Chapter 21 – Family Lunch
John Eames sat at the head of his dining table, trying to decide how to broach the subject that was on his mind without causing a full-blown riot. His wife Molly sat to his left, chatting with their son Paddy who was seated beside her. To John's other side sat his youngest daughter Louise, who was talking quietly to Bobby Goren; John couldn't quite make out what Lou was saying but her tone was reassuring and he noticed that she occasionally patted the forearm of the large man seated between her and her sister, Alex. Opposite Alex was one of the main causes of concern for John, his middle daughter Beth.
Beth had arrived earlier than expected that morning, her mood making it obvious that she was spoiling for a fight. First she'd snapped at Lou, the only one of her siblings who stilled lived in the family home and, therefore, the only one there when she arrived. Beth and Lou had been arguing all week, either over the phone or when Beth brought her six-month old son, Nathan, to visit his grandparents. The subject had been consistent and predictable; Alex and Bobby, the change in their relationship and what the family could do or should do about it. When Paddy turned up, an hour later, she'd dragged into the den and spent fifteen minutes in a loud and heated discussion on the subject of their sister, her partner and what course of action should be taken; Beth had been in an even worse mood following that discussion when Paddy had finally cut her off by telling her that Alex was a grown woman, Bobby was a decent man and Beth should stop being so damn pathetic. By that time Nathan was ready to be fed, Beth had managed to calm down enough to tend to her son, who was now settled upstairs, taking a nap whilst the adults had their lunch.
John had actually been relieved when Alex and Bobby were, for once, late. The couple had arrived just as Molly started to put dinner out on the table, giving Beth no opportunity to try and corner her elder sister for a repeat of the discussion he'd heard about them having the previous weekend. Right now the tense silence between his two older daughters was thick enough to cut with a knife.
The meal was nearly finished so John figured now was as good a time as any to try and clear the atmosphere between his girls. Taking a long drink from the beer glass in front of him, John decided to start slowly and work up to the main point of this get together.
"So, Alex, how'd the wedding go yesterday?"
"It went well, everyone important turned up. Of course, Carrie had been worried that Kev might bolt at the last minute, hence the fact she had Bobby or Chris standing guard over him the entire 24 hours beforehand." Alex couldn't help smirking.
Carrie had phoned Alex on Friday morning, panicking after waking from a nightmare where Kevin hadn't arrived at the church. She didn't want to scare Kevin by talking to him about it, he was nervous enough already, and her sisters didn't understand why she was worried in the first place. Alex knew, Carrie had insisted, how if felt the love someone, know they love you in return but still not know if they would run at the mention of the word commitment. Alex had spent half an hour on the phone with the bride-to-be, calming her nerves, whilst throwing glares at Bobby who had found the entire scenario particularly amusing.
"Bobby, is Alex right? Your buddy the marine was scared about gettin' married?" John turned his attention to his daughter's partner. Over the years John and Molly had heard plenty of stories about Bobby's friends and had actually met Kevin when he'd been home on leave the previous year in time to attend Alex's birthday party.
"You would have thought after almost ten years with the same woman he wouldn't have been nervous, but he still was." Bobby replied, glancing at John, then Molly and finally his eyes were drawn to Alex. "Of course, Carrie didn't really need to worry about Kev turning up. Even without me and Chris keeping an eye on him he would have been there."
"I don't suppose my big sister here happened to mention she nearly didn't show up for her own wedding?" Paddy shot Alex a grin from across the table, even as Beth dug him in the ribs with her elbow.
Alex groaned, "Oh god, not this again."
Bobby turned to look at his partner, not actually speaking just raising an eyebrow in question.
"Okay, so I was a little late for my wedding." Alex looked down at the table. She had never talked much about her marriage to Bobby and certainly had never discussed her wedding day with him.
Now it was Louise's turn to tease her sister. "A little late. Half an hour is not a little late, Alex, not on you wedding day."
Bobby stared at Alex. "Half an hour?"
"Could we please change the subject?" Alex glared around the table.
"Yes, let's change the subject. Just because Alex doesn't want to talk about it, let's change the subject." Beth snapped from the other side of the table.
"Elizabeth, don't …" Molly found herself silenced.
"No, Mom, if Beth thinks there's something we need to talk about, let's hear it." Alex cut across her mother's reprimand of her sister.
Alex sat back in her chair, her left hand dropping beneath the table and resting on Bobby's thigh. Almost immediately his right hand covered it, giving a gentle reassuring squeeze.
"You're saying you actually want to hear what I have to say?" Beth couldn't disguise the surprise she felt.
"You have a right to your opinion, even if you have no right to interfere. Take you best shot, Beth." Alex sounded perfectly calm, even as her pulse raced and her heart hammered in her chest.
Alex did not want to argue with her sister, especially when she wasn't certain of how the rest of the family might take it, but Beth was obviously determined to drag the entire family into her continuing disapproval of Alex and Bobby's relationship.
"Alright then, I will." Beth looked around the table, hoping to see some sign of support, at least from her father and brother. She was out of luck.
John had realised, after his initial shock, that he'd actually been expecting to hear this particular piece of news for some time. At least he could be certain Bobby Goren would watch out for his daughter and he knew the man would never deliberately hurt her. Once he'd had a day or two to get over the news he'd actually found he was quite happy for the pair.
When Paddy had spoken to Alex on Monday, along with the rest of the family, he had told her to think carefully about what she was doing. Since then he'd kept out of the family arguments about what his sister was doing in changing her relationship with her partner. So far as Paddy was concerned, Alex and Bobby were both adults, reasonably intelligent, free of any marital or romantic ties to other people and as sane as it was possible to be and still do their job. As a brother or a lawyer those were all the criteria he really needed to satisfy himself that this was a matter only for those immediately concerned. Unless Alex or Bobby asked for his thoughts on their actions he was more than happy to keep them to himself.
"Am I the only person here who thinks that, after three years as partners, it's very strange for you to suddenly decide you're in love with each other?" When Alex started to speak, Beth held up a hand, silencing her. "You said I get to take my best shot, remember, well here it is. I think this is a convenience thing for him and a confidence thing for you. He's so wrapped up in the job he doesn't have time to meet any other women and you've barely been out with any men at all since Joe's death"
Beth sounded so certain in her analysis that Bobby almost felt sympathy for her at the shock on her face when Alex started laughing only a second after Beth finished speaking. He looked from Alex to Beth, wondering if he would make things worse by opening his mouth to defend their relationship. Then Alex gasped for breath and managed to speak.
"Bobby, tell her." She spluttered between peals of laughter that she was trying to get under control.
"You sure." He asked Alex, glancing around the table.
"Yep." She gasped again, her laughter starting to subside.
"Okay, Alex." Bobby Goren turned his attention to Beth, looking her in the eye across the table. "Beth, you could not be more wrong in your assessment of this situation. It doesn't get any less convenient than admitting I'm in love with your sister. She's my partner and my best friend, and in admitting what I felt for her beyond that I risked losing her from my life completely. I got lucky, she felt the same way I did. It's still not a sure thing whether we'll be partners after we talk to our captain, but that's a chance we're willing to take. As to my not meeting any other women; I haven't dated recently out of choice, I wasn't willing to keep on settling for second best."
Alex had stopped laughing by now and looked around the table to see how her family were reacting to Bobby's speech. 'So far so good.' She thought to herself, seeing Louise smiling happily at their mother across the table, who looked equally pleased with the situation. Paddy and their father were both watching Bobby's face, obviously looking for any hint of deception and, from the looks on their faces, just as obviously finding none. That just left Beth, who still looked stubbornly displeased.
Bobby continued speaking as Alex assessed her family's reaction. "As for your sister and any confidence issues you think she may have, I think you need to get your facts straight. Eames has had no shortage of dates throughout the time we've worked together, she even dated during her pregnancy. Admittedly, the past couple of months I've heard more than my fair share about how bad things are out there for a single woman, but let's just say there have been no shortage of offers coming her way over the years. In fact, there have been times when I was seriously worried in case one of the men she was seeing decided to try and get serious. I really didn't want to lose her but I was too worried about the possible consequences to do anything about it."
Beth was glaring at Bobby. "So what changed?" she demanded before Bobby had chance to say anything further.
Alex answered her sister. "You could say this is all your fault, actually Beth."
Beth's eyes now blazed at Alex. "What do you mean, my fault?" she sounded furious.
For a moment John almost jumped in and said something, but seeing the expression on his face as he prepared to speak, Molly placed a hand quickly over his, getting his attention and shaking her head, telling him silently to stay out of this for the moment.
"Firstly Nathan, that's what I mean." Alex smiled softly. "When I was pregnant, things kinda changed between us and when I was on leave I missed Bobby more than I thought it was possible to miss a person. I know you don't want to hear this, Beth, but I actually missed Bobby even though I spoke to him every day on the phone. It was like a part of me was missing, more so even than when Joe was killed."
Alex turned her hand over, lacing her fingers between Bobby's as she spoke, knowing how difficult it had been for him to cope during her absence from work.
"Then, of course, there was last Saturday night. If you hadn't taken me out, not to mention if you hadn't tried to set me up with that idiot Mitch, then in all probability Bobby and I would still be doing our best to deny that there was anything between us beyond friendship. As it is, Mitch's presence worked as a catalyst both for us and for some friends of ours who, as you know Beth, were there last Saturday and decided it was time to take some action to get Bobby and I to open our eyes. I guess it worked pretty good, as well. Afterall, Kevin proposed to Carrie as a result and then Lainie finally convinced Val that she wasn't going to get over him. So I guess you could be blamed for all the chaos last week getting ready for a double wedding, as well as the fact I'm finally with Bobby."
Beth stared incredulously a the couple opposite her. Louise couldn't help laughing at the expression on Beth's face not to mention the fact her sister had gone bright red and seemed to be holding her breath.
"Beth, are you okay?" Lou managed to ask between chuckles.
"Why can't any of you see … Dad you must be able to understand why …" Beth fell silent at the look her father gave her.
"Beth, I love you very much, I love all my kids very much but you need to stop this now. You cannot dictate how your sister should live her life or who she should choose to live it with. I'll admit I wasn't pleased about this at first but once I had a little time to put things in perspective I realised two things. Firstly, Alex has been able to make up her own mind for a long time now and has every right to do so. Secondly, at least with Bobby I know she's not going to run the risk of being with a man who will cheat on her or lie to her. He's never been able to lie to her as her partner, he's not about to learn how to do it now." John looked from Beth to Alex and back.
"Beth, you didn't approve when she decided she was going to be a cop, like your old man. You didn't approve when she had her hair cut short. You didn't approve when she started seeing Joe. You didn't approve when she worked Vice. About the only things you've approved of in Alex's entire life have been her transfer to Major Case and her decision to carry your son. I think it's time you stopped thinking so much about yourself and your opinions, and started worrying more about how other people feel when you start telling them what they should think and feel." John knew this conversation was long overdue, not just in relation to Alex and Bobby but because of the way Beth tried to enforce her own opinions of the entire family.
"But Dad …" Beth at least had the decency to look chagrined at her father's words.
"No Beth," Molly cut in, "your father is right. We should have put a stop to this when you were in your teens but Alex kept a lot of your nonsense from escalating to anything unmanageable. Just step back and think about exactly what you owe your sister." Molly looked pointedly upwards, indicating the baby boy sleeping peacefully upstairs. "Then think about all the times she supported you over the years before that. All the times she's been there for you, regardless of how you treated her and the decisions she made."
Just as Molly finished speaking, as if on cue, there was a cry from the baby upstairs. Beth stood up but Molly waved for hr to sit down.
"Louise, Patrick, I think you should be able to manage one infant between the two of you."
Lou and Paddy weren't about to argue with their mother. They rose from the table, heading out the door and up the stairs to take care of their youngest nephew.
Bobby Goren was feeling decidedly uncomfortable, not that he was letting it show. Whilst he'd gotten used to socialising with Alex's family during their partnership, this was a very different situation. His own family was small and fragmented to say the least, family discussions of this sort had simply never occurred. He had hoped that Beth might have calmed down and decided that she really should just mind her own business. As Paddy and Lou left the dining room, silence reigned for a moment, giving Bobby an opportunity to study the people left around him.
He glanced quickly at Alex, feeling her hand squeezing his own in reassurance; there was certainty stamped on her features, no lingering doubts following their conversation of the previous night. After made love for the first time last night it had taken a while for either for either of them to come back to reality. Bobby had been brought back to earth with a bump when he'd heard Alex's giggle, followed by her teasing comment about being in too much of a hurry to bother undressing. He's made short work of removing their remaining clothes before taking her in his arms and pulling the covers over them. They had lain there in silence, holding each other, for a while before Alex had broached the subject of them telling her family their news. After a short discussion they had agreed to see how things went with clearing the air with Beth, and possibly Alex's father, before bringing up the subject of their engagement. They'd decided they didn't want to wait long before getting married, although they also agreed they wanted somewhat longer than a week to get things arranged. In the end they had come to the conclusion they both wanted to get married before the year was out, giving them at most a seven month engagement.
Shaking himself from memories of the night before, Bobby shifted his attention to the woman opposite him. Beth still looked determined to make her point and, if he were honest with himself, Bobby wanted nothing more than to pull the rug out from under her with the news that he intended to marry her sister, regardless of what that might cost them in their professional relationship. Beth seemed to still be completely focused on their partnership, disregarding the friendship they had built over the past three years. He was trying to put together the right words to make Beth see reason when he heard Alex speak.
"Dad, Mom, I guess now is as good a time as any." Alex cast a quick look at Bobby, smiled softly to try and reassure him, then looked down the table to her father. "I know this is gonna seem sudden, but when you consider how long we've known each other, it isn't really. Bobby asked me to marry him …"
Beth's gasp drew Alex's attention for a second, then she continued to speak.
"… I said yes. We're planning on having the wedding before the end of the year."
Beth jumped up from her seat. "You can't be serious!" Her voice was a startled squeak.
"Elizabeth, sit down." Molly snapped at her middle daughter, then looked at her eldest daughter and the man beside her. "You two are sure about this?" she asked, her voice gently questioning.
Bobby responded first. "Yes, in fact, I've never been so sure about anything in my life." His eyes shifted to Alex's father. "Sir, I can understand if you have reservations, but …"
John cut Bobby off before he could say anything further. "Bobby, relax, and it's John not sir. Despite anything that may have been said this past week and also despite the speed with which you kids are obviously moving things along, you have my blessing. I'd have to have been a blind man these past three years not to have seen what was happening between the two of you. You've both fought against letting anything develop, I presume fro the sake of your partnership. Obviously, you've both decided what you can have together goes a lot deeper than what you've already got." He turned his attention to his eldest daughter. "Alex, I don't think I need to remind you of what I said to you the last time you came home and told us you were getting married. Besides anything else, I don't have any doubts about how this one will treat you. He's a good man and him being willing to come here and face us, given all that has been said in this family recently, just goes to prove exactly how much he loves you."
As John finished speaking he looked pointedly at Beth. By now Molly had risen from her seat and rounded the table, hugging Alex.
"Congratulations." She turned to Bobby, hugging him as well. "About time you stopped thinking so much and started doing something about it, the both of you."
"So you're okay about this?" Alex glanced from her mother to her father.
"It's not as if we don't know Bobby, Alex, and you're hardly a pair of kids." Her father answered.
"Hold on one minute!" Beth suddenly interjected. "You're telling me that you're both fine with this?" her eyes shifted rapidly from her mother to her father and back again, whilst one hand flailed in front of her indicating Alex and Bobby.
Molly walked around the table again, this time wrapping an arm around Beth. "What, exactly, is so wrong about two people who know each other extremely well, so obviously care about and respect each other, deciding to build a life together? Can you think of a better foundation for a marriage, Beth, because I can't?"
"They're partners, Mom. They have to work together. They can't …" Beth's words trailed off as four sets of eyes pierced her.
John spoke first. "Partnerships come in all shapes and sizes, Beth. They may have started out purely professional but that changed a long time ago. If you can't see beyond their professional relationship after this long then you really don't read people at all, sweetheart."
Beth's face remained stubbornly set, even when her mother spoke next. "Very few people get one shot at real happiness, your sister has a second chance at it. Don't you think she deserves that, especially considering all she's done for you?"
Alex looked at her sister's stony countenance. "Beth, I love you and I always will, you're my sister and nothing can ever change that, but I warned you a week ago not to try and force me to choose. The only thing that's changed in that week is that I'm even more certain of how I feel and that means you're even more certain to lose this one." Alex's voice cracked just a little as Beth refused to meet her eyes.
Bobby squeezed her hand gently, then spoke. "Beth, there's no way I can guarantee that everything will work out or that Alex won't get hurt at some point along the way. All I can do is promise that I will never knowingly hurt her or cause her any harm, either personally or professionally. I hope that's good enough for Alex and your folks, because I love her and I can't imagine my life without her."
Beth heard the sincerity in Bobby's voice and the certainty in Alex's but still she couldn't find it in herself to back down. She looked at the four people around the table.
"I suppose congratulations are in order." Unfortunately there wasn't a hint of sincerity in her words. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go check on my son." With that Beth stalked out of the room.
A/N: Doesn't look like Beth's gonna change her mind any time soon. Let's see how things go with Deakins next ;o)