A/N: Back again. Just a short bit.

Thank you so much to those of you who dropped me a line. TenFour! Huge hugs. My faithful friend. Still hanging on. jasmine105, nonna welcome and thanks. So far so good with Perdita. Keep your fingers crossed.

Blah, blah...the usual disclaimers...don't own...make no money...There is dialog directly from "Man Down." I didn't write it. I wrote the other stuff.

Please R&R. I know there are more of you out there reading. Don't you have an opinion? Please share it.

Annabel watched them go and then went into Eric's room. She sat down in the chair next to his bed. Annabel pulled out her rosary and bowed her head. She rested her empty hand on his. Annabel heard the door open and shut. She looked up and greeted the nurse who came in with a placid smile.

"Mrs. Caine..."

"McGinty-Caine. And it's Detective."

The nurse ignored Annabel's correction. "I'm afraid Mr. Delko needs his rest."

Annabel met the nurse's eyes. She tilted her head slightly. The smile never left her lips as her eyes hardened with steely determination. "I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving. You may ask me to slide away from Eric, not touch him or talk to him, but I will not be budging from here. At least, not until someone else comes to relieve me. Now, since his family is all out of town right now and his friends are out after the man responsible for putting Eric here, I think I'm going to be in this chair for a while." The nurse started to say something. "This isn't my first time around doing this. You aren't getting me out of here." The nurse stared at Annabel for a bit, then turned and walked away. Annabel sat back in the chair and watched Eric.

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The sun beat down on the parking garage as Calleigh and Ryan looked around the ambush scene. They dropped markers, took pictures and notes. Ryan looked at the large puddle of blood where Eric had fallen.

"It's a miracle Eric's still alive." Ryan stared at the blood pool.

Calleigh looked up from her notes her chest tightening. "Yes," she whispered. And what would I do if he wasn't? Calleigh quickly buried that thought. She glanced over her shoulder at the far row of cars. Calleigh waved her pen. "Horatio said that the shot came from over there." Ryan looked toward where Calleigh indicated. He could almost see the shooter. Ryan made his way over to the car. He looked it over and found a streak of gunpowder on the roof. Calleigh noted that the car was double parked.

"Whoever owns this car made sure he got a front row seat," quipped Ryan.

"That's a front row seat he's going to be sorry he got," countered Calleigh. "Let's go talk to him."

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Annabel sat up suddenly. She realized she had fallen asleep. She looked over at Eric. The monitors quietly beeped. His chest rose and fell in time to the ventilator. Annabel squeezed Eric's hand.

"I'm sorry I haven't been such stimulating company. I just feel so wiped." She stood up. "I need to see if your folks are on their way. I'll be right back. Don't get into trouble while I'm gone." Annabel slipped out of the room and to the end of the hall. She slid her phone out of her pocket. She listened to a voicemail from Valera inquiring about Eric. Annabel breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Frank let her know that he and Natalia had found the court stenographer and she was OK. A groan escaped her throat as Horatio related Cathy Gibson's actual role in the affair. Annabel checked the time of his call and saw it was only about five minutes earlier. She dialed his cell phone.

"So she was a mole? She's responsible for those guns out on the street, Clavo's escape and the deaths of several people. Sweet girl."

"She was taken in by Clavo's smooth lies."

"Stupidity isn't an excuse, Horatio."

"I didn't say it was."

Annabel frowned. There was something odd in Horatio's voice. "What aren't you telling me?"

"This is a vendetta. I...I...I want you to be careful, Bella."

"There are police all over here. I'll be fine. I'm giving you the same advice, Love." Annabel rubbed her temples. "Don't... Never mind. You won't listen to me anyway. Just remember I can't sit vigil at two bedsides and Eric was here first."

Horatio chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. 'Cuz I mean it. I'm staying here by Eric. You'll be all alone."

"I love you, Bella."

"See you soon, Horatio." Annabel hung up her phone and gnawed her lip. She went back and dropped into the chair next to Eric. Annabel pulled out her rosary and bowed her head.

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Alexx stood in the doorway quietly watching. Annabel's head rested on the edge of Eric's bed. She was fast asleep. The doctor quietly walked across the room and shook her friend awake. Annabel slowly lifted her head and blinked. She looked up at Alexx and panic flooded her. Annabel sat up completely. She looked over at Eric. He was breathing quietly. She looked at Alexx.

"Alexx?"

"Oh, Sugar, As far as I know everyone is fine. I just had some time and I thought I would give you a break. I didn't mean to scare you, Annie."

"Sorry. I'm just a little..."

Alexx smiled. "A little tired. We're all a bit wrung out. Go get something to eat. A little coffee. Eric will be perfectly fine with me watching over him. Don't come back for at least an hour. Understand?" Annabel started to open her mouth. "Don't argue with me, Annie. I'm not one of these docs around here that you ignore or bully. Now go." Alexx sat down and stared pointedly at Annabel.

Annabel signed. "Fine. I'll be back in an hour."

"See you then, Sugar."