It didn't take long to backtrack through the woods to her car. The trunk was still open. She slammed it closed and opened up the back door. Mac laid Reego carefully on the rear bench seat as Brenna circled around to the other side and climbed in beside him. She spoke soothingly to him and touched him gently.

The keys still dangled from the ignition so Mac turned over the engine and put it in reverse. In the headlights he saw two large red gasoline storage cans sitting in the roadway. He glanced back but didn't think that Brenna had spotted them, she was completely focused on Reego.

"That bastard was going to burn her," he realized.

The road widened and Matt swung the rear of the car into a bend to get turned around. Once facing the right direction, Mac brought his radio up and told dispatch to relay the gasoline cans to the deputies on scene so they could confiscate them for evidence and fingerprint them.

Herrick was gone, there would be no trial but the scene still needed to be preserved. Procedure and protocol still had to be followed. The world needed to know who and what he had been and why he'd been killed.

He glanced in the rearview mirror. Brenna was tenderly stroking Reego's ears and speaking to him softly between sobs.

His love and his partner were both injured and distressed and all he could do was drive. He'd wanted to scoop Brenna up and hold her the instant he'd seen her. After shooting Herrick he'd needed to feel tangible proof that she was ok.

Leave it to his Brenna to competely disregard her own injuries and focus completely on Reego. Her face was a mess. He didn't even want to consider what other injuries she had that he couldn't see. If Herrick weren't dead Mac would pummel him to death. She'd have a fat lip and a black eye and bruised cheek for weeks and the thought of that made his blood boil.

He'd only seen the very end of Reego's fight but it looked as if he'd taken a beating. Mac had to struggle to keep his emotions in check. He couldn't tear up and blubber while he was driving. The amount of gratitude and love he felt for the dog in the back seat couldn't be put into words.

Reego had been willing to give his life to protect Brenna and had only let go when he absolutely could not hold on any longer. Mac prayed he wouldn't truly be giving the greatest sacrifice tonight.

If only he'd ran faster; he could have caught up sooner and taken care of Herrick before he'd been able to hurt Reego. The run through the woods has seemed like a high paced eternity. They had moved swiftly and covered a lot of ground quickly but Mac had been frustrated in his expectations to find her around every bend and not doing so.

The other deputy had truly been straining to maintain their pace. At the last fifty yards Reego had really put on the speed and Mac had chased the last sighting of him into the little copse of trees where he'd stumbled upon Reego latched onto Herrick and Brenna yelling and pleading to God for Reego to be ok.

It had only taken a moment to size up the situation. Reego was thrown to the side and Herrick was advancing on Brenna. Mac had had seconds to make the decision, taken aim and finish the man only feet from Brenna's shaking form.

Now they were racing through the night to the emergency veterinarian clinic praying they'd make it there in time.

Traffic was light as the merged onto the highway.

"How's he doing?" he asked over his shoulder.

"He's still breathing but not really responding to me anymore," her voice broke in pain. "He's hurt so bad." She finished in such a tiny forlorn voice.

"We're almost there." Up ahead he could see the lit red and white sign that marked the clinic. Mac pulled in and quickly, but carefully, pulled Reego from the back seat as Brenna ran ahead to get the clinic door.

The sleepy looking front desk attendant jumped to attention at seeing Brenna's battered and tear stained face followed by Mac with his gunbelt and the limp German Shepherd.

"Right this way" he gestured toward a swinging door and through it to a large steel table.

A young woman joined them from a hall nearby and took in the scene as she dried her hands with a towel.

"What happened?" She approached and began to look Reego over.

"He was beaten. He was trying to save me and the guy hit him with a baton several times." Brenna started to leak tears down her cheeks again but kept her composure.

"His name is Reego. He's a K9 for the county....... and my partner and the best..... Please." It was all Mac could get out.

"X-rays and get an IV started," she barked at the attendant. "And call Mary and George in. He might need surgery and I'll need the hands."

Brenna slumped against Mac's chest and watched in horror as the two set to work shaving a spot on Reego's leg and sticking him with a giant needle.

Eventually the doctor remembered they were there and asked them to please wait in the waiting room. Shortly thereafter an older woman and a portly looking man arrived and rushed past them and through the door.

Mac just held her and stroked her hair as they waited. Eventually she quieted and he wasn't sure if she was asleep but he continued his ministrations. They soothed him as much as they did her.

Finally the doctor walked through the door and approached the two figures curled into each other alone in the waiting room.

"I'm doctor Shaw. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier." Mac made a motion to greet her but she stopped him. "Don't worry about shaking my hand. I think she's out and she looks like she needs it." Mac just nodded in agreement. "Reego has some pretty severe internal injuries and some broken ribs. We are going to have to do surgery to stop the bleeding and repair some things."

"Do what you need to do, anything." She smiled at him.

"He sounds like a tough fella. He's going to need all the strength he's got. It's going to be a rough road."

Mac just nodded and swallowed. "He can do it."

"It'll be a few hours before I come back out. You can stay here or you can leave and return. It's up to you. She may need a little medical attention herself."

"I agree but there isn't a chance in hell I'll get her out of here until she knows he's ok."

"Fair enough." Doctor Shaw patted his free shoulder and gave him a final smile before turning back to the treatment area door.

*****************

It was four long hours before the doctor reappeared looking tired and worn down.

In the interim Brenna had awoken a couple hours before and they'd shared coffee and donuts from the gas station on the corner. The receptionist reappeared after a while with an ice pack and towel for her face. The swelling and bruising had reached it's peak and she looked like hell. The Aleve she'd taken was barely keeping the aches and pains manageable.

Mac's sargeant and captain had stopped by to check on them and promised to come back later after they knew more. Brenna stepped out to call Brad and get him up to speed with the events of the night and that she would wouldn't be in that day. He'd promised to stop by later as well with Lana to check on them and bring by some sandwiches.

Mac had had to step outside to call Pete and Derek so they wouldn't freak out when they heard it all second hand coming in to work their shifts. Despite repeated promises that they were fine Derek, Tammi and Madison were on their way and Pete planned on picking Becki up for her lunch break so they could visit together.

A new receptionist had just arrived and was preparing the hospital for it's regular daily clients when they suddenly became aware of the doctor approaching them.

"He's out and he will be for a while but he made it through the surgery. He needs to rest and heal so we will keep him here for a few days. No longer than a week I wouldn't think. He'll be off duty for a couple months I'd say." She looked down into the earnest, rivetted faces before her and saw the concern etched in every line. "He sustained some heavy blows. He has several cracked or broken ribs, we repaired a punctured lung and had to put a pin in his hip. He has some brain swelling but I'm confident it will go down in time and he'll be just fine."

Brenna had begun to pour silent tears again as the doctor related all of Reego's injuries and the long arduous recovery he was facing. They turned to tears of gratitude at the doctor's assurance that Reego would, in time, be fully functional and healthy again.

Mac took a ragged breath and placed his arm around Brenna. With the other he shook the veterinarian's hand.

"Thank you." She simply smiled at them both.

"Now, it's pointless for you two to sit here all day. I want you to go home and get some rest yourselves. Take a shower, eat a meal. If you do that, by the time you are done, he should be coming around a little and you can see him."

Brenna promised they would do as she'd ordered and the vet disappeared back into the depths of the building just as Brad and Lana arrived. The good news was conveyed and the older couple walked them to Brenna's car.

Mac had received at text message that one of the deputies had conveyed his pickup home for him earlier in the morning and that they weren't expected to give their statements for a couple of day so they could rest and relax.

Brenna insisted on driving so Mac could relax a little on the way home and made all the necessary calls on the way. Everyone was relieved to hear the good news and promised to be available and to help in any way needed through Reego's recovery.

Brenna couldn't help but smile and be touched by the people in their lives and how good they were. Tammi had insisted that she and Becki would be by later with some casserole and salad so they didn't need to worry about cooking. They'd both simply thanked their friends and shrugged as to how they'd ended up so lucky.

When they finally pulled into the driveway Brenna marvelled at how much had occurred between when she'd last been there and her current homecoming. They both dragged themselves through the quiet house and up the stairs. Showering was a joint effort but more as a matter of necessity rather than fun.

Clean and stripped of the remains of their energy the slumped together into the bed and fell asleep with bright winter sun shining on them through the window.