A/N: HUGE thanks to everyone who is reading this and to those who are leaving reviews. I really appreciate it, and knowing at least a few people are getting some enjoyment out of my stories makes writing them worthwhile.

I have to admit I was uncertain of what the reception would be, both to stories and my writing in general. I'm not an author by any means. I hadn't written anything beyond work related stuff in years, and I was worried (and still worry) that my writing isn't very good. But thank you again to my readers and especially the reviewers. Whenever the New Review notification pops up in my email, I feel happy.

Now on with the (missing scenes from the) show...

Part 3:

Fritz reclined on the bed with Brenda in his arms. She'd stopped crying, but her breath occasionally hitched a little. Neither one got any sleep, and they spoke little. But he couldn't stop touching her, stroking her back, kissing her face and hair, reassuring himself that she was alive and trying to reassure her that she was safe.

The bedroom began to fill with light as the sun rose. They both knew this was going to be one hell of a day.

Fritz's stomach rumbled a bit. "How about some breakfast?"

"I'm not really hungry." Her head was starting to pound.

"Maybe just some toast and juice? Just to put something in your stomach. You know you'll feel worse if you don't."

"Ok," she agreed. She always got terrible headaches when she didn't eat at least a little something in the morning.

"Why don't you go take a nice hot shower while I get stuff together."

She nodded, then grimaced and moaned as she tried to move.

"Are you alright?"

"Just stiff is all." That was a gross understatement. She'd hit the floor hard when Stroh pulled her down, then got more roughed up than she realized during their struggle. Shock and adrenaline must have dulled the pain last night. Now she was wondering if she might have cracked a rib or two.

Fritz helped her up and guided her to the bathroom. She began to try to undress, but was hit by a stab of pain as she tried to raise her arms. Fritz had been gathering towels and turned at her sharp intake of breath.

"Brenda?"

"I guess I'm just a little banged up…"

Fritz grasped the hem of her shirt and gently lifted it off. It was his turn to gasp as he took in her body. Her torso was marred with huge deep purple bruises. "Oh, Brenda…" he exhaled as he ran gentle finger tips down her side. His breath stopped again as he saw the hand shaped bruises that had formed on her throat. He pulled her toward the window so he could get a closer look at her injuries in the morning light. When he felt her tense and freeze, he looked up to see her staring at the now closed window.

"He came in here, right through that window…" she said hoarsely.

Fritz pulled her close as he felt her tremble. He held her for a moment, then went to pull off his shirt. She looked at him questioningly.

"I think I need a shower too", he said as he finished undressing. He didn't want to leave her alone in here.

He helped her undress, uncovering still more bruises. They got into the shower and he held her under the warm spray. The hot water felt good on her aching muscles, and she closed her eyes and just let him take care of her. She leaned into him as his washed her hair with gentle hands, then carefully washed her body, mindful of the bruises.

After they'd dressed and had breakfast, Fritz drove them to the hospital. Brenda wanted to see Rusty, and Fritz wanted Brenda to get some x-rays. She'd objected, knowing that if she had in fact broken a rib, there wasn't much to do about it but take things easy until it mended. But the look in his eyes when he'd asked her to do it for him, for his peace of mind, made her reconsider and she agreed to get checked out.

It was amazing how fast ER wait times were reduced when you flashed a badge or two. Brenda was seen right away, and they were walking out of the ER in under an hour. An exam and x-rays confirmed two ribs had hairline fractures, but they would heal on their own.

The next stop was Rusty's room. Raydor was there, trying to convince him to cooperate with testifying. "Maybe you'll have better luck," she said to Brenda as she exited the room. Fritz also stepped out so Brenda and Rusty could talk.

"Are you ok?" Rusty asked her.

"Yes."

"You don't look ok."

"I have had better days."

Fritz leaned heavily against the wall outside Rusty's door. After a few minutes, he spotted Will Pope striding down the hall. His fear and tension from the past hours erupted into anger. "Why didn't you protect her?" he demanded as Pope drew near.

"What?" Pope was startled by the sudden confrontation.

"How did you not know he'd go after her? Where was the protection detail?"

"Fritz - "

"He told you he was watching her. He knew about her mother. I'm guessing he knew I was gone, too. And once he knew she had his DNA, it was just a matter of time before something happened."

Fritz turned on Raydor too. "Have a nice long look at your Johnson Rule, people. Worry about protecting slime like Stroh, but let innocent people be hurt. Both Rusty, your material witness by the way, and Brenda could have been killed!"

"Fritz, let's just calm down here." Pope did not want a scene.

"'Calm down'? You want me to 'calm down'? Really? How about this - you try getting notified, when you are thousands of miles away, that your wife has been attacked in your home by a serial rapist and murderer. Then see the bruises on her throat where the son of a bitch tried to strangle her and realize just how close you came to losing your entire world. Then let's see how calm you are. 'Calm down'? Yeah, right. "

"I care about her too, Fritz."

"And that's part of the problem right there, now isn't it."

Raydor saw that this was quickly escalating into something much, much bigger and head off in a direction she did not want to see. "Gentlemen! Please! Agent Howard, might I have a word with you?" He glared at Pope but turned his attention to her. She led him down the hall a few paces.

"Yes, Captain?"

"There are visible injuries on Chief Johnson?"

"Yes." He could still see them very clearly in his mind.

"I'd like to get those photographed. Just in case Stroh tries to pull something about self defense. He doesn't really have anything to stand on there - the attempted murder of a police officer isn't looked upon well by judges or juries. But if they can see photos with evidence of an assault on her as well, all the worse for him.

Raydor continued. "She needs to be interviewed by FID downtown anyway. I took her statement last night, but FID will need to do a full investigation. She'll almost certainly be cleared of the shooting, of course. We can get the photographs then, either before or after the interview."

"When do you want to do it?"

"The sooner the better."

Fritz sighed. "She hasn't slept…"

"Maybe we can take care of it now, when she's done here. Then she can go home and rest without having to come back downtown."

Frtiz nodded.

Brenda exited Rusty's room then, and when Raydor saw her, she began to rethink going downtown right away. The chief had some of the darkest circles under her eyes that Raydor had ever seen. "Chief, Agent Howard and I were just discussing your interview with FID. Maybe we could do that this evening or first thing tomorrow morning? You can get some rest first."

"I'd rather just go ahead and get it over with, if that's possible."

"Of course. Are you sure?"

"I'm not gonna be able to get much rest with it hangin' over my head."

A couple of hours later, Brenda was ready to drop. The FID interview had exhausted her. Going over every detail of both the incident in the elevator and Stroh's invasion in to her home made her already bad headache worse. Her head now felt like it was going to explode. But even worse than the interview was being asked to surrender her badge and her gun after she was told she was suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. She fought back tears as she reached into her purse, retrieved the items, and placed them on the table before her. It felt final somehow.

She wanted more than anything to go home and crawl into bed and hide under the covers. But she still had to have her injuries photographed. Part of her wanted to refuse, but she wanted to have as much ammo against Stroh as possible. If she was going to go down, she would take him with her.

Raydor took the photographs of Brenda's injuries herself, knowing she wouldn't want any type of audience for it. She had to hold in a gasp as she saw the severity of the bruises, and Brenda's comment that she had always bruised easily didn't allay her concern. Brenda appreciated Raydor's attempt to guard her privacy, but she still felt a sense of shame and humiliation at being so exposed, even though she knew it wasn't rational. It was evidence, and she had to think of it in that impersonal manner to keep from crumbling on the spot. Even though Raydor was efficient and tried to get through everything quickly, the process seemed to sap whatever strength and energy Brenda had left. She put her shirt back on and sank into a chair, putting her head into her hands. Raydor thanked her for cooperating with everything, and Brenda nodded slightly but didn't otherwise respond. She couldn't.

Raydor offered to get Fritz so he could take her home, and told Brenda she'd keep her updated on everything with FID and with Rusty. And she promised to keep her as much in the loop as she could about Stroh. Minutes later, Fritz was there with a warm hug that Brenda didn't realize just how much she needed until she got it.

Once they arrived home, Brenda finally got to crawl into bed and hide under the covers. She was asleep almost instantly. Fritz woke her once to try to get her to eat something, but otherwise let her sleep uninterrupted. He sat next to her and watched her sleep for a long time. He watched the rise and fall of her chest and gently held her hand, savoring the warmth of her skin, feeling so grateful his love was still with him. He felt his fatigue wash over him and he slid under the covers next to her. "I love you, sweetheart," he whispered as he pressed a soft kiss to her temple. Draping an arm around her waist, he drifted off to sleep.

TBC...