Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far- it's always nice to get such positive feedback. Please continue with the reading and reviewing!

***

Elizabeth quietly pushed open the door to her house. It was past eleven, and she didn't want to wake Chris if she had fallen asleep. As she had suspected, Chris lay on the living room couch with a blanket tucked around her. Elizabeth leaned over and gently tapped her shoulder.

"Chris? I'm home."

Chris opened her eyes and sat up. "Hi, Elizabeth. How was your day?"

"Horrible. I'm sorry I'm so late, surgery went long."

"Don't worry about it."

"So, how did things go today?"

Chris walked over to the door and slipped on her shoes. "Fine. Ella seemed a little tired, though."

Elizabeth nodded. "She was up late last night. I had to run in to work, so we didn't get home until nine. Did she nap?"

"Yeah, three hours this afternoon."

"Wow!"

Chris laughed. "I know, it's uncharacteristic. I put her to bed around 7:45."

"Great. Thanks so much, Chris."

"My pleasure. What time should I be here tomorrow?"

"Oh, take tomorrow off. I'm not going in until noon, and I can bring Ella to daycare."

"Thanks, Elizabeth. See you Saturday, then."

"Saturday. Have a good night, Chris." With that, Chris let herself out.

Elizabeth quietly walked up the stairs to her daughter's room. When she entered and saw the small figure asleep in her crib, she was reminded of the man who was sitting on the back porch, too embarrassed to show his face to the nanny. Elizabeth smoothed Ella's hair, rearranged her blankets, and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. She then tiptoed down the stairs and out the back door.

Robert sat on the steps of the porch, shivering a little bit. The night was cool and breezy. He stared blankly out into the backyard, mindlessly picking up pebbles and tossing them into the grass. His daze was broken by a voice from behind him.

"I bet you can get it in the sandbox."

Robert smiled slightly and picked up a larger pebble. Gathering all his strength, he threw the pebble into the night. There was a faint clunk as the pebble hit the side of the sandbox and bounced in. "Lucky shot," he muttered.

Pulling her jacket tighter around her, Elizabeth sat down on the steps next to Robert. "It's a beautiful night." Robert nodded.

"Yeah."

Elizabeth turned to face him. His cheeks were pale and swollen, and the cut on his jaw was beginning to scab over. But his eyes told everything. They did not have the spirit that she had always associated with her friend and colleague. They were tired. They exposed a man broken inside. Elizabeth couldn't understand why nobody else had noticed it. Just one look should have told everybody how much this man was hurting. But apparently, nobody else cared.

"Robert?" Hearing his name, he turned to face Elizabeth. "You know you can always talk to me. About anything."

Robert sighed, throwing another pebble into the night. "Why do you think I called you tonight?"

Elizabeth bit her lip and tried again. "I'm glad you called me, Robert. I've been worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt any more than you already are."

"I wish more people felt that way."

Elizabeth was almost scared at the tone of his voice. This was not the Robert Romano she knew. "Do you want to talk about anything?"

"You know what, Elizabeth? It's been a long day. I don't really want to talk about anything right now." He threw one last pebble, and then began to get up. "Maybe I should go."

"Robert, no. I'm not going to let you go home tonight. Come inside, and I'll make up a bed for you. I'll get you some of Mark's old pajamas, and I'm sure we have an extra toothbrush around somewhere."

Robert looked down at his feet. "Thank you, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth got up and opened the door to the house, holding it open as Robert shuffled inside.

***

Elizabeth fluffed up the pillows on the guest room bed. It had been Rachel's room, but after she moved out, Elizabeth had it painted and turned into a guest room. She smoothed out the comforter and placed an extra blanket at the end of the bed.

Robert walked into the bedroom. Elizabeth had found him an old T-shirt and a pair of flannel pants. The T-shirt was hers, but the pants had been Mark's. They were baggy on Robert, and they dragged on the floor as he walked. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.

"Do you need anything, Robert? Can I get you some Tylenol?"

Robert sighed as he sunk down on the bed. "Please."

Elizabeth nodded and left the room. Robert rubbed his temples. He couldn't believe that he was sitting here, in Elizabeth Corday's guest room. He hadn't expected the night to end like this. In fact, he had expected to fall asleep at the bar, only to be kicked out onto the street with no place to go after last call. "This is a much more comfortable way to spend the night," he thought to himself, as he slid under the sheets.

Elizabeth soon returned with a glass of water and two pills. She dumped the pills into Robert's outstretched hand, and placed the glass of water on the nightstand. "Is there anything else you need?" Robert shook his head, chasing the pills down with a sip of water.

"No, Elizabeth, I'm fine."

Elizabeth nodded and walked towards the door. "Okay, then I'll be going up to bed. My bedroom is upstairs, at the end of the hall to the right. If you need anything at all, come up and get me. Do you have a shift tomorrow?" Robert nodded. "What time?"

"Eight."

Elizabeth sighed. "You're not going in tomorrow, Robert."

"But I have to-"

"Well, I'll come down and wake you at seven. We'll see how you feel then." Robert nodded weakly, sliding further under the covers.

"Sleep well, Robert. See you in the morning." She then turned off the light and began to leave.

"Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth turned around.

"Thank you."

Elizabeth smiled. "You're welcome, Robert. Good night." She shut the door and walked up to her own bedroom.