As always, I receive no money for this, they do not belong to me. I just like to write about them. Please read and review if you like it let me know, if you don't let me know…

Finch listened to Dr Tillman and Joan in the other room. Joan was telling Megan about the wonders of Sencha tea. He set the medical bag on the bed. He glanced at his wrist watch and had a bit of a start, it was well over three hours since John left. He knew John had contacted Detective Carter and sent her to the meeting with Jesus Mendez's. But there had been no word since. Finch reached into his pocket and went to retrieve his cell phone, it wasn't there. He reached into the other pocket, not there. Patting his suit coat he discovered the cell phone was gone. He reached down into both pants pockets, no phone. He turned and walked to the doorway between the bedroom and the rest of the apartment, his eyes came to rest on Joan. She was showing the Doctor how the proper steeping method produced the strongest brew.

Harold moved into the main room and saw a set of hazel and a set of brown eyes look up at him.

Megan didn't know this man, but that something was amiss was clearly on his face. "Mr. Finch is there something wrong?"

Joan looked over at Megan. "That's Harold." She said with a smile.

He looked at Joan, his right eye brow raised, his voice a flat even tone. "I seem to have misplaced, my cell phone." He saw Joan touch her blue jacket. "I am worried about John, he has not checked in. I need to find the cell phone to contact him." Finch saw Dr. Tillman looked over at Joan; she had seen the look Finch had given her.

Dr Tillman straightened up and looked over at Joan. She had also seen her touch the ever present jacket. "I'll bet Joan could find it…" She looked at Finch, smiling. "Joan told me she was great at finding things." She looked back at Joan. "What do you think Joan? Think you can find the lost cell phone? It's very important."

Finch took a couple steps closer to them. "John might be in trouble and need assistance." He couldn't believe this woman had pinched his cell phone right out of his pocket.

It was an impish smile that went from Joan's face into her eyes. "I think I can find it…"

She stepped away from the kitchen counter and went into the bedroom, she was there only a moment and when she came out, she had in her hand, Harold's phone. She walked to where he was standing and reaching out she dropped it into his outstretched hand. Joan looked at him shyly. "I found it…" She smiled then headed back to the pot of tea. "Tea is ready. Would you like some?" She was looking at Dr. Tillman as she said it.

Finch saw that the phone had been powered off. He quickly started hitting buttons.

Dr. Tillman smiled and shook her head. "I think I need to be heading back to the hospital, I came over on my lunch hour." She looked from Finch to Joan. "Joan you seem to be doing well, keep the bandage clean, and I will see you tomorrow…ok?" As she headed for the door, she saw Finch turn on the phone, and a worried look crossed his face.

Finch looked at the phone as it powered up, ran its diagnostics and then showed three missed calls all from Reese. His eyes widened as he started to press the message button.

Megan reached the door and started to open it as she saw the worried look on Finch's face turn to concern. Her hand turned the door knob, but the door opened on its own accord. She spun to see what was pushing against the door and got only a glimpse of a tall, pale faced man in a dark suit coat as he collapsed in on top of her. They went to the floor together. Megan made a little squeak of surprise as the weight of the body fell against her and they landed in a heap on the carpet. It took her a fleeting moment to realize it was John. He was hurt, and she thought he was bleeding.

Instinctively John had reached for the body in front of him as he started to fall; he basically collapsed on top of her.

Finch dropped the phone into his pocket and moved as fast as he could toward the door. He saw Dr. Tillman struggling under John's body weight.

Joan stood frozen next to the kitchen counter.

Finch took Megan's outstretched hand and with her using her one free leg he was able to help extract her from under John's prone body. He helped her to her feet and assisted her as she straightening her clothing that had been pulled astray. He saw blood streaks smeared across her blouse.

Megan took one look at the side of John's face that she could see and glanced at Finch. "We have to call an ambulance…" She started for the phone.

"No…We can't!" Finch reached out and touched her on the arm.

She turned and saw the look on his face.

Megan didn't even hesitate. She moved to John who was lying on his stomach. She knelt down next to him and did a quick inspection. Her hands moved over his back and legs, checking for other injuries, broken bones, lumps. Then she moved slightly and checked his left arm and hand, his right hand was under his body. She took his left arm and gently moved it above his head. She was going to roll him to the left. Taking her hand she moved it to support his neck.

Finch moved to stand at Reese's head and with a little difficulty he knelt down, taking care to avoid John's left arm. He looked expectantly at Megan. "I'll keep his head even with his body." He saw her nod and he placed his hands on either side of Reese's head, sliding one hand under his cheek.

Megan moved her hand away from John's neck and repositioned herself. She suddenly felt Joan kneeling at her side. Joan's hands were shaking but they went to John's legs. There were tears and fear in her eyes. "I can help roll his legs." Her voice trembled with emotion.

"Ok, on three…" Megan looked at both of them. "One, two...three."

They rolled him over.

Joan gasped and moved back, her face going ashen colored. She lurched to her feet and ran for the bedroom.

"His face feels cold." Finch still was supporting Reese's head with his hands.

"He's in shock." Megan took John's right hand, unclamping it from his dress coat. It had been draped across his middle and laid it to his side. She unbuttoned his jacket and pulled the sides back.

His white shirt, the whole lower half, from the center of his chest down to his belt was covered in blood. There was a rip on the right hand side and a small hole on the left. She saw where he had put the towel against his left side, soaking up the blood. Reaching up she grabbed his shirt at the buttons and with a practice ease ripped the shirt open.

She looked at Finch. "Can you get me the med kit?"

Finch got to his feet and headed into the bedroom. He went to the bin where the med kit was stored, opened it and pulled it out. As he walked past the bed he grabbed the bag that the Doctor brought.

He set the bags down on either side of her. "What else do you need…?" He looked up, suddenly becoming aware the door was still wide open with Reese half inside. Adjusting his glasses nervously he motioned toward the door. "Perhaps we need to get him further in the room and shut the door."

Megan glanced over her shoulder. She stood up, grabbed the bags and moved them out of the way. "I can pull him back; you shut the door." She moved around to John's head bent over and grabbed his jacket at the shoulders. In a practiced move she cradled his head on her forearms. She saw Finch move toward the door as she used her body weight to pull him across the carpet. She had to do it three times to get him all the way in. Finch shut the door.

The apartment phone rang. Finch moved to answer the phone as Megan moved back to John's side.

She reached for the bag first and pulled it to her. The med kit was next to her. She looked at the slice across his right side and shook her head. It was red, deep, and angry looking, but it wasn't bleeding. She could see that some sort of powder had been thrown against the wound. A dark crust had formed. The hole on his left side was oozing blood.

"Yes, send it up." Finch dropped the phone back in the cradle and headed for the door, pulling a money clip out of his pocket. He opened and slipped out, shutting the door behind him.

Megan saw none of this her concentration on John. The hole on his left side was not easy to see. Jumping up, she went to the couch and pulled three pillows off the couch and came back. Again kneeling between the two bags, she set the pillows down. Reaching a hand up under his left shoulder, she pushed John's shoulder up. With her free hand she grabbed a pillow and shoved it under, behind his shoulder. Next she took his head and lifted it, placing a pillow under it to keep it level with his shoulder. She now moved to his hips, and doing the same thing there, she pushed-rolled his hip and placed the other pillow under the back of his hip and lower back.

She heard him moan. He was propped so his left side was up, his right side down.

Megan reached up and touched his face. His cheek was cold and clammy. He was definitely in shock. "John…?" She kept her hand on the side of his face. She gave his check as little pinch as she spoke. "John I need you to stay awake. Can you open your eyes for me?" When she didn't get a response, she took her hand and moved it down to the middle of his chest. Taking her knuckles, she pressed down in the center of his breast bone, bearing down in a twisting motion. She saw his eyes flutter open in response to the pain. "John, stay with me…come on… stay awake…" She turned her attentions back to his left side that was now exposed. She grabbed the med kit and opened it. She didn't look, she heard Finch come back into the room, and she could smell food.

"Dr. Tillman, what can I do?"

She had seen enough of these to know it was a deep knife wound. "I will need some warm soapy water. We need a blanket to cover him when I am done." She didn't look up. Her concentration was on the small hole in his left side. She peeled his jacket back as far as it would go and pulled the shirt as far away as she could from his torso. The blood had dried and it stuck in a couple spots.

Reaching for the bag, she pulled it to her and unzipped it. Her hands searched for the object she wanted. Her hand grasped the plastic covered bundle of sterile wipes. Pulling them out, she set them to the side and reached back inside, finding the box of gloves. She set the box to the side, stabbed her fingers into the easy open lid and drew out a couple of latex gloves. She pulled them on, then she reached into the bag again and her fingers found the bottle she was looking for.

She pulled out a bottle of 5% solution iodine. Popping the cap on it she set it down, grabbed the wipes and opened the package. Taking several wipes, she doused them with the iodine and started wiping around the wound in his left side. She saw Finch's feet on the other side of John's body and looked up.

He was standing with a blanket draped over one arm, holding the bowl they had used earlier to clean Joan's shoulder filled with water and soap. His face was pinched and pale looking and his eyes were wide behind the dark frames.

Dr. Tillman motioned for him to put everything down on the floor. Her eyes went back to the wound. She felt around the area, seeing John flinch in pain, which was actually a good sign. She felt his body stiffen under her hands.

His eyes opened, but he didn't move, didn't react. He blinked a couple times and licked his dry lips. Moving his head just slightly, he saw Finch kneeling down next to him.

"John…it's Megan." Her hands remained touching his side. She saw just the slightest movement of his head, an acknowledgement. "Can you tell me what kind of knife it was?" She didn't look, but she felt Finch look at her.

John licked his dry lips again and swallowed. "Switchblade…straight." His voice was a soft whisper. He knew why she was asking. He had attended to enough knife wounds to know that if it had been a serrated blade there could be some serious complications.

Her hands against his skin felt the rise and fall of his breathing. "How long was the blade?"

"Four…" He made a small sound, closing his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them again they were wet looking, his eye lashes wet. "Four inches…" He said it as he expelled his breath.

"I am going to set you up with an IV." She reached into her bag again and pulled out an IV bag and the tubing. She looked up at Finch. "Could you bring the chair over here? We can use it to hang the IV on." Reaching into the med kit, she reached in and her fingers found the cut down scissors. Without thinking, she put the scissors along his left wrist, slipping the jacket and shirt material between the blades. The thick, short blades and long handle made it easy to cut through the dress jacket and shirt. She cut all the way up toward his shoulder. When she was done, she peeled the material back away from his arm. She noticed a bruise about the size of a fist on his upper arm. Reaching again into the bag, she pulled out some small packets of alcohol wipes. She took one and opened it, applying the wipe to just slightly above the elbow above the fold in the arm, not in the bend but at the side.

Her hand reached into the med kit and she found the tourniquet. She placed it above his elbow but below the bruise. She saw the vein she had felt pop to the surface. Taking the IV bag, she reached out and handed it to Finch and felt him take it from her. She took the tubing and unrolled it, opening the valve in the tubing and letting the liquid flow down as she uncapped the needle. She established flow. Taking the needle, she recapped it and reached into the med kit for the tape. Her hand searched, and it took a couple seconds, but her hand finally found the tape. She had continued to watch John's face. He was regulating his breathing. "John on a scale from one to ten, ten being severe, where is your pain level?"

"Four…" He whispered the word out.

Her face drew down in a frown. She knew his pain level had to be higher. You didn't sustain this amount of damage and call it a four. She watched as his eyes slowly closed and opened again. Her fingers were pulling lengths of tape and tearing them. She had what she needed.

"Ok… you are going to feel a little stick…" She grabbed the tubing, uncapped the needle and pressed it against the bulging vein in his arm. "Stick." She inserted the needle into the vein. Taking the tape she had stuck to her arm, she secured the needle in place. She reached up and pulled the tourniquet off. "John, are you allergic to any medication?"

Finch answered. "No he isn't."

She wiped again at the dark blood flow coming from the wound and looked up at Finch. "I think he needs more medical care than I can give him here. The dark blood is from arterial flow. It has to be a small nick or he would have bled out before now. There is a possibility that a kidney, gallbladder or maybe even an intestine has been nicked. We are going to need x-ray-."

"Finch…No!" The intensity on John's face showed his fear. "We can't -."

"John…" Finch's soft voice silence John's words. "We can handle this…" Finch reached into his pocket for his cell phone.

"Finch!…no…" John sucked in a breath. His green eyes narrowing at Finch as anger crossed them.

"John, I have made some changes at the 'Research Facility'." His eyes went to Dr Tillman. "I have a fully equipped medical…Emergency room at a Research Facility that I have financial interest in."

Megan looked at the strange little man. She saw a hint of an odd smile touch his lips. "I am not a surgeon…" Worry, concern and fear crossed her face as she gestured down to Reese's side. "This is going to need a surgeon."

The smile stayed on Finch's face. "It even comes equipped with a fully qualified surgeon."

POI