The paramedics arrived and forced Jesse to stand back as they started work on Lucky. Unable to locate the wound either, they quickly loaded Lucky onto a stretcher. Jesse followed them and climbed into the back of the ambulance. He held Lucky's hand and anxiously watched his face, but Lucky's eyes stayed closed the whole ride.

As the stretcher exited the elevator, Monica came rushing over and immediately took charge. Jesse watched helplessly as Lucky was wheeled away, then his attention was turned as Liz and Emily strolled over to the front desk, laughing and talking happily. Jesse could tell they didn't know, and that he would have to be the one to tell them.

"Jesse, are you hurt?" Liz suddenly asked, staring at him in concern. It was only then Jesse realized he was covered in Lucky's blood.

"No Liz, it's…it's Lucky," Jesse said, forcing himself not to look away. "He collapsed at the station and started bleeding, but I don't know why."

"Oh God," Liz moaned, her knees buckling. Emily and Jesse caught her together and helped her over to a chair. "Not again! I can't lose him. I can't."

"He's going to be fine," Emily insisted, fighting back her own tears. "He's a fighter, and he's going to be fine."

"Can I call anyone?" Jesse offered. He noticed his red-stained hands were now shaking violently and fought hard to still them. He needed to help, and for that he needed to get control of himself. "What about Lucky's other family-Luke and Nikolas and Lulu?"

"Luke's out of town," Liz said shakily. "And when he's out of town there's no way to get in touch with him."

"I'll go call Nikolas and Lulu," Emily offered, standing up and running her hands over her face. "Can you stay with Liz, Jesse?"

"Of course," Jesse answered. Emily left, and for a moment neither Liz nor Jesse did anything. Then Liz let out a loud sob and buried her face into Jesse's shoulder. Jesse put his arm around her as she cried. A few minutes later she sat up and let out a shaky laugh.

"I'm sorry," she said. She gestured at his shirt. "I got your shirt all wet." Another desperate laugh escaped her lips.

"Don't worry about it," Jesse said kindly. "You're my partner's wife. You're family."

The elevator doors opened again, and Nikolas, Lulu, and Emily poured out. Lulu was crying, hands pressed tightly against her face. "No news," Liz stammered out, taking a few shallow breaths. Nikolas strode up to Jesse.

"You were there when my brother collapsed. What happened?" Nikolas asked Jesse. Jesse took no offense at Nikolas' curt tone. He could tell Nikolas was hanging on by a thread.

"When Lucky came in to the station, he seemed really weak," Jesse answered, still able to see the scene moment by moment in his mind. "He kept staggering and clutching his head. When we left to go to our bust, I-"

"You let him go on a bust while he was obviously sick?" Nikolas interrupted furiously. "How could you do that? Didn't you-"

Now it was Jesse's turn to interrupt. "Lucky insisted on coming with me because he didn't want to leave his partner unprotected at a dangerous bust!" he yelled back. "I would never have intentionally let Lucky get hurt! He's my friend, ok?"

Nikolas stared at Jesse for a moment. "I'm sorry," Nikolas said finally, taking a shaky breath and running his hand over his face. "What I said…that was unfair of me. I'm just really worried about my brother."

"I know," Jesse said. "It's ok. I understand. I'm worried about Lucky too."

"If it helps at all, Nikolas," Liz said, her voice clogged with tears, "Lucky really loved those cufflinks you sent over."

"Cufflinks?" Nikolas turned to look at Liz, his brow furrowed with confusion.

"Yeah," Liz said. "You sent over these gorgeous cufflinks, and you had them engraved with the date of Lucky's and my wedding. "

"Liz, I never sent any cufflinks," Nikolas said, his mind racing. "I'm actually having a pair made, but they aren't done yet. There was some sort of hold-up at the jewelers." Nikolas paused for a second. "Liz, who touched those cufflinks?"

Liz stared at Nikolas, confusion showing in her tear-stained eyes. "Just Lucky. He showed them to me, but I was holding Cam. Then he put the box in his bedside drawer. He joked they were too fancy for a drug bust."

"Liz, I need your house key," Nikolas said. "I promise I'll bring it right back." Liz handed the key over with no hesitation. Nikolas hugged Liz tightly. "He's going to be ok Liz." Turning to Emily, Nikolas lay a hand on her upper arm. "Will you stay with Liz?"

"Of course," Emily answered, unable to stop her eyes from falling on Nikolas' hand, which slid down her arm to meet her hand. For a moment their fingers intertwined, then Nikolas slowly pulled away, fingertips touching until the last moment.

"I need to go," he said, his eyes meeting Emily's. She nodded and moved to the couch, where she put her arm around Liz's shoulders.

"I'm coming too," Jesse said. "Cops tend to be pretty good at finding things." Nikolas nodded, and he and Jesse got into the elevator.