Chapter 10

Goren woke in the middle of the night to find a strange face standing over his bed. A young man who looked to be about 20 stared at him through squinted eyes.

Even injured as he was, Bobby's gut told him something was wrong. The room was dimly lit, and the hospital halls sounded quieter than usual. It was night, Bobby knew it, and just as he realized a stranger visiting him at night wasn't a good thing, the man pounded his fist into Goren's chest.

Goren writhed and gasped for air. His lung was burning with pain and his chest was in some kind of spasm. There was no air to be found. Alarms sounded all around, and he blacked out.

The team of nurses raced in. Quickly, they worked to restore his breathing. Thirty minutes later, the crisis was averted, but Goren had suffered a setback. His lung had partially collapsed.

Alex drove recklessly back to the hospital. She couldn't find the patience to wait for the elevator doors to open. She squeezed her body through and ran to his room.

The night nurse, Kelly, caught her at his door. "He's breathing on his own now, but it was a very serious situation," she said calmly.

"What the hell happened?" Alex asked. "He's been doing so well!"

"We don't know for sure, but the patient in 411 said he saw a man running down the hall at about the same time the alarms sounded."

"Somebody did this to him?! Did you call NYPD? His Captain?"

"Ms. Eames, we only just found out, and at this point, we have no idea whether—"

"Why don't you let Captain Ross decide that!" She withdrew her cell phone. Strangely, she hadn't gotten around to deleting unnecessary phone numbers yet. "Captain Ross, this is Eames."

"Eames?" He was quite surprised to be hearing from his former detective in the middle of the night. "Is Goren-?"

"No, Captain, he's not all right. Something happened and his lung partially collapsed and one of the other patients said he saw a man running from Bobby's room at the time of the event."

"He was attacked?"

"It sounds like it."

"I'll get a team down there right away."

"Thank you, sir." She ended the call and entered Bobby's room. He was, indeed, breathing. Alex noticed that his skin was flushed and the reading on the heart monitor was higher than usual. She looked him over carefully and rubbed his forearm with her gentle hands.

"He okay?" Lewis asked from the doorway. He was in sweats and his hair was sticking out. He looked like he'd come straight from his bed. He probably had.

She nodded. "He's breathing," she said. She looked at Bobby's face and realized she was trembling.

Lewis moved in closer. His warm hands rested on her shoulders as he looked his friend over.

"He may have been attacked, Lewis. Major Case is sending some Detectives to investigate."

"Who would-?"

Alex shrugged under his hands and turned her eyes to him. "Bobby's put a lot of people in jail, Lewis. A lot of enemies…"

He scratched the stubble on his face and moved to sit in the other chair. "I guess it'd be best not to leave him alone."

She frowned. "I guess we can ask Ross to put a detail on him."

A knock sounded at the door. Alex looked up to see Detective Logan and Falacci standing there.

"Is he okay?" Falacci asked.

Alex nodded. "For now," she said quietly.

"What happened?"

Alex relayed the information as the two stepped inside.

"I'll check on security cameras," Logan volunteered.

"I'll go with him. You'll call me when he wakes?" she asked Alex.

Alex nodded. "And Nola? Can you ask Ross to put a guard on him?"

"I think it's a reasonable precaution at this point." She nodded at Eames. She and Logan left quickly. The patient who had witnessed it was asleep, as well, so they headed straight for the security office.

When Bobby awoke, he felt miserable. His head was pounding and his chest ached. Every breath seemed to be accompanied by a slicing pain. He tried to express his discomfort, but only managed a half-voiced whimper.

Her hand was cupping his face, and he opened his eyes. "It's okay, Bobby."

Suddenly, memories flooded his brain. "He…hit me!" His eyes widened with fear.

"Who did, Bobby?"

The face loomed in his mind's eye, but he couldn't place it. "Don't…know."

"A hired goon?"

Bobby closed his eyes and searched his memory in spite of the pounding in his head. "Track marks."

"Okay, we'll get Logan or Falacci to get a description from you. Take it easy, Bobby. You need to heal."

"Feels… different."

"What does? Are you okay?"

"Hurts different."

"He hurt you, Bobby. But you're doing great." She was going to say more, but he became consumed by a cough. Alex held him until it passed. The episode sapped his energy and he slept again.

Alex sighed heavily. She was gritty from lack of sleep, and the fact that someone had come after Bobby, kicking him while he was down, filled her with rage. If she hadn't resigned, she would be heading the investigation herself.

She sighed again, and swiped her hand through her hair. If I hadn't resigned.

As the days passed, she was regretting that decision more and more. She felt helpless, and she really didn't like it. She scraped her fingers through her hair again, and heard Lewis' voice in the door.

"You should get some sleep."

She turned her head. Lewis didn't look much better than last night, but she knew he had napped for a couple of hours. Alex nodded.

"Did he wake?"

"He saw his attacker. And he said he 'hurts different.'" Tears welled in her eyes. She didn't need to tell him the rest. Lewis wrapped his arms around her and Alex fought not to sob against his chest. "If you see the Detectives," Alex said, pulling away from the embrace, "Tell them male with track marks and Bobby can tell them more when he wakes again."

Lewis nodded and let her leave the room. He took up residence in the bedside chair.