The foreign coolness flooding Jimmy's features was chased away when he heard several sets of footsteps come through the door behind him. Getting to his feet, Jimmy came face to face with Dr. Tomlinson and two nurses he had not previously seen. Seeing their faces devoid of all expression, Jimmy's stomach began to clench with anxiety as he walked towards the three women.

Seeing the exhausted man stop before her, Dr. Tomlinson put a hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "We are so sorry if we have disturbed you, Mr. Bruno. But it is time for us to do Sean's vitals check and personal care."

Lifting the soft hand off his shoulder, Jimmy found himself shrinking back from Dr. Tomlinson. It took tremendous effort for Jimmy to suppress the sneer he was dying to shoot in the doctor's direction. Her polished, formal speech was beginning to grate and fray his nerves. So sorry to have disturbed me? Where do you come off talking to me like that, you arrogant, condescending bitch?

Then Jimmy rubbed his eyes, the skin almost raw from this frequent motion. Fatigue, anger, and bitterness towards himself were beginning to erode his better judgment and gratitude towards one of the doctors that had helped keep Coop alive and given them both hopes of a future together. What a great way to show my fucking gratitude!

Tapping her chin thoughtfully as the two nurses passed her to begin the blood pressure and pulse readings, Dr. Tomlinson considered her next words carefully. "Mr. Bruno, please do not take this the wrong way. But I think it would be best if you were to head home now."

Jimmy raised his head, doing his best to keep from glaring. "Why?"

"I have not seen you leave this room in hours. Surely you must feel in need of a break?"

Jimmy shrugged, every joint aching from the fitful doze he had had in the stiff vinyl chair that was almost like his new home. "I'm fine."

Seeing the two nurses continuing to go about their work, Dr. Tomlinson knew Coop was stable and showing no signs to cause them alarm. Dr. Tomlinson clicked her tongue. "Well, you are most certainly not fine. You look ready to pass out. Also, I do not like the look of that lip of yours."

Self-consciously, Jimmy gave the wounded corner of his lip a tentative probe of his tongue. He winced visibly when he was rewarded with a sharp, painful itch and the sour taste of weeping pus. His lip had been throbbing off and on ever since the soothing, painkilling injection he had been given in the emergency room had worn off, but it hadn't been until the past few hours that it had steadily gotten worse.

Dr. Tomlinson gave Jimmy an appraising stare. "You realize exactly what I mean." With a sign, Dr. Tomlinson reached into the top pocket of her white lab coat and began scribbling across the prescription pad she had extracted. "Here," she said, ripping off the page and handing it to Jimmy. "Penicillin, three times a day for seven days."

Nodding, Jimmy folded the prescription into a haphazard square and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. Looking past Dr. Tomlinson, Jimmy anxiously watched the nurses beginning to check Coop's dressings. He had to turn away when they lifted away the bandages covering the lower half of Coop's left chest. What the hell is wrong with me? After five years on the force, Jimmy had seen his share of grievous injuries and had learned to not let them affect him. But seeing the damage inflicted upon Coop without bloodstained cotton or snow white bandages to soften the horror was something he was not ready to face.

Seeing Jimmy's paling face, Dr. Tomlinson tried to steer Jimmy out of the room. "Perhaps it would be best if you waited in the hallway, Mr. Bruno. At least until we finish attending to Sean's needs. Go get that prescription you need filled; we have a pharmacy on the first floor of the hospital right near the elevators in the lobby."

Stopping in the doorway, Jimmy turned around, shaking his head. "No."

Dr. Tomlinson gave Jimmy a tired glare; it had been another long shift and she wanted nothing to jeopardize the miracle that was keeping up the spirits of the ICU floor after a trying morning of one patient crisis after another. "Mr. Bruno, I really think it would be best…"

"No," Jimmy interrupted softly, forcing himself to glance at the bloody sutures by Coop's ribs. He felt nauseated, but forced himself to give Dr. Tomlinson a level gaze. "I ain't leaving Coop alone in this place! I promised Elizabeth I'd stay in this room until she comes back! No matter what you guys tell me that's what I'm gonna do! Come hell or high water!"

"You promised Mrs. Cooper that?"

"Yeah. I did. So…please…don't make me break that promise."

Dr. Tomlinson evaluated Jimmy's soft plea. Sensing there was invisible steel directing Jimmy's actions, she decided it best to concede Jimmy the victory. "Very well, Mr. Bruno. You can stay, but I am going to require that you stay back here until we finish. Our patients usually do not like other people watching over them when we do personal care. They have a hard enough time letting us do it without feeling embarrassed."

Jimmy's eyes widened and he somehow knew he was going to dread the answer Dr. Tomlinson was going to supply him with. "What…what do ya mean by 'personal care'?"

As a white clothed orderly slipped by them carrying a thick, white diaper, Dr. Tomlinson merely directed her palm in its direction.

Jimmy flushed with shame as the doctor's meaning became clear. Bedridden and barely even able to lift his head, he should have realized that all of Coop's needs being taken care of were at the mercy of the hospital staff.

Sighing that Jimmy had gotten her message without words, Dr. Tomlinson went over to Coop to lend a hand to the nursing staff and make sure nothing serious had escaped their attention.

Leaning against the wall, Jimmy was relieved Coop was still asleep. He kept his eyes directed to the floor so he would not have to add witnessing Coop's dignity being compromised to his list of offences. It was a fierce struggle for Jimmy to fight the temptation to escape to the roof of the hospital and scream until his throat was hoarse and pound the concrete until his knuckles split open.

As he heard the business of Coop's care beginning to wind down, Jimmy managed to condense his rage into a hard ball that he could feel rolling and sloshing around his stomach. Get a grip, Jimmy! You'll get your chance soon enough to kill the bastard that did this to Coop. You're going to promise him that as soon as those goddamned bastards get the hell out of here!

Bing-Bong! Bing Bong! Bing-Bong!

Her head still somewhere at Penn General, the grandfather clock downstairs striking three dragged Elizabeth out of her sound sleep. Sitting up, Elizabeth rubbed her cheek; the ridged, whirly pattern of the pillow she had fallen asleep on was etched into her cheek and began to itch as the pressure was removed.

As the bedroom that had once been Coop's came into focus, Elizabeth clasped her knees to her chest and began to rock back and forth as tears once more hit her eyes. When she had first come into the house, she had been numb, feeding the fish and putting away the clean dishes as if nothing at all had altered her life in the past forty hours.

Briefly thinking about it, it didn't struck Elizabeth as strange behaviour; it had been the same way after Michael had passed away. When Brogan, to the shock (and disgust of some) of his fellow officers had refused bereavement leave and lunged right back into patrols, she too had kept her days busy to distract herself from her torment. She had had no time to cry, let alone grieve, when there were Sean's Little League luncheons to attend or Church socials to organize. That she would do the same thing when alone in the house that was now simply a pale testament happy family life that had once permeated its corridors was little surprise.

Then her eyes drifted to the closet door that still bore dents and scratches from all the years Coop had repeatedly thrown a baseball with varying intensity against its flimsy wood. The habit she had ordered her son dozens of times to cease had become Coop's way of easing boredom, stress, or trying to work out a difficult problem. When Michael had died, Coop had spent the first weeks cooped up alone in the bedroom they had once shared. As the laughs of boys who still had had brothers to play with streamed through his open window, Coop had listlessly lain on the floor as he rolled the ball back and forth against the exposed baseboards along the wall where Michael's bed had once stood.

Her teeth clenching, Elizabeth got to her foot and brushed her hair back from her eyes. You can't think of Mikey now! You still have a son that is living and needs you! Ashamed to have crumbled under the grief that refused to free her after nineteen years, Elizabeth swept out of Coop's room. Her eyes cooled as she began to unbutton her blouse and headed for the bathroom. The brief outlines of a plan began to form in her mind; Elizabeth would shower, put on some fresh clothes, get her purse, and drive to the hospital without being at the mercy of a cabby whose greatest priority was taking the longest possible route back to the hospital in hopes of a greater fare and tip.

Turning on the taps, Elizabeth flung her blouse onto the floor and let her unzipped skirt pool at her feet. The nap had recharged her and the seams of her mind that had begun to unravel during her torturous time at the hospital began to return to their normal state. The Mother Tiger was roaring and the stoic sense of duty she had witnessed her son display throughout his journey to war began to overtake her. The greatest gift I can give Sean now.

"Come on, Coop! You've got to speak to me sometime!"

Dragging Robin onto the couch armrest beside him, Coop shot Danny a smile that wasn't exactly friendly. "Actually, I don't."

Danny rolled his eyes and crammed his hands into his pockets. "For Pete's sake Coop…grow up!"

Coop winced, but Danny's words just as quickly ricocheted off his hardening heart. "How old are you now, Danny?"

"What's that got to do with…"

"Just answer the damn question! For once…just give me an answer without making a federal case out it!" Coop interrupted, giving Danny a sharp glare. Coop's eyes narrowed as Robin dug a claw into his palm, as if trying to stop the flames of Coop's temper from raging out of control.

Leaning against Coop's TV stand, Danny shrugged. Remember…pick your battles. "Fine. I'm twenty-four. We sort of stop aging when we die, you see. At least chronologically."

Coop smirked. "Then where the hell do you get off telling me to grow up? I'm older than you now!"

Danny's mouth formed into a straight line. "I may have stopped aging physically; that much is true, Coop. But my mind is still evolving; I'm still learning how to handle problems in different ways. I'm just saying it's about time you do the same and quit acting like a kid!"

As Coop got to his feet, his fists clenched, Robin knew an eruption was imminent. As quick as Coop's fury began to rise, Robin leaped off the sofa and bolted out the door.

As the sound of Robin's claws digging into the carpeted hallway began to fade, Coop shot Danny an even harder glare. "Now see what you've done? You're gonna give the poor bastard a heart attack!"

"Me?! You're the one who scared him!"

Crossing his arms, Coop's face twisted as he plopped back into his seat. You've got too much at stake to wring Danny's neck now! "Only because you started this whole argument!"

Danny eyes widened in astonishment. "Me?! What did I do? You're the one who came back here from Earth refusing to say anything to me! Which is why I'm telling you to grow up! This is the same crap you used to pull on me on the bus after I had to get your hungover ass out of bed all those times you stayed out too late at those seedy bars with Ben!"

Coop couldn't help grinning; giving Danny a hard time during their motel stays had been his subtle way of trying to loosen up his uptight friend. "You're the one that has been harping at me ever since you got here Danny that I gotta let out what's torturing me. That's what I was doing back then; it wasn't healthy for you to be so reserved all the time and never have any fun!"

"Coop, quit changing the subject! My being able to control myself with alcohol has nothing to do with anything we're trying to discuss here!"

"Fine!" Coop snapped, pounding one balled up fist against his thigh. "You know damned well why I'm pissed at you! You made me say stuff to Jimmy I told you I never wanted to talk about with him, let alone you!"

Danny sighed, pulling out his lighter and fiddling with its catch. "Fine. Guilty as charged, Coop. I did play a role in loosening up your inhibitions on that subject this one time; it's something I don't usually do. But it was for your and Jimmy's own good!"

Coop shook his head, not wanting to think what Danny might have been smoking during his time away to reach this latest conclusion about his demons. "Danny, I think this lawyer stuff and trying to be a do-gooder is really destroying your common sense! Don't you realize it's best to let some ghosts stay in the grave so they don't take away the few bits of sanity I got left? Don't you already realize how much of a struggle it is already to try and forget what happened so I can at least function day to day? And don't you think Jimmy's has already seen and heard enough the past while without my craziness being added to the mix?"

Putting the lighter away, Danny gave Coop a curt shake of his head. "Nope. For one, you're not crazy, as much as you keep trying to convince me and yourself otherwise. Your nightmares are a natural reaction to someone who refuses to kick his demons to the curb where they belong. I let your tongue loose so Jimmy can start helping you deal with them. It's for both of your own good!"

"Danny, that's complete and utter bullshit!"

"No it's not!" yelled Danny, running his hand over his face. "Things with Jimmy will never progress further until you integrate all of yourself into the person he sees! That means everything: your fears, your dreams, your violence, your anger, your passion, your sense of justice...every last bit of it all! You've kept some of that stuff suppressed for so long that you think they don't exist. But they do! What happened happened!"

Coop sighed; he was nervous to see Danny so angry and he didn't want to chance another argument when this man possibly had the power to snuff his life out entirely. Fuck! That's a stupid way to think! You know Danny would fuck you over like that! Coop's mouth went dry. "Tell me then, Danny. What good will come out of Jimmy knowing I used to throw mud at Alan during guard duty? Just proves to him that I am what you said: a fucking prankster who still refuses to grow up and become the mature adult I should be by now."

Danny smiled and gave Coop a nod. "I knew that sharp mind of yours was still alive and well! That's exactly why you said it!"

"What?!"

Danny seated himself beside Coop and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Jimmy needed some sort of reassurance that the guy he fell in love with is going to come back to him. While the past bit has been hell for you, it has been exactly the same for Jimmy, too. Getting a reminder that you are still a cocky smartass so the job gets done did more to lift his spirits than you can possibly understand right now, Coop. If you hadn't pelted Alan with mud, he would have fallen asleep and it could've jeopardized your whole platoon if you were the only one on watch for the enemy! Two sets of eyes are really better than one!"

Coop hunched forward and put his head between his hands. "But…Jimmy's always telling me tone down the wise ass remarks! He almost decked me when I asked McCree if he took LSD!"

"Yeah, just like when you tell Jimmy that he could use a few beers so that he will stop being so uptight and quit questioning every move he makes. After all, such hesitation could be disastrous in the thick of a dangerous situation and that's why Jimmy appreciates your quick action. Both of you admire traits in each other to the point you wish you could switch places for a bit. You wish people would take you more seriously sometimes while Jimmy wants to actually enjoy life instead of feeling so scared of everything. You both help balance one another out to be impressive cops."

Coop straightened up; like Danny's previous arguments, this one was full of well thought reasoning Coop couldn't ignore. Then Coop gave Danny the most sombre look he could muster. "Tell me something, Danny. And I want you to be totally honest. Just how bad have things been for Jimmy and Ma at the hospital?"

Danny began to bite his lip. "Well, not the best. You did get shot, after all, so they've had some fear to contend with."

"I know all that!" Coop sighed and began to chew his thumbnail without wanting to. "What I mean is…how bad were they told things were? What sorta shit did I put them through?"

"Like I told you before, Coop, none of what has happened is your fault! They're only upset about what happened because they love you!"

"Then tell me the truth!"

Danny sighed. "Look, one of the docs will tell you when the time is right. Once you're fully awake and coherent down on Earth, I mean."

Coop ran a hand through his damp hair and let out a frustrated grunt. "I think I've been through enough shit in my life to handle whatever it is you could tell me right now!"

"True. But it's best for you to be told with the right support around you; there's no point torturing yourself with knowledge that will do you no good right now. As much as it pains me to say it…I can't be a permanent coping resource, for you, Coop. At some point, Jimmy and your Ma are going to have to help you bear some of the burden."

Coop's face formed into an expression that Danny found difficult to decipher as a smile or frown. "You're still a control freak, aren't you, Danny? Everything has to go according to some strategy or schedule of yours or you got no clue about what to do or say!"

Danny gave Coop a rather unlawyer like smirk. "Guilty as charged. Let's play cards to pass the time until your next trip down."

Coop shook his head. "I…I think I need to lie down, Danny. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really need to get some real sleep that isn't caused by booze or some drug. I'm shot."

Snapping his fingers, Danny placed a blanket into Coop's trembling hands. "Sorry, forgot this hocus pocus stuff makes you nervous. But you've got to admit it's quicker than me trying to dig it out of your closet! I don't feel like an avalanche of crap burying me!"

Coop gave Danny a slight smirk as he lay down. "Yeah," Coop whispered, wrapping the blanket across his body as he let sleep take hold.

Leaning against the warm bricks, Captain Alfred Stinson threw his cigarette butt to the ground, snuffing out the flame with his heavy black leather shoe. The strong sun loomed overhead and warmed his back, but Stinson took little notice. Aside from a brief jaunt home the night before to get a bit of sleep, Stinson hadn't left the station since Coop had been shot. Despite an array of leads and an endless series of interrogations, they were no closer to catching Coop's shooter. Stinson was dreading having to give the media vultures nothing solid yet again about the potential cop killer on the loose.

Reaching into his pocket for his pack of Camels, Stinson realized a potential murder was better than a killer. The news that Sean Cooper was still alive and fighting had caused Owen Murphy, the first officer to arrive at the scene, to rub his swollen eyes in disbelief. It can't be true, Murphy had told him. There was no way Coop could be alive when he had lost so much blood just in the patrol car. You know that damn well, Stinson. You saw it in the crime scene photographs and have seen scenes like this!

Taking a drag, Stinson hoped that the nicotine intermingling with the caffeine flowing through his veins would trick his body into staying awake. Then the cigarette fell from between Stinson's chubby fingers and onto the cracked, dirty concrete causing his feet to ache. Brogan Cooper, haggard and unkempt, was coming towards him.