By Monday Winnie and Spike were a pair of nervous wrecks; as veterans of the city's top police force who'd faced murderers, bombers and worse there was little that could turn them into jittery jumpy cats.

A family member facing illness as Pietr was fairly did the trick.

Winnie and Spike shared the common sensation of a deep grinding twist in the stomach as they sat with him in his room, seeming to care only about just how badly Spike was beating him at Monopoly while Gabriella and Shannie played Uno with Aaron and Rachel sat with them all. It was nearing the end of visiting hours; they would all be shooed along except Rachel, so Pietr could rest before his surgery and not a single one of them wanted to leave. The feeling of dread, that this could be the last time they saw him alive, was a living thing inside them like a snake slithering and coiling and waiting to strike when its prey was most vulnerable.

Winnie tried to use the technique that Spike had told her to do from her own emergency surgery, of trying to focus on the things that would be done after the surgery was over. But this was no routine grown-up tonsillectomy, this was major thoracic surgery that would be dangerously close to her father's great loving heart. Spike wasn't having much luck either - he tried to think of happy things himself like the wedding but discussing something as frivolous as flower arrangements at a time like this felt grossly inappropriate. A very dark and scary part of his brain kept trying to ask him what would happen at their wedding if Pietr didn't make it; every happy thought seemed to be railroaded by an equally dark mirrored one.

'Should I concede my loss to you now, son?' Pietr asked him as he tapped the button on Spike's iPad to hand over more cash on a hotel covered Marvin Gardens.

'Nah, we'll keep playing on Thursday, a day's grace for the patient.'

'Chances are you'll still be groggy from the remnants of anesthetic for the first forty-eight hours so ball-park it to Friday,' Shannie piped up, then pokered up when Francis walked in, his face solemn as he looked at them all.

'Evening family, Pietr how are you feeling?'

'A little anxious but mostly because I want this damn thing outta me. Again,' Pietr replied after a beat. 'So what's the word?'

'You're scheduled to be in pre-op for nine-thirty tomorrow, procedure to begin at ten am. It will be at least a six hour surgery so I highly advise you all to get some rest if you intend to be here the entire time. Doctor Camden, may I speak to you a moment?'

Shannie left the room with Francis while Spike and Winnie looked at each other, then at Aaron. 'You're bunking with us tonight pal.'

'I'd like that,' he said quietly, offered a wan smile. 'God knows what trouble me and Devon might get into if I am left on my own for too long.'

'Alright, you sad sacks, come give your old man a lick,' Pietr told them all, motioning them closer with his hands; Aaron went first, giving his father a big squeezing hug and gentle pat on the shoulder. Spike was given the same treatment, with Pietr adding to him, 'Don't worry, we're still gonna have that beautiful wedding in the Italian countryside and I'll be there for it.'

Winnie's eyes filled, and she saw Spike wiping at his own when he moved aside to let Winnie give her father a hug. 'Daddy, you better be alright because you're...' She trailed off, gulped once and Pietr pulled her in tight to stroke her hair. 'Oh fuck I promised I wouldn't do this!'

'It's okay if you do, my sweetheart.'

'But I don't want to let you down, Daddy, not after what happened the last time!'

'You mean when you were young, confused, scared and alone? That's not who you are anymore.'

Put so neatly, it was hard to argue it, Winnie thought as she knuckles at her cheeks. 'But...this means that you're looking after me instead of the other way around.'

'Hey I've already got a nag in my life.' Pietr sent Rachel a teasing wink, which made her laugh, 'and you're getting married, the man you should be nagging is him.'

'Oh she does,' Spike chuckled as Pietr jerked his thumb in his direction. 'We'll be here bright and shiny in the morning.'

'Us too,' Gabriella added, patting Aaron's shoulder. 'You need to rest up, big day tomorrow. No Rachel, you stay here, I'll see this crew out.'

'Thanks.' Rachel nodded, her eyes full of worry but her smile luminous as ever. 'You guys try and rest too, okay?'

They nodded their agreement, went into the hallway where they found Shannie waiting by the elevators chewing on her thumb nail; it was Aaron who piped up as the others weren't used to seeing Shannie look so nervous. 'Shannon are you okay?'

'Francis told me, that um...Baladeva is going to let me sit in on the surgery tomorrow. I obviously can't do anything but she said to me that I am permitted to stay and read or sing to my dad. He ummm...' She trailed off, squeezed her eyes shut as shook her head as they got into the elevator car. 'She said that she thinks I'd do better being with him so he isn't alone. It...it's the least I can do.'

'Hey.' Gabriella stepped forward to her daughter now. 'You know your dad was always proud of you, of everything you made with your life no matter what went on between you two. Focus on that, bunny, not on the everything else.'

'But...' Shannie's cool facade began to crumble. 'But what if I lose him just when I have him back?'

'You won't,' Gabriella told her youngest daughter, and hugged her tightly as Shannie started sobbing; no one said a word as Gabriella held Shannie close and murmured soothingly to her. 'Guys?'

'We'll pick you up in the morning, eight am sharp okay?'

Gabriella nodded; the elevator doors opened and Aaron, Winnie and Spike all but bolted for the doors so they could suck in the fresh air. The cloying stench of sterile hospital soap clung to their clothes which made them all want a shower, but instead of heading for the truck they stood there staring at each other for a few seconds before Spike rushed into Winnie's arms and pulled Aaron close.

'We'll get through this,' he told them, and Winnie nodded agreement.

'Yes, we will.'

The following morning, after a mostly sleepless night, Winnie and Spike let Aaron have the shower first while they stayed in bed just a little longer. They said little because they knew the void filled with small talk would feel like drinking fake juice, loaded with sugar and no nutritional value. Finally Winnie could take it no longer.

'Mike?'

'Yeah.'

'I'm scared. I'm so scared for so many things today.' Winnie sighed, shook her head. 'I've done too much dumping on you. It's not right, it's not fair to you.'

'Sh-sh-sh, it'll be okay WIn. We will be okay no matter what happens.'

'Yes, because we have each other,' she agreed, 'and we don't keep score because we love each other.'

'No we don't and yes we do, very much.'

'Guys?' Aaron voice was muffled by the door. 'Shower's free. No funny stuff if you do it together, there's a minor around.'

'Guess that's our cue to get going. How long until we pick up your mom and sister?'

'Just Mom. Shannie is already there with Baladeva going over the particulars of the procedure.' Winnie bit her lip, looked at Spike. 'How will she stay calm when they're cutting him open? If I saw that, I'd lose my mind.'

'I don't think it's going to be like a scene out of Dawn of the Dead or something.' But even as he made the joke, Spike felt his stomach churn; he'd never been one much for the gory stuff even as a teenager and thinking of it being Pietr having people put their hands into his insides made him want to throw up. 'We better get going before Aaron hauls us out bodily.

They showered together, with none of the funny stuff as Aaron had put it, and while they all took a travel-mug of coffee or tea none were much interested in food so they headed straight out for Gabriella's house where they found her waiting on the front stoop of her house, purse and coffee in hand. Like them she wasn't interested much in small talk - the warm hugs and shoulder-squeezes she gave them all when she got in said more than any hollow-sounding words could at that point.

When they reached Sunnybrook, Spike was just about to make the turn for the parking lot when Winnie grabbed his arm. 'Stop!'

'What?'

'What is Team One doing here?'

Spike's blood froze as he followed the direction of her finger pointing out the windshield and saw what she did - Team One was standing around outside the entrance in their winter outer-gear. His immediate first thought was hot call but it vanished as quick as it arrived as he saw they were missing headsets, their gear, and he unclenched when he saw Dottie and Raf with the group as well. 'For us. They came to see us.'

'But they're on shift! What are they doing?' Winnie blinked in disbelief. 'They can't risk their jobs just to be here for us, I mean it's great that they take the 'we're a family' line to a whole new level.'

'I'll deal with the truck,' Gabriella offered, 'you go talk to your people.'

Without hesitating Spike put the truck in park, and he and Winnie all but leaped out to go and talk to Team One; Winnie reached her bestie-sister first who caught her in an embrace like steel while Spike got the same treatment from Ed.

'What are you guys doing here? I know you're supposed to be here-' Winnie kissed the top of Dottie's head lovingly '-but what about the rest of you?'

'Holloran put us all on on-call status for today. Something about being where you needed be?' Ed looked at Spike, who gave a little laugh.

'One of the last talks I had with my dad, we talked about being where you need to be.'

'Seems Holloran took that to mean all of us, so we are here with you as long as you need us.' Moise nodded. 'Looks like you're running this hot call, Lady Scarlatti.'

'Lady Scarlatti, I like that.' Winnie smiled. 'He is going into pre-op for nine-thirty so we get about forty-five minutes with him.'

'Then let's get in there and check on our subject,' Ed told them; holding the door open all of Team One headed inside.