Dead silence engulfed the Blaisdell house. Laura stared for a moment in surprise at the blood on her chest before darkness claimed her. Peter watched in horror as the woman who gave him life slumped lifelessly to the ground. Kermit shook off the remnants of unconsciousness and moved quickly over to Annie to assess the damage. Laura's slight position change had apparently knocked her aim off. The bullet she fired had missed Annie by a heartbeat and was lodged harmlessly in the wall. However, it had also knocked Peter's aim off. The bullet he had fired at her shoulder, in the hopes of incapacitation, had in fact entered her upper chest. The absence of an exit wound indicated the bullet's continued presence in her body.
Annie brushed off Kermit's scrutiny and hurried over to her son, who was still standing, Beretta drawn, staring at the woman on the floor. Annie gently pulled the gun from his hands and handed it to Kermit before pulling Peter into her arms. Caine and Skalaney entered the house seconds later.
Caine took in the scene and immediately went to his son's side. Peter was beginning to emerge from his shock. "Is...is she...oh god..." he tore himself from Annie's embrace and ran from the house. Caine laid a hand on Annie's shoulder.
"I must go to him."
Annie nodded in agreement and turned back to the blood soaked body of Laura Caine. Mary Margaret had already called for an ambulance by the time Jody arrived.
"My God, what happened?" She glanced around the small foyer and was surprised to find Peter missing. "Where's Peter?"
All eyes turned to Kermit and Annie but it was the latter who explained what had transpired. Kermit added his own perspective from his limited vantage point. It was clear that Peter had fired only in defense of Annie. All three Detectives concurred that, had Laura not shifted, he would have caught her in the left shoulder, effectively neutralizing her without permanent damage. Kermit ran his hand through his hair and sent up a silent prayer that IA would concur as well.
'The kid's gonna have more than enough to deal with as it is,' he thought.
*******
The ambulance arrived at the same time as the requested backup. Capt. Simms quickly took control of the situation. As Laura was being lifted into the back, Caine and Peter reappeared. Peter still seemed to be slightly off center but at least he was alert and calm. A uniformed officer caught sight of him and went over to do his job.
"Detective Caine. I need to ask you some questions about what happened here."
"Officer Brandt, I think we can hold off on that for a while." Capt. Simms approached Peter and laid a supportive hand on his shoulder. The officer yielded to his Captain.
"Yes, ma'am"
Peter offered her a small grateful smile and turned to address Annie.
"Mary Margaret is going to drive Pop and I to the hospital. Do you...
"She and I will be right behind you, kid" Kermit took hold of Annie's arm and led her to the Kermitmobile as Peter and Caine walked over to meet Mary Margaret at her car.
Annie suddenly stiffened. "Kelly. Someone has to be here to tell her what happened."
"Detective Powell and I will stay until she gets back and then we will join you at the hospital," Captain Simms volunteered.
"Thank you, Captain. For everything." Annie nodded her head meaningfully in the direction she knew Peter had gone.
*******
Trailing behind Peter and Mary Margaret, Caine entered the ER waiting room with an unsettling feeling of déjà vu. As the time slowly crawled by, he kept an alert eye on Peter both physically and mentally. Caine knew his son felt guilty about shooting Laura, despite the desperate circumstances. He could not assure Peter that there had not been any other choice, but he could also not condemn him for doing everything in his power to protect Annie. All he could do was to be there to support his child and to love him. He vowed to help Peter get through this latest crisis in any way he could.
Kermit, meanwhile, was making a similar vow. He had led Annie to Peter's side and now stood back against the white washed walls, watching his friend try to come to terms with the evening's events. It seemed like forever before a doctor emerged from ER to approach them.
"Mr. Caine, Detective. I wish I could say it was good to see you again."
"Doctor. Please, what is happening with Laura?"
"We did everything we could but the bullet was too close to the heart and she had apparently incurred trauma in that area before."
Peter leaned heavily into Annie. "What are you saying, Doc?" he interrupted.
"I'm sorry, but she didn't make it. There was nothing more we could have done for her. She died just a few minutes ago."
Peter's legs gave way and Kermit rushed over to assist Annie in lowering him to the couch. The haunted look in the younger detective's eyes was intimately familiar to him; he had hidden the same look behind green tinted glasses for years; although his was now tempered by the passage of time.
Annie sat down next to Peter on the couch and Caine appeared on the other side. Both parents wrapped strong arms around him, adamantly refusing to let this destroy their child. Surprisingly, Peter accepted the comfort without a fight. Kermit wondered what Caine had said earlier when he had followed Peter out of the house. 'Must have been one hell of a speech.'
*******
Three days later found the same group gathered once again. Laura's second funeral was much smaller than the first, attended mostly by people who had come to offer support to either Caine or Peter, or both. Once more, Caine stood by an open grave and watched his wife's coffin being lowered into it. Peter stood still and silent to his right; left arm on his father's shoulder, right arm wrapped firmly around his mother.
FINIS
