A Shocking Business

Chapter 9

As the door opened and Steve looked up to see Mike race in, he cursed his bad luck again. This day keeps getting better he said again to himself .Of all the people who could have found him in a heap on the floor in a hospital gown, it HAD to be Mike!

" Steve!... What do you think you're doing out of bed! " Mike said ,his voice full of concern. He crouched down beside Steve and tried to ascertain whether he'd hurt himself in the fall... but Steve wouldn't catch his eye. He was afraid that his eyes might give away the fact that tears had fallen from them no more than fifteen minutes earlier. He was still trying to breathe through the pain in his chest aswell and knew well the pain was etched on his face. There was a stinging sensation on his arm and he had a sinking feeling that he had cut it when he fell. As if that wasn't bad enough he was starting to feel nauseous aswell. Dear God . No! Steve thought. He'd already suffered the humiliation of throwing up in front of Mike once today. Surely it wasn't going to happen again. Sensing that Steve was avoiding looking at him he said in his Lieutenant's voice.

"Steve...buddy boy...Look at me now. Are you ok? Did you hurt yourself? I want the truth now ."

Knowing he couldn't avoid Mike's glare for long he looked at Mike for an instant and then looked down at the floor as he spoke...

" I'm ok Mike, I just got up too fast that's all " he lied and immediately regretted it as another quick glance revealed that Mike wasn't buying it for an instant.

Mike was very observant, one of the many traits that made him the excellent detective he was and while Steve had only looked at him for a split second, Mike caught the tell-tale signs of reddened eyes and a pained expression on his face. The boy looked miserable and he was still trying to pretend everything was fine.

" Steve... Talk to me...I know you're not ok... Come on now...This is me , Mike...Let me help you, will you? " Mike spoke with utter sincerity and hoped Steve would let down his guard just this once and talk to him. It worked! Steve knew that Mike meant well and after all, he could help him get home .

" Ok, Mike.. My chest is sore, and I think I cut my arm when I fell, but it's not that bad... honest. I got out of bed because I wanted to go home. Talk to the doctors for me will you Mike? ... Get me out of here...Please..." Steve pleaded , as the nausea was building by the minute.

" Ok, take it easy now...I'll see what I can do , but first let's have a look at that arm and get you off this floor "

Mike took Steve's left arm and turning it around he could see an oozing cut half way between Steve's wrist and his elbow. It was about two inches long but it seemed deep enough to need stitches and the blood was starting to free flow from it. He reached in to his pocket and put his ever ready clean handkerchief on Steve's arm and held it tight while he put Steve's right arm around his shoulders with the other and proceeded to help him up. However it turned out to be ill-advised as the sudden movement made the overwhelming nausea much worse and Steve groaned at the thought of another embarrassing episode occurring.

"Hold it Mike...put me back down please..." Steve gasped as he fought back the bile rising in his throat . He swallowed hard but soon realized that it was futile . He decided in that moment that it was better to warn Mike than suffer the utter humiliation of throwing up all over himself. " Oh God, Mike, I think I'm gonna be sick."

Mike's concern for his young partner returned tenfold. He eased Steve gently back down to the floor. He could tell by the way Steve was swallowing hard and the green tinge in his face that he didn't have time to call for a nurse so he got up and found a kidney-shaped bowl on the windowsill and hurried back down to Steve who was now in great distress trying to stop himself from being sick.

" Take it easy Buddy boy...just let it happen... Come on now... You'll feel better if you don't fight it...It's ok Steve"

Steve didn't have the strength to fight it anymore and finally was violently sick while Mike rubbed his back and spoke encouraging words. Mike found the bell and summoned the nurse who was horrified when she came running into the room and saw her patient on the floor being sick, his left arm bleeding...

"Oh my God, what happened ?" she asked rushing over to help Mike.

" He tried to get out of bed and fell. He's got a bad cut on his arm. Looks deep enough that it might need stitches. When I found him and tried to pick him up to get him back into bed he said he felt sick ." Mike filled her in on what he knew.

As Steve hadn't had anything to eat since he was sick last it was mostly stomach acid that was coming back and it burned his throat and hurt the protesting muscles in his chest .When he finally finished, Mike and the nurse between them helped him back up on the bed. He lay back with his eyes closed breathing heavily while the nurse fussed over his arm placing a clean dressing on it.

" I'm going to page Doctor Armstrong " the nurse said hurrying out of the room.

Mike kept a close eye on Steve for the next few minutes . In the three years that he had known Steve, he had never seen him so fragile...What happened to you in that alleyway, buddy boy..?..And why wasn't I there to stop it happening...Mike thought to himself as once again he was consumed with guilt and regret.

Steve was starting to feel a little better. Being back lying down felt good. His chest throbbed a little and his arm was stinging like hell but those type of things he could handle. The worst part was the embarrassment of showing weakness in front of his mentor again! He kept his eyes shut tight. He couldn't face looking at Mike right now. His emotions were all over the place and they threatened to embarrass him further without warning . He had to get a handle on them but this was so new to him. He could feel the lump in his throat returning and fought it back swallowing hard. He finally regained his composure and opened his eyes to see Mike's worried face studying him intently . It always felt to Steve as if those piercing blue eyes could almost look into a person's soul and it never ceased to amaze him how good Mike was at reading people's thoughts . Many times while working together they could convey how they were both feeling or thinking with just a glance between them. They had grown to know each other that well. Finally it was Mike who broke the silence between them.

"So you want to get out of here buddy boy. Eh? ...Well let's see if we can make that happen. Ok? I can't see the doctor letting you back to your apartment on your own but what if I can persuade him to let you stay in my spare room tonight. Would you be ok with that? "

Steve seemed to think about that for a second or two. He would rather be in his own place alone at the minute the way his feelings were constantly betraying him but He knew Mike was right. The doctor would never agree to that and at least this way he had a chance to get out of here. Hopefully,once he was back in familiar surroundings he'd be able to get a handle on whatever was causing this new-found and unwelcome vulnerability .

"Yeah, sure Mike...You think you can make that happen ?"

" Are you kidding me ? Haven't you seen me in action before ? How many times have I bailed you out of here ? I'll have you out of here within the hour, buddy boy. I'll just turn on the old Mike Stone charm...Never fails!..." Mike kept his tone light-hearted on purpose and when he was rewarded with a wry smile from Steve he knew it had worked. It was good to see the kid smiling again.

The next half hour passed quickly as the doctor arrived and set about examining Steve. After a stern lecture about getting out of bed unassisted under the effects of a mild sedative and eight stitches to his arm later, Mike had used his charm to convince Doctor Armstrong to release Steve into his care. Mike then arranged for Inspector Martin to go to Steve's apartment and pick up some spare clothes and toiletries for Steve and after another half hour passed they were delivered as requested to Steve's room. He had needed a new set of clothes as the ones he had come in were destroyed with blood.

Mike also duly noted that Steve had perked up a bit now that he knew he was getting out of the hospital.

" You get dressed buddy boy and I'll just go sign your release papers and then we'll get you out of here. Ok?"

"Ok...and...Thanks Mike... for everything..." Steve said feeling slightly awkward at the amount of trouble he'd caused the older detective today.

Mike just nodded and smiled at Steve in response and headed down to where the doctor was waiting. He gave Mike some pills for Steve..one bottle was to help him sleep if needed or if the nightmares came that the doctor predicted would, one was a pain reliever for his sore chest and the cut on his arm and the other ones were anti-sickness pills that Mike was to give him if he became nauseous again. The amount of times Steve had been sick concerned the doctor as he couldn't find a physical reason for it. He had come to the medical conclusion that Steve's nausea was directly linked to whatever emotional upset he had suffered earlier . An appointment was made to remove Steve's stitches in five days time and Mike was instructed to change the dressing daily to avoid infection. Again he was advised to encourage Steve to see the Department psychiatrist and finally the appropriate papers were signed. Steve was free to go. The doctor accompanied Mike back down to Steve's room to give him the good news and after Steve had thanked the Doctor and said his goodbyes it wasn't long before they were on their way .

As they left the room and headed down the corridor to the elevator Steve spotted Captain Olsen, Haseejian, and Martin down in the waiting area and subconsciously stopped in his tracks. He had hoped that he could slip out quietly without having to interact with anyone from the station but it looked like that was inevitable. The one thing Steve hated more anything was fuss! He sighed and then regretted it as he came out of his thoughts and realized Mike had observed him closely. Mike had seen Steve stop and followed his gaze to where the others were gathered. Having heard Steve's sigh Mike put his hand on Steve's arm.

"Do you want to take the stairs Buddy boy? "

Steve turned to Mike and smiled at the way for the second time today he had practically read his thoughts.

"No, it's ok Mike, the elevator's fine..." he answered realizing that he would have to face the guys sooner rather than later but nodded at Mike to show he appreciated the understanding and the suggestion.

"You sure ?" Mike asked not wanting to stress Steve any further this evening especially as he was showing signs of improvement from earlier.

"Yeah, it's ok Mike" Steve reassured him and continued down the corridor with Mike bringing up the rear.

The Captain saw them coming first and came towards Steve and shook his hand..." Steve, good to see you up and around. Mike told me they were going to spring you this evening. Glad to be getting out I bet ?"

" I don't know about that Captain," Steve said more jovially than he felt and nodding in Mike's direction said " Think I might be under house arrest now ."

"Hey, hey...watch it buddy boy or I might just do that..." Mike replied , playfully swatting at Steve which raised a smile from all the men gathered who were so used to Mike and Steve's playful and teasing interactions.

When the moment passed, Steve asked more seriously..." What's the latest on Harris and Lee ?

"Lee is hanging in there,Steve, thanks to you. The doctors are pleased with how he's doing and Harris is going to be alright."

"That's good news. What about the shooter? Any sign of him yet?"

" No, Steve, I'm afraid not but he can't get far.. We'll get him. You go home and get some rest Steve. You've earned it ! "

Mike intervened then. " I'll bring Steve down to the office tomorrow Captain to give his official statement and type his report. It's been a really long day so it's time we got going. See you all tomorrow "

"Ok, Mike. No hurry. See you both then "

Inspectors Haseejian and Martin patted Steve on the back and said their good nights too and Steve thanked Martin for getting his things and soon they were in the elevator.

Mike kept a close eye on Steve all the time. He had seen right through Steve's "I'm ok" act with the Captain but at the same time admired the way he had pulled it off. Only for the fact that he knew Steve as well as he did he would have fallen for it too. No, Mike's gut instinct told him that there was worse to come for Steve before things got better but this was one time when Mike hoped that he was wrong!