"I'm so tired of being in this place! Where are they?"

Ever since the morning after Vic woke up in the hospital she's been chomping at the bit to get out. I drew the short straw at the office and was volunteered to be the one to pick her up and drive her home. We've been waiting for a nurse to bring down the discharge paperwork for over an hour now. It's not that I don't want to spend time with her, or that I'm not happy she gets to go home. It's what goes along with the chauffeur's job that I want to avoid, "Calm down, Vic. These things take time."

"Calm down? Really? Come on Walt, if it was you stuck in here you would have left this place as soon as you had the strength to stand."

I can't argue with her because she's right. I would have signed myself out AMA long before now. It's happened so many times, they usually already have the paperwork ready for me to sign before I even ask for it. Vic would have been gone too but I pulled rank on her. I told her that if she left before Dr. Weston thought she was ready that she needn't bother returning to the Sheriff's office because she would no longer have a job there. I justified the declaration with the fact that had she not returned to work so quickly after the incident at Chance's that she might not have gotten hurt again and ended up here in the first place. She tried to argue but it was only half-hearted, probably because she knew I was right. I also may have played the guilt card more than I should have by emphasizing how awful I feel about the part I played in her medical condition. Don't get me wrong, I do feel really terrible about it but I probably shouldn't have exploited her concern for me in an effort to control her actions. Ultimately I'd hoped she wouldn't call my bluff because I'd never be able to fire her. Luckily, she agreed to stay put until Doc gave her permission to leave and I'd venture to say the fact that she didn't tell me to go fuck off during the conversation only serves to confirm that she wasn't quite feeling like herself yet.

I'm trying hard not to stare at her while we're waiting. I'm already nervous and she's making it worse with her pacing in the small room. I close my eyes and think about the last time we were getting ready to leave this hospital not that long ago. It was the moment everything changed for me, the first time I'd admitted to myself there was more to my feelings for Vic than just the concern of a boss, mentor or even a friend. It was also when I realized how strained her relationship with her husband truly was. There had been hints of it before but her choice to be with me instead of him spoke volumes. Shaun recognized it before I did. Guess that makes sense. This time I find myself in a much different place. I'm less guilty about how I feel toward her. Though she is technically still married, it won't be long until she isn't anymore. Of course, she doesn't know I know that.

"It's about time!"

I open my eyes to see Vic practically snatch the clipboard from the nurse's hands. She makes quick work of signing the discharge papers and turns to grab her bag. She stops short when she sees me standing holding it out to her. It's almost as if she forgot I was here.

"Oh, thanks."

"Sure."

The drive home is a quiet one. She doesn't even try to turn on the radio but sits staring out the side window.

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I want to know what she's thinking about right now, but there's no way I'm going to ask her. I notice the vehicle parked in front of her house before she does. This is the part I wanted to avoid.

"Walt?"

I run my tongue over my front teeth before I answer her, "Yeah?"

"Why is Cady here?"

"She uh, offered to help out so you wouldn't have to stay alone. Shaun's still out of town, right?"

I slip the Bullet into park and turn off the motor but neither of us make a move to get out of the truck. I haven't told her about Henry's or my phone calls to Shaun and his response. As far as she knows, we all just think he's gone on a regular business trip. I'm curious as to when she'll offer any more information than that herself.

She squints one eye at me, "Shaun is currently in Alaska."

True statement if you ignore the lie of omission, "So, you need someone to stay with you a few days. It'll give you some help until you get to feeling a little better."

"I'm already feeling better, Walt. I don't need a babysitter."

"She's not a babysitter."

"Right."

Okay, she's pissed. I figured that would happen. Cady gets out of her car and waves cheerfully at us as she walks up to the door, expecting us to follow her.

Vic turns to me and speaks through her clinched teeth, "I can stay by myself."

"I'm sorry, Vic. This is part of the deal."

I figure the less I say, the less she'll have to argue against.

"That's it? That's all you're going to say?"

"Yep."

She looks back at her house, "Well then, if you want someone to stay with me why don't you do it?"

Her question catches me off guard, "Me?"

"Cady has a life and I don't want to disrupt it. So does Ruby. Ferg is not an option but you, you don't have anything to disrupt. For you, it just means you fall asleep on my couch instead of the one in your office."

"Vic, I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not? You had me stay at your cabin when Gorski was sniffing around and you didn't want me home alone. How is this any different?"

How is it different? Let's see. Then you were married. Now you're waiting for your divorce to be finalized. Then your life was most assuredly in danger from an armed former cop. Now, you are only in danger as much as you won't allow yourself to rest and recover. Then I'd only had fleeting thoughts of you dance across my mind because you were off limits. Now I know you are practically available for the taking. Then I felt confident you were sticking around. Now I know what it feels like to think I'm going to lose you. And these are all just the start of the ways it's different.

"It's different, Vic."

We've come to an impasse and I know in a battle of patience, I have a definite advantage.

"Fine. One night. That's it!"

I'm not sure I worked up enough strength last night to keep her anymore in line than this right now so I take it, "Okay."

She throws the door open and starts for her house. By the time I make it to the door Cady's there waiting for me.

"Hey, Punk."

"Hi, Dad. Did you not tell her ahead of time that I'd be here? We all agreed you'd talk to her about this yesterday so she could get used to the idea before she came home."

"Never seemed like the right time to bring it up."

"You're a coward sometimes, you know that?"

"More than you know, Cady. So, I'll just leave the two of you to whatever it is you need to get to."

"Oh no you don't. You're staying for dinner. I refuse to bear all her wrath by myself."

"You cooking?"

"No, Henry is bringing food over in a little while."

"What's he fixing?"

She cocks her head and glares at me, "Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

"Then get in here and, I don't know, distract her or something."

Great, now I've got two women angry with me. I'd hoped things would start looking up sometime today.