It was always going to be a long wait and they knew that. What Mike was not prepared for was Jeannie throwing her weight around and making him go and get his ribs checked out. Jeannie was right – the bullet had cracked ribs on both sides of his chest. Gone were the days when doctors bandaged ribs tightly. Now, he was given painkillers and advised to take time off. Mike laughed for a moment before the pain stopped him. He didn't need to worry about time off; he was officially retired now.

Back in the waiting room, Mike took over keeping Jeannie company to allow Lenny, Lessing and Penny to go to the rest room and get some coffee. The coffee was not particularly pleasant, but it beat some of the brews Mike had drunk over the years in the precinct.

For a while, Jeannie had been quiet. Finally, she turned her head and looked at Mike. "Cord will go down for this, won't he?" she asked.

"Oh yes," Mike assured her. "They'll throw away the key this time."

"He won't be able to plead insanity or anything, will he?" Jeannie worried. "I've heard of that happening and then they get let out of hospital…"

"He's sane," Mike snarled. "He was sane enough to plan this; he's sane enough to stand trial, too." Mike glanced over at Lenny, who was leaning on the wall looking tired. "Lenny will testify as to his state of mind."

There was another short silence, then Jeannie whispered, "Steve will be all right, won't he?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine, sweetheart," Mike promised, and blinked away the tears. He had always warned Jeannie not to date cops, but when the young couple had come to him, and Steve had asked for Jeannie's hand in marriage, he found that he didn't really mind at all. They were so crazy in love – just like he and Helen had been. But, he reflected sadly, this was exactly why he hadn't wanted Jeannie with a cop. Situations like this happened. Looking round the waiting room, Mike saw quite a few people there, all of them waiting for a loved one who was in an examination room. Things didn't just happen to cops; they happened to everyone.

"Mrs Keller?" The tall, slim doctor crossed the room to Jeannie and urged her to sit down again.

"How is he?" Jeannie asked, trying to sound calm and failing.

"Your husband is sleeping at the moment," the doctor replied. "We've taken x-rays and my guess has been confirmed. He has suffered a fractured skull."

The gasp Jeannie emitted was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room. People glanced in her direction and then looked away, offering the only privacy they could in the circumstances. "A fractured skull?" Jeannie cried softly. "What does that mean? I mean…"

"It is a linear fracture, which is possibly the best kind to have," the doctor told her kindly, taking one of her hands and patting it paternally, even though he was probably younger than Jeannie. "It isn't depressed, but it does mean that we have to keep him in the hospital here for longer than we normally would for a serious concussion. We need to keep an eye on his brain to make sure it isn't swelling dangerously. At the moment, everything looks fine. We've done a CT scan and we'll repeat that tomorrow or the next day, depending on how he is getting on." The doctor paused to collect his thoughts and let that new digest. "As well as the bang on the head, he has serious abrasions on his wrists from a rope. We have cleaned and dressed them. His hands are extremely sore at the moment as the circulation gets going in his fingers again. We haven't found any obvious signs of damage, but we will need to wait until all the swelling is gone before we can be 100% sure. He has hypothermia and exposure and I suspect he is developing pneumonia. I've started him on antibiotics and I'll do a repeat chest x-ray later. What Professor Keller needs now is rest and quiet."

"Can I see him?" Jeannie asked, her expression daring the doctor to refuse. Mike felt himself tensing, ready to come to Jeannie's aid should the answer be negative.

"Of course," the doctor replied. "We've just settled him into a room. Don't stay too long; he needs his rest and I suspect so do you." He gave Jeannie a charming smile and Mike instantly liked the young doctor.

"Thank you," Jeannie replied and she and Mike followed the doctor down the corridor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ICU was the worst place to be, Mike thought, but the neurology unit came a very close second in his opinion. Steve was hooked up to several monitors. Fluids dripped into his left arm from a couple of bags. There was a large bandage around his head. His eyes were closed and his face was pale. The head of the bed was raised to help prevent swelling in the brain. It looked as though he was developing a couple of black eyes, and Mike's blood boiled at the thought of Cord mistreating Steve.

"Steve?" Jeannie whispered, placing a hand on his arm. His fingers were dark red and swollen and the muscles were contracting minutely the whole time.

Slowly, Steve's eyes opened. He squinted against the lights, although they were pretty dim. "Jeannie?" he croaked. "You're safe!"

"So are you," Jeannie reminded him, stroking the side of his face tenderly. This cheek seemed to be about the only un-bruised place on his body. She had rarely seen her tough husband looking so fragile and vulnerable. "Mike got Cord," she went on. "It's over now."

"Over," Steve agreed. His eyes were closing again as he lost his fight against sleep.

"I'm afraid you'll have to leave now," the nurse whispered. "It's long past visiting hours."

For a moment, Jeannie wanted to argue with the woman. She was afraid to leave Steve after coming so close to losing him. She wanted to stay with him and hold his hand and stroke his hair. But as she looked at Mike's weary, concerned, loving face, she knew that she had to go with her father. He needed her, too. Steve would be here tomorrow. "You'll call me if anything happens?" Jeannie asked.

"Of course," the nurse replied. "Visiting hours start at 10am."

"Thank you," Jeannie sighed and she found herself leaning on Mike as they walked down the corridor to the exit, even though she had meant to support him. "Mike, I'm sorry about earlier," she said. Exhaustion was setting in and she wondered how either of them would be able to drive. "I didn't mean to be so rude to you."

"You weren't rude," Mike replied gruffly. "You were worried." He kissed her cheek briefly. "But it's over now."

They walked another few paces in silence.

"Until the trial," Jeannie sighed.