External (Tej Parker 2 of 2) 139 Dreams

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Violence ━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ:. ☁

"Ah! There they are. Disaster." Safar shook his head in disbelief as the group entered the garage, led by Ramsey.

"I'm sorry," she told him, but he wasn't having any of it.

"I get you an invite to the most exclusive party in Abu Dhabi -"

"Safar..."

"No, no, no. You steal the host's car and you jump it between two buildings."

"Actually, it was three buildings," Brian interjected, holding up three fingers. You snorted, elbowing him in the ribs and getting a grin in return.

"Oh!" Safar laughed sarcastically. "Two? Insult. Three? Honor. My bad."

The door closed loudly and Mr. Nobody approached the group with Sheppard close behind. "Well, well, well. I have to say, you've got an interesting interpretation there of 'low-key,' Mr. Toretto. You know, Dom, I thought we had an understanding."

Dom shrugged nonchalantly. "Sometimes you have to play the hand you're dealt."

"Now, that's why I prefer to be the dealer."

You shifted your weight and winced, holding your arm over your stomach. One would think having extra weight would help shield a person, but it really doesn't. Especially when someone hits your stomach with the leg of a table like they were batting for a homerun. It honestly hurt like a bitch, but you were confident that the damage wasn't anything serious. More of an inconvenience than anything.

A warm hand rested on the small of your back and Tej leaned toward you, his voice soft so as not to draw attention to the two of you. "You good?"

You released a shaky breath, partly because of the pain and partly because of how close he was to you. "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely." You glanced at Ramsey as she approached a set of computers with God's Eye in her hand. You nodded toward her. "You should be over there. Might learn something."

Tej hesitated, looking from you to the computers a couple of times before finally nodding and approaching them. His eyes lit up when he did. "Oh damn, this is crazy."

Ramsey plugged in the drive and the monitors flickered to life.

"What's it doing now?" questioned Rome.

"It's hunting," she answered. "Hacking into the security cameras at Etihad Towers. That's the last place you saw Shaw, so that's where we'll start."

Footage of the party popped up, showing Shaw on the elevator.

"That's him." Brian stepped closer, pointing him out. "Right there."

"Wait, wait." Tej leaned closer. "What are these numbers right here for?"

"It's bio-mapping Shaw's face. It'll run it against every camera. Every audio device in this hemisphere."

"So much for privacy," you muttered, slowly lowering yourself onto a nearby stool.

"Bingo. Looks like he's holed up here."

"That's perfect," Brian stated. "Automated factory, no people, lots of places to hide."

Mr. Nobody was impressed. "You just changed the face of manhunts forever. Congratulations."

Personally, you believed the thing should be destroyed. It's impossible to keep power from the evil that desires it and, honestly, no one should have that much power no matter what side they consider themselves on. It's a literal disaster magnet! But you kept your thoughts to yourself, not wanting to risk making yourself look like a fool in front of Tej.

"Hey, uh..." Rome leaned toward Ramsey. "Can I check my email real quick?"

You shook your head in disbelief. The others sent him deadpan stares.

Dom was the one to break the silence, but it wasn't an answer to Rome's question. "Dawn's up in two hours. We're gonna go take down Shaw then. Go get changed."

You caught Brian's eyes and you knew what he was thinking - no way was Dom gonna wait 'til dawn, he just didn't want to put his crew in the line of fire. 'He can be such a dad sometimes, sheesh.'

The others started to clear out, happy over the idea of getting changed and getting some rest, but you stayed put, asking one of the soldiers if they could get you some painkillers. While waiting on him to return, Tej approached you, tapping your arm with the back of his hand.

"Come on, Y/N. You can ride with me."

As badly as you wanted to accept that offer, you knew you had a job to do. Instead, you offered him a small smile. "Thanks, Tej, but... I think I'll hang back here for a bit."

His brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Oh, uh..."

An arm slung around your shoulders as Brian appeared at your side. "I asked her to. We need to have a little chat about something private."

Tej didn't look convinced as his eyes darted between the two of you, but he did trust both of you so he finally nodded. "Alright. Call me if you need me."

"Night, Tej." You gave him a little wave and he smiled before turning around and leaving the garage.

"Let's go," Brian urged before the two of you rushed toward the other side of the building where Mr. Nobody and his men were preparing. Dom was there, as well, already out of his suit.

"I thought you said at dawn," commented Mr. Nobody.

"My guys are racers," Dom told him seriously. "The best drivers in the world, but they ain't killers."

Brian stepped around the corner, sending you a look. "I told you he'd say that."

You were close behind, clicking your tongue. "Maybe not direct killers, but we've ended quite a few people inadvertently ."

Dom sent you both a look, much like a parent displeased with his unruly children.

"We know you too well, Dom, and we're going with you."

You nodded, giving him a grin. "Can't get rid of us that easily, man."

"Well, looks like we've got a nice little hunting party." Mr. Nobody clapped his hands as he looked over at you. "Let's go bag a shadow."

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ:. ☁

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'?" Shaw sat at a small, square table eating a steak dinner. He didn't look the least bit surprised or worried by the group of armed soldiers surrounding him, their weapons trained and ready to fire at a moment's notice.

You gripped the assault rifle tightly, stepping closer to Brian. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, me too."

"I don't have friends," Dom told him confidently. "I got family."

"Well, I got a lot of friends."

The lights cut off suddenly, plunging the factory into darkness. An explosion went off somewhere behind you, the light showing off a group of armed men before fading. Gunfire filled the air and you dived for cover behind a large wooden crate. Bullets grazed it seconds later, sending slivers of wood flying everywhere.

"Two-two formation!" Mr. Nobody barked loudly. "Sheppard, peel one!"

You couldn't see shit beyond the flash of muzzles as they fired and you squinted into the darkness. Your eyes started to adjust and you slowly peered over the top of the crate, lying down fire on the men closest to you. You saw Mose raising his gun, aiming at a soldier who had his back to the man and you scowled, shifting your aim to take fire but you were too slow, Mose downing the soldier in a matter of a couple seconds with a shot to the head. You fired at him and he dodged.

From the corner of your eyes, you saw Mr. Nobody hit the ground. The second your attention was elsewhere, Mose took advantage, aiming for your head but you moved at the last second. A sharp pain ripped through your shoulder and you gritted your teeth in pain, spraying fire toward him. Blood soaked the white dress shirt you wore, trickling down your arm. Adrenaline did its job, keeping most of the pain at bay so you could continue fighting for your life and the life of everyone else on your team. They were pushing up, though, forcing you to snake between crates and large metal drums to get closer to your team.

"Cover me!" Brian yelled at you before attempting to grab the God's Eye. You did your best, taking out several of the enemies before they could attack him, but there were just too many. For every guy you took down, it seemed like two more popped up in his place.

"Brian, leave it!" Dom ordered, helping Mr. Nobody toward the exit while you and Brian laid down cover fire. You heard something heavier than bullets clang against the ground.

"Get down!" Brian cried.

"Shit, shit, shit!" You rushed after them and the grenade exploded behind you, the blast pushing you forward so quickly that you lost your footing, falling to the ground. Your ears were ringing, head fuzzy, and body sore, but there was no time to rest. Brian grabbed your arm and yanked you up.

Dom lifted Mr. Nobody like he was nothing more than a sack of potatoes. "I got you!"

You rushed out of the building, stepping around Dom so you could pull the back door open to the closest SUV. He put him inside rougher than he meant to before hopping in beside him, slamming the door. Brian jumped into the driver's seat and you got in beside him, breathing heavily as he put the SUV in reverse and whipped it around, the tires squealing in protest.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ:. ☁

"We gotta get you two to the hospital," Brian said in a slightly panicked tone, glancing at Mr. Nobody who had begun coughing loudly. His bulletproof vest had caught one bullet, but another had lodged deep into his side.

"No, you're not," he ordered in a pained voice. "I carry my own... health insurance. SOCM medics on standby. They're already inbound. Pull over, kid!"

Brian was reluctant to do so, but he relented. The sun was beginning to rise, the sky lighting up around you. You tugged the white dress shirt off with a grunt of pain, earning a worried look from the blonde beside you. You just smiled tiredly, tearing a strip of the cloth before wrapping it around the wound as best as you could, using your teeth to tighten it. The adrenaline was nearly gone now and waves of pain were beginning to crash over you.

Dom got out when the SUV came to a stop, helping Mr. Nobody out and over to a metal barrier. After ordering you to stay put, Brian jumped out to join them. You wanted to retort, to ask where you could possibly go, but you honestly didn't have the energy for sarcasm. You were exhausted and in a lot of pain.

It wasn't until the helicopter appeared on the horizon that the two men returned to the SUV, peeling off down the sandy road.

"A war is coming for us," Dom stated from the backseat. "Whether we like it or not. If a war is coming... we're gonna face them on the streets we know best."

"We're going home?" you wondered softly, watching the sand dunes fly by out the window.

"Yeah," Dom gently patted your arm, mindful of the wound. "We're going home."

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ:. ☁

"Should've taken you to the hospital," Brian muttered as he helped you out of the SUV.

"We don't have time for that," you muttered back, following Dom into the lobby of the hotel. "The wound isn't too bad, I can stitch it up myself before our flight leaves. Just..." you winced in pain, clutching your shoulder. "...get me to my room."

"I'll wake up the others," Dom told you.

When the elevator stopped on your floor, Brian helped you to your room, but he was crowding you like a mother hen and it was working on your last nerve. "Brian, can you please go buy me some painkillers, whiskey, and bandages?"

He seemed hesitant to leave you.

" Please, Bri."

"Yeah... yeah, alright. I'll be right back so hang in there."

You breathed deeply when he finally left, sliding down to the floor with your back against the bed. With more effort than usual, you managed to tug over the black duffel back from beside the bed, pulling it open to search for the items you would need - fishing wire, a needle, a tiny bottle of rum, and a white towel. You realized that you should probably start investing in red towels instead.

The door slammed open, bouncing against the wall and your brow furrowed in confusion, knowing there was no way Brian had returned that quickly. To your surprise, it was Tej that rounded the corner, looking equal parts worried and panicked.

"Jesus." He fell to his knees beside you, inspecting the wound. "You said you wouldn't do anything reckless."

"Technically speaking, that only applied to the party, not what happened after." You resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably under his penetrating gaze.

"Don't move," he told you sternly before leaning closer, his hand on your arm. "Looks like the bullet went straight through." He folded the towel, holding it beneath the wound before slowly pouring the rum over your skin.

You hissed in pain, fingers clenching around the carpet.

"Sorry. Just bear with it, baby girl."

The pet name sent waves of heat to your face and you quickly turned your head away so he wouldn't notice, your voice soft. "You don't have to do this, you know... I can do it myself."

"Not happening," he shook his head, lighting pressing the soaked cloth over the wound. "What were you thinking, going with them?" He dipped the needle into the rub for some sort of sterilization before threading the fishing wire through it. "I can't believe they took you with them."

"I didn't give 'em much choice," you muttered, leaning your head back against the mattress and closing your eyes. "I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't go."

"Stop putting others before yourself," he scolded with an angry tone, pressing the needle into your skin. "You're always throwing yourself in the line of fire, not caring what happens to you."

"Well... yeah. As long as you guys are safe, that's all I care about."

"And what about what we care about? What I care about?"

You slowly lifted your head to look at him, meeting his gaze. You had never seen so much heat, so much raw emotion in his eyes before. It stole your breath away. "Tej..."

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," he told you softly, resting his hand on your cheek. "I can't lose you, YN."

Your heart skipped a beat, lips opening and closing as you tried to form a sentence. The door opened again and Brian rounded the corner with a plastic bag in his hands. He seemed relieved to see Tej there.

"Here, this will help." He set the bag down beside you, taking out extra strength pain pills and your favorite drink.

"Thanks, Bri," you murmured softly, holding your hand out so he could place the pills into your hand

"How's it look?"

"It looks worse than it is," Tej told him, tieing off the fishing line. "It's a solid fix for now, but I'm taking her to the hospital as soon as we land."

"Do I get a say in this?"

"No," they both chorused, making you scoff.

" Rude asses ."

Brian patted his shoulder. "I'll leave her in your hands, then. Let me know if you need anything else."

Your eyes followed him as he rounded the corner, listening to the sound of the door closing behind him. A thick silence had settled over you as Tej wrapped the wound with the bandage. You wanted to say something to him, to give him an excuse for your behavior, but you couldn't manage more than a soft, "Sorry..."

His expression softened. "I'm just glad you're okay, baby girl."

That damned pet name again! Tears stung at your eyes and you bit down hard on your lip but it didn't stop them from rushing down your cheeks. He noticed your trembling shoulders before your tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he inquired softly, cupping your cheek to make you look at him. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

You shook your head, wiping furiously at your eyes but the tears refused to stop. "No, it's just... everything !" You breathed out.

"It's been rough lately." His thumb brushed away your tears and he smiled softly. "But we'll get through it, we always do. Right now, you only need to focus on healing up, baby girl."

You shot up, ignoring the pain in your shoulder. "Stop calling me that!"

"I've always called you that." He stood up, a frown tugging at his lips. He reached out for you but you stepped back, running a hand through your hair.

"I know that! It's just... when you call me that, you give me hope and that fucking hurts."

"Hope for what?"

You didn't answer, turning your back to him. Regret filled you and you scolded yourself for opening your big mouth. You felt embarrassed, you were in pain, and you just wanted to sleep and forget everything but Tej wasn't going to let this go, you knew that.

He tried to turn you toward him but you wouldn't budge so he moved to stand in front of you instead, lifting your chin up to meet his eyes. "Hope for what, Y/N? For this?" His lips captured your own, stealing the breath from your lungs.

Your hands shook as you reached for the polo shirt he was wearing, your fingers curling around the fabric. And then you came to your senses, pushing him away. "Why are you doing this to me, Tej? It fucking hurts, okay? Every time you call me that, it gives me this tiny sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe there's a chance you could like me, but I know that won't ever happen..."

"You seem pretty sure about that." Tej's face was blank, not betraying how he was feeling or what was going through his mind.

You scoffed. "Of course I am. You don't exactly hide the type of women you like and I'm nothing like them! The perfect girls to parade around in fancy cars... I'm fat and don't even qualify as cute. No one wants to see my fat ass on a car and I get that. I accepted it but you always do these small things that give me hope and I can't take it anymore!" Tears were now falling freely from your eyes and you didn't care to stop them this time.

"I won't lie, I do find them attractive," Tej slowly closed the distance between you. "But to me, you're damn sexy, Y/N."

"Stop it."

"It's not just about the external, baby girl. It's about what's here," he tapped two fingers over your heart, looking deeply into your eyes. "So what if you're not skinny? You are the strongest, bravest woman I know with a heart of gold, and that makes you the sexiest woman in the world. Those other girls may catch my eyes, but you're the only one who caught my heart."

"Tej..." You searched his eyes for any sign of deceit but you saw only genuine love and warmth.

He smiled, his thumb brushing your cheek as he leaned in, claiming your lips again. You clutched at his shirt, bringing him closer as you tilted your head to deepen the kiss. "I love you, baby girl. Don't ever forget that."

"I... love you too, Tej," you replied softly, a smile tugging at your lips. Saying the words for the first time out loud felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off of your shoulders. You felt so much relief and happiness swirling inside of you. You never thought you would ever see this day but now that it was here, you wanted it to last forever.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ:. ☁