Well, I have finally decided to jump back into the writing pool. Or whatever you'd call it. Idk, this show has sparked something in me to write again so here I am.

I hope you enjoy it, I have another chapter written and I plan to make it maybe a three part story. Any feedback or ideas for stories you wish existed would be much appreciated. Thanks!

"So he's your…partner…"

For the third time in 20 minutes, Angie refrained from throwing the magazine clenched in her hands at the beautiful, if not absolutely obnoxious woman beside her. It wouldn't be so bad if she could just get up and move away from her, but being here almost two hours at about two in the morning, hospital waiting rooms were relatively vacant. Thus, if she moved away from this woman, Julie, she'd just have to raise her voice to continue carrying on the mostly one sided conversation. She was regretting ever answering the common, "So, what are you here for?" question. Angie sighed, leaning to rest her elbows on her knees, rubbing a hand over her face as she propped her head in her right hand. She looked left at the woman, hoping her irritation wasn't obvious. She'd put money on the fact that it was.

"Listen, Julie, if you really want to ask him out or something of the sort…go right ahead. I'm sure you two would have an interesting time"

She couldn't help the way her sarcasm had a mind of it's own, making her statement seem less genuine that it really was. Okay, maybe that was a lie, but this was a never ending conversation that she didn't have nearly enough sleep to deal with. At all.

Vega had been shot in the shoulder, and all she could see every time she closed her eyes was the way he stumbled into the wall behind him, sliding down as he tried to breathe. She was reluctant to admit it, but the backup they'd called to their suspect's home was the only thing that kept her from falling apart as she saw him hit the floor. She hadn't seen him get hit, but his back hitting the living room wall and the blood left as he fell to the floor had her feet moving before she had a chance to think. She sank to her knees, pressing her hands firmly to the bleeding wound using the wall to support him. She'd yelled out for the EMT, and he was trying his best to focus on Angie as she rambled on about him not being allowed to die just yet. She didn't remember everything she said, but his right hand coming to hold hers in place to the left of his heart made her want to let her gathering tears fall. She didn't let him see her cry, but the way he kept tracking her movement said it didn't matter. Her eyes flickered between his, silent questions flying as he squeezed her hands, giving her a pained grimace that didn't come close to a reassuring grin, but she'd take what she could get. She nodded and they stayed that way for a moment, him grasping her hands that covered his wound until the EMT showed up. He was trying to put her at ease while she was sure he was in a hell of a lot of pain. The EMT rushed him to the hospital, not knowing if the bullet had injured anything major.

She'd been teetering on the edge of too much adrenaline and not enough sleep long enough that she knew she was letting herself feel everything more than usual. She followed the ambulance to the hospital, and was forced to wait in the waiting room because Vega was being worked on and no one at that point was being allowed in. Even then once he was fine, because he was going to be fine, only family would be allowed to see him. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but that stung in a way it never really had before. With Manny off to college and things with Mark being in the past, Vega was the only one left that she cared about. Not including Betty, who she'd already talked to that tried and failed to reassure her that Vega would be alright. Betty knew her and Vega were close, and a night about four years ago that involved too little sleep and entirely too much tequila proved that she knew there was an attraction there once. She didn't remember it right away, but eventually it came back to her that Betty knew she thought Vega was intriguing. She'd never brought it up again so thankfully Betty let it go, and eventually let it get shoved away by other things in her life, Manny starting high school and whatnot. Tonight though, it all came rushing back. Five years worth of blood, sweat, and hard work couldn't erase what it felt like to have your other half nearly killed. Four inches to the left and…she didn't even want to think about it. She'd gone to scrub her hands and arms damn near raw in a bathroom, never feeling like she could quite get all of Vega's blood off of her body. She was shaken out of her mental beating when she felt someone touch her shoulder, making her jump out of her skin. She hadn't realized she was holding her head in her hands until someone thought it was a good idea to scare the crap out of her.

"Seriously? Are you trying to get killed?" She asked, her tone low and tired as she sank lower into her uncomfortable chair. She didn't spare him a glance as Mark sat beside her.

"Not usually, but I called your name twice, so it's not like I surprised you" he said, raising an eyebrow at her lack of attention to him.

"You didn't think that me not answering you meant I was asleep or something?"

"With you, I just assumed you were ignoring me"

She tilted her head in acceptance, knowing it was something she'd do. She appreciated that Mark was here…for whatever reason he had, but she really just wanted to see Vega.

"Look, I know tonight has been a long night for everyone. Why I don't I give you a ride home so you can catch up on some of that missed sleep?"

She looked up at him from staring at her fingers for the last minute or so, the annoyance at such a stupid question showing on her face. She didn't want him to be nice to her, she honestly didn't want to deal with him at all, but that wasn't her choice to make. But this, she had to get away from. She was feeling suffocated by her inability to know what Vega's status was, and it was killing her to sit here and not try to do something about it. She turned back to Julie, who seemed to be flipping through a magazine while her…mother, or maybe it was her father, was being examined. She tapped her on the shoulder lightly, switching the ring she hand on her right ring finger to her left. She stood up, ignoring Mark purposely this time in favor of getting away from the prying eyes as she talked lowly to the woman.

"Sorry I wasn't completely honest, safety reasons for the job and whatnot. And yeah, I did give it some thought, about four years ago" she murmured, watching as the woman's eyes flickered down to her ring finger and looking back at her with a soft smile. In this moment, she didn't find her nearly as insufferable as the last two hours.

"I was just wondering if you'd admit it. I lost my husband three years ago, I know what it's like to the on this side of the door"

Angie looked startled, but the almost nostalgic look Julie had on her face made her mutely nod her head as she got up and headed for the main desk.

Mark looked after her baffled, about to get up and follow her when Julie's voice stopped him. He looked over at her like she'd knocked the wind out of him, but she was too busy watching the doors to care much.

"Let her and her husband have their time, I'm sure you can wait for a little bit. They've had a stressful night, I think we all deserve some sanctuary".

Like it? Have something I should know/something interesting to add? Let me know!