New chapter time! Stuff really starts escalating next chapter, which I hope to have up for Wega Wednesday! Thanks to all who have taken the time to review so far!

As the younger agent suspected, his boss was not thrilled with the idea of sharing shootout stories. "Wylie, this isn't the kind of thing you want to hear," Cho said. "You know the basics of what happened. I don't think she would want you to know the rest."

"See..." Wylie leaned on the desk. "See I just...I have this feeling that she would, you know?"

"No."

Wylie sat down in the chair across from Cho. "Boss, please. Did anyone in the diner say anything that would have upset her? Did she...did she try to get up and, and fall back?"

"No," Cho said.

"No to...which one?"

"Either. I came back into the diner and everyone was staring. I told them to call an ambulance – she was feeling around on the ground near her, looking for her phone. Trying to help herself. She was tough like that. She would have made a damn good agent."

"Was she scared?"

Cho was silent.

"Boss."

"Yes, she was. She was asking where the help was. She knew she was badly injured and she was panicking. Fortunately, I got her focusing on my voice and by the time she lost consciousness she'd calmed down some."

Wylie looked down, nodding. She's okay, he reminded himself. "Okay," he said out loud. "You were proud of her, though?"

"She never backed down. Never so much as flinched. She was ambitious, sometimes too much, but she was tough and she was loyal. I would have liked to have been able to work with her a long time." He leaned forward. "Wylie, there are counselors available for this kind of thing. I went to see one myself. I'm sure Abbott recommended it to you before he left."

"No," Wylie said. "I'm fine. I don't want any of that."

Upon dismissal from Cho's office, Wylie wandered back out into the bullpen, turning what Cho told him over in his head. Everyone was staring...trying to help herself...everyone was staring...

"Does any of this...jog your memory...at all?" Wylie asked.

He was sitting on the hospital bed, Vega laying on top of the covers, ankles crossed, brow furrowed contemplatively. She didn't respond, didn't even move, which made Wylie concerned. "Michelle? You okay?"

She looked up at him then. "I...I mean..." she shook her head. "I don't remember that. But my heart is pounding. Something in me knows what you're saying is true." She grabbed his hand, her expression fairly neutral, her grip telling a different story. Wylie felt as if his hand was her lifeline, so he put his other one on top. "This is good," he said. "If you know what your trigger is, you can help yourself."

"How am I supposed to go the rest of my life not putting myself in situations where I might have to rely on other people?"

"I don't think that's what anyone would tell you to do," Wylie said. "You'll just be able to remind yourself that simple things are, in fact, simple, and safe, and, I don't know, but it's not impossible. And I'm right here if you need me."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Wylie wondered if he'd said the wrong thing, if he'd overestimated his significance to her, if his presence wasn't enough to help her out of a panic and if she thought he was putting himself on a pedestal. He looked worriedly at her. "I mean..."

She sat up and leaned, her head coming to rest against his chest, not putting her arms around him but keeping them against her stomach. She'd done this before. She wanted to be held, and Wylie shifted his position on the bed to pull her close. "Hey," he said comfortingly, "this is a good thing. This will help you get better."

He felt her sigh. "I'm just..."

"I know." She was embarrassed being this weak emotionally, seeking out comfort, feeling afraid. Her wound was closing, the stitches would be out in a few days and she was using the wheelchair less and less, but mentally she was barely better than she had been when she was lying in Cho's arms on the diner floor. "It takes time, Michelle. You're gonna be okay, though."

She pulled back, wiping her eyes. "I just don't want to be like this anymore."

His hands went back to hers, and he gave a small nod. "I know."

She held his gaze, tipping her head to the side. "Thank you, Wylie."

"...sure."

"Just for..." Vega shrugged. "For being a safe place." Her voice cracked on "safe," and she let out a shaky sigh.

Wylie squeezed her hands. "Always."

She smiled. "You're really great, Wylie." Her smile slipped. "Is it weird? That I call you Wylie?"

"No," he said. "Of course not."

"It just...it suits you. Like...Wylie's your name. I know it's Jason too, but..." one side of her mouth came up. "But you're Wylie to me." She lay back, still holding his hands. "Tell me more about Jane and Lisbon's wedding."

"What do you have?" Jane asked, leaning over the table behind Lisbon.

"You finally managed to escape the rest of the agents asking what made you decide to come in today?"

"I told them I was jealous of work getting you so many hours out of the day."

"Uh huh," Lisbon said, grinning. "Well, it's a good thing you came in and got the tracking devices placed in Wylie's car, because it shows that he was at the FWTC last night – at least, he was in the vicinity of it."

"You going to tell Cho?"

"I have to," Lisbon said. "He's taking so many risks for this case...I admire him for wanting to prove himself, and wanting to do what Vega would do, but he's putting himself at risk. Whoever Patient Tacoma is, someone wants them dead, and Wylie trying to garner any extra intel without backup could reunite him with Vega much sooner than planned." She stood up. "He's going to hate me for it, but I have to tell Cho that I think he isn't fit for duty without talking to a counselor first."

For those of you wondering - yes, Vega's physical injuries are almost healed, but her mental recovery is slower. She is getting better, though, and that will become more apparent in future chapters.