PRESENT

Cal opened his eyes slowly, wincing and gritting his teeth. A good thing about the painkillers wearing off was that he felt a bit more lucid, the bad thing was the fact that whenever he moved he felt a wave of pain so intense, he had to bite back the nausea that rose in the back of his throat. It was better to be lucid regardless.

With care, he moved his head and attempted to take in his surroundings. A partially finished basement met his perusal. He was on a cot opposite a narrow, steep staircase that he was pretty damned sure he wouldn't currently be able to navigate. Shit. A tiny window neared the ceiling against the opposite wall. Unfortunately, unless he was the size of a chipmunk, that wasn't a viable escape route either. He had been left alone because they didn't currently see him as a threat. With good reason.

Using his left arm and his stomach muscles, Cal pushed himself into a sitting position, feet on the floor, back against the wall. Breathing hard, his head swam and his eyes dimmed. For a moment he thought he was going to pass out again. Trying to prevent that from occurring, he stayed very still and counted his breaths. It was a meditation trick Emily had taught him once. He never thought he'd actually use it. The wooziness passed but he was now afraid to move. His right arm hung uselessly as he visually inspected his shoulder. A new dressing had been applied, but there seemed to be a fair amount of seepage. Too much activity and the wound would open. He had to be very careful, which seemed quite unlikely given the current situation.

He began to run through events in his head, trying to figure exactly what had happened. Accompanying Tanya, Tony and the creepy guy, Bill, to the warehouse, he was supposed to verify the quality of the drug shipment by quizzing the suppliers. The DC Police Dept. should have been in the wings, ready to close in, but something went wrong. One stray shot had turned the place into a firestorm. It was odd that they hadn't just left him there after he'd been hit – it was definitely a concern.

He heard the door open upstairs and watched as slender, jeans clad legs came down the stairs before Tanya was completely visible to him. She startled when she saw him sitting up and looking at her. "Dr. Lightman. You really shouldn't – "

"Yeah, I know luv." Cal continued to stare at her, reading her nervousness and her fear. She was having a hard time meeting his eyes. "Why am I here?" His voice was low but there was a steel edge to it.

She glanced behind her and up the stairs before turning her attention back to him. His eyes were intense but he was pale and glistening with sweat. One hand gripped the edge of the cot while the other lay unmoving in his lap. The bandage on his shoulder was slowly becoming soaked. There seemed to be a bit too heat radiating from him once again and Tanya was worried. It was likely that the 'doctor' that Tony had procured was anything but. This was entirely her fault and she was going to have to make some hard decisions and quickly.

Not meeting his eyes, she moved to the side table and poured some water. She sat down next to him and he allowed her to help him take a couple of sips. He continued to silently seek out answers though, his stare unwavering.

"Tanya."

She finally met his eyes, debating how much to tell him. Her heart clenched painfully as she pondered things in her mind. She cared too damned much now. How could she explain her betrayal to him? "When all hell broke loose, the product was obviously left behind. Let's just say that Tony was less than thrilled."

He said nothing but she could feel him weighing her statements carefully.

"I was terrified when you got shot. One second you're standing right next to me and the next second you're on the ground bleeding and unconscious."

"Why didn't Tony leave me? He took a hell of chance back there – dead weight and all tends to slow ya down."

She winced at the word "dead" and her eyes began to fill. "He left over 1.2 million dollars worth of cocaine in that warehouse. He's angry, desperate and…" she caught his eye for the first time. "…and he knows who you are."

Cal digested this as a growing realization crept up on him. He looked away from her.

"I'm sorry. I tried to tell you that earlier, but I don't think you remember."

"Has he contacted Gillian?"

Gillian. Her name was a sticking point. As much as Lightman had played and flirted over the last month, Tanya had never been able to lure him beyond. She wiped her eyes. "Yes, I think so."

He didn't say anything and when she glanced over, he was staring blankly, eyes becoming unfocused. Muscles bunched in his jaw and his one hand held the edge of the cot in a death grip.

She gently laid one hand on his good arm, flinching at how warm he was. "I think you need to rest. I'm going to have Tony call his doctor friend again."

"Where do you stand in all this?" Cal's voice was a low growl as he swung his face toward her once again. Anger played upon his features and she felt a tiny flicker of fear.

"I…I'm trying to help you."

"How so?" He abruptly pulled away from her touch, causing a jet stream of blinding pain to slice through his shoulder and down his arm.

His eyes rolled back in his head as he started to slump. Tanya quickly moved to his side, taking some of his weight in attempt to keep him from sliding off the cot. She managed, more or less, to keep him from hitting the floor, before sitting back down on the edge of the makeshift bed herself. Staring down at his pallid face, she gently pushed the hair back from his sweat-covered brow. Whatever she was going to do, she needed to do it quickly.

(BREAK)

"When is the drop going to be?" Tanya had reverted to professional mode. She gave her partner a cool eye.

"I'm going to give them a call tonight – they make the drop and I'll send some additional instructions."

"Are you going to dump Lightman outside the ER? Should do it soon – seems like he's taking a turn for the worst. He needs a doctor, I mean, a real doctor."

"How do you know that Kaufman isn't a real doctor?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Tony gave a smirk. "Okay – you got me. He was a paramedic at one time though."

"When? The 1920's?"

"Funny. He's the only thing we have right now. My regular guy isn't available."

"You realize that you're gambling with his life?"

Puzzled, he squinted at her with a frown. "Why does it matter so much to you?"

Her façade remained intact, even if her heart surged. "He's not worth anything dead is he?" Tanya paused a moment. "Wait. What do you mean by additional instructions?"

The man dismissed the question with a shrug. "Just a goose chase so we grab the cash and get outta the country."
"What about Lightman?"

"Oh come on! Use your brain. The guy would be invaluable to us – we could easily shuffle him into the network." His eyes shifted to the side, considering. "I'll get Kaufman back here today I think. You're right. We don't want Lightman to up and croak on us."

"How do you plan on getting him out of the country? By now his face is all over the news."

He gave her a dramatic wink. "Leave that me."

Tanya gave him a bright, appreciate smile while her stomach curdled. "You never planned on letting him go did you? Even if the whole deal hadn't blown up, I mean?"

"Handy guy to have around wouldn't you say?"

"Absolutely." She raised her brows before jerking her head toward the basement door. "Better check on him. Tried to get up earlier and almost fell on his head."

Immediate concern flashed across Tony's face. "Thought he wasn't doing so well."

"He's not. Just kind of a butthead – I thought you knew that."

Chewing on the inside of his cheek thoughtfully, he gazed past her to the basement door. "Think I should have Kaufman give him a little something to keep him subdued. Until we get him outta here at least."

"Probably not a bad idea." She nodded and turned. Oh crap.

Moving to the door, she unbolted it and headed down the narrow staircase.