Chapter 38
The boys entered slowly, eyes wide and clinging to their mother. Bella waved to Alex, who smiled and stood. "Come in, come in!" She said cheerfully.
Bobby turned his head slowly and grinned when he saw his young friends.
Their mother propelled them forward. They stopped when they were nearly touching the bed. Bobby lifted his left hand, and each boy took a turn squeezing it.
"Hi Bobby," Cisco said, sounding a little sad.
"Hi," Bobby said quietly. After an awkward silence, he glanced over at the cards, still sitting proudly on the tray table beside him. "I got your cards."
Felipe saw the card he had worked so hard on and smiled. Cisco put his head down.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Bobby asked, touching the older boy on the cheek.
Cisco blinked back tears. "You shouldn't be here."
Bobby let the boy hold his hand. He waited for him to continue speaking.
"It's not fair. You just help people!" His tears ran down his cheeks. "I don't want to be a detective anymore."
Bella held her son, who never let go of Bobby's hand. She apologized to Bobby silently.
"It's okay," he wheezed. "Sometimes I feel the same way."
"When will you be better?" Felipe asked.
Alex answered for him. "Bobby's getting better every day. It might be a couple of weeks until he can go home, though."
"I want to play football again," Felipe said.
"Me too," Bobby added. He coughed, and the pain in his chest was crippling. The boys leaned closer to their mother, and Bobby released Cisco's hand. Alex looked at him with concern, and he finally made eye contact with her. Satisfied that he was all right, she relaxed.
"You're tired," Bella said. "We'll come back tomorrow."
Cisco squeezed his hand, and Felipe leaned against him, giving him a semblance of a hug. Bobby rested his hand in the boy's hair. "Thanks for visiting me," he whispered.
"Bye, Bobby," Felipe said. Cisco led the way out of the room while Bella kissed his cheek.
He slept most of the afternoon, and Alex snuck off to take a shower. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the warm water against her back. Her sister had forgotten her shampoo and conditioner, so she used the tiny bottles in the hospital bathroom. They smelled strange, but they did the job.
When she came out, in clean clothes and with freshly combed hair, she felt refreshed. Alex walked over to what they were now affectionately calling "the garden," and peeked through the plants at the sky outside.
Snow was falling again, though the sky still held some light. As she peeked out at the cold street below, her mind drifted through the events of the past few weeks. Life was always busy, that was true, but it was hard to believe just how much had happened lately. It was too much, too hard, too fast. At least she and Bobby had turned to each other. At least the people she loved were still here with her.
A tapping at the door shook her from her thoughts. She turned, and smiled to see the Captain, in his weekend attire: jeans and a t-shirt.
He saw Bobby was sleeping and moved closer, speaking in a whisper. "How's he doing?"
She nodded. "Better." She told him the last report from the medical staff, and he was glad to hear it.
"You're looking better, too," Ross said.
"It's amazing what a shower can do," she snarked.
"Buy you dinner?" He asked.
"No thanks, Captain. I'm okay."
He put his hands in his pockets, frowned, and nodded. "Tell him I stopped by?"
"I'll do that. Thanks."
She watched Ross walk out and then turned to Bobby, sighing. She knew she would have to return to work soon. He was on the mend, and didn't really require her sitting vigil over him. Besides, with all the time off she'd taken to be with her Dad in the last year, she knew she was running low on sick leave.
She returned to the chair beside him and picked up the novel she'd been reading. It was nothing, a light mystery with ridiculously inaccurate police work and a portion of romantic fluff on the side. She couldn't complain, though. It was helping her to get through the day.
He sighed, and she looked over the pages at him. She watched as he tried to turn to his side. The pain of the movement woke him. He sighed again.
She straightened the blanket over him and dropped her hand into his curls. "You're still here?" He whispered, and she smiled at him. "I thought…" he coughed painfully, then continued, "I thought you'd be back at work."
"It's Sunday," she said. She petted his head slowly, love in her eyes.
"Skipping Church."
She grinned. "You're making jokes! I knew you were getting better."
His hand fell against the book she held in her hand. "What's this?"
"Garbage," she said quickly, but he pulled the paperback away from her. It landed beside him on the bed. He looked at the cover art and title and raised an eyebrow in her direction. She smiled. "I like it. It's funny." Alex squatted down and scooped the book back into her hand. She looked him in the eye. "I love you, Bobby."
He blinked and accepted her gentle kiss.
"I have to go back to work tomorrow," she blurted. "But I'll call and check on you."
He tugged on her hand, and pulled her close again. She obliged him with a kiss. "I'll be here," he said.
She stayed until 9, and decided it was time to go. He was asleep when she left, but they had removed the oxygen and the catheter. They would call her if anything happened. Alex carried her duffel out to the car.
The cold was a shock. She hadn't remembered it being so cold the other day. She hugged her coat tight with one arm and walked purposefully to the car.
By ten o'clock, she was at her father's place. Johnny Junior let her in, surprised by her presence. "Allie?" he asked.
"I have to get back to work," she explained. "Bobby's doing better. They'll call me if-"
He took her bag from her hands and collected her coat. "Dad just went to bed," he said. "He's probably still up, if you want to see him."
She smiled in thanks and hurried down the hall. She knocked lightly, then stepped inside the dark room. "Dad?"
"Alex? What are you—is Bobby all right?"
"He's okay, Dad." She sat beside him on the mattress. "How are you?"
"If they'd let me, I'd be down at Shooter's, with a beer in one hand and a smoke in the other."
She frowned. "I don't even know if I would let you in that place, Dad."
He grinned. "That'd be half the fun."
She smacked his arm lightly. "I've missed you, Dad. Good night. I'll see you in the morning."
"You're staying?"
She nodded. "For tonight."
"Good night, Darlin'."
"G'night," she said, kissing him on the cheek.