Chapter 14

After meeting with the M.E., Lupo and Bernard returned to the precinct to wait for the reports to come from the crime lab. Despite the amount of the paper work on his desk, Cyrus's mind still drifted to Irene. He started to wander whether he expressed his love too fast and should have waited longer. He also could not help but wonder if he had not gotten the call, would she have said the words back to him. Or was she going to say something else?

"Are you all right there Lupes?" Kevin asked interrupting his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh…I spent the night at Irene's."

"Oh," Kevin said as he leaned across from his desk with such keen interest like a school boy.

"Well I'm not going pour out the details for you. You can just leave that up to your imagination." Kevin made a face pretending to look disappointed.

"So what seems to be the problem?"

"I told her I loved her," Cyrus answered simply.

"Awe that's so sweet," Kevin said mockingly. "Did she say it back?"

"No…not exactly. She was going to tell me something but I got the call to the crime scene." Kevin nodded as he listened to his partner. "Now I am just feeling anxious about whether it is 'I love you back' or a rejection."

"I am sure whatever she wants to tell you, it gave her a good reason to come to the precinct, "Kevin said nodding his head towards the back of Cyrus. Cyrus turned around to see Irene walking towards him carrying a picnic basket.

"Hi there," she greeted with a smile.

"Hello Ms. Frey, what a surprise to see you here. We have not submitted a request for a warrant," Kevin said teasingly and nudging Cyrus.

"I know you haven't. You have barely interviewed any suspects," Irene answered. "I was hoping to take your partner out for lunch if you can spare him an hour."

"You would have to check with our lieutenant since she is our boss," Kevin told her. "But I'm sure she can live without Cyrus's assistance for an hour and I'll let her know." Cyrus then got up and took Irene's free hand and they headed out of the building. The couple made their way to a nearby park and found a shady spot to have their picnic.

"Ok, I'll admit that I did not make the lunch. I picked them up at the nearest deli close to my office," Irene said as they sat down. "It's not up to the breakfast you served this morning."

"Either way, I appreciate the thought," Cyrus grinned as they ate their sandwiches.

"Well it's also a way to show you that I…love you," Irene said more slowly making sure Cyrus heard every word. He smiled with his eyes brightening, indicating that he did. "And I love the fact that you do all these little but kind gestures to make me happy like making breakfast in bed or taking me out to dinner. No man has ever treated me like that," she then went on.

"I love you too, Irene" he replied back. He then leaned over and kissed her. They shared an extremely passionate kiss, not noticing what was happening around them until Irene's cell phone rang. They immediately broke apart and Irene picked up her phone. She was instantly caught off guard when she saw Mike's name on her ID list.

"Hi Mike," she answered picking up.

"Hi Irene. How are you?"

"I am…good. How's everything going in California?"

"Going well. Connie's mother's health is improving tremendously especially with the treatment she's been getting."

"That's great. Connie must be so relieved."

"Yes she's definitely been able to sleep better. The doctor even assured Connie and her mother that she could be fully recovered and be cancer-free in a matter of a few months."

"Wonderful. Send Connie and her mother, my regards."

"Will do. This also means I will be coming back on Monday to the office since Connie is now able to take care of both Esmeralda and her mother."

"Oh," Irene said taken aback with the news. "Well I'm sure Jack will be happy to see your face back in the office."

"Really? I've been hearing from Jack you've been doing a great job."

"I can definitely tell you that the office is not the same without you."

"Why thank you. I will see you on Monday." They said goodbye and hung up. Cyrus could tell Irene was not too thrilled about Mike returning by the response look on her face.

"Looks like we'll have to savor every moment this weekend and go back to sneaking around on Monday," Cyrus sighed squeezing her hand.

"Yeah." And Cyrus made sure they did. Later that evening, they went to dinner at the restaurant where they had got food for their first date, but Cyrus actually got a table this time around. After dinner, Cyrus took Irene to the movie theatre. They watched The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. They stopped for ice cream before going back to her apartment and making love into the night. The next day, Irene packed another picnic lunch and Cyrus drove them down to Rockaway Beach. They spent the day walking along the waves barefoot and holding hands. Upon returning to her apartment, Irene and Cyrus ordered pizza and stayed in for the night. On Sunday, Cyrus took Irene to meet his sister-in-law, Jenny and her two kids and had dinner with his family for the first time since his mom, Mary was in town. While at their house, Irene could clearly see Cyrus had a strong connection with his family.

Even though Cyrus clearly inherited his looks from his father, Irene could tell bits of his personality came from his mother. She could also tell they shared a very special bondage. From her other observations, Cyrus was very close to his nephew and niece, Shane and Keavy, which made up for their father's absence. He truly cared about their well-being and that the children had a strong figure looking out for them. Irene was helping Jenny with coffee and dessert in the kitchen when she decided to strike a conversation.

"Your kids really admire their uncle," Irene said to his sister.

"Yeah. He was first to come to our side when my husband committed suicide, of course, he was the head detective of the case. Since then, the kids kind of latched onto him," Jenny replied. "My boy, Shane especially looks up to him."

"I can tell," Irene said looking into the next room to see Cyrus having a conversation with his mom while playing with Shane and Keavy.

"Even though I appreciate Cyrus spending time with my kids, I always hoped he would find someone to make him happy and maybe along those lines have kids of his own so my kids can have cousins." Irene knew where Jenny was getting at and just nodded in response. "Especially since I'm getting re-married."

"He seems pretty focused on his job and getting his law degree," Irene stated. "Don't know if Cyrus will ever find the time to settle down and start a family."

"I don't know if you know this but I think since Cyrus has met you, his goals seemed to change in regards to planning for a family of his own."

Meanwhile, Cyrus was in deep conversing with his mother.

"You seem to be doing well for yourself Cyrus," Mary observed.

"Thanks Mom. I still can't believe I'm at my last year of law school and am senior detective on the NYPD. I've worked pretty hard."

"I meant the lovely lady in the adjoining room," Mary hinted.

"Mom, there's more to Irene than her looks."

"I know. So what exactly do you love about her?"

"Besides being a charming beautiful lady, I love how she is independent and hard working, very focused on her professional career and being the best she could be. At the same time, she is very caring and supportive and a great listener. We care about and like similar things."

"Sounds like she is a keeper."

Later that evening as Cyrus was driving Irene back home, he noticed she was very quiet. He then reached for her hand and squeezed it.

"My sister and my mom really liked you," Cyrus said breaking the silence.

"And I liked them too," Irene said with a small smile facing him before turning to the window.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked concerned. Irene paused before she asked.

"Have you ever thought about…us in the future?"

"Sure I have, "Cyrus wondered where she was getting at and whether it had to with her conversation with Jenny in the kitchen. "Why?"

"Jenny told me that since we started dating that you have changed your thoughts about getting married and starting a family at an earlier time."

"Oh," Cyrus understanding her behavior. "Well I know that our relationship is still progressing and I know you don't want to move too fast because you want to accomplish certain things in your life. So I know those plans won't be happening any time soon in the near future." Irene then turned to face him. "I just meant that since I met you, my goals and ambitions in life have changed."

"Ok good," Irene sighed in relief.