They were watching the news in companionable silence when Logan and Barek arrived. A soft knock at the door, and they came into the room. Logan hung back, letting his partner say hello first. "Hey, guys," she said. "How are you feeling, Bobby?"
He nodded. "I'm doing ok."
Eames watched him, looking for a sign of recognition. There was a flicker in his eye…so maybe…
Logan came forward, holding out his hand, which Goren took without hesitation. "You don't look so bad," Logan commented. "We were told you went in to a burning building."
"Yeah, that's what I've been told, too."
"Can't remember, huh?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
"You, uh, remember us?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Yeah, I do."
He remembered them, but he could recall no details of his involvement with them. He looked at Barek. "You guys working a case?"
She shook her head. "No. We finished our case yesterday. Just waiting for the next one."
"There's always a next one."
She nodded. "There's never a shortage of creeps out there."
Logan had leaned back against the wall. "When you get out of here, maybe we can try going out again. I promise I won't insult your partner again."
Goren frowned. "You insulted her?"
Eames touched his arm. "No, Bobby. It was an offhand comment you misunderstood. Logan's full of those." She looked at Logan. "He doesn't remember, you idiot."
Logan almost smiled. "Me and my big mouth."
"What did he say?"
"Never mind, Bobby. It wasn't important."
He looked at her, but she didn't seem to be upset, so he decided to let the matter drop. His gaze shifted to Logan. "Just watch what you say."
Barek laughed. "That's like asking a cow to quack instead of moo."
Eames also laughed. Goren had no frame of reference, so he was a bit confused and Logan just frowned at Barek. "Well, look, we were on our way to grab a bite for dinner," Barek said. "We wanted to stop by and say hi. Get better fast, Bobby. I can't speak for Logan, but I miss having you around the squad room."
Logan said, "When Eames comes back, I have a feeling I'm going to be ganged up on, so you'd better get well fast. Then you can take at least some of the heat off me."
Barek pushed him toward the door. "If you wouldn't open your mouth so much and say the wrong thing, no one would have to cook your goose."
Goren grinned. "Thanks for coming by."
They waved and left. As soon as they were out the door, he looked at Eames. "What did he say?"
"I'm not opening that can of worms again. Forget it. If you really want to get pissed, just wait. He'll say something before too long."
The big cop laughed. "I like them."
"You've always liked Barek. Logan takes some getting used to."
"So do I, Eames."
She laughed with him. That was very true. Another knock sounded at the door and Barrett came into the room. "Good evening. How are you doing, Robert?"
"I'm ok."
"I talked with Dr. Foster. He's planning to start his testing in the morning. The couple who were just in here…friends?"
Goren looked at Eames, not sure how to answer. Eames nodded. "We work together, and they dropped by to see how he's doing."
"You remember them?"
Goren nodded. "I do. I'm not sure about how I've related to them in the past, though."
"Hmmm. You don't seem to have a problem remembering people. But you do have trouble recalling relationships. I'll mention that to Dr. Foster." He stepped to the bedside. "Let's listen to those lungs."
He laid his stethoscope against Goren's chest and listened. "Cough for me."
He did, which triggered a series of coughs. Barrett nodded. "You're moving air well. Keep coughing and breathing deeply. We should be able to take you off the oxygen tomorrow."
"When can I get out of here?"
"Let's see what Dr. Foster finds out. Maybe sometime this weekend we can discharge you."
"And I can go back to work?"
"We'll see, Robert. Ok? I'll see you in the morning. Have a good night."
He smiled at Eames and left the room.
She looked at her partner. "Why are you frowning?"
"I don't like hearing 'We'll see.'"
"Let's take this one step at a time, ok?"
"Like I have a choice."
She remained with him until the evening nurse came in to take his vitals at a quarter after eight. She gave him two tablets and left the room. Eames watched him take the medicine, then said, "Bobby, I'm exhausted. I need to go home and sleep in my bed."
He nodded. "Then go. I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
"Of course. I'm going in to get the paperwork done on the case we just finished, before Carver starts squawking about it. I'll be back in the afternoon sometime."
He nodded. "Ok. Drive safely. Give me a call when you get home."
She smiled. That was more like her partner talking. She leaned closer and kissed his cheek. He brought his hand up and touched her cheek hesitantly. "Thanks, Eames."
She didn't move away. "For what?"
"For staying here with me."
"That's not a problem. Call me if you need anything, ok?"
He nodded. She looked into his dark eyes and she smiled at him. Lightly, she kissed his lips. "Good night, Bobby."
She headed out the door and he laid back, folded his arms behind his head and watched the ceiling, letting his thoughts roam where they would…and they always roamed back to her.
-----------------------------------------------
She returned after work the next day to find him sleeping. She went out to the nurse's station. A nurse she had not seen before looked up at her. "May I help you?"
"I'd like to speak to Bobby Goren's nurse, please."
"Are you family?"
"Yes," she answered, tired of explaining herself.
"One minute please."
A few minutes later, an older lady approached her. "You have a question about Mr. Goren?"
"Yes. I just wanted to know if he's ok."
"Dr. Foster was in there with him all day, and when they were done, the doctor asked me to give him something for pain. Dr. Barrett had ordered oral medicine as well as intravenous medicine, and Dr. Foster asked me to give him the IV medicine. He's been sleeping for the past half hour or so."
"Is Dr. Foster still around?"
"He's in the conference room. I'll take you over there."
It was on the other side of the floor, and the nurse led her there. Eames entered the room, and Foster looked up from papers he had strewn all over the table. "Hi, Alex."
"You wore him out?"
Foster laughed. "Apparently. He wanted to get it all done, and by the time we had finished he was in a great deal of pain. I had them give him the strongest medicine Barrett had ordered, and it helped him to sleep as well. It was a very long day." He indicated the papers spread out on the table. "Please sit down. I'd like to talk to you."
She sat down near him at the head of the conference table. "So…what's your impression of my partner?"
Foster laughed again. "I could earn several Ph.D.'s studying that man. My first impression is his intelligence. He has a brilliant mind. My second impression is his vulnerability." He tapped his pencil on the table thoughtfully, then he looked at her. "Alex, I am going to be brutally honest with you here. You know he had a harsh upbringing. Nearly every security children depend on was shattered for him. He has spent his adult years trying to redefine security, and he was grasping at straws, until you came into his life. You have come to define security for him. I really cannot put into words the depth of his attachment to you. It's not something he consciously realizes. But what he does realize is the depth of his feeling for you, and that frightens him. He has been so afraid to let you in, Alex. He's so afraid of getting hurt again. He's such a powerful man, but he has a very fragile heart. He has never let himself get close to anyone before. Every relationship he described to me was superficial, except for his relationship with you. He has never equated sex with love, and even now the only thing in his life he really does equate with love is his partnership with you. The only reason I am telling you this is because I don't think either of you realize how very important you are to each other. If either of you were to step out of the other's life for any reason, the results would be devastating, for both of you—but especially for him, even if he was the one to step away."
She looked at the papers spread over the table. "I have no intention of leaving him, Dr. Foster."
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sure you realize that's his biggest fear."
She nodded. "What about this head injury?"
"Would it surprise you if I told you that was complicated?"
She laughed. "No, it wouldn't."
"I still have a lot of scoring and interpreting to do. I'll probably be here half the night. But in a nutshell…his long term recall for the past couple of years has been damaged, but it's recovering. The fact that he knew your friends last evening proves that, even if he wasn't certain about his exact relationship with them. That will come back, particularly as he spends more time with them. His immediate and short-term recall are intact. Dr. Barrett told me you were concerned that he didn't remember the details of your relationship. You were unsettled by his affection?"
"Only because it was something new. I am worried about him."
Foster nodded. "I understand that. The affection you saw from him was genuine. It may not have been part of your perception of your relationship, but it has always been part of his. Perhaps he will once again suppress it as he recovers, but I would be more inclined to ask you not to let that happen. It's not good for him to keep such powerful feelings submerged. At the very least, I would urge you to discuss it with him, and decide for yourselves what to do about it. But he needs to acknowledge how he feels, Alex. And so do you."
"So what do I do here, doctor? Do I sit and wait for him to wake up and discuss it or what?"
"He has been looking forward to seeing you, so don't leave without at least saying hello. As for the how and when of talking to him…that's entirely up to you. I'll have all my results tomorrow, and I'll talk to both of you then, but I was so powerfully impressed by his fears and feelings in regard to you, I felt obliged to talk to you as soon as I could."
"Thank you, Dr. Foster."
She got up from the table and left the room. She headed back toward his room, lost in thought. She entered the room and stood quietly watching him sleep. And she wondered how two people from such disparate backgrounds could grow together to come to the same place in each other's hearts.