Origins: The day the towers fell - Jessie and Angel

Characters: Angel Lazarro and Jessie McCulloch
Place: Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, New York
Time: September 11, 2001
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Angel ends up in the hospital after chasing a killer down through the ER ward of New York's renowned teaching hospital. Jessie decides to check on her because of a promise made but before anything can be said, the world shatters.

Jessie would always remember where she'd been that day. That minute. Her hand had been resting on the handle of Lazarro's door, holding it half-opened as she heard the sound of the television blaring. She hadn't really been listening. Her mind had been concentrating on how tired she was after pulling an 18-hour shift and how crazy it was that she was standing in a cop's hospital room because of a promise. A promise made to somebody she didn't even know.

But then she heard it. A complete and total silence.

Hospitals were never quiet places, not to those who knew them. There were always people rushing back and forth, gurneys tracking, crying, groans of pain, the whirs of hyperactive machinery... but it had all drawn to a hush suddenly. The sound of the door scraping against the tile was the only sound she heard as she stepped into Angel's room.

"Hey," she started to say but just then, the other woman looked up.

"There's nothing to watch on television right now." Famous last words. Or that's how they felt at least. Being shot seemed so insignificant next to what she was seeing now. It made her feel sick, and it made her angry. Her eyes - and Dante's, since they'd let him in to visit - were glued to the TV screen when she heard the door open.

Angel turned her gaze away from the screen to see who'd entered the room. Jessie. Just like she'd promised. Angel's face lit up with a smile for a moment. "You came..."

"What the fuck is that?" Jessie said, her eyes reflecting the screen in their depths. What Angel had whispered didn't even register as her face swung upwards, watching as an airplane- a motherfucking airplane- drilled into the World Trade Center. Her fingers clenched, jaw half-open in disbelief as she continued to stare. "You're watching some movie. Tell me you're watching some movie."

The bright red logo flickering in the corner of the screen was all too familiar. She blinked, as if closing her eyes for a second would make it disappear. It didn't.

Angel swallowed hard and looked back at the screen. "I wish to God it was a movie..." She didn't want to see it, but she couldn't turn away from the screen. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to watch movies with plane crashes again," she murmured.

Jessie grabbed the remote off the tray next to Angel and quickly snapped the set off. Her eyes could see the sudden spike in the other woman's pulse. She couldn't even begin to imagine what her own was doing. She shivered slightly as she realized that if she pulled open the curtains they would be able to see the smoke.

"You don't need to think about that. Not now." She wasn't going to ask if Angel knew anybody down there. She had a feeling that before the day was over, they both would.

Angel blinked as the screen went off and then sighed. "You're probably right..." She wondered how many people Tony knew end up helping at the scene, and if Tommy would end up there to help.

She leaned back against her bed and ran a hand over her face. "Shit..."

"Makes me wish I could offer you a drink." Jessie said before she lapsed into silence again. Glancing over at the other man, she raised a tired eyebrow. Extending her hand, she said, "And I'm Jessie, by the way. The one who held Angel's leg together back there by that fucking psycho."

"Huh. Maybe some other time?" Angel took a peek at her bandaged leg and sighed.

Dante took the offered hand, his grip firm. "Dante West. I really can't thank you enough for what you did for my partner. Want her around for a long time." He smiled faintly, wondering how many cops would lose partners today.

"It's my job, sir," She smiled at him as their fingers released, the phrase "sir" a light affectation in her mouth. "At least, I hope it will be. I didn't exactly make the best decisions getting you out of there, Angel." Her glance drifted back to the windows, anxious still. "Look- can I get the two of you anything? Beer's out but I make a fucking mean cranberry-7up cocktail."

"Better decisions than I'd have made," Angel pointed out. "I'm alive, and I'm thankful for that. In my book? You did good."

Dante gave Angel's shoulder a gently squeeze and smiled back at Jessie. "That sounds good. And maybe a Snickers bar? I could use a snack." Angel looked up at him, slowly raising an eyebrow.

"For you, maybe- not her," Jessie laughed, then disappeared for a moment. Reappearing with a candy bar in one hand, bottles of juice and soda in the other, she made a clumsy attempt at spinning the bottles, nearly knocking them on the floor as she did. "So, tell me, you two do this sort of thing often? Chasing suspects and all that? Or are you gonna tell me you're really traffic cops?"

The moment Jessie was out of the room, Angel smirked at her partner. "You think she's hot." It wasn't a question.

Dante blinked and stared at Angel for a moment before smirking back. "You're the one who keeps smiling at her the most." That earned him a swat a moment before Jessie returned.

Angel chuckled ruefully. "He's the first one we had to actively chase...but we're definitely detectives."

"First? Well, I hope there ain't no second," Jessie stopped her eyes mid-roll at the thought, wandering over to the window. Her fingers slipped against the glass, her eyes peering at what little she could see. The th-wap of helicopters as they passed the hospital was vibrating the glass, causing it to tremble under her hand.

As she'd thought, there was smoke.

Her pager began to beep. Glancing down at it, her eyes widened. "Ah, fuck." She picked it up. 9-1-1. D.C. "You think one of you could hit that TV on again? Something's happened? D.C.?" Her voice was disjointed, oddly separated from her body as she spoke the words. "My sister- she paged." "Same here," she murmured. She frowned. D.C? Something happened in Washington?

Dante grabbed the remote and flipped the TV back on. The remote fell from his hand as he looked at the screen. "My God..." This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Things like that only happened in bad dreams and history books. Not here. Not now.

"My sister," Jessie said quietly. "She was supposed to fly into D.C. today." She glanced down at the pager and bit her lip. "Guess she didn't."

Angel stared at the screen. "Jesus..." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm glad she didn't go...I don't wanna think about how it would feel, loosing a sibling..." Swallowing hard, she added, "I've got four younger ones. Vice cop, Marine, fireman, and a college student...fuck..." She was scared, right now mostly for Tommy, who might be at the scene of the Towers.

"Nah, Desi's fine, I bet. She's just like that," Jessie said it with more confidence than she felt. Pulling a picture out of her pocket, she handed it over. Desirae in full military dress, her hat jaunted at an angle. "That's her. She's in the Army- she likes to do the things nobody expects. She was a cheerleader in high school- we all thought she was gonna run off and get married. Glad she didn't though."

"Uniform looks good on her," she said softly, handing the photo back reverently when she'd looked at it. "Got a picture at home of all of us in uniform after Debbie's high school graduation. Dad looked like he'd burst, he was so proud..." It was good, having something besides the news to talk about.

"All of you?" Jessie laughed. "Lemme guess- the college student? He's gonna be a doctor, right?"

Angel chuckled. "I don't think she's decided yet, but she might. She's a smart kid. But yeah - me, Tony, Mike, and Tommy were in uniform. Debbie was in her cap and gown with her arms around Dad's shoulders."

She smiled softly, remembering when the photo had been taken.

"What about your mom then?" Jessie asked, glancing down at the picture. "She passed?"

"Yeah. Her car got hit by a drunk driver when I was eighteen. All the sonuvabitch driver got was a few bruises. And jail time," she added. She'd wanted to hit him. They all had.

"I'm sorry," she answered, thinking of her father. "God, I opened up a can of worms there, I guess." Leaning against the wall, Jessie glanced over at the woman. "You still feeling alright?"

Angel shook her head. "It's all right. Doesn't hurt quite like it used to. And I feel fine. Considering." She smiled slightly. "Leg kind of itches, I think. Can't really tell."

Dante sat quietly eating his Snickers bar, content to let the women talk. Anything that kept Angel relatively calm was very, very good.

"Well, you won't be dancing for a while," Jessie said drily. Cocking an eyebrow over at the other man, she asked, "You are gonna make her take it easy, right?"

Dante grinned and nodded. "I'll make sure she sticks to kareoke. Which shouldn't be too hard to do."

Angel chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Kareoke? Now that sounds more dangerous than the dancing," she grinned. "Can't quite picture it."

Angel grinned. "A lot of people can't...but it's true."

"And she's good," Dante added. "Less you slip her somethin' she's never heard before. Or, if you really want to have some fun, make her sing Britney Spears shit."

"Hey!" She pointed at her partner. "That's cruel."

"Oh, I don't know if I can be in the same room with this woman then." A teasing laugh answered Dante's sentence as she stepped away from the wall, hand resting on her hip casually. "You people are scaring me- are you sure you're really New York's Finest?"

"We are," Angel answered. "And Britney Spears is fucking annoying. Gimme some Fleetwood Mac and anything besides stuff aimed at air head teens and I'm good. And I play poker." That was a redeeming point.

Dante just looked at Jessie and smirked. "Girl could win the shirt off your back if you didn't watch out."

"You gotta admire the girl for getting out there and giving it all she got," Jessie said, trying not to snort behind her hand. That spark in Angel's eyes of indignation was too good not to poke at.

Dante's grin widened. "Yeah, you do. 'Course, she could about beat you up, too. Keeps me on my toes."

Angel shook her head, grinning but looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm good at kareoke. I like it...probably more interesting to the audience when I've had a few drinks."

"She'll sing loves songs if she's buzzed enough." Dante chuckled. "Or Cher."

She tried not to laugh at the look on the other woman's face but failed. Grinning, Jessie commented, "I'd like to see that." Then noticing a white skirt drifting past the open doorway, quickly amended, "But not now. I guess I better get going."

"Take care of yourself," Angel said, grinning a little more normally.

Dante nodded. "Good meeting you."

"You too," then she grinned, pointing at Angel. "And it's not going to be the last time I see you, I bet." Darting her head, Jessie added, "Take care, y'all," before disappearing out the door.