It was a nice house, with a well-manicured lawn. There were rose bushes lining the front of the house and hanging plants along the full length of the porch. Two bicycles sat in the driveway and several balls were scattered about the front lawn. Goren nodded approvingly. "This is nice," he observed.
He'd been back to work for a week after getting the ok from one of the department's psychologists. He handled his demons well, and there was no reason for this one to give him much more grief than any of the others. Of course, he hadn't said that. He was fine, more than ready to be back at work. That was what he'd said, and he'd meant it.
Eames rang the doorbell, and they waited until Mrs. Davis came to the door. She remembered him from the subway. She had only seen Eames briefly, but she remembered her, too. "Please come in, detectives."
She led them to the living room, where she opened a drawer in an old rolltop desk and took something out. She handed Goren his badge with a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said softly.
He smiled and slipped the badge into his pocket. "How are the kids?"
"They're adjusting well. I take them to see a counsellor once a week and they are beginning to sleep again at night. Jeffrey still cries for his mother from time to time. Emma is very quiet, but she's starting to smile again."
"I, um, I wanted to thank you, for everything you did for them that day," Goren said.
"Not as much as I wanted to thank you, detective."
Eames recognized his shy smile, and she knew he felt that he hadn't done enough. Mrs. Davis looked at her. "You were there, during the rescue."
"Yes."
"We owe a number of you a great deal."
Eames shook her head. "No, you don't."
Goren nodded in agreement. "We were doing our job."
Mrs. Davis smiled at his modesty. "I saw what you did, and I saw things get worse for you as the day wore on. Another man might have sat off to himself and licked his wounds. You ignored yours...you and that young man who watched out for you."
"Well, I'm fine now."
She got to her feet and gently patted his cheek in a maternal manner. "I'll get Jeff and Emma."
She left the room and he leaned forward, rubbing his forehead. Eames rested a hand against his side, beneath his open jacket. He turned his head and gave her a smile.
The children came quietly into the room. He looked up at them and smiled. "Hi, kids."
Emma took Jeff's hand and they walked closer, until they stood in front of the two detectives. Emma reached out her hand and touched his shoulder. He reached out and touched her chin. Beside her, Jeff tentatively touched his tie, and he rested his fingers gently against the boy's elbow. At the same time, both children stepped into his arms, and he hugged them. Eames smiled. These kids were going to be fine.
--------------------------------------------
He was quiet as she drove back toward Manhattan. "Everything ok?" she asked.
"Yeah. Those kids got lucky."
She nodded. "They sure did. So did you."
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, my luck almost ran out, though."
"Do you still think you were where you needed to be?"
"Absolutely."
She nodded in agreement. "So do I."
He looked at her. "Really?"
"Really. From what I've been told, you are the main reason those people didn't panic. They trusted you, and you stayed calm. They saw you continue to push yourself until your body just gave out. That takes a certain kind of heroism, Bobby."
"Or a certain kind of stupidity."
She smiled, reaching a hand over to touch his arm. "I know the difference. Let's get some dinner and go home."
He smiled back at her. "How about we go home and then get some dinner?"
She laughed and he leaned back in his seat, interlacing his fingers with hers and closing his eyes. His body was just about healed, and he felt good. The wounds in his soul would probably never heal, but he could manage them, as he managed everything in his life. And there was nothing he couldn't manage as long as he had her.
fin.
A/N: Hope you guys liked it :-) Special thanks to The Confused One for letting me know what she thought about the last two chapters.