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Chapter Text

The first punch landed forcefully on the bridge of the doctor’s nose making a cracking sound much like a Rawlings baseball coming into contact with the sweet spot of a Louisville Slugger bat. If it weren’t for the office being carpeted and filled with furnishings the impact noise would have echoed across the far reaches of the hospital floor.

Thomas felt his right hand burn with pain upon impact but time wasn’t his friend at that moment because more pain followed him to a new and different location as he held his abdomen with both hands after a gut punch from the physician countered his initial strike.

The hallway outside was eerily quiet as if sickness and various afflictions were nonexistent. The occasional hospital staff walked by unsuspecting of the ongoings inside the adjacent physician’s office. Inside said office was another story altogether. Pictures on the walls were being crushed into shards of glass on the floor. One medical school diploma ricocheted off the berber carpet only to be picked up and used to shield punches by a resourceful private investigator. 

What was once a neat, organized executive desk with somewhat expensive personal items, patient files, a computer and telephone was now a makeshift MMA ring where the two men continued to battle it out, exchanging blows, sliding across the stack of formerly aligned folders into the desk chair both hitting the wall with a thud that must have caught the attention of at least someone nearby. Or at least one would assume.

More punches were landed before the two men clung to each other with their momentum pulling them towards the opposite side of the room and through the frosted glass wall into the formally quiet hallway. 

Nearby staff who heard the sudden commotion rushed to the men who were still embattled in a fierce struggle. Finally two security officers ran to them and forced a separation. 

Once identified as a staff member and doctor who belonged to the newly destroyed office, nurses and other employees approached him to offer support, naming him as the victim. 

Magnum was deemed the aggressor and detained further by the hospital security. Eventually, HPD arrived and arrested him for assault and battery on one honorable Dr. Ethan Shaw.

As Magnum was driven to the police headquarters in the back of a squad car, he could only imagine what his partner would think once she found out about his actions and arrest.

***************

30 Minutes Earlier 

Magnum had decided that he was going to go speak to Ethan directly about how he reacted when Higgins told him the truth about herself and try to convince him that she was only protecting herself as well as those that she loved and who were important to her. He wanted to explain that she needed to trust Ethan first before divulging the sensitive information that had a high price tag should he end up being someone who shouldn’t have that type of information. He wanted his partner to be happy and he felt that confronting the doctor and pleading her case for her was the best thing to do. Ethan made her happy and he wanted to try and fix things for her. Early into the conversation he realized that he was probably wrong about it. About all of it.

-Knock-knock-knock-

The doctor was behind his desk busily typing at his computer. He looked up at the intrusion, surprised to see the man standing in the doorway.

“Magnum?”

“Hey, Doc. You got a minute?”

“Ummm, I…” Ethan did have a minute but he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend any of them talking to Magnum about anything.

“It’s kind of important,” said Magnum as his face looked as serious as Ethan had seen.

“Is this about Juliet?”

“Yeah.”

“Come in. Close the door.”

They stared at each other for a few beats until Magnum began his case, first inhaling deep and steadying his focus.

“I think you owe Juliet something.”

Ethan looked a bit confused and possibly annoyed.

“Higgy,” he said before changing course once he saw Ethan’s facial features change as he reacted to the endearing nickname. “Juliet came to you last night to put her trust in you.”

“No she didn’t,” he said harshly, “Not that this concerns you, Magnum, but she came to me last night because she couldn’t keep the lie going. She never trusted me to begin with. And I can’t be with someone who can’t be truthful.”

“That’s just it. Juliet is the most honest person I have ever met. She had her reasons for not telling you about her past before. She had to make sure that you were worthy of being let in her inner circle. And once she did, you not only threw it in her face you broke her heart.”

Ethan slowly stood up from his desk and calmly placed his hands on the desk, fingers spread out. 

“No, you’re wrong. She broke mine first. I won’t ever be able to trust her again. I’ll always wonder what else she’s hiding. She’s nothing but a liar. But I guess big-time spies have to lie to be that good at what they do. But you know that better than anyone else, don’t you? She let you into her inner circle from the very beginning, didn’t she? So you have no idea what this is like. Do you?”

Magnum didn’t answer.

“How long have you known about her past?”

He still stayed silent to the man’s question.

“How long? Since you two first met?”

“This wasn’t about me and Higgins. I came here to try and convince you that you were making a huge mistake letting her go. She deserves a second chance.”

“It’s not a mistake. But even if it was, it’s mine to make and none of this is your business, Magnum. Juliet and I are none of your business.”

“Higgy will always be my business.”

“And why is that Magnum? Is it because maybe you have it bad for your partner? You want what you can’t have? Is that why you were jealous of me in the beginning? I bet you still are. Lying to yourself. To yourselves. You two are perfect for each other. Two professional liars who are really good at what they do.”

“This was a big mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“That’s right. You shouldn’t have. Get out Magnum. I have work to do. And you have my former girlfriend to go drool over.”

“I was right. Juliet deserves better than you. You were never worthy of her inner circle. It’s your loss not hers.”

“You might be in her inner circle, Magnum. But at least I wasn’t stuck in the friend zone. Which is a place you’re always going to be with her. That’s all she will ever be to you. So enjoy that circle of yours. I got a part of her you’ll never have. And you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Take care, Doc.” Magnum turned to leave and went for the door knob before hearing Ethan’s goading as he came closer.

“What? You don’t want to hear some of the things that I did to her? The sounds that she made when I gave her pleasure? The way she…”

And that’s when his fist first struck the man right in the nose making a sound so loud that neither of them were likely to forget what they heard or felt at that moment. Neither were likely to forget what followed.

****************

Juliet was sitting at her desk in the study when Kumu entered the room hurriedly with news. 

“Juliet, it’s Thomas. He’s been… arrested.”

“What! How? What for? What on Earth did he do now?” Juliet went for her phone trying to gather information.

“Who knows with Thomas. He’s been arrested for contempt of court, theft, breaking and entering… counterfeiting. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Quite true, Kumu.” She dialed and held the phone up to her ear. 

“To be fair though, I had to bail you out with him on one of those.”

Juliet gave her the evil eye as if she didn’t need reminding as her phone rang.

“Gordon, hello. It’s Juliet. It appears as though Thomas has been arrested.” Her tone was filled with anger and frustration but also a bit of worry.

It was something Gordon was already aware of and he filled her in on the matter fully. Once she got off the phone, Kumu awaited an update.

Juliet did not appear at all happy but also somewhat perplexed.

“What is it? You look like he murdered someone.”

“It appears that Thomas assaulted Ethan at the hospital.”

“Oh, dear,” replied Kumu. “I can’t wait to hear what caused that.”

“Well, it will have to wait. Magnum is going to be doing a lot of thinking on why he did what he did. He’s spending the night in jail.”

“You mean you’re not going to bail him out?”

“I’m not. And neither are you.” Her words were a clear directive.

“And how long are you going to make him stay behind bars?”

“Until I get to the bottom of this bloody insanity.”

Chapter Text

Juliet hurriedly walked to the Range Rover, opening the door and sitting down forcefully in the driver’s seat as she closed the door and let out a loud sigh signaling her absolute frustration at her former boyfriend as well as her partner. 

“Thomas, if you weren’t behind bars right now I would be dealing with you first.” She vocalized to her thoughts as if she was having an actual conversation with him telepathically.

She turned the key and sped off through the gate to Ethan’s residence about twenty minutes away.

The sudden screech of a car braking abruptly to a halt could be heard from inside the house. Ethan’s silhouette could be seen in the window as he looked out at the earlier noise. He watched her walk up the paved path to the door and opened it just before she arrived.

“How did I know that I would be seeing you this evening?” Ethan asked sarcastically.

Juliet saw the bruises and dried blood on his face. He appeared to have lost an MMA fight.

“What in the bloody hell happened between the two of you?” She was beyond angry and wanted answers. 

“That insane loose cannon you call a partner is what happened,” Ethan said in response to her. “He’s got serious mental issues.”

“Thomas is far from a loose cannon and you know that. How did the two of you manage to come to blows in the first place? Gordon said your office is destroyed? You went through a wall?”

“Again, that’s all Magnum. He went insane. He threw me through the glass wall.”

“Let’s rewind, shall we?” The look on her face was serious and intense like a mother who needed to scold her two toddlers. Only one was currently missing from the situation for good reason.

“I was busy with my patient files, working on entering my current caseload when Magnum showed up unannounced.”

“And what was his reason for coming to see you… unannounced?”

Ethan paused knowing what he was about to say might shine a more positive light on his adversary, which he was reluctant to do at first.

“He thought I was being unfair about how I reacted to your recent revelations about your past.”

“What? He came here on my behalf? What did he say exactly?”

“He wanted me to give you another chance. He said that you had valid reasons for not telling me about your past in the beginning.”

Juliet took a few seconds to process the information looking down while thinking, then looking back at Ethan. 

“I certainly can’t fault him for that but how on earth did the two of you end up in hand to hand combat and crashing through that glass wall? What initiated that?”

“Like I said, he flipped a switch and just went nuts.”

“That’s not Thomas,” she said assuredly.

“Maybe you don’t know Magnum as well as you think you do. You of all people know we have sides of ourselves we don’t share with others.”

“You had him arrested.”

“Magnum got himself arrested. He destroyed hospital property. He assaulted me at my place of employment. I didn’t have a choice, Jules.”

“I am very sorry for what happened. I’m sorry for what he did. But…”

“Please don’t ask me to do what you’re about to ask me to do.”

“I agree, he should be held responsible for what he did. And I assure you that I will hold him accountable. Please trust me that I will handle Magnum.”

“You want me to trust you? That’s rich.”

“Yes. I do. I tried to explain why I didn’t tell you about my past, Ethan. It wasn’t about you. Please understand that. I didn’t mean to hurt you. But I know that I did. Please trust me this time. Please drop the charges against Thomas. For me. I’m begging you.”

She looked at him, pleading a silent forgiveness with her eyes. 

“Alright. I’ll drop the charges.”

Quick to reply, Juliet said, “Ethan, thank you. So much.”

“On two conditions,” he added looking directly at her.

Seeing she wasn’t as lucky as she first thought, she responded, “Okay, Ethan, what are your conditions?”

“First, I want a formal apology from Magnum and then I don’t want to see his face near me again. I don’t want him stepping foot inside this hospital.”

“I can definitely see about the apology, Ethan. But at the rate Magnum gets injured, I’m not certain I can make the second half of that request happen.”

“Injuries aside, if he isn’t a patient, I don’t want him here. I’m sure the hospital staff would agree.”

“I’ll talk to him,” she replied. 

“Second condition,” Ethan remarked.

“I thought those were your two conditions?”

“That was the first,” he said. “I have one more.”

Growing more concerned she didn’t want to ask but instead waited to hear what he was going to say.

“I actually gave what he said some thought and I agree that maybe I was wrong about how I handled things and didn’t give you a fair chance. I should have been more considerate of what you shared with me. I have missed you and I hope you feel the same.”

Surprised at what he just said she appeared a little confused. 

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to say, Ethan.”

“I’m hoping we can start again, Jules. Have a second chance. I’m admitting I was wrong before and I want to make things work between us. I do love you, Juliet,  and I’m willing to give things another try. I want us to have another chance.”

His words weren’t at all what she was expecting but she did love him as well and it was never her idea to break things off. 

“I would love that,” she began, “Only now there’s this big rift between you and Magnum. If we’re to continue this, which I certainly want to do, I need the two of you to make amends. You are both extremely important to me and I want…I need both of you in my life.”

“I’ll do whatever you want,” he replied. “Magnum can make his apology to me and I’ll do the same. We can all agree to start over fresh.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” she agreed. 

“I’ll call HPD now and tell them to drop the charges,” said the doctor as he went for the phone on the desk. 

“Well, I know I asked for you to drop the charges but I didn’t mean tonight. As I said, I do think that Thomas needs consequences for his actions. It’s perfectly reasonable to allow him to spend the night in jail to think about what he did.”

“I’ll be sure to call first thing in the morning then,” the doctor said happy to delay the prisoner release.

“Thank you, Ethan. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation with this. Magnum is a good man. So are you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ethan walked up to her and put his arms on her shoulders and then placed a kiss on her lips. 

“I love you, Juliet.”

“I love you, too, Ethan.”

“I’m so glad that we’re back together,” he said.

“As am I.”

“Ummm, I do have to tell you something,” he said with caution in his voice, not wanting to disturb calmer waters.

“What?”

“While we were broken up, I was contacted by my associate at Doctors Without Borders. They want me to go to Kenya for six months. I leave next week.”

“So you’re going to Kenya? For half a year?”

“Yeah. But I know that you and I are worth this second chance so we’ll just figure something out. We can do the long distance thing. It’s only six months.”

“Of course,” she replied not knowing how else to react to the news.

“Unless…” he began, “You can always come with me?”

“I… I’m not so sure I can do that. I have my business with Thomas and my responsibilities at Robin’s estate.”

“Just think about it. You don’t have to decide now.”

Juliet wondered what she wanted to do and what she should do. So many thoughts and questions were roaming around in her head. She had a lot to process and think about. But first she needed to see her meddling partner.

***********************

Thomas did end up spending an uncomfortable night in jail and wasn’t all too thrilled at seeing his well-rested partner the following morning as the police officer escorted him to the front desk. 

“You’re free to go,” said the officer as he removed the handcuffs from Thomas’s wrists.

Juliet waited patiently on the other side of the room as she watched the officer give Thomas his belongings back. 

“What took you so long?” Thomas asked as he approached her. “I had to spend the night here.” She quickly surveyed him from head to toe, examining his physical injuries. He had a black eye, several dried cuts on his face from the shattered glass as well as similar wounds to his neck and arms. 

“What took me so long? Thomas, you do realize that you committed assault and battery on a well respected physician at the hospital he worked at. Do you also realize that if it wasn’t for Ethan you would still be behind bars right now but he agreed to drop the charges.”

“He did? Why would he do that?”

“He did it as a favor to me.”

“So he’s doing favors for you now?”

“I did it as a favor for you. But yes, I asked him to drop the charges and he agreed. He did the gentlemanly thing.”

“Gentleman my ass,” Thomas replied.

“Thomas…please don’t start.”

“Fine, I won’t. And thank you for asking him to drop the charges.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” she warned in a heated tone. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“In means, the favor came with a condition, Magnum.”

“That figures,” he responded.

“I don’t want to have this conversation here in the police station. Can we please just go home where we can continue this?”

“Lead the way,” he answered.

Most of the drive was quiet as one of them stewed in their frustration and the other tried to figure out what deal was made to get his charges dropped. A few minutes before arriving back at Robin’s, Magnum asked a looming question.

“What condition did Ethan have for dropping the charges?”

“You owe him an apology and must stay away from the hospital,” she said. 

“That’s it?” Magnum seemed surprised.

“Those are his conditions.”

“That’s not as bad as I thought it would be,” he added. “I can definitely fake an apology.”

“Which brings me to my own condition.”

“What? Why? I was only there in the first place because I was looking out for you.”

“I understand that. And I do appreciate what you attempted to do. But now the two of you are at ends with each other. And I need for you to make amends.”

“Amends? What for? Give me one reason why I need to make amends with that asshole.”

“Because I happen to love him, Thomas, that’s why and I want both of you to get along. So please do this for my sake.”

“Wait. Did you two get back together?” Thomas asked confused.

“We did. After I went to see him last night to ask him to drop the charges. He said he thought about what you said. And we talked. So despite everything that transpired leading to your arrest, you did end up achieving your goal of getting us back together. So despite all the dramatic events, I owe you a thank you.”

Thomas was not happy about that. Not about any of it. 

“Like I said, I can fake my apology to the doc and I’ll do my best to steer clear of the hospital. But I’m not going to pretend to like the guy. I’m sorry, Higgy, but I can’t do that.”

“Thomas, this is very important to me.”

They pulled in to the estate as she put the car in park and turned off the ignition, turning towards his seat to face him. He couldn’t look at her but instead glanced in her direction before saying, “I can’t do what you’re asking me. I’m sorry, I just can’t.” He opened the car door and got out, walking forward towards his house.

Juliet got out of the car and started walking to catch up with him. She grabbed his wrist and pulled to turn him around. 

“Thomas, wait.”

“I’ve said everything I want to say, Higgy. I wish I could do what you want me to but I can’t make nice with that guy. You deserve so much better than him. I wish you could see that.”

“Please reconsider. I want you both in my life. I need you both in my life, Thomas.”

“I want you in my life too, Higgy. And I’m always here for you. Always.”

“Ethan is leaving for Kenya next week for six months. Doctors Without Borders.”

“Well, I can’t say that I’ll miss the guy.”

“He asked me to go with him,” she added dramatically.

Thomas stood there like he was hit with a gut punch. No wind in his body to speak after that revelation.

“Say something,” Juliet said in a pleading voice.

Thomas shook his head and threw his hand in the air to signal an unspoken wave that he was leaving to the house. 

“Thomas…” she said loud enough for him to hear. But he just continued walking away.