Okay, so this is a filler chapter. Bobby and Alex are going to be making some very important decisions in the coming days and weeks.
I'm going to ask my readers if they have any suggestions for things that they would like to see included. I will give you a shoutout. I've still got plenty of ideas, but I'm sure that my readers have ideas of their own and I would LOVE to include them in this story... So, PM me or leave a review and I'll gladly work any ideas into the story.
The following day Alex walked into 1PP. She had decided to sleep in and Bobby went into work early. He had some notes that he wanted to go over before court that morning.
Alex sat across from Bobby and they worked in silence. After a few minutes, Alex leaned back in her chair and she laid her hand across her stomach. She'd been feeling little butterflies in her stomach. Knowing that their babies were making their presence known, brought a smile to her face.
She must have had a lazy smile on her face because Bobby leaned forward and asked, "Everything okay?"
She nodded, "Perfect. Everything's perfect. Your sons are making sure I know that they are there."
The smile that came to his face in that moment was brighter than a thousand lightbulbs. However, before he could say anything, Captain Hannah came in and announced, "We have a new case. Eames, are you up to this?"
Bobby looked at his wife and knew what her answer would be before she nodded and stood up to leave. They hurried to the SUV and Bobby immediately went to the passengers seat. Alex climbed into the drivers seat and asked, "Your next partner might not want to drive. What are you going to do then?"
Bobby laughed, "I guess I'll have to get used to driving then. Although you do remember why you do all the driving?"
She laughed and told him, "Of course. I do like living and don't really want to get into a car accident because you get distracted talking rather than paying attention to the road."
"Hey! I only did that once."
She laughed and reminded him, "That's because it was the first and only time I let you drive. Nearly getting sideswiped by a bus was more than enough to teach me that lesson."
Bobby looked at his wife and smiled. They had been together for so long and they had so many memories together. Every time he walked into 1PP he was reminded of all the good times that they'd had together. Reminded of all the laughs they'd shared and all the times that they had fought over the little details of their cases.
He remembered the day that they met. He smiled and asked, "Do you remember the day we met?"
Alex smiled, "Of course. It was the best day of my life."
Bobby laughed and reminded her, "That's not what you said at the time. If I remember correctly you told me that I was the biggest jerk ever to walk the face of the earth."
Alex cringed and said, "That's only because you wouldn't look me in the eye. That and you kept throwing your hands up in the air like a crazy man."
Alex realized what she said and cringed, "Sorry. I didn't..."
"It's okay Alex. I know that I'm not crazy."
"I..."
She stopped what she was saying. Then she sat back in the drivers seat and took his hand and placed it on her stomach. Then she whispered, "Can you feel that?"
Bobby shook his head, "No. Although it's probably like when you were pregnant with Evelyn. I couldn't feel her moving for quite some time. I'd almost given up on ever feeling her moving."
Alex smiled at the memory of the first time that he'd felt their daughter move. He'd been so excited that he had jumped up and shouted it to everyone at 1PP. You would have thought that he'd won the lottery. No amount of money could have made him any happier.
She finally opened the SUV door and climbed out and headed up to the house. Bobby followed closely behind her. He knew that it was going to be a bad scene when he saw the kids toys laying about. Bobby saw one of Evelyn's favorite toys sitting off to the side. It was covered in blood and it caused him to lose his train of thought for a moment. He knew that Alex had seen it when he heard her gasp.
Bobby whispered, "It's not hers. She safe at home with the babysitter."
Alex nodded and continued into the house. Bobby briefed the first officer to arrive on the scene and he learned that there were four dead. Two adults and two small children. The kids were three and six. Their mother was nearly nine months pregnant. It was at that moment that Bobby realized that Alex had stopped behind him and he heard her whisper, "I can't..."
Bobby nodded and watched as she walked outside the room. He heard her sobbing as she left the room. He heard her calling Captain Hannah requesting to be taken off this case. He walked over to her and took the phone. He explained the situation to their boss and he agreed. She didn't need to be on this case. So, they called in the one person that worked just as well with him as Alex.
Alex was sitting in their SUV when she saw another car pull up. She opened her door and went to get out. She was stopped when she saw who it was. Surely they wouldn't have called him in to help with the case. Walking over to him she said, "I never thought they would get you to come back."
Mike Logan smiled, "Well, Bobby called and said that he needed my help. He said that this is a particularly nasty case."
Bobby looked at her as she wiped a tear from her eyes. She nodded and told him, "I'm as tough as anyone, but I can't do this one... It hits too close to home. Thanks for coming Mike. I appreciate it."
Mike nodded and went inside the house to find Bobby. He still couldn't believe that Goren and Eames had hooked up. He knew that everyone had thought that they were together for years. He was glad that they had finally gotten their act together and admitted their feelings for each other. He had to admit that they made some very cute kids.
Walking into the house he noticed the blood on the toys in and all of his happy thoughts evaporated. This was one of the most gruesome scenes that he'd ever seen. Then, when he walked into the parents bedroom he knew that it was the most gruesome. The mother had a man's tie around her neck. It appeared that she had been strangled. The father had been shot and so had their daughter's. Mike told Bobby, "Thanks for thinking of me on this one Goren. You couldn't have picked a worse case."
"Sorry. Eames can't handle this one. It hits too close to home for her."
Mike nodded, "I can understand that. She looked very upset when I got here."
Bobby and Mike proceeded to investigate the scene. It was a few hours before they were able to clear everything. The bodies were sent back to 1PP and Bobby noticed that Alex was still waiting for him. She had lowered the seat in the SUV and she had fallen asleep. He climbed into the SUV and shook her awake gently. She opened her eyes slowly and asked, "Ready to leave?"
"You could have went back without me."
The tears came fast at that point. She told him quickly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let this case effect me like this. It's just seeing those poor babies like that... I kept seeing Evelyn. Kept imaging that it was her and..."
Bobby took her hand in his and whispered, "I know. That shows what a great mom you are. You love our daughter and you're going to love our sons."
"I don't know if I can do this anymore. I love our partnership, but this was too much. I can't stop crying about that poor family. I love you, but this case... Seeing those poor babies... It was just too much to handle. That can't happen in our line of work. It could get you killed."
She reached over and took his hand. She gave it a quick squeeze and whispered, "I couldn't deal with me being responsible for anything happening to you. I love you too much for that."
They finally reached the house and she parked the SUV in the garage. He could tell that she was extremely upset by everything that had happened today. Especially when instead of waiting for him to follow her, she rushed inside the house. When he got inside he saw that she had gotten down on the floor with Evelyn and was playing dolls with her. She was definitely a girly girl. She loved dresses and dolls. Pink and purple were her favorite colors and she had a purse that matched her mom's.
Seeing his favorite girls together made Bobby smile. He never thought that he would be this happy. When Alex realized that he was in the room with them, she looked up at him and smiled a watery smile. He smiled back and mouthed, "I love you."
She mouthed it back to him and he smiled. He told her, "I'm going to go make dinner."
Alex simply nodded and kept playing with Evelyn. He knew that this was important to her. She needed to spend time with their daughter to assure herself that she was safe and protected from the evils that they saw on a daily basis.
He made grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner. It was Evelyn's favorite meal. He called them both to the table and smiled as Evelyn let out a whoop of joy. Alex smiled and kissed him softly before she sat down at the table.
As they got ready for bed that night, Alex shivered and climbed into bed with Bobby. He took her in his arms and whispered, "Do you remember the night we met? Do you remember what I said to you?"
She smiled and nodded. She remembered it like it was yesterday. She whispered, "You told me that having sympathy for the victims was one of the things that made a good major case detective. That if you lose that then you might as well quit."
She nodded and whispered, "I've always tried to live by that. I'm just not sure that I can do it anymore. Our family is the most important thing to me now. Seeing that family... I just kept imagining Evelyn and the twins. I kept seeing you... I would die if anything happened to you or our children."
He held her while she cried and knew that she was on the verge of a breakdown. She finally told him, "I'm done. I not sure I can do this anymore Bobby."
Bobby nodded and kissed the top of her head. He knew that he would support her in whatever she did. However, he didn't want her to make a rash decision based on what happened that day. So, he told her, "I'll support you no matter what Alex. If you want to quit I will support you. Just don't make any rash decisions."
She nodded and he held her tight. She took in his strength and fell asleep in his arms. He watched her as she slept and knew that he would do anything to protect her. He fell asleep shortly after she did.
However, she woke up screaming and hour later. She was thrashing around the bed and hitting him. She was screaming, "Noooooooooooo!"
He sat straight up in bed and looked at her. He tried to wake her, but she was flailing around in bed and hitting him whenever he came close to her. He finally took hold of her arms and yelled, "Eames! Wake up! It's me! Goren!"
She looked around their bedroom and her eyes were wide with fright. She was breathing fast and whispered, "You're okay..."
Bobby nodded, "Are you?"
Alex shook her head, "No. I had a nightmare. Someone killed you and Evelyn. They kidnapped the twins after they were born and..."
She started sobbing hysterically and Bobby knew then that there was nothing he could do to calm her down. So, he picked her up out of bed and carried her to their daughter's bedroom. He picked up the cover and placed his wife into the bed with their daughter. She looked up at her husband and smiled sadly. She knew that she was being overly emotional, but this case was taking it's toll on her.
Maybe her hormones were playing a trick cruel trick on her. Normally it took a lot for her to be effected by a case, but this one hit very close to home. She whispered, "I love you."
Bobby smiled at her softly. He knelt beside the bed and held her hand while she held their daughter. She fell asleep smelling their daughter's hair and she slept through the night. Nightmare free...
