CHAPTER TWO
"Ok," Alex thought. "Whatever it is…It must be big and bad…You wanted him to tell you the truth…You wanted him to be honest…Well, here it is, girl. Are you ready for this? Is this what you really want?"
Her hand still rested over his, and she gently squeezed it. "What is it?" she asked.
Bobby stared at their hands. "The…The last time I saw my Mom…Right before she died…" He swallowed. "It…It wasn't just that Brady…That he raped her…" His voice dropped to an anguished whisper. "She…Before that…She had an affair with him…"
Alex fought to keep her hand over Bobby's.
"She…She didn't know what he really was, of course…Brady…The last time I saw him…When I didn't take you…I…I should have taken you…I…I should've told you before now…But…How could I…I…I can barely believe it…But…Brady…He thought…That I was his biological son…And…And my Mom…She…She told me…I had to know…My Mom is dying and I have to know…Have to ask her about the worse thing in her life…"
"What…What did she say?" Alex hated her desire to know.
"She…She wasn't sure," Bobby confessed. "She didn't know…Who my biological father was…"
Alex struggled to remember to breath. Bobby tried to pull his hand away, but she clung to it.
"No wonder you've been…So shell shocked," Alex said softly. "You've been dealing with the suspension…Your mother's death…Everything…And this has been hanging over you…"
"I…I thought about telling you…I wanted to…I almost told you so many times…But how do you tell someone…Hey…You know that drunk, cheating, gambling son-of-a-bitch I thought was my father? Not my father…My father is a vicious monster…A serial rapist and killer…"
"Bobby." Alex tightened her grip on his hand. "Mark Ford Brady…Even if…He had nothing to do with what you are…You know that…"
Bobby fought to keep from shaking.
"Does…Does anyone else know?" Alex asked.
"There were a couple of guards in the room when Brady…Brady insinuated…But they…They didn't believe him…He apparently said a lot of things like this to people who visited him…He wanted to provoke a reaction from me…And he got it…"
"Bobby…What happened?" The idea that Brady had managed to provoke Bobby was much worse to Alex than the possibility the man might be Bobby's biological father.
"He…He suggested…I might be his son…"
"What evidence…Besides your mother's fears…"
"Frank…Frank recognized the photo of Brady in his army uniform…He called him "Uncle Mark". Frank told me that he brought me presents…I…I didn't remember him…But Frank said he was around a lot…"
"Bobby…Can you trust Frank?"
"I…I do on this," Bobby said. "Everything…Supports what he says…"
"But…" Alex struggled to understand what Bobby told her. "But Brady…We know he attacked…"
"He…He and my Mom went away together…I remember when I was little…My Dad…The man I thought…Everyone told me that she was in an accident, and that's why she went to the hospital…And after that…She wasn't the same…Schizophrenia…It…It can be triggered…Made worse…By stress…And we know of at least one case where Brady attacked a girlfriend…" Bobby looked at Alex, who could barely hold his gaze. "He hurt her…I know he hurt her…And…And everything was bad after that…" Bobby sounded like a frightened, desperate child. "Oh…God…Eames…Alex…" His head slumped down into his free hand.
"Bobby…You're not sure about…You haven't had any tests or anything done?"
"No…And…I don't know…Do…Do I really want to know about this?"
Alex looked at the tormented man who sat across from her. "Bobby…This changes nothing about you…Please…Look at me…"
He slowly raised his head.
"Knowing you…I'll bet you'll have to know…But it doesn't make any difference…You're who you are…You're a good man…You became a good man in spite of your parents and everything that happened to you. It doesn't matter if William Goren or Mark Brady was your father…You're a good man. You're my partner and my friend and you're a good man."
His free hand moved to join his other hand and hers on the table. He wasn't shaking as badly as he had. "You…You're sure? I…I haven't always treated you as well…Especially…"
"Hey. That's a two way street…I haven't always kept up my side of the bargain. Ross told me…After I finished yelling at him, and he stopped me from rushing up to Moran's office and screaming at him…He told me about the conditions of your undercover work…And I've talked to other people…Deakins, for one…And they reminded me that you didn't have a lot of choices and none of them was good…"
Bobby could finally look at Alex. "You…You mean…Are we…Are we ok?"
"Yea…We need to work on a lot of stuff…But we're ok."
END CHAPTER TWO