Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in this chapter, but I wanted to write it a certain way, and editing took a couple of days. I really appreciate all those who are reading and reviewing, it is truly inspiring. In Chapter 10, we have caring, sharing, and some hurting. Happy Reading.

John looked from Joss to Taylor and back again. A scowl of unhappiness marred Joss's lovely face, and anger flashed in her beautiful brown eyes. He'd seen that look before, her pissed mother look. What could Taylor have done to rile Joss so fast? "What am I missing?" he asked.

"That is the question of the day," Joss answered, glancing at him for a moment before returning her attention to her squirming son.

"Mom, really, you are making something out of nothing." Taylor grunted. "If there was something to tell, I would…"

"Say nothing," Joss finished in a huff. "I've been in a coma for almost a month, but I haven't forgotten how to read my son."

"I do believe the time has come for me to leave," said Finch, limping to the other side of the bed. "Detective, it's been wonderful speaking with you, and I will be back to see you tomorrow."

Joss pulled her attention from Taylor to give Finch a smile. "Thank you for stopping by, Harold. I look forward to our visit tomorrow."

"So do I." He turned to John. "Mr. Reese, I will talk with you later."

After Harold's hasty retreat, Joss returned angry, questioning eyes to her son. "I'm waiting," she said, the words measured, direct.

"Uh, Joss, sweetheart, I know you're desperate for answers from Taylor, but just so I can be a useful third party, can one of you please tell me how a happy reunion turned into this?" John asked, looking from Joss to Taylor and back again. He looked over his shoulder when Joss remained mum. "Taylor?"

Taylor threw up his hands. "John, your guess is as good as mine," he said, looking over at his vexed mother.

"Boy, don't you dare give me that!" Joss closed her eyes and grunted.

John bit back the expletive that almost rushed out of his mouth. "That's it!" He pointed to the door. "Taylor, outside."

Shoulders slumped, Taylor headed for the door.

"I'm not finished with…" Joss began.

John pressed his finger to her lips. "For now you are," he broke in. He returned his gaze to Taylor and pointed at the door. "Go."

As Taylor exited, he ran into a nurse. "Pardon me," he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should pay closer attention," John heard Nurse Linda say.

"No problem," he said, continuing on his way out.

The blond, fiftyish, full-figured nurse came in dragging a mobile blood pressure monitor. Linda had been one of the two nurses on duty when John had arrived at the facility. She had been extremely nice, bringing John coffee, danish, and sandwiches during his vigil. He didn't have much of an appetite, but he'd appreciated her care. "I need to check vitals and take care of a few things for the detective," she said with a pleasant smile.

"That's fine, Linda, I need to step out for a minute," John replied. He leaned close to Joss. "You need to take it easy. You are pushing yourself and don't think I didn't notice your discomfort before." He ignored her frown and kissed her softly. "I'll find out what's going on with Taylor, okay?"

Joss nodded. "Okay."

He kissed her again. "I love you."

"I love you."

The nurse was mumbling about how sweet John was when he made his way out the door. He'd been called a lot of things in his life, but sweet, not so much. Taylor stopped his pacing and sighed when John approached. He loved the young man like a son, but had Taylor been twelve years younger and three feet shorter, John probably would've put him over his knee. "What the hell was that in there?" he barked.

"Mom was asking about Lauren, this girl I had been seeing, and all of sudden, she jumped - -"

"Stop." John dragged his hand on his forehead and massaged his temples. "Your mother is a homicide detective, Taylor, she does not jump to conclusions. You're not telling her something, and whatever it is, you're going to tell me right now."

"Your blood pressure is a little elevated, but I'm sure kisses from your handsome friend would do that to anybody," Nurse Linda said with a chuckle. Joss couldn't help smiling. She'd been fighting her attraction to John from the moment she saw him in the holding room at the station. Although his hygiene and dress left a bit to be desired, his eyes… The look in his blue eyes, beyond the hurt and sadness, was a spark, and it touched her. And before she knew it, she had fallen in love with him. And to her delight, he loved her, too. They were a couple now, and had a future to look forward to together. A future that included making all the intimate dreams she'd had of them together a reality. She had no doubt that John would be one hell of a lover, and she couldn't wait to find out the truth in her assessment.

"I need to change the bandage on your wound." Linda walked over to the cabinet in the far corner and returned with ointment, gauze, and bandages. Joss couldn't help wondering what this wound looked like. She had to see it.

When Linda lowered the gown and removed the bandage, Joss cleared her throat. "I would like to see it, Linda. May I?" she asked, both dreading and anticipating the moment.

"Of course you can," Linda answered. "You sure?"

"Dr. Angie said it was healing quite well, and I'm curious."

Linda nodded. "I'll get you a hand mirror." She returned to the cabinet in the corner and returned with a pink mirror. "You ready?"

Ignoring what seemed like a pep talk from Linda, Joss nodded. "Yes, I'm ready."

The nurse lowered the mirror above the end of the wound. Joss steeled herself and then lowered her gaze. Upon seeing the injury, Angie's words flooded her mind. 'The wound is healing nicely, and scarring should be minimal. … the gunshot ripped your flesh…' Joss closed her eyes for several moments."Okay. Thank you."

Linda placed the mirror on the bedside table, and then applied new bandaging while discussing the rapid healing of the wound. Joss heard the words, but she wasn't at all listening. Somehow, what she saw and what Angie had said didn't fit. After checking Joss's blood pressure once more and being satisfied with the new reading, Linda departed.

The hush of the door closing behind the nurse broke the dam holding back Joss's tears. Her hand slid to where the gown covered the fresh bandage. Minimal scarring? She didn't see minimum scarring. She saw lots of stitches, stitches that would leave maximum scars.

The cop in her didn't care about that. The most important thing was getting the bad guys. As a mother, stitches and scars and sick days took a backseat to taking care of her son. But beyond being a cop and a mother, she was a woman. A woman that cared about how she looked. She was pretty, she got way more attention on the streets than she ever wanted, but when she wasn't in cop and mom mode, she enjoyed dressing up and having attractive men do double takes when she walked by. What heterosexual woman didn't? Now, she had her man. A man that made her appreciate being a woman, and more importantly, being the woman that he loved.

Joss brushed away the tears streaming down her cheeks. But she wasn't that woman anymore. John thought his Joss had died on the street that November night. She couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for him to realize that she had.

"And this girl is pregnant?" John said, barely able to catch his breath as he considered all Taylor had said. He'd gotten a bad feeling when Taylor suggested they go somewhere more private than the hallway to talk, but when they had arrived at the sitting room a few feet away and the teen sprang this on him, he was not prepared.

"I don't know yet. Maybe." Taylor dragged his hand over his head and sighed as he continued pacing. "She said she's late."

"Late?" John groaned. "I know Joss has talked to you, and I've talked to you. I've given you condoms, Taylor. How could you let this happen?"

"I don't know, John," he answered flippantly. "My mother was dead, you were gone, and I was lost. That's how. I went to Lauren, and one thing led to another. I didn't want to think, to remember."

"You're right, you didn't think," John answered harshly. Taylor rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry." John expelled a loud, deep breath. "Do you love this Lauren?"

"I think she's great. She's smart and pretty, and…"

"Do you love her?"

Taylor stopped pacing and rested against the wall in front of John. "No," he murmured. "She can't be pregnant. It was our first time ever. You can't get pregnant the first time."

John bore his eyes into Taylor, trying his best not to leave his chair and shake him for saying something so monumentally stupid. "You know damn well it only takes one time. It doesn't have to be a good first time. Hell, it could've been a forgettable experience for the both of you, but it doesn't change the fact it happened."

"I think you're more upset about this than mom will be. I thought you would understand."

"You thought I would understand?" Taylor lowered his gaze from John's hard glare. John sucked in a breath. He'd been jaded. Joss had done such a good job raising Taylor, he didn't think of the boy as a typical teen. He got an eye-opener today. "Did you expect me to give you a pat on the back and say 'Attaboy, you son of a gun,' huh?"

"I thought you'd be a bit calmer." Taylor slid in the chair next to the wall. "How old were you when you had your first time?"

"Too young, that's how old." John sighed. "This might sound ridiculous to you, but I always assumed your first time would be with a young lady at college." Taylor chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it's funny, especially considering I gave you condoms, but I believed it. You're a mature young man, and I figured you'd want making love for the first time to mean something. You know, to be important. Humph. Maybe I'm projecting. I was fifteen and stupid when I had my first time. A girl from down the street came over to my house one summer day and said, 'You wanna do it?'" John laughed at the youthful memory. "An hour later, when her mom left for some meeting, I came over, and five minutes after that, I was walking back home. I can't even remember her name. It didn't mean a thing."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Taylor mumbled, looking at the floor.

"You're right, there's not. But you're thinking like a seventeen-year-old who's never been in love. When you fall in love, mindless sex just won't do." John's thoughts went to Joss. He'd waited his whole life for someone like her, his one. He thought he had it in Jessica, but falling in love with Jocelyn Carter showed him what true love was really about. So many nights he'd fallen asleep with thoughts of his beautiful Joss filling his dreams. Sensual dreams of her lovely legs wrapped around his waist as he filled her to completion, his name falling softly from her full lips. Many a night he'd awaken with a start, sweaty and hard for her. And, now, he counted the minutes until he could truly make Joss his. A smile stretched his lips. "Total intimacy. Complete oneness in heart, soul, and body with that perfect one. That's the magic of love. And one day, if you're lucky, you'll understand what I'm talking about."

Taylor bristled. "Yeah. Considering your perfect one is my mother…" He made a gagging sound. "TMI, dude."

"Well, your pregnancy scare has compelled me to inform you that waiting for love isn't a bad thing. Had you waited until you were in love, you wouldn't be in your current situation." Taylor grumbled something incoherently. "Who else knows about this?"

"Nobody. Who was I gonna tell? Dad? Grandma? If Mom wasn't so good at being my mom, you probably wouldn't know." Taylor groaned. "Had I known Mom was alive, this situation wouldn't exist." He buried his face in his hands. "I have messed up so bad."

"I can't argue with you on that. This is the last thing Joss needs."

"You can't tell her."

"I can't lie to her. I won't. Joss knows something is up. And when I get back in that room, she's expecting to know what."

"I'll tell her Lauren and I are having some couple issues, okay? That's not a lie."

"It's not the truth, either."

"It's an honest response until I know more. Please, John."

John frowned. "Damn! Okay, I'll let you talk, but if Joss asks me, I'm going to tell her the truth."

"I'm fine with that."

"When do you expect to hear word from Lauren?"

"Any minute now. She had an appointment at eleven this morning. She's scared, but desperate to know what's going on."

"I suspect you're feeling the same way." John pat the empty chair beside him. Taylor sat, leaning forward. After being decidedly unsympathetic, John looked at the tense young man and his heart ached for him. "Whatever you need, Taylor, I'll be here for you."

"You don't have to say that. I know you're angry."

"It's not so much anger, as it's …"

"Disappointment?" Taylor scoffed. "Yeah, well, that's worse."

"I'm sorry, Taylor. When your seventeen-year-old son tells you he might have gotten a girl pregnant, it's not exactly a time to jump for joy."

The makings of a little smile turned the corners of Taylor's lips. "You really think of me as your son?" he asked.

"I wouldn't waste this paternal outrage on just anybody." John wrapped his arm around Taylor's shoulders and play boxed his head. "You teenagers."

The ringing of Taylor's cell ended their little moment. Pulling out the phone, he looked at the display. "It's Lauren," he said breathing deeply.

"Answer it."

The teens brown eyes widened.

John gave Taylor's shoulder a supportive squeeze. "You're not alone, it's going to be okay. Answer the call."

Taylor nodded and answered in the middle of the third ring. "Hi, Lauren."