She heard him groan and looked over at the bed. He rolled over and slowly opened his eyes. She set aside the book she'd been reading and watched him. He looked at her for a moment, and she wasn't quite sure he realized she was there until the fog cleared from his brain. Then his frown fell away and a small smile took its place. "Hi," he said softly. "How long have you been here?"

"Not horribly long." She wasn't about to tell him she'd been sitting there for three-and-a-half hours. "I heard you had a long day."

His smile vanished. "You talked to Dr. Foster?"

"Briefly. He's busy scoring and interpreting the tests."

"What…what did he t-tell you?"

"What are you worried about?"

"I-I'm not worried."

"Don't even try that with me. I can see it in your eyes. What did you tell him that you're afraid he told me?"

He rolled onto his back and frowned at the ceiling. "Everything."

She sat there, uncertain about what to say. She didn't know whether to be sympathetic or annoyed. She wasn't at all certain which she was feeling, but the longer he remained silent, the more she was leaning toward annoyed. She wasn't in the mood for his obstinacy. "Ok, Bobby. I've been sitting here since six o'clock so you wouldn't think I'd forgotten about you. I can just as easily sit at home in the silence as I can here, and my chairs are a hell of a lot more comfortable. So I'm going home, and you can call me when you're ready to talk. Tell Dr. Foster if he has anything earth-shattering to share with me, he can call my cell phone."

She got up and headed for the door. Just when she thought he really wasn't going to call her bluff, he said, very softly, "Eames."

She stopped. Slowly she turned toward him, frowning. "Did you say something?" He was looking down at his hands, but he nodded. Well, at least it was a reply. "Should I go?" He still didn't look up or say anything, but he shook his head. She let out her breath in an annoyed huff. "If you aren't going to talk to me, there's no point in my staying."

Finally, he looked up. "What do you want to do?"

There was that fear Foster had told her about, hiding behind a look that challenged her to tell him the truth…the real truth. What did she want to do? Of course she wanted what was best for him. And he wanted what was best for her. But unless they started with what was best for themselves, there was going to be no peace for either of them. "Right now, I want to smack you."

"Why?"

"Because you're so damn stubborn, you jackass."

"I…I'm stubborn?" He seemed genuinely surprised. He did not see himself as stubborn. Of course, he didn't see himself as unconventional, either. Not usually.

"Yes, Goren. You are stubborn." She approached the bed with a look of determination that unsettled him. She raised a finger and pointed at him. "You…"

A soft knock interrupted her tirade before it began. The door opened and Barrett came in, followed by Foster. The two doctors looked at the detectives. Barrett asked, "Are we interrupting?"

"Yes," Eames snapped at the same moment Goren replied, "No."

Foster nodded. "Oh, that's good. We can come back."

Eames shook her head. "No, don't leave. Do whatever you came in to do. We can finish this later."

Foster moved closer. "This?"

She met his eyes. "Have you finished with your scoring and interpreting?" she challenged, feeling like a schoolteacher asking a student if his homework was done.

The doctor smiled. "As a matter of fact, I have. I thought it was going to take a lot longer."

Barrett pulled up a chair and sat down. Foster looked from Eames to Goren, who looked very uncomfortable. "Have you had a chance to talk?" he asked, looking back at Eames.

"Not yet," she answered.

"Talk…about what?" Goren asked tentatively.

"About you, idiot," Eames snapped. "For someone so damn smart you can ask the most ridiculous questions." She was reaching the end of her patience with him.

"What happened?" Foster asked. "Why are you angry with him?"

"I'm not angry, but I'm getting fed up. He won't talk to me, and I am tired of having to chase down answers to my questions and have him turn them back on me."

"I don't…" he protested.

"Yes, Bobby, you do. I give you two choices, and you have to look for a third. I ask for a simple yes or no, and you try to hide behind anything but the answer. I want to know what you're afraid of, and you try to chase me away. Why do you have to make things so damn difficult? What the hell are you afraid of?"

Shit…she stopped just short of losing her control. She felt the sting of tears but she fought them back, along with the lump in her throat that just would not be swallowed. He looked at her, forgetting the two doctors were there. He saw the tears rise up in her eyes, even though they retreated quickly. "I…I'm afraid of you, Eames."

"What?" She stared at him for a moment. Six foot four, a mountain of muscle, and he was afraid of her, five foot three, a mountain of attitude? She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, once again battling the conflicting desires of wanting to hug him and hit him, and not knowing which she wanted to do more. "I swear, Goren…you make me work for every piece of you that you'll share with me, and I'm tired."

"Tired? Of me?"

There it was. Three words that embodied the core of his deepest fear. She studied him, and there it was, in his eyes. She had never seen raw fear in her partner's eyes before. He had never let her see him like that, unguarded. No wonder he hid his feelings. If he didn't fight them down, they would overwhelm and consume him. He wasn't hiding now. Three words and he laid it all out on the table. Her answer was going to make or break him. "No, Bobby." She had to be honest with him. Her anger was gone, along with her frustration. "I have never been tired of you. But I get tired of the games, of jumping through hoops to get the smallest inkling of who you are. I don't understand why you keep hiding from me. How can you reach out to me with one hand and push me away with the other? Either you want me, or you don't, and only you can make that choice. And don't tell me it's whatever I want. That's not going to work. You have to want it, too."

Move and countermove. The ball was now in his court. She was playing his game now, turning his question back on him, looking for an answer and wondering if he was inclined to give it…or was he going to hide again? She was either going to draw him out or drive him back further into himself than he was before. Foster could see the struggle in his eyes. It was a huge risk, opening himself wholly to another person. And it was not something he had ever done before. He had spent his entire life hiding and protecting his heart. Foster wasn't sure he had it in him to change that pattern. He could see him start to turn back into himself, to shut himself off from her. Eames could see it, too. Her shoulders started to sag, defeated. But then she straightened herself up. She had one last play: her trump card.

She stepped up to the bed. "Look at me, Goren." He hesitated. "Bobby…" Finally, he met her eyes. "You have two choices here. You can turn back in to yourself, which is what you seem to be doing, and you can be alone again. That's all you'll ever be if you keep yourself locked inside that head of yours. Or you can decide, once and for all, to take a chance. I know you've been hurt before. And you don't want to feel that pain again. But if you don't take the chance, you'll never know what love really can be." She laid her hand on his. "I don't know if you've ever really been loved by anyone. You've been hurt, and you've been used…and I know you've done some using yourself. But I will not be used, and I will not be played for a fool. If I am going to open myself up to you, damn it, then you are going to do the same. So if you want me, really want me, to be a part of you, stop hiding from me. It's all or nothing, Goren, and if you choose nothing, that's what you're going to have, forever. I'll be your partner. I promised I wouldn't leave you and I won't. But if partner is the only relationship you want with me, go ahead and return your heart to that dark hole inside your mind. Lock it away. And lose whatever we could have had." She sat down and rubbed her forehead. "Now you've given me a headache." When he remained silent, she got to her feet. "I need some fresh air and you obviously need time to think. I'll be back."

She glanced at Foster and Barrett, suddenly remembering they were there. But she did not look at Goren. She almost ran out the door. Goren laid his head back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling and ignoring the two doctors. But Foster was not inclined to let him get away with it. "What are you going to do, Bobby?"

He looked up suddenly, frowning, realizing both doctors had witnessed the entire thing. Her ultimatum. Dark anger brewed in his eyes as he faced Foster. "This is your fault. What the hell did you tell her?"

"Nothing she didn't already know."

"You put her up to this!"

"No. I didn't. You did. Go ahead and retreat from her again. You will be sending her away for good. I don't think she's going to be inclined to give you another chance. She's going to swallow her pain and take her heart to someone who is not afraid to love her."

"I'm not…!" He stopped, realizing he was shouting at the doctor. Slowly, Foster's words registered. "You son of a bitch," he growled. "Everything was ok until you decided to mess with my goddam mind! Get the hell out of here."

"It's ok, Bobby. Blame me. But it's all in your lap now. If she stays or if she goes, it's all your choice."

"She promised she would stay."

"As your partner. But you'll lose her on a deeper level…her friendship, and her love." He motioned at Barrett. "Have them page me when you're ready to talk to me."

They headed out of the room as Goren mumbled under his breath, and the only thing Foster caught was the phrase 'cold day in hell.'