It had only been about 5 minutes since he arrived at the hospital. He had still been brooding at home, lamenting on her crushing words to him and how he could repair the relationship with the Leftanent that was severely broken, when he got the call from Ms. Jenny.

Abbie.

Hurt.

It's bad.

He had been at the house without a car but didn't let that stop him from getting to the hospital in under 10 minutes. Running halfway there and meeting up on the side of the road with Jenny for the last half.

Agent Reynolds was surprised to see him arrive with Jenny, which bothered Crane to no end. But he wasn't worried about that currently.

No. His current worry was strictly for his partner.

He knew Abbie was strong. Knew she had come of out bad injuries before looking no more worse for wear. But this time seemed different.

The entire field office was waiting in the lobby for news on the agent, which was never a good sign. Hushed voices and grim faces staring at every doctor who walked by in hopes that they had news on her status.

And unfortunately, no one knew anything yet except that she had been shot in the torso with the bullet nicking a major artery.

Crane found himself wandering towards the double doors where the operating rooms were but was jolted out of his daze by hands on his shoulder.

"Sir… Sir… I'm sorry but only hospital employees are allowed beyond those doors."

Craned sighed, looking over at the nurse, her eyes gleaming with empathy.

"I know. It's just that …. You see, my name is Ichabod Crane and the Leftanent and I… Agent Mills… we didn't leave our relationship on the best of terms this morning and I hadn't yet had the opportunity to make amends. If I could just see her… just quietly let her know how deeply repentant I am for all the pain I have caused her…"

"Mr. Crane…", the nurse interrupted. "As soon as Agent Mills is out of surgery, we will give you an update. But for now, you can help her best by waiting out here and letting the doctors do everything they can to make sure you get to say those words to her."

Crane closed his eyes and nodded. Noticing Jenny approaching him from the other side of the room.

"Hey", she said grabbing his arm and pulling him away as she gave the nurse an apologetic look.

"What's going on, Crane?" She asked as she led him to a quiet corner away from the eyes of the agents in the room.

"I need to see her, Ms. Jenny." He said desperately, as Jenny watched him close his eyes and run his long fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Ok… Well you can't do that now. She's in surgery."

"No." He said emphatically as his eyes snapped open to stare harshly into hers. "You don't understand, Ms. Jenny. I need to see her immediately… I can not allow another second go by without her knowing and hearing how unequivocally sorry I am for leaving her side."

Jenny watched as his eyes teared up and looked away, finally understanding. Abbie must've finally broken down and told him how she felt. And if Jenny knew her sister, she was sure that she hadn't held back no matter how much she knew the words would affect Crane.

"Look, Crane…", she said softly as she stepped closer to him. "My sister… she's strong, yes. But she's also incredibly fragile at times as well. And unfortunately, those fragile moments seem to happen most often when it comes to you, except she's good at hiding it. Until she isn't…"

Crane looked up at Ms. Jenny, not quite understanding her meaning.

"Ms. Jenny, I don't comprehend…"

"Abbie cares about you Crane. More than she lets on. And definitely more than you seem to realize." Crane's eyes squinted as she kept talking.

"When you left…" she said, her voice trailing off. "Well, just know that she was so happy to have you back that she tried to ignore the reasons you walked out in the first place."

Crane sighed. Ms. Jenny's words reaching down and grabbing the remaining parts of his heart that the Leftanent hadn't already ripped out earlier.

"Ms. Jenny…." His voice said, choking on tears. "She can not die. I can not lose her."

Jenny sighed heavily as she saw the chief doctor walking over towards her with Agent Reynolds following right behind. "We won't, Crane. I know my sister… she is not leaving us today."

"Ms Mills, can I have a word please?" He shot a brief look over at Crane before turning his attention back to his patient's next of kin.

"It's ok, please you can speak freely. How is she doctor?"

"Well… your sister is a fighter. That's for sure. She crashed once on the operating table but we were able to bring her back. She's lost a lot of blood but we stopped the intenal bleeding and seem to have her stable for now."

Jenny released the breath she had been holding and wrapped her arms around the doctor, thanking him immensely for saving her sister's life.

Crane stood frozen. Processing the update on Abbie slowly and pain stakingly. He watched Reynolds close his eyes and nod his head, turning around to inform the other agents on the good news.

"When can we see her?" Crane asked, once he was able to open his mouth and get a full sentence out.

"Only immediate family is allowed back for now. Ms. Mills, I can take you to her if you'd like."

Jenny looked over at Crane, whose face pleaded with her to try to change the doctor's mind and allow him to go with her.

"Crane… what did I say earlier? She's going to be okay. Just hold tight… I'll be back in a few."

Crane watched her leave him, standing in the lonely corridor with only his thoughts to occupy his time. He wondered quietly what he would say to her now that he would have the chance.

And he kept replaying the same message over and over again in his mind.

He could not allow another moment to go by, another day to pass, without her knowing one thing:

How deep his love for the Leftanent ran.