Title: Friday Night Lies

Author: Romantique

Email: dolph1n

Classification: Eric/Tami Crime/Angst

Rating: T for minor course language.

Summary: When the entire town of Dillon closes up Friday nights to watch their beloved Panthers, who's watching their homes and businesses?

Disclaimer: Friday Night Lights fan fiction occurs at the end of Season 3.

Legal: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just a fan and have not made a dime. Please email me to obtain permission to post.

After Friday Night's Game

It was another win for the season's Panther win column, followed by the obligatory celebration afterwards at Applebee's with the team, their families, and the Boosters. It made for a good night for the Taylors. Winning nights were always good for the Taylors, promising a restful, happier, more normal weekend than the alternative.

Post-game socializing was not Coach Eric Taylor's favorite part of his job. He did it only because he had to, and he was always happiest when presented with the earliest opportunity to leave. Tonight was no different. After making the mandatory appearance, Eric and his wife, Tami, piled into their SUV to head home and make plans for their next two days off from school. The ride home lulled their young daughter, Gracie Belle, fast to sleep in her car seat.

Coach had a practice scheduled on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. with the Panther defense, Tami had to make some cookies for Monday's bake sale, and of course, there was Sunday school and church service on Sunday morning. But other than that, the weekend was their own. During football season, it was a rare thing indeed to have any free time on a weekend. Tami tried to convince Eric they needed to use some of that precious time to go shopping at the furniture store to buy a youth bed for Gracie. Their baby girl had grown tall enough to be able to climb out of her crib. Several recent baby escapes in the middle of the night necessitated that a safer sleeping arrangement for Gracie be made as soon as possible.

"C'mon, Tami. I don't want go shoppin' this weekend," Eric protested, as he drove down the highway. "You know how much I hate to shop. Why don't you take Julie? She loves shoppin'." Not only did he loathe shopping, he was looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday, grilling some steaks after church on Sunday, and watching game films to prepare for next week's game.

Tami sighed. "This is a major investment, Hon. The right youth bed will last Gracie Belle for many years to come. It's been so long since we last bought a youth bed, I don't know what I'm doin' here. I value your opinion."

Coach immediately countered with, "And I value your opinion, and I trust that you'll make the right decision. Heck, Tami, I don't know any more about baby furniture than you do. Isn't it all regulated, child safety inspected, and guaranteed anyway?"

Tami folded her arms in front of her becoming frustrated with her husband. "You just want to stay home all weekend and watch game films … like you do every weekend. How often do we get free time on a weekend during the season? Never," she answered her own question.

Eric was becoming equally frustrated because watching game films was non-negotiable. "Babe, please don't get started on the films. They're a key part of winnin' games, and they're necessary for me to keep my job," he began as he turned the corner onto their street. "I promise I'm not gonna to spend the entire …"

"Oh, my God, Eric, look!" Tami shouted, cutting him off in mid-sentence when she saw the front door to their darkened house wide open.

Eric saw it, too.

They knew their oldest daughter, Julie, wasn't home. They had just left her at Applebee's with her friends. Eric slowly pulled into the driveway cutting the headlights and the motor. Suddenly, they heard the sound of shattering glass coming from inside the house.

"Call 911," Eric said calmly, yet forcefully, to his wife as he shoved the car in park, released his seatbelt, and opened his car door in one swift motion.

"Don't go in there! Please Eric, wait for the police!" Tami begged her husband with panic in her voice.

It was too late. Eric bounded out of the car leaving the driver's door ajar and raced to the open front door. Tami's outburst startled and woke Gracie who began to cry. Tami frantically dialed 911 and asked for an officer to come right away, while at the same time, trying to comfort her crying daughter from the front seat.

Carefully, Eric entered the dark house, illuminated only by the outside porch light. He was 100 percent certain he left the house with some inside lights on. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see that their living room had been ransacked. Suddenly, he heard a loud crash. The noise came from near the sliding door to the patio. With adrenaline flowing, he purposely tried to slow his quickening breath and quietly walk towards the noise. He could hear his own heart beating out of his chest. When he made it to the slider door, he heard footsteps coming up on him from behind. He turned towards the sound when a crushing blow to the back of his head caused him to cry out and grab for his head before everything went black.

Tami remained in the car with Gracie. She immediately called her oldest daughter, Julie. After explaining their situation at home, she calmly gave her daughter instructions. "I want you to go home with Matt and stay there until I call you, okay?"

Julie didn't buy her Mom's calm for a single second. "No way, Mom. I'm coming home. Matt said he'd drive me," Julie said. "We're leaving now."

Before Tami could argue, headlights pulled up behind the Taylor's car and the strobe of squad car lights filled their front yard. Tami observed three male figures racing from the back of their side yard running towards their neighbor's back yard.

"Julie, the police are here. I gotta go," she said and quickly ended the call. Watching though the side mirror, she waited as a uniformed officer approached her on the driver's side of the car where Eric had left the door open.

"Are you Tami Taylor?" the officer asked her, shining a flashlight in her face.

"Yes. My husband went inside the house," she pleaded. "I tried to stop him." And Tami began to cry.

"You stay here," the officer ordered, and he left to speak with his partner.

About that time two other police cars pulled up. Tami observed two other officers from one of the cars suit up in dark jackets and grab their equipment and flashlights.

The first officer came back to Tami. "What's your husband's name?"

"Eric. Eric Taylor," she was still crying.

The officer radioed that information. "You're the one who called 911, correct?"

Tami nodded.

Officer Hanson introduced himself and asked if he could have a seat. He climbed into the driver's seat of the car. "Okay, can you tell me what happened?" he asked, pulling out a clipboard and a flashlight, while taking notes on his report.

Continuing to check the police activity in her side mirror and with Gracie softly whimpering from her car seat, Tami told him everything that happened, including the three men she saw running from the back side of the house. She pointed to the direction where she saw them run. It was about that time when she saw the two, freshly suited up officers systematically approach the entrance of the house with their weapons drawn.

Officer Hanson asked Tami several different ways if she remembered anything about the men she saw running from the house. At first, she said other than they were all wearing dark clothing, she couldn't see much because it was dark. Upon further questioning, she remembered that she thought that they were all Caucasian. She also gave as much height information as she could. And then she recalled seeing a white symbol on the back of the tallest man's jacket. It was an ankh, the Egyptian symbol for eternal life. Officer Hanson asked her if she could draw the symbol on his field report. She did as she was asked and initialed and dated the drawing.

Suddenly, Tami heard Julie shouting, "Mom! Mom!"

Julie was held back at the curb by the officer's partner. By now, Tami could see neighbors gathering out in the street.

"That's my daughter, Julie Taylor," Tami told Officer Hanson.

"Okay," Officer Hanson said. "I'll bring her to you. You wait right here."

A minute later, the officer escorted Julie and Matt to the vehicle and allowed them to enter the back seat. "Ya'll must remain here in the car until the premises are secured," he said. "Understood?"

They all confirmed they understood, and then Tami was beside herself. "Officer Hanson? What is taking them so long? Where is my husband? Would you please find out if Eric is okay?" Tears were streaming down her face. There was fear was in her eyes.

The officer was receptive. "Let me see what I can find out."

"Thank you," Tami was grateful.

Gracie began fussing louder, so Julie took her little sister out of the infant seat.

"Here, Honey," Tami said. "Hand her to me." Tami took Gracie and held her youngest close to her heart.

"Mom," Julie started. Tears welled up in her eyes, and Matt was holding onto her. "Where's Dad?"

Tami broke down and began to cry as she patted her baby, "He's in there." She pointed to the house. "I begged him not to go in."

Julie buried her face into Matt's shoulder and began to sob. He held her and tried his best to comfort her. His eyes were wide as he tried to catch a glimpse of anything going on inside the darkened house. He could only hope his coach was okay.

The sound of another siren came closer and closer, until they all watched as an ambulance pulled up to the house. Gracie did not like the sound of the siren at all. She was wide eyed looking at the red strobe light hitting the entire side of their block. Two paramedics raced from the ambulance to the inside the house with boxes of equipment and a gurney. Tami, Julie, and Matt all watched intently at the surreal scene that was unfolding before them.

"Mrs. Taylor," Officer Hanson returned to the driver's side of the car. "I received word your husband's been injured."

Tami searched the officer's face for more information. "That's all the information I have. The paramedics are in there now, treating him at the scene, and will transport him to the hospital. You're welcome to ride in the ambulance with him, but there's only room for one."

"I'll follow you with Julie and Gracie," Matt offered to Tami without missing a beat.

Tami nodded. "Take this car, Matt. The keys are still in the ignition." And she handed Gracie to Julie, and Julie put her sister back in her car seat.

Tami said to her little one, "You be good for your sister, you hear me, Gracie?"

"Okay, are you ready?" Officer Hanson asked Tami.

"Yeah," she answered, hearing someone else respond. She felt as if she was out of her own body. In shock, Tami followed the officer to the back of the ambulance where she was assisted inside. She was instructed to sit to the side and wait.

Matt situated himself in driver's seat while Julie remained in the back with Gracie. In what seemed like slow motion, they watched as the paramedics wheeled Eric out of the house on a gurney, down the driveway near their car. His eyes were closed. He had an oxygen mask over his face with an IV and a white collar around his neck. The paramedics loaded him into the back of the ambulance.

"Dad!" cried Julie at the disturbing site of her unconscious father.

Determined to keep his cool, Matt reached behind him and put a firm hand on Julie's knee. "Your Dad's gonna be okay. Now, let's get to the hospital." He turned on the ignition, backed out the car, and waited to follow the ambulance with his fallen coach inside.

(To be continued …)