A/N: Thank you once again for the wonderful words yesterday. Thank you for sticking with me. Grey Vitals is in process and will be updated on Monday hopefully.

Those of you who didn't know before, I have a Facebook account under Steele Heart. The name on that account will be changing next month after I pull this story from FFN for publishing. I will reveal my pen name at that point in time.

Once again, thank you all for the amazing encouragement you have given me. I appreciate it.

I don't own FSoG, EL please don't sue me.

Laters

Falling Undercover

Chapter 4

Ryan sat with Ana waiting for the ambulance to arrive. "I'm so sorry Ms. Steele. Sawyer's going to kill me." He kept apologizing over and over but Ana was having none of it.

"Ryan, you aren't a trained CPO, nor are you a psychic. You couldn't have known." Ana's last words came out on a hiss as he continued applying pressure to her arm. Nothing had ever hurt Ana like this had.

"I'm still sorry Ms. Steele. If you want my resignation, I'll tender it effective immediately." Ryan looked sick to his stomach with guilt and worry.

"If you quit, who's going to pay for your sister's tuition? Certainly won't be your dead beat parents. I've already given you forgiveness. Don't make me give you an ass kicking for being an idiot. You aren't quitting. Besides, I don't have time to train anyone to have my coffee ready the way I like it and make it across town in less then ten minutes without forcing me to spill it all over myself." Ana knew she was trying to deflect from the seriousness of the situation with humor. It's what she's always done.

Ryan continued to apologize more but soon he was cut off by the arrival of the police, just in time to push the arriving swarm of cameras and reporters back.

"Ma'am, can you tell us what happened?" The arrival of two uniformed officers stopped anymore of Ryan's apologies. Ana begin to recount the dinner she'd had with her friend and then the process of getting into the car.

"Do you know anyone who may wish to harm you?" Ana rolled her eyes at the question. She could name 100 people from her business dealings alone in the last five years.

"Officer, I get threats all the time. I'm the richest woman in America. I piss men off in the boardroom on a daily basis. Women call me a disgrace to feminism. Then there are the regular nut jobs. The ones that think they can kidnap me for ransom or just want me because they think they're in love with me. Talk to my head of security Luke Sawyer." After rolling her eyes again and answering a few more questions, Ana was finally able to settle down in the back of the ambulance and make her way to the hospital.

Ana thought about how Luke was going to rub this in her face. God she hoped he didn't call her father, or worse call Mama. That wouldn't likely be the case. Daddy was a little stir crazy since he retired. It was why she built the wood shop for him. He was likely out there now with a beer and listening to the emergency response scanner. Mama would have been at her book club tonight. Maybe they went to bed together early. One could only hope.

Being strapped to a gurney was an experience that Ana never wanted to repeat. The EMT wouldn't let her do anything. They made her leave her phone and purse with Ryan. They would get her information from him or someone else when they got to the ER. Thankfully by the time they pulled up into the ambulance bay she had calmed her self. The jostling the two men did removing the gurney from the back of the ambulance caused pain to ricochet up her arm and down her chest though. Never again. Ana promised to get two body guards if it could prevent this. She didn't like having Ryan attached like he was at dinner, but she'd put up with whatever Sawyer suggested if it kept her alive and without pain.

Ana knew she was being a baby about the wound. It was still bleeding pretty heavily, but she wanted pain meds and she didn't want to wait. She almost started to throw one of those "Do you know who I am?" fits, but thought better of it. As it turned out the doctor seeing to her wasn't even one that should be examining her today.

"Ms. Steele, I'm Dr. Trevelyan. I'm working the ER tonight. I have to warn you though, I'm actually a pediatrician. Is it okay if I look at your arm?" The woman carried herself with an air of grace. She was soft spoken and gentle in a way Ana needed right now. Kid Gloves, that's what she was being treated with.

"If I say yes, do you think I can get a shot of something to numb it a little bit? Every time it's moved, the pain ricochets up my arm and across my chest." Ana was sincere in her request. She never thought a gun shot hurt like this. When she didn't feel at risk of a lobotomy at her father's hands over this, she would ask him what it was like for him.

"Of course Ana. I've already got a nurse prepping a morphine bag. Looking at the way it's wrapped now and the fact that I can see it's still bleeding means it's deeper than originally thought at the scene. You'll most likely need surgery to repair some torn tissue. My main issue right now is getting this bleeding under control. I need to see the wound itself to do that though." The doctor was gentle and her reassuring eyes led Ana to nod her consent.

The doctor was quick to wash her hands and don a pair of gloves. She started by grabbing some gauze from a drawer near the sink and what looked like a huge pair of tweezers to Ana. "Alright. I'm going to remove the cloth first. The tie is helping with the blood flow so we won't remove it until I've assessed the area and the source of the bleeding. Can you tell me your blood type and any diseases or health conditions you might have? Medications are something we'll need to know as well." DR. Trevelyan kept her talking while she worked gently to remove the cloth. She had a nurse come in before it was fully off and Ana decided to answer her questions to distract herself.

"I'm A+. I've never been sick before outside of the chicken pox when I was 8. I don't even have allergies. No medications." Ana looked the other way when she felt Ryan's jacket lift away from her arm completely. She felt something cool and liquid on her arm and curiosity got the best of her.

"Alright Ana, this is much deeper then I though. I had hoped it was a flesh would, but it was a through and through. You've got some torn muscle. This is going to hurt a bit because I'm going to be looking for the bleed. Nurse push ten of morphine and then help me hold her shoulder down." The doctor's gentle tone was a little pushy now and Ana didn't like the idea of being pushed down on the gurney and being held down again.

She soon realized why though when she felt the doctor's finger digging into her wound. "AAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhh!" Ana screamed out at the shock of the initial pain. She tried to lift off the gurney and away from the doctor's offending finger, but she was being held secure.

"Clamp." The doctor demanded something and then she felt the pressure lessen. "Call the OR, she's got a tear in her Brachial artery." Ana felt the gauze being pressed to the wound and then the doctor was moving around to look at her. "You're a lucky lady Ms. Steele. Another three inches to the right and the bullet would have hit your lung."

Ana started to fade out and she looked to the doctor again. "Don't worry darling girl, we're going to take good care of you. You should fall asleep soon and when you wake up you'll be in recovery." That was the last thing Ana heard before she succumbed to the darkness.

"Luke, you want to tell me what the hell happened to my little girl?" Mr. Raymond Steele was a retired Fire Chief and everyone knew that Ana Steele was the apple of her father's eye. One did not mess with his little girl. Especially since it was easy to forget that he served in the military and was as trained as Luke was. His tone alone made Luke go to parade rest. Back straight and his hands clenched at his sides.

"Sir, Ms. Steele received what I perceived to be a credible threat Wednesday afternoon. Ryan is usually her driver, but while I tried to find suitable protection he was acting as her shadow. He was with her tonight as her body guard. You must know, he's not trained sir. He's not a runner, nor is he trained in surveillance. He's got the build for it, but he's going to need more training. I failed thinking that he would be enough for now." Luke was visibly upset at what had happened to his friend. He wasn't a man with many friends, especially after the war, but Ana was one of the few.

"Luke I'm not placing blame anywhere but on the sick bastard that did this. Now tell me what happened. Please." Ray's voice shook at the end thinking the worse about his daughter.

"Ryan said they were waiting for the valet to arrive. Usually he stays with the car, but he was forced to use the valet so he could go inside the restaurant with her. He said the valet came around the car and gave him the keys. He's opened the door for Ana, but she topped so she could tip the valet. Ryan was looking across the street and just happened to see a showed figure looking in their direction. He moved around the car to get inside and that was when he heard the shot. It's a through and through, but it severed an artery in her arm. They're in surgery now." Luke was winded and thankful Ana's father was here now. They wouldn't give him any updates other than she was still in surgery.

"I'll see if I can get an update. Hang tight." Raymond walked away from Luke and headed toward the nurse's station. Luke watched Ray and a nurse talk for a few minutes and then the nurse made a phone call. Soon she was talking to Ray again and he was nodding his head. When Ray joined Luke again he updated the man on Ana's condition.

"She's out of surgery and in recovery. They said she's already coming out of the anesthesia. We can go to post op in fifteen minutes to see her. I've got to go call Vicki before she hears it on the news." Luke's eyes bugged out at the mention of Ana's Mama.

"Sir, you've not called her?" Luke was scared of Vicki Steele. "Ana's going to be pissed I called you as it is."

"That stubborn daughter of mine will get over it. Vicki on the other hand will skin me alive for waiting this long to call her about her daughter." Ray looked nauseous at the statement and for the first time that night, Luke chuckled to himself.