Christmas Break

A/N: Thank you very much to all those who are still following and reading this story and for the many kind reviews the last chapter received. I have made a conscious effort to update all three of my stories this week and I have to say it was the biggest challenge I have taken on so far to write three different chapters to three different stories while trying to keep them on the track that my muse has planned for them without mixing them up. I dedicate all three chapters to my loyal readers as a sincere thank you for your support and encouragement. I hope you all enjoy this extra treat.

Chapter 21

As Jeannie raced into the room, expecting to see Steve in difficulty, the last thing she expected to see was Mike slumped on the floor against the couch, rubbing his lower back, with extreme discomfort written all over his face.

"Mike? What happened?"

Seeing that Mike seemed to be struggling with muscle spasms, Steve answered for the older man.

"I think he's hurt his back Jeannie. He says he can't get up."

"Oh no!" Jeannie exclaimed as she raced beside her father and knelt down beside him." Not again."

"Again?" Steve asked Jeannie anxiously, not aware that Mike had ever had trouble with his back before." I didn't know he suffered with a bad back."

"Well, that's because he hurt it a long while ago before you came to work for him and it only acts up on occasion." Jeannie explained.

"I DO NOT HAVE A BAD BACK!" Mike practically yelled through the mercilessly throbbing, spasms that were assaulting him. " I just tweaked it, that's all. Now Jeannie, sweetheart, will you please stop telling the boy my medical history and please get me off this floor if ... it's not too much trouble?"

Mike's yell startled Jeannie and Steve and despite his altered tone towards the end of his rant, the two young friends still shot an exasperated look at one another at Mike's innate stubbornness. Jeannie tried to calm him down.

"Ok, ok Mike but you don't have to yell. How do you want to do this?"

"Can you pull me up from the front please? I just need to get up a little and then I should be able to make it the rest of the way myself."

Jeannie nodded but looked doubtful that plan was going to work. She had seen her father suffering with his back before and not only was he in an awful lot of pain back then which he stubbornly refused to acknowledge, it also made his temper very short and so on this occasion she didn't feel like having a full blown argument with him either. So she stood up and steadied herself to pull him up as best she could. Steve on the other hand thought the whole idea was flawed and figured that Mike could possibly do more damage getting up that way but unlike Jeannie who had read the situation as a potentially volatile one, Steve's brain wasn't clear enough yet to think about avoiding a tongue lashing from his partner for his unwanted input into the conversation so he spoke regardless.

"Mike, I don't think that's a good idea. Besides Jeannie can't pull you up by herself. You're going to have to let me help. I've still got one good shoulder. I can help lift you without doing further damage ... "

As he spoke he moved to get up again but Mike once again halted his progress with a firm hand.

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY PUT STEVE!"

Steve once again was surprised by the venom in Mike's voice but figured that Mike must be in a lot of pain to react like that and so despite feeling slightly aggrieved by the telling off, he tried not to take it too personally. However Steve's words had started to worry Jeannie and she decided that she too should now speak up regardless of the consequences, also feeling annoyed at Mike for yelling at Steve so needlessly.

"MIKE! Don't yell at Steve. He's only trying to help and in case you'd forgotten he's got his own problems right now. Now maybe he's right. I think I should call Dr. Patterson and get him over here to check you out before you try to move and cause worse damage to that back of yours."

The pain in Mike's back was not letting up and while under normal circumstances Jeannie's words would have slapped some sense into him and he would have undoubtedly felt remorse at his actions and loud words, with the pain he was in, her words just aggravated him even more.

"NO! I don't need a Doctor Jeannie. I just need to get off the floor and if you're not going to help me then I'll manage myself!"

Neither Steve nor Jeannie had expected that reaction so before they could do anything to stop him, Mike had moved forward and attempted to get up but only managed to turn himself onto his knees before he let out a loud yell at the pain that erupted from the sudden movement.

"MIKE!" Jeannie and Steve yelled at the same time.

Jeannie reached out and grabbed Mike's arm to support him but Steve got such a shock at Mike's sudden attempt to move and his yell that he momentarily forgot his own affliction and bolted forward to help, causing an equally excruciating pain to explode through his left shoulder, as he flopped back against the pillows, shut his eyes tight and sucked in his breath to try and ride out the waves of agony that were now pulsating in his injured shoulder.

Jeannie saw Steve's distress and felt torn between the two men who were both suffering in different ways but as she realized that Steve's current torment was borne out of a need to help, Mike's had been caused by his own frustrating stubbornness and so the resulting annoyance that rose within her meant that she temporarily left Mike's side to attend to Steve, sending a biting remark in Mike's direction as she did.

"Now see what you've done?"

"What I've done? ... " Mike said breathlessly, desperately trying to get a handle on his pain but also noting Steve's distress and not yet wanting to admit that he had in fact been responsible for it. "If you had just done what I asked you to and got me up, this wouldn't have happened at all."

Jeannie's mouth fell open in amazement at Mike's statement and she felt anger rise in her again.

"How dare you try to blame this on me. If you weren't trying to be so stubborn and accept the fact that you do need to see a Doctor, Steve wouldn't have tried to move and hurt himself."

As Mike and Jeannie yelled at each other Steve couldn't stand to hear his two friends arguing. As he managed to breathe through the worst of the pain and it started to settle a little, he felt himself getting upset as the arguing and the blaming continued and he felt that he was responsible for it. Not feeling able to stand to listen to it anymore, he gasped for them to stop but it didn't come out loud enough and they never heard him, so he rose his voice as loud as he could muster and yelled for them to hear.

"STOP IT!"

As both Mike and Jeannie stopped their bickering and looked at Steve, startled by his yell, seeing he had their attention, he said very emotionally.

"Will you two please stop fighting because of me."

And then embarrassed by the way they were now staring at him open mouthed, he buried his face in the pillow again and said in an anguished, muffled voice, feeling distraught that not only singlehandedly had he managed to ruin their Christmas Day but now he had them at each other's throats aswell.

"Oh God! I should have ... just gone home ..."

This statement brought the two Stones to their proper senses and they both now felt extremely sorry for causing the young man to feel that way. First to reach out and ignore his own condition was Mike, who once more placed a hand on the back of his partner's head and spoke from his heart gently and with as remorseful a tone as he could muster.

"Steve, I'm sorry. Please don't feel that way. This arguing wasn't your fault. It was mine. I'm sorry if you felt it was."

Jeannie also felt tears once more sting her eyes as she witnessed Steve's despair first hand and she stroked his cheek and apologized also.

"I'm sorry too Steve. You're right. We shouldn't be yelling at each other. We should be helping each other. Please don't get upset. We're not going to fight anymore, ok?"

Then turning to Mike she reached out and hugged his shoulder gently so as not to aggravate his sore back.

"I'm sorry Mike."

Mike put an arm around her shoulders gingerly and pulled her close.

"No sweetheart, I'm the one who should be sorry to both of you. You're right. I was being stubborn and ridiculous. I shouldn't have yelled at either of you. But please, help me up and over to the armchair will you?"

"Ok, Daddy."

As she put her hand around his shoulders and the other hand under his right arm she lifted him up onto his feet carefully, noting his extreme discomfort as she did and also noting that he was leaning heavily on her which he would never do unless he had no other choice. They struggled a little bit and were being worriedly watched by Steve unbeknownst to them both from behind. A few times they stumbled together and Steve almost yelled out in concern but to his relief they made it to Mike's armchair and got him sitting down. The exertion had taken a toll on Mike and he leaned back in the chair, his left hand seemingly now permanently connected to his lower back as he rubbed it and shut his eyes to recover his composure.

"Mike, what can I do now?" Jeannie asked letting the older man decide his own fate thus avoiding further rows for all their sakes but especially for Steve's.

"Can you get me some painkillers and a glass of water please sweetheart and I think a heat pack might loosen out the muscles a little if you don't mind?"

"Sure Mike, I'll be right back." Jeannie assured her father but before she headed for the kitchen she headed towards Steve first.

She noted that he was watching Mike with a very worried expression but was at least relieved that he hadn't tried to shut down on them again. But she could also see that he looked like he was in a lot of discomfort himself.

"Steve? Are you ok? How bad did you hurt yourself moving like that? Are you in a lot of pain?" she asked but Steve was too worried about Mike to even hear her questions.

"Don't worry about me Jeannie ... How's Mike? Do you think there's something seriously wrong with his back?"

"I can't be sure Steve but I don't think he would have been able to walk to the chair like he did if there was." Then lowering her voice so Steve would hear but Mike couldn't she added "Try not to worry. I'll try to convince him to let me get Dr. Patterson over later. Now please lie back and rest while I get Mike some pain killers and heat for his back. Then we're going to try and get you more comfortable. Alright?"

Steve worried her more as he never took his eyes off Mike but merely nodded in response to her question. So she decided that the sooner she got Mike more settled and looked after, she could assess Steve's condition better when he was less worried about Mike.

Steve could see that the older man seemed to still be in terrible pain as he laid his head back against the back of the armchair and seemed to close his eyes again. Without further warning Steve's shoulder burned again and the pain worsened. Even though his bad shoulder was propped up with soft feather pillows, it still felt like he was lying against a hard rock the way his shoulder was protesting the pressure of what he was lying against. With Jeannie back out in the kitchen and Mike not looking, Steve knew he had to try and sit up. Then his shoulder wouldn't be leaning against anything and he might get some respite from the pain.

So deciding that any movement he attempted had to be very carefully planned and slowly orchestrated, he very gingerly swung his legs off the couch first. Then placing his good arm underneath him he pushed himself up until he was slightly elevated off the couch on the right side. Steve knew it would take all the strength and courage he could muster to push himself with one hand into an upright position so he hesitated momentarily knowing that this was the hardest part of the exercise. The other hard part was that he knew he had to do it with out making any sound that would alert Mike to what he was up to because he knew Mike would protest and insist on him lying down again, something that right now he knew he just couldn't do. Taking one very deep breath he pushed himself quickly into a sitting position and thankfully he immediately felt some relief as the pressure eased. But to his dismay, despite the pain easing somewhat, he now realized that his new position found him precariously perched on the edge of the couch having to hold himself there shakily. At least the dizziness hadn't returned and for that Steve was very thankful. He was also proud that he had managed to sit up quietly but his relief didn't last long as Mike seemed to get another back twinge and opened his eyes to see if Jeannie was back yet.

Seeing Steve sitting up on the edge of the couch, he totally panicked. Despite his throbbing back muscles he feared that Steve would keel over again and realizing that Jeannie wasn't back in the room yet and knowing that in his current condition he would be unable to get to him to prevent him falling he shouted louder than he had intended to from pure fright alone.

"STEVE? What the hell do you think you're doing? LIE BACK DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

Steve's heart sank as he heard Mike's command. There was absolutely no way he was going to lie back down and suffer that awful pain again anytime soon but he knew he would have his work cut out for him trying to explain that to Mike especially to a Mike who was in as much pain as he was in now. But he knew he had to try. Sitting up was draining the little energy he had left and he felt himself shivering and breathing slightly faster but he tried to keep calm despite Mike's annoyance and he tried to explain why he was in fact sitting up in the first place.

"Mike ... stop yelling please. I can't lie back down ..."

But to Steve's dismay Mike wasn't prepared to listen, just needing the young man to lie back down where he couldn't do himself more harm.

"Young man, what part of that sentence did you think was a request?" he yelled again.

"Mike, will you listen? ... PLEASE?"

"STEVE LIE DOWN! If you fall I can't get to you." Mike said this time more exasperated than annoyed.

Steve knew he was just wasting his breath so he stopped talking and prayed that Jeannie would return sooner rather than later. She would listen to him ...

Just as Mike was about to yell again for Steve to listen to him, the kitchen door opened and Jeannie returned with Mike's things looking worried.

"Guys what's all the yelling about now?" she said as she entered and then she saw Steve sitting up very shakily with his hand over his face and putting down the glass of water, the painkillers and the heatpack on the coffee table, she raced over to him and knelt down in front of him trying to find out what was wrong.

"Thank God you're back Jeannie. Lie him back down please. He's going to keel over and hurt himself." Mike yelled at Jeannie thankful that his daughter had returned and would get Steve back lying down and settled.

But luckily for Steve, Jeannie knew something was terribly wrong with Steve and wanted to get the reason from him herself before doing what Mike had requested. So very softly and sympathetically she placed a hand on Steve's good arm and talked to him.

"Steve what's wrong? Talk to me? Why are you sitting up?"

Hearing Jeannie's gentle tone, he knew he had been right. So dropping his hand he looked at Jeannie and spoke shakily.

"He won't listen Jeannie ... I was trying to tell him but he wouldn't listen. He just keeps yelling ... I can't lie back down Jeannie ... please don't make me ..."

Steve looked so wretched that Jeannie's heart went out to him. Starting to feel worried too she questioned Steve tentatively.

"Steve? Why can't you lie back down? ..."

"Hurts worse ... it's easier this way Jeannie."

"Why is no-one listening to me? JEANNIE! Will you please get him to lie back down." Mike barked from his chair, still rubbing his back and not hearing the conversation that was quietly ongoing between Steve and Jeannie.

Jeannie saw Steve jump again as Mike yelled again and he hung his head in misery. Jeannie understood and knew she didn't have the heart to make him lie back down if it was hurting so much. Knowing that she had to go and appease Mike before Steve could get some respite, she put a hand on Steve's cheek.

"Steve it's ok. I understand. What if we get you over to sit in the armchair opposite Mike huh? Do you think that would be better?"

"I don't know Jeannie ..."

"Alright, it's just that it's not safe to sit here like you are and anyway I could be wrong but you don't look comfortable here either. Am I right?"

Steve was getting more tired by the second as he sat there trying to keep himself up and as upset started to build within him he nodded solemnly.

"Ok, just let me sort out the bear with the sore head or in this case back and then we'll try you to get you over there. Ok?"

Jeannie was pleased that her statement at least brought a slight smile to Steve's face.

"Ok ... thanks Jeannie."

"Will you be ok for a few minutes? You're not going to keel over on me are you?"

"No, I'll be ok."

Jeannie smiled at him as Mike yelled again, frustrated that no-one was listening to him.

"Do I have to come over there and lie him back down myself?"

Jeannie rolled her eyes to heaven while Steve again smiled at her reaction and she stood up and headed towards her father.

"Well maybe if you stopped yelling at everyone we would listen to you!" Jeannie said very matter of factly as she handed him the pain killers and the glass and added. "Here, take these to ease the pain that's making you yell at us Mike."

Astonished that first of all Jeannie was being quite rude to him and secondly still fuming that she hadn't got Steve to lie down again, he added through the spasms that were torturing him.

"Now listen here young lady ..."

"No ... You listen Mike. He's hurting just like you are, the only difference is he's not yelling at everybody."

Steve knew that Jeannie was just defending him, but again felt that he didn't want to be responsible for another row between them so he called to Jeannie.

"Jeannie don't ..."

"No Steve. He has to hear it. It's hurting him too much to lie down Mike. That's why he can't and if you had just stopped yelling at him and tried listening to him instead he would have told you that. Now I'm sorry for being abrupt but your yelling is making me bloody mad!"

Mike looked totally taken aback by Jeannie's rant and he realized that he had in fact been acting irrationally. He looked over at Steve who was now not only looking uncomfortable the way he was sitting but also seemed uncomfortable with the exchange he had just witnessed, again all because of him and he also looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him. Mike looked back at Jeannie who was still staring crossly at him and then turned and spoke to Steve.

"Is that why buddy boy?"

Now blushing from embarrassment he nodded sadly and merely answered.

"Yeah ..."

"I guess I didn't really give you a chance to explain that did I?"

Again this time Steve shook his head as the tiredness was starting to compromise his ability to stay the way he was and he was struggling to remain upright.

"I'm sorry you two. I guess I owe you both another apology. This damn back pain is just making me narky. I don't know what got into me." Mike said feeling terrible for hurting the two people he would protect with his life if he had to.

Mike's heartfelt apology broke through Jeannie's annoyance and she reached out and hugged him gently.

"Oh Mike! What am I going to do with you? It's alright. I know you're in pain. Take your pills and here, put this heat on your back while I get Steve over to the other armchair. I think he might be easier sitting up for a while. Ok?"

"Ok sweetheart." Then glancing once more ashamedly over at Steve he noticed that Steve had slumped back slightly unable to keep himself upright any longer. He was resting all his weight on his right arm that was stretched on the couch behind him and looked very uncomfortable and he quickly alerted his daughter. "Jeannie. Go to Steve."

Jeannie looked around and saw Steve struggling and raced back to him.

"Steve? Come on. Let's get you over to the armchair ok? Can you help me to get you on your feet?"

Steve's shoulder was hurting like crazy and he was struggling to keep his breathing under control as a result. He was relieved when Jeannie had returned over to help him as he wasn't sure how long he could have maintained the precarious position he had found himself in. His right shoulder was feeling the strain of holding himself up and so he nodded gratefully at Jeannie for the suggestion to move him to the armchair. He just hoped his legs wouldn't let them both down literally.

"Yeah ... I think so."

Mike watched the scene unfold and began to worry. As he swallowed his own pills he worried that Jeannie wouldn't be strong enough to support Steve in his current weakened condition and knew he wasn't up to helping either so he feared the outcome of this exercise.

"Jeannie, be careful now. Don't let him bang that shoulder off anything." he advised but to Jeannie's credit she seemed more confident than he was feeling.

"Mike, stop worrying. I've got it. We'll make it. Won't we Steve?"

Steve merely nodded and forced a smile but like Mike he wasn't feeling as confident as she was. But Jeannie saw the doubt in the young man's pain filled eyes and leaning close to him she spoke quietly so that only Steve could hear.

"Now Steve, I'm going to get you over to that armchair, but there's no room for male bravado here. Ok? You're going to have to lean on me in order for us to make it. Now I know you and I know you hate that idea but if you don't we may end up in a heap on the floor and that's not going to end well Steve. So I need you to promise me that you'll lean on me rather than fall. Alright?"

Steve stared into Jeannie's eyes for several seconds. He knew she was right and although he hated to admit it, he knew that without leaning on Jeannie he probably wouldn't make it as far as the chair so he nodded his head and muttered quietly.

"Ok ... promise."

Jeannie knew that the vulnerability and loss of his independence that his broken shoulder was causing him, was killing Steve and tried to make light of the situation.

"Hey, I'm not as fragile as I look you know. I won't break that easy. Ok?"

Steve smiled. "Ok ..."

Steve pushed himself forward with his good hand and Jeannie took his good arm and placed it around her shoulders.

"You ready to try and stand Steve?" she asked tentatively.

Steve wasn't a hundred-percent sure that he was but knew he was feeling weaker by the second so time was of the essence so again he nodded.

Jeannie pulled and he pushed himself off the couch until they were standing rather unsteadily in front of the couch. Steve's legs felt like jelly and Jeannie smiled as she felt Steve lean heavilly on her for a moment or two until he felt stronger. She was proud of him for fulfilling his promise and so with a supportive arm around his waist, they started to stumble precariously towards the armchair. Mike's heart was almost in his mouth as he watched them both swaying dangerously as they walked and he had to resist the urge to stand and offer assistance as he knew the locked muscles in his back would not allow such a movement just yet until the meds kicked in. Nearing the chair and feeling his strength starting to wane, Steve made a grab forward for the chair, alarming Jeannie as he did. She struggled to maneuver him into a position where she could get him sitting down and when she did finally manage it, Steve sunk heavily into the seat, the resulting jolt causing a suppressed yell to escape his lips as he covered his face with his good hand and tried to get his breathing back under control. As soon as he sat down the shoulder burned as it pressed against the back of the chair and he moved sideways instinctively trying to keep the shoulder from touching off anything. Seeing and hearing Steve's pain, Mike went to stand until Jeannie warned him not to.

"Mike, don't move. I've got him. It's ok."

Feeling useless and helpless all at the same time he advised Jeannie instead.

"Jeannie, put a pillow behind his sore shoulder."

Jeannie grabbed a pillow from the couch and very gently moved Steve so she could get the pillow in behind his left shoulder and when she did he leaned back although it took him a few attempts to sit back fully as he gingerly positioned the shoulder to where it was hurting the least. Allowing himself a chance to relax for the time being, he took deep breaths and opened his eyes to see Mike and Jeannie watching him with worried looking faces. He wanted to reassure them he was alright but he felt awful and the pain was building again slowly so instead he asked shakily.

"Am I ... due painkillers? ..."

The mere fact that Steve asked set off alarm bells in Mike's head. Steve hated painkillers and how they made him feel, so if he was actively looking for them it was an indication of the amount of pain and discomfort he was in. To Mike's added horror, he looked at the mantel clock and saw that he wasn't due any meds for another hour. Jeannie could tell by Mike's facial expression that Steve wasn't due any and she looked at Mike helplessly for more advice.

"Mike? What do we do now?"

Mike stared at Steve who was visibly struggling to get a handle on the intense pain that was burning through his shoulder and then at Jeannie who was at a loss of what else she could do to help him. Knowing he had to think of something and thankfully feeling respite from his own pain thanks to the pain killers and the heat that had started to ease the muscles that were locked in his lower back, he spoke urgently to his daughter.

"Jeannie, go and ring the ER. The number is on the back of the prescription. Ask for Dr. Curtis. Tell him that Steve is in a lot of pain but that his meds aren't due for another hour. Ask him if we can give them to him early? Ok?"

Jeannie was glad of Mike's suggestion but felt torn leaving both of them even temporarily to make the phone call she needed to. Seeing her reaction Mike grabbed her hand.

"Go on sweetheart. It's ok. I'll keep an eye on him. My back is starting to ease a little."

Reassured that they would be ok, Jeannie ran off to use the phone. Steve was sitting sideways and still looked very uncomfortable. Mike remembered the Doctor's words from earlier about how Steve would find sitting and lying down very uncomfortable for several days and his heart went out to his partner. Steve had his eyes closed and was trying to breathe through the pain, so feeling his back a little looser, Mike sat a little bit forward in his chair and reaching over he placed a concerned hand on Steve's left knee. Steve wasn't expecting the touch and jumped, startled.

"Mike? What are you doing? Watch your back. I'm ok ... I'm ok."

"Steve. You're not ok. And you're jumpier than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Is the nightmare still bothering you as well as everything else?"

Steve heard Mike's phrase and found it strangely amusing. He wasn't even sure why or maybe he was just grabbing at anything remotely funny to alleviate his distress but he found himself starting to laugh at Mike's observation.

"Oh Mike! That's bad ... that's really bad ..."

At first Mike had been taken back by Steve's unexpected laugh, but then realizing what he was laughing at he played along, glad that he had at least managed to lighten the tension that was in the air.

"Oh you think so huh? If it was so bad why are you laughing then? Tell me that? Go on admit it ... it was good. Haven't you ever heard that expression before?"

"No ... Ok, ok ... it was a bit funny alright? How's your back?"

"Oh it's ok. Don't worry about me. My back isn't half as bad as your shoulder. How are you holding up?"

"It's very sore Mike ..." Steve admitted and then trying to distract himself from his misery until Jeannie returned he asked. "How come you never told me the story about how you hurt your back before?"

"Well, there's lots of stories I've never told you about buddy boy. I guess that was just one of them. It's a story I try to forget quite frankly."

Steve felt that MIke didn't want to tell him the story but he badly needed the distraction so he practically begged Mike to tell him what happened.

"Please Mike. Just tell me will ya?"

In that one sentence and the look that accompanied it Mike knew that Steve needed him to take his mind off the pain that he was suffering so he reluctantly agreed.

"Ok, ok hotshot. It was while I was still in a black and white. We chased two perps to the docks in the car and then chased them on foot. My partner then twisted his ankle in the pursuit so I stopped to assist him ... and then ... well ..."

"What? ...well go on Mike. You can't just leave the story there. What happened then?"

It was a story that always embarrassed him and as such was the reason he never told anyone about it but feeling like he had no choice right now but to continue he muttered under his breath " ...the perp let loose some barrels that were piled up and ... " Lowering his voice to a whisper he finished "... and bowled me over."

Steve had strained to hear the end of the story but missed the last sentence completely as Mike had said it too quietly.

"And what?"

"BOWLED ME OVER! Ok? Are you happy now?"

The scene played itself in Steve's head and he could see that Mike was uncomfortable about telling the story so he repeated, letting the action sink in.

"You got bowled over by barrels?"

"YES! Ok. Go ahead laugh! Everyone else did at the time. " Mike said blushing with the embarrassment about being so careless to let such a thing happen and remembering the intense ribbing he had gotten at the station on his return to duty over the whole thing.

Steve was more amused at Mike's current reaction rather than the facts of what had happened and genuinely felt bad that he had been hurt in the process of the story but knowing that Mike was uncomfortable with what had happened he fought back the smile and chuckle that was threatening to appear.

"I'm not laughing Mike ..." Steve said sincerely trying not to.

Mike scowled in his direction, seeing that he was trying hard not to.

"No but you're wanting to aren't you? "

"No, no Mike. It must have been very painful at the time ..." Steve said trying to sound as convincingly contrite and concerned as he could.

Seeing Steve's kind attempt not to laugh and appreciating the young man's efforts but also for some strange reason suddenly seeing the funny side that everyone else had seen at the time of the whole episode himself after all these years, Mike started to chuckle himself much to Steve's amazement as he spoke between chuckles.

"I guess ... that's why I took up bowling after that and became so good at it huh?" and then broke into a fit of laughter himself.

Mike's laughter was infectious and broke through Steve's own resolve to remain serious and he chuckled along with his partner until Jeannie appeared back between them with a very serious expression on her face. She had heard them laughing and wondered what they had been laughing about but knew the news she had to impart would sadly stop their laughter fairly quickly. Both men looked at each other and back at Jeannie as the laughter faded.

"Jeannie? Why the long face? What did Dr. Curtis have to say?" Mike asked anxiously.

Jeannie looked at her father solemnly and answered.

"Mike, he said the painkillers are very strong and we can't give them to him early ... but ..."

Jeannie stopped mid sentence knowing that Steve would not like what she had to say next. The mere fact that he had to suffer this intense pain for another fifty minutes while it got increasingly worse was enough to distract Steve momentarily from caring what the rest of her sentence had to say. He covered his face with his good hand and groaned audibly but Mike was more in tune with Jeannie and shakily asked her, while observing Steve closely at the same time.

"But what Jeannie? ... "

"He said, there is only one effective way to numb the pain and keep him comfortable until his meds are due Mike ..."

Jeannie stared at Mike and Mike gasped softly as he realized what Jeannie meant. Nodding to her to let her know he understood and seeing that she had qualms about the whole thing, he gently took her hand and squeezed it. Speaking softly, he whispered.

'Go fetch it Jeannie. Leave Steve to me ..."

Jeannie cast one more glance at Steve who was still in a world of his own misery and then nodded at Mike and headed towards the kitchen downheartedly.

"Reaching gingerly for Steve's knee once more he spoke.

"Steve, you can't suffer that pain for another fifty minutes. We're going to have to relieve the pain some other way until you can take your pain killers ..."

Steve dropped his hand from his face and looked at Mike horrified, suddenly realizing what he meant. "Oh no Mike ... NO! I can handle the pain just fine thanks!"

"STEVE! Listen to me. A few minutes of discomfort and then you'll feel better. Ok?"

"NO MIKE!"

As Jeannie filled the ice pack with ice from the freezer, the sound of Steve's desperate sounding protests reached her ears and a solitary tear ran down her cheek as she realized their problems were still far from over.