Markus squinted against the burning in his eyelids and wondered, not for the first time in the last seven years, how he’d managed to make it through another double shift.  He only had to make it back home and he would have the following forty-eight hours to himself.

It was going to be a bittersweet weekend: it was Serge’s last weekend in L.A. for the foreseeable future.  As much as he loved and adored his partner, he was equally as attached to his time alone.  While this would mark the last of their forced time apart, it would also mark the last of his assured time alone.

Markus: “Stay awake, big guy.  Ten miles to home; you can get there.”

Traffic was light, as it usually was at this time on a Friday night, and his mind wandered to the night’s tasks, the things he had to do before he passed out for the next eight to ten hours. First was to take a shower and wash off the night’s smells of antiseptic and blood.  Though it had been a fairly slow night, one particular case had been rather daunting.  The poor girl’s throat had been viciously torn open, and she’d been left for dead.  Markus still wasn’t sure how she’d managed to call 911; by the time they found her, she was out cold.  He’d seen it hundreds of times before, and would see it hundreds of times to come.  What never changed was the glassy-eyed looks his partners would get, and how the hospitals would change the charts. 

Deception Pass seemed to have one hell of an animal control problem.

Tonight’s victim had survived, but only the initial attack.  So many that did would only end up spending the rest of their lives locked away at Fairfax, so it was hardly even a win to keep them alive.  As after most night shifts he worked, he wondered just how much longer he’d be able to continue to do his job.

He turned on the radio in a vain attempt to get his thoughts on something else, anything else.  With Hendrix cranked, he was finally able to ease out of the night’s traumas and into the rest of his weekend.

He didn’t see the figure in front of him until it was far too late.

Even with all his weight on the brakes, his car continued forward at an alarming rate.  Time slowed and stretched before him, although he himself felt he was trapped in the same slow motion, unable to move anywhere near fast enough to avoid catastrophe.

He felt the sickening impact of his car on the figure before he felt the seatbelt lock tight across his body as his car eventually skid to a stop. 

His hands were shaking violently as he reached over and switched off the radio, the only sound now the mechanical hum of the wipers in their journey across the windshield and the hiss of the rain as it continued to pelt down on the car, streaking the windows in silvery rivers. 

He was almost sure he wouldn’t be able to walk after stepping out of the car, yet somehow he made it to the young man lying haphazardly on the pavement.  After the momentary lapse into shock, he shifted into automatic pilot.

Markus: “Can you hear me?  How badly are you hurt?”

The man replied with only a low groan from deep in his throat, though his eyes began to flutter open in spite of the rain falling steadily into them.  As Markus began to check for bleeding, the low groan became mumbled speech.

Nate: “What happened?  I can’t feel my legs.”
Markus: “There was an accident, but you’re going to be OK.  I need you to stay calm, and don’t try to move.”
Nate: “Did you hit me?”

Markus: “I didn’t see you.  Stop trying to move, I’m going to go to my car and get a blanket for you and call for an ambulance.  We’re not too far from the hospital so they should be here very quickly.”

Nate: “Don’t leave me alone, please.  I’m scared.”
Markus: “I’ll only be gone a few seconds; I promise I’ll be back before you know it.”

Markus got to his feet and began to rush for the back of his car.  He was shivering in the late autumn rain and knew he had to work quickly to keep the man from going into shock.  As he was reaching for the folded wool blanket he always carried with him, he felt the hairs on his arms and neck stand up in gooseflesh.

He spun on his heels, expecting to find the man he’d hit had taken a turn for the worse, and nearly took a spill onto the pavement when he found himself face to face with him instead.

Nate: “Actually, I don’t think you need to bother with the ambulance after all.  I seem to be doing much better now.”

Markus: “What—“

Nate: “I really didn’t mean to scare you so badly before, I really didn’t think it was actually going to hurt that much, so I was in a bit of a shock.”

Markus: “Listen, kid, you still need to be checked over by a doctor.  Getting hit by a car isn’t exactly a trivial thing.”

Nate: “You hit me damn good, too.  Of course, I should have expected as much.  Someone as fundamentally brilliant as you are is going to do everything well.  Now put the phone down.  We need to go for a little ride.”

Markus didn’t take the time to consider what was actually happening in those few short seconds.  Instead, he reacted with pure instinct and tried to take off running.  He hadn’t made more than a few steps when he felt the tight grip of the man’s fingers digging into his upper arms, throwing him off balance and sending him into the side of his car.  Less than a second later, he was staring into deep brown eyes that danced with a focused intensity.

Nate: “I was really hoping we could do this easily.  Honestly, Markus, I’m not out to hurt you.  I just want to have a little talk with you about a couple things, then you can go back to your weekend.”

Markus: “How do you know—“

There was slight pause as the man reached quickly into his pocket to pull out a handkerchief, which only added to the unreal turn the night had taken.

Nate: “It kills me to be this cliché, but I really can’t be fighting with you during the drive.”

Markus struggled against his assailant, but was no match for his superior strength.  Less than three seconds after having the slightly damp fabric shoved unceremoniously into his face, the world began to go a sickly shade of grey before disappearing completely.  The last thing he was aware of was being dragged around the car and maneuvered into the backseat before everything was gone.