I'm so sorry it's been so long guys. I've been really ill, and I couldn't even look at a computer screen. Anyone ever heard of Lyme Disease? Well, that's what I have. Not a nice thing, trust me. Watch out for ticks guys, nasty little critters. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'm currently working on the next chapter, so hopefully it'll be up by the weekend. Here you go :-)
Chapter Ten
I heard Eli's smile as he said, “Hey sweetheart, how are you doing?”
“I'm ok, sir. You?”
“Better, now I've heard your voice. So, how was work? I tried calling earlier, but there was no answer.”
“It was busy. Lots of files to get through. How's the training?”
“Good. Most of the recruits are doing well. There's a guy I'd like on our team instead of losing him to the FBI, but I guess that's the way life goes.”
I listen to him talk about the training process and how difficult it is and then I heard him say, “Dani? You still with me?”
“Yes sir.”
“I thought I'd bored you so much, you'd fallen asleep.”
“Oh, no sir. I was just listening. It sounds like a hard program to get through.”
“It is, but they need to be good at their job. All of this training needs to become second nature to them. Anyway, I need to let you go so you can try to sleep. I'll see you on Wednesday, ok?”
“Yes sir. Goodnight.”
After I hung up, I made myself some cereal and grabbed a shower before trying to catch some sleep.
I really didn't sleep well, and it must have shown on my face when I got into work because Ash and the Captain noticed it. They both eyed me suspiciously, but made no comment. As I was inputting data into my computer, someone sat on the edge of my desk. I squealed, jumped and pushed my chair back before thinking, 'I wish they wouldn't keep doing that.' I looked up and saw Cain sitting there smiling at me.
He shrugged and said, “Didn't mean to scare you..... woah, you look like a train wreck.... Sorry, no offense or anything.”
He smiled sheepishly, like he'd just realised what he'd said. I managed to whisper, “It's ok. I'll let the Captain know you're here.”
I picked up my phone and dialled the Captain. “Sir, Private Anderson is here to see you..... Yes sir.”
I put the phone down and say, “You can go in sir.”
“Thanks Danica. You really should take some leave or something. I think they're working you too hard up here.”
“I'm fine, sir. Thank you.”
“Wish me luck, Danica. I'm hoping to be cleared for duty today.”
“Good luck, sir.”
He shot me a wink and a smile before he heading into the Captain's office.
I don't know how long it was after Cain left, but the next thing I knew, he said, “You must be a lucky charm...”
I squeaked, jumped and dropped the papers I was holding all over my desk and the floor.
He quickly said, “Sorry, I scared you again. Let me get those for you...”
“No! Er, I mean, no thank you, sir. I have to... put them back in order.”
I tried so desperately to control my breathing and my voice, but I don't think it worked.
“Dani? Are you ok?”
I whisper, “Please, don't come near me... I'm fine, just please...”
“Woah, ok, ok. You need the Captain or anything?”
“No sir.... I'm fine. Just need to do my work...”
I could feel my cheeks burning and my fingers starting to tingle. I needed to get out of there, quickly. I just got up and made a mad dash for the ladies bathroom; leaving Cain there completely shocked. He didn't know about my 'strange' tendencies, as he'd been in the hospital when I freaked out in front of the guys. He stood there shocked for a few minutes and then the Captain walked out. The Captain asked, “Where's Danica?”
“Ladies room, sir.”
“Right. If you see her, tell her I need her please.”
“Yes sir.”
Cain decided to stick around to make sure I was ok, and Ash walked by a few minutes later. He took in the scene; Cain standing by my desk and my papers everywhere. He suspiciously asked, “Where's Dani?”
“Ladies room.”
Ash sighed and asked, “What did you do Cain?”
“Nothing! Well, not that I know of. I startled her when I came out of the Captain's office and she dropped her papers. I offered to help her clear up and she took off like lightening to the bathroom...”
Ash sighed again and rubbed his hands over his face. “Take off, she'll want some space when she gets back.”
“But I need to make sure she's ok. And the Captain wants to see her.”
“She'll be fine. I'll tell her you're concerned and I'll let her know the Captain wants her too.”
“Tell her I'm sorry.”
“Will do.”
Ash waited for Cain to leave before heading to the ladies room. He took a deep breath before entering and he found me standing over the sink, trying to catch my breath. He whispered, “Dani? You ok? I saw Cain...”
I took in a sharp breath and managed to croak out, “This is the ladies room...”
“I know and believe me, I didn't want to come in here. I just needed to make sure you're ok. Cain told me what happened.”
I shuffled my feet and stared at the floor. “I'm fine, sir.”
“Really? I don't pretend to know what's going on with you, Dani, but I know something's up. Obviously, you don't need to tell me what's going on, but I just want to make sure you're ok.”
“I'm ok, honestly. He just startled me.”
“So, you're not panicking right now?”
I thought for a second and realised I was too shocked that he was in the bathroom to be panicking about the Cain incident. “No sir, I'm not. Thank you.”
He smiled and said, “You're welcome. Not what I thought a trip in here would do for you, but whatever works, I guess. When you're ready, the Captain wants to see you.”
“Yes sir. Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
As he was leaving, Ash said, “Dani? Eli's team is a good team. We won't hurt you. And if anyone even attempts to make you uncomfortable then I'll clean up whatever Eli leaves over. Ok?”
I was so shocked, I could only manage a sheepish nod before he was gone.
I cleaned myself up before rushing to the Captain's office. He wanted to dictate a letter to me, which he always found kind of cool. I didn't need to take notes or anything. He just told me what to type and then I just went off and did it. It amazed him and he was somewhat proud of the fact that I was part of his team.
I sat at my desk, typed the letter for the Captain and then tidied up the mess I'd made when I dropped my papers. I was just picking up the last few papers when I heard a voice say, “What happened here?”
I dropped the papers all over again and let out a rather loud squeak, causing people in the cubicles near me to turn and look. My cheeks went a bright shade of red, so I dropped my head and quietly counted. “Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you had noticed I was here.”
I let out a breath and whispered, “Eli....”
“Yes ma'am. You sound relieved to see me. What happened?”
“Nothing, just a long day, sir.”
“Want to talk about it?”
My intercom crackled to life and the Captain said, “Danica, when Eli gets here, send in him please?”
I responded, “Yes sir.”
Eli smirked and said, “I swear he has a tracking device on me or an extra eye or something...”
“Maybe he does...”
“Was that sarcasm?”
I shrugged, so Eli smiled and said, “I'll be back in a minute. Hold that thought.”
I nodded and he disappeared into the Captain's office. I finished up what I was doing and tidied up, yet again. As I did so, I thought, 'These guys are seriously going to be the death of me. I can't cope with all these scares. They're going to start asking questions, and I can't handle that. I'll have to leave, but I like this job...”
I was having an internal battle with myself, when Eli appeared in front of me. I shot back at 100 miles an hour (well, not literally, but you get the point), and my breathing hitched up a notch. Eli quickly took a look around to see if anyone was watching and then he whispered, “Dani? Calm down sweetheart. It's just me. Count with me?”
We counted and he noted that it was taking me less time to calm down with him there. After I was calm again, he asked, “You ready to go?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good, I'll walk with you.”
Eli waited while I picked up my things. He noticed that my hands were shaking and I was looking extra frail. He took in my appearance, without letting me know he was watching. He noted that I seemed to have lost lots of weight, my skin was pallor and my eyes were cloudy. As we walked down the stairs, he softly whispered, “Dani? Are you ok?”
“Yes sir.”
“Don't get angry with me, but you really don't look well at all. Have you been eating ok?”
I stopped and was silent for a few seconds. Eli saw a sheepish look cross my face, so he asked, “What? What's that look for?”
“I, er... I don't know. I don't remember...”
“Really? You don't remember if you've eaten properly?”
I flew away from him, thinking he was angry with me. My breathing went haywire and despite trying to count, I couldn't get it under control. I was now on the floor, crying and seriously freaking out. Eli slid his gun to me, but I didn't even make an attempt to take it. To be honest, I didn't even see it. I saw the edges of my vision start to darken and then there was nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Eli's POV)
What the heck just happened?! She's gone; like totally out of it.... Calm down, Eli. Now is not the time to panic. I should call Ash. We need to try to wake her up. I grab my cell and dial Ash's number. “Hey man, are you still in the building?”
“Yeah, what's up? You need me to walk Danica out?”
“Er, no. I'm here.... No, just got back, but now isn't the time. I've got a problem. Dani has passed out in the stairwell. I didn't do anything, at least I don't think I did.... Stop panicking and get the first aid kit. We're on the 28th floor. Don't let anyone see you though.”
“I think someone is going to notice me grabbing a first aid kit, Eli.”
“Just get the smelling salts then. Make it look like you're getting a band-aid or something, I don't know. She won't want anyone else here when she wakes up. Hurry up Ash; she's not even stirring.”
It feels like a lifetime before Ash appears with the smelling salts. I tried to assess and see if Dani has any cuts or anything. It doesn't look like it and I tell Ash this before he can panic even more. Geez, we're supposed to be unshakeable, stern SWAT members and we're freaking because a girl has passed out.
Ash looks at me and says, “How are you so calm?!”
“Calm? I'm freaking out right now, I'm just trying to push it to the back of my mind. What do we do if she doesn't wake up?”
“We get a bus to take her to the hospital.”
“She'll freak out when she does wake up...”
“And what if there's something really wrong with her? Should we risk that? Could you live with that?”
“No, of course I couldn't.”
I break the salts and waft them under Dani's nose. We wait for a minute or so, but there's no movement, not even a sound. Ash looks at me closely and we both let out deep sighs.
I make a decision. “We should take her ourselves. Can you imagine what she's going to be like when she finds out a bus took her?”
“You're right. She's still breathing and there's nothing to suggest she's hurt. You should carry her. If she does wake up then you're more likely to be able to calm her down.”
I mumble, “Yeah, because I'm doing so well with that right now...”
“Deal with that later. Let's just get her to St. Peter's.”
I snatch up my gun and then carefully pick Dani up, praying that everything will be ok. She seems so light and frail that I can't help but feel a little tug at my heart. I sighed and thought, 'This girl is going to be the death of me.'
A/N: Uh Oh! I just love Eli. The next chapter will continue in his POV. Let me know what you think. I apologise if it's short, but it just seemed like a natural break here. I'll get to work on the next part. Thanks for reading! :-)