A door banged open. A woman shoved a staggering man into the hallway, where he flailed against the far wall.

"How could you? How are we going to pay the bills now that you don't have a job? What'll happen to Pete now? Don't you ever think of anyone but yourself? Come back when you have your act together!" She slammed the door.

"Kathy! Wait, I..." The man grabbed at the door, rattling the knob, but it was firmly locked. He raised a fist to knock, then slumped against the door. He stayed like that for untold minutes, staring blankly at the paint peeling off the ceiling, then finally pushed himself up and walked away on unsteady feet, hands automatically pulling a battered cap with a Northwest Trucking logo over his disheveled hair.

"Hello? Bruce! Hey, how're you, man?" Blair spoke into the phone, hastily adjusting the pillows so he could sit up comfortably. "Really? That sucks... Uh, huh... Well, hope you feel better soon... Sure, what is it?... Hospital visits? For children?... Wow, I've heard of those Visit-a-Pet programs, but I've never..." Blair slapped Jim's teasing hand away from his thigh. Jim persisted, and their hands tangled as Blair held off Jim from making inroads toward more sensitive spots. "Uh, huh, uh, hm... Yeah, well if you're sure Sky'll be ok with... Yeah, she is, isn't she? I enjoyed having her, too... No, no problem at all, as luck would have it, Jim and I have the day off tomorrow... Great. What time?... Yeah, that's fine." Jim's hand twitched. Blair grimaced and slapped it again, harder. "Do you want us to bring you anything?... Ok. See you tomorrow, then... Sure, I'm looking forward to it, too. Bye."

Returning the phone to its cradle on the nightstand, he turned his full attention on Jim. "You heard?"

Jim didn't dignify that with an answer.

"So." Blair scrambled back under the covers. "If we get up early enough, we have time for breakfast at Campus Cookery before we pick up Sky."

"We? When did I get volunteered to spend my day off at the hospital chaperoning a dog and a bunch of kids?" Jim groused as he turned, allowing Blair to settle comfortably against his chest, a finger stroking Blair's hair.

Blair laughed, and didn't dignify that with an answer.

"So we go in, watch the kids play with Sky, and we don't have to do anything?" Jim's voice dripped with skepticism. He reached the hospital entrance and pushed it open.

Blair held the leash short as he and Sky walked under Jim's arms. "Come on, Jim, how hard can it be?" he said, as the three of them continued walking down the corridor. "The kids really like Sky, she knows them well. She's been doing this for months! All we have to do is follow her lead."

Jim rolled his eyes as he headed toward Security. The officer saw them coming and met them at the door. "Hi, you must be Jim and Blair!" He shook their hands. "Hi, girl! How ya doing?" He bent to pet Sky, then straightened to shepherd them into the office. "Bruce told me you were coming. Step right in, I have some forms for you to fill out, then you can go right up."

Jim frowned at the proffered clipboard. "Can't seem to get away from paperwork wherever I go, huh?" he commented as he started filling out the information.

"Ain't that the truth," the officer agreed. "Real good of you to bring Sky, though. The kids look forward to her visits, and they would've been real disappointed if she couldn't make it. How's Bruce, by the way?"

As Jim explained that Bruce was basically okay and just didn't want to risk giving his "bug" to the children, Blair leaned against the doorway, carefully holding Sky close. At his signal, the dog sat obediently, tail swishing excitedly against the floor.

"Good girl." Blair bent down, fondly patting her head. "You excited about seeing the kids? Ready for a good visit?"

Sky gazed lovingly into Blair's eyes and swished her tail even faster -- then yelped as a big foot stepped hard on it.

Arm reflexively cradling Sky, Blair looked up and found himself staring into a haggard and unkempt face sporting a Northwest Trucking cap.

"Dog?" The man snarled. "What the hell's a dog doing in a hospital?"

Before Blair could decide how to respond, the man moved away, muttering under his breath. Shaking his head, Blair concentrated on soothing Sky, making sure she was okay.

"Dad!" The boy smiled, obviously delighted to see his visitor. "When did you get back?"

"Last night," said the man, as he pulled up a chair next to the bed and deposited his cap onto the bedside table. "How you doing, buddy?" He ruffled his son's hair.

"Aw." The boy squirmed. "Don't!"

"Sorry." The man raised his hands in mock surrender.

The boy squinted, watching as his father ran a hand through his disorderly hair. "Dad?" he asked hesitantly. "Is everything all right?"

"Hmmm?" The man looked at the boy. "Yeah, Pete, everything's fine. Just had a long drive, you know." He shook his shoulders as if to get the stiffness out. "Hey, you didn't answer my question. How's my boy?"

Pete looked down, hands fiddling the blankets. "I want to go home," he said softly.

"Hey, we talked about that, right? You need to stay here, so the doctors can take care of you."

"I wish Mom didn't have to work so much," Pete mumbled.

"She comes to see you every day, right?"

Pete shook his head. "Sometimes she comes when I'm asleep. Or like yesterday, she came while I was on the machine, and I didn't get to talk with her. I..." he slapped his fist against the bed. "I'm just tired of being sick!"

"Hey, hey." The man reached out and gathered the boy into his arms. "I know, I want you home, too."

"Judy got her kidney last week, Dad. Chris is getting his today. When can I get mine, Dad? When?"

"I don't know, Pete. These things take time. You understand that, don't you?"

The boy nodded slowly, then looked into his father's eyes. "Dad? If I'm good, will Santa bring me a kidney for Christmas?"

Blair stood by the rec room window, watching with smug satisfaction as Jim expertly herded the children, making sure everyone got an equal share of time petting Sky. He grinned at the boy seated in a chair next to him, waiting patiently for his turn with the dog. The boy grinned back at Blair for a second before turning excited eyes back to Sky, now lapping up the attention of a slight, frail-looking girl.

"Everyone loves Sky, don't they?" Blair said.

"Oh yes. She's so smart. Do you know she'll fetch your shoes if you drop them?"

"Ah, yes." Blair rolled his eyes. As if on cue, one of the children tossed a slipper, and everyone watched as Sky quickly fetched it back to the owner. "She finds people, too," he added.

"Really?" The boy's eyes grew wide.

"Mm-hmm. She found Jim." Blair gestured at his partner. "When he was lost."

The boy peered at Jim. "He looks too big to get lost."

Blair snorted. "Yeah, you'd think so, wouldn't you?" He extended a hand to the boy. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Blair."

"Chris." The boy shyly took Blair's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Chris." Blair smiled, clasping the boy's hand firmly. "You sure you don't want to go over there? Might take the whole day before Sky gets over here."

"Nurse said I have to stay in a chair. I wasn't really supposed to get out of bed, but I wanted to see Sky before my operation."

It was Blair's turn to widen his eyes. "You're having an operation? Today?" Across the room, Jim's head turned sharply at the surprise in Blair's voice.

The boy nodded seriously. "I'm getting a new kidney. It's coming in a helicopter," he said. "It just became av-available this morning." He stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

"Wow, that's great." Blair beamed.

Just then, Sky pushed her way over to them, Jim trailing behind on the leash.

"Sky!" Chris squealed, delightedly reaching for the dog.

Blair and Jim smiled at each other over the boy's head.

The door slammed. "Fuck you! Fuck you all!" the man spat, giving the office door a vicious kick, then glared ferociously at the passersby who dared stare at him. Stumbling down the hall, he paused in front of the rec room, his eyes drawn to the small group of children gathered around the dog and the two men. As he stared hard at the boy seated by the window, petting the dog, his face twisted into an ugly snarl. With a shaking hand, he reached out and swung the door open, then moved swiftly into the room.

By the time Blair looked up and registered that a man -- the same man who had stepped on Sky's tail down by Security -- was advancing purposefully into the room, the man had already snatched up a child and pressed a gun tight against her head.

Startled gasps and screams of surprise filled the room. Blair instinctively tightened his hold on Sky's leash as Jim raised his arms and called out, "Everyone stay still!"

Simon hurried through the hospital entrance and made his way straight to Security. "What's the status?" he barked at the officer, gesturing him to walk with him as he strode toward the elevator.

The officer scrambled to match Simon's stride. "We're still trying to identify the perp. Several witnesses thought they recognized him, but we haven't confirmed yet."

"How many hostages?" Simon asked, pushing the button for the elevator.

"It wasn't clear the last time I called upstairs. They're trying to get a count."

"All hostages are patients at the hospital?"

"As far as we can tell, yes. Well, other than Detective Ellison, his partner, and Sky, of course."

"Of course." Simon rolled his eyes as he walked into the elevator.

Blair sighed as he tugged at the curtain cord around Jim's wrists to demonstrate that it was indeed secured properly to the pipe. "You comfortable?" he asked, voice pitched low for Sentinel ears. Jim carefully studied the knot, then nodded.

Beside Jim, Sky growled, pulling at the leash that had been tied tightly to the pipe, leaving her little leeway to move. "Shhhh," Blair shushed her, petting her gently, trying to convey with his touch and eyes that now was not the time to move. Sky whimpered softly before reluctantly settling down flat on the floor. Carefully, Blair looked over the positions of Jim's hands and the leash again, checking once again to make sure that the release latch on Sky's collar was within Jim's reach.

Satisfied, he smiled shakily at the children who were huddled in the corner next to the outside windows, over which the drapes were now drawn shut. He slowly turned to face the gunman, carefully keeping both hands away from his body where the man could see them.

"There," he said. "Nice and tight. See?"

The man nodded curtly and tilted his head, indicating Blair should go sit with the children. The muzzle of his gun was still held tight against the head of the little girl he'd snatched when he first came in.

Blair sighed again. "You okay, Suzy?" he asked the trembling girl in the man's arms. Suzy nodded mutely.

"Shut up and go sit!" the man growled. Blair was about to take a step toward the other children when the shrill ring of a cell phone echoed through the room.

"Shit!" The man jumped. "What's that? What's that?" He swung his head widely about, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"Easy, easy," Jim said, his voice astoundingly calm. "It's my cell phone. It's probably the police trying to contact us."

"Police?" The man swung startled eyes on Jim. "How'd they know this number?"

Jim shrugged. "They know I'm in here, and that I have my cell phone with me. It's what they do in a hostage situation. Try to talk to the hostage taker. You know. Negotiate." Jim looked the man in the eye, holding his gaze. "You do have demands, don't you?"

"Ah, yeah." The man licked his lips nervously. "Yes, I do."

"So let him." Jim gestured to Blair with a tilt of his head. "Answer the phone. Let them know your demands."

The man's gaze flicked back and forth between Jim and Blair. Finally he nodded. "All right," he said, "answer that phone."

Blair carefully moved back to Jim and fished the phone out of his shirt pocket, making sure not to make any sudden moves. He flipped open the still-ringing phone. "Yeah."

"Sandburg, is that you?" said Simon.

"Yeah."

"What's the situation?"

"We're all fine, no injuries," Blair reported, keeping a watchful eye on the gunman.

"The report said one man with gun?"

"Yeah."

"What's going on? What are they asking?" the man interjected.

"One second," Blair said into the phone. "They just want to know if we're all right."

"You told that already!"

"Yeah, I did," Blair agreed. "So what do you want to do? Talk to them yourself?" He held out the phone.

"No! You talk!" The man growled. "But you only say what I tell you to, that understood?"

"Hey, man." Blair held up his hands. "You're the boss."

"Okay, okay." The man shifted, adjusting his grip on Suzy. "Okay, so tell them... tell them I want my son to have a kidney."

"Okay, Alan Melken," Brown said, ripping off the fax. "Not much record to speak of. A couple of arrests for DUI's, but that's it. Last one was a few days ago. Got his license suspended. He's also registered as a handgun owner."

"Okay, thanks." Simon turned to the doctor standing next to him. "Doctor Liam, what can you tell us about this man?"

"Well," the doctor began, "We've been treating his son, Peter, for a kidney malfunction. I won't bother you with the details, but basically, Peter's kidneys have completely stopped functioning, and he has to receive dialysis daily. Despite our best efforts at treatment, his kidney failure has led to other complications, and, well... I'm afraid the prognosis isn't good."

"Melken is demanding that his son be given a kidney transplant," Simon prompted.

"I, er, met with Mr. Melken right before this, er, incident," the doctor admitted. "He was extremely distressed when I explained that his son was no longer a viable candidate for a kidney transplant."

"By not viable, you mean?"

"I mean that his other health complications make it less likely that a transplanted kidney will function successfully in his body."

"You said he was upset at the news? How much?"

"He called me names, made some heated accusations about my motivations in removing his son from the transplant candidate list, and stormed out."

Simon grimaced. "Would you say he's mentally unstable? I mean, a reasonable person wouldn't think that you can produce a kidney on demand to..."

"Well, I'm not a psychiatrist..."

"But you interact with many patients and their families," Simon pointed out.

"I don't see Pete's family all that often, Captain," the doctor explained. "The nurses would probably know more, but apparently both parents work long hours to make ends meet. They didn't have good insurance coverage, so Pete's illness has been a big financial burden..." he trailed off.

"Brown," Simon said to the detective, who had been listening silently. "Go talk to the nurses, see what you can find out. And try to locate the wife, and contact the guy's workplace, see if you can talk to his boss and co-workers."

"You got it, boss," said Brown.

As he was leaving, a nurse came into the room, ducking around Brown as she entered. "Doctor, we have a list of children who are confirmed to have been in the rec room." She handed him the list.

Liam took a look and groaned.

"What is it?" asked Simon.

"One of the children who's been taken hostage is Chris. He's scheduled to have a kidney transplant later today."

"Sandburg? Ask Melken if we can confirm which children are in there with you," Simon said.

Blair looked up at Melken. "They want to know which children we have in here."

Melken looked undecided for a second, then nodded.

"Okay." Blair put the phone back to his ear and recited the names of the children as Simon relayed them. He made eye contact with each child as he spoke each name, trying to reassure even as he gauged their conditions.

"What about my son?" Melken demanded.

"He wants to know what you are doing about his son," Blair repeated.

"The doctors don't recommend the transplant procedure for his son. And in any case, tell him we can't just produce a kidney on demand."

"There aren't any kidneys available," Blair told Melken.

"That's a lie!" Melken stormed. "They have a kidney for him!" He pointed at Chris. "I want that kidney given to my boy, you hear?"

Blair put up a hand, "Okay, man, calm down, I'm just relaying messages here, remember?" He waited until Melken backed off, then spoke into the phone again. "Hi. He knows about the kidney coming in for Chris. He's demanding that you give it to his son instead."

Simon cursed. "Tell him we'll call back."

Blair flipped the phone shut. "They'll call back."

Melken growled with impatience. He fidgeted, started to put Suzy down, thought better of it. His eyes darted around the room as he looked for a secure spot where he could get comfortable. Finally, he rested his hip against the rec room table, letting some weight off his feet, and hoisted Suzy more securely up against his chest.

"You know," Jim said, "you really think this is a good idea?"

"Shut up!"

"No, really," Jim persisted. "I mean, come on, last I heard, you couldn't just take any kidney and put it into anyone and expect it to work. You have to type and match and..."

"Shut up! You a doctor?"

"No, but hey, if the doctors say this kidney should go to Chris..."

"No! Liars! They're all a bunch of greedy, crooked, lying bastards! They care nothing about Pete, 'cause we don't have money! They're giving him the kidney because his family has money!"

Forgetting himself in his agitation, Melken flung out his gun arm to point at Chris. At the same moment, Suzy twitched, then started shaking violently. Startled, Melken lost his grip on her, and the girl toppled forward. Blair dived, reaching her just in time to keep her from hitting the floor. When he looked up, he found himself staring straight into the muzzle of Melken's gun.

"What's wrong with her?" Melken demanded.

"How do I know? I'm not a doctor!" Blair said, as he struggled to hold Suzy down against the violent convulsions. The child was jerking back and forth, her limbs flailing.

"Put her on her side!" Jim shouted.

Blair quickly complied. Suzy's body relaxed, and it looked as if the seizure was over; then the jerking began again, as violently as before. Blair found it took all his strength to keep Suzy on her side. It didn't help that Sky was on her feet, barking excitedly at the commotion.

"Someone shut that dog up!" Melken shouted.

Jim made calming gestures at Sky, as well as he could with his hands tied to the pipe. Sky whimpered, but settled back down. Jim turned his eyes to their captor.

"That girl needs treatment now, Melken, or she's going to die."

Melken swallowed convulsively, then nodded and turned to Blair. "Go!" he said. "Take her out!"

Blair glanced at Jim.

Jim nodded. "Grab her around the waist, hold her head against your chest, and keep one hand under her chin to keep her head level. You should be able to drag her to the door."

Blair glanced nervously at Melken, who now stood next to Jim, his gun firmly pointed at Jim's head. "Do it," Melken said.

Blair hesitated.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Melken glared. "Go, go!"

Blair's eyes darted toward Jim. Their eyes met for one long moment, then Jim nodded. Biting his lip, Blair held out the cell phone, and at Melken's curt shake of the head, Chris came forward to take it. Casting one final glance in Jim's direction, Blair grabbed Suzy and managed to hold her as Jim had instructed, then ignored the violent seizures as he struggled toward the door.

"Clear the door!" Blair shouted. "We're coming through!"

Muffled shouts and a scatter of footsteps sounded from the corridor, then Simon's voice, loud and crisp: "Clear!"

Blair let go of Suzy's head, grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open, then squeezed through, pulling Suzy with him.

Simon held up his hand, attention focused on the opening door and the figures that appeared through it. Beside him, uniformed officers tensed, their guns ready should the suspect emerge or be sighted, but the door closed as soon as Blair and the girl cleared it. Simon dropped his hand, signaling the officers to stand down, and with his other hand waved the waiting medical personnel forward. Blair and the girl were lost in a sea of white lab coats and medical equipment as the hall filled with sharply barked orders and bodies rushing back and forth. Eventually, the convulsing girl was strapped to a gurney and rushed down the corridor, leaving Blair standing wearily in the hallway.

"Sandburg!" Simon called out, and that seemed to shake Blair out of his reverie. Simon approached, looking him over. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." Blair turned a long gaze toward the closed door of the rec room. "Oh, god, why did I have to leave him there?" He slammed a fist against the wall.

"You did the right thing, Blair." Simon placed a firm hand on Blair's shoulder. "Now that you're out, you can help, from here. Understood?"

Blair blinked a few times. "Yeah, right..." He shook his head as if to clear it, his eyes drifting again toward the rec room. "It just feels funny... I wish he was out here, and I was in there, you know?"

"I know. But we've done this before, you and me, right?" Simon said.

"Right, right." Blair took a deep breath and straightened up. "So... what now?"

Jim sighed. Melken had grabbed Chris and moved back to the table, forcing the boy down into a chair and positioning it so he could comfortably keep his gun trained on the boy while leaning against the table. The remaining children huddled tensely in the corner. Sky shifted restlessly and started to get up on her feet again. Jim waved her down quickly, but not in time to avoid an irritated glare from Melken.

"Can't you keep that dog quiet?" Melken grumbled.

"She just listens better to Blair."

"Isn't she your dog?"

Jim hesitated, then went with the truth. "She belongs to a friend. We took care of her before, when he was sick."

Melken frowned. "And today?"

Jim shrugged, his movement hampered by his tied hands. "He had a cold."

"What are you, a dog-sitting service?"

Jim shook his head. "He's a friend. Friends help each other out."

"Yeah, they do," Melken scoffed, "for stuff like dog-sitting. Have a sick kid, and see how fast they disappear." He looked sharply at Jim. "You got a kid?"

Jim shook his head.

"Well, then." Melken snorted. "What do you know?"

"I do know what it's like to see the person I love... dead. And I would have done anything... anything, to bring him back."

"Sounds like you've got a story there."

Jim pressed his lips together. "Yeah."

"Well, we got time, don't we?"

"Do we?" Jim shot back. "What, exactly, do you think you'll accomplish by this?" He tilted his head, indicating the room in general.

"Shut up!" Melken shouted, agitated once again. "I've got to do something! Anything!"

The children flinched. One of them started coughing violently. Jim watched as another child rubbed the coughing child's back. Satisfied that the cough was settling, at least for now, he turned back to Melken.

"What are you going to do, really?" he repeated. "Keep this up, and another child might collapse. These children need to be in bed, they have medications they're missing, they need to eat."

Melken's eyes hardened. "What about my son?"

"Yes, what about him?" Jim challenged. "You really think this'll do him any good? Say your crazy scheme works and you get the doctors to give him a kidney. You're ending up in jail. Wouldn't your son miss you?"

"But he'll be alive!"

"So, what do we have on this guy?" Simon asked, looking around the room.

"Got in touch with his supervisor at..." Brown checked his notes. "Northwest Trucking. He's a driver. Or rather, used to be a driver. Was fired yesterday when the company found out his license's been suspended."

"Yesterday?" Simon repeated. Brown nodded in confirmation. "Dr. Liam, did you know this?" he asked, turning to the doctor, who was seated at the desk.

Liam shook his head. "No, I didn't. That would mean Pete's insurance..." he trailed off.

"Insurance?" Blair asked, instantly alert. He leaned forward in his seat beside Simon. "Melken said something about money. He thought you took Pete off the transplant list because they had no money."

"Well, unfortunately, losing your insurance can get you suspended from the waiting list, but that's not why Pete was taken off the list," Liam explained.

"Then why did Melken think money was an issue?" Blair persisted.

Liam sighed. "Money has been an issue in Pete's treatment," he admitted. "We would, of course, like to treat all our patients the same, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, but the fact is, when they have no insurance, or if their insurance doesn't cover --"

"So Pete's treatment was compromised because of lack of money," Blair said, his tone flat.

Liam fidgeted, flipping a pen nervously in his hand. "I wouldn't put it... quite... that way."

"Not quite that way? How would you put it, then?" Blair exploded.

Simon restrained him with a firm hand on his shoulder. "Let's keep to the matter at hand, shall we?" He stared Blair down until he subsided. "Doctor, you've explained earlier that Pete is no longer a viable candidate for transplant, but that his father did not believe you when you informed him of that fact, correct?"

The doctor nodded.

"So he thinks -- he believes -- that if he can force us to transplant a kidney into his son, he'll get better, is that the gist of it?" Simon continued.

"I would think so, yes," Liam agreed.

"Is there any rational basis for Melken's belief? Can you transplant the kidney that's intended for the other boy into Pete?"

"Well," the doctor began. "You're aware that with an organ like the kidney, surgically inserting the organ isn't the hard part?" Simon nodded. "So the problem is controlling the rejection of the implanted organ. With improvements in immuno-suppressive drugs, an exact match between donor and recipient isn't as crucial as it once was, though the better the match, the greater the prospects for a good result. Pete's problem is that he's developed complications that make him unable to tolerate most currently available immuno-suppressives."

"So is Pete... dying? And did you tell Melken that?"

"I hesitate to say there's no hope, but... we have to be realistic about the possible outcome," Liam reluctantly stated.

Simon nodded. "So Melken's desperate."

"No kidding, man." Blair leaned forward, clasping his hands. "And he's convinced the doctors are wrong about Pete, or they have ulterior motives for refusing him the transplant." He sighed, leaned back, and stared up at the ceiling. "So what are we going to do?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Sandburg," Simon reminded. "Any progress with contacting the wife?"

"We finally tracked her down to Cascade Electric," Rafe spoke up. "She works as a temp secretary, and it took us a while to find out which temp agency she gets assignments from."

"Tell me she's on her way?" Simon asked.

Rafe grimaced. "Cascade Electric is undergoing massive reorganization, and... to make a long story short, they can't find her."

"Let me get this straight." Simon leaned toward Rafe. "You're sure she's somewhere inside Cascade Electric, but not where in Cascade Electric?"

"Exactly, sir."

Simon nodded. "Well, someone must know where she is. Go over there and see if you can impress on them the importance of locating her pronto."

"Yes, sir." Rafe got up, tossed a wave, and left.

"What about a sniper?" Brown asked. "Shouldn't we get people up on the building across the street, see if we can..."

"SWAT is working on that already, but with so many children in the room..." Simon shrugged.

"In any case, that's a last resort, right?" Blair asked.

"It is, but we need to be prepared, in case." Simon took off his glasses and pinched his nose. "Okay, people, what else do we have to consider?"

"Well..." Liam hesitated.

"What is it, doctor?" Simon asked.

"It's Chris." Liam flipped his pen again. "His kidney's arrived. His surgery was supposed to have started about now."

"And?" Simon prompted.

"Well... with all the stress Chris must be experiencing from this situation, if this goes on much longer..." The doctor pursed his lips and flipped his pen a few more times. "We'll have to assess his condition when... if... he's released. Hopefully he can still withstand surgery, but time is of the essence. The longer he's held hostage, the higher his stress level, and..."

"You're saying he might not be able to receive the transplant?" Blair asked, incredulous.

"Unfortunately, yes. Plus, the longer an organ remains outside a body, the less the chances of it functioning successfully when it's implanted in a recipient... I'm not sure how much longer we should wait before..."

"Before what?"

Liam swallowed hard, then looked straight into Blair's eyes. "Before we offer the kidney to another recipient."

Blair closed the door behind him and looked around the clamped room full of shelves laden with medical supplies. Satisfied that nobody was there, he whistled, a sharp shrill sound designed to get the Sentinel's attention. "Jim. Jim? God, I hope you're listening, Jim. We've got to get Chris out of there. The doctors are saying they'll have to give the kidney to someone else if we don't get him out soon. Jim...?" Blair stared at the ceiling, as if a response from Jim could drop out of thin air, then sighed in frustration. "God, Jim, I wish there was some way I could know you heard me." He leaned against the door and puffed out his cheeks. "Anyway, Jim... Get. Chris. Out. Okay?"

"What are they doing?" Melken thundered, making Jim flinch. He shook his head, vainly trying to clear the ringing in his ears, and hastily focused his attention back to his immediate surroundings. Melken was pacing restlessly in front of Chris, his gun always pointed toward the boy, but his other hand swinging agitatedly in time with his stride. He suddenly came to a halt and stared hard at the phone in Chris' hand. "Can't we call them somehow?" he demanded.

Jim pursed his lips, considering. "Speed dial four," he said, coming to a decision.

"What?"

"Speed dial four," Jim repeated. "You'll get my boss. He's out there." Jim nodded toward the hallway.

"Your boss?" Melken frowned. "You said you weren't a doctor."

"I'm not," Jim confirmed.

"Then who's your boss? You work for the hospital?"

Jim shook his head.

"Well, if you don't work for the hospital, what good does it do to call... Wait!" Melken took a quick step back as realization dawned. "You're a cop!"

"Detective," Jim confirmed.

"Shit! Shit!" Melken kicked a chair, sending it crashing across the room. "I should have known! That's why they knew this number! That curly-haired hippie also a cop?" he demanded, whirling around.

"My partner."

Melken stared at Jim, then shifted his focus to Sky. "So is that dog a police dog, then?" he asked.

Jim just looked at Melken until the man turned away with a curse. He watched as Melken cursed his way back to the table, then asked mildly, "Well? Are you going to call?"

"Damn it to hell!" Melken yelled, kicking another chair. The children flinched, and the child who had the breathing problem started coughing again. As the coughs turned increasingly violent, the child started retching in between bouts of coughing. "Stop that!" Melken demanded. Sky growled menacingly and crouched, ready to jump.

"Sky, down." Jim called. Sky continued to growl. "Sky, if you jump, you'll just choke yourself," Jim pointed out patiently.

"Stop it! It's just a dog!" Melken kicked a chair that was already on the ground. He strode up to Jim and grabbed the front of his shirt, pressing the gun into his chest. "What are the police up to?" he demanded.

"Hey, I don't know. I've been in here," Jim said. He twisted his head to see the coughing child. "That kid needs treatment. Come on, be reasonable. Let all the kids go."

"No!"

"You'll still have me as hostage."

"You think I'm an idiot? They'll come in shooting the moment all the children are gone!"

"No, they won't. Those are my friends out there. They won't shoot you as long as you have me in front of you."

"That's what idiots think!"

"Well, you're right that if you try to shoot at someone while using me as a shield, they'll shoot back, but as long as you don't try that..."

The child started wheezing, face turning alarmingly blue.

"Come on, Melken, let them go!" Jim roared.

Melken grabbed Jim closer, snarling into his face, then shoved him away, slamming him into the wall. With an animal-like growl, he stalked over to Chris, grabbed him, then glowered at the rest of the children. "Go!"

The children froze, looking uncertainly at one another. Melken growled again and stamped his foot impatiently against the floor. Startled, the children scrambled into action, grabbing the coughing child and scampering to the door. "Stop!" Melken shouted as the first child reached toward the doorknob. The child froze, trembling. "Clear the hall!!" Melken shouted.

"Clear!" came the reply.

"Okay, go!" Melken barked at the children.

The children hesitated, but at a menacing wave from Melken, one of them quickly opened the door, and one by one, they slid out.

Jim closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. All the children were out... except Chris.

Blair stood beside Simon, tensely counting under his breath as the children emerged. Expectation turned to alarm as the door closed and Chris failed to show. "Simon! Chris's not here!"

Simon turned, surprise and consternation clouding his features. "You sure?"

Blair nodded, eyes scanning once again the children being attended by medical personnel. "Everyone's here, Simon, except for Chris."

For a long moment, Blair and Simon stared at one another. Then Simon reached into his pockets and dug out his phone. He jabbed a few keys and held the phone to his ear, eyes riveted to the rec room door as if he could see through to the other side by pure force of will.

"Hello?" he said, then visibly relaxed. "Chris? Is this Chris?" he asked, hand urgently waving Blair close. "Chris? I'm going to put Blair on, all right?"

Blair pushed his head forward, weaseling in under Simon's arm in his eagerness to get to the phone. "Chris! Are you all right?" he said, even as Simon relinquished the phone.

"I'm ok." Chris' voice was small but steady. "Jim and Sky are ok, too." There was a pause as Melken spoke agitatedly in the background. "Pete's dad wants to know if Pete's getting my kidney."

Blair barely suppressed the urge to groan. "Hold on a sec, Chris, I mean, tell him to wait a sec, ok?" He covered the mouthpiece. "What are we going to do? He's still demanding the kidney," he hissed loudly to Simon.

Simon pressed his lips so hard, it almost drew blood. "Keep him talking!" he ordered, then turned. "Brown! Call SWAT, see if they had any luck with setting up that sniper."

Brown nodded and picked up a phone. Blair stepped away, giving himself some space. "Chris," he said into the phone, "Can you get Pete's dad on the phone?" He listened to Chris relaying the request, and to the subsequent muffled exchange between Melken's harsh strident tones and the calm reasonable timbre of Jim's voice. He took a deep breath, trying to focus.

The phone clattered as it changed hands. "Who am I talking to?" Melken demanded.

"Hi, it's Blair Sandburg. I was in there earlier."

"You!" Melken growled. "What are you, phone boy? Well, get this straight. Neither Chris nor this detective here are getting out until the kidney's been transplanted into my son, got that?"

"Come on, Melken, you know we can't do that, " Blair said. He glanced at Simon, who had now exchanged places with Brown and was talking to SWAT. Brown had moved to another phone and was also talking intently.

"You mean they won't," Melken said, his voice choking in a hysterical half-laugh half-sob.

"Look, I know you feel you've been given the short end by the doctors here, and I'm sorry, I truly am, but that doesn't mean you can take this kidney from Chris," Blair talked rapidly. "You don't want Pete to die, but Chris has parents who're in the same position as you --"

"No, they're not!" Melken thundered. "They've got money! They can buy the damn doctors! They lose this kidney, they'll just buy another one!"

"Come on, you know it doesn't work like that."

"I don't care! An hour! You get my kid in the operating room and start the transplant -- and I get to be there to see they're doing it -- or you can kiss your partner and your precious dog good-bye!"

Blair winced as the phone was violently slammed shut, then flinched as a loud crash reverberated from the rec room; Melken had apparently kicked another piece of furniture. "Sorry," he said to Simon. "He hung up."

Simon sighed. "You did as well as you could, Sandburg," he said. "Brown, where's Rafe?"

"He's on his way with the wife, but there's been an accident on the bridge. They won't be able to cross until the scene's been cleared."

"Great." Simon rolled his eyes. He stood indecisively for a few seconds, then turned to Blair. "Go talk to Melken's kid, see if you can get some angle we can use to persuade Melken."

"Yeah, okay." Blair started to walk away, then turned. "Simon? What about SWAT?"

"The sniper's in position. They say there's a small section of the window drapes that's not quite closed. If they can sight Melken..." Simon shrugged.

Blair swallowed, nodded, started to walk away again, then turned. "Simon? He did let the other children go, you know?"

"Yes, I know." Simon said, looking suddenly ten years older. "Now, go."

Blair peeked into the room, noting the almost untouched food tray next to the bed. Pete lay in bed, staring into midair. "Hi," Blair said, rapping lightly on the open door. "Mind if I come in?"

Pete turned and squinted at Blair. "You aren't one of the doctors," he said, his voice puzzled.

"No, I'm not," Blair said, as he approached the bed. "I..." He hesitated, searching for words. "I just met your dad," he said.

"You did?" the boy asked, his face open and interested.

"Yeah, I did," Blair confirmed, lowering himself into the bedside chair. "He... he loves you very much, you know?"

The boy beamed. "I know."

Blair found himself smiling in reflex. "You'll always remember that, won't you? Your father loves you, no matter what happens."

Pete nodded, a trace of his earlier smile flickering on his lips.

Blair picked the Northwest Trucking cap off the bedside table. "Your dad's?" he asked.

"He forgot it." Pete scrunched his face. "He's tired. He's sad, too."

"Sad? Why do you say that?"

Pete shook his head. "He's sad. Mom's sad too. They fight a lot." He looked up at Blair, searching his face for something. Blair held himself still. "Are you sad, too?" Pete asked.

"A little," Blair admitted.

Pete nodded. "Maria died, last week. Her mom and dad -- they were sad. The doctors and nurses, they were sad, too."

Blair's breath stuck in his throat.

Pete turned his eyes straight to Blair's. "What's it like to die?" he asked.

Blair closed his eyes and struggled to breathe. "It... it's scary," he finally got out. "Lonely. There's no one..." He stopped, unable to go on.

"Does it hurt?" Pete breathed.

"Depends. Sometimes, yes. But the pain stops after a while."

"What happens then?"

"Then... there's this feeling... You're running, flying, soaring... It feels so... free, so light... You're moving, leaving everything behind, going toward something, you don't know what, but... you have to go."

"And then?"

Blair shook his head. "I don't know, I turned back."

"Why?"

"Because... someone called me back."

"Will Dad call me?"

Blair shook his head again. "I don't know. He does want you to stay, badly."

"I don't want to go." The voice was so small, it could hardly be heard.

"I don't know if anyone's ever ready to go, but we all have to, when it's our time."

"Is it... my time?"

Blair looked into Pete's eyes. "Nobody knows when the time is," he whispered. "Nobody."

Pete blinked. He looked up at Blair, seeking confirmation. Blair looked back. A shadow fell across the doorway, causing both to look up, breaking the moment.

"Sorry," said Dr. Liam. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, not at all," Blair said, getting up. "I should be going, anyway."

The doctor frowned at the full food tray. "Not hungry, huh?" he asked. Pete shook his head. "Okay." The doctor stopped a nurse who was passing by and whispered some instructions. She nodded and stepped into the room, briskly approaching the bed.

Blair smiled at Pete. "Take care, okay?" he mouthed. Pete nodded, his eyes full and serious. Walking out into the hallway, Blair managed to hold himself together until he was safely out of sight of Pete's room, then collapsed, crouching down into a tight ball. "Mr. Sandburg..." Liam started, concerned, but Blair held up a hand, signaling he just needed time.

Finally, taking a deep breath, he lifted his head to look up at Liam, his knees still folded tight to his chest. "How do you do this?" he asked. "How do you decide Chris gets a chance, but not Pete? How sure are you about Pete not being able to tolerate the immuno-suppressive drugs?"

The doctor sighed and offered a hand to Blair. "It's not easy," he admitted, once Blair was back on his feet. "If there were enough organs for everyone who needed a transplant... but there aren't."

"So you decide who lives and who dies?"

Liam shook his head. "No. Just who gets a chance. Just because a patient gets a transplant doesn't mean... He could reject the organ, develop complications down the line, even die on the operating table." He shrugged. "We use our best judgment, try our best... but in the end, it's not up to us. In fact, organ transplant isn't really a cure... it can improve quality of life, it can lengthen life expectancy, but in the end..."

"In the end, we all die?"

The doctor reeled back a bit, then laughed, a short self-depreciating laugh. "Yes, we do, don't we?" he agreed. They had come to a bend in the hallway. "Well, I'm going this way," Liam said, pointing away from the rec room. "By the way, I thought you'd like to know, Suzy's stable. Her seizures are under control."

"Oh, wow. Thanks, that's good news." Blair smiled.

Liam nodded. "You've been great with the children, Mr. Sandburg. I guess we're lucky you were here."

Blair grimaced. "Lucky, not lucky, depends on your point of view," he said. "Jim says it's just because I'm close to the kids in mental age."

Liam laughed, this time in genuine amusement. "That certainly helps," he said.

"Oh, hey," Blair remembered. "What about Chris? How much longer before you have to..."

Liam's expression tightened. "As I said, if there were enough organs..."

"Oh, no," Blair said. "Don't tell me you did."

Liam took a step closer. "What I did, Mr. Sandburg, is to call another candidate. I explained the situation to him, and he's coming in, and we are going to start preparing him for surgery. If Chris is released before the anesthesia is administered, we'll hold the procedure, and evaluate Chris. If we feel Chris can stand surgery, we'll operate. If not, then we'll proceed with the other patient."

"Wait, wait," Blair said, taken aback. "You're saying this other guy's coming in, getting prepped for surgery, then after all that, if Chris is released, he might not get the kidney?"

Liam gazed indulgently at Blair. "Well, going as far as prepping for surgery is a bit extreme, but we often call several patients when organs become available, and sometimes it's the first patient who gets here and is declared fit for surgery who gets the organ."

Blair blinked, then shook his head, trying to take that in. "That... I'm sorry, but that's... bizarre."

"It is, isn't it?" Liam agreed mildly. "Well, I have a few patients I need to see. Tell Captain Banks I'll be back as soon as I'm done."

"Wait, Doctor." Liam turned back. "What'll happen to Chris if he doesn't get this kidney?"

Liam shook his head. "I don't know. He might be able to hang on until the next kidney becomes available. Or he might develop complications, like Pete." He shrugged. "One never knows."

Blair stood, staring after the doctor's retreating back.

Blair huddled in a corner of the supply room, his chin resting on folded knees. His eyes followed a spider crawling along the far wall until it disappeared behind the shelves. He pursed his lips to whistle, but the first attempt produced only a thin raspy wheeze. He swallowed hard, carefully wet his lips and tried again, then jumped, startled by the sharp sound of his own whistle.

"Jim? Jim?" he called once he settled. "I hope you can hear me. God, this is hard..." He stopped, took a deep breath, then continued. "Listen, Jim, we've got snipers in position, there's a gap in the drapes. If... if you can get Melken to..." Another deep breath. "Jim, Chris doesn't have much time, his kidney... Oh god, I can't believe I'm doing this!" He shook his head. "He's Pete's dad, Pete adores him. And... it's not like the kidney's guaranteed to save Chris' life. But Jim, what can we do? What should we do? I wish I could talk to you, at least see you. You always seem to know the right thing to do... No, it's more that it feels better to decide these things together -- we always do better when we're together, don't we? But I can't talk to you, or more exactly, you can't talk to me, so..." Blair closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. "Okay. Jim? Get. Melken. In. Front. Of. The. Window."

Jim eyed Melken, then shifted his gaze to the drapes, and through the gap, zoomed in to the sniper holding a rifle at ready. It would only take a few steps to align Melken's head with the sniper's rifle...

Just then, Chris started to slide sideways in his chair. "I... I feel dizzy."

Melken stepped forward, ready to support Chris, his head moving toward that gap in the drape.

Jim reached for Sky's leash and released the latch. "Attack!"

Sky leapt at Melken, the sniper squeezed his trigger, the window shattered as the bullet struck, and Sky and Melken went down in a shower of glass shards. Chris ducked, managing to find shelter under the table. Jim slipped the knot, grabbed the gun out of his ankle holster, scrambled to his feet, and covered Melken, who was writhing on the floor, unsuccessfully trying to shake off Sky.

The door burst open and officers poured into the room, only to find that Sky and Jim had the situation well in hand.

"So Sky saves the day again," Simon said, folding his arms over his chest. "Maybe I should hire her as a detective and send you two out to the farm. Can't you do anything without finding trouble?"

"Hey! It could be Sky who attracted the trouble this time!" Blair protested.

"She's been coming to this hospital for months, and nothing's happened. She comes with you two, and..." Simon gestured expansively at the state of the rec room.

Sky whimpered, piteously holding up a paw.

"What's wrong, girl?" Blair asked, solicitously bending to take a look. "Hey! It's bleeding!"

"There's a piece of glass stuck in it," Jim said, having bent down next to Blair. "Swiss Army knife," he demanded, holding out a hand.

"How come you don't get your own?" Blair grumbled as he slapped the knife into Jim's hand.

Jim slid out the tweezers and deftly removed the glass shard from Sky's paw. "Why do I need one, when you have one?" he asked, as he returned the knife to Blair.

"We're a set?"

"Exactly."

Simon rolled his eyes as the two smiled into each other's eyes. "Spare us." He sighed theatrically. "Go on home. You can file your reports tomorrow. Leave Sky, Bruce's on his way in to pick her up."

Blair turned to Jim. "Did I hear that right?"

"I dunno, my hearing's been on the fritz."

"Children!" Simon roared. "Go home before I change my mind!"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," they mumbled, not quite in unison. Giving Sky one last pat, they picked their way gingerly over the shards and stepped out into the hall, just in time to see Melken being led away in handcuffs.

Subdued, Jim and Blair watched him go.

"What's going to happen to Pete?" Blair wondered out loud. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"Let's ask around, see what can be done," Jim said, as they made their way toward the elevators. "You want to swing by the station, have a word with Mrs. Melken? Rafe took her there, right?"

"But Simon told us to go home."

Jim pushed the elevator button and raised an eyebrow.

Blair smiled. "He really is a sweet kid, you know?"

"Is he?"

"Yeah. Adores his dad." Blair bit his lip.

"Chief." Blair looked into Jim's eyes. "That was a good decision."

Blair lowered his eyes. "Was it?" The elevator arrived and they stepped in. Finding that they were the sole occupants of the car, Jim took the opportunity to pull Blair against his side.

"No decision is 'right'," he whispered into Blair's hair. "But no decision is 'wrong,' either. You made the best decision you could, given the circumstances."

"I'm so glad you kept him from getting shot," Blair mumbled into Jim's chest.

Jim squeezed Blair's shoulder tight before letting him go. "Just got lucky, Chief."

"Lucky, yeah." Blair agreed as the elevator came to a stop. "Hey, what about Chris?"

Jim stopped just outside the elevator and leaned against the wall, cocking his head to listen. "He's getting the kidney," he reported.

"Oh, hey, at least that turned out well, right?" Blair smiled.

Jim smiled back indulgently. "He's not out of the woods yet, Chief."

"But he's got a chance. That's all we can ask for, any of us."

"You're right on, as usual," Jim agreed.

"Detective!" a uniformed officer called after them as they turned toward the front exit. "The front is swarming with reporters. You might want to take the back."

"Reporters?" Jim said. "Reporters," he repeated, musing.

"Detective?" asked the officer.

Jim looked up. "Thanks for the warning, pal." He patted the officer on the shoulder. "Come on, Chief." He grabbed Blair and steered him firmly toward the front.

"Uh, Jim? Aren't we going to avoid them?"

"Reporters have their uses, sometimes."

"What are you... Oh!"

"Yeah, 'oh.' Ready?"

"Um, Jim, are you sure this's a good idea?"

Jim crossed his arms and fingered his chin, considering. "No," he admitted. "But... 'To serve and protect,' right? So..."

"It's a risk worth taking?"

Jim shrugged. "What do you think?"

Blair grinned. "After you, oh mighty Ranger."

"I do think the horse's head goes out before the rider's."

"Horse? I thought I was Toto?"

"Let's just do this together, okay?"

Side by side they stepped out, and were immediately surrounded by a press of reporters holding out mikes and shouting questions. Jim raised his hands, asking for silence. After a while, the squabbling subsided to reasonable levels.

"I'm not going to comment on the case; it's still under investigation," Jim stated, his voice carrying clearly into the crowd. "However, the situation that led to this incident could be alleviated if only more organs were available for transplant. I beg all of you to seriously consider..."

Cameras flashed and pens scribbled furiously as Jim's voice was absorbed by the pointed mikes.