Secret Betting: Chapter 5
By: The Confused One
A/N: I'm sorry. I had to do this. LOL Forgive my fascination with shooting Bobby and/or Alex. LOL I promise it'll be the last time for a little while. Stay with me, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Racing past Mike into the emergency room waiting room, Carolyn couldn't help but fear this was her fault. She stopped cold. Deakins and Carver sat quietly on a couch. Worry and fear were written all over their faces. Looking over, she saw Alex sitting alone in a chair. Carolyn didn't miss the blood stains all over Alex. Meeting her tear strained face, Carolyn mentally begged whatever God was up there to let Bobby live.
Mike calmly came up behind her. He knew how guilty she felt. He felt some of it too. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he whispered, "We didn't do this Carolyn."
Carolyn nodded. She appreciated his effort, but it didn't wash away her feelings. She approached Alex, who seemed to be in shock. She could tell Mike was right behind her. Putting her hands on Alex's, Carolyn noted the blood was already dried. She spoke softly, "Hey. We just heard. Any news?"
Alex shook her head no slowly. She swallowed hard before replying, "Not yet. This was my fault."
Mike crouched down with Carolyn. He knew that kind of thinking was only going to make things worse. He tried to reassure Alex, "This was not your fault. You didn't shoot him, but he's going to be fine. He's going to make it through this."
A voice from the couch got everyone's attention. Deakins agreed with Mike, "He's right you know. He's going to be fine."
Carolyn watched as Alex simply stared off into the distance. Alex began rambling, "He has to be. The last thing I said to him, really said to him can't be asking what was wrong with him. The last conversation we had can't be a fight. We didn't say a single word to each other the whole way over to Henderson's, our suspect. We were out of sync. That's why it happened. We were so busy being mad, we weren't following each other. We never do well when we're fighting. It just throws everything off. Henderson pulled the gun from seemingly nowhere and before I shot him, he shot Bobby. He's in the morgue, and Bobby's fighting for his life. God, I just want to tell him I'm sorry. I was so angry."
Carolyn closed her eyes and sat in horror as she listened. It was then at Alex broke down. Carolyn held her and locked eyes with Mike. She knew he was feeling it too. It was their fault they had been fighting."
As Alex stopped crying, again, she rambled some more, "He was barely breathing. He was unconscious. I tried to tell him. I told him I was sorry. I don't know if he heard me. Oh God, I can't lose him."
Carolyn held her tighter. She soothingly replied, "I know. You just have to believe he's going to be OK right now. Just keep believing."
Mike was worried. Alex was almost despondent. He quietly moved to the couch with Deakins and Carver. He hated himself right then. He had to challenge Carolyn. He had to up the ante. He had to try to stop her and beat her at her own cheating game. He mentally cursed himself. As much as he wanted to believe what he had told Carolyn about it not being their fault, he feared it was. It was clear to him that they had set this in motion with the stupid bet.
Mike locked eyes with Carver. Mike could tell he was worried. He revealed, "Until you two got here, we hadn't gotten two words out of her."
Deakins, confused, quietly asked, "They had a fight? They don't fight that much. They're usually pretty knock down drag out fights when they do."
Mike felt even worse. He finally whispered, "This one would have been, but they got interrupted by a call, the one to meet Henderson."
Carver nodded. He understood now. He replied, "Do you know what it was about?"
Deakins assured Carver, "If it was a Goren and Eames fight in the squad room, everyone knows what it was about."
Carolyn was worried now. Alex was sitting up. Staring at Deakins and Carver, she reminded them, "I'm right here."
Deakins tried to apologize, "I'm sorry Eames. It's just, you hadn't told the two of us anything."
Carolyn tried to keep her calm and held Alex's shoulders. Alex explained, "It was stupid. It was absolutely stupid. It was over Logan. It was over you Mike."
Mike looked down at the floor. He felt like a heel. He had been trying to use her, to win a bet. It was low, even for him. He assured her, "I know." He didn't mean for it to come out, but he mumbled, "Stupid bet."
Deakins perked up, "What?"
Carolyn shot a panic look at Mike. Knowing this was not the time, she tried to cover, "This isn't the time. We should talk abut this later."
Getting up, Carolyn was worried. Alex demanded, "No. Now is the time. What are you talking about? A bet?"