Manhattan, New York

Bosco was back asleep after Kim had reluctantly given him a doctor-approved sedative because he couldn't calm down on his own. She had hated to do it, as Bosco was a friend and he had been through enough trauma that he liked to be able to make his own choices, but he wasn't physically or emotionally well enough to do so at the moment.

Bosco's doctor, a no-nonsense middle-aged man named Dr. Jacob Feldstone, who was a military veteran sporting green eyes and a dark crop of hair that was wavy and cut just above his ears along with black scrubs, a white coat that had Jacob Feldstone, M.D. embroidered on it, a black armband on the left sleeve, black sneakers, and a stethoscope, had come quickly upon hearing from Kim that Bosco was having a massive panic attack type reaction, something that could prove very bad for his injured body if it wasn't addressed immediately.

Dr. Feldstone, Sully and Danielle had quickly learned through conversations with Kim, was a man who had run pop-up street clinics throughout New York during and after 9/11 before getting hired on as a practitioner, Adult/Community Ed teacher of health and first-aid courses, Crisis Response Coordinator, and Chief of Staff at New York Presbyterian the previous August. In their chats, Kim had also explained that even though Dr. Feldstone had only been at the hospital for a short time, he had quickly developed a reputation for being very focused on patient wellness and constantly worked long hours constantly to be there for others. As a result, Sully and Danielle weren't put off by Dr. Feldstone being commanding about Bosco's case in the least, as they knew Bosco was terrible about taking care of himself even when he was not well and would also need someone to push him towards getting well when he was ready to do that.

Upon arriving in Bosco's room, Dr. Feldstone had been told what happened and he had quickly authorized the sedation so Bosco wouldn't panic or cry himself into a stroke or heart attack or other health complications he was not capable of managing in his current state. Bosco had fought the idea of being sedated, even threatening to drag himself out of the hospital by his arms, but Kim had sedated him via his IV. Dr. Feldstone had promptly apologized to Danielle and Sully for how much Bosco was hurting, but he had also made it clear that the sergeant's body could not currently tolerate such intense freakouts because the shooting had caused plenty of damage, damage that wouldn't be fixable if Bosco didn't get post-trauma therapy and learn techniques to keep himself calmer even in the face of distressing news.

Danielle hadn't argued with Dr. Feldstone's blunt concerns, as she knew telling Maurice about what had happened since the shooting and John's sudden relocation had outright broken him even though he had expressed appreciation for the honesty at first.

Sully, on the other hand, had simply excused himself to decompress because he hated that Bosco was already regressing to having massive panic attacks like he had struggled with after his cancer diagnosis and his rape and he needed to breathe a moment before he tried to figure out how to help him.

Danielle was also broken by the sight of her husband having panic attacks and needing medical intervention to assist him, but she didn't have any choice but to be strong because she would be expected to be. As she sat a little ways away from the bed, silently watching as Dr. Feldstone and Kim checked her husband over to make sure his little freakout hadn't done any damage, Sully lingered in the hallway, taking a deep breath and processing the events of his already very long day. He knew from talking to Yelina that there was a growing list of people who wanted to come sit with and visit Bosco, but it was much too soon to start crowding him. Bosco's meltdown over a simple phone call from John had shown that he needed needed time and quiet before he had a lot of visitors.

"…Did you get enough to eat this morning? You were in an awful hurry to get here…"

"…After that shooting at Lieutenant Caine's trial, my mother got one phone call and she used it to call me and tell me to make a statement to the press distancing myself from her and denouncing her actions. I haven't been able to eat much of anything since I did that. I don't even have the strength to reach out and check on Matthew, but maybe it's better if I don't right now. He's got a family with Greg Sanders and he's safe. I don't want kids anyway, not with the way I was raised…"

Suspicious, Sully looked up from the floor and saw Dr. Sid Hammerback from the New York Crime Lab talking with a very pale looking, sandy-haired young man at the nearby nurse's station. The young man was wearing scrubs, a white coat, stethoscope, and a hospital ID, "You've got to eat, Michael," Sid replied in a concerned voice, offering Michael a fabric lunchbox. "I know it's hard doing anything right now with your mom in Riker's and your dad…"

"You know he didn't die after the crap he pulled in Vegas with Lieutenant Caine even though tabloids out there are reporting he died," Michael replied in a solemn voice, a pained expression on his face. "He's too strong and too smart and too connected for that. He's probably just hiding somewhere, biding his time. I'm just lucky the cops and Doctor Feldstone aren't thinking I'm like my parents. Being an intern in a city hospital is hard enough without having to worry about people judging me over my parents' crap. I also appreciate you giving me a room in your place…"

Sid nodded and held out the lunchbox again, which Michael took. Sully immediately figured out where he recognized Michael from; the kid had grown up in the middle of a violent family situation between known Russian mobster Ivan Sarnoff and neurologist/GP Dr. Andrea Pride and Sully, who had been on the job then, had intervened and ensured that Michael was put in a safe foster home where he could also enjoy supervised visits with his mother, who had become friends with Sid over the years, when Sarnoff was not around. Dr. Sid Hammerback, Sully remembered, was the name of Michael Pride's foster father…

"…Sit down for a minute, Michael," Sully suddenly heard Sid say in a concerned, but quiet voice. "Get a sandwich out of the bag and eat it. I know you barely ate this morning. Eat a sandwich before work."

Sully pulled out of his thoughts just in time to see Sid slide down on the floor next to Michael, who was now sitting on the floor looking shaky, "Hey, you all right?" Sully asked in a concerned voice as he approached them.

Michael, who immediately recognized Sully, lowered his head and didn't respond, instead turning his attention to the sandwich he had retrieved from his bag. Sid gave Sully, who he also recognized, an apologetic smile.

"Michael was just running a bit late this morning and forgot to eat," Sid explained kindly. "He's an intern here, but he also does bits of LPN work here and there because he did some college courses in high school and got his LPN before he started medical school, and he's going to be an R2 next year. I'm very proud of him."

"I'm not sure if you remember me, Michael…" Sully spoke nervously.

Michael sighed grimly, "Look, I've seen the news about the trial and everything else my mother did and I'm not going to bother you or your family," he promised grimly, his eyes still on his lap. "I already asked Doctor Feldstone to keep me busy with other patients so the Boscorellis aren't uncomfortable and he didn't think there would be a problem, but he's letting me do my thing. I know my dad made things hard for Sergeant Boscorelli, so I'll stay away from him. I work 18 hours a day and then I just sit in my room at Papa Sid's and pretend to sleep or I study. I don't do a lot outside. People know who I am and they have ever since I was a kid cause of the family violence thing that caused a lot of chaos with the press in court and I just want to be left alone…"

"What is going on here?!" Dr. Feldstone's angry, protective tone of voice suddenly filled the air. "Why are you harassing my intern?!"

Sully turned just in time to see an angry looking Dr. Feldstone emerge from Bosco's room with Kim on his heels, "I wasn't harassing him," Sully replied in a concerned voice. "I'm the officer who helped him and his mother when he was a kid. I saw him and his foster dad talking and thought I'd say hi."

"I was worried you were some idiot from the press trying to harass him cause his mother, Doctor Andrea Pride, is in protective custody in Riker's and has been since the shooting at the courthouse," Dr. Feldstone spoke in a concerned voice, an apologetic expression appearing on his face. "The media are currently banned from the hospital due to all the crap they tried to pull in an attempt to get stories since the shooting, but they call…a lot. My apologies for assuming the worst."

Danielle suddenly poked her head out of the room, having heard the conversation and become intrigued by it, "Excuse me, Michael…was it?" she asked softly. "Did you say you're Doctor Pride's son?"

Michael froze, immediately recognizing Danielle from the courthouse footage that had been aired on the news and from the articles he had seen about John's achievements, "Um, yes, ma'am," he replied nervously. "And you…you're John Boscorelli's mother and Sergeant Boscorelli's wife. I…I'm sorry. Just give me a minute…and I'll go. I…I work here, but I've already told my boss I'll steer clear of your family…"

Danielle was silent for a moment before sitting in a chair near them, "Children are not responsible for the sins of their parents, Michael," she replied gently, feeling nothing but empathy for the obviously scared young man. "If children were responsible for the sins of their parents, I'd be in trouble too. You see, I was raised by my very loving father because my birth mother is a drug addict who recently got diagnosed with HIV because she was reckless with her life and her body. Your father may be a Russian mobster and your mother may be in Riker's for unspeakable crimes, but you are not them. You are you. You are working very hard to do something good with your life despite growing up in a very hard environment. Tell your boss that you'll do whatever he needs you to do even if it involves helping provide treatment to my husband. I'll handle my husband's reaction, whatever it might be…"

Michael quickly finished his sandwich and slowly got to his feet with Sid's help, "Go get your work stuff out of your locker, Michael, and don't forget your water this time," Dr. Feldstone ordered firmly, secretly pleased by Sid's overprotectiveness and Danielle's extension of grace. "We'll do rounds in 10."

Nodding, Michael silently gave Sid a hug goodbye and Sid smiled, "If I can't come get you after your shift, get a cab to the Crime Lab so you're not walking around Manhattan alone," Sid spoke softly. "I'll be in the morgue and Detective Taylor knows to let you in if it's after hours. He'll wait for you."

Michael nodded again and quietly left, processing Danielle's words, "Thank you for giving Michael some kindness, Mrs. Boscorelli," Dr. Feldstone spoke softly, offering Danielle a smile. "He's my best intern, but this business with his mother and the courthouse shooting, it's sucked the life out of him and he's doing his job well, but he's so quiet and doesn't engage with people unless he has to. It's freaking me out and I'm trying to get him to talk to someone about his feelings, but the waitlists for counselors are so long, even for medical staff. The best I can do is just be there for him when he wants to talk. Anyway, your husband is sedated and stable and I'm gonna keep him under for at least a day because his body cannot handle freakouts right now. I would suggest you use the time to go home, get some rest, and check on the rest of your family. The papers say you have a big family and they're probably missing you. I'll be around the hospital the entire time…"

"Don't you have a family of your own, Doctor Feldstone?" Danielle asked softly. "They probably miss you…"

Dr. Feldstone sighed heavily and shook his head, something that caused Sully and Sid to still, "Um, not anymore," he replied, a somber expression suddenly filling his face. "My pregnant wife and our daughter were on United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark…"

Sully winced, Sid suddenly looked sad, but Danielle listened thoughtfully, as she could tell that Dr. Feldstone felt comfortable opening up about his family and his experience with 9/11 to her and didn't want to discourage him, "My wife's parents lived closer to Newark and so she took our kids over to her parents to stay with them overnight cause the flight the next day was early and I stayed behind in Manhattan cause I had a shift at Lenox Hill I was finishing up," Dr. Feldstone explained in a solemn tone. "I was supposed to be with them cause we were going to San Francisco for a holiday, but I woke up with a cold at 3 a.m. on September 11th after working an 18-hour shift and my wife decided I should stay home to ride out the cold before joining them. She didn't want me to be missing out on holiday activities being laid up in the hotel bed with a cold and said they were just gonna rest in the hotel for the first day or two anyway, as she was pregnant and our daughter was always tired after long trips. I agreed and told her that I loved her and our daughter. I promised to rest and join them in a couple days. When the crap started happening at the World Trade Centre, though, I took a cold pill, grabbed my medical stuff and ran to help where I could cause we lived near the Towers. It was only later that night that I found out about Flight 93 and that our apartment also took a beating when the Towers fell. I spent that night trying to sleep in some cold alley near Ground Zero with my work stuff and a bad cough for company. I got woke up at 2 a.m. the next day by a couple of cops who told me I was covered in ash, bleeding, and had some burns and they took me to a hospital to get checked, shower, and sleep. Once I was cleaned up, I was easily recognizable, and Lenox Hill kept trying to get me back to work in the O.R., but there were so many people where I was who needed help and so I blew off Lenox Hill and floated around Manhattan hospitals and pop-up clinics offering my services. I also was too busy trying to salvage what was left of my apartment and move my salvaged stuff uptown into a brownstone while helping people on the street and helping pick through the pile to do full-time shifts at Lenox Hill. My family was gone and there was nothing left to bury, but the people in the rubble and everyone else affected…they needed people to care and I had nothing but time and care to offer them. I worked that pile every night til my hands bled and I was puking dust up. I left Lenox Hill shortly after that cause it was just too much to be there and I just did a bunch of pop-up clinics for years. I just got hired on as Chief of Staff here in August cause the city caught wind of the work I did with the pop-up clinics and they also learned that I used to be a military surgeon in the Middle East before I got hired on at Lenox Hill. Apparently, a little birdie named Sid Hammerback said good things about me…"

Sid smiled, "Your skills were needed in a hospital again, Jacob," he replied gently, shocked that his friend had been so open with Danielle and Sully about his family's death on Flight 93 when he rarely shared about his family to anyone anymore. "I was always worried about you being by yourself in those pop-up clinics in the bowels of New York at unsafe hours with people who were not so good to be around, so I spoke to the right people about helping you out because you are my friend. Actually, Jacob, John's mother here is a Lieutenant with FDNY who has a Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences from UNLV. I know you're always looking for more Nursing staff here, so I thought I'd..."

"I'm actually on leave at the moment cause I delivered a baby at a home and it didn't go well and FDNY's pissed," Danielle spoke up nervously. "The mother's a friend of mine and recovering from a hysterectomy while her baby's growing in the NICU here…"

Dr. Feldstone's eyes narrowed, "Wait, you're the Danielle Boscorelli that Carlos and Holly Nieto were praising?" he realized in a surprised voice. "I took care of Holly when she was first brought in and I spoke with them. They are incredibly grateful you saved their baby and helped Holly and I'm so pissed about how FDNY treated Carlos. I was trying to arrange a full-time job for Carlos here when he got kidnapped by those fake cops. I'm holding the job, but I don't know what kind of shape he'll be in when he's found or if he'll even want to work. If that footage on the news wasn't doctored, I'm feeling real sad for him. Anyway, it's nice to meet you. If you ever want to take the Nursing equivalency test like Carlos and Kim did, Lieutenant, let me know. I oversee it as part of several Adult Education courses that I teach on weekends. I actually need to get to taking my interns on rounds, though, so…it's been nice to meet you."

As Dr. Feldstone left, Danielle sighed tiredly, "Going home, resting, and spending time with your kids doesn't sound like a bad idea, Danielle," Sully commented softly, eyeing his tired daughter. "You've been here all night and I can stay now. I'm rested and fed, thanks to Yelina and Holly. You might also wanna consider that test. FDNY is not going to stop riding you and you need to put that degree to better use, especially given the needs that David, Ellie, Mikey, and Emily all have. It'll also help you be able to better take care of Bosco better when he gets out…"

"I will go home for a break," Danielle replied tiredly. "And I'll think about the test during the cab ride."

Sid, however, gave her a look, "I can drive you," he offered kindly. "After what you said to Michael, you deserve a little break. And maybe we can get you some breakfast on the way?"

Trusting that Danielle would be all right, Sully wandered back into Bosco's room and Kim followed, "Weren't you working in Bed-Stuy?" he asked as he watched Kim check Bosco's vitals again.

"Jimmy decided to take a job in Manhattan and decided it would be safer if we moved," Kim explained in a concerned voice. "Don't tell Danielle, but FDNY is looking to get Jimmy to replace her as supervisor and as an instructor after she delivered Holly's baby at Nietos house without backup. They're just holding off on that right now cause of the shooting. Honestly, Sully, if Danielle can take the Nursing test, she should…and soon. Anyway, I need to get back to work. I'll check back later."

As Kim left the room, Sully sighed grimly and took a seat beside Bosco's bed to process what had already been a very long day for him and to watch the sedated Bosco sleep peacefully. He had also heard what Danielle said about Ellen having HIV and he needed to process that news alone, as he had actually cared about the woman once upon a time and felt sad that she had been dealt such a heavy blow. He and Ellen had actually been in love once, but her love for drugs was much greater and Sully truly felt it a miracle that Danielle had not been born with any struggles. He couldn't say the same about Danny or Greg, but he knew that Ellen hadn't done anything to help them either because her love for drugs was greater than her love for people. As Sully sat with his thoughts, he suddenly felt very grateful that he had met, fallen in love with, and married Yelina and had a child with her because he had never thought he would ever fall in love again after Tatiana had been murdered, and yet…

Sighing softly, Sully allowed himself to be completely lost in memories as he held his vigil.

Miami, Florida

It had been hours since Rick and Lenny had left Jackson Memorial and Horatio was tired from driving Miami's streets with no success, but he was determined to find Rick and Lenny before something bad happened . He had shared copies of the photo of the two of them with Tim, Calleigh, Eric, and Tripp because Natalia was taking care of John Boscorelli and her kids and waiting by the phone in case Rick called, Robert was sitting with Detective Flack with his own phone at the ready, and Walter was still working the Emily Speedle abduction case in the lab. Unfortunately, their endless efforts hadn't proven successful and the two Stetlers were still very much in the wind and Horatio's concern was increasing because of Rick's injuries and the reality that Lenny might not know what to do if Rick became too incapacitated.

Deeply frustrated with the ongoing situation, Horatio had taken a break, deciding to silently recharge at Marisol's grave while he tried to figure out what else to do. Calling the motels had been a bust and he hadn't wanted to sic police on the locations because of his earlier concerns, so he was currently at a loss about what to do. That was why now, he was seated in the grass at Marisol's grave, silently allowing his mind to rest while he stroked her tombstone in hopes that she would give him advice.

The sound of a ringing phone suddenly permeated the quiet evening air and Horatio quickly answered it, "Horatio," he spoke in a concerned voice, frowning when he heard quiet sniffling on the other end.

"Are you Horatio Caine?" Lenny's quiet, scared voice came out through tears. "Detective Speedle…he gave me a card with numbers on it and I only recognized your name cause my dad keeps saying it. He's laying on the floor in the bathroom and he keeps muttering about somebody named Horatio taking me away cause he's not fit. He threw up and he's holding his head a lot…"

Silently waving Marisol goodbye, Horatio quickly got out of the dirt and rushed across the grass to his Hummer while holding the phone to his ear, "Lenny, where are you?" he asked in a concerned voice, quickly getting behind the wheel. "I'll come to you right now and help you and your dad."

"Room 120 at the DeLuca Motel," Lenny's quiet voice replied nervously before he gasped and the sound of vomiting filled the air. "Oh my God…Dad! Dad…"

Sounds of quiet groaning continued to fill the air as Horatio dropped his phone on the seat and reached for his radio to call one of his team for backup, deciding to assess the situation on-site before requesting EMS, as too many people at the motel might trigger something bad.

DeLuca Motel

The sound of quiet, pain-filled gasping greeted Horatio as he entered the motel room with a running recorder in his pocket and saw a backpack on one of the beds while a mess of brochures, unwrapped toothbrushes, a pad of paper with scribbles on it, and a half-eaten pizza sat on the table in a greasy looking box.

, "…Lenny, Lenny I'm sorry I can't be a better dad," he heard Rick say in a weak voice. "I'm just too messed up, I guess…What is that…that cold feels nice."

"It's an icepack," Lenny's voice filled the air softly. "Can you get up?"

A few moments later, Horatio froze as a pale, groggy looking Rick came into the bathroom doorway and immediately stopped upon seeing him, "Oh, great, I'm under arrest," Rick spoke in a tired voice, his eyes narrowing at the lieutenant, "And you're here to personally do the honors to pay me back for all the crap I've put your lab through while at the helm of IAB. Will arresting me make you feel good, Horatio?!"

Before Horatio could reply and explain why he was there, Rick silently came out of the bathroom, promptly stumbled to where he was on his knees and silently put his hands behind his head. Lenny promptly came out of the bathroom and froze at seeing his father on the carpet, "Dad?" he asked in a concerned voice. "What's going on?"

"I'm getting arrested," Rick replied in a cold voice, unable to keep from crying as he spoke because his pain was steadily increasing as he continued to kneel there with his hands behind his head. "Where are the cuffs, Horatio? Or are you just getting pure pleasure out of seeing me like this?! Broken and hurting cause I'm kneeling on a crappy motel carpet and at your mercy instead of making you beg for it?!"

The sound of a car parking suddenly filled the air and Eric quickly appeared in the doorway to the room, looking confused and concerned at seeing Rick on the floor in position to be arrested, "Um, Lenny, Eric is going to help you gather your things," Horatio spoke in a nervous voice. "Why don't you go around the room and show him what's yours?"

Lenny gave Horatio a look of disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what was happening, but he nodded and grabbed his bag off the bed, "Our stuff's on the table," he spoke quietly. "We don't have a lot."

"H, what's going on?" Eric asked in a confused voice as he watched Lenny load his backpack with everything on the table but the pizza. "Why is Stetler…?"

Horatio gave Eric a look, "Eric, take Lenny, his bag, and that pizza to your Hummer and wait for me," he replied firmly. "Rick and I need to have a conversation…"

"Honestly, Delko, get the hell out of here unless you wanna take a photo of me on the floor that you and Duquesne can gossip and laugh about with the lab techs about Sergeant Stetler from IAB is a bottom-feeding loser who can't take care of his kid!" Rick snapped darkly. "Make sure Lenny doesn't go to some hole in the wall foster home if you're calling DCFS from your car! He's all I have!"

Eric froze and eyed Rick worriedly, quickly realizing that something was off, "Eric, go," Horatio repeated firmly. "I will address this."

Nodding, Eric quietly picked up the pizza box and removed the box, Lenny, and his bag from the hotel room, "Don't worry, he ate dinner, if that's what you're worried about," Rick spoke coldly, as he slowly lowered his head because he felt another headache coming on. "I let him pick what he wanted and he wanted pizza. I didn't eat any. I can't…"

"Have you had anything to eat today?" Horatio asked softly, kneeling beside Rick. "Anything at all?"

Rick sighed, "I don't remember," he replied coldly, closing his eyes because everything suddenly seemed overwhelming, including thinking. "Since I'm getting arrested and perp walked, can I at least have a lawyer? Or do I have to spend the night in lockup getting what's owed to me before I get to talk to someone about the mess I made of my life and my kid's life?"

"Can you stand?" Horatio asked in a concerned voice. "If you can't…"

Rick scowled and stood up rather unsteadily, promptly clapping a hand over his forehead and massaging it briefly before he silently put his hands behind his back as if he expected to be handcuffed right then and there. Being careful not to further injure Rick, Horatio slipped his arm through Rick's and very gently guided him to his Hummer parked outside after closing up the room. Horatio them settled Rick in the front passenger seat and buckled him in before closing the door and then he got behind the wheel. As he and Eric drove away from the motel, Horatio reached for his radio to call the lab and see if Dr. Loman could provide medical attention on-site at the lab because he knew taking Rick back to the hospital would only create more issues given what had already happened that day.

Miami-Dade Crime Lab/Miami-Dade Police Department

Rick had fallen asleep in the passenger seat by the time the Hummer made it to the lab, but Horatio simply left him there while he went to talk to Eric, who was sitting in the other Hummer with Lenny, who was holding his filled backpack close and looking nervous, in the backseat.

Eric peered over at Rick asleep in the front passenger seat of the other Hummer before looking at Horatio worriedly, "During the drive, I radioed the lab and spoke to Doctor Loman and he's agreed to take care of Rick as best he can here. I think Rick's concussion symptoms are worsening and they're exacerbated by the fact that he obviously has low blood sugar and a bit of dehydration. His irritability towards both of us and symptoms he displayed when I was alone in the room with him…"

Coughing suddenly filled the air and Rick and Horatio looked towards the Hummer just in time to see Rick cough himself awake and promptly massage his head again, "Given that a fake orderly convinced Rick to leave the hospital this morning using fake paperwork, we are better off having him here for the moment under our protection and Doctor Loman's care than trying to take him to another hospital and risk it happening again," Horatio explained in a concerned voice. "I want you to take Lenny upstairs to the lab and call Natalia…"

Eric nodded, "Is my dad in trouble?" Lenny asked nervously, his expression ashen. "He…he was just trying to help us. We were told we had to get out of the hospital room. The orderly at the hospital called my dad and I homeless…"

"Should I call Speedle and ask him to get his mom here?" Eric asked softly. "Maybe she can reassure Stetler that…"

Horatio shook his head, "Speed should be up in the lab reviewing the evidence from the hospital and Calleigh may also even be around helping Walter with Emily's case," he spoke firmly. "If we involve a social worker, that will only exacerbate Rick's symptoms and quite possibly create a terrible situation. I need you to take Lenny upstairs to my office and not talk to anyone on the way. Right now, please. I will work on getting Rick out of the car and up to the lab."

Even though he wanted to stay and help, Eric got Lenny and his things and went inside without arguing. Horatio, meanwhile, returned to his Hummer and watched Rick slowly process the world around him, "I guess it's time for me to be perp walked through the PD like the scum that I am," Rick spoke in a subdued tone, a resigned expression on his face as he looked at Horatio. "Thank you for not doing it in front of my kid. As big of a prick as I am at work, Lenny…he deserves to be spared from seeing me in trouble…"

Resisting the urge to tell Rick that it was quite too late to spare Lenny from such a sight and the grief that came with it, Horatio offered his hand, "I'm cuffed," Rick replied groggily, frowning at him before suddenly wincing as yet another headache hit him. "God, my head…"

"Try moving your arms," Horatio instructed gently, knowing that he had to take it slowly with Rick given everything that had happened to the man in the last two days.

Rick did so and found that he was able to rest his hands on his healing ribs, which were beginning to ache from excessive movement, "Can I just please go to a cell now?" he asked in a pained voice. "I can maybe get some sleep there. I spent all day writing things out on a pad of paper for my mama's funeral. Cheap things that I can do to honor Mama that won't absolutely kill me financially…"

A sympathetic expression filled Horatio's face, and Horatio found himself wanting to offer condolences, but Rick sighed and took the man's offered hand, groaning and swearing weakly as he staggered out of the car. Horatio closed the Hummer door before gently and slowly guiding Rick up the stairs to the Crime Lab foyer.

The person at the front desk took one look at Rick and buried her face in her computer instead of goggling at him, "Horatio!" Dr. Loman's voice suddenly filled the air.

Horatio turned towards the voice and was relieved to see Dr. Loman coming towards them pushing a wheelchair that held a very large medical kit, "After you called, I found this wheelchair and some medical supplies in the disaster response closet. I figured they might be useful."

"God, help me…it's so bright in here," Rick muttered in an irritated tone, quickly closing his eyes.

Alarmed, Dr. Loman quickly grabbed the kit out of the chair and Horatio gently deposited Rick in the seat, settling his legs on the leg-rests before the man could protest. Rick raised an eyebrow at being dumped in a wheelchair, but didn't protest and Horatio knew the man was quickly running out of energy, "Tom, let's take him to my office," Horatio spoke softly. "I had it redone entirely after I returned from Vegas and it's more accessible now, particularly to people who have trouble walking."

Dr. Loman nodded and pushed the chair while Horatio led the way up to his office, which was now accessible by a simple ramp. On the way, he saw Eric at the desk with Lenny and Eric was on the phone while Lenny was standing there, staring off into space, something that concerned Horatio. Once they were in his office, Horatio quickly closed the floor length blinds because he saw techs who were on duty beginning to take notice of the chaos in his office and he wanted to give Rick privacy.

Dr. Loman, meanwhile, opened the kit and began rummaging through it before he got some supplies out, "I'd like the chance to take x-rays in the morgue, but I have a feeling that wouldn't work out," he spoke in a concerned voice, knowing the medically impaired Rick would probably get hostile and uncooperative if it was suggested.

"You have a portable machine, Tom," Horatio reminded him firmly. "If you feel it necessary, you should do it. I do happen to know, however, that Rick has not eaten since breakfast and has Type 2 Diabetes. His symptoms could be caused in part by that…"

Dr. Loman nodded as Rick began to shiver, "I'm going to start with some bloodwork," he spoke softly. "That will allow me to get accurate readings…"

Horatio, however, marched to his desk, opened the top drawer, and produced a top of the line portable blood sugar monitor, one that came with test strips, that he had used some of the lab's budget to purchase when Rick had transferred into the lab because he knew it would be smart to have on hand in case there was ever an emergency or if Rick ever forgot his own machine at home, "I'm going to get a blanket and pillow out of the nap room," Horatio spoke softly, handing Dr. Loman the monitor. "Here."

Without waiting for thanks, Horatio silently left his office and hurried to the nap room, being very quick to grab a clean pillow and blanket off the bed closest to the door. As he was heading back to his office, he noticed Tim and Eric sitting on a couch near the desk talking quietly while Lenny slept with his head on Eric's leg and his arms around his backpack. Worried that there was already gossip floating around, Horatio walked over to them and cleared his throat, quickly earning Tim and Eric's attention.

"H, do you think we should tell Doctor Grissom what's going on?" Eric asked worriedly.

Horatio sighed and Tim suddenly looked pained, "I…I don't think Doctor Grissom is going to forgive me for this happening, H," Tim replied grimly. "I was watching both Detective Flack and Stetler and I should have been more…"

"Speed, this was not your fault," Horatio replied firmly. "Whatever outside force is at work here…we had no way of knowing…any of us…that this was going to happen. Nobody is to blame and Rick is safe. I brought him here so he would be protected. Lenny will hopefully be picked up by Natalia soon because Bobby is guarding Detective Flack right now. Rick is being seen to by Doctor Loman in my office and I would like everyone to stay out of there at this time. If I need help getting Rick through the night, I will let you know. For now, just respect his privacy and please tell everyone else to do the same."

Tim and Eric nodded and Horatio quickly returned to his office, relieved to see that Dr. Loman had gotten Rick to open his eyes and was now checking him over. An IV was also in each of Rick's hands and the bags were on Rick's lap, but Horatio didn't comment on them. He instead quickly made his couch up like a bed, fully intending to sit up as late as he could and make sure Rick was able to get uninterrupted sleep that night and they would settle the lawyer business in the morning if Rick still wanted one around after he was in a better capacity to make such a decision. Rick wasn't in any trouble, Horatio knew, but he also knew Rick might feel better if he had one advocating for him while he was unable to do so for himself.

"Sergeant Stetler needs to rest now," Dr. Loman spoke up, sighing as Rick suddenly closed his eyes again. "I'm not going to get any more cooperation out of him at the moment."

It took the combined efforts of Dr. Loman and Horatio to get Rick to the couch and resting the upper half of his body on the pillow, but they managed it, "If you can get him to drink some water or eat something light in a few hours, that would be good," Dr. Loman spoke in a concerned voice. "There's a bottle of water with a straw on your desk if he needs it. For now, though, he needs rest…"

Nodding, Horatio quickly covered Rick with the blanket and put the IV bags atop the couch.

"…Why…why are you being so nice, Horatio?" Rick suddenly asked groggily, not opening his eyes. "I should be in jail…"

"Because you're a human being, Rick," Horatio replied patiently, twinges of guilt filling him. "And all human beings eventually get to a point in their lives where they are in need of compassion and help because they can't help themselves anymore. You are there now…and probably have been there for a while. I just didn't pay attention well enough…and I'm sorry."

A sleepy sigh filled the air, "You're here now," Rick's groggy voice replied as Rick, who was slipping further into sleep because he felt comfortable doing so, raised an eyebrow. "I'm…I'm tired."

Dr. Loman silently set a bucket beside the bed, an action Horatio didn't require an explanation for, "Do you think he might be more amenable to bloodwork and x-rays in a few hours?" he asked softly. "I'm planning to stick around all night to keep an eye on him."

Shrugging, Horatio silently retreated to his desk, grabbed some paperwork that was long overdue, and a chair, and then returned to the couch, "And so am I," he replied firmly. "Why don't you get yourself a cup of coffee from the staff room, Tom? I can sit with him awhile…"

"Only if I can get one for you too, Horatio," Dr. Loman replied patiently. "The night will be long."

Nodding, Horatio silently sat and cast one final glance at the sleeping Rick before lowering his head to his paperwork. Just as Horatio was getting started, Rick suddenly began to cough violently like he were choking, but didn't wake and Horatio immediately got the water from his desk just in time to see Rick lift his hands towards his throat, clench them, and attempt to grab air like he was trying to pull hands away from his throat.

Horatio's eyes widened, "Daddy…don't…" Rick rasped between coughs. "Daddy…please…I…I can't breathe…"

Horatio silently put his right hand in Rick's left one and gave it a gentle squeeze in an attempt to pull Rick from his obvious nightmare. The sleepy Rick continued to cough, but no longer begged for his father to stop hurting him because he could sense someone there who was intent on protecting him from harm, "I have some water for you," Horatio spoke softly. "To help with the coughing. I'm going to put a straw to your lips. All right? It will help you be able to drink."

Horatio then did exactly what he said he was going to do and was relieved when Rick drank through the straw, but kept his eyes closed. After a few minutes, Rick clumsily spat the straw out of his mouth and continued to sleep quietly with his hands in the air. Horatio gently moved Rick's hand under the blanket before releasing it and then repeated the process with his other hand. Rick didn't react, but continued to sleep peacefully.

A moment later, Dr. Loman came back in, "Horatio, Detective Caine is here," he spoke softly. "I told him to wait at the desk. Should I let him in?"

"Just stay with Rick, Tom," Horatio instructed, quietly standing up. "I got him to drink some water, but he had a nightmare about his father choking him. I want someone with him at all times because I don't know how bad the nightmares are going to get or even how frequent and I don't want him accidentally injuring himself further if he gets trapped in another one."

Dr. Loman nodded and Horatio sighed as he left his office, closing the door behind him. Horatio then silently made his way to the desk where Robert was waiting, "Frank's with Donnie, but it's only precautionary because Donnie asked for another sedative," Robert explained grimly upon seeing his uncle. "God…what a day. I was on my way home when Delko called. The DeLuca Motel?! Seriously?! That place is a filthtrap…"

"Rick's wallet and badge are still in Evidence because it was part of what Eric collected off him after his father beat him up," Horatio explained patiently. "Speed gave Rick $300…"

Robert sighed angrily, "Thank God Speedle was there to do that," he replied grimly. "Rick and Lenny might have ended up at the shelter otherwise and there's a cop down there every few days dealing with one disturbance or another. It's not a safe place for people with medical issues or children. Natalia thinks we should volunteer there and I told her absolutely not while she's pregnant and absolutely not with the kids. I may be seen as a strict father by some, as I don't let my kids do sleepovers or afterschool activities and I always make sure Natalia or I are there to get them after school, but Maggie was kidnapped when she was six and tortured and then I thought for the longest time that she was dead at Fred Yokas's hand and Maxine Valera tried to kidnap Adam at school and molest him. Adam's case is still pending. BJ…God bless him…he wants counseling now to address what Amanda did to him when she was alive, but he won't trust just anyone. I'm personally happy to be done with having children after Natalia has the baby and so is she. Anyway, Delko said Lenny is here somewhere and needs to be taken to a safe place. Where, exactly, is Rick?"

"Rick's asleep in my office and Doctor Loman is watching him," Horatio spoke in a concerned voice. "Bobby, Rick is not well. He kept talking like I was going to arrest him and then had a nightmare…"

Robert nodded grimly, "And that's why I keep the front door deadbolted at night," he replied calmly. "He'll get up in the middle of the night and I'll sometimes find him asleep on a lawn chair in the yard in the morning, even when it's cold. I'm a Crisis Response Officer and he won't even tell me why he wanders through the house at night, but I do make sure he can't get out the front because if he could, I'd probably have a hard time finding him. The yard, on the other hand, has a very high fence and no gate and I also keep the toolshed locked unless I'm using it and we purposely do not have a pool because we don't need one. When I find Rick up, I also sit in the kitchen with tea and watch him. He usually just sits in a chair, stares off into space, or sleeps. Now that I know about Richard Stetler's abuse, though, I am going to have a very serious conversation with Rick about going to counseling when he is feeling better because the kids are concerned about him. This cannot and will not continue."

Before Horatio could reply, Eric came to the desk, "Hey, Detective Caine, someone said you were here to get Lenny," he spoke in a concerned voice. "Speedle's reading a book with him in the break room to keep him calm. Lenny keeps asking about his dad, though, and he's worried his dad is under arrest."

"He's not and I hope people are not gossiping about Rick," Horatio spoke in a warning tone.

Eric scowled, "Why are you protecting him, H?" he asked darkly. "And why did he transfer here?"

Quickly realizing Eric was still very much angry about Rick's presence in the lab, Horatio sighed softly, "I asked him to," he stated quietly. "I asked him to after he rescued Doctor Grissom, Alexx, Ryan, Susie Barnham, and Madison Keaton from James Scott and Darin Mitchell and killed Darin Mitchell. The Chief was going to fire him because he thought Rick was too reckless and mentally unstable to be a cop, but I offered to take Rick on as a Level 2 CSI cause I felt he needed grace and a chance to rebuild himself and his reputation in the PD. I let Speed supervise Rick's re-training while I was away because I didn't want him stuck on unemployment until I got back. I do not want this made into gossip, Eric."

Eric shook his head and Horatio sighed, "Bobby, let's go see Lenny," Horatio spoke calmly.

Nodding, Robert followed Horatio to the staff lounge and they smiled when they saw Tim sitting at the break room table next to Lenny, gently encouraging the child as they pored over an iSpy book together while Lenny's backpack sat on his lap, "Hey there, Lenny," Robert spoke gently. "How are you?"

Lenny looked up from the book, an expression of fear, "Was my dad arrested?" he asked softly.

"No, Lenny, your dad is asleep on the couch in my office and Doctor Loman is watching over him," Horatio replied calmly. "I'm going to keep him there tonight and speak with him in the morning."

Lenny frowned, "I heard him mention a lawyer, though," he spoke worriedly. "Why?"

"Because he isn't well due to his injuries and low blood sugar and he believes he is in trouble, but he's not," Horatio replied calmly. "I'm going to talk to him in the morning and if he still wants a lawyer here, he may have one, but there really isn't a need for one. Anyway, Lenny, I would like your uncle to take you home so you can be safe tonight. I know you want to stay with your father, but he is not well enough to look after you right now. Will you please trust me and go with your uncle, Lenny?"

Nodding, Lenny held his backpack close to his chest as he got up, "Thank you, Detective Speedle," he spoke softly, nodding at Tim.

"You're welcome, Lenny," Tim replied softly, watching as Lenny hugged Robert before silently leaving with him.

Tim exhaled tiredly, "Do you want me to take a shift keeping an eye on Stetler, H?" he asked softly. "I'm not looking to go home any time soon, not after what happened today. I can't get Doctor Grissom's angry words out of my head and if I go home with that on my mind, James and Julliet will pick up on it, as will Jesse, and it will be disruptive to all of them. I'd rather just stay here and decompress."

"I'll talk to Doctor Loman about it," Horatio replied calmly. "Just hang out here for a bit and have some coffee, in the meantime, so you can stay awake. All right?"

Tim nodded as Horatio left the room, but once Horatio was gone, he silently turned his attention to the iSpy book and silently began to read it to himself, thinking about how he and Emily had recently started reading iSpy books to James and Jullet to help them with their struggling vocabulary and speaking skills. They would cuddle together as a foursome on the couch in the evenings after Jesse was in his crib for the night and they would read very slowly together. Or at least they did before Tony was killed and Emily was abducted, Tim thought bitterly to himself, a tear sliding down his cheek as he suddenly felt himself becoming overwhelmingly sad about his missing wife. Exhaling softly, Tim placed a hand over his face to provide himself with a morsel of privacy while he grieved quietly.

Unknown to Tim, however, Eric was standing just outside of the break room in the hallway and watching Tim cry, knowing full well that it was his fault that Tim was crying and grieving over Emily's abduction. Eric knew that if he hadn't goaded Emily into an argument by mentioning her past and causing her to drop her keys on Tommy's couch and making her choose to walk, she would still be safe.

It was his fault Jeffrey McKeen had Emily Speedle, Eric knew, and he knew it was also his fault that Tim was hurting and feeling like he couldn't be open with his hurt, as he wasn't sure who he could trust with his vulnerability.

Eric suddenly felt determined to go rattle someone's cage for answers and he found himself silently stealing to the elevator. The whole lab knew that Jeffrey McKeen had had Russian accomplices because of the tape that the New York Crime Lab had shared with the Miami Crime Lab, a tape that had revealed Russian accents. And Eric knew of only one Russian that had shown up in Miami not long before Emily Speedle had been abducted, a Russian that was now conveniently in the hospital and had been able to give very little in terms of a statement besides the fact that McKeen had attacked him. Now, as Eric hurried to his Hummer, he wondered if Pavel LaRusso and Jeffrey McKeen had plotted a whole fake attack scenario in New York and had sent Pavel ahead in his battered state to provide a distraction so that McKeen and whatever other accomplices were around could plan abducting Emily.

Swearing on God that he would find out the truth from Pavel, Eric sped out of the parking lot.

Manhattan, New York

The noise of the TV greeted Danielle as she entered the apartment after getting treated to breakfast by Sid and by going grocery shopping and window shopping to decompress from her time at the hospital. Frowning, she saw David sitting on the hideabed watching TV with no sign of Holly, Tommy, or Kylie around. She was appalled to see that David, who had just turned 13, was watching something violent on TV without an adult around, "David Monte Boscorelli, what is the rule about violent shows?" Danielle asked sternly, setting the bags of food down near the door.

Scoffing, David turned the TV off using the remote and glared at Danielle, "I didn't get a birthday party this year, Mom!" he whined darkly. "Why can't I watch what I want on TV? I'm so bored! Ellie and Kylie and Ray Junior got to go with Aunt Holly to get Tommy from school, but Aunt Holly said I couldn't go cause the weather would be hard on my lungs! I'm fine!"

"The family rule is that you have to have an adult with you to watch violent things on television," Danielle replied sternly. "And I'm sorry you didn't get a party this year. There was so much going on and as far as your lungs, you have asthma and weather changes are hard on you…"

David scoffed, "Forgot?" he snapped coldly. "I'm so used to being forgotten lately between all the problems John, Ellie, Mikey, and Emily have! I'm 13 now, Mom. I want to be able to watch more TV and do more stuff than hang around the apartment all the time. I hate that I'm not allowed to go outside except for school cause you are all so scared John will get attacked! John isn't even effing here…!"

"Language!" Danielle replied firmly, giving David a look. "And you're right, John is not here, but your father…he's in the hospital after being shot in a courtroom! Where is everyone, anyway?"

David shrugged, "Like you care anyway," he replied darkly, glaring at the blank TV. "You've been gone for almost two days…"

"Bedroom, now!" Danielle shouted firmly, pointing to David's room. "Go to bed and be quiet for a while! I don't like what's coming out of your mouth and your attitude sucks! Go cool down!"

David, however, flipped Danielle off, "Go to hell, Mom!" he replied darkly. "I'm not going! I don't have to listen to you or Sergeant Boscorelli!"

Danielle moved over to the couch, "Go to your room!" she spoke in a raised, angry voice, simply glaring at him and not putting her hands on him because she didn't want to get physical with any of her children no matter how naughty they were being. "David, I'm tired. Do what I say! And watch your mouth! Do not talk back to me…ever! Do you understand?! You are a child and…!"

David, however, suddenly shoved Danielle backward hard and she stumbled backwards briefly before losing her footing, which caused her to fall to the floor and hit the uncarpeted floor hard.

Yelina, who had been putting Nicolas to bed and had come out upon hearing David talk back to his mother, gasped in shock when she saw David shove his mother, causing her to fall, "Oh my God!" Yelina cried. "Danielle!"

Realizing that he had quite possibly caused serious injury to his mother when all he wanted to do was shove her away from him and go to his room to sulk, David bolted to the front door, slipped his sneakers on, opened the door, and ran off as fast as he could to get outside, "Danielle!" Yelina called out anxiously. "David!"

David, of course, was gone and to Yelina's absolute horror, Danielle didn't respond and instead lay very still. Caira, who had been emailing her brother and John and had paused at the sound of David and Danielle arguing, came out and was horrified to see Danielle unconscious on the floor and Yelina looking ready to be sick.

"Caira, I need you to help me," Yelina spoke shakily. "David…he shoved his mother. It's on the security cameras my husband had installed to keep the apartment safer after John was kidnapped and assaulted. I need you to call 9-1-1 while I get that footage. Do you know first aid?"

"It was a requirement of the pilot project…" Caira spoke nervously as she went to grab the cordless and came back to Danielle's side while she called 9-1-1. "Her neck doesn't look broken…"

A voice suddenly filled the phone and Caira focused her attention on reporting what had happened.

New York Presbyterian Hospital, Manhattan New York

Sully could feel his heart beating in his ears as he ran into the ER after getting a call from a shaken Yelina that David had shoved Danielle after being rude to her and swearing at her and Danielle had fallen on the hard floor as a result of David's shove and was being brought to the same hospital Bosco was in, "Danielle!" he called out anxiously.

"John, over here," Yelina called out shakily from the front desk where she had been told to wait while the unconscious Danielle had been rushed back to the trauma room by a couple of intern doctors and several nurses.

Sully quickly reached his wife and immediately embraced her, "I was putting Nicolas to bed and all of a sudden, I heard David yelling at his mother and so I went into the living room and he was swearing and Danielle was trying to get him to go to his room, but he shoved her," Yelina babbled anxiously, tears filling her eyes. "She stumbled and lost her footing and fell. I thought I heard a crack when she hit the floor. My God, John, David is 13 years old…"

And he's slowly turning into his father. Sully thought grimly as he held his crying wife because he knew she was terrified to have witnessed an abusive situation after being in one with Ray Junior's father.

"Sully!" Ty's voice suddenly filled the air. "Sully, what happened?! Dispatch said…"

Sully groaned as he released Yelina and saw Ty and Brendan hurry over to them, "That David shoved his mother and she got knocked unconscious from hitting the floor?!" he finished in an angry voice. "Why aren't you out searching for David?! I wanna find out what the hell made him shove his mother!"

"They have officers on that, Sully!" Ty replied anxiously, horrified that the story Dispatch was sharing was true. "We were told to come provide safety and the Crime Lab people are right behind us…"

Sully groaned, "How am I gonna tell Bosco?" he breathed anxiously. "He's been under sedation all day and when he wakes up to this, he's gonna freak out again and Kim and Doctor Feldstone are gonna…"

"Doctor Feldstone's gonna what?" a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind.

Sully turned and sighed when he saw Dr. Feldstone right behind him looking concerned and annoyed, "Crap," Sully muttered anxiously. "I didn't know you worked down here…"

"I'm Chief of Staff and I was checking in with the interns who are dealing with a very familiar looking patient," Dr. Feldstone replied in a concerned voice, giving Sully a look. "You wanna tell me what happened and why Anti-Crime is here? I'm assuming Lieutenant Boscorelli was attacked if Anti-Crime is here…oh, and CSI seems to have shown up too. Does someone wanna tell me what's going on?"

An uneasy silence suddenly filled the air as Yelina and Sully exchanged a nervous look, neither one of them wanting to share what happened without Danielle's permission because they truly couldn't believe the 13-year-old David had caused this situation, "Sully, c'mon, man, whatever happened between David and Danielle…" Ty began nervously, not liking his former partner's uneasy look or silence. "Sully, we gotta know the details so we can help them. You said he shoved her…"

Faint crying suddenly filled the air, "Doctor Feldstone!" a voice yelled. "We need some help in here!"

Cursing loudly, Dr. Feldstone ran off towards the crying and Sully took the opportunity to follow silently, stopping at the doors to the trauma room. Sully frowned when he saw Danielle awake and clearly frightened about being restrained by a backboard and C-collar. Dr. Feldstone, however, was standing beside the gurney and speaking softly to her while the interns and nurses worked around him as quickly as they could. Through tears, Danielle said something and Dr. Feldstone nodded.

A moment later, Dr. Feldstone came out and glared at Sully, "You can't question her right now," he spoke sternly. "And that goes for you too, Detective Taylor. She requested an advocate and I know the rules when victims do that. I hope you do too. I gotta go find the advocate list at the desk…"

"There's one I know of off the top of my head, actually," Mac replied patiently. "And he's staying nearby. Do you want me to call him?"

Sully sighed heavily as Dr. Feldstone nodded and returned to the trauma room, "Does Danny know Danielle got hurt?" Sully asked in a concerned voice. "Danny…he's her brother…"

"That's exactly why he can't process Danielle," Mac replied firmly as he got his cell out and sent a 9-1-1 text to Jesse Cardoza. "Danny came with me, but I sent him upstairs to watch Sergeant Boscorelli. Jo went over to your apartment. Is Caira there? She's the one who called…"

Yelina nodded, "She doesn't enjoy emergency rooms and offered to babysit Nicolas so I could come," she replied simply, not willing to share that Caira had suffered a small panic attack after EMS had suggested that she be the one to accompany Danielle to the emergency room. "Everyone else went to collect Tommy from school, but the weather's changing and David's had a cold that's made him use his inhaler a lot since before the shooting…"

"Having a cold is not an excuse for shoving his mother," Sully spoke firmly. "I know he's been moody because he's not been able to go out other than school due to the trial and he's not even been allowed out at recess cause of his asthma and cold, but my God, Yelina. That kid needs counseling if he's not arrested for this. I wish I knew how to help David, but I don't. Tommy Lauren-Nieto witnessed his aunt and uncle being murdered right in front of him and even he would never do something like this."

Ty frowned, "Doesn't Tommy have a lot of health problems, though?" he asked softly. "I don't know how the kid's even still standing right now…"

"His mother makes him go to school for his Health Care Aide course, take his meds for his disability and his one kidney, and she keeps him home otherwise," Sully replied firmly. "Even before Carlos was abducted this time, they kept Tommy close to home a lot of the time because of his health and Tommy also knows he's better off being in the company of people who care about him than running loose. The kid will probably be shopping for a new kidney by the time he's 25, but maybe even sooner if Carlos isn't found alive. David lashing out is not something that needed to happen right now, especially given that Holly and her kids are staying at the apartment. If Judge Stokes finds out, it could be bad."

Mac sighed grimly, knowing what Sully was talking about, "Do you think David might have some sort of mental condition inherited from his birth father or even his mother that might explain all of this?" he asked in a concerned voice. "Or maybe from Edward Addison's parents?"

Sully shrugged, "Maybe something from Ellen, but I'm not gonna ask her," he replied grimly. "She left yesterday. I know Danny was supposed to keep her here, but Ellen does what she wants when she wants. And when you get to question Danielle, don't bring up Edward. She was held hostage by him in a creepy cabin three years ago and beat and raped by him repeatedly, but she managed to escape by drugging his alcohol and stealing his car. I have no idea if she ever made a report to you guys or if that was thrown out like a long-term conviction for Edward was. If you bring up Edward, she's only going to think of Doc and a lot of other bad stuff she probably doesn't want to think about. Doc died protecting John and it's hard for her not having John here, but he's safer where he is, especially now."

"You gotta at least tell John…" Brendan spoke up nervously. "He doesn't like lies."

Sully scoffed, "And what exactly do I tell him, Finney?" he asked in a cold voice. "That David went nuts, shoved their mom, and now Danielle's in the emergency room? That would make him want to come back even though he is safer where he is right now. I'm not going to call him. I will sit down and write him an email about the situation once we have a better idea of what's going on…"

"And what exactly is going on?" Jesse Cardoza's voice suddenly rang out. "I just got paged 9-1-1, so I ran over here from where I'm staying."

Mac looked immensely relieved to see Jesse, "It's complicated," Sully spoke up anxiously.

Jesse frowned, suddenly recognizing John Boscorelli's mother as the one on the gurney, but he didn't say anything immediately because his view was blocked by the arrival of a portable x-ray machine.

"What happened?" Jesse asked softly, finally finding his voice as he continued staring at Danielle, his eyes widening in shock as Danielle whimpered and suddenly passed out, causing the alarms to blare.

Jackson Hospital, Miami, Florida

Pavel LaRusso was exhausted and in pain, but he found that he couldn't sleep because he felt uneasy. It was the same type of unease that he had felt before being attacked in New York.

His unease was intense enough that he was sitting on the window-seat facing the door after dragging his injured body out of bed using the IV stand to support himself and sitting there to watch who came in his room. He hadn't had any of his things returned yet, so he was alone and defenseless if someone did come to his room to try and hurt him, but he would fight to the best of his ability anyway because he was a LaRusso and LaRussos did not give up.

At least…that is what is father and mother had taught him.

Footsteps suddenly filled the air and Pavel froze as a large, dark-haired Russian man suddenly wandered into the hospital room wearing steel-toed boots, jeans, and a collared shirt with a sports jacket, "Pavel LaRusso," the man spoke in a commanding voice, his eyes narrowing as he took in the young man sporting a hospital gown, scrub pants, one slipper, a medical boot on one foot, bruises, cuts, and a hand on one side. "Ve need you for a job. Ve knew you were in Miami cause Jeffree MeecKeen told us, but eet took forever to track you. Ve finally got Dan Cooper to help us after threatening his safehouse. Hees a leetle coward, but he found you so he vouldn't get a bullet in his head…"

"I sot Dan Cooper vas in jail," Pavel spoke in an uneasy voice. "Zat eez vat the news said."

The Russian man smirked, "He and Maxine Walera are underground, Pavel," he replied. "Ve need you. Be your fazzer. Help us with our mission, Pavel. We need your talents."

"I am not my fazzer, Vladmir!" Pavel argued, his tone and expression angry, gripping his IV pole for support. "I vant to be an honest, decent, person who does not hurt or kill for fun! Get out!"

Cursing, Pavel shakily got up and started hobbling towards the bed to press the nurse's call button for help, but Vladmir quickly produced a gun and aimed it at him. Little did Pavel or Vladmir know, however, that Eric had arrived just after Vladmir and had been recording their conversation just out of sight, "Put zat away!" Pavel yelled as he struggled to keep his balance on his uninjured foot and also ignore the pain in his side, "Vat, are you going to shoot me just because I do not vant to come vith you?! I am not some little pet zat comes ven zey are called…!"

Vladmir replied by cocking the gun and aiming straight at Pavel's head, prompting Pavel to raise his free hand, "Miami-Dade Police!" Eric shouted as he rushed into the room and fired his gun at Vladmir.

Cursing in Russian, Vladmir fell to the floor and died quickly. Eric quickly disarmed Vladmir and looked at Pavel, who looked shellshocked and like he was in a lot of pain, "Are you all right?" Eric asked in a concerned voice. "Did he hurt you?"

Shaking his head, Pavel painstakingly hobbled the rest of the way to his bed and sat, his back to Eric as he lowered his head to breathe. As Vladmir died at his feet, Eric quickly got on his radio to call the incident while continuing to watch Pavel carefully.

Within an hour, Calleigh and Walter and Dr. Loman had showed up to the room and by that time, nurses had come to assist Pavel and he was now sitting in a wheelchair in the far corner of the room near the window with his booted foot propped up and a blanket around his shoulders. He didn't want to speak with anyone, especially the police, but Eric sat on the window seat beside him anyway in case he changed his mind.

"Delko, what were you doing over here?" Walter asked anxiously. "Weren't you at the lab?"

Eric sighed, not daring to look at Pavel as he spoke, "I thought Pavel might have information about Emily cause he got here not long before McKeen abducted her and then I walked in to find someone aiming a gun at him," he explained in an anxious voice. "And I heard the same person ask him to join them for a mission…the guy mentioned Dan Cooper and Maxine Valera. I thought they were in jail?"

"Just vat happened to zees Emily you speak of?" Pavel asked softly. "I do not vatch ze news down here. I am too shaky to focus on it because I am vorried about Jeffrey MeecKeen. Are you vorried I am going to go find heem? I hate heem. He eez mad at me for telling ze federal police about a lot of seengs. Eef I could leave, I vould go to my mama and Anya. Anya cannot come to me. She is stuck in bed and my mama eez caring for her. Zat eez vat Mama told me when Bobby veeseeted and let me use hees phone to tell Mama and Anya I did not die. I am going to go to zem ven I can, but…I do not feel good right now. Stella…she eez supposed to come soon and she eez my friend and advocates for my safety veeth ze police. I do not know ven she eez comeeng..."

Realizing that Pavel was referring to Stella Bonasera, Calleigh looked at Eric, "Eric, maybe you better take Pavel to Horatio if he's mentioning Stella, as Horatio will know how to get a hold of Stella," she replied in a concerned voice before looking at Pavel. "Pavel, are you okay to go with Officer Delko? He's going to take you to someone who can contact Stella for you…"

"What…what was that shot?" Grissom's voice suddenly filled the air. "I was just down the hall…"

Calleigh, Eric, and Walter turned to see a very thin, very tired looking Grissom standing in the doorway wearing loose pants, sneakers, and a loose shirt and jacket and holding a sheaf of papers in his hands, "Oh, you are ze guy vho helps ze wictims!" Pavel spoke in a surprised voice. "Can you help me? I am scared and I do not know what to do and zey vant to take me to ze police station to call Stella, but I am scared zees eez a trick and I vill go to jail…"

Grissom eyed Eric, Calleigh, and Walter with disdain, "You didn't explain that he has a right to an advocate if he wants one?" he spoke in a stern voice.

"He said he has one, but he doesn't know when she's coming," Calleigh explained in an annoyed voice, pissed off that Grissom seemed to be popping up everywhere lately.

Grissom scoffed, "If he wants one now, he can have one now and then whenever his other advocate shows up, they can take over his care, but police are supposed to tell victims of crime that they can have advocates at every stage of the process," he explained firmly, glaring at Calleigh. "I'm getting really tired of the police forgetting that Victims Assistance exists and they're supposed to involve the organization in cases that include living victims…"

"I need some help," Pavel repeated nervously. "I am scared ze police are going to put me in ze jail. I…I need an advocate because Stella eez not here and I am scared."

Grissom glared at Calleigh, "There you go, he said he wants one now," he spoke firmly. "I happen to have some time on my hands. Not a lot, but…"

"Is the hospital gonna just let you leave?" Eric asked worriedly. "Aren't you undergoing treatment?"

Grissom sighed irritably, "It's been suspended," he replied darkly, his expression sobering as he recalled his earlier appointment that had resulted in his treatment being suspended. "Anyway, I think we should go now, Officer Delko, and I can get to know my client and the situation on the way to see your boss. Shall we go?"

Eric nodded and gently pushed Pavel in his wheelchair, as Pavel didn't look like he would do well on his feet, and as he passed by Grissom, he noticed the papers in Grissom's hands referred to hospice care and making wills. Grissom, however, didn't notice him looking and followed after him silently.

When they arrived at the Hummer, Eric settled Pavel in the backseat and Grissom also sat in the backseat so he could talk to Pavel. Eric wasn't pleased about that, as he wanted to ask Grissom about the papers he had seen, but he put the wheelchair aside, and then silently proceeded to play chauffeur.

New York Presbyterian Hospital, Manhattan New York

"Sully, why is that Feldstone guy acting so weird?" Ty asked as he watched Dr. Feldstone get a chair and seat himself beside the gurney where Danielle lay unconscious with an oxygen mask on her face a gown and blanket on her body and IV's in her arms. "He's like being super clingy. It's creepy."

Sully, however, glared at Ty, "Davis, don't be judgmental," he replied sternly, shaking his head as he looked back into the trauma room. "I…I don't know why, but Doctor Feldstone seems so familiar to me. I feel like I met him somewhere before. For some reason, I feel okay with him being involved in this."

Ty shrugged, "Why don't you think about how Bosco's gonna react when he finds out about this?" he replied in a concerned voice, scowling. "He's just barely recovering from the shooting and when he hears about David…"

"Bosco's been trying to bond with David since he adopted him, but David has the worst anxiety about everything and has for a while," Sully observed worriedly. "Bosco may not have noticed, but I sure have and something…something's been off about David for a while. I tried to ask David if he'd be willing to go to the doctor and talk about his anxiety, but he's not a fan of doctors and hasn't been ever since he got diagnosed with asthma…"

Ty, however, wasn't listening and was instead watching as Dr. Feldstone suddenly reached into his pocket, pulled out a kippah, put it on his head, took Danielle's hand and closed his eyes.

Just then, Mac moved past Sully and Ty and moved into the trauma room with his kit in hand and Jesse followed, determined to stay in case Danielle woke and had to be questioned.

"…May the One who blessed our ancestors —Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah —bless and heal the one who is ill: Danielle, daughter of John Sullivan," Dr. Feldstone suddenly whispered, paying no mind to anyone else in the room even though Mac overheard him, suddenly paused and bowed his head because he understood the Jewish prayer that Dr. Feldstone was saying, as they, Claire and Laura, and Jacob's daughter, Melissa had used to attend synagogue services together when they could and had also celebrated Shabbat together twice a month together for a while before 9/11. "May the Holy Blessed One overflow with compassion uponher, to restore her, to heal her, to strengthen her, to enliven her. The One will send her, speedily, a complete healing - healing of the soul and healing of the body — along with all the ill, among the people of Israel and all humankind, soon, speedily, without delay, and let us all say Amen…"

"Amen," Mac whispered softly before he sighed. "That was a very nice Mi Sheberach, Jacob…"

Dr. Feldstone offered a half-smile, although it didn't reach his eyes, "It's the only prayer I've felt like reciting since that 9/11, Mac," he replied softly, gently returning Danielle's hand to underneath the blanket before removing his kippah and tucking it neatly in the pocket of his white coat. "My Hebrew's rusty, though, so I just say it in English. I don't go to synagogue or do Shabbat anymore either. It's too hard. I just say the Mi Sheberach over patients whenever I feel it necessary. I also said it over Sergeant Boscorelli when he was in Post-Op and his wife was asleep. I had heard about him getting shot in court and I observed the surgeries, but I couldn't do them myself. I mostly oversee staff and teach and practice non-surgical medicine now. When I saw Sergeant Boscorelli, though, I insisted on taking him on as a patient because of what he did for me…"

"Wait…now I remember where I know you from," Sully realized, having overheard Dr. Feldstone's conversation with Mac as he and Ty came into the room to check on Danielle. "It was about 2 a.m. on September 12th and a bunch of us from the 55th Precinct were doing a sweep of the area around Ground Zero trying to get people out so we could close the area. I found you laying in an alley in your surgeon's scrubs, a shredded jacket, and shoes caked in crap clutching a medical bag, covered in dust, bleeding, and coughing and crying. I tried to get you to your feet, but you couldn't get up. I ended up radioing for help and Bosco…he showed up first and got you to talk and to move. He kept pushing you forward even when you didn't wanna go anywhere and we had to go about 6 blocks before we found an ambulance and Davis and Yokas..."

Dr. Feldstone nodded, "I was down at the Towers by the time the second plane hit and I hid in an alley when the first Tower fell with my face sucking wall for air for what felt like forever," he admitted shakily as he stared at Sully and Ty, slowly remembering them from that day. "When the dust settled, I walked around looking for people to help and I vaguely remember getting hit by flakes of burning debris as the second Tower fell, but I kept helping people. I don't even remember how I heard about Flight 93, but honestly, there was no time for me to grieve cause so many near the Towers were in need of doctors and I was running all over the place trying to keep up with everyone's needs. When I finally decided to walk back to my apartment, half the building had collapsed from the force of the Towers falling and debris beating the building, so I was effectively homeless. I needed sleep that night, though, so I just picked the cleanest alley I could find, held my bag against me for warmth, and prayed that I wouldn't be robbed or die of pneumonia cause I was coughing pretty bad…"

Ty's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered meeting Dr. Feldstone on September 12th when Bosco and Sully had half-walked, half-carried the man from near the Towers to an ambulance 6 blocks away where himself and Yokas had been searching for people. Dr. Feldstone had introduced himself, showed his ID, and then had promptly passed out in an ambulance that Carlos and Doc were manning. Bosco had insisted on riding with him to whatever hospital was able to care for the injured doctor and Sully hadn't seen Dr. Feldstone since, although he thought about him often, especially after seeing Laura Feldstone and Melissa 'Missy' Feldstone on the list of casualties from Flight 93 that had been shared with the 55th precinct as time had gone on after 9/11. Sully also remembered asking Bosco, Carlos, and Doc about Dr. Feldstone when he had reunited with them nearly two days later, but they had all kept mum about the doctor, so Sully had let the subject drop because they all had so much to do and not enough time to do it in.

"Michael, if you're tired, you're all right to leave early this shift," Dr. Feldstone suddenly spoke in a quiet voice, considerably sobered by his trip down memory lane. "I know Doctor Hammerback is expecting you. Maybe Mac can give you a ride when he's done here…"

Sully then noticed that Michael Pride was one of the interns in the room and was silently writing vitals on a chart, "If it's all the same to you, sir, I'll stay," Michael spoke softly. "She helped me earlier…"

Dr. Feldstone was quiet for a moment before nodding and getting up and gesturing to a nearby chair where a bag of clothes sat, "Lieutenant Boscorelli's clothes are there, Mac," he spoke quietly. "I would like very much to know what happened, but not here. Michael, stay in here and keep an eye on things with your fellow interns. Do you need to process her as well, Mac?"

Mac nodded, "Let me know when you're done," Dr. Feldstone spoke softly. "Everyone else, out."

A silence fell over the group as they returned to the desk where Yelina was talking on her cell, "…Thank you for staying there tonight, Holly," she spoke softly. "I'm so sorry about all this. I know you were hoping to take Tommy and Kylie home after dinner for some things, but…"

Exhaling softly, Yelina ended the call and Dr. Feldstone looked at her with concern, "I'd like to know what happened and I don't need the silence these gentlemen are feeding me," he spoke in a gentle, but firm voice. "Whatever it is, it's definitely concerning and I have the feeling it's not the first time this has gone on. She's very pale, looks dehydrated, and like she hasn't gotten a proper rest in a while, long before the shooting. Now, is this because of the trial or something else entirely?"

"Crap," Sully muttered anxiously, realizing he'd have to tell the truth about their family's current situation and it killed him. "She's stayed up a lot at night til everyone goes to bed ever since April when John was kidnapped and held hostage by Jeffrey McKeen at Derek Stokes' and Emily Yokas's request and violently assaulted. He eventually escaped and ran to a nearby hospital with brutal injuries and half his clothes missing and a tape. Someone taped his assault. Anyway, Danielle developed a habit of not going to bed til everyone else in the house was asleep cause she doesn't want anything bad to happen to her kids, especially the ones who might struggle to defend themselves due to their health problems and she's not let them be in afterschool activities since then, either. She lets them go to school and then keeps them home. John and Ellie have been fine with it, as John's girlfriend lives with us and his best friend lives in the same building, as does Ellie's best friend, and Michael and Emily are too young to care, but David…he's gotten quite upset about being kept inside a lot and he's been battling anger and anxiety and sleeps a lot. He's asthmatic, though, and the changing weather has been making it hard for him to be outside for too long. I still have no idea where he got it, though. Nobody in the family's asthmatic…"

Dr. Feldstone nodded, "So this David is responsible for the bruising I saw on Lieutenant Boscorelli?" he asked sternly. "A concussion, bad bruising on her back, and a possible ankle injury…what exactly did he do to her? Beat her?"

"They were arguing because Danielle didn't want him watching violent TV shows without an adult and he wanted more freedom and was also angry about being ignored," Yelina explained anxiously. "He was cursing and being rude about Maurice and Danielle told him to go to bed and he wouldn't go, so she moved closer to him and ordered him firmly. She put her hands in her pockets cause she never wants to accidentally strike her kids in anger. David wouldn't listen, argued, and shoved her. She stumbled backward, lost her footing, and then hit the floor hard. David suddenly freaked out and ran off out the front door. He's 13…"

Dr. Feldstone gave Yelina a look, silently studying her for a moment before sighing, "I'm going to recommend that the police put David on a psychiatric hold in Peds Psych hospital for assessment when he is found," he spoke firmly. "I hardly think David needs jail and a criminal record at his age. So, Lieutenant Davis, since Anti-Crime in this section of Manhattan is yours and Sergeant Finney's responsibility, you are going to tell everyone searching that the kid is going to be put on a Baker Act hold once he is found and medically cleared. I truly don't believe David hates anyone or wishes harm to anyone, but the behavior described to me is concerning enough that I do think he needs psychiatric help. He'll have to go to a hospital anyway for his asthma, most likely. Do you agree, Officer Sullivan? Since David's parents are both incapacitated, I'm asking you since you're listed as an emergency guardian."

"Yeah," Sully replied grimly, nodding. "Davis, Finney, go do what you were told to do. Where's the paperwork I need to sign? Bosco and Danielle might not like this, but it's better than jail…"

Dr. Feldstone sighed and moved over to the computer, "It won't take long to get the paperwork together," he replied reassuringly as Ty and Brendan walked off to radio the searchers.

Miami, Florida

"…I CANNOT BELIEVE ERIC DELKO SAVED PAVEL AND NOW VLADMIR IS DEAD!" Rocky's infuriated roar echoed through the warehouse, having heard of the failed attack on Jackson Hospital via the radio news. "If you hadn't been screwing around with Carlos for so long, Jeffrey, and waited to ask the Russians for help getting Pavel LaRusso, we could have sent more than one guy! They don't like last minute job requests! And now they're pissed at you for costing them four guys! The three in North Carolina that you insisted we kill and then Vladmir! They want your head!"

McKeen offered a feeble protest, as it had been Rocky's idea and drugs that had killed the Russians in North Carolina, but Rocky didn't want to hear it. Instead, Rocky marched into the area where Emily was trying to keep Carlos warm with the towel without moving him just in case Rocky's earlier beating had injured him. Carlos was still laying on his injured side, was uncomfortable, but was in too much pain to move or ask to be moved. He knew death was coming soon and it was going to be painful.

A boot suddenly connected with the side of his head and Carlos did his best to ignore the pain that filled his body as a result of the kick, "We lost another guy because of you!" Rocky howled. "Because you're too distracting to Jeffrey! Why in the name of God do you not just die already?! Let yourself die!"

Rough hands suddenly wrapped around Carlos's neck and Carlos suddenly felt the life being choked out of him as Rocky lifted him from the floor by his throat and slammed him into the floor, "Doc…" Carlos coughed weakly, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be taken to death by his old partner and mentor, Doc, who had been murdered and beheaded on Halloween in 2004. "Doc…please…please come…come…and get me…I'm…I'm ready…I'm ready to die. I don't wanna be alive anymore…"

Angry yelling and cursing suddenly filled Carlos's ears as darkness began to claim him and he wondered if this…this was it for him, "Doc…" he croaked, silently hoping that his pain and suffering would soon be over. "Doc…Doc, please…Help…me…Help me, Doc."

"Carlos!"

Carlos opened his eyes and he was surrounded by white. He was also on his feet and he quickly realized that he was wearing his old FDNY uniform and clean shoes. He felt light and well for the first time in a long time. Am I dead? Carlos wondered as he stared around at the endless sea of white.

"Carlos!"

Carlos turned towards the voice and froze when he saw a healthy, pleased, and whole Doc walk towards him wearing his old FDNY uniform and boots, "Doc!" Carlos spoke in a shaky voice, unable to keep from crying at the sight of his friend. "Doc…I actually prayed for you! And you came! You came for me! I've missed you…so much."

Doc nodded and silently embraced Carlos, "I know you prayed for me," Doc replied, sighing as he held the crying Carlos in his arms. "I know you've missed me. I know you've grieved me. I even know that you named your baby after me. I've seen everything. I also know you wanna to die. I know you tried to die. I know you're begging God to let you die, but Carlos…it's not time for you to go yet. It's not."

"How…how can I still be alive?" Carlos asked shakily as he and Doc pulled apart. "Look…look at me. I've been raped repeatedly, shot up with drugs that have probably cooked my brain into mush, I've had a brain tumor, I've been brutally beaten, and I…I was told to shoot myself and almost did…"

Doc sighed, placing his hands on Carlos's shoulders as he studied him intently, "Just because someone tells you that you have to die, Carlos, does not mean you have to listen to them," he explained in a concerned, firm, fatherly voice, his expression filled with love as he looked at Carlos. "You can choose whether or not you want to live and a strong will to live can beat any illness or injury or anyone's words. What Jeffrey McKeen and Rocky Valence told you Carlos…they're just words. Words can't hurt you or kill you unless you give them the power to. Yes, you've gotten tortured and drugged quite badly, but it won't kill you unless you give up the fight. In the years we rode together, I never knew you to be a quitter. You always pushed yourself to be better and I secretly admired you for that. Even after I was hospitalized, you came to me for advice on your wedding day because you wanted to learn how to build a good marriage and family even though you had no birth family of your own. You wanted to succeed and you fought for it. You are very resilient, Carlos, even when things are against you. I was proud to know you and I'll always be proud to watch over you, but you have to go back."

"It's not going to be easy if I go back," Carlos replied in a pained voice. "Is it?"

Shaking his head, Doc sighed, "Is life ever easy, Carlos?" he asked softly. "Your experiences, though, will make you stronger and wiser. You will survive this…if you want to…and life may not be easy because of your experiences, Carlos, but you are strong and help will be available to you. Good help. You just have to go back. People are waiting and hoping for you to survive…show them that you're the fighter I know you to be. I love you, Carlos. Remember that."

"I love you too, Doc," Carlos spoke shakily. "Just in case you never knew that when you were alive."

Doc, however, nodded, "I knew," he replied in a reassuring voice. "Every day."

Carlos exhaled shakily as Doc gave him one final embrace and a kiss on the forehead before stepping back and vanishing. Carlos looked at his empty hands before gazing around at the white, which was quickly fading into a foggy mist, with an expression of despair on his face. Could he still fight?

"…If you ever touch Carlos again, you disgusting bastard, I'll kill you faster than Bernard ever could!..."

A loud SMACK suddenly filled the air, "My nose!" Rocky's voice howled. "How dare you!"

"I'll be as loud and disruptive and aggressive as I want!" Carlos suddenly heard Emily yell as he slowly came to. "Maybe my noise will get the police alerted to where we are! Is that a chance you want to take with your Russian friends on their way here for your little mission in the morning?"

A dark scoff filled the air, "Do you really think I'm afraid of a mouthy little girl with a broken wrist?!" Rocky snarled darkly. "I've already raped you twice and I'll have no problem finishing you off like you deserve to be finished off! I've had five wives throughout my lifetime, and I had the great pleasure of beating and killing them all in the most fascinating ways when they got out of line! When my friends get here, you and Carlos are both gonna get killed and it will be my personal pleasure to kill you personally and spread your body parts all over Miami as a lesson to women everywhere not to get on my bad side! Goodnight for now! You might as well spend your last hours praying for a quick death since you're too injured to do anything else!"

Pain shot through Carlos's body as he tried to move, "Hey, no," Emily spoke anxiously quickly dragging her injured body over to Carlos and moved close. "He slammed you into the ground pretty hard. You shouldn't move just in case he injured your head, neck, or back…"

"I…I guess you heard me," Carlos spoke weakly, sorrow filling his eyes. "Saying…"

Emily nodded and Carlos exhaled softly, "I…I should probably be locked up," he breathed softly, kicking himself that he expressed suicidal ideations in front of a psychologist. "I…I…I'm suicidal. I tried to shoot myself on the boat, but…Detective Flack…he took my gun and broke it. I'm not…I'm not getting any better or feeling good. I'm so awful for wanting to die…I've got a wife… three kids…but I'm not getting better…"

"You've been through some absolutely horrific things, Carlos," Emily replied softly as Carlos exhaled and winced. "Even…even if you did attempt suicide and expressed a wish to die, you should not be locked away. You should be given help. I know of people who can help. I can help. You were crying for some guy named Doc before you passed out. Who's that? Maybe he can help too."

Carlos sighed, "My old FDNY partner," he replied softly. "He was murdered and beheaded on Halloween night in 2004 in New York. I…I thought I was talking to him…when I was knocked out."

"He could probably hear you," Emily replied softly, frowning as the sound of footsteps suddenly filled the air. "Uh oh. You know what? If I have to kill that bastard this time, I will. I'll do it. I don't give a crap anymore. I might have a broken wrist, but I'll still do it…"

A sigh filled the air, "Will you two shut up already?" McKeen's quiet voice spoke as he came into view holding a set of handcuffs and looked at the pair of them. "Please? You're both so frustrating and it's amusing and concerning because I think you're either unaware of what's going to happen or you are just testing him. Don't test him. He is ready to kill. He is psychotic and wants to kill one or both of you very badly because you two have killed his patience. He hasn't yet, though, because we need you…"

Before Emily could ask why, McKeen quickly handcuffed her injured left wrist to Carlos's right wrist, "Don't ask questions about this, either of you," McKeen hissed. "You'll be grateful for this later."

"Oh, really?" Emily asked in a shaky voice. "I'm not sure how this is supposed to help us."

McKeen scoffed, "Just be quiet and try to sleep," he replied darkly. "Make yourselves as silent as possible. The Russians will be here early in the morning and you do not want to speak to them like you've been speaking to my associate because the Russians don't give a crap if you're alive or not. We do. Now, I have to go and rest before the Russians arrive. Can I trust you both to be quiet?"

Carlos didn't dare move an inch because he didn't know what he had injured when Rocky had slammed him into the cement floor, but Emily gave a nod. Deeply relieved, McKeen sighed and Emily suddenly felt something being slipped into her left pants pocket by McKeen, unknowing that McKeen had slipped the tape recording them into her pocket alongside the recorder that was there and still recording sound. Emily then suddenly felt something being slipped over her eyes, leaving her with no view of anything, "Both of you need to sleep now!" McKeen hissed. "Right now! If you have to talk, keep it quiet!

Before Emily could ask McKeen what he was doing, McKeen skittered off into the darkness, leaving them alone. Even though she could no longer give Carlos water or even move or even see how he was doing because McKeen had blinded her with a blindfold, Emily knew she could still help Carlos with her voice.

"Carlos?" Emily asked softly, hoping that Carlos was awake and willing to engage in conversation.

Carlos exhaled as pain shot through his weak body, "Yeah?" he asked in a pained, but quiet voice. "Where…where are you? McKeen put something over my eyes. I can't see…"

"Your friend…you said his name was Doc, right?" Emily asked softly. "Can you tell me about him?"

Tears filled Carlos's eyes at the mention of Doc, but he sighed heavily, "Sure," he replied softly, immediately understanding that Emily was trying to keep his mind off his pain and suicidal ideations. "I can tell you about Doc."

Miami-Dade Crime Lab

"Just lie still, Sergeant Stetler, all right?" Dr. Loman spoke in a calm voice as he silently began taking x-rays of Rick's body as Rick lay on the morgue table with a lead vest on over the shirt Nick had lent him. "I'll be quick."

Even though Rick was still very tired, sore, and groggy, the IV's had rehydrated and raised his blood sugar enough for him to return to a state of semi-lucidity by 1:30 a.m. Once the IV's had run dry, Dr. Loman had kindly asked Rick if he felt up to undergoing medical tests, specifically x-rays and a blood draw, in the privacy of the morgue. Since the lab was quieter and less people were around to see him out and about, Rick had agreed and was also extremely confused about how he had even ended up at the Crime Lab, as his last memory was leaving the hospital and taking Lenny to the DeLuca Motel for safety after getting tossed from the hospital. Dr. Loman, however, had simply refused to provide further information and reassured Rick that he was safe and that Lenny was with Bobby and Natalia and that he didn't need to worry about anything and to just trust that he was being taken care of.

Rick hadn't said anything after that: he had simply surrendered his glasses, his cross necklace that his mother had gifted him, and medical bracelet for the x-rays and was now lying still as the machine was moved around him. Once Dr. Loman was done, he gently helped Rick off the table, returned his glasses, cross necklace, and medical bracelet to him, and helped him back to the wheelchair to rest for a bit while he prepared to take some of Rick's blood. Even though Rick hated needles due to Erica Sikes drugging him, he knew perfectly well that Dr. Loman had no intention of hurting him and so he stayed quiet when the doctor proceeded to gently take blood from his arm.

When Dr. Loman was done, he bandaged Rick's arm and helped him get the borrowed hooded jacket back on before checking Rick's blood sugar with the monitor Horatio had given him, "Do you feel like you want to try some food?" Dr. Loman asked softly. "I think there's some soup in the break room."

"Sure," Rick replied softly. "Um, did…did I hurt anyone last night? Did I hurt my son? Is that why he's not here and I am? I…I really don't understand why I'm here and why I feel like crap."

Dr. Loman gave Rick a look and knelt by the wheelchair, "No," he stated softly. "According to Horatio, you were actually quite concerned with Lenny's safety…"

Rick exhaled sleepily, but said no more as he sat there in the wheelchair, trying his hardest to fill in the blanks that were in his semi-lucid memory, "You have a concussion and a skull fracture among other things," Dr. Loman finally spoke up as he got to his feet. "You're only going to hurt yourself if you force memories to come back before they come on their own. Why don't we go upstairs and see about that soup, hmm?"

Again, Rick didn't say anything, and Dr. Loman took that as permission to take him back upstairs and to the staff lounge. Rick immediately tensed and looked at the floor upon seeing Tim sitting at the table in the lounge reading an iSpy book and picking at a cup of coffee.

Dr. Loman, however, parked Rick at the same table while he went looking for soup in the fridge and cupboards. Tim kept one eye on his book while also silently watching Rick, quickly catching on that while the man looked better, he was still suffering from memory gaps, most likely due to his untreated concussion, and clearly had no clue how he had gotten to the lab. The two sat in an uneasy silence until Dr. Loman came over to the table with a small plastic bowl full of chicken noodle soup from a can he had found in one of the cupboards and a plastic spoon.

Rick silently raised his dominant hand to grab the spoon, but paused when he noticed it shaking, "Here," Tim spoke up gently, setting his book and coffee aside and moving closer. "Let me help you."

"I think you already did, but I can't…I can't remember," Rick replied nervously, unable to meet Tim's gaze as he silently began to rub his hands together in an attempt to stop the shaking. "Do you?"

Tim sighed, "Why don't we just worry about getting some food in you first?" he suggested softly, knowing he had to be careful.

Rick nodded, "Thanks," he replied softly. "I guess…I guess you can help me. Are you alone?"

"Everyone else is either off duty or at scenes," Tim replied simply as he grabbed the spoon and loaded it with food. "I'm just taking a break for a little bit. Ready?"

Rick nodded and silently allowed Tim to feed him. Tim, meanwhile, was very careful as he fed Rick because he didn't want to make him move around too much to eat and risk further injuring himself. Dr. Loman watched the two carefully and was rather impressed with Tim's gentleness towards Rick.

When the soup was finally gone, Rick closed his eyes, "Thank you, Speedle," he spoke softly, exhaling sharply as pain suddenly filled his face and his ribs, pain that had been triggered by the eating process. "I think…I think I should go back to bed…was that on Horatio's couch?"

"Yeah," Tim replied patiently. "H wanted to give you privacy while you rested. You wanna go back there?"

Dr. Loman, however, set a small paper cup of water and an aspirin tablet on the table and Rick opened his eyes before eyeing the aspirin with disdain in his face, "I don't…" he began softly before sighing and wincing as a headache suddenly hit him with full force, causing him to gag. "Fine."

Ignoring the shaking in his hand, Rick fed himself the aspirin and drank the water rather clumsily instead of asking for help. Tim, however, completely understood why Rick hadn't let anyone feed him the meds, as Erica Sikes had drugged the man by surprise and that case was still pending and probably haunted Rick daily.

"I think I'm ready to go back to bed," Rick spoke weakly. "Whatever I did…whatever I can't remember…it must be bad if I'm here. I better have a lawyer here so I can talk to them when I wake up. Everyone's acting so nice to me…it's freaking me out and making me think I committed some sort of godawful crime I can't remember..."

Tim got up and gave Dr. Loman a look, "I'll take you back to bed," he offered, giving Dr. Loman a look that indicated that Horatio had better be located…quickly.

Rick tensed, but didn't argue as Tim took him back to Horatio's office, closed the door, and resettled him on the couch under the blanket. Only when he was sure that Rick was asleep again did Tim grab a visitor's chair and sit near the couch to be available in case Rick woke and needed anything. He also got his phone out and sent a quick text to Ryan to call Horatio immediately, as there was a problem with Rick and they might need his family's help with a concerning situation.

Out in the hallway, meanwhile, Horatio came off of the elevator after meeting Eric and Grissom outside to talk about Pavel's situation and told them to bring Pavel up for questioning and found Dr. Loman waiting for him, "Horatio, we have a problem," Dr. Loman spoke in a concerned voice. "I talked Sergeant Stetler into x-rays and a blood draw after the IV's ran dry. Detective Speedle also fed him some chicken soup, but Sergeant Stetler is still suffering from memory issues and thinks he's committed a crime of some sort. He told Detective Speedle he wanted a lawyer to talk to when he woke up…"

Before Horatio could reply, his phone rang and he answered it, "Horatio," he spoke firmly.

"H, I just got a text from Tim," Ryan's tired voice filled the phone. "What's going on?"

Horatio sighed, realizing that Ryan sounded much better, "Rick is not well, and he's currently resting at the crime lab under medical supervision, but he has requested legal counsel because in his concussive state, he thinks he has committed a crime," he explained in a concerned voice. "Can you please tell your sister-in-law, Diana, to meet me at the Crime Lab in the morning for a conversation? I know she is struggling with Jason's situation right now, but…"

"The hospital put Jason on some temporary anti-psychotic meds and he's okay right now, but we can't do a Baker Act Hold or even get him into Psych on a 48-hour hold because he didn't actually hurt anyone while he was in his manic state," Ryan explained in a tired voice. "New York also called a few hours ago and they want Jason brought to the lab in the morning for questioning about Rocky Valence because they think Rocky Valence is involved with McKeen and is helping hold Emily and Carlos Nieto prisoner and also had Detective Flack for a while. They're sending someone from New York to deal with it. They need to know about Jason's experience with the man and what this Rocky is capable of. Anyway, Tommy is pissed off about it, Diana's trying to find Jason a lawyer to make sure he doesn't freak out while being questioned, but it's so late and she's struggling to find help and Jason's doing his best to rest, but I am having to sit with him, like literally beside his bed in a chair, just so he sleeps…"

Horatio scowled at the phone as the elevator doors opened and Eric and Grissom, suddenly came into the lab with Pavel being helped to hobble by Eric. Eric and Pavel immediately settled themselves on the couch and Eric helped Pavel prop his foot up while Grissom went over to Horatio, "Doctor Grissom, I need your help," Horatio spoke sternly. "Do you know of any good attorneys? CSI Ryan Wolfe just told me that his mentally ill nephew, Jason, is being forced to come to the lab for questioning in the morning about a possible interaction he may have had with Rocky Valence…"

Concern filled Grissom's face, "Let me talk to Ryan," he replied, holding his hand out for the phone.

As Grissom talked with Ryan down the hall, Horatio watched Eric converse with the pained Pavel in Russian, judging it to be a pleasant conversation meant to keep Pavel calm by the way Pavel was reacting to Eric's words, "…Ryan, just do your best to take it easy tonight and help your brother bring Jason in tomorrow for a chat," he suddenly heard Grissom say calmly. "Nick's mother is a lawyer and she gave me her number so I could give her updates on Nick when she was busy watching Parker. Nick is scheduled for reversal surgery this morning, as his doctor said his body's doing a lot better, so his mother probably brought Parker to the hospital and they're spending time together before the surgery. I just spoke with him last night and he said he won't be up for visitors for a few days…"

The call ended and Grissom sighed as he came back to Horatio, "So Nick Stokes is having reversal surgery?" Horatio asked softly. "It's only been about a month. Are you sure he's ready for that?"

"Nicky's body is doing remarkably well, according to what he's been told," Grissom replied calmly. "He's also heading back to Vegas after his recovery from that and gonna do half-shifts in the lab til he's cleared for field duty. I don't agree with it, but I can't hold Nick's hand anymore. I don't have the time…"

Horatio frowned at that, as he wondered what Grissom meant by suddenly not having the time when the whole man's life seemed to be about giving time to others, but he didn't have a chance to say anything because Grissom quickly got on the phone with Jillian Stokes and walked away again, "H," Eric suddenly called out. "Doctor Grissom, Pavel, and I had a chat on the way here and we talked about protective custody tonight so Pavel can sleep and then having a conversation in the morning," he spoke. "I suggested the nap room and I'll stay awake keeping watch. Doctor Grissom seems okay with it."

"All right," Horatio replied softly. "If Pavel's advocate agreed to it, you can go ahead and set that up."

Nodding, Eric suddenly looked solemn, "Um, H, when we were leaving the hospital, I saw papers in Doctor Grissom's hands about making a will and an application for a hospice," he spoke in a low voice. "I wanted to ask him about them, but he's been keeping his distance from me, I think, on purpose…"

Frowning, Horatio looked down the hallway to where Grissom was talking on the phone and for the first time, he took a good look at the man and noticed his hair was greyer, his entire body and face were much thinner, causing his clothes to hang baggy, and he was wearing glasses. Horatio couldn't help but feel a great deal of sadness for Grissom, as he knew what hospice and will-making paperwork meant and the man had a wife, two small children, and a national network dedicated to helping and advocating for victims of crime on his shoulders. What would happen to everything when Grissom died?

"…I'll see you in the morning, Jillian," Horatio suddenly heard Grissom say calmly. "Thank you."

Horatio froze as Grissom came back to him with the cell-phone held out, "Thanks, Lieutenant Caine," Grissom spoke calmly. "Jillian Stokes has agreed to come by tomorrow…"

"Um, Doctor Grissom, when you were at the hospital helping Eric with Pavel, Eric saw some papers in your hands," Horatio replied in a concerned voice. "He said they were in reference to hospice and will-making…"

Grissom suddenly grew solemn and sighed, nodding as Horatio spoke, "Yeah," he replied grimly. "Um, my treatment's been suspended because I'm anemic, the radiation left me with burns, and my body's not doing well with any treatment anymore. I'm getting put on the national bone marrow registry and it's either get a bone marrow transplant or die. I don't have any family that would be willing to help me even if I asked, so I am just biding my time and gonna go live in a hospice center because the hospital's expensive. I'm also drawing up a will so Sara, my kids, and the Victims Assistance network will be taken care of. I was going to talk to Nick today about if he wanted to help run it alongside Natalia, Jesse, Ryan, and Emily, but he told me about his takedown, and so I didn't tell him about my news. I didn't wanna make him too anxious for surgery. I haven't told anyone yet, actually. I've just been trying to arrange things…"

"Have you told Greg Sanders?" Horatio asked softly. "Greg is your biological son and maybe, if you gave him the chance to, he would want to get tested and help you."

Grissom scoffed, but his facial expression held a good deal of pain in it, "I screwed up things with Greg just like I did with Sara," he replied in a tired, pained voice. "I tried reaching out to Greg a while ago and he never responded. I told him about our connection and his past in a very poor way. I should have just listened to Fred and Anne Sanders and left Greg alone like they asked me to do after the adoption became final, but I really wanted to get to know him if I had the chance to. That's why I pushed so hard for Greg to be hired when I saw he had applied for a position at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I wanted to get to know him without telling him who I was. I wanted to make sure he had grown up happy and healthy and just be near him. After I told him, though, Greg grew distant from me and any chance I have of making peace with that part of my past is gone. He doesn't want to have anything to do with me and I'm not going to push him. I made my bed the way I did because of circumstances beyond my control and now I have to lie in the bed that I made. That said, I have things I need to get in order and people still need help, so I will work until I can't anymore and then pass Victims Assistance on…"

Before Horatio could reply, Grissom handed him his phone and silently went over to where Eric and Pavel were. Horatio watched them for a moment before silently stealing into his office for a moment to think over what Grissom had told him. He was surprised to see Tim sitting in a chair beside the couch where Rick was sleeping and Dr. Loman was hooking up fresh IV bags. Horatio didn't say anything; he simply sat at his desk and stared at it in silence, deeply saddened by his conversation with Grissom.

After a moment, however, Horatio began scrolling through his phone until he found Greg Sanders' number. He silently began to compose a text to Greg that he hoped would make the young CSI take a pause, look past his anger towards his birth father, and extend an olive branch of compassion.

Manhattan, New York

David Boscorelli was freezing cold and he couldn't breathe, but he continued to make his way through the streets as fast as his body would allow him because he needed to get away. He had killed his mother by shoving her to the floor just because she had wanted him to listen to rules that were perfectly reasonable for someone his age, but he had reacted with anger. He had shoved his mother. Why?

"Why did I do that?!" David breathed weakly, his anxiety rising as he turned down an alley lined with backyards and began to walk even though his legs felt like weights from running from his apartment.

I deserve to die. David thought anxiously, hugging himself weakly. Why don't I just kill myself? I'm a monster and I'm not good. I shoved my mother and I killed her. I'm probably gonna go to jail unless I just…end it.

Just ahead of him, David could see one of the yards had left their gate open and he immediately felt relief, as he knew most backyards had tool sheds containing tools, tools that he could use to beat himself up til he was gone. Exhaling weakly, David slipped into the yard and was immediately overwhelmed by a security light, but he quickly began to look around for some sort of tool he could use to beat himself to death with.

A look of relief filled David's face when he suddenly saw a small pocketknife laying in a tiny garden patch near the fence and he immediately got in the dirt and grabbed it. As he opened the knife, however, he began to cough so violently that he threw up.

A door suddenly opened and footsteps approached, but David continued to cough and stare at the knife because he couldn't decide whether or not to stab himself or slit his wrists. Jimmy, who had been inside unpacking because they had just moved to the house not too long ago, came out with his phone out, the light on, and the recorder on in case there was an intruder that he needed to deal with. What he saw, however, was David Boscorelli kneeling in the garden holding a knife like he wanted to use it on himself.

"David?" Jimmy's called out. "What…what are you doing here and with…a knife?! David, why are you holding a knife against yourself?!"

"Oh my God…please…just go…away!" David wheezed as he began to cry. "I pushed my mom and she fell…she fell on the floor…and she didn't get up…so I ran away. I think I killed her. I'm a monster and I just want to die…monsters should die. I should have just listened to my Grandma Addison when she used to feed me that white powder that she said would make me quiet cause I used to cry all the time! She said I was too much for my mom. I killed my mom. Oh, my God…"

Jimmy froze, a look of horror on his face as he processed what David had just said, "No, David…I'm sure…I'm sure she's fine," he lied nervously even though he wasn't sure if that was true. "It's cold and you…you seem to be wheezing a lot. Why…why don't you come inside? We can talk…And what…what did you say about white powder?!"

David continued to cry, however, and continued to hold the knife while he battled through tears and wheezing. Alarmed that David might actually do something to himself, Jimmy quickly dialled 9-1-1 and reported that David Boscorelli was kneeling in his garden, wheezing, and actively threatening to kill himself with a pocketknife he found in the garden. After Jimmy gave his address, the operator ordered him to stay on the line, as Anti-Crime wanted to talk to him and was en-route, but David suddenly pressed the phone against his neck and closed his eyes while continuing to wheeze.

Jimmy swore, dropped the phone in the grass, and dove in the dirt, "No, no, no!" he yelled, quickly snatching the knife from David's hand before he could damage himself. "David! Oh my God!"

Grateful that his backyard had cameras, something he had insisted on having for safety so his kids could play outside without problems, Jimmy threw the knife in the grass and swore when David passed out in his arms mid-cough and ceased to breathe.

More swear words tumbled out of Jimmy's mouth as he began CPR. At the same time that the sound of sirens filled the air, David coughed, "Grandma…she fed it to me once. I remember John…he asked Grandma what it was and…she…she made him try it and…he didn't wanna eat it, but Dad…he smacked John and told him not to be rude and made him eat it…"

Jimmy's eyes went wide, "I was young…like really young then, but…" David wheezed. "I'm tired…"

The sound of sirens increased, but Jimmy remained in the garden, silently cuddling the semi-conscious David against him, shellshocked at what he had just heard.

"Dad?" Joey's voice suddenly filled the air as Joey came outside. "Dad, what's going on?"

Footsteps suddenly filled the air and Jimmy suddenly felt arms trying to grab David, "Hey, Jimmy, we gotta take him," Ty spoke softly. "Some doctor treating Danielle got a Baker Act hold for David…"

"Joey, go in the house and call your mom!" Jimmy yelled, unwilling to relinquish his hold on David after what he had heard him say about getting dosed as a baby. "Go in the house, lock the door, and call your mom and babysit Cami til she gets home! Davis, where the hell is the ambulance?"

Ty suddenly looked worried, "It's coming," he replied anxiously. "Why do you look so mad?"

"That bastard Edward Addison and his mother gave David drugs when he was just a baby!" Jimmy yelled, unable to control his anger. "They gave drugs to a baby, Davis!"

Just then, two paramedics, one of them being Grace, came into the yard pushing a gurney that held supplies. Ty stared at Jimmy, completely taken aback, "He literally told me and I recorded it on my phone!" Jimmy replied anxiously. "Maybe the Baker Act hold is a good thing. It can help him."

Still shaking with anger, Jimmy carried David over to the gurney and tried to let him go, but David clung to his shirt while coughing, "David, it's okay," Jimmy spoke anxiously. "It's the paramedics. You gotta go to the hospital. Davis, get my phone. It's in the grass near the garden. I'm going with him."

Ty obeyed, "Hey, David, I gotta let you go now, but I'll be right close, okay?" Jimmy spoke anxiously. "He's 13, he has asthma, and God knows what problems came out of that bastard biological father of his giving him drugs when he was just a baby…"

Grace's eyes widened as David passed out on the gurney, so she was prevented from asking more questions because she and her partner needed to take care of David. Jimmy quickly followed the paramedics to the nearby ambulance while Ty and Brendan followed behind them.

As they approached the ambulance, Jimmy got his phone out to contact Sully about what he had heard.

Miami, Florida

Per the agreement they had established with Pavel, Eric had taken the young, injured man to the nap room for rest and intended to supervise him all night, promising that they would speak official business in the morning with his advocate present, and Legal Aid would also be available if Pavel wanted it.

Eric had also offered Grissom use of the nap room, but Grissom had declined because he secretly feared going to sleep now that he was so ill, as he feared not being able to wake up again if he did go to sleep.

As the hours passed, Grissom lounged on the couch near the lab's front desk, only getting up to occasionally make tea for himself using the supplies in the break room. He spent the rest of his quiet time writing out a draft of a will and also preparing his application for hospice care.

Around 3:30 a.m., just as Grissom was debating whether or not he wanted to get himself more tea or use the bathroom to get rid of the tea already in his body, he suddenly heard a door nearby open. He looked up from his paperwork and was shocked to see Horatio silently wheel a very tired looking, battered Rick out of an office that had a ramp attached to it. Rick looked tired, subdued, and like he was troubled about something. Grissom was concerned to see that Rick's hands had IV lines in them while two half-full IV bags sat in his lap, and Rick's already present injuries were beginning to bruise, making the man look like he had several years earlier after Warrick had drugged and attacked him.

Setting his paperwork aside, Grissom got up and walked over to them, "Rick?" he asked softly, deeply relieved to see that Rick had somehow made it here. "Rick…oh!"

Overwhelmed at seeing Grissom, someone who he saw as a welcome relief from his uneasiness, confusion, unwellness, and missing memories, Rick immediately grabbed hold of him and clung to him like a scared child holding a security blanket. Grissom silently held Rick and sighed softly as he listened to Rick struggle to regulate his breathing, "It's okay," Grissom whispered softly, hoping Rick was listening.

"I…I don't know what…what I'm doing here or why I'm being held here, Gil," Rick spoke shakily. "They said I'm not in trouble, but everyone's being so nice…feeding me soup and giving me aspirin and IV's and letting me sleep. It's weird. It's making me feel like I committed a really terrible crime. I asked for a lawyer…"

Grissom frowned at Horatio, who shook his head, signalling that Rick was not in trouble and there was more to the story then Rick was able to tell, "Look, Horatio, can you just stop the weird behavior and just let me go to the bathroom, please?" Rick spoke in an annoyed voice. "I don't need the chair."

"Rick, I want you to prove you can walk to the bathroom by yourself without showing any symptoms of unwellness and I'll let you do it," Grissom replied firmly, giving Rick a look as Tim suddenly came hurrying out of the office. "Go ahead. Or do we need to talk about last night when you were outright ignoring your pain and nausea and so dizzy that you could barely keep your eyes open to talk to me? You're less pale than you were last night, but you still don't look that great. You're probably still in a lot of pain, have the occasional headache, still have some gaps in your memory, and haven't eaten much since breakfast. I don't think you've taken a moment to look at yourself in a mirror since you were kicked out of the hospital, Rick. Because if you did, you would see what I see: that you are not well and you shouldn't be walking anywhere unaided right now. Of course, you're an adult and you can do what you want. At the same time, though, I am your friend, and I can do what I want, which is to tell you that it's not a good idea for you to be moving around on your own two feet just yet."

Rick gave Grissom a look, but didn't try to get out of the wheelchair, "He had chicken soup from the staff room and an aspirin from Doctor Loman about two hours ago," Tim spoke up, prompting Horatio and Grissom to look at him curiously. "Um, hi, Doctor Grissom. I…I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I should have tried harder to stop Sergeant Stetler from getting kicked out of the hospital. I screwed up…"

Grissom gave Tim a compassionate look, noting the sadness in the detective's eyes, but found that Tim couldn't meet his gaze, "Speed, why don't you take Rick to the bathroom?" Horatio spoke up, not wanting things to get awkward or ugly in front of the medically impaired Rick. "All right?"

Rick shrugged and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling bothered by the light throughout the lab. Tim eyed him worriedly, but wheeled him off to the bathroom without saying anything, "I hope Jillian Stokes can talk him into going back to the hospital when we meet with her tomorrow," Horatio commented worriedly. "My team and I were searching for Rick for several hours yesterday after I saw him and Lenny flee from Jackson Memorial in a cab and we only managed to find them because Lenny called me on a child-friendly cellphone using a staff list Speed gave him. I found Rick and Lenny hiding in a room at the DeLuca Motel not far from the hospital. It's a run-down motel where a lot of people and families down on their luck, abuse victims, and people who can't or don't want to go to the shelter hang around. Lenny was fine and there was evidence that he had had supper. Rick, however, was not fine. He displayed every concussion symptom in the book including verbal aggression due to low blood sugar that he took entirely out on me. He was very concerned about Eric and I calling DCFS to take Lenny away to a bad foster home. He also acted like he was being arrested including assuming a hands behind the head position on the carpet. He settled down a bit at the lab and Doctor Loman treat him, but then he had a nightmare about his father choking him in his sleep that I had to gently pull him out of…"

Gil's eyes widened in shock, "I am quite certain the best thing to do is to keep Rick here under medical and secure supervision for a few more hours until Jillian Stokes can arrive and then I can hold an interview with both her and you present," Horatio spoke in a concerned voice. "I hope the interview will end with Rick returning to a hospital for more medical treatment, but we have to be careful until then. I think I've got him trusting me…to a point."

The sound of vomiting suddenly filled the air and Grissom and Horatio ran towards the bathroom just in time to see Walter, who had been attracted to the sound along with Calleigh, try to peek inside at who was getting sick. Horatio immediately cleared his throat to scold them for spying, but Grissom pushed past them and entered the bathroom alone. Tim was standing behind Rick gently providing aid so Rick could stay on his feet, but Rick was leaning against the urinal and groaning. The smell of vomit filled the air and the IV bags were laying on the floor while the wheelchair sat just behind Tim.

"I…I'm sorry," Rick rasped shakily, sighing. "I think I need to sleep. Standing up to pee…it did me no favors. Just help me to the sink so I can wash my hands. We don't need to tell Gil you let me walk."

Tim silently helped Rick walk over to the sink and Rick looked down as he washed his hands with soap and water and dried them with the fan. When he was done, Rick looked up and froze at the mess staring back at him in the mirror. He silently stared at himself for a few minutes, "Who is that?" he muttered darkly, utterly disgusted with the pallid, battered person that was staring at him in the mirror. "My God…"

"That's you, Rick," Grissom replied softly, sighing as Rick gave him a scowl via the mirror. "Yes, I was spying. What are you going to do about it?"

Rick scoffed softly before grabbing the sink to steady himself, "I, um, think I need the chair now," he spoke shakily. "I just want to sleep. I think I need to sleep. And then…I want to talk to my lawyer…"

Utterly exhausted, Rick slowly staggered back to the chair and sank down into it, and Tim silently put his feet on the feet rests, "Is the crowd outside gone?" Rick asked nervously, an edge to his voice.

Grissom silently went to the door and checked it, relieved to find it empty, "Yes," he replied softly.

Rick nodded and went quiet, suddenly filled with a loathing for how he looked. Tim looked at Grissom for direction and Grissom opened the door further, indicating that he should take Rick back to wherever he had been sleeping. Tim nodded and silently returned to Horatio's office with Rick and shut the door before anyone had a chance to peek in on them. He then carefully helped Rick back to the couch, only sitting when Rick was back asleep. Grissom, meanwhile began to tour the lab to make sure nobody was gossiping about what had just happened in the bathroom, determined to protect his friend's privacy.

New York Presbyterian Hospital, Manhattan New York

"…You're sure you heard David mention white powder?!" Sully asked in a suspicious voice, glaring at Jimmy as they sat together in the waiting area of the emergency room after David had been brought there by Grace and her partner on Dr. Feldstone's order.

Scoffing, as he figured Sully wouldn't believe him, Jimmy pressed PLAY on the recording he had taken on his cell-phone and allowed the man to listen to David tell him, as Sully would believe David.

"Crap," Sully breathed anxiously, his expression grim as he realized that both John and David had been exposed to more abuse by Edward than he had originally been aware of. "Did you tell Doctor Feldstone or Michael or Kim or anyone else?"

Jimmy shook his head, "I hinted to Grace and Kim that David may have been abused badly when he was younger, which could explain why he did what he did tonight," he replied grimly as Mac suddenly came into the waiting room and eyed them suspiciously. "Um…hi?"

"I was told you might have some information about why David Boscorelli did what he did?" Mac asked quietly. "I hope it explains a lot. I just saw Danielle Boscorelli off to a room upstairs where she will be spending the night under observation with a concussion, a bruised back, bruised ribs, and a sprained ankle. Detective Salas-Sullivan has offered to stay with her...as has Victims Assistance Advocate Jesse Cardoza."

Jimmy gave Mac a look, but replayed the recording he had made of his and David's conversation and Mac suddenly grew angry when he suddenly heard David mention his and John's 'Grandma Addison' and Edward Addison giving both John and David white powder when they were children. He was especially worried for John, as the young man had never mentioned it and either didn't remember it or had kept quiet out of fear. Oh, John. Mac thought sadly. I'm so sorry. Sorry for both you and David.

Swallowing hard, Mac held out an evidence bag and Jimmy dropped his phone into it, "I think…although I'm not sure…I think her name is Tanya Addison," Sully spoke grimly. "Edward always insisted on leaving David with her and taking John to work when the kid wasn't in school. I think there might have been a couple of times where both boys were left with Tanya cause both Edward and Danielle had to work. Edward never let me watch them and Danielle…she was too scared to ask. When she was old enough to marry, Edward made her do it, claiming John needed stability and she was young and scared…"

"Is this Tanya still living?" Mac asked quietly, deeply disturbed by what he was hearing.

Sully sighed solemnly, "She lives in the same area as Ellen Seville and has a reputation as a very good grandma to kids in that area because she likes to give out candy to them," he explained grimly, hoping Mac would get what he meant. "She's been on the Victims Assistance watchlist for years. Most dealers in the city are, but there's been no evidence to get her…"

"If we got a statement from John confirming this, that and the recording from David might be enough to secure a warrant on Tanya Addison's house," Mac explained grimly. "Can you call him?"

Sully sighed, "He's not got access to his phone right now, but I know who he's staying with," he replied, hoping that John was still awake. "I'll give them a call right now."

As Sully got on the phone and called Bobby's house in Miami, Dr. Feldstone suddenly came into the waiting room and began talking with Jimmy and Mac while Ty and Brendan listened nearby. Sully could hear the doctor explaining that David was suffering from hypothermia, was going to spend the night on a ventilator and medicated due to a severe asthma attack, and was also on a Baker Act hold for a mental health assessment the minute he woke up. Jimmy, meanwhile, suddenly snapped and started rambling to the doctor about what David had said about white powder.

Deeply annoyed at the noise, Sully moved to a nearby room and noticed that Mac had followed him with his recorder out. Sully pressed the speaker button as Robert answered the phone and held the phone out so Mac could capture the call on his recorder.

Miami, Florida

"…John?"

Exhaling softly, John opened his eyes and frowned when he saw Robert sitting on the edge of his temporary bed wearing a robe over sleep clothes and holding the cordless phone with a concerned, solemn expression on his face, "John, your grandfather needs to speak with you," Robert spoke solemnly, pressing the phone into John's hand before he got his recorder out of his pocket. "And I have to record the conversation…"

Deeply disturbed by Robert's expression, John pressed the speaker, "Hello…Grandpa Sully?" John asked tiredly. "What's wrong? Is it Dad?"

"No, John, it's David," Sully explained in a concerned voice. "He got into an argument with your mom earlier tonight and shoved her. She has to spend the night in the hospital with a concussion, bruised ribs, a bruised back, and a sprained ankle, but she is going to be fine. David, though, thought he killed your mom and ran off out of the apartment and wandered for hours before he ended up in Jimmy Doherty's yard, where he threatened to kill himself with a pocketknife in front of Jimmy and also had a massive asthma attack. David also told Jimmy that your Grandma Addison…"

Robert frowned as John suddenly turned chalk white, "…David said that your Grandma Addison gave him a white powder when he was a baby and that she also made you try it too," Sully spoke in a concerned voice. "David said he remembered saying you didn't want to try it, but Edward hit you and made you eat it. Is it true, John? Is what your brother said true? Did your grandmother and…?"

John suddenly began to shake and sweat profusely, so much so that he quickly hugged himself in an effort to keep warm, "Yeah," he replied shakily, gazing down at his comforter as he struggled to keep from throwing up right then and there. "Yeah, it's true. I…I'm sorry. Edward…I remember him saying that we were the perfect testers for the powder and if we didn't die, it would be good for Grandma to sell. He called it cocaine, but I thought it…I thought it was just a weird snack."

"It's not your fault," Sully replied in a pained voice. "You were a child! David was an even younger child! God, John…I should be saying sorry to you and your brother for not being there more…"

Exhaling shakily, John sighed, "Is that…is that why David did what he did and why he's been so anxious and…his…his asthma?" he breathed, barely able to speak. "Oh, God…"

"We're gonna figure that out now that David's in the hospital where people can help him," Sully replied in a concerned voice. "If the police need more of the story…"

John's heart dropped as he wondered if Lieutenant Caine would still think highly of him or even want to help him prepare for the MDPD exam in the fall once he found out that both he and his brother had been forced to eat cocaine when they were children. Will Lieutenant Caine be kind or hate me? John wondered.

A hand suddenly touched his arm and John suddenly felt himself pitching forward into nothingness before a pair of strong arms suddenly caught him.

"…Natalia, get the salts! Natalia!"

Ammoniumcarbonate and perfume suddenly flooded John's senses and he let out a faint groan, recognizing them as smelling salts. Healso felt himself being laid on something soft and he could hear Robert and Natalia talking and could no longer hear his grandfather's voice, but John didn't care. He truly felt disgusted with himself for not ever sharing his experience of being forced to eat cocaine as a child. He had simply kept the experience in his mind and built a wall around it because he never wanted to revisit the experience again. Now that David was suffering the effects of it, however, his personal wall had been knocked down and it may have destroyed them both and their futures.

Gentle hands suddenly began patting his face and John couldn't tolerate it: he slowly opened his eyes to see who was doing it and he sighed when he saw Natalia hovering over him looking incredibly pained, "I'm sorry…" he breathed weakly, absolutely disgusted with his inability to keep it together. "I didn't even think...how did David remember that? I…I tried to forget…If …if Lieutenant Caine wants me to go away and not be a cop after hearing that. God…I have to tell him…personally. I never told anyone, though. I didn't know how…"

Robert's face suddenly came into view and John immediately tried to get up, but Robert held him down, "Rest," Robert spoke firmly. "If you want to talk to Lieutenant Caine tomorrow…if you really think you need to because you've got some warped belief that he's going to hate you over the fact that you and David were forced to eat cocaine as children …you can do that, but you will not do it until tomorrow. You fainted in my arms, you almost quit breathing, and you scared the hell out of Natalia and I. You, John, are going to stay in bed for the rest of the night and rest and I am going to sit with you. We don't have to talk about what you shared with your grandpa. We don't have to talk at all if you don't want to, but I'm going to be here. Natalia's also making an appointment for you with Doctor Marsh for tomorrow afternoon and she can come here. You don't have to go anywhere, but this appointment, I believe, will help you…especially after I heard what I just heard. Okay?"

Exhaustion washed over John, but he managed to nod, "Yes sir," he replied groggily. "I'm tired."

Robert and Natalia began talking again, but John tuned them out because he was so drained by sharing something he thought he would never share with anyone. As John closed his eyes to block out what he had just shared and the rest of the world around him, he suddenly felt himself being covered up with a blanket that felt surprisingly warm.

Please read and review! Do not ask me for opportunities to do fanart/commissions on this work, though, as I will simply say no. All I want are reviews! Thanks!