When Mark and the paramedics brought Steve into hospital Jesse had been the one waiting to treat him. Mark had wanted to stay and help but Jesse had told him to go and wait in the staff room and that he would come and fetch him when they had got Steve more stabilised. Mark had reluctantly agreed and left Jesse to it, even though he was itching to take over proceedings himself. He was all too aware of how dangerous head injuries could be. He had been through this routine many times before but it never got any easier.

As he sat in the staffroom Mark sighed and thought about how he might have been able to prevent this from happening had he arrived just a few seconds earlier. But then he remembered how it could have ended up much worse. For when he arrived in the alleyway with the police he had seen, what Steve in his dazed state had not. He had seen Daniel Chancer bend over Steve and take his gun. Mark shivered, reliving the dread he felt when he saw his son lying bleeding on the floor and Chancer standing over him holding the gun. Mark remembered yelling and seeing Chancer pocket the gun before leaping over the fence and disappearing. He remembered dropping to his knees by this son's prone figure and telling him it was all going to be alright. He was not entirely sure what the police had been doing or even when the ambulance arrived, his whole attention had been focused on Steve. The next clear thing he remembered was seeing Jesse's face and being told to wait in the staff room.

He sighed again; it wasn't doing him any good, dwelling on the 'what ifs'. What had happened had happened and now all that mattered was getting through it. He heard the door open and felt a surge of emotion rise up inside him. He looked up only to be greeted by Amanda. His disappointment must have shown on his face.

"Still not heard from Jesse then?" asked Amanda, closing the door and sitting down beside him.

"No."

"I'm sure he's going to be fine," said Amanda, not feeling all that sure herself. Mark only nodded and they sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before Jesse came in. Mark was on his feet in a flash.

"How is he? What's the diagnosis? Can I see him?"

"He's stable, sit down," said Jesse and sat down himself on the couch. "We have managed to stop the bleeding and got his blood pressure back up. He seems quite comfortable.

"But… what?" asked Mark, not at all liking the anxious look on Jesse's face.

"Well, at the moment he hasn't regained consciousness. You and I both know that some patients just take a little longer and that it's due to the shock and not anything to worry about. I'm pretty sure he's not haemorrhaging, but I've had him sent up to have a CT scan just in case, to check for skull fractures or possible swelling of the brain." Mark just sat where he was hardly able to take in all in. He knew there were risks with head injuries but he never expected them to happen to Steve - he was too full of life.

"When will we get the results?" asked Mark.

"In about an hour," said Jesse.

"Can I sit with him?"

"Of course. He's in ICU, room 14." Mark got shakily to his feet and made for the door.

"Mark, would you like me to sit with you?" asked Amanda.

"No. No thank you, Amanda. If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone."

"Of course." Mark left the room and Jesse and Amanda exchanged a worried look.

X X X

Half an hour later Mark was staring into space when he thought he heard someone whispering to him. He blinked and looked around, his eyes meeting those of Steve's. A huge grin spread across his face and he stood up to hold his son's arm.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not so bad. Thirsty."

"I'll get you some water," said Mark and poured him a drink from a jug near the window.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes, unfortunately. I take it he got away?"

"I'm afraid so. He leapt over the fence just as we arrived." Mark decided not to mention the gun just yet.

"Aww nuts."

"There is still the possibility he might go back to try and find the camera. He doesn't know you set that up."

"That's true."

"I'd better just let Jesse and Amanda know you're awake," said Mark and happily left the room to use the phone.

X X X

"Jesse, Steve's awake and he seems fine!"

"That's fantastic. As a matter of fact I was just about to come up and see you. I've got Steve's CT scan results. He's fine, no fractures, swelling or bleeding and his brain is fully functional. I guess he was just having a lie in."

"That's great news," said Mark, beaming down the phone. "Let Amanda know will you? I'm going back to Steve."

"Sure thing."

"Oh and Jesse?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Although, you should know I'm expecting a big box of chocolates for this," said Jesse. Laughing, Mark hung up the phone.

X X X

By the following morning Steve was feeling almost back to his old self, apart from the occasional headache and sore twinge, although those only usually happened when Jesse was prodding him and flashing lights in his eyes. He had a big bandage wrapped round the top of his head like a turban. It made him feel like he had forgotten to take off his hat. He wanted to take the bandage off and examine the wound and likely bruising underneath but Jesse had made him promise not to touch it.

Since he had regained consciousness yesterday afternoon Steve had had a large assortment of visitors, all of whom demanded to know how he was feeling. He was getting fed up of saying he was fine. After a further three visitors that morning Mark had shooed everyone away insisting that they all leave Steve alone for a couple of hours to get some rest. He had felt intensely grateful to his father, but now sitting alone in a quiet room he was becoming increasingly bored. He supposed he was expected to have a sleep but he didn't feel at all sleepy. He was just beginning to count how many tiles there were on the ceiling when a welcome ringing sound broke the silence. Steve grinned to himself. Jesse had obviously forgotten to remove his cell phone from his jacket pocket. He eased himself out of bed and retrieved the phone, feeling like a small child who had just stolen a piece of chocolate.

"Sloan here."

"Lieutenant, it's Officer Philips here from the surveillance team. I wasn't sure whether you were still on the case."

"Yes, very much so. Go ahead."

"We think we have spotted our suspect, sir."

"Where?" asked Steve becoming instantly alert and scanning the room for his trousers.

"Well, we are not a hundred percent sure, but we have sighted a person who fits the description of our man. He has cycled round the block three times now sir, as if he is checking out the scene. What are your orders, sir?"

"Stay where you are. Do nothing unless he acts first. I'll come and join you now. Keep me informed."

"Very good, sir," said Officer Philips and rang off.

Steve quickly dressed and left the room, first making sure Jesse and his father were not in sight. He had been in hospital enough times to know how to discharge himself. It was just probably best if his father wasn't around at the time. Steve knew he would try to stop him from leaving and that he was probably right, but this was just too important to miss.

X X X

Mark had just met up with Jesse to discuss a particularly difficult patient he had when his phone rang.

"Mark Sloan here."

"Hello Dr Sloan. It's Cara from reception. I just thought you should know that your son has discharged himself and left the hospital."

"What?" said Mark, aghast. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"I don't have any authority to stop a patient from leaving if they want to. He signed all the relevant forms."

"How long ago did he leave?"

"About fifteen minutes ago."

"Okay. Thanks Cara."

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" asked Jesse.

"Steve's discharged himself!" said Mark.

"What?" asked Jesse in disbelief. "Why?"

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out." Mark took out his phone again and dialled Steve's cell phone number.

"Sloan here," said Steve picking up.

"Steve, what on earth do you think you're doing? You need to be in bed getting plenty of rest."

"Oh, hi dad. That was quick. I can't afford to rest, I have a murderer to catch."

"Steve…"

"I'll rest later dad, when I've caught Chancer. I promise," said Steve and hung up.