Chapter 10

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"Agent Taylor, I want you to know that I am completely against this." Dr. Close gave Danny a stern look as she handed him the AMA discharge papers.

"Yeah, I know," Danny replied as he signed the papers and handed them back.

He was going crazy in the hospital room. He couldn't just sit around doing nothing while the man who tried to kill Martin and him was still out there.

"You're not fully recovered – you were admitted less than 24 hours ago. In my medical opinion you are not ready to go home much less back to work in the field." Normally, he would be happy to play doctor with a woman who looked like she did: tall and fit with long blonde hair and big green eyes, but he had more important things to do. Like find Dornvald and make him pay for what he did.

"I get it. I don't expect you to understand but this is something I have to do." He finished gathering his things and attempted to put on his jacket. It was difficult to do with his arm in a sling so rather than continue looking like a dog chasing his own tail he gave up the fight and shoved the jacket into his bag.

"You need to rest and heal," she replied, clearly amused by his attempt at dressing but still not willing to let him leave that easily.

"Got it. Is that all?" Danny decided against mentioning that he couldn't rest even if he wanted to: every time he closed his eyes he was back in that car.

Dr. Close decided there was no point in arguing any further. It was clear that her patient had made up his stubborn mind. "Well, if you're going - whether or not it's in your best interest - here's a list of directions for you to follow and a prescription to manage the pain."

"I'm not in any pain," he lied.

"Yes, you are. I can't force you to stay but don't try and bullshit me." She gave him a steely glare as she handed him the prescription. "Here."

"Thanks." While Danny was surprised by Dr. Close's words, he accepted the piece of paper and realized that maybe he didn't look as ready as he was letting on. "Can I go now?"

"You can leave as soon as the orderly gets here with your ride. Ah, speaking of the devil." She moved aside as an orderly entered with a wheelchair.

"I am not going out in that thing," he argued.

"If you want to leave the hospital, this is your only way out." Dr. Close smiled mischievously at Danny who was waging an internal battle on whether or not to try and argue his way out of it until finally admitting defeat. So he reluctantly sat down in the offensive mode of transport.

Once he was seated the orderly reached for the handles but she waved him off and started wheeling Danny out of the room.

"It's not necessary," he said; he could not feel more emasculated if he tried.

"Yes, it is," Dr. Close replied as she leisurely pushed Danny down the hall. "I have eight floors to try and convince you to stay and I intend to take full advantage."

Danny should have known that this woman was not about to give up so easily. She was attractive, sure, but apparently she was just as hard headed as her patient.

At the end of the hall they stopped in front of the elevator. She pushed the call button and leaned against the wall to wait.

"Do you want to stop and visit your friend before you leave?" He knew she wasn't referring to Viv because he wasn't allowed to see her since she wasn't supposed to know what happened. He had talked to her on the phone though. He liked talking to Viv because he didn't have to talk about the shooting.

Dr. Close was referring to his avoiding seeing Martin. Several nurses had offered to take him upstairs but he would reply saying he was too tired. And yet he managed to have enough strength to argue that he was well enough to get a release Against Medical Advice.

The elevator emitted a ding announcing its arrival, the doors opened and Danny gave a silent thank you for time to gather his thoughts as she wheeled the chair into the elevator. As soon as they were inside her finger lingered over the buttons for floor selection.

"Well?"

"No, I'll stop by later, after I find out how the case is going." Danny saw that Dr. Close was debating whether or not to push the issue when she relented and pressed for the ground floor. He gave her a small smile of appreciation. He knew he wasn't ready to face Martin. Not yet. He needed to have Dornvald in custody first. At least that's what he told himself. There was nothing wrong with the George Costanza wisdom: It's not a lie if you believe it.