Jamie stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching Bobby juggle eggs. Much to Daylan's delight, Bobby would throw one up in the air, catching it behind his back, causing the three year old to laugh and say "Do it again!" Even Lilly was in awe of the big detective, kicking her legs and cooing every time Bobby would stop to make faces at the infant.
"You're quite the showman," Jamie said as she entered the kitchen.
"Thanks. Hey, watch this," Bobby said, bending down so he was face to face with Lilly. Bobby stuck out his tongue and began to move it side to side and up and down. Lilly's eyes followed his every movement before sticking out her tongue and repeating the motions. Bobby smiled proudly saying, "Good job, Chipmunk!" Looking up at Jamie he said, "Isn't that neat?"
"Very," Jamie replied, laughing.
"What smells so good," she asked as she ventured further into the kitchen.
"Me and 'tective Bobby are making boo berry pancakes," Daylan said, with more pancake batter on him than in the skillet.
Jamie walked over to the counter. Wiping pancake batter off Daylan's mouth she asked, "Honey, you do realize that you should probably cook the pancakes before you eat them?"
"It's good, sides, 'tective Bobby does it," was the little boy's response.
Bobby gave Jamie a boyish grin and shrugged his shoulders. "It's a guy thing," Bobby said, sticking his finger in the bowl, and then licking off the batter.
Jamie just rolled her eyes as she tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a laugh.
Bobby lifted Daylan off the counter, wiping the little boy's mouth with a dishtowel. He said, "Go wash up little big man, and let me talk to your mom for a minute."
Daylan hurried down the hall leaving Jamie and Bobby alone in the kitchen.
"So," Bobby asked, "are you ready for later?"
Jamie looked away to gather her thoughts, before finally returning her gaze to Bobby. "No, I'm not. I don't want to do this and I honestly don't know if I'll be able to. But, I don't really have a choice do I? Then again Sam has always been good at leaving me without a choice."
At Bobby's raised eyebrow, Jamie answered his unspoken question. "Sam is my ex-husband. I left almost a year and a half ago. After I filed for divorce, he came after me. Needless to say, things didn't end well. I take that back, something good did come from that night. At least I think so," Jamie said, smoothing Lilly's hair and smiling lovingly at her daughter.
"So, ummm, he's done this before," Bobby asked.
Jamie nodded her head, staying focused on Lilly.
"Did you report it to the police?"
"It wouldn't have done any good," Jamie said softly.
"Why do you say that? They would've arrested him, put him in jail, they would've…"
"Bobby, they never done anything all the other times I went to them. They just called him to come and get me so we could work things out in private."
"They what," Bobby exclaimed, the anger showing in his voice. Bobby instantly regretted the harshness of his tone as Jamie slightly jumped and took a step a back.
"Jamie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."
"It's okay; you're okay. I know that," Jamie said more to reassure herself than Bobby.
"Why wouldn't they arrest him,' Bobby gently asked her.
"Because you don't arrest cops," Jamie softly replied.
Before Bobby could respond, Daylan came bouncing back into the kitchen. "Can I have chocolate milk to go with my pancakes," he asked eagerly.
"You can have orange juice," Jamie said, smiling brightly at her son.
It impressed Bobby at how easily Jamie was able to hide her emotions; it also worried him.
Daylan was sitting on the couch swinging his legs back and forth when Bobby came into the living room after breakfast. "Whatcha doing, little big man?" Bobby asked.
"Waitin' on Mama to come and tie my shoes."
"Lucky for you, I'm an expert shoe tier," Bobby said sitting down on the couch and lifting Daylan's foot up to his lap.
"Are you okay? You've been very quiet since breakfast," Bobby asked.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking," Daylan replied.
"About what?"
"My dad."
"What about your dad," Bobby asked as he finished tying Daylan's shoes.
"He don't like us much, does he?" Daylan asked.
"Why do you say that?"
"He's mean to us, 'specially Mama. He likes to hurt her and you're not 'possed to hurt the people you love."
"No, you're not," Bobby gently replied.
"Why does he do that, 'tective Bobby," Daylan asked. There was a sadness in his eyes that Bobby recognized. It was a look he had seen often in his own face as a child; a look he still sometimes saw.
"Dads can do very stupid things and sometimes that means hurting the people who love them."
"That is stupid," Daylan said solemnly.
"Yeah, it is," Bobby replied, pulling Daylan over into his lap and giving him a gentle hug.
"Can you make him go away, 'tective Bobby," Daylan asked next, looking at Bobby with pleading eyes.
"Don't you worry little big man, I'll make him go away," Bobby said, cradling Daylan against his chest and pressing his check against the top of Daylan's head. "I promise."
Jamie stood off to the side, silently watching the exchange between Bobby and Daylan. She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer, asking God to please let Bobby be telling the truth.
Bobby could feel the nervousness radiating off Jamie as they rode the elevator to the 11th floor. She played with the hem of her shirt, chewed on her thumb nail, and continuously tucked her hair behind her ear. Even Daylan's constant chatter wasn't enough to distract her and Bobby wondered if Jamie would be able to go through with this.
As the bell dinged and the doors opened, Bobby took Jamie by the hand and smiled at her reassuringly.
"You ready?" he asked.
Jamie drew in a shaky breath and nodded her head.
Alex watched as her partner stepped off the elevator. She was caught off guard by how natural it looked for Bobby to have an infant carrier in one hand and a three year old bouncing at his feet. What really surprised Alex was how she felt when she saw how Bobby looked at Jamie. It wasn't jealousy; that ship had sailed, for use of a better term. Any romantic notions Alex had harbored, and there had been a few, had quickly dissolved, leaving them with a deep and lasting friendship that Alex wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Even if she did want to kill him sometimes. No, what she was feeling was envy. Not since Joe had a man looked at her the way Bobby was looking at Jamie. It was a look of love, understanding, and acceptance; a look Alex missed seeing. It was a look that she hoped Jamie saw.
"Jamie, this is my partner, Detective Alex Eames," Bobby said as they approached.
"Hello Jamie, it's nice to meet you," Alex said, reaching to shake Jamie's hand.
Jamie hesitated, not wanting to let go of Bobby. So far his firm grip on her hand was the only thing keeping her in the building.
"Hello Detective," Jamie whispered, finally letting go of Bobby to shake Alex's hand.
Bobby could sense Jamie's trepidation and quickly moved his hand to the small of her back.
"Bobby, why don't you take Jamie to #1 and I'll go get Ross," Alex said, unsure of what to make of Bobby's protective gesture.
Bobby gave Alex a small smile as he led Jamie to the interrogation room.
Ross had been watching the exchange through the window of his office. Investigation-wise he didn't like what he saw.
"Goren's going to be an obstacle," he thought to himself. "He's too emotionally involved. Not the first time it's happened, but this time it's different."
Ross hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel yet another migraine fast approaching, something that had become common place when dealing with his best detective.
"Damnit Goren, why do you have to be such a pain in the ass," Ross whispered to himself as the throbbing in his head turned into a sharp stabbing pain.
"Captain, Bobby's here with Ms... Are you alright, sir," Alex asked stepping inside the office and stopping short when she saw the pain on her captain's face.
"I'm fine, Eames, thank you. Goren does know that he can't be there when we question Ms. Hollis, doesn't he," Ross asked.
"Of course Captain. I thought that he could observe...."
"No," Ross stated firmly, cutting off Alex. "Goren cannot be involved in this investigation."
"But Captain, this is Bobby we're talking about. Trust me, this will be a lot easier if we just let him help out on this," Alex said.
"Eames, I read the medical reports and I saw Ms. Hollis's injuries that night at the hospital. I will not let some scumbag defense attorney get this guy off on a technicality. And I will not let Goren be that technicality."
Alex took a deep breath; she hated being between her partner and her captain. The cop in her knew she needed to listen to her captain, but the rest of her wanted to protect her partner.
"Is that understood, Eames," Ross asked in a no-nonsense tone.
"Yes, Captain," Alex replied. "But Bobby's not going to like it," she thought to herself.
Bobby was just about to re-enter the interrogation room as Captain Ross and Eames approached.
"Where are you going, Detective," Ross asked.
"Back in there with Jamie," Bobby said, hooking his thumb towards the door.
"What about the kids, Bobby? They really don't need to hear this. Maybe you should keep them out here," Alex said.
"I know that Eames, that's why Wheeler's watching them for me. She jumped at the chance to get away from the new guy for a bit," Bobby said half laughing. "What's going on," he asked, looking from Eames to the Captain.
"You can't be involved in this, Detective," Ross said compassionately.
"But, Captain, Jamie's scared and vulnerable right now," Bobby stammered. "She doesn't know the two of you and if you push too hard, you'll lose her. I need to be able to run interference," Bobby insisted.
"We won't push too hard," Ross said becoming irritated.
Bobby ran his hand over the back of his neck and pressed his lips tightly together, while trying to calm the sudden rush of anger. "She needs me with her, Captain," Bobby said, stressing every word.
"Does she need you, or do you need her," Ross quietly asked.
"What," Bobby nearly shouted, an astonished look on his face.
"Bobby, I think the Captain may feel that you're too close," Alex said, stepping in between the two men; trying to defuse the situation. She placed a gentle but firm hand on Bobby's arm and looked him right in the eye. "Now, please trust us. If there's any problem I'll come and get you. We've got this Bobby," she reassured him as he turned his face away from hers.
"What if she needs me, Eames," Bobby asked softly, a helpless look on his usually stoic face.
"She'll be fine, Bobby. She's stronger than you realize, stronger than she realizes," Alex said. She followed Ross into the interrogation room, leaving her partner standing alone in the hallway.
