DI Chandler and DS Miles had left as soon as they'd found out if Kent was alright. They'd had some sort of phone call and Lewis couldn't help but wonder if they'd found Tom. Right now he couldn't help but wish he was the one who ran instead.

Emerson was lying on the white hospital bed hooked up to a multitude of machines. The doctors had told him what they were doing when he explained Kent's injuries but Lewis had blocked them out. To be honest he really didn't want to know. Looking at his friend's fragile and pale form on the bed was confirmation enough for Lewis to know the injuries were serious. He didn't need to horrid details.

"You should get some sleep, honey." A nurse told him as she injected some clear liquid into the IV line, maybe it was morphine.

"Is he in pain?"

The nurse looked at him sympathetically, "No, he'll be just fine." Lewis watched her walk away. He was tired but it just didn't feel right leaving his friend in this state.

LINE BREAK

"Is he alright?" Meg asked as soon as the two superior officers walked into the office. Chandler couldn't help but be surprised that both Meg and Mansell were sitting at their desks poring over paper and what he guessed was CTV footage.

"It's only cause Kent's art of the team." Chandler nodded at Miles' assessment just as Ed Buchan walked into the office carrying mugs of coffee.

"I was already here, reading the files in the archive." Miles snorted at the statement though it didn't' surprise any of them.

"So…" Meg prompted once more. As the team turned to face Di Chandler he found he wasn't sure what it was he should say. Seeing the DI's uncomfort, Miles started to talk.

"Well, the Doc was vague, kept talking about needing to do scans."

"Scans?" Mansell asked.

"Yeah, those bastards kicked him real good in the head; the doc said it's pretty normal." Chandler knew that wasn't what the doctor had said but he understood why Miles wouldn't want to tell the team.

"At least we've gotten the person who did this." Meg told them.

"Unless he's ready to confess we won't be able to charge him, too much uncertainty." Chandler knew it wasn't something any of them wanted to hear but it was the truth.

"Why would he run if he wasn't guilty?" Mansell asked, getting only shrugs in return.

"We'll know for certain once Kent wakes up but right now you should all go home, get some sleep so we're ready to start properly tomorrow." With that Chandler walked into his office, feeling the beginnings of his OCD starting up again.

LINE BREAK

The next morning Chandler and Miles were sat in the interview room opposite Tom Andrews. He was nervously fidgeting with his sleeve when they came into the room. "Where's Em? Is he alright?" He asked as soon as they sat down.

"Why? You feelin' guilty about what you did?" Tom shook his head at Miles.

"I didn't hurt him. Why would I?"

"Maybe you could tell us that." Chandler told him, getting only Tom shaking his head in reply.

"I wouldn't hurt Em, we live together." Miles started to pull out paper from the file on the desk.

"What did he do? Steal your girlfriend. That why you did it?"

Tom shook his head at the DS. "I was out all night."

"Doing what?" Chandler asked him with a serious tone.

"I was out at a club."

"Which one?"

"I don't remember." Miles gave him a disbelieving look.

"Would you like me to tell you what injuries DC Kent has?" Tom knew Em worked with the police knew who it was he worked with but he'd never met them until now. Nervously, Tom nodded his head. "Multiple broken ribs. Bruised Spine. Possible swelling of the brain." Tom flinched each time Miles paused.

"DC Kent could still die because of this attack." DI Chandler gave Tom a look that made him sink further into his seat. "Now where were you yesterday night and why did you run?"

"I don't know."

"What?" Miles' was starting to really hate this kid.

"I can't remember."

"Why?" Chandler asked him.

"I was drunk." That was only partly true but he couldn't well tell them the whole truth. A loud sigh came from DS Miles just as a knock on the door came.

"Sir." Mansell said into the interview. Tom didn't pay any attention as the DI cancelled the tape recording and walked out of the room with the DS. They'd said Emerson could die. And they thought he'd done it.

"What is it Mansell?" Chandler asked in an exasperating tone. He just couldn't understand how someone who claimed to be Kent's friend could be so cagy about answering a few questions.

"Kent's awake."

LINE BREAK

Meg sat on one of the hard hospital chairs watching Kent sleep. She'd sent Lewis home nearly an hour ago. The poor kid looked like shit. Not much better than Emerson does, she thought to herself. He hadn't moved since she'd first come here and Meg was starting to worry. The Doctors kept talking about a possible coma if he didn't wake up soon. They'd stopped giving him so much morphine, trying to bring him round but nothing seemed to be working.

She should be at work right now, Meg knew that, but she couldn't bring herself to leave Emerson on his own. Mansell had said Erica was away visiting their parents, while Lewis couldn't stay here all the time. Kent needed someone to be there, even if he wasn't waking up.

As she sat, listening to the beeping of the machines, Meg considered the kid they'd brought in last night. Tom Andrews. One of Emerson's flat mates and their prime suspect. Meg didn't want to believe that Emerson's friend could attack him but in this job she'd seen too much to rule it out completely.

Sighing to herself, she grabbed one of Kent's hands, marvelling at how small the DC looked. He was the youngest on the team but it had never been so obvious until just now. A small movement made her move away from her thoughts.

"Emerson?" The figure on the bed shifted slightly and a groan came from him. "Hey." She squeezed his hand tightly, watching as the young DC shifted again.

Emerson's eyes started to twitch open just as a nurse came bustling in. "You're alright." Meg told him, seeing the distressed look that passed on Kent's face. Another groan of what was now obvious as pain came from Kent's lips as the nurses started to pull her out of the room.

LINE BREAK

Pain was the first thing that was felt as Emerson Kent started to regain consciousness, followed straight away by confusion. His whole body was throbbing with red hot pain. Shifting to the side, Kent tried to move away from the pain in his side only to have it spike through his bod at the small movement.

Opening his eyes to try and find out what was going on; Kent was met with blinding lights. Groaning he tried to move his hand to cover his eyes but it was being held by someone. He shifted to the side to come face to face with Meg. He wanted to say something but the pain was back, this time coming from his head. The pain was worse than when he'd been striped, while the headache was rivalling that of his last hangover, which had been nasty. Groaning, Kent tried to focus on something but the hustle and bustle that was coming into the room was starting to get too much. Kent thought he heard his name but he couldn't be certain. Everything was starting to go dim again and he just didn't have the energy to fight it off.

Hope the shift in different POV's isn't too confusing but I'm trying to get the reactions of the different characters. Sorry if the characters aren't quite right.

Next Chapter will explain what actually happened in more detail and why it happened

Please review and thanks for reading :)