Alex and Nola sat at a cafe in midtown warming up over eggnog lattes. "I'm really glad you came out shopping with me today." Nola remarked. "Nobody else in my family was willing to come out on Christmas Eve."
"With everything that has gone on in the last few weeks, who has had time to shop?" Alex reasoned.
"What's Bobby doing without you?"
"I'm not sure; he said he'd find some way to occupy himself."
"So, your first Christmas together…well, I mean as something other than 'partners.' Got anything special planned?"
"We're going to my father's place for dinner. The whole family is going to be there." Suddenly their cell phones rang.
As they hung up Nola said, "Damn! Bishop's got some timing. Christmas Eve, really?"
"Could be worse, she could have awakened on Christmas Day!" Alex started to collect her bags, and stood up picking up her coffee.
"I hope Hannah didn't call Logan back into town." Nola grabbed her bags and followed Alex from the cafe.
The elevator stopped at the 1st floor and the doors slid apart. Bobby's face lit up as he saw Alex and Nola in the waiting elevator, just coming up from the garage level. "Hi." He said to Alex, glancing at Nola and the two Hospital staff in the back of the elevator chatting to one another. As he entered the elevator he leaned down and gave Alex a quick kiss.
Nola grinned, "You two make such a… quaint couple." She said.
"How're your stitches?" Bobby asked, smiling about Nola's baited remark, and taking Alex's hand in his.
"Healing nicely, thanks. How are your bullet holes?"
"Well," Alex interjected, "Good to see you two getting along again."
"Only because he kept me from bleeding out after Bishop cut me." Nola confessed, sincerely grateful since she had been told by the EMTs he had probably saved her life.
As the elevator reached their floor Bobby let go of Alex's hand and the three detectives met Captain Hannah outside Bishop's ICU room. Bishop appeared to be asleep.
"You didn't recall Logan from Roscoe did you Captain?" Nola asked.
"No, not necessary, since he'll be back Monday." Hannah answered, "I think you should go in first Falacci. Bishop doesn't know you… unless she remembers trying to skewer you…. Best if you didn't let on you're with Major Case. See if you can gain her trust, get her to open up."
Nola nodded and entered Bishop's room. She hesitated at the foot of the bed then went around to the side. "Ms. Bishop?" She said.
Bishop opened her eyes and stared at Nola before saying angrily, "Who are you? I don't know you. I DON'T KNOW YOU! I don't want to talk to you!" Bishop got progressively angrier, and pushing herself up, toward Nola, her monitor wires, oxygen tube and I/V straining, shouted, "GET OUT!" Alarms from the monitoring equipment sounded and nurses rushed in while Nola backed out and Bishop continued in her frenzy.
Back in the hallway Nola said, "Bad idea Captain." They watched as Bishop was calmed and then leather bed restraints were put around her wrists. Bishop either didn't care or was unaware of them, and once again lay perfectly still.
"We've got to be able to talk to her." Hannah said. He looked at Bobby and Alex, "Think she'll respond better to one of you?"
"I'll go in Captain. I think it needs to be me." Bobby said.
Hannah looked at him skeptically, "Last time she saw you she tried to blow her head off." He reminded Bobby.
"But until then she was going to shoot Alex or Mike. She never turned the gun on me." They knew Bobby was right. With one last look at Alex he went into Bishop's room. He walked to her bedside and looked down at her. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, her jaw was set, her fists were clenched, and her whole body was tense. He looked at the bandage around her head and once again felt twinges of guilt over Bishop's mental and emotional deterioration. He turned and took the visitor's chair and brought it quietly beside the bed. He sat down in it and reached out to cover her clenched fist with his warm hand. "Lynn." He said softly.
Recognizing his voice, Bishop opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him, relaxing. "You've never called me 'Lynn' before." She whispered. "Not even after we…."
"I didn't want to get attached." He cut her off. Bobby glanced toward the observation window the others were watching him. He briefly considered closing the door, wondering if they could hear the conversation.
"You were using me." She still whispered.
"I didn't use you Lynn, I did care about you." Bobby looked away. He did not want to relive that time of his life, and especially he did not want to relive it in front of Alex, let alone Hannah, and Nola.
"How about now?"
"Now?" He looked at Bishop. Her hollow eyes were misty with unshed tears. She had the overall look of a strung out junky, and was hardly recognizable as the detective he had worked with.
"Do you still care?" She turned her hand over to hold his.
He let go of her hand, and watched as she tensed again. The fastest way he could get this over with would be to turn off the emotion and probe for the answers. "That's why I am here, Lynn, I still care." He did on some level, just as he cared for all humanity, and her slightly more because he knew her personally.
Her tears flowed freely now. "No you don't. I know that. So, now you have to pay."
"How are you going to make me pay?"
"You can't solve the cases. You are a disgrace to Major Case." She was smiling to herself, staring up at the ceiling now.
"That's why you set up Councilman Riggs?"
"Yeah." She looked at him "You were really stumped right?"
"Yeah. So you got me. Gave me an unsolvable case. I'm the laughing-stock of 1PP. Then why sabotage the car?"
"You really have lost the touch." She grinned triumphantly. "I had to get rid of Eames of course."
"Those guys in the woods, they worked for you?" Bobby tried to remain impartial on the outside. On the inside he could feel his anger rising. This was the second time someone had chosen to go after Alex because of him.
"Yeah, my C.I. from the 3-5, and a dealer I knew from Narcotics. I'm really pissed though Bobby, you killed my friends. I almost hate you now."
"Sorry." He hoped he didn't sound as insincere as he felt. "What really stumps me is how you got the car to breakdown right at the campsite?"
She laughed. "See I am smart…the pupil surpasses the teacher, huh? I didn't expect you to stop at that rest area…I was just going to run you off the road at that mile marker, because it's so remote, then you stopped and made it easy for me."
"That's where you punctured the oil pan?"
"Yeah. Smart idea, huh?" Bishop wore a maniacal grin…then her expression got angry. "Then you screwed everything up!"
"How? By surviving?" Bobby asked.
"No, no! The guys were just supposed to get Eames. Then I could rescue you, and you would HAVE to ask for my help. You would need ME! Only I would know who killed your precious partner. Ha! You would need ME!" She re-stated, laughing to herself; a quietly deranged laugh."
"So then you followed Eames and Logan back to Roscoe, to go after Eames again? To kill her?" Bobby hated even saying the words. He couldn't imagine life without Alex, and for the first time since this all began he was really angry. He remembered Dr. Gyson's words, "…but you need to learn how to curb your anger to keep your job." No matter what Bishop said, he could not react. He had to maintain control….
"I will kill her Bobby. I almost got her, I'll get her."
Bobby got up suddenly. He stared at Bishop trying to see the broken woman she was instead of the monster she had become. Memories of his last conversation with Declan Gage flashed through his mind, bringing back the feelings of rage and despair. 'Walk away…walk away' He told himself. When he finally turned and walked away he saw Alex, Nola, and Hannah visibly relax. He ignored Bishop's new rants and closed the door behind him as he said. "I need a break Captain." Hannah nodded and Bobby walked to the end of the hallway and stared out the window.
Alex came to stand beside him. "Bobby." She said and took his hand.
He looked down at her, and then not caring that Hannah would see, Bobby put his arms around her and hugged her. "Alex, I don't know if I can listen to anymore of Bishop's insanity." He said quietly.
Alex indulged Bobby a moment longer before gently moving out of his embrace. She didn't believe Hannah would think adversely about this understandable display of affection between his detectives, but she didn't want to push it. "There's no reason to continue today. Bishop is clearly insane. She'll end up doing her time in a mental institution anyway."
They walked back to the ICU room. Hannah was on his cell. Nola stood with her arms folded, staring in at Bishop. "She's been given a mild sedative, just enough to calm her down."
Hannah hung up the phone. "Ok I talked to the ADA. Bishop will be formerly charged Monday, and probably have a public defender appointed. We really need to get as much out of her now as we can. Ready to go back in there Goren?"
Bobby took a deep breath and decided he had probably heard the worst of whatever Bishop might have to say. "Yeah, but I think Falacci should be in there with me, so I have a witness to whatever she says." Hannah scowled. "Bishop will be focused on me, I doubt she'll even notice Falacci. I'm not sure she even knows where she is. And since she has been unconscious well over a week, it's probable she has no recollection of her capture."
"OK." He said, "I'll leave you to it then. Brief me Monday and we'll put together the charges for the DA." Hannah looked at the three detectives. "Don't stay at it too long. It's Christmas Eve you know." After wishing them a perfunctory 'Merry Christmas,' Hannah left the hospital.
Bobby tried to talk Alex into leaving but she insisted on waiting while he and Nola went back in with Bishop. Within two hours Bishop had recounted everything up to plotting with the Randolph's to break into Alex's house, but Bishop's version was considerably different than what Tanya Randolph had told them. Again it was an attempt to get rid of Eames, and lure Bobby to Grant's Tomb. And as far as Lynn Bishop knew this was that day, and she had every intention of meeting with Terry Randolph that night. When they came out of Bishop's room, Bobby showed Alex the list of co-conspirators that Bishop had engaged in her pursuit of vengeance.
"Wow." Alex said, noting employees from the 3-5, 1-1, and a clerk from IAD amongst the names. "This explains a lot."
"I'm not looking forward to Monday." Nola said "Heads are gonna roll. Chief of D's is going to be on a rampage. IAD will go on a witch-hunt. We had better enjoy tomorrow. I see a lot of long days of evidence gathering ahead."
"Yeah, as soon as Bishop is deemed mentally incompetent this whole interrogation will become inadmissible." Bobby said as they entered the elevator. No one talked much as Alex dropped Nola back at her house, then drove herself and Bobby to her own house.
Once again it was the ever-annoying digital ringtone of a cell phone that awakened them. "I got it." Alex said sleepily reaching past Bobby to grab the phone and look at the lighted display. She flipped it opened. "Yes Captain?" She said, and then listened. After several minutes she said. "Yes, I'll tell him. Thanks for the call." She flipped the phone closed and rolled onto her back with a heavy sigh.
"What's wrong Alex?" Bobby said, rolling onto his side to face her.
"Bishop's dead."