274 Days
By Tres Mechante
Disclaimer and Author's Note in Part 1
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After Bobby finally left her apartment she collapsed into a deep, dreamless sleep. Sunday she caught up on a few chores. When Monday rolled around, she was nervous about seeing Bobby after her emotional meltdown, but it was business as usual. By Wednesday afternoon, Alex began to relax, certain that Saturday's outburst was well and truly behind them.
She looked up as Bobby and Captain Deakins walked by. "I'll make the call, Goren, but you do the talking." Bobby looked like he was going to argue but merely replied "Just get me the intro and I'll do the rest."
"What's that about?" asked Alex.
"The Captain is going to put me in touch with a-an of his," he replied.
"The Neilson case?" she asked. "We can use all the help we can get." Not giving him a chance to respond, she flipped through the file, allowing herself to be absorbed in the details of the case. She missed the look of relief on his face.
As they were leaving Friday afternoon, Bobby took Alex aside. He looked a nervous, which made Alex curious. "Eames, I-I'm really sorry about this. There's a source we need to talk to...but he's almost impossible to find a- and he's only going surface for a few hours Sunday afternoon." He watched the emotions chase through her expressive eyes.
Alex sighed heavily. That's just great, she thought, work on a Sunday. On the other hand, it would mean a reasonable excuse to skip the Mother's Day obligation her folks' place. "You know how I love your mysterious sources," she quipped with a smile. "When and where?"
"Probably around 3:00, so we'll have to be on the road by 1:30 or 2:00 at the latest. Um...dress to get dirty." At her raised eyebrow he elaborated slightly. "We'll be where there's a lot car parts...grease..."
"Junkyard?"
"Yeah, something like that. Listen, is this going to...screw up your family plans?"
"I come from a family of cops, remember? They'll understand and we'll make plans for another day," she said. "What about you? Aren't you going to visit your mom?"
"I'll go in the morning," said Bobby. "Lately morning visits are better anyway." They finalized plans for Sunday, agreeing that Alex would pick him up, and went their separate ways.
--- --- ---
Saturday morning Alex had just put the coffee on when there was a knock at her door. She hesitated, wondering who would show up unannounced so early in the morning. She silently crept closer and peeked through the peephole then threw open the door in alarm. "Pippa! What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"
"Can't a girl visit her sister without there being an emergency?" Pippa asked with a laugh.
"Well sure, but you never visit," retorted Alex, accepting her sister's hug.
"Because you're never home to visit!"
"Coffee?" asked Alex, heading back toward the kitchen.
"Alex, wait."
Alex turned around in surprise. "There is something wrong, isn't there?"
"No! It's just – I want to take you out for breakfast, just the two of us," she said, surprising Alex.
"But why..."
Pippa laughed, but it was a very uncomfortable sound. "God, this all sounded so easy in my head." Reaching for her arm, Pippa drew a very confused Alex into the living room and sat them both on the sofa. "I'm kind of hoping to start a new tradition – just hear me out, okay? Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I'm thrilled that I'll be able to celebrate it as a mom. But, Alex, I wouldn't be able to do that if you hadn't been willing to carry the baby for me. There really isn't a national surrogate mother's day or anything, but I thought that maybe we could celebrate it ourselves, the day before Mother's Day... Am I making any sense?"
To say Alex was stunned would have been the granddaddy of all understatements. She could not form a coherent thought to save her life.
"Alex? Please say something..." Pippa's quivering voice pierced the emotional fog surrounding Alex.
"I don't know what to say." Alex just looked at her sister for a long moment. "I had no idea...Pippa, what brought this on?"
Pippa was becoming flustered. "It's just...we got talking and when Angela was born we..." Taking a deep breath she tried again. "That first excitement of Angela being born has settled down – a bit. We were looking at pictures, you know, getting the album put together. We all just took over, didn't we? You hardly got to see her at all before we took her home. Oh Alex I'm so sorry, so ashamed – we pretty much ignored you after she was born. It was like you'd just delivered a pizza instead of a wonderful new life."
"Believe me, that was no pizza," Alex retorted. Both women laughed at that. "Pippa, I really do understand – it was exciting and you had been waiting so long for a baby. It's okay. But if you really need the words, all is forgiven." Silence filled the room as the two sisters embraced. Finally pulling away, Alex tried to lighten the mood. "So, you're paying for breakfast, right?"
--- --- ---
Walking out of Dad's Kitchen a few hours later Alex and Pippa started to cut across the nearby park to get back to Alex's apartment. Before they got very far, a mother and child – specifically their mother and little Angela – wandered over to greet them. "What are you doing here?" asked Alex in surprise.
"Just out for a walk. Fancy meeting you here," she said. Receiving a slight nod from Pippa, she continued, "I thought maybe you'd like to visit with your niece. You really haven't had a chance yet..." Mrs. Eames handed the baby over to Alex, who gently cradled her.
"She's a little heavier than I remember," Alex commented, gazing into the tiny face of her former companion. Serious eyes gazed back up at her, as though inspecting Alex. Pippa and her mom walked ahead of them, pushing the empty stroller, while Alex followed more slowly, talking softly to her niece. Leaning closer so as not to be overheard, Alex whispered, "So, what's really going on? I feel like I'm at the center of a conspiracy." Angela merely blew a spit bubble and gurgled slightly, causing Alex to laugh. "Oh so that's it. You refuse to roll on your co-conspirators."
When they got to Alex's apartment, she invited them in, but they declined. "Will we see you tomorrow?" Mrs. Eames asked tentatively.
"Mom I'm sorry but I have to work – we're interviewing someone in the afternoon. Can we get together another day?"
"Well, what about breakfast? We could have a late breakfast and I'll do up French toast and maybe waffles and..." Alex's laugh stopped her.
"And you'll cook too much, as always. Mom I'd have to leave your place shortly after noon to go pick up my partner. That's not really a lot of time," she said.
"But it's Mother's Day and I want to spend it with my girls. Please Alex? Breakfast is better than not seeing you at all," she pleaded.
Alex gave in. She always gave in to her mom, she thought with a grin.
--- --- ---
Sunday breakfast with her family was more relaxed than Alex expected. But as predicted, her mother prepared way too much food. Of course Angela was the center of attention, spending time on everyone's knee over the course of the meal.
Just after noon, Alex got ready to pick up Bobby. Her mom handed her a goody bag – a couple of paperback novels, a batch oatmeal raisin cookies and an envelope filled with photos.
Alex was about to pull away from the curb when her mom came running out. "Honey I forgot to give you this," she called out. "It's just a few cookies for that handsome partner of yours." Alex froze. When had her mother ever met Bobby? And why would she want to give him cookies...? Her mind whirled with possibilities. "You will give them to him, won't you?"
"Sure, no problem," said Alex, putting the container on the passenger.
"He's definitely going to get it," she muttered as she drove off.- continued in part four -