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Sins of the Father

Chapter Six: Released

Bobby fell asleep somewhere around three in the morning. At least he assumed it was three because that was the last number he remembered. Now the VCR clock read 7:30 and the orange light from the sunrise was starting to creep across the living room floor. There was still dead weight against his chest, which meant that Grace was still sound asleep.

He replayed last night's events back as the sun made it's slow rise over the horizon of skyscrapers. Normally he wouldn't have pushed so hard but he never came across a person like Grace before. He knew many people, if not all people, carried around with them scars and demons. The two went hand in hand. He knew all about that.

The demons of abandonment, schizophrenia, and failure chased him with relentless pursuit. The scars that they left were that of mistrust, fear and self-doubt. He dealt with people every day that used those scars as excuses and blamed their demons for their actions. Then there were people, like him and Grace, who merely chose to live peaceably with their demons and slowly nurse their wounds that would later turn into scars if they ever healed.

He had watched the curious ME disintegrate in front of him as he assured her she wasn't alone with her hurts. He watched as she sobbed herself to sleep, clinging to his shirt as if it were her lifeline. Looking down at her now he saw she still had a good grip on the blue material. But the tension in her face was long gone. It was then that he realized just how young she looked.

There were no slight creases around her eyes or mouth, which meant she didn't smile much. Given what he knew about her now, he understood why. Her forehead however, did have the faint lines of furrows. Her skin was that of normal redhead, very pale with splashes of freckles, like someone had flung a greasy spoon at her face and the grease spatters remained. With some consternation, he realized she couldn't have been older than twenty-eight, if that. She was just over half his age.

Speaking of age, he shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position. He had remained on the floor, rocking Grace back and forth, trying to bring her some comfort in the pain, and didn't want to try to move her after she had fallen asleep. He had merely opted for sitting on the floor with his back up against the armchair with Grace still cradled in his arms. Unfortunately, his movement didn't go unnoticed and Grace finally stirred.

He watched with fascination as her forehead furrowed and her eyes slowly opened. It was comical, in it's own way, how her eyes widened when she realized the predicament she was in. Those green eyes slowly looked up at him with distinct shock and...amazement? Why shouldn't it be amazement? She was no stranger to abandonment either. Something deep inside of him twinged when she looked up at him. He couldn't place what exactly it was, but something had changed. Choosing to ignore it, he gave her a half grin.

"Good morning."

She launched herself to her feet as soon as the words left his mouth. She looked around the apartment and finally just covered her face with her hands.

"Oh my-I'm so sorry," the muffled words reached his ears. He pulled himself up as Grace continued to groan behind her hands.

"This is so embarrassing."

Bobby tried to smooth out his shirt from the wrinkles left by her clutching hands. "Why?"

"I just...I never...This doesn't happen to me."

He regarded her with a curious expression. "What doesn't happen to you?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Everything that happened last night. The crying, the fact that you're still here, the fact that you..."

He waited for her to finish her thought but she didn't. "That I'm what?"

"Nothing. Look, the least I can do is offer you breakfast for all your trouble."

"You cook?"

Grace laughed slightly. "No. But there's a coffee house one block up."

"I know where that is. I only live two blocks away. Give me a half hour to get some clean clothes and I'll meet you there."

Grace nodded. "Okay. See you in a half hour then."

Bobby picked up his coat and pulled it on as he stepped out the door. He had a suspicious feeling she was going to skip out on their breakfast...date? No, not date but what else would he call it? He sincerely hoped she would show just so he could see if there was any difference in her attitude. If he was able to talk to her in a regular conversation he could tell if he really had reached her. Thinking about reaching out to Grace the way he did, his words came back to him.

"I know what it's like to be trapped in a room, to wait in the dark, listening for footsteps to come down the hall. Waiting for that door to open and someone to pick you up and carry you out of that room. Out of the darkness and fear. Away from the hurt and anger."

He tried to imagine the look on Eames' face if he ever told her that she was his savior. Those five years of being his partner, willingly playing the role of his "wife" on various occasions, watching his interrogations and having it not affect their partnership. But it wasn't until that day on the witness stand that she had released him from that room. Her emotion and threatening tears had proven to him the extent of their friendship. Granted, he felt like throttling the defense attorney for throwing a five-year-old letter in her face but her reaction had been his salvation. Her apology had unlocked the door. And he would be forever grateful to her.

Grace practically ran from her apartment building to the coffee house. She managed to shower, change, down four aspirin for her hangover, both alcoholic and emotional, and left her apartment right on time. If it hadn't been for her neighbor she would have gotten to the coffee house on time. The last thing she wanted was for Goren to think she was standing him up. Not after what he had done for her, pushing through her emotional barriers despite her abuse. She felt her cheeks flush from embarrassment as she remembered striking him across the face. But he still pursued her, still tried to reach her. And he did.

She looked through the window of the coffee house as she slowed to a more dignified pace. She caught sight of him seated towards the back of the café, his forehead creased in concentration. He probably was thinking she wasn't going to show. It was then that she realized something about him. Watching him look around the café, particularly the door, she understood and it actually frightened her.

He cared. Someone cared about what happened to her, Grace Harris. The girl who had fought her way out of every situation life handed her, the girl who had single handedly outran child services and raised her two younger sisters. The girl no one cared about finally found someone who did. And there was only one explanation as to why he cared: he had lived a similar life. He showed her he cared, now it was time for her to repay the favor. She stepped inside and was greeted with warmth and the smell of many flavors of caffeine. Goren spotted her the minute she walked in and was on his feet.

"Sit down," she waved to him. "Sorry I'm late but my neighbor across the hall was interested to know how I've been. You might actually know him, he's a police officer."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "What precinct?"

Grace glanced over the menu. "27th."

"I know a few from there. Who is it?"

"Ed Green."

Goren laughed. "Oh yeah, I know him. Good cop."

"Good neighbor too. I hardly ever hear him and if we haven't seen each other for a few days we always knock on each other's door to make sure we're both alive. He's a nice guy."

"It's nice to have good neighbors. Everyone just leaves me alone in my building."

"Before Ed moved in everyone left me alone too. My profession isn't all that popular when it comes to establishing relationships with people. I gave up on dating a few years ago. Whenever the question comes up 'So, what do you do for a living?.' My answer kind of ends the date right there."

"Usually my pager goes off before the main course comes. Being on call constantly doesn't usually give women a warm and fuzzy feeling. And if the pager doesn't get them then my partner usually does."

Grace gave him a wry smile. "You bring your partner with you on dates?"

"No," he laughed, "I meant when they find out that I work closely with a woman partner they suddenly lose interest for some reason."

"Hm, jealousy, not a nice emotion." Grace sat back in her chair and looked at Goren. Or should she call him Bobby now? He had changed into a black T-shirt and jeans. A black leather jacket hung over the back of his chair. His hair was black but laced with gray, giving it a very smoky look but his face looked years younger than the hair color implied. She really couldn't guess his age. "How old are you?" It was out her mouth before she knew it. Thankfully, he laughed.

"Only if you tell me your age."

Grace nodded. "Fair deal. I'm thirty-two."

"Forty-four."

Twelve years difference. Significant but not overwhelming. His eyes, on the other hand, looked like they had seen more than one lifetime. Considering what he saw on the street alone could be the reason for that. But there was something else in those dark eyes. Something that was very familiar to her.

"You told me bits and pieces of your family. You know more about my dysfunctional family than I know about yours." Grace looked down and played with the paper napkin in front of her. "We must have similar backgrounds for you to...reach out to me the way you did."

He gave her that shy, boyish look like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The waitress came and saved him from an answer for the time being. They placed their order and when the waitress left, that uncomfortable look came across his face again. Finally, he seemed to find the words and the courage to say them.

"My mother has schizophrenia. She is in a hospital in the suburbs."

"Carmel Ridge."

He gave her a very surprised look. "You know it?"

"Uh, yeah, I've heard of it. So she's there?"

"Yeah. My Dad walked out when I was eleven, saying he couldn't handle my mom's condition any more. That her illness wasn't 'part of the deal' I believe is how he put it."

"Did you see him at all after that?"

Goren waved a hand dismissively. "The next time I saw him was at the morgue. I had to identify the body and clean out his apartment."

"I'm waiting for that day myself."

"You know where you Dad is?"

Grace nodded. "He jumps from homeless shelter to homeless shelter. I've offered to take him in many times but he's got a drug problem he just refuses to deal with. You mentioned a brother?"

Their food came and they both took time to fix their coffee. When everything was set did Goren continue the conversation.

"I have a younger brother, three years younger actually. He's, uh," Goren rubbed the back of his neck, "got a gambling problem."

Grace nodded in understanding. "I have similar sibling. Only she's following in our parents footsteps."

"Drugs?"

"And prostitution. I can't tell you how many times I've had to pull her out of raves, clubs, off street corners and the ER." Grace sighed. "That's just another call I'm waiting for."

As if on cue, both their cell phones rang at the same time. Grace picked up hers and looked at the caller ID. It was Dr. Rodgers. Flipping the phone open, she turned in her seat to give Goren some privacy for his call.

"Dr. Harris."

"Grace, I'm sorry. I know it's your day off but another body was found. Another ME just called me saying that the suicide wasn't a suicide and wanted to know if it could be related to your case. I have the address for you."

Grace grabbed a clean napkin and quickly scribbled down the address. She promised to go and look for herself before hanging up, slightly saddened by the disruption of her breakfast...date? She glanced over at Goren who was writing something down on his own napkin. Well, what else was she supposed to think about it?

He hung up his phone and slipped it into his jacket pocket. "Another body's been found."

Grace held up her address. Goren gave her a wry smile and held up his address. It was the same address.

"Eames is going to meet us over there."

Grace nodded and gathered up her bagel and coffee. "You grab a cab and I'll take care of the bill. I need to stop by and get a med kit. You can ride with me from the ME's office if you want."

Goren grabbed his own food. "Meet you out there then."