"You're all right?" Mike's voice was low but strong, and he squeezed the back of his partner's neck even tighter.

Steve smiled wryly but warmly. He knew Mike wouldn't miss a thing, especially not the bandage on his left temple. He nodded carefully, not wanting to jostle his head. "I'm fine, believe me. I took a shot to the head and I've got a very minor concussion, but it's nothing to worry about."

"You're sure?" Mike looked deadly serious.

Steve gently laid a reassuring hand on the older man's chest as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm sure." He increased the pressure slightly, and briefly, to emphasize his point. Mike nodded and the ghost of a smile appeared on his worried face; his hand slid from the back of Steve's neck to his cheek, where it paused for a second before returning to the bed.

Steve opened his mouth to ask his partner how he was feeling but Mike cut him off. "Did you find her? Donna? Did she do that to you?" He nodded towards Steve's head again.

The younger man weighed just how much he wanted to tell his partner at the moment. If he was being honest with himself, he'd hoped to wait until they were both recovered and back to work, so they could sit somewhere comfortable over a beer, the recent events having taken on a perspective that wasn't so fresh and raw.

"Yeah, we got her," he said simply. "She put up a hell of a fight, just like she did with you," he patted Mike's chest gently, "but we got her. She's not going to hurt anybody else, I guarantee that."

The older man knew he wasn't being told, or was going to be told, the whole story, or even the bare bones of what had transpired, right now, but he also knew his partner well enough to know that Steve had his reasons. He would be forthcoming, eventually, at the right time and in the right circumstance. It was too soon for them both, he knew. His own emotions were still too close to the surface.

"What's happening with her son?"

"Joshua?"

Mike nodded, surprised when a warm softness crossed the younger man's features.

"He's with Children's Services right now. I'm not sure what they're going to do with him, but she won't be getting out anytime soon so I guess he's going to be put into a foster home."

"Poor kid," Mike said wistfully, looking away. "He doesn't deserve any of this. None of this is his fault."

"Yeah." Steve took a deep breath then added, before Mike could persue the subject any further, "So, how are you feeling?"

Mike snorted, smiling slightly. "What do you call it when you feel like you've been hit by a truck?"

"I think it's called being hit by a truck," Steve offered facetiously.

"Then that's how I feel," Mike laughed softly and rolled his eyes, then grimaced. "I don't think there's any part of me that doesn't ache or throb or pound…"

Steve smiled and chuckled then his brows knit. "Well, to be perfectly honest, you were kinda hit by a real tree instead of a hypothetical truck. So I think that's to be expected." His face was serious but his tone was light.

The older man froze, frowning comically. After a short pause, he said with mock gravity, "Hmmm, well, I guess you're right about that. Good point." They stared at each other for a beat and the mood turned serious. "You were there?" Mike asked quietly.

Steve nodded.

"I didn't think I was going to make it," the older man said softly, his gaze turning inward, and Steve increased his touch again. He didn't want to say he had felt the same; remembering those few terrifying minutes was something he had no desire to relive.

"Some amazing people got you out… the best…"

Trying to keep his emotions in check, Mike nodded. "I'd like to meet them when I'm feeling better."

Steve grinned. "I think that's a great idea. And I have a feeling they'd like to meet you too… especially Dr. Halperin."

Clearing his throat slightly, shifting position on the bed to get more comfortable, Mike winced and caught his breath for a split second, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he saw Steve's worried stare and asked, "So, ah, I still don't know how they found me. Do you know?"

Realizing his attention was being diverted, Steve sighed loudly then chuckled. "Well, uh, I guess you can thank a glazier, a bottle of Coke and Mother Nature."

Mike's brow furrowed. "What?"

Steve laughed again. He told Mike about Jack Hill and his exploding Coke bottle. "So he, ah, he decided to needed to, ah, relieve himself while he had the opportunity, and he happened to do so right above where your car was… " He let his voice peter out, allowing Mike to connect the dots all by himself.

The older man stared at him expressionlessly and Steve waited. Finally Mike tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth, but said nothing. Then he snorted lightly. "So you're telling me I'm here right now because some guy had to take a piss…?"

Steve raised his eyebrows and nodded with a closed-mouth grin. "Umh-humh."

Very slowly Mike started to laugh and Steve joined him. With a groan, Mike wrapped his arms around his chest, but he kept laughing. "Oh god, that hurts," he moaned between chuckles and Steve put a hand on his forearm.

When they finished, Mike looked at his partner, gasping for breath but still smiling. "Did you get his name?"

"I'm sure they did. I can find out for you."

"Good. I want to send him a case or two of Coke. It's the least I could do."

"I think he'd love that," Steve chuckled. He sighed. "What are you going to tell Jeannie?"

Mike shot him a facial shrug. "I've been thinking about that. It's gonna be hard to explain a new car without telling her what happened to the old one. But she's not coming home till next month so at least I should be okay by then. I'll just have to come up with a plausible story about the car, that's all."

He figured that Steve wouldn't want his daughter knowing about Donna and Joshua until, if ever, he told her himself. Steve had always treated Jeannie like an adored little sister, and he always wanted to shield her from anything that would put him in a bad light in her eyes. Of the many things Mike cherished about this young man, that, to him, was one of the most important.

"Well," Steve offered, "it was an old car… which was a good thing, actually." He told Mike about the broken seat bolt that may have been instrumental in saving his life. "I swear, I've never known someone with as many angels on their shoulder as you seem to have."

Mike's eyes brightened slightly and he looked away. "Yeah, I guess those angels help to make up for the fact that I really let my guard down with Donna. I knew she was obsessed… with you," he looked into his partner's eyes, "and she was going to extraordinarily great heights to set you up to believe you were Joshua's father…" He snorted self-deprecatingly. "I swear, Steve, I never thought she's was dangerous… let alone homicidal… She took my own gun away from me… Maybe I'm losing my touch. Maybe I'm getting too old for this…"

Steve put his hand once more on his partner's chest, pressing a little harder. "I don't believe that for a second. And you want to know why?" He waited till Mike nodded slightly, brow furrowed in curiosity, then he pointed to the bandage on his own temple. His hand had been forced and he knew he needed to come clean. "Donna did this to me, with my own gun."

"What?" Mike asked softly, surprise in his voice. "How?"

With a self-deprecating snort of his own, Steve told his partner of the standoff in Ellie's apartment. Mike let him finish before the questions started to emerge. "Is Carla…?"

"She's in Intensive Care; she's still critical but the doctors say she has a good chance. Ellie's with her right now."

"And Ellie - ?"

"She has a broken arm, like I said, but other than that, she's fine. She's shaken up, of course, but…"

"And you disarmed Donna without hurting her…? You did good, buddy boy." Mike put a hand on Steve's arm and squeezed; there were tears of pride in his eyes.

The younger man chuckled self-consciously. "I'm just sorry I got us all into this in the first place."

"It's not your fault. Don't go blaming yourself." Mike cleared his throat then sighed, thinking. "Hey, ah, when is Donna being arraigned, do you know?"

Steve shook his head. "I'm not sure, I think it's tomorrow morning."

"I want to be there," Mike said firmly.

"What?"

"I want to be there. They're letting me out tomorrow morning, and I want to be there. You just told me she thinks she killed me, right?" Steve nodded. "Then let me put the fear of God into her. What do you say?"

# # # # #

Steve helped his partner into the suitcoat then picked the fedora up from the bed and held it out. Mike settled the coat on his shoulders and adjusted the cuffs then took the hat.

With Norm Haseejian acting as chauffeur, Steve had dropped by Mike's house on the way to the hospital that morning, picking up toiletries, a suit, shoes and other necessary clothing, and the second, back-up fedora. He knew the first one was being cleaned and reblocked, a task that Dan Healey was overseeing.

"Oh," Steve said suddenly, reaching towards the end of bed and picking something up. "I don't need this anymore and I thought you could use it." He held out the cane he'd used when he had been shot in the leg a few months back.

"Hey," Mike laughed, his face lighting up, "that's a great idea." He took the cane, brandishing like a sword before dropping it to the ground and putting his weight on it as he took a tentative step.

"How does your leg feel?"

Mike looked up, still smiling. "Not bad. Especially with a couple of Tylenol in me." He looked around the room. "Now where's that wheelchair?"

# # # # #

The elevator door opened and Haseejian charged out first, heading towards the small arraignment courtroom. Moving considerably slower, Mike and Steve started down the corridor.

By the time they got to the courthouse door, the homicide sergeant had disappeared inside and re-emerged with his partner. Dan Healey watched anxiously as they approached. "You guys got here just in time," he said quickly, glancing back through the window in the courtroom door.

"Gerry's just about to get up to ask for 'no bail'. Her mouthpiece has been making her out to be this little innocent who's being set up by you two. You," he pointed at Steve, "want her son but not her, and you," his finger turned to Mike, "tried to kidnap her and take her upstate. And she's sitting there all sweet and smiling and looking like this lost little girl. They're asking for ROR."

Steve snorted derisively and Mike's brow furrowed.

"Don't worry," Healey continued quickly, "I don't think that's gonna happen. Gerry has everything we've got so far, including her fingerprints on your gun, Mike."

"Well, we need to show the judge just how unstable she is," Mike smiled at his sergeant. He turned to Steve. "You ready?"

"Let's do it," the younger man nodded.

"Good. You go in first, let her see you, then I'll join you. Let's see just how good she is at hiding her true colors."

Losing his own smile and setting his shoulders, Steve raised his eyebrows at his colleagues and pulled the heavy door open.