A Matter of Heart

Chapter 1

As they filed out of the old brownstone, nerves were still on edge. Bobby had drifted this way and that during the impromptu debriefings that took place in the room, on the stairs, on the porch stoop. That was typical of him. As she spoke with the CSU team coming in, she cast her eyes every few minutes in his direction. When she saw him close himself in the car, she got worried.

Bobby just didn't do that. When he was upset, he moved. Constant motion helped him collect his thoughts. This was unlike him. She excused herself from the conversation and walked quickly to the car. He was inside, sitting very still, his right hand gripping his left shoulder.

Her brow was furrowed as she climbed into the driver's seat. "Bobby, are you okay?" She asked, pulling the door shut and slipping the key in the ignition.

His voice was so quiet, she barely heard him. "I think I'm having a heart attack," he mumbled.

She reached over and loosened his tie. She unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt and felt his pulse and his clammy forehead. "I'll get you to a hospital," she promised, and pulled the car into the lane.

He didn't feel much like talking, so she stood around, arms folded, hovering near his bed in the ER, while the heart monitor recorded whatever was going on inside him. The staff hadn't given any theories yet of what might be going on. They'd simply hooked the wires to him, given him oxygen, and drifted off to tend to other patients.

She could tell by the look on his face that he was scared. Alex was scared, too. The strain he'd suffered through his mother's illness, losing her, then losing Frank… she'd witnessed a long, slow decline in his health. She'd tried to talk with him about it, but he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to commit to anything right now. It was a miracle he'd made it in to work on a regular basis.

Alex checked her watch. They'd been in the ER for an hour and a half already. Bobby raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. Then he continued staring at the rings holding the curtain up.

Angrily, she stepped out of the room. She interrupted every single staff person she could find until someone listened. "My partner has been here for an hour and a half, a possible heart attack. We haven't seen anyone in over an hour."

"He's on a monitor?"

"Yes."

"If no one's been in there, I'm sure he's fine. I'll ask around, see if I can speed things up for you."

Sighing, Alex returned to Bobby's side. He glanced in her direction, but she shook her head in frustration. Bobby sat up, took off the oxygen tube, and started pulling leads off his skin. The monitor went crazy with beeps and in seconds three staff people were in the room.

"Lie down, sir," they prompted him.

"Why? You're not doing anything for me, and I still feel like crap."

"Mr. Goren, please lie down. We've been very busy and the doctor hasn't had a chance to—"

"Alex, get my pants," he said, gesturing to the folded bundle on the chair next to her.

"Mr. Goren," a nurse said.

"What's all the commotion?" asked the doctor as he walked into the little curtained area.

"I'm going home," Bobby said, determined.

"Without knowing what happened," the doctor countered.

Bobby sat still and stared at him. "Do you know what happened?"

The doctor reviewed the little EKG printout. "I have a good idea," he said.

Bobby laid back down in the bed. The doctor waved off the others. Alex stepped in closer, and Bobby nodded his permission for her to stay. "What is it?" Bobby demanded.

"Not a heart attack," the doctor said with a smile.

Reflexively, Alex reached out and squeezed Bobby's fingers.

"I'll order some tests to be sure, but I think you have a couple of things going on."

"It's not acid reflux, lunch wasn't anything that—"

He doctor smiled. "Okay. There are still some other possibilities." He looked from Bobby to Alex and back. "You said you're a police officer?"

"A detective, yeah."

"And you were in a high-stress situation today."

Bobby frowned. "You think it's stress."

"I don't think that helped." The doctor raised his hand and scratched his chin. "Actually, I suspect you may have an electrolyte imbalance or possibly a thyroid problem. And the stress of your job just acted as a catalyst for what happened today." He smiled again. "I'm going to order a blood test and ask you to drink a sports drink or two. If you'll promise to follow up with your doctor within the next few days, I'll release you as soon as they do the blood draw."

Bobby nodded quickly. "Okay. Thanks."

"You can go ahead and get dressed, if you want."

"Thanks, Doctor."

He was still in a foul mood. Alex bought him the drinks, a six pack of them, and followed him into his apartment, determined to stay until he'd finished at least one of them.

Bobby ripped off the lime green tape holding the cotton ball against the inside of his elbow, where they'd drawn the blood. Angrily, he threw it in the trash.

"What are you waiting for?" He snapped.

"Just finish your drink and I'll go," she replied.

He frowned and tried to guzzle it, but it was too much and he had to stop. "Not a word of this to anyone."

"They already know you went to the hospital," she said.

"I mean the why. Just let me talk to Ross and play dumb, okay?"

"Sure, Bobby. Sure." Her eyebrows knit together again. He was really worried that this could somehow affect his job. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she offered, "Hey, at least we know it wasn't a heart attack."

He didn't appreciate the comment. Bobby threw down the rest of his drink in one long gulp.

"All right," she said. "I'll go now." She gathered up her purse and walked to the door. He walked over, too, and held his hand on the knob. Her face was sincere now, and caring. "Call me if you need anything, Bobby."

Powerful guilt bubbled up inside him. "O-okay," he said, nodding. "And Eames… thanks."

Her fingers were wrapped around his bicep as she leaned up and kissed his cheek. Alex gave him one last look of concern before she walked down the hall and out of sight.