Chapter Eight

Mac was sitting in a chair that was next to his hospital bed when Pete entered the room.

"They releasing you today?" Pete asked, even as he felt a bit awkward. The dark sunglasses Mac wore were a stark reminder of what his sergeant was dealing with. He just hoped that the doctors were right when it came to the blurry vision.

"That's the plan." Mac rubbed the arm of his chair. "As long I'm able to have someone in the house with me at all times, they were talking about letting me go. That is, except at night when everyone is in bed sleeping. The dizzy spells aren't coming like they were, only they're still afraid of my falling and hurting myself even worse." Mac went on to say his son had been by earlier. "He's talked to Lisa Baldwin a few times. She's going to help out a lot."

"Yeah, I knew he'd been here." Pete told him. "I talked to him as he was leaving the hospital, and I was coming in. I told him that, if you don't mind, I could stay at your place when I'm not working. "You know," He leaned against the side of the hospital bed. "I'm hearing what the doctors think, what others think but what about you? How do you feel?" Pete couldn't help but wonder about that one.

For a moment, Mac said nothing. Finally, he took a deep breath and exhaled. "Remember when we thought *I might be in serious trouble and lose my job after that pedestrian 'accident'?"

"Yeah, I remember." Pete sat down in the only other chair in the room.

"I never thought I could be that scared again." Mac sighed. "I was mistaken. What if the doctors are wrong? What if my sight doesn't come back? What if I'm one of the rare cases? What if I continue dealing with dizzy spells?"

"I think you're borrowing trouble you don't have yet." Pete replied after a moment of silence. "I mean, the seizures aren't continuing. These problems will go away too." Even as Pete spoke, he had a horrible thought. "You aren't having any more seizures, are you?"

Mac could hear the questioning tone in Pete's voice. "No, I haven't had a third one. Still, it's the one thing the doctors can't seem to find an answer to. That is, they don't know why I had them, nor can they promise I won't have another one. For now, they want to keep an eye on me. Doctor Haywood says he wants to send me to a neurologist for the next six months-maybe up to a year. If I have no other episodes, they'll close the case. No, they didn't use the words 'the case'. I am."

"Well, for now, I'd say just do your best and hold onto hope that the other issues are gone long before that time is up. And, as I just said, I can stay with you when I'm not on duty. It's not like I have a family who needs me at home." Pete walked over to the window.

"I appreciate your willingness to help even more than you have already. Now, tell me what's wrong." Again, Mac seemed to read Pete-even if he couldn't see him.

Pete thought about Jim's call. He didn't know any 'Red', though-after thinking about it, he was able to recall a few conversations with Mac about a man the sergeant had called by that name-even then it was years ago, and Pete was sure Mac had said the man had left California. That being the case, Pete couldn't see it being the same man. "Are we supposed to know someone in California that goes by the name of Red?" It didn't pass Pete by that Mac stiffened the second Pete asked him the question. "Mac?"

Mac, not knowing Pete remembered a portion of their conversations years ago, spat out, "Only one I have ever called by that name is the man I told you about after you'd been with the force about four years. He name was Leon Phillips… no relation to the Dr. Phillips here in this hospital." Mac's tone of voice as he said the man's name left no room for doubt...he despised the man. "He moved to Wyoming years ago."

"What did he look like?" Pete, who could not remember if Mac actually described the man to him, asked.

Mac, who didn't like the feeling he got once Pete asked for a description, gave a detailed description of the man. "That is, that's what he looked liked when he left California. Why?" He leaned slightly forward.

Now it was Pete who was rather stiff and began explaining about the witness saying TJ and Mac had been talking before it actually started storming, along with all that TJ had told Jim after Jim had talked to him.

Mac said nothing as Pete finished. He didn't like the fact that Leon Phillips was back in California; though, he hated it even worse that he remembered nothing about stopping and chasing the man away from TJ. "Unless someone can put Red and I in the same place that day," Mac tapped the arm of his chair. "We won't be able to prove he did anything. Are you, I mean, any of the police looking for him-or anything else for that matter."

Pete let out a frustrated breath. "It's been put out that he's a person of interest, and we'd like to talk to him. Detective Stone says he and his men have a few other places to check out only, if nothing turns up soon, things will be officially closed."

Mac couldn't help but smile. He heard what the tone of Pete's voice – when he said 'officially closed', knew what Pete meant. "Well, if Red hasn't, or doesn't, leave California again, my guess is that the police will meet up with him soon enough. That …" Mac paused, and them made himself leave out unnecessary names, "man likes to get attention."

"Just not enough to make himself too famous?" Pete asked, even though he pretty well knew the answer.

"That's the size of it or was anyway. I don't know what he's like now." Mac replied.

The two friends might have continued talking about it only a nurse, along with Mac's son, stepped into the room.

*..the part about the possibility of Mac facing serious trouble and possibly losing his job comes straight from the episode Backup 1-L20.