Raymond, his wife Deborah and his mother Marie were milling about the kitchen when Robert walked in, his police uniform still on and worn with his usual pride, which diminished greatly when he was around his rival brother, emasculating mother or intimidating father.

"Hey Robert," Deborah said with a smile and a friendly wave.

"Hey Deb. What smells so good?" Robert asked as he stood rather awkwardly. He had never quite fit in, even as a child, especially with women. Already through one divorce and several failed relationships since, Robert wasn't really comfortable around women, even if it was his brother's wife. However, that experience with the cute coffee shop attendant was comforting; she seemed to be as interested in Robert as he was in her, too bad their ages were so far apart.

"Oh, I noticed that the children had store bought cookies so I made them some homemade chocolate chip cookies," Raymond and Robert's mother, Marie, said with a chipper yet slightly condescending attitude towards Deborah. She set the plate of still warm and fresh from the oven cookies on the kitchen table and scurried out.

"MOMMY!!!" the sound of Ray and Deb's eldest child, Alley, rang through the house.

"Coming Alley!" Deborah shouted after her daughter before disappearing into the living room and then upstairs to help her daughter with what ever it was that she needed helping with.

"So Robert," Ray asked, taking one of the warm cookies their mother, who was nosy and bossy as anything but still a great cook, had left on the table. He took a bite.

"Raymond," Robert stated with his usual nod. His unhappy and vexed tone was more so than usual, tipping his brother off to his confused state as he too, took one of their mother's cookies. Both boys had grown up with their mom's cooking and enjoyed it very much, so much that Robert ate at home very often, especially after the incident with the bull which left him living at home for an extended period of time. He was now in his own apartment again, but still he enjoyed his mother's cooking; perhaps a little too much.

"Robert, is there something wrong?" Ray asked, looking at his brother as he leaned against the counter top.

"Well, you see Ray, there's this girl," Robert started out, interrupted immediately by a wide grin from his brother and an "I got ya" nod. "No, not like that. She's a witness in a murder that I'm investigating and she's cute, and she's nice and she's absolutely goregous..."

"Then why not go for her, ya tiger?"Raymond said with another wide smirk and knowing grin. Raymond was well aware of the problems Robert had with dating, that he had always had with dating. Those problems had just got worse after his wife left him, and then after the incident with the bull it was almost impossible for him to be in a lasting, healthy relationship.

"Raymond she's..."

"Cause if this is that thing about that other girl, there's nothing to worry about. Or if it's the scar, I'm sure she'll over look it, or if..."

"It's not any of that Raymond!" Robert's baritone voice boomed over his rambling brother. "She's 22..."

"Oh..." was all Raymond could muster. "Well, she's an adult Robert..."

"There's a guy on my squad, two years older than I am and he has a daughter older than her!" Robert was obviously frustrated and a little angry with this idea that the only girl he could find that he liked was young enough to be his daughter.

"Now Robert, calm down," Raymond tried to calm his brother while Deborah returned.

"What's going on? I heard shouting," she asked as she came in, having dealt with Alley's problem and returned from her trip to the second floor.

"Robert met this girl..." Ray started only to be cut off by his brother.

"Oh Ray..." a disgruntled Robert tried to shut up his idiotic but lucky younger brother, but he'd have an easier time trying to get his parents to get along without a fight for an entire day.

"Oh that's wonderful, Robert!" Deborah squealed in delight as she ran up and gave her large brother-in-law a hug.

"Why don't you tell her the whole story, Raymond?" Robert said, obviously displeased with his brother's inability to keep his big mouth shut.

"She's 22."

"Oh, Robert," Deborah took her arms back and looked at the saddened man. It was obvious that this was troubling him even more than his creased face let on.

"Well, she is an adult."

"She's young enough to be my daughter, Raymond!" Robert shouted before he stormed out the back door of the house leaving Ray and Deb alone.