Chapter One

Sam McKenna parked across the street from the station house where she'd been an Officer of the San Diego police department for eight years. Running her fingers through her short black hair before pulling on her cap she waved to several fellow officers as she made her way across the street. She entered the station house, greeting the desk sergeant before heading to roll call. Today would bring the new Field Training Officer assignments for the next twelve weeks. Sam was a FTO and the latest batch of rookies would be reporting today. Sitting quietly in the back of the room as the day's assignments were handed out; she scanned the room for the two new rookies. They weren't hard to spot. Where the veteran officers were all relaxed, joking and enjoying their breakfast as the briefing continued, the rookies both sat stiffly, almost at attention. From where she was sitting she could only see them from behind. The first rookie appeared around Sam's height of six feet. His brown hair was cut in the military style favored by male officers. The second rookie was a woman; though she appeared to be short from what Sam could tell, she was well muscled. Her long blond hair was done up in a tight French braid. Sam's attention went back to the officer giving the morning briefing.

"We have two new rookies with us today, Brad Davidson and Kellie Matthews. Stand up you two."

The two new rookies stood to face their fellow officers. Greetings and catcalls echoed in the room. "Okay, everyone else is dismissed except the FTO's," the sergeant told the assembled officers.

Sam walked to the front of the room. She met the beautiful green eyes of the new female rookie. Please let her be assigned to me, please let her be assigned to me, Sam chanted to herself.

"Officers McKenna and Howard are the Field Training Officers you will be working with for the next twelve weeks," he explained to the rookies. "Matthews you'll be assigned to Officer Howard. Davidson you'll be assigned to Officer McKenna."

Sam grimaced internally. She glanced over at Howard and scowled at his triumphant smirk. His eyes ran over the body of the beautiful blond. She looked over at the rookie assigned to her. Her scowl got deeper as she watched his eyes rake her body before finally making it to her face. Her blue eyes turned silvery and expressionless when they met his deep brown ones. The new rookie gulped and quickly averted his gaze from the gorgeous officer.

"Let's go Davidson." Sam turned and stalked out of the room without another word, never looking back to see if the rookie was following. It's going to be a long 12 weeks, she groused to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam had been working with her rookie partner for six weeks. It had gone pretty much as she'd expected. The guy started out cocky and arrogant, thinking he was the greatest cop who ever walked the earth. He'd learned some hard lessons in the last few weeks and was finally starting to settle down.

"Hey Officer McKenna." Davidson called interrupting her thoughts.

'I told you McKenna was fine." She reminded him.

He grinned at her.

Damn it, not again. Sam groaned. She knew what was coming.

"How about we stop for drinks tonight after work?" He invited. The lust in his eyes clearly showed what he was really interested in.

She'd already politely turned down several other invitations. The kid just didn't seem to be getting the hint and Sam was getting tired of it. She was surprised that some of the other officers hadn't clued him in, there were several at the station house who had a real problem with her being a lesbian. She didn't flaunt her sexuality but it wasn't a secret either. Attitudes were changing but it was slow going. Her record spoke for itself and she was held in high regard by most of her fellow officers.

Sam sighed hoping to end this now. "As I've told you before, thanks but no thanks. You're not my type," she added.

"Oh come on." Davidson smirked. "Give me a chance, you'll be pleasantly surprised." He bragged.

Now Sam had really had enough. She was tempted to reach over and wipe the arrogant smirk off his face. "Davidson believe me you don't have anything I'm the least bit interested in," she allowed her eyes to sweep dismissively across his lap. "I don't date guys…capisce'? Sam smirked when his mouth dropped open in surprise and he began to stutter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Patrolling their zone, they pulled a car over for a routine traffic stop. The woman had run a red light. Sam let the rookie take the lead. He approached the car and asked for the woman's information. She immediately started screaming at him, cursing him for stopping her and making her late for work. Sam ran the woman's license plate as Davidson stood next to the woman's car trying to calm her down. She got out of the patrol car and approached Davidson motioning for him to come to the rear of the car.

"The woman has an outstanding warrant. You need to get her out of the car, search her, read her her rights and we'll take her in." She instructed the rookie.

Davidson approached the car and told the woman to get out of the vehicle. Sam stood back and watched. The woman was short and slightly built; she continued to rant at Davidson as he escorted her to the front of the car. Sam could tell Davidson didn't think the woman was a threat due to her size. He confirmed that assumption moments later when she heard him address the woman.

"Now just calm down little lady. I'm going to search you then we'll take you down to the station for processing. There's a warrant outstanding against you." He told her in a condescending tone of voice.

Sam tried hard to keep the smirk off her face. The rookie was about to learn a valuable lesson. Everyone's a potential threat no matter how harmless they seem.

"Face the car, put your hands on the hood and..." Davidson never got any further. The woman spun out of his grasp and kicked him in the crotch. She screamed at him not to touch her. His face contorted and he slowly dropped to his knees gasping for breath. Sam quickly stepped in and subdued the woman, cuffing her and putting her in the back of the squad car. When she came back to the front of the vehicle, Davidson had regained his feet. He looked sheepishly at the ground obviously embarrassed at being downed by a woman half his size.

"Everyone's a threat Davidson, no matter how harmless they look. Don't forget it. It'll save your life some day."

"Thanks. That was a stupid move on my part."

Maybe he does have some promise, Sam thought to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam stepped into O'Grady's for a drink after work. She met up with several other female cops from local precincts. She sat relaxing at a table regaling her fellow officers with the story of her rookie being taken down by a woman half his size. Christi joined the group at the table. Sam nodded politely then went back to her story. Christi was a dispatcher that Sam had dated a few months ago. They'd had fun together and enjoyed some intense sex but when Christi began to press for more Sam stopped calling. Sam had made it clear from the start that she was only interested in a casual friendship and was not girlfriend material.

Christi sighed when Sam turned back to her story. She'd hoped if she gave Sam some space they might get back together. Sam had been the most incredible lover she'd ever had. She truly cared for her and wanted a relationship with her beyond occasional recreational sex. She'd known Sam's reputation when they met but had always hoped she would be the one to win Sam's heart. Christi was drawn out of her thoughts when laughter erupted around the table. Unable to resist she made her way over to Sam.

"Hey Sam, how goes it?" She asked as she slid into the seat next to her.

"Hi Christi. You know same old, same old." Sam said with a polite smile.

Christi leaned over to whisper in Sam's ear. "What do you say we blow this joint and go back to my place?" She ran her hand up the inside of Sam's thigh.

Sam stopped her hand from going any higher. She really did like Christi; she just couldn't give her what she wanted. As tempted as she was, she knew if she went home with her now she'd expect more than just casual sex. Sam sighed, wondering if she was even capable of love. She enjoyed being with Christi but after a few dates had felt trapped when the woman pushed for more.

"I'm sorry, no." she told her as gently as she could.

Christi pulled way but not before Sam saw the tears in her eyes. She quickly left the bar.

Sam watched her leave and sighed. I tried to tell her I wasn't girlfriend material.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam sat in the passenger side of the patrol car. She'd told the rookie he could drive for the day. It'd been pretty quiet so far, one domestic disturbance and several traffic stops. The radio suddenly squawked to life. Sam picked up the mike, "Dispatch, this is 107, go ahead."

"107, we have a 10-32 at Mercy Hospital's ER. 10-30 Respond 10-39." Advised the dispatcher.

Sam glanced over at Davidson; he looked scared and excited at the same time.

"10-4 Dispatch 107 is 10-17." Sam responded. "You heard the lady. Hit the lights and siren and let's move it!" Sam told the rookie.

"So they have someone in the ER with a gun?" Davidson questioned excitedly as they raced to the hospital.

"Yes. And once we check out the situation, you're going to call for back up."

The patrol car slid to a stop outside the ER ambulance bay. Sam and Davidson entered the ER cautiously. The desk clerk called out as soon as he saw them. "Over here, he's holding Dr. Connolly in the trauma room."

"Can you tell us what happened?" Sam questioned the clerk.

"The guy just barged into the trauma room where Dr. Connolly was and started screaming. He pulled a gun and forced everyone out of the room except the doctor. I think he's her ex-boyfriend." The frightened clerk told Sam.

Sam looked down the hall and could see several people gathered outside the closed door to one of the trauma rooms. "Do you know his name?"

"Only his first name, Keith."

"Is there any other way into that room?" She asked the clerk.

"Yes, there's a trauma room next door with a connecting door."

Sam heard a strident voice coming from down the hall. She knew they didn't have much time. These types of situations went bad fast. She turned to Davidson, "I'm going to check this out and clear those people away from the room. You control the crowd and don't do anything 'til I come back."

She quickly made her way down the hall. "Alright people, you trying to get killed? Move away from the door and clear this hall." She glanced into the trauma room. A small slender redhead dressed in scrubs and a lab coat was standing against one wall, a tall husky man stood next to a gurney in the middle of the room. He was pointing a gun directly at the frightened doctor. Sam could see he was sweating profusely and the gun was shaking in his hand. He continued to rant at the woman opposite him. Sam hurried back down the hall to Davidson.

"He's not going to last much longer, I've got to get in there." Sam had seen these situations before and they usually ended up with a dead hostage and gunman. "We don't have time to wait for back-up. I want you to go into the trauma room next door and cover me. You should be able to see in the door. Don't come in 'til I tell you."

"But…" Davidson started to protest.

"Just do it!" Sam demanded.

She hurried back down to the trauma room door. As quietly as she could Sam stepped into the room. The doctor became aware of her first then the gunman.

"Get out of here, I'll kill her!" He screamed.

Sam never moved. She glanced quickly at the terrified doctor trying to see if she was injured. She locked eyes with the woman for just a second, trying to let her know everything was going to be ok. She turned her attention back to the gunman.

"You don't want to do that Keith. Whatever the problem is we can work it out. Put the gun down." She said calmly trying to defuse the situation.

He seemed momentarily stunned she knew his name, but quickly started to rant again. "It's all her fault." He gestured wildly with the gun toward the trembling doctor. "She made me a laughingstock and now she's going to pay for it."

Time seemed to slow as Sam saw his finger tighten on the trigger. She felt her heart thump in her chest and knew in that split second between one heartbeat and the next that she'd never stop him even if she fired on him. She didn't know what made her do it but she launched herself between the doctor and the gunman. She saw the flash of the weapon's discharge. The shot slammed into the shoulder of her bulletproof vest and knocked her back into the doctor. In slow motion she saw the connecting door slam open and Davidson run in with his gun drawn. The gunman managed to fire again before spinning to face Davidson with his gun raised. Davidson shot him in the chest at almost point blank range. The gunman's second shot had gone low catching Sam in the groin below her bulletproof vest. The pain was excruciating as her body hit the ground hard. Everything after that was a blur. She faintly heard Davidson calling frantically over the radio. "Officer down, Officer down!"

She felt herself being lifted up and cradled in strong slender arms and pressure being applied to her wound. Her eyes struggled to focus on the face above her. She gazed into the most amazing violet colored eyes she had ever seen. It was the doctor who'd been threatened by the gunman. Even in the incredible pain she was in she felt safe in her arms. The doctor reached down brushing Sam's hair back from her face and then softly stroked her cheek as she stared into the officer's vivid blue eyes.

"Don't worry, you're going to be alright. I'll take good care of you."

Sam was totally unaware of the other people rushing into the room. All she saw was the beautiful woman above her promising everything was going to be ok. She could feel herself becoming weaker and everything was getting dim. The last thing she saw was the coppery haired doctor with the soft violet eyes leaning over her before everything went black.

"Get her on the gurney NOW!" the doctor yelled. "We're losing her."



Chapter Two

Riley Connolly helped the nurses lift the wounded officer up onto the gurney. She quickly assessed her injuries. The bulletproof vest had deflected most of the impact of the shoulder shot. It was her leg that had Riley worried. Keith had been taken to the trauma room next door and she could see the doctor working over him. She pushed thoughts of him away and concentrated on the officer who'd saved her. The nurses quickly cut her clothes off, inserted IV's and attached her to a heart monitor. Riley glanced up from where she was working to stop the bleeding at the officer's groin. She was suddenly uncomfortable seeing the beautiful body of the officer on display, which surprised her; usually the last thing on her mind was a patient's modesty. Not really knowing why she reached up and pulled the sheet up over her exposed chest and pelvis. Several police officers barged into the room.

"How is she? Is she going to be okay? We need to talk to you about what happened here doctor," demanded one of the officers.

"You can't be in here, let me work and I'll talk to you when I can." Riley said never looking up from where she was still trying to stop the bleeding. "I think the femoral artery has been nicked. Type and cross her for 4 units and send them to the OR STAT! Open the IV's full bore she's losing too much volume. We have to get her upstairs NOW! Let's move it people!"

One of the officers stepped in front of her, "You're going to operate on her? Are you a surgeon?"

Riley tried to push the large man aside. "Yes, I'm a trauma surgeon. Now get the hell out of my way. I'm trying to save your friend before she bleeds to death!" The officer quickly scurried out of her way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley stepped out of the OR and watched as they rolled the officer into recovery. She had indeed had a nick in her femoral artery. She'd managed to repair it before the tissue was damaged from loss of blood flow. They had been able to stabilize her quickly with little additional blood loss; her vitals had come up after pumping in a couple liters of fluid. They'd been able to complete the surgery without having to give her a blood transfusion. The leg had pinked up well and Riley was confident the officer would, baring any complications, recover fully. With the strain of being held at gunpoint then the struggle to save the injured officer who'd been shot protecting her, Riley was at the end of her rope. She was physically and mentally exhausted. She slumped against the wall outside the OR.

"Dr. Connolly." Riley looked up wearily as one of the recovery room nurses approached. "There are several police officers waiting to talk to you and the patient's family has arrived."

It was then that Riley realized she didn't even know the officer's name. She walked over and picked up the officer's chart off the rack flipping to the first page she saw her name, Samantha McKenna.

"Okay Sara, I just need to check that she's gotten settled in recovery and write her post op orders. I'll be out to talk to the family then the police officers."

Riley entered the recovery room and went straight to Samantha's bed. She couldn't help admiring the beautiful woman with her high cheekbones and classically chiseled features. Not even realizing what she was doing, she gently brushed Samantha's dark hair back from her face and softly stroked her cheek. God she's gorgeous, she thought. Riley jerked her hand back when she realized what she was doing. She went over her chart and wrote out her post op orders. Everything seemed fine. She looked down into Samantha's slack features marveling at what the woman had done throwing herself in front of Keith. She couldn't believe the officer had risked her life for someone she didn't even know. Sighing heavily she made her way out to face the family and Samantha's fellow officers knowing this was all her fault.

The surgical waiting room was packed with police officers. Sitting in one corner were two women looking shell-shocked holding hands. Riley did a double take; the dark haired woman could've been the twin of the woman she'd just left in the recovery room. She ignored all the officers and approached the two women.

"Are you here for Samantha McKenna?" She asked the two women already knowing the answer. Jess looked up at the small slender redhead. Riley backed up a step when the tall raven-haired woman rose towering over her. Her vibrant blue eyes locked with the doctor's violet ones.

"Yes, I'm Jess McKenna, Sam's my sister. This is my wife Kim." She introduced the blond standing next to her. Riley glanced down noting the wedding rings both women were wearing. "What's my sister's condition?"

"I'm Dr. Connolly, I operated on your sister." Riley said shaking hands with both women. She's in recovery and doing well."

"What was the extent of her injuries? All the officers told us was that she'd been shot twice." Jess asked.

"Her bulletproof vest deflected most of the impact of the gunshot to her shoulder. She has a graze wound and extensive bruising to her shoulder. The second shot was to her leg, it did a bit of damage." Riley explained. "I repaired the damage and she should recover fully."

"Exactly what type of damage? Please be specific. I'm a physician. I'm Head of the ER at LA Metropolitan."

Riley blushed. "I'm sorry Dr. McKenna no one told me that. The bullet entered at the groin and nicked the femoral artery, it then tracked downward damaging the quadriceps muscle. I was able to repair the damage to the artery and the limb pinked up immediately. I also repaired the muscle damage. The damage to the muscle was fairly extensive. Fortunately it was a small caliber handgun or the damage would've been even more widespread. We were able to support her with several liters of fluid and avoid a blood transfusion. With physical therapy she will regain full use of the leg."

"The police said you were in the room when she was shot?" Jess questioned.

"Yes, I was being held at gunpoint, your sister threw herself between me and the gunman. I'm so sorry she got hurt." Riley apologized contritely.

"When can we see her?" Kim asked.

Riley glanced up meetings the blond's gaze. "She's still in recovery and will be going to the ICU once she regains consciousness. You can see her as soon as she reaches the ICU."

"I'd like to see her now." Jess requested. When Riley hesitated Kim spoke up. "My wife and I are both physicians, as a professional courtesy we'd like to see her for just a few minutes. We're both aware of the rules of the recovery room."

"Okay, but only for a few minutes." Riley conceded.

Jess headed straight for Sam's bed. She picked up her hand on her uninjured side. Stroking Sam's hair she kissed her sister gently on the forehead. "Hey Kiddo," she whispered, "What have you done to yourself?" Kim came up and wrapped her arms around Jess's waist. Jess pulled Kim close to her side, her eyes never leaving Sam's face. Kim could tell Jess was struggling to control her emotions. "She'll be okay sweetheart, she's strong." Kim tried to reassure Jess. A nurse was waiting patiently to take Sam's vitals. "Come on let the nurse do her job. We'll see her again in the ICU." Jess leaned down and kissed Sam's forehead whispering to her, "We'll see you soon, I love you." As Kim led Jess out of the recovery room she glanced back at her sister-in-law praying she would be all right. She and Sam had grown very close since her marriage to Jess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley sat at her desk with her head resting in her hands. After speaking to Sam's family she'd gone back into the recovery room to check on Keith. One of the recovery room nurses let her know he'd died on the operating table. As she stumbled out of the recovery room the police were waiting for her. The interview with the police had been grueling. She'd gone over and over the events in the trauma room with them. They'd finally left after telling her they would contact her again if they had any further questions.

She reflected back over the last few months trying to understand how everything had ended so tragically. Keith had been stalking her for months since she'd broken up with him. While they were dating she had finally come to accept that her interests lay elsewhere and always had. She was involved with a woman in medical school but it had ended badly. Riley had known her uncle would never approve of her seeing a woman and had kept the relationship a secret. After the breakup she swore off dating and concentrated on her studies. Eventually she succumbed to pressure from her uncle and began dating again. She'd never had a successful relationship with a guy and Keith was just the latest failure. She never told him of her interest in women and had just broken it off with him saying they just weren't right for each other. He'd tried for over a month to convince her otherwise wooing her with flowers and begging her to come back. Then three months ago he'd seen her with a woman and actually saw them kissing. He went ballistic and become abusive saying she'd made him a laughingstock leaving him for a woman. She had tried to explain that wasn't the case that it had nothing to do with him. He'd been making calls to her house at all hours of the night, following her when she went out, sending threatening letters to her home and work. Her SUV had been vandalized several times as well as her condo. She could never prove it was him. Finally after he smashed her windshield in the hospital parking lot in front of a witness she managed to convince a judge to issue a restraining order against him. The restraining order had been served on him today and his response was to show up in the ER with a gun. Riley felt bad that she wasn't more upset that Keith was dead. She'd never felt anything for him except friendship and that had faded long ago as he made her life these past months a living hell. Riley glanced at the wall clock realizing Samantha McKenna would be regaining consciousness soon and she wanted to be there. She wearily headed for the ICU.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ICU was bustling with almost all the beds occupied. Riley quickly located Sam's chart and made her way to her room. She checked her latest vitals and lab results. She seemed to be doing well. She was still asleep when Riley entered the room. The nurse watching rose as she entered.

"Has she woken up yet?" Riley asked.

"No, they just got her settled a few minutes ago. She responded to the pain when she was moved but never opened her eyes." The nurse reported.

"Okay, you can take a quick break, I'll be here." The nurse quickly headed out happy for a respite.

Riley checked Sam's dressings and her IV's. Once all her checks were done she approached the head of the bed and took Sam's much larger hand in her own. Lightly stroking the side of her face she called to her.

"Samantha… Sam can you hear me? It's time to wake up."

Sam's eyes slowly fluttered open. Riley could see she was still groggy from the anesthesia.

Sam looked up into soft violet eyes. She was confused feeling she should know this woman. She stared at the beautiful woman with her head hugging pixyish cut coppery red hair fringing her face, clear creamy skin with a smattering of freckles and striking violet eyes. She just couldn't remember, her mind felt sluggish and her eyes didn't want to stay focused.

"Sam, do you know where you are?"

Sam thought about that, her brow furrowing. It was slowly coming back to her. "In the hospital?" she croaked out past a parched and sore throat.

Riley reached over and picked up a cup of ice chips from the bedside. She chose a small sliver of ice and pressed it to Sam's lips. "Take a little ice, not too fast." Riley instructed. After giving Sam several more ice chips she asked her. "Do you remember what happened?"

Sam nodded. "Shot me." She whispered. "How bad?"

"He shot you twice. Your vest stopped the first bullet though you have some extensive bruising on your shoulder. Second bullet hit you in the groin and nicked an artery. I repaired it. It did damage to your leg but with physical therapy you'll be just fine. I told you I'd take good care of you." She smiled gently at Sam not even realizing she was softly stroking her hair.

Sam smiled at Riley leaning into her touch. "I remember." Sam frowned suddenly remembering more. "Is Davidson okay? What about the guy?" She struggled to remember his name. "Keith."

"Davidson, that's your partner?" Sam nodded. "He's fine, he wasn't hurt." Riley hesitated not wanting to tell her the rest.

"Keith?" Sam asked again.

"He didn't make it." Riley told her quietly.

"I'm so sorry." Sam said tears forming in her eyes.

Riley felt terrible, the officer was more upset than she was. All she felt was a sense of relief that the nightmare of his stalking was over. She said none of this to Sam.

"Thanks. Now you need to get some rest. Your family is here and will want to come in soon; don't over tire yourself."

Sam was already drifting off; she struggled to remain awake. "Okay," she murmured sleepily.

Jess and Kim entered Sam's room as Riley was leaving.

"How is she?" Jess asked glancing over to the bed where Sam lay sleeping.

"She's doing well, vitals are stable. She's still very groggy from the anesthesia and probably will be for a while."

"All right, we just want to see her for a few minutes. We won't wake her. Would it be possible to see her chart?" Jess said.

Riley handed Jess the chart in her hand waiting to see if she had any questions. Jess quickly went over the ER notes and the surgical notes Riley had recently added.

"Everything looks good. Thanks for taking such good care of her." Jess said gratefully.

Riley waved off her thanks heading out to check on her other patients.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both women approached the bed gazing down at the sleeping woman. Kim glanced over at Jess when she heard her breath hitch. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and she was shaking trying to control her emotions. Kim quickly stepped over and wrapped her arms around Jess.

"It's alright… let it out, she's going to be fine." Kim assured Jess.

Finally the damn broke and tears began to flow down Jess's face. It was the first emotions she'd allowed herself since the phone call telling them Sam had been shot. Kim stroked her hair and continued to hold her tightly.

"God Kim, what if we'd lost her," Jess cried.

"We didn't lose her and we're not going to. You can't beat yourself up with what might have been. She's here and she's safe, we need to be thankful for that."

"I know you're right," Jess said struggling to regain her composure. "We should let her rest."

They both gently kissed Sam's forehead before leaving the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley strolled back into the ICU the following morning. She checked all her post-op patients leaving Sam McKenna for last. She found her just waking up as the nurse was checking her vitals.

"Hi Sam, how are feeling this morning?" Riley asked as she approached the bed to stand next to Sam.

"Did you get the license of the truck that ran over me?" questioned Sam in response.

"That good huh," Riley said sympathetically. "That's to be expected. Give it some time. Did you see your family yet this morning?"

"Shit..." Sam muttered. "Why'd they have to call them? Who's here?"

"Your sister Jess and her wife are here. They came in yesterday while you were in surgery." Riley told her.

Sam sighed in relief. "I don't want my parents to have to make the trip down here from Northern California. It's not a big deal, I'm fine."

Riley didn't know what came over her; she felt an incredible surge of anger at Sam's words. She gripped Sam's forearm tightly.

"It is a BIG DEAL, he almost killed you!" Riley exclaimed almost shouting.

Sam's eyes widened, surprised at Riley's outburst. She reached out taking Riley's small hand in her much larger one. "It's okay, calm down. I didn't mean it like that."

Riley realized how inappropriately she'd reacted. Just the thought of this woman not caring how close she'd come to dying made her crazy. She needed to get away before she did anything else stupid.

"I need to go check on my other patients. I'll let your sister know you're awake."

Sam squeezed the small hand still in hers. "Thanks. Will you come back later?"

Riley smiled down at Sam. "I'll come and check on you before I leave for the day."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jess and Kim entered the room to find Sam sleeping peacefully. Jess looked up checking the monitor. Kim wrapped her arm tightly around Jess's waist as they reached the bed. Jess reached out stroking Sam's face. "Hey Sam," she called softly.

Sam's eye's slowly opened. She grinned crookedly when she saw her sister. "Hey fancy meeting you here." She tried to joke her voice cracking. She could see the emotions churning beneath the surface of Jess's gaze. "I'm okay really." She tried to reassure her sister and Kim.

Kim leaned down kissing Sam softly on the forehead. "You scared us."

"I'm sorry you had to make the trip down here. I'm fine really. You didn't have to come."

"That's a bunch of bullshit of course we had to come!" Jess told her angrily.

Sam tried to shrug and winced in pain. "They didn't call the folks did they?"

"No I'm listed as your emergency contact. They called me as soon as the station house knew what happened but they only said you'd been shot and were in the OR. We got down here as fast as we could. I called Mom and Dad after we talked to your doctor. They wanted to come but I convinced them not to."

"Good I don't want them making that trip. I'll be out of here soon." Sam said confidently.

"Damn it Sam! You've been shot twice and seriously injured, you're not going anywhere." Jess insisted.

Sam looked away and didn't respond.

Kim stepped in leaning down to whisper in Sam's ear. "She was petrified Sam, give her a break."

Sam smiled at Kim, before meeting her sister's eyes. "Don't worry Sis I'll do whatever my doctor says to."

Sam was rapidly fading. Kim and Jess kissed her goodbye and told her they would see her later. She was asleep before they got out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley had seen Jess and Kim in the waiting room and convinced them to go eat and get some rest. She assured them baring any problems and she quickly reassured them she didn't think there would be any; Sam would be released from the ICU in the morning and transferred to the post-op surgical floor. Riley was exhausted but had promised Sam she'd stop by before going home. At this point all she wanted was a nice soak in the tub and a stiff drink.

Sam was asleep when Riley entered the room. She hesitated not wanting to wake her. Before she could make up her mind Sam's eyes slowly blinked open. She smiled softly when her gaze met Riley's. "Hi," she murmured sleepily.

"I'm sorry I woke you. I was heading out and stopped by as promised."

Sam's hand lifted from the mattress beckoning Riley closer. She stepped to the head of the bed and took Sam's large hand in hers. "How are you feeling? Are you having much pain?"

"Some but not too bad. My shoulder aches but mostly my leg hurts when I try to move."

"Not surprising. You have quite a bit of muscle damage and sutures in the leg and pelvis. Just take it slow. The nurses will be getting you up to sit in a chair a little later we don't want you getting pneumonia. Let them help you." Riley instructed Sam. "Everything will be fine, I promise." Riley said gazing into Sam's amazing blue eyes.

Sam was lost in the doctor's striking violet gaze. "Thank you." She said softly.

Riley felt her throat tighten with unshed tears. "I should be the one thanking you. You saved my life."

Sam squeezed Riley's hand, "Guess that makes us even Dr. Connolly." Sam realized she didn't know her first name. She tried to sit up a little to see the doctor's name tag

Riley misinterpreted Sam's movement. She quickly slipped her arm behind Sam's back bringing her into a more upright position. Sam groaned loudly when her leg bent at the pelvis shooting a sharp pain down her leg. Riley quickly lowered her back to the bed apologizing. "I'm sorry I thought you wanted to sit up."

"It's okay," Sam said grimacing slightly at the lingering pain. Riley noticed she still had her arm wrapped around Sam's shoulder and quickly retreated. Sam immediately missed the warmth of her arm.

"What were you trying to do?" Riley questioned. "Just ask if you need something."

Sam was embarrassed and looked down at the blanket. "I um was trying to see your name tag. I don't even know your first name."

Sam looked up when Riley laughed softly, it was a wonderful sound and she wanted to hear it again.

Riley shook her head, "You could've just asked me." She stared at Sam arching one eyebrow.

Sam grinned realizing the doctor was going to make her ask. In the sexist voice she could manage she purred. "So doctor just what is your first name."

Riley gulped amazed at the reaction of her body to Sam's voice. She blushed lightly before replying. "It's Riley."

Sam stuck out her hand, Riley accepted and her hand was enveloped in Sam's much larger one. "Nice to meet you Riley." Sam hesitated then asked. "Is it okay to call you Riley?"

Riley smiled. "Well, not usually but since you saved my life I guess I can make an exception in your case."

Sam's little half smirk appeared on her face. "Good to know, Riley."

Riley realized their conversation had slipped into light flirting. It wasn't a good idea to become attracted to a patient and she had to keep reminding herself no matter how enticing Sam was her patient. If it wasn't for you she wouldn't be here, she berated herself. Riley knew she could easily fall under this beautiful woman's spell. She noticed her hand still resting in Sam's. It surprised her; she was never the touchy feely type with patients. She forced herself back into doctor mode removing her hand from Sam's grasp.

Sam noted the sudden change in Riley's expression and wondered why.

"I'm glad you're doing well." Riley stated in a crisp professional tone. "Please be sure to let the nurses know if you need anything. You'll be transferred to the surgical post-op floor in the morning. Have a pleasant night."

And with that she was gone. Sam couldn't figure out what happened. They'd been talking and all of a sudden Riley just took off. Then it hit her, "Duh..." she muttered to herself mentally slapping her forehead. She probably thought I was flirting with her. You were, piped up Sam's little voice. Shut-up, Sam told the voice.

Sam sighed in frustration admitting how attracted she was to the beautiful doctor. Forget it, she's straight. Remember her ex-BOYFRIEND shot you. Sam slowly drifted off to sleep visions of coppery red hair and soft violet eyes playing in her mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following morning Sam's IV's and heart monitor were removed and she was transferred to the surgical post-op floor. She'd hoped to see Riley before she was transferred but she'd never shown. She sighed in disappointment settling down to get some much-needed rest. The nurse told her they would be getting her up to walk later and she dreaded it.


Continued in Chapter 3