"Stewart, watch yourself."
Ainsley looked up, her brown eyes settling on her new partner, one brown eyebrow arched. Though she didn't say anything, it was plain to see that she was, in fact, displeased with the warning that came from someone she barely knew. Her old partner had transferred, or so everyone had been told. The night he'd left, he had come to her apartment, warned her he was going undercover, and kissed her gently. Ainsley hadn't known what to make of it at the time- Rob had never hidden his love for her, though she couldn't claim to return his love.
Ignoring her new partner, Ainsley let her gaze fall back to her kevlar vest, securing it, and making sure that everything was in place. Though she didn't know where Rob was now, she'd been briefed that this call-out was to help an undercover in a sting. Apparently, she'd been specially requested, and that led her to believe that Rob was the one they were going after. Slamming the locker door shut, she walked past Aaran Clarke, her new partner, and into the hallway. She didn't think too highly of this person. He made her feel as though she couldn't trust him, though she wasn't sure why that was. She'd have to think about it later, though, as it was time to act.
Less than an hour later, she and Aaron were waiting on either side of the door that led to the warehouse. The goal was to stop the three top drug lords, caught in the act of dealing with the undercover cop. On Ainsley's soft count, they kicked the door open, and strode into the room, guns drawn.
"NYPD, get down on the floor!"
Three of them stared at her, while the fourth moved around Ainsley to stand at her back. She'd been right in her deduction that Rob was the undercover.
"Aaron, let's cuff 'em."
Before Ainsley could make a move closer, Aaron shot them, each one. He turned again, and raised an eyebrow.
"Out of my way, Stewart."
Ainsley shook her head, raising her gun. She knew that Rob was unarmed- it would have been a stipulation for the meeting.
"Look, Stewart, I want him, not you."
"When did you go dirty, Clarke?"
The other man never replied, he fired his gun, catching the edge of Ainsley's kevlar vest. She flinched, but despite the blood pouring over her vest, she didn't waver, and fired in turn. Aaron dropped, the bullet clean through his head. Then she fell backwards, gasping. Rob caught her easily, lowering them to the ground. He used her shoulder radio to call it in, before stripping her vest off, and applying pressure.
"Ains-" His voice was taught, and stressed.
"Love...you..."
--------
Jake leaned against a wall, sipping his coffee. He was a surgeon, the best in the hospital, which meant that he often got the hardest cases and had the least amount of time to himself. A call had come in from an ambulance, a gunshot victim who needed immediate surgery. The flashing lights appeared, and he set aside his coffee, taking long strides to the unloading area. He was horrifed when he saw his little sister's former partner jump out of the back, and make his way forward.
"Rob..."
"Jake, I'm sorry....she's pretty bad. She lost a lot of blood. I don't think you should do this surgery."
Jake shrugged him off, but tossed his phone over to the man who loved his little sister.
"Can you make the calls? This is a tricky surgery, I don't know if anyone else is qualified."
"And you are?"
"After all the gang shootings I patched up in Brooklyn, and Harlem and the Bronx....yes."
------
Madeline sat in the hard gray chair, her brown eyes glued to the floor in an effort to keep herself from crying. A warm hand was splayed across her back as she leaned forward, and she felt grateful for the human contact. So grateful, that she reached her hand over for her husband's free hand, lacing their fingers together. Neither one of them said anything, because they didn't have to. Seated to her right was Christian, Isobel perched on his lap. Again, nothing was being said, but it was clear from his arms around her waist, that they were comforting one another in their own way. The fear in the room was palatable, and it only increased as time wore on.
------
His hands were shaking as he wiped off her face, and adjusted the hospital gown to hide the ugly mark from the shot and surgical incision. Tears were flowing freely down his face, and he bent down to kiss her forehead. He couldn't believe that this was happening. Despite his best efforts, his little sister would never be waking up. It was all his fault, and he'd let his baby sister down. He ran his hand over his face, and turned to see his family.
"Mom?"
Madeline stood, walking over to her son, pulling her husband with her. When she stopped, Jon slipped his arm around her, and pulled her close, both of them taking comfort in the presence of the other. Jake looked at his parents, and shook his head.
"I'm sorry....I tried."
"Jake, your mother and I know you-"
"She's gone, Dad."
Jonathan pulled his son into his arms, allowing him to cry into his shoulder. Maddie wandered past the two, into the ICU, and the room that held her daughter.
Gently she ran her fingertips over Ainsley's face, a sweet farewell, and she kissed her daughter one more time.
--------
It was the saddest funeral in a long time. The small chapel was packed, and the sniffling, and even sobbing, sounds echoed throughout the room. In the back of the room sat a man with blond hair, and an icy face. Most people knew him as the incredibly intimidating Professor Labeau. The young woman in the casket had called him Mister Labeau, and made it the mission of her earliest years to follow him endlessly when she had seen him, or spent any time with Sebastian. despite the cold anger in the depth of his eyes, there was pain too. The child's time hadn't been wasted. He had grown to love her.
A few rows from the front, Jake was sitting apart from his family. Jon had argued, wishing he could simply order his son to join them, but Jake's guilt was simply too much. Shayn had intervened, and invited his nephew to sit with him. Jake had taken the blame to himself- including quitting his job without any notice, and avoiding the subject of his sister. Without Ainsley, there was no one to look at him, and know what he needed. Hannah sat next to him, and his hand clenched around hers, clinging to her hand like a dying man clinging to the last piece of life.
Seated directly behind Madeline and Jonathan was Isobel. Her husband, Reuben, was seated next to her, his hand on her knee as he coped with his own sense of loss. On her other side was her twin. Christian hadn't said much since the death, and he'd become much like Florian in the back row. His face was like stone, and while he didn't push Izzy away as she cried on his shoulder, neither did he make any move to comfort her. He was like a stone, and his grief for his little 'Jellybean' ran deep.
Madeline stood behind her daughter's casket, the words dying on her tongue. Her eyes were taking in the forms of grief, Morgan sitting beside Jonathan, one arm around Tetsu, the other on Jonathan's shoulder. As for her husband, Jon couldn't take his eyes away from Madeline. Their mutual grief was intense, and she felt a little bit better knowing he was there to go through this with her.
Madeline's gaze rested on one final figure before she began to speak, on poor Rob, standing at the Honor Guard that the NYPD had provided for Ainsley. He stood at attention, and his eyes weren't looking at anything in the room. Tears of pain, and loss, and grief streamed down his face. Madeline's heart went out to him as well. She remembered the day he'd approached Jonathan and herself, asking permission to court Ainsley. He was a brave man, and this had to have shattered him.
"Friends, and family, and loved ones. We thank you for coming here today, to help us honor one of the most important people in any of our lives. This loss has shaken our family to it's core, and though we are grieving, we know that Ains-" She stopped, suddenly unable to go on. She lowered her head to the lectern, and sobs shook her frame. As she cried, a warm hand touched her shoulder, and turned her into his chest, stroking her hair-
-------
"Mads! Madeline, sweetheart, wake up!" Madeline managed to pry her eyes open through the tears, and she burrowed closer against Jonathan, sobbing out her pain. She didn't know what she was going to do.
"Is she okay? Is my little girl okay? Oh, Jon, don't tell me she's dead....." Jon stroked Madeline's hair, making soothing sounds as he held her close. It was clear that Madeline had been dreaming. He didn't know whether or not she was talking about Isobel- who was staying over at the Hughes house, as it was Christmas Eve, or if she meant Ainsley, who was sound asleep down the hall.
"She's fine, Mads. She's safe...go back to sleep. I won't let anything happen." He pressed a soft kiss to his wife's hair, waiting for her to fall back asleep. She might have only been sleeping, but the sound of her hoarse sobs were a sound that Jonathan was hard-pressed to shake, and he wasn't sure if he would be getting any more sleep tonight.
1 comment:
You owe me SO many happy scenes after that CHAOS!
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