Fic: Things Left Behind (Tim/Cissie)
Title: Things Left Behind
Fandom: DC Universe
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Tim/Cissie
Words: 1441
Summary: Tim's trapped halfway around the world as Cissie fights to survive a hostage situation.
Author's Notes: Written for
lady_sarai, for her request of "Tim/Cissie, helpless" in my Mood Challenge. Contains some mild Battle for the Cowl spoilers.
The news item showed up on Tim's PDA with a bunch of other updates, none important. Something about the Dow, and more saber-rattling by foreign leaders. "Hostage Situation at Pennsylvania campground". Normally, it would have been just another event that Tim could have prevented if he was still back in the states, rather than chasing a lead on Bruce's "death" halfway around the world. But this particular item, this particular campground, was where Cissie was working as a junior counselor that summer. And with that, the life Tim had put on hold, the life he had every intention of going back to, was in sudden danger of being shattered beyond repair.
The Jet could get him back to the states in five hours from his current location in Barcelona, but by then it might be too late. Damn it! Why had he come here? He had felt it was his duty, to the man he saw as a second father, to uncover the truth of his disappearance, but in doing so, he had left his future and the people he wanted in it behind. He had always assumed they would be waiting for him when he was done, but instead, he was standing here, helplessly watching his PDA for updates that would determine if he had anything left to go back to. The Red Robin costume that he had seen as a new beginning now felt like a noose tightening around his neck.
----
"I'll ask again - where is she? Don't make me start shooting people!"
Cissie stayed huddled against the wall, trying desperately to reassure the young campers as the maniac waved his gun around. Terri had come in that morning, crying that her boyfriend had taken their breakup really badly, and that he was acting irrational. So when he showed up, the best thing to do seemed to be to tell her so she could hide. She had never expected Derek to actually pull a gun on a camp full of children. And now she had the choice between turning her friend over to this maniac, or putting everyone in danger.
"You. You're her friend." Derek walked over and grabbed Cissie. "You want to tell me where she is?"
"I don't know!" Cissie lied, knowing full well that Terri was hiding in the next cabin over. Dangerous or not, she couldn't surrender Terri like this. "She - she didn't come in today."
"You're lying."
"Look...just let the children go, okay? I'll stay with you, and we can try to contact her. I'm sure once you talk to her - "
"Or I could start sending out bodies to the cops. That might get her attention. She seemed to think I was using again. I told her it was just a few pills here and there to keep me focused, but she wouldn't listen. I can't live without her, blondie. So if I've got to go...I'm going to make her sorry she ever did this to me."
Suddenly, one of the boys started coughing loudly, gasping for air. Derek turned towards him with a glare.
"I thought I told everyone to shut up!"
"He's asthmatic! He needs his inhaler!" Cissie moved away a little from Derek, only to stop when she heard his gun cock. "Kenny, where's your inhaler?"
"It's...it's in my locker..." The little boy gasped.
"Derek, he needs it! At least let me go to - "
"No! No one leaves! Shut him up, or I will!"
Derek turned his gun and pointed it at Kenny. Out of the corner of her eye, Cissie saw a spare archery set lying in the opposite corner. She knew she could grab, aim, and fire an arrow in a matter of seconds. The only question was, would it be fast enough? The sound of police cars could be heard outside. Their efforts at negotiation had failed, but no doubt they were ready to storm in if they had an opening. She could give it to them, but it could cost her everything...
Retired or not, she was still a hero, and before she knew it, she was racing across the gym. She could hear Derek yelling in anger, and she dove for the bow as the sound of gunfire could be heard. She pulled the bow, fired the arrow, and landed it directly in Derek's arm. He dropped the gun, and before he could retrieve it, the doors were kicked in, and the police were pointing guns at him. Cissie felt exhausted. She looked at the floor and thought to herself that there was a lot of blood for one arrow to the arm. It then dawned on her that the blood wasn't coming from Derek. She saw the two bullet holes in her left leg just as the blood loss got to her, and she slipped into unconsciousness.
-----
"Olympic Gold Medalist Cissie King-Jones injured in hostage situation, all hostages rescued."
Injured how? The news items were horribly vague, and Tim was left with nothing to do but pray to whatever Gods were watching that this wouldn't be the end. God, Cissie must have been so scared. But she still played the hero. Of course she did. Costumed or not, she was always one of the bravest of them. It was a big part of why he fell in love with her.
He couldn't reach anyone at the hospital, and those friends he did reach didn't know anything more than he did. He was still several hours out from Pennsylvania, and the minutes seemed like years as he frantically refreshed the computer, waiting for new information. Finally, two words popped up.
"Stable condition."
Tim allowed himself to breath a slight sigh of relief. She was alive. That was all that mattered. Everything else, they would sort out when he got there, because there was no way he was leaving again anytime soon.
-----
Tim burst into the door of the hospital, pushing his way past the reporters. He could see Roy, Bonnie, Ishido, and Anita already in the waiting room.
"Tim." Roy stepped forward. "Good to see you."
"I got her as quickly as I could." Tim gasped for air. "How is she?"
"Out of surgery. She was hurt pretty bad, lost a lot of blood. Took two bullets to the lower leg. It'll be a while before she's fully recovered. The good news is - it's a lot easier for an archer to bounce back from a leg injury than an arm injury."
"Is she awake yet?"
Roy nodded. "On and off. You can go in to see her. She's pretty out of it, though."
Tim raced to Cissie's room, easily finding it by the number of reporters stationed by it. He pushed past them and closed the door. Cissie was lying in bed, her eyes closed. Tim didn't know if she had drifted off to sleep again, but he quietly sat down in the chair next to her.
"Hey, Ciss. I don't know if you can hear me right now...but I'm sorry. I'm sorry I decided this mission was more important than us. I hate that it took this for me to clue in to what was actually important. I just hope...you never thought I was leaving you behind."
"...never."
Tim's head shot up as he heard the weak voice from the bed. "Ciss?"
"Yeah...is everyone okay?"
"You were the only one hurt. The gunman's in custody, and all the kids are safe."
"...Awesome."
"You're a hero, Ciss. While I was halfway around the world, chasing dead leads, you managed to save dozens of lives." Tim lightly gripped Cissie's hand. "I don't even know what I was doing out there. Chasing ghosts. Hoping against hope that Bruce was still out there somewhere. And while I was doing that...I nearly lost you."
"Pfft. I've been through worse." Cissie smiled weakly. "How bad is it?"
"They think you're going to make a full recovery. It'll take a while, and there'll be a lot of physical therapy...but you're the toughest person I've ever met. You're going to take this on like you do everything else - to win. And I'm going to be there to help you, whatever you need."
"There's only one thing I need right now..."
Cissie gently tugged Tim down to her level and softly kissed him. As she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, Tim settled down again in the chair. His mission seemed a world away, and the person who mattered most was right next to him. Whatever came next, they would face it together.
Fandom: DC Universe
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairing: Tim/Cissie
Words: 1441
Summary: Tim's trapped halfway around the world as Cissie fights to survive a hostage situation.
Author's Notes: Written for
lady_sarai, for her request of "Tim/Cissie, helpless" in my Mood Challenge. Contains some mild Battle for the Cowl spoilers. The news item showed up on Tim's PDA with a bunch of other updates, none important. Something about the Dow, and more saber-rattling by foreign leaders. "Hostage Situation at Pennsylvania campground". Normally, it would have been just another event that Tim could have prevented if he was still back in the states, rather than chasing a lead on Bruce's "death" halfway around the world. But this particular item, this particular campground, was where Cissie was working as a junior counselor that summer. And with that, the life Tim had put on hold, the life he had every intention of going back to, was in sudden danger of being shattered beyond repair.
The Jet could get him back to the states in five hours from his current location in Barcelona, but by then it might be too late. Damn it! Why had he come here? He had felt it was his duty, to the man he saw as a second father, to uncover the truth of his disappearance, but in doing so, he had left his future and the people he wanted in it behind. He had always assumed they would be waiting for him when he was done, but instead, he was standing here, helplessly watching his PDA for updates that would determine if he had anything left to go back to. The Red Robin costume that he had seen as a new beginning now felt like a noose tightening around his neck.
----
"I'll ask again - where is she? Don't make me start shooting people!"
Cissie stayed huddled against the wall, trying desperately to reassure the young campers as the maniac waved his gun around. Terri had come in that morning, crying that her boyfriend had taken their breakup really badly, and that he was acting irrational. So when he showed up, the best thing to do seemed to be to tell her so she could hide. She had never expected Derek to actually pull a gun on a camp full of children. And now she had the choice between turning her friend over to this maniac, or putting everyone in danger.
"You. You're her friend." Derek walked over and grabbed Cissie. "You want to tell me where she is?"
"I don't know!" Cissie lied, knowing full well that Terri was hiding in the next cabin over. Dangerous or not, she couldn't surrender Terri like this. "She - she didn't come in today."
"You're lying."
"Look...just let the children go, okay? I'll stay with you, and we can try to contact her. I'm sure once you talk to her - "
"Or I could start sending out bodies to the cops. That might get her attention. She seemed to think I was using again. I told her it was just a few pills here and there to keep me focused, but she wouldn't listen. I can't live without her, blondie. So if I've got to go...I'm going to make her sorry she ever did this to me."
Suddenly, one of the boys started coughing loudly, gasping for air. Derek turned towards him with a glare.
"I thought I told everyone to shut up!"
"He's asthmatic! He needs his inhaler!" Cissie moved away a little from Derek, only to stop when she heard his gun cock. "Kenny, where's your inhaler?"
"It's...it's in my locker..." The little boy gasped.
"Derek, he needs it! At least let me go to - "
"No! No one leaves! Shut him up, or I will!"
Derek turned his gun and pointed it at Kenny. Out of the corner of her eye, Cissie saw a spare archery set lying in the opposite corner. She knew she could grab, aim, and fire an arrow in a matter of seconds. The only question was, would it be fast enough? The sound of police cars could be heard outside. Their efforts at negotiation had failed, but no doubt they were ready to storm in if they had an opening. She could give it to them, but it could cost her everything...
Retired or not, she was still a hero, and before she knew it, she was racing across the gym. She could hear Derek yelling in anger, and she dove for the bow as the sound of gunfire could be heard. She pulled the bow, fired the arrow, and landed it directly in Derek's arm. He dropped the gun, and before he could retrieve it, the doors were kicked in, and the police were pointing guns at him. Cissie felt exhausted. She looked at the floor and thought to herself that there was a lot of blood for one arrow to the arm. It then dawned on her that the blood wasn't coming from Derek. She saw the two bullet holes in her left leg just as the blood loss got to her, and she slipped into unconsciousness.
-----
"Olympic Gold Medalist Cissie King-Jones injured in hostage situation, all hostages rescued."
Injured how? The news items were horribly vague, and Tim was left with nothing to do but pray to whatever Gods were watching that this wouldn't be the end. God, Cissie must have been so scared. But she still played the hero. Of course she did. Costumed or not, she was always one of the bravest of them. It was a big part of why he fell in love with her.
He couldn't reach anyone at the hospital, and those friends he did reach didn't know anything more than he did. He was still several hours out from Pennsylvania, and the minutes seemed like years as he frantically refreshed the computer, waiting for new information. Finally, two words popped up.
"Stable condition."
Tim allowed himself to breath a slight sigh of relief. She was alive. That was all that mattered. Everything else, they would sort out when he got there, because there was no way he was leaving again anytime soon.
-----
Tim burst into the door of the hospital, pushing his way past the reporters. He could see Roy, Bonnie, Ishido, and Anita already in the waiting room.
"Tim." Roy stepped forward. "Good to see you."
"I got her as quickly as I could." Tim gasped for air. "How is she?"
"Out of surgery. She was hurt pretty bad, lost a lot of blood. Took two bullets to the lower leg. It'll be a while before she's fully recovered. The good news is - it's a lot easier for an archer to bounce back from a leg injury than an arm injury."
"Is she awake yet?"
Roy nodded. "On and off. You can go in to see her. She's pretty out of it, though."
Tim raced to Cissie's room, easily finding it by the number of reporters stationed by it. He pushed past them and closed the door. Cissie was lying in bed, her eyes closed. Tim didn't know if she had drifted off to sleep again, but he quietly sat down in the chair next to her.
"Hey, Ciss. I don't know if you can hear me right now...but I'm sorry. I'm sorry I decided this mission was more important than us. I hate that it took this for me to clue in to what was actually important. I just hope...you never thought I was leaving you behind."
"...never."
Tim's head shot up as he heard the weak voice from the bed. "Ciss?"
"Yeah...is everyone okay?"
"You were the only one hurt. The gunman's in custody, and all the kids are safe."
"...Awesome."
"You're a hero, Ciss. While I was halfway around the world, chasing dead leads, you managed to save dozens of lives." Tim lightly gripped Cissie's hand. "I don't even know what I was doing out there. Chasing ghosts. Hoping against hope that Bruce was still out there somewhere. And while I was doing that...I nearly lost you."
"Pfft. I've been through worse." Cissie smiled weakly. "How bad is it?"
"They think you're going to make a full recovery. It'll take a while, and there'll be a lot of physical therapy...but you're the toughest person I've ever met. You're going to take this on like you do everything else - to win. And I'm going to be there to help you, whatever you need."
"There's only one thing I need right now..."
Cissie gently tugged Tim down to her level and softly kissed him. As she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, Tim settled down again in the chair. His mission seemed a world away, and the person who mattered most was right next to him. Whatever came next, they would face it together.