Author's notes: Lyrics are "Blown Away" by The Walkabouts. I forgot to put this up last week when I finished it, so you get two chapters at once. ;) April and Rach- thanks for the reviews!

Blown down the wind
Let the trouble begin
Get blown away
Never look back again

The explosion rocked the hotel, spurning the law enforcement personnel in attendance into action. Mac immediately pulled out his phone and called for backup, while police officers and WSB personnel rushed outside. Shocked murmurs went through the crowd, most of who followed to the scene out of stunned curiosity.

Taggart was the first outside. "Car bomb," he told Mac as soon as they had joined him.

Frisco looked around. Most of the cars in the immediate area had been damaged or destroyed outright. Parts of the wreckage were still burning, but not with near the intensity as the blast. Ric was several feet away, leaning down over a body and holding a hand on his own shoulder.

"Oh my goodness!" Lucy cried, once she'd pushed her way through the murmuring crowd gathered near the door. "No, why does this stuff always happen during the Ball..."

Frisco, Sean and Mac all looked at each other. "What's the saying, the show must go on?" Frisco said, vocalizing what they all knew. They needed to get everyone inside, away from the crime scene. Continuing the ball was the best idea right now, to limit contamination of evidence at the scene and to prevent any civilian injuries. Any witnesses could be pulled away from the ball to be questioned and everyone else would be distracted away from the bomb while the police and fire department worked.

"I'll take care of it," Mac volunteered, walking over to Lucy and the crowd. He tried to calm her, with Kevin's help. Mac left Lucy to her husband and started ushering the crowd back inside the hotel.

Sean pulled Frisco a few steps in the opposite direction, away from the departing crowd. "What do you think? Mob related?"

Frisco nodded. "I'd bet my next paycheck that pile of melted metal is Corinthos' car. A little birdie told me he's making the Five Families nervous," the younger man told him. He glanced back towards his agent as firefighters arrived on scene and began to put out the residual fires. "I'm going to check on Lansing."

Officers were surrounding Ric by the time Frisco got to him. Through the people, he could see Liz lying on the ground, unconscious with blood gushing from the side of her head. The officers were trying to administer first aid to both Ric and Liz as they waited for the paramedics to arrive. Frisco grabbed the undercover agent by the arm, ignoring his injured shoulder. "What the hell happened?" he demanded.

Ric yanked his arm away, grimacing in pain. "We were just out here talking when the bomb went off. We were hit by debris."

"Why were you out here instead of inside?"

"We just wanted to be alone for a few minutes, that's all." He sighed. "We were going inside for Liz's number."

A crowded parking lot was not the best place for this conversation. Frisco needed to be someplace where he didn't have to worry about blowing his agent's cover. He would just have to wait to continue this. And worse yet, he was going to have to face Jeff now.

~*~

Every available officer was scouring the parking lot looking for evidence. Well, not everyone. Frisco was sure Sean was probably "supervising" and had sent Jerry back inside to keep his position secret. Mac would be busy meeting with the fire chief and fending off Baldwin's interference. Sam was as close to an explosives expert that the PCPD had, so she'd caught the case. Anna had gone inside to make her "Face of HIV" speech alone. As soon as she was done, she would be examining the wreckage with Sam, being highly trained in explosives herself. Frisco wondered why he got stuck doing grunt work. He flashed the flashlight around as he slowly walked through the lanes, moving farther and farther away from the blast site.

A moving shadow caught his attention. It was a little further down the street. He watched as the shadow of a person running away started to disappear. He took off after it, chasing the shadow in the direction of the docks and warehouse district, unaware of the footsteps following behind him.

~*~

Frisco leaned against a wall, slightly out of breath. He'd lost the running figure in between the warehouses. He heard the unmistakable squeal of tires a car speed away. He rushed to the corner and looked down the street, all he saw was a dark-colored car in the distance, too far away for him to make out a license plate or make.

He kicked a rock in disgust. He'd lost a suspect and their best lead. "Way to fucking go," he muttered furiously.

Maybe it wasn't entirely a lost cause. The bomb was likely the mob. He could meet with Nikita again and find out who was behind this. Explosions like this were definitely her style. She was a friend and all, but she was as dangerous as they came. Corinthos had no idea what he'd gotten himself into with her.

Frisco looked around, taking in every detail. Somebody had stayed behind to inspect the damage, watch the target's reaction. Normal for a warning, standard operating procedure for high level crime organizations. Just like Bogotá, he remembered.

He was scanning the buildings when the night sky burst into flames, engulfing a nearby warehouse.

"No!" he screamed.

Not again. It couldn't be happening again.

Another explosion obliterated what was left of the building. He was thrown backwards by the blast, no idea what had hit him.

~*~

Frisco could feel Pedro pulling him away from the flames. He could feel the heat searing his skin, the thick smoke filling his lungs. He didn't care. He had to get to them, he had to save them. He sent them in there, this was his fault...

He broke Pedro's grip and ran to the building as fast as he could. He hadn't gotten but a few feet before the Columbian tackled him. He hit the ground on his bad shoulder and the pain shot through the left side of his body.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Frisco?" Pedro asked him, still holding him down. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Frisco looked at the other man in confusion. He must've hit his head too, because Pedro was sounding strangely like his wife.

"There's agents in there!" he shouted, trying to fight the body holding him down. The very feminine body, he noticed. "I have to get them out!"

"Frisco, it's too late!"

"No, this is my mission! I have to save them!"

"There's nothing you can do! You'll just get yourself killed!"

Seven agents were inside. Seven agents. Frisco watched as his mission, his first mission in command, died with his team. He'd failed the Bureau, his team, everyone. Rita was right, he should've taken some time off and gone back to Port Charles after Afghanistan. He wasn't ready to be back out in the field and now seven agents were dead. All because he didn't do his job.

"It's my fault," he cried, breaking down into sobs.

"What's your fault? What on earth are you talking about?"

The soft voice was definitely not Pedro's, but Sam's. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, but in a comforting way. His hand reached up and gripped her arm, holding on for dear life as the emotions raged over him.

"It's okay, Frisco," she whispered to her friend, rocking him softly.

~*~

Fire crews appeared at the second scene in no time, having been diverted en route to the hotel. Sam and Frisco sat on the curb, watching the fire burn. She was talking to him, but he wasn't hearing her, lost in his own head. Now that the flashback and the resulting emotions had worn off, he was just numb and still a little shaky. He just wanted to grab a bottle of vodka and go to sleep.

Emergency crews worked furiously around the stunned agent. Paramedics pestered Frisco, as did Sam, but he shrugged off medical help. He was okay, he had no interest in going to the hospital. Hell, he had no interest in anything going around him. He was just in shock, he just needed a little time to rest. Alone.

"Why don't you go back to the hotel?" Sam suggested. "We can take care of this and you've supposed to perform later. I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss Maxie's number."

"Okay," he said tiredly. She could've told him she was shipping him off to the looney bin for all he cared, he would've had the same answer. He let Sam lead him to a patrol car and slipped inside silently, staring blankly out the window as one of the uniforms drove him back.

He watched the scenery as the car went through the streets. He wondered how Liz was. The doctors should know something about her condition by now. "Take me to the hospital," he told the officer.

~*~

As soon as Frisco stepped through the doors of GH's emergency room, Tony spotted him from the front desk. He sighed as the uniform took a seat in the waiting area. He had some idea of how bad he looked. If he didn't, he sure did with the shocked look on his older brother's face.

"Jesus, Frisco! What happened?"

"I didn't know you were on call tonight." He sounded distant, distracted, and looked like he was ready to collapse at any moment.

"I'm on call most nights. I work almost as much as you do. You know that," Tony said, concern written on his face as he visually examined his little brother. "Come on, let me look you over."

"I'm fine, Tony. I'm just here to check on Liz."

"Are you sure? You look like..."

Frisco sighed. His brother was so overprotective sometimes, but in this case he supposed it came with the territory. "Liz," he reminded his brother wearily.

"She has a concussion and is still unconscious. There's a little swelling, but not enough to be worried about yet. I can't tell you much more than that right now."

In his cloudy mind, he couldn't tell if that was good or bad. To hell with it, he decided. He'd leave the medical stuff to Tony. "Can I see her?"

"Sure."

Tony led him to the trauma room where Elizabeth lay. Frisco pulled a stool next to the bed and sat down. The blood had been cleaned off her face and the cut on her face was bandaged, but her normally rosy cheeks were pale. The canula attached to her nose and face, the rhythmic beeping of the monitors... She reminded him a bit of Tania after her accident, laying in that hospital bed dying. He rubbed his eyes emotionally, taking her hand. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," he whispered.

Tony patted his shoulder. "I'm sure she's going to be okay, little brother," he said softly.

"Jeff is so going to kill me."

"This isn't your fault."

Frisco just sighed. Tony didn't get it. It was his fault. She should've never been in that parking lot with Lansing. He waited too long to do something about that guy and Liz was hurt, twice. He dropped his head. He was responsible for this.

He felt his brother touch the back of his head once, then his hand backed away quickly. Tony's fingers parted his hair. "Frisco, how on earth did you hit your head?"

Frisco groaned, pushing the hands away. "I think that's my cue to go back to the ball."

~*~

Careful clean up was beginning in the hotel parking lot, although without much of the earlier crew. Evidence was being gathered and cataloged, a slow process considering how much debris was left in the immediate area of the bomb.

The patrol car stayed in the street, leaving Frisco to plod to the door on his own. He passed by Taggart without noticing, completely unaware of most of what was going on around him. Scott noticed however and stepped in front of the younger man, but Frisco nearly ran into him.

"Hey, you okay, Frisco?" the district attorney asked, showing a rare moment of concern. "You look like hell."

"Thanks, I just got back," Frisco joked softly, no real humor in his voice.

"Well, you definitely look it. Do you need to go to the hospital or something? There's a room full of doctors and nurses inside..."

"No, I'm okay," he said, shaking his head. "Know anything yet?" He gestured to the burnt mass, a moment after speaking.

"Just that it's Sonny Corinthos' limo and the Corinthos-Morgan warehouse."

His brain was beginning feel like it was full of cobwebs. He had to repeat Scott's words a couple times in his mind before he finally understood. "The second bomb was for Corinthos too?"

Scott turned and looked at the debris in disgust. "Looks that way. I was just going to go tell him."

Frisco shook his head gently. "I'll do it. I'm going inside anyway." He patted the DA's shoulder weakly and continued into the hotel.

~*~

Back in the Versailles Room lobby, Frisco immediately spotted Jason talking with Courtney. He walked up to the younger man and touched his shoulder. "I need to talk to Sonny. Is he around?"

Jason looked him up and down. "He's not talking without his lawyer, if you're planning on questioning him," he responded coldly.

"Your lawyer went to the hospital," the agent snapped wearily. "This isn't an interrogation. I'm just passing on information."

The young man turned to his girlfriend, albeit somewhat reluctantly. "Why don't you go check on Carly," he told the blonde. Even through Frisco's hazy mind, it sounded more like an order. As soon as she was out of earshot, he turned back to the agent. "What's the information?" His question was met only with silence. "Look, you tell me or you don't get to Sonny at all."

Frisco had no idea why Borgie couldn't just point him in the right direction, but it wasn't as if he cared. Jason, Sonny, it was all the same to him. "Your warehouse and Sonny's limo were bombed."

"The car bomb outside, it was for Sonny?" Jason asked guardedly. Frisco just nodded, noting the increased iciness in the young man's voice. "What happened at the warehouse?"

"It blew up shortly after the car did."

"And how do you know this?"

Normally, Frisco would've laughed at such a stupid question. The guy had looked at him, it should've been obvious how he knew. And that was ignoring the fact he was in law enforcement. But at the moment he wasn't up to dealing with stupidity. "Take another look and you tell me," he scoffed. "If you have any more questions, take them to someone who wasn't busy getting blown up."

He turned and walked off, rolling his eyes. He crossed the lobby and sat in a chair opposite the ballroom doors. Every movement hurt, even just sitting. His head throbbed, especially the back. He reached out and felt the offending spot. It was still a little wet and he had a nice bump starting. One more to the list.

He slumped in the chair and watched the small crowd disinterestedly. Some of the cobwebs seemed to be clearing, but he was beginning to feel more and more disconnected from the world around him. Almost like being in a video game. Part of the action, but not really there.

A brunette rushed over to him worriedly, barely catching his notice. "Oh my god!" she cried, gently touching a scratch on his face he didn't realize he had. "How bad are you hurt? Do you need help?"

He stared at the beautiful face for a solid minute in confusion, before he recognized her. Brenda. "I'm okay, Brenda, really," he replied, giving her a faint smile. Unfortunately, his voice didn't inspire confidence in that statement.

"You don't look okay. Let me go get Alan and Monica."

He tried to assure her again that he was okay, but she scampered off, calling Alan Quartermaine's name. Last thing he wanted to deal with right now was a doctor. At least it wasn't Tony this time.

Frisco got up to leave before she returned, but sat back down when the room began spinning slightly. Best to just stay seated, he decided. Rest, he would rest for a little while.

He held his head in his hands. He heard the distinct sound of high heels coming toward him quickly. He looked up, expecting to see Brenda. Instead, his princess looked down at him, concern in her crystal blue eyes.

She kneeled down, brushing the hair from his forehead, and touched the same wound Brenda had. "Oh god, what happened? You look terrible, Frisco," she said softly.

"I have bad luck with bombs," he told her, only half joking.

She smiled sweetly. "Wherever you are, trouble still follows, I see."

"Yeah. At least my record is still intact," he said, eliciting a giggle from Felicia.

She moved when Alan appeared behind her, with Brenda hovering worriedly nearby. The aging doctor took one look at Frisco and gave him his diagnosis. "You should go to the emergency room, let Tony look you over."

Frisco groaned in annoyance. "I don't need to go to the emergency room. I'm okay."

"What happened?" Alan asked, using a penlight to look in the younger man's eyes.

"Explosion," the agent answered flatly.

"Where did you get hit?"

"I was tackled."

"Hit your head?"

"Not really. Just a couple of scratches and a bump."

"Any dizziness?"

"No," Frisco lied.

"Blurred vision?"

"No."

"Headache?"

"A little bit."

"Tiredness?"

"Not that I'd blame on my head."

"Any aches, pains, stiffness of the muscles?"

"Have you ever been tackled on concrete?" Frisco asked, looking at the doctor in disbelief. "Hell yeah, I hurt!"

"I still insist you go to the hospital. Better to be the safe side."

A hospital was the last thing he needed. "Relax. It's just a bump, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a little while."

The older doctor frowned resignedly, looking at him thoughtfully. "I can't force you to go, but I'll come back and check on you in a few minutes. Whatever you do, don't..."

"I know, don't go to sleep. I already got the lecture from Tony."

"Good. I hope you take that lecture seriously, Frisco." Alan patted his shoulder and walked back inside.

Felicia shook her head. "Maybe you should listen to them. It can't hurt to let Tony take a couple x-rays, just to be sure."

"I'm fine, Felicia," Frisco barked, glaring at his ex-wife.

"You know, Frisco, one of these days you're not going to be okay and your stubbornness is going to make things worse."

"So noted."

"Fine," she replied, rolling her eyes. She spun around and walked off, he presumed to find Ned.

Brenda watched the older woman, then turned to face Frisco again. She gave him an unsure smile, concern still on her face. "Is there anything I can get you? Water, ice, aspirin?"

"No, I'm okay. But thanks for asking." He looked up at the beautiful brunette and flashed her a sly grin, albeit weakly. "Shouldn't you be off with your fiancé? If I were him, I wouldn't let a gorgeous woman like you out of my sight."

She giggled flirtatiously. "I just came out to talk to Jason and Sonny..."

"Ah, yes, Jason," he replied amusedly. "The ol' ball and chain."

"Not for much longer," she told him decisively. "Anyway, I saw you over here and you looked hurt..." She brushed her bangs from her face. "Since you're okay, I guess I'll be going back inside now, too."

Frisco spotted Skye standing nearby, obviously waiting for Brenda to be gone. "I appreciate the concern, Brenda."

"No problem. Any friend of Robin's is a friend of mine."

Skye stepped forward as Brenda left, each woman shooting the other a dirty look as they passed. She pulled a chair next to Frisco's and handed him the cup in her hand. "I thought you could use a drink."

He gulped it down, surprised to find that it was vodka, not water. "I thought you were back on the wagon."

"I am, but you're not. I know it's probably the absolutely wrong thing to do, but I didn't think this was the time to preach the virtues of sobriety. You look like you've had enough trouble tonight."

He didn't know what to say to that. He knew what it had to have taken for her to bring the drink over to him and wait for the woman who took her husband to leave. That took strength he wasn't sure he had anymore and certainly more than she ever gave herself credit for. He took another drink. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

They sat in silence for a couple minutes. He took another drink, finishing it off. Skye touched his hand, steadying it. He put the cup down and stared at his hand. It was shaking. He hadn't even realized his hands had been shaking. He sighed wearily. So much for the calm, cool and collected professional.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Frisco?" she asked, worry in her voice. "You really don't look like it."

"I think I would just like to be alone for a little while. Someplace where no one will ask me that question ever again."

Skye stood up and smiled. "I think I can accommodate that request." She helped him out of the chair and gently led him back into the hotel lobby.