Hey guys. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! This started out as a one-shot and then, suddenly, BAM! Total story with plot appears. I really hope that I did alright with the characters. I watch so many shows with strong bromances that I fear I am making the friendship too strong. Still, I will carry on and continue to try.

Disclaimer: I do not own Battle Creek. I simply borrow them to write stories of friendship and whumpage.

ENJOY!

The man looked down at the pictures on the table, his eyes dancing over them as a smile graced his lips. "You're sure that this will draw him out?"

"Positive, sir," said the mousy man beside him.

The man's smile grew, finding the information especially pleasing. "Perfect. Detective Agnew will be dead by the end of the week."

It was an unexpected event that Tuesday morning when his phone rang with an unknown number. Picking it up off his desk, he looked at it for a moment before answering it with a confused expression. "Agent Chamberlain."

"Agent Milton Chamberlain? I'm sorry to be calling but you were listed as one of Detective Russ Agnew's emergency contacts." The voice on the other end was filled with sympathy, but still cold enough to relay the message.

"Russ? What's wrong with Russ?" Milt hadn't moved since he had answered the phone, his heartbeat sounding in his ears. "Is he ok?"

"Detective Agnew was in a minor explosion. Detective Fontanelle was also injured, although his injuries were not as severe."

At this point, Milt was finally moving, grabbing his keys and heading towards the doors, and, in return, towards the hospital. Knowing Russ, he told the nurse, "Don't let Detective Agnew leave until I have arrived, please."

Milt drove as efficiently to the hospital as possible, never breaking the laws or the speed limits, but the time passed quickly as he drove towards the hospital. When he got close, it shone like a beacon of hope that his partner was well.

Parking the car, and trying to do it calmly and confidently while attempting to discern why the thought of Russ hurt bothered him so much. Once more, the question of how he felt towards Russ came to mind. It was becoming harder and harder to deny his feelings of friendship towards the cynical man.

Walking "calmly" into the hospital, he went to the front desk, smiling politely at the nurse working there. "Good morning. I'm looking for a Detective Russ Agnew. He came in this morning. I just got a call not 10 minutes ago."

"Oh yes," she nodded. "Detective Agnew. He came in with partial thickness second degree burns and a grade 2 concussion. He'll be free to go as soon as he is finished signing the paperwork, which he is doing right now."

"Could you please tell me where?" Milt was starting to get nervous now, looking around and searching for any sign of his partner. I'm totally not scared. I'm just professionally worried. Totally not scared.

"He's in exam room 3," the nurse said, pointing in that direction.

Milt smiled, nodding and slowly walking in that direction. "Thank you very much."

Moving quickly towards the room, he had to stop and compose himself, straightening his jacket and taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. The voice that answered within was rough and pained sounding. "Come in."

Milt slowly opened the door, stepping in slowly and taking in the image in front of him. "Russ?"

Russ looked up from his position on the examination table. His jacket was gone and he was sitting in his partially unbuttoned white shirt. There was gauze underneath the shirt and Milt saw some bruises and burns peeking out of the edges. There was also gauze on his arms and further bruising there and on his neck and forehead. "M-." He cleared his throat and looked down for a moment before looking up again. "Milt. What are you doing here?"

Milt squinted his eyes and held his arms out at his sides. "They called me. Told me you'd been in an explosion."

Russ sighed and put his fingers up to the bridge of his nose, trying to pinch away the pain that resided there. Milt took a few steps forward, worried about the concussion that the nurse had told him of. "I forgot that I put you down. At the time it seemed like a good idea," Russ said, letting his hand drop to his lap and looking up with slowly blinking eyes.

"It was a good idea. We see each other every single day, so why wouldn't it be a good idea? What happened anyways? Is Detective Fontanelle ok?" Milt asked, not meaning to rapid fire question at the injured man.

"Woh, slow down there. In answer to your question, Fontanelle's fine. Just a little shaken up. I sent him home to recover." Russ absentmindedly rubbed at his arm and grimaced.

"You didn't answer my question." Milt said, leaning against the table that Russ was sitting on.

"Are you asking or interrogating?!" Russ snapped, feeling guilty the second that the words left his mouth.

Milt took no offense by the harsh comment, knowing that, like a cornered animal, Russ was simply lashing out because of fear. Gently and quietly, he said, "Asking."

"We went to speak to a neighbor, but found that the house was empty," he started, looking down at his hands. "We were heading back out and the mailbox blew up. I was closest, but Fontanelle was right behind me. I tried to push him out of the way, but I was too late."

"Wait, Russ," Milt said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "The mailbox blew up?"

Russ nodded. "Yeah . . ." Looking at Milt, his eyes grew wide. "Milt . . . Someone's trying to kill Fontanelle."

Dun Dun DUUUUUNNNNNN! Russ of course thinks that it is Fontanelle who is being targeted. That's one of the things that I love about his character. It just seems that he has this attitude towards himself that he isn't important enough for anyone to take time on. Maybe that's why I'm so endeared towards him. :)

How was it? Was it alright? Please tell me with a review! I so love reviews. I don't know when the next update will be, but I will continue to work on this story and the other ones that I am currently writing.

Everyone have a great week!