A/N: Vote & Comment 👌 I'll start calling the ones who read but idk if they are or not - "lurkers." Cool af name IMO.
Also the lovely Sofia Castillo^^^
......[(( _ _ ))..zzzZZ(( _ _ ))..zzzZZ]......

POV HAL:

I wake earlier than usual because I'm excited to one, get the hell out of here and two, see my angel who's picking me up. I received a text from him saying he'll get me at 12pm. If I didn't have a fractured rib I would be skipping down the hallways on my way out. For now, I'll stick with drumming every hard surface I see like a hyper elementary school kid.

Knowing that I'll be leaving the hospital, young nurses show up to congratulate me. Sofia shooed them every time they peek through the door window. The old lady scowled me for leading them on after I told her I have no intention to pursue any of them. She even hit my good arm to show her disgust.

The clock strikes 11:58am and I glare at it to move faster. A few more minutes and Riley would be here. "Boy, even though your staring at the clock as if it were your enemy, it ain't going to move quicker. Now stop your nonsense while I fix your sling," says Sofia. I sigh, holding up my crippled arm. She continues chatting with me for a few more minutes, "No strenuous work, boy. Remember to take deep breathes and not shallow ones because your lungs will get infected. Make sure to take three painkillers-"

"Yes, yes, you and the doc told me twice this morning." I try to mimic Doctor Phillips, "'Don't get your arm wet when taking a shower. Don't over exert yourself. Even though you are some inhuman in disguise, you still need to let your body heal." Sofia shakes her head but I can spy that amused grin on her face.

The door opens and my angel's handsome face peeks in. He glances at Sofia then to me and reveals a plastic bag with something in it. Riley says, "Got you some clothes after George was able to break into your apartment. I'm sure you don't want to be walking out in hospital garments to show the world your bare ass." I smirked at the last statement. I wondered if he knew I would take that as a more flirtatious comment. A man can only dream, right?

I joke back, "But people love my ass. It's well-toned." Cue the eye roll, hah. Riley hands over the bag to Sofia as she nods in approval at the contents. She nodding to my taste in clothes or Riley's selection? The nurse smiles, "This should work with his current condition. I'm glad you didn't choose a small shirt. I'm sure this boy has tons of them." The conniving old lady; she's just deflating my confident ego.

"I'll wait in the foyer and sign you out," says Riley as he is about to exit my room. I nod with a large grin on my face. I'm finally getting out of this contained prison!!! Sofia gives me a calculating look then smirks like if she knows something. I feel as if a woman her age would keep many secrets and carry a lot of wisdom, aside from the motherly nagging. The only saddening thing is I won't be able to see her often. But, the son's gotta leave the nest one day? I'm joking.

Sofia helps me into my clothes. She pulled up my jeans so quickly that I feel like I received a wedgie. I grunt at the discomfort and adjust with my working hand while Sofia gets me throw the shirt and jacket. It is easy to slip my cast through the baggy grey shirt's sleeves; the challenge was getting the damn thing through the jacket sleeve. After that struggle, Sofia asks, "Ready to leave, boy?"

I nod then pull her into a hug. I can smell disinfectants and baby powder off her blue scrubs. I smile, "Thanks for taking care of me."

"Aw, now you sweet talk me!" I let her go as she makes her way to the door. Sofia does that same smirk from before and says, "Let's get going. You don't want the man you are head over heels for waiting, yes? - Oh boy, don't give me that look. It's women's intuition." I laugh and scratch the back of my neck from embarrassment. She's sharp; can we have her working for the police department instead?

After getting my left over things, Sofia and I depart at the end of the hall. I search the front entrance for my angel. Riley stands at the reception desk, filling in a paper. He places down the pen and glances around the foyer. He spots me as I walk in long strides to him. "Ready to leave?" then his eyes narrow, "You didn't forget my CD, right?" I nod to both questions. Of course he's worried about the CD. I have it in the plastic bag.

We both head to his car in the full parking lot. An ambulance passes by us, sirens blaring. Riley enters in the driver's side of the car that's already started. I walk over to the shotgun seat and pull it open. A green-eyes brunette glances at me. He wears a professional suit like an investigator. My mouth forms a thin line; who the hell is this? The only explanation- and this is my irrational side speaking- is the guy is Riley's new partner. With that thought, I want to grab the man out of his seat to claim it my own. I'm being a baby, but let a grown injured man complain once in a while.

The detective gets up from his front seat with no arguments and heads to the back seats. He stares at my face for a few seconds before closing the door. What an oddball.

I slip in comfortably in the seat. "You happy you're finally out breathing in fresh air and not that funky hospital smell?" says a voice behind me. I look over my shoulder to see George squeezed between Lucia and the stranger.

"I, for one, like the smell. But I'm glad you guys are breaking me out." No I'm glad Riley's getting me out but these three are unnecessary additions. Alone time with my partner goes down the drain.

"We're getting lunch outside. But because Riley here needed to pick you up first, we have to eat at 1 and I starve while waiting for you two slowpokes to stop," complains George which earns him a slap on the arm by Lucia and an eye roll from Riley. He continues, "Oh yah, Hal, meet Jack, our new rookie who joined while you were away. The guy's being mentored by Riley and so far showing great results. Jack this is Hal. He also just joined out division but he's no newbie."

I shake hands with the rookie. "Nice to meet you, Jack. I'm sorry you had to be accompanied by this guy," I smirk, gesturing to George who lets out a "hey!"

The drive to Mabel's bar is lively. I love the comradery we build. It was as if I've been on the UCPD force for a long time. We all chat about random stuff. I've gotten closer to George and mostly, Lucia during their visits so talking to them is easy. Riley got sucked in the conversation later after we started talking about his habits.

"I do not have bad driving skills," Riley argued.

George scoffs, "Yah yah, keep saying that. I'm glad Jack switched with you, Hal. You would be squished here at every sharp turn this guy makes." Riley glares at the road, but it looks more like he's sulking. Laughter ensues as we change topics.

"Siblings?" asks Lucia. We all already know that Mabel is her sister. "Only child," answers George. Riley and Lucia shake their heads; it's obvious they knew already. Lucia looks towards me and I shake my head to having any. Riley speaks up after George pokes his back a couple of times. He answers, "Three younger siblings." I nod then Lucia and George turn to Jack for his answer. He smiles lightly, "A twin brother."

"Wow, are you guys identical?"

"Yup," says Jack. The car finally parks on the side of a narrow street. Mabel's bar, Uptown Bar Corner brought back memories of the reason why I was in the hospital; I still haven't asked why there were three levels of bedrooms. I glance over at Riley who walks in front of me as we enter. My angel seems fine but at his nervous apologies yesterday, I have my doubts.

"Oooooh, look who's back and running about!" says a booming voice. Mabel comes out of the bar's kitchen. She examines me from top to bottom then whistles, "You look like you fell of a bike than getting hit by a car." Like what my doctor said-luck of the devil. I heard that the man was slowing down from a high speed and fortunately he was around 10mph when I collided with his windshield.

"You guys are definitively hungry. I can tell because George is still here after I made myself present," she motions us to the stools at the counter after a 'hey' comes from George. We hop on one by one, listening to the metal squeak under the new weight. Mabel says, "I'll be back with some grub. The usual, yah?" I don't know what "the usual" is but it sounds better than the hospital food I've been on for two weeks.

The five of us fall into more small talk until food and drink arrives. While they ate, I decide to address the elephant in the room. I wondered why they weren't talking about the Hangman case. I haven't heard news about the killer in a long time. Did we catch him while I was suffering through soap opera reruns?

I set down my fork and ask the whole group, "So how's the Hangman case going? You guys get anything?" A tense silence ruins the friendly mood we had earlier but it's to be expected when talk about work. Lucia twists her fork through her pasta. George taps drums his fingers on the wooden counter. Riley is staring at the two like if he's waiting for them to talk for him.

"We still got nothin on the Hangman. Leads from 'silent witness' phone only keep throwing us on a wild goose chase. It's shorten over the week but we still have no leads and the Hangman having a two week vacation is unusual. The guy just halts after taking two lives and almost getting another two," explains George. Lucia nods in agreement with her partner. I glance over to Riley who sighs, "I've been busy with Jack so I haven't been up to date. Chief kicked me off the case the day after you got injured-" he addresses George, "But I sent you the list of names. What have you been doing with that and did Jenkins do what I asked?"

So we both have been kept in the dark. I can tell that Riley is frustrated for not being on the case. Now that I'm back, I'll see if I can persuade the chief to let us in again. George replies, "Jenkins gave us the stuff though I don't know where you are going with this, man." Riley shakes his head then let's his head rest on a propped up arm.

Jack speaks up, "Riley and I received the missing person assignment. You know, the guy named Cameron O'Dale. We're more busy on that."

I ask, "Riley, this person, Cameron, isn't related to Cassandra O'Dale, right?"

Riley huffs, "Unfortunately for him, the lady's his mother. With his living arrangements, he must have left his mother in a hurry. His girlfriend said they began living together when they reached eighteen. It's been four years since then. She says that him disappearing on her for a long period of time is unusual because of how close and intimate they are." He stirs his cup of coffee with a spoon.  Four years, wow. I would love to have a relationship that lasts a long time.

George's phone begins to ring causing him to get up from his seat. He answers it, "Hey..... hah fine..." He makes his way towards the front entrance of the bar. He's chatting in a more lower tone.

Riley sips on his coffee while pulling out his own phone. Because he's sitting next to me, I see him pull up his pictures. The picture he sent me a while back is selected.

"Huh? Speak of the devil!" exclaims George. We look towards George wondering what's going on. "... Oh boy. I'll tell them.... Alright. I'll talk to you later." He hangs up then picks up his coat he had hung on his seat.

"We got to hurry. Riley and Jack need to come too. Hal you can tag along if you got nothing else better to do."

Lucia asks, "What's going on?"

"Cameron O'Dale's been found. Sadly, they found his corpse. Hanged. Jenkins found one of the Hangman's letters. He says you should check it out," George bobs his head towards Riley. "At least you got an excuse to see the crime scene."

Cameron adds to the Hangman's body count. The damn son of a bitch hasn't stopped his movements one bit. I can only hope that whatever we find can lead us to somewhere. Maybe with this, the chief will have us back to working on the case.