An entire week had passed since Rick had last seen Gabriella. He didn't dare even return to collect the bag he had left behind. He wanted nothing more than to check in, make sure she was okay, apologise and hope she would listen to the plans he and Carl had made for Christmas in the hopes she would join them.
He sat in the police cruiser, staring out of the window at the parking lot they had been sitting in for over an hour. He hadn't spoken a word to the Rookie that was sat beside him; his head was far too preoccupied with thoughts of Gabriella.
"-so anyway, she comes marching back in the house as she does. She's shy as anything around other people, but damn when it's just me and her and she doesn't like what I'm saying, she's a whole different woman. Off-topic, anyway- Rick? Rick? You going to listen to me yet?" Tara Chambler called out as she reached over to click her fingers in front of his face.
Rick turned to her, "probably not, Tara, no," he sighed.
"Something on your mind?" She asked, forgetting about her previous ranting.
"Is it that obvious?" He scoffed as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
"Well, you've ignored three radio calls and me for the past hour. I don't know what is so interesting out there, but it's got you hooked," she replied, looking in the direction Rick had been previously to try and see what he saw.
Rick frowned, but it quickly turned to a smirk, "why have you continued to talk if you knew I wasn't really listening?"
"I like the sound of my own voice," Tara laughed, "plus, if you're not listening, I can complain until my little heart is content with the knowledge you won't be able to gossip about me behind my back."
He smirked and shook his head, "you're ridiculous," he mumbled, his eyes focusing back out of the car.
"So what's the problem, Grimes? Woman troubles?" She asked, "I know the struggle," she sighed, scrunching up her face.
"Yeah, woman troubles," Rick mumbled in reply. He still wasn't focusing his entire attention on Tara and her babbling, but he tried to make some effort to converse with her so he wasn't seen as the grumpy officer the rookies wanted to stay away from.
"Well, you may not have noticed, but I am a woman; I could help, offer advice and things?" She shrugged.
He sighed, "I don't know how anyone could help this situation. I messed up big time."
"With your girlfriend? Wife?" She asked, with raised eyebrows, knowing the mention of his wife, well, ex-wife, would've struck a nerve enough for him to focus on the conversation.
"You know damn well I just got a divorce," he hissed, "and I don't have a girlfriend, she's my friend."
"Just a friend?" Tara asked, wiggling her eyebrows and grinning ear to ear.
"Yep, just a friend," he scoffed. He couldn't look Tara in the eye; this wasn't the kind of conversation he would've had with anyone, especially not someone who was supposed to be learning from him, not stuck in a car park listening to him complain about "woman troubles".
"A friend who you accidentally—purposely fucked?" She asked casually before taking a loud sip of her drink.
"No," Rick exclaimed in shock that his innocent-looking colleague could be so vulgar.
She laughed, "okay, okay, so you've kissed?"
He stayed silent; he didn't want to continue the conversation, but if he knew Tara as well as he thought he did, she wouldn't let up so easily.
Tara took his silence as confirmation that they had kissed, "okay, so you've kissed, and now it's awkward because you're "just friends"? She asked, using her fingers to make quotation marks in the air.
"It's not that simple, Tara; let's just forget this conversation ever happened," Rick sighed, leaning his head back against his seat.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," she smiled, patting his arm, "I'm good at advice; just talk to me. It's our secret."
Rick rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh; he knew he'd regret this conversation later, "fine," he groaned, "she and her husband are getting a divorce-" he began, but Tara cut him off quickly with wide eyes
"It's Officer Big Flirt's wife, isn't it?" She asked in hysterical laughter.
"How did you- I'm not even going to ask— this isn't funny, Tara," He exclaimed. Tara was known as the station gossip and could prize information from the toughest criminal. It made her good at her job, that's for sure, but it also meant she had her nose in everyone's business.
He stared at her while she tried to smile innocently at him; he knew there was no point in backtracking and continued again. "Yes, it's Shane's wife," he sighed, "since they split up and I moved out of her house, she's been-" He paused. "I can't tell you any of this. I don't want her thinking-".
Tara rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to tell anyone. I promise. You can trust me, Rick. Hey, maybe I can be your new best friend, seeing as Shane decided to screw to wife; you need a sidekick; I'd be great!"
Rick rolled his eyes and released an exasperated growl, "Tara, I'm trying so hard to actually talk to you right now."
"Okay, carry on; what has she been doing?" She asked, trying to act serious.
He thought about it for a moment before opening his mouth, "She's been drinking a lot."
"She's an alcoholic?" She asked, her act suddenly becoming real as she realised how serious the topic had become.
"I don't want to label it, but I suppose— I don't know," Rick sighed.
Tara nodded and stayed silent as Rick continued.
"I moved out, but she was in a bad way, so I said—well more or insisted I stayed a few days, to see if me being there would stop her from relying on the alcohol," he paused, "she's lonely, which I understand, but she uses the drink to forget and sleep her days away. I'm pretty certain she will be fired come the end of the month if she takes any more time off. I left the house for maybe an hour, and she had vanished. I went as far as to get Gareth to track down her car," he paused momentarily as he glanced at Tara, who was hanging onto every word, "she was at the bar, and when I got there, she was being all flirty with one of the Dixon brothers-"
Tara gasped, "Not Merle?"
Rick shook his head, "no, Daryl, the younger one. Well, she was trying to take him home with her and I didn't know what to do. I didn't want her to make the mistake of screwing a Dixon, so I might have handcuffed her and threatened to book her for drunk and disorderly," he squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment from his desperate reaction.
Typical of Tara, she laughed, "I bet she loved that."
Rick's eyes briefly widened, "oh, she did, that's the problem. She was drunk and calling me Officer Sexy," he almost grinned as he remembered, "when I got her home and to bed, she said she wouldn't go to sleep without a kiss."
"Oh shit, that girl is smooth," Tara squealed excitedly. "Beth is going to love this," she whispered to herself.
"What did you say?" Rick asked, furrowing his brows.
"Nothin'," she replied innocently, clearing her throat, "continue."
"Well, long story short. We kissed, and then the next morning, I might as well have just called her a whore," Rick blurted out in quick succession.
"You what?" Tara exclaimed, "man, you messed up; you don't say shit like that to the woman you're crushing on."
"I know—hey, I'm not crushing on anyone; I'm not a teenager," Rick shook his head. "I haven't seen her since she screamed at me to get out."
Tara smirked, "good for her."
He glared at her, "aren't you supposed to be giving me advice?"
"Rick, the only advice I could possibly give is to get your ass to her house, drop to your knees and beg for forgiveness; then maybe she will return the favour, if you know what I'm saying," Tara grinned, raising her eyebrows up and down at her suggestive comment.
"You're a pain in the-"
The radio cut Rick off before he could scold his colleague.
"Assistance required, unconscious patient, EMT unable to get access-"
Rick asked for the address and froze when the dispatch officer replied with the address.
"No, no, no," Rick muttered frantically as he started the car, pushing the buttons for both the lights and sirens as he skidded out of the parking lot.
"Woah," Tara exclaimed as she braced herself against the passenger side door, "what is wrong with you? You haven't moved in over an hour!"
"That's Gabriella's house," he replied, his eyes never leaving the road.
_____
Rick's driving was almost a concern for Tara as he swerved past cars and sped down the back roads until he reached Gabriella's house. The car screeched to a halt as he stopped abruptly behind the ambulance parked on the road outside.
Two EMTs were stood at the door and window, banging and shouting for her to open the door.
"Come out of the way; I have a key," Rick said as he practically pushed the younger male EMT out of the way. He unlocked the door quickly and rushed inside. The smell of vomit hit his senses as he entered the lounge.
He regretted his decision as soon as he laid eyes on Gabriella. She was sprawled across the couch, her arm dangling off the edge. Vomit covered her clothes and face, and the only sign of life was the choking sounds she made.
As the paramedics pushed past him to assist her, Rick's eyes travelled to the coffee table. Two bottles of wine and a bottle of Vodka, all empty, stood on top. He reached down between the bottles, seeing a pill bottle in the middle. It was Tylenol, but the bottle was completely empty, and he had no idea if it had previously been full.
As he stared at her almost lifeless body as she was lifted up onto the gurney, he wondered how she could possibly have called for help in such a state. Did she call when she took the pills and regretted her decision? Was someone else in the house that he hadn't realised?
"Who called you?" Rick asked as soon as the thought came to mind.
"A neighbour, I believe. Do you have any details about this woman?" The paramedic replied.
Rick reeled off everything he knew about Gabriella and her medical history. He didn't know a great deal, but he confessed that he was aware of her drinking and reliance upon pain medication.
"Rick," Tara said softly as she entered the house. "The neighbour, the one that called it in, said a man came to the house, and he heard lots of shouting and thought he heard something smashing. When the man left, he came over to ensure she wasn't injured, but when she didn't answer, he thought the worst."
"Who was the man? Who's been here?" He asked, not taking his eyes off Gabriella as she was wheeled out of the house. Tara followed him out of the house, chewing nervously at her lip.
"Got a description. Tall, dark, but shaved hair-" She paused and sighed.
"Tara spit it out," Rick hissed, already having an idea who it was.
"He said it was Shane," she mumbled, knowing her colleague's reaction wouldn't be great.
"I'm going to kill him," Rick said through gritted teeth as he made his way towards the police car.
"No! I will talk to Shane, and you will go to the hospital. Just drop me off at the station first. I will inform them back there that it was an emergency, okay?" Tara said as she chased after him.
Rick sighed and wiped his hands over his face, "okay, thank you."
After dropping Tara off at the station, Rick drove the fifteen minutes to the hospital. Neither spoke a word, but occasionally, Tara would glance at the older man, noting how he was jumping between anger and hurt.
Upon entering the hospital, he went straight to the main desk and asked for Gabriella.
"I'm sorry, but she won't be up for questioning. If you leave a number-" the nurse began.
"I'm not here to question her dammit! She's my friend. I need to see her," he snapped in a harsher tone than he had intended, "I'm sorry, just- I need to see her; I need to know if she's okay."
"I-I'll see what I can do," the nurse stammered before scurrying away quickly to find Gabriella's Doctor.
A woman approached him a few minutes later. "Officer-"
"Can you just tell me how she is?" Rick interrupted. He was trying to stay level-headed, but he worried that she had succeeded in what appeared to be a suicide attempt.
"Your wife-" the doctor began again.
Rick sighed, "She's not my wife."
"I see; well, I'm sorry, sir, but I can't give you that information just yet unless it's for your reports."
"Dammit, please just tell me how she is, at least!"
"She's stable for now," was all the doctor said before walking away, leaving Rick with no answers to the hundreds of questions running through his mind.
He sat down on a chair in the waiting room and waited. He held his head in his hands as he fought off the painful emotions that were beginning to floor him.
Rick was angry at Shane for causing Gabriella to harm herself that way, but he was also furious at himself for leaving her house and giving up on her in her time of need.
The more he thought about what may have happened between Shane and Gabriella that day, the angrier he got. He wanted nothing more than to find out for himself, and as quickly as he arrived at the hospital, he had left again, searching for answers.