"Are you sure you can't use that captain's rank of yours and do something about getting the elevators fixed?" Jim asked as he and Simon paused on the sixth floor landing before leaving the stairwell.

Captin Banks took a moment to regain his breath before answering, "I wish it worked that way."

Ellison opened his mouth to comment, but instead cocked his head to listen to a sound only he could hear.

Simon noticed the familiar gesture and waited for his detective to inform him of what he was hearing.

"Sounds like Vice has another wild one on their hands," the detective supplied.

Heaving a sigh, Simon reached for the door handle, "When will they learn to leave the doped up suspects down in holding until they've come down from their high?"

"Simon, wait!" Jim warned, but he was too late. The door flew open, slaming the captain back into the wall.

The obviously strung out suspect that Jim had heard came through the door like a raging bull. He ran headlong into Ellison and the two went tumbling down the stairs.

Captain Banks quickly recovered and charged down the steps after his friend and the suspect. He descended on the druggie before he could completely untangle himself from his victim and resume his flight.

"Don't even think about it," Banks growled as he latched onto the drugie's arm and slammed him up against the wall.

Police officers began filling the stairwell.

"Banks! Hold onto him!" Detective Zlatnick shouted as he approached the landing.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Simon growled over his shoulder.

Zlatnick quickly grabbed two fists full of the suspect's shirt and, along with several uniformed officers, helped Captain Banks manuever the druggie so they could resecure the cuffs still dangling from his left wrist.

After a struggle that should have been impossible for one man, the officers were finally able to wrestle the suspect to the floor and restrain him with a pair of handcuffs and some riot cuffs made into ankle restraints.

With the suspect once again under control the officers took a moment to catch their breath. "Thanks Captain. I owe you one," Detective Zlatnick said before accompanying the uniforms and still struggling suspect down the stairs to holding.

Banks took a few steps up towards the sixth floor, "Just see that it doesn't become a habit and we'll call it even."

As the detectives from Major Crime, who had joined the ruckus, gathered around their captain, Simon noticed that Ellison was sitting in the corner of the landing. "Oh, no. Please don't tell me..." he groaned.

"It's not like I had much of a choice," Jim said through teeth clenched in pain. The detective made no move to join his friends and remained where he was, holding his already swollen right ankle.

Heaving another sigh, Simon bent down and helped his friend stand on his one good leg. With Simon on one side and Joel Taggart on the other, the group made the short trip up to the sixth floor and the Major Crime bullpen.

The group was silent, except for a few grunts of pain as the two captains helped Ellison up the stairs, through the bullpen and into Captain Bank's office where they gently lowered their burden onto the couch.

"Thanks, guys," Jim said as he leaned back and tried to get a moment's respite before what he knew was coming next.

With a look of apology, Simon lifted Jim's injured ankle up and rested it on the couch. He pulled up a chair from the conference table and began gently removing Jim's shoe. By the time Simon had the shoe and sock off, the other members of the unit had gathered various medical supplies and were reassembled just inside the doorway.

Rhonda took Simon's place and started wrapping the ankle with an ACE bandage.

"Should we call 911?" Joel asked as he and Simon stepped out of the way.

"Ah, that's cold," Jim exclaimed and immedeately tried to remove the icepack that the secretary had just placed on his injury.

"Don't even think about it, Ellison. You leave that ice pack where it is," Simon ordered then turned back to Joel. "Nah, it's not that serious. I'm sure the paramedics have better things to do. I'll just drive him to the ER myself."

The decision made, both Joel and Simon walked back over to the couch. Simon reached down and readjusted the ice pack.

"Why bother, Simon? It's just going to come off when we start down the stairs," Ellison stated triumphantly and demonstrated his point by swinging his leg off the couch in preperation of standing up.

Proving once again why he gets paid the 'big bucks', Simon reached towards the side of the couch and unfolded his make-shift pillow. Using the borrowed Army sweatshirt, he gently secured the ice pack to Jim's ankle. He looked up at his friend and returned the smile, "You were saying?"

Jim simply made a face at his captain and acepted the offered assistance.

The two captains helped their friend up, and with one of Jim's arms across each of their shoulders, they started the long journey down the stairs to the garage and Simon's car. The rest of Major Crime joined them to run interferance, see their friend off safely, and just because they could.

"You know, Simon," Joel said between grunts as they passed the fourth floor landing, "either Jim needs to lose a few pounds..."