There were flashes of light. The darkness kept being interrupted, either with noise or pain. Charlie tried to tune it out, fall back into its safe embrace. He was just tired of being on edge.

For a while it seemed his wish was granted.

There was calmness.

Then the sensations returned. First thing that hit him was the smell. That typical smell of a hospital, irritating his nose, yet at the same time relaxing. It reminded him of Ballarat, of Blake's surgery. Safety.

Charlie slowly, carefully opened his eyes.

The room he was in was dark, but it wasn't the complete darkness of the basement he was used to wake up in lately. There was a lamp turned on by the opposite wall, right next to an occupied chair.

Charlie squinted, carefully turning his head to get a better look.

'Doc?' he thought hopefully but realized almost instantly that couldn't be.

"Good morning," said the man in the chair and stood up, walking towards Charlie.

"Gary?" Charlie mumbled, his mouth dry like the Sahara. And was it morning really? Charlie looked towards his right and saw the lifting darkness behind the window.

"Well, maybe not morning yet. But close," Gary said with a sigh. Charlie thought the man looked tired, with deep circles under his eyes, the right one half closed from a shiner.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked, reaching out towards his head to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. As soon as he moved his arm though he hissed. His left hand was in a cast that reached almost up to his elbow.

Right. It seemed that he really managed to break something.

He used his right one instead, grimacing at the pull of the IV. His head felt fuzzy and he didn't know whether it was from drugs or the hits he received.

"I think it's safe to say you lost the fight," Johnson said with an apologetic look. "Sorry. I know we should've stepped in sooner, but... there were some unexpected problems."

"Problems?" Charlie frowned and used his good arm to push himself into a sitting position. At least he tried to. As soon as he leaned over a bit, he felt pain in his side. It wasn't the bruised ribs or muscles. This felt different.

"He stabbed me," Charlie uttered in bewilderment, the memories rushing back with vengeance.

"Yes, he did," Johnson agreed, helping him into a more comfortable position. "But you were lucky. He didn't hit any organs. You were bleeding quite a bit, but... you should be just fine."

Charlie didn't feel like it. His vision was a bit blurry and his whole body started throbbing. Whatever drugs he got were starting to fade.

"Where is he?"

"The kid?"

"Yeah," Charlie grunted, looking around for a glass of water or something he could drink. He felt thirsty and his throat was dry. The room felt stuffy.

"Water?" Johnson asked as he saw Charlie's look.

"Yes please," Charlie said, taking the offered glass, closing his eyes at the momentary relief the cool water brought.

"After he stabbed you, Caleb tried to run away. Not sure if you remember."

Charlie nodded, feeling his stomach tighten once again.

"Did you find him?"

Johnson's lip turned up in a smile.

"We did. But hush... it's a secret." He winked.

Charlie blinked, confused.

"I don't understand," he admitted, feeling foolish for being so slow on the uptake. Johnson didn't seem to mind though.

"My men caught up with him, knocked him out. Fortunately, no one was around to see it. Per orders, they took him to a car. He was already deposited in a special facility a few towns over."

Charlie wanted to feel relieved, but he was still confused about the secrecy.

"What facility? Is he safe?"

"It's a... rehab centre with extra security. Do not worry, he will be well taken care of until the trial."

Trial. Well, that possibly explained the need for the secrecy. Johnson nodded, clearly reading Charlie's track of thought.

"Everyone thinks he ran away. He should be quite safe."

"Good," Charlie said with a sigh of relief.

"It is, for him. Not so much for you," Johnson said, his voice bearing a hint of regret.

Charlie blinked, focusing back on Johnson's face, trying to read the man. He looked tense and tired. Things definitely weren't over just because the fight had ended. Charlie cursed the haze his mind seemed to be under. Of course there was more to this.

"You... didn't get them all?" Charlie asked and Johnson shook his head.

"We caught Douglas and Richard. Kenneth and his brother Ben managed to escape. We arrested most of the people at the fight, but..." Johnson shrugged. "So far, they are all saying the same. This was meant to be a simple fight. I am expecting most of them will have their lawyers at the station by the time I return there."

Charlie cringed. Of course, that was to be expected. He assumed that the spectators Douglas brought for the fight all had to pay a hefty charge for the special feature. Which meant they were loaded.

"We will be lucky if they get a slap on the hand," Johnson said, his frustration clearly visible.

"What about Douglas and Richard?"

"We might have a bit more luck there," Johnson perked up. "We will need your full statement. I'm sure Richard and Douglas won't say much, but... if we manage to find Ben, he might help us out. There was also some evidence at the house where you were held. For now we have them on the charge of kidnapping, coercion, illegal betting and drug possession."

Charlie wanted to say it was good. Sadly, none of those charges would be enough to put them down for good unless new evidence popped up or they could be connected to murder charges. And even the kidnapping was questionable. After all, Charlie was given the choice... he could've decided to stay in jail on bogus charges instead.

"Do you feel up to giving a statement? Or do you need to get some rest first?" Johnson spoke, pulling Charlie from his thoughts, which were starting to turn rather dark.

Charlie contemplated his options for a moment. His body was starting to hurt, but his mind was starting to clear up a bit. He thought rest might be nice, on the other hand he realized that Johnson had spent the night by his side in hopes of learning everything there was as soon as possible. After all, he would have to return to the station and try to fix the mess that was undoubtedly awaiting there.

"Let's do it now," Charlie said with a sigh.

"Alright. I have Sergeant Keller at the door as guard. We can use him as a witness, alright?"

Charlie nodded, though a frown marred his face.

"A guard?" he asked when Johnson headed for the door.

"Yeah," Johnson paused, turning back towards Charlie. "Given the involvement of certain people in the case... there's reasonable concern that your life might still be in danger."

Well, if that wasn't the icing on the cake. Charlie groaned.

"The doctor?"

Johnson nodded.

"He's a head surgeon in this hospital."

Charlie startled, definitely not expecting that.

"What?"

Suddenly, any feeling of safety he could've had vanished.

"Calm down. We apprehended him right after the fight. He's currently at the station, awaiting interrogation. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how long we can keep him there."

"Why... why am I here then?" Charlie wondered, wide eyed. Was Johnson trying to get rid of him? Bringing him right into the lion's den?

Johnson raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"It's alright. We didn't have much of a choice. You were bleeding pretty badly, this was the nearest hospital. I've already arranged a transport to a different hospital. It should pick you up in the afternoon."

Somehow that didn't make Charlie feel any calmer. Afternoon seemed hell of a lot far away for someone who was stuck in a bed and unable to properly protect himself. And how safe was the other hospital anyway?

"What if he has some friends over there too?" Charlie asked, barely hiding his fear.

"That's... doubtful. But in any case, there will be protective measures, so don't worry," Johnson tried to reassure him.

Charlie gritted his teeth, but found he didn't have the energy to argue right now. So he just nodded.

"I promise Charlie, we will keep you safe," Johnson tried to reassure him still. Charlie looked at him doubtfully. Not that he didn't believe Johnson, the man did arrive in time after all. But... Charlie worried there might be other circumstances that would be out of his hands. Didn't he mention some problems having to locate him earlier?

Johnson took his silence as agreement and went to fetch the guard. Charlie was a bit nervous about the man's presence. How would he know if he didn't work for Kenneth?

"This is sergeant Erik Keller. Don't worry Charlie. I brought Erik in last year from Billoxby. He was helping me out with the case."

"Sir," Erik gave a nod in greeting and Charlie relaxed a bit. That meant the man knew he was a cop and not a scoundrel mixed up with an illegal fighting ring. And well, if he didn't, he would sure learn once he heard Charlie's statement.

Johnson pulled up a nearby chair and took out a pen and a notepad.

"Alright, if you feel up to it, let's start from the beginning."

And thus Charlie slowly and in as much detail as he could, recounted the last two weeks.

It was amidst the interview when there was a rapt knock on the door. Before anyone could call out, the door opened and in walked a plump, older nurse.

"Is everything alright, gentlemen? I saw that sergeant Keller wasn't on guard anymore."

"Yes, we are fine, thank you nurse Louise," Johnson said, putting his notepad aside. The nurse looked around the room and her eyes narrowed as she saw Charlie half sitting up. She shot Johnson a glare and approached her patient.

"I thought I told you to let us know when Mr. Smith woke up."

Johnson averted his eyes.

"Ah, sorry. It slipped my mind."

"You were not supposed to disturb the patient either. What is this, are you interviewing him?" She crossed her arms across her chest disapprovingly, then shook her head and turned her attention towards Charlie.

Charlie, who was trying to vanish on the spot.

"How are you doing, young man?" she asked and took hold of his uninjured hand, first checking the IV port then his pulse.

"Uh, alright, madam," Charlie answered sheepishly, throwing a pleading look towards Johnson and Keller. Both men stayed silent, pretending there was something fascinating on the wall or their hands. Charlie wanted to call them out on their cowardice, on the other hand he had the pleasure of meeting a nurse of similar disposition in the past and knew it was better not to mess around.

He didn't even protest when she pushed a thermometer under his tongue.

"I will need to check the incision. Could you give us some privacy?" nurse Louise turned to Johnson. It was clear she wasn't really asking, more telling them to get lost. Under different circumstances, Charlie was sure the men would've scattered. Right now though, Johnson shook his head, not moving an inch.

"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible. Mr. Smith is not to be left alone with anyone for the duration of his visit."

"You can't be serious," nurse Louise argued.

"I most definitely am. If you have a problem with that, check in with the hospital director. Or the new police chief."

Nurse Louise huffed but Johnson's stance was clear. She looked at Charlie, as if asking for his support.

Charlie gave a half shrug, feeling equal part surprised and unfazed.

With some muttering, the nurse took the thermometer, noting down the number. Then she did a quick job of checking the stab wound. Charlie risked a look, seeing a row of stitches and angry red skin. Just the sight sent a stab of pain through his abdomen.

"It looks alright so far. The doctor will stop by to check on you shortly after breakfast. Now let's see the leg."

She pulled up the blanket, while Charlie stared at her confused.

"Leg?"

She frowned at him.

"The dog bite," she pointed out and Charlie saw a small bandage on his left calf. He had totally forgotten the bite in all that happened. He really didn't think it was a big deal though in comparison to the stab wound.

"I don't understand why you haven't had that taken care of," she scolded him as she checked the wound and tutted.

"It was just a scratch," Charlie protested then hissed when she touched the skin above the cut. It felt more sore than he remembered, but he thought that might've been caused by the bruise right above. Caleb had managed to land a kick or two to his legs after all.

"Any dog bite should be treated, or at least cleaned. Do you know what those creatures put into their mouths? It's a cesspool of bacteria," she said with a shudder and Charlie was sure the woman wasn't a fan of dogs.

"I forgot," Charlie said simply, not wanting to explain how he really didn't have any access to water at the time.

The nurse muttered something under her breath and put the bandage back on, pulling the blanket down over Charlie's legs.

"Well, next time try not to. It's infected."

Charlie wasn't happy to hear that.

"Oh. Will it be okay?" he asked, suddenly assaulted by images of having his leg cut off. Wouldn't that be the icing on the cake.

The nurse saw the panic and must've taken pity on him. She patted the blanket.

"Don't worry. The antibiotics you're getting should take care of it. The doctor will check it too. Now... how's your pain?"

Charlie felt that he could maybe use some pain reliever, but the discomfort wasn't unbearable yet and he wanted to finish giving his interview.

"It can wait a bit," he said, trying to appear stronger than he felt. He knew it was stupid; if she had asked without the presence of the other two men, he would have said he hurt and he just wanted to get some sleep. But that wasn't the case.

Nurse Louise saw straight through him.

"I'll come in in half an hour, if you change your mind."

Charlie thanked her and they all waited until she left the room. Charlie was the first to break the embarrassing silence.

"New police chief?"

"Right, you don't know about that. Sydney sent a new police chief to replace the old one. It's Chief Superintendent Fernandez. He arrived to town last night. As soon as the raid went down, he settled at the station along with five more men. It will be a mess for a while, but with the old Superintendent gone, we can start cleaning up the place."

Johnson seemed at the same time weary at the prospect but also excited for the chance of getting something done. Charlie totally understood the feeling. When they got rid of Munro, he felt like the weight of the world was off his shoulders, at least until the next crisis hit Ballarat. He still couldn't be grateful enough for Lawson's return.

"Alright, so what happened after that second fight?" Johnson nudged the conversation back to the interview.

"I'm not sure. Kenneth got me inside the house. I guess Ben panicked or something. Next thing I remember was that doctor leaning over me."

"That's Dr. Kendrick," Johnson nodded with a grimace.

"How did you figure out who he was? I hardly gave you a good description," Charlie wondered if perhaps they might have gotten the wrong person.

"After the phone call I started tailing Kenneth. He picked up Kendrick and drove him to the house. It was a few hours before the fight, right?"

"Yeah, that had to be him. He stopped by to check on Caleb. I think he dropped off some drugs for him," Charlie said with a grimace.

"Yes. As soon as we finish here, I'm heading to the station and interrogating the bastard. I am really curious what he will come up with," Johnson said, a look of disgust on his face. It was clear the man didn't leave a good impression on him either.

"Do you think you will get him talking?" Charlie somehow doubted it. The doctor seemed calculating and cold hearted. Charlie would bet good money that Johnson would have an easier time trying to break Richard than the doc. But that wasn't his problem now. All he needed to do was survive the next few days, report back to Sydney for a proper debriefing and then hopefully get home. Oh how he wished to just enjoy the company of his friends and adoptive family, sit behind the dinner table and exchange good natured conversation. To wake up early and get in a run around the lake. Well, provided his leg didn't decide to fall off. Small things, but right now they looked more enticing than the detective position ever could.

Johnson just shrugged at Charlie's question and urged him to finish his report. It was clear to all of them that his energy was waning, not to mention the promised return of nurse Louise hung in the air. While Johnson didn't have to leave her alone with Charlie, it didn't meant she couldn't kick them out of the room.

It was twenty minutes later when Charlie finished his recount. His eyes were more closed than open by that time. He still remembered to ask one more question though.

"What took you so long?"

"What?" Johnson paused. He was putting away his notepad, getting up from the chair and readying himself to go.

"Last fight. You should have stepped in sooner," Charlie said with a hint of accusation.

Johnson grimaced.

"Yeah, I know. There was some... miscommunication."

Charlie's brows furrowed, so Johnson elaborated.

"After your call I informed O'Leary. The new chief, Superintendent Fernandez, made it to town in time, along with five people, but we were still waiting for the rest of the backup for the raid itself. I had a few people sent to the gym, but we figured quite soon you were not being moved there. Me and my men followed Kenneth's car to one of the empty warehouses that belong to Richard's father. Unfortunately, the backup team arrived to the gym instead and we didn't want to risk the raid in such a small number. I don't know where the mix-up happened," Johnson admitted and it was clear that small detail was bothering him as well.

"Better late than never," Charlie muttered thoughtfully, then grimaced. The pain meds had definitely stopped working now and even sitting up was becoming uncomfortable.

"Alright, I'll leave you with Erik here. I need to go to the station and interview Kendrick and about a dozen of other 'too rich for their own good' individuals. Erik will stay around until the afternoon, when you'll be moved. How does that sound?"

"Like a long wait," Charlie grumbled. He knew that there was no chance he would get comfortable with the looming threat, not until he was back on familiar grounds.

Johnson smiled and gave him a light pat on the blanket covered leg. Charlie cringed and Johnson raised his hands in apology, clearly having forgotten of the bite.

"Sorry. Get some sleep, it will pass faster. Don't worry, you're in good hands."

Easier said than done, but Charlie didn't argue. Instead he nodded.

"Gary?" he stopped Johnson before the door.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Charlie said sincerely. "For having my back."

Johnson made a face, making a pointed look around the room and Charlie.

"I should've done better. But... you're welcome."

With that, Johnson left and Erik had followed him outside to stand guard. Charlie slipped back down into lying position, letting out a shaky sigh. Things just seemed so unreal. Even though he should have felt relief at this being mostly over, at the fact that Caleb was alive and safe and hell, that he himself wasn't killed, all he could focus on was the tight ball inside his stomach, which had nothing to do with the stab wound.

Charlie put it down to the stress of the last few days, to the fact he was becoming increasingly homesick. Being alone and hurt in a strange hospital would most likely make anyone homesick, he thought idly.

The door to his room opened, once again letting in nurse Louise, accompanied by Erik. This time she didn't protest, she didn't ask about Charlie's pain either though. She took his vitals, tutted and shot him a glare.

"You should have let me give you your medication earlier, young man," she admonished, then promptly injected something into Charlie's IV.

"Here, this should take care of the pain. Breakfast will be served in about an hour, until then you can rest."

Charlie wanted to say he wasn't even hungry, but he didn't dare to speak up. Nurse Louise didn't look like someone he would want to argue with. Erik was quietly standing in the corner, following what was going on but at the same time trying to appear as if he wasn't even there. Charlie, appreciated the effort.

He was soon left alone again and as the pain was beginning to abate, his eyes slipped closed.

He wasn't really planning on falling asleep, but the drugs had managed to subdue the feeling of eminent danger. The tension left his body, along with the pain.