Mission: FAHK YOU

Lina didn’t know what time it was when she woke up, just that it was still rather early. It was growing lighter outside a bit and she knew it wouldn’t be long before dawn came, and the new day would show itself. She didn’t want a new day. She wanted to stay in this one with the perfect man next to her. The moment the day came, she’d have to leave.

She stretched slightly, trying not to disturb James while she stretched out. She rolled onto her side, watching him as he slept. He looked so peaceful, not plagued with the stresses of work and life. He really was perfect, and wonderful, and Lina’s heart ached for him despite the fact she was pressed into him. She had to leave. She had too, while he was asleep, she realized. If she didn’t, she would stay. She would find some excuse to stay she knew it. Just so she could stay with him longer. They couldn’t do that, she had a life to get back to. She had incoming drama with Steven she just knew was going to happen, and she didn’t want to drag James into that. He deserved better. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she memorized every pane and line of his face. His stubble was thicker than yesterday’s, and she knew it would be coarser against her skin than last night’s. It hurt. Everything hurt. Why had she done this to herself? A part of her didn’t regret a thing though. She would have never known what it was really like to be with James if she hadn’t left her room. She was glad she did.

Knowing it was now or never she let a shuddering breath out before she gently reached up and brushed some hair off his forehead. She made sure to keep her touches feather-light so as not to wake him, and then she leaned in carefully, and placed a tender kiss on his lips. Holding it for a moment just so she could feel his lips beneath hers one last time, before she broke it. She tucked her hair behind her ears then and quietly rolled out of the bed. Her movements slow. Her body ached in certain places from their activities and she winced slightly. It had certainly been awhile but the slight soreness was good. She needed it. She found her discarded clothes and quickly put them on before she glanced at James alone now in bed. Her heart was breaking seeing him there. Time to go Lina. She told herself. She went to leave, but then stopped, not wanting to leave without saying goodbye or at least something, she walked over to his hotel desk and found the note pad the hotel provided. She took a shuddering breath in, as she fought the tears, but ultimately she pushed through and wrote him a note. She spotted the all-seeing one then and picked it up. Placing a small kiss on the top of its head, she set it on the desk and her note propped up against it so James would be able to find it later.

Wiping her eyes she walked hurriedly to the door, daring to look over her shoulder one last time to see James’s sleeping form before she covered her mouth with one hand to prevent a sob from coming out. She wanted to stay so badly. To wake up beside him and stay beside him. But knew it was a bad idea. Go Lina. She ordered. She quietly opened the door a bit, before slipping out. Closing it softly behind her, the moment it was shut, she turned and ran down the short distance to her room. Getting her door open, she managed to close it before she let the sobs finally come out, and she cried.

She allowed herself a few moments before she began to pack. She was leaving. Now. She was going to find the earliest flight to Kenai possible. She wasn’t going to her last seminar, she wasn’t leaving that night, she was leaving now. She had to. She had to get as far away from James and San Diego as possible.

It didn’t take her long, but once she was all packed and ready to go, she wheeled her small suitcase out of the room, and then quickly left. Not letting herself look three doors Down at the room she really wanted to be in.

James note would read:

J

I would have liked to say goodbye with you awake, but realized It would be a lot harder for me to want to leave. To the extent I wouldn’t want to leave. I would stay if you let me. I don’t want to leave even as I’m writing this, though I know it’s probably the best for both our sakes. So, the goodbye we had at my door will be our goodbye, and the goodbye in your bed will be our dirty little secret. The all-seeing one told me so.

I truly meant what I said when I told you thank you. I didn’t think I needed this “vacation”, in fact, I wasn’t even going to come until my Uncle talked me into it. I’m really glad he did, or else I wouldn’t have met you and been able to spend the last two days in your delightful company. Yes, you’re a goddamn delight, don’t let it go to your head. You showed me what living was like again, and for that I will be eternally grateful. You brought a bit of the old Lina out again. In all honesty, I thought my ex had killed off what remained of her. I was a broken shell of a woman James, someone who didn’t trust others. Who didn’t let strangers close. Who certainly would not have done any one night stands, but you were different. You are different in a way I don’t think I can describe other than it’s beautiful. How quickly you crashed my walls down, I cannot fathom the feelings you gave me. That connection we had. Since I met you I haven’t felt like you were a stranger once. It was as if you were an old friend, or even a lover, that I was meeting once again. I know it’s sappy, and I sound crazy, but my soul was happy to meet yours.

So again, you impossible Scot, thank you.

Just remember
You're the one thing
I can't get enough of
So I'll tell you something
This could be love
Because I've had the time of my life
No, I never felt this way before
Yes I swear it's the truth
And I owe it all to you.

L

He never slept this late or this well. Normally it was just a few hours and his mind was waking him up at some ungodly hour to start his day. A day of nothing, more often than not. While he was technically on the job, he hadn't received one yet, but that usually didn't matter. He was up early every morning and had his routine, if only to keep him sane.

It must have been her. Not just fatigue from their nightly "activities", but actually her. She possessed this ability to calm him just with her presence, to undo all that routine the Marines had drilled into him, that he drilled into himself. He was usually a very light sleeper, and yet, she hadn't managed to wake him up. Even the slightest noise usually had him jolting awake, prepared and ready for anything...and yet, the one time it would have been ideal, he had barely budged.

So, as morning came and the sunlight peeked through the curtain, he finally stirred. Immediately, something felt wrong. He was reaching over to find nothing but a cold, empty space on the bed beside him and that prompted him to sit up slowly and rub the sleep from his eyes. He felt like he was in a fog; looking around the room for her as a hand ran through messy hair. But she was nowhere. Were it not for her scent still on the sheets, on him, James may have thought it had all been a dream.

Wait, the seminar. A glance at the clock, it was still unplugged. Reaching over for his phone, he noted the time was 8:30...and he had a message. Yet it was not from Lina.

You've been assigned a new mark. This one should be easy for you, considering you've already met. You have 24 hours.

It was time-stamped several hours ago. Shit. The words made him pause though. What the fuck did that mean? Groaning in annoyance, he forced himself out of bed and slipped on his pants. He retrieved the high-tech tablet from its secret compartment in his luggage to finally see what was so important about keeping him in San Diego for these few extra days.

He should have sat down because he wasn't prepared for the image that came up on the screen.

Her face was burned into his memory. He'd know it anywhere now, he’d remember it every time he closed his eyes. The photo showed her walking down the street in a pair of jeans, those Converse, and a long-sleeved, comfortable red sweater. He didn't know what street it was, if it was even a recent photo, but that didn't matter...

Because he was staring at a photo of Helina.

The breath was caught within his throat and he swore he was dreaming again. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real. James couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen, foolishly continuing to read her file in complete and utter denial. Was this a joke? No...ACIS didn’t make jokes.

They wanted him to kill her, and his mind was swarming with thoughts as to why.

Name: Helina Elizabeth Houston (née Rogers)
Birthday: August 17th
Age: 30
Height: 5'6
Weight: 125 lbs.
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Place of Residence: Kenai, Alaska
Marital Status: Steven Houston (divorced)

And that was where he stopped. Steven Houston. Holy fuck, why hadn’t he picked up on that sooner? The same dickhead Houston of ACIS, the Warden’s underling. What was going on? What was he even going to do? When the agency put a timestamp on a target, you either got it done, or they hunted you down as well.

His hands began to shake and he had to forcefully throw the tablet back inside his suitcase before fingers filtered back through his hair, wanting to yank it out. Every part of him was buzzing, just this time in fear, in confusion, in wondering how this could have even happened.

This one should be easy for you, considering you've already met.

They were watching. Someone was already here.

Was it fucking Houston? Was this some sick joke because he saw one of his ACIS agents getting too close to his ex-wife? Had...Lina actually done something? Was she more than she seemed? His heart was suddenly in his throat as he wondered if he had been played. If he, James Bishop, had been played by a pair of pretty eyes. The thought made him sick, made him torn and angry, yet before he could let that thought completely take over, he noticed the stupid unicorn on the table along with a note.

He rushed to read it, eyes scanning over every written word. James couldn’t breathe again. He was furious, he was sad, he was happy and confused, and his brain was unable to remain on just one damn thing. He found himself grinning softly albeit the dark cloud looming over him, which only made this all that much worse.

In a moment of panic again, he realized one thing: they were both going to be hunted. They were both going to die.

He needed to get her out of here.

Getting completely dressed, he grabbed his phone and rushed from his room. He was immediately going towards hers, only to find that the maid was already inside cleaning it. No. That wasn’t right. She had until noon. The anxiety was welling up inside his chest, a pressure that threatened to strangle his heart as he rushed down the steps. There were a couple conference rooms in the hotel, she had to be in one of them. She was still here, she had to be. But that note...why would she leave that note?

Booted feet carried him swiftly towards each conference room, peering in to try and spot her but it was no use. She wasn’t in any of them. She wasn’t here. She was gone. Fingers fumbled with his phone to dial her number, where it instantly went to voicemail. Had she turned it off? Why would she turn it off?

Unless she was already on a plane.

A curse fled his lips, and he was sprinting towards the front desk, weaving through the influx of new visitors as he sputtered out apologies.
“Mr. Bishop, please...I need you to go to the back of the-”
“Trish, please,” he used her name in order to express his frantic desperation. “I just...need to know. Helina Houston-” He paused briefly, her name nearly making him cringe. The thought of her having been associated with that asshole made him furious and sick. “Did she already check out?”
The woman flickered her attention between him and the sudden line of guests who were becoming quickly annoyed, but she noted that look on his face. She couldn’t ignore it. “Yes, sir, early this morning. I called her a cab to the airport a couple of hours ago.”

For the first time in a long time, James felt like he had lost everything.


Click, clack, click, clack. The locket Lina was playing with in her mouth clicked against her teeth gently as she sat cross-legged in front of her mirror. A giant scowl on her face as she stared at the small red marks that were finally beginning to fade. They were everywhere, or so it seemed. Mostly along her shoulders, her chest, lower. Her face began to grow red knowing she had matching marks on the inside of her thighs. The worst one was the one where her neck met her shoulder, where James had all but practically claimed her. She had told him to not hold back, but Jesus… you try explaining a hicky to your uncle that could clearly see it after picking you up from the airport. He hadn’t said anything, just arched an eyebrow asked, “James?”
“James.” she had sighed. They’d never had the talk, and Lina was a grown-ass woman who had been married, but still…. talk about awkward.

The marks were fading though, another couple of days and her little souvenirs from James would be gone. That is unless he’d left her one that wouldn’t arrive for nine months. She was glaring at the calendar on the wall, Labrador puppy staring back at her. She’d been trying to do the math as to when her last period was and trying to predict her next one. For being so smart, Lina had been very stupid. They hadn’t used protection at all, and Lina hadn’t realized it until it was far too late to take a morning-after pill. Anyone else, anyone else she would have demanded the condom first thing, but James? The man had wiped her brain clean of responsible thoughts. He had made her only thoughts about him. Her thoughts were still only about him. And it hurt. So much…

She’d gotten back a few days ago, and hadn’t said much to uncle Elliott. Just that she’d had a nice time and that was it. Once he’d dropped her off she’d gone up to her small apartment above the clinic and had eaten half a tub of Ben and Jerry’s while sobbing over Dirty Dancing. Fuck you Swayze and your full-proof ways. She missed him so much that every nerve in her body hurt. She felt like she was grieving for a man she’d only known two days, but felt like a lifetime. What was worse? She kept pulling up his stupid picture and caught herself almost texting him several times. He had called at some point, but she’d been on the plane, and she didn’t have the nerve to call him back. If she heard his voice she’d go to him. She knew it, and it would be bad. Simply because she wouldn’t want to leave.

She spit her locket out, and groaned as she climbed to her feet. She wore her pajama bottoms and a tank top. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun on her head and she pushed her glasses up on her face. She held the locket in one hand, glancing down at it. She ran her thumb over the old brass oval shape. It’d been her mother’s. One of the last remaining things she’d had of her. Normally she never went anywhere without it. Always wearing it, but she hadn’t taken it with her to San Diego, afraid it would get stolen or lost. She kept it at home for safekeeping, but now that she was back it went right around her neck, hanging from its long chain as it laid between her breasts.

She walked up to the calendar, and began counting days. She was probably fine, and would have nothing to worry about surely. The universe wouldn’t be that cruel, would it? Still, her mind did wander to the possibility of a little boy with bright blue eyes and a cheeky grin that was just like his...

Lina’s phone began to ring and she was pulled from her thoughts as she walked over to where it sat on the coffee table. Now that she was home she couldn’t really ignore random calls anymore.

“Hello?” she asked.
“Helina?” She stilled. Steven’s voice seemed almost surprised to hear her pick up.
“Steve, stop calling,” she said slowly. Firmly.
“How long have you been back, a few days?” he asked, completely ignoring her.
“Not answering that goodby-”
“Helina, you’re in danger, you're going to be in danger- listen I can pro-”
What kind of bullshit was this? Was he growing more desperate? Trying to think of more ludicrous things to try and persuade her to come back? The only danger was him. And she was done. “I don’t know what kind of drugs you're on, but in case you forgot, you’re the danger, or did you forget about my restraining order again? Stop calling me Steven, I’m already going to go back to the police over this little stunt. Leave. Me. The. Hell. Alone.” She pulled the phone from her ear, not making out his frantic words anymore before she hung up and then quickly called her uncle.

“Why hello to the prettiest wee Siren I ever did hear!” His voice was cheerful as always whenever she called.
“Steven called again.” She didn’t beat around the bush and began to pace her living room. Her other hand grabbing the locket. She was trying to get her breathing under control but she could already begin to feel the anxiety attack coming on.
“Lina, take a deep breath,” he told her calmly, but there was something in his tone that said he wasn’t about to be calm for much longer.
“Already am.” She smiled weakly though he couldn’t see it, and her voice cracked slightly. “He says I’m in some sort of danger, and it’s- he's getting worse Uncle, I don’t know what he’s going to do.” She began to choke out as she felt the tears. She wanted James. Wanted that safe embrace and haven he provided with his arms.
She could hear silence on the other line, and for a moment she thought she had accidentally hung up on him, until she heard his low grumble.
“I’ll take care of it, lass, do you want me to come over in a bit? Ta sit wit ya?” He asked gently. His Irish brogue grew a bit thicker probably from his anger.
She nodded her head, and then a sigh out. “Yes, please.” She whispered. She could faintly hear a pounding in the background and then shuffling.
“Alright, let me see who’s tryin’ to break my bloody door down and then I’ll be-” There was silence then as Lina heard the door in the back ground open. “I’ll have ta call ye back honey, I’ll see ye later, alright? It’s goin’ ta be okay.”
Before Lina could respond, the line went dead.

She blinked a few seconds. What? That was...odd. Something felt...off and she had half a mind to try and call him back. But...maybe she was just being paranoid now. The locket came up to her mouth again as she wrapped her arms around herself. Maybe she could clean the kitchen and that would make her feel a little better. As the idea came to her, her feet drifted forward, having no clue as to who or what had appeared at her uncle's door.


Chaos. That was what happened.

It had taken him a couple of days to get to Alaska, if only because he had to carefully calculate his every move after he’d given ACIS a big “fuck you” in response to their 24 hour deadline. Obviously, it hadn’t gone over well, and the agency was starting to send people out to take care of it. Meaning: take care of him. After he killed one of them, James became their top priority, which meant it kept Helina safe...wherever she was in Alaska. In Kenai. He had to get to Kenai.

He hoped and prayed they hadn’t sent someone after her. There might still be time, but every agent he came across, he had to take care of, dispose of, and there were way too many close calls. More than he’d like to admit. After the second day, he was just waiting for them to send a whole squad...but he was smart. He “laid low” in the most public places he could think of in order to keep them at bay. It wouldn’t last long- however, he, fortunately, knew someone in Alaska that might be willing to help him out.

Maybe. Elliot had retired from this bullshit for a reason. The last thing James wanted to do was draw him into it and possibly risk his life...but he had to. Lina was in danger if she wasn’t already. He needed the old man’s help.

Especially now. Every step he took towards the sailor’s residence was agonizing and painful. His hand was firmly pressed against his side where a bullet lodged itself in his abdomen and he struggled to stop the bleeding. He was practically coated in dark blood; droplets trailing down his other arm from where a knife sliced across his shoulder. He was certain he was covered in more bruises and cuts, but he’d lost count hours ago.

Also, there was a car parked haphazardly on Elliot’s lawn with a dead man in the backseat, its hazards flashing.

As he made it to the house, his fist pounded frantically upon the door, praying to God that the man was home. This was not the reunion he had always imagined, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and he’d apologize profusely for this mess later on.

Whenever the door opened, bright eyes fell upon Elliot’s weathered face as he forced a smile through the obvious pain. “Oh, thank God yer home,” he breathed in relief, swaying upon his feet. “Listen, you gotta help me bury a body...” Although it was a very dire situation, he managed a cheeky grin. That is, right before blues rolled up into white and he collapsed right upon Elliot’s doorstep.


Elliot opened the door, still on the phone with Lina. The sight he saw before him had his blood running cold and the old sailor quickly hung up with her. “Kit?! What in gods-” There was that cheeky little grin and Elliot wanted to thwap the little shit right then and there. He would have too if his eyes weren’t rolling into the back of his head and he was going down. “No dying on my stoop! You little shit!” Elliot cried, frantically trying to catch him. He didn’t see the blood, but he could certainly feel the warm stickiness of it. Elliot wrapped an arm around Kit’s waist, before taking his other arm and wrapping it up over his shoulder so he’d have better support as he quickly dragged Kit over to his truck. “Coming to my house, covered in blood, don’t even give me a proper hullo, just collapse on my stoop trying to die!” He grumbled as he yanked the door open. Thankful that Kit had a bit of wirey frame to him and was shorter, it made it easier to get him up on the seat. He then turned and ran over to the car Kit had driven over, or at least that's what he could only assume, as he flipped the hazards off. Not wanting to draw attention to it. His eyes glanced into the back seat to see said dead body, and Elliot groaned. “Kit, what did you do?!” Elliot swore then. He had no choice. He’d have to take him to Lina if he wanted him to live so he could throttle his cheeky little neck himself.

For an old man, Elliot could still run as he got into the truck and began to call Lina to let her know he was coming.


Lina put her scrubber down when she heard her phone buzzing again. Seeing it was Elliot, she reached over and pushed talk, and then put him on speaker. “Hey aga-”
“I’ve got an emergency Siren, one of my old servicemen showed up at my door, he’s hurt. Badly.” Elliot’s frantic voice came on the line and a switch was flipped as Lina was already hurrying to the door that would take her downstairs into the clinic. Leaving her scrub brush behind as she thundered down the stairs.
“How bad we talking?” she asked. Her voice calm as she went into doctor mode. She flipped lights on as she reached the bottom of the stairs and her hand slid across the switches.
“He’s either got a gunshot or knife wound I can't- c’mon, Kit! No dyin’ on me, get those eyes open!” Elliot’s voice went distant and he began muttering as if he was struggling with something. Lina recognized the name, she’d heard of Kit countless times, though never met him.
“How far are you out?” she asked quickly, beginning to pull stuff down from the cupboards of her main exam room. It was a good thing she’d been in the mood to deep clean the place earlier, she wouldn’t have to sanitize it.
“Two minutes.” Elliot said, his voice was thick with concern and there was panic in his voice. He cared about the man. Deeply apparently, and Lina was going to try her best to try and save him.
“Okay, bring him to the back, I’ll meet you there with the gurney,” she told him. “Keep pressure on the wound if you can, okay?” she ordered.
Elliot gave a grunt for his response before hanging up.

When Elliot’s truck came screeching into the small back parking spot she had next to her Blazer, she met him with the gurney, while he jumped out and ran around to the side that had Kit. “Do you know how long it’s been since he got the injury?” she asked as Elliott threw the door open and began to practically drag Kit out, he was unconscious and in the dark, Lina couldn’t see his face yet. She quickly moved to help him, laying him down, and then told Elliot to keep the pressure on his wound as they wheeled him in under her tungsten lights. Once in the clinic, she went into her zone. Her hyper-focus of fixing whatever this man's problem was that threatened his life. “Hope he doesn’t like this shirt,” she found herself saying as she quickly put her rubber gloves on and took her medical scissors and cut his shirt off. Seeing he had a bullet wound in his abdomen. Of course he fucking did. Fuck.

She quickly checked his pulse then and found it getting low. He was probably going into shock. “Flashlight,” she snapped her fingers over at Elliot who was hovering, trying to talk to Kit while she worked. He handed it to her, and Lina moved to check to see if his eyes were dilated. “Alright, Kit, ca-” Lina’s breath caught, and for a moment it was like she’d been sucker-punched. The flashlight clattered to the floor and she stared in shock and then horror at who was on her table. James. It was James. Her James. He was on her table. He was trying to die on her. She sucked in a breath before she was practically lunging forward. “James?!” she said frantically. She scrambled for the flashlight, picking it up off the floor. Her urgency now went even faster, as pure adrenaline entered her system. What was he doing here? What had happened to him? Who had done this? So many questions filtered through her brain as she used her fingers to part his eyelids. Shining the light into those ocean blue eyes of his. She knew those eyes anywhere. It was him. It was James. “You don’t get to bleed on my floor and die, you idiot! This is not doing a Swayze, this is being a dumbass!” She shouted angrily at him, as tears began to form in her eyes. No, she couldn’t cry. She had work to do despite how much her heart was seizing at that moment. “Do you hear me, James Bishop?! You got a fucking mess to clean up.” Normally it was highly frowned upon to yell at patients but she’d made him an exception.

“Wait, you know him?” Elliot’s quiet, confused voice asked her.
“James!” she shouted in anger as she continued to work, as if it was the answer to everything.
“Your James is my Ki-” Lina didn’t notice that Elliot's eyes looked between the two of them.
“Hand,” she said frantically and Elliot offered his. She pressed it onto James’ side with a wad of gauze. She missed Elliot’s assessment of her, and how his eyes took in all the little markings James had left on Lina’s skin, clearly visible under the light and the fact she was in her pajamas and still wearing that tank top. Lina was startled when Elliot suddenly hauled off and smacked James upside the head with his free hand. “Hey! Don’t hit the patient. I'm trying to make him live so I can do that!” she scolded.
Elliot only grumbled about how if Kit didn’t die from his wound then he was going to kill him himself.

Lina didn’t want to think about James dying. She’d never been a bigger mess, nor as focused as she was then in those critical moments. She put everything she knew into tending to him, getting Elliot to help her as best as he could. She didn’t know how much time had passed, how much blood was everywhere, all she did was do her job to save a man she very much so wanted alive.

When she finally got the last stitch in his arm and snipped the thread, she put her tools into the metal bowl she had for her instruments. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and sighed before she gently applied the gauze bandage around his arm. After they’d gotten the bullet out and Lina was relieved it hadn’t gotten anything serious, and stitched him up, Elliot had gone to do something and excused himself while Lina had put her attention on the knife wound. He’d been gone an hour if she had to guess, and she stood up from her swirl stool and tried to make James as comfortable as she could.

He was hooked up to an IV to get fluids and a little something for his no doubt discomfort and a heart monitor that Lina was staring at intently, happy to see it was nice and steady. She’d gotten rid of his ruined shirt so he was shirtless. After cleaning up as much blood from him as possible, she tossed her gloves off then before retrieving a blanket and lightly covered him with it. Once she was satisfied he was good and tucked in, she bent down and rested her tired head against his gently. “If you wanted to see me you just had to call…” she whispered. Letting a shaky breath out. She didn’t realize how badly she was shaking until now, now that the adrenaline coursing through her was beginning to leave. She really needed a damn shot of tequila. “You have some major explaining to do,” she said taking a breath that got stuck in her throat. Realizing she was terrified right now. What if he hadn't gotten to her in time? What if Elliot had been a few minutes later? What if he had- he didn’t. He was alive. He was too stubborn to die. He had to be. She wouldn’t allow him to die on her. Not when he came back into her life so abruptly.

She gently stroked his cheek, willing him to wake up. Needing him to wake up so she could see those eyes of his, and hear him tell her he was okay. “Wake up, sweetheart,” she whispered, managing the words around the lump in her throat, she placed a soft kiss on his forehead, before she gently brushed his hair with her fingers. With a shuddering sigh she turned and began to locate her cleaning supplies. She didn’t even want to see what she looked like, knowing she had his blood everywhere on her pajamas. She’d done what she could. It would all be up to James now.


James had barely registered Elliot's voice. He barely even realized that he was still semi awake, being hauled over and into the man's truck. Every now and then, he started to wake up a bit more, listening to the sailor speak to someone. A woman, her voice...it sounded so familiar. So much in fact that it was clinging to him, trying to force him awake but he couldn't seem to. He had been running for hours, hadn't slept probably in a day, and every part of him hurt. Once he stopped moving, once the adrenaline had subsided, the pain became more evident, and his head lolled to the side in the seat. The last thing he heard was Elliot screaming at him.

He was being moved again, he heard their voices but couldn't register or make out much of the conversation. All he knew was that both were frantic. It made him panic, but he was drifting too far into the blackness of sleep (or perhaps it was death, same thing) to wield it in order to wake up. It didn't matter how hard he tried, he was failing. The fatigue and loss of blood was finally catching up to him.

So, maybe this was where he finally died.

There was a bright light shining in his eyes, but the only thing he could seem to do was faintly groan in annoyance. He couldn't even lift his arm to swat whatever it was away. There was pain. Pain everywhere, and he was extremely cold. Someone was calling his name- no, screaming it- that voice that sounded so familiar...but just as he was about to reach out towards it, he slipped away into the darkness once more. He didn't even wake up when he was swatted in the head by an angry, protective uncle.

However later it was, James was beginning to stir. There was a warmness shrouding him now, the pain still throbbing but even in his delirious state, he recognized the calming sensation of morphine, or whatever was traveling through that IV. It was beginning to dull the pain although every part of him ached. This time, it was the bad kind of ache. He felt touches against his face, a warmth he wanted to cling to. And then that voice again. It was so muffled but so close. Something about it was making him frantic again, needing to wake up more, needing to wake up now. Elliot. Lina. He had to get to Lina.

The more he began to wake up, the more he realized how banged up he was, and eventually that heart monitor would jump and ping when he became more alert.

The thought of her was enough to deliver the final jolt to his brain and he shuddered almost violently. Blues finally fluttered open, instantly not recognizing where he was. The last thing he remembered was Elliot, but as his vision began to clear, he didn't recognize this as being the man's house. Suddenly, his head was pounding, and although it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch, and he didn't trust his knees not to give out, the idiot began to force himself to sit up anyway. That was a very dumb idea as his head began to swim again, but he was still too determined to get up and get out of wherever he was. "Fuckin' hell..." he murmured under his breath, a hand going to his forehead. That was when he noticed the IV stuck in his hand. Where was he?

The moment he tried to slip off that gurney was when he was collapsing again. At least, this time, he didn't pass out...but a part of him kind of wished he had.


Lina had taken the trash out, coming in from the dark she wrapped her arms around herself, thinking she should head upstairs and change into something warmer than the now ruined pajama pants and tank top. She was still shaking from having to take care of James, she didn’t know whether to let the panic attack take over or to force herself to continue through the motions. Keep moving. She told herself. The rapid beeping of the heart machine from the other room however certainly had her moving. James. She hurried from the backdoor, grabbing the doorframe she whirled around the corner and came to a screeching halt.

She’d expected to find him going into heart failure, not trying to get off the table and becoming a heap on her now clean floor. “If you rip one of those stitches, I’m gonna-” She wanted to be angry, to yell at him for whatever he had done to deserve getting shot at, but her voice came out in a strangled sob as she hurried over. Relief that he was finally awake had the tears rolling down her face. “You big idiot…” she said softly, crouching down next to him as her hands reached out to steady him. “You need to be laying down,” she scolded. If he let her, she’d wrap her arms around him, careful of his injured side, and help him sit back on the gurney. She checked then to make sure his IV was still in and she gently pushed against his shoulders, trying to get him to lay back.

Her heart was pounding and she felt the spike of adrenaline again at him being awake. So many questions filtered through her head as she finally looked at him. “You look like hell.” Her voice cracked as she reached out to take his face gently between her hands before she showered his face in kisses, before kissing him fiercely. He’s awake. He’s gonna be okay, he’s okay, she told herself. “Don’t you fucking scare me like that again!” she scolded him as she pulled back, smacking his shoulder lightly. By the looks of her, too, he’d be able to see how scared she’d been. How terrified she still actually was as her body continued to shake. How could she have these intense emotions over someone she barely knew? And despite the fact he was on her gurney and she was covered in his blood, she was happy to see him. And at this point, she was never leaving his side.


A wave of dizziness washed over him as he struggled to get up. He heard light approaching footsteps then, and he nearly panicked before his semi blurred vision settled upon her face. It was Lina. Was he dreaming, why was she here? How was she here? Perhaps he did die after all and Satan was sending a vision of her to drag him down into the fiery pits of Hell.

'You big idiot…' That voice again. Her voice. Lina's voice. She was crouched there beside him and her touch felt so real that it was rattling him to the core. He hardly realized that he was getting back up to his feet with her help to sit back on the gurney. But he didn't allow her to push him to lie down. No, he sat there, blinking his vision clear even if his entire body throbbed in pain. He could pinpoint every bruise, every cut, those two new stitched wounds that would ultimately leave scars, all without having to look. But he was too busy looking at her with tired astonishment on his face.

'You look like hell.' Her hands were against his cheeks and he seemed so surprised to see her there. "Lina..?" His voice was hoarse and he was struggling to break through the rest of the fog and find out what was going on. Before he could do or say much else, she was pressing kisses all along his face, then her lips were on his. And for that fleeting moment, he was on fire again. The good kind. One hand had drifted to her hip as he kissed her back, lazily pulling her as close as possible and realized fully that he wasn't dreaming. She was here, she was safe. Somehow she was here. He felt her beneath his fingertips.

Then, the moment was broken as she yelled at him, swatting his uninjured shoulder. He still grunted lightly in discomfort, but he didn't care about it. Because he saw the terror in her eyes. She had saved him. She had patched him up. James was finally fully aware of everything, his head mostly cleared, and those blue eyes trailed down her form to notice the blood. She appeared fine, so he assumed it was all his.

Lina was shaking and it was making him on edge. Despite what had happened and that he looked like shit, having clearly been through something, his focus was on her; a hand weakly lifting to cup the side of her face. "Did they come after you? Are you alright?" The more he spoke, the easier it was becoming but his throat still felt a little raw. Briefly forgetting that she probably had absolutely no idea as to what he was talking about, he was remembering the old man. "Fuck. Elliot. I need...I need to find Elliot." Now he was stammering, attempting to get off the gurney again. "Lina...we need to get out of here." How much time would they have? Was he panicking again? He sounded a bit panicked.


That panicked feeling entered Lina again as James cupped her cheek. She placed her hand over his while her other cupped his cheek, and confusion began to slowly cross over her features. “Other than a heart attack you gave me I’m okay, who are you talking about?” The blood began to drain from her face as she stared at him. That fear creeping in and making itself known. Steven had said she was in danger.

What the fuck was happening?

Whether James realized it or not, he was scaring her. She could sense the panic that was making her panic. “He said he needed to take care of something he left an hour ago, he’ll be back soon. You need to lay down.” She told him. Trying to push him back down. “You aren’t going to be able to do much moving for a while. James, please. Lay down.” She urged him, her voice was beginning to shake. Her mind racing. Had James gone after Steven? Had he done something that made Steven retaliate and think James was a madman coming to hurt her? “Oh god, did Steven do this to you?!” she said, growing alarmed. “He called me before I called Elliot, he-he said I was in danger, what the hell is going on?” She asked, becoming more panicked. “Goddamn.” She swore, she moved away from him, going to one of the cupboards and yanked it open, before pulling down the tequila bottle. She uncapped it and then took a swig. It burned going down but it at least calmed some of her nerves. She capped it again before she was walking back to him. “What’s going on, James? Why do we have to leave?” She made sure to stick to his side if he threatened to get back up she was fully intent on shoving him back down.

“That’s a question I would verra much like ta know myself. What sort of clusterfeck did you get yourself in, Kit?” Elliot’s voice sounded from the doorway. He had his shirt sleeves rolled up and he had a gun with a silencer in one hand and looked like he was dragging someone by the collar of their shirt. He walked in, dragging what Lina realized was a body dressed in dark clothes, with a bullet hole to his temple. Elliot let him go and gestured with the gun to the now dead man. “You want ta explain ta me why I just had ta kill a man who was sneaking where he didn’t belong, loaded to the teeth?” Elliot reached into his back pocket and tossed a wallet at James. “Why are ACIS agents coming after my niece?” Elliot’s voice was low, and dark. She’d never heard him use this tone of voice. In fact it was as if he’d become a different man and Lina’s eyes were wide in shock as a million more questions came into her mind.

What in the literal fuck.


The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her, but if there was going to be a time to be so, it would be now. She was in danger. They all were now because he couldn’t handle it all on his own like he had hoped. But he was just one man, and ACIS was many.

Who was he talking about? Clearly, no one had tried going after her yet. Truthfully, she wouldn’t be standing here if they had, most likely. That thought made his blood run cold and he let that fear temporarily show in his eyes. They really had to move, especially with him so injured like this, they would not stand a chance if they were ambushed. By now, the agency would know where he had gone with the trail of bodies he’d had to leave behind.

He had to kill them. He had to. James tried to remind himself that he had to do it...for her...but that didn’t make it any easier. Didn’t make him feel like any less of a monster. There had been more than just his own blood on his hands, and more than just his own survival at stake.

James didn’t answer her, he didn’t know how to yet. Then she was talking about Elliot as if she knew him and that brought the confusion right back to his face immediately. Perhaps, if he hadn’t just woken up and had not been knocked around a few hundred times the past couple of days, James would have been able to figure it out. He still fought her on laying down, though, but he at least remained seated. It would be no good if he made himself pass out, but he wasn’t about to lie down and feel completely vulnerable. “Lina, you need to listen to me…” But she was talking about Steven, suddenly panicked over it, and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. “Steven?” he said abruptly, his voice deepening to something far too dark. Oh yeah, he might have something to do with all of this. James just wasn’t sure yet.

Eyes trailed her as she went for that tequila...but his hand was inching towards the tray of instruments, specifically the scalpel. Something was making him on edge, something felt off, someone else was nearing. The small blade wouldn’t easily kill, but it was all he had within reach and he didn’t want to make Lina more frantic. But then suddenly, another voice was speaking up in reply, causing him to abruptly stand and turn, aggravating that wound at his side. James hissed through the pain, only calming once he realized just who it was. He tossed the scalpel aside, but his heart was racing. He yanked the heart monitor chords from his chest, arm cradling his side while he fixed his attention on Elliot...who was dragging a dead man inside, his gun practically still smoking. He let the wallet just hit him in the shoulder before falling to the ground.

The agency was getting closer.

But, first thing’s first: “Yer niece?!” he said in shock, eyes growing a bit wide. He looked to Helina as if she was somehow supposed to have known to share this little detail. How in the hell did this happen?! It wasn’t that small of a world. Shaking his head to dismiss it for now, he leaned upon the gurney to stay upright. It all hurt more than he let on, and he was good at masking most of the pain when he needed to.

“You know how you retired from the agency?” Cringing just slightly, he slowly bent to pick up that fallen wallet to idly look at the man’s name. Fortunately, he hadn’t known this Agent Jones. “I decided to tell ‘em to just fuck off instead…” Before Elliot could call him an idiot (because they both knew you couldn’t just walk away from ACIS without complete and total permission), he was talking again. And his blue eyes slowly trailed back over to Helina. “They gave me a job I refused to do.” The old man would know exactly what he meant.

Slowly, he reached for that bottle of tequila in Lina’s hand, uncapping it and taking a swig. It wasn’t a good idea for his already dry throat, but it would help with the damn pain at least. Coughing slightly, he didn’t know whether to be annoyed or really pissed off. “I don’t know who called the hit but I had 24 hours…” A glance down at his watch, he sighed. “It’s been…four...five days? Could be yer fuckin’ husband.” There was that rage again, and although he had been speaking to Helina, his tone wasn’t for her. His attention drifted back to Elliot. “Did you know he was the Warden’s second?” James tried not to accuse the old man of anything, but how did that slip through?

He let out a staggering sigh again, shaking his head. None of this was important right now. If there had already been an agent this close to Lina, they didn’t have time. They couldn’t stay here. Those eyes fixed on the sailor; fear and yet determination lingering within them. “Get her a new I.D. and get her outta here. Far away from here. Might as well get a new one yerself and go. It’s not safe anymore.”


“Aye.” Elliot practically growled, his stormy blues never leaving Kit’s face as he placed the gun in the waistband of his pants at the small of his back. He pulled his flannel shirt over it. His eyes flickered between Kit and Lina who was currently staring at the dead body now in her clinic. Her chest was rising and falling in quick breaths, and he could practically sense the panic attack and flurry of questions from her, but there was no time. Later. He’d have to explain everything to her later. But right now…“Sit your arse down boy.” Just watching Kit reach for that wallet knowing he’d taken a bullet to the belly made him wince, but hearing his words just made his gut twist.
“Kit, you-” He had been about to call him worse things than an idiot. Did the man really want to throw his life away? Was really going to take that gamble. The blood drained out of his face as he saw Kit’s eyes flicker over to Lina. Oh, he certainly knew what that look meant, and Elliot felt something he hadn’t felt in years. Fear. “No, they wouldn’t-” Oh but they would old man. I would. He could practically hear her voice, and his eyes landed on Lina, who was looking between the two of them. The fear clear on her face, before the look she gave him nearly broke his heart.

He began to pace, getting his mind thinking while Kit explained what he could, before he stilled at hearing Steven. He had known Steven Houston was an agent, but he didn’t know he was that high up the line of command. It just made him want to kill him more, especially after what he’d done to Lina. But...his hands had been tied. He could only do so much without putting her at risk, but it appeared there was more to it then he realized. He finally stopped his pacing and then turned to look at Kit. Sharing a lot more with just a look between them then saying the words out loud. They were in shark-infested waters.

He laughed then, a low chuckle as if he knew something Kit didn’t, and he did. “Boy, they aren’t making me go anywhere. You don’t come into a man’s home with guns blazing with a target on his niece,” he said.


He had dark hair. What looked like a widow’s peak and from this view, she’d say he either had blue or maybe brown eyes, but she couldn’t tell. She watched the blood slowly trickle out and pool on her clean clinic floor. She’d just cleaned that. The blood had drained from her face, and she just stood there. Wide-eyed looking at the dead body on her clinic floor. What was going on? Was this a dream? Or a nightmare? She was barely registering what was being spoken between James and Elliot. She didn’t understand any of it, and she pried her eyes up then to look between them. The confusion and fear were clear on her face.

She felt the tequila bottle being pulled from her hand, and her eyes went down to that body again, Elliot was pacing, and then...Lina flinched at hearing the rage in Jame’s voice even though it wasn’t directed at her. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and her eyes went to James’s, seeing him leaning on the gurney when he needed to lay the fuck down. Her body began to tingle, feeling like her skin was crawling, and she didn’t know how bad her breathing was getting until it felt like she couldn’t get enough air in. And then what James was saying next… Leave? They had to leave? Fake I.D? Home was no longer safe? What? Steven was someone’s second? James knew Steven? He had a job he couldn’t do? Agency? He was a constructive representative or whatever the fuck he was! What?!

Elliot’s words really took her over the edge.

“Get your fucking ass on that gurney, James Bishop, or I swear to God, if you rip one of those stitches out from your moving around-” She reached over yanked the tequila bottle from him. “I’m gonna lose my ever-loving shit.” Her eyes flared with a burning fire, that showed not only fear, but also an anger she didn’t know she had. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and even if it hurt him, she would push him down. She had questions, and they were both going to answer them. She bore her eyes into James, her hand tightening around the bottle before she took another sip. “Don’t make me hit you with perfectly good tequila.” She practically growled, but her eyes showed how serious she was, and that she would do it too. “I did not save your life, for you to throw it all away, now, lay. Down,” she ordered. She was agitated, sensing both men’s panic and it made her uneasy. Very uneasy. In all honestly, she was on the brink of the mother of all panic attacks.

“Now, I’m not going anywhere, until someone tells me why I’m covered in your blood, terrified shitless, and why there is a freaking dead body getting blood on my clean floor.” She said with deadly calm, despite how badly she was shaking. She reached up and pushed her glasses up further on her nose, her eyes went from James to Elliot. Specifically, they looked at Elliot, as her own uncle had brought in said dead body.
Elliot was looking at James though before his eyes went to Lina, and the look he gave her shattered her. “Kit and I used ta werk for a secret government agency that apparently wants you dead, and gave the job ta Kit. He didn’t do what they wanted though, so he’s here now ta warn ya or protect ya, or whatever the feck he wants to do, but he’s got a target on his back because he didn’t pull the trigger, and Steven also works for the agency. That’s the quick gist of it, but Lina we gotta get you cleaned up and out of here. Take Kit to the cabin, it’ll be safe for now,” Elliot said in one fell swoop.

She had asked, he’d delivered. She was frozen for a moment and then her eyes went to the dead body again. She stared for a moment, as the seconds ticked by, and the tequila fell from her fingertips. Crashing to the floor as Lina stumbled backward, unable to stand, her legs went out and she sat on the ground as the panic attack sunk its claws in and she went into shock.


James glared defiantly at Elliot as he told him to sit down. If he did that, if he let himself relax, he may not get back up again. He couldn't afford that right now, especially as it seemed that no one wanted to heed his damn warning. The old man was ready to deny that ACIS would do something this drastic...but he knew better. He could see it on Elliot's face when he realized it. The agency had its demons, and the two of them had been a part of it. They were those demons.

His blood ran cold, his eyes begging the sailor to just take her and go. Elliot knew what the agency was capable of, he had to know this was only going to get worse if they stayed.

But he was defying him and James sighed heavily. "Elliot, please..." Was he not explaining this enough? Did he not understand, just by looking at him, that James was unfit to help his niece if more of them came? His head lowered and so did his voice, as if Helina wouldn't hear it although she was standing right there. "I...I can't do it. You need to get her out." Was he going to have to beg?

Suddenly, Lina was yelling at him. He'd been so absorbed in everything else that it actually made him jump which was enough for her to force him to finally lie down. Pushing against her was only agitating that bullet wound more, so he let her have this one for a few moments. At first, he worried about falling asleep...but that may not be a possibility with her threatening him like that. Were this not a dire situation, he might have had a cheeky remark to throw back at her...and if her uncle wasn't standing right there.

Instead, he just sighed again, a hand going to his forehead before fingers filtered through his hair in frustration. She was freaking out, and rightly so, but he was also panicking and trying not to show it because he really didn't know how long they had. He stared up at the ceiling and went dead silent, letting Elliot spell it all out for her. ‘...whatever the feck he wants to do.’ James scoffed. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

The crashing of glass startled him, and he was sitting back up immediately. Wincing, his head swarming a little, he hissed through the pain only to realize that Helina had basically collapsed from the shock of this all. God dammit. Nothing was going well tonight. A swift glance to Elliot, James bit through the pain to rush to Lina’s side. He was trying to be mindful of the stitches, but he wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point later, he tore them. There was just no sitting still with everything going on.

“Lina? Hey, hey…” He slowly lowered to his knees, for his own sake but also for hers, not wanting to rattle her any more than she clearly already was. Although, having a battered, bruised and previously bleeding shirtless man come near you probably wouldn’t help matters. Still, if she allowed, he was taking her face into his hands, forcing himself to ignore the pain even as it threatened to rattle his form. “Lookit me, Lina. I need you to pull together, alright? You have to get up and move.” Elliot had mentioned a cabin, possibly the same one Helina had told him about. That could work, but he wasn’t keen on leaving Elliot behind. What if the agency didn’t believe he had anything to do with this? What if they came after Lina and James was unable to stop them in his condition? “Please…” he quietly begged.

There were so many “what ifs” and he feared he was going to spiral out of control, but he tried to remain as calm as possible on the outside, despite the fact that he was screaming internally.


There was nothing but white noise. And a white haze had clouded around her vision. Her back was to the wall, and she stared ahead. Stared ahead at the body on the floor. There was glass on her floor now, along with tequila. That would have to get cleaned up at some point she thought numbly. She heard someone curse, she could hear someone saying her name, but it was muffled. She didn’t know there were tears running down her face as she tried to gasp in air. Everything felt numb, and like her skin was crawling, and that the room was closing in on her. He was told to kill you. James was told to kill you. Someone wanted her dead. And why? What did Lina do to warrant that? Surely she hadn’t pissed someone off that bad right? Surely-

She felt gentle hands on her face and she blinked. Hearing James' voice slowly pulling her out of her fog while she stared at him. Her hands circled around his wrist gently, and she couldn’t find words to answer him, but as she stared into his eyes she could see the urgency in them. He was begging her then. Begging her to get up and go with Elliot, and what about him? He was hurt! She couldn’t leave him like this! They were coming after him too, and she had told herself while she pulled the bullet out of him she was never leaving him again. She was staying.

“James…” She managed to say in a shaky whisper. Focusing on his eyes. They were her anchor in that moment before she heard the boots on the linoleum, and saw Elliot crouching down beside her.
“Breathe, honey, slow breaths,” he told her gently.
She glanced at him for a moment before her eyes were back on James’. “I’m not leaving you,” she whispered, a little bit firmly this time before she was taking more deep breaths.

“Here’s what we’re going to do. Lina, you’re going to go upstairs, get cleaned up, pack a light travel bag. You’re going to then get in the skiff, and you and James are going to the cabin. If I don’t show up in three days.” Lina broke eye contact from James to focus on her uncle’s voice. “Then you're going to get the hell out of dodge,” Elliot said. His eyes were hard on James in that moment, and Lina wondered if her uncle noticed whatever was happening between the two of them. She didn’t like this plan. She really didn’t like this plan, but she didn’t think she could argue.

“Now, c’mon lassie. Up you go,” Elliot told her, as he took her by the arm gently. Pulling her to her feet whether she wanted to or not. She tightened her hold on one of James’ wrist before Elliot was practically dragging her away. “Make it fast.” He nudged her up towards her stairs then, and couldn’t do much before turning and finally did what they wanted. It was clear if she didn’t, Elliot was going to force her up the stairs and do it for her. With one more glance at James, she turned and went upstairs.


Elliot watched Lina go up the stairs before he turned and went to Kit, starting to help him up off the floor. “I probably shouldn’t ‘ave told her all that at once…” He sighed, seeing her fall had made him regret his decision almost instantly. But, it was a hard truth. The sooner she knew the better, and hopefully, in three days he’d be able to tell her everything. Hopefully...she wouldn’t be that upset with him.

“The cabin is off-grid, there’s motion detectors, automatic locks, bulletproof windows, the place is essentially a fortress. It’s not going to be easy for anyone to get to you two. Gives ya time to heal up and for me to get them off your scent for the time being. I’m gonna try and get you intel,” Elliot began to explain. “So we can figure out why those sons-of-bitches are trying to kill our girl yeah?” He said quietly. Once James was back more up on his feet or on the gurney he pulled the gun from the waistband at his back and handed it to him. “I’m gonna write you instructions on where to find the gun safe in the cabin, it’ll have everything you could dream off in it, minus the grenade launcher.” The old man smirked then before he turned more serious.

“I didn’t know about Steven being the warden’s second. I thought he was low on the totem pole. Hell I thought he was a decent man at first until the shit he started pulling on Lina, and given his connections I couldn’t do jack shit. But let me tell ya...I would have put him 6ft. under after I learned he put his hands on her.” Elliot felt the need to explain Steven to James. He didn’t like the idea of James just thinking he’d let Lina suffer at Steven’s hands. He’d done what he could, and it haunted him that he hadn’t been able to do more for her. He took a deep breath, staring at James for a moment longer before he sighed. “I’m gonna call in some favors. We’ll be okay, Kit. Just...focus on healin’ up, and keeping Lina safe,” Elliot told him before the old man went to work.


"Yes, I'm here. I'm right here." He was afraid he was going to lose her to this panic. He knew what it was like to completely break down and lose it, and it wasn't always easy to come out of. Elliot was crouching beside them then, coaching her through it like he had done it a hundred times before. Well, maybe he had. James would have stepped back to allow the man to help her, and probably better, but she was gently clinging to him by the wrists.

'I'm not leaving you,' she said, and someone might as well have forcefully kicked the air from his lungs right then. Fortunately, since that had already happened yesterday, it wasn't necessary. James stared at her, a sadness washing over his face and twisting his gut, because he had to tell her to go. She had to be safe. Lips parted to urge her to listen and go, but Elliot was speaking. The old sailor already had a damn plan.

‘If I don’t show up in three days…’ That not only garnered Lina’s attention, but James’ as well. This was precisely what he was trying to avoid. Although there was a chance Elliot might not be questioned, there was no guarantee and he’d have placed this man in danger for simply being here. He could be the very reason Lina lost her uncle and someone she cared deeply for. Someone James cared for. The man had been a mentor to him in so many ways, an uncle he never really had- how could he have endangered him like this?

Those bright eyes stared at the man before they slowly drifted back to Lina as Elliot was getting her up to her feet. He was drawing her away from him and suddenly felt cold. Colder than he already had been.

No, this wasn’t right. He should be the one staying. Perhaps it made more sense this way...but the guilt was already so heavy on his conscience. And he was tired. All he could do was remain kneeled there, watching as she disappeared from the room. It was only when Elliot was speaking again did he blink and further realize what was happening. Then he was being helped off of the floor, where he would slowly move and lean against that gurney again.

James tried to concentrate on Elliot’s instructions, but his attention still lingered on the empty doorway, as if he had just imagined her this whole time. Finally, he blinked and regarded the older man. “I...don’t like this plan, Elliot. I don’t.” But what else could he do? He couldn’t force him to go. He couldn’t force Elliot Walsh to do anything he didn’t want to. James just had to remind himself that there was a better chance that he’d survive his, whereas Jay would be shot on sight.

A shaky hand reached out for the offered gun, inspecting it for how many rounds were left before he was tucking it into the waistline of his jeans at his back. He was beginning to wake up a little more, even if his whole body burned with pain. Nodding, he eventually smirked- it was small and didn’t reach his eyes, but the mirth was there. “Already takin’ away my fun, old man…” he joked about the grenade launcher.

Then all humor was gone at the mention of Steven. James didn’t blame him, of course he didn’t. Once you were out of the agency, it was hard to be privy of that type of information. Another nod, he answered him quietly, “I know. And I don’t know if this is his doin’, or why they want her dead.” He paused to let out a sigh. “I don’t know what’s goin’ on anymore.” Besides the fact that he probably won’t be able to live a normal life ever again. Not that he had one to begin with.

Blues flickered back to Elliot, his brow furrowed. There was so much he wanted to say at that moment but knew they didn’t have the time. So, all James could really do was give in, nod once more, and watch as the sailor left him in this cold and quiet room. Clenching his jaw, he ran a hand through his hair furiously before a fist slammed down on the gurney in front of him in his aggravation. He growled at the discomfort it caused at his side and just hung his head, feeling completely defeated.


She’d been told to hurry, but her movements were sluggish as she went upstairs and began to do as she was told. She went to her bathroom, peeling off the bloodied clothes that were now dry, and then hopped in the shower to wash away any remnants. James. It was James’ blood. He’s got a target on his back now because he didn’t pull the trigger. On her. Was that why he had talked to her? Had it really been a game? A job to him? Was that all she was? That thought nearly sent her into another panic attack. The connection felt so real. That couldn’t be faked...could it?

She didn’t want to think about that. She didn’t want to think about anything like that, so she shut the water off and dried off before she changed into a pair of jeans, her hiking boots, another t-shirt, and threw on one of her large sweaters. She braided her hair as she searched for a backpack, tossing in several clothes, she didn’t even think about what she packed. She went into the bathroom and grabbed her small toiletry bag and then went to her bed, kneeling down and pulled out the small lockbox. She found the key, opening it up, and stared at the contents. She’d hoped she’d never had to use it. To do this, but after the restraining order with Steven she’d taken the necessary precautions in case she did have to run. She took her emergency stash of cash, passport, and her Smith and Wesson and tossed it in her bag before she found a tote bag and began shoving it full of things from her kitchen. If they were going to the cabin for several days they’d need food, and she didn’t want what was in her fridge to go bad. She didn’t think she’d be coming back anytime soon.

She did a mental checklist of if there was anything else she’d need and couldn’t think of anything other than her medic bag which was down in the clinic, with James and Elliot. She shut the lights off in her apartment and then walked back down slowly. Having to step around the body, she dropped the tote and her backpack down on the door before she slowly began to find the medic back and went through her cupboards, filling it with whatever she thought she’d need. Lots and lots of big bandages. Especially if she had people trying to put bullet holes in her and James. She went to the locked cabinet, pulling out the key, and took out various pain medications. Mostly the morphine, along with several antibiotics. She wanted to be careful. Prepared. As much as she could be. She walked the medic bag over to where she left the rest of her stuff before she pulled out some Ibuprofen and then filled a paper cup up with water. She finally allowed herself to acknowledge James as she walked over and held it out to him. She didn’t say anything and would hand him the pills before giving him the cup.

After he took it, she’d turn to his IV. Stoppering the drip, found a cotton ball and a bit of medic tape and then walked back over to James. Taking his IV hand, she pressed the cotton ball over where the IV was attached, and applied some pressure before she then pulled out the needle and she taped the cotton ball down. She held his hand in her own then, her eyes glancing over to where there was still broken glass on the floor, and she ignored the urge to clean it up. “On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s your pain level?” she asked quietly. Doctor Lina. She could do doctor Lina. She had to keep busy. Focus on someone else, not herself. “It’s gonna take us at least an hour when we get from skiff to cabin, you're really going to want to nap. You lost a lot of blood, and you gotta promise me you aren’t going to be making any fast movements. Slow and steady,” she spoke softly as her gaze went up to his and her hands tightened around his. “I really don’t want to patch you back up again.” Her voice was shaky, as she struggled with the urge to not cry again. But she could still see his blood on her hands, she could still see him unconscious while she tried to keep him from bleeding out. It was something she hoped she wouldn’t have to do again, if ever again. She couldn’t help herself then as she stepped forward, gently wrapping her arms around him. Needing to confirm to herself that he was in fact there in the first place, and that he was okay. The reassurance. She needed the reassurance he was real. “Where did Uncle go?” she asked quietly, pulling back enough to look at James. She was almost afraid to ask, but she also thought they were in a hurry. What was the old man doing?


Lost. It was all he could feel right now. James couldn’t understand how everything spiraled so much out of his control or why any of this was even happening. Out of all the people in the world, he had to meet her. Out of all the reasons ACIS could have had to make him stay in San Diego, out of all the jobs...why had it been her? At first, he thought it was just a sad fate to have met Helina, to feel that connection and be parted from her. But now? Why did he think it was some cruel joke, a way to test his already broken resolve? He was wanted now because he wouldn’t see the job through...but now, they both might die.

He didn’t know how long he had been standing there for. Everything was just deathly quiet all of a sudden and it made him nervous. It hurt to stand there but at least his dizziness was beginning to slowly subside. Then she was emerging in the doorway. Attention snapped up, and James watched her move around the room and gather things in a bag- things for him, he imagined. The guilt just began to weigh heavier upon his shoulders and he desperately attempted to keep it from his face, keep the sadness away.

What was he supposed to do, kill her? Sure, Elliot would have loved that!

Even when trying to joke around with his thoughts, it wasn’t helping. Lina wasn’t saying a word to him now and he didn’t know what to say to her. He was sorry for messing up her life? At least, if he hadn’t, someone else would’ve...and done far worse? At this moment, within this tension, it almost felt like he already had lost her, that they were strangers once again.

Then, she was moving over to him with pills and water, and James didn’t question what she was giving him- he tossed the ibuprofen into his mouth and swallowed it down with the water. Lina still didn’t speak so he simply kept his eyes on her while she busied herself with the IV, studying her face as if he’d be able to read her very thoughts. When she suddenly spoke, his heart jumped. “Five,” he lied in answer to her question. It was more like eight, maybe. She was telling him more, something about napping, taking it easy, but he barely acknowledged. Not until she was finally looking at him, and for her sake he just nodded, if only to appease her.

When she embraced him, it felt like all the tension in his body completely dissipated. His mind calmed just a little bit as he wrapped his arms around her, a sigh leaving him in a staggering breath. He still didn’t know what to say even when he was trying desperately to figure out what. “I’m not sure. He explained a few things then left.” James was assuming he was coming back, that hadn’t been a goodbye.

“Lina…” he said after a moment. James still didn’t know what he was going to say, but he had to say something. Anything. “I’m sorry.” That was it? That was all he could think of to say at a time like this? Everything felt so heavy and he couldn’t think straight.

Yer an idiot, James.


Lina slowly nodded her head at James. They were waiting on Elliot now, whatever the man was doing. He could only assume he was gathering up stuff they would need. Preparing them for....whatever the future was tossing their way. She didn’t want to think about that yet, she’d barely recovered from the panic attack of before, and was already struggling to fight tears at knowing James was alive, and that he was standing right before her.

Her arms were loosely wrapped around his neck and she tilted her head slightly as he said her name. I’m sorry. There was a lot to be sorry for, which was he referring to? Meeting her? Spending that time with her? Almost dying on her? Scaring the hell out of her? Getting her involved with whatever the fuck him and Elliot were in? She didn’t want to know what sorry he was meaning, so she would just assume it was everything.

She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “I don’t fully understand what’s going on, but….” She took one of her hands to gently stroke his cheek. “Everything is going to be fine. It’ll be fine,” she whispered. More so for her own benefit than his. It had to be fine. In the darkest nights, there will come brighter days. Her mother had told her. Lina had already lived through hell twice. Why not another revisit and this time...she’d have James. She wasn’t a teenager anymore. She wasn’t alone with Steven anymore. She was Helina goddamn Houston. She would be fine. She was a survivor.

As if remembering how strong she could be, Lina picked herself up off the metaphorical floor of her mind. “We will be okay,” she said with a bit more conviction. “I don’t know how I’m involved in any of this, James, but...it’s not your fault. Whoever did this is to blame. Not you,” she said gently. “So...don’t be sorry.” She rubbed his cheek gently and her lips curled in a small smile as she smiled at him. She leaned up and then pressed a kiss to his forehead while she hugged him again. Wanting to relieve any tension and scare off any demons that might be troubling him in those moments.

She heard a noise then, and her head whipped to the entrance for the main entrance to see Elliot walking in rolling a suitcase with something in his other hand and an old flannel jacket. He paused to look at the two of them standing there, and his eyes settled on James, giving him a hard look before he rolled the suitcase over and set it on the end of the gurney. “Put a shirt on, will ya? My eyes are burning,” he grumbled, and Lina all but rolled her eyes loudly at him.
“Uncle,” Lina scolded. Knowing exactly what was going on in that mind of his. “You’ve already beat him upside the head once,” she told him.
“Aye, but he was unconscious that time, I need ta make sure he can really feel this one,” Elliot grumbled.
“You will do no such thing, he looks like hell enough as is.” She glared. Her arms tightened slightly around James in a protective manner, and Elliot just huffed.

“He saw your, um...little gifts,” she whispered to James so he could understand what they were talking about before she moved to his suitcase, and cracked it open, finding a shirt for him. Meanwhile, Elliot was handing James a set of keys and folded up pieces of paper, and putting the jacket on the end of the gurney. She came back over with the shirt, and then would help James put it on, being mindful of his injured arm, before she’d help him put the jacket on as well.

“Lina, you're driving my truck alright? I’ll go load things in and then take care of things here,” Elliot said moving for James’ suitcase and then where she had left her stuff by the back.