Chapter One
"What the hell is going on here?!" Gwen screamed.
T.C. Russell had Julian Crane pinned up against the wall of the Crane Mansion, a gun in hand.
"Gwen, thank God," Julian choked. "Go get help NOW! This man has gone mad! He's trying to kill me!"
Gwen froze in her spot, her eyes glued to the shiny gun that T.C. had grasped very tightly in his left hand.
T.C. continued to hold Julian against the wall, his right hand wrapped around his neck, choking the life out of Julian. "You bastard!" he roared. "You have ruined my life! First you RIPPED my tennis career out of my hands, and THEN I hear you had a past with MY wife, and left her ALONE while she was pregnant! Creatures like you make me sick!" he yelled, waving his gun in Julian's face.
"Gwen!" Julian cried, the desperation in his voice apparent.
Gwen didn't know what to do, and before she knew what she was doing, she jumped towards T.C.
~-*-~
"I'm glad you stopped by, Hank." Sheridan told him, grinning. "I've missed you."
"Oh I bet," he teased. "I'm sure
my buddy Luis has been keeping you pretty occupied.
Sheridan blushed, and a large smile grew upon her face. "I guess you could
say that."
"Where is Luis, anyway?" Hank asked her looking around.
"He's out of town for a few days." Sheridan informed him.
"Official Police Business." they said in unison. Sheridan cracked up, and Hank rolled his eyes.
"That guy is too dedicated to his work," Hank laughed. "He needs to learn to relax and hang out a bit. You know, 'chill'!"
"Chill?" Sheridan giggled.
"C'mon, don't tell me you don't know what chilling is!" Hank tossed his hands up in misbelief.
"Uh... yeah," Sheridan started. "It's something that happens to wine."
"Ha, ha, ha!" Hank shot, sarcastically.
"You're crazy!" Sheridan laughed, giving him a hug. "I'm glad we're still friends, Hank. Really."
"Yeah, me too." Hank agreed, softly. "Luis sure is one lucky guy." he said, tapping her on the chin.
Sheridan smiled. "Do you want to go out for dinner later? After all, I'm here all by myself..." she pouted, giving him her best puppy dog look.
"Sure thing, babe." He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Call me when you're ready."
"Alright, sounds like a plan." See ya later, Hank!" she called out the door to him.
He grinned at her again and waved, as he made his way towards his car.
~-*-~
"Get off of me!" T.C. demanded. "This man deserves what's coming to him!"
"Help me! Help! Help!" Julian cried like a girl. "I'm too rich to dieeeeeee!"
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Give me the gun! You two can talk this out. Please T.C.!" she begged.
T.C. stepped back and looked into Gwen's eyes. He felt sorry for her, for some strange reason. "Talking isn't going to get us anywhere! This man is SCUM, and I'm going to make him PAY for what he has done to ME, and MY family!"
"But..." Gwen wailed, tears falling
from her eyes. "Please, just leave! You're scaring me!"
Julian shoved T.C. forward and grabbed at his gun. Gwen stood by them in fear as
the two struggled over it. She knew she should get help, but she was frozen.
Julian kicked T.C. in the leg and tore the gun from his hand... but it was too
late.
A loud, crisp gun shot rang through the air.
"AAHHH!" Gwen shrieked, pain ringing throughout her cry.
~-*-~
"What the hell?!" Hank jumped back from his car. "Oh my God... That was from the Crane Mansion!"
Hank raced towards the mansion without a single sense of logic in his head. His instinct told him he had to get there fast, and help whoever it was that was hurt.
As he approached the main walk to the mansion, an eerie silence soaked through the air. Panting, he started to walk, careful not to make much noise. He was not prepared for the sight he saw... It broke his heart.
Gwen Hotchkiss was alone, outside on her knees, sobbing in pain. She held her head, and rocked herself back and forth.
"Oh no..." Hank trailed off. He slowly
approached her, and noticed a gun lying near her hand.
Speechless, Hank crouched down beside her and touched her gently on the shoulder.
"Who's there?" she jumped back, shocked.
"It's Hank Bennett..." he said softly.
She removed her hands from her eyes to look at him. "Oh no.... Oh no!"
she cried. "Oh no, oh my gosh..."
"What?" Hank asked, startled. "What's wrong? What happened
here?" he
looked around, and thankfully he didn't see any blood.
"The gun..." she cried. "It went off! Julian got the gun, but it went off. The shot went off in front of my face - Right in front of my face!"
Gwen's words surprised Hank, and he was
definitely curious as to what had just gone on. "Are you hurt? Where's
Julian?"
Gwen started sobbing some more, and her whole body shook with absolute fear.
"Gwen, what is it?"
"I_" she started. "I can't see!" she wailed. "I CAN'T SEE!" she repeated. "It's all black! EVERYTHING!!" she panicked. "I-I've gone blind..." she whispered, her voice shaking. "Oh my... God..."
Hank's heart ached for her. He watched her as she sobbed, completely unaware of what he should do. So he did the only thing he could do.
He held her.
He held her while she cried uncontrollably in his arms, and he held her while she was shaking because she was so scared, but most of all, he held her because for some reason if felt so right.
She needed him.
And he held her until help arrived.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Cheesy? LMAO. Hope you liked it, I know it was a bit sappy but oh well! Gotta love Gwank, hee hee! Feedback is more than cherished. :)