It wasn’t until after two that someone bothered to give Michael the message about Maria going home sick. Looking at his watch, Michael gathered up his team including Hanson and took a late lunch.

“Cap?”

“Yeah, Michael?”

“I’m taking a break and taking my team home to eat. We missed lunch and Maria went home sick, so I want to check on her.”

Jim looked up from his paperwork and frowned. Maria was sick? That was the first he heard about it. “What’s wrong?”

“Morning sickness is eating her lunch, but she also thinks she’s coming down with the flu.”

Jim smiled at the morning sickness. He had momentarily forgotten that he was going to be a grandfather...twice. That was if the assumptions and pools in the office were correct and Kyle and Tess had run off and eloped. After waiting for his intended for over six years, he couldn’t fault his son for getting the job done immediately.

“Take off and go check on my daughter. I want her healthy for Saturday.”

“Aye, Cap.”

Michael motioned to Max as he literally picked Hanson up by the scruff of his neck and led him to the elevator. They made quick time to the loft and Michael was happy to see Maria sitting up in the living room feeding her face while watching a documentary on television.

“Detective? You’re home early.”

Max immediately smelt the aromas of Italian food and beelined it to the kitchen taking Hanson with him. The site of numerous take-out platters littering the kitchen counter had him pause, but only long enough to grab a plate and utensils. Cannelloni, pizza, lasagna, and some other kind of casserole with strange pasta, but in a mushroom cheese sauce.

Michael sat down next to Maria, who was covered in a throw with a happily purring Mr. Booboo on her lap. Eating the food she offered, he turned an eye to the television screen. Damn, only Maria could eat her body weight in fattening food and watch a documentary on the Discovery channel about headhunters and brain truncating.

“I’m late. I just got the message that you were sick.” Michael leaned in and kissed her. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, papa.” Maria kissed his brow. “Stop worrying. I got home, went to bed for a couple of hours and now I’m hungry.”

Michael took her plate and finished it. Standing up, he leaned down and kissed her. “Then you should eat more. I’ll get it.” Maria smiled and scooted down into her covers. Maria smiled even more when he went into the kitchen and fixed her a plate and one for himself. She laughed to herself when she heard him talking to Hanson.

Max picked up Maria’s plate from Michael while Michael started making a pot of tea. He was busy lecturing Hanson and eating. Maria looked up as Max passed her the plate.

“Thanks, Max.”

Max sat next to her with his plate still in hand. It was amazing how much food he had eaten at their house in the space of a week. “You feeling better?”

Maria nodded as she shoved food in her mouth. “Mmm...uh huh. All better, right as rain. I’m only not so good in the mornings really, and sometimes in the late evening.”

“He worries about you.” Max said quietly.

“I know.” Maria looked at him and smiled slightly. “I don’t think I can stop him from doing that.”

“I know.” Max looked at what Maria was watching and laughed. “You like watching those shows?”

“Shocking, I know!” Maria laughed with him.

Max looked over at Michael still harassing Hanson. “Look, I wanted to ask you something.”

Maria looked at him curiously and nodded for him to ask her anything. Max started to tell her about what happened the other night at the club, how Michael, Sean and Alex all moved in tandem, how they sensed the killer and how the killer knew they were moving towards him.

“Wow! That must have been intense.”

“It sent chills up my spine. Damn, I never saw anything like that. I can’t explain it.”

“So what did you want to know?”

“I want to know how they could know, how they could move like that, and how the killer knew. I just wanted to understand, and I was hoping you would know.”

“Perhaps.” Maria thought about it for a moment. “Max, in the video cabinet below the television there’s a tape with I think a number three on it. Could you put it in for me?” Max nodded and complied. Maria quickly took the remote and fast forwarded it until she found what she was looking for.

Max sat down next to her again as she searched for what she was looking for. The tape was a collection of shows from Nova, Frontline and other PBS specials. Maria finally found what she was looking for. “Hunters of the Serengeti.” Fast-forwarding she found a scene and then put it on normal play.

“What is this?” Max asked.

“It’s a hunting ground. The powerful gazelles of the Serengeti plains graze. Watch as the hunt plays out.” Maria and Max sat back eating while watching. Michael came over and kissed Maria on her head from the back of the sofa as he handed her hot tea to her. Seeing what they were watching, he decided to go back to lecturing Hanson. It was more fun.

“Is that all you’re going to eat, Hanson? Don’t be stupid. Tuck it in. We’ve got a lot of legwork today, and if you don’t eat it the Professor will.”

“Um, do you have any of that cheese in a can?”

“Cheese under pressure? Do I look like I live in a frickin’ dorm room? What the hell do you need that crap for? It’s not even real cheese.”

“It is loaded in preservatives.” Hanson said casually.

“Really?” Michael was suddenly interested. “A man can’t eat too many preservatives. I might have misjudged you, Hanson. I’ll reserve my opinion until I can try this spray cheese crap. I thought it would taste like plastic. Plastic paste.”

“It’s wonderful! I find it hides a multitude of bad foods.”

Michael looked at the man who wasn’t too hard to tolerate that day since he wasn't stinking of strange smells or bacon bits. “How do you feel about Pigs in a Blanket?”

Hanson leaned forward while serving himself some more lasagna, “They’re their own food group. And you ever get a bad batch, that cheese in a can makes them perfect again.”

“Buffalo wings?” Michael asked with narrowed eyes.

“Extra sauce.”

“Real potato chips and fish?”

“Only with malt vinegar.” Michael grunted.

“So then what's that strange odor you have at times? The cheesy mildew smell?”

“Oh!” Hanson looked around like he was afraid someone would hear a valuable secret. “It’s a special cheese made in France. The mold on it grows at least an inch thick, and when you let it ripen in your refrigerator, you wait until the mold turns a certain shade of green, scrape it off and it’s ready to eat.”

“That’s disgusting.” Michael said making a face.

”If you hold the cheese on your tongue long enough you can feel the mold growing back.” Michael’s brow went up at that. Maybe Hanson wasn’t such a pansy boy after all. He was still stinky, but what was a little odor as long as they occasionally hosed him down?

“Righteous!” Michael looked over to see if Maria was paying attention. “Since you seem like you’ll appreciate this, I’ll share, but you’re on your honor never to rat me out." Michael went into the refrigerator and pulled out a small white bucket with a lid. Popping the lid, Hanson sat back with his hands clasped in wonder. “That right, Galliano’s extra spicy barbequed ribs with extra sauce.”

Hanson was almost bouncing on his stool. “They soak those bad boys in Tabasco sauce!”

“Yeah they do! For three days!”

Max snickered listening to Michael bond with Hanson. The man really had changed. He looked over at the reason. Maria was still watching the show.

“He took out the Sacred Bucket for Hanson.” Max told her. Michael’s bucket of ribs was the worst kept secret, but Maria even after a year, still pretended not to notice it in the refrigerator.

“Aww. I love it when he finds new pets. Good thing I just ordered him more and refilled it. He was down to the last one.”

Max laughed. Maria was a good sport about most things. “Nice of you.” Maria just nodded. Max looked at the screen and then back at Maria. “So what I am I supposed to be watching for?”

“The hunt. Watch the herd.” Max watched a large herd of Serengeti animals grazing as suddenly all background noises went silent. Heads went up, almost as if they were smelling the air. Then the entire herd went into action, taking off across the large open plains. They rushed forward as a pride of lions moved in for the kill. “They knew. They felt it. Animals can feel the danger. In movies we see that feeling portrayed in background music. The actress becomes afraid for an unknown reason and then we get the scary slasher music.”

“You’re saying that Michael and the others felt each other in an animalistic way?”

“Somewhat. We’re all animals in different degrees of development. The herd flees in fright, but look at them. Watch the symmetry of their movements. They move and shift together in tandem, but watch the predators as well. They work in a pattern attacking downwind, spreading out and in a motion of fluidity they attack as a unit.”

“That’s how it was the other night.”

“In primitive societies there were these warriors, special hunters. They were tribal protectors genetically pre-disposed towards instinctual hunting. They could read the prey, feel the weather and sense a shift in atmosphere almost like a physical feeling, not just psychically.”

“They’re psychic?”

Maria just laughed. “No. It’s a developed sixth sense, not like ESP, but it’s usually given the name of instinct or intuition. That sense is still in all of us, but at varying degrees. C.S. Lewis wrote that in the sense of the soul there is a touch of primitive spirit, a cleanness; and that a shaman’s body will pull into a dream world where it resolves all major issues, working out all the possibilities and outcomes. He goes on to say that within us all is that instinct, that drive and knowledge is more than ingrained; it is inherited. Modern societies have bred out these instincts, but in spirits, warrior spirits that have lived a thousand lifetimes, how delicate and precise is that instinct? How well tuned?”

“They worked like a pride.”

“God, that I could have seen that.” Maria looked over at her mate. He never looked more attractive and sexy to her than he did at this moment sucking on a rib bone. Michael’s nostrils flared, and almost sensing her regard he looked up and his eyes dilated.

Max looked at her, and then at his partner. “Okay, I felt that.”

Maria looked at him again, confused. “Felt what?”

“Damn.” Max just started laughing. No sense in telling the woman that she and her mate gave off charged vibes. “So that makes Michael, Sean and Alex primitive men?”

Maria shrugged. It was just a theory. “Don’t equate animalistic behaviors with being primitive and antiquated. They are far advanced. Nature creates the templates of perfection, and when modern societies breed away from them they fall into disuse. It’s not hard to feel that mankind threw away this special aspect of our heritage. Michael knows things, and feels things that no other person can. His success in his job isn’t an accident of fate or genetics. He is who he's always been.”

“The other night they all moved together as if they could feel each other.” Max didn’t mention how out of the loop he felt when the three were together.

“One will be the dominant one. A sort of leader.”

“Michael. He stood first and when he entered the room the others followed his motion without even looking at him.” Max felt something. Calling Michael a leader bothered him and it was strange that it should, because Michael was the senior partner.

“All the great warriors throughout history had that certain special quality. They were all sired from one great tree. Whether it's William the Conqueror, Alexander the Great, the Black Prince of Wales or even Richard the Lionhearted, they all held a special instinct.”

“They were warrior kings.”

“Yes, but they weren’t always great kings, just great warriors. A warrior or soldier is a different breed of man from a king. A soldier needs his homeland, his sense of family and honor. That's what brings him home, anchors him to the real world. A king is a lonely creature, isolated in his reign. He can have a mate and a life, but one aspect of a good king remains true.”

“What is that?”

“That he's always 'the King' first with husband and father being second, or even last. A king's family can never be more important than his throne, his liege and his oath to his people. They must always come before even the heart of the king.”

“I remember in the Arthurian legend when the Queen was accused of infidelity and her husband, the King could not champion her. He told her that he had to be the King first. She said, ‘Before husband’? And he said 'Above all else'.”

“Yes. A king that allows his own selfish desires to rule his head and heart, putting his own needs before his people--he is a bad king.”

Max just nodded. “So Michael wasn’t a king in a past life?”

Maria laughed. “No. He is as he is. A soldier. A leader among men in his own right. He lets honor and duty dictate his life and how he lives it, but his heart leads his head and that is as it should be. A Commander of men, the soldier’s soldier, has to be able to send men to die, to send them off knowing they will never return. He has to be strong to survive that. He has to have a heart to feel. A soldier without a heart is not a very good soldier.”

“So what do you think about...” Max never finished his question because the loft’s doorbell rang. Getting up, Max went to answer it.

Kyle and Tess. Max was stunned to see them standing together in each others arms, and Max automatically looked down. Wedding rings.

“Max! Hi!” Kyle smiled and pushed past Max, pulling Tess with him.

“Tess!” Maria called from her seat on the sofa, and Tess quickly went to her showing her the ring, both women chatting excitedly together.

“Kyle. You picked a fine time to run away from home to elope.” Michael said calmly.

“How’d you know about that?” Kyle asked.

Max decided not to let the events wig him out. “You’ll have to tell us all the details since the office pool has been growing since yesterday.”

Kyle smiled and patted Max on the back in a friendly gesture. “Not all the details, just the pertinent ones.”

“You call your dad and Amy?” Michael asked enjoying watching Kyle squirm.

Tess looked over at Kyle and smiled. “No. But we were planning to tell them this evening.” Kyle said.

Maria called over to her soon-to-be brother. “Then you should be warned. You’re dad has called The Wedding for this Saturday, or else. And that means, big brother, that your soon-to-be mother is looking for helpers.”

Tess's horrified “Oh Lord!” broke the silence.

Kyle decided to get the attention away from him and his wife. “Actually, I’ve been trying to find Sean. I called him on the plane, beeped him numerous times and Dispatch said he was on an assignment, so I tracked the two of you down.”

Michael looked at Kyle and frowned. Sean. He said he would be gone for a few days, but he should have checked in. Michael went to the phone and called Dispatch. Listening to answers to his questions, Michael’s frown became deeper. It was just after three. Sean was eighteen hours overdue on his last check-in.

“And an officer on mandatory six hour call-ins misses three of them, not one, but three , and you don’t inform his commanding officer?” The entire room went quiet as Michael barked in the phone. “Well, my suggestion to you is to first, once I hang up the phone you call Valenti and report an officer down. Then I suggest you send a transceiver beacon. And while you're waiting for the signals to triangulate, I suggest you start looking for another job!”

Michael slammed the phone in anger. Looking at the other men, he grabbed his coat. “Let’s go. We’ve got to find our partner.”

“Michael!” Maria called to him. He looked back at her pale worried face. Going to her, he reached down and kissed her gently.

“I’ll call.” She just nodded and didn’t say any more as he cupped her face and then turned to leave. There was no sense in putting more stress on him then there already was.

Kyle quickly kissed Tess goodbye and she told him that she would wait with Maria. The women watched the men leave and both of them looked at each other.

“Ice cream?” Tess asked.

“Yeah, with chocolate syrup. Lots of syrup. It feels like a long wait.”

~~~

Michael and the others made it back to the station in record time. Michael sent Hanson to collect transcripts of all of Sean’s call-ins and his last known location. By the time they made the bullpen, Valenti was already in fine humor.

“Guerin!” Michael motioned the rest to go to start looking for information while he detoured to Cap’s office.

“Cap.”

“I got the report. Kyle’s back?” Michael just nodded. “Good. I want DeLuca found,” Michael again nodded his understanding. “Alive.”

“What was he working on?”

“He was scaring up a witness for the DA’s office that went on walkabout.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Taken?” Jim nodded. “Pierce?” Again Jim nodded, and Michael just swore.

”Sean said he had a few good leads from his snitches, and he went off to follow them up. He only had 'til Thursday to find his witness. If they have Sean that means they’ll move tonight once it’s dark. They’ll wait as long as they can, after midnight and move both Sean and the witness.”

Michael nodded. “Put a APB out on Sean’s vehicle. He’d park away from the place, but close enough to give a general vicinity.” Jim picked up the phone. Barking his request at dispatch, Jim motioned for Michael to stay.

“Michael, his beeper, phone and badge were found buried outside of town in the desert. Last time anyone heard from him was after midnight last night.” He tossed Michael Sean’s badge. Michael nodded and headed for the door. “Michael, find me my nephew.”

“Aye, Cap.”

Michael went to where Max and Kyle were searching Sean’s desk. “What the hell is all this sh-it?” Michael looked at the junk pile Sean kept that sometimes passed as his desk. It was a mound of paper and crap rivaling Maria’s monster at the University. “Is this a family trait?”

“He’s a bit untidy,” said Kyle as Max snickered. All of them were trying to lighten the load. “Hey!” Both Michael and Max turned to look at Kyle holding something vile and green up by his fingertips. “My half of a tuna fish sandwich I lost last week. I swear I didn’t eat it.”

“Ewww! Dammit, Kyle, toss that thing away and go wash your hands!” Max said backing away in case Kyle accidentally touched him. They all continued to search for a note or Sean’s black snitch book.

“You know. I just set it down for a moment. The desk must have swallowed it up.” Kyle said with interest. Sean’s desk was so f-ucking sci-fi.

“Kyle!” Max couldn’t even look at the green blob in Kyle’s hand. He had just eaten.

After almost an hour of looking they gave up. Michael sat and brooded for a few moments when he picked up the phone. “This is Guerin. I need a list of all calls on Sean DeLuca’s cell phone over the last forty-eight hours. I needed it ten minutes ago. I’m sending down a runner.” Michael looked across the room at Hanson and indicated for him to go.

They all looked at the log of calls and Michael instantly noticed two numbers he recognized. One was a snitch who ran numbers, and the other was a pimp. He picked up the phone and called Andy, Sean’s friend and asked him if he could find the two contacts for him. It took an hour, but Andy finally got back to him.

Michael saw him across the bullpen. Andy gestured to an empty room. Michael followed him motioning for Max to stay behind.

“Guerin.”

“You got anything for me?” Andy nodded and handed Michael a piece of paper.

“Here.” Andy handed Michael a partial pack of smokes with matches included. “For Sean when you find him. He doesn’t smoke unless it’s someone else’s. Biggest delusional mooch I know.”

Michael nodded and pocketed the cigarettes. “You could come.”

“It’s not safe.” Andy looked at the empty door and pushed it close. “Look Guerin, things are going down--big things. I’ve seen sh-it I can’t understand or explain. It’s more than just Pierce and your killer. This place is like a melting pot for bad sh-it. Whatever Sean found, if it was Pierce then it was big. Pierce is getting away lately. He’s got insider help. There’s a f-ucking reason why Sean’s call-in was eighteen hours delayed and no one informed Valenti. Pierce needed time.”

Michael looked at he man and acknowledged what he was saying. He had come to that conclusion himself. “Thanks. I’ll call when I know.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll listen to the band. I’ll know.” Michael turned to leave. “Guerin, walk quick. If you know, then more than likely so does Pierce.” Michael left and grabbed his coat and took Max and Kyle with him. He left Hanson behind to be their phone boy.

They located the first snitch easily. He was working a corner at Lexington and Fifth passing nickel bags and marking scratch. He rabbited as soon as he saw Evans and Guerin, but turned and ran straight into the arms of Valenti.

“Jojo, Jojo, Jojo. Tsk, tsk. Now you’ll hurt Michael’s feelings running off like that. What could ya be thinking?” asked Kyle. He twisted the man’s arm higher up the middle of his back.

“I’m really hurt, Jojo. You never write, you never call.” Michael said scratching his brow. It was just mean, the neglect.

“He’s getting a complex.” Max confirmed.

“Do you know what’s tragic?” Kyle asked the other two men. They just shrugged. “It’s tragic that I’m going to lose my perfect record of never killing a snitch. No one can meet Guerin’s record of thirteen.”

“It’s more than a job. It’s a calling.” Michael smiled nice for the snitch.

“I’ll talk!” Max just moved off in disgust. The little worm broke without hardly any pressure.

The pimp was a little harder to find, but they didn’t need to shake him down. He was a businessman and he was willing to trade for some scratch. Michael picked him up and dangled him off the ground choking him until he decided that they could skip the scratch and catch him the next time.

They generated five possibilities and hoped that Sean was at one of them. Two locations into the list they got a call from Hanson.

“Michael, a unit found Sean’s car on NW Third and Regent. It had a pile illegal parking tickets on it from sitting all day.” Michael thanked Hanson and hung up. The three of them looked at the list. Only two places were near Sean’s car, and they already had checked out the first place. They headed for the old packing plant. It was already after dark and time was getting short. If the they didn’t find Sean soon, then he would be gone when Pierce’s men moved him.

Michael stood in the shadows watching the abandoned plant. Except it wasn’t abandoned. Deploying Kyle and Max to other positions, they all watched and counted the numbers and movement. It took over ten minutes of observation for Michael to realize that the movement was a clearance. They were moving the operation. Dammit, ideally they would just watch and follow them to the new setup, but he couldn’t risk losing Sean. His orders were to bring Sean home.

They had few options. If they called in support, their movement would corner Pierce’s men and force them into a showdown with a cop hostage. There was also the problem of requesting backup with all the holes and leaks at the PD. It was uncertain how much Pierce would know before they arrived. Michael weighed the options.

Inside. They needed inside, into position and to make their mark. They needed to find Sean, call for backup and watch them scramble while protecting Sean, making sure they didn’t take him with them. All this depended on Sean still being there and them not moving him as of yet. Michael made his decision. For a moment he thought of leaving Kyle behind to keep him out of the danger, but Sean was his partner.

He motioned to the other two to wait and follow in intervals. Moving off first, they watched as he blended into the shadows. Michael was a large man, but his demeanor changed. Suddenly he seemed smaller and he moved in a way that looked like he belonged there as he blended into the night. At first glance he looked like another worker taking a smoking break. Moving to a guard at the far right, he stopped as if to ask for a light, and then swiftly the guard was down.

Michael caught his body before he fell and walked him to the side of the building. To a casual viewer it appeared like his buddy stumbled and Michael was helping him. Michael dropped the man behind a smaller building to the side of the packing plant. It looked like the generator shed. Looking both ways, he climbed to the top of that smaller shed and then onto the larger building. Then opening a window, Kyle and Michael watched him disappear inside. Kyle was next to follow. Keeping to the shadows, Max watched Kyle follow Michael's path. The difference was that Kyle hid in the shadows and stood out at a glance, unlike Michael who blended.

Max waited his turn and then was off. After talking to Maria, he had decided to stop worrying about not being to do it like Michael. He couldn’t. Michael was a different breed of man, so Max simply concentrated on the task and did his best. He came to a halt when he entered the plant. Pausing, he got his bearings and located Kyle who motioned him to a better hiding place. Max moved carefully. Standing in the cover of shadows, he looked for his partner. Max almost cussed aloud when he found Michael on the main floor, moving unobtrusively among Pierce’s men. Max watched as Michael passed some objects to another and sent him on his way. Stupid f-uck. He was doing it again. Michael was smaller, almost shrinking into himself and gave off the image of being harmless.

It clicked. Suddenly it made sense. The killer walked the hunting ground unnoticed because he could . He knew to blend into the surroundings, to be so unobtrusive that at first glance people assume you belong and they go on. Michael, a man that commanded a presence and dominated most situations, was suddenly able to change his outer demeanor to the point of walking among Pierce’s people. He and Kyle waited and watched as Michael methodically checked all the rooms under the guise of helping the others clear the operation. They saw him freeze when he came to the door of a packing unit, a special freezer for hanging meat.

Michael appeared to being stomping out a cigarette, one which he didn’t have and suddenly his head turned and looked at Max directly. Max felt his heart pound at the intense penetrating look his partner sent. He nodded. They were to wait for ten breaths, and then slowly follow.

Michael shook it off, slouched and entered the room. There was a man tied to a chair unconscious, and there was Sean. Michael steeled himself to refrain from looking at Sean or reacting. Moving towards the man in the room guarding them, he took out the smokes that Andy had given him and paused as he went to light one up. Sidling up to the guard almost too casually, Michael offered him a smoke.

“You need a break? We're almost through with the clearing.”

The man hardly glanced at Michael as he took the offered cigarette and let Michael light it for him. “Yeah, I could use a stretch. It’s f-ucking cold in here. The cop was waking up so I stunned him again. He should be down a little longer.”

“It would be easier if we could just kill them instead risking moving them.” Michael mentioned casually as the man nodded.

“I want to kill that f-ucking cop. He keeps surfacing, and after the way he killed Karl...damn. I’m almost afraid to get too close. One time I went to check on him, he woke up and looked at me, and know what the f-ucker did?”

“What?” Michael asked as the cigarette burned down in his fingers. Nasty sh-it. Tasted like bitter ashes in his mouth.

“He looked up at me and he smiled. I wanted to kill him! I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like he was telling me that given the opportunity I was dead.”

“Hmm.” Michael saw Kyle enter the room. Michael tossed the cigarette onto the ground and happily stomped it out. “He was right. You’re dead.” Michael, without looking, snapped his arm back connecting the back of his elbow into the man’s nose and ramming his nasal bone into his brain. “Regards to Karl.” He didn’t even look back to see the body drop. The cracking of the skull was a feeling no one ever forgot, not in this lifetime or a thousand. It had the clean smacking noise like connecting with a tennis ball on a court. Hard to forget.

“Oh sh-it! Sean!” Kyle rushed to his partner’s side as Max entered the room. Michael drew his weapon from behind him and motioned for Max to help Kyle. Michael barely spared Sean a look. He couldn’t. Not yet. Taking out his cell phone he connected with Phone Boy Hanson and instructed him to tell Valenti their location and to send backup. Calmly watching the door, Michael checked his ammo to make sure he had enough to take out anyone entering. Fourteen in a clip. He loaded one into the chamber, and then looked at his friends.

Sean was still hanging from the hook, and they were trying to decide how to lift him off of it without hurting him more. His rib cage was a violent display of black and blue marks with a cut across his face and lot of bruising. He had a bruise above his kidney, and he was bleeding from old wounds barely healed and now reopened. Michael could hear his labored breathing from where he was standing.

Hearing Kyle cussing, he spared him a quick glance. “Talk to him, Kyle so he can hear your voice. If he comes awake unaware, he’ll kill you. Careful of the ribs. He sounds like one punctured a lung.” Michael went back to watching the door as the sound of sirens hit the air. The first man who entered the room took a bullet in mid-chest and dropped. The next man took one to a shoulder and then his leg. The person behind him backed him out of the door. Michael dispensed with all incoming personnel as Kyle and Max got Sean down. Michael took out his phone again.

“Officer down. I need assistance.” Michael knew that it would bring an ambulance. Kyle and Max brought Sean’s unconscious form to settle on the floor next to Michael. They ignored the dead guard and went to free the other man in the chair. Sean stirred at Michael’s feet, and Michael crouched down to rest his hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Michael?” Sean’s voice was shaky and sucking as air tried to rush into his one remaining functioning lung.

“Yeah, brother.”

“What took you so f-ucking long?”

Michael looked down and Sean and shrugged. “Had to eat. Maria ordered Italian.”

“Oh,” said Sean in almost a whisper. “That’s okay then.”

Michael heard the commotion on the outside but held his position. When the door opened he shot a warning shot across the room next to the door. Friend or foe? No one was entering until they announced themselves.

“Hang on. You’re on your way to the hospital.”

“Michael, I need to walk out of here.”

Michael just nodded. “I’ll make sure you do.” Michael’s phone rang. He answered. “Yeah. All’s clear? We’re coming out.”

Michael turned to Sean and reached down to help him stand. Ignoring the swearing and harsh breathing coupled with the looks of disbelief from both Max and Kyle, Michael went under Sean’s shoulder and circled an arm around his waist. Kyle quickly helped Max do the same with the unconscious man.

“Get my damn witness!”

“We’ve got him, partner.” Kyle reassured Sean.

Michael and Sean slowly went towards the door. “Tell me you didn’t put yourself in danger.” Michael asked softly.

“Cold-cocked from behind. Dammit. A year off the streets, and I’m getting soft. He got the drop on me before I knew it.” Michael just nodded. “Strange thing was, I knew it wasn’t my time to die. The last thing I saw was you, Michael.”

“That’d scare any man into wanting to live.”

“I’m saying...” Sean coughed and Michael glanced his way seeing the bloodied St. Michael’s medallion around his neck. “This is nothing. I’ll be up and around in a couple of hours. Jesus, I work myself over better when I just beat my own meat. I’ve had harder blows from my mom when I ate her pie once.”

“Amateurs.”

“No sh-it. Can’t hire good muscle anymore.” Sean swore under his breath. “Michael, I’m not going to make it.”

“Sure you are. Almost there.” Michael reached into his pocket. “Andy sent you a smoke.”

Sean reached across and took the pack in hand. “I don’t smoke.”

“Sure you don’t.” Michael made the door to Valenti on the other side and EMT support.

“Oww.” Sean said as they helped him on the gurney. “Hey, don’t take my smokes!” Michael took them back.

“I’ll hold onto them.” Michael bent down and whispered to Sean. “Your married chicken-sh-it partner saved your life today, so don’t forget to say thank you.”

Sean just nodded. “Kyle! Take my smokes from Guerin. I don’t trust his ugly ass not to flush them.” Kyle rushed to his partner’s side as Michael tossed the pack at him. They carted Sean away on the gurney and at the last moment before they loaded him, he and Michael shared a look.

Michael turned to help Max get Perdy turned over to the medical people. They watched as the place was flooded with units and the few remaining Pierce men were taken into custody.

“Michael, good job.” Michael just nodded at Cap. “There’s a dead man outside, one inside and another one at the door.”

Michael nodded. “Those are mine.”

“The one in the side room with a broken neck?”

“Sean’s.”

Jim just nodded. He didn’t have a problem with those dead men. They sealed their fate when they went to work for Pierce, and compounded the offense when they took a cop. “I’ll clean up and meet you at the hospital. Go.” Both Max and Michael nodded as they took off. “Gentlemen,” they both paused to look back. “Arrive safely. Try not to hit or destroy anything else tonight.” Michael just made a face as Max disclaimed all wrongdoing.

“We wouldn’t do that, Cap. We’ve reformed!”

“Uh huh. Get out of here.”

“Aye, Cap.” Max smiled and hit Michael on the back. “Let’s go partner. I’ll let you drive.”

“Oh goody. Happy days.” They ignored Valenti’s groans.

Michael took out his cell phone again and hit the speed dial. “Maria? We’ve got him.”

~~~

They took Sean straight into surgery to repair his collapsed lung. He was bleeding into his chest cavity. He stopped breathing on the trip to the hospital and the paramedics were forced to tube him.

Michael looked up as Maria rushed into the surgical unit heading straight for him with Tess following. Standing up, he went to meet her.

“Michael, Sean?”

Michael gathered her close and Tess went to find Kyle. “Surgery. He's got a punctured lung.” Michael closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head. She felt alive and clean. Untouched.

“How bad?”

“Beaten, but they wetted him down and shocked him a few times. The doctors are concerned about his heart’s uneven rhythms. They already almost lost him twice since they started surgery. They had to shock him twice.”

“Oh god!” Maria buried her head in his chest. “My mom?”

“Valenti will bring her.” Maria just nodded. “Maria,” Michael waited until she looked up at him. “I killed some men guarding Sean tonight.”

“Men that hurt Sean?” Michael nodded.

“Good.” Michael just closed his eyes again and held her.

They only had a moment’s peace as he led her to the chairs in the waiting area, for then Amy arrived. She sat next to her daughter holding her hand, and occasionally she would reach across to stroke Michael’s cheek. One of her boys was hurt and she could do nothing but wait.

Jim was pacing the floor while Max and Tess talked quietly. “Congratulations, Tess. Kyle’s a good man.”

“Thank you, Max!” Tess smiled at him, and for a moment he felt a tinge of regret for what could have been. “It was sudden, but after ten years of waiting, really it wasn’t.”

“I’d like to think you’re going to be happy.”

Tess looked at him. “I am.” Suddenly she grabbed his hand and put it over her stomach. “Shhh, wait for it.” Max waited when suddenly he felt a fluttering.

“Is that...”

“The baby. He’s moving around a lot more just recently. In the next few weeks he should start kicking.”

“Does it hurt? Are you in pain?” Max asked suddenly. It never occurred to ask her before.

“No. Not in the least. It feels like a fluttering, almost like a butterfly in my tummy. I’m fine.” Kyle came back with a cup of coffee and a drink for Tess. Seeing Max and Tess talking and Max touching his wife’s stomach, Kyle held back. Max needed some time to feel the reality of what was happening. It was how Kyle had come to connect with the baby. Feeling him. Suddenly a word like pregnancy took on a different meaning when you could feel it.

“You’re not sick?”

Tess just shook her head and leaned in to talk to Max almost conspiratorially, careful of Amy near by. She and Kyle wanted to tell Amy and Jim together. About everything. The marriage and the baby. This could wait until they found out about Sean.

“I feel great! Better than great, almost energized. But don’t mention that to Maria, okay? She’s not having such a great time.”

“Okay.” Max whispered back. He looked over and saw Kyle. Standing up, he excused himself from Tess. Stopping beside Kyle, he looked back one last time. “You can have your wife back.”

“Thanks, Max.” Kyle looked at Tess and saw her eyebrow go up and a gesture for him to talk to Max. “Hey listen. Tess has another appointment coming up soon. You should come with us. They’re checking her more often than usual because of how late she discovered she was pregnant. It would be great. I could use the support. You have to see this doctor’s office with all these women around.”

“Isn’t that kind of uncomfortable?”

“Yeah, at first. And there was this daffy chick in the waiting room making faces and sh-it. She looked like a Bellevue contender. Man, I always thought being pregnant sent some women over the edge. Anyway, you should come and see the baby on the monitor. It’s cool.”

“I’ll think about it. Thanks, Kyle.” Max patted Kyle on the back and went to see if anyone else wanted anything to drink.

Michael excused himself for a few moments and went to find a phone. He had to wait for several minutes after he identified himself and requested his party to come on the line. Holding the bloodied St. Michael’s medallion in his hand along with Sean’s badge, he waited until he heard Marco DeLuca's voice.

“Miko? It’s late.”

“Sorry about that. I just called to let you know that your son, Sean was gravely injured tonight. He’s still in surgery. I wanted his mother to know that I gave him the St. Michael’s medallion, but I think it needed more than twenty-four hours to work.”

“Sean...” Marco’s voice paused in silence. “My son, he is going to make it?”

“They've already almost lost him twice. I don’t know. I’ll call you back if it goes bad just in case you want to bury him. But I think Maria would prefer he stay here...with family.” Michael didn’t bother to say goodbye. He replaced the phone on the hook, pursing his mouth. He had done all he could.

Turning around, he saw Maria standing there watching him and crying. Going to him, she took his head in her hands and kissed him softly. “Thank you.” He just nodded and tucked her under his shoulder close to his side as they went back to wait.

After three hours, Sean finally came out of surgery. He was in stepdown and recovery for another three and finally they transferred him to a unit. He was sleeping. Maria and Amy both took one look at him and burst into tears. Neither woman would hear talk about going home to get some rest. They took seats in Sean’s room and refused to leave his side. Kyle was the same, and that meant Tess as well. So they all settled in for the night and waited for Sean to wake up.

When Sean woke up it was morning, and he was surprised to see all the people sleeping in his room. Moving slightly, he moaned and looked over to meet the green eyes of his cousin. Maria gently removed herself from Michael’s grip, stopping to place a kiss on his head when he protested in his sleep. She sat on the side of Sean’s bed and took his hand in hers.

Leaning in she whispered to him in Italian about how angry she was with him for worrying her thus, with her in such a delicate state. Sean just smiled and hugged her as she rubbed her forehead to his. Looking up he saw his aunt at his bedside with tears in her eyes. Maria sat up, saw her mom and moved out of the way as Amy hugged him. Wiping tears away, she was watching her mom and Sean when Michael’s arms came around her waist and pulled her back against him. The rest of the room slowly came awake.

After all them stopped talking at once, Sean looked at his partner and Tess critically. “At least tell me I won that bloody office pool?”

Amy looked around at everyone as they laughed confused. “What pool?” Before anyone could explain or confess there came a loud commotion from outside the room.

Maria heard the voice first and held her breath in wonder. “Where is my son? My boy, the cop...where did you put him? Look at his mother all crying and you tell me, what? Nothing. Who owns this place? Why are there other people around my son? He shares rooms with just anybody?”

Maria rushed to the door and opened it. “Zio!”

“Maria, Sean...he’s...” Maria moved aside and gestured for her uncle, her aunt, her many cousins and their wives and children to enter.

“Sean! Sebastian...” Sean’s mother beelined for his bed knocking people to the side.

Sean was overcome and almost speechless. He could only manage one word, “Momma.”

Amy and Maria were crying as family members hugged them and Sean. Michael was finally able to get everyone to leave so Sean could have some time with his family alone. Both Amy and Maria decided to leave too for just a little while to let Sean have some private time with his parents.

Before Michael could leave, Marco stopped him. “Miko, thank you for calling.”

Michael just nodded and reached into his pocket. He pulled out Sean’s St. Michael’s medallion and badge and handed them to Marco. “You might want to return these to your son. They belong to him.” Marco held the badge in his head and nodded to Michael.

Before Michael could leave, Theresa DeLuca grabbed him and kissed him on the cheek stroking it before letting him go. “I knew you would protect him.”

Michael looked at her confused. “I ain’t no angel.” Maria dragged him out of the room chuckling to herself.

Theresa looked at her husband, her son and her family and shrugged. “Looks like an angel to me.”

“To me also,” said Sean’s father as he turned back to his son. “What? They don’t feed you here? Look at the skin and bones on my son. Luis, call the nurse person, tell her I want to see the doctor. What kind of place is this? My son the cop is lying here dying in his bed and there are no doctors in attendance?”

The DeLucas were loud and everywhere, causing the nursing and medical staff to run in terror at the sheer volume. Kyle took Tess home and Jim had to leave to check in at the station. Michael tried to get both Maria and Amy to go home and rest, but neither would hear of it. They stayed and organized things with the Family adding to the chaos.

Max and Michael sat in Sean’s room, which was surprisingly empty with just them while they could hear Sean’s father’s voice down the hall bellowing out orders and demands. Sean was telling them about the events that led up to his capture, and ignoring the torture as unimportant. They let him breeze over the details, but both knew there was more to it than Sean would admit. Another item for him to work out in therapy, but today in the blink of an eye, many of Sean’s other issues had been taken care of, starting with the moment his mother had hugged him.

The woman stood in the door uncertain, holding a large vase of flowers. Michael saw her first and smiled, but quickly hid it. Sean saw his look and turned to see ADA Mac in his doorway.

Suddenly, Sean’s demeanor changed and he looked sick, pale and on the verge of death. Sean added a pathetic cough to emphasize his illness. She rushed into the room beside his bed.

“Counselor.”

“Sean,” she said quietly. “I thought I should trying to check on you. But I had a hard time getting in. There were all these people, and two big ugly men guarding your door.”

“That’s just my family.” Sean said with a slight lift to his voice. His Family.

“That’s all your family?” Julia looked at him in awe. She had suspected he was spawned in a petri dish.

“Not all! Just a few.” Julia just held her tongue and looked at him critically.

“Oh god, I didn’t think it possible, but you look like sh-it. I mean, more like sh-it than usual.” Max and Michael both snickered as Sean threw them glares.

“Sorry, Mac, but being tortured does that to a man. I’ll try to look spiffier next time, assuming I survive.” Michael and Max shared a look. Oh, that was just mean. That increased their interest in the ADA. She had to be something if Sean was going out of his way to make her feel this bad.

Um, I...Are you going to...I mean, are you going to be alright?” Julia looked at the two other cops for reassurance. She wanted her witness, but she hadn’t expected Sean to run out and nearly get killed to get her what she needed.

“I just need to get my strength back. Did you bring me chicken?” Sean asked barely concealing the twinkle in his eyes.

Julia looked down at her hands, at the large vase in her hands and looked at him confused. “Chicken? What? No, these are flowers. Oh god, should I have brought you food?” Max and Michael both turned red as Max put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing aloud.

“They won’t let me eat.” Sean sounded so pathetic that Michael had to turn around and stare out the window with an arm across his stomach, biting his lip.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. But you did get Perdy back.”

“I did. So that means you owe me . Owe me big, Counselor.” Sean smiled putting her back up. She looked at his closely.

“I owe you? For what? For letting you do your job?”

“It wasn’t my job! My job was over a year ago. I set them up and you knock them down! That’s my job.”

“That’s the problem. You set him up. You coerced him, and almost cost me my case. The least you could do was get my witness back.”

“I did not step over the letter of the law, Counselor. But either way, I’ll settle for what you offered in the elevator.”

Julia went still. “What I offered? I didn’t offer you anything but the opportunity to keep your stinkin’ job, ya stupid cow-flop smelling cop!” Her voice rising in anger.

Sean looked over at the other two men barely able to contain themselves. “She kissed me! That seems like a damn offer to me! ‘Oh find my witness’, and then a smooch. What does that sound like to you? Sounds like an offer for a date to me.”

ADA Julia stomped her foot in rage. “I kissed you? You kissed me! And then you dropped me!” Sean just shrugged. It seemed appropriate at the time, he wasn’t taking it back. “A date? I didn’t offer you a date, ya pea-brained, limp-wristed, gnarly-headed shoelicker!”

“Hey! Lay off the hair! I haven’t combed it yet today, and the shoe thing is new for me, so I haven’t got around to licking them, just smelling.”

“You...you smelled my shoe?” Julia turned red, then redder and was beside herself in rage. “I, um...you, you...You! Argh!” She dropped the heavy vase with flowers directly on his lap making him sit up a little. Michael rushed to grab the vase before it did more damage and hit the floor. But Sean beat him to it and clasped the large vase to his chest. Dammit, first she gets him all excited, and then she tosses a large vase on it. Perfect!

Sean’s father was just coming back into the room when he was almost knocked over by Julia on her way out.

“Whoa, nice legs!” Marco looked at his son. “Is that your woman? When are you going to bring her to meet your mother? What? Did I raise you in a chicken coop?”

Max and Michael couldn’t hold it in any longer. They both broke down in laughter as Marco looked at them and back at his son. The word ‘chicken’ set them off.

Sean ignored the laughing Max and Michael and addressed the room in general. “She brought me flowers. Oh god! Do you see how in love she is with me?”

Michael snorted. “Oh yeah, it’s obvious.” Max was howling next to him.

Marco frowned. “Sean Sebastian Santorio, your sainted mother would go to her grave if you don’t bring this woman home. What are these people teaching you? So when is the wedding?”

Michael and Max found that even funnier. Maria walked into the room to find Max and Michael turning red in laughter, her uncle lecturing Sean in the proper etiquette for dating and marriage and Sean holding a large vase of flowers against his chest looking dazed.

“What’s going in here?” Maria frowned at them all and then looked at her cousin. Going over she took the vase from him and put it at the bedside clucking her tongue at the arrangement and went to straighten it. Tossing a comb at Sean she said, “Sean, comb your hair. You have company and you look all unkempt.” That sent Michael and Max into another peel of laughter as Max feel off the window perch he was sitting on. Maria turned to look at them in confusion. “What did I say?”

Max and Michael needed to take off, hit home to change and then go to work. Michael tried to convince Maria to come with them because she looked pale and tired. He knew she was trying to keep her sickness under wraps with her mother near, and at times he felt her almost lose it.

”Maria, come on, Professor. Just a short break. Take a shower, a nap, then come back.”

“I’m fine. I promise. You go, and you can find me here. Okay?”

Michael looked at her and gave in. She wanted to be with her family, so he nodded. “All right, but stay here until I come get you, ok? I’ll be back.”

Maria just smiled and sent him off with Max. Amy was having a great time telling everyone about The Wedding , and urging them to attend.