Shaken

Chapter 15- Within Grasp

The overcast winter sky layered darkness over the city as the unit arrived at the scene.

The house where the perp, a man named Daniel James O'Connell, was hiding out was dark, the inside only faintly illuminated by the flashing of red and blue lights that spanned the street.

Hank was the first to arrive, tucking his thumbs under his vest as he walked over to the agent in charge.

"Hank Voight, CPD intelligence." He stated.

"Sergeant Voight what is a city police unit doing at my crime scene?" the man in front of him questioned, "the FBI has full jurisdiction over this case now."

Hank held up a warrant, "Our city, our caller, but once we get the bracelets on him you're free to do whatever you want with him," he responded gruffly.

The agent tried to interject, "Serg-"

"My granddaughter is in the damn pediatric ICU because of this prick's actions and I intended to read him his rights myself. If you want to stop me, take it up with the chuckleheads in the Ivory Tower, because I'm not waitin' around any longer."

"You cannot just waltz onto a federal crime scene and arrest this perp because of a personal vendetta."

"The hell I can't," Voight responded gruffly, pushing through the scene.

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Hank stuffed his hands into his jacket as he exited the hospital elevator. He approached the room where his granddaughter lay.

Erin combed her hands through Piper's hair, "are you hungry, honey?"

Piper shook her head sullenly.

"Maybe just some water?" Erin coaxed, concerned.

Piper shook her head again.

"There's gotta be something you want,"

Piper shook her head and leaned closer to her mom.

Erin looked up at Jay, her eyes looking glassy. Watching Piper's demeanor so drastically become increasingly gloomy and withdrawn was agonizing to witness.

Hank entered the room cautiously, not trying to intrude on the vulnerable moment.

"Hank," Jay said, surprised to see he'd returned given the events of earlier in the day.

"If you want her to make another ID, she's not going to," Jay's voice was even enough to be cordial but the hint of coldness that slipped through for Hank to know he was dead serious.

"No, there's been some developments on the case that I thought you might want to know. I thought we could step into the hall to speak about it." Hank explained.

Erin was the first to get up, kissing her daughter's hand before letting go to follow Hank.

Jay tried to follow suit but was quickly met with the destructive force of Piper's fingernails digging into his arm.

"Don't leave me! " She cried loudly. The terror in her voice evident.

"Piper, it's just-" Hank tried to explain.

Jay interrupted protectively, looking up at Hank, "It's ok, just take Erin, I'll stay here."

He gave Erin a reassuring glance, he would be fine with Piper.

As they left the room, Jay could barely notice the tiny fingernails clawing at his skin as the overwhelm of the situation swallowed him whole. His blueish-green eyes stared into his daughters and for just a second, he saw a glimpse of a young version of himself clawing and screaming from that hospital bed.

He could swear his heart skipped a beat. There were so many things he loved having in common with his daughter, eye color, favorite foods, a love of hockey. However, PTSD was something he hoped they'd never share.

She couldn't end up like him, he wouldn't let her.

Suddenly, things were in focus. He grasped her free arm just firm enough to contain her but gentle enough to be painless. "I'm not going anywhere, Pipes, I promise."

She tried her best to grasp at him again but the adrenaline had made her weaker and shaky so her combative efforts were futile at best. Jay held onto his daughter's hand.

"I'm sorry..." She spoke barely audible.

Piper looked down as tears spilled from her eyes.

"For what? You don't need to be sorry." Jay said, rubbing her back.

Piper leaned towards him in the bed, trying to lay her head on him. He moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Tears were forming in his own eyes as he looked upon the scene. He was never going to let anyone hurt his kid ever again. He looked at where Piper had gripped his skin with her nails, noting blood on his arm. He swallowed the pain, it was a reminder of what she had been through, what hadn't been able to protect her from. That was a pain he never deserved to have heal.

He cradled her as close as he could, "Hey, I hope you know how proud I am of you."

Piper looked up at him, confused, "why?"

"For being such a trooper through all of this. You know you're one of the bravest people I've ever met?" Jay said gently, giving her a small smile.

"Really? Braver than you?" Piper asked with a slight grin on her face, the first thing resembling a smile she'd had since this nightmare began.

"Oh definitely."

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(A/N)

Hello all and Happy New Year! I know it's been a while since I've updated (like an ungodly amount of time). I've had a lot happen in my personal life over the last several months, mostly good stuff don't worry, and also just a lot of anxiety that really hindered both my time and focus for writing. I'm so thankful to all of you for your patience and willingness to keep up with this story. Truly it means more to me than you will ever know that anyone wants to read my writing. As of now, I can make no promises with when or how quickly I'll update but I'll try to be better about communicating a time frame in the future. 

For now though, I'm wishing y'all and your families a safe and happy 2024. 

Stay safe😷! Take care of yourselves! I love you ❤️! thank you all for reading! 

-Alex