"So, we're getting married?" Sally stood to Pete's right; arms crossed with a stare could quiet thunder. She knew she had him and intended to make him squirm a little.

"Um…well…you see, I've been on the defensive side of Donna's full-court marriage press before and, well…nothing short of me saying that we were getting married would have gotten her to leave." Pete shifted uncomfortably; he was blushing from head to toe.

"It was a lie then? Here I thought you were honest to a fault and you casually lie to an old girlfriend?" It was a good thing that Pete wasn't looking at her too closely or he would notice her biting her cheek to keep from laughing.

"I am. Have I ever lied to you?" It was time to turn on the Irish charm. Pete gave her a lopsided grin while flashing those twinkling green eyes.

"Don't think you can give me a grin and make me forget what you said. I can't believe how easily that lie flowed from your lips." Sally narrowly averted grinning by turning sideways and gesturing towards the door with her right arm. "A lie and poof she's gone. How do I know you haven't pulled this kind of crap on me and I didn't know it?"

"Because I love you, that's how." It was then that Pete remembered his father telling him to keep a firm hold on Sally both because she was good for him and because she wouldn't let him get away with any crap. He hasn't meant to blurt it out like that, but he couldn't help it. "Besides, it wasn't a lie." Pete paused, waiting to see her reaction. "Are you happy now?"

"It would have been nice if you asked me before announcing it." Sally smiled, but she wasn't quite ready to let him off the hook. Pete reached a hand out to her; waiting until Sally took his hand in hers.

"That last night we were together, I almost asked you. I'd do it now, but I'm not sure that I have a right to ask you to marry me when neither of us knows what is going to happen when I get out of here." Their eyes met and she saw all the love he had for her in those sea-green eyes. "What kind of life would I be asking you to live; the life of a cop's wife or life with a disabled husband?"

"I don't care what happens; my love doesn't change because you got hurt." With her free hand, Sally softly brushed the rust colored stubble on his chin. "I'll take you any way I can get you."

"It matters to me. You might not understand, but I want us to go into marriage with our eyes open. If I end up on a disability pension our lives will be very different than if I manage to recover enough to still be on the force; even if it's not in a squad car anymore." Pete knew her well enough to see the protests forming in her head. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but the uncertainty of his future lay over his soul. He had to make her understand. "For all I know, hospital stays will be a big part of my life from now on."

"I don't care about that; cop or door-to-door salesman, it doesn't matter to me. I love you, not your job." Sally not only knew Pete well enough, but had been dealing with injured cops for years, so she expected this attitude from him.

"It's about more than my job. I want to marry you as my wife; not as a nurse. I can't choose what happens to me from here on, but you have the right to know what kind of marriage you would be entering. We don't know that yet." Pete really didn't want to make her commit to a life she might regret later on.

"I hope you aren't suggesting that I might marry you out of pity because you can forget that idea right now, Mister." Despite the seriousness of the discussion Pete almost laughed; Sally was giving him the same look that Sister Mary Peter gave him when she caught him running a crap game in the school chapel. Sally had her dander up. "If our places were reversed, would you marry me even if you didn't want to; out of a sense of responsibility or guilt?" Pete's silence spoke volumes. "You would, wouldn't you?"

"I'd make sure you were taken care of, but…the point is moot because I love you so much that marriage to you will always be my choice." She saw it in his expression; he was a creature of honor and would marry her once he made a commitment despite any life altering situations that might change his feelings.

"Would you think less of my love; that your injuries will diminish it?" As Pete prepared to protest her question, Sally took a seat on the bed, once again running her fingertips down his cheek. "Do you love me? Would you ask me today if we weren't in a hospital room?" As far as she was concerned, it was time to out-stubborn the rock.

"Yes, God I love coming home to you; even arguing with you is fun. I've never been happier." Pete knew for sure that he loved Sally when he realized that he never felt the need to guard his thoughts or feelings from her; the walls he kept up to protect himself were gone when he was with her. Sally laid her head on his shoulder; her arm around his chest.

"Then don't make me ask you."

O~O~O

Jim used his right arm to wipe the sweat from his brow; the cleanliness of his uniform was the least of his worries. So far, the detectives conducting the interview about Kasak's window shooting were concentrating on the rookie, but Jim's turn would come. While Kasak was the one who shot out the store window, he was Reed's responsibility. As Kasak's training officer everything the rookie said, wrote or did would come back to Jim's supervision of the probationer. That was especially true when the officer was a recent academy graduate not one with months on the job. Jim understood that, Pete had been very clear on the issue, still he didn't see how this could come down to a question of his judgement; he was supposed to prevent this type of stupidity?

"Alright Reed, suppose you begin with your instructions to Kasak prior to the incident as they relate to his weapon and the possible use of it." In his almost twenty years on the job Sgt. Jerry Miller had considerable experience in interviewing officers after a shooting, this however was new. Kasak's misdeeds came down to: being reckless with his weapon, a failure to ensure that his equipment was in proper working condition and faulty judgement. Unfortunately, being stupid wasn't a viable conclusion Miller and Powers could make.

"Once we got to the scene, I instructed him to take up a position behind the car and to stay calm; we would wait for Woods and Brinkman to arrive. He did as he was trained to do, taking out his weapon, bracing it on the hood of the car and holding his position.

"Until he decided to test his weapon, you mean." Sgt. Powers, who had been taking notes on the interview, asked for the confirmation.

"Yes, up to that point." Jim was rapidly losing his patience with the process; how many ways can you ask about a mistake? "Once the 211 suspect came out of the store, I told Larry to stay calm and I yelled for the suspect to freeze."

"At this point, did you identify yourself as police officers?" Miller knew Reed well enough to read his reaction to the question. "Yes, I know it's a dumb question, but I have to ask it."

"I believe I said 'Police, freeze! If not, the fact that we were standing behind a squad car should have clued him in to that fact." The sarcastic tone of voice was noticed by all three sergeants in the room; MacDonald coughed out a warning.

"It was then that your partner fired his weapon?" Miller's use of the word partner in this question rubbed Reed the wrong way; his partner was in the hospital not running around shooting out windows.

"Yes, Kasak's discharge occurred at the same time that the suspect dropped his own weapon." Jim wanted to make sure that his questioners remember that the suspect in all this mess was armed.

"Did you have any indication beforehand that Kasak would test fire his weapon?" Miller continued his questioning. "Did you, as his training officer, ever ask him if he tested his gun before reporting for duty as this station?"

"Yes, I told him to wait for the worst possible moment to test his gun, geesh!" Jim stood up quickly, knocking the chair back against the wall. "Of course I didn't. Weapon safety is basic training at the Academy. How was I supposed to know to ask if he didn't follow instructions?" He left out a large sigh in frustration; only now remembering Pete's advice to assume that his rookie knows nothing. "Sorry, can we finish up soon?"

"I only have a few more questions I need to ask and then we need to go back to the scene. Do you need to call your wives?" Kasak wasn't married and Jim wasn't worried about getting home to Jean. He had already told her that he would be very late. Lately, that call would have provoked a tirade, but for some reason, Jean told him to take his time; she had something she wanted to finish anyway.

O~O~O

Pete was buried behind a pile of reports and manuals when Jean came into the room; accompanied by the aroma of fresh, strong coffee. That scent was enough to put a smile on his face as he piled the papers on the left side of the over-the-bed tray. That smile disappeared as he saw his visitor and was replaced it with a wary glance. It wasn't like she expected him to greet her warmly; they both knew that wasn't possible.

"Hello Pete." Jean made her way over to the bed, setting a large cup of coffee and a slice of her homemade apple pie on the right side of the tray. "Can we talk?"

"I don't know, can we?" For the moment, Pete left the coffee and pie where she set them down. He felt no compulsion to explain to her his hesitancy to talk as she knew as well as he did why he wasn't greeting her with a smile.

"Please don't shut me out Pete, I've come to apologize." She did seem different from the last time he had seen her, but that was no guarantee of change. Jean slid the pie and coffee long the tray towards Pete.

"Apologize for what?" His anger was visible, bubbling right below a stoic exterior. "For what you said about Andy and me or for the little digs I've been getting from you since the narco raid. I may have ignored them, but I heard them; every single one of them."

"Ah…I, well, I wasn't thinking about those things, just yet." Pete had caught her off-guard. She regretted those comments now, but had meant them at the time.

"Well, until you do, I'm not in the mood for any half-baked apologies." Pete reached out and nudged the coffee and pie back in Jean's direction. "You assumed the worst about me despite knowing me for five years. I don't consider that the act of a friend." Any thought he might have had of being easy on Jean died when his latest nightmare resulted in Sally's black eye.

"Aggie told me about Andy and I didn't think before I came here." Jean gave both the cup of coffee and the pie a little push towards Pete.

"That's the understatement of the decade. Considering all I've done to keep Jim safe, you owed me enough respect to ask me what happened to Andy." Pete was sure that Jim hadn't told her about all the times he risked his life for him, but Jean did know that Pete had killed people to save Jim. He gave the pie and coffee another nudge towards Jean.

"You're right. I do owe you that much respect and more. I'd be a widow if it weren't for you. Please give me a chance Pete; don't shut me out, even if I deserve it." She picked up the coffee and pie, setting them down directly in front of Pete. "The coffee is getting cold."

"You'll excuse me if I'm not doing cartwheels over your still, non-existent apology." He slid the pie and coffee to the right edge of the tray. "Of course, it should go without saying that I would be able to do those cartwheels save for the bullets I took not protecting your husband and son."

"You aren't going to make this easy, are you?" She pushed the coffee and pie back towards Pete. He did notice that her hand was shaking slightly.

"Did you expect me to? You crossed a line with the accusation that I would get Jim killed like I got Andy killed." Once again, the pie and coffee got pushed in Jean's direction. "Have you ever known me to be reckless, about anything?"

"No, nothing, except perhaps with your own life." It wasn't an accusation; merely a statement of fact. She pushed the pie and coffee back at him once more. "You've risked your life to save more than a few husbands, including mine. Some of their wives came to visit me today to talk about you."

"That can't be good." True to his nature, Pete fell back on humor; he couldn't let a straight line like that go by without a laugh. This time, he didn't push away the proffered snack, but he didn't take it either.

"I guess it depends on your point of view." Jean semi-leaned back against the bed and tapped the pie and coffee even closer to Pete. "I'm sorry Pete. Please eat while I tell you what I learned."