The first thing Andy noticed when she regained consciousness was that her body felt like it was on fire. Burning hotter than any fire she had ever had to put out.

It took a few minutes until the searing pain of her headache abated enough for her to open her eyes. When she finally did, Andy found herself in a dimly lit room bathed in white from the walls to the sheet loosely draped over her torso. She could faintly hear the beeping of the heart monitor and the hum of the fan as it slowly pushed cool air over her overheating skin. Looking out the window the sky had turned black like soot, with only a few faint sparkles of stars.

Noticing the glass of water on the bedside table, Andy took two large gulps to try and soothe her aching dry throat. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep.

"Nice to see you've finally decided to join us in the land of the living again," Amelia greeted, her voice soft, as she opened the door to her hospital room. Andy grunted in response and covered her eyes as the overhead fluorescent lights buzzed on.

The famed Shepherd sibling moved her arm back and using a pen light, checked Andy's eyes for any signs of irregular or unfocused movement.

"Is this really necessary?"

Amelia sighed, giving her a small smile in understanding. "You're a first responder, Herrera. You know I have to check to rule out that you don't have a concussion or a brain injury."

Andy scoffed at Amelia, refusing to hide her disdain for the entire situation. "I'm fine."

"Sure, you just passed out, but I guess you're fine."

"I was dehydrated and tired. I also didn't get much sleep last night and skipped breakfast. That's why I fainted. I really don't need all this fuss." Andy did her best to sound convincing, keeping full eye contact, but the tiredness in her voice gave away how exhausted she was.

Amelia didn't bother listening to Andy and continued the examination. "That's for me to decide." She scowled upon seeing that Andy's vitals from her annual checkup last month were less than ideal. Going through the list of required questions to assess her health, Andy responded to each in an entirely positive manner that Amelia was almost sure was fake.

"Any headaches?" Amelia watched as Andy's body tensed up, going rigid at the thought of answering.

"No."

"Is that the truth or are you just telling me what I need to hear so you can get out of here."

"Of course not—" but Amelia silenced her before another set of platitudes and lies could spill out.

"One of the most important parts about being a doctor is learning how to read people. I can tell from just your body language that you're lying right through your teeth." Andy looked down in shame.

"I care about you too much to let you lie like this when your health is at stake. So I'm going to ask again. Have you had any headaches recently?"

At that question Andy broke eye contact and refocused on her right thumb which she was rubbing against the scratchy hospital provided blanket.

"Yeah."

"How frequently are you getting them?"

"Not too often… just you know, a few times a week."

"And how many times is, 'a few times a week?'" Amelia probed, crossing her arms in displeasure at Andy's insistence on being flippant.

"Uh— like 3-4 days a week."

"And I'm guessing this has been going on for some time now?"

"Well… if you count 6 months as a long time." Andy grimaced at the face of indignation that flashed across Amelia's face. She was really in for it now.

"Herrera, why the hell haven't you seen a doctor yet?" If Amelia had been angry before she really was now. Andy felt like a little child being reprimanded by her mother.

Truthfully she didn't know why she hadn't gone to a doctor yet. She had been attributing her headaches to all the stress from her move to 23 and the separation and divorce but she knew what was happening wasn't normal. Her life felt like it was spinning out of control. She couldn't deal with a medical issue on top of that now.

"Listen, Herrera, I don't know what's going on with you. Severe headaches can be caused by any number of things, most of which are relatively minor and some of which are more serious. The only way we're going to get any answers is if we run some more tests and get a scan of your brain."

Amelia was right, as usual, and Andy finally relinquished. To be frank, she didn't have the strength to put up much of a fight.

"You know you're too stubborn for your own good sometimes."

"Trust me, you aren't the first person to say that." People had been telling her that her entire life. As a little girl, her family had found it cute. As a teenager it had been annoying, but normal for a girl that age. As an adult it was becoming her undoing. She had always denied the accusations but her failing marriage was making it painfully clear that her stubbornness was ruining the best thing that ever happened to her and might have seriously harmed her health.

"Somebody will be up in a few minutes to take you to the MRI room for your scan. Do you want me to send your husband in for the meantime?"

"Robert's here?" Andy's eyes light up in shock. He had just handed her signed divorce papers. Why had he come to see her at the hospital?

"Of course he is," Amelia nonchalantly replied. "He's been pacing around the waiting room ever since you got here. Yelled at one of the poor nurses trying to get an update on you. Had to threaten him to calm down or security was going to kick him out."

Andy smiled at that, imagining Robert resting his head in his hand as his left leg bounced up and down. After years of serving in the army and as a captain, Robert always remained cool under pressure.

Except when it came to her. Every time she was hurt or in danger Robert's calm facade faded and he crumbled into a ball of nerves. Even after everything that had happened between them he still cared about her.

It only took a few minutes for Robert to come to her room. She imagined it would have been faster if running was allowed in the hospital.

He hesitated at the door, unsure if his presence would be welcome but she beckoned him inside. The least she could do was see what he had to say after he waited in the lobby for over 4 hours until she woke up.

They stood in silence for a few moments. The air between them which had just a few hours before been laced with tension had cooled, but a sense of uneasiness persisted. Robert's presence was confusing her while Robert tried to wrack his brain around what Andy had wanted to say to him before she fainted.

"Why are you here?"

"You practically fainted in my arms. I had to make sure you were okay." Robert always went above and beyond to save the life of anyone he met in danger. It was one of his many qualities that Andy loved most about him. His caring soul. But he never would have sat in a hospital waiting room for anyone else. This was personal.

There were so many things she wanted to say to him. All the plans she had about apologizing were still in the back of her mind but she couldn't think past her medical emergency. About what the doctors would find on her scans. She had been running from her health for months and it was finally catching up to her. It's what she did best. Running was in her DNA and she had no idea how to surpass it.

"Robert, I—" Andy needed to let him know she was finally seeing the error of her way, but the words eluded her. She couldn't think straight.

The blood pounded in her ears as she felt her heart rate speed up. She tried to take slow, deep breaths to calm down, but couldn't get the tightness in her chest to settle. Tears filled her eyes as the realization finally hit that she was in trouble.

Seeing the panic spread across Andy's body he moved to her side and rubbed soothing circles up and down her back.

"You don't need to say anything right now, we can worry about us later, but for now all I want is for you to focus on yourself."

"You don't have to be here," Andy finally got out, choking back tears.

"I know.. but I want to be here."

They hugged and Andy sank into Robert's embrace, taking in the scent of his favorite cologne—a brand she had introduced him to at the start of their marriage. Staring at her lying helplessly in a hospital bed, Robert couldn't stay angry at her. None of their myriad of issues was resolved, but at this moment, all he was going to do was be here for her. Anything else could wait until she was better.

A hospital attendant came a minute later to take Andy up for her scans, leaving Robert alone in the room. Streaks of moonlight beamed across his face as he fought to keep his own tears at bay. Looking down at his hands all he could still see patches of dry blood caked into his fingernails. It was Andy's blood.

The first time Andy called his name, Robert didn't bother to turn around. He couldn't bear to hear another one of her excuses. He had done exactly what she asked for even though it was the last thing he wanted. One way or another he was going to have to learn how to live with the divorce.

The second time she called out to him her voice sounded scared. There was a slight tremble behind it which caught him off guard. Andy never let her fear show in public.

Turning around he watched in slow motion as Andy lost her balance and tumbled face first into the ground. As fast as he could he ran over to her, screaming out for help while placing pressure on the large bleeding gash that had opened on her forehead.

Cradling her in his arms, he finally got a good look at Andy for the first time since she left their apartment in a rage.

Something was very wrong.

Her normally lightly tanned skin was sickly pale, made even more noticeable by the sunken dark circles around her eyes. Andy had never weighed much, something he always teased her about. But now he could feel her protruding ribs. She wasn't taking care of herself.

"We're getting you to help Andy, help is coming." Robert kept repeating the words to himself, praying to whoever was listening that he wouldn't lose Andy.

By the time Andy returned an hour later the sun was starting to rise. Beside her bed laid a cinnamon apple muffin—her favorite. "Figured you might be hungry."

They made small talk over breakfast, neither ready to broach any more serious topic. It was peaceful to simply be near Robert without fighting. To know that even in the darkest of times, there would always be something that connected them.

As Andy was about to take the last bite of her muffin, Amelia returned to the room, carrying with her Andy's scans. She bore an uncharacteristic frown, her face pitched in anguish.

Andy felt the urge to flee. To take off down the hallway so she would never have to hear the results. After all, if there was nothing wrong with her, she wouldn't be looking at her like she was a dead woman walking.

"I guess my headache's aren't being caused by stress." Andy's attempt at bringing levity to the situation failed. Neither Amelia or Robert laughed.

Sensing her fear Robert took hold of her hand. His touch was all she needed to calm down. He didn't have to say anything for Andy to know he was here with her, ready and willing to support her through whatever was to come.

"Andy, I'm so sorry. In your scans we found a tumor in your frontal lobe."