Dr. Early walked into the waiting room, his blue scrubs marked with sweat stains and specks of blood. When Roy noticed him approaching Early stopped walking and wrung his tired hands together.

Roy stood up slowly, unsure of what to expect. "Doc? Is he...?"

"He's going to be fine, Roy."

Roy sighed in immense relief. A feeling that was shared by the rest of the station house who were also eagerly awaiting an update.

"How... How bad was it?"

"Well, he lost a lot of blood but luckily Dr. Brackett was able to stop the most severe of the bleeding before he was even removed from the building. He has some minor internal lacerations that were easily cleaned and sutured, and by some miracle the debris missed everything vital. He's going to be in quite alot of pain for the next few days, but he'll make a full recovery."

"Can I see him?" Roy practically pleaded with Dr. Early.

"Soon. He's still in recovery. Brackett's with him right now. As soon as he's in a room, I'll let you know. Okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks..." Roy sat back down heavily and he rested his head in his hands.

Captain Stanley folded his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair relieved. "That's great news. I'm going to call Hookraider so he and the rest of his crew know that Johnny's going to be okay."

Early seemed a little puzzled. "Hookraider?"

Chet answered. "Yeah, when Johnny got hurt Cap asked if there was any chance that we could stay on call at the hospital, and Hookraider offered to take over the rest of our shift so we wouldn't have to leave at all."

"Huh... I thought you guys said Hookraider was kind of a hard-nose."

"Yeah. Surprised us, too!" Marco chimed in.

Dr. Brackett was leaning over Johnny who was still on the operating table. Even though the anesthetic had worn off Johnny was still unconscious. Brackett picked up Johnny's hand to check his pulse before repositioning his grip onto Johnny's palm. "Johnny? Wake up. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me." The moment seemed so eerily reminiscent of being trapped in the building. And just like then, Johnny's hand remained limp and unresponsive to Brackett's request.

"Doctor?" Nurse Carol had returned to check on Johnny. "His room is ready."

"Okay, thanks Carol." He stepped back as two orderlies entered the room and wheeled the gurney out into the hallway.

Brackett followed close and was greeted by Dixie. "Hi, Kel."

"Hi, Dix. Can I help you?"

"Don't be cute. You were supposed to go home and rest."

"I know that, but I couldn't leave without knowing if Johnny was going to be okay."

"You know, if you won't follow the rules we can hardly reprimand anyone else for breaking them."

He sighed. "Yeah. I promise I'll go home soon. I just want to make sure-

"Kel, stop worrying. He's going to be okay and he has his entire station house to watch over him."

Brackett smiled knowing that he had been defeated. "Okay. Just let me check on Johnny one last time and I'll go home. You won't see me until tomorrow."

"The day after."

"What?"

"Tomorrow's your day off, remember?"

"Right." He rubbed at his sore shoulder. "Guess I could really use one, too."

Dr. Early returned to the waiting room, he had changed out of his scrubs back into his normal clothes with his white coat. "Roy?"

"Can I see him now?" Roy looked up quickly.

"Room 312."

"Thanks!"

Practically bolting out of his chair, Roy pressed the call button for the elevator. As the doors opened Stanley followed Roy into the car and motioned for Chet, Marco and Mike to wait a moment.

"Roy, take as much time as you need with Johnny. The rest of us will wait."

"Thanks Cap."

The doors opened and Roy walked onto the 3rd floor. Roy put his hand on the door marked '312' and took a breath. He pressed it open slowly and quietly as he peered inside the room.

Johnny seemed to be asleep in the bed. A nasal tube feeding him fresh oxygen snaked down the side of face, while white bandages covered the side of his jaw and eye. Smaller cuts ran the length of his arms and hands, an I.V. line had been inserted into his left arm as well. His black hair was messy thanks to the explosion and hasty combing from the nurses to remove bits of debris. He seemed so pale and lifeless. Dark purple marks beneath his eyes only made his pale pallor seem that much more extreme.

Roy slowly stepped into the room and watched his injured colleague resting. He gently placed his hand on Johnny's wrist and was overjoyed to feel the normal rhythm of a healthy beating heart beneath his finger tips.

"You scared me today, you know that partner?"

Johnny didn't react to Roy's voice.

"You're going to be okay. You were caught in a bomb blast, but Brackett took care of you when you were in the building. Dr. Early and Dr. Morton patched you up and now you're going to be okay."

He patted Johnny's hand, careful not to disturb the I.V. line attached to his arm. "Could you please wake up? It's been almost eight hours since the blast and you've been asleep since it happened."

Still no response. "The rest of the guys are here, they want to see you too."

Roy reluctantly exited the room to see if Captain Stanley and the guys had arrived on the 3rd floor. The entire crew was patiently waiting outside the door, but it was Captain Stanley who spoke for everyone.

"How is he?"

"He's still unconscious. But all his vitals seem normal, so that's good."

"Look Roy, it's late." Captan Stanley had glanced down at his watch. "Why don't you stay here for the night and we'll come back tomorrow to see how he's doing, okay?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I trust your judgment and I know that if anything happens, good or bad, you'll let us know."

"Thanks Cap."

Captan Stanley turned toward the elevator with the rest of the crew following. As the doors closed Chet called out a favor. "Tell Johnny we're thinking about him!"

Roy smiled. That was twice Chet let it slip how much he really cares about Johnny.

Brackett appeared from the opposite end of the hallway and spotted Roy outside Johnny's room. "Roy?"

He tuned around quickly, recognizing the voice. "Doc, how you holding up?" He wasn't expecting to see Brackett for a while.

"I'm fine. Johnny wake up yet?"

"No, not yet."

"I wanted to check on him one last time. Dixie is making me go home."

Roy smiled. "I didn't think a nurse could tell a doctor what to do."

"This nurse can!" Brackett teased.

Together they entered Johnny's room and walked over to the downed paramedic. Brackett clumsily read Johnny's chart, trying to flip the pages with only one hand available made it a bit of a challenge. Roy returned to Johnny's side and sat in the chair between the two patient beds.

"I'm back partner. The rest of the guys will see you tomorrow."

Brackett glanced up from the chart and looked at Johnny as Roy spoke. "He hasn't woken up once, Roy?"

"No. At least not that I know of."

"I tried to get him to respond when we were trapped in the building, but he didn't budge at all."

Roy gently picked up Johnny's cold hand and held it in his own. "Johnny? Are you still there?" No response. Roy stood up and leaned over Johnny, his hand still gripped tight. "Come on Johnny. Do something, anything, to let us know you can hear us." Though weak, Roy felt two cold fingers slowly curl around his hand. Roy laughed a little. "Doc..." Tears of joy began to well up in his tired blue eyes.

Brackett walked over and stood beside Roy and eyed Johnny carefully. "What is it Roy?"

"He just squeezed my hand!"

...to be continued...