Susannah knew that Bill was starting to know her. Perhaps, a little better than she was ready for.

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Bill and Susannah sat in the half empty movie theater, sharing a humongous tub of well-buttered popcorn and a huge box of Junior Mints. At first, Susannah could not get her mind off of Todd. She worried that his head injury could prove to be more serious than originally thought. She worried about the stress the day may have placed on his heart. She was afraid he might wake up and become agitated and need to be medicated. Yes, she left orders for medication, just in case, but what if he needed more?

"I don't believe I heard your beeper go off," Bill whispered.

Susannah knew he could tell her mind was back in Todd's hospital room. Realizing that the staff knew to beep her if there was even the slightest change, Susannah started to relax. Before she knew it, she was enjoying watching Cary Grant getting mistaken for a federal agent and wondering if Grant and Eva Marie-Saint would get together. She then watched attentively as James Stewart's character sits in his wheelchair, his leg in a cast, thinking he may have witnessed a possible murder. The only thing that distracted Susannah was when her hand met Bill's as they both reached into the popcorn at the same time. They both allowed their hands to linger for a moment before casting a quick glance at each other. They were grateful they were in a movie theater. Neither of them wanted to discuss the electricity they felt as their fingers touched. They gathered their things as the rest of the audience prepared to sit back and watch Norman Bates frighten people out of taking showers in motel rooms.

Susannah looked at her watch. It was after eleven. She had been away from the hospital for over five hours.

"So, why don't I wait over here while you call the hospital," Bill said, knowing that was the first thing Susannah wanted to do.

Susannah was not used to having someone be able to read her so well. She had been an enigma to both her parents. As proud as they were of her, they could not understand how she could choose career over having a family. She was close to them and she loved them dearly, but they really didn't understand her. She called the nurses station. Sam and Viki were both planning on spending the night. Timmy had been woken up several times and he was as responsive as would be expected given the circumstances. He had received his pain meds and was reasonably comfortable. His vital signs were good. He was tolerating the ice packs. Connie told Susannah that, basically, he has been calm and the couple of times he became upset, Viki or Sam were able to comfort him and get him back to sleep. Susannah knew what Connie was saying was that Susannah's presence was not needed at this time.

"Is he all right?" Bill asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yes. He is still in some pain, but that's to be expected. He's okay."

"You would still feel better if you saw that with your own eyes," Bill stated, more than asked.

Looking into his eyes, Susannah admitted, "Yeah, do you mind?"

"Not in the least. You deserve a reward for managing to keep your mind on something else for nearly six hours. I know seeing your young patient is all the reward you want."

"That and a cappuccino and some cheesecake. Why don't we pop over to the hospital and then go to Mario's on South Duke Street? They are open till two and have the best cheesecake in Llanview, guaranteed," Susannah promised.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Doctor Hanen," Bill kidded as they walked to the parking lot.

Timmy was still out when Susannah and Bill got to the hospital. Bill had gone to Todd's room with Susannah to say hello to Sam and Viki. Timmy was awake, but not fully. Viki was holding him while Sam read to him from a Lion King book. Mr. Panda and Mr. Rabbit sat snuggled next to him.

"Hi sweetie, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" Susannah asked. Timmy shrugged.

"Can I get a look at those eyes?" Susannah asked, lifting his head very carefully. His lip was still swollen and painful. "Look at me Timmy. That's my boy," Susannah praised, as he looked up at her.

"Do Mr. Rabbit. His head hurts too." Timmy whimpered.

Susannah picked the toy up. "I'm sorry to hear your not feeling well, Mr. Rabbit. Let's have a look." Susannah shone her penlight into Mr. Rabbit's eyes. "Timmy, you are right. Mr. Rabbit definitely has a headache. I think he needs a good night's sleep."

"His hand and mouth hurt too," Timmy said, sadly.

"Well," Bill announced, reaching into the shopping bag he had brought up from the car with him. "Do you know what I think will help Mr. Rabbit to feel better?" Timmy looked at him and shook his head. "A brand new friend. Do you thing Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Panda would like to make friends with this bird who came to say hello?" Bill took a colorful stuffed parrot out of the bag.

Timmy couldn't see the toy clearly, but what he saw was enough to make him squeal in delight. "He looks like Moose. Mommy, Daddy, look! He's just like Moose."

"He can't say a whole lot of people words like Mr. Panda there, but if you pull this string he can say some parrot words. I don't think he can ask for clam sauce, though." Bill remembered what Timmy told him about Todd's bird.

Timmy took him and hugged him. "I'm gonna call him Moose too just like Todd's bird because I love Todd's bird. Timmy then introduced him to his other stuffed animal companions. Timmy surprised Bill by holding out his arms for a hug. Bill gently hugged the fragile Timmy. "Thank you Mr. Jackson. I'll take real good care of him and I won't let him fly away. Mr. Rabbit feels better too."

"Timmy, you are very welcome," Bill said. He rubbed Timmy's back lightly.

"That was a great choice Bill, thank you," Sam said, patting Bill on the arm.

They looked over at Timmy. He was making the parrot "talk" for Viki and Susannah. After about ten minutes Timmy fell asleep, surrounded by all his stuffed friends.

"Timmy seems to be doing fine, considering all he's been through today. I'll be going for the night. The staff knows to beep me immediately if there's any change. If you feel there is problem, please call or beep me right away. Okay?" Susannah emphasized the word okay.

"Susannah, please don't worry. You know we wouldn't hesitated to call if we thought there was the slightest thing wrong with him, even if the staff didn't think so." Then whispering, Viki added, "Bill made quite the impression with Timmy. I think he's made quite the impression with you too."

Susannah smiled and admitted, "Yeah, you can say that."

"I just did," Viki joked, smiling and happy for her friend.

Susannah took one more look at Timmy. She stroked his head tenderly as he slept. She and Bill left and headed for Mario's.

"So that's what was in the shopping bag. I kind of thought it was something for Timmy," Susannah said, sipping her cappuccino.

"If the little fellow was out, I just wanted to try to get his mind off all the pain he's in," Bill replied, between bites of what was definitely the best cheesecake he had ever tasted.

"That you did. Did you see his face when he realized it looked like Todd's parrot?" Susannah asked.

"That was a lucky guess. They had one there with different coloring. I'm glad I picked this one." Bill stated. He reached over and gently turned Susannah's face to the left. "You have juuuust a little bit of cappuccino foam right here." He wiped it away with his index finger.

Susannah felt her entire body tingle at Bill's touch. She looked at him. She knew he felt it too. She was not ready for this. It was too much and too soon. A part of her wanted to escape back to the sanctity of her lonely existence. Her feelings frightened her. The fear was not sharing her body with someone, but her mind. She was terrified of not giving Todd one hundred percent of her attention. She feared that any distraction would keep her from doing her best for him. She had always felt she had to give most of herself to her patients. She always needed to stay focused on what she had to do to help them. Todd was a patient like no other. Not only because of her love for him and her need to mother him, but because he was so much sicker than anyone she had ever treated before. His case was the most complicated she had ever had, by far. This was not the time to fall down on the job or to allow her personal life to distract her. She knew she needed to stay focused, now more than ever. Bill was a distraction, the likes of which Susannah had never known.

Once again, seemingly able to read her mind, Bill said, "I'm sorry to say that you will be getting rid of me for a couple of days.

Susannah was surprised at the sadness that filled her heart at Bill's words. "Are you going back to Chicago?" She inquired hoping her disappointment didn't show.

"No. I'm going to Washington, D.C. to see an old friend from the force. He's with the FBI now. I'm hoping he can help with the Baker case."

Forgetting her own feelings for now, Susannah, was both happy and apprehensive to know that perhaps Bill might be able to get someone to help do the impossible, find Michelle's family.

Bill drove Susannah back to the hospital parking garage so she could get her car. She told him it wasn't necessary, but he insisted on walking her to her car and making sure she drove off safely. "Thank you for the movie. I forgot how great Hitchcock was," Susannah declared as she climbed into the driver’s seat of her car.

"And thank you for what was the best cheesecake I ever tasted. We make a pretty good team, food and entertainment wise," Bill proclaimed as he slowly closed her car door.

"Yes, we do. Don't we?" Susannah admitted. "Call me from Washington." Susannah quickly added, "if you find out anything."

"Oh, I think I might just be able to muster up a phone call even if I don't. Goodnight Doctor Hanen. Sleep tight." Bill watched as Susannah's car turned the corner. He knew the one thing he could do for her that would mean more than anything was to clear Todd of any suspicion that he killed Michelle. Bill also knew he would not rest until he did. He headed back to his room to pack for Washington.

Timmy remained out and stable through the night. They were able to get him back to sleep every time he woke up. Sam and Viki took turns sleeping in the family lounge. Timmy's mouth and head pain had eased a little by morning, but his wrist was still very painful. The compression bandage did nothing to alleviate the pain. He still had to be on medication. Viki tried to get him to eat some breakfast or at least drink a chocolate shake, but not only was his stomach upset, his lip hurt too much to even tolerate a straw.

Kevin had been very upset to hear what happened to Timmy. He and Cassie had gotten into an argument over some extremely nasty things he said about Dorian. Cassie could not really disagree with her mother about Blair seeking sole custody of Starr. Of course, Cassie was upset with Dorian for thinking of tricking Todd when he was so sick, but she still did not want to hear Kevin putting her mother down the way he did.

Viki had not gone into details over the phone, so Kevin did not really know the whole story. He did know that Grandpa Victor had visited Todd when he was two. "I know I shouldn't be surprised that Grandpa Victor did what he did, but I am. How could he walk away from Todd knowing he was being abused?" Kevin asked Viki, after he had arrived at the hospital.

"I don't know Kevin. I just don't know. I realize that had Father raised Todd, he might have ended up being abused anyway, but not to the extreme that he was," Viki theorized. She noticed a sad laugh coming out of Kevin's mouth. She realized what he was laughing at. "A pretty sad irony, isn't it?" Viki confirmed.

"Yeah mom, it is. It seems no matter who Todd would have been raised by, his life would have been hell."

Susannah entered the unit and headed in Viki and Kevin's direction. "I spoke with Terry and she said Timmy was doing fine, except for experiencing a lot of wrist pain."

"Yes," Viki acknowledged. "He was medicated about an hour ago and he's feeling better. Sam is with him."

"I'm sure he'll be happy to see you," Susannah said to Kevin.

"Yeah, poor little guy. He just can't catch a break. Can I go in now?" Kevin was anxious to see Timmy.

"Just give me a few minutes to examine him. I know he will get excited when he sees you and I want to check him out first," Susannah explained and headed for Timmy's room. Some cartoons were on, but Timmy eyes were closed as he sat on the bed, leaning back against Sam. "Is he asleep?" Susannah whispered.

Timmy's eyes opened and he announced, "I'm imaginating the cartoons cause it makes me feel funny to look at them."

Sam kissed the top of Timmy's head and explained, "His vision is still off and he gets dizzy when he looks at the TV."

"Sweetie, I need to have a look at your eyes, okay?" Susannah checked his pupils. They were fine. His vision seemed a little better, but was not all there yet. His lungs were clear and his vitals normal, for him. Susannah knew he was scheduled for some blood work later and did not look forward to the struggle she knew Timmy would put up. "Timmy, is your wrist hurting a lot?"

He shook his head.

Susannah was satisfied that he was on the right amount of painkillers. "Sweetie, can you open your mouth for me so I can look at your lip?"

Timmy put is good hand up over his mouth and in a muffled voice whimpered, "No, it'll hurt."

"I promise I won't do anything to make it hurt. I just want to look."

"Nooo," Timmy cried.

"Come on Timmy, you know if Doctor Hanen says it won't hurt then it won't," Sam coaxed as he stroked Timmy's hair.

Timmy slowly took his hand away from his mouth and opened it. Susannah, being as careful and as gentle as could be, pulled his lower lip down slightly and saw that the sutures were okay and there was no problem. "Okay, sweetie, that's it. You've been a very brave boy. Now, I have a surprise for you. Kevin is outside and he can't wait to see you."

"KEVIN! I wanna see Kevin," Timmy shouted happily.

"I'll go get him," Susannah promised and left the room. She and Viki headed for the cafeteria for some coffee, knowing Sam was going to be there with Kevin, in case of a problem.

"Hey, how's my bestest friend in the whole world doing?" Kevin asked, with a big smile, even though his heart was aching at the sight of Timmy's bruises. Timmy held out his arms for a hug. Kevin hesitated for a moment because Timmy looked so fragile he was afraid of hurting him.

"Are you mad at me?" Timmy asked with tears already forming in his eyes.

"Oh Timmy, no. No way. You're my best buddy. I was just afraid I'd make it hurt more if I hugged you." Kevin explained to him honestly. Kevin took Timmy in his arms being extremely careful not to hold him too tightly.

"Look! My hand and my head and mouth got hurt. Doctor Hanen said I falled down. I have to keep my hand on the pillow so it will get better."

"I see. Is it hurting you a lot now?" Kevin probed.

"Uh uh," Timmy shook his head. "Kevin guess what? Sam is my daddy now."

Kevin looked up at Sam questioningly.

"I explained to Timmy and to Andy how proud I am of them and how much I love them and how I would love to be their father," Sam explained.

"See, Sam's our daddy and you and Andy are gonna teach me how to play baseball and football good so daddy won't hate me."

"Sam would never, ever hate you no matter what," Kevin assured Timmy before Sam had a chance to. He then said, "I just know you're going to be a very, very good ball player someday."

"You do?" Timmy took him literally. "How do you know?"

"A little bird told me," Kevin said, smiling.

"I almost forgot, Kevin look! Doctor Hanen's friend, Mr. Jackson, got me a friend for Mr. Panda and Mr. Rabbit," Timmy held up the stuffed bird.

"Wow! He looks just like a real parrot," Kevin exclaimed as he looked at the toy.

"He looks like Moose, so that's what I'm gonna call him."

"Yeah, you're right. He does look like Moose."

"You knowed Moose?" Timmy asked, surprised.

"I sure did. He used to come and visit Viki sometime, remember?" Timmy shook his head. "Well, he did. And this bird looks just like him. So I think Moose is a perfect name for him."

Timmy smiled and asked Kevin, "Can you take me to the playroom?" Kevin looked at Sam, who was shaking his head no.

Wanting to get Kevin off the spot, Sam suggested, "I think we can go to the chair today, pal. I'll bet Kevin can bring you some toys from the playroom. Maybe even some paints from the art room? How about that?" Timmy hung his head down.

"Hey buddy," Kevin sat next to Timmy and put his arm around Timmy's shoulders, "That sounds like a really good idea to me. We can get our fun delivered right here to your room. I know, why don't I go to the playroom and see what I can bring to you and then we can make a list of what you'd like to play with."

"I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE!"

Kevin immediately knew this wasn't Timmy's voice. Sam stepped to the door to make sure Jeff, the tech who was posted outside, had Susannah paged. Sam quickly stepped back to the bed and made the introductions. "Kevin, this is Thomas. Thomas is eight years old."

Thomas pulled away from Kevin. "Who are you?" He asked, just a touch of fear in his voice.

"My name is Kevin Buchanan. Viki is my mom."

Thomas looked confused. "You're not a little boy?"

"No. Grownups can have moms and dads too," Kevin explained.

"My mama used to have a daddy, but he went to heaven. Grandpa Ed doesn't live in heaven. He lives in Florida," Thomas announced seriously, making both Kevin and Sam laugh.

Thomas started to get out of bed. "Whoa, Boomer. Hold it," Sam cautioned. He grabbed Thomas' shoulders from behind. "You can't get out of bed yet. Maybe when Doctor Hanen comes she can see if you're well enough to go to the chair."

"I want to go outside and ride my bicycle! Thomas stated firmly. He was getting angry again. He tried to pull away from Sam. Sam noticed that Thomas was pushing up on his bad hand. He was not feeling the pain that a movement like that must be causing. Sam was afraid Thomas would do further damage to Todd's wrist.

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