Russ handed Wells a glass of water, "Here, Rudy."

The doctor looked up at Russ and smiled wanly, "Thanks, Russ."

Wells held the glass in front of Oscar's hand, but the man ignored it. Sighing, Rudy set the glass down on the dining room table in front of them. Oscar continued to lean his elbows on the table, holding his head in his hands, while Rudy gently rubbed his neck, trying to calm him.

"Oscar, you did everything you could. You're lucky you just passed out; it could've been a full-blown coronary."

The sarcasm fell off Goldman's words. "Jaime might be dead, but I'm lucky I didn't have a coronary...."

Rudy flinched at the steel in Oscar's tone.

"You know what I meant." Goldman said nothing and Rudy let out a long sigh of air. "Look, Hansen isn't sure of what he saw, so let's not--"

"--He saw Jaime get hit, Rudy. She fell, and was carried off by a bunch of terrorists." Goldman fought to keep his voice even, "We don't know where she is or if she's even still--" He shook his head, unable to finish the unthinkable.

Rudy's timbre was laced with guilt, "This is my fault. I should have left her sedated."

"Yes, you should have."

The accusation in Goldman's tone cut Wells to the core, and as soon as he said it, Oscar felt remorse. The hand gently rubbing his neck fell away, and Rudy slumped back into his chair. Goldman folded his hands together on the table, and looked down at them.

"I'm sorry, Rudy. I didn't mean that."

"Yes Oscar, you did, and you're right."

The uncomforable air sat between them for a long moment, until Oscar took in an uneven breath, letting it out in short gasps. He leaned back in his chair. Wells reached over to him in concern.

"What is it?"

"Just feel a little light-headed."

"Did you feel like this before you passed out on the stairwell?"

"I guess so."

Wells took Goldman's pulse and his face fell.

"Rudy?"

"Your heart can't work this hard, Oscar. Your blood isn't pumping properly."

"It's getting a little hard to breathe...."

"You're not getting enough oxygen." Rudy pat his friend's shoulder, "Oscar, we need to get you to a hospital--"

"--No."

Wells squeezed the shoulder under his hand. "I know you want to oversee the rescue operation, but Oscar, I've got to get you stabalized, and I can't do that here. If we don't....."

Goldman looked into the concerned brown eyes and saw the fear in them. "I'm heading for disaster, huh?"

Rudy rubbed his hand along Oscar's shoulders, "Yeah, you really are. Look, if I can get your bp and pulse rate down, make it a little easier on your heart, I'll think about letting you come back home. But either way, Oscar, you're going to have to rest for a few days."

"What about Jaime?"

"You're going to have to trust Russ to handle the extraction. That little fainting spell was a warning; the next time won't be." Goldman looked at his own hands, and Rudy leaned in toward him. "You can't do her any good if you're dead."

Still looking at his own hands, Oscar simply nodded.

Wells squeezed his shoulder and yelled over to the young agent by the door, "Russ, get Oscar's car, we're taking a little trip to National...."

Russ nodded silently, and radioed for the car. He glanced over at his mentor, who looked tired and extremely pale. The young man knew in his heart that if he couldn't bring Jaime back to Oscar, the Director of the OSI wouldn't survive the loss.