She's Gone

Disclaimer: Dick's, not mine.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, so it's been a while! Read and review, please!

2 Years Later…

Lynn sat back in her chair, balancing a glass of iced tea on her pregnant belly. Mike joined her out on the porch and watched as Bobby got attacked by their respectful children.

"Well, it's not really fair, our kid kicking his ass, is it?" Mike said, giving Lynn a kiss on the head before joining Bobby on the back lawn. "Henry Peter Bishop-Logan, why are you picking on your uncle?" The little boy stopped and stared wide-eyed at his father, his red hair sticking up every which way. He slid down off of Bobby and toddled over to his father. "I'm gonna tickle you!" The toddler shrieked with joy and ducked through his father's legs and laughed as his dad chased him around, the two finally collapsing on the front lawn, laughing.

Lynn smiled and rubbed her belly. She was due again, any day now, in fact. She gave birth to Henry exactly two years ago. She hadn't even left for maternity leave yet; Henry decided to show up two weeks early. She was in the bullpen, working on paperwork while Bobby was out questioning people…and thus creating more paperwork for her. Mike and Carolyn were arguing over what food to order for lunch when Lynn's water broke. Two hours later, Henry was there. It was the quickest first baby her doctor had ever delivered. Mike had blown their cover by going back to One Police Plaza with "It's A Boy" cigars and handing them out to everybody. Although all anyone had to do was look at the kid to know it was Mike's…except for the fluff of red hair, of course. They had no idea they were having a boy; Henry ended up Henry courtesy of Bobby who was sick of Mike arguing over the phone with Lynn over what to name the poor kid. Henry didn't have a name for four days; everybody referred to him as "the boy". Having learned their lesson, Mike and Lynn found out the sex of this baby – a girl – and chose a name, Ava Grace Bishop-Logan.

Lynn put her iced tea down on the deck and stood up, stretching her back. She laughed as she watched Mike play "airplane" with their son, as Bobby and Nan bounced happily on the trampoline. Nan was four now, and every bit her father's daughter. The patio door slid open, Lynn turned towards the door to see who was coming out. Carolyn's pregnant belly preceded her, followed by a birthday cake, and then Carolyn herself. "Let me help you with that," Lynn said, taking the cake from Carolyn's hands and setting it down on the patio table.

Carolyn waved her hands over head, signaling to Bobby and Mike to come back up on the deck. Carolyn turned to Lynn and smiled. "I still can't believe we got knocked up at the same time." Bobby bounded up the stairs, a giggling Nan in his arms.

"Who wants cake? Nan, do you want cake? I want cake!" Bobby placed Nan down and she promptly ran over to Carolyn, hugging her legs briefly before climbing up into her booster seat so she could reach the table. Mike followed Bobby up the stairs carrying a smiling Henry, placing him in his high chair. Lynn watched him sit next to their son and thanked her lucky stars she had them both.

Carolyn sat down beside Nan, Bobby taking his seat beside Carolyn. They all sang "Happy Birthday" to Henry, who hid his face, too shy to be the center of attention even though it was his birthday. Mike took pictures as Carolyn stood to cut the cake and serve everybody. Bobby watched as Carolyn helped Nan scrape the frosting off of her cake, laughing with the others over the fact that she was the only child they could think of that didn't have a sweet tooth. While the others ate, Bobby toyed with his ice cream. He looked out over his backyard, the backyard that went with the house he and Carolyn had bought to be closer to Alex's family. After Mike and Lynn's elopement, he and Carolyn both went on lots more dates. Correction – lots more bad dates. Carolyn thought she had found somebody twice. The first guy couldn't handle the fact that she was a detective. That was fine, she was used to that. But the second guy, he wasn't comfortable with the fact that Carolyn was so involved with Bobby and Nan. After that, they both sort of woke up and realized…hey, why not date each other? And so, they did. And then they were married on Lynn and Mike's one year anniversary. Lynn and Carolyn joked that if either of them forgot that day, they must both be morons. So, Bobby watched his wife wipe cake crumbs from his daughter's face, as happy as he could possibly be. They were both looking forward to the birth of their son, who was also due to make an appearance any day now.

The party died down as the sun started setting. Lynn and Mike gathered up Henry and made their way back to the city. Carolyn put Nan to bed while Bobby cleaned up the kitchen. Bobby was just starting the dishwasher when Carolyn appeared downstairs, an odd look on her face.

"What's wrong? Is Nan okay?" Bobby asked, walking towards her.

"Um, yeah, she's fine. You should call Alex's mom," Carolyn said, pacing the kitchen, holding her abdomen.

"Why?" Bobby asked. It dawned on him why he might do this. "Oh, I hear you. I'll get your bag, meet me in the car." Bobby took off upstairs, his cell phone already glued to his ear.

The Next Morning…

Jimmy Deakins stopped at the viewing window and smiled wistfully at the babies that lay in their bassinets. It didn't even seem that long ago that he was looking through a similar window at his own children. He scanned the names on the bassinets, looking for Baby Boy Goren. He was startled for a moment as he recognized an entirely different name – Baby Girl Bishop-Logan. Jimmy smiled and shook his head as he turned to find out what rooms both the women were staying in. "Hi, excuse me, ma'am?" Jimmy tapped a nurse on the arm as she walked by him.

"Yes?" the nurse answered.

"I was wondering what rooms Carolyn Goren and E. Lynn Bishop-Logan are staying in," Jimmy asked politely.

The nurse rolled her eyes and laughed. "Room 213," she answered as she walked away. Jimmy chuckled as he walked down the hall and entered room 213. There were balloons and flowers all over the place. Carolyn was playing Uno with Nan on her hospital bed. Lynn was sleeping, with Henry tucked under one of her arms. Bobby was feeding his new son and Mike was hovering over Alex's mom, who was holding his new daughter.

"Mike, I raised four children, go sit. Now," Alex's mom shifted the baby and pointed to the chair next to Bobby. Mike looked down and made his way over to the chair and started hovering over Bobby.

"Mike, back off," Bobby murmured while watching his son doze off. He took the bottle out of his mouth and adjusted the baby so he could burp him. Jimmy cleared his throat.

"Congratulations, guys. I didn't know you guys had this planned," Jimmy laughed as Mike stood up to greet him.

"Well, we didn't, actually. On our way home, Miss Ava over there," Mike motioned towards Alex's mom who smiled at Jimmy, "decided she wanted out. We drove over to the hospital and who should we run into but the big guy and Carolyn."

"But Milo Alexander beat her. Just something about these Goren kids, just want to get right out in it," Bobby cut in.

"I named him, Uncle Jimmy! Milo from "Milo & Otis" and Alex for Mommy!" Nan beamed up at Jimmy quickly and then turned her attention back to her game with Carolyn. Alex's mom passed Ava back to Mike and took a seat next to Carolyn and Nan.

"She's a very smart girl, that one," Alex's mom said quietly.

Later That Night…

Carolyn sat at her kitchen table; just the light over the stove was on. She had a hot cup of coffee in front of her. Alex sat next to her, playing with a card in an envelope with Carolyn's name on it. Alex had a small smile on her face as she motioned for Carolyn to follow her upstairs. Carolyn pulled her robe closer around her as she walked up the stairs. Alex stopped at Nan's bedroom door and opened it. Nan was asleep, curled tight into a ball. Alex squatted down next to the bed and ran a finger gently over Nan's tightly curled up hand. She stood back up, kissed her daughter's head and turned to leave the room. Carolyn wiped tears away from her eyes as Alex rejoined her in the hall. "Oh stop, Carolyn," Alex gently chided. She squeezed Carolyn's shoulder and walked down the hall towards Bobby and Carolyn's room. Alex walked quietly into the room, careful not to wake either Bobby or the baby. Alex walked towards Bobby, smoothing away the curls on his forehead. She stopped and watched him for a long time. She smiled and moved towards the baby. "What's his name?" Alex whispered.

"Milo Alexander…we just call him Alex though," Carolyn whispered back. Alex turned to look at her.

"Really?"

Carolyn nodded. "Nan named him; Milo from her movie and Alex for Mommy."

Alex smiled. "That's my girl." She stood up straight and walked past Carolyn out of the bedroom. Carolyn raced after her, hoping she wouldn't disappear again. She found her sitting back down at the kitchen table. When Carolyn entered the room, Alex stood back up. "This is for you," Alex said, handing Carolyn the card. "Open it when I leave. I have to go." Before Carolyn could protest, Alex hugged her friend and walked out the back door. Carolyn stood in the doorway and stared out into the darkness for a long time. Then she remembered the card.

Carolyn,

I knew you'd figure it out eventually. Thank you, and know I love you all.

Alex