When they had reached the airplane, Barney immediately got in the cockpit and started the pre-flight checklist. Lee had placed Kate in a secured cot and let Gunnar take her of her as Toolbox patched him up.

As the plane sped down the runway and took off towards Vienna, Barney could hear the police sirens just behind them. They had left just in time.

Toolbox removed the bullet from Lee's shoulder and stitched up his leg after having disinfected him and shot him a dose of antibiotics to prevent infection.

Lee stood and headed towards Gunnar and Kate.

They didn't have much medical equipment and he watched as Gunnar removed the stethoscope from his ears and place an oxygen mask over Kate's mouth and nose.

"How is she"? he asked as Gunnar took her pulse.

"Not good. From what I can tell, she has multiple broken ribs". Gunnar paused for a second as he looked at Kate. "And it would be a miracle if she didn't have internal bleeding. And I don't believe in miracles".

Lee nodded. It was Gunnar's way of saying that he was practically sure that she was bleeding internally.

Gunnar patted Lee on his good shoulder. "You said she's a strong woman. I hope she won't prove you wrong". Gunnar walked away, and Lee took Kate's hand in his. He finally had the time to take a real good look at her. She was ghastly pale and the contusions from the latest sparing session were now more than ever visible and were blending in with the older ones. Her face was swollen and red and traces of dried up blood were visible near her eyebrow and mouth. He was used to seeing this kind of stuff but not on her and he felt sick to his stomach and heart.

He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, took the water bottle nearby and wet it. Very gently he brought it to her face and first removed the dried-up blood from the side of her face, where it had dripped down from her eyebrow.

Cesar looked as Lee turned the handkerchief over and repeated what he had just done, except this time he cleaned the side of Kate's mouth. He wasn't the only one to notice the pain Lee was feeling and the fact that Kate was still unconscious didn't help in imagining a positive outcome.

Suddenly, her breathing became more difficult and she made terrible sounds. Gunnar stood immediately and grabbed the stethoscope. He listened under Lee's careful and worried watch. Gunnar shook his head and called out to Barney in the cockpit.

"How much longer"?

"Twenty minutes"!

"She doesn't have twenty minutes", replied Gunnar as he started to look around the plane.

"Gunnar"? said Lee.

Gunnar went from one side of the plane to the other, grabbing things he could find. When he returned, he had tubing, tape, an army knife, a flask and Lee's bottle of water.

"Gunnar"! said Lee again desperate to get his attention.

"She's got a pneumothorax, if I don't evacuate the air that is building up in her chest, we're going to lose her".

Lee said nothing as he watched Gunnar cut the tube into a small section and a longer section. He put both in Lee's water bottle before putting tape over the top of the bottle. Gunnar then opened the flask and poured alcohol over the end of the longer tube that was sticking out of the bottle, then the army knife and finally over Kate's chest.

Lee looked at Gunnar as Cesar and Toolbox joined them. "You've done this before"?

"Once, a long time ago", said Gunnar as he lifted Kate's arm above her head and looked for Kate's 5th intercostal space. He then kept his finger in position and looked at Cesar. "I need you to clamp the tube at the top of the bottle and don't release until I say so"!

Cesar grabbed the tube and pinched it with all his might.

Gunnar looked at Lee. "You're sure you want to stick around for this"?

"I'm not going anywhere", answered Lee.

Gunnar nodded. He grabbed the pointy knife and made a transverse 2 cm incision where he had placed his finger. The skin bled lightly. He then removed the knife and then placed it back in pushing it in further. Lee could see that what was at the end of it was resisting. Suddenly, the resistance gave way and Gunnar removed the knife and placed his finger in the incision.

"Good there's no blockage".

He grabbed the tube and inserted it inside the incision on the side of Kate's chest. When it was in place, he asked Lee to cut multiple pieces of tape and taped the tube alongside the incision and Kate's chest. Gunnar then looked at Cesar. "Let go of the tube".

Cesar unclasped the tube with his finger and bubbles were seen moving the water that was in the bottle.

Gunnar took the stethoscope and listened again. He nodded as he looked at Lee. "Much better".

Lee looked at Gunnar and nodded. "Thanks brother".

When they landed fifteen minutes later, Friedrich was waiting for them with an ambulance as planned. The paramedics took Kate in charge after being stunned by Gunnar's home-made chest tube aspiration.

As there wasn't enough room in the ambulance for Lee, he and the others got inside Friedrich's van and headed towards the hospital.

By the time they got there fifteen minutes after the ambulance, Kate had already been assessed and taken to surgery.

They waited for what seemed a lifetime. Lee thought back to when he used to deploy and wondered if this awful waiting in panic and unknown had been what Kate had endured each time, she waited for him to return, safe and sound. He suddenly understood what Victor had done and why he had done it. Victor and Lee had been on very two different sides of the situation and Victor had been the one to see what it was like for Kate, the one left behind. The one who would count the hours, sometimes days before being able to hear from Lee out on the field. Victor had been the one to notice that Kate wasn't sleeping as well as she used to, that her eating had changed. That every time someone would come knocking on the door, Kate would close her eyes and pray that it wasn't someone telling her that Lee had been injured or worse, had gotten killed in action. Lee had never thought of those things, up until now. He realized that he was now playing that role as he worried every time a doctor walked into the waiting room, that they were going to tell him that she was gone.

Finally, after three long hours of agonizing wait, a doctor walked into the waiting room.

"Is anyone here for Kate Thompson"?

Lee rose to his feet and the doctor walked over. "I'm Doctor Radetzki".

Lee shook his hand. "How is she"?

"There was a lot of internal bleeding, but we managed to fix the internal lesions. We had to do a partial splenectomy, but it shouldn't impact her health in the future".

"So, she's going to make it"?

"Yes. I don't see any obstacles in her making a full recovery. I am a man of science and hardly believe in things I can't explain, but she must have one hell of a guardian angel. I've seen people come into this hospital with less severe pneumothorax and internal bleeding and not walk out of here alive. I'll let you know when you can see her".

Lee shook his hand and sat down giving a sigh of relief. Barney patted his back.

"It's all over now. You'll soon be reunited".

Lee stood. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea".

Barney narrowed his eyes and looked as Lee walked out of the waiting room.

The guys looked at Barney.

"What was all that about"? asked Cesar.

Barney shrugged. "I don't know C. I'll go talk to him".

Barney stood and walked out searching for Lee. It didn't make any sense.