The nurse shook her head. "That's not true. We'll be right here with her. If there's an emergency, then we'll-"

"She'll die," Kendra said. G.o.d, make them believe her. "I'm holding her back. Something happened when he hurt her so badly. It scared her, and she doesn't want to come back. No one ever hurt Olivia like that before. It was a terrible shock. She thinks it's safer to stay in the dark. But it's not, and she'll slip away. I can't let her-"

"I'm sorry, but we'll have to call security if you-"

"I'll handle this, Nancy." A man in teal scrubs with a young face but receding hairline was coming toward the bed. "No security." He smiled at Kendra. "I'm Elden Rawlins, and I really do have to examine your friend. I promise I won't hurt her if you'll just step outside."

She shook her head. "She'll die. She wants to go deeper. She's only waiting for me to leave."

"Perhaps I should get Dr. Michaels a sedative?" the nurse suggested tentatively. "She's been here all day and most of the night. She's a little distraught."

Don't scream at her or this doctor. Doctors were G.o.ds in hospitals, and they could keep Kendra out of ICU. Her gaze clung to Rawlins. "I'm not hysterical, but I am determined. I know what I'm talking about. I can pull her through this if you don't get in my way." She gestured to Olivia. "She's not in a deep coma. She can hear me. I know it. She just doesn't want to hear me. She needs time to heal, then she'll come back. But I have to be here. She has to know that I won't let her go."

Dr. Rawlins tilted his head. "And how do you know she can hear you?"

She wished she could give him a clever, incisive explanation based on fact and logic. But she couldn't do it. Now, when it was more important than anytime in her life, she couldn't do it. "I've been there in the dark with her. I know what she's thinking, what she's feeling." She moistened her lips. "Please. Believe me. Let me stay."

He studied her face. "It's not good for you. You're under severe stress. And you're not being logical about this."

She repeated, enunciating every word with slow precision. "Let-me-stay."

"Doctor?" the nurse murmured.

He hesitated, then turned toward Olivia. "Let her stay." He heard an exclamation from the nurse and glanced at her with a smile. "I've heard of stranger things in the years I've treated patients in ICU, Nancy. Astral projection, the power of prayer ... When death is so near, you never discount anything. Screw rules and protocol. As long as she doesn't do anything that could hurt the patient, permit her nonstop access." He took the chart from the bed. "Now let's see if we see any signs of..."

"I BROUGHT YOUR GUITAR." Her mother took it out of the case and handed it to Kendra. "Though I can't see how it will help. You're sure Olivia can hear you?"

"I'm sure." She tuned the strings. "Though the nurse believes I'm crazy. That's okay; Olivia is getting used to the idea that I'm not going to let her go. I think some of the shock is dissipating." She made a face. "At least, I've felt safe going to the bathroom for a few minutes and throwing water in my face."

"What does the doctor say?"

"That she could pa.s.s at any minute." She looked down at the guitar. "Or not. That I mustn't get my hopes up, that she's still on the edge. He's not offering much hope. But he lets me stay, and that's all I want from him. I'll do the rest." She glanced at Olivia, and said to her, "No, we'll do the rest. It's time you did your share. So get ready."

"May I ask what the guitar is for?"

"Olivia loves true country but hates what she calls tw.a.n.gy, whiny hillbilly. So I'm going to occasionally play the whiniest hillbilly tunes I can find for her." She said to Olivia. "Do you hear me? If you want me to stop, you've got to open your eyes and tell me to do it."

"That's a most unusual application of your therapy skills," Deanna said doubtfully. "Are you sure that it won't drive her the other way?"

"I'll play some of the stuff she likes, too. I have to strike a balance. But she's very intolerant when it comes to music, so I'm hoping that constant exposure to whine will spark something."

"Are you going to sing to her?"

"I hope she breaks before that. I'm no good at the nasal whining required. They fired me from a bar in Fort Worth." She said sternly to Olivia, "But I might if I don't get the right response." She started to play "Scarborough Fair," and she immediately felt the rush of serenity that the music always brought her. "Don't get used to this. I know you like it, but we're going to move on."

Her mother stood looking at her for a moment, then moved forward and touched the dark circles beneath Kendra's eyes. "You look like h.e.l.l. If you don't get some sleep, they're going to be treating you in ICU."

"When she comes back to me." Kendra's gaze was searching Olivia's face for some response. All those d.a.m.n bandages ... "I can't leave her."

"I know that." Deanna dropped down into the chair across the bed. "And you shouldn't pay any attention to those doctors. If I'd given up on you, then you'd still be blind." She was silent. "A good friend is worth anything, just like a good daughter. Do what you need for Olivia. And then we'll worry about you." She leaned back in the chair. "I have to teach a cla.s.s in an hour, and I have to leave soon. So please don't start your hillbilly repertoire immediately. Perhaps a little Debussy?"

"I guess we can manage that." She changed to "Claire de Lune." "Though it's much too soothing."

2:40 A.M.

There was someone next to the bed.

The doctor, Kendra thought hazily. No, he'd been here only an hour ago. She liked Dr. Rawlins. He never gave up even though he couldn't see that- It was Lynch, looking down at her.

"h.e.l.lo," he said quietly. "How is she doing?"

She shook her head. "Why ask me? I'm sure you've talked to the nurses at the station."

"I don't want to hear it from them." He smiled faintly. "I didn't expect to see her still alive after twenty-four hours. You two must have something going for you."

"You bet we do." She looked down at her hand clasping Olivia's, and said unsteadily, "She's being very stubborn. But we'll get there. What are you doing here?"

"Is it too much to believe that I was concerned about you?"

"No, you're not as hard as you pretend to be." She grimaced. "No, that's not true. You're every bit as hard, but you're still very human. But it's the middle of the night, and that indicates urgency."

"I told you I'd be back."

Her gaze was on his face, and even in the dimness, she could see something that made her uneasy. "Why are you here?"

"Lesley Dunn is dead."

She stiffened with shock. "When?"

"Right before I left you yesterday. I met Griffin in the hall on the way to give us the word."

"But he didn't tell me. Why?"

"For G.o.d's sake, you were contending with enough," he said roughly. "I wasn't going to let Griffin pile anything else on you. I saw you with the Dunn woman. I knew it was going to tear you up."

She reached up and rubbed her temple. "So unfair ... She fought so hard. I thought she had a chance." She could feel her eyes sting. Strange that she had not yet cried for Olivia, but Lesley Dunn was bringing tears ...

Not so strange. It was over for Lesley, and Kendra was still fighting for Olivia. She would not let it be over for Olivia.

"She did have a chance," Lynch said. "She had rallied a few hours earlier." He was silent. "Someone slipped poison into her IV. We just got the results back."

"s.h.i.t."

"And the media got hold of the story. They don't know all the details, but they know about the poison. That's why I'm here. It's going to be all over the cable channels. I didn't want you to hear it from anyone else."

"Do we have any idea who did it?"

"Not yet. It could be the male nurse who changed the IV or any one of a half dozen hospital personnel." He shrugged. "Or the invisible man who managed to slip onto that floor and do the deed. I'm leaning toward the male nurse. I've been checking up on him, and he's a gambler who's often low on funds. We're trying to check on phone calls, etc. before we gather him in."

"He might give us a lead?"

"Maybe bring us one step closer." He started to turn away. "That's all. I just wanted you to know."

"Thank you."

He suddenly turned and strode back to her. "Listen." His hands grasped her shoulders. "I'll do anything you want me to do. Anything." He gave her a quick, hard kiss, then let her go and strode toward the door. "Call me, dammit."

She stared after him. What had that been about? Not pa.s.sion. Maybe frustration? It didn't matter. It was a night for emotional explosions, and Lynch was evidently feeling his share. It could be that he was trying to comfort her in a time of need and didn't know quite how to do it.

And this was a time of need, she thought wearily. She was sick of death and the good being taken down. Olivia, Lesley ... who would be next?

But Olivia was not going to die.

She leaned forward and put her cheek on Olivia's hand. "She shouldn't have died, Olivia. It's all wrong. And I'm tired to my soul of worrying about you. That's not right, either. I need you to stop this. It's hurting me. I wouldn't do it to you. You're scaring me. We've been together since the beginning. You can't leave me now. I want you to-"

"You're ... getting ... my hand ... wet."

Kendra froze.

It had been the faintest whisper, but it was not her imagination.

She slowly lifted her head to stare at Olivia's face.

Her eyes were mere slits, but they were open.

Oh, G.o.d, thank you.

"Always complaining," she said unevenly as she wiped her eyes "When it's all your fault. You stay here with me. No going back. Do you hear me?"

"I hear ... you. How could I help but hear you? You wouldn't ... shut up."

"Because you were being stupid. You couldn't stay there in the dark alone. You would have ... you couldn't stay there."

"That's what you kept saying. I ... decided maybe you were right." Her eyes were closing. "Besides, it wouldn't have been any fun ... without you. I don't like ... being alone."

"Don't shut your eyes. Not yet." She jumped to her feet and pressed the bell for the nurse. "I'm going to the door to make sure someone is coming. There may be something they have to do for you, and I don't know if they'll believe that you're awake. They think I'm some kind of weirdo."

"And your ... point is?"

"That you owe me. So don't shut your eyes for a little while. I want to show you off."

"I'm tired. And you're just scared."

"Yes." She was motioning frantically at the nurse who was hurrying down the corridor. "So indulge me. Stay awake, okay?"

"On one ... condition."

"Name it."

"That you never play 'There's a Tear in My Beer' again. It ... was cruel and unusual punishment."

"You deserved it. Did you like 'Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger' better?"

"No, that was the next condition."

The nurse was in the room and moving toward Olivia's bed.

It was out of Kendra's hands. "We can negotiate." She went back and sat down in the chair. "Let's see how you cooperate with the medical staff here. I want you well and out of this hospital, dammit."

"SHE'S AWAKE," KENDRA TOLD Lynch when he picked up the phone two hours later. "I don't know the full extent of the damage or the healing time yet, but that's a major breakthrough." She drew a deep breath. "She's going to live, Lynch. I know it." She paused. "And, what's more important, she knows it."

"That's great, Kendra." His voice was completely sincere. "I couldn't be happier."

"Neither could I." She added, "I haven't been able to question her about the attack yet. I'm going to have to play that by ear. It scared her, and I won't be responsible for causing any lasting trauma. If I have to ignore it, I will. I'm not sure how much she'd remember anyway." She paused. "And I won't let you question her either."

"Don't be too protective. It might be a catharsis for her."

She stiffened. "And give you what you want."

"What we both want. Think about it. Do you want to let that creep get away?"

"Of course I don't. I want them all to go down. That's why you have to do your job and bring them-"

"Wait a minute. My job? I thought we were working on this together."

"We were, and look what happened." Her hands tightened on the phone. "If I hadn't been involved, Olivia would never have been hurt. She almost died, and I still don't know what permanent damage there will be. And it's not the first time. There's always cause and effect when I try to help. Last time, it was those children in the kidnap case. If I hadn't brought Jeff so close that the kidnapper felt threatened, he might never have murdered them. I should have stayed out of it. I do more harm than good. Chasing around after sc.u.m was never what I wanted to do."

"Not even to find Jeff Stedler?"

"You find him. Maybe that way, he won't turn up dead, too."

He was silent a moment. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I mean it. My job is to stay with Olivia and help her through this."

"Your job is to use that unique skill to stop those sc.u.mbags out there in their tracks and maybe save a few lives. I'm sure Stedler didn't blame you for the death of those kids."

"No, he just wanted to use me again. I blamed myself." Nightmares, weeks of trauma, memories that would never leave her. "Just as I blame myself for Olivia. She was going to try to talk me into stopping my work with you. She wouldn't have even been at my condo if she hadn't been worried about me."

"So you're going to give her what she wants. Guilt, again? Why don't you ask her if she wants you to feel guilty, if that's going to enrich your relationship?"

"Be quiet. You don't know anything about our relationship."

"Only what you told me. But an outsider sometimes sees things that others don't."