The Price You Pay

Nate followed the nurse into the ER examination area where Eli's doctor was writing in a chart and giving out treatment orders to another member of staff. He waited impatiently until she was finished talking, then stepped forward into her line of vision before she could be distracted by another chart which she'd been handed.

"Are you Dr. Stone? Rachel Thomson, I treated your brother this evening." She offered him a cool, slim hand which Nate shook quickly.

"How is he?"

Dr. Thomson seemed to understand his abruptness and ushered him down a corridor, filling him in as they walked.

"It's good news. Our tests reveal the aneurysm didn't rupture. We had his last scan sent over from St. Vincent's and ours shows no bleeding."

Nate felt a wash of relief and could only nod in response. He didn't trust his voice.

"However his blood pressure was extremely high which explains the bleeding and dizziness. We're treating him with ACE Inhibitors and his BP's improving. So far the blood work and ECG have revealed no underlying cause for the hypertension, but we'll monitor him closely overnight. His LOC was minimal, I understand?"

Nate nodded again. "No more than a minute. Can I see the MRI?"

Dr. Thomson's eyes narrowed slightly before she agreed to have a copy brought down for him. "But like I said, the aneurysm is intact."

"Are you going to recommend an angiogram?"

She paused outside an examination room and met his gaze. "Not unless there's a subsequent bleed. Dr. Stone, apart from the aneurysm your brother is in good health. The hypertension is likely caused by stress. He mentioned he's been feeling more pressure than usual lately. I've explained to him the importance of reducing stress in his lifestyle, particularly because of his condition. I'd recommend his regular doctor putting him on a regular course of BP meds."

Nate was reluctant to accept an explanation so pedestrian after expecting to hear the worst. It didn't help that he knew he was the biggest cause of Eli's recent stress.

"I'll take care of it," he said.

"Good. You can see him for a few minutes – they'll be admitting him upstairs soon." She opened the door to the exam room and pointed. "He's at the end there."

"Thank you, Dr. Thomson." This time Nate stuck out his hand and was more sincere in shaking hers. She was gone with a brief smile.

Nate walked slowly into the room so as not to disturb the other patients and medical staff. He paused before pulling back the curtain around Eli's bed, taking in a few deep breaths. The doctor said he was okay, Nate reminded himself. He took a step forward.

Eli was lying on the hospital bed attached to a few different monitors and a drip. His eyes were closed and his face was still drained of some color, but he looked better than he had earlier that evening. Nate quickly took in all the equipment readings to reassure himself that Dr. Thomson wasn't lying. Eli's blood pressure was still high but everything else looked normal.

"Hey," Eli whispered.

Nate's eyes shifted immediately to his brother's face. "Hey. I thought you were sleeping."

He didn't know what else to say so he squeezed his brother's hand instead. Eli smiled wanly and gripped back.

"Eli…" he choked out.

"I'm okay, Nate. The doctor filled me in."

Nate shook his head, then his words came out in a rush. "This shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have said what I did, about you being worse than Dad. I didn't mean it."

"It's okay."

"I know Beth calling the wedding off wasn't your fault. I was just so angry. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm so sorry, Eli."

Eli waved his other hand dismissively. It fell back onto the bed and Nate could see how exhausted – and medicated – he was.

"Will you stop?" Eli asked.

Nate snorted softly. He was relieved to hear the familiar inflection in Eli's voice. He pressed his palm against Eli's head and mussed his hair slightly. On cue, Eli protested just like he always had growing up.

"You should get some rest," said Nate, feeling a little more relaxed. "I'm gonna be back first thing in the morning."

"Why can't I go home? Or stay with you? You're a doctor – can't they release me to your care?"

"They want to monitor your blood pressure overnight. No arguments," Nate said when he opened his mouth to protest.

Eli let out a frustrated breath but didn't have the energy to state his case. "Don't tell Mom," he said instead. "You didn't try and get in touch with her, did you?"

"Don't worry, I didn't call. I didn't want to worry her if it wasn't…" Nate didn't finish his sentence. They were both thinking about the aneurysm rupturing. "But Beth is waiting outside so I'd better let her know you're okay."

"You called Beth?" Eli asked, surprised.

Nate knew he was caught and averted his eyes. "Yeah."

"Does this mean…? Are you two…?"

"No," Nate replied.

Eli couldn't hide his disappointment which Nate chose to ignore.

"Get some sleep, Eli."

His eyes closed dutifully before he nodded slightly. Nate waited for a few minutes before he pressed a kiss on top of Eli's head.

0 0 0 0

Nate was distracted as he sat in the cab on his way home. Beth had offered to drive him but he'd refused. He wasn't ready to talk to her about anything, and after assuring her that Eli was okay, he made a quick escape. He knew it hurt her when he said no, and wasn't proud of the fact he felt a little glad that it did.

He was overwhelmed with relief that Eli's collapse had not been caused by the aneurysm. But he'd had too many dark thoughts about losing him not to obsess over what had happened. Nate knew stress could cause high blood pressure which could cause Eli's symptoms, and he knew his accusations during their argument that evening were the trigger. He'd been so consumed with his own pain since Vegas that he hadn't seen what the situation had done to Eli as well.

Nate didn't want to be alone. It took every ounce of strength not to turn the cab around and go to Beth's place. His place too, or at least it had been until a week ago. It was only a matter of timing that he still had his apartment – it was being subleased in a month. Nate considered canceling on the new tenant but really didn't know if he wanted to stay there anymore. It felt strange going back when he was supposed to be starting a new life with Beth and Ben.

He knew he definitely did not want to be going home to his apartment now, and on a whim told the cab driver to head to Chinatown instead. It was late but he suspected Frank would still be up. He didn't bother calling ahead and was soon banging on the door to his clinic.

If Frank was surprised to see him he didn't say anything. But he was soon frowning in concern when Nate filled him in on what had happened to Eli.

"It was my fault," Nate lamented as Frank handed him a beer and took a seat. "I blamed him for everything and it could have given him a stroke."

Nate recounted in painful detail their fight while Frank listened without comment. Nate had finished his beer before he realized Frank has said nothing at all since hearing that Eli was in the hospital. He wondered if he was even paying attention, as he sat staring off into the distance.

"Hello? Frank?" Nate said, a little annoyed. "You said you were going to look at my Dad's journal for any mention of what happens to me. Was there anything about Eli's health?"

It took a moment for Frank to refocus his eyes on Nate. He shook his head. "I don't need to check the journal."

"What do you mean?"

"Nurhachi," Frank said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"I know what caused this."

Nate frowned. "What?"

Frank's eyes flashed with reluctance before he started speaking, while Nate grew increasingly impatient.

"It's called the Dark Truth," he said cryptically.

"What is?"

"The acupuncture treatment that caused Eli's vision of your wedding day. The one he didn't tell you about." Frank quickly explained the notion of mental clarity through pain and the side effects it could cause.

"Wait, wait, wait," Nate said, holding up his hand. "You think acupuncture caused Eli's hypertension? Isn't that the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot, career-wise?"

"This is a very different sort of acupuncture. I warned Eli not to mess around with it, but he didn't listen. He had at least one session last week, maybe more, with another acupuncturist. And once with me, a while back."

Nate's eyes blazed. "You performed a dangerous treatment on my brother?"

"He begged me, man. I didn't want to do it. And I refused when he asked again."

But Nate was too angry now. "Why didn't you tell me about this? If Eli was putting himself in danger…"

"Maybe I should have," Frank admitted. "But I think it was something he had to decide for himself."

"It could have killed him, Frank! If the aneurysm had ruptured he could be dead or a vegetable right now."

"I know." His shoulders sagged.

Nate didn't know what else to say. He was still mad at Eli for not telling him about the vision, and now it appeared his brother had forced it on himself. Nate stood up abruptly. Frank wanted to talk about it some more, to try and explain what Eli had been attempting to do, but he didn't want to hear it. The clinic door slammed loudly behind him as Nate stalked out into the late night air, still fuming.