Chapter 1

She let out a hard gasp when his fingers unlaced from hers; when his hand slipped just out of her reach.

"What have we got?" Jake asked the paramedics as soon as he caught site of the injury to Griffin.

"Stab wound to the left upper chest. We started two lines, and gave him 3 micrograms of Dopamine with no response." The paramedic answered.

"Looks deep, probably nicked his aorta." Jake said as he pointed them toward the exam room.

Jake Martin had met them at the ambulance and had tried to assure her that they'd take good care of him; or that least that's what she thought he'd said. She remembered nodding deftly, remembered shaking the tears off her cheeks as she told him not to worry. She remembered the blood spilling from his chest. She remembered the pale, lifeless way he'd collapsed in her arms.

It had all happened so fast. One minute they were arguing in the park. She thought he was pushing drugs, thought he'd been lying to her all these months. Thought he'd played her for a fool, put her children in danger. She'd trusted him. He'd been standing before her trying to tell, trying to say something, trying to bare his soul...when they'd been approached by a man dressed in black.

She thought Griffin knew the man, or that the man knew Griffin. Though it didn't matter. They'd argued, pushed and shoved each other. She didn't remember what they said or anything before she saw him stumble back toward her. Before she caught him as he fell backward.

The man ran before she could see his face, before she could process anything really. All she knew was what she'd been able to pick up in the ambulance. That the stab wound was in his upper chest, near his aorta, near his heart. That he's lost a lot of blood. That they needed...

They needed the best. They needed someone who wouldn't give up. Who wouldn't walk away until he was in recovery. They needed...

"David," She breathed, hands shaking as she fumbled through her purse. He owed her, she realized, and if he wouldn't do this for her, at the very least his respect and friendship with Griffin could convince him.

"David Hayward," He blew into the phone.

"David," She pushed out quickly, "It's Kendall. I need you to come to the hospital. Griffin's been stabbed."

David blew out a hard curse word into the phone, "I don't have a license..." He started to remind her, but she interrupted him.

"I don't care," She bit out, "The wound is near his aorta, near his heart. No matter what I or anyone else in this town thinks of you, you're the best. He needs you."

"Jake isn't going to let me near the ER," David told her, already headed for the door. He might be rationally protesting, but that didn't mean he really believed it. Castillo needed him, and he'd be there.

"I'll take care of Jake, just get here as fast as you can," She ordered, unwilling to hear anything else.

"Yeah, I'm on my way," He told her, through a hard breath, "I need a doctor to meet me at the door. The sooner I know what I'm dealing with, the better."

"Okay, okay," She nodded, "Thank you, David."

"Don't thank me yet," He told her, before her hung up.

She blew out a hard breath and shut off her phone. Her eyes slid closed and she said a silent prayer, needing everyone and anyone who was up there, to keep him safe.

"Okay, we need to prep him for surgery. OR 1." Jake noted to the nurses.

"Dr. Martin do you want me to page the Cardiologist on call?" The resident asked.

"No, no I can handle a simple aortic rupture, as long as we don't stand around and wait for him to bleed out." Jake said angered at the residents' ignorance.

"I really don't think you can handle this type of surgery Dr. Martin. What if there is extensive damage to the artery?"

"I agree with the young doctor here. There is no way you are qualified to handle this type of trauma Dr. Martin." David said as he slid into the room noting the monitors.

"David what in the hell are you doing here? This doesn't concern you, you have no medical license," Jake barked, shaking his head as he attended to Griffin.

"Shut up and get out of my way," David told him, starting into the room, so he could assess the situation.

"Get him out of here," Jake hissed, ordering any free hands to escort David out.

"No!" Kendall cried out, all eyes in the crowded ER falling on her. "I asked him to come. Griffin needs the best. That's David."

"Kendall," Jake tried to start, but she shook her head.

"He needs a cardiologist, David is a cardiologist. Why can't you let him do this?" She asked, watching Jake shake his head.

"I can't let an unlicensed surgeon work in my ER," Jake told her, "No matter how good he is."

"He's the best," She fired back, unwilling to back down, "Please Jake, let him do this. Please just put it all aside for tonight. It's not about egos or who's right or wrong. It's about saving a life. Griffin needs the best. He needs David."

Jake opened his mouth, ready to protest, but sighed instead. "Alright, alright, just this once. Hayward, scrub in."

David nodded and rushed away, needing to be scrubbed in as fast as possible.

"Thank you, Jake," Kendall breathed.

He nodded, offering her a soft smile. "I'll send someone out with updates as soon as we know something."

Two minutes later, and David was scrubbed in and ready to go. They'd assessed the damage, and he'd talked over surgery with his team. All they had to do was get Castillo up to the operating room and he could save his friends life.

Castillo was still awake, though he was fading in and out of consciousness, as the anesthesia began to take effect.

"Doctor H..." Griffin half said, half moaned, his head turning against the gurney to find David.

"Shhh, don't talk Castillo," David told him, shaking his head. "They'll be plenty of time for that later."

"No you don't," He was trying stay focused. Trying to stay lucid. Trying to make sure that he didn't go into surgery, that he didn't risk not waking back up, without telling someone. "They're in trouble."

"No one is in trouble, just relax okay." David told him.

"Kendall...Bianca...Erica," He pushed out in a hard breath, his eyes sliding up to meet David's, "danger. ...you...keep...safe.." He couldn't focus anymore, couldn't keep his eyes open, couldn't keep his mind running. But he had to make sure they were safe. "Protect...them." He managed to get the last word out through a shaky breath, before sleep over took him.

"Alright, let's go." David blew out, "Move it now."

Griffin's words floated to the back of David's mind, as he focused on his patient. But that didn't mean he'd let it go. Anything that involved the Kane women was something worth looking into, something worth keeping tabs on. He couldn't let anything happen to them, either. For now through, he'd get Castillo through surgery and into recovery.

Anything else was unacceptable.