Broken

Time

"It's Lieutenant Arroyo now, Dr. Whitly." Gil answered maintaining his composure.
"Oh, I know. What was it Detective Shannon called you all those years ago? Lucky boy? That was it." Dr. Whitly smirked at him.
I watched Gil's face as he considered reacting to the doctor's words and thought better of it.
"I'm not here to reminisce with you, Dr. Whitly. I'm here to talk about John Watkins."
"So, Malcolm figured out his name. That didn't take too long. What was the final piece that put it all together? Where is Malcolm?" Dr. Whitly looked around the room as if for the first time.
"I said I'm here to talk about Watkins. If you want to stay out of that hole they pulled you from, I can't be the only one talking." Gil snapped at him.
"Fine, fine. So, how many lives has he taken?" Dr. Whitly asked.
"We've confirmed nineteen. Not as many as you." Gil sighed.
"Nineteen's nothing to be sneezed at. It's what they call a serial killer's dozen. Oh, God Uh, have they, um have they named him yet?"
Watching Dr. Whitly stumble over his words was odd for me. Solitary confinement had done him no favors.
"The Junkyard Killer. I need to know where you went..."
"I'm sorry The Junkyard Killer? Yikes." Dr. Whitly interrupted him.
"When I said you needed to talk, this is not what I meant." Gil chanced a look in my direction.
"Forgive me. You probably need help with a a profile. Well, uh the junkyard was a mislead, of course. John hated getting his hands dirty. I mean, for a man who once took his pleasure with human cadavers, he was fastidious."
Human cadavers? Of course the forensic psychiatrist in me who was in a serious relationship with a criminal profiler was interested in what he could tell us about who John Watkins is but...
"I don't need a profile, I need location specifics." Gil was losing his patience.
I'd have to step in soon enough.
"Of course, profiling is more Malcolm's thing. Isn't it? Is Malcolm listening to this conversation? You-you wired up? Hello! My boy!" Dr. Whitly exclaimed.
"Where did you go with Watkins? We need to find his killing grounds." Gil pushed again.
"I understand, we've we've been, uh, you know, through some stuff, but I-I I can still help you. And your sister. I mean, your mom's probably a harder sell. Where is my boy?" Dr. Whitly approached Gil as he spoke.
"You don't get to choose who questions you." Gil said.
I could see the pain in Gil's eyes as he glanced back towards me.
"No, but I can choose who gets the answers. Where is my boy?" The tone of Dr. Whitly's voice changed.
It was dark and almost accusatory. It seethed with hatred.
"John Watkins has him." Gil admitted.
"No. He No." Dr. Whitly shook his head staring at Gil.
"I need your help, Dr. Whitly. Roughly 12 hours ago, Malcolm was kidnapped by Watkins. We don't know where he is."
"He's If John has him, he's dead. He's dead." My heart shattered at his words.
I didn't believe that. I couldn't.
"Focus. We are running out of time." Gil pleaded.
"No, there's no time. It's over, my son is gone."
Dr. Whitly collapsed to the ground almost seizing.
I got up and rushed towards the room.
"Mr. David, get medical!" Gil called slamming his hand against the door.
"I'm a doctor. Move." I pushed my way passed Mr. David and crouched next to Dr. Whitly.
"Dr. Whitly. Dr. Whitly? Martin! Look at me!" I grabbed his face in my hands rougher than I would with Malcolm.
"Calm down. You're having a panic attack. Breathe." I pushed.
Orderly Omar and Mr. David helped me get Dr. Whitly to sit on the edge of the bed.
"This will help, Dr. Whitly." Omar said injecting him with a medication.
"Oh, benzodiazepines, my old friend. Thank you, Omar. Thank you, Mr. David. Dr. Russell? It's true, isn't it?" He asked me.
"Yes. It is." I nodded.
"Martin? Martin, I don't have a lot of time and neither does Malcolm. Was there a cabin that you visited with Watkins?" Gil asked from behind me.
I glanced back at him, the way he looked at me... I knew they were already heading somewhere.
"You still think Malcolm's alive? Omar, we may need some benzos for my friend here. It's over."
"No. Malcolm's a gutsy kid with one of the sharpest minds I've ever known. You might not have any faith in him, but I do." Gil said calmer than I could imagine myself being in that moment.
"How you yearn for it. To be his father. That's why you brought him into the NYPD, right? Cared for him? Huh?"
Malcolm viewed Gil as a surrogate father and had for almost the entire twenty years of their friendship. I knew it. Gil knew it, and it seemed now like Martin knew it too.
"I did a hell of a lot more for him than you ever did." Gil hissed.
"Well, you certainly got him killed. And, oh, if you'd been a good boy and drank up your cup of tea that night, Malcolm would still be alive."
"He's not dead!" I lost it.
I lashed out and smacked him in the face. He grabbed my wrist roughly.
"If you knew John Watkins like I do you'd think otherwise." He growled at me.
"Go ahead! Hurt me! Do it! Then help me find Malcolm!" I screamed at him.
"I owe Malcolm my life. I'm not giving up on him." Gil pushed.
"Oh, yeah, you two got a real bond. What else did you do to try to replace me? I smelled my wife's perfume on that cheap coat. You're not worthy of a woman like her. She must have felt sorry for you... Or angry at me."
"That is enough." I cautioned him.
"Focus on the cabin. Watkins could have taken Malcolm there, and he's smart enough to stay alive. You know that." I pushed.
"Well, that's-that's true. I mean, Malcolm is resourceful, after all. He is." Martin nodded at me.
"Yeah. He is. Now, where would John hold him?" I asked gently.
"The cabin is in Black River. I'll give you the coordinates."
43.999294,-75.812064 He wrote on my pad of paper.
"This is where you went all those years ago?" I verified.
He nodded.
"Find my son, Lilian." He finally looked at me.
"We will." I nodded.
Outside the cell I handed the paper to Gil.
"Give them these coordinates. If he's out there and I'm not there to get him..." I shook my head.
"I'm not sure he is. It seems too easy." Gil shook his head.
"I hate wasting time." I sighed leaning against the wall.
"I know. We just have to wait and see if he's out there. It's too long of a drive for us to join them." He tried unsuccessfully to soothe me.
"It's better for us to be here in case he isn't there."
Waiting almost killed me. The minutes felt like hours and the hours felt like days.
Then Gil's phone rang.
"He's not. Okay. Thank you Dani." He sighed.
"He's not there?" I phrased it as a question but in my heart I already knew he wasn't.
Gil and I raced through the hallways back to the cell.
"Mr. David, wait. The cabin was a dead end." Gil pushed into the room while I paused at the door.
My heart was racing. I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"They didn't find him?" Martin asked weakly.
"No. If there's anything else you... Martin? Hey. Hey, Martin? I need you to focus. Where would he be?" Gil pushed.
Suddenly, Martin zeroed in on me.
"I know where Watkins took my boy. He's gonna kill them all." He told me.
"No."
Suddenly, I knew where he was. I should have put it together sooner.
I'd never ran so fast in my life. Out to my car, flipping on my siren and driving at brake neck speeds to Jessica's house leaving Gil behind. There wasn't time to wait.
Outside the house the paparazzi and reporters seemed to have multiplied since the last time I was here.
I pushed my way through, flashing my badge with my pistol still in it's holster at my side. I made a show of unlocking the door and pushing my way in. I closed the door and pulled my gun flipping the safety and taking a small moment to listen. The only place Malcolm could be would be the basement but if Martin was right then John Watkins could be anywhere in the house and if he was away from Malcolm, chasing after Jessica or Ainsley then that was where Malcolm would want me to go.
Then I heard it. A crash upstairs. Holding my pistol in front of me I raced up the stairs towards the sound.
I barely caught sight of a man walking into Jessica's bedroom holding what appeared to be an axe.
As I approached the bedroom an axe swung out of the doorway and the side of the head struck me in the chest knocking me to the floor.
My breath rushed out of me and my gun flew out of my hand as my head hit the floor. As a man with wild eyes and an odd looking mustache came into focus with the axe raised over his head I managed to roll out of the path of his swinging axe and lashing out to kick his legs out from under him.
I pushed myself up to my feet and rushed into the bedroom. I heard him follow me and ducked out of the way as he slammed the axe into the door.
I heard Jessica scream. My head spun momentarily and I managed to raise my hand to the back of my head. My fingers came away bloody.
Watkins looked through the broken door panel at her.
"The police are on their way you psycho!" She screamed at him.
Watkins turned and rushed at me again slamming me against the wall the handle of his axe pressed against my throat.
"Get out of my house if you want to stay alive!" She screamed at him.
She didn't know he was preoccupied with me or likely that I was even here.
I grabbed ahold of the other side of the handle to push back against him.
"Watkins!" Malcolm's voice called from somewhere in the house.
"Malcolm!" Jessica called his name as Watkins pressed the handle harder against my throat. I was weak with blood loss as blood continued to poor out of the back of my head.
"I know you're here! This is my house! My family!"
"He's coming for you." I chuckled weakly.
Watkins knocked me to the floor.
"Do you hear that? That's my son, and he's coming for you." Jessica growled at him.
I forced myself to my feet again after Watkins walked out of the room.
"Jess?" I called her name leaning against the bathroom door.
"Lily!" She called my name.
She pulled the door open and I almost fell into the bathroom.
"Are you okay?" She asked me.
"I will be." I sighed.
She pulled a towel out of the cabinet and pressed it to the back of my head.
"Ah..." I groaned.
"Check on Ainsley. I'm okay." I urged taking the .
Ainsley looked as if she'd lost consciousness, blood soaking the side of her face.
"Both of you stay here." Jessica told us after checking on her daughter.
She grabbed a pair of scissors and walked out of the bathroom cautiously.
I knelt before Ainsley and held her towel to her wound as well as my own.
"Oh God." I heard her say drawing my attention.
"We're safe." I heard Malcolm's voice and sighed.
"Watch the hand." He said painfully.
"What happened? Are you okay?" She asked her son.
"I'm alive." He answered vaguely.
"Oh Where's Watkins? Is he.. Did you..." She asked
"No. But he'll never be able to hurt us again."
"Ainsley, go." I helped her stand and urged her into the bedroom towards her brother dropping the towels.
Eventually I leaned against the bathroom door jam, watching them embracing him.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he looked over at me.
"Lily..." He muttered my name.
Jessica and Ainsley let him walk over to me.
I laid my hand gently on his chest and looked up into his face.
Everything I wanted to say to him sounded so stupid in my head.
He was bleeding from a small cut on his head, likely the source of the blood on the floor in the shed.
"I'm so sorry." I whispered touching the mass amount of blood covering his side.
"No, Lily. You have nothing to be sorry for." He pulled me towards him with his right hand.
"What happened to your hand?" I asked wrapping my arms around him.
"Shh..." He sighed.
"Just hold me."
I felt his shoulders sag against me before his body was racked with his sobs.
I could feel the dull ache from the axe strike in my chest as he held me to him but I couldn't bare to push him off me. All I wanted was to have him as close to me as possible, no amount of pain could change that.
I heard Gil's voice from downstairs but couldn't make out the words.
"Are you okay?" Malcolm asked me seemingly noticing the blood that soaked my back.
"I will be. We need to get you and your sister to the hospital." I nudged him.
He nodded as Gil rushed into the bedroom.
"Lean on him. I'm right behind you." I urged.
Jessica helped Ainsley down the stairs and Gil helped Malcolm as I walked behind them trying desperately to focus on not falling down the stairs but being unable to help myself from noticing that the stain on Malcolm's side was growing darker.
"He's bleeding." I told the paramedic as Gil lifted him up onto the stretcher.
Suddenly, Malcolm started seizing on the stretcher.
"Malcolm." I said his name, my own voice sounded strangled.
Ainsley and Jessica clung to one another as the paramedics began working on him.
"His vitals are tanking." The paramedic said ripping his shirt open, the gaping wound in the side of his chest bleeding heavily.
My heart nearly stopped as I stood next to Gil watching them work on him.
"You're going to have to ride up front, Dr. Russell. We've got to get going. Now." He told me signaling his partner to move upfront to drive and beginning compressions on Malcolm.
"I've been to medical school. I can help." I insisted climbing up into the back of the ambulance.
"We'll meet you at the hospital." Gil said shutting the doors.
I watched him lead Jessica and Ainsley over to his car to follow the ambulance.
"He's not breathing. I need you to bag him." Paramedic Phillips told me.
As afraid as I was, my love for him and my need for him to live pushed me into action as we rushed to Samaria Medical Hospital.
When we arrived Malcolm was still unconscious but his vitals were stable and he was breathing. My hands trembled covered in a mixture of our blood as I watched them wheel him into emergency surgery.
"Lily." Gil called my name as he rushed into the Emergency Room with Ainsley and Jessica.
"He's in emergency surgery. The wound in his side was worse than I'd noticed. He might have some internal bleeding and that could have been the cause of the seizing." I explained as calmly as I could.
"Have you seen a doctor?" Jessica asked me.
"I can't." I shook my head.
"Lily. He's in surgery. There's nothing you can do. You know he wants you to take care of yourself." She told me softly.
"I'm going to be right here waiting for news." Gil assured me.
I nodded reluctantly. 
Within minutes I was in a hospital bed and Dr. Andrews set my ribs and sternum the best she could.
"You also have a pretty serious concussion. With this amount of blood loss I'm surprised you were still standing when you walked in. I'm prescribing you some tramadol for the pain but you have to take it easy." She told me as she stapled the back of my head back together
"I'm not leaving here without Malcolm so I'm pretty sure that'll be fine." I sighed and winced.
Ainsley's wound didn't need stitches or staples and she was also prescribed medication for the pain.
The rest of the team arrived less than an hour after I'd been released from the hospital and taken my place next to Jessica.
"For Malcolm Bright?" A man in a pair of dark blue scrubs called.
"Yes." I said automatically as the rest of the team surrounded us.
Jessica didn't seem to mind my slip. She was his mother. She's the one he should deliver the news to. She just stood right next to me with her hand gently on my shoulder. I reached up and laid my hand on hers
"I'm Dr. Flint and I preformed Mr. Bright's emergency surgery. The wound in his side barely missed the left lung and caused the internal bleeding. We were able to stop the bleeding and he's likely to make a full recovery. He'll need rest but depending on how he does when he wakes up, he should be able to go home Sunday or Monday." He told us.
I sighed and shook his hand.
"Thank you doctor."
I sat in the chair next to Malcolm's hospital bed with his right hand sandwiched in between mine and my forehead pressed against his fingers. I knew I should sleep while he does but every neuron in my body was on fire. I could hardly breathe. Adrenaline mixed with my broken ribs and cracked sternum, I imagined. I felt the tears stinging my eyes again.
Yes he was alive. Yes he was safe. That wasn't the case even seven hours ago when he had to square off with John Watkins.
My heart pounded at the memory of the sound of his voice echoing through the house.
"What are you thinking about?" He whispered, his voice like my favorite song I hadn't heard in too long.
I looked up at him and offered him a small and clearly unconvincing smile as a tear ran down my cheek.
"Lily. Baby, I'm sorry." He whispered squeezing my hand.
"No, Malcolm. I'm sorry. I was in that house and I had no idea." I sighed pressing my lips to his fingers curled around mine.
"We've lived in that house for my entire life and we didn't know that room was there. This isn't on you. Is my mother here?" He asked.
I nodded.
"And Ainsley, and everyone else. We're all here."
"Have you slept?" He asked me.
I shook my head.
"You need to." He told me gently
He didn't even know how bad my injuries were, he just knew I didn't function as well as he did without sleep.
"I can't. Not yet." I leaned back keeping his hand in one of mine.
"Why not?" He asked.
"I can't calm down. My heart hasn't stopped pounding since Christmas Day. I need to tell you something. God, more than one something and I don't even know where to start."
"Wherever you need to. I want to know everything. You know that."
"Evan's dead. Bryce was released on bail on the twenty third and no one bothered to tell me or anyone else. Colette was the one running point on my stalker case and John Watkins' case and submitted reports linking them together. When I found out, I punched her in the face. Hard. I destroyed the conference room." I rambled without looking up at him.
"Wait. Wait. Lily, Evan's dead?" He pulled gently on my hand drawing my attention.
"Yeah. Edrisa did the autopsy. He died, same as the others, on December fourteenth. Eleven days before I even went up there." I sighed finally looking up at him.
"They found his body along with Supervisory Special Agent Howard Rowland."
"Colette's boyfriend?" He asked.
I nodded again.
"I threw it in her face. Not my finest moment. We were standing in that shed and your blood was on the floor. Ashlyn told me that he was gone and that Colette was withholding information from me. I punched her and threw his death in her face."
"Your emotions were running high" He sighed.
"It was still wrong."
"Maybe but she helped bring it on herself. We all have to work together. There can't be secrets like that." He sighed.
"Speaking of secrets... I have a major concussion, four broken ribs, and a cracked sternum." I confessed.
"He hurt you..."
"He hit me with an axe." I nodded.
"I hit my head when I hit the floor. Considering he swung an axe at me I'm fairly lucky it isn't worse."
He looked away from me for a long while.
"I should call the doctor." I sighed moving to stand.
"No." He looked back at me his grip on my hand tightened.
"Not yet, please." His eyes wide with fear and glossy with tears.
"Okay, baby. Okay." I smoothed back his hair.
"I love you." He whispered.
"I love you too. More than anything." I leaned down and pressed my lips gently to his.
"I'm so sorry. I should have been here. I never should have left."
"You didn't know he was dead. There's no way you could have known that. None of this is your fault." He assured me gently.
I looked down at his hand. He'd broken the bone just under his thumb. He'd be in the black cast for at least three weeks.
As expected Gil and I were able to take Malcolm home Sunday evening.
"Where's your car?" Malcolm asked me as we settled into Gil's backseat.
"It's parked outside your mom's house. I rode in the back of the ambulance running your code." I explained.
He nodded thoughtfully.
We arrived at my apartment at roughly six in the evening. Gil helped me help Malcolm up into the apartment.
"You sure you're okay?" He asked me as I walked him back out to the car.
"Of course. I talked to Jessica and she'll be over in the morning to check on him, and I'm still sidelined too with my own injuries." I smiled at him.
"I'll be back as often as I can." He gently kissed my forehead.
"Thank you."
He smiled and got into his car. I knew he wouldn't drive away until I was inside. At my front door I turned around and waved before stepping over the threshold and shutting the door as my cellphone rang.
Edrisa
"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed when I answered the phone.
"For what?" I asked my head starting to hurt.
Damn concussion.
"The 10,000 piece full body puzzle with all the body systems? It says from Bright and Lily?" She said quizzically. 
"I'm sure he told me and I just forgot. Would you like to talk to him?" I asked.
"Can I? How is he doing?" She asked.
"We're home so that's positive. Let me make sure he's awake but of course you can talk to him. Just remember he's been through a lot so if he gets short he's just tired." I reminded her.
I walked into the living room and found Malcolm browsing through the multiple recordings we had on the TV.
"Baby? It's Edrisa. She wants to talk to you." I told him handing him my phone.
"Oh, okay." He told me taking the phone.
"Hello?" He answered the phone.
I left him alone to his conversation to hunt for my tramadol prescription which I was sure I set on the counter when we'd got home. I found it on the floor under the counter and took two with some water before returning to the living room to cuddle with Malcolm.
"She's really sweet." He told me handing me back my phone which had an unread text message on it.
"She is. She cares about you." I told him leaning against his right side.
"She cares about you too."
I opened the message from JT.
Thanks for the gift cards. It's really too much. $500 for bowling, laser tag, mini golf and an escape room? Too much. >;) His message read.
Malcolm and I are sorry for crashing your date. Have fun with Tally. ;) I answered.
"Next time tell me about the gifts so I don't seem like an idiot for not knowing what they're talking about." I teased Malcolm.
"I didn't?" He asked.
I glared playfully at him.
"I got you something too." He smiled at me.
"Is that so?"
He nodded and looked over at the Christmas tree that still stood in the living room.
I looked at him before standing up and looking under the tree. I found a relatively large blue jewelry box.
I sat back down next to him as my phone rang again.
Dani
"Where did you guys even find this teapot?" She asked when I answered putting the phone on speaker.
"I know a guy." Malcolm said mysteriously winking at me.
"Of course you do. It's so good to hear your voice." I could hear the smile in her voice.
"Is it safe to make the tea in?" 
"Of course it is." He laughed wincing silently.
"Thank you. Really."
She hung up likely to make her tea.
"No more laughing for you." I glared at him.
"You either." He glared back.
"Come on. Open it." He motioned to the jewelry box.
"You know I got you something too? I never ended up wrapping it."
"Open first then I'll open mine."
I looked up at him and his eyes shined with rare excitement.
It hadn't been lost on me that when I'd step out of the room while the doctors ran tests or changed his bandages that his eyes darkened with fear and anxiety. Something bad happened while John held him. Something more psychological than physical but when I was next to him he seemed normal. Malcolm normal anyway.
I opened the box. Inside was a platinum necklace with a diamond knot pendant and a small blue card that read, For the center of my world. I love you, Lilian, in Malcolm's handwriting.
I touched the pendant gingerly.
"It's beautiful, Malcolm." I looked up at him as a rare joyful tear fell from my eye.
"Thank you. Will you help me fasten it?" I asked pulling the necklace out of the box and turning so he could fasten the necklace for me.
I turned back to him and touched the necklace again.
"I love you." I leaned forward and kissed him.
I felt his hand rest on the side of my neck as he kissed me deeply.
"My turn." He smiled at me once our kiss broke.
"Yes, it is. I'll be right back." I smiled.
I got up and got the shipping box out of my office.
He opened the box. Inside was a Fossil Hybrid Smartwatch.
"This is incredible!" He exclaimed happily.
He'd talked for months about getting a smartwatch but not wanting it to be digital.
"The best part is the tracker it has in it." I teased.
"We both know I need that." He smiled back at me handing me the watch so I could fasten it on his right wrist over his bruises where it would likely sit until he was out of the cast.
"Looks great." I smiled.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Good actually. The pain is minimal and I have you by my side so I feel safe. How are you?" He took my hand gently.
"I'm okay. It only hurts when I breathe." I smiled and he glared at me again.
"In all seriousness, the pain medication helps and I'll heal in no time." I squeezed his hand.
"I'm sorry he hurt you." He whispered.
"I knew what I was doing when I walked into that house. I knew the dangers. I also knew I could handle anything if it meant your family would be safe and we'd be able to bring you home." I told him gently.
"I love you, Lilian." He smiled sadly at me.
"I love you, Malcolm." I leaned forward and kissed him again before we settled in to watch some true crime show and fall asleep.