*Note: This story is not a sequel, if someone wants to write a story about the case that the fab four had been working on leading up to the forthcoming events, feel free to knock yourself out, I'd love to read about it! I just wanted to write a story about the bond between Mark and Jesse.*

Disclaimer: The characters herein do not belong to me, blah, blah, you know the drill! Tehe! Enjoy!

***

Right on cue, a slightly smiling Jesse proudly pulled himself off the ground, unharmed. The criminals, at the realization that they had been duped, attempted to flee before stopped and arrested by three cops, who had been hiding in the shadows of the small warehouse as the two doctors carried out their clever trick. Jesse was always being used in ploys with his friends to catch murderers, and he was almost beginning to enjoy it. It made him feel really important. He was startled awake from his ponderings by Mark patting him on the back.

"Good work Jess," Mark chuckled congenially. He was really proud of Jesse for being such a good sport through all of this. The young doctor always amused Mark in his exuberant eagerness to help solve all of the cases.

Jesse grinned. "You didn't do too bad yourself, Mark."

There was a slight pause. "Yeah, I just wish Steve were here to arrest these guys," the older man sighed.

"Yeah," Jesse agreed, "what a day to be home sick."

Steve had been on this case and nearly had it cracked, of course with the help of his father and friends, when he suddenly came down with a miserable sinus infection and was forced to stay home in bed by his very adamant father, who assured him that he and Jesse, of course along with the rest of the LAPD, would take care of it.

The two doctors turned to follow the police from the building when pandemonium broke out. An explosion shook the warehouse, causing temporary confusion. One of the criminals, knowing in advance of the impending blast, had his firearm ready when the police officer momentarily lost control of him in the chaos. He, being a criminal and therefore not a very decent fellow, of course harbored hostile feelings toward the men who had helped him get arrested. He raised his gun in the direction of the easiest target, which just happened to be the old man, who had his back turned to him. He fired a perfectly aimed shot at Mark's back.

Jesse, who, in the disarray just happened to be turned towards the doorway, caught sight of the man aiming a gun at Mark. With next to no hesitation and a bellow of, "Mark!!", Jesse dove into the path of the bullet, ramming Mark into a pile of boxes, as time seemed to slow. The boxes and pile of sawdust onto which he fell broke Mark's fall, leaving him only to wonder what Jesse what up to. He was soon to discover this mystery as he spotted Jesse writhing on the floor in a small puddle of blood. He was especially startled at the realization that this was Jesse's own blood.
*
As Jesse doggedly dove into Mark, with no regard for his own safety, he soon came to the awareness of exactly what he had done as a bullet tore into his chest, knocking him with a grunt of pain to the floor.
*
Meanwhile, the cops, barely realizing the intentions of the criminals during the blast, quickly secured their quarry and dragged them through the doorway, which caved in behind them, leaving the two doctors trapped in the burning building.