Title: In Loco Parentis

Author: Auntie Shred

Summary: An old case resurfaces with new problems. Alex Eames's POV. Spoilers for Magnificat, Betrayed and Kissinger.

Disclaimer: The Law & Order characters are owned by Dick Wolf. No infringement of rights is intended. This story is written for entertainment purposes only.

Bobby was staring right through me. Ordinarily this wouldn't bother me at all. He had a way of gazing blankly into the distance while a conclusion was bubbling up through the La Brea tar-pit of his mind – but this was different. He looked furious.

I'd been on the phone with the ADA who was handling the Kathy Jarrow murder trial. She'd had me paging back and forth through the case file folder for at least thirty minutes. The last time I'd peeked up, Bobby was hunched over his desk with the phone cradled on his shoulder as he scribbled notes into his binder: nothing out of the ordinary.

I finally finished my call and stuffed the folder into the back of my drawer. I looked up at Bobby, ready to carp about the ADA's nit-picking, but was silenced by his fierce look. All of a sudden my cheeks felt too warm. In another second I realized his focus point was somewhere over my head, and I actually turned to look behind me – no one there.

"Bobby?" He didn't move a muscle, so I leaned forward and rapped my knuckles on the desk. That got me a blink. The frown faded as he noticed me. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Do we have a new case?"

"No, an old one."

They'd reopened one of our closed cases? I squinted across the squad room toward the captain's office. Ross was seated calmly at his computer. From this distance it looked like he was checking email. "Ross didn't…?"

"No." Bobby wheeled his chair around to my side, and rested his arm on the desktop as he leaned close. "You remember Leanne Colson?" he asked quietly. "Adam Whitlock's grandmother?"

"Of course I remember. You helped her get custody of Adam – away from that control freak of a father." We'd both testified at the custody hearing. Adam's mother, suffering from depression, had planted a bomb in her own car in an attempt to kill herself and her four young sons. Only she and Adam had survived.

Bobby shook his head. "All I did was put her in touch with a lawyer who helped her do that."

I poked his chest. "Don't contradict me when I'm complimenting you, Goren." He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, which I interpreted as surrender. "Good boy. So," I said, "was that her on the phone? What got you so ticked off?"

"Yes, it was Mrs. Colson." He sighed deeply before continuing. "There's trouble with Paul Whitlock."

My imagination instantly suggested all sorts of dangerous possibilities: Adam's father was capable of harassment, lawsuit, threats, even kidnapping. "How bad?" I asked.

The anger came back into his eyes. "She's frightened. Panicking. Paul's trying to get the boy away from her into a private boarding school."

"But wasn't she named guardian, with full parental rights? He's got no say."

"Yes, but-" Bobby rose abruptly, and leaned over to his desk to grab his leather binder. "Let's see if there's a room free."

"It's that complicated?" I asked, standing as well.

"More like… I'm afraid you might blow up."

I'd turned away to see if anyone was using the nearest visitor office (two detectives were in there with a dreadlocked young man), but at Bobby's words I twisted to look at him. Was he kidding? No – his face was grim. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and then he headed toward the interrogation rooms. I felt my jaw muscles clenching as I followed him.

"Bobby? What is Whitlock doing?" I tried to keep my voice low.

He didn't answer right away, but checked the schedule posted near the door of the observation room. He flicked at the paper in annoyance. "Both rooms are booked starting at ten o'clock."

I checked the wall clock. "No good. It's quarter of ten now. Someone's in the video room, too. Let's go down to the caf." No response. Bobby was still studying the schedule. I tapped his arm. "Cafeteria? Or do you want to try the deli?"

"Yeah, okay – the caf's closer." He was already three long strides on his way to the elevators; I caught up to him just as the doors were sliding open. Unfortunately the elevator car was crowded, so we couldn't talk. I hadn't seen Bobby this agitated since his mother started chemo or his nephew Donny was sent back to Tates. My stomach felt like I'd swallowed a lead baseball by the time we reached our floor.

The cafeteria was mostly empty; three women were drinking coffee at one table, and they looked like they were getting ready to leave. We could hear tinny-sounding rock music coming out of the back – a kitchen worker's radio, probably. We went straight to a small table in the far corner and sat across from each other.

"Okay, tell me," I said, crossing my arms on the table. "From the beginning."

He flipped opened his binder, and in spite of my anxiety I felt a bit of comfort at that familiar move. I knew he didn't need to look at his notes, yet he relied on that worn-out thing like a security blanket. Who knows when I began to feel that way, too. We'd solved a lot of cases using those scribbled pages, and I had to hope we could find a way to help little Adam Whitlock and his grandma.

"At the custody hearing, about three and a half years ago, Paul was granted limited visitation rights," Bobby said. "He was allowed to see Adam at Mrs. Colson's home in Rochester or he could call: two weekends a month, supervised by her at all times. You know this part." He paused and I nodded for him to continue. "At first he pretty much disappeared; he hardly made contact except for child support payments. It's only this year that he started calling regularly.

"Adam's eleven now; he's in public school. Mrs. Colson says he's finally feeling comfortable there – he played little league this summer, and now soccer in the fall. He has some friends."

I'd intended to let Bobby tell his story straight through, but I was too eager to sit quietly. I touched his hand lightly. "Does he ask about his mother?"

He scratched his beard, and I knew the answer would be sad. "Doreen's retreated into herself completely," he said. "She's under suicide watch. It's not likely she'll leave the psych hospital anytime soon; maybe never."

"Oh."

"Adam, he - he knows about her. He misses his brothers. Mrs. Colson takes him to a counselor. He went through all the phases: grief, anger, guilt – you know."

With an elbow on the table, I rested my chin on my palm. How much did Bobby see of himself in this poor kid? The mother had checked out mentally; the father in all other ways. It was part of Bobby's incredible gift for detective work that he could understand people on a deep level, but it came at a high cost to his own emotional state. I sent up a quick prayer that he wouldn't be hurt by all this.

Our eyes met for a few moments. I think he guessed part of what I was thinking, because he shook his head the tiniest bit.

I said softly, "At least Adam's got his Grandma he can count on."

"That's a lot." He looked down at his notes, though I doubt he was seeing anything on the page. "So, um..." he said after a long pause, "Paul. He moved to Philadelphia as soon as the divorce was final, and got a new job at an engineering company there."

"With no inconvenient family to hold him back from promotion this time."

"He remarried."

That floored me. What woman would sign away control of her life? To that creep! "Please tell me you're joking."

Bobby shook his head and went on tersely. "Six months after the divorce – to a much younger woman."

"This kills me," I said, thumping my fist on the table. "It wasn't enough he devastated one family? He has to start over?"

"Well, they have no children after three years, so perhaps Paul's interested in Adam again-"

"-because perhaps the new Mrs. Whitlock can't have children," I finished his sentence. We nodded together. "And now he wants to drag poor Adam back for another try at forming his character. I guess that's where the private school comes in. What a selfish, egotistical..." I stopped myself before I cursed; I took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. "You were right about me blowing up. What exactly happened to frighten Mrs. Colson?"

Bobby rubbed his hands as though he was cold, but I knew this habit was one of his outlets for nervous energy. He was upset, too. "Paul called them last week, and at first it was a normal call."

"Whatever normal is for him," I added. The man had been insufferable four years ago, and my feelings hadn't softened.

"He asked about Adam's grades and things like that. He's usually very cool, detached. He doesn't stay on the line long. When they were expecting him to hang up, he suddenly said he wanted to enroll Adam in a private school near Philadelphia." Bobby checked his notes. "It's called York Valley Academy in Bucks County."

"Out of the blue like that?" I said. "He didn't say anything to Mrs. Colson in advance?"

"No, she had no warning. She told me she was too surprised to react before Paul had hung up."

"Wait a sec," I said abruptly as a thought occurred to me. "You got all this information, all this background, in one phone call just now? And why did she call here?"

Bobby looked away with a sheepish look, and I instantly understood.

"You've been in touch with her before today," I said.

His eyes met mine long enough to transmit a Yes.

I leaned back in my chair and smiled at him, remembering the day in court when Bobby introduced her to his lawyer buddy – a man who specialized in children's rights. That had been the only hopeful note in a long sad case. I'd been so proud of him. It had felt great to see the respect in Mr. Carver's face as he watched.

"Just a few letters over the years," Bobby said quietly. He got to his feet and shifted restlessly.

"Hey," I said, reaching up to pat his arm, "I'm glad you wrote her, because now we can help. First thing she needs to remember: Paul doesn't get to make decisions like this for Adam."

"I know," he said, doing his mini-pacing beside the table. "I told her that."

"Good. We should look up the terms of the custody decision just to be sure."

"Eames, the thing that scared Mrs. Colson was Adam's response," Bobby said. "All the time he's lived in Rochester he's never shown any interest in being with his father. But since the phone call he's been talking about it, telling her he wants to go to that school, to be near his father."

"I wonder if Paul found a way to influence Adam before this phone call – that'd be a violation of his visitation restrictions."

"It's possible," Bobby said, straightening the papers in his leather binder, then closing it. He rested his palms on the table and looked straight at me. "But maybe Adam has been longing for his father. It's natural for boys to seek male adult leadership and approval."

"Yeah," I said, thinking again of Bobby's own lonely youth.

Bobby continued, "Before Paul's phone call, he might have concealed his feelings from Mrs. Colson out of a desire not to worry her."

"If only Paul was so considerate," I said, feeling anger building again in me. "He really can't pass up an opportunity to manipulate, can he?"

"I, uh, I told Mrs. Colson I'd visit this Thursday."

I stood to face him. "Did you tell her I'd come, too?" I asked. If he said no, I was ready to grab his lapels and shake him hard. No way was I going to let him go off on his own, even if this wasn't strictly departmental work.

He read my mind easily; he backed away, tilting his head and holding up both hands. "I would have, but I didn't get a chance before she asked about you. We're invited for lunch."

"Good," I said. "You know, we need to tell the captain about this."

Bobby immediately reached to rub the back of his neck. He made a sour face. "I know," he said. "It's just that I'm never sure if he's going to back me up or... or suspend me. Ever since we arrested his friend Kathy Jarrow, he only talks to me when he has to. I'm always – I don't know, on eggshells around him."

"I haven't figured him out, either. I don't think it's you – well, okay – some of it is you."

He looked at me with a poor attempt at a grin, looking more guilty than amused, and I was sorry I'd taken even a little jab at him.

I continued quickly, "But not entirely. Hey, not even mostly. There's definitely something going on with Ross. Bobby, I'm done judging you. I'm on your side here."

I breathed easy again when he nodded and gave me a tiny but real smile. I said, "Anyway, this should be safe - it doesn't involve anyone he ever knew. We can brief him on the history and tell him we just want to check on Mrs. Colson and Adam. We don't have an active case at the moment, so he should be fine with that."

"And if not?"

I winked at him. "And if not, then we're still off duty that day, and there's no reason we can't take a drive upstate to see the fall foliage."