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Marshall Law (3)

Wolfie Steel & Kausn_Husky.

(My thanks to Kausn_husky for agreeing to help me with this story, all of the characters in this story are mine, however, Sergeant Lucas Doyle has been given over to Kausn, as hopefully he will be able to add something to the story)

I wake up again, this time I am drenched in a cold sweat, my heartbeat is racing like an express train, the reason, I had just had a flashback of the moment where Sergeant Colman lost her life. I see everything in digital clarity and slow motion; I see the gun slowly being aimed at Pinter, I can hear the replay of my voice also in slow motion calling out the warning, I see Colman as she dives to push Pinter out of the line of fire just as there is the flash from the gun, I see Colman crumple to the ground as she takes the bullet through the back of her skull, I jump to my foot paws and run to her to try and protect her.

I feel her body as it is racked with another three shots; I then feel as two bullets hit me, I hear the single shot of a police issue firearm being discharged just as the blackness swallows me whole.

I look at the various tubes and wires that are attached to my body, if I yank them off it will either kill me or free me, either way I don't want to be in this hospital bed any longer. With my mind made up I begin to remove the aids from my body, I know that I have no feeling below my waist but I am determined not to vegetate in this goddamned bed.

A series of alarms begins to sound as I remove the wires and tubes and I know that pretty soon my room will be swarming with medical staff. I look to my left and see a wheelchair waiting in readiness for me as its new owner; I use my upper body to slide myself to the edge of the bed.

I am now teetering on the very edge and I ready myself to make a lunge for the wheelchair and my freedom, unfortunately the chair is just out of reach of my paw and by now I have travelled beyond the point of safe return, I fall from the bed and hit the floor of the room hard just as two nurses come rushing in.

The nurses are not impressed with me, but that is nothing compared to the huge bull doctor that is on duty.

"Okay Mr. Marshall, I am not impressed at all, yes I know that you have been shot in the line of duty and according to your Captain you are quite the hotshot cop, but I have spent seven years in medical school so for you to think that you can unhook yourself from the medical equipment that is basically checking your stats and then sit your arse in the wheelchair without help or advice, really annoys the hell out of me. If we were not a caring professionals I would ask these two nurses to leave you lying on the ground so that you can think about your actions, however, we are caring professionals and so I am going to assist my two nurses in getting you back into your bed and hooked up to the machines, but know this my friend, if you pull a stunt like this again, I will personally escort you from this hospital"

As I am gently lifted back into bed I see Lucas standing in the doorway, a very sour look upon his face. With all of the wires and tubes now reconnected to my body and the machines all reset, the doctor and the nurses leave the room, as the doctor passes the Doberman he turns and speaks.

"It is my understanding that you are going to be his support, please I beg of you, knock some sense into that head of his, try to impress upon him that if he stays in the bed for just another forty-eight hours for more observation, if everything is okay we will be able to discharge him, I would also like to wish you luck my friend, because god knows that you are going to need it, that Fox is one stubborn guy"

With that said the doctor heads off to another room and leaves me in Lucas's company. The Doberman pulls a chair up to the side of my bed and then parks his butt in it, so now I guess I'm going to get another ear chewing from him.

"You just can't help yourself can you? Here you are in one of the best hospitals around, being taken care of by extremely dedicated folks and yet you still want to be a Lone Ranger, I don't know what you did to piss the doctor off so badly and in truth I don't wanna know, it is time that you started thinking of others and not just yourself, it's also time that you learned to accept a helping paw from time to time. Now I am just going outside to call the Captain and tell him that I am going to stay here until you are released and then I will be back, so don't do anything stupid...again!"

The Doberman stands from his seat and heads outside, his absence gives me chance to give some thought about my situation, suddenly an image of Trish enters my mind and don't ask me how it has happened but she looks pissed, it's then that I hear her voice.

"Jesus Todd, you can be such a dick sometimes, now I love you more than you could ever comprehend and so I am going to say this nice just once, it's time that you started thinking about others instead of just yourself, what Lucas has just seen has all but broken his pure heart, now be the Fox that I know you can be, let Lucas help you and in turn you will help mend his broken heart, end of lecture"

Trish's image clears from my mind, but her words will stay with me for a long time to come, it is time for me to accept that I need help and that I can't do this all by myself. I look up at the doorway just in time to see Lucas return.

"So Todd, I see that you have at least managed to stay out of trouble for five minutes, maybe there is hope for you yet"

I close my eyes a little, not for sleep but for final acceptance.

"Lucas, please take a seat"

The Doberman is slightly taken aback by my change of attitude but he does as I ask, with him sat comfortably I continue.

"I'm sorry that I am being such a jackass, the thing is though for the first time since I was a kit I am finding out that I can't do things for myself, I have lost my independence, and I finally have to come to terms with the fact that I need someone, the thing is though I don't need someone for just helping me out with my day to day life, I need someone to love. Now I just had a little voice go off inside my head that said that you are that someone, and so if you still want to be with me then I can't think of anyone that I would want to be with more than you"

A single tear drops from Lucas' left eye; he then stands from his seat and gently hugs me. I gently lift his head so that I am looking deep into his eyes and I use a gentle thumb to wipe away the remnants of the tear before I continue.

"I'm not going to lie to you Lucas; this is going to be no walk in the park for you, as you have already seen I can be one egotistical son of a bitch and one hell of a stubborn Fox to boot, but I swear to you here and now, if you will hold my paw and guide me through all of the mine fields that lie ahead of us, I will try to be a Fox and not a jackass"

Lucas gives me a weak smile, he then tenderly kisses me on the lips, and suddenly bam there it is the electricity between us that I have been missing for so long.

Finally today is the day where I find out if I can be released from hospital and into the loving arms of Lucas; the doctor comes into my room with a beaming smile upon his face.

"Well Mister Marshall, I don't know what has happened to make you change your attitude but whatever or should I say whoever it was I am grateful, now I have the results of the new x-ray that was taken yesterday and it seems that your injuries aren't quite as bad as we once thought, I mean yes you are going to be in a wheelchair for quite a while, but it now seems that your paralysis might not be permanent after all, you now have a twenty percent chance that you will be able to walk again, knowing your determination I would say that those odds will get better every day, as for the here and now though, I don't see any reason why I can't discharge you from hospital. If you would like I will have one of the orderlies come and help you get dressed and into your wheelchair"

Lucas places a gentle paw on the doctor's shoulder.

"Thank you doctor, but that won't be necessary, if I'm going to be Todd's support I may as well start now, so if you would just unhook him from the machines PROPERLY this time and then give us a little privacy, I will be able to get this Fox out of your fur"

I cringe a little as I hear the snide comment from Lucas' muzzle but I say nothing to counter it because let's face it, I deserved it.

The good doctor removes the tubes and wires from my body and patches the holes made by the tubes with bandages; there is one piece of equipment that he does not remove which is my catheter. The doctor looks at my slightly sour expression.

"You will be sent home in your wheelchair, but you will also have a pair of crutches which you will be able to use when you need to answer the call of nature, however, until you have learned to use the crutches properly the catheter will remain in place, it's either that or you get a bed pan, it's your choice"

Some choice huh, either I piss down a tube and into a bag or have the embarrassment of using a bed pan. I don't even wanna think about the pan. This now makes me more determined than ever to get back on my own two foot paws.