Kathryn returned home from the doctor's office and crawled into bed. She stayed there for at least twenty-four hours. She only left the bed to grab pints of rocky road ice cream from the freezer. She knew she should attempt to get up and take a shower, but she didn't have the desire to do anything.

At least the visions of Danny eventually stopped. He was no longer in her dreams. At first, she was thankful. But, then started to miss seeing him. She was in the midst of a restless sleep when the phone rang. The clock said 7:15 p.m. She answered the phone in a startled tone, "Hello."

"Kathryn? Is that you?" a woman asked.

"Yes, who is this?" she responded in exasperation.

"It's Samantha Spade. Um…we didn't know who to call…he doesn't have anyone else…." Samantha said, but she couldn't complete a sentence. She was clearly upset. Kathryn could tell she was crying.

Kathryn wanted to hang up the phone. She didn't want to hear what Samantha had to say. She knew it was bad news.

Samantha finally continued, "Danny was in an accident, or maybe it wasn't an accident. We're not sure what happened yet…there was an explosion…and…"

"He's dead." Kathryn finally whispered.

"No…oh God…I'm sorry, Kathryn. No, he's at St. Vincent's hospital. They brought him to the emergency room about fifteen minutes ago. But they don't know if he's going to…" Samantha started to cry again.

"I'm on my way," Kathryn said right before she hung up the phone. She quickly dressed and put her hair in a ponytail. She was at the hospital in less than twenty minutes.

Kathryn walked into the ER and started looking around for Samantha or Martin…someone who could tell her something. She finally went to the nurse's desk and asked, "Danny Taylor? Can you tell me how he is?"

"Are you family? They said he didn't have any family."

"I'm…um…I'm his girlfriend."

The nurse hesitated, but then could see Kathryn's desperation. "They are still working on him, honey…in Trauma Room 3 right down there," the nurse said as she pointed down the hall.

"How…How is he?"

"I don't know. If he is still down here, then they are probably still trying to stabilize him."

"Thank you."

Kathryn walked slowly down the hall. As she turned the corner, she saw Jack and Samantha standing outside the Trauma Room. Jack was holding Samantha protectively. They didn't even notice her approach them. They were watching through the glass as the doctors were shocking Danny's heart. Kathryn saw the flatline on the machine. She quickly became faint and sank into a chair. He was dying or already dead. Kathryn started to cry for the first time since Samantha called her.

Jack turned at the sound of her sob. He sat down next to her and took her hand. "They are still working on him. It's not time to lose hope yet."

Just as Kathryn leaned in to Jack's chest for support, Samantha said, "I think they got him back. They are working on him again."

Both Jack and Kathryn stood up as they started to bring Danny out of the Trauma Room. Jack then growled, "Can someone please tell us what is going on?"

A nurse said, "A doctor will be out in just a minute. We have to get him up to surgery."

The ER doctor finally stepped out of the trauma room to address Jack, Samantha and Kathryn. "He's stabilized. Uh…we had to insert a breathing tube. He's on a respirator. His lungs are badly damaged. He also has severe internal bleeding. The surgeons are going to repair his lungs and do their best to stop the bleeding."

"What are his chances?" Jack asked.

"Well, he is a strong, healthy young man. That definitely works in our favor, but he suffered some severe injuries. We won't know until the surgeons can open him up. You can go up to the surgical waiting room, but he'll probably be in there for several hours."

"Thanks," Jack said. And then he, Samantha, and Kathryn sat back down.

"What happened?" asked Kathryn in a faraway tone.

Jack started, "He and Vivian were staking out an apartment building downtown. A mother and her five year old child went missing yesterday. The mother's ex-boyfriend used to use this apartment to deal drugs. We couldn't find the guy, so we thought we'd see if he might bring them to this apartment."

"At about 5:30, Vivian was due to be relieved. She had to get home for her son's basketball game. Martin was coming down to replace her, but he got stuck in traffic. I guess Danny urged Viv to head home. He assured her he wouldn't go in there until Martin arrived. So, she left."

Samantha continued, "We're not sure what happened between the time she left and…at some point, the ex-boyfriend returned to the apartment. He had the mother and child with him. Danny called Martin to see where he was. Martin was still stuck in traffic. He told Danny not to go in
without him, but then Martin said he heard a really loud explosion. Then Danny told him to call 911 and hung up the phone. Danny must have run in the building after the explosion."

"Oh my God," was all Kathryn could say.

"He got the little girl out right away. He went back in for her mother. When Martin got there, the little girl was sitting on the curb. The fire trucks just pulled up. The mother came running out. Martin asked her about Danny. She said they he was right behind her, but he didn't come
out. The fireman pulled him out about five minutes later. They told Martin that Danny was lucky he didn't burn…he fell or was pushed down a stairwell, and then the ceiling fell on top of him. It was a miracle that the firemen found him."

"Do they know what caused the explosion? What about the ex-boyfriend?" Kathryn asked.

"Martin saw him run from the building before they got Danny out. He went after the guy, and stopped him. Martin is questioning him now. We think the guy was cooking meth in the apartment. Maybe that caused explosion, or maybe he set it himself to kill the mother and daughter."

Kathryn put her head in her hands. She didn't know what else to say.

Samantha then said, "We weren't sure whether to call you or not. The last time we spoke you seemed…Well, we know that he isn't your concern anymore. But, he doesn't have anyone else."

"I'm glad you called. I need to be here for him."

"I'm going to call Martin and see what he found out. Why don't you two head up to the surgical waiting room. I'll…uh…bring us some coffee. It's going to be a long night," Jack said sadly.

"Thanks, Jack," replied Samantha as she and Kathryn headed toward the elevator.

Samantha and Kathryn sat in the quiet waiting room. Samantha was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the silence, so she nervously started to tell Kathryn about meeting Danny for the first time. "Danny started with Missing Persons about a year before I did. We were both so
young. A lot of the people in the office didn't think we were qualified, but I think Jack wanted a certain energy on the team. Danny certainly brought energy. I remember thinking he was the most arrogant, competitive person I had ever met."

"I thought the same thing when I first met him. He always had to be right. It drove me crazy," Kathryn added.

"But then we worked on this case of a missing college student. It was one of those really high-profile cases…lots of media attention. Some sick bastard kidnapped this poor girl and locked her in a cellar. And then he just left her there to die after he was done with her. Danny and I
found the abandoned house. And then we found her. The man removed the stairs from the cellar, and we didn't have a ladder so we couldn't get to her. We just heard her crying. I didn't know what to do. I was still pretty new. She was terrified it was him coming back for her. I called 911, but we were in the middle of nowhere. Without even thinking, Danny jumped down in to the cellar. He sprained his ankle in the fall. He stayed with the girl until the EMTs got there. I listened to him talk to her, and he was…incredible. He even made her laugh. After that, he could still drive me crazy at times, but I could never question his heart or commitment. And over the years, even though he never tells me anything, I can honestly say he is one of my dearest friends. "

Kathryn smiled and squeezed Samantha's hand. "It's funny…a similar thing happened to me. I watched Danny talk to this little boy, a witness in my case. He was so sweet and compassionate. God, that man can turn on the charm at the drop of a hat," Kathryn said and Samantha nodded and laughed. "It's what made me fall in love with him," Kathryn continued in a small voice.

Samantha watched Kathryn as her eyes filled with tears. She was about to respond when they saw Vivian enter the waiting room. "Viv," Samantha called out.

"How is he?" Vivian asked hesitantly.

"Still in surgery," replied Samantha. "He has a problem with his lungs and internal bleeding…"

"This is my fault," Vivian said as she sat down.

"Viv…don't say that…you couldn't have known."

"I never should have left, Samantha. I never should have left until Martin got there."

"He still would have gone into the building, Viv."

"But I would have gone with him, and I could have covered him…What was I thinking?"

Kathryn felt awful watching Vivian's anguish.

Vivian continued, "He was so adamant about me leaving. He was irritated. I left because, quite honestly, I didn't want to deal with his bad mood anymore."

Samantha then said, "Viv…he's just been so distracted lately. It's not your fault."

"It's definitely not your fault, Vivian," Kathryn said finally addressing her. "If anyone is to blame, it's me. I'm the reason he was distracted. I'm the reason was in a bad mood. And now, what if he dies not knowing…"

Samantha and Vivian just stared at her for a minute as tears rolled down her face until Samantha finally asked, "Not knowing what, Kathryn?"

"I'm having his baby," Kathryn said quietly. "A couple of weeks ago I told him I was having an abortion. Things had changed so much between us. He wasn't the same person I fell in love with."

"He has been really different lately," Vivian said. "We've all noticed, but we don't know how to help him."

"Neither do I," replied Kathryn still not wanting to tell them about his drinking. "That's why I couldn't have his baby, but then I was at the doctor's office and I kept seeing his face…the Danny I know and love. And I couldn't go through with it. But I didn't get a chance to tell
him…I've been wallowing in self-pity for the last two days struggling with how I am going to deal with this alone. I just should have called him. I should have told him that I didn't go through with it. Then this wouldn't have happened."

Vivian and Samantha were speechless. There weren't sure what to say during this very private moment for Kathryn. Vivian finally just took her in her arms and held her like a mother would a daughter. Kathryn sobbed in Vivian's arms.