T.J. had just decided that the hallway was the wrong answer and she should head for the sliding delivery door instead, when she heard the clatter of a gun hitting the pavement outside, followed immediately by a very familiar, distinctive voice muttering "Shit!"

Cami? Damn it all ta hell! It occurred to T.J. that she had not told Cami to stay in the car; she just assumed that the blonde would do just that. Of course, if the roles were reversed ya idiot, would ya still be sittin’ in the car with her in here getting shot at? Not a fuckin’ chance.

But that changed things a bit. If Cami was out in front of the warehouse, then T.J. could not go out the back. The blonde might continue inside and get caught in the middle of all of the mess when the Feds arrived.

So T.J. continued her trek towards the hallway, careful to stay in the shadows and remain silent. What she really wanted to do was to tell Cami to go back to the car, and although it occurred to T.J. that the photographer was probably still wearing the earpiece to hear her, the barkeep could not very well say something in the silence of the warehouse without drawing fire to her position. With a heavy sigh, she stopped about three feet to the right of the hallway and was just about to step around the corner when she felt the presence of several men on the other side of the door.

In the dimness she could make out three figures, one was definitely Carlos, from the size of him, and she guessed one of the others was Miguel from the smell of his strong aftershave.

Her fears were confirmed a second later, when Miguel’s voice rang through the warehouse. ""Going home so soon, Senora Jameson?"

Fuck! But T.J. was slightly heartened by the fact that he had not just shot her on the spot. She also figured that Cami heard what he said and would hopefully stop wherever she was.

Miguel and Carlos stepped a bit closer, the bigger man dragging Frank next to him, holding a knife to his throat. T.J. couldn’t help herself. "Dammit Frank, ya really are getting ta be a pain in my ass. I probably should have just shot your sorry ass and been done with it." She locked eyes with Frank, who looked even more pathetic at the moment than he had early when he was facing down her gun. Stupid son of a bitch.

"So, Senora Jameson. Put down your weapons and put your hands on your head." Miguel stated, inching forward towards T.J. and holding a gun steadily pointed at T.J.’s head. "And that was not a request, querida. Do it. Now! Start with the Uzi…slowly." He was growling now, his eyes flashing with unabated anger.

T.J. sighed, her brain working at lightning speed to figure out what her next move should be. But the decision was taken out of her hands when she bent down low to put the Uzi she had taken from the guard on the ground. A shot rang out in the warehouse, flying over T.J.’s ducking head and catching Miguel right in his outstretched gun hand. The drug lord yelped in pain and dropped his weapon.

T.J. didn’t even look to see who her savior had been, she simply kicked Reynoso’s gun away, and stood up quickly, catching him square in the jaw with a left hook. He staggered backwards but was still on his feet.

Frank took the opportunity in the chaos to elbow Carlos sharply in the jaw, the big man lost his grip momentarily, enough for Frank to slip out of the way and grab for Miguel’s gun.

Miguel stepped towards T.J. and swung wildly at her, which she deftly side stepped, grabbing his arm and easily tossing him over her shoulder using his forward momentum. He landed with a solid crack on the concrete floor behind her.

T.J. turned to finish the job, her Sig outstretched. Get it over with Jameson, get him out of your lives and be done with it. She was saved from that choice however by the arrival of Agent Knight and the FBI. The place was instantly lit up with spotlights and T.J. could hear the distinct thumping of the rotors of a helicopter overhead. "Federal Agents! Drop your weapons! Hands where we can see them!" Blared over a loudspeaker, echoing like cannon fire through the spacious warehouse.

A quick glance to her left and she realized that Carlos had taken off running after Frank, and neither were anywhere nearby. So, go collect Cami and get the fuck outta here.

Peeking around the corner, she caught sight of the familiar form of her lover at the other end of the hall, and couldn’t help herself from grinning widely at the sight. Not seeing anyone else in the hallway, she realized that the bullet that had taken out Miguel’s gun must have come from Cami. Damn. Way ta go, darlin’. Nice shot!

Cami looked down the hall and saw T.J.’s outline walking towards her and she had never been so relieved in her life. "T.J.!" She whispered in gratitude.

"Aye, Cami. In the flesh." She was a good five feet from Cami before she sensed a presence behind her. "Get down!" She shouted to Cami as the shot rang out from the other end of the hall. T.J. felt a burning sensation in her leg, which caused her to hit the floor.

But she spun her body as she fell and pulled her Sig up in one smooth motion. Two more shots rang out almost simultaneously and she registered that one was hers and the other must have been Cami’s.

Miguel Reynoso had been aiming for his second shot down the hallway when the two bullets struck him — one right between the eyes and the other in the chest. He fell backwards and hit the floor with a sickening crunch; T.J. knew he had likely died instantly.

The warehouse was now swarming with Agents, and T.J. felt herself being pulled back into Cami’s lap. "Shhh. Sweetheart, you have been hit, just lie still. I’ll…Agent Knight!" Cami hollered down the hall.

Cami pulled off her sweatshirt and used it to apply pressure to the bleeding. T.J. had taken the bullet in the back of her thigh, just above her left knee. Peter Knight came down the hallway and barked orders into a walkie-talkie for someone to send an ambulance immediately.

He checked T.J.’s wound and satisfied that it was not life threatening, Peter turned his attention to Cami. "Are you okay, Ms. Wells?"

"Peachy." She drolly responded. "Just see to T.J., okay?"

Jake chose that moment to come barreling through the doorway behind them. "Jamie! Everything…oh shit!" He noticed the blood soaking through Cami’s sweatshirt.

T.J. rotated one blue eye up at Jake. "Better late than never, eh cuz?" She mused. Despite her fear for T.J. at the moment, Cami couldn’t help but laugh at the jest.

Glancing down at the barkeep, Agent Knight grinned. "You’re going to be fine, Jameson. You are one lucky woman, you know it?"

T.J. offered up a wan smile and then turned to look at Cami’s concerned face before answering. "Aye. But then again…someone once told me that I didn’t need luck, ‘cause I’m Irish." She winked at Cami, who chuckled, not believing that T.J. remembered her quip from the first night they met. Reaching up and taking Cami’s hand, T.J. smiled at her lover. "But, aye, Agent Knight. I’m damned lucky."

**************************

Cami looked so adorable curled up in the chair next to the hospital bed, that T.J. didn’t have the heart to wake her. Her short blonde hair was sleep tousled and she was using T.J.’s leather jacket as a blanket. The middle finger of her right hand was taped and resting in a splint — she had broken it when she decked the guard outside with the gun still in her hand. Cami had fought like a spitfire to continue to stay in the room with T.J. — the nurses tried in vain to set her up in her own room, but the blonde would have none of it, preferring to stay right by T.J.’s side the whole time.

It was Saturday night and T.J. was now resting comfortably. The doctor had removed the bullet from her knee, and there was no ligament damage; so she would have to stay off of it for a while, but she shouldn’t have any permanent damage from it - except a penchant towards having the ache in her knee predict the changes in the weather.

Agent Knight had been by earlier in the day, along with one of the District Attorneys who was working on the case. Miguel Reynoso was dead — officially he had been killed in a gun battle with Federal Agents. Unofficially, the autopsy would reveal that two bullets from two separate guns were the cause of death. T.J. knew it was for the best, but her heart ached for the guilt that Cami was going to inevitably feel over taking a life. You’ve done it a hundred times, old girl. And it still bothers ya ta know…can’t imagine how Cami is gonna feel when the shock wears off.

Frank Silva had been arrested for his involvement with the Reynosos, but T.J. knew he would probably be given a fairly light sentence, based on the fact that the stupid idiot didn’t know very much and was only minorly involved.

The agents at the warehouse had taken down Carlos Reynoso rather easily. They had found him at the back of the warehouse, pounding the living crap out of Frank. Once they had him in custody, he sang like a canary about his family, the drugs, and their whole empire — giving the FBI and the DEA enough information to put away everyone involved with the Reynosos. Apparently Carlos’ loyalty only extended so far, and he was more than willing to reduce his sentence in exchange for information. Agent Knight figured that with the evidence they had on Carlos, he would likely be serving at least fifty years in jail, no parole — and that was the ‘light’ sentence he would probably receive for turning state’s evidence.

The Agent himself ‘officially’ chastised T.J. for her vigilante tactics. But ‘unofficially’, he had thanked her tremendously for managing to bring in the entire family and not getting herself or any other civilian killed in the process. The bureau was taking care of both T.J. and Cami’s medical expenses, and Agent Knight had promised T.J. a week’s vacation anywhere in the world she wanted to go…with Cami along of course. Agent Knight had also assured Cami that Jo’s Miata would be taken back to her friend A.S.A.P. Jo and Vicki had both been furious at Cami for putting herself in such danger, but they were also secretly thrilled that things worked out for Cami and T.J.

The photographer’s cell phone rang cheerily, and T.J. laughed at the melody. Cami woke up and looked grumpily at the chuckling barkeep. "Gotta change that damned ringer…"

"Hello." She muttered. "Oh, yeah. Uh…I’m not sure I’m gonna make that." Cami glanced over at the figure in the hospital bed. No way I’m gonna leave T.J. in the hospital. "Uh…okay…well…how about I call you tomorrow and let you know?…fine…fine…thanks for calling." She snapped the cell phone shut and put it on the bedside table before standing and stretching from her nap.

"What are ya passin’ up on?" T.J. asked nodding at the cell phone.

"Oh. Nothing much." But T.J. knew Cami a bit too well to not see the cover up.

"Aye?" She arched an eyebrow. "Nothin’ much like Vicki wants ya ta have dinner tomorrow, or nothin’ much like ya are supposed ta be workin’?" She inquired.

Cami sat down on the edge of T.J.’s hospital bed and narrowed her eyes. Busted. "Don’t worry about it, T.J."

"Camryn Wells." T.J.’s voice was a low rumble of warning. "Are ya gonna sit there and tell me ya are giving up work ta sit here and play nursemaid ta me?"

"Well. I wouldn’t exactly put it that way." Cami bit her lower lip, knowing she was about to be chastised — especially since T.J. used her full name like that. "Besides, it isn’t like my job is earth-shattering or anything. I take pictures, I don’t save lives."

"Excuse me, but ya take damned amazing pictures." But T.J. softened a bit at the sheepish look on Cami’s face. "Although I canna say I dinna like the idea that ya would rather stay here with me." She was rewarded with a dazzling smile from the cute little photographer. "So what job is this that we are talkin’ about?"

Cami flushed a bit and swallowed. Oops. Almost got away with this one. "Just a thing for the Padres. It’s…nothing."

"For the…Padres? The baseball team? I dinna understand, ya already took their picture."

Cami laughed. "Yeah, I did. But this is…uh…extra."

T.J. could smell a rat. "Extra?" She reached out and took Cami’s hands, not allowing the squirming blonde to escape. "Ok. ‘splain yourself." T.J. affected her best cheesy Ricky Ricardo accent.

"Uh…well." Cami swallowed again. Oh for god’s sake, Wells. Just tell her, you moron. She took a deep sigh. "You know how I sort of ‘disappeared’ last week? And I told you I was out of town on a job, right?"

"Aye?"

"Well. I was with the Padres. I was hired to shoot all of the farewell ceremonies for Tony in each of the cities they travel to. He’s uh…retiring. So…anyway…they were in town this week, but they play in Atlanta on Monday. That was the traveling secretary checking to see if I would be flying with the team or on my own."

T.J released Cami’s hands and sat up straight. She didn’t know much about baseball, but she did know how much Cami admired Tony. "Ya mean ta tell me that ya are giving up what, for you, must be a chance in a lifetime ta sit here in this damned hospital??"

"Uh. Well…T.J. there is no way I’m leaving you here!" Cami stated, her emerald green eyes insistent.

"And there is no way I’m gonna let ya pass this up!" T.J. shot back, equally stubborn. She grabbed Cami and stopped the blonde’s retort with a kiss.

Finally, she released Cami. "You. Are. Going. Dinna argue with me, woman!" T.J. put on a mock ferocity.

"T.J. this is silly. I just finally got you, I’m not leaving you now — in the hospital or not." Cami insisted.

T.J. could see that stubbornness was getting her nowhere fast, so she switched to her considerable charm. "Cami, darlin’. Ya will be back. Ya will only be gone for a few days…"

"A week!" Cami interrupted, pushing out her bottom lip in a pout.

Cami smiled. "Ok, a week. But ya willna be gone forever. In the meantime I willna be any fun at all, as I willna be able to do much but lie around on my bum and watch the telly."

Camryn knew T.J. was right. It was only a week after all. But since Cami had waited a lifetime to find T.J., she was hard pressed to be away from her, even if it was only for a few days.

"Besides darlin’. I wouldna be able ta forgive myself I let ya pass up this opportunity."

When Cami didn’t respond, T.J. opted for a compromise. "I’ll tell ya what. When do they go out on the road again? After this trip I mean?"

Cami shrugged. "I’m not quite sure. I know they have another trip to Florida coming up…and Colorado. In a few weeks time though — they’ll have another home stand first."

"Ok. Well ya go with them on this trip, and I promise ta go with ya on the next one." Cami’s face brightened. "But. That means ya have ta go this time, otherwise ya will be giving up the job all together."

Cami pondered that a moment. "You mean a working vacation with you?" Cami’s mind was already racing at the possibilities — a few days in Florida with T.J. would be awesome.

"Aye. I’ll leave the pub ta Tommy, which he will love. And ya can have me for as long as ya like." T.J. ruffled Cami’s hair. "How about it, darlin’? Please?"

"You can be really damned charming when you want to be, you know that?" T.J. just grinned in response. "Ok. You win. I’ll go. But, you’ve got to know we’ll be racking up the long distance bills." Cami leaned in and kissed T.J.’s grinning beautiful lips.

****************

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