He shut his big mouth and stood back, barely resisting the urge to lose his temper every time the doctor touched Anne in a way that caused her pain. He was almost sick at the sight of the wounds Dennis Farman had inflicted on her. Only one was very serious, thank God. But several would need stitches and bandages, and would have to be watched for infection.

Anne excused him from the room for that part, and he didn’t argue, knowing he wouldn’t be able to take watching the love of his life being poked with needles.

He walked out the doors to the ambulance bay, needing the damp, chilly air to clear his head. He had forgotten his coat at the SO, and was still in the same shirt he’d been wearing when Zander Zahn had lunged at him with a knife. He wanted to wash the day off with a hot shower and crawl between the sheets naked with his wife.

The adrenaline had all drained out of his system, leaving him weak and shaking. He sat down on a bench, leaned his arms on his thighs and hung his head down, working at regulating and becoming more aware of his heartbeat and breathing.

With a clearer head, the realization of what he might have lost tonight was sharp and stark. For the second time in a year, his love, his second chance at life, his precious Anne had almost been taken from him.

Finally able to have one quiet moment to appreciate that, he allowed himself to feel that fear and cry.

Having been poked and washed and stitched and stuck with needles, Anne was finally able to dress in a pair of surgical scrubs borrowed from a nurse. She sat on the exam table waiting for Vince, petting Haley’s hair.

The idea of CPS taking her away was unbearable. The idea of her going to live with Milo Bordain was unthinkable. The idea that Anne herself had put the little girl through a second living hell tonight was devastating.

What would this trauma bring to Haley, so close on the heels of losing her mother and almost losing her own life? Anne was terrified at the possible psychological damage this might have done. She was going to have to think hard about her future as an advocate if there was any chance of putting her loved ones in harm’s way.

Of course, if she hadn’t been an advocate, Haley would probably have never come into her life at all.

The little girl blinked her sleepy eyes open and looked up at Anne.

“Mommy Anne? Are you an angel now?”

“No, sweetie,” Anne whispered. “I’m fine.”

“You fell down,” Haley said, tears coming. “That boy made you fall down!”

“But I’m all right now, sweetheart, and that boy will never ever come to our house again.”