A.N.: Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews and sorry for the delay. I just started a new

job last week and it has been kind of hard to adjust…

And now – on with the story.

Chapter 9:

It had taken him a lot of courage and time to think about, but Jack finally had decided not to let NYPD deal with the measure of Danny's protection. He wanted FBI to take care of him, and – to be exact – he wanted his department, his team take care of him. He wanted someone to be there for Danny when he woke up, someone he knew and trusted in.

But although he was doing this for his fallen agent's sake, he was putting a lot of pressure and a pretty hard time on somebody else by being forced to see Danny the way he was right now and being forced to deal with it. But he had carefully taken that into consideration and he had seen no other way.

Right now he had ordered Sam and Vivian to meet him at his office to tell them what he wanted them to do. Elizabeth Tejar had all the information they needed to track down Danny's attackers and he didn't need all of the team to investigate. Chances were there to send someone to hospital. But still Jack was nervous – nervous about the two womens' reaction and he was even more afraid of their reaction when they would come back from hospital...

He no longer had the time to develop any more doubts, when the two women entered his office. Both of them had an expectant, curious and still concerned look on their faces. He hadn't told them what this would be about and as Danny's condition was critical and the reason for his presence in hospital was unbelievably cruel – as Elizabeth Tejar had just told them, there still was a chance something grave had happened that he wanted to tell them. He asked the two to sit down and gave them an expressionless gaze before he started, not giving them a chance to read in his face.

"I would like to ask you to a favor... It's a pretty delicate thing and I know it's probably hard to take, but I would like you two to get to the hospital and take care of Danny's protection. I'm worried these guys who did that to him, may come back on him to finish what they started..."

Vivian looked slightly annoyed and an expression of disbelief had appeared on her face. Sam didn't look any different. Jack just realized that maybe he had been a bit too eager in protecting the two women from what they were about to see at the hospital. But it was too late to change it any more and Vivian was already about to blame him for his words.

"A delicate thing...? Good lord, Jack did you hear yourself talking? You really believe you need to ask this as a favor? Of course we're gonna go there and take care of him!"

"I didn't mean it like this, Viv. I have been there and I know it's a tough thing... you didn't see him, didn't see his lifeless form in that goddamn hospital bed in ICU. I just want you two to be prepared."

Sam joined the conversation now – Jack believed to hear a slight tone of aggression, but it wasn't able to hide her actual fear, to hide that his words threatened her. She seemed to actually believe him, believe that he didn't overreact and that was a pretty tough thing to deal with after all.

"So, you think we need preparation? You think we can't deal with it?"

"No, I don't think so, but I want you to understand that it's,..., not a pretty sight at all..."

"Then why do you want us to go there anyway?"

"Because I don't want him to be alone and because I believe he is in desperate need of protection. I want someone to be there for him, someone he knows. I want him to know we're there for him..."

A sad little smile appeared on both the womens' faces as empathy rushed over them. It took a moment of silence before Vivian would respond to his revelation.

"That's a noble reason... Don't worry, Jack – we can deal with it."

He didn't want to say anything else about it, but just nodded. The two were getting up from the chairs in front of his desk and left his office, carefully closing the door and not make a sound – leaving him alone with his thoughts.

They arrived at the hospital about half an hour later and it was plain for everyone to see, that their tension had grown. Although both had been astonished and had felt slightly offended by Jack's words – still they had sunken in... Jack had been right with one thing – they really had no idea what was awaiting them. Of course Jack had told them Danny was in hospital and Elizabeth Tejar's testemony had made clear that his injuries were pretty severe, but still they weren't prepared for what they would see.

They had both been that eager, that willing to get here and take care of their co-worker, their friend, but right now every given hesitation was welcome to both of them. Actually being at hospital was something completely different than talking about it...

Simply the smell and the look of the surrounding – the whole feelings and impressions it transported, it was hard to take. It was hard to take in any case, but in their particular one... It was almost unbearable. But they had no more chance to escape it, no more chance to change their minds for Dr. Collins was just approaching to them. Jack had called her earlier and she had agreed to meet them and lead them upstairs to ICU.

They received a sad, tired smile and a faint clasp of hand as she greeted them. She looked terrible – like she hadn't been sleeping in days. And as she was the one in responsibility for Danny's care, both of the women had the same uneasy feeling, that the doctor's outward appearance had something to do with their co-worker's condition.

"Agent Johnson, Agent Spade – I'm gonna take you upstairs..."

Sam was barely able to get out a single word and she could hear her own raspy voice asking a question, but it felt to her like she wasn't really present, like she heard herself talking from far away. She still was fixed on the doctor's pale face and tired eyes. Still somehow her own words brought her back to reality.

"How is he?"

Dr. Collins was hesitating for a few moments before she answered to her question – whether it was because she didn't want to answer or because she really needed to think about it, Sam couldn't tell. But she couldn't believe the doctor would wish to keep anything "ugly" from them. They were all grown up and capable of hearing it. It couldn't be that bad...

"Have you been informed about the actual details of Agent Taylor's injuries?"

Sam didn't like the tone of her words – the way she pronounced the word "injuries" send a shiver down her spine. She had known that the doctor had diagnosed Danny's injuries as inflicted by torment, but the way she spoke about it, Sam couldn't even imagine the severeness of his condition. She was barely able to keep her voice from trembling as she answered to Dr. Collins' question.

"The one thing we both know is that his injuries are pretty severe and that he's in a coma. We were told that his condition is critical and you are not sure of his survival. And we also have been told that you believe he was tortured..."

"So you don't know anything about the details, Agent Malone didn't tell you about it. Then I just want to warn you – although you probably have heard this already – it's pretty hard to take. I know that sounds cruel, but it's really not a pretty thing to deal with... I just want you to be prepared."

"We already have been prepared to a pretty good extend, Dr. Collins. Would you just take us to ICU and let us take care of our co-worker?"

"Sure, I will."

She led them to the elevators and they waited in silence for the doors to open. As Dr. Collins pushed the button to fourth floor, where ICU lay – not looking at them at that moment - she spoke once again. Her voice was sounding low and shallow, the tiredness in it clearly audible.

"I may tell you that you cannot enter the room, at least not like this. As I already told your superior – Agent Taylor is barely alive and I won't risk an infection. Nobody's allowed to enter his room if not absolutely necessary and even in that case the person has to wear sterile clothing. The risk of an infection is just too high and it would definitely kill him. I just wanted you to know this."

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out of it, following Dr. Collins down a corridor to a pair of closed glass doors. The doctor got out an identity card from her coat and zipped it through a reading machine besides the door. As the doors silently opened, they entered ICU and Dr. Collins led them to the wide examination window giving free sight to Danny's room. Right now Sam came to realize, what Jack - and the doctor too - had meant. They really weren't prepared after all.

The person in that hospital bed had nothing in common with the fellow agent, who had still been at work with them before this weekend. Although most of his injuries were hidden beneath the blanket covering his body, the sheer sight of his still, helpless form was overwhelmingly agitating.

But that wasn't the most sickening thing about his sight. All those machines around him, somehow connected to his body and helping him to survive the extreme trauma his body had been forced to go through weren't making it any easier to cope with the situation. Of course both of the women knew that the life support was necessary, just that it looked more like all these IV lines, tubes and needles were hurting him, than that they were actually helpful.

The worst thing however was the part of the injuries, which were visible – the cuts and bruises on his face distorting his features, the tube rising from his throat and the bandages protecting the deeper wounds from infection. It wasn't fair to even think it, it was unsensitive – but he looked awful.

Dr. Collins had an intensive look at both the womens' faces and she immediately realized that they hadn't been prepared for the sight of their co-worker in any way, no matter how much they had believed they were. She put a gentle tone in her voice, trying not to disturb them any further.

"You don't need to stay here both. Maybe you want to stay here in shifts?"

Vivian nodded to the proposal without looking at the female doctor, her eyes fixed on her fallen co-worker. Jack had been right, this was really hard to take and they had not been in any way aware of that before they had come here and seen it themselves. She managed to turn to Samantha and the expression on her face clearly told her she shouldn't stay here.

"I'm gonna stay. Maybe you should get back to the office, helping with the investigation."

Samantha didn't seem completely aware of Vivian addressing her, but she didn't insist. She wasn't able to do much of a thing anyway – she just reacted in the way with the less resistance, nodding to the proposal being made.

"Yeah. Sure."