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Crisis & Catharsis -- Part V Nora enjoyed a quiet evening with her kids. Rachel had gone up to bed when it was time for Matthew to turn in. Nora was stretched out on the couch watching the end of the evening news when there was a quiet knock at her door. She glanced at the clock. Who could be stopping by at this time of night?   Nora walked to the door, switching on the lights in the foyer as she went. She peeked through the window and saw Hugh standing there. He gave a small wave and shrugged sheepishly. Nora pulled open the door. “Hugh, what on Earth are you doing here at this time of night?”   “Nora, I’m so sorry to bother you. I wanted to get by earlier but got held up writing a brief. I was going to leave but I saw the light on. Can I come in for a minute?”   Nora moved away from the door. “Sure. What’s going on?”   Hugh followed Nora into the living room and sat in the chair. “I know you’re not feeling well and I really didn’t want to bother you with this but I need a recommendation from you as to who would be the best witness from the police force for the Jennings case. I know the obvious choice is Lt. McBain but he’s so moody and I’m afraid the jury could be turned off…”   Nora held up her hand. “Slow down, Hugh. Bo is scheduled to testify in that case. I went over his testimony with him last week. He knows exactly what we need from him.”   Hugh looked at her strangely. “You don’t know?”   “Know what? Is Bo refusing to testify? Why would he do that? He made the bust.”   Hugh shook his head. “I would have thought he had told you…”   “Told me what? What’s going on, Hugh?”   “Um, have you talked to Bo today? I don’t want to get in the middle of this.”   Nora shook her head slowly. “I haven’t spoken to Bo since this morning. Just tell me what’s happening.”   Hugh took a deep breath. “Bo took an indefinite leave of absence from the force, effective immediately. He put John McBain in charge of the department.”   Nora leaned back in the couch, stunned. “Wow. I didn’t see that one coming. Did he say why?”   Hugh shook his head, watching her. “No, but he did sound pretty shook up about what happened to you last night. I would guess that’s his reason.”   Nora nodded, avoiding Hugh’s eyes. She didn’t say anything so Hugh filled the awkward silence. “I’m sure you’ll need some time off too?” he asked cautiously.   “Yeah, I guess I will. The doctor said I should rest for a week. But if you want to bring my files here, I would be happy to keep up with our caseload.”   Hugh was shaking his head as Nora spoke. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”   Both turned their attention to the stairs when they heard someone coming down.   Rachel stopped at the foot of the stairs, taking in the handsome man seated across from her mother. “I thought I heard voices.”   Hugh stood. “I’m sorry we disturbed you. I was just asking for advice on a case.”   Rachel eyed him oddly. “Do I know you?”   Nora jumped in. She had seen the appraising look Rachel was giving Hugh. “I’m sorry. Rachel, this is Hugh Hughes, my ADA. Hugh, my daughter Rachel.”   Hugh walked over to her and extended his hand. “You’re Rachel. Nora talks about you often. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”   Rachel shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Hughes.”   “Please, it’s Hugh,” he said as he blushed. “I know, my parents had a very warped sense of humor.”   Rachel chuckled. “I know all about parents with a sense of humor.”   Nora frowned at her. “Hey, I’m sitting right here, ya know!”   Rachel turned serious again. “My mom shouldn’t be working right now. It’s late and she’s supposed to be resting.” She looked at Nora. “Doctor’s orders, remember?”   Hugh jumped in. “It’s my fault. I just stopped by to ask her about a witness.” He looked at Nora. “I’ll find someone to step in for the Commissioner. Don’t worry about it.”   Rachel looked at Nora. “What about Bo?”   Hugh moved toward the foyer. “I’ll go now. Take care of yourself, Nora and don’t worry about the office. I’ll handle things.”   Nora got up and walked Hugh to the door. “I appreciate you stopping by. If you have any questions, just give me a call. I’ll be climbing the walls here all day long.”   Hugh smiled. “Rest now and then you can get back to putting away the bad guys. Take care of yourself. Nice meeting you, Rachel.”   Nora closed the door behind Hugh and turned to see Rachel staring at her with a questioning look. “What?”   “Don’t play dumb. What did Hugh say about Bo?”   “Bo took an indefinite leave of absence from the department.”   Rachel was shocked. “When did this happen?”   Nora shrugged. “Today, I guess. I didn’t ask for details.”   Rachel shook her head. “He never said anything about that.”   Nora eyed her suspiciously. “When?”   “Um, he stopped by here earlier. While you were resting.”   “Why didn’t you call me?”   Rachel plopped onto the couch. “I didn’t want him disturbing you. Matthew was upstairs and you were sleeping. I told him it wasn’t a good time.”   Nora went to sit beside her. “And he didn’t mention leaving his job?”   “Nope. He did seem a bit down, though. I almost felt sorry for him but not quite.”   Nora took her hand. “Rachel, I’m not sick because Bo and I aren’t speaking.”   “No, but it can’t help matters that he has been such an incredible jerk. And it certainly doesn’t help his son. Matthew couldn’t talk to Bo and his fear has become anger.”   “And most of that is more my fault than Bo’s,” Nora said quietly.   Rachel reacted strongly. “Don’t do that, mom. Don’t let him off the hook and take all of this on you. He has seen you daily between work and visitation with Matthew. He’s seen your symptoms and did nothing until you collapsed. He didn’t know because he didn’t want to and it’s hard not to see it the way Matthew does. He just doesn’t give a damn.”   Nora shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. “Don’t, Rachel. There is enough anger involved in this situation right now. We have to stop placing blame and figure out what we do next. Especially for Matthew’s sake.”   Rachel nodded, taking a few deep breaths. “I talked to him earlier. I’m hoping he will call Bo tomorrow and they can talk. I think Bo finally gets it and he’s going to do whatever Matthew needs him to do to help. Matthew just has to ask.”   Nora smiled. “He’s been a great father to Matthew. Whatever our problems, he has been wonderful to our son. I know Matthew is angry at him right now, but I think that’s just his fear talking. Bo has a strong relationship with Matthew and now that this is out in the open, Bo will help Matthew in any way necessary.”   “Does that include Paige?”   Nora shrugged. “I’m not sure.” She smiled wickedly at Rachel. “Paige is his problem. He can deal with all that perkiness however he sees fit.”   They both laughed. Rachel winked at her mother. “Speaking of perky. You never mentioned how hot your new ADA is. How can you concentrate on your cases?”   Nora sighed. “Don’t even think that, Rachel. Haven’t I had enough trouble with men? But you are a totally different story…”   Rachel chuckled. “Hmmm… Oh, the possibilities. Come on, let’s get you up to bed. You need your rest.”   When Bo awoke the next morning, Paige was long gone. She had left him a note on the pillow, complete with smiley faces. She’d been called into the hospital and would catch up with him later at the station. Bo remembered that he hadn’t mentioned his leave of absence to her last night. Not that he could have gotten a word in edgewise. She had been especially chatty and every time he mentioned Nora’s name, she had immediately changed the subject. He reached over and picked up his cell phone, dialing the hospital number. He was told that Paige was unavailable, so he left a message to call him and hung up. He thought about calling to check in on Matthew, but decided it was best to talk to his son in person. He thought back to the events of two nights ago and the angry look in his son’s eyes. He had his work cut out for him and he still didn’t know how he was going to handle Matthew’s anger. Maybe he would take Rachel’s advice and not try to talk, just listen. With that thought in mind, he rolled out of bed and headed for the shower.   Rachel was busy preparing breakfast when the doorbell sounded. Dang, this place is busy, she thought. No wonder mom never gets any rest. She hurried to get it before Nora was disturbed but Nora met her on her way down the stairs. “I got it, Rachel.”   Nora opened the door to find Michael McBain standing on her doorstep. “Dr. McBain, what brings you by this early?”   Michael smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t wake you, did I? I know I told you to rest.”   Nora shook her head. “I was just coming down to find some breakfast. Come join me.”   Michael followed Nora into the kitchen. “I wanted to talk about the results of the tests I did on the extra blood.”   Nora handed him a cup of coffee. “Did you find something?”   Michael hesitated, glancing at Rachel. Nora followed his gaze. “I’m sorry, Michael. This is my daughter, Rachel. It’s okay to discuss anything in front of her.”   Rachel waved from the stove where she was tending the eggs. Michael leaned forward. “I found something peculiar in the tests I ran. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”   Nora shook her head. “Fire away.”   Michael took a breath, not sure where to start. Nora moved to the counter and picked up a plate of cookies. “Here, try one of these. Paige made them. They’re actually quite good.” Michael declined and Nora set the plate on the table. She sat in the chair across from Michael and waited.   Michael leaned forward again. “Have you been on any hikes recently?”   Nora scowled at him. “Hikes? As in outdoors?” Michael nodded. “No, I haven’t exactly had time to get in touch with nature lately.”   “When did you first start noticing the symptoms?” Nora thought back. “A few weeks after Daniel was arrested. I attributed it to fatigue because I wasn’t sleeping much and I was obviously stressed out.”   Michael nodded. “Okay, so no hiking since that time?”   Rachel joined them at the table, setting a plate of eggs in front of Nora. “What kind of question is that? My mother is hardly the outdoor type.”   Michael tried another tack. “Okay, what about your eating habits? Have you been trying new foods? New restaurants?”   Nora shook her head. “In this town? Are you kidding me?”   Michael sighed. “What about at work? Do you bring your lunch or order in?”   “We order in but most of the time I get takeout from Carlotta’s diner. And the station has been using the same deli for delivery for years. I order the same sandwich, when I get around to ordering lunch at all.”   Michael shook his head. “Okay, it was worth a shot.”   “What are you digging for, Michael?”   As Michael was about to answer, the doorbell rang. Rachel got up from the table to answer it. Nora turned to Michael but he shook his head, putting her off. Rachel returned with Bo in tow.   Bo looked at Nora cautiously. “I stopped by to see Matthew. I would have called first but I wasn’t sure you would pick up if you knew it was me.”   Nora nodded. “He’s upstairs. Let me go talk to him.” Nora got up and left the kitchen. Rachel pulled Nora’s breakfast over in front of her – no sense in good eggs getting cold.   Michael looked at Bo. “Can I talk to you for a minute, Commissioner? Alone?”   Bo nodded toward the living room. “Sure, Michael. Excuse us, Rachel.” They left the kitchen and sat on the couch in the living room. “What can I do for you, doctor?”   Michael hesitated. “I need to talk to you about a patient. But I need your word that you can keep it confidential.” Bo nodded. “Of course I can but I should let you know, I’m not on the force anymore.”   Michael nodded. “I know. John told me. Actually, that may make it easier for you – maybe you can ignore the rules a little more?”   Bo was intrigued. “I love breaking the rules to help someone. Tell me what you need.”   Michael smiled. “I was hoping you would say that. Let me tell you what I suspect…”   TBC