Alex felt her whole body ache as her eyes fluttered open. She was in a cold hospital room laying on the bed. How had this happened? She thought back to the last assignment, the one with the hostage. She saw Bobby raise his gun and a shocked look on his face after the discharge. Her brain began to piece together the puzzle.
She could forgive him. She always did. It was just a matter of finding how. They had been partners for so long, even thinking about a case without him seemed foreign. The nurse walked in to pull her out of her own mind. "Good morning Ms. Eames. I'm really glad you woke up, your husband was looking worse everyday." she said. She was puzzled and the nurse noticed and said, "The man who comes every night? I just assumed he was your husband." Eames smiled one of those smiles that was becoming so rare for her. "It must have been my partner. How long did he stay? " "All night long every night. He stayed in that chair." she said, pointing at a blue chair with a spare suit draped over it. Alex shook her head. He had stayed by her side.
"Alex!" Bobby said as he walked into her room. She gave him a smile. She saw a debate play across his face. Should he hug her or not? She held out her hands and he found them. The hug was soft, like he thought she was breakable. "Alex, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you." he said quietly. "Bobby, it's not your fault. I don't blame you." she said trying to find his eyes. She thought she saw his eyes get glassy and she knew she was right when a single tear fell down his face.
They talked for hours. The time flew so quickly for them. When Bobby was listening he would lean in to hear her soft voice. She couldn't speak very loud, in her current state. Bobby talked to her in his deep voice, telling her all about Bishop. He would always ask how she was feeling. She would close her eyes and listened to every word he spoke. She lost herself in his soothing voice, smiling the whole time. When the nurse brought in her dinner they were both surprised. "Dinner already?" she asked. "You two have been talking for a long time." She said simply. "All liquids for you." He said smiling. He glanced down at his watch and frowned. "Maybe I should go, it's getting late." He said. "You don't have to go, why don't you stay until I fall asleep?" she asked with just an edge of begging. "I'll grab some food and be back." He replied.
As it neared 10:00 she began to get tired. She closed her eyes and listened to him speak and it calmed her jumpy mind. He must have thought that she was asleep because he stopped talking and got up from his chair. She was to tired to open her eyes. She heard him walk over to the side of her bed. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek. She felt a mind numbing happiness wash over her. He walked out after that, as a smile crossed her lips.