Logan wasn't surprised when Deakins showed up the next morning. Maggie was still sleeping comfortably snuggled against her father's side. The captain did not look happy at all. Logan held a finger against his lips and indicated the sleeping child, so Deakins motioned for him to step outside the room with him.

Once the door was closed, his voice hushed but angry, the captain laid into him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"People have been asking that for years."

"Logan..."

"Look, Captain, she was breaking my heart, ok? She thought he was dead and it was all her fault. I had to bring her here, and Alex agreed with me."

"Alex?"

"Yeah, I brought her by to see her mother first, for permission." He hitched his thumb over his shoulder. "Look at her. That's the best rest she's gotten in two days. She needed to see him, and I stand by what I did."

"How did she react?"

"She just crawled right up beside him and went to sleep."

"She didn't say anything?"

"Not really. Just told him she was there and she loved him."

"Do you have any idea the kind of risk you took?"

"Her mother agreed with me, Captain. That's all I needed. While she and Bobby are laid up, Maggie and Tom are my responsibility. I did what I thought was in her best interest, and I was right. It seemed to have been what he needed, too."

"What do they say about him?"

"Early this morning, they told me he's still in a coma, but his vitals are looking a lot better since Maggie got here. For the first time, they think he might not die."

Slowly, Deakins shook his head. "You're a piece of work, Logan."

"So I've been told."

Deakins laughed. Logan turned back toward the door, but stopped before opening it. "Uh, what's going on with Wallace?"

"She was transferred to the prison ward at Bellevue first thing this morning."

"She's gonna recover?"

"It would seem so."

"Damn. There's another thing I screwed up."

He went back into the room. Deakins sighed and followed him. "Mike..."

Logan was standing beside the bed, watching Goren with one hand resting against Maggie's slinged arm. Deakins came up to his side and looked down at the father and daughter. Softly, the captain said, "It's not for us to pass judgment, Mike. And it's not for us to decide life or death. She'll get her day in court."

"Look what happened the last time she went to court."

"That was different. There's irrefutable evidence this time. She can't blame someone else for her crimes this time."

"So we're gonna put Maggie on the stand?"

"I think she'll do fine."

"You know how harsh cross-examination can be. She's a victim here. She's an innocent. All she did was protect her baby brother and stand up to a psychopath. Don't you think she's suffered enough?"

"Maybe Carver can get Wallace to accept a plea."

"Yeah, right. She's gonna want to see this baby on the stand, to try to intimidate her and make a case for acquittal. You know that."

"There is no intimidating her father."

"Do you have any idea how many degrees of hostile he's going to be? We wouldn't even be here discussing this if I had done my job right. To serve and protect. It would have been a public service to protect the world by eliminating the threat of Nicole Wallace once and for all, and I blew it."

Deakins sighed heavily. "You've been hanging out with Goren too much. He can't save the world, Mike, and neither can you. You did everything right, so quit beating yourself up about it and trust Carver to nail her this time. If Maggie has to testify, Carver will be there and she knows him. He'll get her through it. But let's not jump the gun. Nicole Wallace's ninth life may have just run out."

"Yeah, well, let's hope she hasn't taken Goren's with her."

Maggie opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Daddy. He was still sleeping, and she knew from experience that when Daddy was asleep it was only because he needed to sleep. She also knew that when he was done sleeping, he would get up and play with her and Tommy. She studied the tube coming out of his mouth and followed it to the machine beside his bed. Uncle Mike said it was helping him breathe, so it had to be something good. She pulled her hand from his hair and sat up, reaching out to touch his cheek. She liked the feel of his whiskers. They were soft but scrubby. Her eyes shifted to the white bandages on his chest. One of them had a red spot in the middle, like a bulls-eye. She ran her fingers over the bruised skin around the bandages, wondering how he had gotten hurt and if it had been that mean lady who had hurt him. Then she laid her hand on his tummy. Sometimes Daddy would lay on the floor and she would lay across his tummy to play with Tommy. When he would laugh, she would bounce and it would make him laugh more. She loved to hear him laugh. When Tommy was taking a nap, Daddy would lay on the couch and let her sit on his tummy and lean back against his legs, and he would tell her stories, or sometimes, just talk to her, like she was important and he wanted to know what she was thinking. Daddy always treated her like she was important. The things the mean lady had told her confused her, and she needed to talk to him about them. He would tell her that the lady had been wrong and she would feel better. He always made her feel better, like th e last time she woke up in the middle of the night with a tummy ache. He carried her to the couch and put on a movie for her. She laid in his lap and he rubbed her tummy until it felt better and she went back to sleep. Daddy always knew what to do to make her feel better. She just wished she knew what to do to make him feel better so they could just go home.

"Hey, baby."

She looked over her shoulder at Uncle Mike and she smiled, holding her arm out to him so he would hug her. "I'm hungry," she said.

He was thrilled to hear that. She had eaten so little over the past few days. "How is your shoulder?'

"It hurts."

"Let's go get you something to eat, then, and I have your medicine in my pocket."

"But it tastes yucky."

"It makes your shoulder not hurt so much, though."

She wrinkled her nose. "But it's still yucky."

"We'll just have to get you some juice to wash it down with. Maybe we can even call Mommy before we come back."

She nodded. "Okay, Uncle Mike. Let me tell Daddy."

She crawled back up to his head and pressed her cheek against his, touching his hair with her free hand. "I'll be right back, Daddy. Try and wake up for me. I gotta talk to you!"

She kissed his cheek and let Logan pick her up from the bed. He quietly told Goren, "I'm just taking her to the cafeteria. We'll be back in a little while."

He carried her from the room and stopped at the nurses' station. When the nurse at the desk looked up at him, he said, "We're just going down to the cafeteria. We'll be right back."

"Take care-a Daddy until I get back," Maggie piped.

The nurse smiled at her. "We will, honey."

Logan smiled. This was the closest to her normal self Maggie had been. He felt good about what he'd done. It was nice to feel good about something for a change.

After a lunch of hot dogs and juice, plus a milkshake for Maggie so she would take her medicine, they stepped outside the hospital and sat together on a bench in a small courtyard. Logan pulled out his phone and a piece of paper, dialing the number for Berkshire Medical Center and asking for Eames' room.

Hello?

Hey, sweetheart.

Mike! How's Bobby?

"He's really had a rough time and they still have him listed in critical condition, but he's stabilized some since we got here."

Maggie?

"Yeah, Maggie. I've never seen anything like it. She slept peacefully all snuggled up against him, and the nurses said his vitals have improved. She seems to be doing much better now. She even ate a hot dog. Do you want to talk to her?"

Yes.

He handed the phone to Maggie. "Hi, Mommy!"

Hello, sweetheart. How do you feel?

"I feel okay. I found Daddy!"

How is he?

"He's sleeping. I'm bein' good and waitin' for him to wake up."

Good girl.

"Are you okay, Mommy?"

I'm better, too, Maggie. I miss you.

"I miss you, too, Mommy."

She kissed the phone and handed it back to Mike. He smiled at her and wiped the phone off. "Just so you know, that was a nice wet kiss. She just had a milkshake."

Eames laughed. Then her voice became serious. How does he look, Mike?

"Not bad. He took two chest hits, one just right of dead center and the other on the right but lower. He was lucky his heart wasn't hit, but even so, it was bad enough."

What's their prognosis?

"They won't venture one, but this morning they told me it was the first time they've begun to hope he might live."

She was quiet for a moment. They said I'll be out of here in another five days or so. Then we'll come to Boston. Deakins is going back to New York, so he can be at the arraignment. Carver's got it set for the end of the week. I talked to Dad this morning, to let him know the kids are okay.

"How is he?"

Better. But he's worried about Bobby and me.

"So am I."

I'm okay, Mike. Hey, Carolyn wants to talk to you.

He groaned to himself. "Okay."

Logan... His partner's voice was not happy.

"Hi, honey."

Don't you 'hi, honey' me. What were you thinking?

"I was thinking I needed to get off my ass and do something for this little girl. She was tearing me up inside. I just did what I had to do."

I'll deal with you when I see you.

"I can't wait. How's my little slugger?"

He's fine. Happy to be with his mom again.

"And Maggie is happy to be with her daddy."

Please behave yourself.

"I promise. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

He closed the phone and lifted Maggie from the bench. "Ready to go back to Daddy?"

She nodded and rested her head against his shoulder. It had been quite an ordeal for her, and the combination of lack of sleep, stress and emotional upset, and the medicine she'd taken for her shoulder, took a significant toll on the boundless energy she'd inherited from her father. When they got back to the ICU, he gently laid her back in the bed, where she curled against her father and went right to sleep.

Logan sat down in the chair beside the bed and, before long, he, too, was asleep.