"Have you heard from Harmon lately?" he asked as he continued to direct the unyielding nurse in the direction of his car.

"No, I’m not one of his favorite people right now. Why?"

"I saw Burgess with his files a while ago. She was pretty anxious to get rid of me, and when I asked if there was a problem with one of her patients she wouldn’t answer," he explained.

"As if she would anyway?" Grace said jerking her arm from his grasp. "What are you getting at Chris?"

"She didn’t know I saw Matt’s files, but she didn’t correct me when I asked if there was a problem with a patient. Something is going on. Burgess came here, locked herself in her office with Matt’s files and later I saw a lab tech go in there. Here’s the interesting thing, moments after the tech left she rushed out of her office, went to the drug cabinet, then tore outta here like the place was on fire. So I’m following her. I’m betting she’s on her way to see Harmon."

"Matt’s out of town," she reminded him.

"Maybe he’s back now."

"So what if he is. Why would Ellen be taking drugs to him?"

"That’s what I’m going to find out. Since I know how taken you are with the guy I thought you’d be interested in what was going on." Watching intently as Ellen’s car pulled out of the garage. "We don’t have time to waste. I don’t want to lose her," Chris said scurrying to his car.

"Why do you want me to come?"

"I told you why. I thought you’d be interested in knowing what was going on with Harmon."

"The real reason Chris," Grace returned suspiciously, folding her arms across her chest.

"I’m pretty sure Burgess is going to Matt’s, but if that’s not where she’s going, that’s still where we’re going. I want to take a look around and I’ll need a lookout."

"Why should I help you?"

"Because you want Harmon as much as I want to win the Quartermaine. We could help each other. If Harmon is sick, you can be there for him."

"And how will Matt being sick help you?"

"His being sick wouldn’t, but the guy has too many secrets. What do we know about him besides he went to med school at Columbia? Nothing, that’s what. You two dated, did he ever tell you anything about his family."

"No," she replied sullenly. "He never told me anything personal about his life."

"You didn’t find that strange?"

"Some people don’t like talking about their personal life. Matt’s a private person."

"Well, I say enough with the privacy. Are you in or not?" Chris asked as he opened the driver side door of his car.

"Yeah, I’m in," she answered as she slid into the passenger side.

**~~~**~~~**

Mike quickly ushered Ellen into the apartment when she arrived. "So, are the test results back?" he asked as she brushed past him and over to Matt’s bedside.

"Yes they are back, and his condition is much worse than I thought. He needs to go to the hospital and he needs to go now," she sternly informed him as she proceeded to give Matt a dosage of the antibiotic she had.

Mike was wearing an extremely pained expression. He was torn. If Ellen said Matt needed to be in the hospital, that’s where he should be, but he promised him he wouldn’t take him. "You’re giving him medicine now, you can’t treat him here?"

Taking her eyes off Matt for just a moment, "This is just an antibiotic, something to help ward off the infection that’s running rampant in his body. This is not a cure, it’s like a Band-Aid," she explained.

Still not comfortable with taking Matt to the hospital, "Ellen I…" Mike began.

She holds out her hand to stop whatever he was about to say. "Mike this is not up for discussion. I don’t know what’s going on, or what you know or don’t know, however, what I do know is that Matt needs to be in the hospital."

"I promised him no hospital. Ellen I can’t…"

Ellen shook her head, alerting Mike that she wasn’t interested in what he was saying. "I can’t watch him die," she said glancing at the ailing man as he rested fitfully, "and that’s exactly what’s going to happen if he doesn’t get the help he needs. Mike something terrible is happening here, and has happened to Matt. You may have promised not to take him to the hospital, but I didn’t."

"I can’t let you do that."

"You can’t stop me. I had hoped you wouldn’t stand in my way, but in the off chance that you did," she took a deep breath before proceeding, "I called for ambulance before I got here."

Mike was aghast. "Ellen you didn’t?"

"Didn’t I?" she returned unflinchingly.

He couldn’t read her expression, but he had to believe that she didn’t do what she said. Raking his hand through his curly blond locks, Mike began to pace the floor. "You didn’t do that Ellen," he said with all the confidence he could muster.

"How can you be so sure?" she returned.

Her façade was slipping, at that moment Mike knew she hadn’t called an ambulance and his expression said as much.

She confirmed his suspicion. "Alright, I didn’t call an ambulance." She sighed deeply. "Mike, I have no idea what’s going on here, but I’m not blowing smoke when I tell you if Matt doesn’t get to the hospital he’s going to die. Is that what you want?"

"You know better than that."

"Then why are we talking, you should be helping me get him to the hospital."

"Ellen it’s not that simple."

Her fingers gently brushed against Matt’s hair. "I don’t doubt that. It appears you know what’s going on here, while I only have a few frightening facts," tears filled her eyes as she remembered what she discovered from Matt’s files. Taking a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the tears. "I know somebody hurt him, and I know he’s deathly ill. You may have made him a promise, but you can’t in good conscious keep that promise if you know it’s going to kill him. You know you can’t do that Mike, and even more than that, I can’t let you."

Mike didn’t even have time to wonder where Ellen acquired her knowledge of Matt’s situation; he just knew she was telling the truth. His allowing Ellen to get as involved in the situation as she was was bad enough, but when Matt wakes up in the hospital, he’ll be fit to be tied. Mike looked at the bright side, he’d be upset, but at least Matt would still be, and that was the important thing. They would just have to figure everything else out later.

"Alright, he can go to the hospital," Mike agreed. "I’ll call an ambulance."

"It’s the right thing to do Mike," Ellen said as she bundled Matt for transport to the hospital.

Five minutes later Frank Scanlon and his partner, a twenty-something African American male, arrived.

"What happened to him?" Frank asked upon seeing the haggard man and checking his vitals. "I was surprised when I got the call and realized it was Matt’s address."

Mike glanced at Ellen for a moment before sharing a story with Frank. "He told me he was in a garage helping a friend with a car problem when a can of turpentine exploded."

"I think I’m gonna stay out of garages from now on," Frank’s partner groaned.

After loading Matt onto the stretcher the EMTs headed out the door with Ellen who was riding with them, and Mike. Mike was just about to close the door to the apartment when Grace approached.

"What happened to Matt?" she asked, coming to a stop before Ellen and Mike.

Ellen didn’t like the feeling that overcame her upon seeing Grace. Her head was spinning. She had her concern for Matt and then there was everything else. She had discovered a lot about Matt, and he had said a lot of things to her over the past twenty-four hours, all of which she was now second-guessing. What was true? What wasn’t? Where did she fit into his life, and where did Grace? Now was not the time to even try to figure that all out, what was important at this moment was getting Matt well. "There’s no time to explain," Ellen answered. "I have to get to the hospital. You coming Mike?"

"I’m right behind you," he replied, his focus floating to the other woman that was present.

Sensing he wanted a moment with Grace, Ellen nodded her head and departed for the ambulance.

Giving the nurse a sideways glance, "Is there something you wanted Grace?" he asked.

She broke the hard stare she had on Ellen upon being dismissed so cavalierly before turning to Mike. "I was checking to see if Matt was back in town. He looks terrible, what happened to him?"

"He had a run in with an exploding can of turpentine. He didn’t think he was hurt too badly, but it appears he was wrong. Look, I wish I could explain in more detail, but I really need to be getting to the hospital."

"Yeah, uh, the battery in my cell phone died and I need to make a call. Is it okay if I use Matt’s phone?"

Mike was getting an uneasy feeling, but Grace wasn’t a threat to Matt’s physical life, just an obstacle in the personal life he wanted with Ellen. "Yeah, it’s fine, just close the door when you’re done, it’s already locked."

"No problem. I will only be a couple of minutes. I’ll see you at GH."

He was feeling a little hesitant still but he really wanted to get to the hospital. "Okay."

When Mike finally left, Grace went to the previously locked door and unlocked it before pulling it closed. Something was terribly wrong and while she was at the hospital trying to figure out what that was, Chris would have ample opportunity to find out what he could at Matt’s. Heading over to the Recovery Room where Chris waited, she explained what was happening and that she left the door unlocked for him, before walking the short distance to the hospital. She really didn’t care what Chris did, Matt was sick, he would need her, and she had every intention of being by his side the entire time. To hell with Ellen and what Matt thought he felt for her. When all was said and done, he would see that she was the woman for him, not Ellen Burgess.

Moments after Grace left, Chris went to the back alley of the restaurant and entered Matt’s apartment. Scoping the space Matt called home, Chris began his work. "Okay Harmon, there are secrets here, and I plan to find out exactly what they are."