"What? No, no. It can't be him. He's coming back – it can't be him." She stumbled and would have fallen, except that Cho grabbed her and put his arm around her.

"We're sure it's him?" he asked Abbott.

"Yes. It took them a while to identify him and figure out who to contact," he told them. "But it is him."

"What happened?" It was Cho who again asked. Teresa was holding on to him, her face white with shock. Wylie too was pale and quiet.

"A drunk driver smashed into him – right on the driver's side. Uh – they're trying to determine next of kin. Do either of you know who that would be?"

Teresa shook her head, still struggling to comprehend what had happened. "No – he doesn't have anyone," she said. "No close family anyway. We're – we're his family. But – does that mean they don't think he's going to survive?"

"I think it's just standard procedure, Teresa," Dennis told her. "I wouldn't worry about that. But – he does need someone with him. He shouldn't be alone."

"Of course not." Suddenly she pulled away from Cho and took a deep breath. "I want to go. I'm the closest he has to family."

"Of course." Dennis answered, expecting no less. He then glanced at Cho. "Kimbell, unfortunately I don't think I can let you go too, although I know you'd like to. We just got handed a big case and I can't justify being short staffed."

"I understand," Cho nodded, although he didn't look happy. "I'll call Wayne and Grace. Maybe one of them can go and be with you Teresa."

"Yes – that would be great – thanks," she muttered, still too shocked to have anything really registere.

"I've already looked into flights," Abbott told her. "There's one leaving in a few hours. I'm afraid I took the liberty of calling Marcus and he's on his way down. He'll take you home to get some things and then take you to the airport."

"Okay," she nodded. "Thank you. You said – they don't know…?"

"I don't have too many details right now, unfortunately. He lost a lot of blood, that I do know, and I guess it didn't look good at first – but he made it through the night, so there's hope."

"Through the night?" Cho asked.

"It happened last evening. One of the men in the car that hit him pulled him out, but his Airstream caught on fire and almost everything was destroyed. It took some time before they could identify the vehicle and track down the registration."

"He's gonna hate that," Wylie said, speaking for the first time. "I mean – I know it doesn't really matter, but he loved that Airstream."

"We'll get him another one," Abbott said, "and even better one." That caused Wylie, who looked as if he was going to cry, to nod and attempt a smile.

"He'll be okay, Agent Lisbon," Wylie then told her. "Agent Abbott is right. Jane is tough. He's a survivor!"

She thanked both of them, although unfortunately their words didn't mean much to her – not right now. Still, they were good friends.

"I'd better go," she said finally. "I'll – I'll let you know when I get there."

"Take care Teresa," Dennis told her gently. "Jane's tough and I'm sure he'll make it. It's good that you'll be with him."

Cho gave her a hug. "He'll make it. Jane is way too stubborn to die. Before we know it he'll be driving the hospital staff crazy!"

She laughed at that –through her tears, but then reached out and gave Kimball another hug. She knew he was just as upset but held things in better. "I wish you could come with me," she whispered.

"Me too. But you'll be there, and that's the most important thing. Just keep me informed."

She nodded, gave him one final hug and then turned and headed to her desk, afraid that she was about to break down. It had hit her hard, the fact that Jane had no family and she had been about to leave him and move away. Maybe it should be Cho who went to see him.

A moment later Marcus arrived, and simply put his arms around her and held her. That did it and she broke down in tears.

She couldn't lose him – not now – not after everything he'd been through. To survive all that had happened over the last dozen years – to survive a serial killer – and then be killed by a drunken driver. It couldn't happen, it shouldn't happen.

"Come on – let's get you home and packed and then to the airport. I'm coming with you."

"What?" She leaned back and looked at him through her tears. "No - you don't need to do that."

"Of course I do Teresa. I love you and I'm here for you. You can't do this alone."

She nodded, suddenly relieved that she wouldn't be alone. She was terrified that she would get there and he would be gone. "Thank you," she said softly, leaning forward and again letting him hold her.

Things happened quickly after that. She had almost no time, but managed to throw a few things in an overnight bag and then they were off to Marcus' apartment, where he too put together a small suitcase. They called a cab and were soon on their way to the airport.

The flight was hard. They were in the air for 3 ½ hours with no contact with the outside world. All she could think of was that they'd arrive in Los Angeles, to be told that he was gone.

"Hang on Jane," she whispered. "Just hang on!" Marcus reached over and took her hand, but after a few minutes she pulled it away. She was too nervous, too frightened and feeling too guilty to accept any comfort.

She was practically sick with nerves by the time they arrived. As soon as they landed Marcus called Abbott, to see if he'd heard anything.

"He's still hanging in," he told her as soon as he hung up. "The doctors said that the more time passes the better the prognosis, although he's still in danger."

"Bosco didn't die right away," she said abruptly. "He lived for almost a day after being shot, and then he died."

"Teresa – don't think about that. He'll be okay."

"You don't know that," she told him as they walked to a cab. "You don't know if he'll live."

"Teresa!" he reached over to take her hand, but she pulled it away. She couldn't take any comfort right now. She had treated Jane horribly, and now he might die, and she'd never get the chance to tell him she was sorry. She would never get the chance to hear what he had to say.

She was silent the rest of the way to the hospital. It was almost an hour's drive from the airport, and all she did was stare out the window, yet she didn't see anything. Her mind was going around in circles. Jane was going to die, and she'd never know what he wanted to say to her.

They finally arrived, and it was Marcus who found out where to go. They headed immediately to the fourth floor with the ICU wing. It took a few minutes while he hunted up someone to talk to – while Teresa waited, sure that they were too late. Eventually Marcus returned.

"He's still alive," he told her first thing. "He's in the ICU and his doctor is coming down to talk to us."

At that her legs collapsed from under her, and she would have fallen if it wasn't for Marcus catching her. He helped her to a chair and ran to get a glass of water.

"Take it easy Teresa," he told her gently. He squatted down beside her and handed her a cup. "Here, take a drink. He's going to be okay, you'll see."

"Did they tell you that?" she asked, pushing away the cup. "Did they say he was going to be okay?"

"No, they didn't say anything – just that they were going to have the doctor come and speak with us. He should be here right away."

"Oh God- that means bad news."

"Teresa, you've got to stop this," he said sharply. "We don't know anything yet, and there's no point imagining the worst. Jane is strong, he's a fighter and the fact that he's still alive is good."

"I know," she said, lowering her head into her hands. "I'm sorry. It's just – he doesn't deserve this. He's had too many tragedies in his life and now – it's not fair Marcus, it's just not fair."

"No, I know," he said softly, reaching out and moving her hair out of her face. "It'll be okay – and I'll stay with you."

"Thank you," she looked up and tried to smile. "I don't deserve you, you know," she told him. "You're such a good man."

"Teresa, I love you. Of course I'm going to be with you through this. You can count on me."

"Yes, I know," she said, breathing out slowly and leaning back and closing her eyes. All of a sudden she was so tired, so very tired.

"Are you here for Patrick Jane?"

"Yes, we are," Marcus answered quickly and stood and faced the gray-haired man dressed in a white lab coat who had just entered the small waiting room. "I'm Marcus Pike, and this is Teresa Lisbon," he said, reaching out and shaking the Doctor's hand.

"You're Teresa Lisbon," the Doctor asked, quickly shaking Marcus' hand but looking towards her.

"Yes," she frowned. "That's me."

"Good," he smiled. "I'm Dr. Walden and I've been the one treating Mr. Jane."

"How is he?"

"Here, let's sit down and I'll explain," he said gently – which immediately made her sure that it was bad. She waited impatiently while they all took their seats. Before she had a chance to say anything, Marcus jumped in.

"Uh Doctor - you seemed to know Teresa's name. May I ask why?" he asked.

"She's listed as Mr. Jane's next of kin," the Doctor told him.

"Really? Teresa, did you know?"

"His next of kin? No – I – I didn't have any idea. He never told me."

"I'm sorry," Dr. Walden said. "I just assumed you would know. We only found out just a little while ago when we spoke with his insurance company. Are you family?"

"No, I'm just a friend," she said. "He doesn't have any family."

"Ah, I see," he said, nodding his head.

"Please, how is he?" Teresa couldn't take any more delay. She needed to know.

"Well, Mr. Jane is still in critical condition," he told them. "He lost a lot of blood and suffered several internal and external injuries. We had to go in and repair a number of things, but we think the surgery went well."

"What are his injuries?"

"He has four broken ribs, one of which punctured his left lung. His left kidney received some severe lacerations and we're watching it closely. For now he hasn't lost it, but we're keeping an eye on it and we have him on dialysis. If it doesn't improve in the next 24 hours, we may have to remove it."

"But he'll be okay?" she said. "He can survive on one kidney, right."

"Yes, he can," he agreed. "Unfortunately that's not all. His aorta was nicked in the accident, causing him to lose a significant amount of blood. We've repaired it, but we won't know the effects of the blood loss until he wakes up."

"Effects?" she frowned. "You mean – brain damage?"

"Possibly, although all the tests so far are positive, so hopefully we won't have to worry about that. He will be pretty anemic for a while, though, until we can build his blood supply back up." The Doctor watched her carefully, but when it was clear she seemed to be handling the news, he began again.

"The thing we're actually most worried about right now is his heart," he told her gently. "He suffered a myocardial contusion, which we're monitoring closely but at this point we're not sure how serious it is."

"A – what?"

"His heart was bruised," he explained more simply. "It's not uncommon in car accidents and it's treatable but we have to watch it because it can be serious."

"But you don't know how serious it is. What if it is – really serious?"

"It can be life-threatening," he told her gently. "But for now things look okay. We have Mr. Jane on medication and he seems to be holding his own."

"Oh God," she said, feeling weak. "Is that – tell me that's all?" she begged.

"I'm sorry – there is more, although the other things aren't as serious. It was a bad accident and the other car ran into him directly. The only thing that saved him was that he was sitting up higher than in a normal car. If he'd been lower -" Walden stopped there, not needing to continue as all of them understood. Jane had been lucky.

"You said there was more," Marcus interjected. "What else?"

"He has a broken left arm – both the radius and ulna, and the tibia of his left leg. Fortunately the breaks were clean and didn't require surgery. Other than that he has lots of contusions and cuts and scrapes. Our main concerns right now are his heart and kidney although the number of injuries – even the less serious ones – have combined to make him a very, very sick man."

"Is he going to make it?" Teresa asked bluntly. She knew she probably sounded harsh, but she had to prepare herself if he wasn't going to survive. She had to know.

The Doctor sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm afraid that's a question I can't answer," he told her. "In some cases, there is nothing we can do and I can give a definite answer. In this case – well, he's a fighter and it's been almost 24 hours, which is a good sign. Every hour that goes by, without any complications, the more likely he will be to survive. At this point we're watching him closely – and I'm afraid that's all we can do and all I can tell you."

She nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate your honesty. When can I see him?"

"As his next-of-kin you can see him any time. All we ask is that you leave when and if asked to by the staff. They may need access to him quickly and so you'll have to listen to them."

"I understand. Thank you Dr. Walden. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us."

"No problem," he smiled and stood tiredly. "It's always better when patients have someone with them who cares. It improves their prognosis. I'll have one of the nursing staff come and show you to his room. And just have a nurse page the doctor on duty if you have any other questions. I'll be leaving shortly, but Dr. Sariana will be here and she's an excellent trauma physician."

With that he said goodbye and was soon gone. Less than a minute later a nurse appeared. "Teresa Lisbon?"

"That's me."

The nurse smiled. "Hi, I'm nurse Alvarez. I can take you to Mr. Jane's room now, if you're ready?"

Teresa turned quickly to Marcus. "He needs somebody with him."

"Of course," he nodded. "I'll take our things and go check into a hotel," he told her. "Call me if you need anything – or if there's any news. I'll be back as soon as I can."

She gave him a wobbly smile and then leaned forward and kissed him lightly. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd have done without you."

"No thanks needed. Now go – see Jane - and tell him from me to get better!"

"I will," she smiled, and watched as he headed to the elevator. She then turned to the nurse. "I'm ready to see him now."

"He looks pretty rough," Nurse Alvarez warned her. "There are a lot of machines, but they're there to help him so don't worry." The nurse eyed her carefully and Teresa wondered what that was about. A moment later she knew.

"Are you – uh – Mr. Jane's friend, or a family member?" she asked. Marcus presence had probably confused her.

"Both," Teresa smiled. "At least I'm the closest thing to family he's got. And yes – he's my best friend."

That caused Nurse Alvarez to smile. "Good! Then having you here will make a big difference. Patients know."

Teresa nodded, although she felt like a fraud. It was true that Jane was her best friend – but she could not claim that she was his, not after the way she had treated him. But that was going to change.

They arrived at Jane's ICU room and she stepped inside, terrified at what she'd find.

"O God Jane," she whispered when she saw him. She took hold of the cross around her neck and said a silent prayer. He looked so hurt, so vulnerable – so sick. She really doubted, at that moment, that he was going to survive.

This time it was her heart that felt like it was breaking.