AN: This chapter's dedicated to kawaiidancer422...you'll see why :). Also, this is the last update for a while. Got other things to focus on for the next couple days besides editing. Let me know how you're liking it so far, though.

Heal Over

"Cause you'll heal over,
heal over,
heal over someday."

KT Tunstall

"Wake up," a voice drifted over Ed's dreams. "You. Wake up."

"Problem?" Ed grumbled, still exhausted. He opened his eyes and looked at Bobby.

"Yes."

"What?"

"Wake up."

"What're you, three?" He rubbed his face and sat up straight. "What time is it?" He looked at his watch. "Aw man! It's five-thirty! I just got here two hours ago. Can't you sleep longer?"

"I slept all day yesterday. In case you forgot I was shot," Bobby sounded grumpy.

"I didn't forget. I'm here, right?"

"Then if you didn't forget why won't anyone tell me what's going on? I haven't seen any agents around, and Mike told me I could relax. I know you caught the guy."

"We didn't catch him, B."

"Tell me."

"A man overdosed and left a note claiming he was the sniper. He had the rifle with him."

"He didn't do it?"

"Yes. He did. He had an accomplice."

"Did you catch him?"

"Her. No." Ed watched as Bobby thought carefully. "Bobby, man...if anyone was going to shoot you..."

"She's gone," he said quietly. He turned and stared at a spot on the wall. "It was her...it was Wallace?"

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"She ruined me."

"No. No, you're not ruined. You'll heal. And if you don't, you're alive. She tried to get to you, but she failed."

"Ed, give me a minute please."

Ed nodded. "Okay." He left the room and shut the door behind him. Coffee. He needed coffee.

He found himself a large cup of coffee and sat down in the cafeteria to give Bobby some more space. At some point, he fell asleep. He was awoken by his cell phone, yet again.

"Green," he sighed.

"Am I right in guessing you're at the hospital?" Van Buren's voice came on the line.

"Yep."

"How's Detective Goren?"

"He's good."

"Good. I just wanted to tell you that I'm giving you and Joe a personal day. After this case, you deserve it. I'll see you Monday morning, okay?"

"Thanks Lieu." The second he hung up his phone it rang again. "Green."

"Have you slept at all?" Olivia asked.

"Mmm...some." He went to pick up his coffee cup, but it was gone. "Aw man, someone stole my coffee!" He wanted to just cry or have a temper tantrum, he was so tired. Instead he dragged himself to the counter for another cup.

"How's Bobby?"

"Depressed. He's not...Bobby."

"I'm sorry..." She sighed. "Oh," she remembered. "I haven't stopped for your change of clothes yet. I'll do that now."

"Don't bother. Van Buren gave me the day off. I'll just hang here."

"Can I bring you breakfast then?"

"I'm in the cafeteria now."

"Ed, I'd like to see you this morning. Quit throwing out my excuses."

He smiled. "Okay, come have breakfast with me. Then you can drop in on Bobby. Maybe seeing a pretty girl will lighten his mood."

"You don't have to butter me up."

"I'm not."

"Right. See you in a bit."

Ed watched her as they sipped at their coffees. Both weren't quite up for eating, so they slowly picked at muffins. "Elliott's already asking questions," she said.

"What'd you tell him?"

"That it wasn't a topic open for discussion because I don't know what this is."

"You don't?"

"Do you?"

"I'd call it...spending time with someone I like being around," he suggested.

"I'll accept that."

"And...I'd call it, there's no one else I want to spend time with at this point..."

"I'd say the same..."

"But...if someone else asks you out and you want to accept...you should," he said as he shifted in his seat.

"Let's not worry about it now."

"Okay." He finished off his coffee. "Then how about we revisit that 'anything' subject?" He gave her an irresistibly catching grin.

Ed and Olivia walked into Bobby's room. He was being fed applesauce by a young redheaded nurse. "Is it safe for us to enter?" Ed asked.

Bobby looked over, and for the first time that day, had a small smile. "Hi Olivia."

"Hey Bobby." She walked over to him.

"Oh I see, give her the friendly-Goren act." Ed rolled his eyes.

"Ignore him, he's jealous," Olivia said. She patted his cheek gently, where he could actually feel anything.

"The magic touch," he said. "Ed, I think I have to steal your woman."

"Try," Ed replied. He stepped to Olivia and placed a hand on her back. "Introduce us to your friend."

"Nurse Perez," Bobby said.

"Mya," the nurse corrected with a smile.

"Right. Mya. My friends, Ed and Olivia."

"Good to meet you," Mya said politely. She looked down at Bobby.

"Well Detective Goren, you sit tight. I am going to check on your charts."

"I'll be here Nurse Mya," he said.

"Nurse Mya?" Ed teased when she left the room. "Turning on that charm, big man?"

"It's all I have."

"That and you're killer good looks," Olivia commented.

"Okay, if you two want to have an affair just let me know and I'll go find Nurse Mya." Ed pointed out the door. Olivia gave him a look, but Bobby got real quiet. They turned to him. "Stay with us, B."

"I...I am." He blinked several times. He stared down at his hand. His finger was twitching slightly.

"The doc says that's normal," Ed said.

"But...I feel it. I don't feel...but I feel it move."

"You serious?" Ed reached over and pinched Bobby in the arm.

"What was that for?"

"Did you feel it?"

"No."

"I'll go find the doctor," Olivia said.

Within moments, the doctor came in and Ed and Olivia were pushed out of the room. They stood in the hall impatiently. Olivia checked her watch. "I hafta get going soon. Elliott's going to start wondering where I am." Ed nodded, not really listening. "I'll wait a bit, though." She took his hand. Not much later, the doctor invited them back into the room.

"Good news," he said smiling from Bobby to Ed. "Bobby seems to be regaining feeling in his arms. He still can't move them too much on his own, but they have feeling." He looked at Bobby again. "Very good news, my friend. I'll give you some time on your own for now, but I'm sorry to say you've got a lot more tests today. And we're going to see about getting your Physical Therapist in here later. The quicker we start, the better."

When he left, Olivia went to Bobby's side again and leaned over to hug him. "I'm happy for you Bobby. I wish I could stay and celebrate, but I have to get into work. Try to be nice to Ed, okay?" He just nodded. She stepped up to Ed and squeezed his hand. "I'll call you later."

"Thank you for breakfast," he said quietly. She nodded and left. "So?" He asked Bobby.

"It's good...just...need my legs to catch up."

"They will."

"Are you going to work today?"

"Nope. I'm here to harass you all day long."

"Will...are they looking for Wallace?"

"I don't know. According to the feds, the case is over and she had nothing to do with it. I doubt Deakins will let it go that easy though."

Bobby nodded. "Good."

Ed looked around the room. It hadn't been 24 hours yet, and already the room was starting to fill with flowers and cards. "Who would have thought you'd get so much crap?" He teased.

Bobby looked around. "Not me," he said seriously. "But...it's nice."

"See? People care."

Bobby got quiet for a minute, as though he were thinking over his words to use. "A year ago...I've never had many friends, Ed...I've never..." He took a moment to regain his breath. His eyes were pointed to the ceiling. "When I invited you to crash on my couch after...after Misha, I saw that you needed somewhere to go. I was being considerate. You became a very good friend...and I just wanted to thank you. And now I seem to be gaining a new friend in Olivia...and that's thanks to you as well. It's nice...being stuck here and having someone beside me."

"I'm just returning what you've shown me this past year." They both went silent for a bit. Then ready to be over the awkward man-feelings talk, Ed spoke up. "Nurse Mya is hot, Iggy. I think she wants you." Bobby laughed. "I mean it. Why don't I go tell her you need a sponge bath?"

Bobby laughed again, then groaned. "Ouhh, don't make me laugh."

Ed hung out in Bobby's room while he was taken away for all sorts of X-ray's and tests. He was getting hungry for lunch, and he was bored. Flipping through the channels on the television did nothing to solve either problem. His cell phone rang.

"Green."

"Hey Green, it's Eames."

"Alex, hey."

"Tell me something good."

"Nothing since I called earlier. They took him an hour ago for testing."

"Any idea when they'll be through?"

"No."

"Call me when you know."

"The very second."

Ed got up and headed out the door for lunch, but the desk attendant waved him over. "Yea?" He asked.

"You're visiting Detective Goren?"

"Yes."

"Here, this was dropped off earlier. Can you see that he gets it?" The man handed Ed a blue envelope.

"Sure, thanks." He slipped it into his jacket pocket and left. Now that he wasn't under guard, he was getting some fresh air.

He was on a bench, munching down on turkey and cheese when his cell rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw his partner's number. "Hey Joe," he answered.

"The funerals are being set for this weekend," Joe announced. "Now that the case is closed and it's safe."

"Safe...yea. Wallace is still out there."

"If she had anything to do with it. I just wanted to let you know, though."

"Okay..."

"You gonna be okay?"

He set his food down beside him and stretched. "Yea, why not?"

"Just, well, you know...the last funeral you attended-,"

"Misha's. I know. I'm going to these, though. I have to."

"I'll see you tomorrow then. The LT will send us emails with the schedule."

"Cool, see ya."

"Yea, see ya."

Ed hung up, and went back to his lunch and started thinking. Obviously, the next day wouldn't be pleasant. He called up Olivia but it went right to voicemail.

"Hey, uh...it's me. Ed. Uhhh...Joe just told me about the funerals tomorrow. I wanted to check up on you...and uh...see how you are. I'll be going back to the hospital soon, so just call...whenever. Alex is planning on taking the late shift at Bobby's side tonight, so I'll be going home to sleep finally...uh, bye." He hung up. He stared at his cell phone and wondered if all that had really come out of his mouth. Why all the sudden had he just lost all his cool? Why did women have control over men like that? He rolled his eyes at himself, and went back to his lunch.

He'd been keeping his eye on a couple pigeons who were teetering nearby, eying him and his food. They had accumulated friends. There were now several pigeons wobbling around. One took a flying jump onto the bench beside him and just hung out there. Another hopped up on the back of the bench and started creeping closer to him. He shuddered. "Back off," he said. His eyes darted between all the birds They all started inching closer to him, eyes on his sandwich. He jumped up quick. "My lunch! Back off!" Then he took off down the walk, giving a few backward glances at the birds to make sure they weren't following. "Damn obnoxious ugly bastards," he muttered under his breath as he headed back to the hospital.

By the time he got back, Bobby was back in his room resting. The second he walked in, Bobby smiled without opening his eyes. "I smell French fries," he said, sounding stronger than he had all week. "There better be a milkshake with those."

Ed laughed. "Of course there is. I promised you 'the remedy' didn't I?" The "remedy" being what they both agreed on to being the only solution to a bad day. They just disagreed on the flavor. Ed's vote was for vanilla, and Bobby had to have his strawberry.

Ed pulled the bag of double fries and milkshakes from inside his jacket, and shut the door. "You better be able to eat all this, I had security checking me out good when I sneaked these in."

Bobby nodded slightly. "The doctor just said I could try something more solid than applesauce," he said slowly.

"Okay," Ed pulled his chair to Bobby's side and opened the fries and set them on the table over Bobby's chest. Then he put the shakes up.

"Ed."

"Yes?"

"I hate to say this...uh..." Bobby coughed, "But, uh...I kinda need help." He moved his arm a bit, and flinched in proof that they weren't much good to him just yet.

"I am not feeding you, man," Ed said. He picked up a fry and ate it.

"So you're gonna sit there and eat in front of me?"

Ed looked down at Bobby warily for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. Fine, but don't tell anyone." He picked up a couple fries and held them out for Bobby who ate them. Ed ate a couple more then tipped Bobby's shake to him so Bobby could sip it. Before long, Bobby closed his eyes. He was full.

"Sorry. I know you went to all the trouble-."

"Don't. It's okay," Ed said sipping at his shake. There was a knock at the door and it popped open. Both men looked up like little boys getting caught with firecrackers.

Alex smirked in amusement. "Fries and shakes?" She asked. "Tsk, tsk." But she helped herself to a hand full of fries, regardless. Ed stood so she could sit down in his chair. "How are ya?" She asked Bobby.

"Sore and still broken."

"Any word on the X-rays?"

"Not yet."

"The funerals are tomorrow," she said to Ed.

He nodded, "So I heard."

"Really?" Bobby asked. "Think I'll be allowed to go?" He smiled.

"Doubtful, B," Ed replied.

"Didn't think so."

"Oh! I almost forgot." Ed pulled the envelope from his pocket. "This came for you today." He handed it to Alex for her to open. The envelope had no writing on it. Alex pulled out a card. It had a picture of a cat staring down a mouse. She opened it up and read it, and both men saw a flicker of something cross over her face.

Bobby knew the look. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing...it's..." She tried to put it away.

Bobby knew better. "Read it, Eames."

"No. It's a stupid joke, you don't-,"

"Read it!" He snapped.

She sighed and opened the card back up and held it up for him. "It's blank except for a typed message. 'Get well, Bobby. Your Mouse wants to play'." The room fell into silence. Everyone knew who it was from.

When Alex left, she took the card with her to check for prints. Meanwhile, the doctor came in to announce that they found something on the X-rays and wanted to take Bobby in for another surgery.

"Surgery," Bobby repeated. "How...how risky is it?"

"Low risk. Again, we'll be operating near your spine so it will be risky, but we just want to take a look. If we can fix you up, we will. If not we'll close you up and leave you alone. I don't mean to scare you, Bobby. I'm confident in my surgeons."

"Okay. What have I got to loose?"

Eames showed up early that evening, and Bobby was still sleeping off the surgery. The doc was certain, so far, that they had accomplished nothing that day. No one looked forward to telling Bobby. Alex sighed upon hearing the news.

"They lift anything off the card?" Ed asked her.

"No. And it was dropped off by messenger. We spoke to him and he told us a teenage boy gave him the card to deliver. We couldn't find the kid. I guess she paid the kid to get the card here. So once again, we got nothing on her. Not that it matters since we don't know where she is."

"Damn."

"Yes, that would be the shared opinion."

"Okay..." Ed sighed. "I'm going home. If Iggy wakes, tell him I'll be by in the morning. You gonna be good here all night?"

"I'll be fine. Go."

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