Episode Six

The Montoya Bodega

"Oh god," Jamie repeated, staring in shock at the screen. He absently heard Pilar calling his name, but he couldn't break his gaze from the screen.

"Jamie?" Maria tried, her own voice shaky.

"I've gotta get down there," Jamie said suddenly, standing and heading for the door.

"Jamie, wait," Pilar called.

"I'll go with him," Diego volunteered, jumping up and following Jamie outside. "I'll call when we find out what's going on!" he called back over his shoulder.

Med Center

"Stop shooting!" Sarah screamed, crawling along the floor to Mike. "Mike? Can you hear me?" she asked as she saw his eyes fixed wide open on the ceiling.

The gunfire finally stopped and several officers ran into the room. Some of them went over to the hostage taker, but two others crouched down by Sarah and Mike. Drew came over to the group and started tearing Mike's shirt open, revealing two holes in his bulletproof vest."

"Mike?" Sarah called again, checking for a pulse.

Suddenly, Mike blinked and groaned in pain. "Whoever decided to open fire is in a hell of a lot of trouble!" he yelled, trying to sit up.

"Lay back down, Mike," Sarah ordered. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been shot?" Mike replied with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm all right, Sarah. Pissed as hell at whoever fired the first shot, and whoever shot me, but I'm all right."

"Let's get you to another room so we can make sure of that," Drew said as he helped Mike get to his feet.

Mike nodded. "Sarah, Julian's outside, go find him and let him know you're all right. He's pretty panicked. Probably scaring the hell out of anyone who looks at him funny."

Sarah laughed slightly. "I'll help Drew get you settled, then I'll go find him."

Outside

Diego quickly turned his truck into the parking lot of Med Center, but was stopped by several officers.

"Sorry, you can't go in," a young officer said.

Jamie leaned forward and glared at the guy. "Listen, I'm Jamie Bowen, Officer Mike Bowen's son, and I know pretty much every seasoned cop on the force. So let us the hell in," he said.

The young officer swallowed convulsively at the angry teenager and stepped away. "Go right in," he muttered.

As they drove in, Diego couldn't help smiling. "How'd you do that, kid?"

Jamie shrugged. "I've watched my dad deal with idiots for years. It rubbed off." He opened the door and jumped out of the truck before it had even come to complete stop.

"Jamie! Wait!" Diego called, but didn't get a response.

Jamie looked around quickly and spotted Julian. "Uncle Julian!" he called as he jogged up.

Julian turned with a girm look on his face. "What are you doing here, shorty?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Jamie replied. "I was at the Monotya's Bodega watching the news."

Julian put a hand on Jamie's shoulder. 'They haven't sent official reports out yet, but it sounds like both the hostage taker and a cop were shot. No word on who the cop was. But I'm sure your dad is fine."

Jamie nodded, biting his lip. He needed his dad to be all right. It was bad enough he didn't have his mom around, he couldn't lose his dad, too.

"Julian!" Sarah yelled as she ran up. She slung her arms around her husband's neck and held on for dear life.

"Sarah, thank God!" Julian replied. He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Mike was in there..." he started.

"Mike's fine. A little bruised thanks to a rookie moron."

"He was shot?" Jamie asked in a small voice.

Sarah turned around and spotted the young man. "But he's fine, Jamie," she said. "No bleeding, just some bruises and a little sore. The vest protected him."

"I...I need to see him myself," Jamie said.

Sarah nodded and put an arm around Jamie's shoulders. "I'll take you to him. Drew Sanchez is checking him out to be safe."

"So my Uncle Drew is all right?" Diego asked as he ran up.

Sarah nodded, vaguely recognizing Diego from a few brief meetings. "He's fine," she reported. "Pissed that things ended in a shoot out, but fine."

"That's good," Jamie said.

Inside

"Would you stop poking me!"

Jamie held back a laugh at the sound of his father's voice. "If he's complaining, he's fine."

"I told you!" Sarah replied. "He's in Exam Room 4."

Jamie nodded and took off for the room. When he reached the room, he looked inside. "Dad?"

Mike turned and smiled slightly. "Hey, Kiddo. What are you doing here?"

"Let's see," Jamie said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know you're inside here, and on the news we HEAR the gunfire from inside. Did you think I'd just sit there and wait?"

Mike chuckled. "Silly me, thinking you'd stay away where it was safe."

Jamie smiled. "I'm your son, remember? I have very little trouble with going somewhere that might not be safe."

Drew shook his head. "Jamie, don't let him work anymore today, he has to go home and rest. I know you can bully him into doing that."

"You got it," Jamie said, nodding.

Drew walked out, leaving father and son alone. "I'm fine, Jamie."

"Uh-huh," Jamie replied, unconvinced.

"I will be!" Mike repeated as he pulled on his shirt, wincing slightly.

Jamie rolled his eyes and helped his dad get the shirt on. "Yeah, and so am I," he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You still hurting from getting mugged?" Mike asked, concerned.

"Some. No big deal."

"We're here anyway, you might as well get checked out."

"I'm fine dad," Jamie repeated. "You're the one who got shot."

"I was wearing a vest!"

"Which means you're bruised instead of dead, but you're still hurt," Jamie said.

Mike smiled softly. "You sound just like your mom after my cruiser rolled when you were five," he said. "I reminded her that I was wearing my seatbelt and she told me 'So you just have a concussion instead of a broken neck.' She read me the riot act about being more careful for weeks after that."

Jamie chuckled. "I kinda remember that. Didn't she get you a crash helmet for christmas that year?"

Mike nodded. "Yup, she did. She was way too protective of us sometimes."

"You think she knew she wouldn't always be there?" Jamie asked, looking up at his dad.

Mike sighed and gestured for Jamie to sit next to him on the bed. "I don't know. There've been times looking back when I'm sure she knew she wouldn't be here with us, but how could she have known?"

"Instincts," Jamie said, looking at his hands. "Mom would always know when something was wrong. And she always knew how to make it better."

Mike glanced over at his son, and felt a chill creep down his spine. Something was wrong here. "What's going on, James?" he asked, using Jamie's full first name for the first time in years.

Jamie looked up, surprised. "Nothing, Dad," he said quickly. "It's just been a long day. Seemed like it lasted weeks or something."

Mike nodded slowly. "All right, but if anything ever is wrong, you know you can talk to me, right?"

"Of course," Jamie said. Part of him wanted to blurt out, right then, what had happened last night, but he couldn't. Not now at least, his dad didn't need the added stress.

In The Hall

Rebecca stood outside the exam room, feeling jealous as she listened to Mike and Jamie talk about Elizabeth. She knew it was ridiculous. Elizabeth had been dead for almost ten years, and Mike was engaged to her, Rebecca, now. But she couldn't help it. And she couldn't help thinking Elizabeth's memory would be a shadow over her relationship with Mike.

End Of Episode Six