Eli Loker heard the sound of footsteps-heels to be exact- echoing down the halls. They didn't sound like Foster's; maybe they were Torres'? He went to the hall to check, and sure enough, there was Torres, angrily walking away in the opposite direction. Loker knew she was easily annoyed and angry, but today she seemed really agitated.

Oh well, he thought. She's fun to play around with when she's angry. Eli quickly walked down the hall to catch up with Ria. "Hey, Torres!" he exclaimed, making Ria wheel around to face him. Seeing it was Eli who called her, she continued down the hallway with Eli right beside her.

"What do you want, Loker?" she asked. She didn't have time for this; her lunch break wasn't that long and she was going to visit Dupree, whether she actually ate lunch or not.

"You seem like you're in a hurry," he observed. They were almost to the exit, and Loker wanted to find out what was bugging her so much. He may like to bother her at times, but he also cared for her enough to know that something was up.

"Yeah, aren't you observant," Ria replied sarcastically. She opened the door and walked outside. Crap, she thought as she felt the rain pouring down on her. She hadn't paid attention to the weather and didn't notice that it was no longer sunny like it was in the morning. I knew I should've brought my car today.. Ria turned around and walked back into the building. Loker held the door open for her.

"You're either really hungry or you like to walk out into the rain.," Loker commented, following her as she walked back the other way. Ria ignored him. "Really, where were you off to?" Ria stopped walking and looked at him.

"I was going to visit Dupree at the hospital, but I didn't bring my stupid car and it's pouring outside, if you didn't notice." Ria studied Eli's face. Shock. "Didn't Lightman tell you? Everyone else seemed to know hours before I did."

So that's why she's so pissed, Eli thought. Her boyfriend was injured in the terrorist bombings. He had heard Lightman and Foster talking quietly to each other and was able to catch "she knows she's not responsible now…" and "we'll tell her when we know more…", but he wasn't sure what they were talking about.

"He didn't mention that. I'm the unpaid intern, after all. The only things they tell me are what I'm supposed to do next." Silence. "Sorry about…your boyfriend," he said, deciding that it was best not to use his radical honesty; "Okay…so you're single now?" didn't seem like the best thing to say at the moment. The look on Ria's face showed that she believed him. It wasn't really a lie anyways; he did feel sorry for everyone who was killed or injured because of the bombings. Eli looked at the clock. There was a little bit over twenty minutes left until they were supposed to report back to the case. "I was smart enough to bring my car today. I could drive you over to the hospital if you want."

"What?" Ria looked at him to make sure he wasn't joking around. "Let's go."

Ria rushed into the hospital with Eli right behind her. She never knew Loker could drive so fast. She checked in with the receptionist in the lobby.

"Did he wake up yet?" Ria looked at the receptionist closely and knew the answer before the nurse said anything.

"I'm sorry, Miss Torres. He's still in a coma, but you can still go up and see him."

Eli glanced at Ria, detecting how worried she looked. He didn't know that Dupree was still unconscious. He must've been like that for, what? Three days, now? Before he could say anything, Ria led him to a hospital room. Dupree was on a bed in the middle of the room with bandages and tubes-oxygen, probably-around his nose. Ria took a seat next to the bed and looked at Dupree while Eli stared from the door. They stayed that way for the next ten minutes or so, when Ria noticed the time.

"Crap, we're going to be late," she said, rushing out of the room with one last glance at Dupree.

Wish she looked at me like that, Eli thought, remembering every concerned and caring look she gave Dupree. Surprised yet thankful that his radical honesty didn't seem to be working today, Eli walked out of the hospital beside Ria. The rain had mostly stopped, and the sun was peering through the clouds. At least that was one ray of hope before they had to face their boss about being late.


Author's Note: I wanted to try writing a Loker/Torres fanfic, so here it is. It might get out of character in some parts, but I'll do my best to keep it as in-character as possible. I'll try updating this soon, but until then, review! I'd like to know what you think of the story so far.(: