Every Breath You Take - (Jason)

[Gabriela Dawson]

Gabby was glad to have the gun out of her hands, she had no idea how to shoot and it wasn’t for a lack of a teacher it was simply something she had never managed to pick up. “Thank you.” She said in almost a whisper, she knew he was putting himself in harms way but knowing that he was there made her feel much safer already. “I just want to go home and feel safe.” She said looking toward the floor, “I don’t want anyone else hurt because of me or him or whatever it is he wants.”

The man had lost his sister and yes that was no excuse for stalking her but this had to end at some point. “He lost his sister and he’s angry and wants someone else to feel his pain.” She said as if that made anything any better. Antonio had done his job and things just hadn’t worked out as they should but killing her wouldnt make it any better. Gabby realised that talking to the guy was probably the worst idea but she did feel sorry for him simply because he had lost someone close to him. She could sympathise with that though not with hurting others because of it.

[Deleted]

Jason listened to Gabby as she said that to him, understanding where she was coming from. "Don't say Gabby, none of this is your fault." he said to her before looking back to the door. "Gabby, get in the bathroom and stand in the tub, don't come out until I tell you too." he said while doing a brass check on his glock before stepping out into the hallway. He had a feeling that the suspect was close and wanted to head him off. However, where the room was made it a bit of a challenge as they were in the middle of the floor. Jason would have to keep his head on a swivel while using his other senses if he didn't want the guy to get the drop on him. He fell back on his training from martial arts and the military as he stood there.

At the same time, the suspect peaked out the stairwell door and saw Jason. *Drat* he said himself as he watched him. *He's special forces as well....army most likely* he said, taking note of Jason's stance....along with remembering the fight the two of them had. At the same time, Jason got the feeling that he was being watched. Keeping his cool, Jason went down the hall, acting like just another guy at the hotel.

[Gabriela Dawson]

Gabby simply stared at him for a moment before she moved. A brass check that was hardly a good thing to see as she made her way to the bathroom and stood in the tub. She was too scared to do anything else as she heard him leave the room. She even clapped a hand over her own mouth to try and stop herself from yelling, this was not a good situation to be in she thought as she sat herself down in the tub and looked for anything she could use to hit anyone with. So far she had a bar of soap and a miniature bottle of bubble bath, like that was going to stop anything.

Still she reached out to pick the two items up and held them tightly to at least make her feel a little better. After all bubble bath in the eyes was bad and soap, well it was hard enough to hurt someone if she threw it she was sure. How did anyone do this she wondered as she listened for any sign of trouble, not that she would be able to do much but she could kick and bite and probably do herself more of an injury but it wouldnt stop her trying to help at least.

[Deleted]

Jason stopped before getting to the end of the hall, knowing that the guy was watching him as he stood there. The next thing that Jason knew, the guy jumped out and attacked him. As before, the two men got into a knock down, drag out fight. They both got good blows in on each other and held their ground. The fight took them from one end of the hall to the other, thankfully there wasn't any interference from the guests. At the other end of the hall, Jason manged to get enough space to draw his gun and get a shot just as the guy charged him. Once the body fell and it was clear the guy was dead, Jason called it in.

After talking with his boss, Jason went back to the room Gabby was in and knocked on the door. "Ms. Dawson?" he called out to her as he stood there, thankful that this was over. While waiting, Jason prayed softly to himself, thankful to still be alive after what had just happened.

[Gabriela Dawson]

Gabby was still stood in the bath holding the soap and bubble bath. She was scared out of her own mind as she debated the merits of trying to get involved herself. She grew up with a brother so she knew how to land a punch but not against a professional, she could kick bite and scream but how much help that would be. It was probably safer in the bath. It was like a nightmare, the defining moment in her life with a stalker and she was stood in a bath. Brave, not very. Gabby instantly froze when she heard the gunshot, she could barely voice any words as she found she wasn’t able to move.

She felt like screaming for Jason but then nothing came out of her mouth other than a strangled word that sounded a little like Jason. The minute the knock on the door came she found herself scrambling to open it though it took her a minute due to her hands not cooperating as well as they should have done. The second she opened the door she still held the soap as if she was going to hit someone with it until she saw Jason. “There was a gun shot.” She said as she threw her arms around him.

Her brain took a while to catch up as she realised that he could have been hurt. “Are you hit?” She blabbered as she started to check over him for injuries. Once a paramedic always a paramedic she thought as she stared at him as she checked.

[Deleted]

"Yes there was....but it didn't hit me, the same can't be said for your stalker." Jason said to her in reply while holding her. After a few moments, he took Gabby over to the bed and sat her down, draping his jacket over her shoulders before filling one of the room cups with water and gently placing it in her hand. "Its over Ms. Dawson" he said to her gently after sitting back down. It wasn't lost on him that Gabby was still worked up over what had happened, he didn't blame her for it, remembering how he felt during the first combat mission that he went on, something he wouldn't forget.

Outside, the officers that had arrived helped the EMTs get the body out and clean up the area. The other guests were interviewed, though there wasn't much for them to say to the officers as they all wisely stayed inside during the scuffle that took place. Once they were finished, one of the officers texted Jason to let him know they were done. Jason read the message, then replied before looking back to Gabby.

[Gabriela Dawson]

He hit her stalker? It took her a moment or two to understand what he meant as he felt relieved short followed by guilt for even thinking that way about someone being killed. When Jason sat her down on the bed and put his jacket around her she smiled. Even when he placed the water in her hand, hearing him say it was over somehow made it all better and more real to her as he took a sip of the water. “Are you sure? He managed to get out of police custody before.” She said before she realised that the guy was dead.

Gabby looked toward Jason as he looked toward her. “Is it safe to go now?” She asked not sure if she wanted to go home, run away or simply hide for a week just to make sure that everything was safe again. That morning she would never have imagined what would have happened that day, it was still a little surreal to her to think that she had been taken that morning and now she had been hiding out in a hotel. Only for her stalker to be dead and for her to guilty about it all.

[Deleted]

"It is" Jason said to Gabby in reply before helping her off the bed. At the same time, he knew he would be up for most of the night working on the report, but for now, all he cared about was getting Gabby home. He soon got her out of the room and to his car, after which he drove her back to her place. Once there, he walked her to the door. "Is there anything else you need?" he asked while looking at her after getting to the door. He was glad that this was over and that Gabby was safe, in his mind, it was a good day despite the fact that he had to use deadly force.

Back at the hotel, the CPD officers that showed up where finishing in getting statements from the others and clearing the area. It didn't take them long to finish up and clear the area. The same couldn't be said for the guests and staff, who understandably took a little longer in getting back to their lives after what had happened. For the rest of the night, they all would talk about what happened while trying to get back to some sense of normalcy.

[Gabriela Dawson]

The day was a complete blur to her, she barely remembered leaving the hotel or even arriving home. It was a surreal feeling to be stood in her own home, even sat in the car with Jason she had no idea what to say to him. She was sorry he had to kill someone, she was sorry for the fight he had landed himself to try and help her and all the sorry in the world didn’t make a dint in what she owed him. She owed him her life in no short sense as she stared at him for a moment. Did she need anything, at the time no but then figuring out if she was going to hide for the rest of her life.

“You’ve done far too much anyway but thank you.” She said smiling as best she could as she made her way back into her home. Everything looked different to her for a moment as she decided if she wanted to simply hide in a corner or eat ice cream which solved many problems or just simply stand and cry right where she was. As she stood there she tried to figure out how to say thank you to Jason, what did you give someone who saved your life. Not vouchers she thought as she tried to come up with something while getting back to what normality she had left.

[Deleted]

"No need to thank me Ms. Dawson....I was just doing what I was trained to do." Jason said to her gently and honestly. He was never one to seek thanks for what he did. It was something that steamed from his own personality and from his special forces training. Jason preferred to remain in the shadows, not having his name plastered on the evening news. However, it wasn't lost on Jason that people would always thank him and he did his best to take it stride.

"Will you be okay for tonight?" he asked after a few moments. Jason wouldn't blame her if she said no after all the things that happened today. He watched Gabby closely as he stood there and waited for a reply.

[Gabriela Dawson]

Gabby nodded to what Jason had said, it might simply have been what he was trained to do but it was her life on the line that counted on his training. She knew that being thanked for your work was awkward at times but then she wanted to say thank you. If it had not been for him then she might not have been at home that day, it could have had a seriously different ending that was not the good one for her. “Thank you anyway, I appreciate it.” She said simply not sure what to do to say thank you other than say it.

“Will I be okay... yeah but tonight...” Gabby thought about it, spending the night in the corner of her room with a baseball bat was the option she was seeing and sleep. Well that was something she needed but whether it happened that was something else. “I think so I just, I’m sorry you had to kill the guy. Will you be okay?” She asked knowing how her brother handled stuff like that and sometimes it was the worst way possible.

[Deleted]

Jason nodded a bit when Gabby asked him that. "I will be" he replied, indicating that this wasn't the first time he had done that. He then handed her a card after saying that to her. "If you need to talk, here's my number." Jason said to her gently before turning and heading back to his car. Once there, he got in and started it up, pulling away after buckling in. During the drive home, Jason thought about the days events. He pushed out of his head the fact that it could have ended differently, knowing that wasn't the thing to focus on.

Moments later, he got home. Shani greeted him when he walked in, thankful that he had come home to her. Jason was just as happy as she was. After talking with Shani for a while, he went to be with the kids. Shani smiled as she watched her husband interact with their son and daughter.

[Gabriela Dawson]

Not his first rodeo she thought realising that as a police officer it probably wasn’t the first person he had shot. She felt a little foolish for even asking but then again not asking she figured was much worse just in case he was one of those lucky few officers who had managed to get away with not firing at a living person. Gabby took the card from Jason as she nodded and watched him leave until he got to his car. She leaned against the inside of the door not sure if she was relieved, guilty or just plain confused over what to feel for the entire situation.

Gabby sat his card next to the phone as she stared at it for a while. If she called was she crazy or what even did she say. Thank you had already been said and by now he would be with his family so she didnt want to disturb that. Gabby simply chose to sit and stare at the card and phone trying to decide what to do for the best.

[Deleted]

Jason went back to the station and spoke with his boss before heading home to be with his family. Once there, he was greeted at the door by Shani, who was glad to see him. She didn't know of what had happened and for the moment, Jason was thankful for that. They went in and sat with the kids until it was time for dinner. Jason listened to Shani and the kids talk about different things as he sat at the table with them.

After dinner, the kids went to their rooms while Jason and Shani stayed in the front room, sitting on the couch that was there. Jason told Shani about what had happened while on patrol, up to and including the fight at the hotel. Shani was stunned when she heard that, but was thankful that Jason was okay. At the same time, Jason was wondering how Gabby was holding up.

[Gabriela Dawson]

Gabby had stayed in her apartment. Every noise made her jump and even the slight breeze that caused a few tree twigs to tap against her window appeared now sinister. Her phone had taken a few calls from the station but she simply shrugged the day off despite the fact she was still terrified. Just another fire call she thought, it could have happened to anyone at the station and better it was her than someone else who had children she thought as she grabbed her keys.

There was no way she was going to be stuck inside listening to her own head. She decided to go and get some food because cooking when her hands were shaking would probably land her in accident and emergency. It was a short distance to a Chinese place two blocks over, she placed her order glad for the distractions of everyone else’s everyday life. The random noises of the street even sounded better to her until she cross the street.

Her heart missed a few beats as she stared at the reflection in the car window. She could see herself and then that face, the face of that monster from earlier as she dropped the food she carried. Gabby could barely breathe as she glanced around seeing no one but that did not stop her from taking off at a run. She made it the few blocks to the precinct as she burst through the doors at the top of the stairs.

She glanced around a few of the faces that practically asked the question ‘what the hell’ without even voicing the words. She simply motioned to a seat as she dropped into it without saying a word as she tried to get her breath back. Her hands were shaking as she was sure the rest of her was but she dare not even look that far.