Chase looked on from the doorway of the room as the doctor examined Sheridan. After a few moments, Sam looked back and noticed the woman standing there. Chase didn't say anything. She simply pulled her badge out and opened it so that he could see. Sam wasn't able to hide the look of surprise on his face that the beautiful woman was an FBI agent. Chase had expected as much. After a minute, Sam simply nodded, partially to acknowledge that he understood, and partially to thank her for waiting for a better time to start her investigation. He knew Luis needed to be here now, needed to see for himself that Sheridan was okay. After several long minutes, the doctor stood up and gave Sheridan a soft pat on the arm.

"You're a very lucky woman," he said to her gently. "I am going to remove the tube that's been helping you breath." He took the tube out, and Sheridan began choking. Luis was at her side in a flash. He took her hand gently into his own and laid a hand on her shoulder, trying to steady the shaking woman.

"I'm...okay," Sheridan whispered, taking Luis’ hand into her own. Her coughing began to subside, and she took a few breaths. She was painfully aware that one side of her chest was very tight, and she looked at Luis questioningly. "What...happened...to me?"

He kneeled down next to her and gave her a small smile. "You took a bullet in the chest. Everything's gonna be okay, though."

"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked. It was becoming easier to talk with every breath she took.

"A little over a week," Luis replied. He didn't even try to hide the fear he had been feeling. "For a while, we weren't sure if you were going to wake up or not."

Sheridan took his face into her hands and looked into his eyes. She saw lines in his face that had not been there before. His beautiful eyes were bloodshot, dark circles shadowing his face. He looked pale, and she could feel the stubble on his normally smooth neck and chin. His clothes were wrinkled and disheveled. She gave him a concerned smile. "I never thought I would say this, Luis, but you look awful!"

Luis laughed. "Yeah, well, not all of us can be as beautiful as you after a week in the hospital."

Sheridan searched Luis’ eyes. "You've been here the whole time?"

"Of course I was," he said seriously. "I couldn't leave until I knew you were okay."

The depth of devotion in his voice made Sheridan's heart skip a beat. All she wanted to do was wrap herself in his arms and never leave, but she was beginning to get tired. Luis saw it, too, and gave her hand a soft squeeze. He turned to the doctor. "I guess she needs some rest."

"Yes, she does." He turned to the group. "You all can see her again when she wakes up." He walked out of the room, leading everyone out of the room. "Ill give you a minute alone," he said to Luis before closing the door.

Luis thanked the doctor with a nod. "Get some rest," he said, lightly touching her cheek.

"You, too," Sheridan said softly.

"Don't worry about me." Luis gave her one last smile before turning to leave.

"Luis?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

Sheridan tried to move herself up into a sitting position. Luis rushed to her to help when she winced.

"You shouldn't do that, Sheridan. Just lay down."

Sheridan finally gave up and looked at Luis. "Come here," she said softly, motioning for him to lean closer. When he did, she took his face into her hands, pulled his head down to her, and kissed him softly. After a moment, she pulled away and looked deeply into his eyes. "Promise me you'll go home and get some sleep. You're no good to me like this." She gave him a quick wink.

They both started laughing. "Yes, ma'am," Luis said. "Ill be back soon." He finally forced himself to leave, closing the door behind him. It took every once of self-control Sheridan had not to call him back and ask him to stay.

Luis walked into the hall. He saw Sam talking to a woman a few feet away. He noticed Beth talking to Pilar and Hank, who had just arrived. Luis looked at the woman Sam was talking to again. Finally unable to curb his curiosity, he walked over to them. When Luis approached, the woman smiled and extended her hand.

"I didn't want to disturb you earlier," she said quickly, looking in the direction of Sheridan's room. "I’m Special Agent Chase Michaels."

Luis shook the woman's hand. After looking at her he got the feeling that he knew her from somewhere. "Have we met before?" he asked.

"I don’t think so," Chase said. "I think I would remember that."

"Yeah, I guess so," Luis said, still bothered by the feeling that he had met this woman before. ‘Maybe she's just got one of those faces,’ he told himself. He shook himself out of it and gave the woman a tight smile. "You know," he said, "you're not exactly what I expected."

Chase smiled broadly at him. "I get that feeling from most of the cops I meet. I’ll take it as a compliment, though most people don’t have the guts to say as much."

"So, have you had a chance to review the case file yet?" Luis asked, ready now to start finding out what happened to Sheridan, and more importantly, finding who tried to kill her.

"No," Chase said, looking at Sam. "I came her straight from the airport. I was hoping to interview the other victim again before being buried in police reports."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, " Luis agreed. "I’ll go see if Beth feels up to it."

"Well, if she doesn’t, we can do it later," Chase said, shrugging. "It will give me a chance to go to the hotel and get settled in."

Luis looked at the woman. "You know, most FBI agents come in and really try to push things along and get out as quickly as possible."

"Well, you'll find out that I’m not most FBI agents," Chase responded.

Luis nodded, a little confused by her cryptic response. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was here for personal reasons,’ Luis said to himself. ‘Maybe she’s just trying to be sensitive to the situation. Or maybe she’s trying to butter us up so that we will cooperate more.’ He finally decided to think about it later. He left the agent and walked to the other end of the hall where Hank, Beth and Pilar stood. As he approached, Beth came up to him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"How are you?"

"I’m all right," he said honestly, and he gave Beth a firm squeeze. "Thanks."

Hank came up to him and gave him a pat on the back. "Well, I hope now you’ll listen to my brother and go home and get some sleep."

"Yeah, I promised Sheridan I would," Luis said.

"Well, good," Hank said, trying not to sound jealous. "At least there’s one person you’ll listen to."

Luis knew what his friend was implying, but decided to ignore it. He would deal with Hank later. He turned to Beth again. "Before I leave, that FBI agent is here. She wanted to know if you were up to talking to her."

Beth looked over Luis’ shoulder. "I don’t think so. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, don’t worry about it." Luis gave her a reassuring smile. "You can do it as soon as you’re ready."

Pilar looked at Luis. "Did he say anything about the case?"

"No," Luis said, knowing his mother was just as eager to find answers as he was. "She just got here."

"She?" Pilar asked.

"Yeah," Luis said pointing at Chase. "Agent Chase Michaels. That’s her over there with Sam."

Pilar walked around Luis and looked at the woman. Chase suddenly jerked her head away from Sam and looked at Pilar. Pilar put her hands over her mouth. Tears began to well up in Pilar’s eyes. "Oh my God," she whispered.

"What is it, Mama?" Luis asked, forcing his mother to look at him. He looked back at the woman again, and it suddenly hit him why she looked so familiar. The same color hair. The same big blue eyes. "She’s a Crane," he whispered.

Pilar began walking, then running to Chase. Chase could barely keep herself from crying. The two women hugged each other. Luis followed behind.

"Chastane? Is it really you?" Pilar asked, taking the woman’s face into her hands.

"Yeah, Pilar. It’s me."

Pilar gave Chase another tight squeeze. "Where have you been?

"It doesn’t matter. I’m here," Chase said, smiling broadly at Pilar. Her smile faded as Luis walked up.

"Why the hell didn’t you tell us you were a damn Crane!" he cried.

"Luis!" Pilar shouted.

"No, it’s okay Pilar," Chase said, moving in front of the woman and faced Luis. Her eyes locked onto his, not backing down. Luis was floored by an intense feeling of déjà vu. "First, I’m not a Crane anymore, and secondly, if what Sheridan told me about you is true, you would never have let me get near her. Am I right?"

When Luis didn’t answer immediately, Chase continued. "If I’m right about that, then I’ll bet my pension that you suspect the family in what’s happened to Sheridan, or at least you know that they aren’t exactly breaking down any doors to find out who did this to her."

"Yeah, that thought had crossed my mind," Luis admitted, shrugging. "So what?"

"Well, it just so happens that I’m inclined to agree with you," Chase said. "And if I’m right, I’ll need your help to bury them. But to do that, you are going to have to trust me."

Luis just stared at the woman. "We’ll talk to Sheridan," he said finally, challenging the woman with his eyes. "If she trusts you, then so will I."

Chase smiled. "That’s fair," she agreed.

"What are we waiting for?" Luis asked. "Let’s see if you are what you say you are."

"Let’s go," Chase answered, and together, Luis and Chase left to talk to Sheridan.

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