Tick Tock Part One - Hickory

A Rude Awakening

Reed flinched and hummed as the memories played on a loop in his head. The stairs. Particles of dust floating down into his eyes, leaving a dry itching sting. The breeze. Cool on his cheeks. Scuffles. Muffled cries. The creaking crack of breaking wood. A click. A ping. The shot. The deafening sound of the bells swinging back and forth. He gasped, eyes snapping open as he pushed himself up and struggled to breathe. The old man at his side seemed unsurprised, arms crossed over his large chest as he gruffed out an order for him to breathe. Reed fell back against the creaky mattress, feeling dizzy as his head pounded. It was like his temple was being bashed with a fucking sledgehammer right behind the eyes.

"The phck are you doing here, old man?" he demanded gruffly, still unsure exactly where he was as he lowered the hand from his clammy forehead and looked around. It was sort of like a doctor's office, only smaller and more cramped with three cots. The somewhat grizzled, grey-haired man had been sitting on an uncomfortable plastic chair by the cot he was currently lying on, patiently waiting for him to come round.

"Checking in on a careless asshole." Despite his sternness, there was a certain amount of fondness in his aged blue eyes. It wasn't a look Reed was used to having directed at him. Not from anyone. Over the past couple of years, he'd distanced himself from pretty much everyone, besides the few breaks he still shared with Tina. Hank was the last person he'd expected to appear at his bedside. They'd been at odds since he'd started drinking like a fish. It seemed he'd stopped recently, or at least slowed down enough to do his damned job. Probably would have been back on form sooner if he hadn't decked Perkins and gotten himself suspended over a certain plastic asshole. Speaking of which...

"Wasn't I in the break room with that phcking robot of yours?" Reed grumbled with a wince as he made to sit up, only pausing as a rough hand shoved him down again. He all but glared at Hank, who had now gotten to his feet and rested his hands on his hips. Now that you mention it, the old man looks a little...tired? That was definitely the word for it. His grey hair had been trimmed and brushed neatly for a change, but if anything, that just made the dark bags under his eyes more noticeable. His gentle blues were also bloodshot. Not red like he'd been drinking. Red like he hadn't slept.

"Now he notices! The fuck are you playing at, Reed? You damn near gave me a heart attack!" Hank watched with a firm frown, arms folded as Reed's expression fell into something between incredulity and annoyance. It was a tone he hadn't heard from Hank in some years, not since the old days. The days he'd been a good superior. The days they'd worked together to crack the red ice case. Back when he actually gave a damn. Asshole becomes an alcoholic then just shows up one day like he gives a phck?

"Well excuse me, next time I'll die somewhere quietly!" Reed took a surprised breath as a firm hand fisted in his shirt. He flinched and closed his eyes, expecting a strike that never came, but damn, did the old man look like he wanted to take the swing. It was hard to feel bad about it. He had good reason to be pissed. Hank had dropped him and the others like they were nothing. They'd had to cope with shit themselves these past three years, and there had been some fucking shit! Did he even notice that Jack-

"Listen here, you sack of shit! You're supposed to be the third in command around here! What are the newbies going to do if you work yourself into an early grave? You were damned lucky that Connor was there to do damage control! Almost ended up in the fucking hospital! You're dehydrated, malnourished, exhausted, and don't even get me started on the palpitations you've been getting from the caffeine overdose! You've been asleep for over twenty-four hours!" Hank groused, watching Reed nod dumbly at his words. Who is this asshole, and what the phck did he do with Hank Anderson? He tried to ignore the small, warm feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.