Leo stared at his young friend and wondered "old guys"?!? Where'd you get this "old guys" crap from? I'm not old and no way are you old, you're young, your whole life's ahead of you! Oh, teasing again. Yeah, right. Old guys. Getting shot though, that can make you feel old. I KNOW that. Wish Rollie didn't. Leo opened the passenger side door of his unmarked car. "Come on Rollie, let's get you to the hospital."

The lanky Aussie paused for a moment, looking at nothing. "Angie! I've got to call Angie!" He looked slightly panicked at that thought, she was going to be furious and he couldn't blame her. She always claimed he was going to get shot one day. But it wasn't my fault... it wasn't... or was it? Was there something I could have done or not done?

"Don't worry about it," Leo soothed, giving a slight push to get Rollie into the car. "Francis is on his way to tell Angie what happened. He'll bring her to meet us at the hospital." He needed to get his friend to the hospital and get that shoulder looked at by a real doctor. The medics had done a good job of stopping the bleeding and controlling the shock, but Rollie needed a doctor to see how much damage had really been done and to get the bullet out. And get a transfusion. Leo never wanted to see that much real blood on his friend ever again! For a moment, when he had seen Rollie standing there, shaking, weak with blood loss and shock, he had wanted to kill all the bastards involved in this mess. All he could think was Rollie, the closest friend he had ever had and would ever have, was hurt bad and he'd been glad that boy was dead. That wasn't the way good cops were supposed to think, but it was human. He had been shooting at Rollie and those two kids when they got there... If we were a minute later... Leo stopped that thought, definitely NOT where he wanted to go tonight! It had come too close to being reality. "Come on, you don't want Francis and Angie to beat us to the hospital." There, that verbal push got Rollie into the car.
 

This late at night, Francis made good time getting to Angie's place. He hated doing things like this and this would be even harder since Angie and Rollie were his friends. But it was also better this way, to not have a stranger show up or call you on the phone saying your boss has been shot. It was so hard to know what to say or how to say it, to break it easy to the family. That's what Angie and Rollie were - family. He saw that every time he saw the pair together. Angie had claimed once that Rollie was all she had. In a way, the same held true for Rollie, since from what Leo had told him, finding Dingo, Rollie's father, was next to impossible to do. Even Rollie had a hard time doing that and he did the impossible for a living! And Leo, Rollie definitely had Leo... they were close, real close. Sometimes he envied them that closeness, he'd never had a friendship or partnership like they had. Occasionally, it made him feel like an outsider, or a kid outside a candy shop looking in and wishing for some, but not having any money. Francis parked the car in front of Angie's apartment building and dashed inside, anxious to get Angie and meet his friends at the hospital. He knew Rollie had been on his feet and basically functional when he left the high school, but he was still worried. Rollie had lost a lot of blood and had looked worse than rough when they had gotten there.

Angie woke abruptly to the noise of the intercom buzzer downstairs sounding continuously as if someone was leaning on it without letting up. She was past cranky by the time she reached the intercom button, shaky from waking up after just falling asleep. "This had better be important or someone's going to get their head chopped!" Angie stated ominously at her unseen tormentor.

"Angie, it's Francis, buzz me in. I've got to talk to you - now!"

"Francis, what the hell do you want? Do you know what time it is? I am not playing cops and robbers with you and Leo now!" That shout of anger sent Chiops, her cat, heading for cover. Angie was really furious now. And resentful. Leo was always getting Rollie involved in some investigation or other and one day, she was positive, get her best friend killed. And Rollie always had to agree to help, he just couldn't seem to say no to Leo. Or anybody else asking for help, for that matter.

"Angie! This is important! Let me in, right now or I am going to get one of your neighbors to do it!" God, Francis thought, this is going to be worse than I thought. I can't just tell her over the intercom. Not that way, please just buzz me up so I can be there when I tell you! I don't want to hurt you like this. "Please Angie!"

Something in the way Francis said that got through the anger Angie was feeling at the moment and suddenly she was scared. Something was wrong and Francis was really upset about whatever it was! She reached for the buzzer that would unlock the door leading to the stair access, shivering. Something's wrong... something... get here Francis, hurry!  She darted over to the door, undoing the locks and dead bolts. Opening it, she peered anxiously toward the stairs. There came Francis and it looked like whatever he was here about was bad, real bad. "Francis, what is it? What's wrong? Has something happened to Leo?"

That startled the short detective for a second, why would Angie think I was here about Leo? Guess you have gotten under her skin, huh Leo? Gently, he touched her shoulder and guided her back into the apartment, closing the door, then leading her over to the couch. "No Angie, this isn't about Leo." Francis took a deep breath, all he could do was say it and hope he got enough out that she wouldn't be too upset and worried. "It's Rollie. He's been shot."  He watched with concerned eyes as Angie turned white as a sheet, terrified by his words. Now they came rushing out, as he tried to reassure her. "He's doing okay, it was a bullet in his shoulder. Uh, his left shoulder. He was on his feet when I saw him..." He unconsciously gulped as he saw Angie's face fill with rage. Oh boy, here it  comes! Just what Leo and I knew would happen. She blames us!

Angie's voice was cold with fury as she glared at him. "Francis, how could you! I always knew you and Leo were going to get Rollie hurt one day! I'm lucky he's still alive the way Leo drags him into these things! Rollie's got absolutely no sense..." She was in full force, raining her anger, hurt and worry down on the hapless Francis who was trying desperately to get a word... anything... in to stop the tidal wave of his friend's tirade. Finally, she paused for a second to take a deep breath before continuing.

"Angie! Angie! It wasn't like that!!"
 
"What do you mean it wasn't like that?!? So, just what was it like, Detective Gatti!?!"

"We didn't bring Rollie in on a case! He... he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time! It could have been anybody. It happened at a high school over in Queens. Centennial. He was there helping the drama class shoot a movie. They'd just finished and almost everybody had left. These guys broke in. They came in through these tunnels.  They shot the security guard, killed him! And they shot Rollie! They hijacked an armored car. They killed four people, Angie! There were two students still there, too. One of the robbers was a kid. A KID! He was shooting at Rollie and those kids when we got there! Angie, we killed him! He was just a kid and we killed him!" He was shaking now. God, what if I killed him? Just a kid! What had Leo said? "A kid with a gun." He probably killed some of those people. He was shooting at Rollie and those kids, he could have killed them.  Remember that! He could have killed those students. Or Rollie! He was trying to kill Rollie! We had to do it, we gave him a chance. A choice. And he wouldn't stop, he wouldn't surrender. REMEMBER THAT! He couldn't seem to stop shaking.

Angie stared at Francis, her eyes filling with remorse and compassion. It was obvious Francis was as worried as she was and he had the added burden that he might have killed someone, someone who had a life ahead of them and had thrown it away, on a stupid crime. All for money. For a second, Angie's eyes flashed cold again. That kid had tried to kill Rollie. The force of the emotion that swept through her shook her to the bottom of her soul. She hadn't hated anyone like that since... that... that director, she couldn't even think his name, had killed her father. She couldn't imagine killing someone like that. Coldly, to make a profit. "Francis" Her voice was gentle and filled with sorrow for the anger she had heaped on him. "It wasn't your fault. You had to do it, to save Rollie and those kids. You didn't have a choice." Now, her eyes filled with shame, remembering the way she had raged at Francis. She had jumped to conclusions, and Francis had born the brunt of that error. He hadn't deserved that, he was a good friend to Rollie.  And to her. "Francis... I'm... I'm sorry. I had no right to scream at you like that, to say those things. I... I know... you wouldn't do anything to hurt Rollie. Leo either. I'm just so scared and worried!"  Try terrified out of my mind, she thought! "You said Rollie would be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." Francis pulled himself back together. He could see he was going to have problems with this one. He'd probably need to talk to one of the police shrinks, to work it out. Now wasn't the time though, now was time to take care of Angie and Rollie. What a world his little girls were growing up in! A kid with a gun. "Course, I'm not a doctor or anything, but he was standing and he was doing better than Leo did... when he was shot. Come on, get dressed and I'll take you to the hospital. I promised Leo, we'd meet him there."

It wasn't until then that Angie realized all she was wearing was an oversized T-shirt. One she had taken from Rollie. It didn't reveal all that much, not really, but she blushed slightly anyway. "I'll just be a sec, Francis. I'll meet you downstairs." Angie paused on the way to her bedroom and looked toward Francis. "I am sorry, Francis, and you did what you had to do tonight. Thank you."
 

Rollie was quiet all the way to the hospital and it made Leo feel even more guilty. Tonight, Rollie had gone through hell and Leo felt guilty for not being there to help, to protect his friend. He knew that wasn't rational, his friend, his pal -  mate, that's what Rollie always said - had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But he couldn't help it, he felt it in his heart. Or maybe Rollie was in the right place, for those two kids? Rollie had certainly kept them safe, even hurting the way he was! Fortunately, it seemed to be a relatively quiet night at the hospital and they'd promptly taken Rollie away for treatment and admittance. Leo was pacing in the waiting room,  when Angie rushed in, closely followed by Francis.

"Angie." Leo reached for her. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay!?!" Angie made a sound, half sob, half laugh. "The question is, is Rollie okay? Have the doctors said anything?"

Leo hugged his young friend, then let go. "Not yet. Course it hasn't been long. I'm sure they'll tell us something soon. These things take time."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Angie appeared resigned to a long wait.

"Oh. So, do you do this often then?" Leo looked at her, just slightly askance.

"A few times, with my dad or Rollie. Not from being shot though." Angie was finding it hard to stay cool. She had lost her father needlessly and it would be so easy for the same thing to happen to Rollie. Somehow she couldn't cope with that thought. She shivered, cold with more than just the weather.

Leo reached out and hugged her hard, knowing where her thoughts were taking her. He had been visiting the same place, thoughts of life without Rollie Tyler in it. That would be a lonely, cold, dark world to be without that bright spark.
 
Francis came up to his friends, and offered them the cups of coffee he had gotten from the nearby vending machines. "We might as well settle down, it'll be a while before they get back with us."

Leo looking for something to say, remembered an earlier conversation with his partner. "Uh, isn't someone expecting you to come home tonight?"
 
"I called Sarah and told her what happened on the way to pick up Angie. She knows not to expect me any time soon."  And so the threesome sat talking quietly, passing the time, waiting for someone to come tell them how their friend was. Time seemed to drag, it was measured by cups of bad coffee and long stretches of silence. The quiet of the waiting room was disturbed several times by the arrival of incoming patients and their family or friends. Francis was returning with yet another round of bad coffee, when he noticed a doctor approaching Leo. Finally, maybe now they could find out how Rollie was doing. He hurried over to join his friends.

"Detective McCarthy? I'm Doctor John Whitney. You came in with Mr. Tyler?" The doctor's voice was tired.

"Yes," Leo was on his feet instantly. "This is Angie Ramirez, part of Rollie's family. How is he?"

"Well, Ms. Ramirez, Detective, I have to say Mr. Tyler was an extremely lucky man. He should be just fine. It was mostly soft tissue damage. There was a little bone fragmentation, but nothing serious."

"Thank God." came Angie's fervent relief, vocalizing Leo's and Francis' thoughts. "Can we see him? How long does he have to stay in the hospital?"

"Well, he's still out of it from the anesthetic. He really wouldn't know you're here. Even if he woke up a bit, he probably won't remember it." The doctor raised his hand to forestall any protest. "We still have him on a transfusion and an IV for dehydration. We'll probably keep him a couple of days, to be sure he's healing properly. I know you're worried and want to see him, so you can go in for a few minutes. But first, I understand Mr. Tyler is left-handed?" Receiving nods from the three anxious people, the doctor continued. "Is it possible for someone to stay with him at home for awhile? He's going to have a hard time taking care of himself when he leaves. You will have to make sure he doesn't hurt himself trying to do things too soon."

"Don't worry about that, Doctor." Angie was certain of this point. "There'll be plenty of people to keep an eye on him. He'll hate it, but we'll take very good care of Rollie."

The doctor smiled at that statement. "I'm sure you will, Ms. Ramirez. I'm sure you will. We'll arrange for follow-up checkups before he checks out. Now, if you'll follow Nurse Quinn, he'll show you to Mr. Tyler." Dr. Whitney paused as the three friends started to move away. "A moment, Detective McCarthy."

Leo gestured to his partner to go with Angie, indicating he would join them shortly. He turned back toward the doctor.

Doctor Whitney reached into the pocket of his scrubs and pulled out a sealed plastic bag. Leo frowned when he saw the bag, knowing it contained the bullet they had dug out of his friend. The frown deepened as he realized it wasn't a complete bullet, but a fragment. He looked sharply at the doctor holding it.

"Yes", the doctor answered Leo's unspoken question. "As I said, your friend was a very lucky man. I've treated a lot of bullet wounds here. If he had been hit by a full bullet of that caliber, instead of a ricochet fragment,  with the length of time he was untreated... he could easily be dead now."

Leo shivered slightly as he took the bag and shoved it into his coat pocket. "Thanks, Doc." The words were quiet, but full of gratitude. Angie didn't need to know how close it had been. Neither did Rollie. The doctor gave a nod of understanding, then escorted him to join his friends.

Angie convulsively clutched Francis' arm when she saw Rollie. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes. The darkness of his "five o'clock shadow" just emphasized that paleness.  Even his hair looked limp and tired. And he was still... very, very still. Two IVs ran into his right arm, one at his elbow, one at his hand. His left arm was strapped to his chest and she could see the thickness of the bandages wrapping the shoulder wound. Angie stepped carefully, quietly over to where her best friend lay. She sensed, rather than saw, Leo joining them. Gently, Angie reached out and brushed Rollie's hair away from his eyes.  She made a soundless gasp as Rollie's eyes flickered and opened.

The normally bright eyes were dulled by drugs and pain. "Angie" Rollie's voice was raspy and tired. "Looks like you were right. You always said I'd get myself shot." He gave her a slight, weary smile. "I'm sorry..." His voice trailed off, as he looked at her uncertainly.

"Shhh. It's okay, Rollie, it's not your fault. Go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Angie stroked his hair, as Rollie sighed and fell back asleep.

"Come on, Angie, I'll take you home." Leo placed a hand on Angie's shoulder. "We'll all need some sleep, if we're going to get Rollie to stay put until the doctor's ready to release him." The truth of that comment made them all smile as they quietly left their friend soundly sleeping. "I'll pick you up about 09:00 and we'll go by Rollie's to get his toilet kit and a change of clothes."

Leo had shown up at 09:00 AM on the dot and after a quick stop at the loft to pack a small gym bag, Angie and Leo arrived at the hospital. Both looked tired, it was obvious neither had found much rest in the early morning hours. Leo stopped to check with the nurses to see how Rollie had fared and to give Angie time alone with her 'big brother'. Angie smiled in relief when she saw Rollie, he looked so much better. The IVs were gone and color had returned to his face. Someone had shaved him and combed his hair, so he didn't look like a desperate character anymore. The dark circles were almost completely gone. And he immediately opened his eyes and looked at her when she opened the closest to put his gym bag in there.

"Hey, Ange, you look worse than I feel!" Rollie smiled, a real smile now, at the sight of his young friend. His eyes were bright and alert. The dullness of the night was now just a bad memory.

"Yeah, well you sure look a lot better. Maybe Leo won't have to arrest you as a suspicious character." Angie smiled, happy to see the Aussie already recovering. No longer confused and ... dulled.

"Well, I'm ready to get out this place. Any idea how long..." The question trailed off as Angie frowned at him. Uh, oh, here it came, lecture time.

"YOU will stay put as long as the doctor says! No early checkouts, NO disobeying the doctor's orders! GOT IT!"

"I got it, I got it!" Rollie looked down, trying to look suitably sorry. "I just wondered how long I was stuck, that's all." He peeked up at her from his downcast expression.

Angie stared at him, silent and ominous for a couple of minutes. Then, unable to hold it back any longer, she smiled at the Aussie. "If you're a good boy and do what they tell you, I think they'll let you out tomorrow, Rollie."

"That's good. I'd hate to be stuck here for Christmas! It's bad enough, it's always cold. Christmas should be warm, NOT cold and white!" It was a familiar lament from the Australian, one they had grown accustomed to the longer they had known each other.
 
Angie didn't think it really bothered him, just that he was sometimes homesick around the family oriented holiday. She'd never quite gotten up the courage to ask him why he didn't just fly back to Queensland or the Northern Territory for the holidays. She was just so glad to have her family here, and not on the other side of the world! She hoped Rollie felt the same way. Angie knew it was selfish of her, but she always wanted him to stay here, with her. "Yeah, well, tough. Christmas should be white!"
 
Whatever response Rollie was going to make was lost, when Leo walked in and smiled at the pair. "Yeah, Christmas should be white, but not too soon, okay. I hate driving in snow. Well, you look better. Maybe I won't arrest you, like I thought I would." He unknowingly echoed Angie's comment about how Rollie had looked earlier.

"Ha, ha! Very funny. Is this gang up on Rollie day?" Rollie tried to act like he was mad, but just couldn't. It felt too good, safe and warm and welcome. No longer the hellish nightmare at Centennial, that was over.

"Nurses said you did real good last night. Look's like you'll get out of here tomorrow." The confirmation of the earlier diagnosis was a relief. "But, you know, it'd be real hard for you at home." Leo looked significantly at his friends.

"What are you talking about Leo? Are you trying to get me stuck here longer?" Rollie felt suspicion rise up in him. Now, what was Leo up to?

"Well, I thought about that. It would be one way to keep you out of trouble. No, it's just that your left arm will be pretty useless for a while, you know."

Rollie glanced down to where his arm was strapped down and sighed, getting slightly depressed. "Yeah, I know." He hated feeling useless and dependent.

"Well, Francis called me this morning. He talked to Sarah last night, and they want you to stay at their place for a little while." Leo smiled, remembering his partner's eager voice. "Just during the day, you could go home at night, when Angie or I can be there to look after you."

"Look, Leo, I really appreciate that, but I don't want to be any trouble."

"Rollie, you won't be any trouble! You'll actually be helping Sarah. You can help keep the girls occupied, so they don't drive her too stir crazy. You know how hyper kids get around the holidays. They try so hard to be good, but they have all that energy."

Rollie was now looking stubborn. He wasn't that helpless, surely he could go home and take care of himself, until Angie could come by. And not intrude on Frankie's family, when it should just be family. That was what Christmas was about, family. Sarah doesn't need to be taken care of me, too. It was hectic enough without that burden as well. Not a, a stranger. They'd never even met!

"Come on, Rollie. It's that or Angie, Chiops and I will move into the loft for the duration. And they really do want you to come. Sarah and the girls really want to meet you and Angie. The girls have never met an Aussie before, they have all sorts of questions. They're really excited after all the stories Francis has told them."

"What type of stories?" Rollie asked warily. Francis had been telling stories to his family about me and Angie? He looked up at Angie and saw she was just as surprised as he was.

"About making movies, helping us out. You know stories. You don't want to disappoint the girls, do you? And Sarah. This would give Angie a chance to take care of things during the day. And it would get you out. You'd go stir crazy yourself, if you had to stay put that long with nothing to do!"

Rollie mulled that over silently for a moment. It would be nice, and he and Angie had been wanting to meet Francis' family.

Angie was smiling at Leo, now, as if he had arranged this. This would be something to occupy Rollie, who always had to be doing! Rollie Tyler had never just been quiet in his entire life, even when he was still, he was doing something. They could both see Rollie's stubborn look fading, as curiosity took over.

"Yeah, but not Christmas. Christmas is for families, they don't need strangers there."

"You're not a stranger. You are a friend. And Christmas is about friends, too! Besides, we're all invited for Christmas dinner and I, for one, intend to accept their gracious offer. It's been a long time since I had a home cooked meal for Christmas!"

"Sounds good to me, I'll be there!" Angie knew with both of them going, Rollie would have to agree, too. And it sounded like fun, with the girls and all! Angie was starting to get excited, it would be great finally meeting Sarah and the girls. Francis was always so proud of them. "And Christmas is about strangers, too. A family in strange place, with their only shelter in an inn's stable."

"All right, all ready! I can see I'm outnumbered and out maneuvered. I'll go, too!" Suddenly, Rollie got a sly look as he looked at his closest friends. "But we'll need Christmas presents! Someone else will have to get them, I can't go shopping like this." Rollie pretended to pout a bit. "So I guess you and Angie will be doing the shopping."

The look Leo and Angie exchanged at that statement almost made it all worth while. Shopping this close to Christmas!?! Oh, oh, looked like Rollie had got them!

"Yeah, and I know just what to get them. I'll make a list." Rollie knew he was going to enjoy this!