Adrianna woke up to Adam 's voice speaking to Doc Martin and the Sheriff.

"I'm not sure if I should let him do this to her, Doc," he said, "She just faded out on us it was really strange."

"Adam, I've never seen a person able to live with as little blood as she has in her, I'm beginning to wonder if a transfusion is necessary, just so she can recover," the doctor stated.

"But they go wrong so easily, I don't think it's worth the risk," Adam answered.

"I know, but if she gets an infection, we'll have to do something."

"Adam," Adrien called weakly.

"Yes, darling," he answered, sitting back down on the bed, and taking her hand.

"It's worse than what we thought, isn't it?" she asked.

"No, dear it's not. You're getting better."

"I'm just so cold." The chill was going through her again.

"You have a lot more color in you than you did when I saw you last," the doctor chimed in, trying to encourage her, "Have you had much pain?"

"A little. It does hurt to move my arm. Why do I have to have it in a sling?"

"I didn't want you using it you need to keep that collarbone still and you don't need to get your blood going too fast," he answered as he began to take her arm out of the sling and change the dressing on the wound. Adrien saw what had happened to her for the first time. Adam could not bear to look, he just kept thinking:

She could have died, and for what? … Taking a bullet for me. God, why? I could have lost her. I still could lose her.

"Adam," Adrien broke into his thoughts, she was reaching for his hand with her good arm, "It was worth it. You're still here, and that's all that matters."

"No, my life isn't nearly worth yours." he answered.

"Well, I can agree with Adam on one thing, "Doc Martin chimed in, "you weren't being very smart jumping in front of a bullet like that, but I can't say I blame you either.

"Everything looks really good for your condition," he continued, "Now, I know you've probably already been told, but I'll tell you again just to be sure. You can get out of bed, but I don't suggest it. You're still too prone to fainting, first of all. And secondly, you can't, and I mean absolutely can't, get upset, or worked up at all. If your blood gets worked up at all, those stitches in that artery could bust, and then we're all in for a really big mess."

"Then why are we about to do what we are?" Adam asked, the anger permeated his voice. Adrien squeezed his hand with her good arm.

"Coffee insists," the Doc answered, angst in his voice, "You know how he is when he gets something set in his mind, but I'm staying in the room, and if she shows any signs of being faint or if she gets too worked up, I'm calling this off. I don't want to risk her either."

Adam propped her up so she could talk better. Adrien recounted everything. How she heard someone come in, but she never figured out how he got in.

"He came in through that outside guest room door downstairs," Adam told her.

She told them about the knife he threw and where it went to the wall.

"The last thing I remember is my father turning towards Adam to shoot him. I just reacted and hoped that maybe I would make him miss."

"What did you use?" Coffee asked.

"There's a dirk that my grandfather gave me. I had it in my boot. I just grabbed it and threw it. My father taught me how to throw, but the Cheyenne taught me how to do it better."

"Are you sure that that's all you remember." Coffee asked.

Yes, I'm sure that the last thing I remember is my father aiming his gun at Adam, and then the next thing I know I'm here with a bullet wound in my chest."

"Well, you did have reason to throw that knife, but there is the simple fact that you're associated with the Cartwrights."

"Why in the world should that matter?" she asked.

"Dear," Adam broke in, "even though we're welcomed by a lot of the people around here, and when things like this happen our enemies seem to come out of the cracks."

"Oh, I see," she answered.

"So, you see why we need an inquest to make sure there's no question about murder charges." Coffee asked.

"What do you mean murder charges?" she asked suddenly completely confused.

"Miss Cooper, you didn't just hit him with that knife."

"Then, what did I do?" she asked, "He'd gotten the gun away from me. It was close, but I didn't have a way to get to it soon enough. Did I get to it?

"You…" Coffee began.

"No, stop. Let me do this." Adam broke in. He sat down on the bed, and again took both of Adrien's hands in his.

"Adrien, I know that you were trying to protect me and I know that you didn't mean to do it, and in your mind, you had no choice. You have no idea how much I love you for what you did for me, but with you jumping front of me…. Baby, you hit him right between the ribs."

Adam could not look at her anymore. He could not look her in the eye and say it. Telling her might kill her. It might actually kill her.

She was looking at him blankly, it wasn't sinking in."

"Honey, you…you…" He could not finish it.

"You killed your father," Coffee finished for him, coldly.

Her eyes grew in disbelief.

"Adam, he's lying to me, isn't he? He's not really dead, is he?"

Adam was silent, and the longer he was the more frantic she got.

"Adam, answer me. That it's not true. Adam, tell me." She did everything that she could to not show the pain that suddenly pulsed in her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, baby, I won't lie to you."

Tears were streaming down her face. Adam pulled her close.

"Darling, please don't cry. You didn't mean for this to happen," he pleadingly whispered. "Don't blame yourself, darling, no one else does."

"No Adam, I shouldn't have thrown it. I should have just let him kill me," she sobbed. "I can't believe that I killed someone."

"No, if you hadn't. He would have killed both of us, and there's no telling what he would have done to Rebecca. You did the right thing."

Adam cast his father, the Doc, and Coffee a look that told them to step outside the room for a little while. The doc motioned to get her calm. Adam nodded.

Adrien continued to sob violently for a while. Adam tried to calm her down.

"Darling, you can't keep doing this. You can't do any more damage to yourself. You'll never recover if you keep going like this."

His attempts were all in vain, but he couldn't blame her, just the thought of him shooting his father made his heart break. His father wasn't a killer though. Still, the thought of killing a parent no matter how terrible they were was still a baffling thought.

Suddenly, he felt something warm and wet on his shirt. He pushed her away from him. A large spot of red was on the chest of her nightgown, and it was growing by the second.

"Oh, my God!" He screamed.

Adrien looked up at him, her eyes full of fear and panic. Her face was now completely white.

He stood. He knew he should get the doctor… but her couldn't leave her…she needed him… but he didn't know what to do…

His feet seemed frozen to the floor.

"Adam," she whispered, falling back onto her pillows, feeling faint, the pain throbbing in her chest, her heart beat pounding like a drum in her ears, "Adam, help me."

She faded.

"Doc, Doc, " Adam called, "come quick!"