Who the Hell rings at… Javier glances at the clock, two in the morning? He presses the green-glowing phone button.

"Esposito."

"I don't feel so good, Javi."

"Kevin? You okay, man?" It's the middle of the night, and Javier's a little worried.

"…Shot" There's a crashing sound, like someone dropped a phone. Then there's a smacking sound, like someone hit the floor… "Kevin!"

There's a groan. "Javi, I feel sick…"

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Kev. Keep talking to me. Tell me what happened."

"Man came in… he said… oh God, Javi, I'm bleeding. Like, real bad."

"Tell me what happened, bro. How many bullets?"

"One missed, two to the gut, one to the leg. It really hurts, Javi," Kevin half-moaned. "It's bleeding real bad. Oh God."

"I'm nearly there, Kev. Kevin, can you hear me, bro?" Javier didn't know what to do. He could hang up to call an ambulance, or keep talking to Kevin, keep him awake.

"Javi? Don't leave me, Javi."

"I won't, not ever bro. I'm outside your apartment, putting the key in the lock, coming through the door. You still there, Kev?"

"Mmph…"

Oh God. "C'mon Kev, stay with me, don't leave me now… I'm at the stairs, nearly at your floor."

"See you soon then."

"Yeah, I'll se you soon. Walking down the corridor. How you holding up, bro?"

No reply.

"Kevin? Kevin? Answer me! Wake UP!"

Javier didn't bother with the key, instead just barging the door down. "Kevin! Where are you?"

He runs through the apartment, finally finding Kevin in his tiny bathroom. He ends the call, and taps in 911.

"Kevin? Kevin! Talk to me." Kevin was right. There was a heap of blood, the spattercontrasting against the white tiles. Javier hardly notices details though, as the 911 operator has finally picked up. He kneels on the ground beside his bloodied partner.

"Two bullet wounds to the lower right abdomen and the upper right thigh." He rattles of Kevin's address.

"Is he conscious?"

"In and out, state of moderate to extreme shock. Hasn't stopped breathing yet. I'm trying to keep him awake."

"Do you know first aid sir?"

"Yeah, we're both NYPD."

"Then, if you're confident that you know what you're doing, I'll hang up. Keep him awake sir."

Javier hangs up. "You hear that, Kevin? You just to wake up. Wake up, Kevin. Wake up. Goddamnit, Kevin! Wake up!" He sits on the now-red floor, gently pulling Kevin's head onto him lap. "C'mon, Kevin, wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up. You can't leave me, Kevin. You can't. I won't get another partner, not after you." He thumbs a piece of hair from his partner's startlingly-white face. "I think I love you, bro. Don't leave me Kev, don't do it. Don't go away now. Don't leave me, you can't leave me."

All that can be heard is Kevin's almost non-existent breathing and Javier's deep panting. "You'll be okay, Kev."

Kevin's lips are moving, trying to say something. Javier leans closer to hear it.

"It hurts."

"I know, I know Kevin. You'll be just fine though man. Just fine."

"I trust you, Javi."

"Good. That's good, man. I trust you too."

When Kevin looks back on that night, he swears that that is all he can remember. And because of this, Javier says Kevin passed out soon after that, and nothing else, that Javier could hear at least, was said.

But really, they both know that Kevin's last words before passing out were "I love you too, bro."

And maybe, deep down, they both know that they know.

The End.