Mike knew that the frenzied commotion in the hospital room wasn't exactly what the doctor had in mind when he allowed him to leave the recovery area for a regular hospital bed to rest alongside his partner.

Fighting off the last of the grogginess from the anesthesia, and with his left arm in a sling, he was comfortably numb thanks to an assortment of pain medications fed through his IV line.

"How is your other arm doing, Mike? I can't believe the doctor said they pulled over twenty pellets out of your body. You better remember him ordering strict bed rest for at least two days and to take it easy for several weeks afterward. Eric and I can stay until Mid-January if needed to help you out around the house."

Jeanie sat by his bedside, gently rubbing his sore upper arm, while Eric stayed in a plastic chair by the window, looking painfully out of place. Although he loved his daughter more than his own life, the overzealous coddling was quickly beginning to wear on his tired nerves when all he wanted to do was sit back and reflect on what had happened, and what could be done to apprehend their murder suspect still at large. A man as dangerous as Doctor Chong had to get pulled off the streets as soon as possible.

Steve had been dozing off here and there, and yet seemingly waking up again each time the conversation shifted to what happened up north.

"So the last I heard you were going after organ traffickers. And they were hiding in that farm house?"

Jeanie's voice was trembling and he carefully reached for her hand, before squeezing it tightly and running his thumb over her palm.

"Well there was a…an operating room hidden in the basement. It was a perfect hideout actually, you'd never expect there to be much traffic. So we went up, and found two people who needed rescuing. And we rescued them."

He could feel Steve's eyes on him when he said that, but the young Inspector stayed respectfully quiet, pretending to watch the nearby TV.

"That simple, hm?", Jeanie argued and pursed her lips defiantly, "Is that how you ended up getting shot twice? How does Ed fit into that picture? Why did Roy have to come up and help you guys?"

Glancing over at his partner who bit his lip but smirked, Mike sighed in defeat at the lack of backup.

"It's just as I said, sweetheart. We had a bit of trouble getting out of there with the suspects still present, but all worked out for the better in the end. Why don't we talk about your trip? How was your trip? Did you see anything exciting? How about you, Eric?"

"Oh, you think you are so smooth, don't you?"

Glaring at him in feign anger, Jeanie crossed her arms over her chest, before looking at both detectives in frustration.

"You two do realize that I won't be lifting a finger to cook food or bake cookies until I get a straight answer."

Mike shared a wily smile with his partner, chuckling when Steve shrugged.

"You might as well go with the original story, Lieutenant…", the young Inspector said cheekily and leaned back against his pillow, before closing his eyes and pretending to leave the conversation.

Sighing, Mike carefully reached for a sip of water, before clearing his throat.

Between his detailed description of their first search, followed by their return and eventual shootout, Jeanie's eyes grew wider by the minute, but she remained silent otherwise.

Glancing over, Mike noticed this Eric character growing significantly paler as his story continued on- and he thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

Although Mike had tried to keep his voice lighthearted throughout the entire explanation, the deep sad truth behind his words caused a lump in his throat. As he got done, a tense silence filled the hospital room, and he looked down for a moment, thanking God once again that they made it out of a dire situation mostly unscathed.

"Very well.", Jeanie finally said and pursed her lips as she got up from his bed, "Have it your way. I am going to grab some coffee with Eric. Let me know when you are ready to tell me what really happened. This…this hand to hand combat story and getting chased through the mountains sounds like some crazy action movie. You do know, if I have to, I will get the truth out of Roy."

Mike let out an involuntary chuckle and looked over at Steve, who grinned widely.

"I told you it was too…action-filled to be true, Mike."

"Yep.", he answered quickly and rested his weary head against his pillow, "And like I told you …that's what makes it so good."