A/N - thank you for taking the time to read and comment.

Chapter 2

Branch knelt down beside Walt and took over from where Henry left off. He removed his shirt and covered Walt's leg wound with it as best he could and pressed down hard. He exchanged worried glances with Vic and noticed the tears rolling down his colleague's cheeks as she held him. He knew she and Walt had a close relationship. It didn't take a genius to see they had feelings for each other. Branch wasn't sure if they had ever acted upon those feelings, but it didn't really matter. They remained professional whenever they were on duty and Branch respected that. Vic kept talking to Walt, reassuring him, even though Branch was pretty sure he couldn't hear her.

"Hang on, Walt. Please, hold on," she pleaded emotionally.

"C'mon, Henry," Branch muttered, checking over his shoulder for the Native American bar owner.

As if on cue, Henry's truck rounded the street corner, kicking up dust, and screeched to a halt beside the gathered group. Henry jumped out and rushed to them.

"Help me get him in the back," Henry commanded, dispersing the crowd. "Quickly. Come on. Move! Someone call the hospital. Tell them we're on our way."

Branch and Vic and two bystanders each took hold of one of Walt's limbs. Henry opened the back of the truck and then turned to help them manoeuvre Walt onto the flat bed. Vic climbed in first and hauled Walt's dead weight onto the truck while Branch and the others lifted him as carefully as they could.

Vic sat with her back to the cab and supported Walt's head and shoulders against her body as Branch closed up the back of the truck.

"Go, Henry," Vic yelled, as Henry climbed into the cab and slammed the door. "Hurry."

Henry didn't need to be told twice. He knew the urgency of the situation. He spun the wheels of the truck as he floored the gas and sped away in the direction of the local hospital. Branch stood in the middle of the road, shirtless and shocked at what had just transpired. He watched as they disappeared out of sight. His heart was pounding in his chest. He wasn't exactly sure what to do next. His head told him to do his job. He should take statements from the witnesses and get a description of the thieves' getaway car, get the investigation up and running. However, his heart wanted to find Cady and tell her what had happened.

The Ferg, who was on his way back to the office with the lunch orders, noticed the commotion on the other side of the square. He saw Henry's truck speed away and then noticed his colleague standing in the middle of the road wearing only his undershirt. The Ferg dropped the bag of sandwiches on the sidewalk and ran across the square to his colleague. When he arrived on the scene he couldn't believe what was happening.

"Branch, what's going on?" he asked, looking around expecting to see the Sheriff somewhere in the midst of it all.

"Walt's been shot," Branch replied dolefully.

"What? Is he okay?" he asked, noticing the blood on Branch's hands and jeans.

"Not really," Branch replied, shaking his head and exhaling deeply.

Ferg stared at the large blood pool on the sidewalk and realized that, if that was the sheriff's blood, Branch wasn't exaggerating. There was an awful lot of it, too much. His boss could be in real trouble. As he tried to absorb the reality of what was going on, Branch snapped him out of his thoughts by getting down to business.

"Ferg, I need you to take witness statements and cordon off the area. Alert neighboring counties as soon as you get a description of the getaway vehicle. I need to contact Cady and tell her what's going on….and maybe get a new shirt," Branch explained, wiping his hands in his t-shirt.

"No problem. I've got it here. Call me when you have news on Walt," Ferg replied.

The journey to the hospital was physically uncomfortable and rough for Vic, but she didn't care. She carefully cradled her injured boss, who remained unconscious throughout the journey, and continually talked to him. She cared greatly for him, probably more than was appropriate for a married woman. She still considered herself married, even though she and Sean were now separated. She wasn't sure if she just had a crush on Walt or if her feelings were more than that, but there was love in her heart for the man that she was holding in her arms. He was a man's man, a strong yet gentle man, the sort of man she could love.

She looked down at his weathered face. He was frighteningly pale. Another tear dropped from her cheek onto his shoulder. A trail of blood trickled from his mouth as he continued to fight for each breath. She knew he was a strong. She knew he was a fighter and prayed that he had the strength to get through this. The hospital wasn't all that far from the bank, but those few minutes in the truck felt like days as Walt weakened in her arms. She gave his arm a squeeze, just to remind him that he wasn't alone.

Once the hospital was in sight she told him so, hoping it would give him the strength to hold on. His breathing had grown shallower which terrified her. His chest was barely rising now. He was slipping away before her eyes.

Henry ground the truck to an abrupt halt outside the emergency room door. He jumped out and ran inside and called for someone to help him. Luckily it was a quiet day in the ER and staff had just received the call from outside the bank to expect the emergency. They had been preparing for their arrival when Henry ran in. They responded immediately, grabbed a gurney and raced outside. Henry lowered the back end of the truck and unceremoniously dragged Walt by his boots out of the back, all the while, Vic moving with him and protecting his head. The medical staff were shocked to see who the victim was. They all recognized Walt as the sheriff who had only been at the hospital earlier that day when Mrs. Grady, the rape victim, had been brought in. They quickly sprang into action. They placed him on the gurney and hurried him inside.

Meanwhile, Branch had found a quiet spot away from the crowd. He stared at his cell phone, bracing himself to make one of the most difficult calls of his career, the call to Walt's daughter, who also happened to be his ex-girlfriend. Taking a deep breath, he hit the call button. It rang a couple of times before Cady picked up.

"Hey, Branch," Cady said upon answering. "I thought you were my dad calling with another excuse for not getting to the bank."

She sounded happy. Branch didn't know how to tell her. His voice caught in his throat.

"Branch? Are you still there?"

"Cady, something's happened," Branch started shakily. "It's your dad."

"Oh, God. What? What happened, Branch? Is he okay?"

"He's been shot, Cady," Branch started to tell her.

"No….," she said, her stomach dropping to her boots. "Is he alive?"

"He was when I last saw him. Henry and Vic took him to the hospital, but it's bad, Cady. You need to get to Durant hospital as soon as you can," Branch told her.

"I'm on my way," she said and hung up and immediately ran to her car.

Back at the hospital, Henry and Vic waited helplessly for news on Walt. The medics had whisked him away as soon as they arrived. They heard not long after that he had been taken straight to surgery. Time seemed to slow down. Almost an hour had passed. Henry sat perfectly still with his eyes closed and silently prayed to the great spirits to spare his friend and to give him strength to recover. Vic sat impatiently, her leg bouncing nervously, taking deep breaths every now and then to help quell the nausea she was feeling. She jumped with fright when her cell phone rang.

"Moretti," she answered.

"Vic, I've just heard what happened. How is he?"

It was Ruby, Walt's secretary and friend of many years. Walt had given her the morning off to attend a doctor's appointment and she was at the pharmacy when she heard the news.

"I don't know, Ruby. He was losing so much blood. They took him straight into surgery. That's all I know," Vic explained sounding frustrated.

"What can I do?" Ruby asked, anxious to help.

"I don't know, Ruby. Branch and Ferg are at the bank following up on the shooting. I'm sure they could do with you back in the office, fielding calls," Vic suggested.

"I'm on my way," Ruby replied. "And, Vic, call me as soon as you hear anything."

"I will."

By this time, Deputy Ferguson had taken everyone's statement and now had some information to follow up on. He got a description of the getaway car and the information from witnesses that the window had been shot out. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get an APB to surrounding counties. After calling Cady, Branch had interviewed the bank manager briefly and asked for security footage, which was quickly supplied. He took it back to the office.

Once there he helped himself to a clean shirt then sat and watched the security footage. There was footage from inside the bank as well as footage from an outside camera. There wasn't much he could get from it besides an approximate height of the assailant. He wore a mask which hid his identity. Footage from the external camera showed what had happened when Walt arrived at the bank. There was no sound, but it wasn't really necessary. Branch watched as the gunman tried to escape and Walt drew his weapon. With the gunman now out of shot, he saw the moment when Walt was first hit, how he staggered slightly, but regained his composure quickly enough to get more shots off. It was difficult to watch. Then came the moment when he went down. It was disturbing to say the least, to see the normally indestructible sheriff topple and worse still, to see him not even attempt to get back up.

Branch rewound the footage to find the clearest shot of the gunman. He took a screen shot of the masked gunman and despite being unable to identify him he swore that he would get him, for Walt. He owed Walt his life after all. It wasn't that long ago that Branch himself had received serious gunshot wounds and it had been his boss who had come to his rescue and ultimately saved his life. He would never admit it to his face, but he owed him. And whatever their differences, such debts would be repaid.

To be continued...