A Week Later
"You have big shoes to fill," Emily said to the new Andy as she began to hobble back to her desk. She was a bit excited that she was going to be getting the Paris clothes after all. Andy had just told her she could have them. It was a week later, as promised to Lee. Eric and Lee still thought her going back to work was too soon of course. She couldn't make them understand how important this job was, but she was beginning to have thoughts that perhaps they were right, it was just a job. She sat at her desk and stared at the computer monitor. At least her mother had gone back home. She couldn't bear having another person berate her for going to work with a broken leg.
"You doing okay?" James asked, suddenly appearing before her. She glared at him.
"I'm fine."
"Can I get you anything?"
"I said I'm fine," she snapped. He had tried to visit her as the hospital, but Eric had told him to get lost. She had never loved her brother more. She extremely disliked James more and more ever since the stunt he pulled. At least he'd backed off from trying to date her again. She'd heard a rumor he was going to leave Runway. She hoped so.
"Okay," James nodded, turning to leave. He bumped into Lee in the hallway.
"James," Lee said curtly.
"I see you won," James snarked.
"I told you, this isn't a game," Lee said calmly.
"Well, if I'm lucky, you'll lose yet."
"If I'm lucky, you'll get an injury, but I don't need luck for that."
James looked at Lee, wondering if he would actually do something to him. Lee stared calmly back.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Of course not."
"I could kick your ass. I'm a black belt," James sneered.
Lee couldn't help it. He smirked. It was enough for James, who lunged. Lee's hand shot out like lightening, hitting James in the throat hard and fast, and Lee's foot caught James's and twisted him around so that he fell onto his face on the floor, choking.
"You might wanna go to the hospital," Lee suggested. James couldn't speak, but he clambered to his feet and ran off without looking back. Lee continued on his way to Emily's office.
"Hey," Lee said, and she smiled upon seeing him standing in front of her.
"Hi," she replied. She had really missed him coming to see her at work. She could tell he was tense about something today, though, but she didn't know what. She didn't pry for answers, but she was getting a bit curious. He also hadn't gone to work with Barney since he moved back in.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Just a minute," she answered. She had been eating properly since she left the hospital, and Lee would have lunch with her downstairs when he came to see her.
"Where are you going?" Miranda asked, coming out and seeing Lee standing there with Emily preparing to leave her desk.
"I'm taking a lunch break," Emily answered. Miranda looked over her glasses at her, and Lee very much wanted to rip them off and crumple them with his bare hands. Could she not see that Emily was not supposed to even be at work?
"I see you didn't take my advice," Miranda went on, looking at Lee now. Emily went a bit pink in the face at this. Lee frowned. What was she talking about?
"Lee is not a distraction," Emily said firmly.
"Oh, I'm a distraction?" he asked, gesturing to himself. "Like her talking on her work phone isn't a distraction? It almost got her killed."
"There are the right kind of distractions and the wrong kind of distractions," Miranda said coolly.
"Lee, it's fine," Emily said before he could open his mouth to reply. It wouldn't have been nice. They didn't notice the other assistant get up and approach the man standing in the doorway, asking him if she could help him.
"If you're not going to take your career seriously," Miranda started. Lee clenched his fist and took a step towards her.
"Yes, I'm here to see Emily Charlton," the man told the other assistant.
"Right here," the assistant responded. Lee caught this last bit and turned to look at the man. His heart stopped because it was the man they were looking for, the one who had hit her with the car. The first thought he had was that even being with Emily, he couldn't keep her safe. Then he jumped into action.
"Get down!" he shouted, pulling out his gun from the back of his pants, but he wasn't fast enough. The man got a hold of Emily, making her drop her crutches, and pressed his gun against her temple.
"I'll do it! I swear to God!" he shouted. Emily shrieked. Lee had his gun aimed at the man steadily.
"You'd be a fool," he said. "You have no one left. DeMarko is dead. Your whole team is dead. Making this statement isn't going to do anything for you."
"It will take away everything you've ever loved," the man spat. "You'll finally have no one left. I should have killed you when I had the chance."
Lee froze at this. There was something in his memory that was coming back to him from the night his parents died. He had been standing on the street with the police and firemen, and he had caught sight of a face of someone who was watching the fire burn. Lee was realizing now that this face was the same one staring at him.
"You," he said.
"Me," the man agreed calmly.
"I am calling the police," Miranda said suddenly.
"Bad move, lady," the man snarled.
"Don't move," Lee ordered. Miranda stood there looking very pissed off. The other assistant was cowering and hiding under her desk. Emily was staring at Lee, frightened beyond her wits. Here was his scenario he'd described to her happening right now. She very much wanted Lee to kill this guy or at least get him off of her.
"You want to finish this, then I'm your target, not her," Lee said.
"Of course you're my target," the man laughed. "But she's going first. I want you to feel it before you die."
"Lee," Emily whimpered.
"It's all right, Em," Lee assured her. "Sometimes we don't see what's right in front of us until it's too late." He hoped she got his meaning as he slid his eyes down to her hand, the one that was hovering closest to the phone on the desk. Her eyes widened slightly, and he felt confident she got it.
"It's too late all right," the man laughed. Emily grabbed the phone and swung it backwards into the man's face. He yelled, and she yanked free just as Lee went to shoot. The man shot him first, but Lee still managed to fire back three shots to the man's chest.
"Lee!" Emily cried as Lee sank to the floor, his hand on his stomach.
"Call the police!" Miranda shrieked at the new assistant. "NOW!"
"Lee," Emily said, getting down awkwardly to the floor with Lee. Blood was pooling from underneath his shirt. She gripped at his hand. "Lee?"
"You'll be all right," he assured her. "You'll be all right."
"You're hurt," she told him.
"I know." It hurt a lot.
"Please don't die on me..."
"I can't make any promises."
He wished he could promise he'd be all right, but he couldn't. The edges of his vision were getting blurry.
"There is a dying man on my floor, Emily. Why is there a dying man on my floor? What is this? What is going on?!" Miranda was yelling.
"Shut up!" Emily shouted at her. "Just shut up! He's not dying!" She didn't even care what Miranda thought of her in that moment. Lee was fading away in her arms, and she couldn't bear it any longer. She was crying, pressing her face against his and begging him to stay with her.
"Don't go," she cried. "Don't go, don't go, don't go..."
...
"What happened?!" Eric exclaimed as he came flying into the hospital. He found Emily pacing on her crutches and crying, covered in blood. He swallowed hard. He knew it was Lee's.
"I don't know," Emily said through her tears. "One minute he's standing there and the next, some guy is shooting him."
"What?!"
"The man tried to kill me too," Emily went on. "Lee shot him, but...but the guy shot him back. Now he's in there..." She trailed off and stared down to where the operating room was.
"Who was the guy?" Eric demanded. He had a sinking feeling it had something to do with Lee's last mission. They had chatted about it, and Lee had been honest with him about what DeMarko had done to Emily. Eric had felt sick, but he promised not to tell her. Lee mentioned it wasn't over, and Eric figured this must be what he was talking about.
"I don't know," Emily answered. Eric went to hug her and console her. Before long, the doctor came out. Eric could immediately tell that it was going to be bad news delivered just by the man's walk.
"Emily?" the doctor asked.
"Yes?" she asked, wiping at her tears.
"I'm so sorry. We...we lost him..."
For a split second, there was no response. Then, she screamed. Eric felt it rip through him, and he started to tear up himself. He'd never heard Emily sound so raw and broken before.
"Em, I'm here," he said, hugging her again as she wailed. "I'm here. I'm here."
The rest was a blur.
...
Lee opened his eyes to find himself looking at Barney. Confused and disoriented, he looked around the room. He did not know where he was.
"Welcome back, sunshine," Barney commented.
"Where am I?" Lee asked.
"It's a long story," Barney replied.
"Where's Emily?"
"Ah, that...that's part of the long story," Barney said, wincing. Lee snapped his head to look at his friend.
"What did you do?" Lee demanded.
"I saved your girlfriend's life is what I did," Barney answered indignantly. Lee struggled to get up, but Barney put his hand on Lee's chest to keep him down.
"You took a serious shot. You gotta rest," he instructed.
"Like hell. Where is Em? I need to make sure she's all right."
"She's fine, Lee. Look, something happened."
"What? Tell me," Lee urged, feeling sick.
"This thing with Demarko's guy, it's not over."
"Of course it is. I killed the bastard."
"Actually, you didn't."
"Excuse me?"
Lee had shot him three times, he was sure of it. How was he not dead?
"He was wearing a vest. During the commotion, he fled."
"If he's still out there, then I need to be with Em. She's not safe," Lee insisted. Barney rubbed his face a little, unsure of how to begin.
"She is completely safe because you...you are dead."
There was complete silence in the room for a moment while Lee processed what the hell Barney just said.
"I'm what?" Lee asked in a tone that implied he was beyond furious.
"Dead."
"How did that happen? Why did that happen? Unless I am having one hell of a dream, I'm pretty sure I'm alive," Lee said angrily.
"You are," Barney nodded. "Alive, I mean."
"So help me understand why I'm dead."
"Because the guy who got away thinks you're dead, and if you're dead then he has no need to harm Emily."
Lee took in this information and stared at Barney.
"Does Emily...?" Lee started, but he couldn't finish. It hurt too much.
"You're dead," Barney confirmed. Lee pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. Emily thought he was dead. He could only imagine what she was thinking and feeling right now. He was torn between rage at what Barney had done and knowing what Barney had done was to save Emily.
"I'm sorry," Barney said. He looked a little sad himself. He didn't like seeing Lee hurt. Emily's screams were still in his mind too. He'd heard her down the hall out of sight as the doctor gave her the news. Barney had to admit that doctor had been a stellar actor.
"She will be so lost," Lee said.
"I wish there was another way, but this seemed the best solution to keep her safe," Barney reasoned. Lee nodded because he understood what Barney was doing, but it didn't help him feel any better. The pain inside his heart was greater than the pain from his bullet wound.
"So what now?" Lee asked.
"We find out who this guy is and take him down."
"And after that?"
Barney knew Lee was questioning whether or not he had to stay dead forever.
"That's your call."
Lee wondered if Emily would have moved on by then or if she would be furious that she had been lied to and never speak to him again. A part of him wanted to let her know he was okay, but then the bigger part of him wanted to keep her safe. It was better she didn't know. She wouldn't have to lie or get caught lying and killed for it.
"Then let's go to work," Lee said. He wanted this over as fast as possible.
"Rest up. Then we'll talk."
Barney got up to leave then, and he noticed his friend looked defeated. He hoped one day he'd see him smile again.
…
Emily didn't get out of bed for days after Lee died. She ignored her phone. She ignored her job. She ignored Eric. The only thing that brought her any kind of comfort was the dog, and that was only because Lee had loved Shadow and the dog couldn't talk and try to awkwardly make her feel better. Emily had Shadow curled beside her in bed, and she absently stroked the dog's ears, remembering all the times she had seen Lee do it. She fingered the chain of the St. Christopher's necklace Lee had always worn. They had given it to her at the hospital along with his other personal effects. She remembered Lee telling her his father had given him the necklace to keep him safe as a child. He had never taken it off, and now, neither would she.
"Em?" Eric's voice came from the other side of the door.
"Go away," she called back. He opened the door anyway.
"Em, you gotta eat something," he urged.
"I can't."
"I know it's hard, and you're broken inside..."
"Please just leave me alone."
"Em, he wouldn't want you to..."
"Just go, Eric!" Emily shouted, making Shadow whine. Her brother stood there for a moment looking defeated before giving in and leaving, shutting the door firmly behind him. Emily started to cry again. Nothing was ever going to be okay ever again.
...
Emily eventually went in to the office to tell Miranda she was taking a bit of a leave. Miranda was not impressed, but she didn't argue. Their office needed to be fixed up anyway after the shoot out, and Emily was in no state to be working.
"It's for the best," Miranda said after Emily was done talking.
"Excuse me?" Emily asked, shocked.
"He was no good for you."
"You are unbelievable," Emily said, getting angry. She clenched her fists.
"Emily, there are things you don't know about him that I do."
"I know what he does for a living. Did..." Emily trailed off, getting upset again. Her emotions were so all over the map.
"No, no. I'm not talking about that."
"What are you talking about then?"
Miranda paused here, but she had to make it clear to Emily that she was better off. She had to. Lee Jones had been no good for her.
"I knew his father," Miranda said, pressing on. Emily sat there frozen, unsure of what she was hearing. "His father was a bad man, Emily. Very bad. I don't doubt that was in his son's blood. You're lucky to have escaped a bad future."
"Lee was a good man," Emily said, her voice a whisper. How dare Miranda attack Lee after he was dead!
"Go home. Come back when you're not leaking everywhere and hobbling like a homeless person," Miranda said. "That's all."
Emily was shell shocked, but she got to her feet and and limped away on her crutches. Miranda knowing Lee's father was flabbergasting. And what did she mean that Michael Jones was a bad man? He'd died a tragic death with his wife, Laurie. Her mind was reeling, but the ever constant pain of missing Lee eventually trumped all of her thoughts.
Two Weeks Later
Lee stood looking out the window as he got dressed. He was officially cleared to leave, and it took everything he had to not board the next flight and go to New York and find Emily. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't stop thinking about how much she'd be hurting and probably not eating. His neck felt bare without his chain, but he knew Emily had it, and that somehow made him feel relieved, not that a necklace could actually save someone he knew. He grabbed his watch and put it on just as Barney knocked and came in.
"You ready?" he asked.
"I guess."
"I got his name," Barney said. Lee looked at him sharply.
"And?"
"Kazimir Bykov."
"Destroyer of peace," Lee commented.
"Well, he certainly isn't a keeper of peace," Barney agreed.
"Where is he?"
"Don't know. He's a ghost right now."
"Well lucky for him, he's got a ghost coming after him," Lee retorted. Barney put his hand on Lee's shoulder as he tried to exit the room.
"I know you feel like shit and are pissed at me for doing this, but I honestly did it for good not bad."
"I know," Lee nodded. If it was the other way around, Lee knew Barney would play dead to save someone he loved too.
"I'll check in on her," Barney promised.
"Don't," Lee said. "It will only make it worse."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Okay."
Barney knew he was going to ignore this anyway and check on her. It was the least he could do. They walked out together, heading for Tool's tattoo parlor to round up the guys and explain the situation. Lee ached for Emily, but he managed to keep it together. As they drove, Lee watched the sun set, and he wondered where she was in that moment and what she was thinking. He desperately hoped he would get to see her again and that she wouldn't hate him for doing this to her.
...
Emily stared at the thing in her hands, wishing she was dreaming. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. She thought hard back to the last time she'd been with Lee. Had they not been careful? Clearly not. Shadow whined from the floor, and Emily looked at him.
"My thoughts exactly," she said. Good grief, now she was talking to the dog. She really was losing her mind. She started losing her mind the moment she lost Lee.
"Okay," she said now, still looking at the stick. "Okay."
"Em?" Eric asked, poking his head in. He was hovering over her way too much lately. He probably thought she was throwing up in there, which was true, but it wasn't self inflicted.
"I'm fine," Emily answered.
"Are you sure?"
It was then that Emily knew she wasn't fine. She was going to be a single mother. She was going to have the baby of a man she'd fiercely loved and lost. She was alone.
"No," she cried. Eric pushed open the door and saw her sitting on the edge of the tub with Shadow lying by her feet. He came towards her and caught sight of what she was holding. He paused.
"Is that...?" he asked, trailing off. He gestured to her hands.
"Yes," she nodded, sniffing.
"Are you...?"
"Yes," she nodded again, finally looking at him. "I'm having a baby, Eric. Lee's baby."
"Oh my God, Em," Eric said, sitting beside her and pulling her into his arms.
"I don't think I can do this," she whispered, clinging to him. Eric hugged her tighter.
"Yes, you can. I am here for you every step of the way. You're not alone, Em. You're not," he promised.
"You swear?"
"Yes."
"I miss him so much," she cried.
"I do too," Eric nodded, still hugging her. "I do too."
Emily hoped that Lee could somehow see them. She needed him to know that she was trying. She and Eric sat in the bathroom for a long time. Then it was time to face the world, and no matter how terrifying it was, Emily knew she had to be strong. She'd do it for Lee. One day at a time.
The End...For Now
I know, I know...angst. I can't help it lol. But now you know why Miranda didn't like Lee. I do like my twists :)
Also, I have already started on the sequel to this, so keep an eye out for it! I should be posting it soon.
Side note: I added the bit about the necklace because I watched all 3 Expendable movies again and noticed Lee wears it in all the films. I am pretty sure it is the St. Christopher Pendant as it looks very similar, but I may be wrong. For the sake of this story, though, that's what it is. I am going to go back and add a scene about it in an earlier chapter.