"What happen, you lose the horse shoe?" a husky female voice he hadn't heard in years asked.
"Kay? Kay Howard, what on earth are you doing here?" John asked in surprised. A woman with wild strawberry blonde hair came to the side of his bed to give him a hug.
"I came to New York on business, tried to look you up, and they told me you'd been shot. My immediate response was not the Munchkin, he was born with a horse shoe up his butt, Stanley said so!"
"Didn't they tell you where I got shot?" John asked, almost looking embarrassed.
"They sure did, your captain, Cragen?" she paused, unsure about the name. Munch nodded. "He seemed to think the wound was some how one you'd think was apropos. Actually, he says you were quite the hero."
"Not really, just running on reflex and years of training. Suspect points a gun at hostage's head," Munch illustrates with his finger, "you tell the gunman to drop the gun. Of course when the hostage happens to be the ADA you work with everyday,"–
"Yeah that makes, things a little different, doesn't it?"
"A little," he agreed, "but the thing is, I didn't do her that much good, because I no more than got the words out of my mouth, than the other shooter shot me," John admitted.
"You didn't see him?" Kay asked
"No, they'd smuggled guns into the courtroom, so we didn't realize how many shooters there were or where they were located," John explained.
"Sounds eerily familiar," she said, and then reached out and took his hand, remembering for a moment another shooting that he and she had both been at. One he had weathered far better than she, at least physically.
"They gonna spring you from this joint anytime soon?"
"I think they're going to let me out tomorrow morning," he said managing to sound both hopeful and put upon at the same time.
"Show a gal around the Big Apple?" Kay asked with a hopeful smile.
"You bet, at least as well as a guy can, when he's had his lucky horse shoe knocked about." John replied with a grin.
"That gunman must have been one hell of a marksman," she said with a laugh, which turned into a startled yelp, when John pulled his pillow out from behind him to start a pillow fight.
"OK, that does it, no more sympathy. I'm going to go out there and find out when you're discharge time is, and I'll be back here to pick you up."
John fished in his bedside stand and found something to write with and a pen, then handed Kay some keys. "Unless you want the first stop to be the city jail, bring me some clothes."
"Your wish is my command," she replied and made a farce of a bow.
"Really?" John said mischief clear even behind his dark glass.
"NO! Forget I said that! I'm getting out of here before I change my mind about coming back!"
The door shut, then it opened again and Kay stuck her head in for a moment.
"I've really missed you Munchkin."
She closed the door again quickly, so quickly she probably didn't here Munch say, "I've missed you too, Kay."