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“Cole! Give me some cover!”
Cole peeked his head out and fired off a few rounds, hitting one of the attackers in the chest. It gave his partner a few precious seconds to hurry further forwards and continue their advance.
Gunfire was the one thing Cole could never get over during his time as a detective. During the war he was always surrounded by it, so he was happier when he was doing quiet investigative work. He heard the shout from Roy to advance and quickly ran forward to hide behind the box next to him.
“How long do you think they can hold out?” he asked, chancing a peek over the box. He could see a hand with a pistol flailing wildly over a crate up ahead, and another guy stood on the balcony pointing one right at them. Cole ducked just in time and heard the bullet whizz past him.
“There’s only the couple left,” Roy muttered, before hopping up and aiming instantly at the guy on the balcony. He fired off a few shots and Cole heard return fire before the telltale sign of a body hitting the floor.
“Make that one!” Cole hissed, nodding as Roy ducked back down. He took the opportunity to creep around the crates he was hiding behind and corner the hiding guy. He was still waving his gun wildly, so didn’t have any chance to react before Cole shot him and he was down.
“Clear!” Cole shouted, standing up to scan the room. The makeshift, crude marijuana farm didn’t have the same level of underhand tactics that Parnells Soup Company used, but was still quite formidable in the amount of grass they’d been trying to ship out.
Cole made his way back to Roy and nearly dropped his gun at the sight. The arm of his jacket was a dark red, blood being the obvious cause. Roy was grimacing as he held his hand against his shoulder, obvious pain painted across his face.
“So...I just realised...that I have been shot...” Roy huffed, teeth gritted as he spoke. Cole holstered his gun and knelt down, adjusting Roy’s hand so that it was pressuring correctly.
“Just stay calm, ok? I need to go and radio for back up and an ambulance, will you be ok?”
“Yeah. Just hurts like...a fucking bitch!” Roy replied, face screwed up as he closed his eyes tightly. “Hurry the fuck up.”
Cole stood and hurried back out of the room. He made his way to the front of the building, relieved to know that two backup squad cars had already arrived due to the shootout.
“I need one of you to go in and keep detective Earle company, he’s been shot in the left shoulder,” Cole instructed. Two of the officers raced into the building, leaving Cole able to radio for an ambulance. His hands shook as he spoke the correct codes into the receiver, then shuddered as he put it into the holster and saw the bloody red fingerprints he’d left on it.
He wiped his hands on his trousers, trying desperately to remove the red. He had to go back. Back in to check on Roy. His body felt like it had frozen in time. It wasn’t until another officer cleared his throat and touched his arm gently that he snapped back into action.
“Whoa, whoa! Phelps, it’s me! Donovan! You alright there, buddy?” the officer questioned, holding his hands up as Cole’s hand hovered near his gun holster. “You were gripping the car pretty hard there.”
Cole nodded, lowering his hand and looking up as he heard the unmistakable scream of the ambulance. It rounded the corner and stopped harshly, with two medics hurrying out. He went onto autopilot as he led them inside, bringing them to Roy. The blood flow had stopped completely, but Roy was as white as a sheet. Cole told the medics everything he knew before sinking to his knees and watching the world black out.
* * * * *
“Hey! Drama queen! Wake up already would you?”
Cole groaned at the voice and shuffled himself around. He’d been awake for a few moments, realising he was in a bed at the Hollywood receiving hospital. He must have really blacked out hard at the scene. Looking over, he spotted Roy. He was tucked under the blankets, with his chest bare and bandages patching up his shoulder wound.
“Fuck, Roy are you alright?” Cole asked, suddenly feeling well and truly awake. Roy smirked at the reaction and nodded.
“Yeah, fine. It was a superficial wound, the bullet just grazed me. Lots of blood because I’m dramatic of course, it still hurt like a motherfucker!”
“Of course it did Roy, you were shot!”
Roy sighed and rolled his eyes at that.
“Yeah, and the skipper is going to come down here and berate me for getting shot and for not finishing up the case. He’s going to have fobbed the rest off onto some other idiot Vice detective when it was our fucking case,” he grumbled, trying to get comfortable.
Cole sighed and pulled the covers off that were securing him to the bed. He untangled his legs and swung them over the side. Of course Roy would be pissed at the case, they’d been tracking these guys and their supply for well over a month. He made his way across the room and perched on the side of Roy’s bed.
“You gave me quite a scare there, partner,” Cole admitted, looking down at his hands as Roy snorted. “It’s not funny.”
“Yes it is, Cole, you fainted right in front of the medics! They didn’t know whether to treat me first or you!” he laughed, causing Cole to blush. “Luckily they realised that me bleeding might be more important, so I went in the ambulance and you went in Donovan’s car. You were out cold!”
“You scared me, and it brought back all sorts of horrible memories that I never wanted to relive. I guess I got overwhelmed,”
Roy sighed and he heard movement as he untangled himself from the bed. Cole jumped up as Roy swung himself around in bed and stood.
“You should be resting!”
“I got shot in the shoulder, not the leg! Calm down,” Roy said, crossing the room and yanking the blind down on the door. He did the same to the frosted glass window and flicked the light switch so the room was bathed in orange.
Roy came back and stood in front of Cole, pulling him into a hug. It was everything Cole needed and he automatically sat back down on the bed to let Roy hold him close. Hands carded through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck firmly, and Cole relaxed into the touches. Tension he didn’t know he had seeped from his body, causing him to groan and lean his face into Roy’s torso. He was warm, despite being half nude, and Cole nuzzled himself in.
“You never have to go through that again, do you hear me? Never.” Roy said, moving away and tilting Cole’s head up with two fingers. He leant down and closed the gap between them, kissing Cole as gently as possible. Cole nodded and put his hand on the back of Roy’s neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.
“Never,” he whispered against Cole’s lips, before kissing him again. Cole sighed and felt a shiver go through him as Roy scratched his scalp gently. They pulled apart and Cole felt the blush cross his cheeks. “Understand?”
“I understand.”