FIC: Lex Talionis 6/?
Title: Lex Talionis 6/?
Authors: pprbckwrtr & docwho2100
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Nikki & Nora are the property of Nancylee Myatt and Warner Bros. Television. No infringement intended.
A/N: character thoughts appear between ~~ ~~
***
Chapter 6
By the time Nikki and Agent Vargas made it back to the station Nora was already there, firmly planted behind her desk.
"I see you've re-commandeered your desk," Rachel stated as they approached.
"It is mine," Nora reminded her as she continued searching through the agent's files.
"Finding what you need?" the agent asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice.
"No actually," the detective answered in kind. "I need to see pictures from the port last night."
"What are you looking for?" Nikki asked gently, trying to stop the storm brewing between the two women.
Nora finally looked up, blinking a few times as though she had just realized she wasn't alone. "Hey."
"Hey yourself." Nikki furrowed her brow as she studied her partner. "How was babysitting?" she asked worriedly.
"Boring," Nora answered absently as she turned her attention to Rachel. "Can you find the pictures in this mess?" she asked as she gestured toward the desk.
"Sure," the agent nodded slowly. After spending the day with Nikki she wondered how these two, seemingly, opposite women managed to work together.
"Good," Nora responded as she pushed back her chair. "I need to get a cup of coffee," she announced as she got to her feet, pausing a second to steady herself.
Nikki started to reach out but pulled her hand back. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she returned as she moved off toward the coffee room.
"Your partner really doesn't like me, does she?" Rachel sat down and began sorting through the files.
"No," Nikki answered as she watched after the blonde. Her head snapped around as she realized what she had said. "I mean. It's not you really...it's an old case we had and the guy got a deal from the Feds and," Nikki paused and took a deep breath. "It's a long story," she sighed.
Rachel smiled, "as long as you don't hate me."
"We'll have to see how the rest of the case goes," Nikki smiled back.
Nora came back to find the two women smiling at each other, "did you find them?" she asked heatedly.
Nikki's head whipped around at her partner's tone but Rachel spoke first. "Here they are, right on top." She opened the file and spread the pictures on the desk.
Nora waited for the agent to vacate her chair before she sat down and began flipping through the pictures.
"What are you looking for?" Nikki asked as she moved behind the blonde to get a better look.
"Did you get any crowd shots?" Either not hearing her partner or just ignoring the question, the blonde continued searching the photos.
"Nora," Nikki said quietly as she placed a hand on the shoulder in front of her.
"Hm," Nora said as she looked up at the brunette.
"You sure you're okay?" Nikki asked again as her concern began to grow.
"Just tired I guess," she rubbed a hand across her eyes as she looked back to the photos.
"Okay," Nikki said, unconvinced. "So what are you looking for?"
"There was a priest there last night."
"What about him?" Rachel asked, leaning forward to see what the detective was searching for.
"At the Franklin's today I saw some pictures and there was a priest with some kids."
"A priest?" Rachel asked derisively as she straightened up.
"He looked familiar," Nora answered distractedly, not picking up on the agent's mocking tone. "Father Bob or Tom, something short," she whispered to herself.
Nikki watched as Nora studied the pictures, she knew something was wrong but she also knew the blonde would not appreciate being asked again. Besides she was pretty much guaranteed a 'fine' answer anyway. She cast a quick sideways glance at Rachel and could tell by the way the agent was watching Nora that she wasn't giving the detective much credit. "We've all had a pretty busy day so why don't we call it for tonight and come at it fresh in the morning," she suggested carefully.
"I need to find..." Nora started.
"Maybe our guys took some pictures." Nikki reached forward and closed the file. "We'll get them tomorrow."
Nora turned in her chair and looked up at her partner. "Okay," she agreed easily.
Nikki turned to Rachel as Nora stood up. "We'll catch up in the morning," she said quickly before she ushered her partner from the squad room.
The drive home was relatively quiet. Nikki tried to get information on her interactions with Mrs. Franklin but Nora kept her answers short and clipped as she watched the city passing her window. When the blonde winced and began rubbing at her stomach Nikki couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Nora leaned her head back against the seat and let it roll to the side as she looked to her partner. "I'm really just tired. You know I find sitting around all day more exhausting than actually doing something."
"I know, but..." Nikki began with a quick glance at the hand still massaging Nora's stomach.
Taking in the concern on the brunette's face Nora ceased her action. "I didn't eat much today is all. I swear being there was like being at your father's."
"Excuse me?"
"They never have decent food in the house," Nora teased as she tried to fight a smile.
"They?" Nikki took advantage of the red light as she twisted in her seat to give Nora's statement her full attention. "I always have good food on hand."
Nora pointed toward the windshield when the light changed. "That's because I do the shopping," she replied as she allowed the smile to form.
"That's true," Nikki agreed as she focused on the road ahead of them.
Hoping to keep the attention off of her stomach Nora changed the subject. "So how was your day with Agent Whats..."
"It was fine," Nikki cut in. "Rachel basically wanted to meet the people behind the desks down at the port."
"Behind the money you mean."
"We also stopped by the Port Authority to get the files from Captain Daniels," Nikki continued, ignoring her partner's statement. "So you and the lady of the house get along okay? She didn't shoot at you again did she?"
Nora rolled her eyes then her head as she turned to look at her partner. "I was a good girl, for the most part, I did a lot of counting."
Nikki smiled but then let the conversation drop as she could tell that Nora was tired and that the blonde was struggling to hide her discomfort. She allowed the rest of the ride home to lapse back into a comfortable silence.
“Do you want something to eat?” Nikki asked as she followed Nora into the bedroom, standing in the doorway as the blonde collapsed onto the bed.
“No thanks.” Nora answered as she turned her face out of the pillow.
Nikki moved forward and removed her partner's jacket. “A bath?”
“Nah,” she managed to mumble.
Nikki smiled as she removed Nora's shoes, grabbed a blanket from the end of the bed and covered her sleeping lover. She left the bedroom and moved down to the kitchen to make herself something to eat. Settled out on the patio with her dinner and a drink Nikki thought over her day working with Rachel. While she did miss the easy rhythm she had with Nora she found that she had enjoyed working with the agent. ~~Rachel was smart and funny and attractive~~, Nikki shook her head when that last thought entered. ~~So I think she's attractive, I'm not blind. Besides it doesn't mean anything~~. And of course it didn't mean anything, that's not to say Nikki wasn't flattered when Rachel had asked her out, but she was head over heels in love with someone else so of course it didn't mean anything.
Thinking of Nora had Nikki finishing her meal and heading back upstairs to check on her. She peeked into the bedroom and found that the blonde had not moved, so Nikki decided to relax with a bath. After a long soak, during which Nora still hadn't stirred, Nikki went down to clean up in the kitchen and then putzed around the house, expecting Nora to waken and want something to eat.
When Nikki couldn't find anymore busy work she settled herself into bed, she had barely drifted off when she was jerked awake by an unpleasant sound from the other room. She turned her head to see that Nora was no longer in bed so she got up and followed the sounds to the source.
Nikki walked into the bathroom to find Nora sitting next to the toilet leaning against the wall, she was pale, sweating, and breathing hard. She immediately moved forward and dropped to her knees. “Nora?” Nikki asked as she grabbed her partner's chin, forcing her face up so she could study Nora's appearance. She reached out with her free hand to brush away the damp hair, feeling the heat coming off of her.
“I guess I was wrong.” Nora reached up and took Nikki's hand. “I'm not fine.”
“Yes, you are.” In order to force her fear aside Nikki jumped up and moved to the sink where she took a hand towel and ran it under the cold water.
Nora's head fell back against the wall with her eyes clenched tight as another wave of nausea raced through her. She released a measured breath as Nikki moved back to her, "you need to call Dan. Have him check on the Franklins."
Nikki bent down and studied her lover, her mind racing as she took in what Nora's words meant. She shook her head as she wiped the cool towel across Nora's face and draped it across the back of her neck. "It's probably just the flu," she hoped as she fought back tears. “We just need to get you to the hospital,” she began to help Nora off the floor.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what? This isn't your fault.”
“Not this,” Nora shook her head. “I've been stupid and scared.”
“We can talk about this later,” Nikki demanded as she wrapped Nora's arm around her neck and lifted her to her feet.
“It was never you,” Nora mumbled, her words beginning to slur. "I don't want this to..."
“Nora. Please,” Nikki begged as she began walking them out of the bathroom. “You are going to be fine.”
As they came to the doorway Nora reached out to stop their movement and to steady herself. She turned to look at Nikki. “You are the best thing in my life,” she managed to say before she collapsed to the floor.
Nikki dropped to her knees. “Nora!” she yelled as she took Nora's face between her hands. “Nora, don't you dare.” She tried slapping her unconscious lover back to a wakeful state. “Dammit,” she exclaimed as she jumped up and ran to the phone to call for an ambulance.
The ride to the hospital had been the most nerve-wracking moments of Nikki's life, and now at the hospital she paced outside of the exam room while the doctors worked to save her partner's life. She had composed herself enough to call Dan to fill him in on the situation and to have him check on the Franklins. She hoped she was being overly cautious and that this was just the flu but she feared, given their current case, that it was much worse.
The sounds of hurried footsteps had her turning just as Mr. and Mrs. Delaney rushed to her. “What happened?” Mr. Delaney demanded.
“I'm not sure, I woke up to find her sick in the bathroom." Nikki hesitated, not sure how much to share with Nora's parents. "I think somehow she was poisoned."
“Poisoned?” Mrs. Delaney exclaimed. “How? Why Nora?”
“It's this case we are working on. She spent yesterday watching over one of our victims, I'm thinking it could have been a mistake.” Nikki turned away and tried to look into the exam room. "I hope it was a mistake," she added in a whisper.
Mrs. Delaney took a look at Nikki, the detective had managed to grab a pair of shoes and her leather duster as they were leaving the house which she currently wore over her pajamas. “Why don't you go home and we can call you when the doctor tells us something.”
The brunette spun back around, eyes wide. “No.” She cleared her throat. “I'd like to stay,” she said in a softer tone.
“Fine,” Mrs. Delaney said with a forced smile. “Then why don't we sit down,” she suggested as she ushered the three of them into the waiting area.
After thirty minutes a doctor came to find them. “Delaney,” he announced.
The three worried people jumped to their feet, with Mr. Delaney being the first to speak. “Yes. I'm her father.”
“Detective Delaney is being moved into ICU, we will have to wait and see how she responds. Based on the information from Detective Beaumont we treated your daughter as if the poison was ingested so we flushed her stomach with an activated charcoal to remove as much of the poison as possible. We sent samples off the the lab to determine what agent was administered but without knowing what it was or when it was ingested we will have to wait and see. We currently have her on intravenous fluids to keep her hydrated and we will monitor for any further treatment options, should any more symptoms arise.”
“Such as?” Mr. Delaney asked.
“There is no way to know what might come up until we identify what she ingested, unfortunately every poison is different and the side effects vary dramatically. Just be sure that we are preparing for the worst and hoping whatever was used isn't fatal."
"Oh my God," Mrs Delaney gasped as she raised her hand to her mouth.
"I'm sorry to be so blunt but I want for you to fully understand the situation."
Nora's mother looked to a silent Nikki before turning back to the doctor. “Can we see her?”
“Just for a moment,” he responded as he lead them down the hall to the intensive care unit.
The three came to a stop outside of ICU where they could see Nora on the other side of a large window. Nikki took in the form of her partner, lying on the bed with tubes and wires attached to various parts of her body. There was a machine registering the steady beating of her heart, another helping her breath. Nikki could feel her eyes filling so she took a deep breath and began backing away from the window, “I should really get to work.” With that she turned and fled back down the hall as the tears finally began to flow freely.