Title: In One Night Part 0/1

By: Terri D. Thomas

SA Dues: Yes

In One Night (a short introspective piece)

by Terri D. Thomas

Part 1/1

"Besides, what can happen in one night?" Yep, I said it and at this moment I can't figure out just what possessed me to make that comment.

From my desk I can see through the partially open blinds into Simon's office. I don't have to use my enhanced vision to watch the dark head of my friend listing sideways, his body leaning into the corner of the small couch. He's supposed to be watching television while Simon and I sort out what happened to him over the past twenty-four hours.

With my hearing I can detect a soft snoring sound coming from the office. Can't blame him for nodding off. The kid was dragged across God-knows-how-many-counties to the Canadian border, fought over between two sets of kidnappers like he was a tug-o-war rope.

If that wasn't bad enough, Simon and I had no choice but to arrest Blair. The look of utter shock on his face when Simon read his rights to him was enough to make me lose what little breakfast I still had in my stomach. The kid was so proud of himself when he popped open his trunk and showed us where he had decided to 'put' Iris, and then within a microsecond, the pride was gone. . .and instead it was replaced with confusion and fear as Simon broke the news to him. When Blair opened the trunk he had sealed his fate. Along with Iris, the trunk held a load of heroin. It was Blair's word against Iris' as to how the drugs had ended up in his car. Not surprisingly, so far Iris has been uncooperative, leaving Blair in a very compromising predicament.

The booking process took forever, but I stayed, watching over him like a hawk. No one else was going to lay a hand on him. . .not after everything he had been through. Simon promised me that Blair wouldn't be put in a holding cell. Instead he arranged for Blair to stay in his office until things could be resolved. Regardless, my guilt for making Blair go through this still makes me sick. But I can't get emotional about this because I'm a cop. . .and I know we don't have a choice.

I close my eyes and try to massage away the growing headache. 'What can happen in one night?' The words echo through my mind again. Well, in one night I came close to losing my friend. If I hadn't been able to track Blair down at the train station, my partner. . .my friend, would be dead at the hands of Parkman and Iris.

What's worse is that this isn't the first time. I lean back in my chair, my eyes penetrating through the blinds and focusing on the back of the curly head. 'What can happen in one night?' I had said. What could happen in that brief amount of time?

Damn I had been stupid. How could I have forgotten about all the things that could go wrong in just a few short hours? I've lost count of the number of times that everything changed in one night.

In one night Lash took Blair as the latest victim of his warped identity-switching plan. One minute I was on the phone with Blair, telling him that I would be home late and the next I'd received the emergency pager message that Blair was in trouble. A few lucky breaks had been the only thing that saved Blair from the same fate that Susan Frasier and the others had met.

In one night Blair was in intensive care, fighting for his life from an overdose. Just a few hours before he was telling me about the chemicals used in the manufacture of Golden and by the next morning the kid was on a respirator. With my own eyesight impaired, all I could focus on was the irregular beat of a heart that threatened to stop.

In one night I was confessing to Blair about my fear of water and before I knew it my partner was lying unconscious under the heavy weight of a radio antenna. I helplessly watched as the metal structure had collapsed on top of him, trapping him underneath.

But there have been so many others. . .so many lost in one night.

In one night Incacha was taken from me. . .

In one night Danny was gunned down in cold blood. . .

In one night my team was lost in Peru. . .

I let an aching sigh escape and lean back in my chair. How could I have been so cavalier about Iris? How could I have taken such a chance with my friend's life? How could I forget how quickly things can go from good to bad to worse?

I scrub my face with my hand, trying to rub away the guilt that threatens to overwhelm me. Why didn't I taken action when I found out about Iris? Maybe if I had Blair wouldn't be sitting in Simon's office waiting to hear about his fate. Maybe if I had taken the time to be even the slightest bit concerned none of the past twenty- four hours would have happened to him. I should've done something. . .I should've cared. . .because I know only too well that a hell of a lot can happen in one night.

-fin-