Chapter 4

The light of early morning began to filter through the window of Room 208. It had not been a restful night for Jim. Once every hour a nurse had come in to check on his partner. Though she was quiet while completing her rounds, the noise had been enough to wake Jim. Additionally, the hospital chair was uncomfortable and he could hear sounds of traffic from the street below.

Jim glanced over at his sleeping wife. Jean was curled up in a chair, with a pillow Jim had retrieved for her tucked behind her head.

He sat up, tried to rub the soreness from his neck, and stretched his legs out in front of him. Looking towards the hospital bed, he could see that Pete was still sleeping as well. The nurse had seemed pleased with her patient's progress during the night. This had been a great reassurance to Jim who had watched her movements with concern.

Pete had been completely unaware of his surroundings since undergoing surgery the previous night. Even hourly visits from the nurse had not disturbed his sleep, a rest that was desperately needed after everything he had endured.

Now, as morning crept into his room, Pete slowly began to regain consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy. He found, upon opening his eyes, that the room was hazy and blurred. After blinking several times, objects began to come into focus. He seemed to have an IV attached to his right arm, which was stretched down against his side. His left hand lay across his stomach, and he could feel support tape on his ribs. His right leg was suspended from the ceiling in a cast. Events of the night before came flooding back. The last thing he remembered was Jim kneeling next to him at the crash scene.

Jim saw Pete open his eyes. He curbed his excitement and made an effort to be quiet as he stood up and walked quickly to the bedside.

"Pete?"

"Hey Jim..." The figure before him was still a little blurry, but the voice was unmistakable. Pete gave his partner a tired smile.

"How do you feel?"

"Okay..." His vision was beginning to clear now. He could see the concern written on Jim's face. Knowing him, he probably hadn't slept all night.

"You look awful," Pete teased, following that statement up with, "...a disgrace to the police department. You should never sleep in your uniform."

Jim gave a disgruntled "humph" and grinned down at Pete. "It's good to see you too."

The sound of voices had wakened Jean. Her eyes lit up and she ran over, giving Pete a kiss on the forehead. "How are you? How do you feel? Do you need anything? Did you sleep well? Where do you hurt? Do you have enough pillows? Are you hungry? Should I get the nurse?" These questions came tumbling out one after the other. Suddenly she stopped and put her hand on his arm. "We've been so worried."

Pete reached over and placed his hand over hers. He gave her hand a squeeze and looked over at his partner who was still beaming. Before any more conversation could commence, a pretty blonde nurse came bustling into the room.

"You're awake!" She began, in an upbeat tone. "You gave us a bit of a scare last night." She proceeded to put a thermometer under his tongue and check his blood pressure. "How are you feeling?" She asked this question while he was still holding the thermometer.

Pete looked over at Jim with a shrug of his shoulders and gave an unintelligible response. She didn't seem to notice that he couldn't answer her question at this particular moment. Pete read the badge pinned to her uniform and gleaned that her name was Margaret Carter. She had wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, a cute turned up nose, and a delightful smile.

Margaret removed the thermometer and checked the reading. "Well, you are coming along nicely. I'm going to get the doctor now. You just wait here and I'll be right back."

As soon as the door closed behind her, Jim rolled his eyes. "Wait here? Where would you go? She's a little scatterbrained..."

"I think she's very nice." Pete countered decidedly. Then, changing the subject, he asked, "Jean? Do you think you can convince your husband to go home and get some rest?"

Before Jean could respond, Jim answered.

"I'm fine Pete, and I'm not going anywhere. I am learning to love hospital chairs."

Jean wrapped her arms around her husband's waist, smiling up at him proudly. "I can't do anything with him once he's made up his mind."

Pete, who was still tired and a little weak, fell asleep not long after Jean left the room. She had gone home to take care of Jimmy who would be awake soon.

Jim stared out the window, watching the comings and goings of the hospital. He saw Mac's patrol car 1-L-20 pull into the parking lot. Checking his watch, he found that it was 8:14 a.m. The watch commander was very protective of his officers, so Jim was a little surprised that he hadn't come earlier. He slipped quietly out of the room and down the hall. Mac was at the front desk when he arrived, apparently waiting for permission to see Malloy. When he spotted Reed, Mac left the desk without a word to the nurse. "Jim! How is he?"

As they walked to Pete's room together, Jim explained everything that Doctor Brackett had told him. When they reached the door, he concluded with, "Pete's asleep right now Mac..."

"I don't want to disturb him. I'll just hang around for a little while..." Mac paused for a minute and then asked, "Did Pete say anything about a man named Boone?"

"What?" Jim looked puzzled. "No Mac... but he was only awake for a little while this morning. Who is Boone?"

"Do you remember the 211 near the intersection of Figueroa and Olympic - where the store owner was killed?"

"Sure, the suspect got away without a trace."

"Right. Last night, during the investigation of the crash scene, Officer Hendrix noticed some tennis shoe prints all over the ground surrounding the car. It was obvious that someone had been there, other than Pete. On a hunch, Jerry drove through the park one more time. When he saw a man carrying a gun near the south entrance, he radioed me for assistance. I was able to block the exit while Jerry came in from behind him. I guess Wexel knew he was out of options because he didn't resist arrest. Oh, the man's full name is Boone Alvin Wexel. He had the exact amount of money from the robbery in his pockets. He wouldn't stop talking, even after we read him his rights. At the station he made a complete confession about the shooting and robbery - really bragging about the amount of money he had taken." Mac paused for a second. "He also told us that he found Malloy. He said Pete asked him for help but that 'Ol' Boone wouldn't be caught dead helping a cop'."

Jim's jaw tightened and anger began to well up inside him. The fact that his partner had been found and then left to die...

Mac was still talking, so Jim forced himself to pay attention.

"...Apparently Pete had made a splint for his leg out of the seat belt strap and shotgun, which of course Wexel stole."

Jim's face darkened into a scowl.

"You know Jim," Mac interjected, "...inadvertently Boone actually did help..."

"How do you figure that?" This question was filled with indignation.

"Well, he pulled the cover off the microphone... That gave Pete the ability to send out the S.O.S."

Reluctantly, Jim nodded in agreement. "I guess you're right..."

"You bet I'm right." Mac smiled broadly. "You should have seen Wexel's face when I told him that."

Jim grinned and began to laugh. "Thanks Mac!"

There was great satisfaction in the knowledge that this criminal who had left his partner for dead was now in custody. He would have to take Jerry Woods out to dinner.

Mac and Jim were standing together in the waiting room when Nurse Carter walked in.

"Officer Reed?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Officer Malloy is asking to see you."

"Is he okay?"

"Yes of course! I think he just wants to talk to you. Don't stay too long."

Mac had seen the worried expression cloud Jim's face as the nurse spoke. "Take it easy Jim. He's out of danger now. Remember?"

"Sorry... you're right." Jim took a deep breath and tried to remind himself that everything was going to be okay. He walked to the door and opened it quietly.

"Pete?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"You don't have to whisper. I'm awake - see? My eyes are open and everything." He looked at his partner intently. "Hey, are you alright?"

Jim brought one of the chairs over and sat down next to the bed. "You stole my question... Are you alright?"

"I'm actually feeling much better now - thanks to you."

"But Pete, I didn't do anything..."

"No, of course not... You only spent hours searching for me - combing through Griffith Park multiple times. You didn't give up, even when Mac assigned everyone a new area. You were just stubborn enough to follow your instincts, no matter what "procedure" might be. If you hadn't returned that last time, no one would have heard my S.O.S. No one else was close enough to take notice." Pete paused for a second, and gave a tired sigh. "I have never known time to move as slowly as it did last night and I have never felt so completely helpless. After several hours, I had really started to wonder if I was too far off the road to be rescued." His eyes met Jim's steady gaze. "Then, I heard Mac ask if you were in the park. At that point, I knew you were going to stay until you found me and I stopped worrying." Pete reached out and put his hand on Jim's arm. "I owe you my life Jim, and I wanted to thank you."

Jim found himself at a loss for words. He had never known Pete to talk about his feelings so openly. Though they had a very close relationship, things usually went unsaid between him and his partner - their friendship just didn't require conversations like this. As tears began to well up, he blinked them away. "You're right about last night, Pete. The wait was unbearable. Even when I found you, I was afraid I was too late - until you spoke. I was afraid I might lose the only brother I have ever known..."

Nurse Carter peeked in the door with a gentle reminder. "Officer Malloy needs his rest..."

Jim mumbled an obedient "Yes Ma'am," while thinking to himself that this interruption was most inopportune. He looked down at his partner. "I'll be right outside if you need me Pete."

"I know you will. Thanks Jim."

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