Yes, I know I have Bobby lying in the hospital in another fic. But the plot bunnies will grow...
FAITHFULLY: MISSING SCENES
"Family?" Alex asked cautiously as Bobby dropped the keys in her palm.
He didn't answer right away, and she feared she'd stepped on forbidden ground. He'd slipped into his seat, put on his seat belt, opened his binder, and stared out the window before he spoke.
"My Mom's aunt…My great aunt's family," he said softly, still looking out the window. "Uh…Were you…visiting your sister? Is that why you were on the ferry?" Bobby approached her with as much caution as she had him.
Alex sighed. "Well…I didn't start out going there…I met a guy for dinner…Saw the line where his wedding ring was…Ordered the most expensive thing on the menu…Gave him time to explain if he was divorced or separated…" Bobby saw her hands tighten on the wheel. "But he didn't…So I excused myself to go to the restroom and just walked out of the restaurant and decided I wanted to see one of the two guys I know I can trust in this world." She glanced at Bobby.
"I…I'm glad I rate with Nate…But…That trust…I haven't repaid it very well, Eames…"
"Yes you have," she responded quickly. "Anyway…" Alex didn't want to discuss trust issues at the moment. "I played with Nate and read him a story and then my sister and I split some Dove chocolate ice cream and it was so late that I wound up sleeping there. Then I had breakfast with Nate while his Mom and Dad went to Mass…Nate already knows I'm the heathen in the family…I thought I'd be going home and change, but no such luck…"
"I…I was just checking in at the Squad Room…I didn't want to face a huge bunch of mail…And the call came in…" Bobby shrugged. "I don't have any plans…And I wanted to get back to work…"
"You feel Ok? Get enough rest?" Alex asked gently.
"Uh…Yea…My great aunt's family lives in Minnesota…I drove the Mustang out there and back…It…It was fun…" Bobby half smiled. "And…at least on the way back…I rested. The way out…" Bobby's left hand gripped and released his left knee. "I hadn't…My Mom told me that her Aunt Connie…Her family wasn't thrilled about her marrying this blonde Lutheran…But…They sent each Christmas cards…Saw each other rarely…He was Norwegian, and I guess for her family she might as well as moved to Norway." Bobby stared out the window. "I have some vague memories of her…I think she looked like my Mom. I remember her being really tall. …But her son…He's interested in genealogy, and I've had some requests from him for information…And…He was very kind when I wrote him about Mom's schizophrenia…And when he and his family…I dropped them a note about Mom dying…They sent a card telling me that they made a gift in Mom's name to the local mental health society…The card…It had a note that they'd like to stay in touch…And after I sent out the thank you cards…I got another note from them letting me know if I ever wanted to visit. And that my great aunt was getting old and would like to see me…So…After everything…Everything…" He waved his left hand. "You know I told you I just felt like I had to get away from everything…"
"Yea," Alex said softly.
"I just started driving…And I didn't have my passport so I couldn't go into Canada, and I didn't want to go south, and I couldn't go very far east." He gave her a quick smile. "So I started going west…"
Alex concentrated on breathing. Bobby had never been so open with her; she wondered if he'd ever been so open with anyone.
"I was somewhere in Pennsylvania," Bobby continued. "And…And I called them…And not only did they say that I could come…But that they really wanted me to come…"
"Why shouldn't they?" Alex asked. She scanned the street signs for her turn.
"But…But…Eames…They didn't know me…They didn't know anything about me…"
"Did they know what you do?"
"Yea…But…Unfortunately…Being a cop…Even a cop with the NYPD Major Case…You and I both know that's not always a great recommendation." Bobby smiled wanly. His left hand again clutched his knee. "I kept driving…The closer I got…The more I thought it might be a bad idea…I didn't know anything about them really…And I…Well…Family hasn't been good for me lately...But I told myself if it was bad…I could always drive away." He took a deep breath.
Alex suddenly and desperately hoped that this visit had gone well for Bobby.
"I spent a little time in the Midwest when I was in the Army," Bobby said. "And I loved it…And was kinda spooked by it at the same time. All that empty space…All that sky…So few people…I loved to stand outside and watch the thunderstorms come rolling in…But I'd never been in Minnesota…All those lakes…I got near their place and drove through this little town…It…It was beautiful…Like out of a Disney movie…I drove through all these fields…It'd snowed the day before and the sun was shining and the ground sparkled like there were thousands of diamonds on it…There were all of these beautiful farm houses…And practically no traffic…And when I'd pass another car, people would usually wave at me…"
He glanced at Alex.
"'Course…They stared at me, too. Guy in a classic Mustang with New York plates…And I'm sure everybody around there knows every car…"
Alex smiled. "The down side of small towns…"
Bobby nodded. "There were all these cows…I'd never seen so many cows…So many different kinds with so many different colors…I finally got to the address…I drove down this gravel lane lined with these huge trees…They told me later most of the trees were planted by the man who pioneered the farm and they were over a hundred years old…And at the end of the lane was this two story white house with black shutters and a huge porch…And…Eames…There were rocking chairs…Big ones…On the porch. There were two huge pine trees on either side of the house…And a gigantic oak tree in the front yard…With a tire swing on it….There was a basketball hoop on the garage…A huge barn…And chickens in a pen with a coop…"
"Was there a white picket fence? And a man with a pitchfork and a woman standing outside?" Alex asked with another smile.
"There was a white picket fence…and a flagpole flying the US flag," Bobby answered. "And I wouldn't have been surprised if the man and woman showed up…But as soon as I stopped the car, a little girl ran out from the back and stopped a few feet away from me. I got out of the car…and she asked me if I was Robert and if I was from New York City..." His smile grew wider, and Alex felt a warm glow in her chest.
"Eames," Bobby said in wonder. "They…They were so good to me…My great aunt is in an assisted living facility in the town…But she's in great shape…Comes out to the farm two or three times a week…Her son Matt says she supervises things…She claims she's just being nosy…They insisted I stay with them…I had this beautiful room with this huge bed with this incredible quilt…And they fed me…" Bobby shook his head. "This really great food…And…And they were so good to me…"
Alex turned down a street and saw the pulsing red lights of police cars and ambulances. "I don't think I've ever been so unhappy about getting to a crime scene," she sighed. "I'm glad, Bobby…I really am…That things went well…"
"If…If you're interested," Bobby said hesitantly. "I could tell you more later…"
"I'd love it," Alex declared.
Over the next few days, Bobby told her more about his trip. He described the organic dairy farm Matt and his son Jake ran; he laughed with her as he told her about his fumbling attempts to milk a cow; he wondered at his cousins' quiet interest in and sympathy for him; and he told her about the little girl and her fascination with her newly found relative.
"Her mom…Molly…Jake's wife…Said it was partly because all of her cousins are blondes…I look like her and her great-grandmother…"
"So…She's what…Your second…Third cousin?" Alex asked.
Bobby smiled. "That confused us too. I told her she could just call me Bobby, but she didn't like that. So, we decided I could be her uncle, and she could be my niece. She liked the idea of having an uncle who lived in New York City…And I gotta admit…I like the idea of having a niece in Minnesota…"
On that same day, Alex approached Bobby's desk and saw a picture of a pretty little girt with dark curly hair on his computer screen.
"My niece," Bobby said with a mixture of pride and shyness.
"Cute kid," Alex said admiringly.
As she shut offer her computer that night, Alex realized that she felt good. Not that she wasn't tired—she was—but she didn't have a line of men with jackhammers attacking the inside of her skull or knots trying up her back muscles. She looked over at Bobby, who was lost in a deep study of several reports from Child Protective Services. He looked better, too.
"Hey," Alex said. "It's time for all good detectives to head home. That report will still be here tomorrow."
Bobby stared at the reports, and then, to Alex's great surprise, shut the folders. "You're right," he said. "You got plans…"
"Yea…They involve a handsome young blonde man and basketball," Alex said.
"Nate's playing b-ball already?"
Alex grinned. "Playing would be an exaggeration. He and the other kids are running around the court. But he's having fun, and it's fun to watch him. I'll probably have pictures to bore you with tomorrow."
Bobby smiled back at her. "I look forward to that."
He went home that night with a rare sense of contentment. Eames was happy; even Ross seemed happy, at least for Ross. He found a seat on the subway, and thought of how in sync he had been with Eames throughout their most recent case. She'd been so glad to see him when she got off the ferry that he'd been stunned. He hadn't planned to tell her about his impromptu visit to his Midwestern relatives, but he wanted—needed—to tell her about it, especially about the little girl with dark curls he'd already come to think of as his niece.
"Now," he thought as he pulled several envelopes from his mailbox. "If I can only find my nephew…"
He stepped into his hall and tried to shake his suddenly dark thoughts. The psychiatrist he still visited had stressed the importance of not letting negative ideas seize him and spiral out of control. Bobby knew that even before the doctor told him. He liked this doctor. He knew she supported his reinstatement in the face of pressure from the Chief of Detectives for another decision. She worked with his occasionally stubborn insurance, and her advice proved solid. In spite of his reluctance, the psychiatrist convinced him to connect with what remained of his family.
"But if they knew…What…Who…I was," Bobby thought. "No…Don't go there…Eames knows…And she trusts you."
He shuffled through the bills and ads until he saw an envelope with unfamiliar writing on it. He recognized the return address and opened it with uneasy anticipation. He read the short note and looked at the accompanying photos. He slowly sat on a chair by his kitchen table.
"A family," he thought. "I have a family…At least relatives…And they want to know me…"
Alex arrived at Major Case a little before her usual time, but Bobby was still there before her.
"Hey," she said as she dropped in her chair. "You look good this morning…"
"Thank you…So do you…" Actually, he thought she looked beautiful. She always looked especially beautiful after she saw Nate. "I brought you some coffee and one of those rolls…"
"Thank you," she said warmly. She waved an envelope. "I have pictures…"
Bobby slowly raised another envelope. "Uh…I have pictures too…"
And before their work took them, they shared the photos of their families.
END