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Where’s Frank?

By Karri  (kln1671@yahoo.com)

Rated:  PG-13 (language and violence)

Category:  Drama/Angst

Summary:  Title says it all. 

Disclaimer: UC is owned NBC Studios and Shane Salerno.  This short story was written for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made.   The original characters & situations are the property of the author.

••••

Frank Donovan watched with morbid fascination as the blood pooling beneath him slowly engulfed another piece of loose gravel.  Some small part of his increasingly numb brain reminded him that the sticky red ooze was supposed to be in him – and that it was a bad thing that it wasn’t.  Frank couldn’t seem to manage, however, to focus enough of his dwindling energy to worry about any more than which pebble the creeping liquid would swallow next.

••••

“All yours,” Jake Shaw quipped, as he handed the last of the perps off to a waiting secret service agent. 

He was in an unusually light mood for a bust.  Not only had the bag guys been remarkably easy to infiltrate, but the primary target had been too obnoxious for Jake to develop any particular attachment.   Consequently, while successfully recovering the stolen Patriot Bonds, the team had nailed buyer, seller and middleman…and he wasn’t feeling even a little bad about it.  In fact, the undercover agent was feeling downright playful.  Deciding that it was an optimal moment for a witty comment, Jake grinned mischievously as he glanced around to be certain that his terminally stoic boss was within earshot.  However, the expression, along with his chipper mood, quickly faded.  Donovan was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, Donovan!  Where are you?!  You’re missing all the fun!”  Jake tried, unsuccessfully, not to sound concerned.  The slight edge to his tone caught the attention of his teammates and they quickly converged on him. 

As they walked towards him, Jake’s gaze met that of each of his teammates, before finally locking on his fellow undercover agent, Alex Cross.  He could see his own thoughts reflected in her expression.  Before the bust went down, she and Donovan had left the van together to back up Jake.   Afterward, she and Jake had made a special point of making eye contact to be certain the other was all right, but neither had thought to do the same with Donovan.  Neither had even bothered to determine that the man was present.  It had just been assumed.  He was Donovan, after all, the ever present man-of-steel.   Their boss wasn’t a real sociable guy, but he was always there watching their backs.

For the first time since Donovan’s arrival, it occurred to Jake to wonder who watched Donovan’s back?   He knew the answer.  NO ONE!  The team had let the man know from the day he’d taken command that he was an intruder, and Donovan had kept his distance – let them have their space.  He was always hovering silently in the background, though, seemingly content to cover their asses as a persona non grata.  It was a relationship the team had grown comfortable with; so comfortable with, in fact, that it hadn’t occurred to any of them that they should be watching Donovan’s back in return. 

“Donovan!  Damnit!  Talk to us!’  Jake shouted, breaking eye contact with Alex and shifting his gaze to the scuffed toe of his tennis shoe.  In an attempt to loosen the tightening knot of concern in stomach, he took a couple deep breaths before facing his teammate again.  “I’ll go right.”

Alex nodded.  “You two stay here and keep your eyes and ears open,” she shouted over her shoulder, as she broke left.  Cody nodded and ran back to the van, followed closely by Monica.

“Donovan?!”  Cody shouted repeatedly as he checked his gear.  Everything was green-light.  Donovan was online, he just wasn’t responding.  Cody refused consider the implication, but as his gaze passed by Monica, his voice trembled just a little.  It was obvious from her stance that the profiler was already steeling herself against another loss. 

“Donovan!  Where the hell are you?!”  Alex demanded, in-between Cody’s shouts.  She was also trying to ignore the implication of Donovan’s silence, reasoning to herself that there were a lot of other explanations for his failure to respond.   The sick feeling in her stomach didn’t mean anything.  She was just over-reacting because of Jack.

••••

Frank dimly registered the cacophony of voices shouting at him through his earpiece.  The relief he felt surprised him; he’d forced himself to ignore the random thought that the team wouldn’t care that he was missing….that they’d just leave him there.   The concern in their voices obvious.  Concern? That was…unexpected.  Frank wanted to respond, but the effort simply required more than he had left.  He was too tired to worry about it anymore.  Everything would work out now; they were looking for him.  It wouldn’t be long before he was found.  Peeling his attention away from the plight of the next imperiled piece of gravel, Frank rested his head against the wall behind him and let his eyelids close.  He’d just rest for a little bit…while he waited.

••••

Alex froze when she spotted him…slumped against the wall, head back, eyes closed.  He’s okay, she told herself, but even as she thought it, Alex knew that he wasn’t.  Part of her was afraid to get any closer.  What if he’s…?  No…don’t even think it. He’s fine.  She hadn’t noticed the blood, yet.

“Alex, anything?”  

Still frozen, she didn’t register Jake’s voice in her ear.  Her attention was focused on Donovan.  He hadn’t moved, hadn’t even twitched.  As much as she wanted to, Alex couldn’t go to him…not if it was already too late.  She couldn’t do it again…not so soon.    She still didn’t see the blood.

“Alex?!  Alex, talk to me!”

Donovan twitched as the fear in Jake’s voice pulled him towards consciousness.  Alex isn’t answering.  Something’s wrong!

“Zzjaake?” he mumbled.  It was slurred and barely above a whisper, but Donovan couldn’t spare the energy to try it again.   Everything he had left was going into the struggle to open his eyes.

“Donovan?  That you, boss?  Talk to me!  Tell me where you are!”

Alex’s knees nearly buckled as relief washed over her.   Donovan was alive.  Releasing the breath she hadn’t consciously held, she moved towards him.   Five steps later, Alex saw the blood.

“Jake, I’ve got him.  Alley, three warehouses down from the van.   We need an ambulance, YESTERDAY!”

“It’s on the way!”  Cody announced.  He’d called it in as soon as he’d heard Donovan’s voice.  Even without seeing him, it was obvious the man was in bad shape.   

“I’m on my way,” Jake told his teammate, wondering why the hell the man had gone so far from the scene.  Not now, Jake.  You can ask him about it later.  Right now, you need to focus.  He knew there wasn’t anything he could do that Alex couldn’t, but Donovan sounded bad.  He didn’t want Alex to have to deal with it alone any longer than necessary.

“Me, too,” Monica informed Cody, grabbing the first aid kit as she stepped out of the van.

Frank was just winning his battle when Alex reached him…well, almost, anyway. He’d only managed to open his eyes a crack, but it was enough to see her blue eyes looking down on him.  The victory was fleeting, however, and his eyes slipped shut again, but not before he saw the tears threatening to spill onto her cheeks.  Tears?  His team was just full of surprises today.  He’d have smiled if he had the energy. 

“Donovan…Frank!  Open your eyes, again!” Alex pleaded.  “Come on, Frank.   Don’t do this to us!  We’re just getting used to you.” 

“Frank!”  Intently focused on rousing her boss, Alex hadn’t noticed Jake’s arrival.  She looked up to see Monica come up behind him at the same moment Jake shifted to lay Donovan down on the pavement.  Alex realized she should have done that already.

“Where’s he hit?”  Monica asked, and Alex realized she hadn’t checked.  Jake grabbed the first aid kit and knelt down to help her search for the source of the blood now soaking through his jeans. 

“Here,” he announced, pulling out a couple pressure bandages and quickly applying them to the in-and-out wounds in Donovan’s upper right thigh. Something didn’t seem right, though.  The wound was bleeding pretty good, but it didn’t seem like enough to explain the amount on the ground.  “Too much blood; must have nicked an artery or something.”

It was Alex that noticed the new pool of blood spreading out from beneath Donovan’s back. 

“Jake!” 

He looked up and saw her looking down.  “Shit!  Help me get his vest off and roll him over.”

Way ahead of him, Alex was already pushing Donovan onto his side, as Jake finished yanking off the vest. 

“Here,” she stated, pressing a bandage against a wound about midway up and midway across the right side of his back.  “No exit wound.”

A shiver traveled down Jake’s spine as he noted the icy calmness of his teammate’s voice.  Frank was in bad shape; probably wouldn’t make it if the ambulance didn’t get there soon – might not make it even if it did.  Alex knew it as well as he did.  She was shutting down.

“Ambulance is here, guys!  One of you needs to point them in the right direction,” Cody announced.

“I’ll go,” Monica volunteered.  She didn’t see either of her teammates willingly relinquishing their hold on Donovan. 

••••

“…came through it fine.  Barring complication, he should be up and around and out of here in a couple weeks.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Jake stated, firmly grasping the man’s hand and enthusiastically shaking it.

“Can we see him?”  Alex asked, grasping the surgeon’s hand as Jake released it and giving it a grateful squeeze.    Jake was relieved to hear emotion in her voice again.   Actually, he was relieved to hear her voice at all.  Alex hadn’t said anything to anyone since the paramedics loaded Donovan into the ambulance.  

“Mmm…no.  He’s in recovery now, you’ll have to wait until we have him settle in a room,” the surgeon explained.  “A nurse will let you know when that it is, but in the meantime, the whole lot of you should consider getting cleaned up and, maybe, grabbing some food in the cafeteria.  It’s downstairs, in the basement.”  He paused, seeing reluctance in all four sets of eyes, and added, “He’s not going anywhere.”

“Come on.  He’s right, guys,” Monica stated, pulling at Jake’s arm.  Although still reluctant, he grabbed Alex’s hand and allowed Monica to guide the trio to the elevator. 

Cody trailed a few feet behind, still trying to come to grips with the intensity of the day and wondering where the "cop-killer" bullets had come from. None of the perps had been packing them.

••••

Jake stepped from the elevator alone.  The fading adrenaline had caught up with his teammates and they’d lingered over their food until he’d thought he’d loose it.  So when the nurse had come down, just like the Doc promised, to let them know Frank was comfortable settled on the second floor, the agent had decided to come back up ahead of them.

“Excuse me, ma’am.  I’m looking for Frank Donovan,” he explained to the nurse at the desk.

“208, just around the corner,” she replied, smiling flirtatiously. 

Jake smiled back, but didn’t have the energy to take it any farther.  Instead, he wearily dragged himself in the direction she’d pointed, the fading adrenaline finally catching up with him as well.  As he rounded the corner, Jake caught site of a woman about to turn the corner farther down the hallway.  She paused when she saw him. 

“Who’s she?”  Monica asked, startling Jake and making him jump.

“Shit, Monica!  Don’t do that.”

“Sorry,” she offered, although Jake didn’t think it sounded very sincere.  “So…who’s is she?”

“You got me,” he shrugged.  Coming up from behind, Alex grabbed his hand, startling Jake again, and he rolled his eyes at her.

“Sorry.  Well, she certainly seems to know you,” she stated, as the women shot the trio a look of death before vanishing around the corner.

“Hey!  How do you know that was meant for me?  There are three of us standing here, you know.  

“Four, actually.”  Jake, Alex and Monica all jumped.

“Sorry,” Cody offered, although none of them thought that he sounded very sincere. 

“Let’s go,” Jake grumbled, as he led the way to Frank’s room.  Donovan was still sleeping when they entered.

“With the blood loss, he’ll likely be out for a while.”  Not having noticed the nurse from the desk entering behind them, they gang jumped.  “Sorry.”

Cody chuckled.

“I’ll grab another chair if you’d like to hang around,” the nurse offered.  She’d worked with enough wounded cops to know that these guys weren’t leaving until the patient woke. 

“Thanks.”  Jake peeled the scowl off his face and offered her a genuine smile of appreciation before sinking into one of the chairs already available.  Cody and Monica grabbed the other two and Alex curled up on the foot of the bed, being careful not to jostle her superior.

By the time, the nurse returned, all four were sound asleep.  She shrugged, setting the chair against the wall, and moved to the bed to check on their fallen companion.  Frank’s eyes flickered open as she touched him.

“Hey, there.  How are you feeling?”  Frank groggily blinked his eyes a few times, but didn’t answer.  “That’s all right.  You’ve had a pretty rough day.   You’re going to be fine, though.”  She patted him on the arm and started to leave, but then turned back towards him with an afterthought, “They’re gonna be fine, too.”

Frank stared, puzzled, at the nurse’s back as she went out the door.  They?  It was then that he realized there was a weight at the bottom of the bed.  Painfully pushing himself up a little with his elbows, he saw Alex sound asleep…and Jake in a chair by the door…and Cody and Monica by the window.  Easing himself back down, Frank closed his eyes and went back to sleep, a little smile plastered on his face.  It was nice to know they were making an effort to watch his back…even if they were asleep.

••••

Frank Donovan woke with a start as a shifting of weight jostled the bed beneath him.  He almost smiled as he heard Alex’s swear softly when she realized his eyes were open. 

“Sorry about that, Frank,” she sincerely offered. 

“Not important,” he croaked, groggily.  Alex responded with a tired smile.  “You should….,” 

Frank paused, realizing his throat was too dry and he was too well-medicated to get out very many words.  Settling instead for a weak gesture with his hand, he indicated that he’d noticed the whole gang was there. 

Alex smiled, again.  “Yeah.  You know how it is…wanted to be sure you were all right.”

Frank cracked a half-smile, before gesturing again.  “I’m…fine.  All..you…go home.”

Alex opened her mouth to protest, but Frank cut her off.

“Come  back…to…morrow,”  he croaked, with a yawn, and sleepily closed his eyes. 

Alex smiled, sadly, realizing her boss probably just wanted to be left alone.   He was pretty drugged up, but even so, getting shot tended to give a person cause to reflect.  Something that was better done in privacy.   Moving over to Monica and Cody, Alex gently shook them out of their sound sleeps. 

“Mmm-huh.”

“Nggmph.”

They responded, sleepily rubbing at their eyes as they attempted to orient themselves.

Moving over to Jake, Alex paused for a moment.   She’d been an undercover agent long enough to be wary of shaking Jake awake.  He was liable to take her to the floor before he was coherent enough to realize who she was.  Settling on a different approach, she crouched down by his ear and tickled it seductively.

“Jaa-aake,” she whispered.   He smiled. 

“Jaa-aake.  Time to wake up now,” Alex whispered again, and he smiled again, but didn’t wake up.  Backing a few feet away from the chair, she decided to try something else.  “JAKE!  WAKE UP!”

Behind her, Frank jerked awake again. 

“Way to go, Alex,” Cody chided.   Following his gaze over to Frank, Alex immediately realized what she done. 

“Sorry, Frank,” she offered sheepishly.

“Huh?!  Hey!  What…?!” Jake stammered, simultaneously, as he also abruptly woke.

Frank just smiled, slightly, and sleepily blinked his eyes.

“Time to go home,” Alex answered Jake, as Cody simultaneously spoke to Frank.

“How you feeling, boss,” he asked, the naturally sarcastic tone of his voice almost masking his genuine concern.  Frank rolled his eyes toward the IV pain medication hanging next to his bed. 

“Feelin’ fine,” he whispered. 

“Yeah, I bet you are,” Jake quipped, stumbling sleepily toward the bed.   Frank tossed him a half-smile before drowsily closing his eyes.

“Come on, guys.  We can come back tomorrow,” Alex prodded, taking the hint.  Moving between her teammates and the bed, she patiently herded them toward the door. 

“Night, boss.”

“Yeah. Later, Frank.”

“Catcha tomorrow, Donovan.”

“Sleep well.”

Frank smiled, but couldn’t quite muster any further response.  Vaguely registering the sound of the door opening and closing, he let himself drift aimlessly in a drug-induced haze.   

“Thought they’d never leave.”

Frank flinched and opened his eyes.  A beautiful face greeted him with a worried smile.  He’d just been dreaming about that face.  Grinning, dopily, he weakly reached for her hand.  

“How you doin’?”  She whispered, taking his hand in hers and gently messaging it.

Frank rolled his eyes toward the IV bag again and whispered, “fine.”

“Yeah, bet you are,” she quipped, chuckling, but Frank could hear the tears in her voice.

“Come…’ere,” he whispered, tugging on her hand.   He closed his eyes, contentedly, feeling her soft arms carefully, but intimately, wrap around him as she gingerly snuggled next to him on the bed.

“Dreamt you were here earlier,” Frank whispered, drowsily. 

“Was.”

“Mmm,” he replied. 

“Had to leave.  Couldn’t face ‘em, yet.”

Frank’s brow furrowed.  “Wasn’t their fault.”

“Should’ve been watching your back,” she replied, in a bitter whisper. 

“My job to watch theirs, not their….” He stopped as he registered barely audible cursing.

“They should’ve been watching your back!”  She emphatically hissed, after she’d finished venting.

“I’m all right,” Frank responded, hearing the fear and frustration behind her hostility.

“You’ll live,” she clarified.  “This time.”

“Next time, they’ll be watching my back,” Frank assured, knowing it was the possibility of a ‘next time’ that was really bothering her.  She didn’t say anything, but Frank felt her snuggling closer to him.  Mindful of his IVs, he carefully wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

“The kids okay?”  He asked.  She was quivering; a change of subject couldn’t hurt.   

“Yeah,” her voice whispered, tearfully, and Frank cursed his drug-fogged brain for not realizing that thinking about them would only make her more upset.  Too late now, Frank.

“Where?”

“Asleep in the waiting room,” she answered, in a clipped whisper.  Frank felt something wet against his neck and realized she’d started to cry.

“I’m all right,” he whispered, soothingly.

He felt her nod against his neck as her arms tightened around him. 

“I know,” was all she said. 

Frank sighed.  Snuggling deeper into her, he just held her and let her cry. 

••••

“Hey!”   Alex flinched at the sound of Jake’s voice and reluctantly turned to face him.  “You’re supposed to be home in bed!”

She raised an accusatory eyebrow.  “So are you!”

“Yeah, well, I’m not the one that shooed us all out of here,” he reminded her, peevishly. 

Alex shrugged.  She couldn’t really blame him; he was tired.  She could tell he’d showered and changed, like she had, but doubted he’d gotten anymore sleep in the past few hours than she.  

“I couldn’t sleep…keep seeing him slumped there…”

Jake cut her off.  “Yeah, I know.”

“Besides, I’m not gonna disturb him….figured I sack out in the waiting room,”  Alex finished.

“Yeah, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Jake added with a grin.  He’d had the feeling all along that it had been Donovan’s idea to send them all home – not Alex’s.  When she smirked, he knew he was right.

••••

Shifting around in search of a comfortable position to sleep in, Monica glanced longingly at the couch across from her.  When she’d decided to return to the hospital, after going home long enough to clean up, she’d planned to spend the night on that couch.   However, the two little ones sound asleep on it had put a crimp in that plan.  As it seemed probable one of their parents was patient, Monica hadn’t the heart to wake them.  So, there she was, trying to sleep in a chair.

Sighing, she shifted again, deciding her previous position wasn’t as comfortable as she’d thought.  Monica was just about settled in a good spot when one of the little forms on the couch stirred awake.   Feeling unexplainably guilty, she quickly sat up, watching the child sleepily rub her eyes, before staring directly at the profiler. 

“Hi,” a groggy little voice greeted. 

“Hi,” Monica replied, with a friendly smile. 

“You waitin’ to see somebody?” 

Monica hesitated for a moment – the kid was awfully young to be dealing with stuff like this, but she was obviously looking for a connection.    “I’m waiting for a friend of mine, well, I guy I work with actually.”

“Oh.” 

Monica wondered if she should ask something, or just let the little girl control the conversation.  She seemed very old for her apparent age, making it hard to get a feel for how to handle her. 

“What happened?”

“To my friend?”  Monica clarified, receiving a little nod in reply.  Again, she hesitated, but something in the big eyes gazing at her made her decide it was okay.  “He got shot.”

“Oh.  Yeah…so did my dad.”  The little girl stared off into the distance for a minute, and Monica tried to think of something comforting to say – but everything came out sounding trite, so she said nothing.  “He gonna be okay…your friend?”

“They think so, yeah.”

“That’s good.”  The little girl smiled.

“What about your dad,” Monica asked, praying he wasn’t dead or in a coma or something.  She’d feel like crap for asking if he were.  

“Mommy says he’s gonna be okay,” she answered, and Monica breathed a sigh of relief.  “Don’t know for sure.  They won’t let us see him cause we’re too little.”

“Well, I’m sure your Mommy wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true.”

“Yeah.”

Monica heard a tiny bit of doubt in the reply, but couldn’t think of anything reassuring to say.

“Where you goin’?”  the profiler asked, seeing the little girl abruptly rise and head toward the door.

“Bathroom,” she answered, smiling over her shoulder. 

Monica smiled back, feeling stupid for asking.  It wasn’t really any of her business.  The question had just sort of seemed to come out on it’s own.  As their Mom was apparently with their Dad, she was the only adult there, so she figured it was just sort of instinct to watch out for them.  Shaking her head, sadly, Monica glanced at the other little one still sleeping soundly, before closing her eyes and leaning back in the chair.  She didn’t bother getting comfortable, that could wait till the little girl came back.

••••

Feeling of an intense gaze watching him, Frank dragged himself slowly toward consciousness.  Blinking his eyes groggily, he turned his head, slightly, toward the side of the bed and met with two enormous eyes, magnified even further by the tears wetting them.  Frank smiled. 

“Hi, baby,” he croaked, in a soft whisper. 

“Hi, daddy,” a little, tear-laced voice replied in a whisper barely loud enough to hear.  “You okay?”

“Yeah, gonna be fine,” he answered, reassuringly.  “Where’s…”

“Still sleeping,” she answered, anticipating the question. 

“Hmm,” Frank responded, groggily.  Finding it hard to keep his eyes open, he let them slip closed.  “It’s pretty late, baby, you should be sleeping, too.”

“Yeah, I know, daddy,” she replied, her voicing cracking tearfully.  “I was just so scar….I just had to see you.”

Frank forced his eyes open again.  “Shh…I know, baby.  It’s all right.” 

Lifting his sluggish, IVed hand, he gently brushed away the tears starting to roll down her cheeks.  Giving her another smile, Frank folded his fingers around hers.    He was just about to tell her she could stay for a little while, when he felt the head nestled against him stir to life. 

“Hey, you, you’re supposed to be asleep.” 

“Sorry, mommy,” came the sniffly reply.

“Well, let’s get you back to the couch, before your cohort in crime wakes up.”

Although he’d let his eyes close, Frank smiled. 

“I’ll be back, as soon as she’s back to sleep.”

Frank nodded.  “Be right here.”

She chuckled.  “Better be.”

Frank meant to smile, but it didn’t quite happen.   Happily drifting in semi-sleep, he heard the door opened, again. 

“That was quick,” he mumbled, barely understandable.

“Sorry to disappoint, Donovan, but the pretty little thing and her momma are still headed down the hall.”

Frank’s eyes flew open, a jolt of adrenaline bringing him fully awake. 

••••

“You, too, huh?” 

Monica bolted up from the chair as Jake’s voice woke her. 

“Sorry,” he offered, with sheepish sincerity. 

Monica shrugged.  “Don’t worry about it

“Hey, Mon,” Alex greeted, shoving her way past Jake.  Monica held a finger to her lips as the little form on the couch stirred restlessly.  Alex glanced over, replying in a whisper.  “Oh, oops.  Friend of yours?”

Monica shrugged.  “Don’t know who they are.” 

“They?”  Jake whispered.

“Yeah, there’s a sister…wondered off to the bathroom a few minutes ago,” she clarified.  “Their mom’s in with their dad.  He apparently got shot somehow.”

“Poor babies,” Alex whispered, sympathetically. 

“Yeah, hope they didn’t see it,” Jake added.  

Monica sighed in agreement, then, stood in awkward silence with her teammates.

“Oh!  Excuse me!” 

Jake turned slightly as someone bumped into him.  Shuffling out of the doorway, he glanced at the woman and little girl trying to enter, freezing as he instantly recognized the face.  When she looked up, Jake saw that she recognized him, too.   The woman’s lovely features transformed into a look of death – the same look she’d shot him hours earlier, in the hallway.  

“Um…excuse us, we’re just leaving,” he stammered, as her glare intensified.  “Come on, guys.” 

He didn’t have to ask twice.  Alex and Monica had also recognized both the face and the ‘look’.  

••••

 “Bet your wondering how it is I’m free as a bird, aren’t ya, Donovan?”  He waited for a response from Frank, but, to his disappointment, none came.   An icy mask had dropped across Donovan’s face, and it wasn’t budging.    “Well, now, that’s between me and people higher up than you.”

He was pleased when the comment earned a faint glimmer of something in Donovan’s eyes, but it wasn’t enough to identify.  So…he’d have to try harder, that’s all.

“Had no idea you were a family man.  Almost makes me feel bad…but not quite.” 

He grinned as the reaction, this time, was definite.  Donovan’s expression hadn’t changed, but his eyes had hardened.  Frank was feeling something now, which was just what he wanted.  Now he’d be worrying about his pretty little girl and babe of a wife as he died.   

“What do you want, Rockwell,” Frank’s chilly voice demanded. 

Bobby smirked.  “I think that’s pretty obvious, Donovan.  You destroyed my life, took from me the only real family I ever had; I want payback.”

Frank said nothing.

“So, what do you think, Donovan, am I gonna get what I want?”

Still, Frank said nothing, but Bobby saw his eyes hardened a little more.    He smirked again. 

“Get up!” 

Frank didn’t move.

“Come on, Donovan, you don’t want us to still be here when she comes back, now do you?”

Bobby grinned as Frank yanked out his IV’s and, with a painful grunt, swung his legs over the side of bed.   They nearly folded as he stood, but by the sheer force of his will, Frank managed to stay standing.  He even managed to wipe a slight grimace from his face as he looked up to face Rockwell again.

“Let’s go!”  Bobby instructed, waving his gun toward the door.  “You won’t believe this, Donovan, but they put you in a room not twenty feet from the emergency stairwell.  Considerate of them, don’t you think?”

Frank said nothing.   He couldn’t, really.   It was taking everything he had, and then some, to stay standing, but he was determined no to expose his family to the threat.  The further away he was from the waiting room when he made his move, the safer they would be.   

“Frank!”  Jake shouted, turning the corner just as Rockwell opened the door to the stairwell.  “Shit!  Rockwell!”

“Damn!  Guess we found our shooter!”  Relieved she’d reflexively brought a sidearm with her, Alex drew it and aimed at Bobby.  In front of her, she saw Jake do the same.

“Drop it, Bobby! Ain’t no where for you do go!”  Jake shouted.  Bobby responded by roughly yanking Donovan in front of him.

Pain shot through Frank’s body, and he gasped, but determinedly kept his face from showing it - not wanting to make it any worse for Jake and Alex.  His icy mask melted slightly as he looked past Alex to see his wife peaking around the corner, her eyes wide with fear.    With his eyes, he pleaded with her to get back, but she shook her head.    Please!  Don’t let this happen in front of her!  Forcing away his pain and fear, Frank kept his eyes locked on hers, smiling reassuringly, trying to make her believe everything was going to be all right.

“Yeah, there is, Jake,” Bobby hissed.  Sneering as he caught sight of Frank’s wife, he abruptly stepped backward into the stairwell, using Frank as a shield until the door closed. 

“No!”  Monica grabbed the women from the waiting room as she lunged toward the stairwell.  The woman looked up at her pleadingly, eliminating from the profiler’s mind any doubt about who she was.  Monica kicked herself for not putting it together sooner.  “They’ll get him back.  You need to stay with your kids.” 

She nodded, numbly, but didn’t move.  Forcing the adrenaline surging through her body down enough to move herself, Monica gently guided the woman back to the waiting room.  Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the movement of her teammates as they raced for the stairwell.

••••

With a loud grunt, Donovan threw his weight to the side, catching Bobby off-guard and sending them both tumbling down the stairs.   Slamming onto his back as they reached the landing, paralyzing pain shot through his body.  The breath shocked from his lungs, Frank’s eyes grew wide with panic as he desperately struggled to refill them.  A small fragment of his outraged brain dimly registered Bobby standing over him and the barrel of a gun aimed directly at his face, but Frank couldn’t move…couldn’t shout…COULDN’T BREATHE. 

“Don’t worry, Donovan, I’m gonna put you out of your misery right now,” Bobby sneered, seeing the agony in Frank’s face. 

Frank saw Rockwell’s mouth move, but the blood rushing through his ears drowned out the sound.  Black spots danced before his eyes.  Forgetting he was supposed to be trying to breath, Frank watched with childish wonderment as the spots grew larger and larger until they coalesced into one gigantic spot that engulfed him in blackness.

“Don’t do it, Bobby!”  Jake shouted.  Rockwell turned his head and grinned, then looked back down at Frank, his finger tightening around the trigger.  Jake’s and Alex’s guns fired nearly simultaneously. 

Two bullets slammed into Bobby’s chest, knocking him of his feet and throwing him onto Frank with a sickening thud.  Already unconscious, Donovan didn’t notice, but Jake’s and Alex’s eyes grew wide and they raced down the stairs.   

Roughly, Jake dragged Bobby off Frank and checked for a pulse, as Alex hovered over Donovan. 

“Talk to me, Frank!”  She got no response.  Nervously reaching down and checking for a pulse, Alex sighed with relief when she found one.  Looking up she smiled, weakly, at her teammate.

Jake nodded and glanced down Bobby.   He was startled to find Rockwell’s eyes open and fixed on him.   Bobby whispered something to soft to hear, and Jake leaned a little closer. 

“Thanks, Jake.”

His brow furrowed as he wondered why Bobby would be thanking him.  He’d just shot him.  From the looks of it, he’d probably killed him.  Bobby whispered again, barely getting the words out before the last vestiges of life drained away and his head lolled limply to the side.   Jake closed his eyes, grief-stricken, as the meaning of the words sank in.

“What’d he say?”  Alex asked, seeing the anguish on her teammate’s face. 

“He said that was what he really wanted, but he didn’t have the guts to do it himself,” Jake whispered, sorrowfully.

 “What was what really wanted,” Alex quizzed, too distracted with Frank to grasp the meaning.   Jake just glanced down at Bobby’s limp body.   “Oh!”

••••

Monica sat motionless, watching Frank’s wife absently rubbing her children’s backs as they slept.   They were both waiting for the same news, both worried about the same man, yet she couldn’t think of anything to say. 

“Mrs. Donovan?”

Monica jumped up as the doctor entered.  He smiled distractedly at her, before turning his attention to Frank’s wife.  

“He’s…?”  she tearfully asked.

“He’s doing fine…has a couple broken ribs and a concussion to add to his other injuries, but it shouldn’t set him back too badly.” 

Seeing her knees quiver with relief, Monica rushed over to offer support, earning a glance and a shaking smile.

“When can she see him?” the profiler asked the physician.  He smiled and briefly glanced at her, before directing his gaze back to Frank’s wife. 

“He’s already settled back in his room. I’ve instructed the nurse to let you stay as long as you need to.” 

She nodded appreciatively, before turning to give Monica a weak, but appreciative smile.  The profiler returned a sympathetic one, before turning her attention to the physician.

“My teammates are with him?”  she asked, and he nodded.  “I’ll go clear them out….” She smiled as Frank’s wife squeezed her arm appreciatively.  “Is there another waiting room?”

The physician nodded.  “Opposite end of the hall.”

Monica nodded and headed for the door.  She paused, halfway out, to sneak one final glance at the family.  They were obviously a secret Frank wasn’t ready to share.  She could respect that, she decided, as headed down the hall to join up with her teammates.

Alex’s waved her inside as she peeked into the door of Frank’s room.   Monica smiled.  “How’s he doing?” 

“Fine.”   A weak voiced croaked.  

Jake, Alex, and Monica glanced towards the bed, stunned to see Frank’s eyes open a sliver and fixed on them.

“Hey, Frank,” Jake greeted.  Frank blinked sleepily a few timed and closed his eyes, but his brow furrowed, telling them he hadn’t fallen back to sleep.

“Frank?  What is it?”  Alex asked, anxiously.

“Didn’t I…tell…you…go…home?”

“Yeah, Frank,” Monica answered.  “We’re just on our way out the door.”

Frank smiled, slightly, and weakly nodded.  Monica smiled back, even though his eyes were still closed.  Moving around to grab them by the arms, she dragged her reluctant teammates toward the door.

“Hey!”

She paused, and they turned to look at him.

“Thanks.” 

The mumbled word faded sleepily away, but they understood and smiled at each other as they hustled out the door.

“Did I miss something?”

All three jumped at the unexpected sound of Cody’s voice.

“What?”  He asked, shrugging his shoulders innocently as Jake rolled his eyes at him.

“Come on, Cody.  We’ll tell you all about it over some coffee,” Monica offered.  ‘I’ll need the time to figure out why we can’t go into the other waiting room,’ she added, silently. 

Smiling, she wrapped an arm around one of Cody’s and guided him toward the elevators.  Jake offered his arm to Alex, who wearily accepted it, and they followed.

The end.

*Frank’s wife and kids were borrowed from Shane’s Salerno’s announcement that Frank was married with two children.    ;-)

**Bobby Rockwell is borrowed from the episode “City on Fire” and belongs to Shane Salerno.