The Watch

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Authors comments.

This story is dedicated to my close friend and cyber pal Sue Morden a true hero who worked for the DEA in Chicago. Sue died as a result of injuries received in the line of duty Dec 26th 2000. Sue was the one who started me writing and was always there to support and encourage me. We never actually met in person but our friendship was a close as if we had.

Thanks to my beta Joey without whose help my grammer would have been awful and to Jayne and Claudia for believing in me.

All the usual disclaimers apply Diagnosis Murder and the characters in it are owned by CBS and Viacom, I just borrowed them for a little while and promise to put them back when I've finished.

Summary: This story is in answer to challege Numbers:
129 - Mark accidently shoots Steve and
147 - Steve in a plane crash in the mountains and has to survive until help arrives. A mountain lion could jump and claw Steve before he can shoot it.

Add to that a mystery illness that has Steve fighting for his life. The gang have to find out whats wrong with Steve before it's too late.

Rating PG

Community General Hospital - Dr Marks Sloan's room.

Dr Mark Sloan suddenly sat bolt upright in his hospital bed, his whole body rigid, a terrible high pitched scream ripped from his throat.

"Steve!!! Nooooo!!!

Jesse and Amanda were at his side instantly. Mark's face was ghostly white and covered in a sheen of sweat, his hands trembling. He stared unseeingly ahead of him.

"I've killed him," his voice no more than a whisper now, "He's dead and I killed him, my own son, what have I done?"

He turned to stare at Jesse and Amanda but not really seeing them. The grief and pain etched on his face, his eyes sunken and hollow.

"He was my son, how could I have done this? I loved him and I killed him."

He started to sob, great big gut wrenching sobs, his whole body shaking, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

******

Five days earlier a cabin somewhere in the mountains north of LA.

Lt Steve Sloan leaned back in his chair as he sat on the porch of the cabin feeling more relaxed than he had done in months. He was glad to put the nightmare of the past year behind him. His mind drifted back to that awful time, the shooting that almost took his life and his fathers arrest for a murder he didn't commit. He shuddered at the emotions thinking about it had brought out. It had been a rough ride for him, he'd almost died but it had been even worse for his father. While he was lying in a hospital bed in a coma his father had been arrested for murder. He hadn't been there for his father when he needed him most. He'd never felt so helpless in his entire adult life. During the trial he'd still been in hospital and had only managed to persuade Jesse to let him out of hospital, albeit in a wheel chair, on the final day of his fathers trial. Jesse had wheeled him into the the court room just in time to hear his fathers conviction and sentence. His whole world seemed to have collapsed around him at that point. If it hadn't been for Jesse and Amanda he didn't know how he would have gotten through those long months. His father had eventually been proved innocent and Steve had recovered enough to return to duty but the emotional scars as well as the physical ones were still there. Every now and then the nightmares would return to haunt his sleep. Horrible nightmares, best forgotten.

This trip had been the turning point and he now felt he could move on from the past. It had been a great couple of days and he was glad that his father had agreed to come on this trip with him. He knew Mark had been both shocked and surprised when he had suggested hiring a plane and flying up to this cabin in the mountains. Steve hadn't flown since his days in Vietnam, because he didn't want any reminders of that terrible time in his life. But if this weekend was going to be about putting the past behind him, well it was time for that too. A new beginning, that's what it was going to be, time to put the past where it belonged, well and truly behind him.

He looked around at the view, breathing in the fresh mountain air. Well the brochure had been right about one thing. The fresh mountain air really did help you relax and this place was certainly away from it all. The cabin was high up in the mountains, not far from a lovely clear, cool stream that seemed to hold an abundance of fish. Both Steve and Mark were keen fishermen and had spent the day fishing in the crystal clear waters of the stream. They managed quite a catch and Mark had produced a wonderful meal that evening. The fish had been so fresh and Mark being a great cook had done them proud.

Okay so Steve didn't usually appreciate the fancy food his father cooked. Truth be told he much preferred hospital food and had been the butt of many of Jesse's jokes on the subject but this had been a very special meal and his father had gone to so much trouble cooking it. In fact he'd been very surprised when he'd actually enjoyed the whole meal, right down to the fancy dessert his father had managed to produce from nowhere.

Steve took a deep breath and filled his lungs with the fresh mountain air. Yes this had been a good idea after all. This weekend away had done them both the world of good, in fact he couldn't remember a time when his father had looked so relaxed. Well the surprises haven't finished yet, he thought, grinning to himself. It was his dad's birthday the next day and he had arranged a surprise birthday party back at the beach house, with Jesse and Amanda's help of course. He couldn't wait to see the look on his fathers face when he walked in the door to find the house full of his friends.

"You're looking very pleased about something Steve."

Steve almost jumped out of his skin, he hadn't heard his father come out onto the porch. He quickly regained his composure.

"I was just thinking how peaceful it is up here" he said smiling at his dad.

"Steve, I want to thank you for this weekend, it's been wonderful" said Mark smiling warmly at his son.

"My pleasure dad, you deserved a break, you've been so busy lately."

Steve got up slowly, yawning, the fresh mountain air did make you tired. "I'm going to turn in now dad, we've got a long flight ahead of us tomorrow. Night dad."

"Night son."

Steve was up early the next morning, cooking his fathers favourite breakfast. He turned as his father came into the room.

"Something smells good" said Mark sniffing the air.

Steve turned and went over to his father embracing him in a big hug.

"Happy Birthday, Dad."

Mark smiled. "Thank you, son."

"Dad why don't you go and sit down, breakfast will be ready in a minute."

Mark moved over to the table in the middle of the kitchen. The table had been laid with a red and white gingham cloth and there was a small brightly coloured box with Mark's name on right in the middle of it.

Steve came over a few minutes later with a plate piled high with hot cakes, bacon and eggs.

"Wow you are spoiling me son," said Mark sounding very surprised. His son wasn't exactly known for his culinary talents, or for being an early riser, come to think of it. Steve eyed the unopened present
.
"Aren't you going to open it?" he said pointing to the box.

"I was waiting for you to join me."

Mark slowly opened the box. He was speechless, he didn't know what to say. His eyes filled with tears. Slowly and gently he lifted the present out of the box.

"Steve this is...." he couldn't think what to say, his heart was full of emotion.

Steve was starting to think he had made a mistake with the present when his father looked up at him.

"Steve how can I thank you? This, this is the best present I've ever had!". He hugged his son tightly.
"How did you find it? I lost it years ago."

Steve looked at the watch his father was holding.

"I was looking through some old boxes in the basement, I can't even remember what I was looking for now, when down behind the back of them I found your watch. I remembered how important it was to you and how devastated you were when you lost it."

"Yes, said Mark his voice full of sadness now. It was the watch Katherine had given him on their 25th wedding anniversary. He'd lost it not long after she died and it was as if he'd lost her all over again. He'd been shattered by it, especially coming on top of losing his wife.

"I took it to a watchmaker and he was able to repair it and make it look as good as new."

Mark hugged Steve again, unable to put into words how he was feeling, but Steve understood anyway such was the strong bond between them. A bond that would surely be tested very soon.

******

The slow droning of the engine had lulled Mark into a light doze. Steve glanced over at his fathers face. He seemed at peace with the world. The sun reflected off his fathers watch making small patterns on the dash board. All was well with the world thought Steve. In a few more hours they would be back at the beach house celebrating his dad's birthday in style.

His peace was suddenly shattered by the sound of the engine coughing and spluttering.

Steve groaned, slowly he opened his eyes. It was almost dark now.

"Dad"" he said softly. "Dad can you hear me?" Mark was still lying on top of him and he didn't think he had the strength left to try and roll him off. Mark moaned but didn't move. Steve tried to get out from under him but white hot pain shot through his whole body and he passed out again.

The next thing Steve was aware of was feeling very cold and that the heavy weight of his fathers body was no longer on top of him. He slowly opened his eyes blinking as the bright light shone into them. He slowly came to his senses and looked around for his father. Mark was lying next to him his face pale and drawn. He was obviously in a lot of pain. His breathing was coming in labored, agonised gasps.

"Dad" Steve suddenly realised where he was. "Dad are you okay?" Stupid question it was obvious his father wasn't okay but he needed to know how badly he was hurt. Steve sat up slowly remembering the last time he got up to fast.

"My leg's broken" gasped his father in obvious discomfort. Steve took a closer look at his father, his face was deathly pale.

"Dad." Steve spoke quietly to his father. "I'm going to look around for something to splint your leg with, stay still, I'll be right back."

Steve slowly got to his feet swaying dizzily as he did so.

"Steve are you okay? Are you injured?" came his father's worried voice.

"I'm fine dad," he lied. "Just a bump on the head, nothing to worry about." No sense in worrying his father. His abdomen felt like it was on fire and it hurt to breathe. There was nothing his father could do for him. He tried to ignore the pain as he searched around for two long pieces of wood to use as splints.

It wasn't long before he found some suitable branches. He used his belt and his fathers belt to strap the splints in place.

"Sorry dad this is going to hurt."

"I know son, go ahead."

Steve pulled the belts as tight as he could trying to immobilize his fathers injured leg. A gasp of pain escaped from Mark's lips and a sheen of sweat formed on his now ashen face.

"Good job!" he managed to croak out when Steve had finished. He knew Steve hated to cause his father any pain and it wasn't easy for him to do this. He was very glad for Steve's first aid training though. He didn't think he could have splinted his leg by himself.

Now that his leg wasn't hurting so much Mark turned to his son.

"Now let me have a look at you."

Steve moved away, not wanting his father to see how badly he was hurt. "I'm okay dad."

Mark knew that Steve was hiding something. He never did like to admit when he was hurt or injured.

Quickly changing the subject Steve said, "We have to find some shelter. It's too exposed here." They had been lucky last night. This area was full of mountain lions and it was too dangerous for them to stay out in the open once it got dark. "Dad we need to find somewhere we can build a signal fire so that the search parties can find us when they come looking. Amanda and Jesse are sure to worry when we don't turn up tonight." He didn't have the heart to add they were expecting him at his surprise party. Some birthday this was turning out to be. Instead of giving his father a wonderful time, he had managed to crash the plane and injure them both. He felt he had let his father down badly and wondered just how he would make it up to him when and if they ever got out of here alive.

"Dad if I help you up do you think you can move?"

Mark wasn't sure but if Steve could hide his pain so could he.

"Yes son, I'll try."

Steve gently helped his father to his feet trying not to show how much pain he was in. He knew they needed to stay as close as possible to the plane, first rule of survival but with the plane down the side of the mountain that wasn't going to be possible. He had to find a way to get down to the wreckage and that meant a long walk until they could find somewhere suitable to descend down into the valley below. There was no telling when rescue would come so it was up to him to keep them both alive until they did. They needed to find some shelter, the days on the mountain might be mild but the nights were freezing cold and he didn't want his father to die of exposure before help arrived.

They walked for as long as they could each caught up in their own thoughts. Mark was leaning heavily on Steve. He could tell from the way his son was moving so stiffly and from his ragged breathing that something was terribly wrong with him. He wished Steve would let him examine him, but there was nothing he could do even if he did find anything wrong. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he wasn't looking where he was going and his foot caught on a small rock sticking out of the ground. He lost his balance bringing Steve crashing to the ground with him. Pain shot through his leg causing him to scream in agony. He lay there for a few moments trying desperately to get his breathing under control. The pain started to ease off.

He turned to his son.

"Steve I...." Steve was lying on the ground unmoving, his eyes closed, face ashen and his breath coming in rough gasps.

"Steve no!" he screamed, fear for his son overwhelming him. Mark dragged himself over to his son ignoring his own pain. Tentatively he brought two shaking fingers to the pulse point on Steve's neck. His pulse was racing. Mark felt hot tears running down his cheeks. "Steve," he called wishing his son would wake up and answer him. Steve didn't answer he just lay there still and unmoving. Mark moved close to his son and lay down beside him closing his eyes as pain and exhaustion finally took their toll on his aging body.

Mark wasn't aware of how long he had been asleep. But it was getting late now, dark shadows were starting to form on the forest floor. He stretched stiff and aching muscles when Steve moaned and opened his eyes.

"Steve, Steve can you hear me?" Mark's voice was full of concern for his son.

"Dad?" Steve croaked, his mouth was dry. "That must have been some fall. Are you okay?"

"Yes, son," Mark answered, typical of Steve to be worried about him. "What about you?" He knew what Steve's answer would be before he even asked it, but he asked anyway.

"I'm fine," said Steve starting to shiver with the cold. "It's getting late, I think we had better stay put for the night, we don't want to get lost in the dark." Steve slowly got to his feet. Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out his gun and handed it to his father.

Mark looked questioningly at his son.

"Dad it's for your protection. We need to start a fire. I'm going to go looking for some firewood and I don't want you unprotected while I'm gone."

"But Steve what about you?" Mark's face was full of concern.

"I'll be fine, I'll keep moving but you are a sitting duck for any wildlife that decides you would make a nice dinner." Steve smiled trying to lighten the mood. "Dad," he said, his voice full of warmth for the father he loved so dearly. "I'll be fine, we need to get a fire going, it's cold."

Mark knew there was no way of stopping Steve once he had made up his mind.

Steve turned to leave.

"Be careful son," said Mark his voice full of emotion.

"I will dad," Steve smiled, "be back before you know it." With that he turned and left.

****

Search and Rescue Headquarters end of first day of searching.

Jesse thumped the table in frustration. It had been a long tiring day and with no sighting of the plane or it's passengers Jesse was feeling miserable.

Amanda put her hand on his arm trying to reassure him.

"We'll find them. You know Mark and Steve, they are both pretty tough and resourceful. They have plenty of survival skills, I'm sure they'll be fine until we get to them."

"I know," replied Jesse trying to smile and failing. "I just feel so damm helpless. They are out there somewhere." He pointed outside waving his arm in an arc. "They could be injured or even..." his voice trailed off. He was unable to think of them not coming back. Steve was his best friend and Mark, well he thought of him more like a father really. No they had to come back.

"Jesse we'll find them. C'mon we'd better turn in. It won't do either of them any good if we are too exhausted to help them." Amanda stood up and started towards the door.

Jesse took one final look outside into the dark night. "We'll find you," he whispered and then followed Amanda out of the door and into the cool night air.

****

Mark was getting worried. Steve had been gone what seemed to him to be a very long time and it was starting to get dark. He automatically looked for his watch only to discover to his horror that it was missing. He groaned in disbelief when he realised he had lost it again. This time forever. He felt his heart break in two all over again as the painful memories of his wife's death washed over him. He sat for sometime, lost in his pain when he heard a noise. Must be Steve coming back. Quickly he pulled down his sleeve not wanting his son to notice his missing watch. After all the trouble Steve had gone through to get the watch fixed, he had let him down by not being more careful with it. Now it was lost forever, he had let Steve down badly, he only hoped his son would understand and forgive him his carelessness.

Steve came back breathing heavily. He seemed to be bent over but he was carrying a large bundle of wood. Still Mark was pretty sure Steve was hiding an injury from him.

"Sorry I took so long dad" he said breathlessly. He put the wood down and quickly made a fire. He had just finished building it up when he heard a low growl coming from the trees behind him. Unable to turn quickly because of the pain he was in, Steve didn't see the lion pounce until it was too late.

Mark had looked up when he had heard the growl too late to warn Steve of impending danger.

The lion jumped on Steve's back pushing him to the ground and knocking the wind out of his lungs. Taking big gasping breaths Steve tried to call out to his father for help. The lions powerful claws scraped along Steve's back sending waves of agony through him. Steve cried out unable to hide his pain any longer.

Mark looked down at the gun in his lap too shocked for a moment to think clearly.

Steve managed to get his breath back.

"Dad!!" he screamed. "Shoot it!!"

Mark tried to get a clear shot but Steve and the lion were rolling around on the ground.

"Dad" Steve's voice was ragged with pain. "Pleeeease!"

Mark took aim, his arm shaking from the fear that he might hit his son. He had to shoot or Steve would be killed by the lion. The lion roared again and lifted its head. Mark fired twice his hand shaking uncontrollably now. The lion seemed to make a yelping sound then turned and ran off into the nearby trees, roaring all the way.

Steve was left lying limp and motionless on the ground. Mark hardly daring to breathe and fearing the worst crawled across to where his son lay. He ignored the pain in his leg, intent only on reaching his son. He was horrified at what he saw.

Steve's shirt had been torn apart, great big scratches criss-crossed his back. Marks eyes widened in horror as he saw the neat round hole just below Steve's left shoulder blade.

"Nooo" he wailed, he had shot his own son.

Rapidly going into shock Mark grabbed his son and pulled him into his arms, close against his body oblivious now to anything around him.

****

Search Headquarters Next Day

Jesse stood up and started pacing around the room. Nerves were stretched taut with worry for his friends.

"Come and sit down, try and relax, you'll wear a hole in the floor," said Amanda who was feeling every bit as tense as he was. "You heard what Captain Williams said. We have to wait here until there is a sighting of the plane."

Jesse swung around to face Amanda. "Amanda I ..." Just then Capt Peter Williams poked his head around the door.

Peter was tall and well built with light brown hair, greying at the sides. Amanda would have found him attractive had the circumstances been different. He looked towards them, both had worried frowns on their faces.

"It's okay guys, relax. I've got some good news for you."

Jesse and Amanda let out the breaths they had been holding and both started to speak at once. Peter put up his hand to silence them.

"Guys please."

They both sat silently waiting to hear what he had to say.

"One of our search planes has reported sighting some wreckage, but it's pretty smashed up. Doesn't look like anyone could have survived a crash like that. We've got a chopper going up to the area, leaving in 5 minutes, that's if you two are interested in tagging along."

Jesse and Amanda jumped to their feet eager to get started. Neither of them were willing to believe that Mark and Steve were dead.

Fifteen minutes after arriving at the scene Amanda was sitting on a rock, face in her hands sobbing quietly, trying to adjust to the horror of the crash site that confronted them. Jesse was picking his way through the wreckage both unable and unwilling to accept that Steve and Mark were dead.

Amanda suddenly jumped to her feet - something had been niggling at the back of her mind.

"That's it," she yelled.

"That's what?" questioned Jesse, looking at a now very animated Amanda.

"Jesse when you were looking through the wreckage just now did you see anything personal that Steve or Mark might be wearing?"

"Like what?" asked Jesse, unsure where Amanda's questions were leading.

"Like Steve's gun, or their watches. Even though the fire was pretty intense, I would have at least expected Steve's gun to be around here somewhere."

They quickly started searching through the wreckage again - coming up with nothing.

"Yes !!" said Amanda, smiling now.

Jesse just stared at her, uncomprehending.

"We didn't find Steve's gun and you know Steve, he would never let that gun out of his sight. So if the gun's missing..."

"Steve couldn't have been in the wreck," concluded Jesse excitedly.

"But if they aren't here, then where are they?"

They searched around again looking for clues as to where their friends might be.

"Amanda, over here!" yelled Jesse pointing to the side of the slope. "Looks like the plane came down here."

Amanda turned to the now bewildered pilot. "Can you get us up there?" she said pointing to the top of the slope.

"Sure can, Ma'am" answered the pilot, still unsure what was going on but happy to help out.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go," replied Amanda, her voice full of renewed hope.

It wasn't long before Amanda spotted Steve and Mark in a clearing below them.

****

Marks Room - Present Day
Community General Hospital.

Dr Mark Sloan suddenly sat bolt upright in his hospital bed, his whole body rigid. A terrible high pitched scream ripped from his throat.

"Steve!!! Nooooo!!!"

Jesse and Amanda were at his side instantly. Mark's face was ghostly white and covered in a sheen of sweat, his hands trembling. He stared unseeingly ahead of him.

"I've killed him!" His voice no more than a whisper now. "He's dead and I killed him - my own son! What have I done?"

He turned to stare at Jesse and Amanda but not really seeing them. The grief and pain etched on his face, his eyes sunken and hollow.

"He was my son, how could I have done this? I loved him and I killed him." He started to sob - great big gut wrenching sobs, his whole body shaking, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

Amanda gently put her arms around Mark's shoulders trying to comfort him. He just pushed her away.

"He's dead - my son's dead and I killed him!" Mark wailed.

Amanda grabbed Mark by the shoulders pulling him up and forcing him to make eye contact with her.

"Mark, Steve's not dead." She spoke slowly and deliberately trying to get through to him.

She tried again. "He's alive Mark, Steve's alive."

Mark stopped sobbing and looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Not dead?" He spoke haltingly, still not quite able to comprehend the magnitude of Amanda's words.

"No, Mark he's alive. He's right here at Community General."

"I didn't kill him?"

"No Mark you didn't."

"Can, can I see him?" Mark spoke haltingly, still bewildered by everything that was happening.

Jesse came close to Mark's bed. Putting his hand on Mark's shoulder and squeezing it gently he said, "Mark, Steve's very sick. He's in ICU - he had a ruptured spleen, he was bleeding internally, he lost a lot of blood."

Mark looked up at Jesse. "I knew his was hurt but he wouldn't let me examine him. I should have insisted."

"Mark there was nothing you could have done for Steve out there." Jesse tried to reassure his friend.

"I should have tried." Mark didn't want reassurance, he felt too guilty for that just now. "How bad is he?"

"He's okay." Jesse put a reassuring hand on Mark's arm as his friend's face drained of what little colour it had. "We managed to repair the damage. He's also got a lot of lacerations and deep scratches on his back. The bullet didn't hit any vital organs and we've been able to remove it. The wound is infected and we've got him on broad spectrum antibiotics. The infection should start clearing up in the next 24 hours. Mark." he spoke gently, "right now he's sleeping. He's extremely weak and with the infection, he needs all the rest he can get. You didn't get off lightly either. You've got a broken Tibia and Fibia as well as suffering from shock and exposure. Why don't you get some rest now? I'll take you to see Steve a bit later, okay?"

Mark was feeling tired but he desperately wanted to see his son. To make sure he was indeed going to be alright. He still felt a tremendous sense of guilt at having shot his son in the first place. Knowing he was going to be fine didn't make him feel any better.

He suddenly felt himself feeling sleepy.

"What the...?"

"Sorry. Mark - but you need to get some rest," said Jesse as he removed the syringe from the IV port. "It's just a light sedative to help you sleep."

"I'll stay with you, Mark." Amanda could sense Mark's frustration and anxiety. "Jesse will keep an eye on Steve and as soon as he wakes up we'll take you to see him. Deal?"

"Deal," replied Mark, yawning. His eyelids started to flutter and he was soon sleeping peacefully.

****

Jesse checked Steve's charts again. Something was seriously wrong. Steve's temperature had been climbing steadily for the last hour and it was now 103Ec. The antibiotics were having no effect at all.

Suddenly Steve began to gag, his breathing coming in staccato gasps, the EKG started racing then flat lined. Jesse swung into doctor mode as he fought desperately to save his best friends life.

Finally, 20 minutes later, an emotionally drained Jesse stood back and checked the monitors again. That had been close. They had managed to stabilise Steve's condition for the time being at least. He watched the gentle rise and fall of his friends chest in time with the respirator that was breathing for him. His lungs had filled with fluid and he was no longer able to breathe on his own.

Fifteen minutes later found Jesse in the doctors lounge pouring over Steve's blood work. He just couldn't work out what was happening to his friend. He'd never seen a virus like this before. It was a total mystery to him.

Amanda came in a short time later and filled her cup with coffee. One look at Jesse's pale, drawn face and she knew something was seriously wrong.. "It's Steve, isn't it? Tell me Jesse, please." She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she waited for him to reply.

Jesse turned tired eyes to look at Amanda.

"I don't get it. Steve's getting worse. I've never seen an infection like it before. His whole body is breaking down. It's destroying his white blood cells, his liver and kidneys are starting to fail, he can't breathe on his own anymore and his temp was 104Ec and rising last time I checked. I'm doing everything I can and nothing is working. Amanda," his face took on a pleading look, "Steve's dying and I can't help him - what kind of doctor does that make me?" Jesse buried his head in his hands.

Amanda hated to see Jesse like this. It wasn't like him to admit defeat.

All her pathologist training suddenly kicked in. This was a mystery waiting to be solved and the patient was very much alive and she intended to keep him that way.

"Okay Jesse, we have a mystery to solve, tell me what you know."

Jesse looked up and shrugged.

"Not much, the infection seems to stem from the bullet wound. All Steve's other injuries are free of infection. I've never seen anything like it. The whole area around the wound is swollen and deep purple in colour.

"Right," said Amanda, standing up. "First we have to go talk to Mark. Find out what happened and how Steve got shot in the first place. Then we go from there. Jesse, we are going to save Steve," she said in her sternest voice.

He tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes.

Jesse and Amanda entered Mark's room. This wasn't going to be easy. Jesse took a deep breath.

"Mark we need your help."

Jesse explained to Mark about Steve's condition.

"You think the bullet caused the virus? asked Mark bewildered.

"Yes, we do, Mark - I'm sorry," replied Jesse, feeling guilty for putting his friend through this renewed pain.

"Then I did kill him." Mark's voice sounded hollow and empty.

"Mark no!" Amanda's voice was full of concern for her friend and mentor. "Maybe if you tell us what happened we can find out what's wrong with Steve."

Mark explained what had happened and how he had shot Steve instead of the lion.

Jesse shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. The bullet going straight into Steve wouldn't have caused this kind of mystery virus. I would have expected normal run of the mill infection, not something like this."

"Unless..." said Amanda becoming animated again.

"Unless the bullet passed through the lion first. What if Mark didn't shoot Steve? What if he did shoot the lion and the bullet passed through it and then into Steve." She turned to Jesse. "Do you still have the bullet?"

"Sure it's down in the lab waiting for forensic testing."

"Forensic testing?" queried Amanda, alarmed where this might be leading.

"Yeah, look I didn't want to say anything before but Captain Masters wanted the bullet kept, just in case Steve didn't make it. Mark might have to be charged with murder." Jesse hadn't wanted to tell Mark and Amanda about this development, not yet anyway. He had hoped that the subject would never come up and that Steve would be able to straighten this whole shooting mess out before it came to charges being laid.

"Jesse you can't be serious? Charge Mark with murder?" Amanda was almost shouting now.

"Amanda, calm down, please, I did shoot Steve remember, at least until we can prove different. Captain Masters is just doing his duty." Mark's voice was full of pain and torment as he spoke.

Amanda turned to look directly at Mark. "Mark I know you didn't shoot Steve - deliberately or accidently. I'll do everything I can to save Steve's life. I'm going to run some tests on the bullet, see what I can come up with." With that she rushed out of the room hurrying towards her lab. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and hopefully save Steve's life.

"Jesse?" Mark looked pleadingly at his friend. "I need to see Steve now."

"I know," replied Jesse his voice cracking with emotion. "I'll go get a wheelchair for you."

****
Mark steeled himself to go into Steve's room. Jesse had already informed him of Steve's condition but nothing could have prepared him for the sight that greeted him.

His normally strong, healthy son so full of life just a few short days ago now lay limp and motionless on the bed. His was body covered in sweat. His healthy tan was replaced by a horrible grey colour and his chest and arms were covered in grotesque looking purple blotches. Machines were keeping him alive, tubes and wires coming from everywhere - he looked more like something out of a horror movie than his own loving son.

"Steve, no!!" he wailed, unable to hold back his emotions any longer. "What have I done?"

Jesse squeezed his shoulder trying to reassure and comfort his friend. Mark turned questioning eyes on him.

"Mark, I wish I had the answers for you but I don't. The blotches started appearing once his temperature reached 104Ec. He's stabilised for the moment. I've run every test I can think of but we're still no closer to finding out what's wrong with him. Maybe Amanda will be able to give us a clue?"

Amanda studied the bullet very carefully. There were definitely traces of animal hair and non human blood on it. She looked into her microscope searching for anything unusual in the blood. What she saw made her own blood turn to ice.

Jesse left Mark alone with his son. There was nothing more Mark could do and Steve needed him there beside him. He had to keep fighting. Mark wouldn't let him give up. He'd fight for his son.

****

"Amanda any luck?" asked Jesse as he walked towards her. "Amanda what's wrong?" He suddenly noticed her face was white as a sheet and she was shaking like a leaf. She looked at him, unable to speak and pointed to the microscope. Jesse for the life of him couldn't understand what had spooked the normally unflappable pathologist. He looked into the microscope and gasped in horror. He turned to look at her. "My God, where did this come from?" He had an idea he wasn't going to like the answer to this question but he had to ask.

"The bullet!" Her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Amanda, if this gets out..."

"I know," she answered.

Jesse picked up the nearest phone. "We need to get Steve into isolation immediately."

"Jesse, wait, please. If this was an airborne virus Mark would have come down with it by now. It looks more like it's a blood borne virus . We don't want to cause a massive panic until we know for sure. I'll call the Department of Health and we'll go from there."

"Fine, but what about Steve? How can we help him?"

"First of all we have to find the lion."

Jesse was about to say something about looking for a needle in a haystack but one look at Amanda's face and he just said, "How?"

"If Mark is right and he shot the lion twice, then from what we know has happened to Steve my guess is the lion is already dead, either from massive blood loss or the infection. I'll contact the ranger station. We have to find that lion if we are to have any hope of saving Steve's life." Amanda picked up the phone and made the call.

It didn't take long to find the lion. Amanda had it's carcass brought back to the pathology lab at the local zoo for an autopsy. Maybe that would give them a clue to what was causing Steve's infection.

****

"Damn!" she said as she pulled off her rubber gloves. The lion died of massive kidney and liver failure, its white cell count was almost non existent. She turned to the zoo vet. "Thanks for your help."

"Sorry I couldn't do more." He smiled at Amanda - she sure had lovely eyes. "Look, I don't know if this is any help but I think I recognise the lion. His left molar is missing. Hang on a minute I'll just check my files."

Amanda wondered what this was all about. She desperately wanted to get back to the hospital and check on Steve.

"Here we are." Paul handed Amanda a manilla folder. She gave him a questioning look, not sure where all this was leading. "Come and sit down." He waved his arm towards some chairs at the other end of the surgery. "Coffee?"

"Uh, thanks." Amanda was still puzzled.

"Look I'm breaking all the zoo rules here but I think this may be important. About 12 months ago a lion escaped from the zoo."

"I didn't hear about that, there wasn't anything on the news was there?"

"No, there wasn't, you see it was all hushed up."

"Why? And what's this got to do with Steve's mystery illness?" Amanda was even more puzzled now.

"I'm getting to that," replied Paul smiling at her. "You see, the lion didn't just escape - he got into our research centre and ate one of the lab monkeys."

"Fine," said Amanda, rapidly losing patience. She still couldn't work out what all this had to do with Steve.

Paul continued.

"The monkey in the lab had been infected with an experimental virus. I'm not sure what it was. It was some government project that was scrapped soon afterwards. All I know what that it was top secret."

"And you think that the lion was infected and he in turn infected Steve?"

"Yeah."

"Well that still doesn't help Steve. Both the lion and the monkey are dead and we have no way of finding a cure now." Amanda felt she had failed Steve. He was definitely going to die and there wasn't a thing she could do about it. He was always there for her when she needed him and the one time he was depending on her and she had failed him.

Paul continued talking but Amanda wasn't really listening, too caught up in her own private grief and guilt.

Suddenly her head snapped up.

"Paul what did you just say?"

"I said that a keeper was bitten by the monkey just before the lion ate him. He was very sick for quite a while. Some government people took him away and when he came back he was fine. He said he'd developed an antibody to the virus."

"That's it!" Amanda sprang from her seat, grabbed Paul's face with both hands and kissed him full on the lips. She grabbed her bag and was gone before the stunned man had time to react.

****

Jesse rushed to the path lab. Amanda had been almost incoherent on the phone but he had sensed the urgency in her voice. She was talking to someone on the phone when he entered.

"Thanks Ron I owe you one." She laughed at something he said and then hung up.

She turned a beaming smile on Jesse.

"Amanda what is it? What did you find?

"I think I know how to save Steve!"she answered breathlessly.

"How? What? When?" the words tumbled out of Jesse's mouth.

"Slow down, Jesse."

"Fine." Jesse took a deep breath. "Now what have you got?"

Amanda explained about what she had found out at the zoo. " I've just been talking to Ron. You remember Ron don't you? FBI agent Ron?"

"Sure but what has he got to do with it?"

"He gave me the name and address of the keeper. All we have to do is go find him, take a blood sample and make up an antidote for Steve using his antibodies as a base."

"Well what are you waiting for?" said Jesse heading towards the door.

****

The Beach House Six Weeks Later.

Jesse and Amanda were preparing for Steve's homecoming party. At least that's what Mark thought as he left to pick up Steve at the hospital.

Amanda had been looking out of the window.

"They're here, everybody hide."

Mark helped Steve into the house. He was still very weak and it would be a few weeks before he could return to work but he was just glad to be home again.

Mark had just settled Steve onto the couch when the room suddenly seemed to fill with people.

"Surprise, happy birthday Mark" they all chorused.

Mark was speechless. He turned to Steve who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Steve?"

"Dad it's your surprise birthday party. I'm sorry you didn't make it to the first one."

Mark was overcome with emotion. He hugged his son. "Thank you, Steve," he said, eyes filling with tears.

The party was a great success but Mark noticed that Steve was becoming exhausted. Jesse and Amanda helped him to say goodbye to all his guests and the house was quiet again.

Jesse and Amanda looking very pleased with themselves.

"Dad?"

"Yes Son?"

Steve was holding out a special box. "Happy Birthday"

Mark looked puzzled. He took the box and opened it. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he carefully lifted the watch out of the box.

"I thought I'd lost it forever. How did you...?"

"I found it when I went to pull you out of the plane. It must have fallen off in the crash." Steve's eyes clouded over and a lump formed in his throat as he remembered that time and the overwhelming fear he had felt that his father could be dead.

Mark grabbed his son and hugged him. No words were needed.

"Happy birthday Dad."

"Welcome Home Son."

THE END.