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Crisis & Catharsis - Part 1   Matthew bounded into the house ahead of Bo. Nora wandered down the stairs as she heard them come in. “Hi, Mom. We’re back.”   Nora gave Matthew a quick hug. “Hi, buddy. Did you have fun with your dad?”   Matthew looked back at Bo from Nora’s arms. “Yeah. Thanks, dad. See you later.”   Bo took that as his cue. “I’ll see you later, Matthew.” He turned to leave. As he walked to the door, he heard Matthew call out. Bo turned to see Nora slumping onto the couch. He rushed to her side. “Nora, are you okay?”   Nora laid her head on the back of the couch, taking deep, slow breaths. Matthew sat with his arms around her waist, watching her with a worried look on his face. Bo looked on helplessly, waiting for Nora to speak. Nora slowly raised her head and looked down at her son. “Matthew, I’m fine. Really.” She ignored Bo as she put her arms around her son. “Why don’t you go upstairs and put your things away. The pizza should be here in a little while.” Matthew looked up at her cautiously. “It’s okay, I’m fine now. Go on.”   Matthew reluctantly slid off the couch, watching his mother carefully as he grabbed his backpack and headed upstairs.   Nora turned to Bo, who was still watching her intently. “Is there something you need?”   Bo shook his head incredulously at her nonchalance. “What was that?”   “What was what?”   “Don’t play games with me, Nora. Why did you nearly faint just now? And why do I get the feeling based on Matthew’s reaction, that it has happened before?”   Nora averted her eyes. “It was nothing, Bo. You can go now.”   Bo shook his head slowly. “I’m not going anywhere. This has happened before in my office and you blew it off then, too. What’s going on? How often does this happen? Have you seen a doctor?”   Nora watched him silently as he fired questions at her. She answered him calmly. “It’s not your concern, Bo.”   “The hell it’s not. You’re Matthew’s mother. If something is wrong with you, I have a right to know.”   “Bo, I’m in no mood to argue with you. I’m not going to discuss my medical condition with you.”   “So there is something? You’ve been to a doctor?”   Nora glared at him without saying a word. Bo’s patience broke. “Don’t do that, Nora. Don’t just sit there silently and shut me out. We’ve been through that before. If there is something going on, I want to help.” Bo’s voice had risen as he ranted at Nora, bringing Matthew back down the stairs.   “Why are you yelling at Mom?”   Bo turned his attention to his son. “I’m not yelling, Matthew. I’m trying to find out what is wrong with your mom.”   Matthew sat beside Nora on the couch, looking over at Bo. “She said she’s okay. I thought you were leaving?”   “I’m not going anywhere until I know what’s going on.” Bo looked pleadingly at Nora but she averted her eyes.   “Matthew's right. I’m fine, Bo. You can go now.” Nora stared at Bo with a challenge in her eyes. Bo knew her well enough to know he wasn’t going to get anything out of her at the moment. He opened his mouth to continue his argument but Nora cut him off. “Come on, Matthew. Let’s go set the table.” She took Matthew’s hand and attempted to get up from the couch. She was again hit by a wave of dizziness. Bo caught her as she was about to fall back onto the couch.   “You are not fine, Nora.” This time Nora did not respond. Bo laid her back on the couch with Matthew perched anxiously beside him. Bo tapped gently on Nora’s cheek, trying to rouse her.   “Why isn’t she waking up, Dad? She usually comes right back.” Panic entered Matthew’s voice as he looked questioningly at Bo.   Bo shook his head. “I don’t know, buddy. Get the door, we’re gonna take her to the hospital.” Bo gingerly picked Nora up as Matthew ran and opened the door, closing it behind them as they left.   Bo hurried through the doors of the hospital emergency room with Nora in his arms, Matthew jogging at his side. They were met by Dr. McBain.   “Commissioner, what’s going on? Here,” he pulled a gurney in front of Bo, who laid her gently on the gurney. Michael immediately headed for the nearest open room. “Let’s get her into Exam 3 and check her out.”   Bo tried to keep up as Michael pushed Nora toward the open door. “She was at home and she got dizzy and passed out. I think it’s happened before. We got her here as fast as we could,” Bo said breathlessly.   Michael stopped in the doorway, blocking Bo from entering the room with Nora. “We’ll take it from here, Commissioner.” He closed the door curtly in Bo’s face. Bo turned to find his son. Matthew was leaning against the wall beside the Exam room, trying bravely to hold back his tears. Bo went to him and put his hands on Matthew’s shoulders. “She’s going to be okay, Matthew.”   Matthew shook away from Bo’s grasp, moving to look through the window as the doctors examined Nora. Bo watched him silently, allowing him some space and wondering what Matthew was thinking. After a few minutes, Bo approached Matthew again, crouching beside him to look through the window.   “She’s going to be okay, buddy,” Bo tried again to comfort his son.   Matthew looked away from the window briefly and met his father’s eyes, speaking calmly. “You can go now. Thanks for driving us here.”   “Matthew, I’m not going to leave you here. I’m going to wait with you until we find out what’s wrong with your mom.”   “Why?” Matthew shot back suddenly. “It’s not like you care about her.”   Bo was shocked by Matthew’s words. “Why would you say something like that? Of course I care about your mom.”   Matthew was shaking his head as Bo spoke, still trying to hold back his tears. “No you don’t. And don’t pretend you do just because she’s sick. I can take care of her.”   “Matthew, where is this coming from? I’m not going to leave you here alone.”   “Mom and I can take care of ourselves just fine. You can just leave us alone like you always do.” Matthew turned his attention back to the window.   Bo stood, shaking his head. Why did Matthew want him to leave? Did he really believe that Bo didn’t care about Nora? Then it hit Bo. Hadn’t he been acting as if he didn’t care about her? Bo hadn’t spoken to Nora in months, outside of necessary discussions regarding Matthew's schedule. He’d offered her a half-hearted apology for how he handled Daniel’s arrest and hid behind his badge, spouting to everyone that he was only doing his job. He had noticed Nora’s dizziness more than once and hadn’t pursued his questions when she brushed off his casual questions. He knew her better than that and yet he had simply allowed her to get away with her lame excuses, not bothering to delve any deeper. And his son had seen his indifference too. Now Matthew looked at him with contempt in his eyes. How had things gotten to this point?   The door opened and Matthew rushed past Michael to see his mother without waiting to be allowed in. Michael watched him climb onto the bed beside Nora as he closed the door and stepped out into the hall.   “How is she, Dr. McBain? What caused her to black out like that? What are…"   Michael interrupted. “Slow down, Bo. Let’s take a walk.”   “Take a walk? I want to know how Nora is doing. What aren’t you telling me?”   Michael shook his head slowly. “I can’t discuss Nora’s condition with you, Commissioner.”   Bo stared at him. “What? Matthew is my son. I have a right to know the condition of his mother. Nora and I are…” Bo stopped, searching for the word. What were they really? Friends? Exes? Michael watched the questions play across Bo’s face as he searched for the word to describe his current relationship with Nora.   “Commissioner, I can’t discuss my patient’s condition with you. I’m sorry.”   Bo looked him straight in the eye. “Can’t or won’t?”   “Can’t. Nora specifically asked me not to. I have to honor my patient’s wishes. I’m sorry,” he said again, helplessly.   Bo tried to push past him. “Fine, I’ll ask her myself.”   Michael held his ground. “I can’t let you go in there.”   Bo stopped and glared at him. “Why can’t I go in? My son is in there. I have a right…”   Michael was shaking his head at Bo. “In this instance, you don’t have the right. Nora makes the rules and she asked to see Matthew. She specifically asked me not to allow you in. I have to do what is in the best interest of my patient. I don’t want her to be upset right now. And as annoyed as you are, you would upset her. I’m sure you are aware that I can call security and have you removed from the hospital. Don’t make me do that.”   As Michael was issuing his warning, Paige rounded the corner. She smiled excitedly when she saw Bo. “What a nice surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you…” Paige tried to hug Bo but he held her back. She noticed the grim look on his face and turned to Michael. “What’s going on here, Dr. McBain?”   Michael shifted uneasily under the smiling disapproval of the new Chief of Staff. “Dr. Miller, I was just explaining to the Commissioner that he can’t barge into a patient’s room if the patient has requested that he not be allowed in.”   Paige turned to Bo, smiling broadly. “You know the rules about interrogating suspects without medical approval…”   Bo shook his head at her. “This is no suspect, it’s Nora.”   Paige averted her eyes. “Oh, I see. Dr. McBain, will you give us a minute?”   Michael was only too happy to retreat. “Sure, I’m going to check on Nora.” He disappeared into the room. Bo glared as the door swung shut and moved past Paige to look through the glass. He saw Michael checking the IV hooked up to Nora as Matthew watched him intently from his perch beside his mother. Nora was sitting up, so that was a good sign at least. Bo turned his attention back to Paige.   “Is she allowed to shut me out of this? Don’t I have rights as Matthew’s father?”   Paige shook her head. “No, you don’t, Bo. Nora is a grown woman and she is your EX wife.”   “But we are raising Matthew together. If she's sick, it affects all of us and I have a right to know what the score is and help her,” he pleaded, quickly adding, “and Matthew.”   Paige watched him closely. “I understand you’re frustrated but our rules are every bit as important as the ones you follow. A patient’s wishes are a doctor’s first responsibility. If seeing you would upset her, we have to avoid that. And I would say right now she needs as much rest as she can get. She should have done that weeks ago…”   Bo eyed her suspiciously. “You knew about this?” Paige looked away. “How long have you known?”   Paige couldn’t look at him. “Bo, I just mean… I think a patient…” she stammered.   Bo exploded. “You know what’s wrong with her? You’ve known this all along and kept it from me?”   Paige grabbed Bo by the arm and dragged him away from the exam room door. “Keep your voice down. This is not the place to discuss this.”   Inside the room, Nora breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Paige take Bo by the arm and pull him away from the door. Michael followed her gaze. “He’s gone now. Can you relax a little bit?”   Nora smiled as she looked in Michael’s worried eyes. “As long as you keep him out, I’ll relax.”   Michael nodded. “I told him he isn’t allowed in here. If he tries to get in, I’ll call security.”   Nora shook her head. “I don’t think that will be necessary. He can just wait outside until Matthew is ready to leave.”   Matthew shook his head furiously. “I’m not going anywhere with him.”   “You can visit with your mom for a bit, Matthew, but she needs to stay here tonight and she needs her rest.”   “Dr. McBain is right. I want you to stay with me for a little while but you are going to have to stay at your daddy’s house tonight. Sorry, buddy.”   Matthew shook his head defiantly. “I don’t want to stay with him. You need me and dad has Paige. He may not care what happens to you, but I do.”   Nora glanced at Michael before responding to her son. “Matthew, this isn’t the time or place to have this discussion.”   Michael took that as his cue to leave. “Everything looks stable. I’ll give you two some time. You have the call button if anything happens. Get some rest.”   “I will, doctor. Thanks for your help.”   Michael took one last look at Nora’s monitor before making his way out and quietly closing the door behind him. Nora turned her attention to her son. She could see the pain in his eyes, liberally dosed with worry and anger. Matthew didn’t resist her as she pulled him into her arms.   “This is not daddy’s fault, Matthew. He’s not the reason I’m sick and being mad at him won’t make me better. I know you’re scared but I’m going to be fine. Dr. McBain said so.”   “But you said before that you were better. And you keep getting dizzy.”   “Well, maybe it’s going to take some time for the doctors to figure out how to stop the dizzy spells, but they’re working on it. I don’t want you to be upset, especially not at your dad.”   “He could have been helping us but he didn’t. He just wants me to hang out with him and like Paige and forget about you…”   The tears Matthew had been trying to hold in broke free and he sobbed in his mother’s arms, clinging to her. Nora held him close rocking him gently and rubbing his back, letting him cry himself out before attempting to reason with him.   TBC