"Mommy!" Joey yelled gleefully. Jimmy grabbed him by the collar right before he jumped into Kim's lap.
"Easy there tiger. Mommy's still trying to get better, so we have to be careful ok?" Jimmy told his son.
"Ok Dad. You're gonna be ok soon right mommy?" Joey asked.
"I'll be better before you know it sweetie." Kim reassured the little boy.
"Then you can come home and daddy and I can take care of you." Joey said hopefully. Jimmy and Kim exchanged glances and Jimmy winced when Kim said,
"Joey, me getting hurt doesn't change anything between daddy and I, things will go back to normal when I get better."
"Well, we'll see. Maybe mommy can stay with us for a little bit until she is ready to go back to work." Jimmy said hopefully and looked at Kim with puppy dog eyes. Kim could feel herself being taken in by Jimmy's charm and good looks again.
'Nothing has really changed after all we've been through, I still find him irresistible' she thought to herself.
"Daddy and I will have to talk about it Joey" Kim replied, unsure whether she wanted to take the risk of having her heart broken again. The adults remained silent as Joey gave his mother a hug and started playing with the toys he had brought. All three turned when Faith poked her head in the door.
"Hey guys! How are you feeling Kim?" she asked.
"Much better now that my boys are here." Kim smiled and looked at Jimmy.
"Joey, why don't you go play with your toys outside?" Jimmy asked his son.
"Ok dad" Joey replied.
"Right outside there where I can see you." Jimmy instructed.
"I will." Joey said as he bounced out of the room.
"What really brings you up here Faith? You wouldn't be here during your shift just to visit." Jimmy asked.
"I had to bring in a junkie before we can take him to lock-up," Faith explained, "so I thought I'd come and check on our heroic paramedic here."
"That was really sweet of you Faith. I'm doing much better. Hopefully I can go home sometime later this week. Hey, what do you mean heroic anyway? I was just doing my job." Kim replied, slightly puzzled.
'I didn't realize I was going to be blown up, or I wouldn't have gone into the building. I'm not stupid, I have Joey to think of,' she thought.
"Going in there and trying to save people when a killer was running around, that was above and beyond Kim." Faith replied.
"The killer shot himself Faith. I wouldn't have gone in there if I thought he might have still been armed and dangerous." Kim tried to reason with the cop.
"Oh my God, you haven't heard yet…" Faith began and her voice trailed off.
"What's wrong Faith? What haven't we heard?" Kim said softly.
"After interviewing witnesses we determined there were two killers. We're still hunting for the one who lived." Faith reluctantly informed the pair. Jimmy instinctively moved closer to Kim and placed a protective hand on her shoulder. Kim reached for his hand without thinking.
"Don't worry; everyone in the precinct is looking as hard as they can for this guy. It shouldn't be long until he's in jail." Faith tried to reassure them.
"All the same, I think I'll stay here with you tonight Kim." Jimmy offered.
"Its ok, I'll be fine Jimmy. Why would that guy come back here anyway?"
"For my own peace of mind I just want to make sure you are safe. My mom can pick up Joey and he can stay with her tonight." Jimmy argued.
"Ok Jimmy, if you want to." Kim relented, secretly happy that he wanted to stay with her to protect her; even if it was from someone who probably wasn't even a threat. Jimmy plunked himself into the chair beside Kim's bed as Joey walked in and jumped into his lap. Kim gazed at the pair and was overcome by a feeling she hadn't experienced since she and Jimmy were married.
************************************
Just as Doc and Carlos had given up all hope that Alex would remember the killer and started to question their own possible involvement, Alex sat up with a start.
"I have to call Ty!" she said excitedly
"What? Why? What could you possibly tell Davis that he doesn't already know? He gave you the sketch, not the other way round. Plus it took you a damn long time to remember anything at all." Carlos piped up.
"I know that you idiot!" Alex admonished. "This guy had more than cuts and scrapes. I had to take Bosco to Mercy so I couldn't stay to see whether this guy went too, but he needed a few days in the hospital!" she couldn't seem to convey her message to the other paramedics fast enough, beyond relieved that she'd finally remembered the killer.
"I'll radio central" Doc offered, "they can send Sully and Davis over there to check it out."
"I'm going to get to the hospital to make sure Kim's ok" Alex said anxiously.
"I'll go with you, we can take the bus." Doc offered, concerned for both Kim and Alex, "Common Nieto, lets go."
"But I'm comfortable!" Carlos whined.
"Shut-up Nieto!" Doc and Alex exclaimed in unison as they both headed for the door. Carlos reluctantly followed, not thinking Kim was in any real danger.
"I'm sure Jimmy's with her. She'll be fine," he tried to convince them to stay put.
"I already stood by and watched her explode; I'm not going to let that happen again." Alex explained to Carlos.
"Women…" Carlos muttered and shook his head. "She's fine!"
"Are you coming or not?" Doc asked.
"Of course I'm coming. You think I'd sit around when the killer might be at the same hospital as Kim?" Carlos mocked.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that Nieto?" Alex sighed, resigned to dealing with Carlos' sometimes rough nature. She knew that if he really thought Kim was in trouble, he'd be the first one of them to jump to her rescue.
**************************************
The cops' radios crackled to life.
"55-Charlie, 55-David. Possible school shooter at Mercy Hospital. 10-4."
Ty stomped on the gas pedal and flipped on the lights as Sully responded to the central dispatcher on the radio.
"One of the paramedics must have remembered sending him to the hospital" Ty said in disbelief. Sully sat with a contented grin on his face and said nothing.
"You can say it" Davis sighed.
"I don't need to say it; I am just enjoying sitting here with both of us knowing I was right." Sully said, with a satisfied smile on his face.
'I may be older, but I can still teach Davis a thing or two' he thought to himself. Davis sped the RMP towards Mercy hospital and pulled into the ambulance bay just before Doc's bus arrived.
"Is he here?" Alex shouted as she ran up to Ty.
"We're not sure, we're going to check." He replied.
"So which one of you treated that creep anyway?" Sully asked, still proud of his idea that could lead to an arrest.
"I did…" Alex replied, her voice trailing off almost before she finished speaking.
"No way could you have known," Sully said gruffly, trying to cover the fact that he'd just shoved his foot firmly in his mouth. "Let's go Davis."
"He's right Alex. You had nothing to do with this. If you hadn't remembered we may not have ever found him. Don't worry." Ty tried to reassure Alex, who didn't look convinced.
"Davis! Let's find this guy before he has a chance to leave…" Sully snapped, still embarrassed for making Alex feel bad. The cops walked into the hospital, followed by the paramedics.
"I wonder where Faith and the rookie are." Sully pondered aloud.
"I dunno." Ty replied, "they're car is here, I'm sure they're looking for this guy too."
"Guess you're right. Time to find this bastard." Sully said with a grim and focused look.
Once inside, Sully and Davis began checking the ER and asking the nurses if they'd seen the shooter while the paramedics stepped into the elevator and headed up to Kim's room.