Eames, Logan and John were heading from the main entrance of the hospital toward the sidewalk when Deakins pulled into the lot. He stopped and rolled the window down as Logan leaned over to talk to him. "Hey, Cap."

"How is she?"

"Holding her own. She's every bit as tough as her mother is."

"Do they know what happened?"

He shook his head. "Not yet." His eyes shifted to Barek, who was sitting in the passenger seat. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm not ready to strangle you at the moment."

"I'll take what I can get. We're going to get some lunch. Why don't you park and join us? We'll take you to see Maggie this afternoon."

"How's Bobby?" the captain asked.

Logan shook his head. "About how you'd guess. Worried as hell and wound to the breaking point."

Barek got out of the car and Deakins headed for an empty spot. Tom clapped his hands. "Aun' Car!"

Eames set him down and let him run to her. She lifted him and gave him a hug. "How's my little guy?"

He gave her a big smile, then pointed to the hospital building and his smile faded a little. "Maga seep."

"Yes, Maggie's asleep."

"An' Dada..." He almost pouted. "Dada sad."

She pulled him to her and hugged him. "I know Daddy's sad, baby."

She looked at Eames with moist eyes as Tom went to Logan, who got him to laugh again. Barek touched her friend's arm as Deakins approached and extended a hand to John. Softly, Barek said, "How are you doing, Alex?"

"I don't know what to do, Carolyn. I want to stay up there, but I can't leave Tommy like that. He's too young to understand, and it's bad enough that Bobby and Maggie aren't around for him. He's a little lost without his sister to chase around."

"Then let Bobby stay."

Her smile was sad. "I don't have much choice. He won't leave. But I'm glad he's there, so I can spend time with Tommy. I need that, and so does the baby."

"You each have your own way to cope. He stays by her bed and you need to interact with the baby."

"But I feel guilty about not being in there."

"And I'm sure he feels guilty about not being with you and the baby. We know how good he is at bearing unnecessary guilt." They continued walking toward the sidewalk. "You go with your strengths, Alex. Both kids need you and they need him. I think you're both doing well in a very difficult circumstance."

Logan stepped up to them, Tom on his hip, and slid an arm around Barek, kissing the side of her head. "I think they're doing better than I would in the same situation."

Eames looked at him. "Would you have hit the doctor, Mike?"

"If he hadn't? I sure as hell would have."

Barek frowned. "Did I miss something?"

"Oh, yeah," Logan answered. "I think Tommy and I will go back here and join the guys. I don't need to hear this one again."

He finished reading another story and set aside the book one of the nurses had found for him so he would have more than the newspaper to read to her . He stretched, turning his head toward the door when he heard someone move. Barek stood there, alone. He just looked at her. She came into the room and approached him. "I can see how Maggie's doing. How are you doing?"

He shook his head. "Not so great." He nodded his head toward her stomach. "Mike said you weren't feeling well."

She shrugged casually. "Morning sickness. It'll pass."

She leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss, resting her hand against his cheek. "Don't give up," she said softly. "She needs you to have faith in her. As long as you're here, she'll fight. Maggie is not going to leave her best guy."

He turned away, but not before she saw the tears that welled up in his eyes. Reaching out, she gently ran her hand over the back of his head. After a brief struggle with himself, he regained his control and looked at her, his eyes still moist. "Thank you, Carolyn. Uh, tell me something?"

"Sure."

"How is Alex?"

"About the same as you, but she won't let you see that. She's afraid that if she doesn't stay strong, she'll lose you, too."

"Lose me...?" He closed his eyes as realization dawned on him. "I...oh, God...I never mean to put that kind of pressure on her. If she needs me..."

"She's always needed you, Bobby. And you have always been there for her. Now...she doesn't want to let you down."

"Let me down?"

Barek was every bit as perceptive as he was, and she saw a powerful struggle in his eyes as he looked back and forth from her to Maggie, uncertain of what to do. This was not a choice she would let him make. "I'll make you a deal, Bobby."

His eyes settled on her. "What kind of deal?"

"You stay here with Maggie, and I'll send Alex up here to talk to you. In return, I'll have her bring you something to eat, and you eat it."

"That's bribery, Barek," he said softly.

"You bet your ass it is, Goren." She leaned over and gave him another kiss. "Deal?"

He smiled, and she saw the barest hint of it touch his eyes. "Okay. Deal."

She headed for the door. "Carolyn?" he softly called. She turned. "Thank you."

She nodded. "Just remember what I said. Don't lose your faith in that little girl. She's never lost her faith in you."

Alison Cameron sat back and rubbed her eyes, stretching her back. Microscope work could be so tedious, especially when there was nothing to find. It was late, well after nine, and she'd been at this since Chase and Foreman had returned from Belmar. She picked up a container labeled Surf, three feet deep. Chase had been thorough, and she couldn't blame him. They were all anxious to find out why Maggie was in a coma.

Chase and Foreman had a new hero. They were still impressed that Maggie's dad had actually punched House, and they had no doubt their boss had deserved it. But whether he deserved it or not, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. It wasn't the first time someone had physically struck out at House's acerbic personality, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. They had all been at odds with him at one time or another. But there was a part of her that had never been able to dislike him, a part of her that understood him and why he pushed people away.

As she prepared her next slide, she thought about Maggie's father. Her heart had gone out to him from the very beginning. House called her a soft touch. But there was genuine, overpowering grief and helplessness in that big man. On morning rounds, she found him reading the paper to Maggie. He explained that it was important simply that she hear his voice, and he often read the morning paper with her when he didn't have to work, so it was part of their routine. When she'd stopped on her way back from lunch, he was reading from a collection of children's stories. She didn't intrude then; she'd just watched. While she was watching, he'd finished the story he was reading and set the book aside. Leaning forward, he'd rested his chin on one arm while he'd brushed the fingers of his other hand over her forehead. She couldn't make out what he had said, but the timbre of his voice was soft, gentle. And his interactions were so natural that she had no doubt this was the way he always was with her.

Slipping the slide onto the stage of the microscope, she brought the field into focus. Increasing the magnification, she looked again. What the...this was different. She wasn't sure what the microscopic, bean-shaped things were, but they hadn't been present in the other samples she had examined. They could simply be benign, free-swimming organisms, but she couldn't locate any mechanism of locomotion. She increased the magnification to maximum, but it didn't help her in figuring out what these things were. It could be nothing, but at this point, she was willing to check on everything. She turned off the lamp on the microscope and, in spite of the late hour, grabbed a directory from a shelf and made a phone call.

Goren sat silently, elbows resting on his knees, watching Maggie with tired eyes. He heard someone enter the room, but he didn't react. He heard something being placed on the bedside table and when her hand came to rest, gently, against the back of his head, he let his chin drop to his chest and he looked at the floor. Fingers lightly caressed the back of his neck and a soft kiss pressed into his temple. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her shirt and closing his eyes. He breathed in the scent that was as familiar to him as his own and simply held her. Her hands ran up and down along his back. He took an uneven breath; she sighed softly into his hair. "I brought you dinner. And Tommy picked out a jelly donut for you."

"He loves his donuts," he muttered, snugging his arms more tightly around her waist.

She rested her cheek against the top of his head and continued to gently rub his back. "Have any of the doctors been in?"

He shook his head. She started to pull back to look at his face, but he tightened his arms and pressed his head more firmly into her chest. She let him be and folded her arms around him, letting another soft sigh ruffle his hair. She sifted her fingers through his hair, watching it fall in untidy whirls wherever the curve of his curls took it. "Alex?"

"What?"

"Do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Stop being strong for me."

Her hands stopped and he could sense her confusion. "What do you mean?"

She could feel reluctance in every muscle as he finally relinquished his hold and leaned back, looking at her. "It's okay for you to be upset about this, baby. She's your daughter, and she's hurt. Don't bury what you feel because of me. I-I'm not made of glass. I won't shatter if you let yourself...feel the pain of this. I-I am so sorry. You know how intense I can be, how I can focus everything on a single thought... or a person. I never meant to put any additional pressure on you."

"What about you? You have enough to cope with..."

His fingers rested against her lips. "I'll worry more if you keep trying to be strong. I need to...to comfort you right now. I need you to let it go."

He studied her face, and she saw the sincerity in his. He knew the exact moment she let her strength slip away, and he pulled her into his arms as she cried.

She stayed with him and Maggie until late. Logan told her that Tommy had looked for his father when he got tired, then he went from lap to lap until he finally decided to settle in with him, and he went right to sleep. Although pleased with his chosen surrogacy, it made Logan sad that the little guy missed his father. He knew well the children's bedtime routine, and it always involved going to sleep on Bobby's lap, unless work kept him away.

It was just past midnight when Eames decided to head back to the motel. She kissed Maggie's still-hot forehead then stepped into Goren's arms. She held him tight as she rested her head over his heart, comforted by the steady beating. "I'll see you in the morning," she muttered into his shirt, sighing softly when he kissed her head.

"Give Tom a kiss for me."

She nodded, turning her face up toward his for a kiss. He pulled her up against him, letting the kiss linger. It was a connection they both needed.

The clearing of a throat drew them apart and they looked toward the doorway. "Forgive me for interrupting," House said in a tone that said he wasn't really sorry; he just didn't care.

Goren frowned at him. "It's late. Have you found out anything?"

"Not yet. I've ordered another dose of solumedrol since she improved a little after the last one. I'm also giving her an IV dose of hydroxyzine, an antihistamine. It won't hurt her and it could help her. But there are two procedures I would like permission to do, neither of which is terribly invasive."

"What procedures?"

Eames was not surprised by the tension she felt rise in him. She laid her hand on his hip, and he eased a little. House moved closer to them. "An endoscopy and a bronchoscopy. Basically, we'll go through her mouth with a small camera to take a look and see what's bugging her. I need biopsies of her stomach, small intestine and lungs."

Goren didn't react to what he perceived to be a bad pun. "Why?"

"I have a collection. I'm always looking to add to it."

The tension returned and Eames pressed into him more firmly, now warning him to stay calm. He let out an exasperated sigh. "What are you looking for, doctor?"

"I don't expect a cop to understand."

"Don't," Eames muttered, anticipating Goren's reaction. She glared at House. "If you don't think we'll understand, then it's your job to make sure we do."

She saw the surprise on the doctor's face, though it quickly faded. "Physalia physalis," he answered.

"In English, Dr. House. Not Greek."

"Actually, that was Latin, Alex," Goren answered.

Eames rolled her eyes and House looked surprised. She moved her hand around to Goren's back and told House, "You get used to it."

Goren glanced at her then looked at House. "What does a Portuguese Man'o'war have to do with my daughter?"

"Very good, detective. A closet marine biologist?"

He allowed himself a small, amused smile. "No. Just an insatiable curiosity. I got stung once when I was in Korea."

"Has Maggie ever been stung?"

"No."

"Not by anything? Bee, wasp, or jellyfish? An anemone maybe?"

He shook his head. "No. She knows not to antagonize bees. We don't spend much time near the ocean and I don't let her play in the tanks at the Aquarium."

House let his amusement flash across his face. "Has she ever been in a different ocean, the Pacific or the Gulf?"

"No."

"You are not making this easy for me."

"Heaven forbid we make you do your damn job."

"Bobby..." Eames warned, giving him a gentle smack. He rested a hand in the small of her back, letting his fingers absently caress her. He was agitated, but if he started pacing, it might unsettle House and he didn't want the doctor to feel threatened. Not that he cared much about that, given the doctor's attitude, but he didn't want to upset his wife again.

House's eyes narrowed at the jibe, but he chose not to respond to it, as Goren had ignored his 'bugging' pun. They seemed to be reaching an unspoken understanding of one another. "We found remnants of cnidarian nematocysts in the samples Dr. Chase collected from the ocean where Maggie went under. It's unlikely any would remain in her stomach, but we might find some in her lungs."

"Would you find evidence that she was stung in her stomach or lung tissue?"

House was impressed that he got no argument from the detective; he had expected one. And the man's questions, unlike many he got from patients, were intelligent; this man was definitely not a moron, which he found oddly refreshing. "Yes."

"Would that have caused this?"

"It could have. We can look for antibodies to the venom's proteins in her blood once we know what we're looking for."

"How likely is it that this is what happened?"

"Don't ask me; I'm just a doctor. It gives us something to do, and if we're right, it makes us look good."

Now Eames gave House a warning. "This is not a game or a joke, Dr. House. This is deadly serious and if you don't start acting like it is, you're going to get punched again, only it won't be Bobby doing the punching."

Goren looked at his wife in surprise, then he shifted his eyes to House. "I'd listen to her, if I were you. You really don't want to see her angry, especially if you're the one she's angry at."

Pale blue eyes shifted from one detective to the other. "It's always the little ones that pack the biggest bang."

Goren couldn't help but softly laugh at the truth in that statement, and Eames felt a rush of gratitude toward House for that small chuckle.

"What about my biopsies?"

Goren looked at his wife, who met his eyes and nodded. He looked back toward House. "Do the procedures."

"They'll be in to get her in about an hour. The nurse will have a consent for you to sign." He studied Goren for a long moment. "It'll take them about an hour, maybe as long as two. I want them to be thorough. She'll be in good hands. Go get a shower; get out of this room for a little while. Go and see your son. Babies are at their best when they're sleeping anyway. I'll have Dr. Cameron go with Maggie; she hasn't gone home yet. And I'll put a rush on the biopsies." He grinned at that thought. "I love pissing off the pathologists--keeps them on their toes." His pale eyes shifted to Eames and his manner seemed to soften for half a moment. "We'll take care of your daughter; you take care of your husband." He nodded his head toward Maggie and his attitude returned. "I don't want to incur her wrath for letting any harm come to her daddy. I hear that's the wrong thing to do."

He turned and left the room. Goren looked at Eames. "I think I like that doctor."

"He reminds me of you."

"He does?"

She kissed him. "Yes. He's unconventional."

He gave her a small smile. "Funny, he reminds me of you, too."

"Oh? How's that?"

"He's a wise-ass."

She laughed and smacked him. He eased himself wearily into the chair and she sat lightly on his leg, sliding her arm across his shoulders as he snugged his around her waist. She sighed. "So how did she get stung by a jellyfish if there were no jellyfish around?"

"Each jellyfish is actually a colony of animals. After they die, the structure of the animals disintegrates fairly quickly, but their stinging cells remain intact, and able to sting, after the animals themselves are long gone. Somehow the nematocysts have remained in the surf, and they're still able to do harm."

She looked at Maggie. "Do you think this is it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, Alex."

She rested her head against his. "If it is, will she be all right?"

"I hope so."

"People die from these stings, don't they?"

"Yes."

He tightened his arm around her waist, letting his gaze stray past her to fall on Maggie. She still looked small and fragile, but now they seemed to be onto something. He hoped it wasn't a dead end.