Secrets

The Calm.

"Sorry I can't take your call right now..." Ben sighed as he pulled the phone away from his ear.

"Still nothing?" Dean asked as they walked into the bullpen together.

"Yeah," Ben mumbled and tossed his cell phone on to his desk, "she normally calls just before my shift starts."

Both detectives picked up their office phones to check their messages; Dean was hunched over taking notes when he saw Ben flop down into his office chair and slam the receiver down with an agitated huff.

"Alright, what's going on?" Dean asked while calmly hanging up his phone and straightening his stance.

"Nothing, I just can't shake this feeling," Ben sighed and sat up.

"She probably got busy."

Ben nodded his head and mumbled a simple, "yeah," then reached out and turned on his computer monitor.

"Ballias, McGuiere," officer Noel from dispatch called out, Dean turned to her as Ben perked up in his chair. "Got a Female victim, found DOA about an hour ago at the hospital in a private exam room. Looks like it might be your guy."

Dean whipped around to look at Ben, his friend was already as pale as a sheet of paper and on his phone frantically trying to get a hold of his wife.

"Dammit!" Ben cursed and jumped from his chair sending it rolling backward. His jaw was clenched with worry.

"Fade Ben, I'll meet you there," Dean said pulling out his own phone.

His partner faded instantly. Dean picked up both of their gear as he pressed his cell to his ear.

"Hello."

The sweet voice held question but relaxed him, he never called Rachel while she was working but he needed to make sure she was okay.

"Hey baby," he smiled as he rushed out to his truck.

"Dean, what's wrong?"

He sighed tossing the bags onto the passenger seat, "long story short, we got a call to the hospital, and I needed to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine."

He could hear the smile in her voice, "Hey have you heard from Megan today? Ben can't get a hold of her."

"Yeah, she was here a few hours ago. Said she dropped her phone in the toilet last night."

"That explains a lot," he chuckled, "I've gotta get on the road, I know how you hate when I'm on the phone and driving."

"If she pops up down here again, I'll text you. Be careful babe."

"Same. I will, I love you."

"I love you too."

Dean ended the call with a tightening in his chest, he could have sworn her voice seemed a bit off at the end there, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Flipping the switch on his dash he had installed turned on flashing red and blue lights, he sped towards his destination.

_______________________________________________

Ben Faded into the welcome center on the maternity floor, He flashed his badge at the nurses in reception (even though they knew who he was) to quickly gain access to the locked ward.

"MEGAN!" He called out loudly rushing down the hall towards the nurse's station "MEGAN!"

"MEGAN!" His heartbeat sped up as he reached his destination, "have you seen doctor Ballias?"

"No," a nurse he didn't know replied casually without looking up.

"Hey!" he snapped slapping a hand down on the counter, making her jump, "Where's my wife?"

The woman in front of him shook her head, "I'm not sure sir."

"Well FIND..."

"DETECTIVE BALLIAS!"

He turned quickly towards the woman who snapped at him, he was beginning to panic, "Darlene, where's Megan? I can't get a hold of her."

"She was called downstairs for an emergency room delivery," Madame Reinhold informed him. "What is the meaning of this erratic behavior in my department?"

He didn't bother answering her, instead, he ran to the stairwell (he had NO patience for the elevator.) The three flights of stairs were a breeze, Ben tore into the Emergency room waiting area. Without stopping he tossed his credentials at the security guard and slipped passed the closing doors into the medical area.

He ignored the, "hey!" from the man on duty and made his way to the nurse station. "Doctor Ballias was called down for an emergency delivery, which room are they in?"

"Sir, I'm afraid you can't be in here," one of the nurses behind the desk replied.

"I didn't ask you if I could be here," Ben snapped, "Which room?"

"I'm sorry sir but we can't give you that information," another replied.

He watched as one of the nurses discretely called for security, a frustrated groan escaped him as he ventured further into the area.

"MEGAN!" Ben yelled, ignoring all the 'sir, please calm down' and 'you can't be back here' voices around him.

"Megan!" he choked out, he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold himself together. Sure, it might have been smarter to just go up to the second floor and see if the body lying on the floor belonged to his wife, but his mind wasn't ready to accept that it was even a possibility.

"Ben?"

He whirled around to find his bewildered wife pulling off bloody emergency scrubs and gloves. In two quick strides, he had his hands delicately cupping her face and pressed a frantic kiss to her lips.

Megan gasped against his eager lips, kissing him back. When he pulled away, he leaned his forehead against hers. "Ben what..." she began lightly when a sob stopped her. She watched as her strong husband broke. Slowly, he dropped to his knees and buried his face in her stomach. His arms wrapped around her body and held her as close as he could while he cried.

Megan waved off security and gave a reassuring smile to worried co-workers. She threaded her hands through his hair in an attempt to calm him. She wasn't sure what set him off, but it had to be something bad, this was the first time she'd actually seen him full out break down since his brother died.

This moment seemed almost worse though, she heard a muffled, "I can't lose you." It broke her heart. She smiled sadly in that instant she knew this was about the case he was working on.

"I'm not going anywhere Benny," she soothed and his grip on her tightened.