So my lovely readers, I'd like to thank you all for reviewing! I hope you guys like this chapter. I had a little free time (which is EXTREMELY rare) so I thought I'd get it up tonight. I love my readers!

Love, Marilynn

She allowed herself to be led to a nearby ambulance where her daughter and good friend was waiting on her. Little did she know that only yards away stood a man hidden in plain sight. A sinister grin spread across his face and a police issue gun tucked into the back of his pants. He was right there, watching along with so many other people, seeing what he had done. The first move had been made and it was her turn. But the question was, did she realize she was playing with more than just fire?

** EIGHTEEN HOURS LATER**

Jo sat next to Mac, watching his chest rise and fall with his slow, steady breaths. He hadn't woken up since his surgery. But he was alive and that gave Jo hope.

Tyler had already come to get Ellie and taken her home. She had been treated for smoke inhalations as well as was told to go home and sleep off the touch of the flu she apparently picked up at school. Every half hour or so Jo would call to check on both of her kids, and let them know she was thinking of them.

As she solemnly sat there, Flack approached from the door.

"Jo?"

Immediately she stiffened, her emotional state not quite up to her usual professionalism, but she had to find her way back to Detective Jo Danville, second in command. Taking a deep breath, she stood, false confidence radiating off of her.

This exterior didn't fool Flack. He had watched her and Mac and there was no point hiding what she must have been going through. They had been growing so close lately he could tell she was barely keeping it together, but he also knew she was very good with fronts.

"What do you have on Curry?" she asked already reaching for the file in his hands.

He pulled the file away from her. "Jo, do you really think you should be involved in this case? I mean this is kinda personal."

The scowl he received was enough to immediately silence him. She wasn't going to like what she saw, because honestly, they had nothing. Curry no longer existed. He was a ghost in the system that seemed to have vanished after 1996. It took all she had to not throw the file to the floor and scream in frustration.

But that's not how professional Jo Danville behaves. Oh no. Professional Jo Danville hands back the file before shooting off commands. "We're working with U.S. Marshals here. I have some friends, I'll see if I can't make a few calls."

All Flack could do was nod. They were out of the crime lab and were working in a mixture of other territories until the lab could be rebuilt. All in all, they had been put at a disadvantage by having their usual resources taken away. A few of Jo's calls may be the only thing that gets everything back on track to catching this bastard.

Flack looked Jo square in the eye. "We're going to get this guy."

She barely managed a nod. "I know."

But what if they didn't get him on time? Who else would have to die before they put Peter Curry behind bars? Flack? Adam? Lindsay? Ellie? Jo's hands bawled into fist as she turned back to look at Mac. She took her seat next to him and took a deep breath. Minutes past as she sat there, her face buried in her hands as she leaned on Mac's bed.

The memories of her past burned in her mind. Images of all those teenage girls dressed up like prostitutes and locked in rooms. Jo had been more than happy to slap the cuffs on the bastard when they finally had enough on him. What really disgusted Jo was the person who allowed Curry a new life. Because that person was just as responsible for Mac laying on that bed as Curry was.

Tears slid down her cheeks as she slid her hand into Mac's. Carefully she brought his hand to her lips and kissed it gently, willing him to wake up, willing him to be okay, willing him to get though all of this.

Suddenly his hand tightened around hers as his eyes flickered open. All Jo could do was smile and lean in closer as Mac attempted to clear his throat. "Hey," he whispered hoarsely.

The happiness of one of her prayers being answered Jo giggled. "Hey yourself."

They looked deeply into each other's eyes as Jo stood used her free hand to gently caress his cheek. Before she knew it she was moving her face towards his, gently taking his lips with hers for a gentle kiss.

As she pulled away she couldn't help but blush at his smile. "What was that for?" he tried weakly never letting his eyes fall away from her.

"Saving my life," she responded squeezing his hand tighter. The intensity of the situation became too much as Jo's cheeks grew hotter with embarrassment. Subconsciously she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes from any stray tears that slid down her cheeks. "I-uh- I better go get the nurse."

Before he could protest she was gone out the door.

She flagged down a nurse, but when the nurse entered Jo found herself stuck in the door way. Absentmindedly, one hand went to the stitches along her hair line. Mac had taken a bullet to the chest and nearly died and she walked away with a bad concussion and a couple stitches. How was that fair? This was her fight.

Mac never let his gaze leave Jo, even as she stood in the doorway to his room. She looked so strong, but he could see the fear and anger hidden beneath. He wanted to take her in his arms and keep her safe.

"You were very luck Mr. Taylor, only millimeters…" The nurse continued but right then Mac didn't care about that.

"When can I get out of here?" Mac asked, already impatient with the hospital surroundings.

The nurse looked at him in shock, in fact so did Jo. "Well, sir, you just took a gunshot wound to the chest-" Mac shot her another impatient glare. "It will be at least a week."

Frustrated Mac threw his head back onto the pillow, ignoring the pain pulsing through his body. But Jo noticed him flinch. Abandoning her place at the door she came to Mac's side. "Is there something you can give him for pain?" she asked placing her hand back on his and squeezing it.

"Yes, of course," the nurse replied seeming almost too eager to leave. Another dose of pain shot through Mac's body as he squeezed his eyes shut.

This was what Jo hated more than anything, watching someone she cared about in pain because of her. But she stood beside him, holding his hand and stroking his face and telling him it was going to be alright. And more than anything, she hoped it was true.

Ellie laid in bed, her back aching and her cough only seeming to get worse. Tyler came in with a cup of hot tea to see if it would help her cough any.

"Hey, sis, feeling any better?" he asked beginning to get nervous about how sick Ellie was getting.

She shivered beneath her covers and completely ignored both the question and the tea. "When's Mom going to be home?" she asked hoarsely. Between the fever's cold sweats, her cough, and the pain in her back, not counting the emotional trauma from the day before, all Ellie wanted was her mother. She understood Mac was hurt, but Jo was her mother first! It wasn't fair.

"She called a little while ago and said Mac was awake," Tyler said with uncertainty as he sat next to Ellie on the bed.

The tap dancing on infuriated cranky Ellie more. "Why isn't she here?" she snapped, frustrated tears pricking at her eyes. "It's not fair!"

Tyler had about enough of his little sister's attitude and his bedside manner was not that of his mother's. "Ellie, that's enough! She'll be here when she can. Get some sleep."

Without another word he left. Ellie knew she was mostly cranky and frustrated, but it didn't make any of it easier. How come Mac always got her mom over her? When they lived in DC Jo didn't miss hardly any of her soccer games and this season she only made it to four.

Ellie knew that wasn't fair either. She couldn't blame her mother for missing the games this season, and ever since the John Curtis case Jo had been a little bit more relaxed, yet so much tenser at the same time. Mac had started showing up more with Jo and Ellie wasn't used to sharing with anyone but Tyler, but this wasn't the same.

For the first time in Ellie's life she felt like her mother had chosen her job and someone else over her. Grudgingly she pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around her sweaty body and sobbed.

"Peter Curry? You sure?" Allison Montgomery, an old friend of Jo's from her days in the FBI, asked as Jo paced the hallways of the hospital.

"Ally, I was close enough to need stitches. Please, just send my people all you have on him," Jo nearly begged glancing down at her watch. It was already going on 7:30 PM and she hadn't slept in thirty-six hours. Right then she was running on caffeine and an overload of emotion.

"I'm going to have to talk to my supervisor-"

"Ally, this man has waltzed into my life and tried to kill me and the people I care about; make it happen."

Without another word, she hung up. Her composure was getting harder and harder to keep and every little thing was pushing her closer to the edge. Running her hands over her face again, she headed back to Mac's room.

As she entered, Mac immediately looked to her with a small smile. "Shouldn't you be getting home?"

Graciously she returned his smile. "I was in fact coming in to tell you goodbye. There's a sick little girl who I need to check up on." Without thinking, Jo leaned down and pressed a small kiss on his cheek. It was too late for regret so Jo just went with it. "I'll be back tomorrow to check on you."

Mac sighed and looked back up to the ceiling. "I'll be here," he groaned.

Before she left she gave his hand one last reassuring squeeze. She didn't want to leave him there alone but she had to get home to her baby girl. This was one of the many times she wished she could be in more than one place at once. She could be holding Mac's hand through the night, kissing Ellie and tucking her in, as well as searching for more information about the whereabouts of Peter Curry. But she was just one person. One Jo.

And that's all Mac wanted her to be. He loved how much she cared about her children and he loved all the stories she'd tell about Ellie and Tyler, even when she would go on her little spouts about Russ. He was so thankful for all the strength she was giving him, but he felt guilty for accepting it. She needed as much strength as she could get and she was wasting it on him.

All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and protect her again. He wanted to protector because it was the only way he knew how to show her how much he cared about her and how much he couldn't bear to lose her. Those big brown eyes that sparked with mischief and that smile that said more than her words ever did and her wit that sometimes left him speechless. He couldn't even fathom not having her there.

Because he knew he was falling in love with her.

"Get down on your knees!" Curry snapped kick the inside of the man's legs sending him falling forward.

"Go to hell," the man snapped, struggling to get back on his feet and turn toward him. Curry was holding his gun to the man's chest but it didn't faze him. Instead it only angered the man more. "If you're going to kill me at least have the decency to look at me when you do it."

A small grin spread across Curry's face. "You know Russel, I was going to kill you because I know it would really hurt Jo to lose her first love, but the more you talk the less I feel like she'll miss you."

"Go to hell," Russ snapped again, playing unafraid. He never thought this was how it was going to end. He never thought that he would be the unlucky one to be killed by a murderer. Much less a murderer that he hadn't even been hunting.

He felt two men grab either of his arms and force him to his knees. Bravely he looked up to the evil grin spread across Curry's lips as the barrel of the gun pressed into his forehead. "Maybe I'll see ya there."

Russ squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could hug his son one more time and tell him he loved him. He wished he could tell Jo that he will always love her, even though they didn't work out. He wished that he had a chance to fix all the things he did wrong in his life. But it was too late. Life was too short and before you know it, it's over.

Bang.

You know I may not really like the man, but I wouldn't wish this fate upon anyone. BUTTTT tell me what you think! Review please!