A/N: I'm changing Alexx's age in this story. She's 42 in my universe and the reason will become apparent in this chapter.

TBITC Chp. 36

Emergency Room Chief Howard Long took particular interest in the case of one Jackson Caine, MDPD. Not because the man was a cop or even because he knew Jack's father, Horatio Caine, personally, but because the younger Caine had saved his life, long ago and far away.

Prior to coming to work for Miami General Hospital as their ER Chief, the fifty four year old had been a U.S. Army Special Forces Medic. Jack had been part of a class of 18 Delta's, the army's military occupational specialty for Special Forces Medics, that Long had trained. Then the two men fought together on the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. Long had been wounded, badly, but Jack saved his life.

He'd never forgotten the gesture, especially when he'd walked his daughter down the isle and he'd held his grandchildren in his arms. Vowing that he would return the gesture and save his friend's life this time around, he left his office.

000

The team, including Ryan and Frank, sat in the waiting room, doing their best to be strong for Horatio, Alexx and Sam. The homicide detective and CSI told the doctors in no uncertain terms what they could do with their 'twenty four hour observation.'

Sam was sleeping in Alexx's lap. She'd given him a glass of milk spiked with a sleep aid. She felt guilty, both as a mother and a physician, but at the same time she knew there was no reason for both of them to lose sleep. Jack wouldn't want that, she knew. Alexx's mind was racing in a thousand different directions and she needed to quiet it somehow, because she knew if she didn't, she'd go crazy. "Calleigh, would you mind watching Sam for a minute?" Alexx whispered to the woman next to her, so as not to wake Sam or Gabriella, who was sleeping on Calleigh's lap.

"Sure, Alexx. Take all the time you need." Calleigh said gently.

Alexx smiled tiredly. "Thanks, baby."

With Sam taken care of, Alexx stood and went down the hall a short distance. She saw Ken following her, noting that he was staying far enough away to give her privacy, but remaining close enough to reach her if things went bad. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and pressed one, speed dialing her father's home number.

What none of the team knew, not even Horatio, was the Alexx's father, Joseph 'Joe' Wood's had been a clandestine operative for the CIA for almost forty years, before retiring at age 65. Her father's job was one of the reasons Alexx had a hard time with Jack being who he was. A gravelly voice answered on the third ring. "Hello"

"Hi, daddy." Alexx said, forcing herself to sound cheerful. "Did I wake you?"

Joe laughed. "No, baby." he lied. "At my age, you don't sleep much anyway. How's work?"

"Actually, that's what I'm calling about. Do you know a former Delta Force Captain named Jackson Caine?"

There was silence on Alvin's end of the phone for several seconds before he answered. "Yes, baby, I know him. We worked together just before I retired, and several times before that. Why?" He asked in worried tone. It wasn't that he didn't respect Jack, because he did and he liked him very much. Joe knew his daughter well enough to know that she wouldn't want to be with someone like Jack without a good reason. A very good reason.

He waited for a minute, listening to background noise of wherever his daughter was. He listened as she told him about the case, about Sam, about Jack, Sam attachment to her and she to him, Sam's kidnapping and the abuse he'd suffered, and Jack's shooting. Joe listened intently, his hatred for Clavo Cruz growing by the minute.

"You've worked with Jack, haven't you?" Alexx asked, in summation.

Joe knew it wasn't a question, so he didn't bother trying to deny it. Instead, he asked a question of his own. "You want me to come down?"

Alexx thought about it for a millisecond, and realized that her father and Jack had the skills needed to get out of this alive. "Would you, daddy?"

Joe smiled on his end of the phone. She sounded like the little girl he'd left all those years ago to serve his country. It was one of the reason's he'd related to Jack so well. He could understand the man's pain. "I'll be there soon. Call you when I get in. I love you." Joe said, and hung up the phone.

"Love you, too." Alexx said to the dial tone, and flipped her phone shut. Just as she was coming back to the waiting, she noticed that a doctor had been updating the group on Jack's condition.

"Alexx, this is Dr. Howard Long, Chief of Emergency Medicine here." Horatio said. Alexx could tell by the look on her friend's face that the news was grim.

"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Woods."

"And you as well, Dr. Long. Are you treating Jack personally?" she asked, her tone suggesting the surprise that a chief of emergency medicine would treat a patient.

Long nodded. "I served with Jack, and he saved my life. I'd like very much to return to favor."

"Where did you serve?" Alexx asked.

"7th Special Forces Group. I trained Jack when he went through 18 Delta school, and we served together in Mogadishu, Somalia. I was wounded and he kept me alive."

Despite the situation, Alexx smiled. The more she learned about the Jack, the more she loved him, despite what he was. "You trained him well."

Long shrugged nonchalantly. "It was more the selection process than my individual ability. Jack was one of those guys who was hell bent on getting his Green Beret."

"How…how is he?" Alexx asked.

"His right lung is collapsed. The same bullet that punctured his lung entered through his abdomen and grazed several vitals organs, before exiting." Long said. Alexx could tell he was trying for the clinical detachment that every medical professional was encouraged to master when dealing with victims families, but just barely. And she could understand that. Jack had saved both their lives and, as such, they cared about what happened to him. Not knowing what else to do, Alexx went back to where Sam was sleeping, took him in her arms and wept.

000

As soon as he got off the phone with his daughter, Joe Woods was on the move. Despite his being retired, forty plus years of training and experience as a clandestine operative didn't just vanish. He sat up in bed and pulled out his nightstand drawer, removing its contents. Inside was a Kimber Gold Match II stainless steel 1911 .45 caliber pistol, and two seven round magazines. He took a hard plastic case for the weapon from under the nightstand, then stood up. Going to his closet, he removed his 'go bag' which was always packed and tossed it on the bed. Then he showered, shaved and dressed in comfortable travel clothes. Lastly, he went to his desk and grabbed a set of Homeland Security Credentials, in order to allow him to carry his weapon anywhere without any legal hang ups.

Joe had remained 'ruggedly handsome', despite his job and age, but that was all he had left. Three of his six children wanted nothing to do with him, and his wife had died ten years earlier of breast cancer. In some strange, Freudian way, the war on terror had saved him from a decent into madness. The war, and killing the bastard who selfishly taken the lives of his grandchildren by getting behind the wheel of a car after he'd had one too many. But he shoved all that aside as he grabbed his bag and gun case, climbed in his truck, left the quiet retirement community in Tampa, and headed south to Miami.

000