A/N: Hi, y'all. Here's a new chapter.

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When Kate was finally able to go and visit Steve at the hospital, it was already midday and she was so exhausted she almost dozed off on her feet. She hadn't slept a wink for close to thirty hours straight, and it began to take a toll on her.

But before getting herself home and retiring to bed, she needed to see her partner to ensure that he was alright. She had been informed earlier that Steve had undergone a surgery for the slash wound on his wrist and was now recovering at the ICU.

Stifling a yawn, Kate turned around the corner towards the ICU wing. The first person she saw there was Steve's brother. He was standing in the corridor with his back against the wall and his beefy arms crossed over his chest. His facial expression was inscrutable as he stared hard into Steve's ward.

Kate went to lean against the wall beside him. "Hey, Shane."

"Hey, Kate," he softly responded.

"What's going on?"

He jerked his chin towards the opened doorway. Two men in suits were seen talking with Steve inside. "They are still cross-examining him. I've been told to remove myself because I'm personally involved, the bastards."

Frowning, she asked, "Who are they?"

"MI-5," Shane replied through gritted teeth. "That stout looking fella is Sir Leopold Sullivan, the head of my department. In other word, he's my effing boss."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Your boss? Jesus…"

Shane finally took a good look at her. "Hey, you're okay? You look awful."

"Gee, thanks." Kate made a face.

Chuckling, he draped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "No, what I mean was, you look bushed. How long have you been up?"

"Too long, I'm afraid," Kate responded, stifling another yawn. "It comes with the job. But I'll be fine. I need to see Steve first before I hit the bed. How is he, by the way?"

"The surgery was successful. He would quickly recover. You know how he is," Shane replied. "The doctors are more concerned about the possibility of a brain damage due to his near-drowning, but they are constantly monitoring him. So far there's nothing to be worried about. And surprisingly, no concussion this time. But the both of us are at fault for his other injury."

"Us? What do you mean?"

"Two ribs are fractured. The rest are mostly bruised."

Kate's eyes widened. "You mean, from the chest compressions we did?"

"Yep."

"Shit," Kate moaned. "I must have done it overly hard."

"We had to, to save his life. That's the major risk of doing CPR." He tightened his arm around her. "Steve will get better, Kate. Trust me."

"I do trust you," she muttered, closing her eyes as she rested her head against his hard solid chest. It felt so nice and comfortable that she felt herself begin to drift off. Jerking to full alertness, she hastily took a step back, her face reddening.

"Sorry."

Shane just smirked. "No problem."

"So…" Kate said, trying to overcome her embarrassment, "What's the real story? Who is Natalya, really?"

"Like I said before, she's a sleeper agent. Her purpose is pure surveillance," he replied, turning serious once more.

"Her job as the night manager at the hotel is just a front then?"

Shane nodded. "It's her cover. That particular hotel is a favorite spot for Russian oligarchs to have clandestine meetings, so she is there to gather intel."

"I guess it's unfortunate that she became a witness to our case about two months ago. Is that how her cover is blown?"

"It plays a part."

"And, knowing Steve, he eventually got attracted to her." Kate briefly closed her eyes, feeling pain for her partner. "He has no idea at all, does he?"

"Not even a clue." Shane shook his head. "Kate, I really didn't know she's dating Steve until you told me about it."

"You said you've not spoken to him for a month. Where were you?"

Shane looked askance at her. "I was on a mission somewhere in Asia. That's all I can say."

"Fair enough."

"The moment I touched down on home soil last night, I was sent over to pick up Natalya." Intense fury sparked in his eyes as he added, "My team knew Steve is my brother, and I'm sure they already figured out that he and Natalya are dating. But I was kept in the dark about all of it."

He then abruptly straightened up. "And now my boss wants me to remove myself to avoid getting personally involved? Well, fuck him. I am involved."

His face a cool mask, Shane strode purposely into his brother's ward with Kate hot on his heels. The two MI-5 officials instantly turned around at their entrance.

"Are you done?" Shane quietly asked, his voice laced with a touch of venom.

The stout man, Leopold Sullivan, smiled. "Yes, of course. We are just...tying things up."

"Good. Now get out."

Sullivan raised his eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me, sir. Get out," Shane responded, undaunted. "We both need to talk, but not in here."

The two men stared hard at each other for several moments before the middle-aged man relented. "Very well. Lead the way."

Before leaving the room though, Sullivan turned to Steve and said, "I wish you a speedy recovery, young man. And remember to keep our discussion just now only to yourself."

Lying in the bed and looking extremely wan, Steve only responded with a blank stare. Stubborn to his core, he would never promise to anything he didn't fully agree on.

As Shane left the ward with the two men, Kate went to sit at her partner's side. "Hi, Steve. How are you feeling?"

He managed to smile, albeit weakly. "I'm still breathing, thanks to you."

"It's not just me alone. Shane was there too."

"I know." He looked at her closely. "Kate, you look terrible."

"Christ. Not you too," she responded, her eyes rolling. "I forgot to put on lipstick and mascara before coming here, so sue me."

"No, I mean you look exhausted. You haven't slept, have you?"

"Well, I got no time. I stayed for a while at Natalya's flat to oversee the processing. When the SIO and some MI-5 agents both arrived at the scene, I thought there was going to be a turf war! It was so intense. And then I went to the office to brief the gaffer. He has promised to come and visit you soon, by the way. Shortly afterwards I had a long meeting with the MVCU. Clearly they are not happy that MI-5 had railroaded them to stay out of this one."

Steve swallowed hard. "What about Natalya?"

"They haven't found her, not yet. But I promise you, we are still looking. With or without the MI-5 consent."

He nodded, utterly grateful. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Just doing our job, mate."

"Kate?" he said with a beseeching look.

She leaned closer. "Yes, Steve?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

"Okay. How can I help?"

He ran his tongue over his dry lips and said, "I don't like the way Shane looked just now. He worries me. Can you…uh…go and check if he's okay?"

Thoughtfully, she nodded. "Sure. Of course."

"Thanks, mate."

"No problem. I'll be right back in a minute."

Kate then stepped outside, looking around to determine the directions that Shane and the two MI-5 officials had just taken. She got no damn clue, and so she had to ask one of the AFOs standing guard at Steve's doorway, who then pointed to the corridor on her left. She walked briskly through it and turned around a corner before noticing the younger MI-5 agent standing outside a closed door, talking on his mobile phone.

"Where are they?" she asked as came near. Still engaged on his call, he jerked his thumb towards the door behind him.

Kate peered through a clear rectangular window fixed at eye level in the door. The ward was empty except for Shane and his boss who were in the middle of a heated argument. Their muffled voices could still be heard because the door was not exactly soundproof.

"Look, Arnott. I know you're pissed off."

"No shit."

"It's the procedure, you know that. Until it is fully corroborated, all intel is strictly need-to-know basis only—"

"Which is totally rubbish because they got to her first. Why did you wait until it's already too late?"

"We had to be hundred percent sure it was the correct intel. We can't just go in and pull her out without proper validation. It would waste months of valuable surveillance work."

"Her cover is already blown days ago!" Shane shouted. "I've just read the intel transcript you had received much earlier, the one that you stupidly put on back burner just because you are 'not sure'. You should have pulled her out there and then. Instead, you've put both her life and my brother's at risk!"

"She is an MI-5 agent!" Leopold snapped back. "She knew what she's in for when she joined the agency. As for your brother, he's a well-trained police officer. I'm sure he will recover and bounce back to his feet in no time. He needs to stop mooning about her and suck it up like a man—erk!"

Shane had suddenly leapt forward and slammed his forearm across the other man's throat, shoving him backward and up against the wall.

Kate gasped. She knew it was time for her to intervene, or things would get ugly real fast. But when she pushed the door open, the junior MI-5 agent tried to intercept her.

"Hey, wait! You can't go in there."

Ignoring him, she hurriedly stepped inside and firmly shut the door, leaning against it to prevent the man from entering. Meanwhile, Shane still had not let go of Leopold who was quickly turning red from lack of air.

"Shane?" she calmly called out, but he didn't seem to hear.

"My brother nearly lost his life because of your incompetence and negligence," Shane hissed into the other man's face. "You should think carefully what you say about him."

"Shane," Kate tried again. "Steve is asking for you."

After a long tense moment, Shane finally stepped back and let go. Leopold sagged against the wall and gasped for air, his pudgy face turned almost purple now.

"You know I could kill you with just a twist of my arm, don't you?" Steve's brother sneered at the older man. "But I won't lower myself to your level, sir. Consider this as my tender of resignation."

With that, he turned around and strode towards the door. Kate stepped aside to let him pass.

"You can't do that!" Leopold shouted at Shane's back with a voice that had gone hoarse. Rubbing at his bruised throat, he then glared at Kate. "He can't do that."

Kate couldn't stop herself from grinning. "Well, he just did. Good day, sir."

She managed to catch up with Shane as he reached his brother's bedside. Steve was looking up at his older brother with deeply concerned eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"Me?" Shane responded with a chuckle. "Hey, I'm not the one lying in a hospital bed."

"Shane…"

"Truly, Stevie. I'm fine. Everything's good."

Kate chose that moment to interrupt, "Shane has just resigned from MI-5."

Steve's eyes grew wide. "What? Jesus Christ…"

"Thank you very much," Shane sarcastically told Kate, to which she just shrugged with a smirk.

"Why did you do that?" Steve asked, still in shock. "Is it because of me?"

"Look, it's no big deal."

"It is to me."

"Don't worry, little brother," Shane said, squeezing Steve's arm reassuringly. "I'm not exactly unemployed. In fact, I can't wait to return to full military service now. I've had enough of this espionage world."

Steve still didn't look convinced, but he understood that his big brother knew exactly what he was doing. "Alright. If you say so."

Kate suddenly broke into a loud yawn. She blinked back at the two brothers, too exhausted to be embarrassed. "Look, guys, as much as I love to stay and chat, I can barely keep my eyes open here. Need to crash, so I better get home before I collapse to the floor."

"I can always catch you," Shane easily remarked, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

"You can catch me another time, Romeo," Kate responded in kind. She bent over to kiss Steve on his temple. "Get well soon, mate. I'll be back later."

Turning to Shane, she said, "And you, Major Arnott, be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Thanks for the advice, DI Fleming." He grinned in return. "We made a good team earlier today, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we certainly did."

The two continued to smile at each other, until Steve rolled his eyes and loudly cleared his throat. Turning slightly pink, Kate spun and dashed for the door. Shane still had a silly grin on his face when he turned towards his younger brother.

"Really?" Steve gave him a telling look.

"What?"

"How many times have I told you?"

"About?"

Steve sighed. "Never mind."

"I really like her. She's a badass."

"Yeah, I can see that. But she's my boss, and she's a married woman with a young son. I think I've told you this a million times already."

"Duly noted."

Suddenly turning serious, Shane took a seat on the edge of the bed facing his brother. "Anyway, I'm sorry about all the tough questionings just now. Leopold can be quite an arsehole."

Steve emitted a weak smile. "I've encountered bigger arseholes in my line of work. It's part of the job descriptions."

"Frankly speaking, that man grates on my nerves," Shane said with sheer frustration. "Since he became the new head of the department six months ago, there have been some questionable incidents under his watch. I'm not sure if he is completely inept or just plain stupid."

"If he's so bloody useless, how did he manage to become the head of an MI-5 department?"

"The grapevine is saying that he has the Home Secretary in his pockets."

"Ah…" Steve nodded as he understood. "A bent agent then?"

"A bent agent?" Shane raised his eyebrows and laughed. "You've been in anti-corruption for way too long, brother. Anyway, we have had some suspicions about Leopold, but they are neither proven nor confirmed. At least, not yet. He's real slick."

"He kept pushing me to describe how the three Russian intruders look like," Steve said, tiredly rubbing his temple. "I gave their descriptions the best that I could. But I deliberately left something out."

"What is it?

"I didn't tell him that I stabbed one of those goons in his right foot with a piece of broken glass. The bastard must still be limping somewhere."

"Well done, Shortlegs," Shane proudly said with a grin, ruffling Steve's hair. "I'll pass that particular information to the police. They can sent notices to all clinics and medical centers within the immediate area to be on full alert of any strange man sporting an injured foot."

Steve smiled, but only halfheartedly. Noticing this, Shane asked, "What's wrong, mate?"

After a slight hesitation, Steve asked, "What's her real name?"

Shane knew exactly whom his brother was referring to. He took a deep breath before quietly replying, "Yulia. Yulia Burlakov. She has two citizenships, British and Russia. She was born here in the UK to an English mother and a Russian diplomat. Her father died about five years ago in a car bomb in Moscow. That's when she joined the agency."

Steve couldn't meet his brother's gaze, miserable that he was. "She told me she came from St. Petersburg, and that she never knew her father. Did she earn a degree in economics?"

"No. She majored in political science."

Steve closed his eyes against the sudden tears. "Is there anything about her that is real then? Her feelings for me, are they just a front too? Was she only pretending?"

Shane reached over to grip his brother's shoulder. "From what I gather, she never planned to meet you. There wasn't even a plot to include you as her cover. I believe that what she feels for you is genuine. It is not a pretense."

When Steve remained silent, Shane added, "I will find her, Steve."

Steve opened his eyes and looked straight at his brother. "How? You're no longer with the agency."

"That doesn't mean I don't have friends in high places. I'll find a way," Shane said with a shrug. "I'll go and join the search for Natalya. The combined security forces of the police and the MI-5 are covering this hospital, so you'll be fully protected."

"I'm not worried about my safety."

"I know that, but I'm still worried about you. Look, Steve. I know you're hurting, both physically and emotionally. So you really need to get some rest. You have to get better, you hear me?"

Numbly, Steve nodded. "Okay. But promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Don't tell Mom."

"It's too late, Steve. I think your gaffer has already informed Mom and Da—"

"I mean, don't tell her about the broken ballerina figurine. She'll kill me!"

Shane stared back for several heartbeats before he broke up laughing. "Your secret is safe with me. Always. Now close your eyes and go to sleep."

Shane stayed a bit longer at Steve's side until he was sure that his brother had fully drifted off. Before leaving, he stood by the bed and looked down at his younger and only sibling, the one that he had shielded and protected ever since that small bundle of joy had been placed into his arms over thirty four years ago.

Sadly, he whispered, "I will find your Natalya, little brother. But I can't guarantee that I will find her alive."

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Stay tuned for the final chapter.

"Maybe there's some people out there who always tells the truth and ones who always lie. The rest of us choose our moment." – DS Steve Arnott

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* ABBREVIATIONS:

AFO - Authorized Firearm Officer

CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

DI - Detective Inspector

DS - Detective Sergeant

ICU - Intensive Care Unit

MVCU - Major Violent Crime Unit

SIO - Senior Investigating Officer