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Crisis & Catharsis -- Part IX Bo set his coffee down on the table and sunk into the chair, exhaling deeply. It had been a rough couple of days. His talk with Matthew had blown a huge hole in his heart. His own son didn’t believe in him. What kind of father was he? Bo shook his head. Not a very good one, he thought. He had put his own desires ahead of Matthew’s best interests and failed to sense that Matthew was in trouble. What kind of father can’t see when his son’s in pain? Bo’s thoughts were interrupted by a plate of food dropping on the table in front of him. He looked up to see Rex grinning at him. “Commish! How goes it?”   Bo sighed. “What is this, Balsom?”   Rex set another plate on the table and pulled up a chair. “Sustenance. I figured junk food is your cuisine of choice in your line of work.”   Bo nodded as he looked at the cheeseburger and fries Rex had set in front of him. “Thanks. I guess I haven’t eaten today.”   “No problem, Commish. I told them to put it on your tab. You do have a tab here in the cafeteria, don’t you? I figured since you have an in with the Chief of Staff, a couple burgers wouldn’t be any problem, right?”   Bo shook his head, got up and walked up to the cashier, handing her a twenty-dollar bill and returning to his seat. Rex was devouring his burger. “So Commish. You called this meeting. You have a job for me? Something only I can help with, knowing my connections…”   “Balsom will you put a sock in it,” Bo said impatiently. “And stop calling me Commish. I’m not on the force at the moment.”   Rex looked at him curiously. “You’re kidding, right?” Bo shook his head. “Wow! So we’re like renegades together now? No more being a slave to the rules, taking justice into our own hands…”   Bo reached across the table, picked up a fry and stuck it in Rex’s mouth. “Will you shut up long enough for me to explain?”   Rex grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, Comm… Bo. I can call you Bo, right? Since I know you don’t like Uncle Bo…”   “Balsom!” Bo stopped, trying to lower his voice. “Don’t make me regret calling you. No, it’s not a police case but I need your help. This is serious business. Can I count on you?”   Rex nodded slowly. “Sure you can. What are we talking here?”   As Bo was about to explain, Michael walked up. “Commissioner, can I talk to you for a minute?” He gave Rex a ‘get lost’ look.   Rex looked at Michael. “Hey, I was invited here.”   Michael looked at Bo. “He’s in on this?”   Bo nodded slowly. “Have a seat, Michael and I’ll bring you up to speed.”   Michael sat, giving Rex a wary look. Rex smiled at him. “Are you playing junior detective with me on this one?”   Bo gave Rex a hard look. “Balsom, I’m warning you. If you’re not going to take this seriously, you’re out.”   Rex held up his hands. “Sorry. I’m serious. Seriously. What’s going on?”   Bo nodded to Michael. “I think he could be of assistance to you on this one. Bring him up to speed.”   As Michael began his story, Bo’s cell phone chimed. He checked the caller ID. “I have to take this. I’ll be right back,” Bo said as he rose from his chair. “Matthew? What is it, son?” Bo walked out of earshot of Michael and Rex.   “Dad,” Matthew said, his voice quivering.   “Hey, what is it? Is it your mom?”   Matthew nodded on his end of the phone. “It happened again,” he said quietly. “Can you come over?”   “I’ll be right there. Where is your Mom? Where is Rachel” Bo tried to keep the panic out of his voice for Matthew’s sake.   “Mom’s in her room resting. Rachel is in mom’s office. I’m in my room.”   Bo nodded. “Okay, I will be right there. Stay put.”   Bo snapped his phone shut and headed back to the table where Michael and Rex were deep in conversation, Rex nodding as Michael told him what was going on. Bo walked up to them. “I have to go. Rex, I want you to do exactly what Michael tells you to. You got that? I can’t have you messing this up.”   Rex nodded solemnly at Bo. “I understand. I’m on it.”   “Good! I’m counting on you. You too, Michael. I’ll be in touch.” Bo hurried off without waiting for a response.   Spencer smiled as he perused a file, his feet propped on the desk, leaning back in the chair. Paige pushed open the door and her plastic smile dissolved from her face. “What are you doing in my office?”   Spencer smirked at her. “A little light reading.”   Paige snatched the file out of his hand. “You know how unethical it is to read other doctor’s files,” she hissed.   Spencer continued to smirk. “You’re the doctor of record for the Commissioner’s ex? Tsk, tsk, Paige. Is it ethical for you to be treating Nora when we both know, you would like nothing better than for her to drop dead?”   “That’s a terrible thing to say, Spencer. I will not discuss my patient with you.”   “I see you haven’t made a diagnosis yet. Isn’t it a bit odd that you can’t find the cause of Nora’s fainting spells?”   Paige glared at him. “Get out of my office before I have security remove you.”   Spencer slowly stood, moving in front of Paige and looking directly in her eyes. “You don’t want to get the authorities involved in this, do you, Paige?”   Paige looked away. “I want you to stay out of my patient files. Nora is my patient and I will not discuss her diagnosis with you.”   “Why are you so unwilling to listen to anyone else when it comes to Nora? I heard through the grapevine that you denied Michael McBain’s request for additional tests while she was here the other day.”   “Dr. McBain was challenging my authority,” Paige said angrily. “I don’t appreciate being second guessed by Residents.”   Spencer grinned casually. “And that’s all it was? His lack of authority to have an opinion bothered you?”   Paige eyed him curiously. “What are you hinting at, Spencer?”   “Nothing at all, Paige. I just find it a bit odd that you haven’t hit upon a diagnosis on your own and you are refusing help from other doctors. Curious behavior, wouldn’t you say?”   Paige walked to the door and pulled it open. “Get out of my office, now! Or I call security.”   Spencer smiled at her as he moved to the door. “I’ll be on my way, but I will be back. Good day, Dr. Miller.” Spencer mock-saluted and disappeared out the door.   Paige sighed and sat behind her desk, tidying the files Spencer had been rummaging through. She found an envelop with her name on it. Bo, she thought. Paige tore it open and her face paled as she read it, the smile frozen on her face.   Dear Paige, I believe $200,000 should be a nice down payment on my fee. Meet me in the park tomorrow at 10am with the cash.   It wasn’t signed but Paige knew who had written it. She crumpled the paper in her hands and collapsed into her chair. “What do I do now?” she asked the empty room.   Bo knocked impatiently on Nora’s door. Matthew opened it quickly and Bo pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay, buddy. I’m here now. Tell me what happened.”   Matthew pulled away and sat on the bench in the entryway. “Mom was just walking into the kitchen when she got dizzy again and nearly fell. Rachel wants her to go to New York to find a new doctor. I want to know what’s wrong with mom but I don’t want her to go away.”   Bo nodded. “If your mother needs to go to New York to find a new doctor, we’ll all go and then you can be with her, okay?”   “Why can’t Paige figure out what’s wrong with her?”   “I don’t know, buddy. Dr. McBain is trying to figure it out too. We will find a doctor who can help her, I promise.”   Bo looked up as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Matthew stood, trying to be brave for his mother. Nora smiled when she saw Bo and Matthew walking in from the foyer. “I thought I heard a knock. Hi, Bo. What brings you by?”   Bo started to speak but Matthew jumped in. “I called him. I’m sorry mom, but I wanted to talk to him…”   “It’s okay, Matthew,” Nora interrupted. “You can call your dad whenever you need to. You know that.”   Bo met her eyes. “Matthew told me what happened. Did you call Paige and tell her about it?” Nora shook her head. “Don’t you think you should?” Bo asked impatiently.   Nora’s eyes lit with fire. “What I think is that you should mind your own business. It’s fine for you to come and offer support to Matthew but don’t you dare think you can tell me what to do.”   Matthew’s eyes filled with tears. “Will you guys please stop fighting? I hate this!” he yelled as he ran up the stairs, slamming the door to his room.   Bo and Nora looked at each other. “This is all your fault!” they said in unison.   “MY fault?” they continued with matching indignation. Bo held up his hands. “Stop! This isn’t going to get us anywhere. Let’s sit down and talk. Talk,” he emphasized, “not yell.” Nora continued to glare at him. “Please? For Matthew’s sake.”   Nora took a deep breath and reluctantly sat on the couch. Bo stood for a few moments, willing himself to calm down. Why is it that this woman could make him lose his patience faster than anyone he had ever known? He looked skyward, hoping for assistance before dropping down beside Nora. He took a few cleansing breaths before turning to face her. “Okay, truce?”   Nora nodded slowly, looking straight ahead. “Truce.”   Bo nodded. “Okay. I’m here because Matthew called me and he sounded really scared that you had another dizzy spell. Was it like the one the other day?”   Nora shook her head. “Not really. This was like all the others. I felt light-headed all of a sudden and the room started to spin. I was a little out of breath but I didn’t pass out like I did the other day.”   Bo nodded. “And you didn’t call Paige because?”   Nora shrugged. “I don’t know, Bo. She hasn’t seemed to have any answers as to why this is happening and I hate doctors and hospitals. I just have to slow down and rest, hopefully that will help.”   Bo shook his head slowly. “That’s no way to make it disappear, Nora.”   “I know that, Bo,” she snapped at him. “But running to the doctor hasn’t seemed to help either. I’m just tired…”   “And scared,” Bo added quietly.   Nora nodded slowly, allowing the tears to slide down her cheeks. “And scared. I don’t know what’s going on and it scares me to death that it’s something serious they haven’t been able to diagnose.”   Bo leaned forward to comfort her but then pulled back. He took a deep breath. “Okay, admitting you’re scared is a good step. Can you go a bit further and let me help you?”   Nora shook her head slowly. “That’s not easy for me, Bo. You and I have quite a history…”   “And I’ve helped you before – when you let me.”   Nora glanced at him before looking back at the table, avoiding his stare. “That was a long time ago, Bo. Our more recent history doesn’t lead me to believe that I can count on you to help me with anything. Is it really surprising to you that I wouldn’t turn to you?”   Bo shook his head. “No, not surprising. Disappointing is the word I would use. No matter the situation between us, we should be able to put that aside and do what is best for Matthew. We’re the grownups here.”   Nora was angry again. “Are you saying that I’m not doing what’s best for Matthew?”   “No! Nora, calm down. What I’m saying is that it’s time to put our issues aside and help Matthew through this. I know it’s your health but it’s Matthew’s fear that needs both of our attention. Can we at least agree on that?” Nora nodded. “I don’t guess either of us would win any prizes for our parenting skills, but no one loves their kid more than we love that little guy, right?”   Nora nodded with a smile. “Yeah, that's one thing we can agree on. He’s a great kid in spite of us and our numerous mistakes.”   “Yeah, he is. And right now he needs both of us to be on the same team. We used to be pretty good at pulling together, right?”   “Yeah,” Nora said sadly, “once upon a time.”   “Hey, why don’t we make a pact? No more concentrating on the past. Starting now, we make a fresh start and put all the bad feelings on the back burner for now.”   Nora shook her head. “Do you really think it’s that easy, Bo?”   Bo nodded. “Yes, I do. Because it’s what is best for Matthew…” He hesitated before adding, “and you.”   Nora looked back at him. “What’s in it for you, Bo? You get to play hero?”   “No, I get to see the worried look in my son’s eyes disappear. I’m no hero in this story, Nora. I’ve messed up with Matthew. He really let me have it in the park. And he’s not too happy with me at the moment.”   Nora smiled. “I think we’re in that boat together.”   Bo grinned at her. “See why we need each other?”   Nora burst out laughing. Bo looked at her with a smile. “It’s so good to hear you laugh.”   Nora nodded. “It’s good to have something to laugh at. I guess our incompetence at parenting is no laughing matter but what’s the alternative?”   Bo turned when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Matthew cautiously made his way downstairs, watching his parents closely. Nora turned to him with a smile. “Come over here, Matthew. We need to talk to you.”   Matthew sat beside his mother. “Are you guys done fighting?”   Bo leaned toward Matthew. “Yes, we are, son. We’re going to do a better job of getting along. That’s not to say we will never disagree again, but we’re going to work together to figure out how to make your mom well.”   Nora put her arm around her son. “Your dad’s right. We’re both sorry about how our behavior is affecting you. We’re going to fix that, starting tonight.”   Matthew smiled. “Thanks. So what are we going to do about making you better, Mom?”   Nora glanced at Bo over Matthew’s head before addressing her son. “Well, Rachel has suggested that I see a specialist in New York. I think that’s worth a try. I will call Paige in the morning for a referral.”   Bo smiled. “That’s a good idea. And we’ll all go to lend our support, okay?”   Matthew nodded. “I’d like that.”   Nora smiled. “Me too.” She looked down at Matthew. “Now, you mister. It’s time for a bath and bed. You need to get back in the habit of going to bed at a decent hour. School starts next week.”   “Aw mom!” Matthew protested. “I’m old enough to stay up. Why don’t we watch a movie? I’ll even let you pick an old one.”   Nora laughed. “Not a chance, buddy. You say you’re old enough to stay up but you sure have a hard time getting up in the morning, don’t you?”   “Who likes to get up in the morning?” Matthew pouted. Bo smiled, trying to hide it from Matthew. “Listen to your mom, son. I’m going to head out. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?”   Matthew nodded and hugged Bo before trudging up the stairs. “I’ll be up in a bit to tuck you in,” Nora called after him.   Bo walked toward the door. Nora followed him. “Thanks for coming by, Bo. And thanks for what you said. I hope we can pull this off.”   Bo turned to her as he opened the door. “I know we can, Nora. We can do anything once we make up our minds. Good night.” Nora nodded as Bo pulled the door closed behind him.   TBC