The hallways of Franklin Hospital were nearly empty late that evening except for the occasional nurse appearing from behind closed doors, carrying trays of bandaging material to her patients.
The fluorescent lights shining down on the worn-out linoleum floors gave the otherwise quiet area a sense of foreboding gloom; empty beds waiting to get filled with injured people, the stillness a mere chance encounter until the next emergency would arrive, an ingrained acceptance of when, not if, life-and-death matters would be bestowed upon the staff once again.
It was an atmosphere Mike didn't like the least, the sheer sight of the deserted hallways making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
Too many times in the past did he arrive here in frantic worry, and leave grief-stricken. Too many times did he watch the life drain out of a friend's body and pool onto an ambulance stretcher, losing the battle in the hallways before the waiting ER team ever had a chance of trying.
Throughout his police career, this hospital had become a place of heart-wrenching loss, with the occasional happy ending sprinkled in between cases, as if to coax his heart not to let all the senseless death get to him.
Somedays that helped, most days it didn't.
Mike listened to the quiet echo of his own footsteps, letting the gentle rhythm soothe his troubled soul that night.
No word yet from Bernie meant that things were busy down at the morgue. He knew that their case was at a proverbial standstill until they could rule out without the shadow of a doubt that McMillan died the same way Tim Darrings did; a known fact to Mike, but gut feelings just didn't hold up in court.
After the silence of the emptying bullpen became too much to bear that evening, he decided to heed his partner's advice and see if Lenny would have a couple minutes to talk to him.
He'd resented the idea from the very beginning, not exactly enjoying the thought of talking about his haunting nightmares to the Psychiatrist who seemed to have a bizarre and worrisome interest in the depths of other people's trauma.
But yet, with every consecutive dream, the ache in his heart grew stronger, the crippling fear that his partner might be in mortal peril drove him closer to the abyss of insanity. And Mike knew he wouldn't be able to continue operating with that sort of fear on his mind- not without making mistakes that could cost them this case and quite possibly so much more.
He should have called ahead but didn't, not expecting there to be much activity in Lenny's parts of the hospital. And yet, his friendly secretary informed Mike that there'd been several emergencies and that the good doctor would try to get with him as soon as possible.
That was half an hour ago.
Growing weary of the wait and questioning his idea the longer he paced the empty corridors, Mike never heard Doctor Ford approach, until the personable ER Physician stopped right next to him.
"It's not every day I see you down here, Lieutenant. Is everything ok?"
Joe's well-known broad smile lit up Mike's mood instantly and he reached out to shake the doctor's hand with both of his.
"Everything is fine, my friend.", he said, surprised by how easy the lie had slipped off his tongue that evening, "Just some police business. But I ought to ask you the same question. The ER is one floor up."
With a chuckle, the tall Physician shook his head, before pointing back toward Lenny's office.
"Always the cop, aren't you, Mike? I was down here to drop off some paperwork on one of my patients. He thought he was infested with maggots but as it turned out…he was just crazy. So, I sent him down to Murchison. He doesn't have much better things to do anyways…"
Returning the chuckle, Mike slid his hands back into the pockets of his black overcoat and let his eyes drift off toward the elevators.
It was a reaction that seemed to have piqued Joe's interest when the Physician reached forward to tap his elbow.
"Are you sure you're alright? You're not your normal self. Everything okay at work and home?"
Mike shrugged indifferently, not certain if he was ready to expose his innermost fears to a dear friend, but then deciding to quit beating around the bush since his likelihood of seeing Lenny yet tonight was slim to none.
Joe had always been a better friend anyways.
And so he proceeded to inform the Physician about his nightly terrors and the frightening regularity thereof, how he even brushed up on his CPR skills once again just in case his worst nightmare would come true and how these events were slowly but surely driving him insane.
Throughout it all, Joe listened intently, even nodding a few times, before squeezing Mike's shoulder empathetically.
"I don't know, my friend. That doesn't hit me as a stress response, no matter how often argues it is.", he finally said and shook his head firmly, "I'd go with your gut feeling on that one. hope that it doesn't come true but prepared for the worst."
"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better…", Mike sighed, then glanced down the corridor when a nurse crossed from one room to the next.
"I didn't think it would.", Joe countered somberly, then checked his wristwatch before pointing upstairs, "Listen, I gotta head back but just remember that you gotta take it one day at a time. You can't let this drive you nuts. If it does come true, you are prepared to handle the situation. And if I am around, you better believe I'll do anything in my power to bring Stephen back. You're not alone in this, my friend."