Chapter Eleven
"Bobby?" a woman's voice called. "Come to me."
He was having a dream. She woke him as she slid in the king-size bed.
He reached over to touch her, but all he touched was empty sheets. Bobby opened his eyes, assessing the room. She was nowhere to be found. He threw his head back and sighed. Through the years after he fell in love with her, he would have dreams about her. Her being in his thoughts soothed him to sleep. Many a nights she would put him to sleep.
God, I miss her. Bobby thought, rolling over to look at the digital clock on the nightstand next to the bed. It read 5:34 AM. He groaned. Too earlier to get up. He didn't have to get up for work until 6:45.
It was then that he heard his son screaming at the top of his lungs. Bobby jumped up, grabbed his off-duty gun on the nightstand and ran to Ian's room. There was no one in the apartment, so his thoughts turned to something must be wrong with Ian. Ian cried fiercely. He stood up, leaning against the railing with his arms thrust upward.
"What's the matter?" Bobby picked him up and instantly knew what the problem was. He was burning up. His sleeping clothes were drenched with sweat and Ian's body temperature was so high that the heat seeped through. Bobby sat him back in the crib, ran to grab the baby bag, threw clothes, socks, diapers, a few toys, and a pair of socks in there. He then ran to the refrigerator to get two bottles. He placed them in the bag.
Carrying both the baby bag and Ian in his arms, Bobby grabbed keys, his badge, his cell phone, and their coats. Then, he took off to the car. He strapped his son in the car seat, shut the door, and ran to the driver's side. He got strapped in and turned the ignition. It started smoothly.
"Hold on, Ian. I'll get you there." Bobby promised as he rushed to the hospital.
At the hospital, the nurses rushed to the poor toddler's aid. Bobby stepped back while two nurses and a doctor worked on Ian. Another nurse stood by Bobby, asking information.
"This is the first time he's been this sick. I want to know what they believe it is!" Bobby couldn't think of anything but making sure that his child would live.
"Sir, they're trying to assess his situation. You'll have to wait. I'm sorry." She insisted. Bobby wanted nothing more than to hold Ian and soothe him. His screams were bloody.
Bobby slid into his flustered-and-not-thinking-straight self. He only got this way when he was terribly upset. Alex usually knew what to do. But she wasn't here to calm him.
"Oh my god! I gotta call her." Bobby walked in the waiting room and called her. When she answered groggily, he practically yelled into the phone. "Alex? Something's wrong with Ian. He's all hot and sweaty. I don't know what to do!"
"Bobby? What! Okay, calm down. I'm sure he's got a fever or something mild." Alex said, soothing him. Bobby began to relax. She had that power over him.
"I told your parents the truth. Everything."
"Why would you do that?" Alex screamed.
"They deserve to know! I want our son to have some kind of extended family!" Bobby matched her. "I gotta call them! Bye, love." He hung up before she had the chance to say anything.
He was calmer with her parents. "John, it's Bobby. Ian's in the ER."
"What? Do you want us to come?" John sat up and poked Beth. "Beth, get up. Ian's in the emergency room. Let's go." He went back to talking to Bobby. "We'll be there as soon as possible."
"Okay, thanks." Bobby was relieved. He sat down. Then, he ended the call and called Alex back.
They talked a while. He kept reassuring her that he'd take care of everything, that Ian would be all right even though he wasn't for sure. It wasn't until Ross started beeping in that Bobby realized he'd missed work. "Alex, it's Ross. I missed going in. I'll call you back."
"Detective Goren, where the hell are you? I've got a worried partner at the station." Ross demanded.
"Sorry, I missed. Ian's in the ER. He got sick sometime during the night. I gotta take the day off." Bobby truly felt bad.
Ross' voice softened. "I understand. Take all the time you need. Keep me posted on the little guy."
"Thanks, Captain." Bobby hung up. The nurse came up to him and ushered him back to Ian's room. "What's the matter with my son?"
As the doctor explained that Ian had a fever of 102, Bobby rubbed Ian's hot cheek just like he always did to soothe him. The employees saw how the father-son bond was so strong. They left soon after they explained.
Ian had an IV in his small hand and a breathing cord in his nose. He looked so helpless, so breakable. Bobby didn't like it. He wanted so badly to pick him up and pace around the room. He didn't dare do that, though. Ian looked up at him with wild eyes, pleading eyes.
"I'm sorry, son. I can't." Bobby stayed by his side, never leaving even after Ian fell asleep.
John and Beth arrived while he slept. Bobby had been snoozing in the chair, but he opened his eyes when he heard their footsteps. "Thanks for making it."
"Why, of course." John grabbed the other chair and held it for Beth, who took the chair. Then, he briefly walked out to grab one for himself.
Bobby didn't speak. Instead, he kept his attention on his son. In the wake of his mother's death and disappearance of his brother, his world seemed to spiral downward. It had hung by a thread when he learned of the hit on Alex. The one person who only showed support and caring had walked out on him, but not by her choice. No one could help him as he lived that year haphazardly on a one-way street to destruction.
But the day he found out that he had a son was the day that a light had crept into his dark and near-death world. Ian was family, a member that wouldn't walk out on him or fake loving him. He wanted nothing to break up their tight bond.
As he watched his son, his heart was breaking at the thought that he was helpless. An image of losing his only close family member, besides Alex, hit him hard. Bobby wanted so badly to go off on the nurses and doctor that attended to Ian's aid. Yelling at them would probably get him kicked out, and Ian needed him. So he remained quiet.
"Bobby…" John's voice trailed. Bobby looked up at the older man. He looked exhausted, and instantly Bobby wished that he hadn't called them. "You look like you need some coffee." He rose. "Come on. Beth can stay with him until we get back."
Bobby looked from the man and woman to the sleeping child. Ian had come no closer to making a distraction for Bobby to decline, so he accepted, standing alongside John. The men walked out of the room, talking mostly about Ian and Alex as they went down to the hall.
