"Didn't your mother teach you to look to the left and right before crossing the road?"
Mike smiled warmly, as he followed a thirty-some blonde nurse with the slim figure and bright red lips to the treatment area and approached the hospital bed.
Already back in his blemished charcoal slacks, Steve was busy trying to tighten his belt with his good right hand and two fingers of his injured left one, acknowledging him with a faint nod only.
"Very funny, really funny Michael.", his partner countered through gritted teeth, as he put the pin of the expensive leather belt back in its hole, before securing it against his pants.
The young nurse smiled at him sympathetically and reached for Steve's hand to pull his arm back in place.
"Let's get that needle out of here first before you hurt yourself, Inspector Keller.", she said with an even tone and reached for her materials, holding onto his wrist to keep him in place.
"How in the world did you get those pants on by yourself? You've only got one good arm- and there's a needle stuck in it.", Mike asked worriedly, only to receive a drug induced grin in return.
"Michael, I told you, I have many talents. You've just started to scratch the surface of my greatness."
Breathing heavy, Steve laid back down in bed, the exhaustion clearly visible on his face. Mike smiled broadly, as his eyes ran over his partner, ensuring the young Inspector was truly alright. Even battered and bruised, the sight was a lot better than the one from a few hours ago. The stillness and uncertainty of that moment would haunt him for a long time.
"Michael, we need to get back to work. I can't remember anything after I got hit by that car, so you…you'll have to debrief me and all that…"
Exchanging a grateful nod with the nurse, Mike sat down at the side of the bed, before resting a warm hand on his partner's chest.
"Is that what happens when you get some morphine into your system, Buddy Boy? Remind me not to have the doctor give you that much again…"
Steve nodded, but decided to remain quiet for the time being.
Instead, he watched the nurse intrigued, as she pulled the needle out of the inside of his elbow and covered the wound with a cotton ball. It was then that Mike realized he wasn't looking at the nurse's attractive face after all.
His bleary eyes were aimed just a little lower.
"There you are, Inspector Keller.", she said and put a bandaid over the vein, "I hope you feel better soon. I am having an orderly grab a wheelchair. The discharge paperwork is right here by the desk."
"Thank you.", Steve replied, giving her the most charming smile he could manage, his eyes following her intently until she disappeared around another corridor.
"Mike, would you mind handing me my dress shirt. These hospital gowns drive me insane. I feel like I'm in a giant bed sheet. They aren't even fitted properly. It's like I am wearing a bed sheet around my torso. One that's not even my size…I mean…look at this. It's two sizes too big. Two sizes!"
Mike couldn't help but smile in unmasked reprieve. The pain meds were definitely working his partners mind.
With his pupils the size of dinner plates, Steve carefully sat back up in bed and fidgeted with the hospital gown. A large cast covered his left hand and wrist, reaching halfway up his lower arm.
"Why don't you take it easy, Buddy Boy. Here, let me help."
Mike reached for what was left of the dirty dress shirt covered in blood stains and walked back towards the bed but hesitated smilingly, as he watched Steve's animated fight with the hospital gown.
The young Inspector had pulled his good arm through the sleeve, but got his head stuck trying to use the wrong opening to undress.
"Will you stop moving for a second? Here, let me help you take this off.", he suggested with a laughing headshake, only to watch Steve freeze, "What? You're getting modest on me now? There's nothing there I haven't seen before, believe me. Your tailored shirts rarely leave much to the imagination."
"I just didn't know if you could handle my lack of a suntan…", Steve answered with a smug grin, but flinched when he tried to lean back.
Mike wanted to counter but drew in a deep breath when he saw the bruises across his partners shoulder and side of his chest.
"Did you have Doctor Rowley check these out?", he noted and pointed at the dark purple and blue areas beneath the road rash near his collar bone.
"Yeah, he said my shoulder came pretty close to getting dislocated. They cleaned everything up and disinfected it and gave me some cream to put on. Thankfully I can't feel a thing right now…I am sure that will change once I get an estimate on having my suit fixed. Those pants are in rough shape. I can't imagine what the jacket looks like. Does it have blood on it? It's hard to get that out."
"I'd hate to tell you this but I think your suit is a complete loss at this point. So is your shirt", Mike said and pointed at crimson stains and cut up fabric, "But at least it kept most of you unscathed when you skidded across the pavement. That was a bad accident. A cheap suit like mine would have never held up against that treatment."
"I guess you are right.", Steve answered casually, never catching on to the joke and nodded in gratitude, when Mike held up each sleeve for him to stick an arm through, "Hey, I am sorry I lost Chantal. We were so close."
Mike shook his head, as he straightened out the collar and slowly buttoned up his partner's dress shirt.
"You didn't lose her at all…Chantal is at the police station. When she saw you fly through the air like a ragdoll, she thought you were dead and came back. She was quite upset about the whole situation actually. I am hoping to interview her when we get back downtown."
"Well that's nice for a change.", Steve hesitated, before taking a few shallow breaths.
Mike looked up at him worriedly, as he finished his work on the last button, trying not to let the small of disinfectants and blood get the better of him.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah…I am fine. My back is just killing me. I feel like I got hit by a school bus…what about…did you get a hold of Lenny so he can sit in on the Johnson interviews? We can talk to Chantal first, and then go after Mavis' father."
Mike nodded somberly before putting a hand on Steve's good shoulder.
"I did, but you are going to have to sit that one out, Buddy Boy. For legal reasons. We can't have you asking questions when you're high as a kite on pain meds. As of now, you are officially on medical leave until further notice. I'll be damned if I have Harry Johnson slip through my fingers over a stupid technicality like that. I'll drive you home and we'll get you changed and see how you feel once the happy juices wear off. Who knows, you might just want to lay down and get some sleep."
"Slim chance of that happening.", Steve countered and rested his injured hand on his thigh, "What about Chantal? I could at least keep her company. She must be scared out of her mind."
Squeezing his partner's shoulder a bit tighter, Mike nodded slowly.
"Company yes. But no interrogation. I mean it. Let me handle all that. I do think she'd like to see you up and about, so you can stay with her after I am done talking to her about Mavis. Hopefully that will help me corner Johnson…And later on, let's meet with Rudy. The press got wind of that whole disaster down on Judah, I am afraid you might make the nightly news. One of them must have been listening in on the radio traffic. Scott caught him taking pictures behind a group of onlookers. So now Rudy is going to want to cover all his bases before the reporters start to call."