Part IV

Richard looked at his daughter with only mild surprise on his face. Harrison had hid his phone well.

"Tru, honey could you give us a minute?"

Tru shook her head, walking further into the room. Jack looked as freaked out as she'd ever seen him. Harrison sat on the couch, his hands gripping the arm in fear.

"What are you doing, Dad?"

"It's him, Tru. He's the one that's after Jack," Harrison said.

Tru moved to stand between the barrel of her father's gun and Jack.

"I want an answer. What the hell are you doing here? And with a gun."

"It's complicated, Tru."

"Richard, you don't have to do this," Jack pleaded.

"Sorry Jack but you know the rules. The balance has to be preserved."

"You...you were--" Tru's head began to spin as the reality set in. Even if her father hadn't said it, she knew what he meant. She'd heard the words come out of Jack's mouth enough times to recognize them.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Tru. I never wanted you to know."

"You...but you married Mom. You loved her."

"I did. I regret what happened but it was inevitable."

"She didn't have to die."

"We aren't going to debate this. Get out of the way."

"No. You the man that killed her is dead. Is that the truth?"

"You heard the gunshot, Tru."

"Never saw the body." She ran a hand through her hair. "God all this time you lied to me. You let my mother die because you wanted to tip the scales in your favor."

"I told you I regret having to make that decision. Believe me, I never meant for you to be there."

Harrison could see the anger beginning to bubble right beneath the surface in his sister's face and stood up. He took a step or two towards her but stopped when his father aimed the gun at him.

"Sit down, Harrison."

"The job...it was all part of this, wasn't it? You wanted to keep an eye on me."

"No. I wanted you to have a steady, respectable job. You're my son. I want what's best for you."

"You think you can just walk back into our lives and be the father you never were when we were growing up. You took lives. You murdered people," Tru said accusingly.

"He didn't take lives, Tru. I told you we guide people on their paths," Jack interjected.

"Shut up, Jack."

"Dad...just put the gun down. We'll talk about this."

"He was fated to die today, Tru. Someone has to make sure fate stays its course."

"So it had to be you?"

"Let's just say no one else was qualified to satisfy the fates."

"I'm not letting you kill him. You'll have to shoot me first."

"Tru, think about this. You don't have to be noble," Jack whispered.

"It's my job to save the people that ask for my help and I'm going to do that."

Richard shook his head, leveling the gun at Tru's chest. His finger grazed the safety and the sound it made rang in Tru's ears. Just as her body tensed for the shot to ring out, the door burst open and Davis appeared, heaving for breath.

"I told you to stay in the car," Tru said.

"That never works, Tru. Oh my."

"Get out of here, Davis."

"No. I'm not going to let some crazy man kill you."

"Crazy man is our father," Harrison pointed out.

"Your father?"

Both Tru and Harrison nodded. Davis cleared his throat, taking a step or two back.

"Davis, go call the police."

"I...I don't think we have time for that," Davis said, his eyes fixed on the gun.

"Just do it," Tru shouted.

Everything was beginning to fall apart around her. Her own father, the one responsible for her mother's death, was the person she had to stop from killing Jack. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Davis sprint from the room, phone in hand.

"It's going to be too late, Tru," her father said.

"No. I'm not letting you take him. You kill him; will fate really be happy with you? You just took out its champion. The guy it trusts to keep people on their paths to death. How exactly does that keep the balance?"

"A life is a life, Tru. We all die some time."

"No, it's not."

"Is that what you really believe, Tru? Is that why you fought so hard to keep your brother and your boyfriend alive?"

"This isn't about Luc or Harrison. This is about Jack."

"Sweetheart, I don't want to hurt you. You'll make this much easier for everyone if you just step out of the way."

"I can't, Dad. As much as I hate what Jack does and what he stands for, he asked for my help. And I will never stop. You killed mom to stop her. Would you really kill your own daughter too?"

Richard was speechless. He hadn't anticipated it being this difficult or Tru resisting so strongly. But he had to preserve the balance. There was no other option.

His hand shook as he tried to level the gun. "Jack, you know this is how it has to end."

Jack shook his head. "No, it doesn't. I let you convince me that no matter who they are they are meant to die when the day restarts. That mindset made me let an innocent woman die. But not this time. You aren't going to talk me into sacrificing myself for the balance of the universe."

He paused, eyes trained on the barrel of the gun. "I'm going to have to agree with Tru on this one."

"Sweetheart, I don't want to hurt you. You'll make this much easier for everyone if you just step out of the way."

"I can't, Dad. As much as I hate what Jack does and what he stands for, he asked for my help. And I will never stop. You killed mom to stop her. Would you really kill your own daughter too?"

Richard was speechless. He hadn't anticipated it being this difficult or Tru resisting so strongly. But he had to preserve the balance. There was no other option.

His hand shook as he tried to level the gun. "Jack, you know this is how it has to end."

Jack shook his head. "No, it doesn't. I let you convince me that no matter who they are they are meant to die when the day restarts. That mindset made me let an innocent woman die. But not this time. You aren't going to talk me into sacrificing myself for the balance of the universe."

He paused, eyes trained on the barrel of the gun. "I'm going to have to agree with Tru on this one."

"I'm so sorry," Richard whispered as his finger squeezed the trigger.

"No!" Harrison lunged at Tru, knocking her out of the way just in time to avoid the bullet. It grazed Harry's arm before embedding itself in Jack's shoulder.

As if on cue, Davis reappeared, sirens blaring below them. "Oh God, Tru."

Richard just stood there, gun hanging loosely in his grip. He had to finish the job. Just as Tru sat up, her father's finger squeezed the trigger a second time. Both Tru and Harrison managed to dodge the second bullet. Jack slumped over at it hit him. Before Tru could speak, footsteps thundered in the hallway and police appeared, guns drawn.

"Drop the weapon," one of them shouted.

Richard shook his head and set it on the floor. If he was lucky, Jack wouldn't make it out of surgery. Tru watched as the police led her father away.

"Are you hurt?" Davis asked, helping Tru to her feet.

"No…I don't think so." She looked over at her brother. His arm was bleeding. "Harry, oh God."

"I'll be ok…not so sure about him."

"Damn. Jack can you hear me?" Tru asked, bending over his body.

His eyes blinked slowly and he managed to nod his head. "My shoulder," he rasped.

"An ambulance is on its way. You're going to make it out of this, alive."

"Thanks for trying, Tru," Jack wheezed as a team of paramedics rushed in with a gurney.

"He…needs to go to the hospital," Davis said, pointing to Harrison.

"No...I'll be fine. It only grazed the skin."

"Harry, you're going."

One of the paramedics helped Harrison to his feet, leading him out of the apartment. Tru watched as they carried Jack out. She couldn't move. She didn't even register Davis' hand on her shoulder or the gentle pull on her sleeve to get her to stand.

"Tru," Davis said. His voice sounded so far away. He stopped her at the doorway, snapping his fingers in front of her eyes.

"Tru can you hear me?"

She blinked. "Huh? Yeah... I just...I could have died."

"I think they should check you out at the hospital too just to be sure."

"No, Davis...I need to make sure Jack is alright." She waved one of the paramedics down and followed them into the ambulance.

She couldn't help but squeeze Jack's hand as the ambulance sped off. He looked at her, his eyelids drooping. They'd managed to staunch some of the bleeding in his shoulder and it was then that Tru noticed the wound in his side.

"I'm here," Tru whispered. She wasn't letting him out of her sight until she was sure he was going to live. This was one life, even though she'd fought hard not to care, was one she wasn't going to lose. Screw the fates.

The siren blared louder as they came to a halt and the back doors were pulled open. Tru climbed out, helping guide the gurney out of the ambulance and into the Emergency Room.

"You're going to have to wait here," one of the paramedics said. He gave Tru a sympathetic look as they wheeled Jack out of view.

Tru sank into a chair and waited. Time dragged by, minutes felt like hours. Davis arrived and sat beside her, hiss hand wrapped around hers.

"Hey, Tru," Harry called, walking towards them with a bandaged arm.

"Thank God you're alright," Tru breathed, pulling him to her in a bear hug.

"It felt weird."

"Getting shot does."

"No...I mean...saving Jack."

"I did what I had to do."

"I get that...I know how hard this must be for you. Knowing everything that happened that night...knowing the truth about Dad. It's crazy."

"Figures with our family, right?"

"Yeah. It figures."

"Miss Davies?" Tru turned to see a surgeon pulling off gloves.

"That's me. Jack...is he going to be ok?"

"He's a lucky man. The bullet in his side missed all major organs. He'll have to get physical therapy for his shoulder but he's going to make a full recovery."

"Can I see him?"

"For a few minutes. He's still sedated."

Tru followed the doctor into a curtained off area. Jack lay in the bed, arm in a sling. He opened his eyes and couldn't keep a smile from his face.

"So you think the fates will be mad at us?"

"Screw the fates."

"How about we call a truce? At least while I recuperate."

"I think I can handle that."

"I am sorry about your Dad, Tru."

"People can't help being who they are."

"See you around, Jack."

Tru gave him a small nod before walking back to the waiting area. When she got there, Jensen was waiting. He wore an expression of worry.

"Davis called me and told me you were here," he said, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm ok."

"You're sure?"

Tru nodded, taking his hand in hers. "How about we go for a walk."

"Ok. Sure."

They headed out of the hospital and onto the main road. They wandered for a while, hand in hand.

"Are you sure you're ok, Tru?"

She finally let out a breath and shook her head. "No...I'm not. Sure that is. A lot happened today...stuff I need to deal with."

"What happened?"

"It's complicated. I...I can't get into it right now. I'm sorry."

She turned to face him, taking both of his hands in hers. "I know you want to be here for me right now but I need some space...and some time."

"You want to break up?"

"Yeah...it's just not fair to you to have to deal with all this stuff right now."

"I want to worry about it, Tru. I want to be there for you."

"I know but please, Jensen. Can we just take a break...for a little while? I just can't be in a relationship right now."

"If that's what you want."

"Right now...it's what I need. It doesn't mean somewhere down the line I won't be ready for a relationship again."

"Still dealing with Luc."

"He's part of it but it's a lot more involved than that."

"You should get back to your brother. He's probably wondering where you went."

"Yeah."

They walked back to the ER waiting room in silence. "I'll...see you in class."

"Yeah...in class." With that, Jensen walked out.

Tru slumped into a chair, resting her head against the wall. Harry wrapped his good arm around her shoulders.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I just need to go to bed. This day needs to be over."

Harry just gave her shoulders a squeeze. "You can stay at my place until they clear yours."

"Thanks, Harrison."

"No problem, sis. You deserve it."