Author's note - this is my first fic, please be nice. If you like it let me know and I'll add more of the story

Summary - Lewis/Hathaway. Hathaway has been shot. As he lays there thinking he's dying he say something to Lewis...

Disclaimer: The characters of Lewis do not belong to me. I make no money from this. Reviews would be appreciated.

Chapter One

They shouldn't have been in this situation. So many things were wrong. They should have called for back-up sooner. Hathaway could hear the sirens of his colleagues getting closer but they wouldn't be here for another couple of minutes at least. He looked into the boy's eyes, willing him with his mind to let go of his Father's hand and walk towards him. The boy looked frightened and torn. Looking up to his father he seemed to be begging for reassurance but his dad was shouting and waving a gun at other policeman.

"Harry, put the gun down" Lewis said in a low calm voice "We'll talk about it. I'll keep everyone back. I promise. Just let your lad walk away with my sergeant."

"Jack stays with me. I'm his dad!" Harry replied. He too could hear the sirens getting closer, much closer now. Lewis knew that any moment now they'd approach and see his car, the doors flung open and up ahead, under a tree beyond the playground, the four of them.

The situation was so tense. Jack was so confused. He didn't want to leave his dad but he was frightened. He clung harder to his father's sweaty hand. Harry was just as confused and frightened as his son. He thought they would be able to make their getaway. He didn't want to use the gun. He wanted to keep his son. He had to get out of this. He had to get them out of this. He didn't know where to look. The policeman was still talking to him but he's stopped listening. Then out of the corner of his eye there was movement.

Hathaway didn't hear what was said. If anything was said. He just saw the boy start to run, he saw Harry point the gun at Jack and he grabbed the boy's T-shirt and pulled him across his body and dropped him to the ground just as the gun went off. Jack looked so terrified that at first Hathaway thought the boy had been hit. Then he tasted it. Like metal, it was adrenaline, he knew that. It was him. He'd taken the bullet.

Lewis had wrestled the gun away from Harry as Hathaway slumped to the ground. The first two responding officers of the back-up they'd called were only feet away sprinting towards them.

"Get the boy!" Lewis shouted to them "I need one of you to cuff him."

As soon as he could Lewis knelt beside Hathaway. He put the gun down and took off his jacket off to put pressure on the wound. Hathaway was breathing heavily and blood was pouring out of him.

"Sir?" Hathaway said weakly.

"I'm here" Lewis replied. More officers were arriving. One called to Lewis to say an ambulance was on its way. Lewis nodded and looked down at Hathaway "C'mon James. You're going to be alright. Did you hear, the ambulance is on its way already."

"It doesn't hurt." said Hathaway said. His boss looked so panicked and he was trying to comfort him.

"I don't bloody care if it hurts more than giving birth to an elephant as long as you hold on" Lewis said.

"I don't think I can" this time Hathaway's voice was even weaker. Lewis looked up to see the paramedics rushing towards them.

"Don't say that. They're here. I can see them" Lewis pleaded.

"I love you" It was barely a whisper but Lewis heard him say it just before James' eyes closed.

"No James! Wake up.. Wake up Jim!" Lewis begged. He felt someone pull him to his feet and away from Hathaway. It was one of the uniformed officers.

"Sir, let them do their job. It'll be okay" Lewis didn't believe what he said any more than he did when he said something similar to Hathaway moments earlier. "Do you want us to drive you to the hospital?"

"Please" was all Lewis could say.

…............

Lewis only got a glance of Hathaway when he arrived at the hospital. He was surrounded by medical personnel who were wheeling him into a lift on his way to surgery.

"How is he? Is he going to be alright?" Lewis asked one of the nurses on her way back from the lift.

"If you go upstairs someone will be able to give you more information when he's out of surgery" she replied. The response was so unhelpful he wanted to get angry and shout at her but he didn't. He knew it wasn't her fault. It was her way of saying that she didn't know.

He headed straight for the stairs to go upstairs. As he opened the door he heard his name being called.

"Robbie" It was Dr Laura Hobson "I've just heard. What's going on?"

"I don't know. They've just taken him to surgery now" Lewis looked at his friend and he could feel the panic growing inside him "I think he might die."

…..............

They sat in the family room waiting for news and drinking awful coffee from a machine in the corner of the room. After an hour or so they were joined by Supt. Jean Innocent.

"Any news?" she asked and sat down next to Laura. Laura shook he head. Lewis just stared at the floor. The front of his shirt was covered in blood. Despite the heat in the hospital he felt a little cold. He wondered where his jacket was. It had his house keys and his warrant card in it.

"Why am I thinking about my sodding house keys at time like this" he thought.

He looked at his shirt and ran his fingers over the material. The blood was almost dry. For the first time he saw his hands. Blood had dried under his fingernails. James' blood. He'd have to scrub to get it all out.

"Robbie" it was Laura "Jean was talking to you."

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something." he said "Was there something you needed, Ma'am?

" I was just letting you know that the boy, Jack, he's fine. Social Services have taken him until his grandparents can get to Oxford." Innocent replied "I called Hathaway's father. In his file there was just a number with no name for an emergency contact. It was only during the call that I find out I was talking to his dad. Do you know if they've fallen out or something?"

" I didn't know his parents were still alive. He doesn't talk about that sort of thing. We don't talk about stuff that's y'know, personal or private. Not much anyway, we both find it awkward, I think. I don't think we really know an awful lot about one another. It's strange, after all this time and yet he's my best friend. God, I've never told him that and now I might not get a chance."

"Don't think like that that Robbie" Laura said quietly.

Tears welled up in his eyes but he held the lump in his throat. He didn't want to cry here. Not with other people around. He had to remind himself that Hathaway was still alive. It was the sitting around waiting that was getting to him. Just like with Val but just because it felt the same didn't mean the outcome would be as well.

….................

It was four hours and forty three minutes later when the surgeon came to talk to them. Lewis knew exactly how long because he felt like he'd waited for every second tick by. The surgeon talked manly to Laura because he knew her. Hathaway was alive. To Lewis that was all that mattered. He knew Laura could ask questions and translate all the doctor-speak to him later.

"Can I see him?" Lewis asked when the two doctors had finished talking.

"As I was saying, he's unconscious for now and we're going to keep him sedated for a few days. We've stopped the bleeding but there was a fair bit of damage. It's up to him now. His body needs to try and heal itself. He's not out of the woods yet" the doctor was seemed to know that Lewis hadn't been listening "Just one visitor at a time. The nurses need access so we can monitor him closely. Are you family?"

"He's my sergeant" Lewis said as if this qualified him as kin.

"His father is on his way. He'll be here any minute." Innocent added "You go in Robbie."

The surgeon pointed him in the direction of Hathaway's room. At first Lewis just stood at the foot of the bed watching the machines as if they weren't connected to Hathaway. It was only when he sat down that the reality of it all hit him. He reached with his right hand to touch Hathaway's and covered his own face with his left as finally he let a few tears fall.