One More Hour Chapter 1, a flashpoint fanfic

One More Hour

This is my first Fanfiction ever. I've spent a lot of time reading them over the past few weeks and I don't know why but the stories really rekindled an interest in the show for me. So my requests and disclaimers: Please review, I'm still not really sure about my ability to write fanfiction, so I want feedback (Constructive please.) Also, there's not going to be any slash, there is more than enough of that. I don't own anything except for the random kid characters. So without further ado:

"Listen man, this isn't the way, okay? Trust me here, give me the gun and...and everything will be okay..." he hesitated, not wanting to say the wrong words.

"No! No. No...no...no" he kept saying, progressively getting quieter until it was barley a whisper.

"I get it. You're scared, and you're pissed off at everyone and everything, but this isn't the way. Come on Sean, give me the gun and we'll walk out of here together. You're...you're not alone anymore." He stepped forward ever so slowly. He's not holding the gun so tightly, it looks like he's relaxing. What now? What now? Do I ask for it again? Do I just take it? Maybe I should wait, or maybe-his thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ring of the bell. Shit.

Students began pouring into the hallway as they began heading towards their respective classes. They were going about their business: talking, laughing. He found it ironic as he heard a group of girls approaching and they were giggling manically. And then he saw them. The group of boys was sauntering out of the gym hallway where they cut class in the locker rooms. He wasn't the only one that saw them. Sean's mouth seemed to twitch ever so slightly into a smile as he turned.

"You're a good kid Clark. I'm sorry about this." He turned and raised his gun, holding it steadily as the group approached them. Fear barley had time to register as Ian realized that he had a gun pointed at his head. Clark panicked as he heard a gunshot blast through the air, silencing everything momentarily, then the chaos really began.

-Lane Residence, 6 Hours Earlier-

"One more hour, that's all I'm asking," he said with an even voice trying hard to maintain eye contact. The silence was beginning to bother him as he wondered how long he should keep looking into those icy blue eyes.

"I'll think about it," his father said looking carefully at his son. Between the long days and the irregular hours at the SRU, Ed felt as though he barley knew his son anymore, he'd aged years since the last time he felt that he'd seen him. "I don't see what's wrong with your 11PM curfew, I think that's a fair time to be home. Your mother and I worry about you Clark." Ed said, treading carefully around his teenage son.

Clark tried to keep the annoyance from his face as he began picking at his cereal. He understood that his father's job was important and that it was hard but Clark felt restricted by his controlling father. You know what they say, Clark thought as he tried to keep his attitude in check, cops have seen it all. He doesn't want to lose me...but he should trust me! Clark wasn't doing a great job at keeping his anger contained. "Dad, I get it, you want to keep me safe, but I've never done anything to make you not trust me." His voice steadily rose as he kept thinking and talking.

"I hear you-" Ed started calmly, but Clark interrupted.

"Don't negotiate me! I know what you're doing, your mirroring me, trying to deescalate me. Not everything is a hostage situation Dad! I'm not some psychopath, I'm a teenager with good grades, good friends, and I want a later curfew!" Clark took a breath knowing that the conversation was over. His Dad was set in his ways and losing his temper was only going to make it so that it was impossible to continue. "I have to go to school now." Ed started to get up. "No, I'm going to walk." Clark said firmly, but in a calmer voice. "I want to blow off some steam before homeroom, the walk will clear my head." He said getting up and pulling a sweatshirt over his head. "I'll see you..." he thought for a moment, "well I'll see you at some point in the next few days I guess." Clark said with a slightly bitter tone. Ed took a breath to steady himself as Clark headed to the door.

"Love you Clark. We'll talk about this when I'm home, hopefully at a decent time tonight, okay?" Ed asked, hoping to get some response.

"Yeah, sure Dad." Clark said without turning around. The door closed and Ed thought about his son and the time that he had missed while at work. Teenagers. I don't know what happened between 9 and 15, but I wish that they could always stay in the single digits. Ed trusted Clark, more than he knew, but he just couldn't see his son hurt. Ed had been a cop for a long time and he knew what happened when kids had too much free time, minimal supervision, and after midnight. Quit it Ed, he said to himself, Clark is an awesome kid. He knows right from wrong. He wouldn't do anything stupid. He let out a sigh. Time for work. Maybe he'd get home at a reasonable time and be able to talk to Clark. Maybe 11:30 is a fair compromise...

-Central High School, 7:45 AM-

Clark liked the feel of the cold air on his exposed face as he walked briskly towards his school. It was only about a mile from his home, usually his Dad would drive him in the winter, when he was home at least, but the walk gave Clark time to calm down. It was something that Greg had always told him. Greg was a great friend to his father, and a great Uncle to Clark, he was always there when Clark wanted to talk or just vent. Greg always said that he was like his father: too stubborn for his own good sometimes. Greg also told him that his father would run when he was stressed out and needed to calm down, Greg was the one that suggested Clark work out his frustration by exercising. Clark walked, Ed ran, both would never concede their ideas.

Clark rounded a corner and walked onto the school grounds carefully avoiding a group of boys standing at the bike rack. He knew that he would not be a serious target of the bullies, everyone knew that his father was a cop and no one wanted to mess with him for fear of this father's wrath, but Clark chose not to stick around to see if they would be bored or ballsy enough to do anything today. After successfully passing the bike rack he headed up the stairs of the school and stopped near the top to sit down. He had some friends, a tight group of people that he liked to talk to and hang out with, but they were all on a field trip for their political science class today. Clark considered taking the class, he would have done fine in it and he would have had a chance to be with his friends, but instead he decided to take a criminal justice class. Though his mother knew about the class, he tried to keep it from his father. Clark still didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Some days, when he would visit his father at work and see first hand what he did and hear about the people he helped, he thought that he would follow in his father's footsteps and become a police officer. But then there were days that he would come home after taking lethal action. Ed didn't have to tell them about his day for Clark and his mother to know what had happened, there was a feeling around him, this darkness. If someone as tough as his Dad had trouble doing that, Clark didn't think that he would ever be able to do it.

A loud hollow bang broke his train of thought. He looked around as he noticed that the campus had grown silent. Ian, the leader of the bullies, was standing over a meeker boy, Sean, and his fallen bicycle. Sean didn't really seem hurt, it looked like Ian had pushed him over after he had stopped his bike. Sean was laying on the ground, trying to untangle himself from his bike as Ian stepped up, saying something unintelligible from Clark's position, and kicked him hard in the ribs. Clark stood up and gathered up all of the courage he could muster as he jogged over and yelled out.

"Fuck off Ian!" Clark had reached the scene and was trying to put himself between Ian and Sean, who was grasping his chest and trying to crawl away.

"Ohh, looky here boys." Ian said in a mocking tone to his friends, just behind him, ready to back him up. "Look like Clarky here grew a pair, or, wait...where's your Daddy, he gonna come in and save you." Ian poked him in the chest, making it even more apparent that Clark was very desperately outweighed by the older boy. "What do you want Clarky?" Clark was trying to think. Do I back down and look like a wimp? Do I stare him down? No, he's an alpha-male, he'll take it as a threat if I stare him down. Clark took a deep breath as the bell rang and he backed up slowly, softening his gaze. He stepped backwards, careful not to trip on the bike, still on the ground.

"Nothing man, no worries," Clark said softly, "I'm gonna go to class now." He continued to move slowly, aware of the tension in the air. He didn't turn his back on the group until he reached the stairs of the school. He went up deliberately, trying not to look afraid, but what he hoped would be perceived as just wanting to go to class. He was late, the second bell had rung as he was backing away but he didn't particularly care. The teachers loved him and no one would care that he was in the hall without a pass. He grabbed his backpack as he went through the doors remembering that he needed to get a book from his locker. He made a quick turn and walked with a quick pace to his locker. Something in the back of his mind was bothering him. He couldn't figure out what it was, he just felt that today was going to be a long day for some reason.

-SRU Headquarters 8:00 AM-

Today is going to be a long day, Ed thought as he reached the floor that housed the SRU. There wasn't a lot on the roster for the day and, though sometimes it was nice to have a break from the chaotic job they had, slow usually meant a combination of workout and paperwork. The workout part Ed didn't mind, he liked to workout, particularly to do weights and run, but Ed couldn't stand paperwork...thus there was a huge and ever growing pile of papers shoved into his locker that he had sworn he would one day get around to finishing up.

"Hey Boss," Ed said as he strolled into the Briefing Room and approached the Sergeant. It seemed that Greg was always there. He was settled before everyone got to HQ and he was the last to leave. Always calm, always started the day with a smile.

"Eddie," he looked up from his newspaper "how you doing? Good night off?" Greg asked. It wasn't often that the SRU finished their job at a reasonable time, the day prior had Team One leaving the station at 4:45 PM, a rarity that Ed and Wordy particularly enjoyed as they would be having dinner with their families.

"It was fine." Ed said shortly. Nothing got past Greg though, it was like a sixth sense.

"Eddie, anything you want to talk about?" Greg asked sympathetically.

"It's nothing...I just realized something this morning. Clark is a teenager. I mean, I knew that, he is 15 now, but...I don't know, I guess it just never really crossed my mind until this morning that he was a true teenager." Ed said sitting down, looking somewhere just over Greg's left shoulder, lost in his thoughts. "I mean, it's just his curfew now, but in a year he'll be asking to borrow the car, and then he'll be looking at colleges, going to college, getting a job, getting married, having kids...I'll be a grandfather..." Ed was going off thinking about the things that he missed, that would surely come. Greg gently placed his hand on Ed's shoulder, bringing him back into focus.

"Eddie, I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself here. You're right, Clark has really grown up, he's a young man, but you have to realize that he's got a good head on his shoulders, and he loves you. You guys are bound to fight every now and then, but I don't think that you need to be worried about him running off and getting married quite yet." Greg added with a slight smile. Ed knew that he was right, he was reeling in his past and his future. Clark was 15, it would be a long time before he needed to start worrying about grandchildren.

"You're right. I just worry about him. He doesn't know it, but that boy...young man...he might know exactly how to get on my nerves, but I love him so much."

"He knows Eddie, he knows." Greg comforted. They heard some people in the hall joking around and knew that the rest of the team had arrived. "Go get changed." Ed rose from the chair with a nod of thanks towards Greg and began to walk towards the door. "Oh and Ed," Greg called as he picked up his newspaper, "don't think I forgot about that pile of reports in your locker." Ed sighed as he knew what was coming. "Get started now, I can't wait another month." Ed stalked away, not excited about the day ahead and not happy with the humorous taunts that Spike threw at him in the locker room.

"Don't give yourself a paper cut Ed!" Spike said as he ran from the locker room, barley missing the boot that Ed had launched towards him.

-Central High School, 12:30 PM-

So as I wrote this I realized that it was turning out more and more like a prior episode "Perfect Storm," but that's one of my favorite episodes, so I guess I should have seen that one coming.

It had been a long, boring day thus far for Clark. He'd gotten through his first classes easily. He loved Chemistry (a trait which he always attributed to his experiments with Spike as a kid) and he always did well in Calculus. The lunch period seemed longer than usual. Without his friends around he found that he ate quickly and was finished and ready for his next class in five minutes. He tried to sit and read in the Cafeteria but it was too loud for him to focus. It was too cold out for him to walk around the campus, so he asked for a pass and decided he'd go to his locker and then head to his next class early.

An outsider would have easily been confused by the oddly designed school. Between split floors, towers, ramps, stairs, and the subject wings, it was a huge source of anxiety for incoming freshmen. Clark smiled as he took a small set of emergency stairs to the top floor of the school, he figured he would walk along the windows and look out at the sports fields before heading to his locker. The halls were quiet, people were either in the cafeteria or in the common area near the front of the school. He was in the rear, near the gyms and the random offices were. When he heard a locker close behind him, Clark jumped a bit. Whoever had just been there was quiet, Clark had sharp senses and hadn't heard anyone nearby. He rounded a corner and saw someone standing at a locker. He couldn't see who it was, the locker was blocking his face, but he was able to hear ragged breathing.

Clark slowly approached the locker. This section of the school had the lockers for the sophomore class, his class, so he knew that the person behind the locker was someone he would know. Clark inched over and, not wanting to startle whoever it was softly called out,

"Hey..." The person behind the locker suddenly tensed up. Clark could only see a silhouette of the person, it was a boy. He was wearing dark jeans and a green sweatshirt. He still couldn't see the person's face, they were trying very hard to hide it, but Clark thought he knew who it was anyway. "Sean...is that you?" He asked cautiously.

"You should get out of here Clark. You don't need to be here." Sean said with a cold undertone to his voice. Clark didn't understand what he meant. Sean was a bright kid; kind of a loner, nice enough, just timid and shy. It didn't help that he'd been picked on by Ian since they were kids.

"What do you mean, Sean?" Clark asked hesitantly. He wasn't really friends with Sean. They'd worked together on projects in Criminal Justice, and when they were younger they hung out a little bit, but Clark was on pretty much everyone's good side. He had stepped closer to the locker and was able to see over the top into Sean's hands. Clark's heart skipped a beat as he saw Sean gripping a gun. Sean backed away when he saw Clark's surprise and put his back to the wall simultaneously raising the gun to his head. Clark was in shock for a moment, giving Sean enough time to repeat himself.

"You should go. You don't need to see this Clark." Sean released the safety and cocked the gun, ready to shoot.

-SRU Headquarters, 1 PM-

Damn paperwork. Ed thought as he looked at the piles of paper that threatened to engulf him. This stuff really pilled up quick. If I'm going to force Clark to quit procrastinating, I should really set an example... Ed had gone off in day dreams again. He wasn't really a paperwork kind of guy; he was more of a let's go look for someone to arrest sort of person. He was thinking about maybe seeing if the Sarge would let them go out on patrol for the last few hours of the shift when he heard a vibrate. Ed rarely kept his phone on during the day, but in his search for a distraction from the paperwork, he had turned it on, texting his wife periodically throughout the day. He was surprised when he say that he was getting a call from Clark's phone.

"Hey Clark. Is everything okay? You're supposed to keep your phone off during the day?" Ed asked, not yet sure whether to be angry that his son was breaking the rules or concerned that there was something wrong. Clark did not answer Ed's inquiries, in fact Ed was having a lot of trouble hearing what was going on but there was one word that he distinctly heard and knew he did not mistake: gun. Ed's brain kicked into overdrive as he felt an adrenaline rush course through his body. He jumped up from the desk and ran to the gym to find his team.

They heard him approaching before they saw him, his heavy footsteps running across the tile floor. The phone was pressed to his ear but the mouthpiece was pointed away from his face. "Boss!" Ed said as loudly as he risked, not sure if they could hear him on the other end of the line. Everyone knew that something was wrong and jumped from their exercise machines and huddled around him. He spoke quickly and authoritatively:

"I just got a call from Clark. He's at school, I can't make out what's going on but I think the phone is in his pocket, he said something about a gun." Ed was trying to stay calm but panic was squeezing into his voice. Greg took over:

"Suit up, everyone at the trucks in 5." Everyone dispersed except Ed and he. "Winnie." Greg called to the desk. "You need to call Central High, get them on lockdown, possible gun on campus. Also, take Ed's phone, try to clear up the feed and patch it through to the earpieces." Winnie nodded and began to work. "Eddie." Greg said firmly, "Go suit up, it's going to be okay." Ed nodded and ran off to the locker rooms.

-Central High School, 1:25 PM-

Clark knew he needed to be smooth now. He knew what to do in a general sense. His father always said something like building trust, listening; 'I hear you,' his Dad said that Greg usually tried to get people to understand that he cared what happened. I really hope that call went through. Clark said to himself. He didn't have time to look at his phone, which was in the pocket of his hoodie. It was really just luck, he never had his phone on, he'd forgotten to switch it off this morning; it was also really lucky that he had his Dad as speed dial 1, Clark knew that he needed to show his hands, but he had time to press that one button. It only came to him now that his Dad never kept his phone on him at work, but he'd tried. Right now it was up to him to calm things down.

"I'm not leaving Sean," Clark said, his voice cracking a bit at first, "just talk to me, what's going on." Clark frantically tried to think three steps ahead, wondering what to do if he looked like he was going to shoot himself, or anyone else for the matter. He couldn't risk looking at his watch but he knew that the lunch period would soon be over.

"Haven't figured it out yet? I'm surprised Clark, you're a smart kid, you know what I'm going to do. I'm going to kill myself." Sean wasn't really smiling, but he definitely didn't look afraid. His voice was even, if anything a little bit emotionless. Clark thought hard.

"Listen man, this isn't the way, okay? Trust me here, give me the gun and...and everything will be okay..." he hesitated, not wanting to say the wrong words.

"No! No. No...no...no" he kept saying, progressively getting quieter until it was barley a whisper.

"I get it, I hear you. You're scared, and you're pissed off at everyone and everything, but this isn't the way. Come on Sean, give me the gun and we'll walk out of here together. You're...you're not alone anymore." He stepped forward ever so slowly. He's not holding the gun so tightly, it looks like he's relaxing. What now? What now? Do I ask for it again? Do I just take it? Maybe I should wait, or maybe-his thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ring of the bell. Shit.

-SRU Trucks, 1:31 PM-

"Is the school locked down yet?" Ed asked trying to keep his voice even and calm.

"I put in the call," Winnie began speaking over the headset "but it was the end of the lunch hour, the bell just rang so students are in the halls. Administration said that they're going to sound the alarm immediately but right now the scene is not secure." Ed was barley able to hold in his anger as he began taking a deep breath.

"Keep us up to day Winnie and make sure I can hear that cell conversation." Greg finished the conversation and chanced a glance at Ed in the passenger seat of the black SUV. "Okay team. We don't know much. From what we've gathered, Clark is in proximity to a gun and he's still talking thought it's tough to make out. Spike, I want you in the truck trying to get us better audio. Sam and Jules start at the South side of the school, bottom floor and work your way North and up. Ed, you gonna be okay inside?" Greg asked, knowing the answer already. Ed gave a short nod and mumbled his conformation. "Okay, Ed and Wordy are going to start top floor North side and head south and down. I'm going to start out at the office and see what's going on then I'll join Spike or go where I'm 's keep the peace." There were five affirmations,

"Copy" everyone said simultaneously. Just as Greg was about to explain how he wanted less lethal options everyone was silent as they heard the distinct sound of a gunshot in the cell audio. They waited with bated breath to hear what would come next.

-Central High School, 1:33 PM-

Clark felt like the gunshot was an explosion, dulling his senses, flooring him (even though he had remained glued to the same spot on the floor). His senses seemed to return slowly. The first thing he did was open his eyes, struck by the bright crimson blood that had splattered onto the wall. His body felt heavy as he felt himself rocking slightly on his feet. He could feel sweat running down his face and his arms, suddenly feeling constrained by the dark blue hoodie that he had been wearing most of the day. Then suddenly, as if in a dream, he could hear the noise that surrounded him. He only vaguely noticed the alarm going off in the background signaling a lockdown, oddly enough it wasn't the loudest sound as Clark realized that there was a girl just behind him yelling at the top of her lungs. His body sprang into action before his mind could catch up.

Clark slowly put his hand in his pocket, pulling out the cell phone and placing it in his belt. He hoped against all hope that his Dad was still on the line, on his way, coming to save his from this overwhelming situation. Clark pulled off his hoodie and looked at Sean. He had not moved, he hadn't even lowered the gun yet. His eyes seemed to be glazed over and his face carved out exactly as it had been moments before. He was mumbling something barley audible. Clark stayed still, took a deep breath and tried to listen.

"I killed him...I killed him..." Sean whispered. Clark felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. No, no, come on Clark, think. He willed himself. He took a deep breath.

"S...Sean?" Clark said quietly, trying to keep the evident panic out of his voice. Sean turned and looked. It was like he had forgotten there were other people in the hall with him. The girl was still screaming, making it hard for Clark to think calmly. He turned slightly, not breaking eye contact with Sean. "Get out of here," he said to her firmly. Her eyes were glued to the figure on the ground, bleeding. With slightly more authority he said again "get out of here." This time she listened as she turned on her heels and ran. "Sean. Listen, I'm going to check on Ian okay? I just want to slow down the bleeding a little bit, but can you maybe not point the gun at anyone? I just want to check on him..." Clark didn't know what else to say. He hoped that Ian was alive, he thought he saw him breathing, but there was so much blood. Sean didn't say anything, he only lowered the gun, pointing it at the ground as his arm fell to his side. "Thank you Sean." Clark said as he walked over and knelt down next to Ian, hoping that he would still have some life in him.

-Central High School Security Office-

Ed had barley spoken since the gunshot. Team One had just arrived at the school when they heard the unmistakable sound. Everyone had held their breath as they heard the cell phone first go silent, and then clear. They didn't know what this meant for Clark, until he started talking. There was an audible sigh of relief from all of the SRU members as they dispersed and went about their assigned tasks. Greg listened carefully to the cell phone conversation and he heard Clark, scared but calmly ask to check on Ian. At this point he was able to figure out parts of the scene.

"Okay team. Seems like Clark is negotiating with a boy, Sean who is holding a gun. Another boy, Ian is hurt, possibly shot." Greg paused for a moment as an administrator handed over files for all three of the boys involved. As he skimmed Sean's he relayed to the team, "Clark sent away a girl, no name or description, but she witnessed the shooting and will know where they are. Keep an eye out." Greg heard his team respond with copy, but he was trying to absorb the information in Sean and Ian's files. The similarities were striking similar.

Both were from broken homes. Sean's parents were both dead, one from a car accident, the other a suicide. He was living with his grandparents in a lower class area of the city. Ian's father was in jail on drug dealing charges, his mother dead from an overdose. He was living with an uncle, also a suspected drug dealer, also living on a bad side of the city. Greg relayed this information to the team as Clark's voice came back over the cell phone.

"H...he's alive. He's hit in the shoulder and there's a lot of blood Sean, I'm going to use my sweatshirt to try and stop it, but he needs a hospital. Why don't you give me the gun and then I can take Ian and get him some-"

"No! I...I don't know what I want anymore but I know that no one is going anywhere..." Sean started out strongly, but was fading and seemed unsure of his words.

"Okay, okay," Clark tried to calm him. "I'll stay, just relax okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Guys, Clark is keeping Sean calm but it sounds like he's getting desperate. Let's find them. Sam, Jules, where are you?" Greg asked.

"We're heading up to the second floor, north side." Sam replied breathing heavily as they mounted the stairs.

"Good. Ed, Wordy?" Greg inquired.

"Getting to the south side of the fifth floor." Wordy replied urgently. "Ed." Wordy had stopped running and had quietly gotten Ed's attention. In a corner behind a garbage can he had seen a flutter of blond hair. He motioned with his head to the movement and he and Ed raised their weapons. "Police! Come out with your hands up!" Wordy said authoritatively. A skinny blond girl whimpered and threw her hands up behind her head as she crawled out from behind the garbage can. "You're okay now," Wordy assured adding a tone of sympathy to his voice. He took her hand and helped her up.

"There's so much blood..." She choked out in a whisper.

"Where?" Wordy asked with a sense of urgency in his voice. The girl didn't speak, she just pointed down the hallway with a shaky finger. Ed took off down the hall as Wordy told the girl to walk the opposite direction and relayed the information to Greg over the radio. Wordy caught up to Ed as he approached a turn. They both stood still and listened to what was going on for a moment. Ed was able to see Clark and the injured boy but was unable to see the boy with the gun.

"Listen Sean. I know what you're feeling...better than you'd think I knew..." Clark said hesitantly, keeping eye contact with Sean, not yet seeing his father.

"No one understands." Sean said hopelessly.

"They do Sean, I...I do. Listen, everyone thinks about suicide, I do too sometimes." Both Clark's and Ed's hearts jumped at that statement. "But you know what? I'd never do it because I know that there are people that love me, that would be really really hurt if I did it. I...I'd be really upset if you hurt yourself Sean, and other people would be too." Clark tried to keep his voice even but was having trouble as the blood started to seep through the sweatshirt and onto his hands.

Wordy and Ed remained hidden and quiet, they didn't want to escalate the situation if the boy became afraid of them, but they remained at the ready. It was really tearing Ed up to have to listen to his son and not be able to help him. There was silence for a few moments as Sean seemed to consider what Clark had said. There was a mumble that Ed and Wordy couldn't hear, but Clark's cry was clear and worried. "No!"

-Central High School Security Office-

Greg heard Clark's yell and was on his way to Ed and Wordy's position with Spike. "Sam, Jules, ETA?" Greg asked as he ran the five flights of stairs.

"One minute." Sam panted. As they rounded a corner Sam saw the scene unfolding before them. At the end of a hallway Sean pointed a gun at his head while Clark and Ian were on the floor four meters to his left. Ed and Wordy had shown themselves and were slowly moving towards Sean. Ed had holstered his gun and had his hands up in a non-threatening approach. Wordy, still holding his gun, inched closer to Clark and Ian to cover them if the gun swung their way. Sam stepped up and filled in the hole that Wordy had left but stayed back further not wanting the boy to feel boxed in. Jules stayed further back behind Ed. Ed moved forward with a calm voice and a reassuring smile.

"Hi Sean. My name is Ed, I'm Clark's Dad, and I'm a police officer with the Strategic Response Unit." He paused to breath and saw fear flash through Sean's eyes as he gripped the gun tighter. "I want to help you Sean. Just talk to me, what's happening?" Ed asked sympathetically.

"I...I...I want to die..." Sean said, not sounding very confident in his assertions.

"I'm sorry to hear that Sean, but I'm glad that you haven't hurt yourself." Ed was relieved at the weak resolve of the statement but still knew that he had to get the gun out of the boy's hands. "Sean, how would you like to walk out of here?" Ed asked cautiously as he saw a slight glimmer of hope in the boy's eyes. "All you need to do is give me the gun." Ed said hopefully.

Sean's grip tightened for a minute as he looked around at his surroundings as if he was seeing them for the first time. His eyes caught on the blood splattered walls and lockers. His hand began shaking and he started to breath heavily, hyper-ventilating. Sean could hear Ed calling his name, but he was too busy looking at what he had done. His gaze shifted to Ian and Clark, being protected by Wordy.

"H...h...he's...d...dead..." Sean began.

"No," Clark and Ed said simultaneously. Clark gently put a hand on Wordy's shoulder and raised his head enough to be able to look at Sean. "He's not dead, he's hurt and he needs a hospital, but he is not dead Sean. You're not a killer, you made a mistake and you're going to fix it now by giving my Dad the gun and letting us take Ian to a hospital. Okay? Trust me Sean, give my Dad the gun and everything will be okay." Clark said with a deep breath.

Sean looked between him and his father for a minute before he lowered the gun and put it on the ground next to his feet. Sam and Ed moved forward, Sam taking the gan and Ed handcuffing the boy. Ed talked to him while they were going about the formalities.

"It's going to be okay, you're going to go with my friend Sam downstairs and then we're going to take you to see your grandparents." Ed reassured as Sam put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Jules and Sam headed down the hall as Greg, Spike, and Wordy turned their attention to Ian. Clark was still in the mix, not wanting to let pressure from the wound. Greg put his hand on Clark's shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Clark nodded and got up as Wordy took over controlling the bleeding. Ed was standing on the outskirts of the circle of men as his son shakily approached him. He was very pale and as he looked up at Ed his eyes told the entire story. He was not the moody teenager that Ed had seen walk out the door this morning, he was a vulnerable young man who just had the most stressful day of his life. Clark's pace picked up as he approached his father and Ed didn't even realize that he was also running over to his son. Clark fell into Ed's arms and cried in huge shaking gasps.

"It's okay Clark. I'm here now, it's okay. I'm so proud of you Clark. It's okay." Ed reassured as tears came to his eyes briefly. The medics were loading Ian onto a stretcher, they said that things were looking good for a full recovery. Ed barley heard anything that was happening around him. He was completely focused on telling Clark that things would be okay. Wordy and Spike had run off to help pack things up and follow the stretcher but Greg remained near Ed, a hand on his shoulder.

"Eddie, let's move." Greg said gently to prompt Ed and Clark away from the blood pools. Ed didn't want to break his embrace with Clark, he wasn't even sure the boy would be able to make it down the five flights of stairs the way he was shaking.

"Come on Clark, it's okay now," Ed said gently as he lifted Clark and walked them down the stairs into the black SUV that Greg had already started.

-SRU Headquarters-

As Team One walked from the parking garages to the building (Ed and Clark slightly behind the rest of them) Greg spoke. "Go change, meet in the briefing room in 20 minutes. Great work today." Greg softly explained as he lagged back to help Ed and Clark. Clark had stopped crying as heavily and he had given up his vice grip on Ed in order to walk to the SRU floor. He was still shaky and he still held on tightly to his father's hand as he walked, but they slowly made it to the correct floor. Ed took Clark directly to the first aid room as Greg said he'd join them in a minute.

"Sit up here Clark, okay?" Ed asked softly, indicating a padded bed. Ed stripped off his extra gear and grabbed a first aid kit.

"I...I...I'm not hurt." He seemed to choke on his words, horse from yelling and crying. Ed looked at him and nodded sympathetically.

"I know, I just want to clean your hands." Ed seemed pained as he said the words. Clark was covered in blood and had barley noticed it until he brought his attention to it. Clark looked at his hands and began panicking. At that moment Greg knocked gently and came into the room with fresh clothes, a bag of potato chips, and a water bottle. Clark was staring at his hands and breathing shallowly, beginning a panic attack. Ed was near tears at seeing his son's emotional pain and he did all he knew how and hugged him as tightly as he could until his breathing slowed and he stopped shaking. Greg had put on gloves and had pulled out gauze pads and alcohol wipes. Clark leaned back and Ed sat next to him on the table. "Look at me." He said softly as he pulled Clark close. Greg began wiping Clark's arms and hands gently, rhythmically.

It looked like Clark was beginning to drift off into a sleep leaning on his fathers shoulder when Greg finished cleaning his hands. Ed saw Greg get up and he lightly tapped Clark. "Clark? You have to change your clothes now, Greg brought you some. Do you want me to help?" Ed asked gently as Clark sat up, calmer than before.

"N...no. I'll be fine, just...just don't go too far." He said softly, exhaustion evident in his voice, a hint of worry just beneath.

"I'll be right outside the door okay, just holler if you need me." Ed said as he and Greg stepped out. As the door closed Ed let out a quiet breath. Greg carefully looked at him. There was a bit of blood on his shirt from where clark had been leaning on him and his eyes were an icy blue. His expression was difficult to read, even for the seasoned negotiator. His features were stiff, almost angry, but there was something beneath that anger, pain? Sorrow?

"Eddie." Greg started gently, "he did a great job in there. He's a natural, though I'm sure he's picked up some tricks from you." Greg tried to lighten the conversation but he knew that Ed was having nothing of it. "Someone has got to talk to him Eddie. I'll do it if you want, or I'll trust you to debrief him, what do you think he'd prefer?" Ed thought hard about it. He wanted to be there, he knew that, but he didn't think that he would be able to remain impartial or help his son through his pain with anything longer lasting than a hug. Ed seemed to nod at his thoughts.

"Together?" He asked, knowing that Greg would understand.

"That sounds good. Let him rest for a little while. I'll go talk to the team. There are some chips in there and a water for him, get him to eat, or at least drink something." Ed nodded as Greg walked into the briefing room.

"You guys did a really great job today. Fill out your paperwork people, seems like I'm going to have to start watching you do it to assure I'll have it by next year!" Greg added jokingly. The debrief had gone quickly, it was a happy ending really, Sean was on his way to a hospital psychiatric ward, Ian pulled through with his main problem being blood loss (which Clark had controlled fairly efficiently), Clark was the one that Greg was the most worried about at this point. Ed had stayed outside the first aid room for a few minutes until the door cracked open and Clark popped his head out. They went out into the gym together and Greg was able to see Ed trying to get him to eat some of the potato chips. He eventually resolved to sipping the water. They didn't seem to be talking much from where Greg was standing but Clark seemed comforted by Ed's gentle reassurances. "Paperwork. Go." He said to his team, officially dismissing them, "I'll see you all tomorrow at 4 PM." He added as the team rose and began to exit the room. The entire team approached Clark and Ed and softly praised him. Greg exited the room and stood in the doorframe, listening to his team.

"Clark, I think you're a better negotiator than I am...and you're definitely better than Sam is." Spike joked as he dodged Sam's light punches. Clark smiled politely and Ed nodded to them.

"Didn't the boss tell you guys to do your paperwork? I mean if you're bored you can take some of mine..." Everyone nodded with understanding. Jules gave Clark a quick thumbs up and Wordy squeezed his shoulder with a smile. "Thanks guys." Ed said with a genuine expression. As the team filed out, Greg approached them. He sat on a weight bench across from Clark as Ed moved next to his son.

"How you doing Clark?" He paused for a moment, "The clothes fit okay?" Greg asked, trying to get the boy to look at him.

"Yeah, they're fine, thanks." He said briefly raising his head. His eyes were bloodshot from the crying he'd done earlier in the day and his face looked tired, aged almost. Team Three was beginning to filter in for their shift and making their way to the locker rooms.

"What do you say we go into the briefing room?" Greg suggested, waiting for some sign from Clark.

"Sure." He said quietly. Greg and Ed rose as Clark slowly got up and followed them into the briefing room. Clark looked around the room and sat at a chair near the end of the table. Greg sat on one side, Ed on another. They tried to spread the chairs a bit so that Clark wouldn't feel surrounded.

"So, Clark," Greg started calmly trying to look more into the boy's eyes "I'm not sure if you're Dad's ever told you, but after every call we have a debriefing. Now that basically means that we all sit around and we go through everything that happened while we were on the call and we make sure that everyone knows and understands everything, we try to see if there are things we could have done better, and we make sure that everyone is okay." Greg paused, waiting for Clark to look up. He slowly raised his head and looked into Greg's eyes. "I have transcripts of the conversation that you had with Sean. You did a really amazing job Clark. You're Dad and I just want to make sure you're okay." Greg finished, hoping that Clark would talk to them on his own, without more prodding.

Clark seemed to consider what Greg was saying, slowly nodding his head. His eyes seemed glazed, somewhere between overwhelmed and teary. He quickly glanced at his father and then looked straight ahead, not really at either man and softly asked,

"Why?" That one word gave Ed a chill. There were so many meanings that he was able to find from that one word. Why did people hurt one-another? Why did people hurt themselves? Why did the team do this to themselves every day? Why wasn't Ed there sooner to protect his son? Ed's thoughts were interrupted by Greg's smile.

"Where do I start?" Greg asked as he leaned back in his chair slightly.

-Lane Residence-

The drive home started out slightly awkwardly. Ed didn't think that Clark had the desire or the energy to continue talking about his day and menial conversation about hockey or the weather would have only added to the alien situation. As Ed tried to think of something to say, Clark fell asleep in the front seat, his head resting against the window. Ed tried to drive smoothly, not wanting to wake his son. As he pulled into the driveway, his front door flew open and his wife came out to greet them. Ed motioned for her to stay quiet. Wordy had called her throughout the day to inform her of what was going on and when they left Headquarters, Greg had called her as well.

"He's okay, Soph." Ed assured her before he slowly opened the door and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Ugh" he sighed as he lifted his sleeping son. Sophie went ahead of them and opened all of the doors, leading them directly to Clark's room. She left the room to get some water for when he woke up and to start dinner. Ed sat on the edge of the bed and took off Clark's shoes. "There we go buddy, that's better right?" he said quietly, more for himself than for anyone else. He brushed the long hair away from his son's eyes and moved him so he was under the blankets. Clark stirred slightly and his eyes fluttered open. Ed moved into his line of sight and softly told him to rest. Clark nodded, his eyes shutting. "I love you Clark, always remember that." Ed said gently.

"I love you too Dad," Clark said, nearly asleep, "oh..." he added as Ed was walking to the door, "forget about the curfew thing, I think I'll be sleeping for a few more months at this rate." Clark smiled, exhausted.

"Ah, we'll see, maybe midnight is fair. Get some rest, come down or call when you get hungry." Ed said with a small smirk. Clark nodded and fell asleep in an instant. Ed continued quietly downstairs and kissed his wife in the kitchen. She looked at him with inquiring eyes as he got a beer from the fridge.

"So?" she asked, nearly bursting with the question. Ed just nodded slowly, taking a sip of his drink.

"He's me, Soph." He let out a small laugh as he thought about it "he's just like me..." a small glow of pride, mixed with fear, emanating from his expression.

That's it! So, keeping in mind it was my first fanfic and that I haven't seen every episode of the show (thus I might be messing up some details), how did I do? Please review.