Jaiden and Toni spent most of Sunday speaking with the other officers and hospital staff.  What was more alarming was that they did not find a body.  It seemed like the killer had a 2-week rotation, but he decided to torment Jaiden on this rotation instead.  The security around the hospital became tighter with frequent visits from the precinct. 

The people's concern touched him, but he soon hated it.  The introvert inside him just wanted to spend his time in silence and brood.  In addition to the traffic, he and Toni found it impossible to keep the ordeal quiet from Valeria and Gloria.

Jaiden soon wished for new painkillers for the growing headache caused by the influx of people.  But he only smiled and greeted the people he needed to.

He felt like he was crawling out of his skin and begged to be released every time he saw a doctor or nurse pass by.  He was denied each time because they found he had a higher dose of morphine the night before and wanted to ensure he didn't have adverse effects.  He had to accept another night in the damned hospital. 

At least he had Toni this time, and they set up a cot in the room for him. Their sleep wasn't peaceful, not in the least, but they were thankful that it was an uneventful night.

Monday was equally uneventful, but the stress Jaiden was feeling was amplified.  His sleep was restless, and he gave up trying to close his eyes altogether.  

The hospital finally relented and allowed him to go home with strict conditions and instructions, including wearing the uncomfortable sling.  Toni immediately drove him home, locked up the house, and held him close in their bed.   Many would have assumed that he and Toni would be celebrating his return home; however, it was spent trying to calm and soothe Jaiden.  

The anniversary of Carlos' death was the following day.  Unfortunately, Jaiden's nightmares and panic attacks were at their all-time high.  However, instead of waking up screaming like he used to, he would hold on to Toni.  Toni would embrace him tightly and rub his back, comforting him through each attack.

It was another long and restless night, but the dark void of depression didn't overtake Jaiden.  He woke up on Tuesday, knowing he now had gone two years without his mentor but felt calm.  Toni woke up with him and kissed his forehead.  

"Morning, mi sol.  You want to have another day in bed with me?" Toni greeted him while brushing his hair out of his eyes.

Jaiden chuckled.  "I was actually thinking of going into the office today."

Toni faltered and gave Jaiden a concerned look.  "Today?  I mean, not only are you injured, but today is..."

Jaiden nodded, knowing that Toni was hesitant because of the anniversary. "I know.  But I need to be do something, and nothing sounds better than doing the job Carlos loved with the person I love."

Toni pressed his forehead against Jaiden's and sighed. "I get it, I do.  But if I agree to this, I want you to swear that you are one hundred percent open and honest with me today.  If you need to go home, we go home."

Jaiden could have easily gone back down to Las Cruces with Valeria and her children, or he could have holed up in his room, and no one would say anything against him.

But he was determined to live normally today—another day with a little less pain than the year before.

Jaiden entered the precinct with the sling he had cursed all morning. The other officers warmly welcomed him back with a cheer or a pat on the back.  There were some wolf whistles when Toni placed his hand on Jaiden's back. 

Jaiden gave Toni a confused look.  "Did they whistle at us?"

Toni laughed and rubbed small circles on his back.  "They've been supportive of our relationship... I think.  They said something about me replacing that stick up your ass."

"Replace it with what?" The joke dawned on him.  "Goddamn, these assholes."

He and Toni laughed as they made their way over to their desks, and Jaiden paused to see a package on his desk.  He pursed his lips.  "What's this?" He asked one of the detectives, Sal, who sat near him.

The detective shrugged.  "A messenger dropped it off about half an hour ago."

Jaiden raised an eyebrow but picked up the package.  It was wrapped meticulously in red paper and tied with a twine bow.  He hesitated for a moment, wondering who would leave him a gift.  

He glanced over to Toni, but he was in the middle of a conversation with one of the detectives that had jumped in to help while Jaiden was in the hospital. 

Jaiden ran through who would give him a gift.  He knew it wouldn't be Toni because they tended to be strictly business once they stepped through the precinct's doors. Presents at the workplace were a little out of the ordinary.  He thought of a few people who could have sent it, including Valeria, so he carefully untied the twine and pulled apart the paper to reveal a plain box.  

Jaiden frowned a little. It was thin and light and didn't seem dangerous; however, he was starting to feel hesitant and afraid to open it. 

He took a deep breath and opened the box.

Suddenly he felt like he was back outside the church again two years ago. The chill and the cold were biting his hands until they were stiff.  The sickening feeling building in his gut was nearly choking him.  His throat burned like he was drinking acid. 

His entire body was stiff, and his muscles were taut.  His jaw was clenched, and a vein in his neck was throbbing. 

"Who dropped this off?" Jaiden said in almost a whisper.  However, the eeriness laced in his voice silenced the station.

Sal paled a little.  "What?"

"Who the fuck dropped this off?" Jaiden asked again, but this time his voice was louder.  

Toni moved towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder, but Jaiden pulled away and rounded on Sal.  "It's not a hard question, detective."

"I... I don't know.  A messenger."  He stammered.  

"Are you usually this bad at your job?" Jaiden sneered.

"Jaiden." Toni tried to call out to him, but Jaiden ignored him.

"Male or female?" Jaiden launched into an interrogation. 

"Um... male."

"Height?"

"I... I don't know.  Close to 6 feet?" He drew out his statement to sound like a question.

"You're the one who saw him, so why are you asking me?" Jaiden practically growled with disdain.

"S... sorry, sir.  Tall, but not as tall as you.  So 5'10", give or take an inch."

"Hair?"

"Tucked in a red cap.  But dark and shaggy."  David took a breath and closed his eyes for a moment.  "He wore a jean jacket and a red shirt underneath.  He had a scarf around his neck, though... black.  Dark wash jeans and black sneakers.  He had a canvas messenger bag... I didn't get a good look at his face... but I believe his eyes were dark brown."

Jaiden sighed, but his hand holding the box was visibly trembling.  He looked around the precinct and examined the security cameras.  "Can you pull the cameras and see if you can identify him?"

He scrambled a little.  "Uh... yes... I suppose."

Jaiden nodded stiffly and took off.  He stormed out of the precinct and stepped outside in the cold air.  He cursed when he saw a red hat and black scarf thrown haphazardly in the bushes. 

"Fuck." Jaiden barked out, making the people standing around him jump.

A firm hand grabbed his arm, but Jaiden jerked back and stumbled.  He almost fell but was pulled into an embrace. 

"What the fuck?" He snapped. His glare was piercing but was immediately replaced with surprise when he realized he was face to face with Toni.

Toni was searching him with his eyes, trying to understand what was happening.  His brown eyes were mixed with concern and hurt.  

"Mi sol." He whispered. "Hábleme."

Jaiden's fury broke and warped into distressing sorrow.  "Toni... I..." He clutched the box to his chest.  "I can't breathe."

Toni cursed and quickly pulled him into one of the monitoring section of an interrogation room.  He sat him down and pressed his hands on Jaiden's cheeks. "Mi sol."  He called out.

But Jaiden's breath was shortening, and his chest was starting to heave. Toni hated to see the man he loved like this, but he kept a slight smile and ran his hands through Jaiden's hair.  He started to sing an old Spanish song to Jaiden quietly.

After half an hour of the two of them alone in the room, Jaiden released a long breath.  "Toni." He muttered. 

"Sí, mi sol."

"I missed something."  He sounded ashamed and fearful, something Toni had never heard before.

"What do you mean?"

Jaiden handed him the box.  "Who else was there?"

Toni looked down and saw several 8x10 pictures in black and white. He stilled from the haunting images.  

The pictures were taken in a church that was abandoned.  The windows were broken, and the pews were scattered and charred.  However, the focus was on the altar, covered in a pool of dark liquid and words carved into the floor.  One body was face down and slightly out of frame.  However, a young man was kneeling on the floor in the center, cradling an older gentleman. 

Jaiden and Carlos.

In the first image, Carlos looked at Jaiden with profound adoration, and his hand gripped his shirt.  In contrast, Jaiden's face reflected his anguish.  His mouth was twisted in a mid yell, and tears were streaming down his face.  

Toni knew that Jaiden was begging Carlos to hang on.  He had heard Jaiden plead one too many times in his nightmares.  He could hear his broken voice cut into his soul.  

This was the moment that destroyed Jaiden.  This was when his nightmares began and when he stopped trusting himself. 

He flipped to the next picture, which depicted Jaiden trying to press down on a wound on Carlos' chest. Tears were still staining his face, and his pain was tangible.  Carlos' was trying to say something to him.

The next picture had Jaiden bent over, looking Carlos in the eyes.   Carlos had a bright smile on his lips and his hand was pressed against Jaiden's cheek.  This image made him remember when Jaiden told him that he called him 'dad' right before he died.  He believed that this was the moment.

The final image showed Carlos' hand dangling and his head turned away from the camera.  His body was limp in Jaiden's arms.  Jaiden was still holding him, Carlos' blood had covered his cheek, arms, and hands.  His face slack and his eyes showed no emotion.  It was like the sorrow did not register.  

It reminded him of Michelangelo's Pietà, the painting the killer left in the pastor's house.

Toni hesitated on this photo and his hand was trembling.  He had never seen Jaiden like this before and it terrified him.

The worst part was that someone scrawled "Happy Anniversary"  in red across the top of the photo.

"Jaiden... what..."

"Only three people should have been in that church... Carlos, Terrance, and me.  Terrance killed Carlos and I killed Terrance... there were no cameras... no security... but what if someone was hiding?  What if there was a second killer?  An accomplice in those murders.  Our theory was stretched a little, thinking Terrance could have done it all by himself.  But we never suspected a second person... No one else fit the mold.  But maybe a second killer hid themselves carefully; leaving small traces evidence to point to Terrance... It's plausible, right?"

Jaiden was muttering to himself, trying to break through the evidence.

"Jaiden." Toni called out, and gently took his chin and turned his face towards him.

Jaiden's eyes looked wild, his facial expression slightly twisted.  "I messed up, Toni... I fucking messed up."

Toni slowly shook his head. "I looked at that case file before, and I read through your journal.  You were right to suspect one person.  It was tricky, but the murders were possible.  You had no reason to suspect another person.  You didn't mess up."  He took a deep breath. "This is going to sound heartless—and I am truly sorry for this—but you two would have gone to the church even if you knew that there was another person.  Terrance would have still shot his gun.  Carlos probably would have still died."

Jaiden's face crumpled a little. "But... if we knew there was another person, we could have called backup.  We could have waited for more people.  We could have protected ourselves more."

"Or you would have seen the same thing.  Jaiden, it's no longer about the 'what ifs'.  It's not about what you did wrong in the past.  You need to focus on what you can do with the information on hand at this very moment."

Jaiden looked truly lost and small.  He was having a hard time focusing and was struggling internally. 

Toni cupped his cheeks so he could look Jaiden in the eyes. "Jaiden, I say this with my utmost love and affection; snap the fuck out of it."

Jaiden flinched and stared at Toni.  "What?"

"You need to put the pieces together.  I can't do it for you.  Only you know both cases by heart." Toni said softer than before.  

Jaiden took several deep breaths until he finally nodded slightly. "Terrance and this possible second killer were good, Toni.  They were like ghosts with clean crime scenes.  There left no traces of themselves until they wanted to be seen. At the the final murder, they left an old pamphlet to Our Lady Church and that's when we thought everything fell into place for us... But it was misdirection... This second murderer had everything point to Terrance and we fell for it."

Jaiden let out a shuddering breath.  "Fuck." He looked at Toni with desperate eyes.  "Did we get any hits on that partial fingerprint?"

Toni shook his head.  "It didn't match the victim, so we checked anyone in prison, who has a record, or was in the hospital."

"Did we check only those who are alive?"

Toni nodded.  "That's right."

"Can we expand the search?  To those who have died?"  Jaiden asked.

"Are you thinking they used Terrance again?"

Jaiden nodded.  "If Terrence had an accomplice, then he got away with no one suspecting him.  He played Terrance and me... the man in the hospital said he liked playing our game, so if he is associated with both sets of murder, then I wouldn't put it past him to plant a dead man's fingerprint."

"And if it is him?  What then?" Toni said quietly and rubbed his face a little.

"Then I know my next step.  But let's run it before I jump to conclusions.  If it the fingerprint belongs to the man I killed, then I'm going to have to ask for a favor." Jaiden said with a faltering smile.

Toni ran his hand through Jaiden's hair and then cupped his cheek, letting Jaiden press into his touch.  "Ok, mi sol.  Let me call it in."

****

A/N

It may not seem like it right now, but I really do love Jaiden and I want him to be happy.