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Slowly opening her eyes, memories of the events of the previous night came rushing back to Mary. The aching of sore muscles and the weight of Chris' arm thrown across her body proved that it wasn't simply a dream. This was real. He really had come to her at the hospital and had been there for her during the night when neither the fears nor the desires could be denied.
It had been a long time since Mary had allowed herself to rely on another human being other than Orrin and Evie. The disappointment had simply been too hard and hurt too much when she had been proven wrong. Yet, yesterday, she had relied on Chris without even thinking about it. Granted she had found her guard slipping over the past several months. During that time, she had been spending more time with Chris and the other members of his team. All were good men... reliable men... who had shown that each would go to the wall for the others. There were times when she felt that they would do the same for her.
And Chris... obviously he was willing to do a lot for her. Sighing, she knew it was too late. She was hopelessly in love with him. If she only knew how he felt about her.
Moving her head slightly, she watched him sleeping. Under her hand, she could feel the steady pounding of his heartbeat. The rhythm of it comforted her and began to lull her back to sleep.
The jangling of the telephone on the nightstand beside the bed shattered the peace of the moment. Struggling to untangle herself from Chris to get to it before it woke him, by the time she answered it, she was breathless from the effort.
"Hello."
"Buck... no, no I was awake. I'm feeling much better thank you.... Chris? Yes, he's here. Wait a minute and I'll get him."
Turning to look at him, she saw bright green eyes watching her. Taking the phone held out to him, he rested it against his chest for a period of time he guessed it would take Mary to get up and "find" him in the living room. During the interlude, he took the opportunity to catch Mary's lips for a good morning kiss.
"Larabee.... uh hu.... that bastard better not.... okay... I'll tell her."
Glancing sideways, Chris saw Mary leaning on one arm, hand holding her head up, listening to the one sided conversation. Giving her the receiver to hang up, he remembered that she was unaware of the news Nathan had relayed the previous night.
"First off, the boys took turns staying with Billy at the hospital. Seems I'm not the only one who's he managed to wrap around his little finger," he chuckled, sharing a smile with Mary over her son. Sobering he continued, "Secondly, they caught the driver. He's already got numerous convictions for driving while intoxicated and had lost his license. When they booked him, his blood alcohol level was .36. Buck just said that he doesn't even remember hitting the kids. DA is planning on charging him with attempted murder when he is arraigned on Monday. Thinks the Judge won't set bail because of the circumstances. All I can say is that I better not see this guy on the street again."
A shiver ran through Mary at the venom in Chris' voice. That was one of the things that made him so powerful... his depth of emotion whether that affection be passionate or furious.
"Did he say anything about Billy?" she asked, successfully diverting his thoughts from the driver.
"Yeah, he did. Said the kid slept all night and was still sleeping when Ezra took over for him about 20 minutes ago," he grinned. "Doctor was in already and said his injuries didn't look infected and that he couldn't think of any reason not to release him later this morning. You want to grab a bite to eat and then head over there?"
"Yes I would," Mary said, happy at the good news. Waiting until Chris was sitting on the side of the bed, she stopped his movement by catching his hand. When he threw a questioning look at her, she raised serious eyes to him. "Chris, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you being there at the hospital with me. And about last night..." blushing at the memory of the intensity of it, she broke off.
"What?" he pushed lightly, watching the movement of his thumb as it rubbed over the hand that held his to hide his growing apprehension.
"Let's just say, I don't regret it," she said.
"Good, cause I don't either," he said. Relieved, he leaned back to give her a lingering kiss. Pulling back, he winced as a muscle in his back complained to him. Flexing it, he grumbled, "The only thing I regret is that this bed is too small. Man can't stretch out worth a damn in it."
"I beg your pardon... this bed is just fine," she defended, amused by the tone in his voice. It was a side of him she had rarely seen or heard before. "You just need some coffee. Why don't you hit the shower first and I'll start some."
"You read my mind," Chris laughed on his way to the bathroom.
Grabbing a robe after Chris had left the room, Mary smiled as she tied it shut. She had not felt this happy in a long time. By the time the coffee had been made and Mary was sipping a cup between bites of toast, Chris came strolling into the kitchen, shirtless and barefooted, toweling his hair dry. "You wouldn't happen to have a razor would ya?"
Coming out of the bathroom and heading down the hall after her own morning preparations, Mary heard Chris speaking in clipped, tensed sentences. Coming around the corner to the living room, she saw he had the phone pressed against his head with his shoulder while his hands were busy shoving his gun, handcuffs, and cellular onto his waistband.
"Okay, I'll get a hold of the Watch Commander and tell him that Ezra and Josiah are going in and we'll need additional backup standing by," Chris said. "You get a hold of the others and have them meet us at the office in forty five minutes. It's Saturday so you'll probably have to track JD and Buck down at the Southside Gym....Yeah, well, it's not what I had planned for today either." Cutting off that call, Chris quickly dialed another number. "Larabee here. Give me Stevens.... Mike, Chris Larabee. Look, just got a call from the surveillance team on McAllister. Seems there's a lot of activity at the warehouse on Calvert. Looks like they're getting ready to get another shipment. Sanchez and Standish are going in to check it out.... Yeah, at least five more. If this goes wrong, there's going to be a hell of a lot of firepower at their disposal...." Laughing mirthlessly, Chris said, "Those are your favorite odds, not mine," before hitting the button to disconnect the call.
Bitting her lip as she listened, Mary felt a knot of fear begin to form in her stomach. For the first time, the thought of Chris being an ATF agent terrified her. It had always bothered her some in the past when she would hear the team talking about a case or celebrating a take down — talking nonchalantly about how close the bullets had come to them — but never like this.
Leaning down to set the telephone down on the end table, Chris saw Mary watching him with a frown on her face. Obviously she had heard at least part of the conversation. Smiling tightly at her, he straightened. "There's been a break in a case we've be working on. I'm sorry, but I've got to go," he explained apologetically. "Are you going to be okay going to the hospital by yourself?"
Trying to cover her uneasiness, Mary waved off his question as she walked over to him. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Glancing down at the phone, she hesitated debating on whether or not she should say anything further. Finally plastering a smile on her face, she looked back up at him. "Maybe you can stop by later?" So I know you're all right.
Finally corralling her restless child into the house, Mary leaned against the front door and blew out an exasperated breath. It had taken three hours to get Billy checked out of the hospital and then another hour sitting in traffic waiting for emergency personnel to get an accident cleaned up. It had been a long morning. Needless to say, both of them were more than ready to be home.
The only saving grace to the entire morning was that there hadn't been a lot of time to think about Chris and wonder if he was all right. The jangling of the telephone forced Mary to push herself away from the door.
"Hello...Nancy, how are you doing?" Mary asked, smiling into the receiver. "Work hasn't been the same since you've been gone. How much longer do the doctors want you to stay home?....It'll be good to have you back....Billy? He's going to just fine. A broken arm, bruises, and scrapes. He was very lucky.....I know." Shrugging off her coat as she chatted, Mary hung it up and headed to the kitchen area. On her way pass the television on the counter, Mary grabbed the remote and turned it on to catch the mid-day news. The murmur of the reporter's voices blended into the general sounds of the house. "That's so sweet of you to offer... Yes, I will. Thanks for calling. Goodbye."
Setting the telephone on the counter, Mary picked up a mug and moved to the coffee pot to pour herself a cup. A smile tugged at her mouth as a vision of Chris coming into the room that morning flashed in her mind. Turning to lean against the counter, Mary had taken one sip when the sight of a reporter in the warehouse district drew her attention fully to the television. Grabbing the remote to turn the sound up, Mary watched and listened to the story unfolding.
"According to authorities, approximately two hours ago, federal agents were attempting to arrest an alleged gun dealer at this warehouse on Calvert Street when shots were fired at the officers. The officers inside returned fire, killing two of the suspects. Additional officers then entered the building and a shootout ensued."
The studio anchor on the television's split screen nodded soberly. "Melanie, you said that two suspects were killed. Was anyone else injured?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Five other people, including two federal officers, have been taken to the hospital with injuries. A spokesperson at the hospital said that three of the five men were still in surgery at this hour."
Snatching the telephone off of the counter, Mary raised a trembling hand to punch in the numbers. "Nancy? Mary. Did you mean it when you said you'd be willing to watch Billy for me?"
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