Chapter Two: A Debt

Jim, Brian and Trixie looked up as Dan walked into the staff lounge at the Sleepyside Medical Center. Their friend's dark brown hair was rumpled and his clothes were disheveled. His usually clear brown eyes were bloodshot from tears. In his arms, he held a small bundle wrapped in a pink and blue striped blanket.

Concerned, Trixie put her coffee down, stood up and went to Dan. "Is Kensie okay?"

Dan swallowed convulsively and nodded, "She's incredible, Trix."

"Yes, she is," Trixie agreed as a happy smile spread over her lovely face. "That's why I introduced you to her. I knew you guys would be great together."

Dan laughed softly, not wanting to frighten the baby in his arms. "You threw a fit when I told you that I was going to ask her out—something about rules about friends not asking friends' friends out. It was confusing."

She tilted her said to one side, her blonde curls framing her face. "Really? I don't remember that. Are you sure I said something like that?"

"Pretty sure," Dan said with a nod of his head. Then he asked, "What are you doing here, Trix? The roads are…"

"Treacherous? Yeah, yeah. Ernie Blevins pulled me over on the way home and told me that a new Bob-White baby was about to make its appearance." She stood up on her toes, trying to see past the blanket. "When he told me Kensie was in labor, all the snow in New York couldn't stop me from coming. I called everyone else, too. Apparently, there's something wrong with your phone." She paused and looked over her shoulder at the other men, her blue eyes full of heat. "…and Jim's and Brian's, too. You get a pass. They don't."

Jim and Brian exchanged apprehensive looks before Jim tried to explain, "We couldn't get a signal..."

"So you stopped trying?" She asked with a disgruntled toss of her sandy curls.

Both men sighed as they realized that they had never won an argument with Trixie and probably never would. Shrugging at each other, they stopped trying to defend themselves.

Trixie, however, wasn't interested in arguing with the two men. Looking back at the blanket, she wet her lips and moved forward. With her gaze focused intently on the blanket, she continued, "Mart and Di are almost here and Moms, Honey and your Uncle Bill are on their way, too." She inched closer, helplessly drawn to the small bundle in Dan's arms. "May I?"

"Yeah," he said, gently transferring the baby from his arms to hers. "Isn't he amazing?"

"He?" she asked, absolutely enthralled by the sleeping baby. "It's a boy?"

At Dan's nod, she continued, "Does he have a name yet?"

Her friend shook his head, staring at his son. Neither of them noticed Brian and Jim walk up behind Trixie and look over her shoulders at the baby.

"He's perfect," Trixie whispered softly. "Can I have him?"

"No," Dan responded in a hushed tone. "You're going to have to get one of your own."

"Maybe if I ever find a guy like you…," she responded, hunching one shoulder slightly. Then, she glanced up at him, mischief dancing in her brilliant, blue eyes. "Right now I'm going to settle for spoiling him to death."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't," her friend chuckled.

For a moment, the four of them stared at bundle cradled in her arms. When the tiny boy scrunched up his face, yawned and opened his eyes, Trixie gasped with joy, "Oh, he looks like you, Dan."

The three men's gazes flew to her face in disbelief and then they looked back at the baby.

"That's what Kensie said," Dan replied, staring at his son. "Do you really think so?"

"May I hold…" Jim trailed off as he heard running footsteps in the hall. He knew he had lost his chance. Suddenly, Diana Belden burst through the door of the lounge.

"Oh, oh, oh," she gasped when she saw Trixie holding the baby. "Let me see! Let me see! Let me see!"

Dan stepped back as Di rushed over to Trixie. Sighing deeply, she stared at the infant. "He looks just like Dan."

With a doubtful look, Dan stepped forward again and gazed intently at his son. "Why can't I see it?"

Di and Trixie sent him pitying looks but didn't respond to his question.

"Let's unwrap him and count his fingers and toes," Diana made the age-old suggestion.

Dan started to protest but was grabbed from behind in a bear hug. When he was released, he spun around to face his best friend. For a moment, he and Mart Belden stared at each other with silly grins on their faces. Then they grabbed each other for another bear hug.

"So you're a dad now?" Mart asked when they released each other. "Boy or girl?"

Smiling widely, Dan said proudly, "A boy. I have a son."

"Yes," Mart said, making a fist and pulling it down in the air in the masculine gesture of celebration. "I knew it was going to be a boy."

Diana shook her head at Trixie. "He's been going on about this for weeks. 'It's going to be a boy so Dan and I can teach him and P.J. how to play ball and ride horses. They'll be best friends just like me and Dan.' Blah, blah, blah. Did he care that I wanted Dan and Kensie to have a girl so that I could buy her pretty pink dresses? No!"

As she softly ranted, she pulled the blanket away from the baby. Gently, she held up his fisted hand for Trixie to see. "Look at his little hand. Isn't it adorable?" The male Bob-Whites approached the women and new baby to gaze at the tiny fist. Silence descended as Diana gently spread out his hand.

"What beautiful little fingers," Diana sighed deeply as Trixie stared at the small digits in wonder.

Shaking his head with déjà vu, Jim looked at Brian, "Didn't we hear this same conversation less than three months ago?"

Dan grinned. "You mean when Trixie and Kensie were cooing over P.J.?"

Mart met Dan's eyes, "Well, your boy is almost as good-looking as mine, Mangan."

"Almost, huh?" his friend asked. Before he could continue, a nurse interrupted.

"Excuse me?" she said. "Mr. Mangan? Your wife is ready for you and your son to come back to the room. She asked me to let you know."

Dan nodded. He waited as Di tucked the blanket back around his son and then took him from Trixie's arms.

"Are you going to wait?" he asked as he started for the door.

"We're not going anywhere, Dan," Mart told him and the others nodded.

Thirty minutes later, the group's numbers had grown by three. Honey, Helen Belden and Bill Reagan had arrived moments after Dan and the baby had gone back to Kensie's hospital room. The celebratory mood became expectant as the nurse entered the room.

"Dr. Belden? Mr. and Mrs. Mangan are ready for visitors," she told Brian. "According to hospital policy, only two visitors are allowed in the room at time. However, Dr. Evans said that if you want to suspend policy…"

Brian thanked the nurse and she left the room quietly without a backward glance.

"Well, who goes first?"

The Bob-Whites looked at him in consternation while Bill Reagan and Helen Belden immediately moved toward the door.

"You are kidding, aren't you?" Diana asked Brian, her voice steely. "You are going to suspend that stupid policy for us, right?"

"If I wasn't, I certainly am now," he told his sister-in-law, holding his hands up self-defense. "However, we need to be careful that Kensie doesn't get too tired," the doctor in him warned his friends sternly.

The group made their way through the hallways to one of the hospital's ten patient rooms. Since Kensie was the only patient, she had received the largest room. The room was decorated in pastels. The furniture was simple: a single hospital bed, two chairs and a small, hospital bassinette.

Helen Belden and Bill Reagan led the group. When they reached the door, they saw Dan—now dressed in blue scrubs—lying on the bed with his wife in his arms. Both of them were staring down at the infant that Kensie was holding.

"May we come in?" Helen asked hesitantly, torn between wanting to see the baby she considered her grandchild and leaving the new family alone to bond.

When she spoke, Dan looked up. From the time he had met Helen Belden, she had mothered him. "Sure, Moms."

At his invitation, she rushed over to the bed with Reagan close behind her. The Bob-Whites filed in behind them, surrounding the bed. With care, Kensie handed her son to Helen.

"Have you named him yet?" the older woman asked as she gently took the baby in her arms.

"Well…" Dan said. "We had a name picked out but…"

When he trailed off, Kensie explained, "We don't think it fits him."

All of the Bob-Whites except Mart and Diana groaned. Three months earlier, Mart and Di had made the same statement. All throughout Di's pregnancy, the couple had agonized over their son's name, tormenting their friends and family by choosing a name and then, changing their minds. Two weeks before their son was born, they finally decided to name the baby 'Jeffrey Aaron.' However, when he was born, 'Jeffrey Aaron' became 'Peter Jacob' or 'P.J.'

Unlike Mart and Di, Dan and Kensie had decided that they didn't want to know whether their baby was a boy or a girl and had not subjected their friends to the name game…until now.

Bill Reagan touched his great nephew's cheek with a rueful smile. "It looks like you're Baby Boy Mangan for now, buddy."

"Wait a minute," Dan said with a laugh. "We've named him."

"Maura Riley Reagan was Dan's maternal grandmother. She died from smoke inhalation after she rescued Dan's mom and Uncle Bill from a fire at their home," Kensie said with a gentle smile as she looked at Reagan. When the older man's eyes filled with tears, she reached out and took his hand. "We thought we would name the baby 'Riley' in honor of her."

Dan took his wife's other hand and raised it to his lips. When he lowered it, he continued, "Kensie's Uncle Mike was integral in bringing us together so…" He paused dramatically, "Let me introduce you to our son, Riley Michael Mangan."

Just then, a nurse came into the room. "Mr. and Mrs. Mangan? Dr. Belden? The pediatrician has finally made it in. He wants to give the baby its physical as soon as possible so he can get back home." She smiled at the sighs of discontent. "The nursery is small but it has a glass window so all of you can watch Dr. Patil and Baby Mangan from the hallway."

When Helen Belden placed the baby in the nurse's arms, Kensie stiffened and sat up. She watched as the nurse carried the baby to the bassinette. As the woman settled the infant into the bassinette, she tried to get out bed, shaking her head vehemently, "Dan, don't let her…"

When Dan put his arms around her to calm her down, she struggled against him.

"No," she cried anxiously. "Dan, go with him…"

Concerned by her sudden emotional outburst, he shook his head. "Dr. Patil has to see Riley. Moms, Uncle Bill and the rest of the Bob-Whites will go with him but I'm staying with you."

"Let Dan stay here, honey," Helen Belden said as she laid a hand on the distraught young mother's arm. With a smile, she continued reassuringly. "We'll go with the baby."

"He'll be fine," Brian promised. "I'll be with Riley the entire time and Dr. Patil will come by the room to meet you when he's finished."

Kensie nodded slowly and lay back against her husband. Her eyes were still worried as she whispered, "Neither of them has a gun."

Trixie had witnessed her friend's reaction and walked over to the end of the hospital bed. She swallowed convulsively when she saw the distressed look on Kensie's face and heard her low statement. With a grim smile, she reassured her, "But I do and you know that I'll guard him with my life."

"I'm being silly," Kensie said, averting her tear-filled eyes.

"Tennessee?" Trixie said, using the nickname that she had given her friend when they had first met. She waited until the other woman looked back at her and then shook her head and said sadly, "Not when you've seen what we've seen."

"I just had this crazy feeling all of the sudden."

"I won't let him out of my sight," Trixie swore solemnly and then followed the nurse rolling the baby's bassinette out the door. At her friend's promise, Kensie relaxed against her husband and closed her eyes.

Thankful that Kensie was going to try to rest, Dan watched the rest of their friends and family file out of the room after the baby. When Jim didn't follow the rest of them, he looked at his red-headed friend. "You're not going to the nursery?"

"No," Jim answered musingly as he sat down in one of the visitor's chairs. He stared at the woman sleeping in his friend's arms. "She really is beautiful."

Dan snorted and rolled his eyes in amused disgust.

"What?" Jim said defensively. "It's not like I'm lusting over her…"

"No kidding," Dan replied softly, careful not to wake the woman in his arms. "Shit, Jim, you said that like she was freakin' painting in a museum."

"You know she's not my type," the other man said, his face red with embarrassment.

"Yeah, I know that," Dan said, holding up a hand. "But you're lucky I'm too tired to give you a hard time."

The men sat in silence for several minutes.

"She's so much like Trixie."

"Shut up, Frayne," Dan told him, annoyed. He had an uncomfortable idea that this conversation was headed somewhere he didn't want to go and he wanted to stop it before it was too late. "I don't want to hear this."

Jim ignored his friend as he stared at door through which Trixie and the rest of the Bob-Whites had disappeared. "They both have such strong senses of justice—of right and wrong. They're courageous, opinionated, and headstrong. Beautiful. Smart. Funny."

Didn't he hear me tell him I didn't want to hear this? Dan rubbed his forehead tiredly. "They both carry Glocks and hate wearing bullet-proof vests, too. Jim, I don't think…"

Jim cut him off. "She…I mean…they are incredible women."

Dan glowered at the red-haired man. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Kidding?"

"Damn it, Jim," Dan snapped, running a hand through his hair. "You can't do this. It would screw everything up again."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you falling for Trixie."

Jim gave a harsh laugh and stood up abruptly. He paced around the room like a caged cat. "That's the thing, Dan. I never stopped falling for her."

"You were the one who..."

"Damn it, I know," he acknowledged in a tired voice. "I never meant to hurt her. Believe me, if I could go back…"

The two men were quiet for a moment. It was the silence that caused Kensie to stir. Her blue eyes opened and she looked sleepily at the two men. "What's going on?"

Dan shook his head, giving Jim a pointed look and changing the subject. "Just talking."

Resting her head back against her husband, she smiled tiredly. "Talking about what?"

Jim followed Dan's lead as he walked back to the chair by the bed. "The fact that I need to apologize to you."

"For what?"

"For earlier. When you fell…"

Kensie looked up at Jim in surprise, "When I fell? Jim, you didn't make me fall. The street was icy and snow-covered and heaven knows I wasn't very graceful right then."

"I startled you…"

"It wasn't your fault."

"Listen to her, buddy," Dan said told his friend. "Besides if you hadn't seen Kensie on the street, I wouldn't have been here when my son was born."

As MacKensie snuggled closer to Dan's side, she asked, "How did you manage that?"

Jim smiled and sat back down in the visitor's chair. "Well, it was easier than driving you to Tennessee."

Dan looked from Jim to Kensie in confusion. "Tennessee? You wanted to go home?"

Kensie shook her head and blushed. "Not really. When I couldn't get through to you and no one answered in dispatch, I figured that you were working the wreck on the Interstate. If I couldn't have you, I wanted my mom."

Dan looked thoughtful. "I'm sorry that she couldn't be here."

"Me, too," Kensie said and then she sat up, her eyes wide with horror. "Oh my gosh. Did you call my mom and dad?"

"Shit," Dan said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He hit the speed dial letter assigned to Kensie's parents. Groaning, he looked at Kensie, "The battery is dead."

With a smile, Jim put his feet up on bed and crossed them at the ankles. He dug his cell out of his pocket, held it up, and smiled. "You can use mine but you're going to owe me, Mangan."

As Dan took the phone from him, Kensie said, "You still haven't told me how you got in touch with Dan."

"When Dr. Evans came in, I decided to walk over to the police station to see if dispatch could reach him. On my way, I saw that ass…uh…I saw Canaan Davis drive by me. I waved him down and had him call Dan on his radio."

Kensie leaned back against her husband's arm and smiled at the red-haired Bob-White. "I guess I owe you, too. So what do you want? Biscuits? Banana pudding?"

"I love that Southern food you make. Feel free to feed me whenever you want," Jim laughed but then, he shook his head and grew serious. "I want to talk to you about Trixie."

MacKensie stiffened slightly. "There's nothing to talk about, Jim. Trixie's more than one of my best friends. We interned at the Bureau together and were in the same class at the Academy. We've studied together, worked together, even lived together. She's like my sister."

"We've been through a lot, seen things that no one should see." Kensie trailed off for a moment, her hands twisting the blanket covering her. Distracted by memories, she looked anxiously at her husband, "Do you think Riley is okay?"

"Trixie is watching him," Dan reassured her, gently stroking her arm. "He's fine."

"You're right." She took a breath and continued, "When you do what we do for a living, you have to trust the people around you. It's more than a matter of loyalty—it's a matter of life and death. I'd do anything for her." Her face was serious and her eyes were clouded with dark emotions.

"Uh, Kens…" Dan interrupted her, wanting to chase the dark shadows from her eyes. He warned, "She asked me for our son."

Kensie chuckled at her husband's statement. "Well, let me rephrase that. I'd do almost anything for her. She can't have my son." When she turned back to Jim, she was serious again. "You broke her heart, Jim. It doesn't matter how long ago it happened. Trixie is one of the best people I know and it ticks me off that you hurt her."

Jim leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. Then, after a long moment, he said, "I understand that."

"So I guess you want me to forgive you?"

He looked back at her and slowly shook his head. "No, I don't want you to forgive me." His green eyes met and held her blue ones. "I want you to help me get her back."