Friends and Lovers

Chapter 14

Disclaimers: Same, same, same—not mine!

----------

Bullpen

"Slick, very slick," was the description Myles used to describe the doctor to the rest of the team. "Very charming but he seemed a little, shall we say, 'oily' to me?"

"Did he say 'oily'?" Sue asked doubtfully as she peered at Myles' lips. She glanced at Bobby perched next to her on her desk.

"Yes, he did," confirmed Bobby. "The guy had about six or seven diplomas...certificates framed on his wall. No doubt to impress his patients. I gave Tara the list to check them out."

"So what did he say?" asked Jack. "Did he even remember Jason Mitchell?"

"Not at first," responded Myles, "but when we reminded him he'd done two surgeries on the man and literally left him a cripple, he vaguely recalled him." Myles added disgustedly, "As the good doctor put it, he is in such demand, how can he be expected to remember all his patients?"

"However," interjected Bobby as he bumped Sue gently to get her attention, "he couldn't recall much other than Jason Mitchell seemed like a nice man, a cooperative patient. He basically said it was too bad he didn't respond well to the surgeries." Bobby frowned. "It's like Myles' said, everything was very smooth, very slick. He had an answer for everything."

"You know, maybe we need to talk to the insurance people," Sue suggested. "See if they've spoken with the good doctor about his surgeries and what information they've gathered."

"Good idea," D agreed.

Lucy held up a sheet of paper. "Way ahead of you there. Two companies are currently investigating that so-called surgeon along with the fraud unit. The case agent is Jan Watson."

"Hey," said Myles his interest perking up, "isn't that the cute brunette about so high?" indicating her height with his hand.

"That's the one," Lucy confirmed.

"I've been wanting to meet her."

"Too late, Myles," declared Bobby. "I hear she's dating Sam Mendes."

"Old news," Jack shook his head. "They broke up. She's available again."

The three women exchanged glances of amused amazement.

"Why is it," Lucy began, "that you guys know more about what's going on in this building than we do?"

"Hey, you think all we talk about is sports?" Jack grinned.

D smiled. "People, the case. We'll need to split up. Myles, why don't you take Bobby and talk to Jan Watson. Oh, and try to stay on topic." Before Myles could formulate a protest, D had moved on. "Jack...Sue, take one of the insurance investigators. Tara and I will interview the other one. Lucy, keep working on that list of patients. Maybe we'll get lucky and find one willing to talk."

Sue reached over to touch Bobby's arm in concern, noting signs of fatigue. "You okay?"

"Sure," he shrugged. He patted her hand as he stood up. "No worries. I'm just going along to keep Myles from overwhelming Jan Watson with his dazzling personality and incredible charm." He winked at Sue and left to catch up with an eager Myles.

----------

What began as a thirty-minute stop at the Bureau had turned into an entire afternoon and it was taking a visible toll on Bobby. Sue was increasingly worried as she discreetly watched Bobby pushing himself to exhaustion.

Jack stopped by her desk. "Take him home, Sue. He won't be any help if he has a relapse. Smoke inhalation can be a tricky thing," he said quietly.

She nodded gratefully. "I will. Thanks." She looked around and caught Lucy's eye.

Lucy approached her. "What's up?"

"Jack thinks I should take Bobby home and I agree. The doctor told him to take it easy today." Three pairs of eyes focused on Bobby who was sitting in his chair playing with his pencil as he read through a folder. His shoulders seemed to droop with exhaustion.

"He looks ready to collapse," Lucy said with a headshake. "Guys sure have funny ideas on how to take it easy." She turned to face Sue, "Are you coming home tonight?" At Sue's nod, she said, "Call when you want me to pick you up."

Sue smiled briefly at her friends. "Thanks." She walked over and laid a gentle hand on Bobby's shoulder. Too tired to do much more, he tilted his head and smiled wearily at her.

"Time to go home, Bobby," Sue said quietly. "You need to rest."

He sighed. "It pains me to admit it, but I'm not Superman." He threw down his pencil. "Let's go."

They gathered their things and said their good-byes. His hand on the small of her back, they left the office, trailed by Levi.

Lucy and Jack watched them leave. "You know," Lucy frowned slightly, perplexed at her thoughts, "it's hard to believe they only happened yesterday. They seem so...so natural together like they've always been a couple." A second later, she remembered who she was talking to. Her eyes wide, she turned to Jack. "Um, that's not to say that you and ..."

Jack held up his hand to stop her awkward apology. "It's okay, Luce." He tried to reassure her. "I know what you mean. Let's just say Sue and I had a talk and leave it at that."

Lucy nodded slowly, understanding Jack's need to deal with the situation in his own way. It couldn't be easy seeing Bobby and Sue together no matter how well he seemed to accept it. And the only remedy for that would be time.

----------

Bobby's apartment

"You'll probably feel a lot better after you shower," suggested Sue when he opened the door. "I'll put out the food while you do that." She leaned down to put the packages on the coffee table.

He stood looking at her. "Are you going to say 'I told you so'?"

Hazel eyes stared back at him. "Do I have to?"

He smiled. "I guess not." He stepped closer to her to gather her in his arms. "You do realize that this is not how I planned our first evening together."

"I thought last night was our first evening together and it was pretty memorable," she said with a dimpled smile. She liked the feel of his arms around her.

He smiled and gently cupped her face in his hands. "That's what I love about you. You always look on the bright side." He leaned in to kiss her. As Sue wrapped her arms around his neck, the kiss deepened. Seconds ticked by until finally, the need for air halted the kiss. He enveloped her in his arms.

"Wooo!" said Bobby trying to catch his breath. When he could finally breathe normally, he pulled back to look at her. "Sure you can't stay and keep a sick friend company?" he joked gently.

She shook her head. "Yes, I'm sure I can't stay and no, you're not really sick…yet. You just need to rest and since your idea of resting is apparently different from my idea of resting, it's better if I don't stay." At his look of protest, she reminded him, "Like how you said we'd stop at the office for a few minutes and it turned into the whole afternoon?"

He sighed. "Okay." His arms dropped to his sides. As he started to walk away he tossed over his shoulder, "You do realize it'll have to be a cold shower?" His mouth turned up in a lop-sided smile as he continued to the bedroom.

----------

"This is nice," Bobby said as Sue tucked him into bed. "It would be even better if you were lying in this bed with me."

She smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Can't sweet talk me, Bobby Manning. I'm still going home."

"Can't blame me for trying," he smirked. After a moment, he tried again. "Are you sure you can't stay?"

"Can't. I have to go home. Levi has to go home. We'll see you tomorrow at the office." She bent down to drop a kiss on his forehead. "You rest. I'll be here until you fall asleep."

"Mmm," he murmured drowsily as he reached for her free hand to tuck under his cheek. "I like the sound of that."

She sat quietly stroking his hair as Bobby fell asleep. Gazing at his face, her throat tightened at how important he'd become in such a short time. But deep down in her heart, she thought, perhaps he'd always been that important to her—she'd just been too blind to see it.

----------