A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger, I usually hate them, but sometimes they just happen. I wanted this chapter with the last one, but the flow seemed off so I split the two. Let me know what ya think.

"Jesus," I mutter as I round the corner. My eyes flick between bodies on the ground and my brain struggles to make links. Are they dead? Who's alive? My legs have frozen. Calleigh lies still; blood from a bullet to her chest is staining her front. The assailant, Western I presume, is slumped against a metal sheet, half of his face crumbled from a shot to the head; most likely imparted by Calleigh's weapon. And Eric? Eric looks dead, his face paling slowly as the blood drains from a hole in him abdomen.

Somehow, I make it to Calleigh's side. Relief floods my body as I watch her arms flail about, trying to get up. I check her pulse as I call for ambulances, finding it erratic but still there. My legs pull me to Eric; he's about a stride away, but he's not moving. Barely breathing.

"Eric?" I try, pressing my hands to his stomach, trying to stem the flow of blood. It fizzes around my hands. He doesn't respond. I rise quickly, checking Westerns body and kicking aside the gun. He's dead, but I know the protocol. "Calleigh, what happened?" She is on her knees now, blood dripping from her wound, staining her shirt and forming a small puddle on the floor below. "Calleigh?"

"He - He shot… Eric," she stutters out, her breathing erratic. Short shallow puffs as she tries desperately to fill her lungs. "He-"

"It's okay," I say, trying to encourage her to lie back down. She shouldn't even be able to move, yet here she is making steady progress to Eric's body.

"Is he de- " She stops herself, not wanting to say the word. "Is he alive?"

I nod, rising to move to her side, my hand resting on her shoulder as I encourage her to rest. She's having none of it. "Try not to talk, Calleigh. You need to lie down."

She pushes me away, pulling herself towards Eric, sheer determination written on her face. She slips on the gravel slick with blood, cutting her hands and arms as she keeps pulling, not giving up until she's next to him.

"Eric?" she croaks, hand touching his arm.

"Stay still Calleigh," I warn, mindful of the fact she's still bleeding heavily. But she's not moving anywhere now, she doesn't even glance to Western, simply keeps her gaze on Eric. A shaky hand moves to his wound, mimicking my intentions of earlier.

His eyes open softly and I almost fall to my knees in relief. Calleigh reaches out a hand to palm his cheek, whispering gentle words into his ear. She presses down hard on his wound, making him wince in response. Their blood mixes as she tries desperately to stem the flow of his.

In the distance I hear sirens approaching and I kneel down, trying to keep both of them alive long enough for the paramedics to help. I reach out to Eric, but Calleigh pushes me away, cradling his body to hers. She won't let me touch him. The lack of blood and oxygen is starting to drive her closer to shock and I know her behavior is irrational. Right now, I am their best hope. Regardless of what she wants, I have to help. I pull away her hand and she fights it. How she has so much energy I don't know, but she refuses to budge, so I put my fingers over hers and help her to press down.

I hear the ambulances arrive and I rise to direct them but they find us anyway, flooding the scene with medical paraphernalia and stretchers. Calleigh whispers Eric's name softly, trying to make him keep his eyes open. They flutter shut, opening again when she speaks. He's fighting.

"Come on, Eric," she grinds out. "Please stay with me. I can't lose you." His eyes close again, this time they don't open. She grabs his face with a ferocity I didn't know she was capable of. "Eric! Don't you dare give up on me!" she growls, not letting him go until the EMT pried him out of her grasp. We watch them move him away from the scene; only then does she let her own eyes close, sheer exhaustion overcoming her.

/---/

My eyes fill with tears as I watch Dr. Reader glance to her watch. The brief conversation from only moments ago still flits though my mind. After Horatio convinced her to give us the information, despite the fact we are not family members, we finally got some answers.

"Miss Duquesne will be fine. The bullet looked like a ricochet; it didn't go deep, damaging just the surface of the lung. She lost a lot of blood though, but she'll pull through. We've managed to get her fluid levels back up again. She's a fighter." Doctor Reader had glanced away, almost as though deciding whether to impart any more information or not.

"And Eric?" I pressed, demanding she tell me.

"Mr. Delko body's been in shock since he arrived. I'm not sure if he can resist new stressors and the bullets still in his abdomen. Removal will be difficult. You should get his family here."

"But he'll be okay?" I asked, my heart sinking when I saw her glance to the floor.

"You should prepare your self for the worst."

The worst? No, just pain so intense it presses down on my chest, refusing to let me breathe.

I'd called Horatio on the way to the hospital. He'd stayed calm, God knows how, demanding, in that professional way that leaves no room for negotiation, that both the doctor and I tell him everything we knew. He stands by me now, both of us watching as Eric's body is pumped full of blood and drugs. A desperate concoction to try and salvage a man from the destruction left by a small lump of metal.

"Ma'am?" He glances to me, fingers twiddling with his sunglasses for a moment, before he pins them to his shirt. "Stay with Eric, I'll call his parents. I'm going to go to Calleigh too, see how she is."

I nod, the compassion in his voice drawing out my tears. I don't fight them this time, watching him walk to my friend as I try to stand by the other.

I see Dr. Reader glance to her watch, shaking her head at the young nurse who tries to hand her the paddles. They are giving up. They're letting him go. My tears fall uncontrollably now and I let me eyes slip shut, unable to watch him die.

"Try again." A voice startles me, making my eyes open wide again as the trauma-room door slams against the wall. Alexx.

"You can't be in here," says Dr. Reader, gesturing for her to leave.

"I'm a Medical Doctor," Alexx says, eyes glinting with black determination. Her voice is steely as she grinds out, "try again, or I'll do it myself."

Their eyes meet, a sudden silence descends upon the room, punctuated by the odd beep of the machine. "It's been - "

"I don't care how long it's been."

Dr. Reader sighs reluctantly. "Paddles." She grabs them, casting Alexx an icy glare as she returns her attention to Eric's body. "Charging. Clear."

Eric's body convulses. I glance to the monitor. Nothing.

The doctor glances to Alexx, brows raised expectantly.

"Again," Alexx orders.

"Charging. Clear." I cringe as she places the panels on his skin, hating the way his body responds to the current.

I glance to the monitor.

Nothing.

"Again!"