I spy with my little eye. ||on hold||

Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

"Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."

-Muhammad Ali

* * *

The coroner came in shortly afterwards and took Matthew's body away. He was going to be buried next to his parent, along with his sister who had passed away a few nights ago. Mark had insisted I let the paramedics give me a once over before we left and frankly I was still too shocked to argue back. They cleaned the blood off my face and arms and checked my blood pressure, which was slightly low. I was told to stay in the back of the ambulance until they returned to take some bloods but I left before they could. This wasn't the first time I had seen someone dead, heck it wasn't even the second, but something about this time left a sense of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach.

"You know, last time I checked you didn't have a medical degree," said a voice behind me.

I turned to see Jason leaning against a pole with his arms crossed, a smug expression on his face, "Which means when the paramedics tell you to stay in the back of the ambulance, you do what they say."

"I don't like needles," I replied dryly.

"Or figures of authority apparently,"

I took a step towards him but a feeling of nausea overcame me and I stumbled backwards. My head was spinning and my vision blurred. I had the undesirable urge to vomit and it took all I had to not empty the contents of my stomach right there and then.

"Agent Hayes we told you to wait until we came back, what are you doing up?" The female paramedic scolded like an anxious mother.

She put her arms around me and pulled me sharply over to the ambulance. The other paramedic, a man in his forties, helped me climb into the back and lay me down on a gurney. He pulled up the sleeve of my shirt and felt the inside of my elbow for a vein. He gently inserted a needle that was attached to an IV drip. I winced at the sharp pinch and he gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Keep this here for at least twenty minutes or low blood pressure won't be your only problem," he warned, gesturing to the female paramedic.

I snickered and pushed myself up into a sitting position. The paramedic left and as soon as he was far enough away, I pulled out the IV. "What part of 'keep it in' don't you understand?" Jason chastised.

"All of it," I replied sarcastically.

He climbed in and pushed my arm back down and slipped the needle back in. I glared at him for his lack of bedside manner but left the needle in all the same. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it comfortingly, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.

"You know," he started "If you ever need to talk to someone consider me your own personal shrink."

"As tempting as that sounds I'm afraid I'll have to decline," I replied "I don't think my therapist would appreciate me cheating on him with a newer, younger version."

"Shame, I would've given you a great discount!"

I snapped my fingers in fake disappointment and smirked lightly.

* * *

The paramedics finally cleared me to fly as long as I took medication for my low blood pressure and didn't do anything too strenuous for the next few days. We went back to the police station one last time to give our goodbyes to Chief Cook. Mark handed over a copy of the completed report as well as one of his business cards.

"Should the need arise, don't hesitate to call," he said. Chief Cook gave him a firm handshake and chuckled loudly.

"I doubt that, we're a small town. It's not likely we'll have another serial killer anytime soon"

"Actually," I interrupted "Denver has a population of 600,158 so the chances of having another high profile case like this quite likely."

Chief Cook looked at me oddly, amazed at what had just come out of my mouth. He made a quick excuse and left quickly. From across the room I could see Daniel staring at me intently. He gestured for me to go over to him so I slipped away from Mark and made my way over.

"I thought your shift ended a few hours ago?" I commented.

"It did but when I heard what happened to you I wanted to stay and check to see if you were okay," he admitted, blushing slightly.

"You didn't need to do that," I replied.

"I kind of did, because how else was I supposed to give you this,"

He handed me a scrap piece of paper with his phone number messily scrawled across it. I awkwardly put it in my pocket and shuffled away, embarrassed. I met Hayden by the exit and explained to her what just happened. She laughed in my face and shot a sympathetic smile in Daniel's direction. We quickly left but not before I heard the other officers chastise Daniel.

I took the S.U.V with Hayden and Francesca who forced me to sit in the back. They insisted it was because of my blood pressure but I think it had something to do with the fact I was the youngest on the team. I could see it in their eyes, they all had their doubts about me. I tried to ignore it but since Matthew's suicide, they had all been watching me like a hawk. It was like they were expecting me to have an emotional breakdown at any moment, but I wasn't going to break that easy. I had gone through too much in my life to let something like this get to me.

My suspicions grew stronger when Mark insisted I take the couch on the jet. He even insisted on helping me onto the jet and wouldn't let me carry my own duffle bag. He was treating me like a delicate china doll that would shatter into a million tiny pieces the second he let go of me. I refrained from airing my opinion although I did groan in annoyance when he draped a blanket over me and told me to go to sleep. I closed my eyes just to humour him but eventually succumbed to sleep, the past few days events finally catching up to me.

I could make out two voices talking quietly when I woke up. I kept my eyes closed and my breathing shallow, hoping they wouldn't notice. "I'm still not sure about her Jason," the first voice said. I recognised it as Mark's.

"Why not? You were sure about me the second I walked in the door last year and I didn't have half the qualifications she has now," argued Jason.

"Something about her feels off, I mean you saw her on the flight over Jason. She was distant, jumpy and we both know she was having nightmares. Call it a gut feeling." I felt like jumping off the couch right there and then and slapping Mark across the face. He was moodier than a hormonal teenage girl.

"I saw her after Matthew's suicide Mark, sure she was shocked but she was also extremely calm. I've been freaked out by a lot less." added Jason. It was nice to know that at least someone was fighting for my corner.

"What are you trying to say?" asked Mark inquisitively.

"All I'm saying is, there are obviously things about her past that she wants to keep hidden; things not in her file, and I don't think we should pressure her into telling us. She'll tell us when she's ready and until then all we can do is keep an eye on her."

I heard feet shuffling and footsteps come towards me. Someone adjusted my blanket, which had slipped off me, pulling it over my shoulders.

"Next time you're pretending to be asleep, try not to fidget. It gives too much away," Jason whispered into my ear.

Please let me know if there are any typos!