Savannah paced back and forth, wringing her hands for the 50,000th time. She'd been going to hospitals too damn many times for her comfort and she was almost positive that the hospital had had enough of them as well. She couldn't even ride with Kermit in the ambulance. Peter rode with him since he was injured, too, along with the others that boasted some superficial scrapes and strains due to being trampled from the rushing crowd.

What she couldn't understand was how Kermit had managed to injure himself in such a manner and what had precipitated such an attack! Kermit had seemed to be prepared for it but how had he known? What was he not telling her? Honesty was the mainstay of their relationship - he told her everything. Why hadn't he told her this?

*Dumb question,* she thought as irritation nudged at her worry. His 'green knight syndrome' would have taken over, protecting her from harm, taking it himself if necessary. *Damn him,* she thought, hugging herself from the worry. She'd rather her life be at risk than to lose him....She stopped those thoughts in their tracks. The wound he suffered seemed painful but not fatal. Of course, she was still waiting for Dr. Sabourin to support that assumption. It seemed to her that they were taking an inordinately long time to come out and tell her that he would be all right. They haven't even seen to Peter yet. Well, not completely. The nurse had given him something for the pain and stopped the bleeding but that was all. The bullet only grazed his arm and, as such, was not classified as a serious case. Savannah shook her head - she had never seen the good doctor so disorganized.

At long last, Dr. Sabourin emerged from the emergency room where Savannah knew Kermit was and stood expectantly. "All right, Detective Caine," she said softly, "your turn."

Savannah couldn't begrudge Peter's much needed medical treatment but she had to know. "Doctor?! Kermit...? How is he?"

Dr. Sabourin frowned as she took Peter's uninjured arm to help him up. "I'll be right back, Mrs. Griffin...." she said evasively as she attempted to lead Peter away.

This time, it was Peter who frowned. "Wait a minute, Doctor. What is it with Kermit? He's going to be okay, isn't he?"

Dr. Sabourin looked at the detective sternly. "I think we'd better tend to your arm first."

At Savannah's increasingly pale face, Peter stopped. "Is he going to be okay? Yes or no?"

"Well...yes. Probably."

"*Probably*???" Savannah fought her fear as she confronted the doctor. "What IS it??? What's wrong with him?! Why won't you tell me anything?!" Her voice was rising with each word and Dr. Sabourin raised her hands slightly to keep her calm. "There IS something wrong. Tell me or I raise holy hell all over this hospital!"

"All right, all right." The doctor gave in and made them all sit down before leaning close to deliver the bad news. "Savannah, the wound was fairly easy to deal with," she began, "but I'm afraid that the metal in the pylon that stabbed him has...created an infection."

"How bad is it?" Savannah whispered, horrified.

"Well, infections are funny things. They can be very bad OR they can clear up in a matter of hours. There's no way to know." Dr. Sabourin reached for Savannah's hand to squeeze it comfortingly. "We should know something by, on the outside, 48 hours. There's a very good chance that the antibiotics will clean it right up. But he has to stay in isolation to be monitored."

"What's the worst case scenario?" Savannah asked woodenly. After dealing with so much tragedy, she wanted to prepare herself.

"Savannah-"

"TELL ME!"

Dr. Sabourin sighed. "The worst case is that the infection could affect his kidney - the closest organ to the wound - and put him at risk there."

Savannah sighed with relief. She knew living with one kidney was no problem. "So he has his other as backup. Right?" At the doctor's silence, she pressed again. "Right??"

"He only has one kidney," the doctor told her. "He must have lost one of them long ago-" She broke off as Savannah's face went completely white. "That's why it is so vital that we isolate him and prevent the risk of infection."

Savannah gritted her teeth. "I want to see him. I want to be with him."

"Savannah, you can't do a thing to help him," the doctor protested. "He needs rest. Solitude. Because of his compromised immune system, we have to keep him in isolation for 48 hours. I can't risk exposing him to any further bacteria." Looking down at her hands, she whispered, "Another infection added to this could kill him."

*Kill him....* The words echoed in her mind. Peter had his good arm wrapped around her. She registered it subconsciously but could not focus on anything but Kermit. Locked away and in pain. Needing her. Maybe dying.

"Beside the fact that he's seriously ill, he is so deeply sedated that he wouldn't know you were there anyway. Please, go home, see to your daughter.I'll call when-"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Savannah fairly screeched until she heard herself and slumped in her chair. "I'm not going anywhere," she repeated softly. "Please let me see him. I'll wear a mask. I'll wear gloves. I'll do anything...just for a few minutes...he needs me...he.."

Biting her lip in a moment of decision, the doctor relented. "See the nurse over there for the proper protective clothing and join me in the ICU. Mind you," she spoke carefully, " It's ONLY for five minutes. That's the best I can do."

Savannah tore off toward the nurse and prepared to see her husband.

"Doctor?" Peter Caine felt he could be more candid with his distraught friend out of earshot. "Is he in danger...seriously?"

"Yes, he is."

Watching as Savannah darted down the hall and Peter reached out for her to stop her so that he could follow but Dr. Sabourin pulled him back. "You still have treatment to undergo, young man!" she said sternly.

"But-" Peter had his promise to Kermit ringing in his ears but there was nothing he could do with an insistent doctor tugging on him. Next thing, she'd call orderlies to help her. He went along with the doctor, knowing that Savannah wouldn't go too far from Kermit's side until she had actually seen him.

*****

"Kermit?" Savannah whispered through the subdued lighting of the ICU cubicle holding her husband. Adjusting her eyes to the dimmed lighting, she controlled a painful gasp at the sight before her.

This vibrant and stubbornly alive man lay perfectly still. Contained by the crinkled plastic of an oxygen tent, his response was as frightening to the young woman as the reality of his wounds. Pale and drawn by the pain of his injuries, he barely resembled the man of hours earlier.

The onslaught of emotion nearly overwhelmed her. Moving quickly to his side, Savannah took his large hand in her small gloved one. "My goodness. Kermit Griffin nappin' in the middle of the day. What's the world coming to?"

The teasing made her feel better. His unchanging expression quickly drained that brief lightness. She only had a few moments. Not nearly enough.

"Please don't worry. Kat's with Caine and Peter is stuck to me like glue. No one can hurt us." Reaching up to stroke his quiet cheek, the tortured woman leaned down to blow more reassurance into the patient's ear. "We're all safe and all you have to do is relax and get better. Worry about who hurt you later."

The tears of fear and frustration began to flow. "I love you so much, baby."

For a moment, there was a slight twitch. Possibly a drug-induced dream. "Sweet dreams, my love." Smoothing an errant strand of his thick hair from his forehead, she spilled out her love in a gentle touch, then left him to rest.

*****

Dr. Sabourin met her as she exited. Savannah peeled away the protective clothing and accepted Peter Caine's supportive arm around her shoulders.

"Savannah, he should be just fine...."

As the doctor droned on, Savannah found her thoughts fading...fading on her despair of the moment and searching for hope for Kermit's future. Somehow, she felt that he was depending on her to help him. For once.

Focusing on the worse case scenario, Savannah desperately thought of ways SHE could help. Help Kermit and help the doctor. *If it does come out that way, he'll need a transplant,* she thought. But who? His parents were dead and Marilyn...she didn't know Marilyn's medical condition but she did know that having three children put quite a strain on a woman's body. She probably didn't have anything to spare. Savannah, with a slight smile to her lips, recalled that her favorite movie 'Steel Magnolias' had dealt with this very thing. That was mother and daughter but....*Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Mother and daughter...and father and son!* Savannah's heart leaped with excitement - she knew what she could do!

"Savannah?"

Savannah, her consciousness coming back to the hospital waiting room, saw that she had gotten up, had already grabbed her purse and was about to turn thought into action. "I know what I can do!" she told her befuddled friends. "Don't worry - I know what I can do to help him! I know just what to do!"

Peter, caught by surprise at her sudden enthusiasm, said, "Wait just a minute. Don't run off into something half-cocked, Savannah."

Before he could protest, she reassured the nervous and bandaged man. "I'm just going to call in reinforcements, Peter! Excellent reinforcements!"

With that, the woman harnessed her fear and sped into action toward the bank of phones down the hall.

*****

"Yes, Major James HELLSTROM. I'm his stepmother and I have to speak with him immediately." She had tried finesse for the last 45 minutes and had gotten nowhere. These people were insufferable with their she's - a - civilian - so - it - couldn't - be - important attitude that practically oozed through the phone wires. "Oh, THANK YOU. Yes, let me speak with his C.O." Savannah stood at the nurses' station, nervously tapping her phone card against the countertop in time with her panic.

"Colonel Shank? I'm Savannah Griffin." Savannah rapidly launched into her story. Telling the commanding officer of the impending family tragedy with as much passion as she could muster and still remain calm. A pause as she listened incredulously, then, "What do you mean, I can't speak with him? I don't give a damn if he's on Mission Impossible, GET HIM TO THE PHONE!!!" Hysteria elevated her volume to maximum and her pulse into overdrive.

Major Jim Hellstrom was on a mission, the commanding officer repeated to her, and was out of communication with anyone but the officers controlling the action for the next day, including himself. Though he couldn't change the facts, the colonel offered to deliver the message.

*No. This should come from me,* Savannah thought swiftly. "Colonel, you say that YOU can get in touch with him? Immediately? If I fax you a note, will you give it to him for me and have him call me at this number? You will?!! Thank you so much!!! What's the fax number?"

Savannah jotted down the number on the back of her checkbook and sat down to compose the note. She didn't want to unduly upset Jim but she had to make him understand the urgency. His father could lose his kidney. He needed Jim here. Desperately. Get here as quickly as you can. *That should do it,* she thought, signing quickly and rushing to the nurses' station to use the fax machine.

*****

Savannah darted back to the ICU waiting area just in time to meet Peter and his newly bandaged arm. The armor of taking action steeling her for the hours of waiting to come. "Are you okay?" she asked and gently took his hand.

"Backyard scrape compared to others," he lied. It hurt like hell but aware of his promise as Kermit bled into the dirt, Peter Caine refused the good doctor's painkillers. Kat was safely in his father's hands. Guarded by the Ancient and Caine, a nuclear bomb had no chance to harm Kermit's child. Keeping up with Savannah shouldn't be too difficult. "Here, sit."

Easily tugging her down onto the cold synthetic comfort of a style-less hospital couch, Peter appraised her condition. The normally flawless facade was caked with dirt from Kermit's plunge into the mud to shield her from nameless bullets. Blonde hair waving randomly from a half-held French twist. She was chewing her bottom lip in her anxiety and the deep green eyes were darting about in random patterns mulling over frantic inner thoughts.

"Hey," Peter crooned in his tone reserved for comfort and persuasion, "I've seen that man blown up and beaten up and shot up far worse than this. He'll wake up after this little snooze and start giving the nurses hell." Grinning at the vision, he added, "Maybe we should enjoy the respite while it's here."

Savannah never heard the comforting babble. The words trapped themselves in a haze of her own fear. The company was a comfort even though she couldn't focus on what he was saying. Raking a hand down over her face, the frantic woman caught a glimpse of Dr. Sabourin slipping around the corner of the ICU.

"DOCTOR!!!" Savannah sprang forward as if shot from a cannon. When the doctor continued down the hall, she gave chase. "DOCTOR??!!"

Peter hot on her heels, Savannah caught up to her in record time. "Doctor! How is he? Better?"

"Mrs. Griffin...Savannah, it's only been an hour! Try to relax."

"Stop bloody telling me to relax!" Stress choking any echo of manners away, the woman shifted into unreasonable and left coercion in the dust. "I want to see him again. Now!"

"He still has to remain in isolation, Savannah. We can't risk it."

"Why the hell not!!!??? I'll wear the gloves. Sit in the corner. He needs me!!!" She yelled out her frustration.

"Savannah," the doctor spoke softly, trying to handle the growing hysteria, "his life is in danger more than ever before."

"So, he's worse? The kidney?" Heart sinking, the tortured woman felt her hands begin to grasp at straws.

"He's in serious trouble."

"The infection could destroy his kidney? Right?"

"An infection like this could very well destroy a kidney if it isn't stopped." The doctor quoted chapter and verse as if from some textbook.

The evil ring of death was sounding in her mind. The iron man suddenly rendered helpless. Desperately needing her help. She'd summoned help for him as best she could.

Peter held the trembling shoulders tightly with his good arm. "Let the doctor take care of him, Savannah." Even he was now alarmed by the doctor's behavior. The mammoth burden of her struggling patient evident in the doctor's stiffened, tense manner.

Ringing through the bad news, an announcement broke the silence.

Launching into action, Savannah turned to a startled Peter Caine. "Stay here and wait while I go?"

"Sure," he answered, noting the doctor's hasty retreat during the distraction. "But you have to swear to eat and rest when you get back."

"Fine...." she trailed behind her trotting exit.

Skidding to a stop at the nurse's station, she announced, "I'm Mrs. Griffin. Is there a fax for me?"

The soft voice of a nurse greeted her, "Mrs. Griffin, here's the fax for you." The young woman handed it to her timidly. Almost embarrassed to have seen the content.

"Thank God!" Savannah shouted and grabbed the paper. The enthusiasm quickly faded as she read the harsh words.

'I've had enough of dealing with you people. Screw him and screw you. Get out of my life and leave me alone.' The shocking prose was signed 'Major Hellstrom,' not the affectionate 'Jim' followed by Air Force wings he used for the faxes he sent to Kat.

Disbelief washed over her. The paper fluttered to the floor and she felt blindly for a chair then sank into it. Jim and Kermit had had a tense reunion and discovery period. Butted heads quite frequently on the major's visits. But this...this was unbelievable. Would Jim let his father - the natural father HE had sought out - die? Not while she was still breathing!

Quickly reassembling her fortitude, Savannah returned to the phone and dialed a number she kept in her wallet.

She held her breath and felt her heart plummet through the floor when an answering machine - with a male voice - answered, "You have reached...."

Savannah fought the hot tears welling up inside her. She checked the number on the card to confirm that it was correct as the voice droned on. She had no choice but to leave a message, hoping that her friend was not on a mission somewhere, due back in four months or so.

"Vanessa! Please help me!" Clearing her throat, she resolved to hold onto her control for a few more seconds, long enough to leave a coherent message. "Vanessa, this is Savannah. Kermit and I are in desperate trouble and need-"

She nearly gave up her deathgrip on the receiver when a warm, familiar voice answered her call for help. "Vanessa! Oh, thank God!"

"I...we need your help. Please...." The crisis finally cracked her control and her voice broke. She fell silent, feeling the entire weight of the world on her small shoulders.

Help was on the other end of the line. Ready and willing. Savannah launched into the story and prayed that this call for help would be answered.

*****

Peter Caine was standing guard. He could see Savannah glued to the telephone as he peeked around the corner. *Probably talking to Marilyn,* he supposed as the detective ran a damp palm through his hair. It was tough enough to watch either Savannah or Kermit but both of them fell under the category of 'Above and Beyond!'

Simms had given him the third degree over his cellphone as he was patched up for the zillionth time. All he could tell her was that he didn't know who the assassin was, but he was still fairly sure that they were gunning for Kermit. He had no proof, though. All he could do would be to guard them both himself until they made another move. It shouldn't be too hard - Savannah would never budge from Kermit's side and Kermit wasn't going anywhere for awhile.

Still, he was nervous. He didn't know anything about the opposition except that they had enough nerve to go after Kermit. That probably meant professional talent. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse....*Don't take your eyes off them. * Peter felt the wounded man's order burning through his mind. Kat was safe. He freed his mind of that worry. His other charge was safely in his line of sight. He was doing the only thing he could do to help.

In an instant, Savannah had slammed the receiver of the phone down into its radle and was flying back toward him at warp speed. Heels clinking at a buzz as she ran.

"Peter, I need you to stay here and be with Kermit. I have someplace to go but I'll be back in the morning. Caine said he'd keep Kat, right? I'll be back--"

The words stopped. Rammed to a halt by Peter Caine's arm shooting out to grab his responsibilities' arm. "STOP!" he yelped in surprise, fighting the pain bleeding through his other arm as he tightened his grip on Savannah. "First of all, you're not going anywhere. Second of all, what in the hell are you talking about?"

Shaking off his grip, the exasperated woman attached her hands to her hips. "I don't have time for long explanations, Peter! If Kermit loses his kidney, which seems pretty damn likely from the look on that doctor's face, he'll need another one. I called Jim and he said he wouldn't come so I'm going to get him. I'm meeting someone and we're flying to McDill Air Force Base in Florida to MAKE him come." In addition to the fact that she desperately wanted to provide Kermit the lifegiving help he needed, something was terribly wrong and she knew it.

Shaking the hysterical ranting from his ears, Peter mustered his most comforting tone of voice. As if persuading a child, he said, "You're panicking, Savannah. Wait. See what happens and if it comes to that, we'll decide what to do then."

"First of all," she hissed, shaking her finger in his face, "YOU don't decide anything about what's best for him. You SAW the expression on that doctor's face when she said his life was in danger. And furthermore...YOU didn't see him in that bed. Unconscious. Fighting for his life!"

People all along the corridors had become spectators as the staccato rhythm of the impassioned woman's voice screeched her conviction. Peter tried again. Rational thought rendered ineffective, he would try authority. "Okay...how 'bout this. Kermit told me to keep my eyes on you and that requires you to be here."

"Big, fat, hairy deal, Peter!" Savannah yelled up into his face. "I'm not waiting until the clock is ticking. I'm going to get that boy and bring him here and I'll knock him over the head and pack him in my suitcase if I haveto!!!"

Leaning over the diminutive woman, Peter let his weary short-fused temper rain down over her. "Okay, you want to play that way, fine. How about I use one of my newly acquired stupid Shaolin tricks and drop your butt into a nice long nap?"

Glaring back through a haze of exhaustion and thinly veiled terror, Savannah answered, "Like you know one!"

"Try me!"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Yes, I would."

"I'll tell your father."

"HE would have done it already!" he raged, letting his hand creep up the woman's shoulder.

Options were leaping from side to side on the scales of Savannah Griffin's mind. She couldn't stop him if he decided to keep her there by force. The tension in his hand made his intention clear. There was no way to change his mind. Time was running out to get to her flight and then....

Letting out a heartbreaking gasp, the delicate woman before him buried her face in her hands. "Ohhhhhh...." she moaned, jerking with sobs, "you're right, Peter! I'm just not thinking. He looked so horrible, Peter. Not like himself. I can't stand not being able to help him."

Dragging her close to his chest, he let out a sigh of relief at his victory. "Come on. You're scared and tired and just not thinking straight." Walking back to the waiting room sofa, they eased down onto the cushions as Savannah drenched his shirt with a hot flood of tears.

"He wouldn't have been out in the open if I hadn't insisted on going this morning! This is all my fault, Peter! What if he dies!? What will I tell Kat?!" The distraught woman began to shake and gasp with guilt choking out her breath.

"Hey, stop that," Peter whispered, relaxing with his dependent subdued and submissive. "This is the shooter's fault. We'll get him and this will all be over."

Pulling back, Savannah groped for her purse then began digging blindly for her handkerchief. Once retrieved, the distraught woman mopped her face and sat trembling in her protector's embrace. "I'm sorry...I just don't know what to do...."

"Why don't you go to the ladies' room, right over there," Peter pointed toward the correct doors, "and do what ever it is you ladies do when you *freshen up* and I'll walk around the corner and get you something to drink." Flashing his most confident smile, he said, "Be back by the time you're done."

Smiling sweetly through her smeared mascara, Savannah gave a small laugh. "I look that bad, huh?"

"When Kermit wakes up, you don't want to scare him into a coma, do you?" he teased.

"How do you EVER get a date, Peter? You know zip about what to say to a woman!" Savannah sucked in a deep breath and retreated into the ladies' room.

With long-legged strides, the detective strolled down the hall to fulfill his promise. Disaster averted, he let out a puff of relief, leaving the empty room behind him.

Not five seconds later, Savannah, with the caution of a bomb squad rookie, slowly pulled the door open just a crack. After scanning the room for any sign of her warden, she darted through and dove for the door marked EXIT.

"Sucker," she chimed to no one as the door to the stairway clamped shut behind her escape.

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