There were people passing on the street next to the alley, but none of them even looked his way and Milo didn't pay them any attention. Connor thought he was sleeping, but when there was a familiar voice calling out his name, Milo's head snapped up.

"Hey, it's okay. Relax, buddy." Connor patted Milo on the head, then called out.

"I'm here." He was just about ready to get off the ground, but the second Jay and Will entered the alley, Milo sprung up and started growling and baring his teeth. The two men paused, hands in the air.

"Whoa. Calm your pet, Rhodes," Jay called and, Connor was trying to do just that. Unfortunately it also meant he couldn't get up, because he had to keep his hold on Milo.

"Hey, calm down, Milo. It's okay, they're friends. Shh." Connor hushed the dog and it started calming down. "Sit, boy. That's it. Everything's fine."

"Found yourself a protector, Connor?" Will asked when he was finally allowed to come closer. Milo was still keeping a watchful eye on both newcomers, but appeared to be a bit more relaxed and less keen on biting.

"Seems like it," Connor replied with a grimace and patted Milo, once again trying to get off the ground. This time it was Will who stopped him.

"Stay still. I want to check you out first."

"Come on, I'm fine," Connor almost whined, and Milo barked in response.

"Sure you are. Even the dog agrees," Jay quipped. He turned on his flashlight to get a proper look at Connor and the scene.

"Yeah, that head wound looks just peachy," Will commented after his hands encountered the injury and Connor pulled away with a hiss. Milo growled threateningly and bared his teeth.

"Down boy," Will said, but paused his ministrations. Connor chuckled and gently patted Milo.

"Good dog," he said. "Just relax. I might train him up to be my personal bodyguard, what'd ya say?"

"That I'm not a big fan of dogs," Will muttered and Jay snorted, remembering that as a kid, his brother was almost terrified by dogs. Will gave his brother a warning glare and turned back to Connor.

"Looks like you got off relatively easy," he said after a basic exam, and Connor was happy he could finally get off the ground.

"Told you so," he muttered even as Will gave him a hand up.

"You still need stitches, an x-ray of those ribs, and probably a tetanus and rabies shot," Will added, glaring at Milo, who was returning the glare with the same fierceness.

"I'm current on all my shots, thanks. And Milo doesn't have rabies... probably. Also, he didn't bite me. He's harmless."

"Yeah, right." Will snorted, not feeling much trust that the dog won't bite his leg in the next moment, but trying to hide his apprehension of the animal. With Connor up and slightly leaning against Will, the dog seemed to stop thinking of Will as a possible danger, and focused his glare on the next unknown, which was Jay.

"So, what exactly did happen?" the young detective asked after perusing the scene and not finding anything interesting.

Connor described how he had heard Milo barking and the following encounter with the two thugs. He gave Jay descriptions of both guys, although there wasn't much to go on, as well as the nicknames they called each other. When he described the ensuing fight, Jay turned his flashlight to look for the pipe and the bottle Connor was attacked with. He found the pipe by the trashcan, but instead of a bottle, all he found were shards of glass.

"Might be some fingerprints on that. Okay, I think we'd better call this in. Those dudes are dangerous. You said one of them was reaching for your wallet, Connor. Any chance he found out your name or address?"

Connor paused, not even thinking about that possibility, until now. He felt the slight dizziness turn into nausea, but managed to keep it in check. He felt Will squeeze his arm and offer some support, not realizing he was swaying a bit.

"I don't think so," he said, though he wasn't sure. "I felt the tugging, but then Milo jumped him and when I stopped seeing stars, my wallet was still in my pocket."

"Good. Will, take him back to the car, I'll secure the scene until the unit arrives, then I'll drive you to the hospital."

"Weren't you drinking too?" Connor asked, a bit confused.

"Relax, I was the designated driver, so I was Herrmann's guinea pig and tried out some of his non-alcoholic beer. The fact I only had two should've been a clue. I went with soda after you left."

"Oh, okay." Connor didn't notice that, but to be frank, when he and Will joined the group at Molly's, they already had drinks in hand. Though it might've explained the faces Jay was pulling over the night.

"Come on, man. There's a first aid kit in the car I could use on your head." Will pulled at Connor's arm and he reluctantly started to move, only to pause when he saw that Milo was limping beside him. Before Will could protest, Connor unthinkingly bent down and picked the dog up. The pain in his ribs wasn't really worth it. Freezing mid motion, Connor held his breath and closed his eyes against the sudden dizziness. He cursed softly and felt Will giving him a supporting hand.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

It was a rhetorical question, of course, so Connor ignored it. The dizziness has passed, though his ribs were still protesting loudly. Connor slowly straightened and was thankful that Milo kept still. Will gave him a questioning look, offering to take the dog, but Connor just shook his head and started walking, so they could finally leave that damned alley behind.

Once they reached the car, which was thankfully parked only fifty yards down the street, Connor deposited Milo on the back seat and, without prompting from Will, sat down too, trying to relax his breathing a bit. Lugging a twenty pound dog around with bruised ribs really wasn't the smartest move, but he wasn't sure Milo would tolerate someone else manhandling him right now. Connor looked at the dog and grimaced when he saw it licking at his injured hind leg. Luckily the wound seemed to be shallow and stopped bleeding, but the upholstery of the car would still need some cleaning.

Will started rummaging in the trunk of the car, muttering under his breath until he found what he was looking for. Shutting the trunk, Will walked up to Connor and handed him an old towel.

"Here, put it on the dog... or under it. I'd rather not have blood and dirt all over the car."

"You're all heart," Connor commented, but appreciated the gesture. Wincing when the movement jarred his ribs, Connor slowly moved the dog, put the towel down, and patted. Milo threw him a look, but obediently sat down, sniffing at the towel.

Will, in the meantime had pulled out a first aid kit and motioned Connor to lean a bit over so he could get at his head wound. Using a pen light, he checked the wound for foreign objects, then put a piece of gauze on it and applied some pressure. Connor hissed and Milo barked.

"Sorry," Will muttered. "Here, can you hold it for a sec?"

Connor moved his hand and pressed against the gauze just as hard. He knew stopping the bleeding was more important than a bit of discomfort, although his head was trying to convince him otherwise.

"Does it need stitches?"

"Yeah, but four or five should do it, I think." Will started bandaging the head wound and when he finished, Connor looked like an extra in a war movie. Will didn't forget to tell him that, then snapped a quick picture, chuckling.

"Real mature, Halstead," Connor growled, but he didn't have the energy to wrestle the phone from Will's hand. A police car pulled up next to them, the window on the passenger side rolling down. Will pointed towards the alley a bit further away.

"Detective Halstead is waiting over there."

The officer nodded, then looked at Connor.

"Do you want us to call an ambulance?"

"No, thanks. We got it covered." The cop nodded and the car moved down the street to park right at the entrance of the alley, securing the scene.

"You know, we're only a few minutes from my apartment," Connor started, and Will looked at him with a frown. "I have a spare sewing kit and you can do the job. No need to go to Gaffney."

"Right. And you also have an x-ray lying around your apartment?"

"My ribs are fine."

"Even if I believed you, which I don't," Will said and raised a finger to stop Connor from commenting, "it's a moot point. The cops are already involved. They'll need the medical reports, so they can charge those guys with assault."

Connor groaned and leaned his head back, then thought better of it as he felt the twinge of pain from the wound.

"I should've just gone straight home and called Ethan to patch me up."

"Yes, because Choi wouldn't have asked questions. Not to mention, those guys are dangerous. Next time they might try to have some fun with a homeless guy, and we've both seen how that could end." Will thought about the case they had a few months back, when a homeless man was brought in with severe internal injuries and lacerations. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, he died even before they could take him into the OR. He saw Connor shiver slightly and thought it was about time to wrap this up. He closed the door on Connor's side and sat down on the passenger seat, then turned up the heating a bit. While winter was gone, the air was still cold during the night, and even if Connor had a jacket on, he seemed a bit chilly. Not to mention the poor dog. Speaking of which- "So what are your plans with Milo here?"

Connor, who had his head leaning against the window, opened his eyes.

"What plans?"

"Are you keeping him or are you dropping him off at the shelter?" Will asked casually.

"No shelter," Connor replied quickly with heat. He wasn't sure what he would do with a dog, but he sure as hell won't be putting it into a shelter, just so he could be put down, or picked out by some stranger.

Will smiled. His plan was to keep Connor distracted from the pain and this topic seemed to work well.

"So... you'll keep him?"

"I... I don't know yet," Connor admitted. Even as a kid he'd wanted to have a dog, but his mother was allergic – and after she passed away, he stopped asking. Looking at the slumbering dog, whose head had somehow managed to sneak under Connor's hand without him noticing, made him feel nostalgic... and a bit like a hypocrite. Wasn't it just a few weeks ago when he accused Ethan of being Dr. Doolittle? And now he was sitting in a car, nursing his bruised ribs because he stepped in to save a dog.

"Maybe. I'll have to figure out some things first, but... yeah. I think I'll keep him."

"Good. The dog deserves something better than a shelter," Will said. "But know that if you bring him to work, you won't get rid of the girls, like, ever."

At the mention of the girls, Connor thought about Robin and grimaced. He didn't even think about her until now and realized he would have to explain how he acquired a four legged friend. This meant telling her how he got beaten up by a pair of junkies. Wonderful. He wasn't even sure how she would accept Milo, though her reaction towards the panda suggested that she loved animals. Connor was pulled out of his musing by Jay's arrival. The young detective sat behind the wheel and looked at Connor and the dog.

"You doing okay?"

"Just fine. You finished here?"

"Yeah, we can head straight to the hospital."

Connor nodded, feeling tired and ready to put this whole night behind him. His palm felt the slight nuzzle of the dog and he automatically scratched Milo behind the ear, then paused in thought.

"Wait. What about Milo? I can't take him inside with me... and I won't leave him in the car," Connor added seriously, and Jay thought 'good,' because he wasn't about to leave the dog in the car unattended either.

"I can take him to the vet, but first we drop you off at Gaffney. You need that head checked out."

Connor looked a bit uncertain.

"Maybe we could first take Milo? Not sure he will be too happy about taking a ride with you."

Jay grimaced, giving it some thought, then looked at his brother.

"It's up to you, Will. How serious is that head wound? No offense, Rhodes, but I'd rather risk the dog than you suddenly passing out in my car or worse, barfing."

"Come on guys, I'm fine," Connor protested and Will rolled his eyes.

"How's the headache?" he asked instead, and Connor huffed.

"No worse than a hangover," he said, which was mostly true, though he could do without the throbbing coming from the wound and the car ride wasn't that great for his nausea either. Will seemed to notice his paling face.

"Are you gonna hurl?"

"Not if Jay starts driving like a normal person," Connor muttered, looking out the window.

"Hey, I'm driving just fine," Jay protested, but he slowed down a bit. He threw a questioning look at his brother.

"How far away is the vet from Gaffney?"

"Ten minute drive."

"Is the vet even open now?"

"Yeah, I've got the address from dispatch. The clinic is open 24/7, it's the one PD uses in cases like this."

"Great. What about you, tough guy? You up for the trip or want to go to the hospital first?" Will asked, though he already knew the answer.

"The vet," Connor said shortly and rubbed at his eyes, then yawned. He was feeling slightly car sick, even though the last time he could remember being car sick was in his early teens and that was on the way from his mother's funeral. Which wasn't a topic he wanted to revisit anytime soon, so he kept quiet. He was aware of the concerned looks both brothers were throwing his way, but purposefully ignored them.

TBC