Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, although I wished I owned Jesse. I do own Becca, as well as the assailants.

Chapter Five: Swimming for Clues

At CGH, Mark was in Rebecca's room, checking her vitals. He was looking at some of the equipment readings, when he heard a voice behind him.

"What's wrong Doc?"

He knew of only one person that called him that, and he turned around. When he looked in the bed, he saw the smiling face of Rebecca.

"Hi Doc."

"Hello yourself Becca. How are you feeling?"

"OK. Where's Uncle Jesse?"

"Still in his room. I think he's still unconscious, though."

"Oh. Can I go see him anyway?"

Mark thought.

"Are you up to it?"

"Yeah. If you can find a wheelchair, you can put me in there and bring my IV with us."

He smiled, and brought her chair over. He lifted her out of the bed and into her chair. He then wheeled her to her uncle's room. Mark opened the door, and pushed her in. He parked her beside Jesse's bed, and went over to shut the door. While his back was still turned, he heard Beck make a small gasp, then she said the name of her uncle. Mark turned and saw Jesse coming to. He went to Jess's bedside, as Jesse awoke. Jesse looked at the two people beside him, and produced a weak smile.

"Hey guys."

Mark and Becca smiled.

"Hi Uncle Jesse. I guess it's my turn to be on this side of the bed, huh?"
Jesse smiled, and then nodded.

"Where are Steve and Amanda?" Jesse asked.

"Well, Steve's down at the station, and Amanda, I don't really know where she is," Mark said.

At the police station, Steve was leaving to go to CGH so he could look at Susan. He was driving down a residential street, when he saw a man in the road flagging him down. Steve stopped, and rolled the window down. The man was out of breath.

"Sir, please, backyard, woman in pool, help."

Steve pulled the car to the side of the road and got out. He followed the man to the backyard, where he saw a woman on the deck, crying. He went over to her.

"Ma'am? Are you okay?"

"Sir," the man said "the woman is still in the pool. That's the woman that lives here, my neighbor."

Steve got up, and turned around. He spotted the body in the water, after climbing the steps, and something about her looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it. He took off his jacket, socks and shoes, and dove in. Underwater, he found the woman was held down by ropes attached to hooks that were at the bottom of the pool. Steve went back up for air, fished out his pocket knife, and dove under again. They woman had awaken, and was starting to panic.

Amanda slowly woke up, and realized that there was water all around her. She was being held down by something, but she couldn't tell what. She opened her mouth to scream, but water came flooding into her mouth instead. She tried to scream and fight whatever was holding her down, but more and more water continued to flow into her mouth. Her body slowly went limp, and she lost consciousness.

When Steve realized the woman had stopped fighting, he began to cut the ropes. He had to go up for air another time, but he soon had her free. He popped up above the surface, and went over to the woman's body. He rolled it over, and saw Amanda. He turned around to the man behind him on the deck, and told him to call 911.

"The phones aren't working inside."

"Use my cell. It's in my right jacket pocket."

The man dialed as Steve managed to lift Amanda's limp body out of the pool. He laid her on the deck, and began CPR. Steve looked over at the man calling 911, and told him,

"Tell them to get a hold of my father, Dr. Mark Sloan, at Community General Hospital. tell him that he needs to be in that ambulance."

Steve went back to doing CPR. At CGH, Mark was still in Jesse's room with Becca. Then, over the P.A. came

"Dr. Sloan to the ambulance ramp, Dr. Sloan to the ambulance ramp."

Mark looked at his two patients.

"Sorry guys. I've got to go."

"That's okay Mark. Go on." Jesse added.

Mark got up and went to the ambulance ramp, where the EMTs were just getting on. They saw him, and motioned for him to get in. On the way, he was told why he was in the ambulance. When they got to the house, the EMTs jumped out, and Mark followed. They were led around back by a woman. When they got back there, they saw Steve on the deck giving CPR to a woman. They rushed over to him, and he let them through. The EMTs immediately recognized her, as did Mark. He went over to help, as Steve stepped out of the way. He sat down and watched. The couple made their way over to him, and sat on either side of Steve.

"Will you be okay sir?"

Steve just stared.

"Sir?"

Steve snapped out of his stupor.

"Huh? Wha-? Oh. Sorry."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"I'm sorry we didn't have proper introductions. My name is John McDonald. This is my neighbor, Susan Jackson."

"My name's Steve Sloan. The white-haired doctor you saw, he's my dad."

"Oh. Are you a doctor?" the woman asked.

"No. I'm an officer with the LAPD."

Just as he said that, police cars pulled up. An officer got out and went over to Steve and the couple.

"Lieutenant?"

Steve looked up.

"Ah. We thought we'd find you here. Now, what's the rundown, and who are these people?"

"There was a woman found in this woman's pool, tied to hooks at the bottom. Her neighbor, this man here, came over when she screamed. They flagged me down, and I went in and got the woman. I started CPR, but with no luck."

Just then the EMTs came rushing by, Mark following. The EMTs hopped into the ambulance and put Amanda in. Mark quickly hopped into the ambulance with them, after he told Steve to meet him at the hospital. The ambulance doors shut, and it sped away. Steve got up, and motioned for John and Susan to follow him. Steve opened to doors of his truck, and the three of them climbed in. He shut the door and was about to go, when the police officer came to Steve's door.

"Lieutenant, what about their statements?" he said, pointing to John and Susan.

"I'll take care of that. I'm going to the hospital, and after that, I'll take them down to the station."

The police officer nodded, and let Steve go. Steve drove to CGH and parked the car next to where his dad's was. The three of them went inside, and up to Jesse's room. Jess and Beck were still there, talking. Jesse looked up as Steve walked in, John and Susan in tow.

"Hey Steve. Who are they?"

Steve walked over and sat down on Jesse's bed.

"Steve, what is it?" Jesse questioned.

"We found Amanda."

"Oh, where?"

Steve sighed.

"In a pool."

"What was she doing there?"

"Jess, let me finish, please."
"Man. Sorry Steve. Don't get so temperamental."

"I'm sorry Jess. I just haven't had enough sleep and I'm confused with this whole case."

"That's okay Steve."

"Could you finish your story please, Lieutenant?"

Steve looked at Beck.

"Sorry. Um...Amanda. I was in my car on my way here, when a man stopped me. I walked over to the pool he was pointing at. All I could see at the time was a woman, floating face down in the pool. I threw my jacket to the side, and shed my shoes & socks. I dove in, and found that the woman was tied to hooks that were at the bottom of pool. I said the woman because I didn't know at the time that it was Amanda. Anyway, once I freed her, I rolled her over, and realized she was Amanda. I lifted her out of the pool, while this man called 911. I started CPR, but couldn't revive her. Once the EMTs arrived, with dad, they took her and sped off for the hospital. I took these two to my car, and we came here. Amanda's in surgery, and I have no clue on how she is."

"Wow. Sorry Steve. I had no idea."

"Lieutenant, who are the people beside you?" Beck asked.

"These people? This lady owns the house where Amanda was found. She found Amanda in her pool, and screamed. Her screams brought her neighbor, this man, over. He ran to the road, and flagged me down. We're all waiting for news of Amanda."

Just then, Mark walked in, followed by Cheryl. They looked up at the sound of footsteps.

"Steve, Cheryl's here to take the two people down to the station for their statements."

"Okay."

The man and woman left with Cheryl, and Steve turned to his dad.

"Dad? Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She'll be fine. We had to pump her stomach, since there was so much water in her system. She'll hurt, but she'll be fine."

"Can we go see her Doc?" Beck asked.

Mark turned, gloves still on his hands.

"Sure, if Steve will help you. I need to clean up."

Mark turned, and walked out of the room. He went into the OR, and peeled off his gloves. He washed up, thinking out loud at the same time.

"All of this is getting overwhelming."

Mark ran his hand through his hair.

"All of this is so confusing. I really hope Steve figures it out soon!"

Mark didn't notice the man watching his every move.

Meanwhile, Steve, Beck and Jess were just arriving at Amanda's door. They walked in (or rolled). Steve was pushing Becca, and a nurse was pushing Jesse. Once they were in Amanda's room, the nurse left. Becca looked at Amanda, and saw Amanda was awake.

"Dr. Bentley!" Beck said, as she slowly pushed herself over, wincing a bit.

Amanda smiled, and managed to push herself up a bit.

"Hi Beck, Jess, Steve," she said weakly.

Jesse smiled.

"So, Amanda, how are you?"

"OK, I guess. What happened?"

As Steve recalled what he knew, Becca looked around. Once Steve finished, she looked at him and asked,

"Where's your dad?"

Steve thought.

"I don't know. He said he'd clean up and be right back."

Meanwhile, Mark was finishing cleaning up. He didn't see the figure behind him raise a gun. The assailant smiled, and brought the gun down on Mark's head. Mark collapsed onto the floor, and the assailant raised the gun, which had a silencer on the end, again. He aimed at the doctor, and fired.