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Chapter 10

On The Road Again

"Well, the phone line is still down." Alex sighed as she took her seat next to Bobby at the table.

"Some Christmas." Logan took another sip of his coffee.

Alex put her hand to her mouth. "I forgot! My parents will be going crazy."

Danny tapped his cup with a spoon, getting everyone's attention. "Detective, as soon as we can get to where our cell phones have a signal, you'll be able to call them. Now, how are we going to get the vehicles out?" He looked around the table, hoping someone had an idea.

Bobby was about to open his mouth to speak, when they heard the front door open. An older woman's voice called out. "Hello?"

Ross went to the swinging door, and gently pushed on it, revealing a woman, and a sheriff. Danny's eyes fell to the drawn weapon, he stepped into the entry, letting the door swing shut. His hands immediately went up. "Captain Ross, NYPD, Major Case Squad."

The sheriff lowered his weapon. "Where are the others?"

He nodded towards the door. "Kitchen."

Just then, the door slowly swung opened and the three detectives joined their Captain. The sheriff shook his head, holstering his weapon. "You have a lot of people looking for you."

The sheriff quickly introduced himself as Harlan Cooper, and the woman, Maggie Hanes, his mother-in-law. "We were just coming over to feed the animals. We found your vehicles parked in the ditch. Figured you had to be close by."

The sheriff walked to the phone and lifted it to his ear. He frowned setting it back down. Maggie looked Logan and Ross up and down. "Are those Birney's clothes?"

Logan nodded apologetically. "We stayed in the barn, and needed a change."

The woman smiled. "I never did like throwing things away. Always thought that some day, they could be used."

Alex looked in the old woman's face. "I'm sorry about the door. But, we had to get in out of the storm."

The woman nodded. "Well, that's far better than freezing to death. That," She pointed at the pane of glass. "that's easy to replace."

Maggie turned towards the sheriff. "Harlan, how can we help these people?"

Three hours later, Harlan pulled the second vehicle from the ditch with the aid of a tractor. Other than a few added dings, neither were badly damaged. Mike threw their bag of clothes into the back. He wasn't sure if the clothes should be cleaned, or just burned. As they let the vehicles warm up, the detectives and the Captain stood on the road side, talking. Ross looked at Logan. "You riding with me, or them?"

"I'll ride with you, Cap. I have a feeling those two have a few things to talk about." He moved his gloved thumb towards Alex and Bobby.

Ross glanced curiously at the two detectives. Bobby shuffled his feet uncomfortably, as Alex glared at Mike.

Hearing the vehicles idle down, Ross nodded, though not quite sure what Logan was referring to. He opened his door. "Come on detective, let's go."

Mike grinned, as he moved towards the passenger side of the vehicle. Alex walked up to him, and put a hand on his arm, stopping him. "I thought you said, 'what happens in Connecticut, stays in Connecticut'?" Her voice was low and threatening.

Logan looked down the road. "From my calculations, we have about a forty-five minute drive to the State Line. Captain and I might need something to talk about." He looked down at her with a sly twinkle in his eyes.

A thin smile played on Alex's lips. "Then there's one thing you need to know."

She pulled her cell phone from her pocket. Flipping it open, she turned it towards Mike. His face went ashen. "You wouldn't!"

Her smile broadened. "Want to find out?"

Mike swallowed thickly. "I guess we could discuss animal husbandry."

"Thought so." She clicked the phone shut and slipped it back into pocket, lightly patting it.

Bobby couldn't hear what was being said, but from Mike's expression, he knew Alex had the upper hand. He grinned, as he opened the driver's door for her. Alex was about to step inside, when she stopped, and removed her foot from the running board. "Why don't you drive?"

He raised a brow, giving her a questioning look. "Are you sure?"

She walked around to the passenger side of the SUV. "Yeah. I'm sure."

Alex clicked her phone shut and smiled at Bobby. "They're all at my folks' home, waiting for us."

Bobby shook his head. "Alex..."

"I'm not taking no for an answer Bobby." She shook her head adamantly.

Sighing, Bobby nodded. He knew his partner all too well, and when she spoke in that tone, there was no persuading her differently.

Captain Ross leaned back in his seat. The roads were in pretty good shape, and with the sun shining, travel was better than when they left the precinct the day before. He glanced at Logan, who was in deep conversation on the cell phone. Just what did he mean about Bobby and Alex needing to talk? Are they...involved? He shook his head and couldn't imagine any woman, let alone Detective Eames putting up with his idiosyncrasies. She's too level headed for that.

Mike clicked off the phone, scowling. "Well, it's a bust. Angie already has plans for the day. Some Merry Christmas.

Danny cocked his head. "Angie, where have I heard that name before? Someone I know?"

Logan shifted uneasily in his seat. A shudder went through his body. "Ah, it's a pretty common name, Captain. I am sure you have heard it before."

He shook his head. "Seems like I heard it just recently."

Mike's mouth went dry. The last thing I need, is to be reminded of that! "I'm sure you have." Mike looked out the window trying to escape the conversation.

Bobby's phone rung, frowning, he looked down at his pocket. Not wanting to remove his hands from the steering wheel, he glanced at his partner. "Ah, Eames, could you get that?"

Alex reached into his coat pocket and pulled it out. She pursed her lips as she looked at the screen. "It's Mike."

Bobby sighed. "See what he wants."

"Hey Mike, what's up?"

Mike pulled the phone away from his ear, glancing at the screen. Putting it back up to his ear, he asked, "I did call Bobby's cell, didn't I?"

"Yeah, he's driving. Asked me to answer it."

Mike chuckled. "Driving! That's a first. Already monitoring his calls, Alex?"

She gritted her teeth. "No, he just didn't want to be distracted." Especially by you, Logan. "What do you want?"

Bobby furrowed his brow at the sound of her voice. Dammit Mike, quit baiting her.

"Oh, just wondering what Bobby's plans are for today." He leaned back, enjoying the tease.

"We're going to go over to my folks." The words came out all too fast. Alex instantly wished she hadn't answered so freely. Now he'll really get his digs in.

"Ah. Meeting the parents, good move Alex." He grinned into the phone, enjoying himself.

Alex growled. "Three words Logan. Photo, Internet Access. Best part? I can do that from right here."

Mike gulped, his grin quickly faded. "Tell the ol' man I'll catch up with him later."

She didn't wait for his response, clicking the phone closed she tossed it into the console. Bobby glanced at her, then at the phone. "What did he want?"

She shrugged. "He'll probably call you later."

Captain Ross chewed the inside of his bottom lip in thought. "Ah..., Angie, that was the name you were calling out, when..."

Logan wiped his face with his hands. Shit, he did hear me! He quickly interrupted Ross, his voice was low and monotone. "Yeah."

Danny slightly swerved, missing a chunk of snow dropped by a big rig. "So, what's she like?"

Logan slowly moved his hands from face, giving the Captain a side glance. "Captain, I don't think..."

Ross nodded, slightly sighing to himself. The hardest part of this job, is that whether I'm on duty or off duty, I'm still the Captain, nothing more, nothing less.

Logan watched as the Captain slowly shook his head. He leaned his head against the headrest. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled. "She's a nice young woman. Intelligent, funny, not afraid to try new things." He smiled, turning his head towards Danny. "She would have thought that being stranded in the middle of a snow storm, in a barn, was some kind of an adventure."

Danny grinned back at him. "It was."

Mike laughed. "Yeah, I guess it was at that."