The next day, Bobby woke on the couch. He couldn't bring himself to go upstairs. He didn't want to see any of it. He stared at the ceiling for a while until Buster whined and started licking his hand.
"All right," Bobby said, getting up. "Where's your food at?" Buster charged to the kitchen and stood in front of the pantry door. Bobby bent down to pull out the dog food and put it in Buster's bowl. He changed the water dish too. While Buster happily munched and crunched, Bobby stood and debated what to do next. He felt the walls of the house close in on him, and he couldn't take it any longer. He grabbed the truck keys and went out.
...
Tara was exhausted. She couldn't sleep on the plane, and they would land in about four more hours. She dreaded flying back after this. She decided that over 21 hour flights weren't her thing. To pass the time, she thought about Bobby. Where was he now? What was he doing? Was he okay? She wished this hadn't happened to him. She'd give anything to go back in time and change it. To her surprise, she wasn't really thinking about Stanley. She didn't know what that meant. The snoring man beside her shifted and snuffled loudly in her ear, making her wince. This flight couldn't end soon enough.
...
Bobby stood outside the ruined restaurant and felt like he was going to throw up. There was law enforcement everywhere. Bobby hung back outside the crime tape and watched. After a while, Detective Munroe spotted him.
"Bobby," he said, nodding as he approached.
"What have they found so far?" Bobby asked.
"A whole lot of nothin'," Munroe sighed. "The fire unfortunately did a lot of damage to the crime scene."
"Of course," Bobby said bitterly. He rubbed the back of his neck. This wreck was the last place his parents went.
"I have the coroner's full report if you want to come back to my office and go over it," Munroe offered. "I'll be there in about half an hour."
"All right," Bobby agreed. As much as it killed him to know he'd hear how they died, he needed to know.
...
Jack hung up the phone and rubbed his face. Bobby had just given him the news, and he couldn't believe it. Sue was watching him carefully when he finally looked up.
"What is it?" she asked. The others turned their attention to him as well. Jack was starting to hate being the bearer of all bad news.
"Bobby just called. He said his mother and step father were murdered. He's staying to help with the investigation."
"That's terrible!" Lucy cried, her face crumpled in anguish. Sue wiped a tear away quickly.
"How can we help?" D asked urgently.
"We can't," Jack answered sadly. "Bobby's been given jurisdiction, but they won't give it to us. Not being over here."
"Then we go there," Myles said matter of factly. Jack shook his head.
"I love your enthusiasm, and I wish I was on the next plane there, but we can't leave in the middle of our case here," Jack told them. There was a collective sigh of frustration in the room.
"Wait, where's Tara?" Myles asked, suddenly noticing her empty desk. Lucy fiddled with her fingers nervously.
"Luce?" Sue prompted. "They need to know."
"What's going on?" Jack asked, confused.
"Tara went to Australia," Lucy blurted out.
"Tara...she what?!" Jack exclaimed. "But we need her here!"
"She wanted to support Bobby at the funeral. She has no idea what really happened. She'll find out when she gets there," Lucy winced.
"So she just up and left? In the middle of a case?" Jack demanded. Lucy nodded. He sighed roughly. She was going to have to face Garrett when she got back. He didn't envy her.
...
Bobby wiped his face with cold water and stared at himself in the mirror. He had just finished throwing up after seeing the photos of his parents. Whoever had killed them had been a professional. It made him enraged. He dried off and went back to Munroe, who was tapping his fingers on the desk.
"Is there any reason you can think of for your mother and step father to be murdered?" he asked when Bobby sat back down. He kept his distance from the photos.
"No," Bobby shook his head. "They were farmers. They led quiet lives."
"Is there anyone from your past who may have decided to get revenge on you?" Munroe pressed. Bobby grew quiet. It was possible. As an FBI agent, he had lots of enemies.
"I can ask Jack to go through my old files," Bobby said after a moment. "See if there are any threats."
"That's a good idea," Munroe nodded. "A good place to start at least. I will go through their latest phone calls and mail. Are you all right if we search your folks' place?"
"Of course. I expected it," Bobby answered. "I only slept on the couch and fed the dog. I didn't do or touch anything else."
"All right," Munroe said. "I'll round up a team right now. Why don't you go have lunch and take a break?"
"Sounds good," Bobby agreed. He didn't know if he'd be able to eat, though. He left while Munroe made some calls. His watch said it was after one thirty. The morning had gone fast. He meandered to his old favorite restaurant and sat down.
"Coffee, luv?" the waitress asked.
"Sure."
"Coming right up," she smiled warmly. Bobby briefly smiled back. His mind was going over all recent cases of his. He couldn't think of anyone who wanted revenge. Perhaps it was an older file. When his coffee came, he stared at it. He suddenly didn't have the heart to drink it.
"Thanks," he said, pulling out some money. The waitress put her hand over his.
"I know you're Paula's boy," she said. "This is on me. I'm awfully sorry about what happened."
"I really don't mind..." he started. She shook her head firmly.
"Your money is no good here," she insisted.
"You're too kind," Bobby said, putting it away.
"Just come back, you hear?" she instructed. He nodded and left slowly. He walked down main street and pondered on how much it had changed. Then, he noticed someone walking around and looking lost. He peered at them, feeling as though he knew them. The figure turned to face him, and he felt his stomach drop. Either he was losing his mind, or she was really here.
"Tara?!"
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