Title: The Lost Perspective

Chapter Title: Ghosts That We Knew

Summary: A fiery pain spread out from his shoulder and he tried to slow down the blood seeping out. But he didn't have time for that. For two feet away from him, his partner lay dying and there was nothing he could do about it.

Author's Note: I'm back with a new story. And this time it is going to be a bit of a re-write of the two final episodes of season three. The angst was good, however Ghille Gloop inspired me to think: "I bet I could take it up a notch". So this one goes out to all of you readers who just wasn't satisfied enough with the amount of angst the episode produced. This is to you!

SO SPOILERS FOR SEASON THREE!

I will also put in small quotes from the two episodes, either in the middle or in the end, or even in the beginning so you know when in the original storyline this is taking place. I probably won't write a lot of the scenes, so think of it this way: the episodes run like they actually did (with a few exceptions) and this story will run parallel to it :P

The chapter titles are songs from Mumford and Sons, an awesome band! Give them a listen if you haven't already! :D

Disclaimer: I make no money from this as it was made for entertainment purposes only. I own nothing.

"What are we missing here?"

"Uncle Jamie."

"He took an extra tour."

"I'm telling ya, Reagan. This whole thing with the Bitterman houses is going to blow up in our faces someday," Vinny Cruz said as he and Jamie made their way down the New York City streets.

They were two hours into their tour. Both had agreed to take another shift as a way of distracting their thoughts of the suicide they had witnessed firsthand earlier in the week. Besides they could always use the extra money.

"You don't know that," Jamie tried to argue, though he wasn't sure if he really felt he disagreed. "Who knows? Maybe someone is finally going to step up to Santana. It isn't like it's everybody is drug dealers in that neighborhood."

"No, but he's got them in his pocket. But it isn't all bad; I mean, I grow up there," Vinny stated. They passed by a small group of young female tourists and he turned around as they walked past with a big smile and a nod of his head. Jamie just stared at him like he was ludicrous.

"Yeah and look how you turned out," he countered with a wry, knowing smile.

"Very funny, Reagan. Very funny."

A loud shriek interrupted Jamie from making another comment. They looked up and a few feet away from them, they saw as a young male tumbling into an elderly woman, grabbed her red bag and took off down the sidewalk.

"Sometimes they make it too easy, man," Vinny remarked before he set off, with Jamie right behind him.

They started their chase of the thief and had gained in on him after he rounded three corners but he showed no sign of stopping. He never looked back either. He continued to run just out of reach of the two NYPD officers.

By now Jamie's lungs were beginning to burn as much as the muscles in his legs. But he forced himself to keep running a little faster just like his partner ahead of him was doing. Both pairs of trained eyes never left the fleeing purse snatcher.

Jamie noticed where their suspect was headed to and an odd feeling of dread suddenly filled his stomach. He was surprised at how quickly that sensation was associated with the vision of the Bitterman Project coming closer. He guessed that seeing a young woman jump off the roof of a building with her baby boy in her arms would do that to a person.

The suspect jumped over a small fence and rounded the corner to one of the entrances that lead to the Bitterman grounds. Only then did he look back and when he noticed how close the officers were getting, he accelerated even more.

"Hey Vinny, we need back-up to go in there, hold up!" Jamie yelled to his partner in front of him.

"I got him, Reagan, I got him!" Vinny was quick to reassure and didn't seem to have anything else in his sights than the running man ahead.

"12-George requesting a 10-85 forthwith," Jamie announced into his shoulder radio, his breathing heavy. "In pursuit of a male Hispanic, heading into the Bitterman houses. We need back-up!"

The man jumped into a bench and used it as leverage to land in the fenced-in grass area and continued running along that path, Vinny hot on his heels.

"Stop, police!" Vinny shouted but unsurprisingly the suspect did not comply.

He instead disappeared for a fraction of a second as he ran along the wall of one of the apartments and rounded the corner. As both Vinny and Jamie reached the other side, the man was completely gone.

"Where the hell he'd go?" Vinny wondered out loud and stopped dead in his tracks just as his partner did below him on the pavement.

They had reached the main courtyard and it was nothing but a big empty space. Basketballs and different toys lay forgotten and the two small swings were moving back and forth, slowly and abandoned. It was eerily quiet and that was saying something when you thought of Bitterman and that was exactly why the two police officers instantly felt uneasy.

"Where is everybody?" Vinny said and jumped over the fence and into the courtyard to stand next to Jamie. He pulled his gun out and moved forward, eyes searching for a possible threat.

"Sometimes they make it too easy, man" Vinny's own words echoed inside Jamie's head and suddenly he knew why the man hadn't looked around until he had reached the Bitterman area and why there were no people around here at all.

"Vinny, it's a set-up, come on," he said and reached out to his partner so he could get both of them out of the open courtyard.

But before Vinny could open his mouth to respond or take another step, a loud crackling noise echoed across the open space and Jamie suddenly felt a fiery pain enter his shoulder and sent a burning fire across his chest and down his right arm. He fell to the ground with a cry, his other hand clutching his shoulder.

Vinny snapped his head around just in time to watch his partner fall and he started to run over to help him. But just as he took the first step another round was fired and he collapsed bonelessly to the ground. The gunshots never stopped, even for a second and kept peppering the cement around the two fallen officers.

"Vinny!" Jamie breathed out as he watched him fall. He started to crawl towards his fallen partner, gritting his teeth against the pain but otherwise did his best to ignore it. His own agony was not a priority right now. As he got closer his eyes widened at what he saw.

Vinny was gasping for air and weakly holding his hand against the bleeding wound in his neck that continued to spit out blood and colored the white ground beneath him red. A bullet embedded itself an inch from Jamie's head and he knew he had to get them both out of the line of fire sooner rather than later. Therefore he quickly wrapped an arm around Vinny's chest and began to drag him towards the nearest wall a good ten feet away. His shoulder protested at the harsh movement and he couldn't help the grunt of pain that escaped his lips as he was dragging the limp form of his partner towards safety.

When he finally reached their destination he all but collapsed against the wall with Vinny in his arms. His right arm was pretty much useless by now, so he let it hang limply by his side against the wall while he placed his shaking hand on top of the bleeding wound to try and stop the steady flow of blood that continued to pool out over Vinny's throat. The limp officer's own hand had fallen to the ground and red liquid now ran down his chin from his mouth. His eyes were large and flickering around restlessly, never settling on one spot

"I got you, Vinny," Jamie said, his voice breathless and strained. "It's okay, I got you. Look at me."

Vinny snapped his gaze up to him when he heard the order.

"You're gonna be fine, alright? Vinny, come on, stay with me, fight!"

But the Hispanic officer closed his eyes instead and a small smile stretched out across his lips.

When Jamie saw it, he started to panic. "Open your eyes, man. Stop smiling!"

"It's okay, it's okay, Reagan. I told you: this is the end … it's okay …" Vinny said it so quietly and calmly that it chilled Jamie to the bone. He started to shake his partner as if that would keep him from bleeding out and keep him on earth with him.

But the violent movement sent painful jolts through his arm and his chest and his own world started to spin wildly. He sagged further against the wall as his vision blurred until he could only see muddled pools of blue, white and red.

"Vinny …" he muttered as his mind went thick and his thoughts jumbled together.

With his hand still pressed against Vinny's neck he closed his eyes and surrendered to the sudden pulling darkness, unaware of the way his own blood mixed with Vinny's on the cold cement ground.

TBC