A/N: No, it's not Monday. Just to clarify... Either see this as a tease :) or a midweek celebration! BDS II has been greenlighted (no idea when it'll be released, I've heard many different things...) and my birthday is in two days! Double the celebration! If only I could have the sequel for my birthday... But either way, here's a one scene chapter and I hope to have a normal length chapter done when I post on Monday (since I'm sacrificing this one this early...)

Voices floated above her, weaving in and out of her dreams with only bits of words making sense. Fire…innocent…angel…saints… But it was the pain that finally pulled her to the surface, to the light. It was the pain that made her realize she was no longer dreaming. The reality above her did exist.

Smecker and two unfamiliar faces leaned over her, each attached to a business suit body and each watching her closely. She tried to concentrate on their faces but a fire of pain had erupted in her belly and she closed her eyes against it.

"Katie? Katie. Open your eyes." The cool tone sounded almost detached, professional, but even through her distraction, she caught the underlying worry beneath Smecker's voice. So, she opened her eyes and gazed up at him, concentrating on the blue she'd never noticed before in his eyes.

"Smecker?"

"Yeah. I know you're hurting, but the nurses are coming to take care of that. The pain is good, it's what brought you back to consciousness."

"Where…am I?"

"St. Cecilia's. You've been shot. Miss Shafer, do you remember what happened?"

Blinking slowly, she stared up at Smecker, trying to recall what had happened. Images of Murphy, Connor and Da handcuffed to chairs appeared. There was that man. The man she'd knocked out. He shot her. Murphy's yell. Fire.

She licked her lips and took a deep breath. "Fire. There was a fire." There was more, much more she needed to tell Smecker, but the intense looks she was getting from the other two men told her they weren't leaving yet. They were after something. But what?

"Miss Shafer, were the men known as the Saints at the warehouse too?" Smecker's question was calm but his eyes were directly on hers. He smiled slightly and nodded a little as she frowned up at him. What was he doing?

"What?" The word was all she could manage, her teeth clenched against the pain.

"Did you see three men there? Irish, one older, two younger…" He trailed off and raised his eyebrows as she remained silent. "You're not under oath, Miss Shafer, but we need the truth. Tell me the truth."

"I…" Her mind swirled around the pieces of answers that seemed just out of her reach. Why was he asking her this? What was he doing? She fought to ignore the burning in her abdomen as she stared up at him. She pressed her lips together as he gave her a short nod. "I…yes, they were."

It slipped out as a whisper but by the small, almost hidden smile that Smecker gave her, she knew it must have been the answer he was looking for. But why was he making her admit to their presence? What did he think he was doing?

"Where did you find them in the building?" He pressed his lips together, watching her closely and she narrowed her eyes at him. Where did I find them? Her mind latched onto his wording and by the intense stare from him, she knew it was important. Where did I find them?

"They…they were handcuffed to chairs."

"Where?" One of the other men spoke up and Smecker held up his hand without even glancing back at the man.

"I ask the questions, detective. That was the deal. Where, Miss Shafer?"

"In a room." She gritted her teeth against another wave of pain and let out a hiss of air. "A closed-off room."

"Just one more question, Miss Shafer. Then we'll let you rest." Smecker put his hands behind his back and bounced on the balls of his feet lightly. "When you left the room in which the Saints were being held, were they still handcuffed to the chairs?"

Holding a breath in, she nodded. Smecker continued to watch her so she let out the air to speak. "Yes, they were."

He dipped his head in understanding slowly and gave her one last glance before turning away from her to face the two men. The two detectives. Why are there detectives here?

She worked to keep her breathing even and closed her eyes again. Her memories melted into what could only be her dreams and she realized she had no idea what was real. Where was Murphy?

Her lips formed around the words but they never came out as she heard Smecker sigh heavily. "Well, there you go, boys. The Saints were in that building. Our witness saw them still handcuffed to the chairs only minutes before the whole building was ablaze. And our second witness is prepared to make a statement that she saw no men leave the building. Only Miss Shafer here, who stumbled out, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen."

"Okay, but where are the bodies?" A rougher voice asked and Katie could tell that it came from the man to the left of Smecker. But the words floated past her, meaningless, hovering over her ears as she continued to concentrate on breathing.

"Where are the chairs, detective? Frankie Varon's body was found near the start of the fire, before it reached its flashpoint and really cooked everything. And what's left of him is hardened flesh and ash. There's nothing left of the Saints, boys."

"Are you sure?"

"I have two witnesses who are sure. The Saints are dead. Case closed."

Her eyes snapped open at that and she knew she must have made a sound when everyone turned to look at her. Smecker's eyes widened and she stared at him as she struggled to find her words.

"Dead? The Saints are dead?" Her voice was high pitched and she struggled to push herself up, fighting against wave after wave of pain.

"Where's the nurse?" Smecker's voice seemed almost calm but the worry was evident on his face as he moved toward her. "Katie, you've got to calm down."

His hands were on her shoulders but she fought against him, her arms feeling heavy and her movements weak. She could feel her energy quickly ebbing but she continued to jerk away from him.

"They're dead? The fire?"

The back of her neck felt clammy and chills began to shake down her spine as the tears came easily. An older, blonde nurse came into sight and Smecker's hands gripped her shoulders as something was injected into the back of her arm.

As the world became hazy, she could hear her own gasping sobs. Smecker's face was the last thing she saw as he leaned over her, pain now clear across his face. His lips were moving but the words mismatched the slow movement of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Katie. I'm so sorry."

The world went black and she was falling.