Inspired by the episode Draw the Line
September 1989

The summer months went flying by and we all returned to Jump Street when school got back in session. I missed it, and I missed my friends and teammates. My first assignment was investigating the cafeteria at a high school due to the high rates of food poisoning. It wasn't an interesting case, but I thought it was fun. However, not all of us had a good first month back.

Ioki got shot by a gang in a drive-by. I drove straight to the hospital as soon as I found out. He was sedated, so I just sat in his room to keep him company until the nurses kicked me out. It was so hard to see him connected to so many wires in a hospital bed. I felt so helpless just seeing him like that. The only peace of mind I had was that he was stable. It made me wonder if I made my teammates feel like this when I got shot a year ago.

Fuller called me to express some bad news about my partner. He told me first, but he said that he was going to contact the rest of the team about one of our teammates recent incarceration. When we hung up, I received another call from Booker about it. We talked and as soon as we hung up, I grabbed my keys and drove straight to the jail.

After signing into the main office and giving up my badge, my gun, and everything else in my pockets, I was escorted through the row of cells by a tall guard. Inmates were pressing their faces up to the bars as I walked past, whistling and making derogatory comments directed toward me that I tried to ignore.

"I'll wait for you, baby! I'll wait for you!" One inmate called out to me.

"I'll be out soon, I'll find you!"

"Oh, looky looky!" Another hollered.

"Does anyone smell bacon?!"

"Skin the pig! Skin the pig!" A few were chanting.

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes and kept walking confidently. How did they know I was a cop? It took me a second to realize that they weren't chanting that because of me, but because of the cop who was in their jail. My favorite black trench coat floated behind me, and I could faintly hear the fabric of my loose black pant legs rubbing against each other as I walked.

The cop finally stopped in front of a cell and said, "Hanson, there's someone here for you."

I peered between the bars and saw that Tom was dressed in a denim blues prison uniform and was reading a magazine while laying on his bed. He looked up at me and got out from his bunk and walked up to the bars.

"Mickey, what are you doing here?" He asked me.

"I'm here to see why the hell you are on that side of these bars," I said and shoved my hands in my pockets. I already knew why. I had a long talk with Booker about it before I got here.

"They think I shot Buddy," Tom said in a low voice.

Bud Tower was a cop, partners with Frank Ferrell of the Metro Police Department. Tom went undercover with a gang which ended in him being found guilty of murdering the cop, Bud. There was a trial that almost all of us had to go up on the witness stand and testify for Tom. Despite our best efforts, he was found guilty, and put in jail.

I sighed, "I know. Booker is reopening the case," I told him, thinking he needed to hear some good news. Booker was visiting Ioki at the hospital when he called me to talk things over about the case. He needed me as a second person to make sure he wasn't overlooking any details, and he told me about a big fight he got into with Doug at the chapel. Booker mentioned how Frank made him uncomfortable. After Buddy died, Booker became Frank's new partner and disclosed to me some of the unsettling comments he has made. One of them was how he mentioned that he wished he could have killed Tom himself before Buddy died. There is something about hearing that a man threatened to kill your boyfriend that makes you want to go out and strangle him with your bare hands.

Booker and I talked and discussed the case for a while until he was confident that Tom did not kill Buddy, and he told me that he was planning on coming to the jail to talk to Tom. I thought that was a good idea, but I ran out the door because I needed to see Tom first.

"You got to get me the fuck outta here," Tom said. He told me about the other prisoners and how they immediately jumped him in their dayroom just because he's an officer. "Do you know what happens to a handsome guy like me in jail? It rhymes with grape."

"I'm sorry, Tom," I said.

"Thanks for visiting me," he said softly.

"Even if you're here for the rest of your life, I'll be here just the same," I promised.

"I feel like I'm in a zoo," he mumbled.

"We are trying hard to clear your name."

"And Booker is doing it?" He chuckled emptily and mindlessly walked back to his bed and tucked his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on his knees. He grabbed at his wrist for balance. "I'm not impressed."

I frowned and wrapped my fingers around the metal bars. "Booker will probably be forced to resign to prove your innocence."

"Oh," he said and rested his head back against the wall. He did not sound like he cared in the slightest.

"He thinks that Frank framed you by shooting Buddy himself," I said in a soft voice.

"How do you know that?" He asked, raising his eyebrow in a thick arch.

"I talked to Booker earlier," I said, "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this."

"No, tell me," he nearly begged.

"I'm going to wait for Booker to tell you himself," I said. It was hard to keep things from Tom, especially since I know it will help him but Booker is more involved in the case so I felt it was more appropriate that Booker delivered the information instead of me.

"Next time I see him, I'm giving him a punch to the nose," Tom grunted.

"Look, I know that Booker isn't your favorite person, but he is a good cop, you have to admit," I said, "trust him. I trust him."

"Oh, I'm so glad that you trust him," he snarled.

"Hey," I snapped at him. "We are in this together. We are a team."

"You say that, but you are not the one who is sitting in a prison cell," he snapped back.

I was about to open my mouth to say something, but I quickly shut up and took a step back from the cell bars. I stuck my hands in my coat pockets and exhaled slowly. I was upset at the way he was talking to me, but I knew that this was not the real Tom. This guy in front of me was cold, hungry, pissed, frustrated, and locked in a cage. This wasn't my Tom.

"All right, Jail Bird, I'll leave," I said calmly, "but just know that we are all on your side. No one is against you."

I turned to leave but Tom stopped me by walking back up to the bars and said composedly, "Mick, wait."

I looked over my shoulder at him and headed back over to the bars. He put his hands through and said genuinely, "I'm truly sorry. I did not mean to bark at you... I just really want to get out of here. I feel like I'm no better than some wild animal they stuck in a cage. It's dehumanizing. Jail is supposed to be for rehabilitation, but there's no rehab going on in here. They take 'em in, chew them up and spit them out. They get out worse than when they came in, so they get arrested and thrown back into this endless cycle. Do you know why animals die in cages? Their soul dies. And I see a lot of that around here."

I grabbed his hand and looked at him with kind eyes, "I know, and I'm sorry that you were put in this position. But you'll be out of here soon, okay? I promise."

"Okay." He smiled back at me despite his disheveled appearance. "I gotta break out of here just so I can get my hands on you."

"I just hope you get out before they shave your hair off. I really like your hair," I joked to keep the conversation light. I just wished the guard had opened the bars so I could run my fingers through Tom's thick hair and give him one more hug.

"Me too."

I rubbed my thumb against the back of his hand for a second before we were yelled at for touching. We both retracted our hands and mine found themselves back in the pockets of my coat.

He leaned against the cold bars and asked, "how's Ioki?"

"Still in the hospital," I told him, "he hasn't woken up yet."

"I hope he will be all right."

I exhaled and said, "I hope so too. I think he will."

"Time's up," the guard behind me said.

I looked back at him and asked, "can Hanson be released under my custody?"

"No, Officer Gregg. It would need to be for a special circumstance, like a funeral," the guard said.

"Oh," I said and turned back to Tom. Maybe I'll mention that to Booker when he comes to visit him. I told him, "I'll see you soon. All right?"

"All right," he said.

"Okay," I mumbled as I left Tom to walk back through the row of inmates. It was like walking past the dogs at the pound, they run to the bars and bark at you until you're out of sight.

I went back to the office to retrieve my effects, and I was escorted out of the prison.

Next chapter is about Tom and Mickey's first sleepover as a couple!! Don't forget to vote and comment! 😁