Pain is the first thing he's aware of as he floats at the edge of consciousness; then comes a faint pressure on his left hand.
"Hey, man – can you hear me?"
It takes him a moment to force his eyelids open, so that he can finally meet Rigsby's worried gaze.
"What happened?" he croaks at last, his voice barely recognizable to his own ears.
"Suspect shot you, and you fell down the stairs."
"No kidding," he says, and that's when his deadpan sense of humor takes over. "Please, tell me that you've not been holding my hand the whole time."