Fear? What's that?

He closed his eyes for a moment. His entire life flashed in front of him. His school life whizzed past him first, where he pretty much spent all his time outside the principal's office. His college life followed suit, where everyone wanted to be like him and he roamed around with his chest held high. Finally, his ten years of service as a cop appeared like a slow moving reel. He was both respected and feared across so many cities in India. Fear was a term that was alien to him. He was hit by bullets many a times, one of which hit him very close to the heart too. But he was never afraid. He was the epitome of bravery. He remembered his wedding. People told him how he would be afraid of his wife, but she turned out to be a gem. 
He had taken the day off this morning. His first bunk in almost three years. His wife was genuinely surprised and asked him what was wrong. He made some lame excuse and left. He wasn't going to let his wife see him like that. She had never known him to be afraid of anything. Heck, he himself couldn't remember the last time he was afraid of something. He tried to remember, the last time he was so scared. Maybe when he was a small boy, he thought. Yet, here he was sitting in a chair, with his eyes closed, and he was shivering like his grandmother. He remembered how her dentures used to rattle when she shivered. "Focus jackass!! Focus." he told himself. In a distance, he heard his name being called out. He knew that his time was running out. He kept his eyes closed. She called out to him again. He didn't budge. He felt like one of those criminals who was waiting for his turn to be hanged. "Sir!", said the receptionist who had now walked up to him, "the dentist is now ready to see you."