Hello! Here's the Blaise and Mal oneshot I promised. Maybe I'll publish the Santara one tomorrow.

Disclaimer: I do not own Cause of Death and its affiliated characters.

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"Aaaah!" Malachi Fallon yelped as he felt a searing pain strike his ankle. He tumbled down onto the wet grass and rolled himself to one side, making sure to keep out of sight. Now hidden behind a bush, he checked his wound.

I've sprained my ankle! Why now?

He and his fellow detective Blaise Corso were chasing down infamous drug trafficker Theodoran Blue, whose lair was the forest the three of them were in. The pair was running behind Blue and Mal had been so close to tackling him down, when he twisted all too suddenly and injured himself.

Worst mistake ever!

"Run, Blaise, run!" he yelled, as the leggy blonde rushed past in a blur, doing her best to catch up with Blue. Mal could only pray for Blaise's safety as he massaged his ankle, hoping he could look for her later.

This plan was ruined when he heard the cry of three gunshots and a high-pitched scream around five minutes later. Then all was silent.

"Oh my God. Oh my… God! Damn! Blaise!" Mal jerked up with much difficulty and started limping towards where his partner might have gone.

Blue must have gotten her! Blaise, wait for me!

xxxxx

Although over half an hour had passed since she'd been shot in the back three times, and her legs were profusely bleeding from getting cut by the tree branches, Blaise Corso was still alive. Theodoran Blue had disappeared, but she could not care less about that.

She was half-dozing, half-dreaming. Her family – her father, mother, and younger brother were all waving at her from the front porch of their house, one she'd lived in as a teenager.

She could tell her brother Joel was crying and saying, "Goodbye, Blaise. Goodbye." Both her parents were silent. This happened when Blaise was preparing to leave for training as a detective. Now it seemed a world so distant, she could never go back again.

Oh God, Blaise thought, how awful. I left them all alone. Hey, Joel, be a filial child, okay? Don't learn from your older sister who dumped her parents for a career. And don't be so spoiled.

I'm not afraid, really. But, it's still kinda hard, dying alone like this…

A voice whispered to her in her thoughts. What about him?

Him?

The scene changed to her previous office before she started working with Mal again. Her partner back then looked so dashing in a suit and tie. He had playful yet gentle brown eyes. That other time, she had a crush on him. He was preparing to go and meet a senior detective for a conference he was selected for. There was no one else besides them. Blaise said, "You have a beautiful girlfriend. You two make a great couple."

"Yeah?" He lifted his face and smiled. "You're prettier than she is."

Of course Blaise was happy to hear him praise her looks for the first time, but the fact he could tell another girl she was prettier also indicated how strong his relationship with his girlfriend was. She vaguely remembered feeling put off.

The scene changed again. She was at the park.

Ah, college…

Malachi Fallon's cheeks were stained with angry tears. He was not tall the way he was now, although he was still taller than Blaise, albeit just slightly. Someone had spoiled his favourite guitar, one his father had given to him as a kid.

"Come on, boys don't cry. Don't be such a wuss. Be strong. Come on. You want to go for a walk around this park?"

"Okay…" Mal wiped his tears and tagged along.

Once, when she seemed preoccupied, Mal asked her, "Something wrong, Blaise?"

Blaise thought about it for a moment. "What would you do if someone said they liked you?"

"I have no idea. Never happened to me."

"Don't you have a crush on someone?"

"No… not at this moment," he murmured.

Blaise then thought, So I'm not even in the running?

Whatever. "Oh. You should find someone you can confess to."

"I'm too chicken. I don't think so."

The scene changed again. Now they were in the bullpen of the SFPD, having a chat after their talk with Maria regarding their new task on capturing Theodoran Blue. At some point Mal said, "I heard there's this supposedly hot guy that you were partners with before you came here." Blaise could tell he was implying she had a crush on that ex-partner. "How's it going?"

"No hope," she said. "He has a girlfriend. What about you? You still don't have one?"

"Leave me alone."

We were always on the verge of being close. We both had a thing for each other, but… Am I just imagining things? At least I liked you. It was different from how I felt about my ex-partner. I wonder if you know what I mean.

Mal's face appeared. He was crying.

"Blaise, don't die."

Come on guy, be a man. Boys don't cry. You might be bigger now, but you haven't made much progress.

Was it by the grace of God? Blaise came to her senses and opened her eyes.

Malachi Fallon was looking down at her in the soft evening light. Beyond Mal she saw the treetops, and in between them were fragments of the sky, now as blue as his eyes.

The first thing she realized was that Mal was not crying.

"How did you–"

As she tried to speak, she felt as if she was forcing open a rusty door. She did not have too long to live.

"–get here?"

All Mal said, "I managed." He knelt down beside her and gently lifted up her head. The entire left side of her body was numb now from the impact to the side of her head as she fell, all except for the palm of her left hand which felt weeds underneath. Had he carried her here?

Mal then asked quietly, "He got you?"

"Yes. I stopped chasing him and tried to escape but I couldn't make it," Blaise answered. "Be careful."

Mal nodded and said, "I'm sorry."

Blaise did not understand. She stared at Mal.

"I sprained my ankle while running and stopped to soothe it," Mal said, tightening his lips as if holding something back.

"But then I heard the gunshots and your scream five minutes later. I knew then I'd made a life-changing mistake."

Should I have stopped chasing Blue immediately and helped Mal? That would have delayed me though…She had continued running at full speed, Mal yelling for her to run behind.

But it no longer mattered. Theodoran Blue had escaped either way and nothing could be done about it.

Oh—

Mal had limped here just for her. He'd taken a big gamble and risked his life. What if Blue actually went back for him? And when he said "I managed," it was a statement marking his achievement to tolerate the pain of his sprained ankle for thirty minutes. Just for her.

The thought made her want to cry. Instead, she did her best to form a smile on her face.

Blaise knew that she couldn't talk much anymore. She tried to come up with the best thing to say, but then an odd question popped into her mind and she blurted it out.

"Do you have a crush on someone?"

Mal's brows furrowed, and then he gently said, "I do."

"Don't say it's me."

Still looking sad, Mal faintly smiled.

"No, it's not."

It's true, Mal thought. He had not been telling lies. His one true love was Natara Williams, who was currently assigned on another case (so she was not able to be with the pair). She was also dating Oscar Santos, but that did not matter too.

Still, Blaise was his best friend, maybe even more than that.

"Well then…"

Blaise took a deep breath. She felt as if poison were spreading through her body, which strangely felt both chilly and incredibly hot at the same time. "Could you just… hold me tight? It'll be over soon."

Mal tightened his lips again before raising her up, hugging her tightly to his body with both arms. Her head was on the verge of falling back, but he held it up.

She felt like she could say one more thing.

"Stay alive, Mal."

Dear God, can I have one more word?

Blaise looked into Mal's eyes and grinned.

"You've become quite a stud."

"And… you're the most stylin' girl in the world."

Blaise smiled faintly. She wanted to thank him but she was out of breath. She just stared at Mal's sapphire eyes. She wasn't going to die alone. The last person to stay with her ended up being Mal. And she was grateful. She really was.

I'll miss you, Mal.

Blaise Corso remained in this position as she died approximately two minutes later. Her eyes remained open. Malachi Fallon held her limp, lifeless body and wept.

xxxxx xxxxx

I hope that didn't turn out subpar. I'm not very good at writing about people dying.

I don't hate Blaise. She has this fiery attitude I liked from the start and she's about as rash as Mal (if not more). I've written this piece to convince myself my headcanon makes sense: Mal and Blaise may be 'more than friends', but these feelings do not equate to the romantic love Mal feels for Natara. Heh!

This case on Theodoran Blue replaces the Kraken one in the original game, so this piece won't fit into the canon storyline. I apologise for any confusion caused!

Never mind if you're a Blaise fan or hater, or you're just sitting on the fence. All reviews are welcome!