Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed a little back history on my new character. More details about her life will be revealed later.
Just a quick note—Occasionally characters from Fire and Med will make appearances. I don't watch either show very often, usually just the cross-overs, so I apologize for any inconsistencies, especially with Med characters. Sometimes I just need a doctor, and I don't know their actual job.
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Chapter Two-Hopefully It's Just the Beginning
Three months after her life-changing move, two months after opening her bakery, Jenna unfortunately saw the not-so-nice part of Chicago life.
"Hi, how can I help you?" Jenna asked, as two male customers walked into the bakery.
They walked toward the counter, saying nothing. When they got closer, she said again, "How can I help you?
One of them pulled a gun out of his jacket, putting it to her forehead. "You can open that register and empty everything into this bag."
Jenna froze, tears coming to her eyes.
"O-ok," she said. She tried to open the register, but out of fear and shaking hands, she couldn't get it to open.
The guy with the gun raised it over his head, hitting her in the forehead with the bottom of the gun, knocking her to the floor. She put her hand up to her head and felt blood. The guy walked around the counter and pointed the gun at her again.
"Open the register. I won't ask again."
Jenna nodded, trying to pull herself off the floor. He shoved her in front of the register and put the gun to the back of her neck. She managed to get the drawer open, and he shoved her aside, but not before she hit the silent alarm. They quickly emptied the drawer before turning back to her. The gun was pointed at her again. "Next time, we'll only ask once." He fired his gun, the shot going right past her head as she dropped to her knees.
Jenna sat on the floor until she heard the door close. She carefully stood up and was relieved to see they were gone. She was also relieved when she heard police sirens. Several officers rushed in, guns ready.
Jenna held up her hands as she walked around the counter and said, "They just left."
Two of the officers rushed to her. "I'm Detective Lindsay, and this is Officer Burgess. Are you ok?"
"I think so. I'm shaken up for sure, and I have a pretty big headache, but I'm ok."
Erin grabbed a stack of napkins, pressing them against the cut on Jenna's forehead as she helped her into a chair.
"Lindsay, I'll take over."
Jenna looked up when she heard the deep voice, chills racing down her spine. Standing over her was a very attractive officer with the deepest brown eyes she'd ever seen. Erin moved, and he sat down in front of her, holding the napkins against her head.
"I'm Sergeant Voight. Any idea how much money they got off with?"
"Not much. I don't keep very much on hand because most of my customers pay with cards. Maybe $200?"
He moved the napkins away briefly to study the gash on her forehead. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was, even with the blood running down her face. He had trouble tearing his eyes away from her, but he knew he needed to get her some medical attention. "I'm going to call an ambulance and have them take you in to get your head checked. I think it probably needs stitches."
"Ok. Thank you."
"We'll find the guys that did this to you. I promise you that."
"Thank you Sergeant."
Hank sat with her, holding the napkins against her head until the paramedics arrived. "What's your name?"
"Jenna. Jenna Richards."
"Nice to meet you Jenna. I'm sorry it had to happen like this."
Just then, the paramedics arrived. As Gabby and Sylvie walked over to them, Hank said, "This is Dawson and Brett. Dawson is the sister of my guy Dawson over there, so you are in great hands." He looked up at Gabby and Sylvie. "She probably needs stitches and maybe a CT scan. One of them hit her with a gun."
"We'll get her taken care of," Sylvie said. "Thanks Sergeant."
Hank stepped back to watch them work on her, completely ignoring his team as they worked the crime scene. Gabby and Sylvie decided Jenna did need a CT, so they took her out of the bakery on a stretcher. Hank followed them out and watched them load her into the ambulance. Before the doors were shut, he jumped in next to her.
"We'll get these guys."
"Thank you Sergeant. I appreciate everything."
"You take care of yourself. We'll be in touch."
As the ambulance drove off, he watched, unable to take look away. There was something about her, and he hoped she would be ok.
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Jenna was getting her head stitched up when her son Nick came rushing in. "Mom!"
"I'm ok, Sweetie. Just a bump on the head."
Just then, a doctor walked in.
"Ms. Richards, I'm Dr. Choi. I just went over your CT scan, and it looks like you have a concussion. We'd like to keep you overnight for observation."
"Oh really?"
"Yes ma'am. It explains the dizziness and vomiting in the ambulance. There are no brain bleeds, but we'd still like to watch you overnight. Someone will come in a few minutes to move you to a room. I'll be in to check on you again when they get you settled."
"Thank you, Dr. Choi."
When the doctor was gone, Nick said, "Mom, I'm going to get some things from your house, and then I'll be back to stay with you."
"No need. Go home, Nick. I'll be fine."
He stared at her for a moment, trying not to be frustrated with her. "At least let me get a bag for you."
"Ok. That's fine. Thank you Sweetie."
"I'll be back soon. Text me if they move you before I get back."
"Will do," she said, as he kissed her on the cheek before leaving.
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Hank sat at his desk as the rest of the team worked the robbery case. He couldn't get the victim out of his head. He knew she was probably fine, but he didn't think he could get back to work until he knew for himself. He reached for the phone and dialed the number to Chicago Med.
"Sharon, it's Hank Voight."
"What can I do for you Sergeant?"
"There was a Jenna Richards that came into the ER earlier. My unit answered the robbery call to her bakery. I just wanted to check and see how her visit went."
"You know I can't give out too much information, but she received stitches and was admitted with a concussion."
"Concussion?" he asked, his concern for her growing. "Is she ok?"
"She's just here overnight for observation, but she'll be fine."
"Thank you Sharon."
He hung up the phone and grabbed his keys, heading for the door.
"Sarge, where are you headed?" Antonio asked.
"Robbery victim was admitted to Med with a concussion. I'm going to go check on her, see if she's ok or needs anything. Call me if anything comes up."
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Jenna was telling Nick goodbye when there was a knock on the door. Nick gave Jenna a confused look before answering the door.
"Can I help you?" Nick asked.
"I'm looking for Jenna Richards. I was told this is her room."
"And you are?"
"Sergeant Hank Voight. My unit responded to the call at her bakery today. I just wanted to check on her." Nick stepped aside and let him in.
"Sergeant Voight?" Jenna asked, extremely surprised to see him.
Hank walked over to stand at the foot of her bed. "Hi Jenna. I heard you were admitted, so I wanted to see how you were doing. If I'm interrupting, I can go."
"No, it's ok. This is my son, Nick. He was just on his way out."
"You're good, Mom?" Nick asked, raising his eyebrow and cutting his eyes at Hank.
"I'm good, Sweetie. Thanks for your help today. I'll call you later." Nick kissed Jenna's cheek before leaving the room.
Jenna looked up at Hank. "Please, have a seat Sergeant."
"Please, call me Hank," he said as he sat in the chair next to her.
"Ok. Hank. You really came by to check on me?"
He shrugged his shoulders a little. "Yeah, I just…wanted to make sure you were ok. When they told me you had to stay overnight, I just thought I should check and see if there was anything you needed."
"I'm ok. Fifteen stitches and a mild concussion, but they wanted to keep me overnight just to make sure. I have a massive headache, and the meds have me a little loopy, but I'll be fine. Quite a different "welcome to Chicago" than I was hoping for."
He gave her a small smile. "Good. I'm glad you're ok."
She smiled at him. "This is such a nice surprise. It's not every day that a very hot police officer shows up at my bedside."
Jenna quickly covered her mouth with her hand as Hank laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's the concussion and pain meds. Ignore anything I say."
"It's ok. It's not every day that we respond to a call from such a beautiful woman." She blushed as he chuckled under his breath. "So, you're new to Chicago?"
"I am. Relocated from California three months ago to live closer to my son and his family."
"I'm sorry you haven't gotten the nicest introduction to the city. I promise it's better than this."
"I can tell. I've seen a lot of good here, and hopefully it's just the beginning."
They sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say. Jenna studied Hank's face. He was intense, but there was a softness when he looked at her. He was very attractive, and when his eyes met hers, there were butterflies in her stomach.
Hank tried not to stare, but he couldn't help it. Even in a hospital gown with stitches in her forehead, she was beautiful. She was sweet, and he felt a connection with her that he couldn't quite figure out.
Finally, Hank decided he better go. "I should head out, let you get some rest. I just…needed to come by."
"I'm really glad you did. It's…good to see you again Hank."
He gave her a small smile, squeezing her hand as he stood up. "Please, if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to call us down at the 21st. My team has been working all day on your case, and we have some good leads. We'll have this solved in no time."
"Thank you Hank."
"Have a good night Jenna."