Thank you for all the kind feedback, I appreciate it. Glad everyone is enjoying the story. I am about to head back out and get gloriously dirty, but here's another chapter in the meantime.

"Out of the way! Get out of the way, for God sake."

Drawing in a deep breath, Mike pushed past the crowd of onlookers surrounding his fallen partner.

Steve had come to rest a good twenty feet away from the Mustang. Curled up on his right side, he had landed short of the elevated sidewalk that would have surely broken his neck had he rolled any farther.

"Steve."

Some blood was beginning to seep from a bad cut on his left hand and form a small puddle on the asphalt. His eyes were closed and he stayed unnervingly still despite the commotion around him.

"I think he's dead.", somebody in the crowd said, causing the Lieutenant to glare up angrily for a second.

"Steve.", Mike begged as he went down on one knee, holding his breath briefly to calm his nerves.

Carefully reaching around Steve's jacket collar to gain access, he slid two fingers underneath the young Inspectors jaw line looking for a pulse.

"Steve…"

Waiting a few seconds, Mike felt a rapid heartbeat against his fingertips. Way too fast to be normal. Growing increasingly worried, he reached underneath his partners left arm to place a flat hand against his chest.

His fear only grew when he felt him take uneven and forced breaths, then stopping altogether for a painstakingly long moment.

"Hold on, Steve. Just hold on. Don't you stop breathing on me.", Mike urged, unaware of the hand on his shoulder. He waited until he felt Steve inhale again, before leaning forward to loosen his tie and shirt collar.

Finally, the hand on his shoulder pulled him backwards, forcing him to sit on his heels.

"Mike. Here, let me look at him. Mike"

A worried Scott Sorrensen appeared by his side, while two of his officers pushed the crowd of onlookers out of the way to give them more room to work.

"We have to get an ambulance here fast, Scott. He got hit straight on. His pulse is through the roof and something is wrong with his breathing."

In his heightened state of shock, Mike felt the words escape his lips without being able to do anything about it. As his mind moved to autopilot, he barely felt Scott squeeze his shoulder one more time.

"I know, Mike. We saw it happen. I already called in an ambulance. Let me check him out, remember…I started out as a paramedic in the olden days?"

Nodding absent-mindedly, Mike moved back to make room for the stocky police officer, who immediately bent over his partner.

"Come on Steve…", he prayed, as he watched Scott go to work, desperately trying to ignore the dozens of people who stood around them gaping.

The Sergeants efficiency was astonishing, as his trained hands ran over Steve's body, feeling for broken bones, before using his service flashlight to check his pupils.

Mike watched the scene intently and kept a hand on Steve's leg, more to his own assurance than that of his unconscious partner. After a few moments, Scott finally straightened out again and exhaled audibly.

Slowly, the Sergeant turned towards him, but kept two fingers on the side of Steve's neck.

"I think he got the wind knocked out of him in that fall, but he's coming around. His vitals are improving, Mike. It's going to take a few minutes for his breathing to return to normal, but it looks worse than it is."

"Are you sure?", Mike asked urgently, glancing back and forth between the Sergeant and his partner.

"Yes. The force of the impact is causing his diaphragm to spasm. It should resolve itself in a minute or so. Luckily, I can't find any broken ribs and his heart rate is coming down slowly. He still needs to get checked out and his wrist looks broken. I bet his hand and shoulder took the brunt of the impact…Can I borrow your coat? He's going into shock and starting to feel clammy. The sooner we can stabilize him, the quicker he'll bounce back from it. Hopefully he will regain consciousness shortly."

Mike dressed out of his black overcoat wordlessly. As he handed it to the Sergeant, he watched Scott drape it over his partner before clearing his throat again.

"I am not seeing a head wound and his pupils look good, but have them check him for a concussion anyways, Mike."

Scott's eyes lost their focus momentarily, as he glanced away from Mike and into the crowd of onlookers. Following his lead, the Lieutenant looked over his shoulder only to see Chantal stand a few feet away.

The girl was watching the scene intently, her frightened dark eyes meeting Mike's.

"Is he…is he dead?", she asked and stepped past the two police officers holding the crowd back.

Glancing at his unconscious partner one last time, Mike got back to his feet and slowly approached the girl they'd been looking for all week.

Trying himself in a reassuring smile, Mike shook his head and swallowed his own worry.

"No. He's not dead…but he's hurt and we need to get him to a hospital."

Chantal's eyes fell back onto Steve and Scott before a tear rolled down her face.

"I am so sorry. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't know you guys were police. I didn't want anybody to get hurt."

When he heard the wailing sirens of an approaching ambulance, Mike stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around the shaken girl, blocking her view from the scene ahead.

"It's alright Chantal, you're safe now. Nobody is going to hurt you."