She was exhausted. Working the ER on a Saturday night in New York City was not her idea of fun. She walked over to the water cooler hoping to get a quick drink. Her mouth was dry. Before she could even grab a plastic cup out of the dispenser, she heard a loud commotion toward the entrance.

"Don't make me slap the stupid out of you!" She heard a woman's angry voice declare.

"If you so much as blink wrong, I will fuckin shoot you!" The mystery woman threatened.

She abandoned the water cooler and headed out toward the excitement. It took her about 10 seconds to process what was going on. The irate woman was a cop. Based on the way she was dressed she was probably a detective. She was rather short and looked like she had just went 5 rounds in the UFC. There was also something else she noticed, the handcuffed man, who was at least twice the woman's size, looked worse. As she got closer she noticed an object protruding out of the female detectives shoulder region just below her collarbone. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a steak knife.

"Are you people going to just stand there, or are you gonna do something?" The injured woman exclaimed, pointing at the foreign object lodged in her body.

Immediately the ER staff began to tend to the two injured people. A uniformed officer arrived and stayed with the large handcuffed man. The woman detective was taken into the back to be examined immediately.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Russo." The thirsty doctor said extending her hand.

"I'm Detective Torres. NYPD. I need this fuckin thing out of my arm please. I've got shit to do." She scowled.

As the doctor began to asess the cop in front of her, she couldn't help but notice how attractive she was. Dark brown hair and chocolate eyes. Perfect skin. She definitely worked out. She could feel the muscle definition beneath her clothes. She felt the detective wince in pain.

"Sorry." She said softly. "It looks like we should be able to remove the knife with no problems. You"ll need stitches of course, but you will back to normal in no time."

"Well, I'm not getting any younger and it's not getting any less painful so can we pull it out already." The exasperated woman asked.

"Of course." She smiled. "Let me go get some nurses to assist." The doctor walked away as she scribbled something down on a chart. Detective Torres was not a very patient person. She was also angry. Both of these caused her to be quite difficult to deal with. Tonight was no exception.

"Fuck it." She mumbled. She reached her hand up and grasped the handle of the knife. She took three quick breaths then pulled on the handle. She grunted as the blade slid out. She watched the crimson red liquid pour out of the wound. As she sat there she felt her vision start to blur. She knew that she was going to pass out, to prevent any further injury she laid back on the gurney as she lost consciousness and the knife slipped from her fingertips.

When Dr. Russo returned to check on the detective she immediately noticed the knife was lying on the floor. Shit. She thought. She applied pressure to the wound and signaled the nurses. It didn't take long to stop the bleeding and stitch the wound. Once the detective was able to sit up, one of the nurses started to clean up the cuts and scrapes on her face and hands.

The battered woman watched as the doctor reentered the room. "I'll finish up Maggie. Go take your break." She spoke softly. "Are you sure?" The nurse replied. The doctor simply nodded and smiled and took the cloth and sterile water.

"What's your first name?" She asked the cop as she gently wiped away excess blood and dirt from the woman's face.

"Demi." She said annoyed.

"I like that name." She smiled. Demi gave her a half smile in return. "So you had a quite a night I take it?" The doctor asked in an attempt to start conversation.

"Clearly."

"Do you have more than a one word at a time vocabulary detective?" She teased.

"Yes. I do. I'm just not in the best of moods. Sorry. Can we hurry this up please? I've got something I need to do." The cop scowled.

"No problem."

The doctor didn't attempt to make anymore conversation. Demi knew she was being too harsh. The woman was after all, just trying to help her. It's not her fault she had to chase the guy across ten city blocks and through an apartment complex. Its not her fault he stuck her with a knife. It's also not her fault that she spent what seemed like an eternity engaged in a brawl with him. Her whole body hurt and she just wanted to get home.

"Look...Dr. Russo, I'm sorry I haven't been the best patient. I've just had a long day. Thank you." She told the woman tending to her wounds.

"Call me Selena." She smiled.

"Thank you Selena. I really appreciate your help." Selena simply nodded in acknowledgment. Demi studied Selena's face as she continued to tend to her injuries. She looked young. Her skin was flawless. She had the kind of lips that begged to be kissed. She also noticed how good she smelled. Almond and vanilla perhaps? She had no clue, she just knew it was sort of intoxicating. Her hands were soft and gentle as she did her work. Every so often she would push a strand of her raven hair behind her ears. She was beautiful.

"We're all finished. I'm going to get your discharge paperwork and I'm also going to get you a prescription to help with the discomfort. You're going to be sore for a while." Selena stated.

"Wonderful." Demi grumbled as the doctor walked away.

When Dr. Russo returned she was carrying the discharge paperwork as promised and a bottle of pills. "Take two as needed for the pain. Also if you have any problems just come back in and see me." The doctor smiled before walking away.

"Thanks." Demi replied wincing as she stood up from the gurney. She grabbed her jacket and carefully put it back on. Her shoulder felt tight and stiff so her movement was limited. She checked in with the police officer that took custody of the guy she had arrested. Once she made sure he wasn't going anywhere, she got in the elevator and went up to the third floor. When she approached the nurses station she flashed her badge and gave them the room number she was headed to. She took a deep breath before lightly knocking on the door. A small girl of about 5 answered.

"Hello?" She said quietly.

"Hey. I'm Detective Torres. Do you remember me?" She asked the little girl.

She shook her head yes. "Can I talk to your Mom and Sister?" The Detective asked.

The little girl opened the door the rest of the way revealing her sister's bruised form laying in the hospital bed. Demi walked up to the bed and carefully sat on the mattress. She took the 15 year olds hand in hers and said "Sarah, I caught the guy that did this to you. He can't hurt you again." The girls mother immediately started crying and as the cop sat their she saw the relief in the broken girls eyes.