Hello Blue blood fans, I am so sorry that this has taken me so long to update but hopefully I can make things right with this chapter. Please read and review and let me know what you think! Love Layna

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Nicki was exhausted, all this waiting was draining everything out of her. She had sat by her mother's bedside hoping and praying that even being by her would some how make her open her eyes. Obviously this was not this case and instead she sat in the plastic hospital chair gripping her mothers hand, her fingers on her wrist to reassure her that feeling the pulse meant she was alive. Her grandfather had left to conference with his team, her great grandfather had wandered down to the cafeteria and her uncles were in and out. By now the news had spread of who had been attacked and now the whole family was dealing with the texts and calls. Nicki had silenced her phone, given it to her grandfather and told him not to answer it. It was too much seeing all over her friends overloading her with questions, she wanted her focus to remain on her parents.

"Hey Kiddo," Nicki looked up and found Henry walking in with two trays of food. Ranging from Jell-O to a couple of slices of pizza. "I figured you could use something to eat."

"Thanks gramps but I'm not feeling too hungry," She gave him a fake smile before returning her gaze to her mother.

"Well I'm pretty sure somewhere respecting your elders is a rule so eat," He pushed the tray over to her and she hesitantly took a bite of the pizza.

"I can't begin to imagine what this is like for you," He started. "I am just as terrified for her as you, but I know you worry about them both constantly."

"This doesn't seem fair, why would someone do this, I mean I have no answers and I think that's the most frustrating part."

"We will get them."

"I just keep thinking of ways this could have been avoided."

"You can't focus on that right now, it won't do you any good."

"Maybe you're right but it beats just waiting here watching them get worse." She pushed her food aside and stood up. "I think I need some air."

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Frank sat at the table deep in thought as he took in the information that Baker was reading to him. The crime scene report from both the officers and CSU, outlining the grim details of his daughter and ex son in laws attack. The whole thing made him sick to his stomach, but he still kept his famous stoic face as he somehow saw the scene before him. Abigail paused and looked to Garrett, she wasn't sure she should continue.

"Frank, do you want to take a minute?"

"They had a witness." Frank ignored the question.

"Yes," Garrett answered.

"Where are we with suspects?" Gormley looked at his two colleagues before reading off of his paperwork.

"Both Jack and Erin have a list of people of people they have not made nice with."

"Given their jobs and the people they put away I can see that."

"Martinez and Fletcher are combing through, cutting out the impossible suspects." Frank nodded, he motioned to Abigail to hand him the file in her hand. She didn't hand it to him immediately, the crime scene photos were not something that she wanted him to see but he gave her a look of persistence and she handed it over.

"Sir, would you like us to give you a minute?"

"That would be appreciated Baker, thank you." He waited until the door closed behind them before, with a slight delay he let himself turn over the top half of the Manila folder. The written details of what they had so far lay on the top of the report. They had found the weapon about half way down the trails inside a garbage can, the serial number scraped off and any trace of fingerprints wiped clean. Then a witness report followed, a homeless man who had been walking alone. He had detailed in how Erin was shot and how it seemed that she may have been behind Jack. Frank never really enjoyed Jack, he thought the only person who gave him a chance was Mary and even with the judgement of all the Reagan men Jack still showed respect for them. Jack had shown his heroics in one simple line, "male victim blocked female victim," it was hard to read but it was reassuring to him that if Jack did wake up he was worthy of his respect and proved to Frank that perhaps they hadn't given him a good chance.

Once Jack was down it said that Erin tried to run to his aid and that she had pleaded for him to stop but the man shot her instead. Frank shut the folder closed with force, his stomach twisted as his mind ran over the details. In all his years as an officer it wasn't hard to see through the eyes of a victim. He sucked in a breath before reopening the folder and flipping to the section of crime scene photos. There it was; the photos had been taken during the sunrise on NYC. The gray paved path that they had been coated with blood, he wasn't sure who had lost more or if it had been equal amounts but there was a lot of it. He could see remnants of gauze and other medical supplies sprinkled around, the paramedics had made it there in good time, any later and Nicki would be parentless. Frank spotted a small detail, one that he was sure his detectives noticed; it hit him hard and he could feel the anger bubble in his stomach. A golden locket lay in the mix of blood, one that he remembered going with Mary to get, the locket that Mary had given to her daughter on her sixteenth birthday. It was a symbol of how no matter what happened in the world that she would always be there for her and she was there that night with her, probably with her now.

Frank closed the folder again and slid it to the middle of the conference table. He swung the door open and ignored Garrett and Abigail as they asked if he was alright. They didn't follow him as he walked to the elevator and he didn't meet their eyes as the doors closed. Three seconds and he was on Erin's floor; with great stride he made it to Erin's room, it was empty and that is just what he wanted. He sat beside her and took her hand looking up towards the ceiling with tears in his eyes he finally spoke. "Please watch over our daughter Mary, don't let her die."

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When Jamie didn't find Nicki or his grandfather in Erin's room, he decided to try Jack's room. He carried with him bags from Della's diner, hopeful he could get them to eat something. The elevator doors opened, and he started his way down the hallway, half way down the hall he heard the commotion and it wasn't until a nurse ran into him, not even looking back to apologize before he knew where it was coming from. It was Jack's room, he hadn't been up there more than once, but he could tell by the screams of Nicki. He abandoned his bags and followed after the nurse.

"No please, don't let him die," Nicki pleaded as a nurse tried to usher her out. Tears streamed down her face and she shook in fear as she tried to push against the nurse to get back inside.

"Honey, we will do everything we can, but you have to stay out here."

"Please don't let my dad die," She repeated again. The nurse nodded and returned to the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Nic," Jamie slowly approached. She didn't say another word, instead she collapsed into him; he wrapped his arms around her as he stared through the glass door, through the slots of the blinds he could see a nurse by Jack's side roughly doing compressions. He himself didn't know what to do, should he bring Nicki away from the room or stay where they were. She sobbed into him, scared and unsure herself. The last time she was in this situation with her dad she had her mother there to tell her it was all going to be alright but now… now she wasn't there. They had told her that the odds were not great for him making it through the night and this right here seemed to her like the end. She couldn't lose him, they hadn't been as close as she wished they would have been, she wanted to tell him so many things, he still had so many things to see her do. He was supposed to be there when she graduated from college, then from the academy, he had to be there when she brought a boy over to meet him and then when she found the right one, he was supposed to walk her down the aisle. Ten minutes felt like ten years as they waited for someone to come out of that room. A doctor, maybe a few years older than Jamie walked out with a nurse behind him. Nicki released her Uncle Jamie and turned to them but not before grabbing hold of her Uncle's father.

"You are his daughter," the doctor asked. Nicki slowly nodded the anticipation killing her.

"We were able to get him back, but there was some bleeding in his belly, we just stabilized him, we need him up in surgery."

"Okay… uh is he going to make it through that." She was confused, her emotions were everywhere as she tried to figure out what was happening.

"It's risky especially in his condition, we need to find the source of his bleeding, but surgery now has a high fatality rate."

"So he could die in surgery but if doesn't get the surgery he dies anyway." Jamie too was confused as he listened to the doctor lay out what needed to happen.

"Ms. Boyle, you are the only family member he has right now, you are of age to make the decision, but time is of the essence."

"Uhm… yeah if he needs the surgery take him up." As soon as he got the go ahead he motioned to the others in the room who pushed Jack's stretcher out. One nurse held an ambu bag giving Jack's lungs air. Nicki ran after them, Jamie behind her as they moved quickly down the hall and into the patient elevators. The doors shut and Nicki let out a shaky breath, turning to Jamie with tears welling up in her eyes again. "Did I just make the right decision?"

"Yes, you did good Nicki," He pulled her in again and gave her a hug as she cried again, now it was a waiting game.