Steve gritted his teeth as Marcus manipulated his shoulder into the sling. He could feel Kayla stroking his arm and heard her say, "It's almost over."

Finally, Marcus released Steve's arm. Steve took a deep breath as Marcus stood back and smiled. "What's so funny?" Steve growled as he felt the sharp pain subside only to be replaced by a dull ache.

"You, tough guy," Marcus replied. "One little bullet and you're down for the count." Marcus stopped smiling and his tone grew serious. "If you can't figure out how to dodge those things, how about staying out of trouble? I only have one best friend and I don't want to lose him again."

"Me, either," Kayla said, leaning down to place a kiss on Steve's cheek. "You're lucky it was just muscle it went through."

Steve used his good arm to reach up and stroke Kayla's cheek. "Come on, Sweetness, you know I'm a tomcat. I've got three or four more lives to use up." He grinned and continued, "Besides, now I have matching scars on both shoulders. I'll be the hit of the fashion season."

Kayla just rolled her eyes and turned to Marcus. "Does he need to stay or can I take him home?"

Marcus made a note in Steve chart. "You can take him home. Just make sure he takes his antibiotics to keep out any infection. And I'll give you a prescription for a painkiller to take over the next few days."

"I don't need a painkiller, homie," Steve protested.

"Judging by your expression when I put that arm in a sling, I'd say you were wrong," Marcus said. "But, even if you don't want them, Kayla might need to give them to you just to put up with you."

"Ha ha." Steve just ignored his best friend and turned back to his wife. "You love me, no matter what kind of mood I'm in, don't ya, Sweetness?"

"Of course, I do," Kayla said, lovingly. Then she turned to Marcus. "But why don't you give me that prescription just in case?"

Steve let out a mock cry of betrayal as Kayla and Marcus laughed. After a moment, Marcus moved towards the door. "I need to go check on some real patients now." He looked at Kayla. "Take him home and keep him quiet for a day or two." Then he looked at Steve. "Do what your wife says or I'll dig around in that shoulder just for the fun of it."

Steve nodded. "Thanks, Marcus."

"Yeah, yeah. If you really want to thank me, you'll stop getting shot." With that parting remark, Marcus left.

As the door closed, Steve carefully sat up and turned his legs so they were hanging off the gurney. "Come on, baby. Let's get out of here."

Kayla nodded and helped Steve stand. Then she carefully placed her coat over his scrub shirt and sling.

"I guess that leather jacket is history, huh?" Steve said, regretfully. It had always been his favorite.

"I'm afraid so," Kayla agreed. "Between the bullet holes, blood, and damage done cutting it off of you, there isn't much left."

"Well, if I had to trade my favorite jacket for getting rid of Alamain, then it was more than worth it."

Kayla nodded in agreement. "I can't believe he's really dead. After you were gone, we tried so hard to find a way to prove that Lawrence was responsible, but he kept slipping away. I don't think I really believed we would ever be rid of him."

"Well, he's gone now, Sweetness. So how about we stop thinking about him and go home and see our baby girl?"

Kayla smiled and opened the door. Steve walked through, careful not to let his injured arm brush against the door. Then Kayla joined him and they began walking towards the emergency room staff exit. As they reached it, a large man in a suit stepped in front of them.

"I'm sorry, but you can't leave," he said.

Steve stared at the man, knowing what this had to be, but not wanting to believe it. "What do you mean we can't leave?" he asked with a growl. "If you haven't noticed, I just got a bullet wound patched up and I'd like to go home."

"I'm sorry," the man repeated in a polite, but determined, tone. "The hospital has been quarantined until further notice."

"Quarantine?" Kayla sounded incredulous. "On whose orders?"

The man did not answer, but his silence told Steve the answer. The ISA. Motioning to the doors to the main hospital foyer, the man said,"I suggest you wait in there and we'll let you know when you can leave."

Steve wanted to argue but knew it would be a waste of time. Kayla must have felt the same way because she just tugged on his good arm and began walking towards the doors. Steve followed, cursing the ISA silently from keeping from his daughter.

As they walked through the doors, Steve immediately saw Shane, Bo, John and Isabella standing together by the front desk. He and Kayla moved in that direction, eager to reunite with their friends.

As they approached, Bo looked up and grinned. "I knew that a stupid bullet couldn't keep you down for long. You're too damn stubborn."

Steve grinned. "And you wouldn't know anything about being stubborn, would you, Beauregard?"

Bo flashed a "who me?" look and reached over and hugged Kayla. "How are you holding up, sis?"

"I'm okay," Kayla said quietly. "I just don't understand why they won't let us go home." The she looked at Shane. "Are you okay? Did Neil examine you?"

"I'm fine," Shane replied. "Neil said I might have a few minor relapses, but I have more of the antidote so there is nothing to worry about." He paused and looked toward the door. "I'm more worried about where the ISA has Kim."

It suddenly dawned on Steve that Kim was not there. Kayla's tone became reassuring. "I'm sure she's fine," she said, sounding to Steve like she was trying to sound as optimistic as she could. "Kimmie's with Roman. He won't let anything happen."

"Yeah, dude," Steve said. "Besides, we have to talk about you not telling me how you were feeling when I left you with Alamain. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"And a whole lot of kids could have died if you hadn't left when you did," Shane replied calmly. "I made a choice and you would have done the same thing in my shoes."

Steve started to argue, but realized he couldn't. He would have done whatever he had to do to get Shane to leave and alert the school.

"How about we just stop talking about that?" John said. "The way I see it, Alamain is gone, the kids are safe, and we all made it out without any major damage."

"Sure, if you don't call a couple of bullet wounds and toxin exposure 'major damage,'" Isabella added in a humorous tone.

The group chuckled and Kayla said, "Unfortunately, with these guys, it seems to be standard operating procedure."

Everyone laughed a little more and then things fell quiet again. Shane kept looking at the door and Steve had to admit he was not feeling all that patient about being locked inside the hospital right now.

Kayla must have detected his impatience. "How about we go somewhere a little more comfortable? There's a staff lounge over there that I'm sure we can use."

Everyone agreed and the group moved towards the lounge. As they went, Steve couldn't help but look at the ISA agents staked out around the exits. He wasn't sure what was going on, but his gut told him there was a lot more to this little lockdown than just finishing the investigation.