Lisa reluctantly let go of Carla's hand and stood slowly from the seat that she was pretty certain she was glued to. "I'll leave you to it. We'll be back as soon as we're allowed in." How desperately she wanted to kiss Carla on the forehead before she left. With some struggle, she refrained from doing so.
She trudged across the room, her hand on the door handle. Roy was following behind.
"Lisa?" Carla called weakly from her bed. Lisa spun round at the speed of light, eyebrows raised and waiting for Carla to continue.
"I don't need a tour guide."