Robbery In Progress

*Kelsey*

"Go after him," Joe said to me, clearly seeing my internal struggle on my face. "We'll stay with her." That was the moment I knew Emma was right about him. What other robbers did I know that would stick around to help when they knew they would be arrested if they did and they had a clear upperhand in running away?

After I glanced back at Emma, leaning over her sister doing all she could to put pressure on the wound, I went after Jason. I wanted to be there for Emma but I also knew how upset she would be if we didn't catch him. Plus after earlier, I'm not sure where I'm at with her and that makes me weary. Better to stick to what I know.

Up ahead I heard metal sliding against metal and I broke into a run. If he makes it up into the streets there's no way we would catch him.

"Stop!" I yelled as I came up on him, climbing up the ladder. "Police!"

Instead of stopping he let off his gun once more and made his escape into the crowd.

"Dammit!"

When I made it back to the other end of the tunnel the EMTs were putting Meg on a gurney to wheel her out and Emma might as well have been on top of them while Joe and his daughter Sarah stood to the side.

"He got away," I announced. "You two know I have to arrest you, right?" I reached for my cuffs and a pain shot through my left arm. I sucked in a breath.

"You're bleeding."

I looked down and sure as shit he was right, I was bleeding. "Would you look at that? I am." Both EMTs and Emma picked their heads up to look over at me. The EMTs no doubt wanted to assess me, but I was just looking back at Emma as I watched the emotions fly over her face.

First concern, then anger. But the last one was the one that did me in, resignation.

I pushed that out of my mind before it completely consumed me and focused in on Joe and Sarah. "Come on, up we go. You two in the back of a police car and I will get this wound checked out. We have a lot to talk about." *Emma*

Meg was still in surgery. I had called Eric after we got to the hospital. He and the kids were in the cafeteria eating dinner while I sat in the waiting room. I see someone walk into the room and I look up, hoping it's the doctor. But instead it's Kelsey.

"Hey," her tone was cautious as she approached.

"Don't you have suspects to interrogate?"

"I took Joe and Sarah's statements but they've basically been hostages themselves for months now. They are resting. I wanted to come check on you."

"She's still in surgery so not really much to update you on." I replied as I watched her sit down next to me.

"That isn't what I meant. Though I do want to know how Meg is doing, I came here to check in on you, not her."

I knew that's what she meant when she said it, but after seeing her get shot, which I notice the wound has been patched up now, and sitting here waiting to see if my sister is going to live, I just can't put myself out there again. Why does everyone in my life have to get hurt like this?

She continued since I stayed silent, "are you not out? I guess I assumed you were since you had a fiance that I'm almost positive was female and your sister seemed to be aware of our...situation. But today you acted almost ashamed." "I'm out. I just don't like to flaunt it around at work. It's not the place for that." I saw the hurt flash across her eyes but I couldn't let that get to me too hard. She was safer away from me, she had to know that.

"You don't like to flaunt what? That you're lesbian or that you're with me?"

Again, I stayed silent.

"I would shout it from the rooftops. If I had a woman like you in my life, I would want everyone to know about it."

"So that you could have a bigger target painted on your back? I'm sorry, but I can't. You're safer far away from me. How can you not see that?"

"You're kidding me, right?" She stood to match me, "I'm a cop, Emma. My life is in danger whether or not you're in it. I investigate violent felonies for a living. If this is about my getting shot today then you need to come out of that spiral. I did not get shot because of you, I got shot because a maniac with a gun said he would shoot someone if we chased him. And I chased him. Because that's my job."

"If you think this argument is helping your case, you're wrong. Convincing me that your job is dangerous and that you could die at any second isn't going to make me feel better. Don't you see what's going to happen? If we keep doing this I will fall in love with you. Then one day you're going to get killed and then I'll have to grieve another fiancè. Is that what you want? To cause me pain?"

She fell silent for a minute, when she tried to step towards me I stepped back.

"I would rather spend another night with you and mourn you for a lifetime, than spend my life apart from you. Because you know what's worse than losing someone to death? Losing someone who's still alive. They are out there, living their life, choosing not to live it next to you. And that is exponentially more painful." We sat in silence as the words I had said to her forever ago on a drunken night were repeated back to me. "You're trying to get out before it's too late for you to recover. I get that, and maybe if I was a better person I would back off. But it's already too late for me. I'm already in love with you."