After several long moments Vic's grip on my denim shirt begins to loosen. She slowly pulls back and wipes the tears from her face. She looks so vulnerable and is still not speaking.

"Let's get you home."

She drops her hands and I finish dressing. I keep a hold on my coat, not sure how she will react if she sees me pull it on with the bullet hole still present. I can stand a little chill in the air if it helps to keep the chill out of her soul. We walk out of the room and down the hall. Vic excuses herself and heads to the restroom.

"I'll meet you in the lobby."

I continue down the hall and find Shaun sitting alone in a chair. Without turning his head he slides his eyes over and stares at my boots, not looking up. I am used to people avoiding eye contact with me, but usually because they are in some kind of trouble and they view me as the enforcer of consequences. I understand and am comfortable with that avoidance but I don't like getting that from either of these two. I sit down with one chair between us feeling like we could both use a little personal space. Shaun's eyes return forward. I open my mouth several times to speak, but I don't really know what to say. I opt instead to stand back up and walk over to the coffee urn sitting on the table across the room. I pour two cups. Returning to my seat, I hold one out to Shaun. After a slight hesitation, he reaches out and takes the cup.

I typically welcome silence. But this one is thick and heavy, not relaxed and easy. What is taking Vic so long?

When I think I cannot possibly stand it any longer the silence is broken.

"Thank you"

I exhale, not realizing I had been holding my breath. "Sure"

"How is she?"

"Okay considering the circumstances. Her head injury is pretty serious."

"Her physical health is not really what I was asking about. The doctor came by and spoke with me, told me I need to check on her every hour to monitor how she is doing. I'm sure that won't piss her off, my waking her up regularly to make sure she is still coherent. She's probably already angry enough that our weekend turned out the way it did."

"Shaun, you are not responsible for what happened. It's not your fault"

"Isn't it? She didn't really want to go away for the weekend, I know that. She was trying to maintain a positive attitude though. I guess she felt it was the least she could do, to put forth some effort in trying to fix things at home. End result though was another disappointment. I am not sure what I could have done differently. I did what I thought was the right thing each time to try to keep her safe, but no matter which path I picked, refusing to cooperate or giving them exactly what they wanted, she ended up bearing the brunt of it. I couldn't make the right choice for her. Seems like she fought them harder for me than for herself. Isn't that supposed to be the other way around?"

"Shaun, you know as well as I do that Vic is who she is. She will always put the safety of others ahead of her own."

"Hmm, well at the risk of sounding redundant, I want to know, how IS she?"

"I have my thoughts, but she's not talking to me about it"

Shaun turns to look directly at me.

"Just your thoughts, huh? That surprises me. I assumed she was talking to you because she sure as hell isn't talking to me. I have only caught one glimpse of her since she took off in your truck and that was when they brought me into the hospital. She seems to tell you everything. I get very little out of her about anything...Can I ask you another question?"

"Yup"

"Do you have feelings for my wife?"

I take a deep beath and slowly let it out. "I meant what I said a few weeks ago. You have nothing to worry about from me. Vic is my deputy and she is a married woman. I may do some things that are questionable in this life, but I place a lot of importance on both of those facts and take them very seriously."

"I keep hearing you say that I have nothing to worry about from you. What I am not hearing is an answer to my question. Right now, I still want to fight for my marriage but in order for it to be a fair fight, I need to know what I'm up against."

His eyes shift and he looks over my shoulder. I turn to follow his gaze and see Vic watching us from the near end of the hallway.

I don't know how long she has been there or what she may have overheard.

Shaun looks back to me as he stands up, "This conversation isn't over."