x-Emily Tennant-x and Matteic: Thank you for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Midsomer Murders! I only own the characters I made up!

It was freezing. I wasn't aware of my surroundings, who might be around me, if I'd eaten...if I was even wearing clothing, by how cold it felt. I tried to flex my right hand, only to find that something had a hold on it. I furrowed my brows. Was I feeling someone else's hand on my own? Why would someone be holding my hand in the middle of the car park? I ran that question through my brain several times, and came up empty. Why would someone be holding my hand if I was laying in the car park, dead?

I took a chance, and opened my eyes, then closed them again with a soft moan. Yep, I was dead. There had been a bright light just in front of me.

"Oh, God." A deep, silky voice said beside me.

"You've s-seen Him?" W-we're almost th-there?" I stuttered.

"What are you talking about?" The warm voice asked. "Seen who? Almost where?"

Okay, I had to be dead. That was definitely the voice of an angel, and that was definitely the warmth of an angel's fingers caressing my forehead, and stroking my hair.

"Open your eyes, Blake. You're safe now." The angel whispered, placing a kiss near my hairline.

"N-no. It's t-too bright." I moaned.

I heard footsteps, and...wait. Footsteps? If we were in the clouds, how could there be footsteps? From behind my eyelids, things seemed to grow a bit dinner. Was I fading again?

"Try it now?" The angel told me as he took my hand in his, and put his other partially my forehead, and partially on my hair.

"T-try what?" I whined.

"Open your eyes." The angel murmured patiently.

I swallowed slowly, and opened my eyes millimeter by millimeter. My vision was blurred slightly, but I could still make out the outline of the angel.

"W-where are your wings?" I whispered.

I could tell he'd furrowed his brows. "Wings? What are you talking about, Blake?"

It was my turn to furrow my brows. "Aren't you an angel?"

He didn't say anything for a moment. "Blake, it's me! It's Jerry, not an angel!"

Ah, Jerry! My heart began to pound against my ribs. "Is th-there a difference?"

Again, there was a short pause. "Do I need to fetch a nurse? Are you alright, darling?"

I blinked. "I can't see."

Jerry jumped out of his chair, and leaned over me. "What?! Nothing at all?!"

"N-no! It's b-b-blurry! Why are y-you f-f-freaking out?" I said with slight panic.

"I'm not freaking out." he said calmly. "I just...If you lose any abilities at all because of those bastards, I swear I'll go to the police station right now to murder them!"

"P-p-police station?" I whispered. "Did they c-c-catch them?"

He sighed, and sat back down. "They caught two of the three. One of them is still at large. They've got detectives, constables, and police dogs after him. He's wanted in two cities now, especially after shooting..." he stopped short.

I furrowed my brows. "Jerry..?" Then it hit me. What had happened to Ben? Where was he? "Jerry...where's m-my uncle?"

Silence.

I tried to sit up and spring for the door, but a searing pain shot through my legs, torso, and head, sending me crashing back down to the bed like a heap of rocks.

"Calm down, Blake." Jerry said quietly as he put his hands on my shoulders.

"Wh-where is he?!" I sobbed. "T-tell me now!"

"Not until you lie still!" he warned.

My only movement was the sobs racking my body. "T-tell me." I whispered.

He cupped my jaw in his hands, and looked me right in the eyes. "Listen closely, alright?" he said gently. "I'm not going to lie to you. I'm going to tell you what's going on. Can you handle the truth?"

I nodded.

"Do you promise to not jump up and try to run from the room to find him?"

"Is it that bad?" I whispered.

He sighed. "I know you love him," he said in that gentle voice yet again. "And I'm not going to lie and tell you he's perfectly fine. I'm going to tell you as it is."

"Okay." I said softly. "I'm ready."

"He's in intensive care, being treated right now as we speak. The bullet has done some damage to some of his tissue, and it will take a lot of time and medication for it to heal. Due to the amount of times he was bashed on the head, he's fallen into a coma. The..." he paused for a moment, as if considering his words. "The doctors said with the amount of beating he received, and the large amount of blood he lost, the bullet should have killed him."

I had to wait a few minutes before I could speak. "It sh-should have k-killed him?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes, but he's fighting it. Remember, I said he's in a coma, so there's no telling what he's thinking about. Whatever it is, though, it's keeping him strong." he paused for a moment. "I think it's you."

I studied him for a moment. "What?"

He smiled. "He could be thinking about you. Anyone that glanced at him could tell he cares about you. He loves you! He's thinking about you, and it's keeping him alive...You're keeping him alive, Blake.

I smiled a fake smile, hoping I looked convincing. Me? I was the only thing keeping my uncle alive? Me?

"What is it?" Jerry asked suddenly.

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

"You're eye...you look uncertain."

"Well," I started. "Wait. You said my eye. Am I missing an eye?!" I panicked.

"No!" he laughed as he grabbed my hands, keeping them from reaching my eyes. "Your left eye is covered with gauze. The cheek that took you hostage tried to take your eye out when the police came after him. He only managed to slash a thin cut through your eyebrow, and across your eyelid. You still have two eyes, and, apparently, they still work. By the way, how is your vision now?"

"Better." I mumbled. "I can see you bit clearer now. Jerry?"

"Hmm?" he smiled, stroking my knuckles with his thumbs.

"How did the police get there so quickly?"

"There were a few constables at the front of the hospital when you and Ben were being beaten. They were going to visit my dad, when they heard you scream. They were on their way to investigate when they heard the pistol go off, and they ran and saw what was going on. The man that had shot your uncle got away in his own car, but the two attackers were captured."

I sighed, and leaned back against the pillows as I reached for the bandages that kept my left eye covered. There was a bulge of gauze over my eye, and bandages went all the way around my head. "I feel like a pirate." I mumbled.

Jerry chuckled. "You look like one...except you're far cleaner than any of them ever were."

A deep chuckle from the doorway brought us back to reality. Barnaby was standing there, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Mr. Barnaby." Jerry nodded.

"Good afternoon." he nodded back. "Blake." he said softer. "How are you feeling?"

I smiled weakly at him as Jerry moved so he could sit in the chair he'd been occupying. Barnaby thanked him, and sat.

I cleared my throat, and prepared to speak for the first time to someone that wasn't like family to me. "I n-need to tell you something." I started timidly.

He nodded for me to continue.

"Th-the men that attacked m-me and Ben...were the s-same that had ch-chased Jerry and I. The blond man d-didn't sh-show up until..." I paused for a moment, wondering if I should continue.

"Until?" Barnaby pressed gently.

"Until o-one of them tried to r-r-rape me." I stumbled horribly over the word. "He started shouting at our a-a-attackers, saying that w-wasn't what he'd s-s-sent them for. That's when he shot Ben." I said softly. "He told them it w-was that easy, to f-f-finish me off, and wait for the boy." I motioned to Jerry. "Jerry, he meant. I th-think Mike's car crash was a s-s-set up to get us all here, where they could do th-their work."

"You say the blond didn't come until they tried to rape you?" he questioned.

"Mhm." Was my strangled reply. I still had trouble discussing such subjects.

"Do you think he'd been watching from somewhere?"

I nodded. "H-he seemed to appear from kn-know where."

"And you're certain these are the same men that had chased you and Jerry?"

I nodded. "I've n-never been more c-certain."

"Thank you, Blake." he said as he stood. "You've helped us quite a lot."

"W-wait!" I called out as I caught his hand.

He turned and raised his eyebrows, leaving a silence for questions.

"H-have you seen Ben?" I asked quietly.

"I was just on my way to see him."

I swallowed hard. "If he happens t-to be awake...t-tell him I'm s-sorry...a-about everything...Please."

I saw a brief flash of confusion in his blue eyes, which he hid well with a small smile. "I will."

I squeezed his hand weakly in thanks, and tried my best to return his smile before he walked out the door.

"Sorry?" Jerry said in confusion as he took his seat again. "For what?"

"It's m-my fault he's in th-this place." I whispered.

He sighed softly, and leaned down close to my face. "None of this is your fault, darling."

"Darling?" I smirked at him.

He took my hand slowly in both of his, and swallowed as he looked me right in the eyes with his beautiful emeralds. "That's usually what a person calls someone that they hold dear to their heart." he said slowly in his silky voice.

I wanted so badly just to touch him. To touch his face, or his neck, and then lean the rest of the way up and kiss him. I wanted to kiss him like he had kissed me in the valley that day; tender, and sweet. Could I trust him, though? I've known him for weeks...nearly a month, actually. Would it be wise? I decided to test that question. Really, how badly could he hurt me in a building filled with people that could hear me scream, should I need help? I leaned up slightly, not having to move far because his face was so close to mine, and took his bottom lip gently into my mouth.

He returned my kiss for only a few seconds, before pulling away. "Lay back against the pillows, and relax." he whispered.

I did so, finding that I couldn't help but bend to his wish. When I did, he resumed kissing me. He was slow, and gentle, just as he had been near the woods. My weak hands reached up to the back of his head, running through his cropped, smooth, ink-colored hair, and his hands slid gently up my neck to cup my cheeks. His lips tasted sweet, just like last time, but I could detect the slight flavor of oranges. I pulled him slightly closer, wanting to test more of the taste. His tongue rubbed slowly over my lip, begging entrance. I hesitated, but allowed him complete access to my mouth. Small rods of light appeared behind my eyelids as his tongue searched, stroked, and flirted with mine. He was making my body ache in ways and places that caused me to blush, which caused me to abruptly break the kiss.

His eyes seemed clouded over when he opened them, like he'd just come out of a spell. I couldn't help but feel a tug of sorrow at the slight hurt in those beautiful eyes.

"Blake Jones, is it?" Came a soft voice from the doorway.

Jerry practically jumped to a straight posture sitting position, and my neck popped because I'd looked so quickly to the door. It was the nurse from the other night. Had she witnessed the entire scene?

She walked calmly to the side of the bed with a slight smile. "I've come to give you medication, Miss Jones." she said, filling a needle with some sort of clear liquid.

Before I could object, the needle was plunged into my right forearm, sending a head-lightening sensation through that area.

"It will make you quite drowsy. I'd say you'll be asleep in twenty minutes or so." she started for the door, but stopped when she noticed the annoyed look on Jerry's features. "How's your dad coming along, lad? He signed out two days ago, didn't he?"

"Yes, mum." he answered politely, despite his annoyance at the woman. "He's been spending most of his time on the couch, in front of the tv with my mum and little brother...and eating a lot more than usual."

The nurse chuckled. "That's a good sign. He's healing quickly." Then she was gone.

Jerry turned back to me, the annoyance still in his eyes. "Did she hurt you badly?"

I shook my head. "Dizzy." After thinking a moment, I furrowed my brows. "You're dad is already out? Didn't I just visit him last night?"

He shook his head sadly. "You've been asleep for two days."

I think I fancy sleeping two days, minus the slight concussion! Please review! It motivates me!