Peter needed to concentrate intensely to find an actual location for Skalany, so he and his father traveled to Li Sung's rented house in silence. Caine had cleaned his son's wound as thoroughly as he could and Peter let his hand rest on his father's lap, while Caine supported his son's arm. Peter drew strength from the contact. Once when they stopped at a red light Peter glanced at his dad; they shared a smile. Peter gave strength back in the only way he knew how ? he projected his unconditional love.

As they neared an actual street address, Peter stopped and called the Precinct, only to discover that Kermit, Jody and backup were already on their way.

"We're almost there, Dad. Backup is on the way. We're going to take care of her, Pop, I promise."

They arrived at Li Sung's house before Kermit and Jody. Peter parked the Stealth on the next street, and he and his father approached the house quietly. Despite Peter's injury, they easily put three guards out of commission. Just as they prepared to break into the house, backup arrived.

"Pop, wait a minute, here comes Kermit and Jody!"

"Peter, we have no time!"

The two cops ran over to Caine and Peter. Peter looked at Kermit and said, "Buddy, we've got to get in there now! Skalany's in big trouble."

"All right, kid, do you have a plan?"

"You and Jody take the first floor. Pop and I will take the second. We have to be especially careful. I don't want her rescue to be her cause of death."

"What about an alarm?" Jody asked.

"Good thinking," said Peter. "Come on, Kermit, let's check it out."

Kermit gripped Peter's shoulder. "You got it--let's go!"

~~~

Mary Margaret sat on the bed while Serena settled in a chair across the room. They were waiting for some sign of Li Sung, when in the blink of an eye he was standing in front of Skalany. She gasped when she saw his eyes burn bright with evil. Although she'd vowed to fight him to the death, she now realized that she faced a mighty power, perhaps one stronger than she had the ability to overcome.

Aiming the Derringer, she ordered, "Stay back, Li Sung. Get closer and I'll shoot."

Li Sung laughed, and the tinge of insanity in it made her cringe. "Very cute! You have found the toy gun Serena believed she had hidden from me. Do you think you can threaten me with so useless a weapon?"

"Try coming closer and we'll see how useless it is."

"It will do no good, as you will not get out of here alive."

"We'll see about that. I want you to walk slowly across the room and into the closet."

Stepping back, Li Sung said, "You do not really expect me to perform such a foolish action, do you?"

Mary Margaret rose, knowing she had to stay close for the gun to be effective, while avoiding his deadly kick. Serena crept behind Li Sung, ready to knock him on the head with a heavy woodcarving. Turning rapidly, Li Sung smashed the heel of his hand into her chest, knocking her to the floor.

Mary Margaret stepped as close to him as she dared and than fired the gun. Li Sung leered and kicked the weapon from her hand, breaking her arm. Mary Margaret cried out in pain.

"I have many enemies, and have discovered the wisdom of a bulletproof vest."

Skalany dropped to the bed and leaned back, protectively cradling her arm to her chest.

Li Sung sat next to her. "Do you fear I will spoil your virtue? Do not worry." He eyed her lustily. "Though you are not without your charms, I have no intention of using his discarded plaything. I have something far more distasteful in mind for you."

The renegade Shaolin's movements were so fast she had no time to react. She screamed when his hand smothered her face and his eyes bore into hers. She felt blinding hot pain when he entered her mind and invaded her soul. Mercilessly, he thrust deeply into her, sending daggers of darkness and fear. Somehow, she clung to her sanity for one brief moment, long enough to grab the scissors she'd hidden under the pillow. Knowing they would not penetrate the bulletproof vest, she lunged desperately for his neck. She missed and jammed the scissors into Li Sung's arm. Through the shroud of terror wrapping her mind, she heard him cry out in pain. Accepting she would die, she felt a twinge of satisfaction knowing she had hurt him first.

Li Sung's shrieked with rage, "I will kill you with my bare hands!"

As he pushed her down on the bed, he wrapped his hands around her throat so that she could not breathe. Hitting him, twisting her body, fighting for her life, she suddenly became aware that his grip had loosened; she gasped for breath. Opening her eyes for a moment, she saw Li Sung lying in a twisted heap on the floor across the room. She knew in her heart the person who had pulled him off her. Only one man had the power to crush Li Sung so completely.

She felt herself gently lifted and heard a loving voice say, "Mary Margaret, please, open your eyes and talk to me."

Smiling, she said, "Caine, how nice."

"Who else?" Caine answered, and that was the last thing she heard before falling into the arms of darkness.

Caine and Peter raced up the stairs and arrived in time to see Li Sung in the act of strangling Mary Margaret. Nearly blinded by rage, Caine tore Li Sung from her body and threw him across the room; his adversary crashed against the wall. The priest rushed to the bed, lifted Mary Margaret and cradled her in his arms, his anger drained, replaced by anxiety and concern. Immediately his son joined him.

"Pop, is she okay? Why is she unconscious? Is she seriously injured?"

Caine did not answer Peter's urgent questions, but closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Tightly holding her hand, he focused all his concentration on her physical and emotional healing. The Shaolin knew that Jody and Kermit entered the room and they did not interrupt him; Kermit quietly cuffed a subdued Li Sung and sent him away with two backup cops.

Finally Caine opened his eyes, shook his head and met his son's gaze. "Peter, " he said softly, "Li Sung has placed a powerful suggestion deep within her mind. We require complete privacy, immediately, to try to reach her, or we may lose her forever."

"Okay, Pop. Kermit, Jody, come with me, we have to let him help her." Peter stood, placed his hand on Kermit's back and started walking with them out of the bedroom.

"Peter," Caine called sharply, causing his son to turn around, "I did not mean for you to leave. Please, stay here with me.""

"Of course, Father."

Caine waited for Peter to sit next to him.

"Peter, we must merge our strength for the second time tonight, this time to break through the wall of terror Li Sung has implanted into her subconscious."

"Dad, didn't I see her talk to you before she passed out? Is Mary Margaret in the Bardo world? Do we have to go get her?"

Caine shrugged. "She is not in the Bardo, but trapped within her own consciousness. The longer she remains, the harder it will be to bring her back. Yes, my son, she spoke for a moment. Her joy from the knowledge that she would not die helped her emerge momentarily, but she is weak from her ordeal. She did not have the energy to hold on to those who love her. She needs both of us to pull her back. Are you ready?"

Peter nodded and grasped Caine's outstretched hand. "I'm ready, Father. What exactly do we have to do?"

Raising one eyebrow, Caine looked at Peter and said, "Something you excel at, my son. We must talk to her. She can hear us, but cannot respond. We must find the right words to convince her that she belongs here, with us."

Caine focused on Mary Margaret. Touching her face, he said, "Mary Margaret, open your eyes, talk to me. Staying where you are will not ease your pain. Come home, and let me help you."

Mary Margaret stirred slightly, and they could see the conflict reflected on her face. Almost imperceptibly, she shook her head as if disagreeing.

Peter took her hand in his, and first looked at Caine, who gave him a nod of encouragement.

"Skalany, listen, this is Peter. You have to come back, partner."

Mary Margaret moved again, a slight expression of confusion crossing her features.

Sensing a change, Peter quickly followed with, "Listen, partner, you have to wake up. I need to tell you that you were right, three months ago, when we had our little chat outside your apartment. You were right. I was wrong. You can tell everyone I admitted it. Besides, Pop needs you. I need you."

"Mary Margaret, Peter is correct. I love you and I need you to come back. We need you to come back." Caine paused a moment, then said, "If you do not return to us, you will deny Peter the chance to officiate at our wedding."

"What?" Peter exclaimed. "Pop, you're getting married and you didn't tell me?" Peter stared at his father and missed the moment when Mary Margaret smiled and opened her eyes. Caine exchanged looks with his lover before lifting her and embracing her, not trusting himself to speak.

Skalany laughed and coughed a bit as Caine gently lowered her, and then said in a horse whisper, "Classy way to let your son know, Caine!" Looking at Peter, than back at Caine, who tilted his head and smiled, she added, "How come I feel like Dorothy waking up to the Scarecrow and the Tin Man?"

Peter grinned, and kissed her cheek. "I'll admit to having no brain, if that's what it takes to make you better." Leaning over, he kissed his father's cheek, and said, "Congratulations, Pop, to both of you. And yes, I'd be honored to perform your wedding ceremony."

At that moment they heard a knock at the door. Jody peeked in. "Do I hear laughter in here?"

"Come on in, Jody, and Kermit, too," answered Peter.

"We must take her, and you, to the hospital," said Caine. "I believe her arm is broken, and you need attention to your hand. "

"Mary Margaret, I'm glad you're okay," said Jody. "But from what I've heard, you've been holding out on me, and have a lot of explaining to do."

Looking uncomfortable, Kermit hovered near the door. Finally he said, "Come on, everyone, let's wrap it up and get the wounded out of here."

"Speaking of the wounded, where's Serena?" asked Mary Margaret.

"Serena? She was here?" Caine was shocked.

"Yes, she was here, all right. Actually, she saved my life. Li Sung hit her pretty hard. I can't believe she's gone far."

"Well, she's not in the house," said Jody. "They've just finished searching it from top to bottom, to see if there were any surprises. Everyone's been accounted for and taken to the station for arraignment, including his majesty, Li Sung. Brother, is he one miserable looking dude."

~~~

Nearing midnight, the hospital bustled with activity from car crashes and bar fights, sick babies and heart attacks. Mary Margaret and Peter were treated quickly, and they were both whisked away for X-rays. Caine learned that Lo Si had taken David Reed to see his mother; she was in the same hospital but on a different floor. The Shaolin left Jody, who had arrived with clothes for Mary Margaret, to stay and wait while he went off to find David Reed.

Caine found the young man alone in the dark in his mother's room. The priest gently touched David's shoulder, and Caine could tell from his shaking body that the teen was sobbing.

"David, Mary Margaret and my son will both survive. We are all trying to learn from this, embrace our sadness and move on. As you must, my friend. You have responsibilities now. You mother needs you. So do Lisa and your unborn son."

"It's different for you, you and your son, isn't it," said David quietly. "When you thought he was going to die, you wanted to die, too. I could feel it when you fell to the ground and I touched you." David looked down at his feet. "My dad, he's been gone so long, and he's never called or nothing. He wouldn't know if I was dead or alive."

Caine knelt down, and touching David on his cheek, looked him straight in the eyes. "David, someday, you may know why you haven't heard from your own father. But right now you have a precious gift -- the chance to be the kind of father you wish you could have. You have the chance to love your own son."

David lowered his head again and Caine could feel the boy's exhaustion. The time for understanding had not yet come. Standing and patting his back gently, Caine said, "The bed next to your mother is empty. Sleep now and tomorrow we will talk."

Caine stayed until the young man was asleep and persuaded the nurse on duty to let him stay through the night. Heading back to the emergency room, he decided to take the stairs when he suddenly became aware of her presence.

"Serena?" he called. Caine stepped through the doorway and saw her, standing with her coat pulled high around her neck. The priest reached out with both hands and opened the coat to reveal dark bruises and swelling, the results of Li Sung's fury.

"I was injured and saw Li Sung attacking her. It was impossible for me to fight him so I tried to get help. That's when you and Peter arrived and I knew there was nothing more for me to do. I've always kept a bag packed and ready to go. I managed to slip out of the house, but before I left town I had to be sure Mary Margaret survived. And...and I wanted to tell you...."

Caine had taken both her hands in his. He knew the hell she'd been living in. "Serena, please, say no more."

"I'm leaving now, Caine. I'm going back to New York. Right now, I have every intention of leaving Li Sung for good." Reaching up to touch his face, she said, "I hope you and Mary Margaret find much happiness together." As her voice started to break, she pulled her hands away, quickly turned and hurried down the steps.

Caine called after her, "No, Serena, wait."

She stopped and turned to face him, and he saw tears in her eyes. "No, Caine, please. Let me go."

Serena continued down the steps and vanished from his sight. Slowly and with great sadness, he proceeded down the stairwell.

By the time Caine returned to the emergency room, Mary Margaret had dressed in clean clothes and her neatly fractured forearm was set in a cast. Peter was lucky. The nails had not caused permanent damage. Treatment complete, they both waited for the paperwork to be completed before they could go home.

"Pop, maybe you ought to let them take a look at you, too."

Caine shot him a look, answering his son's question.

Jody said, "I say we let them mail the paperwork and get out of here."

Caine joined Mary Margaret and examined her arm. He surprised everyone by leaning forward, taking her face in his hands and kissing her.

"Peter told me about the fire, and I asked him to come home with us," said Mary Margaret. "He's giving me a fight, though."

Peter jumped in, "Yeah, you two need time alone. I can stay with Kermit."

Mary Margaret and Caine looked at each other, and as she pleaded with her eyes, he could hear her words as if she had spoken aloud, Please Caine, don't let him do this!

Turning his head, Caine searched his son's eyes.

"Peter," he said, "You need time to heal, both physically and emotionally. The place to do that is with your family. Please, stay with us."

Jody spoke up from across the room. "I don't like to interfere…"

"Sure you do, Jody, so go right ahead," Peter quipped.

"Don't mind if I do. Peter, your father is right. You should be with your family right now. And that's all I have to say," Jody ended.

Caine watched Peter's gaze shift one by one to the three pairs of eyes that were intensely focused on his. "Okay, folks, I know when I'm outnumbered," he muttered, sounding grumpy, but smiling from ear to ear.

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