"Why don't you try and eat something?" Jill Danko looked up to find Nurse Conners standing in front of her.

"No, ma'am. Thank you." She said politely as the head nurse sat down in the chair beside her.

"It is a long surgery in the best of circumstances." Nurse Conners said.

"Yes, ma'am."

"You should rest a little at least. He won't be in recovery for at least three hours. You've been awake for days now, and you'll need your strength when he's recovering. Why don't you go lie down in the nurses lounge? I can stay here and promise to wake you the second there is news."

"Thank you, ma'am, but I don't think I could sleep." Jill said honestly.

"Oh, honey," Nurse Conners said gently while reaching out and pushing a stray hair back behind Jill's ear. "You could fall down right here, if you gave yourself half a chance." She wrapped her thin arm around Jill's shoulder who had been stunned by the head nurse's tender and compassionate demeanor. She found herself leaning into her shoulder, burying her face.

"He's everything." She whispered gently. "You can't know, ma'am. He's my heart."

"I can see it." Nurse Conners said pulling her up and with an arm still around her, leading her to the nurses lounge where they had made up a bed for her. Jill didn't protest, simply followed along, even allowing the head nurse to remove her shoes, and gently tuck her under the blanket that they had laid out on the couch along the far wall.

"You'll tell me . . ." her voice filled with fear.

"Of course." The head nurse told her. "One of the girls will stay in here with you. Don't worry." She put a gentle hand on Jill's shoulder, pushing her down. She was grateful that the girl was cooperating because they had planned on giving her a sedative if this hadn't worked.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I can't seem to . . ."

"Oh, hush child." Elizabeth Conners said. "And for pity sake, if I am tucking you into bed, you can drop the ma'am." She rested a hand against Jill's cheek.

"Yes ma'am." Jill said obediently, bringing a smile to the older nurse's face.

"I swear, you girls get younger by the day. You're just a baby!" She muttered the familiar complaint. "Your husband too! I've got shoes older than you!" She shook her head, and then just before rising and leaving Jill to sleep, she added, "Don't worry, honey. Dr. Keene is with him. He's the best surgeon we've got, and if that husband is anything like you, he's tough as nails and won't be dragged away from you by anything - not even a stupid bullet." She rested her hand on Jill's forehead briefly. She clicked off the lamp beside the couch and nodded at the nurse who sat on a chair near Jill, watching them - shocked and amused by the usually strict head nurse's tender behavior.

"You say one word," The head nurse said fiercely, pointing a long finger at her. "And night duty will be all you see for the next six months!" She turned sharply on her heel and left. Jill Danko was asleep before the door had swung closed.

***R***

Strangely, he felt no pain. Mostly it was confusion that he was experiencing. It had been so cold and dark, but now he felt warm at last. He could sense he was no longer on hard ground either. He felt comfortable, and wanted only to rest and fall back into unconsciousness, but something pulled at the corners of his muddled brain. The soft scent of lilacs. She always smelled like lilacs.

Jill

Knowing she was there, he began to fight with all his might to shake off the fog that held him trapped. Slowly he opened his eyes, and the very first thing he saw was her beautiful, long, dark hair. She was sitting beside him, her head down. He shifted slightly and her head snapped up, her eyes growing wide as she saw he was awake.

"You're awake!" She said, her smile brightening her whole face. Holding his hand in hers, she moved closer so her face was close to his.

"Ha . . .ha . . ."

"Shh. Dont' try to talk." Seeing his fearful eyes she continued quickly, "Willie's okay, too. He got you out. He's okay."

He relaxed then, and closed his eyes briefly.

"Are you in pain?" She asked and he could hear the stress and weakness in her voice. Opening his eyes again he looked at her, really seeing her. She looked terrible. She was disheveled and her face had that strange tight look that she always got when she was upset, but pretending to be fine.

"Hey . . ." He managed, wishing he could sit up and wrap his arms around her.

"Don't talk." She said again, and her eyes welled with unshed tears.

"Ba . . . baby, love . . . you."

It had been a monumental effort to squeeze out those few words, but he had been wanting to say them for so long now - since they'd first been pinned down in that stupid warehouse. Her tears fell then, and he cursed internally that she was crying and he couldn't do anything about it. She held his hand against her cheek and cried. After a minute, she forced herself to regain her composure and leaning over him, ran her soft hand along his face.

"You rest, sweetheart." She told him softly, her voice still full of tears. "You've been really . . .You just rest. I'll be right, here, okay?"

He could manage no more words and could feel the fog settling over him again. He could only squeeze her fingers gently, hoping the warmth of his fingers could tell her everything she needed to know. The last thing he remembered before falling back asleep was her voice so sweet - the sweetest voice of all - whispering in his ear again and again, "I love you, Mike. I love you." It was better than knowing he was safe and out of that godawful warehouse. It was better than the medicine that they were pumping into his badly broken body. He wrapped himself in her words and slept sure in her embrace.

***R***

"Well, you look like hell." Terry said as he crutched his way to the side of Willie's bed.

"You just missed the seven nurses who stopped by just to check on me." Willie said with a grin. "How's the leg?"

"It's cool, man. Got some ugly scars." Terry shrugged. "Girls dig scars."

"They'll be diggin' on me then."

"You gave us a pretty good scare, man. You ok?"

Willie shrugged. "It was a pretty bad deal, all around. How's Mike?"

"He woke up, I guess. I don't know. It was pretty close and they are keeping an eye on him still." He looked down at Willie. "You did good. He wouldn't have got out if it weren't for you."

"No, man." Willie shook his head, embarrassed. "It was covering my sorry butt that got us there in the first place. I've never been so scared . . ."

"If you had waited ten minutes more, Willie . . .everyone was talking about it. That was quick thinking - and I don't know how you dragged him out of there."

"It was what he told me. He said to wait for chaos and then make a break for it, so I did, except he told me to leave him behind."

"The Hero." Terry said laughing. "I swear, Mike's even an overachiever when it comes to getting himself nearly killed."

"Got that right." Willie looked up. "How's Jill?"

"The Titanic is in better shape." Terry ran a hand over his face. "She didn't eat, didn't sleep - hell, I don't even think she sat down the whole time. She kept hanging around here, fussing over me. You know, about ten seconds after Ryker tells her Mike's been shot - she was asking about you!"

"He told me that." The two men were quietly thoughtful for a few minutes, until Willie finally added quietly, "Not enough flowers in the world for a cop's wife."

"That's damn straight." Terry agreed.

***R***

Lt. Ed Ryker walked slowly down the hospital corridor. He had just left the room of Officer Gillis who fell asleep about two sentences into Ryker's visit. Ryker had left the room shaking his head, amazed yet again at how young his rookies were. Seeing Gillis curled asleep, he could easily imagine him clutching a teddy bear.

Reaching his destination, he knocked softly on the door before stepping inside. The room was dim and quiet. Officer Danko appeared to be asleep, as well, and glancing around he saw that Mrs. Danko was curled into a small ball asleep in the chair beside his bed, one hand clutching his. Ryker smiled and stepped closer.

"Shh." Mike whispered, surprising Ryker. "She's worn out."

"So are you, Danko. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Ryker whispered back.

"I was." Mike replied. "Waiting for the pain meds to kick in, I guess."

"You need a nurse?" Ryker asked.

"I got a nurse." He grinned and nodded at his sleeping wife.

"You do, indeed." Ryker agreed. "You need anything?"

"No, sir. Thank you."

"You are welcome." Ryker shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

"Especially, for taking care of Jill. It's good to know if anything ever . . ."

"Officer Danko," Ryker interrupted raising his voice to a loud whisper. "If you ever do something stupid like get yourself shot again, I will personally come after you and kick your backside from here to Nova Scotia. You put that little girl through hell, so shut up and rest. Do every damn thing the doctors tell you without any argument! Get better because if you don't, I will personally come down here and babysit you to make sure you do!"

"Yes, sir." Mike said suppressing a grin.

"Alright, then." Ryker nodded his head. "Tell your wife, I'll be back in the morning to take her home. She needs real sleep, and Webster said he'd babysit you while she rests."

"Yes, sir."

"Fine, then. Good to see you Danko."

"And you, sir." Mike hesitated, glancing at Jill, who still slept. "I wasn't too sure I would again."

"You and me, both Danko." Ryker sighed. "You and me both."