Chapter 2

In front of the precinct, Kim stopped for a moment.

Today was really a beautiful day - the sun was shining. Well, maybe the good weather might stick around and Hank and she could sit on the back patio in the evening and watch the sunset together? Yes, that would be lovely. Hank and her. Kim enjoyed these cozy evenings with him. Who would have thought that after the disaster with Ruzek or the fling with Roman, she would find a man who made her heart beat faster after all? Who could have imagined that a smile would appear on her face at the mere mention of his name?

I mean, Kim somehow hadn't believed it. But now - she was just so incredibly happy. With Hank Voight. And she wanted to hold on to that happiness. For a long time. Perhaps even forever. Yes, forever. Actually, if Kim was honest with herself, she could imagine the rest of her life at his side.

But so far, they hadn't talked about the future - not exactly, anyway. Heck, Hank had said that he wished he could wake up next to her in the morning every day - always. And to Kim, that sounded a lot like happily-ever-after. Like forever. And Kim imagined this happily ever after would be wonderful. Growing old together with Hank. She could picture it plain as day.

Only, unfortunately, today was not a day for daydreams. It was time to leave her daydreams behind for a few hours. It was time to devote all her attention to the scum of the city and the hunt for them.

And so Kim turned and walked up the stairs to the precinct.

Trudy Platt was standing at her counter as usual when Kim came up the stairs. She was clearly not having a good day. But who would have when several cops had called in sick and she even had to send rookies out on patrol together? Already, Trudy Platt had cursed this day and longed for it to end. She hoped it would be a quiet day. Mind you, when has there ever been a quiet day in Chicago? Never. More likely hell would freeze over than crime taking a break.

"Good morning," Kim greeted her. There was nothing that would spoil Kim's good mood today. Not even the slight grumpy morning Burgess that Trudy Platt gave her in response. The day just felt so wonderful and then there was the excitement of looking forward to the evening with Hank.

Kim was about to step up to the counter when they heard loud cursing. A crash. A man shouting profanities. Kim turned in the direction from which the noise came. Two rookies were coming around the corner with a man they had arrested. As it was, the men didn't seem to have the situation under control. In fact, the guy they had arrested was clearly resisting. It was difficult for the two rookies to hold him down.

Trudy and Kim exchanged a meaningful look. Rookies. Trudy sighed before taking a step on the way out from behind her counter. She wanted to help the two cops. Kim turned around and was about to head up the stairs to join her team.

And then everything happened so terribly fast. Yes, it was as if everything was happening at once.

The man broke free from the grip of the two cops and somehow got his hands on the one cop's gun.

Almost at the same time, two shots echoed through the room. And then there were loud screams, footsteps, the slamming of the gate. Voices that Kim was barely aware of. And she felt a pain in her chest – a burning sensation. Someone pushed Kim to the floor. But it was too late. A little to late.

She hit the floor with a thud and there was a pain in her head. Well, the pain in her chest had been there first.

While Kevin and Al assisted in bringing the suspect back under control and handcuffing him, Trudy Platt was already kneeling next to Kim. Trudy pressed her hands on the bleeding wound on Kim's chest.

"We need the paramedics now," Kim heard Trudy Platt's voice.

It was difficult to comprehend the situation that confronted those present. The precinct, which had just been quiet, was in a frenzy. An officer had been wounded. Hit by a bullet.

Stunned, Hank looked at the blood spreading across Kim's chest. He couldn't really comprehend it. Kim had been shot - right here at the precinct. Surrounded by cops, in what should have been a safe place - yet something like this happened here.

Quickly, he knelt beside Trudy and reached for Kim's hand.

"Kim, darling, hey, it's going to be okay. I'm here," he whispered softly, stroking her cheek.

Not that Kim realized any of it. She only felt the pain - the burning in her chest. It was so hard for her to breathe! She did not want to breathe anymore. She didn't want to feel any more pain. Nor the cold that was slowly spreading through her. She just wanted to sleep.

But there was this voice. A man. His voice was agitated. Kim tried to concentrate on the voice. She knew the voice. Yet she felt so cold. And then everything was so bright. She was only dimly aware of everything around her. Someone caressed her cheek. Trudy Platt's loud voice penetrated her consciousness.

And there was this man in whose voice she heard so much fear and worry: "Kim, you have to stay awake. Hang in there. I do need you. Please. I need you. You have to stay awake now. Stay with me."

Kim felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. She just wanted to sleep. Close her eyes. And if she opened them, it would all be over. The pain. The bright light. Absolutely everything.

Then suddenly she remembered who the voice belonged to. Where she had heard the voice before.

"Hank," she whispered and then she closed her eyes.

For the next few minutes, Hank barely noticed what was happening around him.

This, that felt like he had experienced it all before. Like deja vu. Well, yes he had that too, experienced it before. Back then with Justin. And again with Al. Only unlike Justin, Al had survived. Fortunately. And Kim had to, too.

Hank didn't want to think about Kim not surviving the shot. He didn't want to lose her. Not when he had just found her - the woman he loved.

Back then, after Al's severe injury, when his best friend had been struggling on the brink of death, he had promised himself that if his best friend survived, he would allow himself the chance to live again, a happy life.

And that's what he had done.

Wonderful months with Kim by his side lay behind him. And they wouldn't be over all of a sudden now, would they? Life could not be so cruel as to let the woman he loved die once again!

He couldn't put into words the chaos inside him. He felt so much at once-pain. Anger. Fear. If Kim didn't make it, he would . . Hank didn't even want to think about what he would do then. All the same, he knew that without Kim, his life would no longer have any meaning. Without Kim, he didn't want to go on living. In fact, he would not.

Someone pulled him away from Kim, whose hand he still held tightly. It was Al. But Hank only caught this in passing, all his attention resting on Kim.

"Hank, man, come on, let them do their job," he too was concerned about Kim.

"I gotta-" but then Hank broke off.

All the while, his gaze was fixed on Kim's face. She was so pale. And she looked like she was asleep and would open her eyes at any moment and smile at him. With that wonderful smile of hers. And then Hank would know that everything was going to be all right. It just had to be all right.

As the paramedics began to move Kim onto the gurney, it brought Hank back to the present.

"I'm coming with you," he declared in a firm voice that brooked no argument, and with quick steps he ran after the gurney. He would not leave Kim alone now. Not now, not later. Not ever. He would stay by her side as long as he could.

Al and Trudy exchanged a quick glance. Hank Voight seemed to be quite worried for the young officer. But neither of them could have known the extent of this concern. Not even the two of them knew about the relationship between Kim and Hank. At least not until now.

But probably today was the day when everyone would learn the truth - about Kim and Hank. And their love.

The short ambulance ride seemed so incredibly long to Hank. And while Sylvie Brett tended to Kim's injury and checked her vitals, he clutched Kim's hand tightly.

Speaking softly to her, he was sure Kim could still hear him even if she wasn't conscious, "Honey, you have to hang in there. I need you. I. . I love you, I know I haven't told you often enough how important you are to me. But when you're awake again, then, then I'll tell you again and again. And"

"We're here," Sylvie interrupted him. And at the same moment, the car stopped and the doors were yanked open.

"Female, 35 years old, gunshot wound to the chest, was unconscious the entire time. Vitals are low, stopped breathing briefly, we had to intubate her," Violet informed the doctors at Chicago Med upon arrival.

"'Get her to Baghdad right away,'" Maggie declared, at the same moment getting in the way of Hank, who wanted to follow the paramedics.

"I'm staying with her. I'm not leaving Kim alone," Hank declared. The tremor in his voice was clearly audible.

"She's not alone. Doctor Rhodes and April are with her. And Doctor Halstead. They're all taking care of her. Come on, the waiting room is back there. I'll take you there."

And when Maggie looked at him, when she saw the look in his eyes, she knew that she wasn't dealing with a boss who was worried about someone on his team. It was a man who was worried about a loved one. About a person who meant a lot to him. Maggie had been a nurse long enough to recognize as much right away.

"I should stick around. Kim gave me . . Well. I, if something is, if it's a decision, I have. . Kim has signed the necessary forms that allow me to make any decisions for her, if necessary," and as he spoke the words, Hank simultaneously realized their importance. HE had to make all the decisions, if it came to that. Like that time, with Justin.

"You won't be far away in the waiting room. And if they really need you, I'll come get you," she promised.

"But-"

Just a short time later, Hank found himself in the waiting room at Chicago Med. Restlessly, he paced back and forth. Hank hated waiting. Not knowing what to do. The inability to do anything. Not knowing what to expect.

He had hated it since he was a kid. Waiting. Not knowing what awaited him. It was like waiting on Christmas to finally unwrap his presents. He had always had to wait a long time for the moment when he was finally allowed into the room with the Christmas tree and the presents on Christmas morning. His parents had been very strict. First breakfast and then presents. But this was not Christmas.

What was at stake here was not a few presents, but the life of his girlfriend.

Hank had not noticed at all how the rest of the Intelligence had arrived at the Med. It was only when Al joined him that he realized he was no longer alone. I mean, that the whole team was with him.

" So, are there any news?" inquired Al.

" 'She's still examined. They have not told me anything yet,'" Hank replied.

Not knowing what was going on, how Kim was doing, was driving him crazy. And even more so that he didn't actually know what had happened at all. I mean just how it had come about that Kim had been shot. And in the middle of the precinct.

He knew who had all the answer to his questions. Trudy Platt.

Hank turned to Trudy. She was sitting slumped in one of the chairs, blood on the sleeves of her uniform. Kim's blood. The sight of the blood made Hank's heart beat faster and at the same time his breath caught in his throat - just like the moment he had seen Kim lying on the ground, at the precinct. He could lose Kim. Permanently.

"How could this happen? How did that guy get his hands on a gun?" Furious, he stared at Trudy. But really, he wasn't angry at Trudy at all, he was angry at someone else. Nevertheless, letting out his anger felt good, sort of anyway. Anything was better than feeling that paralyzing fear spreading inside him. The fear that at any moment someone would come and tell him that Kim was dead. The fear that he would never again see her wonderful smile. And that he would never again be able to kiss her and hold her in his arms. The end of his happiness. For the second time.

"Hank, man, calm down. It's not Platt's fault," Al tried to calm him down.

"She should have been-," Hank broke off.

No, it wasn't Trudy who should have been looking out for Kim, it was him. It was his job to protect his girlfriend. And he had failed her.

He had failed someone he loved - again.