Good Cop watched the IV drip vacantly. His head was feeling a lot clearer now, and the doctor was giving him a rundown of his condition. He'd hit his temple on the corner of the counter, splitting his skin enough to warrant stitches and giving him a concussion. They were going to keep him here a little while longer just to keep an eye on his condition, but he should be fine.

He only really half-listened. There was an empty section of his mind, and he wondered if maybe this was what it had been like for Bad Cop while Good Cop had been gone.

Good Cop closed his eyes and prodded at the blank space, and to his surprise, he was met with a wall. It wasn't empty. It was blocked off. Intentionally.

The barrier that made them two distinct people wasn't impenetrable. They could talk to each other, and while they couldn't see or hear what the other was seeing and hearing, they could hear what the other had to say. And if the situation called for it, the switch could be forced, unless there was something really wrong.

This wall was different from their normal barrier. There were no chinks to communicate through, not even with emotions. For some reason, Bad Cop had completely sealed himself away.

Good Cop put his metaphorical hand against it. It was cold, unwelcoming. It very much wanted to be left alone. He inspected it anyway, looking for some fault, some little crack. Something he could get through. But there was nothing. As if sensing him nosing about, the wall began to heat up, attitude rising from a surly "go away" to actual anger. But there was something… something almost desperate. He reached for it again-

"Good Cop?"

Good Cop snapped back into reality.

It was Benny, standing by the bed and holding a bar of chocolate. "You okay?" he asked, offering up the chocolate.

Good Cop blinked and accepted the chocolate. He looked at it, then up at Benny again, puzzled.

Benny laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Bad Cop said that chocolate always helped you feel better," he said, looking down sheepishly. "So I figured I'd get you some."

Good Cop's lips twitched upwards a bit, then grew into a full smile. "Thank you," he said. "I think I'm starting to feel better already."

Benny relaxed and pulled up a chair as Good Cop unwrapped the candy and bit into it. It was the cheap kind you got out of vending machines, but it was still good. He'd almost forgotten what chocolate tasted like.

Benny didn't seem to feel the need to fill up the silence, and Good Cop was glad for that. He wasn't sure if he was ready to really talk. There was a lot to think about. He had a feeling he was missing more memories than he realized, and he had a sneaking suspicion they were all locked up behind that wall. But why? What did Bad Cop think he was doing? It left an ache under his ribs, not being able to talk to his counterpart.

By the time Good Cop had reached the end of the bar, though, Benny was beginning to get restless. He obviously wanted to ask a question, but didn't want to pressure Good Cop.

Good Cop side-eyed him. "You want to ask about Bad Cop, don't you?"

Benny went red. "Y-yeah, I guess," he said, embarrassed. "I'm just kinda worried, you know? Not that I don't like you, it's just-"

Good Cop nodded. "It's fine, I understand." He sighed. "I wish I could tell you."

Benny straightened up in alarm. "He's not gone, is he?"

"No," Good Cop said, crumpling up the wrapper. "But he won't talk to me." He said it with more frustration than he meant to, and tried to throw the wrapper into the trashcan across the room. It missed, and he scowled. Then he caught Benny watching him with an odd expression. "What?"

Benny rubbed his hand over his mouth in a contemplative manner. "It's kind of funny," he said. "How you two actually look different even though you have the same face."

Good Cop raised his eyebrows. His parents were able to tell the difference between them without the glasses, but very few other people could.

"Bad Cop frowns so much," Benny continued, "but when you frown… it just looks different. I don't know. Your smiles are different, too."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Benny looked taken aback. "No way, dude! I think it's actually really neat."

Bad Cop had been right about Benny. There was something just so genuine about the spaceman. It was refreshing. As cops, they didn't get a lot of honesty from people, and even Lord Business was rarely sincere with them.

A flash of hot anger shot through him at the name, and he wondered where that had come from.

"Well," Good Cop said with a smile. "I'm glad you think so."

Benny grinned back at him.