Part Two

Sonny rides in the back of the ambulance with Priti, holding her hand. She is muttering Rafael's name over and over. She obviously needs his comfort.

"Come on Barba, pick up," he mutters in desperation, facing away from her but still holding her hand. He hits redial for the third time. He turns back and gives Priti a reassuring smile as it rings and goes to voicemail yet again. The smile is for her benefit only - it is fake. "Don't worry, I'll get him here."

"He's probably asleep," she whispers, looking very very green. Even though she speaks quietly, it's still loud enough for him to detect the bitterness in her voice and he squeezes her hand a little tighter.

Then she passes out.

Okay, time to try a different tactic. Sonny fumbles around in Priti's purse as the EMT's attend to her, finding her cell phone. Yup! Just as he suspected, Lucia Barba is on her 'in case of emergency' list.

"I can't believe you called my mother," Rafael grumbles. He and Sonny sit side by side in the surgical waiting room on hard green chairs the color of puke, the hospital's sterile light bearing down on them. Sonny glances over at Rafael and smirks. Rafael's hair is poking up in different directions.

Lucia had kindly gone over to Rafael's apartment and woken him. She had wanted to stay at the hospital until Priti was out of surgery, but one of her neighbors had just called and asked for help with something and felt that she should go - but she was reluctant. Rafael and Sonny had reassured her that they would send regular updates on Priti's progress so that she felt more comfortable leaving. Now Sonny and Rafael are alone.

"I can't believe you slept through five phone calls," Sonny jests and jostles Rafael's shoulder. "What are you Rip van Winkle or something? Should I have given you another nineteen years to sleep it off?"

"Did you just compare me to a lazy Dutch villager who tried to escape his nagging wife?" Rafael shoots daggers at Sonny. He is embarrassed and extremely worried, making him more sarcastic than usual.

"I would never call Priti a nag," Sonny says, "A little jealous maybe. But a nag? No."

"Don't say that about my wife!" he snaps.

Sonny put his hands up in defense. "Sorry, man. I thought you knew she could get jealous from time to time."

"I don't know where you got that idea," Rafael says defensively.

"I guess it's not really jealousy ... I just got the idea that she has been feeling a little … lonely … lately, you know?"

Rafael looks down and sighs, feeling a bit guilty at being neglectful towards Priti even though it was his heavy workload that had been sapping all of his time and energy away lately. Not his fault. Certainly not hers. What else had Sonny just said?

His brows draw together in thought before he looks back up at Sonny. "Nevermind that, where do you get off calling me lazy?"

Sonny stares carefully at Rafael, realizing this isn't the time for joking. He's really worried about his wife.

"I'm sorry, man. You know I know you're not lazy. That's not why I called you Rip van Winkle. It was just the sleeping thing."

"Yeah, I got that," Rafael says sullenly, still embarrassed over sleeping through all of this.

Sonny claps him on the back and looks him in the eye. "She's gonna be okay, Barba. Seriously. She's tough. You should have seen her when she fell. It was like an afterthought for her that her appendix might have ruptured. This is nothing for her. She'll come through it just fine. Trust me on this."

"She fell? You didn't say that she fell. What the hell happened, Carisi?"

"She didn't tell you we were going bouldering today?"

"I … I don't … I'm not sure," Rafael sighs. "Carisi?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for being there for her. I appreciate it. But I need to know exactly what happened."

"Anytime. You know I care about her, too."

Sonny gives Rafael a little side hug and begins to explain to him exactly what had transpired, but before he can get his words out they are interrupted by the waiting room doors opening. Priti's surgeon walks over to them and Rafael and Sonny are on their feet in an instant, the little colour that remained in Rafael's face draining away rapidly.

The surgeon is still wearing his mask so it is impossible to read his expression. Rafael can't seem to find any words, so Sonny obliges.

"How is she, doc?"

Dr. Webber pulls down his mask to reveal a smile on his face. "Are you Dr. Halliwell's husband?" he asks Sonny.

"No, that would be me," Rafael says, more forcefully than he had intended.

"Well," Dr. Webber redirects his attention to Rafael, "I'm pleased to say that Dr. Halliwell's surgery was a success. Barring any postoperative complications and the correct antibiotic therapy, there is no reason that she shouldn't make a full recovery."

Rafael closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. It is rare to see him at such a loss for words, so Sonny takes it upon himself to thank Dr. Webber profusely for his services, while shaking his hand.

Dr. Webber tells Rafael that he can see his wife as she is coming out of recovery, but then turns to Sonny and says, "Family only."

"And that's my cue," Sonny says matter-of-factly. "I need to get home to Amanda anyway."

Oops. He didn't mean to let that slip. Rafael doesn't know about them yet, but it is obvious that he is too distracted. He just wants to see his !

As Rafael walks towards the recovery room, Sonny yells after him, "Hey Barba!"

"Yeah?"

"Call your Mom."

Rafael rolls his eyes and Sonny walks away smirking.