In the hospital

Daniel waited for the doctor to leave Emily's room before he slipped inside without knocking. As expected, she was awake and now looked at him with big, rueful eyes. "What was that show you just faked?" He asked in a low voice, in case someone was still within earshot.

"Sit down and listen to me!" Emily pointed to a chair. "Before you blame me, I want to tell you that I did this to protect you."

Confused, he looked at her. "I don't understand."

"Well..." She took a deep breath. "If I hadn't delivered my 'little drama act', you would now sit with the police and they would interrogate you about what had happened. The fact is, you shot Ray. Should he die... "

"He will survive," Daniel interrupted her. "I was in the ICU recently. Police are running around everywhere. Like in a bad crime movie." He rolled his eyes. "I overheard two police officers talking. The one literally said 'Too bad that such a pig, who abused his wife for years, even survived', whereupon the other replied 'I think it's fair, because he can at least serve his well-deserved punishment'.

"So you're coming to the conclusion that Ray will survive?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrows.

Daniel nodded. "Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to address the doctor directly. After all, I'm not a relative. "

"What about Julia?" Emily suggested. "Could you call Nolan and ask her to come to the hospital? She will be given the information for sure."

"Why are you so eager to find out how Ray is doing?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

"I don't want my husband to go to jail for murder," Emily replied dryly. "And then I'll come back to the actual topic..." She took a deep breath. "We both know that you only fired in self-defense, but will the police believe you too?"

"Why not?" He shrugged.

"Because your list of crimes involving gunfights is not short." Emily rolled her eyes. "They will investigate more closely, and then find out that you are not as innocent as you claim to be." Her voice became even quieter. "You shot your own wife. That I survived, was a miracle. Aiden was killed by your bullet... "She stopped when she saw Daniel's face grew pale. "I know it was self-defense. But..."

"Once a criminal, always a criminal? Are you trying to say that?"

She wanted to reach for his hand, but he was already up. "Damn, Daniel, I'm on your side! But that's the way the police could argue. And if Ray survives, it's just manslaughter and not murder!"

He just stared at her. She was right. Without doubt. She tried to see from the perspective of the police. And Ray would probably say he brutally shot him down, though he couldn't fight back. But only he and Julia knew, that Ray had held a gun to Julia's head. Not even Emily had been at the crime scene at the time. Damn it! Groaning, he ran his hand through his hair. He hated it when he was cornered like an animal. "What should I do now?" He asked distraught.

"We have to talk to Julia," Emily said calmly. "She has to testify that you fired in self-defense. Because Ray will certainly say the opposite." She stopped and then went on quickly. "Anyway, there will be your word against his." She sat up straight. "I assumed the worst case scenario, if that won't turn out well for you. Then it's still better that Ray is alive than dead."

Daniel was about to reply when there was a knock on the door. Annoyed by the interruption, he opened it. "Charlotte?" He exclaimed in surprise.

She turned to the nurse who had brought her here in a wheelchair. "Thanks for your help! My brother can bring me back to my room," she said and rolled into the hospital room.

"What are you doing here?" Daniel looked at his sister with a puzzled look.

"A nurse mentioned that my sister-in-law was admitted to the hospital." She turned to face Emily. "What happened?" She inquired worriedly. "Is something wrong with the baby?"

Emily quickly exchanged a look with Daniel before answering. "No, the baby's fine. It's just a precautionary measure."

"Seriously, Em?" Daniel shook his head in disapproval. "Is it necessary to lie to her too?" He turned to Charlotte. "We found Julia," he clarified. "She was with Nolan. Ray had taken the two hostage."

"Oh my God!" Charlotte stared in horror at Emily. "Is that why you are here? Were you hurt?"

Emily shook her head. "It's a little ... complicated to explain," she said slowly.

"It's easy to explain," Daniel contradicted. "Emily faked a dizzy spell because she didn't want me arrested," he said, glancing sideways at his wife. "I shot Ray when I saw him threatening Julia with a gun. He is still in intensive care. But he will probably come through."

"You shot him...?!" Charlotte exclaimed, stunned. "But... Daniel... the police..." she stammered incoherently.

"We've already clarified that," Emily put in quickly. "All we have to do is calling Julia that she is telling the police that Daniel fired in self-defense. She is an important witness. They will believe her."

"Is Julia doing well?" Charlotte asked softly.

"She's fine. Nolan takes care of her," Emily replied. "And Jill is safe too."

"Thank goodness!" Charlotte let out a sigh of relief. "Then the nightmare is finally over."

"Almost," Daniel interjected. "Except for the small fact that I am now in the main focus of the investigation."

"Call Julia!" Emily advised urgently. "She should come to the hospital. I'll advise her what to do before she talks to the police."

Daniel nodded and then turned to Charlotte. "I'll take you back to your room. You shouldn't stay up that long."

"I was worried," she said pouting. "When I heard that Emily was admitted, I thought something had happend to the baby."

"Our little girl is fine," Emily said, stroking her belly gently. "She keeps kicking me like crazy all the time. I hope she can forgive me my white lie."

"How long will you have to stay?" Daniel asked.

"Only this day. They want to do a few more tests. But right now it looks pretty good that I can go home tomorrow."

"Good." Daniel bent down to kiss her. "I'll bring Charlotte back now, and then I'll call Julia. I'll be back later," he promised.

"I'm really relieved that you're okay," Charlotte said, leaning over to kiss her sister's cheek.

Daniel opened the door and pushed Charlotte out of the room.