Chapter 37

It was very strange. Bobby stared at the textured ceiling, his peripheral vision taking in the strange shadows of unfamiliar things, cast by unfamiliar angles of light. Alex's Dad was two doors down on the right. Alex was safe at home, in their new apartment, and Bobby was in her father's guest room.

It was a matter of convenience for everyone. It was a matter of proving himself worthy to her family. It was the only thing that made any sense. He wasn't required to go back to work yet; no one trusted what Mr. Eames said about his health; and they all needed some reassurance that they wouldn't get another scare like the one they'd had the day before.

So Bobby had taken him home from the hospital. They'd shared a meal and a football game, and the old man had gone to bed. Bobby sighed. It was all very strange.

Alex lay in the bed, unable to begin to fall asleep for all the kicking of the baby. She tried to talk to her, but nothing seemed to slow her down. At last, she grabbed her phone off the nightstand and checked the time: 11:30. She wrestled with the temptation for a few minutes, then dialed Bobby.

"Alex?" He said.

"Hi."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. How are things there?"

"He's fine. He's sleeping," Bobby said. "You?"

"Just having trouble sleeping. This daughter of yours is really active tonight."

Bobby grinned at the thought. "Let me talk to her," he suggested.

"What?"

"Put the phone on your belly. I'll talk to her."

Alex did as he said, and although she couldn't make out all of the things he said, she did notice the baby settled a little, slowing down her kicks. She brought the phone back to her ear and interrupted him. "That seemed to work," Alex said. "She knows Daddy's voice."

"Maybe you can get some rest, now."

"What about you?" Alex asked.

Bobby smiled. "Me too."

"I love you. Thanks for staying with Dad."

"I love you, too, Alex. We're fine over here," he added.

"See you tomorrow."

Alex and the baby were somewhere in the room behind him. He looked out and caught glimpses of fleeting shadows. He clenched his fists and watched, warily. Where would it appear again?

The shadow approached, swiftly, and Bobby swung his arms wildly, trying to stop it before it could get to them. He was tangled up in it, black and choking tentacles… his arms were unable to reach far enough to stop it. He screamed in anger and frustration.

"Bobby!" John Eames stood over his bed, calling his name firmly. He didn't touch him; he'd learned long ago that it was dangerous to touch a man in the middle of a nightmare, especially a former soldier. "Bobby, wake up!"

Bobby snapped back to consciousness, and sat up quickly. His eyes scanned the room quietly as he gulped for breath. He regained his bearings quickly, and finally he glanced at his father-in-law and then gripped his head tightly in his hands. "Sorry," Bobby mumbled.

"Just a nightmare, son. You're fine, now." Now, Mr. Eames put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Then he stood and walked out of the room.

Bobby's breath was normal now, but his heart rate was still quick. He rubbed his face, then scraped his fingertips against his scalp. He looked over at the clock: 5:15. Bobby pulled the covers back and slid out of bed. After a stop in the bathroom, he joined Alex's father in the kitchen. The coffee was already brewing.

"How are you this morning… uhm… Dad?" Bobby asked.

"Fine. Same as yesterday. You'll be back with Alex tonight," he added. He was aggravated that he'd been assigned a babysitter.

"Not unless she tells me I can go home," Bobby grinned. "We're in this together."

John poured them both a cup of coffee. "Care to talk about it?"

Bobby shook his head. "Just your basic anxiety dream." He sipped his coffee.

John sniffed, then walked over to look out the back window. "There's frost this morning," he commented. "Winter seems to move in a little sooner every year."

"I'm glad I didn't have to stay on the streets with that last assignment."

"You had to work in the cold. Bad enough," John said.

"Mr. Eames, how… how was she? When I was gone?"

He came over and sat down at the table with Bobby. He wrapped his hands around the warmth of his coffee cup. "She's Alex. She's tough. But it was hard on her." He took a drink. "We tried to check on her, get her mind off things, but she resented too much attention." He looked at Bobby and smiled. "Then she started to spend a lot of time with Mike's… friend. She didn't resent her."

"They were both going through the same thing," Bobby observed.

"Yes, I suppose that's why." John paused, then looked Bobby in the eye. "How did you hold up?"

Bobby chuckled. "I don't know… but somehow I did."

After John's appointment, Bobby drove him to Logan's neighborhood. Logan was waiting by the street for them. Bobby pulled over and his friend climbed carefully into the back of the car and shut the door.

"Hi, Mike," the men in the front greeted him. Mike patted Alex's Dad on the shoulder. "Mr. Eames, thanks for letting me tag along," he said. "I go stir crazy in the apartment."

"New York Pizza," John said, clapping his hands together.

Bobby shot a glance his way. "Not exactly what your doctor recommended."

"I'll eat healthy tonight. C'mon, boys. Humor an old man while the women aren't around to call the shots."

Bobby shrugged and drove the car as John senior called his son. He met them at the pizza joint. They exchanged greetings as they pulled off their coats and settled in around a table.

"Eloped, I hear," John junior teased Bobby.

Bobby just grinned and shook his hand.

"It's good. I'm glad," he said. "Dad, you okay?"

"Fine," he grunted.

"You listen to the doctor today?"

"Eat better, exercise, and take a pill if it happens again. I listened." He looked at his son. "Lunch doesn't count."

The conversation was sharp and animated. Once sports was covered, conversation went to work and family. Somehow, they ended up talking about the undercover assignment again.

"You know, when Alex was a baby, I went undercover," John senior said. "Two months." "I don't know how her mother did it. That child used to scream all night long."

"Grandma stayed with her, didn't she, pop?" John junior asked.

"Not the whole time. She would come over and help on the weekends. I guess that's when your mother slept."

"What was the assignment?" Mike asked.

"Sniffing out a mob war that was heating up." His eyes grew distant, and he was silent a moment. "It was good to come back home."

"Shit, Dad, you never told me that!"

His father smiled. "Lucky for you it turned out well. You might not have ever been conceived." He asked the waiter for refills on their drinks. He looked back at his son. "Bobby needs to be home with Alex. You've got to help me convince the girls, Johnny."

John junior looked at his new brother-in-law. "Sure, pop."