Part Six

Tom Ryan shoved several bills at the cab driver as they arrived at the hospital entrance and then quickly made his way inside. He'd gone to Harry's to rest and when he woke up, six hours had passed. He'd tried calling Harry for the promised ride to pick up the Mustang, but hadn't been able to track him down. He'd finally resorted to calling the cab. Now visiting hours were almost over, but Tom was not going to be dissuaded from seeing his partner. Much to his chagrin, the Mustang would have to wait. As he exited the elevator on Cassy's floor, he literally ran into his captain. After mumbling a suitable apology, the interrogation began. "How is she? Is she awake yet? Is she upset with me for not being here?"

Harry raised his hands as if to surrender. "Slow down already! She's okay, all things considered. She's awake, but still a little groggy. No, she's not upset with you, just a little worried. I was just on my way over to wake...I mean, pick you up."

"Gee, I don't suppose you'd know anything about the alarm clock getting turned off?" Tom inquired sarcastically.

"You probably turned it off in your sleep. I hear people do that all the time," came Harry's sheepish reply. "Besides, you needed the rest. You look a whole lot better."

Tom grinned as he moved past Harry towards Cassy's room. He stopped abruptly and turned back to demand, "Why is she worried about me? She's the one in the hospital. Just what exactly did you say to her?"

Guilty defiance tinged Harry's reply. "You know your partner. She wouldn't accept any of my excuses for you not being here. She was convinced that this creep took you out before he attacked her. That he killed you. She thought she only dreamed about you being here before. So I HAD to tell her about you being drugged."

Tom couldn't believe his ears. "You WHAT! The doctor couldn't even say for sure that I was drugged. God, I can't believe you!" Tom paused, glaring at his captain. "I'm going in to reassure my partner that I'm still in one piece. Are you leaving now that you've probably scared her half to death or are you sticking around to give me a lift to the Mustang?" The irritation in his voice was unmistakable.

"I have some things to take care of at the office, then I'll take you over to get your car." In truth, the office could have waited, but he wanted to give them some time alone. Cassy hadn't been able to talk to him about what happened. He had a feeling Tom might succeed where he had failed, given a little time.

"Fine. Let me know when you're ready." Tom's tone was civil, but cool. He turned and headed into Cassy's room, leaving Harry to wait for the elevator.

*****

Cassy's eyes instantly flew open as Tom entered her room. "Tom! Thank God, you're okay! You are okay now, aren't you? Harry told me about you being drugged, too."

Tom carefully sat on the edge of her bed, rolling his eyes at her last comment. "Harry shouldn't have told you that. It might not even be true. I just didn't eat last night or this morning, so my stomach felt a little out of whack. Nothing to worry about. Now you, on the other hand..."

"Don't worry about me," she reassured him a little too quickly. "I'm okay, just a little sore."

Tom made a quick inventory of her appearance. Her left eye was still swollen, but she was now able to open it about halfway. There was a lot of bruising around both eyes. Her lips and left cheek were bruised and swollen as well. Bruises and scrapes circled both wrists. "Cassy, we should talk about it."

Cassy turned away, panic setting in. "There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine now. They're planning to let me out of here tomorrow afternoon. I hurt a little, but that's it. End of story."

Tom wasn't going to let it drop. "Cass, don't you try to pull that crap on me. You wouldn't let me get by with it and I'm not gonna let you do it, either." Tom's voice was gentle, but firm. He carefully reached out and gently guided her back to face him. "You don't have to be the strong one, not right now. Come on. Talk to me."

Her breathing quickened, awakening the sleeping knives in her ribs. When she finally let her eyes meet his, the floodgates opened. Ignoring the pain, she reached for him to hold her, sobs racking her body. After a while, she was able to tell him about the attack. She clung to him the whole time she talked, drawing from him the strength she so desperately needed. Tears were still falling as she finally released him and lay back on the pillow, exhausted.

He handed her another tissue to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. "Better?"

"Yeah, better," she replied, reaching for his hand. A little uncertain, she asked, "Stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Absolutely, Partner." He leaned over and kissed her forehead, lingering for a moment longer than was necessary.

Cassy stopped him as he moved to sit in the chair by the bed. "Hold me. Please," she whispered, her voice breaking. She ignored the pain that flared as she moved over to make room for him.

Tom carefully climbed onto the bed and gently gathered her into his arms. As he kissed the top of her head, he vowed, "Anything you need, Cass. Anything."

****************

It was after midnight when Tom and Harry pulled out of the hospital parking lot. Tom had filled Harry in on Cassy's account of her ordeal on their way to the car. Now he wanted to know where the investigation stood. "So what did the lab reports say? Did any of the neighbors see or hear anything?" Tom was firmly back in detective mode now that he knew Cassy would be all right.

"You won't like this any more than I do. We got a big fat zero here. I was really hoping Cassy could give us something to go on. We've got no fingerprints, no signs of tampering with the alarm system, and no unusual fibers. None of the neighbors remember seeing anything unusual. We're working on the drug angle, but nothing there so far. It's like this guy appeared out of thin air and then vanished again without a trace. Tomorrow, I want you to start combing the old case files, see if you can turn something up. " Harry's tone was grim.

"I'll go through them in the morning. Cass said they're springing her tomorrow afternoon. I'll probably need most of the afternoon and evening. I'll take the files home if I haven't come up with anything by the time I leave to pick her up." Tom knew Harry would allow him the time.

"Just make sure that partner of yours stays away from this. If I know her, she'll insist on being right smack in the middle of it. She needs to rest. You see that she does." Harry's tone left no doubt that it was an order, not a request. Tom nodded in agreement.

The remainder of the trip was spent in silence, each man lost in his own thoughts about the attack. As they turned onto Cassy's street, Tom's cell phone rang. He glanced questioningly over at Harry as he answered, "Ryan." The Captain was staring straight ahead, a dumbfounded expression on his face. Tom turned to see what Harry was looking at. He ceased hearing the voice on the other end of the phone, and began staring just as Harry was...at Cassy's empty driveway.

***********

It was nearing 3 am when Tom finally arrived at Harry's. The voice on the other end of the phone had been a fellow officer who'd pulled over a gang of teenagers in Tom's Mustang. Harry had dropped him off to fill out the paperwork and sign the complaint before heading home.

Tom was just crawling into bed when a soft knock came at the bedroom door. "What is it, Harry?" he wearily called. "Look, I'm sorry if I woke you. I really was trying to be quiet."

"You didn't wake me. I don't sleep too good when Frannie's gone. Everything squared away with your car? How bad was the damage?" he asked, poking his head in the door.

"It seems a gang of kids from the neighborhood decided to 'borrow' the Mustang for the evening and go cruising. The parents promised full and immediate restitution for the damage. God, it's a mess. It's got huge rips in the back seat, smaller ones in the front, and cigarette burns on the seats, the floor, the doors, and the dashboard. The speedometer is so scratched up it's almost unreadable. There doesn't seem to be any exterior damage aside from some gouges on the wheels where they hit a few curbs." Tom yawned and settled deeper into the bed. "Anything else, Harry? I'm really beat."

"No, just wanted to make sure everything was all right. See you in the morning." Harry turned to head back to his room.

"Good night, Harry. And thanks." Tom was already halfway asleep.

Harry had to get in the last word. "Sure, no problem. Oh, and Tom...don't forget to set the alarm clock this time."

Tom groaned and buried his head further under the pillows.

End Part Six

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