Maddie made her way quickly to the precinct Luis had called from, wondering what she was going to be able to do for him. He had been rather vague on the phone, sounding like a scared little boy, and she hadn't pressed for details.

After a few inquiries she found a detective that knew her and led her to the holding cell where Luis was being kept. He rose from the bench he'd been sitting on when he saw her approach and walked to the front of the cell, grasping the bars in his hands.

"Miss Parrish! I'm so glad you came…"

Maddie looked at her student and grasped the bars in her hands as well. "Luis, what happened?"

"You gotta help me, Miss Parrish. They arrested me for attempted murder!"

"Did you do it?" she asked pointedly.

He lowered his eyes and said nothing.

"If you didn't do it hijo tell me now, and I'll fight to the death for you," she told him softly.

A grief-stricken expression settled on his features but still he remained silent.

"If you're guilty, Luis, I won't let you hide behind me. You have to take responsibility for your actions…"

"It was an accident," he began, his voice barely above a whisper. "We were only supposed to rob the place. We broke in after closing, when no one was around, just to get the jewelry. The next thing I know, someone's walkin' in through the door we busted and pulling out his gun…"

A cold feeling began to develop in the pit of Maddie's stomach. "What time did this happen?"

"'Bout ten o'clock."

The cold feeling grew stronger. "Which jewelry store?"

Luis was too wrapped up in his own shame to notice the odd expression on her face. "Brady's, in midtown."

The color drained from Maddie's face and she began to shake as the realization hit her. "Oh god…"

"Miss Parrish? You okay?"

She let go of the bars and backed away from the cell. "I have to go, Luis. I can't talk to you anymore…"

He was becoming frightened. "Why? What happened?"

"I was there…"

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

Tears formed in her eyes. "I was there with Detective Messer when he tried to stop you…"

"That was Detective Messer?" he asked, horrified. "¡Perdoname, dios mio!" He began to cry, leaning his forehead against the bars he clung to. "I'm so sorry, Miss Parrish…I'm so sorry…" he sobbed.

Maddie felt the tears spilling from her own eyes. She took one last look at Luis, then turned and fled from the precinct.

She crept down the hospital corridor, grateful to the nurse who had let her in after visiting hours. She found Danny's room and paused in the doorway.

His face lit up when he spotted her. "Hey beautiful."

Maddie smiled back, moving closer to him. "Hey yourself, hot stuff," she returned.

Something about her voice, her expression, wasn't quite right and as she stepped into the light from the fluorescent bulb over his bed he could see that her eyes were red and swollen. "Maddie, what's wrong?"

She sat in the chair beside his bed and allowed him to take her hand. "There's something I need to tell you," she replied quietly.

Never in the history of the English language had anything good ever followed that sentence, and he frowned. "What is it?"

"I just got back from the precinct…"

She had popped in on her way out to say good-bye to him, so this wasn't news. "How's the kid doin'?"

"He's a wreck. Sobbing, remorseful…and guilty."

That explained her pained expression. He ran his thumb over her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. "I know you did everything you could."

She shook her head. "No, Danny, you don't understand. I don't know what to do…"

"Why not?"

She pressed her lips together. "Because," she said slowly, "he was the one who shot you."

"What? One of your students shot me?" he asked incredulously.

Maddie bowed her head. "He didn't know it was you, or that I was with you…"

"But he shot another human being!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the tears at bay. "He's a good kid…"

Danny let go of her hand. "Wait a minute. This kid almost killed me, and you're makin' excuses for him?" he asked incredulously.

"No," she told him firmly, shaking her head. "You know me better than that."

He was angry now. "Do I? 'Cause it sounds to me like that's exactly what you're doin'. You're justifyin' this 'cause he's poor, or his family is uneducated, or he lives in a bad neighborhood…"

She interrupted him, becoming irritated. "You know I grew up the same way…you know I never let any of my kids use their upbringing as an excuse…"

"What I know is that I poured my heart out to you this afternoon, and now you're takin' sides with the kid who tried to kill me!"

"Danny, listen to me," she replied firmly, looking directly into his eyes and trying to remain calm, "I am not taking sides. I love you more than anything else in the world, you've got to believe that." His eyes shifted to avoid her gaze and she ran a hand softly over his cheek, turning his head toward her again. "I'm yours, always, no matter what."

"And the kid?"

She frowned. She felt so many things about the situation and didn't know how to articulate them.

Her pause was too long for his liking. "I think you should go."

Danny saw the hurt look in her eyes, but pushed away the guilty feeling that was developing in the pit of his stomach.

Maddie saw the anger in his eyes, but hoped he would understand her position when he calmed down. If he calmed down.

She rose from her chair and leaned in to kiss him, but he turned his face away from her. The action stung her but she tried to ignore it, placing her lips on his temple instead.

"I love you," she whispered.

He didn't respond, didn't react at all, and she left without another word.

Maddie climbed into her car and drove, heading in the direction of her apartment. Her mind kept turning over thoughts of Luis, sobbing in his holding cell. Then it would flash to Danny at the hospital, his angry face turning away from her when she tried to kiss him. The images alternated back and forth, and the tears she had managed to suppress at the hospital began to cloud her vision.

She needed to talk to someone, to vent to a sympathetic ear. She needed someone who knew her and understood her, but who also knew and understood Danny. Maddie glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was too late to call any of her friends from school, and Don, Aiden, Mac, and Stella were all working hard on Danny's case, if not catching a few winks of sleep themselves. Who could she go to?

She found herself pulling into a parking space at the M.E.'s office, hoping Sheldon was still around. It didn't take her long to find him, stretched out on the cot set up near the autopsy room, book in hand and reading glasses perched on his nose. He smiled when he saw her.

"My favorite science teacher," he grinned, closing the book and removing his glasses as he sat up.

"My favorite pathologist," she smiled back, sitting down beside him.

"What brings you out here at this time of night? Don't you have school in the morning?"

She nodded. "I do, but I needed to talk to someone. Today was kind of a roller coaster day."

He smiled again. "Yeah, I heard about you and Danny," he told her. "Congratulations."

"Wow, news travels fast," she chuckled. The she became serious. "Did you hear about our first fight, too?"

Sheldon's face took on a concerned expression, and he noticed her red eyes. "What happened?"

Maddie sighed heavily. "One of my students was involved in Danny's shooting," she replied. "Turns out he was the one that pulled the trigger."

"Oh no…"

"Yeah. They're holding him at one of the precincts, and I went to see him. He confessed everything to me, just sobbing." Sheldon slid his arm around Maddie's shoulders and squeezed them gently, trying to offer some measure of comfort. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed again. "I left as soon as I realized, but I feel so torn…"

"And Danny thinks you're giving aid and comfort to the enemy," he finished.

She shifted positions, resting her chin in her hands and propping her elbows up on her knees. "You should have seen the look in his eyes, Sheldon. He was so angry with me…so hurt…like I betrayed him…"

He squeezed her shoulders again, hating to see her so upset. "He's overwhelmed…he was shot, told you he loved you, heard you tell him you loved him, found out one of your students pulled the trigger, and that you're going to try and help the boy…all in just the last twenty-four hours. It's a lot to absorb."

Maddie nodded, burying her face in her hands. "It is, I know."

"C'mere," Sheldon said gently, pulling her into a reassuring hug. "Just give him some time to process everything…he'll come around."

She relaxed into his arms. "You think so?"

"He'd be crazy not to," he said, running a hand slowly over her back.

She pulled back and smiled. "Can I have that in writing?"

Sheldon laughed. "Absolutely."

Maddie hugged him again, squeezing him tightly and kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I'm lucky to have you, Sheldon. You're a good friend."

He smiled. "It's the least I can do for the woman who finally taught me to ice skate."

She laughed and the two said their good-byes. Sheldon stood for a moment and watched Maddie walk out of the building, making a mental note to pay a visit to a certain detective in the hospital the next day.