Chapter 26

"Theres a dinner at my sister's place. Dad's birthday. It's really on Monday, but nobody can get together then, so Friday night is it."

"I, uh… I have an appointment," Bobby said.

Although Eames nodded, she frowned just enough. She wondered if he was just avoiding her family. Then she wondered if maybe he was finally going to get some therapy. "Your appointment, is it, uh…?"

"Just my annual physical," Bobby told her. He'd seen her reaction. He knew she was bothered. "Look, uh, I can call when they're done with me, and you know, maybe meet you over there later."

Alex's face softened. "All right, that sounds good."

"Well, you've put on quite a bit of weight since the last time I saw you."

Bobby chewed on his cheek and said nothing.

"You have a history of heart disease in your family?" The Doctor was reading something from his file.

Bobby was surprised by the question. "Uh, no, uh, I mean I thought that, but… I recently found out that William Goren wasn't my biological father, so, uh… I don't really know."

The doctor made a note in the file. "Do you know anything about your biological father?"

Bobby shrugged. "Not really. Not his medical history."

"All right, Mr. Goren. I'll have to get your labs in before I can tell you more for sure. In the meantime, diet and exercise. All this extra weight is making your heart work a lot harder than it has to. You could be setting yourself up for a heart attack. And the extra weight isn't doing your knee any good, either."

"My knee?" His knee had been bothering him, but the doctor hadn't even glanced at it.

"I saw you were favoring it when you came into the lobby today. I'll call you when I get your lab results. Good to see you again, Mr. Goren." The doctor stuck out this hand, and Bobby shook it.

As he walked out and paid his bill, he wondered if he could find out Brady's medical history.

"Hey," she said into the phone. "How'd it go?"

"Uh, okay. I'm through now, if you want me to come out."

"That would be great, Bobby."

"I'll be there in an hour."

"Pick up some beer on the way," she said, and told him what kind her Dad liked.

"Bobby, good to see you," Liz greeted him warmly at the door and took one of the bags from his hands. He followed her to the kitchen with the other and set it on the table. Bobby said his hellos, and even Johnny seemed friendly to him.

Alex reached into the bag he'd brought and passed out a round of beers, including one for Bobby. Their eyes met, and he saw her sparkle.

After an hour of friendly conversation, Bobby and Alex wandered away from the group and went outside on Liz's patio. It was cool outside, and there was a storm coming in, but they were both warm from the alcohol. It felt good to escape the heat of the crowded kitchen.

"Was that lightning?" She asked, pointing off in the distance with her brown bottle.

"I missed it," he said, searching the horizon with his eyes.

"So what did the Doctor say?"

"Nothing for sure until he sees my labs. He wants me to lose weight."

"Oh."

"My medical file is all wrong," Bobby said. "You know, because of Brady."

"Oh, Geez, that's right. Do you know anything about him?" They had investigated him, but medical records don't usually come up during an investigation. They knew a lot about his life; residences, jobs… but not if he had high blood pressure or was prone to hernias or something.

Bobby shook his head. "He… you know he seemed healthy."

"Maybe, since you have the report, you can request records. As his son."

Bobby shrugged. He probably could, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. It would mean announcing to the world, again, that his father was a serial killer.

He saw a flash in the distance. "It is lightning," he said, and took a sip of his beer. Alex turned her eyes to the approaching storm. "Your Dad seems happy," Bobby said.

"He's having a really good time tonight. He loves it when we're all together." The wind picked up, and she shivered. Alex scooted closer to Bobby.

"You cold?" he asked.

She gave a shrug.

"We could go in," he suggested.

Instead, Alex leaned against him. "I don't want to go inside," she told him.

Bobby raised his arm and draped it across her shoulders. "Your family… somebody will see," he said quietly.

"We're safe here," she replied. Alex looked up at him, and he slowly bent down to kiss her lips. The wind blew her hair into her face, and he brushed it away with his hand, turning to face her. They kissed again, and then she laid her head against his chest. Bobby held her, sheltering her from the wind. They stayed that way until they heard the door open behind them.

"Oh, uh, sorry, sis," Johnny said.

Bobby let go of her and she turned to her brother. Goren looked away uncomfortably.

"Dad asked me to take him home, so we're gonna be leaving."

"Oh, okay." She turned and gave Bobby's hand a little tug. "We'll come say goodbye," she said, following Johnny back into the house.

They parted ways when they left, and Bobby found himself alone at his kitchen table. He thought for a long time about things. He thought about Alex, her family, and then he thought about heart attacks and how hard it is to lose weight. And he thought about what a hassle it is to have to rewrite your whole life because your father isn't really your father.

He wasn't tired yet, so he turned on the computer. He had an email from Molly in his inbox.

Hi Uncle Bobby,

I got the stitches out of my hand. There's a scar there. Mom says it might go away, but Timmy says I'm going to have it forever. If I have it forever I'm going to wear gloves at my wedding.

Mom said you were really busy and didn't have time to write me back. She said your job is really stressful and I shouldn't expect to hear from you right away all the time. I'm just glad you didn't get shot.

Martin asked Trudy to the prom. Now he's all smiling all the time and Mom keeps trying to tell him what he should wear and he doesn't even seem to care. So weird. Usually he hates when Mom tells him what to do.

Here's a picture of my scar. What do you think?

I hope you're not too busy to write me back this time.

Love,

Molly

Goren opened the picture, studied it carefully, and then hit the "reply" button.

Dear Molly,

It doesn't look too bad to me. I think your Mom is right and it will fade away in time. I don't think you'll need gloves for your wedding.

It sounds like Martin thinks Trudy is pretty special. I'll be interested to hear more about the prom.

I am in between cases now, so I'm not as stressed. I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you the last time. Please don't worry about me. I've been doing this job a very long time. It's nothing like what you see on TV.

How is Marty doing? Did you show him your scar? Maybe he'll feel guilty about it and not run away from his pen anymore.

Take care, Molly.

Love,

Uncle Bobby

Dear Kathy,

I just sent Molly an email. Her hand looks pretty good. I don't think she'll have much of a scar from it.

I went to the doctor today and realized I know nothing about my family's medical history. I'm going to see if I can get access to Brady's medical files. If I do, I'll share them with you.

I'm in between cases now. Probably we'll catch a new one in a couple of days. We always catch up on paperwork and trainings and that kind of thing when we're in between.

Did you get your van back from the shop yet? A good friend of mine owns a shop here in the city. He does a pretty good business. His specialty is refurbishing classic cars. I like to go out and help him with those when I have the time. I have a '65 Mustang that I like to tinker with.

Well, I just thought I should warn you about the medical thing. Maybe it's not such a big deal for you, since you never thought someone else was your father. Anyway, I'll let you know what I find out.

Have a good night, Kathy.

Bobby

Goren sent the email and got up. He was tired, but he was too full of energy to go to bed. On a whim he picked up his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey," he said, and paced from the kitchen to the bedroom and back.

"What's up?" She asked, and her voice was pleasant and relaxed.

"I, uh, you know, I'm kind of… wound up."

"Can't sleep?"

"Not yet."

"I'm not sure how I can help you with that," she told him.

Bobby smiled. "I hope I didn't, you know… with your family."

"What?"

"Johnny, you know, he saw us."

"Who cares?"

"He had a problem with me before."

"If he has a problem with you, he has a problem with me. Johnny's fine."

"He's very protective of you."

"Are you saying you're scared of him?"

"I don't want them to hate me."

"I love you, Bobby. Maybe Johnny didn't understand at first, but he's coming around. He knows some of what we've been through."

"He doesn't think I'm crazy?"

"Bobby, don't."

Bobby paced the length of his apartment again, and got a little short of breath. "I wish I was with you."

"It's kind of late for that tonight."

"I love you, Alex."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You're panting."

"Oh? I am? Oh. No, I'm just… pacing."

She grinned. "Sit down, Bobby."

"W-why?"

"Just do as you're told. Sit down. On your bed."

"You're trying to—"

"Shut up and enjoy it."

Bobby collapsed onto his mattress, the coils bouncing under his weight. "Okay. I'm sitting."

"What are you wearing?"

"You know what I'm wearing. You saw me—"

"Shhh! You're still dressed?"

"Yes."

"Take your shirt off."

He grinned and tucked the phone against one ear and snaked his arm out of his sleeve. Then he switched the phone to the other ear and did the same. "Okay," he said, and quickly yanked the shirt over his head and put the phone back where he could hear her. "It's off."

"Put your hand on your chest."

Bobby took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and did as she said.

"Rub your hand in a slow circle."

"It's not the same," he said. "It's not you."

"Yes it is. Pretend I'm holding your hand, moving it for you. You're my puppet." He was quiet for a moment. "Now. Slide your hand down to your waistband. Did you do it?"

"Yeah," he said.

"You have to tell me when you do it."

"Okay."

"Undo your pants."

"Okay."

"Done?"

"Yeah."

"Lie back. On top of your underwear. Touch yourself."

His breath was a little harder, a little faster.

"Tell me about it."

"It feels good. I wish you were here."

"What would you do to me?"

Again, he smiled. "I'd make you watch this."

She chuckled. "Bobby…" she was half surprised, and half aroused at the thought. "Are you still touching yourself?" she asked.

"Yeah," he whispered.

"If I were there, watching you, I would put my fingers between my legs…" She described more, and his hand moved faster.

"I'm hard as a rock," he panted.

"Take your clothes off," she told him.

As fast as he could, he stripped one-handed. "Okay," he said, his hand moving back to his cock.

"I'd like to taste you," she said. "Just the tip of my tongue."

Bobby groaned. "Alex…"

"Jerk off for me."

Without another thought, he did as she said. "Oh, yeah," he breathed.

"I'd suck you hard," she whispered, and he was surprised to hear her heavy breath, too.

"What are you doing?" he managed to ask.

"I'm imagining you inside me."

He groaned again.

"Faster, Bobby."

"Ohhhh…"

"Harder!"

"God!"

"Fuck me, Bobby!"

"God, Alex!" He whimpered and gasped and came all over his hand. Bobby panted heavily against the phone, and finally moaned with satisfaction. He listened while she pleased herself on the other end of the line, whispering encouragement into the phone as her gasps came harder.

"I love you," Bobby whispered. "You're beautiful. I want you. I want you to come, Alex. Come for me, baby," he said. He could tell from her cries when she was finished, and he kept whispering in her ear. "I love you, baby. I love you."