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| Trial By Fire A UC story By Deana Lisi |
| “I don’t think this is it.” Jake looked at Cody, who was looking out one of the van’s windows. He sighed, hating having to agree. The house before them was homely with a white picket fence, and a car—not van—in the yard. He could see a child’s bicycle next to the garage, and wondered how a kid could ride a bike in the snow. Maybe the father was cleaning out the garage and is throwing it out, he thought. Could be any reason. Suddenly another car pulled into the driveway, and a woman got out with a bag of groceries. The door opened before she reached it, and a man stood there holding the door for her, while a little girl tried to hug her mother’s legs as she walked in. “It’s a false address,” Alex said, with a sigh. Jake didn’t trust himself to speak. He was so filled with anger he felt that he could explode. This is how Frank must’ve felt when he found out that Rose had been kidnapped. “You’re right; this isn’t it,” he said, with a sigh. “Let’s go back.” ******************** Rose had given up talking into the earpiece, and fallen asleep. She was jolted awake an undetermined amount of time later by Frank coughing again. Trying to soothe him, she didn’t notice when the cellar door was opened, and one of the men stand quietly watching. When Frank finally stopped coughing, she realized the man was there, and gasped. “Uh oh,” the kidnapper said. “That guy don’t sound too good. Sounds like he’s sick. Getting attached to the hero already, Miss Flower?” Rose ignored him, looking away from his sneering face. Isn’t it obvious that we know each other? Is this guy really that stupid? “I think you two better get a good night’s rest. Sleep well, I’ll most likely kill you in the morning!” He walked up the stairs again, laughing his head off. “Goodnight, Westley, sleep well; I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.” It was a quote from one of her favorite movies, ‘The Princess Bride’. She thought it extremely strange that a crazy kidnapper would quote a movie like that, but then she smiled when she remembered her and Frank as young teenagers. She had wanted to see that movie badly, so Frank had taken her. Wow, was that really 17 years ago? She remembered how they’d walked to the theater, and how excited she had been about having turned 16 and about to get her driver’s license. Frank had been slightly jealous—still only 14—but excited for her all the same. She was jolted out of her reverie by more coughing from her ‘little brother’. This fit seemed to be worse then the others, if possible, and it scared the daylights out of Rose. She picked up the earpiece that she’d put in her pocket, and stuck it back into her ear. “Hello? Please, we need help!!” ******************** “What do we do now?” Cody asked, as they threw their coats down on the couch. Jake looked at his watch. It was 9pm. “We have no way of finding out where Miller is tonight; I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” “Jake!” Alex said. “You don’t expect us to go home and go to bed while Frank is out there somewhere? Sick, maybe hurt…” Jake grabbed her by the arms. “Alex, I know how you feel, I feel the same way. I doubt I’ll sleep tonight either. But for Frank’s sake, we have to try. If we’re all suffering sleep deprivation tomorrow, how are we gonna be able to figure out where Frank is, and save him?” Alex knew he had a point, but she couldn’t bear lying in her warm, comfortable bed while Frank was in the clutches of a madman. Jake saw that she had no intentions of going home. “Come on, Cody, let’s break out the cots.” ******************** Rose and Frank were awake most of the night; Frank’s coughing fits waking them when they did sleep, and fear of their situation keeping them awake for a while afterwards. When the sun rose, and the light streamed in through the tiny window, it gave Rose a little bit of hope: they had lived to see another day. But then it brought her down, as she realized that it could be the last sunrise she’ll ever see. Rose sighed as she studied Frank’s pale face. Whatever he had, it had gotten worse overnight. She sighed again, as she wondered when and how this would end. ******************** “We ain’t gonna get no money from them, why are you prolonging this?” “Don’t start, Jeff!” Miller yelled at his accomplice. “I’m trying to figure out what to do.” “They both saw us, they have to die.” “I know that!” Miller said back. “We gotta figure out where we’re going first. Then when we leave, we’ll torch the house.” Jeff smiled. “Really? With them in the cellar?” Miller nodded. “Cool…” ******************** Jake was the first one to wake up the next morning. He jumped off the cot when he realized the time. They had stayed awake until 4 o’clock in the morning, too worried to sleep. Obviously their bodies had taken over some time after that, and it was now almost 9am. "People, wake up!" He heard groans as the team's sleep was interrupted, but then they all got up quickly, remembering the situation. "Oh no! It's almost 9!" Alex said. "Yeah, this is why I insisted we sleep, so that this wouldn't happen," said Jake, as he went over to a computer Cody had left running; checking for possible locations and hideouts Miller could be holed up in. He grabbed the print out and flopped into a chair, running down the list of possibilities. Cody shuffled over, yawning. "What's the plan of action?" Jake sighed. "Not sure yet." Cody echoed the sigh. "Howabout I go get breakfast. This may be our only chance to eat today." Jake smirked at him. "True." Cody walked towards the gym, where they all kept a spare outfit, in case of times like these. He changed quickly and left, stopping when he saw Frank's precious Volvo S80 still parked there. The sight of it made Cody sad. What if we don't find him in time? he thought. What if it's already too late? He looked away from the car, and got in his own. No, he thought. We're gonna find him. We are gonna find him! ******************** Rose jumped as Frank started coughing, waking her from a light doze. This fit was the worst by far, and when it was over Frank could not seem to get his breath back. "Rose," he croaked. "Yes, Frank?" she said, still holding him tightly. "If…you…can escape…do it…" "Without you? Never!" She winced when he coughed again. "Don't talk, Frank! Hush, stay still." But Frank shook his head and tried to pull out of her embrace. "What are you doing?" she asked him, reluctantly letting go. She grabbed his arm when she saw he was trying to stand. "No! Don't get up! What are you doing?" "Looking…for…way out…" Rose had no choice but to help him up, and he started coughing again when his lungs protested the exercise. His head spun from lack of oxygen and he had to lean on the wall. He closed his eyes in an attempt to ward off the spinning, and he tried to ignore the horribly raw sore throat and aching muscles in his chest and stomach from the strenuous coughing. His head hurt too; whether from his sickness or from being knocked out he wasn’t sure; probably a combination of both. I'm a mess! he thought. He felt a hand on his arm and he finally opened his eyes. Quickly scanning the room, he could see that there was no way out. The tiny window was so high up and so small, he doubted either of them could fit through it, even if they could reach it. He already knew that the door was untouchable, thanks to the deadbolt. Think, Frank, think! This is why you get paid the big bucks! His mind was obviously not in tune with his body, for suddenly a sickening weakness swept through him and his vision clouded over; no doubt made worse by his inability to take any kind of a satisfying breath. Rose's hands grabbing him made him realize that he was slowly sliding down the wall, and he found himself sitting on the floor. "Frank?!" Hands were on the sides of his face, and he opened his eyes to see Rose looking at him, with a very scared expression. What the heck does he have?! He just nearly passed out! Rose couldn't remember ever seeing a mere cold or flu be this bad before. Frank leaned against her, and she resumed their prior position. Holding him tightly, she picked up the earpiece again with a sigh, in another probably wasted attempt to contact his team. ******************** Alex sighed as she sat on her cot to put her shoes on. As she zipped her boot, she heard a faint voice. Frowning, she thought she imagined it, until it repeated. Looking around the room, she saw that no one else appeared to have heard it, and she looked down at the floor to see her earpiece that she’d placed beside her boots when she’d gone to sleep that morning. The voice sounded again, and she grabbed it and jumped to her feet. “Hello?” Rose gasped at Alex’s voice. “Oh my gosh! Are you one of Frank’s team?” “Rose?! Are you Rose? Is Frank with you?” Everyone looked at Alex in shock at what they were hearing, and scrambled to get their own earpieces. “Yes! I’m Rose! Frank is right here, but he’s really sick!” Alex got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard that. “Rose, let me talk to him,” Jake said, through his earpiece. Rose sighed. “He can’t talk back, or he’ll cough his lungs out.” Alex and Jake exchanged glances, both of them thinking the same thing: pneumonia. “Do you know where you are?” Jake asked, as everyone grabbed their jackets and ran out the door. “No.” They all jumped into the van, and hovered around Cody as he turned on one of the computers and started typing. “The signal is coming from the south,” he told Jake. “I’ll drive,” Monica said, and jumped into the driver’s seat. “Are you in a warehouse, building, what?” Jake asked. “Looks like a house, we’re in the cellar,” she answered. “Rose…” “Shh, Frank! Don’t talk.” Alex heard the worried tone of Rose’s voice, and wondered just how bad off Frank was. “Ask…who…” “Who?” Rose repeated. Jake understood. “Tell him David Miller.” “Someone named David Miller.” Rose watched as a look of dread crossed Frank’s face. “Frank? What is it? No! Don’t talk!” The team all looked at each other sadly. What Monica had told them about Frank’s aversion to fire must really be true, for him to have reacted in a way for Rose to notice so easily. “West!” Cody suddenly called out. Monica heard him through her earpiece, and obeyed. “Did Miller hurt either of you?” Alex asked. “Not me, Frank has a cut on his head though, they knocked him out when they grabbed him.” “How is Frank’s condition?” “He’s real sick,” Rose said, wondering if they could hear his labored breathing over the earpiece. “Horrible cough, congestion, fever. He’s weak, and can’t breathe well.” She looked at Frank to see that his eyes were closed as he struggled to take in air. “It’s progressed way faster then anything I’ve ever seen in my life.” Everyone sighed. “We’ll be there, don’t worry,” Jake said. “Tell Frank we’re on our way.” “They’re coming, Frank.” He nodded at her, his breathing seeming to have grown worse in the short time she’d been talking to his team. Rose sighed, hoping she was imagining it. ******************** They’d been driving for over an hour. The team thought it odd that Miller left Rose and Frank completely alone, but they weren’t about to look a gift-horse in the mouth. “Southwest!” Monica obeyed Cody, hoping they were getting close. “Jake?” Rose’s voice whispered over the earpiece, and her tone set him on alert. “Yeah?” “I think they came back…I can hear them walking around upstairs.” Jake sighed. He’d hoped they’d get there before the kidnappers got back, so they could get Frank and Rose out safely before going back to arrest them. “Pretend you’re asleep, if they come down there. Maybe they’ll leave you alone,” Alex knew it sounded ridiculous, but she was really getting nervous now. “Okay.” ******************** “This is gonna be fun.” Miller nodded. “Sure is. Can’t wait to watch the news tonight.” “Yup,” Jeff agreed. “From the other side of the country!” He sighed. “I wish we’d gotten her old man’s money.” “Forget it,” Miller said. “We’ll try robbing a bank instead.” He opened a cabinet and took out a can of gasoline. Jeff’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Gas!” “Very good.” “Can I pour it?” Miller shook his head. “Nope; I’m a professional.” Jeff laughed, and watched as Miller proceeded to spread it around the house. ******************* “Frank?” “Umm…” “Do you smell that?” Frank lifted his head slightly and tried to sniff, stopping when it became obvious that he couldn’t smell anything if he tried. “Rose?” she heard, through the earpiece. “What is it?” “It…it smells like gasoline…” Frank looked up at her, in shock. Rose heard Alex start muttering to herself. “Faster, Monica!” Jake said. “Cody, is that thing telling you anything on how close we are?” “No…yeah,” he said, as the screen he was watching suddenly displayed an ending point to their travels. “Looks like we might get there in ten, fifteen minutes. Keep going west, Monica.” “I am, I am!” “Oh my gosh,” Rose whispered. “I really smell it now, it is gasoline.” Alex started to pace in the van, almost losing her balance when Monica took a corner too fast. “Rose?” Jake said. “Do you smell smoke?” “No.” She and Frank were still in the same position, both of them staring at the cellar door, wondering if Miller would come and taunt them before leaving. Rose was getting increasingly nervous to see Frank’s breathing coming faster and faster. Frank Donovan didn’t fear much, but right now she knew he was afraid. Her mind brought her back to the fire they had been in where he’d saved her life. She had been hanging out the window, and hadn’t seen the flames sweeping around the room and getting closer and closer to Frank; she didn’t see them engulf his friend, or breathe in the smoke…she sighed, realizing that this was Frank Donovan’s horrible childhood fear come to light. “Frank, calm down,” Rose said, not wanting him to cough again or pass out from lack of oxygen. “Your team is almost here,” she said. “They’ll save us.” Jake thought it odd to hear Rose trying to calm Frank, instead of the other way around. God, let us get there before he sets the fire! he prayed. ******************** “’kay, let’s blow this joint.” Miller took some matches out of his pocket, lit the whole book, and threw it down at a puddle of gas. It instantly ignited, and sent a stream of flames following the path of the gasoline. As they left, both men laughed. ******************** “Smoke! I smell smoke!” “No!” Alex cried. “Cody!” “Five minutes! Monica, get off the next exit!” Everyone had to grab onto something as Monica took the exit at 50 instead of the posted 30mph. Rose watched in shock as a cloud of black smoke came streaming into the cellar from under the door. “Smoke’s coming into the room!” “Cover your faces!” Jake yelled. Rose dug into Frank’s jacket and found a handkerchief. She held it to Frank’s face, trying to figure out how he would get the oxygen that he was seriously lacking already, with the cloth now preventing the inhalation of more. “It’s filling the room!” she said. “Oh no!” she cried, when Frank started to cough. The team could hear Frank now, and they looked at each other in horror. “CRAP!” Cody yelled. “Monica, turn around!” “WHAT?!” “You were supposed to take that street…” Monica pulled a 180 and did what Cody said. “Quick right!” The van rocked as Monica obeyed. “She’s gonna flip this thing, I know it…” Alex said. Rose pulled Frank into a huddle, hoping to keep him from inhaling the smoke. She stuck her chin into the top of her shirt, pulling it up to cover her mouth and nose. “Hurry!” she yelled, into the earpiece. “Is there a window down there?” Jake asked. “Yeah, but we can’t reach it!” “Throw something at it! Break it!” Rose’s jaw dropped. I should’ve thought of that! She carefully disentangled herself from Frank, and stood. The smoke was preventing her from seeing everything in the cellar, but she finally found a small piece of a steel pipe. Running over to the window, coughing herself now, she aimed, and threw it as hard as she could. When she heard the glass break, she yelled. “YES!” Frank’s coughing grew worse, and she ran back over to him. Together they huddled, and waited. ******************** “I see the smoke!” yelled Monica. Everyone ran to the front of the van, to see a black cloud lifting into the air. Monica turned onto a street called, ‘Garfield Ave’. “Cody! Call the fire dept! Monica, what city we in?” “Peoria!” “Why don’t I just call 911?” said Cody. “I don’t know the number to Peoria Fire!” “You’re on a cell phone! You have to tell 911 the location!” Jake told him. “Oh yeah,” Cody said, and dialed. They could see the house now, and Monica sped up. “911 already has it!” Cody said, with a *phew*. “They already sent them.” Monica screeched to a stop, and everyone jumped out. The house was pretty much engulfed. “Rose! We’re there! What side of the house are you on?!” Jake said, as he ran over to the door. Rose raised her head from their huddle, and looked at the window. “The left, from the inside!” “Then we go right. Cody!” Cody gulped as he watched Jake use his shoulder to bust the door in. They both ran in to see the path the fire had taken thanks to the gasoline, and there was actually room for them to walk through the living room, for Miller naturally hadn’t poured the gas where he and his accomplice had to walk in order to leave the house. As they ran into the kitchen, the flames were more dangerous; the kidnappers obviously wanting to be sure that the smoke made it to the cellar. “Jake! I can hear you up there!” “Keep yelling!” Jake said, and removed the earpiece. He heard the shouts coming from the right, and he and Cody carefully but quickly made their way in that direction. “There’s the door!” Cody yelled. They reached it, and Cody reached for the handle of the deadbolt, to unlock it, but Jake threw out his hand, stopping him. “It’s probably boiling hot!” He removed one of his gloves, and folded it over to make two layers. He opened the locks and got the door open, and smoke billowed out from the cellar, into their faces. As they made their way down the steps, they could hardly see, for all the smoke. “Frank!” he yelled. “Rose!” “Here!” They followed her voice and Frank’s coughing till they nearly tripped over them. The sight of Frank scared them both. They’d never seen him looking so sick; and his coughing was the worst they’d ever heard. He looked like he was in pain; from the horrendous cough, most likely. They tried to help him up, before realizing he was in handcuffs. Cody took a key out of his pocket, fumbling in his haste, and dropping it. “Arrrgh!” “Forget it, no time!” Jake said, and together they got Frank up between them and made for the stairs. Jake made Rose go up first, and she waited at the top of the stairs for them to catch up; it took them longer to get up them while holding onto Frank. When they finally did, and stepped into the kitchen, they were shocked to see that the fire had swept through the rest of the living room, effectively blocking the door. “Jake!” they heard through their earpieces. “Cody! Are you guys all right?!” “Yeah, we got Frank and Rose!” said Jake. “Trying to find a way out!” “Another door!” Rose suddenly said, and darted to the right. Following her, they came to a back door that the flames had not yet reached. She quickly opened it, and they all ran outside. Running around to the front of the house, they saw the fire trucks pull up, and a bunch of spectators watching the scene. Alex and Monica ran over, and helped them all out of harm’s way of the fire, where the four of them collapsed in the snow at the edge of the lawn, out of breath and choking from the smoke. “Medics!” Alex yelled, as an ambulance pulled up. “Over here!” The paramedics ran over with their equipment, and started handing out oxygen masks. Jake and Cody declined, insisting they were fine. Rose took the one offered her, and watched nervously as Jake used his key to get the handcuffs off Frank, who seemed barely conscious, his body still wracked with coughs and gasps and chokes that made her own chest hurt. “How much did he inhale?” one of the medics asked, alarmed. “We think he has pneumonia!” Alex said. The other medic’s jaw dropped, as he quickly slapped an oxygen mask on Frank. “Pneumonia and smoke inhalation? We better get him to the hospital fast!” The other medic nodded, and they quickly put Frank in the ambulance, allowing only Rose to go with them. As the others got into the van, the sound of a small explosion filled the air. “What was that?!” Jake asked a fireman who ran from the back of the house. “The furnace in the cellar blew up!” “The furnace in the cellar…” Alex repeated. The team just stared at each other for a minute, in shock to realize that they had made it just in time to save Frank and Rose’s lives. ******************** “Convicted arsonist David Miller and an unnamed accomplice were apprehended yesterday at Greater Peoria Airport, after leaving a kidnapped woman and Justice Department Agent Frank Donovan in the cellar of a burning house. Details are scarce as to why, but sources report that the kidnapped woman is the daughter of an Illinois State Senator. The woman reportedly suffered no injuries, while Agent Donovan was apparently treated at an unnamed hospital in Peoria and then transferred to University of Chicago Hospital, where he is reportedly in stable condition.” Jake shut off the TV, and placed the remote on the night table beside the bed. “Glad that’s over.” “So am I,” said Alex. “Me too,” said Monica. “Me three,” said Cody. “Or is that four?” They suddenly heard a snore, and looked at Frank, asleep in the hospital bed. Rose was sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed, her head lying next to his arm, apparently asleep. They realized the snore had come from her, as it had sounded distinctly feminine. “They would’ve made a cute couple,” said Cody, with a smile. “Frank’s like my brother,” they heard. Rose sat up and looked at them. “Oops…” Cody said, not knowing she’d awoken. “Did you know you snore?” he said, trying to change the subject. She made a face at him. “Occasionally. Just now I heard it in my sleep and woke myself up.” “Frank considers you his sister too,” Jake said. “He told us about you.” “Did he?” They all nodded. Rose smiled and placed a hand on Frank’s arm, gently running her hand up and down it. Suddenly her face changed. “I almost died when Miller dragged Frank into that cellar.” Everyone sighed, only able to imagine what she and Frank had gone through. “Frank may be a tough guy, but he’s younger then me, so I’ve always babied him.” Everyone’s eyebrows went up. “He’s younger then you?” Monica asked. She nodded. “Two years. I was the ‘big sister’ when we were growing up.” “That’s cute,” Alex said, smiling. “He was the most adorable child,” Rose continued, knowing that if Frank heard what she was saying, he’d flip. “He would ask me for something and I’d get it for him, and he’d say ‘please’—usually, anyway.” She smiled. “He loved chocolate chip cookies.” “You had to get them? Why?” “I was a lot taller then he was.” “What?” Cody said, starting to laugh quietly, so as not to wake Frank. “Frank used to be short?” They all laughed for a minute. “I wouldn’t think there’d be that much difference in height between a girl and a boy only two years apart at that age,” Alex said. “Funny, isn’t it?” Rose agreed. “And now he towers over us all.” “And don’t you forget it,” they heard. Rose jumped at Frank’s voice. He was smiling at her from behind the oxygen mask the doctors insisted he wear. “Shh,” Rose said. “Don’t talk, you don’t want to—” Frank started coughing. “—cough,” Rose finished. They were relieved to see that his cough sounded better then the previous day. The medicine he’d been given was working, along with the procedure they’d done to remove some of the fluid from his lungs. Frank had been unconscious for that, thankfully; they’d given him a sedative to prevent coughing while they performed the procedure, and that, in combination with all that he’d gone through, had knocked him out cold through the whole thing and most of the night. When Frank had awoken the first time, he wondered why the sides of his chest hurt, having not even been aware that they done the painful procedure. “You may be our boss,” said Cody. “But I bet you wish you’d listened to us.” Frank looked at him with a frown, wondering what he meant. “Do you remember what we told you when you woke up the first time, or were you too drugged up?” The look on Frank’s face was all the answer they needed. “You have pneumonia!” Cody told him. “I knew that,” Frank answered, matter-of-factly. “How?” Alex asked. “When I found myself drowning…on something I hadn’t swallowed or inhaled…it became obvious.” Everyone gave him sympathetic looks. “I didn’t know that people who’d lost their spleens get pneumonia easily,” said Rose, feeling stupid. “Heck, I didn’t even know you’d lost yours!” she said, wishing she hadn’t been out-of-state at the time. “You poor thing! I’m never letting you out of my sight again, little brother.” Everyone smiled when Frank gave her a mock-scowl. “What have we here?” They turned to see two nurses standing in the doorway. Their nametags read ‘Tracy’ and ‘Eirian’.*** “Mr. Donovan!” they both said. Frank tried to sigh without coughing. He didn’t succeed. Both nurses ran over and tried to make him more comfortable. “Back again? What is it with you?” said Tracy. “Maybe he missed us,” Eirian said, elbowing her friend. “Ah ha! I see!” she laughed. “You seem to get into a lot of trouble,” Tracy said to Frank. "You know, there are easier ways to get a date," she said, with a wink. Everyone started to laugh. "Date?!" choked Frank. Everyone stopped laughing when he started to cough again. “Sorry,” Tracy said, contrite. “Too bad, ladies,” said Cody. “He’s married to his job!” He shook his head. “No time for girls.” Jake laughed at Cody’s statement. “As for trouble, you don’t know the half of it. You two weren’t here a couple months ago when he lost his spleen. ” “What?!” Frank groaned and rolled his eyes. He was never gonna live this spleen thing down. “Yup,” said Cody, enjoying his boss’ embarrassment. “Got stabbed in a bank robbery.” “My gosh!” said Eirian. “We had a two-week vacation.” “Must’ve been those two weeks then,” said Alex. Tracy and Eirian both tsk-tsked at Frank. It was a funny sight for the team to see. “Geez!” Tracy said, shaking her head. “Back here before even having a chance to recover from that! Don’t you try to talk your handsome friend into letting you out of here this time,” she told Frank. When Jake heard the word, ‘handsome’, his eyebrows shot up, and he grinned. But before he could say anything to her, both nurses pagers went off. “Darn it,” Eirian said. “We’ll be back to check on you.” “Yup, we sure will,” Tracy said. They both left, giggling. The team was amused. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” said Cody. “You get all the girls!” “He always did.” They looked to the door to see Senator Williams come in. “Really? More Frankie stories to tell us?” Frank frowned. “’More Frankie stories’?” he repeated. “He’s kidding,” Williams told Frank, giving Cody a wink. “How do you feel today? Better?” Frank nodded. “Yeah.” Williams went to where his daughter sat, and kissed her on the cheek. “Frank, I can only say ‘thank you’ so many times before it sounds inadequate.” Frank waved his hand. “It’s my job. Besides, Rose and I were saved by my team.” “That’s right.” Williams looked at Jake, Alex, Cody, and Monica each in turn. “Thank you all, so much.” They all smiled at him. “Aww, it was nothin’,” said Cody. “Monica, I’ve been meaning to tell you.” “What?” “You made amazing time to Peoria.” They all laughed. “I hope you learned a lesson, young lady,” Williams said, to his daughter. “A lesson?” The whole team said it with him. “Lock your window!” ******************** Frank walked into HQ two weeks later, a few days after getting out of the hospital. They’d kept him there longer then usual for a patient with pneumonia, purposely prolonging his treatment. Thanks to his missing spleen, they wanted to be sure he wouldn’t have a relapse. When he walked into the room, he was surprised at what he saw. Rose was sitting on the couch, with everyone surrounding her. He missed what she said, but suddenly everyone busted out laughing. Oh no, he thought. “Stories of my childhood, Rose?” He heard a few gasps and everyone turned to look at him. “Frank!” Rose said, jumping up and grabbing his arm. “I was just gonna come by your place.” Frank walked with her to the couch. “After story time?” She laughed. “How you feeling today, Frank?” Alex asked, probably to change the subject. “Not bad,” he said. “Tired, mostly.” “Cough gone yet?” Monica asked. “Almost.” “Well, after the stunt you pulled, you should probably take it easy for a year,” said Cody. Frank frowned, as he sat on the couch. “Stunt?” “Not going home when we told you to,” Cody explained. “You might not’ve developed the pneumonia if you had.” “But what about Rose?” Frank asked. “He’s right,” said Jake. “He couldn’t go home with her in danger.” Rose smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. “You should take a vacation, Frank,” said Monica. Frank frowned. “A vacation?” “Yeah!” said Cody. “To the Bahamas or Hawaii or something.” Frank shrugged. His whole life revolved around work, it was what he knew. How could he go somewhere and do nothing but lie around? He was about to refuse, when he hesitated. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He’d finally get a chance to really recover; getting pneumonia a mere two months after having his spleen removed wasn’t exactly a good sign, the doctors had said. “Maybe,” he finally said. “Maybe I will.” He looked at Rose. “Coming?” Rose grinned from ear to ear. “I’d love to! It would be just like old times!” “All right,” he said to the team. “I have a job for you.” They all looked at him as if to say, ‘huh?’ “Find out all the good vacation spots, and have it on my desk by tomorrow.” Everyone laughed at that one, overjoyed that their boss seemed to finally be letting himself loose from nothing but work, work, work. It was a vacation well deserved. THE END *My UC story, ‘Caught in the Middle’ **‘Manhunt’, UC season 1, episode 12 ***My UC story, ‘Mystery of the Mind’ |