Bobby's POV

I stood back and watched Steph working in the closet. She'd been completely silent since we began the process of helping her to pack Ric's things away for storage, and a quiet Steph was never a good thing. I could tell that she was hanging on by a thread, but I also knew that this would be good for her in the long run and was something that she needed to do. Any one of us would do this for her if we could spare her the pain, but unfortunately we couldn't.

"How do you think she's doing?" Les asked quietly as Tank walked into the closet to carry more of the clothes she'd set aside to be packed.

"I think it's just a matter of time until she has a breakdown," I whispered as I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. "Damn it, I just wish there was something I could do!"

"We're all doing everything that we possibly can, man. You know that," Les reminded me gently. "We can only do so much."

I nodded solemnly and walked into the bathroom to gather Ric's personal hygiene items just as Steph and Tank finished the closet. She walked into the bathroom behind me and sat down on the side of the bathtub just staring straight ahead as I worked. I finished boxing his things from the sink and then moved to the shower to grab his shower gel and shampoo.

"No!" Steph screamed in a panic. "No, you can't pack that. Please, no. I need to keep it – to keep him," she sobbed, and I quickly dropped what I was holding and sat on the floor in front of her. She was shaking and pale, and she instantly slid down into my lap and burrowed into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her tightly and kissed her forehead, desperate to do anything I could to calm her down.

"You can keep whatever you want, sweetheart. I'm sorry; I wasn't trying to take anything that's important to you," I whispered as I held her.

"His shower gel. It always made me feel safe and protected and loved. I used to love the way my bedroom in my old apartment smelled after he'd come to visit at night. It's the last thing that I have that makes me feel like he's still here," she whispered amidst her sobs, and I just held her tighter.

"You can keep it, I promise. You've done such a great job tonight. Do you want to stop for the night?" I offered.

She sniffled and nodded. "Yeah, I don't think I can do anymore right now. I want to talk with Amy."

I pulled my phone off of my belt and fired off a quick text to Ram asking him to send Amy up and then went back to rocking Steph back and forth when suddenly I noticed two sets of eyes watching us intently. I could see questions and realization dawning in their gazes and knew an uncomfortable conversation was coming.

I heard the door a few minutes later and then saw Amy walk into the room. "Do you want to sit in your bed so you'll be more comfortable, sweetheart?" I asked Steph softly.

"Please," she whispered. I stood and carried her to her bed while Les, Tank, and Amy were watching and then kissed her on the forehead.

"I'll shut the door on the way out, but we'll just be in the living room if you need anything," I told her gently. I followed Les and Tank out of the bedroom and shut the door behind us quietly and then looked up to see them both assessing me.

"Can we at least have a beer for this conversation?" I asked as I walked to the kitchen. I grabbed three bottles from the fridge since none of us were on call tonight, and then we all walked to the living room. I sat down on the couch and watched them both eye me warily.

"Out with it," I demanded tersely. I wasn't in the mood to have them look at me suspiciously or treat me like I was doing something wrong, because I wasn't.

"How long has this been doing on?" Tank ground out.

"Nothing's "going on", as you put it. Steph and I are just friends," I insisted.

"You were looking at her the same way that Ric did. How long have you loved her?" Les pressed. I sighed and took a pull off of my beer.

"For longer than I can remember," I confessed quietly. "But I promise you, there's nothing going on other than me trying to support my best friend in any way I can while she mourns the loss of her husband."

"And just what do you think is going to happen after she has mourned and is ready to move on?" Tank asked. I could see by the look on his face that he wasn't happy with this.

"Let me go get something from my apartment and I'll be right back," I said. I stood to leave and Tank physically blocked the way.

"Don't think for a second that you can disappear and this conversation will be over," he threatened, and I chuckled quietly.

"You should know me better than that. I just have something that will help to explain everything and might keep you from wanting to kill me slowly."

I stepped around Tank and walked to the door. "If Steph comes out while I'm gone tell her I'll be right back," I instructed before walking out the door. I took the stairs down to my apartment and retrieved the letter from the safe in my closet before running back up the stairs in hopes of getting out some of the aggression that I felt over being accused of doing something wrong. Tank and Les were both sitting there watching the door when I came back in. I walked back to my spot and sat down. I turned the letter over in my hands and looked up at the two men who were like brothers to me.

"When Hunter came for the reading of the will – do you remember him handing me a letter?" I asked, and they both nodded silently. "It was from Ric. I think maybe it will help to explain things." I took the letter out of the envelope and handed it over to Tank and Les. Tank opened it up and they both began to read it. I took another drink of my beer and sat back and watched their faces change as they read the words Ric had written. They both looked up at me several minutes later, and the tension level in the room had dropped drastically.

"Does that answer your questions?" I asked quietly. I didn't want to do anything to cause a rift between the three of us and needed them to understand.

"You really love her?" Les asked.

"More than anything," I confirmed. "Every word in there is true – I haven't dated or taken a women to bed in a long time because it felt like cheating on Steph, even though she was married to Ric at the time."

"And you'll treat her right if she wants to be with you sometime down the road?" Tank asked. "You two are already so close. You'll have to be committed way before you ever let her know how you feel; I don't think we could put her back together again if you started something with her and then walked away."

"I've been committed this whole time," I affirmed. "I know you two didn't understand why I suddenly decided not to sign another contract to run missions. It was because I didn't want to have to leave Steph behind, even just as her friend."

"And what about the kids? Are you ready to step up and help raise my niece and the baby if she chooses to be with you?" Les asked. "Because if you aren't, you need to step aside right now. There are several of us who would be more than willing. You're not the only one who cares for her."

I nodded and sat my beer down in front of me. "I know I'm not, and I make no assumptions about her returning my feelings at some point in the future. If she wants to share her life with someone else when she's ready to move on, I'll completely support her. And yes, I'm more than ready to help raise the kids if she'll let me. You guys know how much I love Julie already, and I'm going to all of her prenatal appointments and will be her birth coach. I'll be there for everything, even if I never get to tell her how I feel," I promised.

Les and Tank shared a look and then looked to me. "That's what we needed to hear. You have our support, but don't rush it. Let her mourn how she needs to," Tank said.

The door to Steph's bedroom opened at that minute and she walked out, her face red and her eyes puffy from crying. She came over and sat down in my lap and wrapped her arms around me as Amy walked out the door of the apartment.

"Amy thinks it would be good for me to get away for a few days while Julie's with the Manosos. Would you go with me to the beach house at Point Pleasant?" she asked me.

I looked at the guys and they both nodded. "Of course, sweetheart. You know I'll do anything that you need."

"I could come too if you'd like, Beautiful," Les said softly. If I didn't know him so well, I'd think he was trying to babysit me around Steph, but I knew that he really just wanted to make sure that she was okay. Hell, he needed the space and time away just as much – Ric was his cousin.

"That'd be great, Les," Steph whispered as her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.