FIC: Dark corners (Space Precinct 2040: Haldane/Castle, PG-13) - HCB
Opened this up to finish today - and found it was already complete! Way to go, me!
TITLE: Dark corners
FANDOM: Space Precinct 2040 (retro!)
PAIRING: Jack Haldane/Jane Castle
PROMPT: hc_bingo: pining: confession in desperate situation
MEDIUM: fiction
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: implied violence, injury
SUMMARY: A shot in the dark, and officer down.
WORDS: 1,348
NOTES: Set in the adorable mid-season period of will-they-won't-they - spoilers up to 'Two Against The Rock'.
Jack Haldane shifted in the cruiser seat and sighed. Brogan shot him a look.
"Problem, Haldane?"
"Women."
Brogan laughed. "Ah. Let me guess - Castle shot you down. Again."
Haldane threw up his hands. "I'm a fine catch, Brogan! One minute it looks like she's running hot, the next minute she's cold as Moon ice. Can't a guy catch a break?"
Brogan was about to reply when Sergeant Fredo's face appeared on the comm.
"Lieutenant Brogan, there have been reports of blaster fire in District B9. I'm sending you Officers Castle and Took as backup."
"Just great," Haldane muttered. Brogan stifled a smirk.
"On our way, Fredo."
Haldane hit the lights and Brogan floored it to the district. From their rooftop vantage point, there was the occasional flare of blaster fire that lit the night's sky, but it was difficult to pinpoint a location.
A second cruiser appeared beside them. Brogan glanced across at Tooky in the passenger street, as Jane waved past him at Jack. Haldane brought up his hand to wave awkwardly back.
Brogan rolled his eyes and brought the cruiser to land in a refuse-filled alleyway. He leapt out with his torch and his blaster ready, just as Castle brought the other cruiser in behind.
"What's the plan, Brogan?" Haldane drew his own blaster, eyes scanning the murky alleyways.
"You take Castle and cover the back of The Gilmore. Tooky, with me."
Brogan glanced back to make sure Tooky was following and then headed towards the sound of gunfire.
Yet another story he wouldn't be telling Sally.
~
"Just follow my lead, Castle."
Jane rolled her eyes. She never knew where she was with Jack. One minute, he was sweet and considerate and surprisingly vulnerable, and the next he was a womanising compulsive flirt with no concept of decency or tact.
She considered herself a lost cause for finding both sides endearing.
And for following Jack's cute behind into the fog, smirking as she went.
"Right behind you, Haldane."
The back of the club was a mess of scrap metal and burned-out hovers, as well as the row of stinking dumpsters. She would need to soak in her thera-pool for a month.
Jack wrinkled his nose. "I don't want to know what that is."
"Probably for the best." Jane took up position next to the back door of the club, with a vantage point covering all three alleyways that converged on that point. City planning for quick escapes into the dark Demeter fog.
Jack leaned up against the nearest ruined hover and trained his blaster on the alley opposite him. "I hope Romek and Orin get here soon. I don't fancy Brogan's chances against those scum in this fog."
"They'll call if they need us," Jane said levelly, but tightened her grip on the blaster. She didn't like to think about Tooky in the line of fire while she stayed out of the action.
"So, about dinner...?"
The game continues, thought Jane. Dinners came and went, with odd shy partings and a return to this flirt-and-dance they'd acted out for years. Neither of them was willing to take that final step into something else. Something better...or, maybe, the ruin of everything they had now.
Maybe Jack only wanted the chase. Maybe she was a fool to think otherwise.
"Come up with anything new, Haldane?"
Jack shrugged and grinned. "But the classics work so well!"
Suddenly, the club doors flew open. Two shocked Tarns and one Creon mob boss stared at them for a moment, then raised their weapons. Directly at Jane.
"CASTLE!"
Jack collided into her. She started to fall over the frame of the hover wreck, then felt his body jerk as he landed beside her. Without thinking, she grabbed hold of him and dragged them both to the safety of the dumpster, peppered with flying debris as the gangsters shot up their surroundings.
"Officer down, repeat officer down!" Jane returned fire, keeping the three at bay, as they took cover behind another wreck. Between shots, she looked down, dreading what she would see.
Jack leaned back against the dumpster, struggling to breathe. His hands clutched at his stomach, bright blood between his fingers. Jane knelt beside him and pulled away his hand.
"Let me see..."
Jack held on, looking at her with pained desperate eyes. She'd seen that look before, high above Altor, as Jack lay dying, seeing her as a monster, barely able to stand.
"Janie..."
She fired at their assailants, anger coursing through her veins. They would not end her dreams here.
The blaster took a hit, scorching her fingers, and she dropped it. The mobsters laughed.
Jane took hold of Jack, pulling him into her arms. It wasn't supposed to end this way. She always supposed they would end up together.
His hand weakly closed around hers and she closed her eyes, hearing heavy footsteps walking towards them.
"Janie, I..." Jack went limp in her arms and she crushed him to her.
"Please, Jack. Don't leave me...I love you."
In the silence, she waited for the shots. The last moment of their lives.
"POLICE - FREEZE!"
Brogan's voice rang out and blaster fire filled the air, the wrecks torn up around them. Jane shielded Jack's head under her arm, ducking down to save herself.
Then, quiet.
"Haldane! Castle!"
"Here!" Jane shouted for him, her voice cracking on the single word, as she covered Jack's hands with her own and struggled to put pressure on the wound. Still bleeding, still living.
Not over yet.
Brogan appeared around the corner, and looked aghast at her. He reached for his radio. "Lieutenant Brogan requesting medic cover at the back of The Gilmore. Officer down."
He knelt next to Jack, placing his fingers to his neck. Jane looked up at him, pleading with her eyes for him to give her the answer she needed. Brogan nodded quickly.
"He's still with us."
Jane held onto him until the medics prised him from her hands, and Tooky led her to the cruiser, where she cried and shook and forgot how to be an officer for a moment.
Could only be the woman who loved Jack Haldane and nothing more.
~
It was around hour thirteen that Carson emerged from the room to the anxious faces of Brogan, Castle and Took. Brogan stood first - Haldane was his partner. He needed to know that he hadn't sent him to his death.
"Jack will be fine. A few days of bed rest and he'll be good as new."
Castle let out a shaky breath, as Tooky rubbed her back. "Can we see him?" Brogan said.
"Just for a minute. I was serious about the rest."
Brogan nodded curtly and ducked his head around the door. Jack looked up at him and smiled tiredly. "Hey partner."
"Keep out of trouble, Haldane. See you tomorrow."
Brogan smiled to himself and headed home. Sally would be fretting, and besides, he thought Haldane and Castle might work through their issues after all.
~
Jane said goodbye to Took and then awkwardly walked into Jack's room. The lights were dimmed and Carson was checking his charts, but ducked out when he saw her in the doorway.
Jack's eyes opened as she approached, and a genuine smile appeared on his face. "Janie."
She slipped her hand into his. It was easier, like this. No audience, no expectations. "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better." He winced as he shifted, hospital gown pulling over thick bandages.
Jane realised then that she could forget it had ever happened. Jack hadn't heard a word and things were said in the heat of the moment, weren't they? It was different when you were dying. You could promise the galaxy, because you'd never have to follow it through. She could take it all back.
It was different when you were dying.
"Jack..."
He glanced up at her, tired and in pain, and yet looking at her as if she were the world. And, without thought, she leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you," she whispered.
Sometimes, it wasn't different at all.
TITLE: Dark corners
FANDOM: Space Precinct 2040 (retro!)
PAIRING: Jack Haldane/Jane Castle
PROMPT: hc_bingo: pining: confession in desperate situation
MEDIUM: fiction
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: implied violence, injury
SUMMARY: A shot in the dark, and officer down.
WORDS: 1,348
NOTES: Set in the adorable mid-season period of will-they-won't-they - spoilers up to 'Two Against The Rock'.
Jack Haldane shifted in the cruiser seat and sighed. Brogan shot him a look.
"Problem, Haldane?"
"Women."
Brogan laughed. "Ah. Let me guess - Castle shot you down. Again."
Haldane threw up his hands. "I'm a fine catch, Brogan! One minute it looks like she's running hot, the next minute she's cold as Moon ice. Can't a guy catch a break?"
Brogan was about to reply when Sergeant Fredo's face appeared on the comm.
"Lieutenant Brogan, there have been reports of blaster fire in District B9. I'm sending you Officers Castle and Took as backup."
"Just great," Haldane muttered. Brogan stifled a smirk.
"On our way, Fredo."
Haldane hit the lights and Brogan floored it to the district. From their rooftop vantage point, there was the occasional flare of blaster fire that lit the night's sky, but it was difficult to pinpoint a location.
A second cruiser appeared beside them. Brogan glanced across at Tooky in the passenger street, as Jane waved past him at Jack. Haldane brought up his hand to wave awkwardly back.
Brogan rolled his eyes and brought the cruiser to land in a refuse-filled alleyway. He leapt out with his torch and his blaster ready, just as Castle brought the other cruiser in behind.
"What's the plan, Brogan?" Haldane drew his own blaster, eyes scanning the murky alleyways.
"You take Castle and cover the back of The Gilmore. Tooky, with me."
Brogan glanced back to make sure Tooky was following and then headed towards the sound of gunfire.
Yet another story he wouldn't be telling Sally.
~
"Just follow my lead, Castle."
Jane rolled her eyes. She never knew where she was with Jack. One minute, he was sweet and considerate and surprisingly vulnerable, and the next he was a womanising compulsive flirt with no concept of decency or tact.
She considered herself a lost cause for finding both sides endearing.
And for following Jack's cute behind into the fog, smirking as she went.
"Right behind you, Haldane."
The back of the club was a mess of scrap metal and burned-out hovers, as well as the row of stinking dumpsters. She would need to soak in her thera-pool for a month.
Jack wrinkled his nose. "I don't want to know what that is."
"Probably for the best." Jane took up position next to the back door of the club, with a vantage point covering all three alleyways that converged on that point. City planning for quick escapes into the dark Demeter fog.
Jack leaned up against the nearest ruined hover and trained his blaster on the alley opposite him. "I hope Romek and Orin get here soon. I don't fancy Brogan's chances against those scum in this fog."
"They'll call if they need us," Jane said levelly, but tightened her grip on the blaster. She didn't like to think about Tooky in the line of fire while she stayed out of the action.
"So, about dinner...?"
The game continues, thought Jane. Dinners came and went, with odd shy partings and a return to this flirt-and-dance they'd acted out for years. Neither of them was willing to take that final step into something else. Something better...or, maybe, the ruin of everything they had now.
Maybe Jack only wanted the chase. Maybe she was a fool to think otherwise.
"Come up with anything new, Haldane?"
Jack shrugged and grinned. "But the classics work so well!"
Suddenly, the club doors flew open. Two shocked Tarns and one Creon mob boss stared at them for a moment, then raised their weapons. Directly at Jane.
"CASTLE!"
Jack collided into her. She started to fall over the frame of the hover wreck, then felt his body jerk as he landed beside her. Without thinking, she grabbed hold of him and dragged them both to the safety of the dumpster, peppered with flying debris as the gangsters shot up their surroundings.
"Officer down, repeat officer down!" Jane returned fire, keeping the three at bay, as they took cover behind another wreck. Between shots, she looked down, dreading what she would see.
Jack leaned back against the dumpster, struggling to breathe. His hands clutched at his stomach, bright blood between his fingers. Jane knelt beside him and pulled away his hand.
"Let me see..."
Jack held on, looking at her with pained desperate eyes. She'd seen that look before, high above Altor, as Jack lay dying, seeing her as a monster, barely able to stand.
"Janie..."
She fired at their assailants, anger coursing through her veins. They would not end her dreams here.
The blaster took a hit, scorching her fingers, and she dropped it. The mobsters laughed.
Jane took hold of Jack, pulling him into her arms. It wasn't supposed to end this way. She always supposed they would end up together.
His hand weakly closed around hers and she closed her eyes, hearing heavy footsteps walking towards them.
"Janie, I..." Jack went limp in her arms and she crushed him to her.
"Please, Jack. Don't leave me...I love you."
In the silence, she waited for the shots. The last moment of their lives.
"POLICE - FREEZE!"
Brogan's voice rang out and blaster fire filled the air, the wrecks torn up around them. Jane shielded Jack's head under her arm, ducking down to save herself.
Then, quiet.
"Haldane! Castle!"
"Here!" Jane shouted for him, her voice cracking on the single word, as she covered Jack's hands with her own and struggled to put pressure on the wound. Still bleeding, still living.
Not over yet.
Brogan appeared around the corner, and looked aghast at her. He reached for his radio. "Lieutenant Brogan requesting medic cover at the back of The Gilmore. Officer down."
He knelt next to Jack, placing his fingers to his neck. Jane looked up at him, pleading with her eyes for him to give her the answer she needed. Brogan nodded quickly.
"He's still with us."
Jane held onto him until the medics prised him from her hands, and Tooky led her to the cruiser, where she cried and shook and forgot how to be an officer for a moment.
Could only be the woman who loved Jack Haldane and nothing more.
~
It was around hour thirteen that Carson emerged from the room to the anxious faces of Brogan, Castle and Took. Brogan stood first - Haldane was his partner. He needed to know that he hadn't sent him to his death.
"Jack will be fine. A few days of bed rest and he'll be good as new."
Castle let out a shaky breath, as Tooky rubbed her back. "Can we see him?" Brogan said.
"Just for a minute. I was serious about the rest."
Brogan nodded curtly and ducked his head around the door. Jack looked up at him and smiled tiredly. "Hey partner."
"Keep out of trouble, Haldane. See you tomorrow."
Brogan smiled to himself and headed home. Sally would be fretting, and besides, he thought Haldane and Castle might work through their issues after all.
~
Jane said goodbye to Took and then awkwardly walked into Jack's room. The lights were dimmed and Carson was checking his charts, but ducked out when he saw her in the doorway.
Jack's eyes opened as she approached, and a genuine smile appeared on his face. "Janie."
She slipped her hand into his. It was easier, like this. No audience, no expectations. "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better." He winced as he shifted, hospital gown pulling over thick bandages.
Jane realised then that she could forget it had ever happened. Jack hadn't heard a word and things were said in the heat of the moment, weren't they? It was different when you were dying. You could promise the galaxy, because you'd never have to follow it through. She could take it all back.
It was different when you were dying.
"Jack..."
He glanced up at her, tired and in pain, and yet looking at her as if she were the world. And, without thought, she leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you," she whispered.
Sometimes, it wasn't different at all.