The Past

Laura looks over from her desk at the table where her brother still is. It was the middle of the night, and the other guys had rotated leaving off and on, but she’d wanted to stick around just to make sure Con was okay. It had been an awfully long time since she’d seen him like this…an awfully long time.

Leaning her elbows on her desk, she picks up a framed picture of her and Con so many years ago. The memories come back to her, burned into her mind forever…

Glancing at the clock, Laura realizes that Jason wanted her to call him so he’d come back to TJY for another shift. Weary of sitting here though, and just wanting some company other than the guys around here, she decides to take a break herself. It was late…but maybe Katie wouldn’t mind…


“Mm-hmm.” Jason listens to Katie, though has a hard time staying alert. Before he knows it, he’s drifted off, still in the chair.


Laura knocks lightly on Katie’s door, letting herself in. It was one o’clock in the morning, and she hated to wake Jason now, but he’d be upset if she didn’t. “Hey, Jase…” she speaks quietly. She approaches him cautiously and puts a hand on his shoulder.

Jason had been in a deep sleep on the verge of a nightmare, and jumps as Laura touches him.

“Whoa, easy,” Laura steps back, giving him space. “It’s just me.”

Jason blinks in the dim room, finally bringing her into focus. “Aw, man, I was out.”

Laura giggles. “I see that. Sorry…but it’s one o’clock.”

Jason groans and stretches out, turning to see Katie. He reaches out to give her a playful shove to the shoulder. “How come you let me sleep so long?” He yawns and springs to his feet, shaking his head to wake up. “Alright. I’m heading back.”

“I’ll be along in a while,” Laura tells him. “Call me if anything happens.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jason grabs his jacket, throwing Katie a quirky grin and a wink. “See you later, Hero. Try not to miss me too much.”

As Laura watches Jason leave the room, she raises an eyebrow before turning back to Katie, question flickering in her eyes, though she doesn’t ask. Easing herself down in the chair, she sighs deeply. “Oh, Katie…what’s happening, hmm?” She shakes her head. “I know it’s late, but…I just couldn’t stand waiting down there anymore…and seeing Con like he is. I hope you don’t mind.”

Before she realizes it, a tear has escaped and runs down her cheek. She forces a laugh at herself. “I’m sorry…I guess this got to me more than I thought…it’s just… it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Con like this…so angry…so hurt.” She swipes her eyes with the back of her hand and takes a deep breath, knowing that she will feel better if she gets this off her chest.

“I was only seven…our parents were out for the night…Con was sixteen…he stayed home to take care of me.” Laura’s eyes grow dim as she recalls the event. “It got late…about ten o’clock. A policeman came to the door and Con went with him into the kitchen. A few minutes later the officer left…and Con came to see me in the living room. I’ll never forget the look on his face. He’d decided not to put me through hearing the news from a stranger, and shouldered the task of telling me that there had been an accident. Mommy and Daddy weren’t coming home.”

Another tear slowly makes a path down the side of Laura’s face. “Con fought tooth and nail not to let us get split up, or be taken to strange homes. He threw a social worker out of the house once, and I dare say the poor little man was scared to death by that lanky teenager.” Laura can’t help but laugh a little. “We had an aunt and uncle who offered to take us in, but I was scared to death and Con didn’t want to put me through any more trauma. By God’s grace alone, we were able to stay together and Con took responsibility for me, as long as our aunt and uncle had contact with us, and supported us financially. Con worked his tail off for me…he dropped out of high school when he was seventeen and got his G.E.D. so he could go out and get a job. Six months later he was getting me up to school in the mornings, going to work all day, picking me up at night and taking care of me in the evenings.”

Laura pauses, thinking back. “He sacrificed so much…he was just a kid himself but he played mom and dad, and never uttered a complaint.” A small chuckle escapes. “He had to call Uncle Danny and Aunt Ellie a few time for advice, but overall he took everything in stride. He got in with the police academy and rose quickly. It wasn’t until later that I realized everything he was holding inside…everything he was hiding just to protect me from emotional strain.”

Laura sighs, sinking lower in her chair. “When he was twenty, he was called in on a sting operation and there was an explosion. He was hurt pretty bad and was in the hospital for about a month. I was just eleven then…so Aunt Ellie came to stay with me until he got out again. After that I started hearing things about him getting suspended for beating guys up who he arrested…I guess he had quite a reputation. It seemed so strange to me…at home he wouldn’t hurt a fly. I heard once that the department would bring him in specifically for cross-examinations because he could scare the tar out of anyone…it wasn’t a surprise with his size and strength I guess, but he was too tough…too angry…I remember I didn’t even want to believe all that stuff.”

“A couple years later he ran into the guy who had set the explosive on that one operation and beat him so bad that the guy was put in the hospital for six months. It was the last straw at the department, and he was kicked off the force for good.” Laura pauses to rethink those events. “He got discovered by Carter, and before he knew it, he was a part of TJY. Of course… Carter wouldn’t have any of his temper and somehow worked it out of him, slowly but surely. Con started to gain more control…I think he probably worked through the past a bit, then he and I started going to church and we both became Christians, so I know that really topped it off. The brother I’d seen at home was who Con became all the time.”

Laura wipes the remaining tears from her eyes. “Once I was out of high school and on with my own life, we finally got our own places, though we stayed close. And now…” She shakes her head. “I saw that look in his eye again today…the one that was there so long ago…it’s like his old self has just come to the surface and taken over. I just don’t know what to do, Katie…I’m scared…”


Jason chews on a ham sandwich as he heads back down between the cubicles on the work floor. “Hey, how’s it going?”

Con looks up, not having understood what Jason said, but assuming the question. “It’s got to be that house with the bomb shelter – the one Katie found. It’s a quarter mile off the lake.”

“Got anyone out there?”

“Wyatt. He said he’d take a quick look, but Reese insists we wait until daybreak to move in.”

“You know that’s best.”

Con tosses him a glare. “Not when it’s life and death, Jase.”

Jason sinks into a chair. “She’s going to be okay, Con. We’ll find her, alright? Nate back yet?”

“Any minute.” Con doesn’t want to keep receiving empty reassurance, and rises from the table without another word. He heads to his office and snatches up his cell phone, seeing he’s got a message. As he listens to Katie’s voice, his walls start to weaken, and he flips the phone shut again. He leans on his desk and takes a deep breath, trying to stay focused. He knew better than to let himself go like he was, but his anger was what was keeping him going, and he didn’t want to stop.

Glancing down, he notices blood on his shirt, and rolls his eyes. Great. He aims for Rick’s office to get a clean bandage before the other guys give him too hard of a time.