"Good work. Let's pack up and get back to base", Hondo announced. They agreed and started to pack up when Tess's phone rang. She got her phone out, excused herself, and stepped back from the team.

"Hello?"

"Finally, I found you." The voice was unfamiliar for Tess. "Who is this?"

"You don't remember me or are you just playing. Either way. You're going to pay for running away from me. Nobody leaves me without paying the price for it."

"Is that a threat?" The team turned around after hearing the word threat. The unknown person on the phone laughed.

"Be careful. I will come and get you the moment you won't watch out." Then the line went dead. Tess put away her phone and walked back to the team. She was quiet thinking about the person on the phone.

"Everything alright? We heard you saying something about a threat. Do we need to worry?" Hondo asked and put a hand on Tess's shoulder.

"Yeah. It's fine. Nothing to worry about." They all got into the Black Betty and left the scene. Deacon reminded her that she's not alone if she needed help in any way.

After that first call, Tess got more calls. Usually, after every job they had done. The male voice always knew where she was and reminded her not to tell anybody. But that wasn't enough. Tess also received photos, most of the time through the mail. Sometimes by a courier to headquarters. Tess always destroyed the messages and the photos. In her luck, Hondo didn't notice anything. The situation got dangerous when the unknown man started to threaten her family and friends. In an attempt to protect them, she turned down invitations to get-togethers. Her behavior changes not staying unnoticed by the squad.

"Hey, Tess. You coming with us tonight? We're going to get some drinks", Chris asked and closed her locker. "You didn't come the last few times."

"Sory, I can't. I have to do some laundry and dishes. Maybe next time." Tess closed her locker, too, and left. The team glanced at each other.

"Am I alone with my feeling or is something wrong with her the last few weeks. She's not going out with us anymore and jumps every time a phone's ringing." The woman had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Luca shook his head. "No, I recognized it, too. Anyone an idea what changed her?"

After Luca's question, every glance went over to Hondo. "Hey, don't look at me. I have nothing to do with that. And I know as much as you guys. Just because she's my girlfriend, I don't turn into almighty."

It went silent in the locker room. Everyone in his own mind. After several minutes, Hondo sighed and closed his locker. "Alright. I'm going to talk to her. Maybe she tells me if something's wrong. See you tomorrow. Hopefully, I'm in one piece still."

The next morning, Hondo and Tess entered the locker room. Both of them weren't in a good mood.

"Good morning", Deacon greeted them and opened his own locker.

"Morning", Tess grumbled and glanced at Hondo. If looks could kill, Deacon probably had a body on his hands.

"Okay." Deacon, Tess, and Hondo changed in silence. When Tess left the changing room, Deacon turned to his team leader. "I guess you talked to her."

"You got 100 points. And I slept on the couch." Hondo closed his locker and sat down on the bench that stood in the middle of the room.

"That bad?" Deacon sat down next to him.

Hondo nodded. "Yeah. She didn't want to talk and I maybe pushed too much. I just hope, she comes to us if she needs help."

His friend nodded in agreement and put a hand on Hondo's left shoulder. "She's smart. She's not doing something stupid and endanger herself in the process."

"You words in God's ear, my friend." Their phones chimed. They looked onto it. "Let's go."

The job was quickly done. The team sat around Black Betty at headquarter's enjoying a break in the sun. They were watching Tess who was on her phone again.

"I'm interested in who she's talking to." Street examined his team member's faces.

"You mean, you want to listen in on her conversation if you could. The last time she said something was a couple of minutes ago. Seems to be interesting if she's not interrupting him." Tan added.

"Him? It could also be a girl. A friend or sibling. Who knows? We all know that she's in a relationship with Hondo. I don't think she would cheat on him." Chris tried to remind Tan and Street that it also could be something normal for once.

Suddenly there was a shot. Immediately everyone outside ducked to the ground or hid behind objects. But besides this one single shot, nothing more happened.

"Someone hit?" Hondo ran out of a building, looking around. There seemed to be no one injured.

Chris got up. "We're fine." The woman took a sweep around. Her glance stopping at Tess. "Shit." She ran over. Tan, Deacon, and Hondo on her heels. She dropped down and checked Tess over. "She's hit in the shoulder. Get an ambulance down here."

Tan ran off to get a medi kit while Cortez called for an ambulance. Chris pressed down on the wound to slow down the bleeding.

Deacon looked at his team members. "Did anyone see where the shot came from?"

"Not really. My guess is from up the hills. Probably from the direction, Tess was looking", Stree suggested and pointed it out.

Hondo nodded. "Seems possible. Street, take Rocker and his team there. Look around if you guys find something. Chris, Tan... when I leave with Tess to the hospital, check her phone and see if you can find out anything about the call she had during all of this. Maybe the shooter called her earlier or she was on the phone with him while it happened." He handed Tan Tess's phone after Tan had his hands free again.

When Tess was loaded up into the ambulance, Hondo followed holding Tess's hand.

"I come down later. Call me with updates or when you need anything", Deacon told his friend.

Hondo nodded. His look still on his girlfriend. Deacon closed the doors and tapped on it. The sirens turned on and the ambulance drove off. "What did you get yourself into, Tess?" Deacon murmured, looking after the ambulance.

Three hours later, Hondo was in Tess's hospital room. He was waiting for her to wake up. The bullet that was stuck in her shoulder was removed without complications.

"Hondo?" Tess sounded tired and confused.

"I'm here. You're fine", Hondo reassured his girlfriend and held her hand. He brushed her hair out of her face.

"What happened?"

"You got shot at headquarters. Do you remember?" He tried to be gentle and not push too much.

Tess nodded. "Yeah. Reasons why my shoulder hurts like a bitch." She opened her eyes. "When can I get out?"

Hondo chuckled. Everyone knew how much Tess hated hospitals. "With luck tomorrow afternoon."

They were silent for a few minutes. Hondo interrupting it. "Do you know who would do this?"

Tess bid down on her lower lip. She had a clear idea who but she couldn't say a word. She found out days ago who the anonymous man was who always called her. But if she said a word, she would endanger Hondo, his mom, Darryl. Tess couldn't live with herself if either was hurt. "No sorry."

Hondo sighed and looked Tess in the eyes pleadingly. "We know both that you're lying. So, please... Tell me the truth, Tess."

But to their dismay, Tess stayed silent.

Hondo stayed for two hours with her. He tried a few more times to talk to her about who shot her but he got nowhere. Now he entered headquarters to check on his team and news.

"Hey, how is Tess?" Deacon asked him.

"Fine. They got the bullet out of her shoulder. She should be back in a couple of weeks. What did you guys find out?"

Luca turned away from the monitors and walked over to Deacon and Hondo in the middle of the command center. "A couple of calls the last few weeks from an unknown number. We found some text messages with pictures that Tess deleted right after reading them. The lab's still trying to see if they can trace anything back."

Hondo nodded and turned to Deacon. "What about Street and Rocker's team? Any news since my last phone call?"

"They're still out in the hills. They found footprints and are following them. So far, nothing. No car, no gun, no shooter."

The team leader sighed. They got nothing. And with Tess not talking about the situation... It just didn't look good at all.

"What about Tess? You said they got the bullet out? Is she talking or at least could tell us anything?"  She tried to get the spirit up. Maybe they had evidence that could help them without knowing that they already have it.

"The bullet is with the lab guys. They call as soon as they find something. They promised. And no. Tess's not talking or at least doesn't want to tell the truth." With that, Hondo turned away from his team and left for the kitchen. He needed a few minutes alone to think. Deacon followed him shortly after giving the team some more things to look into.

"Everything alright? Something you want to talk about?" Deacon asked and sat down on the table next to the sink Hondo was leaning against.

"I think Tess and I are over. We had a fight in her hospital room. I left before I said or did anything wrong." He looked at the clock on the wall. "I should go back to the hospital. I told her, I would check here and then bring some clothes with me for her to change into."

Hondo pushed himself away from the sink. "Listen to me, Hondo. When this blows over, everything will turn back to normal. You will still have her as your girlfriend. One fight won't change that. Ask Annie how often we fought and still are together. It's part of a relationship. You fight and makeup." Deacon tried to encourage Hondo in positive thinking.

"I hope you are right, man. See you later. And call if you have news", Hondo reminded him and left the kitchen.

20 minutes later, Hondo knocked on Tess's door. When he heard nothing, he slowly opened the door and stepped in. "Tess... I know you are angry but could we talk about..."

Hondo stopped talking and glanced around. The bed was made, her belongings were gone. He put down the bag and walked to the bathroom. He opened the door, turning on the lights. Empty. Tess wasn't here. What happened the two hours he was gone? Hondo grabbed the bag and walked out. He stopped a nurse that just came out of another patient room. "Excuse me. Can you tell me where I can find Tess Hastings?"

"She discharged herself right after you left. A young man was with her, said that he would drive her home. Didn't she talk to you about that?"

"No. Thank you." Hondo left the hospital in a hurry and dialed Deacon. "Deacon. Tess discharged herself around three hours ago. See if you can find her on cameras around the hospital. The nurse told me that she left with a man. I drive home and look if she's there. She couldn't have gone far, hopefully."

Hondo parked his car and walked into his house. He looked around but there were no traces that Tess was home. "Tess?"

The SWAT leader walked up the stairs and to their bedroom. He switched on the lights and was shocked. The closet was open and her clothes and shoes were gone. Her side was empty. Hondo turned on the spot and ran downstairs. He was at the door and looked around. The worried man prayed that she didn't leave him. There were no keys. Hondo went outside to his mailbox and opened it. Inside laid Tess's keys to the house. Tess left him. The question was: Willingly or not?

"Found anything?" Hondo asked while walking up to the command center.

"Street and Rocker found a car and a possible weapon. They're checking out the surroundings if they find more. Tan is still going through camera footage from the hospital. Fact: Tess didn't leave alone. A man was with her like the nurse mentioned to you. Name or anything else is unknown for now. But we got a picture of said man. Was Tess home?" Deacon got his team leader up to speed.

Hondo sighed and rubbed his head. "No, she wasn't. Instead, I found an empty closet and her keys in the mailbox. So... I think it's over. Maybe the man is a friend she's staying with until she finds her own space. For now, let's find the shooter and I try to get in contact with Tess."

Hondo got out his phone and swiped over the display to unlock it. But he quickly put his phone down on the table. "Her phone's here, damn it. Try if you can follow them over street cameras. There must be a way to find out where they went."

But the team had no luck. The car and gun were a dead end. Also the footage they found. Tess and the man got into a car and disappeared into traffic, nowhere to be seen again. Cortez and Higgs let the team search for her for a week before stopping them. They filed a missing person and went over to the next case. For some time, the team searched for her in their free time but that stopped after another two weeks. Tess just vanished with the unknown man.

Three months later

"LAPD called in a shooter in the emergency department of the hospital. They are currently evacuating the patients as well as they can. The attacker has two female hostages. A patient and a nurse. So far no contact", Deacon informed the team.

"Chris, Street. You two look around and see if there's a window. Also, see if you can take a spot as a sniper. Tan, Luca, help to evacuate people. Deacon and I will try to contact the shooter. Maybe see if there's a way through the door into the room." Hondo looked at everybody on his team. "Be safe out there. We don't know all the facts and we don't know for sure what we're running into."

Tess looked at her "husband" or more ex-boyfriend. He was abusive and when she got the first chance to flee from him, she did. That was two years ago and now he's back in it.

"Can you please put the gun away, Sam? You are scaring the nurse and me", Tess pleaded with Samuel.

"You're pregnant and it's not mine. You're getting an abortion. I'm not going to parent this man's child. Neither are you", Samuel yelled at her, waving the weapon around.

"Are you out of your mind? I'm not killing my baby. Let me carry it and then put it up for adoption or I get in contact with him so he can take care of the baby." Tess reasoned with him but not succeeding.

"No, not happening. No adoption, no contact. It's going to be my way. Are we clear?" Samuel was nervous. He looked out of the window and saw the police cars and SWAT. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. We need to get out of here."

The phone in the room started ringing. Everyone in the room glanced at it. "You need to answer that. The police want to know what you want." Tess looked at Samuel.

"I just want to leave with you. Alone. No one following us. That's all", Samuel told her and examined the still ringing phone.

"Then tell them", Tess encouraged him. Samuel walked up to the phone on the wall and answered it.

But two hours later, they still were at a standstill. Samuel told them what he wants but the negotiator refused to let him. Apparently, there were some arrest warrants out for him and they feared that he vanished when they just let him go. The situation is escalating further and further and got nearer to the point of no return.

"Chris, you got a clear shot?" Hondo was worried. If they didn't do something soon this could end badly.

"Yeah, but one of the hostages is behind him. I could hit her. The other is nearly in front of him. And Hondo... one is Tess."

Hondo looked at Deacon. Before he could say something, Luca delayed more background information. "One of the staff just told me, the nurse with her announced that she's pregnant. But the information's false. The patient file got mixed up. Upon hearing, the assumed "husband" completely lost control and it escalated to this. Tess also was frequently visiting the ER for the last three months. It seems that she got abused by him. At least that's what the nurses and doctors suspect by her injuries."

"Guys, I can't shoot the attacker. Tess's standing in front of him", Chris interrupted Luca. "And now I can't see inside. Tess closed the blinds. We're blind if we go inside now."

Hondo ripped out his earpiece and cursed. He was so close to getting his girl back. He put his earpiece back in, in time to hear that there was a commotion inside the room. Deacon and Hondo ran off, followed by Tan and Luca. The commotion could either be good or bad. The team hoped for the best and that Tess could get the upper hand on the man. They stopped in front of the door when it opened. The squad put their weapons up, ready to shoot if needed.

"Put the weapons down. He's caught. I cuffed him to the bed", Tess announced. She stepped out into the hallway with the nurse. Tan and Luca entered the room to take care of the offender. Hondo and Deacon checked over the nurse and Tess. "Come on, let's get out and checked out."

30 minutes later, Tess was checkout out and ready to leave. She sat on the steps on the back of the ambulance. A blanket was draped over her.

"Ready to go?" Hondo stood in front of her, holding out his hand.

"Yes." Tess took it and let herself be helped up by Hondo. She looked at him. She was unsure if she should talk to him. Tess didn't know what he heard.

"Do you want to tell me something?" Hondo looked at his girlfriend. He knew when she wanted to say something but didn't know how to address it.

"I don't know what you heard... but I'm not pregnant. They mixed up the patient files."

"So why were you in the emergency?" Hondo asked even though he had an idea.

"Samuel is my abusive ex-boyfriend. During the three months, I was with him, he beat me nearly every day. Last time, I thought he broke my ribs and I wanted to check up. They needed emergency contacts and stuff, so I put him down. And you know the rest." She explained.

"Why not me?" Hondo was curious. She could have put him down and it wouldn't have gone this far. Tess sighed.

"At first, I wanted but then I remembered his threat, that if he finds out that I somehow contacted you or the team, he would hurt you, your mom, or Darryl. I didn't want to risk it. I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner."

"Let me guess? He was the person constantly calling your phone after each of our jobs?" Hondo added. Tess nodded with tears in her eyes. Then the rest of her story broke out of her. The 2-year-relationship she had with Samuel and everything about the calls, messages, and pictures.

"I'm so sorry, Hondo. I should have come to you sooner", Tess apologized to him again.

Hondo hugged her. Tess enjoying the embrace for a short while before pushing away from him. "There's something else you should know about. I also told them to check for pregnancy since I had symptoms. And they found out that I can't eventually have kids. The result isn't for sure. It would need more testing. I don't know..."

"Hey... don't worry about that now. We can still find out if the time comes. And if you are... We have options. Adopting, fostering... It's not the end of the world", Hondo interrupted her. Tess nodded. "Come on, I drive you home. The stuff you have with him, we can get it tomorrow. I'm sure you're going to be fine with clothes Chris is going to lend you."

They walked to the Black Betty. Hondo helping her inside where she's greeted by Tan, Luca, Chris, and Street. They got into a conversation pretty quick. Deacon stood next to Hondo. They were quietly watching the scene before turning away. Both looked around and saw Samuel getting put into a police car which drove off shortly after.

"It's good he's not staying with us. He wouldn't survive the night. And we would have even more paperwork on our hands." Deacon looked over at Hondo who slightly chuckled.

"I'm not disagreeing with you."

"How is she?"

Hondo sighed. "Physically, she's fine. A few bruises and some older injuries. But nothing that needs a hospital stay. Mentally, I don't know. It's a long way."

"And she's not alone. She got you, me, Chris, the team. We are going to be there for her. And for you, if you need it", Deacon reassured him. "It's going to be fine. She's going to be the Tess we all know and love."

"You're right. Come on, let's get out of here."