Author's notes: This oneshot was inspired by the episode "Frame." This scene takes place after Bobby gets the results of the DNA test back from Dr. Rodgers; his initial response to finding out Mark Ford Brady is his real father. This is angsty/fluffy/gushy/whatever you want to call it. Hopefully, it's not OOC for Bobby. The usual disclaimer: LO:CI and its characters belong to Dick Wolf and company; I'm just taking them for a spin in my imagaination. Any and all mistakes are my own. Read, review and enjoy. :o)
"I'm a monster," Bobby quietly stated. Angel looked away from the laptop that was in front of her. "What?" she asked, a confused look on her face. He reached into his binder, pulling out a piece of paper. He tossed it on the table towards her. "I'm the bastard child of a monster. Therefore, that makes me a monster, too," he said. Bobby turned around and walked towards the bedroom.
Angel picked up the piece of paper and read it. She re-read it a few more times to make sure she was reading the information correctly. "Oh, my!" she softly exclaimed as she realized what Bobby was trying to tell her: that Mark Ford Brady was his real father.
Angel walked to the bedroom. She leaned against the doorframe as she watched Bobby pack a duffel bag. "Where are you going?" she asked. Bobby shrugged, facing away from her. "I don't know," he replied. "I just need to get away from here. Away from…from you." He continued with his packing. She sighed softly as she rubbed a hand over her slightly bulging belly.
"Why?" Angel asked. She held up the piece of paper, shaking it. "Because this says that half of your DNA comes from a serial killer? Your logic makes no sense." Bobby turned around. "Now, you're sounding like Mr. Spock," he said. "It doesn't matter what I sound like!" she said sharply. "You still haven't answered my question. Why do you have to leave here?"
Bobby inhaled and exhaled deeply. He said, "Because that piece of paper proves something that Declan Gage said about me a long time ago! That I could either be a serial killer or a crusading homicide detective. It's just a matter of time before I go the other way. I'm not willing to put you in the path of a crazed psychopathic killer!"
Angel walked further into the room, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She shook the paper at him again. "You think that these test results will erase away all your years of hard work and dedication to the police force? All of the good that you have done?" She shoved the paper at him. "This paper can't change you, who you are, overnight. You can't simply go from being a…a crusading homicide detective to a serial killer in a blink of an eye! You're not a killer!"
"You don't know that, Angelica!" Bobby said in a raised voice. "You don't know what I'm capable of! You should…shouldn't have to deal with this! No one should have to deal with this but me!" Angel threw up her hands. "What?! You think I can't handle this?!" she said. "You seem to forget, Robert, that I have weathered plenty storms with you! What makes you think this is any different?!"
Bobby stared into Angel's gray eyes for a few seconds before he turned his back on her. He couldn't explain to her or make her understand what he thought. He laid the paper on the bed and started packing again. "So, you're saying that this child I'm carrying is a monster, too?" she asked quietly. "I didn't say that!" he snapped. "Yes, you did," Angel said. "According to your reasoning, your biological father was a monster, which makes you a monster. Therefore, if you're a monster, that makes this child I'm carrying a monster."
Bobby paused to look at Angel. She stood there with her arms down by her side, her hands flexing open and close. A couple of tears had rolled down her cheeks, but she had a determined look on her face. Bobby sighed heavily. "I did NOT say that," he said softly. Angel scoffed, shaking her head as he went back to packing. "I don't want to argue about this," she said. "We won't because this topic was never open for discussion to begin with."
Angel cringed slightly at Bobby's tone of voice. "Can I say something else?" she asked. Bobby stopped and turned around, crossing his arms over his chest. "You have always said that you don't want to be anything like your father," she said. "Whether that's Richard Goren or this Mark Ford Brady guy, doesn't matter. I'm not going to try to stop you because you deal with things in your own unique way. But you need to know this: if you walk out on me and you, on this child, then you ARE the monster you proclaim to be." She then turned around and walked out.
Angel sat back down at the dining room table and continued typing on her laptop. Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach when she heard the front door slam. A small tear made its way down her cheek as she went back to typing. "He's chosen to be a monster after all," she thought to herself.
Bobby drove around the city for a while, with the top down. The cool night air blowing on his face and through his hair felt good. It helped him to gather his thoughts more clearly. He sighed heavily as he thought back to the fight he and Angel just had. "She's right, you know," he thought to himself. "You did call your unborn child a monster without actually saying the words." He let out a dry chuckle. "You just shut her out instead of talking to her. I bet she's already changed the locks and the security code." He sighed heavily again as he kept driving, contemplating whether or not he should point his car towards home and his family.
Bobby walked into the bedroom. He stood next to the bed, staring down at a sleeping Angel. She laying on her back, a couple of pillows under her head. She was wearing gray shorts and one of his old dress shirts, with the sleeves rolled up and buttoned just enough to expose her stomach a little bit. He pulled a chair over and sat down. He pushed the shirt tails out of the way, exposing her stomach further.
Bobby placed his hands on Angel's stomach, completely covering her baby bump. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her belly. "You are not a monster, baby Goren," he whispered. Bobby turned his head as he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Angel was smiling at him; he smiled back. She said, "Neither are you, Bobby Goren."