Alarm

Disclaimer: All characters are mine

Summary: Hal Carson, a jaded Detective, lost his partner, Jim Walker, in a warehouse shooting. He has a tumultuous relationship with his ex, Leah Laverne, but they draw close through Hal’s emotional crisis. Can he work a case that involves her?


Warnings: m/f, angst, lemon

** Asterisks indicate thoughts
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Chapter Four


Leah arrived just as Doctor Hill was examining Hal. They were performing an ultrasound, to see how his organs were healing up. A few bullets had nicked his organs during the shootings, and had to be stitched up. They were dissolvable stitches though, so Hal didn’t need them taken out at all. That was a relief, since Leah knew that Hal didn’t like any sort of operations at all. He was a pain enough getting needles.

Because of the examination, the bandages had been taken off Hal’s chest. It was the first time Leah had seen the damage for all it was worth, and it was gruesome. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how Hal had suffered with the pain. Four gunshot wounds to the chest, neatly stitched up, though the skin surrounding the site looked tender and painful. She knew, from what Hal had said, there were two other gunshots in his lower back.

When Doctor Hill was done checking over Hal, he carefully wiped the ultrasound gel off his abdomen. Smiling at his stoic patient, he hoped that he appeared reassuring.

“Your injuries are really coming along. No infection, your insides are functioning normally. I’d say the stitches could be out between 3-7 days, then you can go home. I’ll be back to check on you daily, and when the stitches come out, we’ll discuss home care and what you should be looking for in taking care of your injuries. For now though, I’ll call the nurse back in to bandage you up.”

Leah saw Hal’s face fall, and knew exactly what that was about. There was a new nurse on duty, a big, burly German woman who had been handling Hal a little more roughly than he would like in his condition. The nurse didn’t have much sympathy, thinking that since Hal was a cop, he should be able to put up with her. Stopping Doctor Hill as he made his way to the doorway, she offered him the sweetest smile she could conjure up.

“Would it be okay if I bandaged him instead? I’ve lived with him before, and had to deal with his injuries previously. Although they weren’t as bad as this, I know what I’m doing.” Leah said, hoping that the Doctor caved and let her deal with Hal. She hoped she could save him from the German nurse. Doctor Hill seemed to consider this for a moment, then smiled at her.

“Okay, there shouldn’t be a problem with that. You don’t need to put any ointment on the wounds, since that wouldn’t be good for the stitches. There are bandages in the bedside table you can use. Make sure you get him to turn around so you can do his back as well.”

Leah smiled and nodded, waiting until the doctor had shut the door behind him before turning to Hal. He seemed very relieved, now that he knew he wouldn’t have the nasty nurse manhandling him today. Leah walked over to Hal’s bed, digging in the nightstand for gauze and medical tape.

“You’re lucky I saved you, or else you’d have to put up with another torture session.”

“That depends really. You might not be as delicate with me as you’d like to think.” Hal grumbled, much like a petulant child. Leah rolled her eyes.

“I’m gentle. If you don’t want to believe me, I can always call the nurse.” Leah let her hand drift toward the ‘call’ button, Hal grabbing her hand before she could reach it.

“Don’t you dare. That’s the last thing I need today. Just get it over with. Be careful!” Hal muttered, letting Leah apply the bandages to his chest. True to her word, her touch was feather-light, watchful that she didn’t apply to much pressure to his abdomen as she taped the gauze in place. Hal lay completely still, which made her job a lot easier. When she was done with his front, she instructed him to roll onto his stomach.

He did, very slowly, careful of not lying down with all his weight. That would aggravate his injuries to no end. She made quick work of his back, taping the gauze in place.

“Done.” She said, placing the extra items back in the nightstand. Hal rolled over again, cautiously adjusting himself on his bed. Leah watched him get comfortable, waiting for him to speak first. She had said enough already.

“So, I could be out sometime this week.” He said, not looking at her. She watched him though, studying his features. He looked fairly passive, which wasn’t a common thing.

“Yes, I heard. Have you thought about what you’re going to do when you get out of here?” Leah asked, fiddling with the straps of her purse. Hal finally turned to look at her, seeming very uncertain of himself.

“I will have to fill out those police reports sometime, but I don’t know when I’m going to get around to doing it just yet. I’ll have to wait to make any plans after Doctor Hill has spoken to me about how I should care for my body.”

*And your mind, too* Leah thought, looking into his clear eyes. They used to be even brighter, more vivacious, but had darkened dramatically. Even this most recent event had changed him drastically. Leah hoped that she at least looked more energetic than him at the moment.

“Yes, I guess everything would depend on what Doctor Hill would have to say. Have you considered staying with your mother to recover?” Leah questioned, Hal’s body language giving her an answer before he even spoke. His body tightened up and a pained look passed in his face.

“No. I won’t do that to my mother. You know her – if she saw how bad I was, she would worry far too much. I don’t need that. I don’t want her to be anxious. You haven’t told her I was in the hospital, have you?” He was slightly panicked, not wanting his mother to find out the current situation. She would worry herself to death. Leah shook her head.

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, and the police department. You can fill your mom in with all the details once you’ve significantly recovered. For now though, the person you should be worrying about the most is yourself.”

Hal always hated when Leah was right. Even when he knew he was wrong, he would argue with Leah just to see her get riled up. It used to be a source of fun, to get her angry just because he loved how she looked when she was in a heated debate with him, but when things started to go haywire, arguing and fighting were not so fun anymore.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll fill her in sometime when the heat is off a bit. I’d hate for her to rush down here to see me, when I really don’t want her around right now.”

“Too much on your mind.”

“Right.”

She seemed to always know what was on his mind too. He’d be frustrated by it, except that it was a two-way thing, and he could finish her sentences occasionally as well. The things they had developed while they were still together. Now, the skills they had acquired were very much useless.


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The next couple of days passed by uneventfully. Detective Roberts had visited Hal once more, shocked to have run into Leah on the way out. He recognized her, and was surprised she still continued to visit Hal. He had an idea of the history the two of them shared, and he had pretty much guessed it wasn’t a solid one. Whenever he had asked Hal about Leah in the past, the blonde detective was quick to put a lid on the subject.

“He’s being ornery.” Detective Roberts warned Leah as she passed him in the hallway. She turned to look at him, but kept on walking.

“That’s no different than usual.” She said, offering a small smile. Detective Roberts laughed.

“Well lady, you know him far better than I do.” He said, walking through the glass double-doors at the end of the hallway. She continued on, stopping at Hal’s door. He had been in the hospital for a fairly lengthy time, and she knew that he was itching to get out into the real world again. You could only put up with sterile walls and limited privacy for so long.

Opening the door, she stepped in, not surprised to see Doctor Hill standing by Hal’s bed. It had been a common thing in the last few days. Now that Hal was nearing the end of the treatment, Doctor Hill was probably just as eager to set Hal free.

Doctor Hill turned to see who had entered, smiling when he saw it was Leah. Turning back to Hal, he touched at the stitches before talking.

“Well, looks like you’re home free today. I’ll send the nurse in to take out your stitches, and when she is done, I’ll be back to go over a few things with you.” To say that Hal looked elated was an understatement. Being in the hospital, day in and day out, was one of the dullest experiences he had ever gone through. Activity in the hospital was limited, and he was only allowed to go on walks as the nurse’s schedule permitted.

For the past few days, he had been taken off morphine and put on Tylenol 3, and while it was not as strong as it’s liquid counterpart, it was definitely effective. The nurse came in, a different one than the German lady, with a plastic container. Opening it, she pulled out a pair of scissors, tweezers, gloves, and a small garbage bag.

Slipping on the gloves, she used the scissors to cut the knots off of the ends of the stitches, using the tweezers to pull the thread away from the skin. It was only a pinch of pain, much less than what Hal had been going through before. When she was done with his chest, he rolled over so that she could get at his back. Finished, she smiled at the two of them before leaving to get the doctor.

“Not that painful?” Leah asked.

“Not so much, no. Been through worse.”

Doctor Hill came back in again, a piece of paper in his hand. Handing it over to Hal, we went through what was printed on it.

“Here are signs of infection that you should watch out for. If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, come back immediately so we can treat you. Also, you shouldn’t return to work for at least two weeks, so your interior stitches can be given a chance to heal. No sudden, jerky movements, avoid strenuous activities. If you experience more discomfort than usual, come back and see me. It might be good to have someone care for you for the next week or so, just until you get your strength back and are feeling less pain. Abdominal discomfort is one of the most crippling sources of pain, so if you collapse, it’s very helpful to have someone there to watch over you.”

With that, Doctor Hill left, leaving Hal to dress and leave the hospital when he wished. Leah turned to him when the doctor was out of earshot, just incase the words between her and Hal became a little heated.

“Do you need my help at all? Do you need someone to stay with?” She asked, trying to keep any source of worry out of her voice. Hal shook his head a little forcefully, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

“I’ll be fine, I can look after myself. After all, I’ve come this far, haven’t I?” His words were slightly bitter, and Leah couldn’t fathom what she had said or done to deserve that kind of tone.

“Yeah, you’ve come this far, but you’ve never had an injury as serious as this one. That’s something to think about.”

“There’s nothing to think about. Can you wait outside while I change?”

Leah stood, nose pointed in the air as she left the room. As if he felt the need for modesty, if that’s what he truly felt. She had seen (and definitely experienced) all that he had to offer. She knew for a fact that he remembered all their times together. They were hardly forgettable.

A few minutes had passed before Hal had finally emerged, dressed in clothes Trevor had brought for him. He walked beside her down the hallway, towards the parking lot. His car was at home, so Leah fully expected that she was driving him to his house.

Walking outside, they headed towards her car, the distance between them large. The drive to his house was plagued with silence, and when she pulled into his driveway, she decided it would be best if she broke the quiet spell.

“Are you sure that you don’t need anything?” He was already getting out when she spoke. Leaning down, he looked in at her, the sunlight hitting his hair, making it look almost white-gold, his blue eyes standing out even more.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” With that, he shut the door, walking up his sidewalk. Leah pulled out of the driveway, not bothering to watch if he got in or not. She knew in her heart that that was probably the last time she would ever see him, since he would never call. He never would.


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Hal had been home for almost five hours, and it was well past dinnertime. He had underestimated the shape he was in, and that the movements around the house made him cranky and sore. He hadn’t eaten yet, because it caused more pain than he was willing to put up with to head to the kitchen and prepare a decent meal.

Because of the painkillers and the state his body was in, he was also very tired. A nap sounded like a good thing, except his stomach rumbled constantly to remind him that dinner was still a priority. If this was what the past few hours were like, how could he go on like this for the next few days? He was beyond exhausted and in some distress. He couldn’t call Trevor, because he knew that Trevor was shacked up with his fiancée and wouldn’t appreciate Hal tearing him away from her. Jenny was out of the question, and his mother was a no-go.

That left Leah, and he didn’t want to call her. Granted, she had offered him help that very morning. However, things were hardly smooth between them, and the help he required was not a one-day sort of deal. He was actually nervous about asking for her assistance. He couldn’t go on the way he was right now though, fearing that he would do more damage than good.

Pushing the nervous skittering in his belly down, he picked up the phone and dialed Leah’s number. It was unnatural on his fingers – he hadn’t called her for such a long time, it was almost unfamiliar.


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Leah picked up the phone on the third ring, interrupted from preparing dinner.

“Hello?”

“….Hey.”

Leah could hardly believe it was Hal calling her. Her first reaction was disbelief, followed by concern.

“Are you okay?” She asked, detecting a tight tone in his voice. She heard him exhale over the line.

“Well, I found out I can’t do this by myself. You know I don’t want you to come over here, we both know that isn’t a secret, but I…..I need help. My body isn’t as strong as I would like it to be.”

“Do you need me to stay over?” She asked tentatively. He was quiet for a moment.

“Yeah. I don’t have as much strength as I would like.”

“Okay. I’ll come right over.” As much as she dreaded spending time in his home, (a new place though, without all the memories of their old home) she would be spending it with Hal close by, and that was hard on her.

“Do you need anything else?” She asked, and Hal sighed heavily.

“Well, I haven’t eaten anything yet….”

Leah had to stop from rolling her eyes. She now knew how desperate the phone call actually was. If Hal had been home all these hours and not eaten anything, she knew that he would have called her only after he exercised all other options. She wasn’t insulted, but she couldn’t believe that he had waited so long to call.

“I’m making dinner, I’ll bring some over for you. You should be resting anyway, not moving around as much as you used to. Give your body a chance to recover.”

Hal hung up shortly after that, and Leah wrapped up some food to bring over to his house. She worried a little about the close proximity she and Hal would be in, and dreaded talking about what they had been through before. If she stayed with him long enough, the conversation would come up, one way or another. She wasn’t looking forward to that, addressing all the issues they had tried to bury.

In the long run, it was probably better that they dig them up and settle them properly, but with the way they parted, it had been awful and far too painful on the both of them. She had hoped she would never see him again, so she could get over it on her own time. That wasn’t going to happen anymore though, and she prayed that she could control herself enough to not resort to the yelling, fighting, tearful matches they had been through previously.

Was it possible they could deal with it this time the right way? That instead of turning their backs on one another, they could actually support each other and talk truthfully about what they felt then and put it to rest? Leah hoped so. It had been disappointing, hurtful, despairing, and dark the first time they had gone through their troubles. Leah hoped that there wouldn’t be a repeat performance of it, ever.




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A/N: Thanks for reading! More to come soon! Please review, I appreciate it!

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