Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own L&OCI or any of the wonderful Characters.

Their romance began (for me) with the IQ test. This takes place well after Frame approximately 8 months and three babies later.

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CHAPTER ONE: THE OTHER SHOE DROPS

It's A Wonderful Goren Life

It has been exactly one week since the Goren's had arrived home from Pennsylvania. What started off as a near tragedy ended with three bundles of Goren joy. Bobby had gone down to see Wally Stevens in jail for his assistance on a case when he passed out and ended up in Lock Haven Hospital. They were less than competent when it came for caring for Bobby but when Alex hopped on a plane to rush to her husband's side and ended up going into premature labor, Lock Haven showed it's true colors and delivered three healthy bouncing baby Goren's. The new family of five had settled in and were in no short supply of visitors and well wishers. Gifts for the babies were coming in daily and the Eames clan were taking shifts to help out the new parents. The holidays were rapidly approaching and Alex knew that they would be hard for her husband. His mother was gone and his brother's life was so thoughtfully taken away from him by his mentor so that he could be free. Free from what exactly she could never figure out but then again, Declan Gage never knew that Bobby married her. They kept their relationship a secret from him and anybody else that could potentially hurt them. She sat in her rocking chair with the wide awake Haley, thinking about a Thanksgiving a couple of years back when Bobby told her to "back off." As she rocked, she started to cry at the memory. Bobby was peeking in at the moment.

Whispering … "Hey, Als, what's wrong Honey, are the babies okay?"

She nods and puts Haley back in her crib. She wraps her arms around him and holds on tight. The tears flow freely and she begins to tremble.

"Okay, you're really starting to scare me now. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Look at our babies. We made beautiful children Bobby."

"And?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's something going on in that pretty little head of yours. Come on, let me make you a cup of tea and we can sit and talk."

He wasn't going to let her get away with not telling him. They weren't tears of joy, he knew his wife too well. He'd bribe her with tea first and if that didn't work, he'd spike it.

She curled herself up against him on the couch and he handed her her tea and made one for himself as well. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He nuzzled his nose into her ear and settled his lips on her neck.

"Talk to me Alex."

"The holidays are here Bobby."

"Yes, yes they are. I thought we agreed that I would cook and you could entertain our guests."

"So, that's it?"

"Ah … what else would there be? Turkey, check. Potatoes, check. Stuffing, double check. Cranberry sauce, gravy, … you get the picture. I've got it covered. Your family will be here fussing over the babies so you'll have plenty of help with them while I'm cooking. So, yeah … that's it."

"Okay, that's it then." She's waiting for the other shoe to drop … he's too happy. He has a lot of things to be happy about, thankful for, if you will but this is Robert Goren … there's always another shoe.

He pulled her in a little closer and sipped his tea. He smiled as he looked through the TV guide to see what was on … It's A Wonderful Life with James Stewart and Donna Reed. He bit his lip and whispered in Alex's ear … "It's a wonderful Goren life, Mrs. Goren."

She shifted so she could look at his "new father tired brown eyes," and then she kissed him. "Yes Mr. Goren … It's a wonderful Robert, Alex, Haley Tracy and John Goren life!"

Their answering machine light was blinking, Dr. Ahmad, Bobby's Primary Care Doctor needed to see him ASAP. Reports from Lock Haven indicated an abnormality on his EKG. The message had gone unchecked for two days … the other shoe … or was it a boot, had dropped and they didn't even know it yet?

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tbc? Please review if there is interest in the "tbc" part of this story. I plan on taking this one through New Years Day. Thanks for reading, Judeey.