Central Park – New York, New York

"Bosco, don't you have to work at three?" Sully asked in a confused tone as he sat on a comfortable bench, watching as Bosco paced back and forth in front of him in civvies. "I thought you were going to stay at LaRusso's and help Lieutenant Caine until you went to work. Why did you call me away from cleaning up Danielle's house?"

Bosco was silent for what seemed like an eternity and, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small box and handed it to Sully with a nervous look on his face. Sully took the box and opened it, revealing a tiny diamond ring.

"Aw, Bosco, it looks a little small for my hand," Sully stated in a joking tone as he showed the ring to Bosco.

Bosco made a face at Sully and snatched the box back, "I want permission to propose to Danielle, Sul," he said in a serious tone as he closed the box and returned it to his jacket pocket. "I love both her and her kids a lot and I want to do that for the rest of the time that I'm on this poor excuse for a planet. I'd rather die than hurt any of them."

"Bosco, I trust you immensely, but Edward used those words on me way back when he was trying to make Danielle an honest woman and be part of John's life," Sully replied in a solemn tone. "Edward acted so sincere that even I believed him and encouraged Danielle to marry him. When Edward was finally exposed by Doc as a child molester and narcissistic sadist, I felt so horrible that I had fallen for his routine. Danielle didn't get angry at me, though."

At the mention of Doc, Bosco winced, "Speaking of Doc, has anyone found him yet?" he asked in a worried voice.

"Nope," Sully replied in a solemn tone. "I just hope that wherever Doc is, he's still alive. I talked with Swersky the other day and he's part of the task force that was specifically created to find Doc; both New York and Miami are supposed to be searching everywhere they can, but Miami is not cooperating. Since Lieutenant Caine is in currently in New York, I assume that someone else in Miami is pulling the strings and making it difficult to find Doc."

Bosco sighed, but before he could reply, he noticed Holly, Tommy, and a uniformed Carlos walking across the park together, all of them deep in conversation. Bosco frowned; Holly and Tommy were supposed to be visiting John.

"Sully, I thought Holly and Tommy were visiting John at the hospital," Bosco asked as he watched Holly put a protective arm around Tommy as she talked to Carlos. "What are they doing in the park with Carlos?"

Sully frowned and looked in the same direction as Bosco was looking. However, before he could comment, Sully's cell-phone went off. Cursing under his breath, Sully pulled the phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear.

"…Danielle?" Sully asked as he heard an angry voice on the other end. "…Slow down….what happened?"

Bosco frowned, but silently watched as Sully nodded, "…Okay, Bosco and I are coming to the hospital right now," Sully said in a calming voice. "Just get John to calm down and tell him to get back in bed…I love you too. Bye."

With a sigh, Sully put the phone away, "The New York Homicide Department wants to peg the murder of a Miami pedophile on John because his fingerprints were found on the murder weapon," he explained, feeling heartsick at the look of outrage on Bosco's face. "Some guy named Detective Flack showed up at Mercy and interrogated John in his hospital room to the point where John suffered a panic attack. Fortunately, Emily Wolfe kicked Detective Flack out of the room before it got completely out of control. Unfortunately, she's now called a meeting AT the hospital."

"What are we waiting for?" Bosco said in an anxious tone. "Let's go to Mercy already."

Sully stood up, but didn't move, "You have my permission to propose to Danielle if you really want to," he stated in a sincere tone. "You've grown a lot since your time in the hospital and I'd be honored to have you as a son-in-law."

"Thanks," Bosco replied in a toneless voice; inside, he was truly moved about Sully's compliment.

Sully nodded and the two men moved across the park, back towards Mercy Hospital, as fast as they could.

Rush Hospital – Miami, Florida

Ignoring the curious stares he was getting from doctors, nurses, and patients alike, Tim strode into the emergency room and looked around. He could see many patients, but no sign of Ryan. Had Delko been pulling his leg?

As Tim was about to turn around and walk out, he saw a doctor lead his father and Ryan out of an exam room near the far end of the hallway. Ryan looked very nervous and his left wrist was in a brace and shoulder sling.

"Oh no," Tim suddenly heard Ryan say as their gazes met. "Mr. Speedle, Delko's been telling the CSI's…"

Tim watched as his father turned to Ryan and whispered something. "Timothy, what brings you here?" Anthony asked in a worried tone as he put an arm around Ryan and led him over to Tim. "Is this official business?"

"Delko called me and said that Ryan had been in a fight," Tim replied in a concerned voice as he suddenly noticed the bruising on the side of Ryan's face. "My concern is completely off the record. What exactly happened?"

Ryan sighed and looked at Anthony, who nodded reassuringly. "I was doing some shopping in Calle Ocho and Bernard ambushed me," Ryan said in a tired voice. "Doctor Loman tried to admit me for overnight observation, but I don't want to stay in the hospital. Your dad said that he'd drive me home so I could rest."

"People shouldn't be left alone for at least 24 hours after a concussion," Tim said in a worried voice.

Ryan suddenly looked upset and backed away, "Look, I'm FINE," he hissed in an anxious voice. "I don't need a babysitter and I definitely do not need CSI or the MDPD trying to hunt me down and wrecking my life more than they already have. I have a lot to take care of before Emily and Julliet get home from New York, so goodbye."

Before Anthony or Tim could stop him, Ryan stormed off down the hallway towards the exit as fast as he could.

Anthony and Tim looked at each other, both of them shocked and concerned about Ryan's behavior. What they didn't know, however, was that Ryan's outburst wasn't the worst thing that they were going to have to endure.

Angel of Mercy Hospital – New York, New York

Nearly an hour after he got the call, Horatio walked off the elevator and on to the Peds floor. He could see Emily, Julliet, Officer Boscorelli, and Sully gathered outside of a closed door at the far end of the long hallway.

"Miss Wolfe, where's Mr. Grissom and Miss Sullivan?" Horatio asked as he approached the group.

Emily sighed and gently stroked Julliet's hair as the little girl leaned against her chest, "Danielle's in with John and a nurse right now, trying to get John calmed down," she replied in a worried voice. "Grissom had a private call…"

"…Which is now finished," the voice of Grissom said as Emily, Sully, Bosco, and Horatio suddenly heard footsteps.

The four of them turned to see Grissom coming towards them with a solemn look on his face, "I just got done talking to Warrick," he said in a solemn voice. "What's the chance of JT being released by Halloween?"

"Grissom, I can't answer that," Emily replied worriedly. "Only JT's doctor can tell you that. Why do you ask?"

Grissom sighed, "Warrick overheard a conversation between Catherine, a Stella Bonasera, and a Sergeant Rick Stelter and from a distance, he discovered that they had broken into my office," he stated. "There was talk of kidnapping JT straight from Mercy, but they ultimately decided to stick to a plan that they've already formed."

"Why not just keep John here for as long as he needs to be here and put a guard at Danielle's house after that?" Bosco asked in a confused tone. "I wouldn't mind doing guard duty and I'll tell Chief Morris that too."

Sully sighed, "I keep forgetting that you don't have the full measure of Edward Addison yet, Bosco," he stated, giving Bosco a stern look. "Edward knows where Danielle lives and there is little doubt that he has friends around the city who will help him achieve his goal. If John goes back to that house, he'll be as good as dead very soon."

"Officer Boscorelli, what kind of neighborhood do you live in?" Grissom suddenly asked, an idea coming to mind about how John could be kept safe with trustworthy people. "You've been seeing Danielle Sullivan, right?"

Suddenly realizing what Grissom was thinking of doing, Bosco's eyes widened, "I don't even know if I have Halloween off yet," Bosco stated. "LaRusso's still on medical leave and I've just been doing desk duty."

"If you agree to do some work for Victims Assistance, I can get you Halloween off," Emily spoke up, quickly catching on to what Grissom had in mind. "I'll talk to Danielle Sullivan first, though, to get her permission."

Just then, the door opened and a female doctor came out of the room with an exhausted looking Danielle. Through the door, the whole group could see John back in bed and he appeared to be sleeping soundly.

"Doctor Montoyan gave John a little medication to slow down his heart so that they could monitor it properly," Danielle said in a tired tone as she walked over to Emily and saw that Julliet was asleep. "Oh, how cute."

Emily smiled, "Julliet's been here all day and she's pretty worn out," she said in a gentle tone. "How are you?"

"I'm not too happy with the New York CSI's at present," Danielle replied with a distressed voice; she suddenly noticed that her father, Bosco, and Lieutenant Caine were there. "What's with all the people, Emily?"

Grissom sighed, "Miss Sullivan, I need to talk to you, Doctor Montoyan, Officer Boscorelli, and Lieutenant Caine in private," he stated in a concerned voice. "If Officer Wolfe and JT's grandfather could stay with JT for a bit…"

"Go ahead," Sully stated. "I could use some time with my eldest grandson. You'll keep me in the loop, right?"

Both Bosco and Danielle nodded and walked in-step with Horatio as he followed Grissom down the hallway.

Sully sighed and walked into John's hospital room, "They're gone, John, you can stop pretending to be sleeping soundly," Sully said, approaching the bed as Emily entered the room with Julliet asleep in her arms.

There was silence for a moment and then John opened his eyes, "Grandpa Sully, I feel like crap," he spoke in a barely audible voice as he felt the electrodes on his chest with his good hand. "They put me on a heart monitor."

"I know they did," Sully replied softly as he took a seat next to the bed. "I heard you had a panic attack."

John sighed, "That Flack guy was freaking me out," he stated weakly. "I really can't remember a lot of what happened in Miami or even how I got back to New York. I only remember seeing Doc at some point…"

"John, save your strength," Emily suddenly cut in, not wanting John to talk about Miami before he was ready.

John shook his head, "What happened to Doc?" he asked in a worried voice. "Did he go back to Bellevue?"

Sully winced and quickly looked at Emily; he was at a loss for how to handle John's question about Doc.

"No, he didn't" John suddenly said in a strained voice as if he were beginning to remember. "I woke up in a van and couldn't see very well. Doc told me to blink and then he helped me to get out of the van; he told me to run…"

Emily frowned, but remained silent, "What do you remember after that, John?" she asked in a cautious tone.

"It was cold and I was walking down an alley," John replied faintly. "I saw Grandpa Sully there…"

Sully let out a breath he had been holding in, "I seriously can't remember anything else," John stated. "I kept trying to tell that Flack guy that, but he wouldn't leave me alone. He said that I killed Stewart Otis-"

"John, listen to me," Sully suddenly said, cutting John off so that the monitor wouldn't go haywire. "If you keep trying to remember things before you can handle it, your body will react negatively and you'll get worse instead of better. Right now, I don't want you to worry about anything right now except getting better. Miss Wolfe agrees."

Emily nodded, "Remember John, time and place," she said in a calming tone. "Just like we talked about, okay?"

"Yeah," John slowly replied, taking a deep breath to relax. "Hey, Grandpa Sully, can I ask you something?"

Sully nodded, "Why does Officer Boscorelli have a bandage on his face?" John asked in a weak voice. "Ever since I first saw him on the July 4th we moved back here, I've been really curious about the bandage on his face."

"I don't know if I'm the right person to tell you that," Sully replied, knowing full well that Bosco would get annoyed if he heard people talking about him behind his back. "Maybe you'd better ask Officer Boscorelli."

"Nobody will believe you, you little punk," Edward's menacing voice whispered in his mind. "Just be quiet."

The night before had been agony and he had snuck out of school and hidden himself in the living area at the Camelot firehouse. His mother and Doc were out working together while Jerry was out sick that day.

Nobody had noticed him, so he just sat on the couch, hugging his legs and looking at the floor.

Eventually, his mother and Doc did come back and although his mother didn't notice him, Doc did, "Hey John, what are you doing here?" Doc asked in a gentle voice. "You should be in school right now, buddy."

Hot tears suddenly pooled in his eyes and trickled down his face, "Doc, I gotta tell you something," he said.

"John?"

John blinked and suddenly saw that his mother was back in the room, "You kinda zoned out for a moment there, kiddo," Danielle said in a gentle voice as she smoothed his bangs off his forehead. "You feel a bit warm."

"Just thinking about the past," John replied in a tired voice. "I'm feeling kind of hungry and thirsty, though."

Doctor Montoyan, who was lingering at the foot of the bed, nodded, "I'll have a nurse bring you something from the cafeteria," she said in a gentle voice. "You have to have a shot and wait 20 minutes before you eat, though."

"How's my blood sugar?" John asked in a worried voice. "Did the panic attack screw it up?"

Danielle smiled, "It's a little low, but eating will help," she replied. "Do you want me to do your shot or the doctor?"

"It's my shot, I'll do it," John replied in a tired voice. "Mom, can I talk to Bosco first?"

Danielle looked surprised, but nodded and gazed out into the hallway where Grissom, Bosco, and Sully were deep in conversation with Horatio. Emily and Julliet, however, were nowhere to be seen, which was rather concerning.

"Maurice, can you come in here for a moment, please?" Danielle called into the hallway in a gentle voice.

Danielle watched as Bosco whispered something to Grissom and then came into the hospital room, "What's up, Danielle?" Bosco asked in a concerned tone. "Is everything okay?"

"Um, I wanted to ask you something." John stated in a nervous voice as he looked at Bosco. "I-I wanted to know w-why y-you have a bandage on your f-face. Please don't be mad at me for asking. I was just wondering…"

Bosco suddenly looked thoughtful as he gazed at John, "First of all, John, you don't have to be afraid to ask me a question," he replied in a gentle voice. "I am not Edward Addison and I will not beat you up for being curious."

John nodded, but didn't relax, "Secondly, the bandage is on my face because I was with a group of NYPD officers in the emergency room several months ago and ended up seriously injured when we were ambushed by shooters." Bosco explained as he leaned on the gurney railing. "I was in a coma for a while and had to relearn some things when I finally woke up. Nobody expected me to come back to work, but I fought to get back and I eventually did."

"Yeah, but you're tough," John replied softly, avoiding the shocked looks that his mother and Dr. Montoyan were giving him; he was too afraid to look at Bosco's reaction. "I'm not tough at all. I'm young, I'm useless…."

Tears began to fall from John's eyes and embarrassed to be crying so openly, he placed his hands over his face.

"All right, it's time for John to have a little privacy," Dr. Montoyan said in a gentle authoritative tone. "He needs to have a shot so he can have something to eat in 20 minutes. I'm afraid most of you will have to leave now."

Suddenly realizing that Emily had left the room with Julliet, Sully nodded and quietly left the room, "Officer Boscorelli, I'd like to talk to you in private," Gil said in a gentle tone. "See you later, Miss Sullivan, John."

"See you later, John," Bosco said in a gentle voice. "Listen to your mother and make her take it easy?"

John let out a small chuckle as Bosco left the room, carefully closing the door behind him. Danielle smiled and gently stroked a few bangs off of John's sweaty forehead before looking at Dr. Montoyan, who was smiling.

"Hello?" Emily asked as she put her cell-phone, which had been buzzing in her pocket, up to her ear while she kept an eye on Julliet at the nurse's station; the nurse holding her smiled reassuringly and gently rocked Julliet.

On the other end, a male voice responded gently enough to cause Emily to blush, "Hey Tim," she said in a gentle voice as she smiled at the nurse. "I can't believe you remember my number after all this time or that I've kept the same cell phone ever since I was a teenager. Anyway, enough of my babbling. How are you and what's going on?"

Emily was silent for a few minutes and then suddenly frowned, "What do you mean Bernard assaulted Ryan in Calle Ocho?" she asked in a worried voice as she suddenly begin to feel pain in her chest. "I'm not worried, I promise."

"Please just keep an eye on him," Emily said in a worried voice, only slightly annoyed by Tim's gentle voice telling her to relax and enjoy New York. "I can try and get a flight back after Halloween if it is absolutely necessary, but.."

Emily suddenly fell silent; she had gotten a text earlier that morning from Dr. Loman saying that she would need to contact him soon concerning the results of the biopsy that had been sent to Miami from New York.

She didn't want to tell Tim about the cancer just in case it wasn't cancer; it had been hard enough to tell Ryan about the biopsy.

"Tim, I have to go," Emily said in a nervous voice. "I will take it easy. You be safe, okay? Bye bye."

As Emily put the phone in her pocket, Julliet suddenly woke and extended her arms outward, "Okay, sweetie; come here," Emily said as she took Julliet from the nurse. "I wonder, is it possible to contact a Miami doctor from here?"

"Yes, if you know the name of the doctor and where they work," the nurse replied gently. "Do you have that?"

Emily nodded, "It's Doctor Tom Loman at Miami-Dade Hospital," she said, unaware that Sully was approaching from behind and had heard her conversation with Tim. "He said to get a hold of him as soon as possible."

"It'll take a few minutes, but I can get him on the phone for you," the nurse said in a gentle voice. "Hold on."

Sully frowned, "Do you think he has the results of your biopsy?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"Sully, you are as quiet as a mouse," Emily replied tonelessly as she looked at him. "I don't really know—"

The nurse suddenly cleared her throat, "Miss, I have Doctor Loman on the phone," she said, offering the receiver.

Emily nodded and took the receiver, "Doctor Loman?" she said in a nervous voice. "This is Emily Wolfe."

Sully watched as Emily suddenly frowned, "I understand," she replied in a soft, toneless voice. "Yes, I can come home after Halloween; maybe the first of November. Thank you, Doctor Loman. Good bye now."

"Is it bad?" Sully asked, knowing that Emily's news was not good. "Did they catch it in time to treat it?"

Emily sighed and handed the receiver back to the nurse, "I'll deal with it when November comes," she replied in a tone that warned Sully not to push for information. "Sully, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me right then."

"It's okay," Sully replied in an understanding tone. "You're running on empty right now and need a break."

Emily nodded and gazed at Julliet, "Sweetie, wake up," she cooed to the little girl. "Are you hungry?"

Julliet opened her eyes and looked at Emily, "Yup," she replied in a quiet voice. "Mama hungry?"

"No, but I bet you are," Emily replied gently, stroking Julliet's hair. "I have to stay up here, though."

Sully sighed, "You should get started with your treatment as soon as possible," he said in an upset voice.

"Oh man," Emily said in an anguished voice as she rubbed Julliet's back. "Sully, I'm so scared, but I have to be brave so that I can help your grandson through his crisis. I also have to be brave to keep my baby girl safe."

Unsure of what else to do for the moment, Sully watched Emily and Julliet with a concerned expression on his face.

"Such a skinny child," Dimitri LaRusso hissed in a thick Cuban-Russian accent as he observed Bobby through binoculars in his dark car that was parked across the street from the hospital parking lot. Dimitri was disgusted.

Thanks to a tip from a Stella Bonasera of NYPD, Dimitri had found it easy to come to New York and seek out the son that he had left motherless years ago. He had been to New York once before, but had fled when Horatio Caine had cared for and later legally adopted Bobby. He and Horatio had NEVER gotten along, Dimitri remembered.

"Looks like me, but definitely does not act like it," Dimitri spat as he watched Bobby sleep in the other car.

Dimitri was about to put the binoculars away and disappear for another several years when he suddenly saw Rick Stetler walk over to the car where Bobby was resting. He remembered Rick as nothing but a puppet and knew that this would be his one chance to take two lightweights out in one hit; if only he had a weapon on him.

"Stella, give me your gun," Dimitri hissed, gazing at Stella, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.

Stella sighed, but quickly surrendered her gun, "Bobby is weaker than I expected him to be," Dimitri stated.

"Rick must have come back on an early flight to set up an alibi for himself," Stella replied. "According to NYPD records, Amanda Stetler was married to Bobby and was abusive to him to the point where he ran away to Miami. The situation spiraled out of control and now his daughter his dead and his wife got psychotic and killed by police."

Dimitri scoffed, but said nothing as he cocked the gun, "Since Rick couldn't stop his sister from beating on my son, he'll have to die as well," he stated in a toneless voice as he aimed the gun at Rick and the car he was beside.

Tap-tap-tap.

LaRusso opened his eyes and saw Stetler lingering outside the open window, "What do you want, Rick?" LaRusso asked in a groggy voice, not wanting to have to sit up to look at his brother-in-law. "I'm trying to get some rest."

"You look terrible, Bobby," Stetler replied in an unusually concerned tone. "I thought Horatio was guarding you?"

LaRusso sighed, "He's in the hospital attending to some business," he replied. "I'm too weak to do much, but I promised to stay in the car and rest while he took care of his business. It's all I can do not to cry, you know?"

"Horatio's always being secretive," Stetler snapped as he looked at the ground. "Wonder why that is."

Before LaRusso could reply, bullets began hitting the hood of the car, "GET OUT OF THE CAR!" Stetler yelled as he opened the door of the rental car. LaRusso didn't need telling twice; he dove out of the car to the snowy dirt.

"What's going on?" LaRusso gasped from behind the car door as Stetler rose with his gun ready to fire.

Suddenly, a car that had been parked across the street tore off. Stetler fired after it, but it was gone too quickly.

"Rick, I think I'm gonna be sick," LaRusso whispered, his entire body trembling from what had just happened.

"You had no idea who was shooting at you?" Sully asked as he and Horatio watched a nurse check LaRusso's vital signs in the now locked down emergency room. LaRusso was now on a gurney with his shirt open and electrodes on his chest to monitor him for the shock induced by the random shooting and there were oxygen tubes in his nose.

LaRusso sighed and shook his head, "I was just resting in the car and Rick came over to me," he replied in a toneless voice as the nurse put a clip on his finger. "We were talking and the next thing I know, shots were being fired at us."

From the door of the exam room, Emily sighed and gently held Julliet as she listened to Horatio reply, "I'll be talking to NYPD about putting a security detail at your house," he said in a concerned tone. "Your Aunt Yelina is with BJ and Adam at the school, but I'll brief her on what happened anyway. I want you to stay here and rest in the meantime and I will stay with you until you're released. Have Mr. Grissom and Officer Boscorelli left yet?"

"I think that Grissom guy left right before the lockdown," Bosco interjected as he walked into the room and saw LaRusso back in a hospital bed. "I was getting ready to go upstairs and visit Danielle when I heard gunfire."

LaRusso sighed, "Bosco, you should use your brass pass and go to work so you don't get a reprimand," he said in a tired voice, suddenly annoyed that so many people were in the room. "I should probably rest like my uncle said to."

"I'm gonna take Emily and Julliet back to the Plaza," Sully spoke up, giving Emily a gentle look not to argue.

Stetler rolled his eyes at Sully's overprotectiveness of Emily, "I might go see some sights," he said, not wanting to go near Yelina, Adam, and BJ at the moment. "I'll go by the house later and see if anything needs doing."

"Do whatever you want, Rick," Horatio replied tonelessly, determined to stay with his shock-stricken nephew.

Emily glared at Rick as he left the room; she didn't trust Rick Stetler at all and she most likely never would.

"Shall we go?" Sully asked, concerned at the angry look on Emily's face. "Feel better soon, LaRusso."

LaRusso nodded and watched as Emily carried Julliet from the room while Sully followed, deeply concerned.

"What?" Stella asked, gazing at Dimitri with her mouth open and her eyes wide. "Are you serious?"

Dimitri nodded, "Get out of my car," he repeated in an angry voice. "We never saw each other, got it?"

"Dimitri, I helped you find your son," Stella replied in a shocked voice. "Now you're abandoning me?"

Dimitri scoffed, but said nothing. Swallowing hard, Stella quickly got out of the dark car to avoid trouble.

As Dimitri sped away, he knew that he would have to take measures to ensure success next time.

Reviews please?