In recent years, Goren had made a habit of visiting his mother early on Thanksgiving. He would have lunch with her and then head over to wherever Thanksgiving dinner would be with Eames, Logan and Barek. And since Maggie was born, Eames had taken to inviting him to her dad's for dinner Sunday night. They decided to continue the traditions they had already established, and now Maggie and Eames would join him for lunch with his mother.

Maggie was excited. First, lunch with Gramma...and then dinner at Uncle Mike's. As was her habit when she was excited, she had tried to convince her father that it was time for 'brefkiss' at 4:30. He didn't agree. With some difficulty, he had finally gotten her to settle down in the bed between them without waking her mother. Once settled, she finally went back to sleep. By that time, however, he was wide awake and there was no chance he would be able to go back to sleep.

He rolled onto his side, facing Alex and Maggie. In her sleep, Maggie curled against her mother. Reaching toward his wife, he rested his hand gently on her abdomen, smiling when the baby kicked. Everything about her pregnancies had fascinated him, and he was thrilled to be fully involved with this one. He'd had no place being involved with her first two pregnancies, although he would have done anything she asked, especially after Ricky made it known he would have nothing to do with it. The bastard had never changed his mind about the pregnancy or the baby, and Goren had never known whether to be relieved or angry. The selfish part of him had been relieved, because that opened the door for his involvement. But another part of him had been angry, only because Alex was hurt by it. Anything that ever caused his diminutive partner pain of any sort angered him; that had never changed. He found himself wishing, in retrospect, that he'd had any sort of clue from the start that Maggie was his. It certainly would not have changed anything about his love for the little girl, but it would have eased the emotional pain both he and Eames had dealt with. Sometimes, he still fought against resentment for that, wondering just when Eames first began to suspect that Maggie might not be Ricky's.

He was surprised when her hand came to rest over his, and he shifted his eyes toward her face. She smiled. "Why are you awake?" she asked sleepily.

"Because Maggie wanted breakfast and by the time I got her back to sleep, I was up." She laughed softly and he frowned in mock annoyance. "It's not funny, Eames. I like sleeping in with you."

With a teasing poke in the ribs, she said, "Define 'sleeping in'."

"Any morning she doesn't get me up before six."

She let her fingers stray across his chest, studying his face in the dim light of the room. Something had been troubling him for the past few days, and she wondered what it was. "Bobby, what's bothering you?"

He hesitated. She only had a few more weeks left in her pregnancy. He didn't want her to spend them worrying about something neither of them had any control over. Softly, she asked, "Are you upset about what the doctor said on Monday?"

The doctor had told them that the baby was still breech, and unless he turned in the next week, a c-section might be necessary. "I wasn't happy to hear it, no."

"You've been very restless since then."

Damn. He was hoping she wouldn't notice...yeah, right. No, it wasn't the doctor that had him so unsettled; it was another call he had gotten that day that had turned his world on its end. He felt that everything was going to work out with the birth and he trusted Alex and the doctor to take care of it. So he didn't worry about that so much, though it was certainly a part of it. But if that's what she wanted to think it was...if it took the focus away from the true reason for his restlessness...well, that was okay with him.

"I guess I'm getting anxious."

"Your mom is okay for this visit, isn't she?"

"Yes. You understand I'll always be...on edge when we visit, but I'm not nervous about it. Not like I was for that first visit."

"So what are you thinking about?"

He smiled. "Just...how much I've loved being involved in this pregnancy." He hesitated, then added, "Wondering how much I missed with the first two."

"Bobby..."

He silenced her with a soft kiss. "It's okay. What do you want for breakfast?"

She knew he regretted not being able to be more involved, especially when she was pregnant with Maggie, and she felt bad about that, but who knew? One night...who could have known? "Something light," she answered. "There's no way I'm going to have room for two dinners."

"We'll keep your portions small."

"Good luck. Your mother already thinks I'm being starved."

"I know. She scolds me every week for not feeding you. Every time she hugs me good-bye, she tells me to drive carefully and make sure you eat something."

"When you ran to the store for milk the other day, Maggie tried to give me half her dinner."

He shook his head. "Mom has always had her own ideas about things and she's never been shy about sharing them. A year or two after her diagnosis, she convinced Lewis that he'd have plants growing out of his ears if he swallowed watermelon seeds or ate green beans whole. He's always been a little gullible, and we were little then. He still gets nervous if he swallows a watermelon seed and I haven't seen him eat green beans since we were kids. He used to check his ears every night before bed until we were ten." He smiled. "When I started learning magic, I slipped a leaf into his ear. He nearly had a heart attack."

Eames couldn't help laughing, just like she couldn't help loving Lewis. She leaned toward him, pulling his head closer so she could kiss him. "Maybe I can help you get back to sleep for an hour or two?"

"Not with Maggie in here," he replied with a smile.

She laughed again. He gave her a soft kiss and slid out of the bed. "Go back to sleep, baby."

She watched him gather his clothes together and head for the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, he was pleasantly surprised when his pregnant wife slipped into the shower with him.

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Frances smiled at her family, seated at the table with her in the dining room. "This is a good thing, son."

He looked at her quizzically. "What is, Mom?"

"Bringing Maggie and Alex for Thanksgiving."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You can be funny about these things."

He sighed heavily. "Contrary to what everyone seems to think, I don't conspire to keep the three of you apart. As long as everything is going well with you, Mom, I will continue to bring Maggie to visit you. Alex can make up her own mind, but she seems to enjoy these visits as much as you do. Maybe I'll start staying home."

Frances frowned and scolded, "Robert, you know better."

The petulant look didn't leave his face. "Well, stop acting like I don't want you to visit with each other."

Alex rested her hand on his leg; she knew his feelings had been hurt. She was becoming increasingly concerned about his recent irritability, hoping he was unsettled about the impending birth and the possibilty she might need surgery. He glanced at her and his face softened. He closed his eyes briefly when her fingers caressed his thigh, but he was having trouble calming himself. He and Alex had worked things out weeks ago and she seemed to understand how he felt. He knew she understood his protective tendencies toward all of them, even if it made her angry when he acted on them. But his mother often had trouble letting things go, and she felt compelled to remind him of all the things she felt he had done wrong. Most of the time he just ignored it, but his equilibrium was off right now and her criticism struck home. He was well aware that he wasn't perfect and he felt irritated at her for pointing it out. He pushed his plate away and Alex knew his mother had pushed the wrong buttons. What she didn't understand was why he was being so sensitive. He pushed his chair back from the table. "I, um, I need to get some air."

He squeezed Alex's hand and briefly met her eyes. Then he looked at his mother and promised, "I'll meet you back at your room."

He stood up, stopping behind Maggie's chair and leaning down to kiss her. She looked up at him. "Are you mad, Daddy?"

"No, mouse. I just need to take a walk."

She studied him for a moment. "You need alone time?"

He nodded. "I do."

"Okay, Daddy."

Somehow she understood that about him, which amazed her mother. She was such a perceptive child. Even at her age, she respected his need for alone time. Alex watched him trace a finger down Maggie's cheek and tap her nose, then he turned and left the dining room. Maggie turned to her grandmother. "It's okay, Gramma. After Daddy has his alone time, he's better."

Frances smiled at her. "Yes. He's always been that way." She looked toward Alex. "Would you like more turkey, Alex dear?"

Alex smiled, effectively hiding her concern for Bobby's withdrawal. She was worried that there was more to it than simple annoyance at his mother. "No, thank you. I'm about full."

Maggie stretched her neck to look at her mother's plate. "It's okay, Gramma," she said again. "Mommy eated alla her vegebles."

Both women laughed and Frances leaned over to kiss Maggie, delighted in every way by her little granddaughter.

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He left the building and headed down a path that led toward the pond. Water always helped to calm him when he couldn't settle down. He was more disturbed by the recent turn of events than he'd realized. He struggled with himself about bringing Bishop into this. If Alex weren't on leave, there would be no issue, even though he wouldn't have liked it. But Bishop...a temporary partner...no. Granted, she was his partner for the next few weeks, but he had no idea how long this investigation was going to take. And it really wasn't a Major Case investigation. IAB was borrowing him, part-time. He was going to have to talk to Deakins, but he wasn't going to bother him today.

He squatted beside the small pond and watched the ducks paddle around in the water. The late November breeze was cold, and he wasn't wearing a coat, but he didn't pay any attention to it. His mind was busy with other things. No, he wasn't going to drag Bishop into this. Their regular caseload was plenty full. She did not need to be involved with this. But there was no way Deakins was going to let him go into it alone...and he didn't want a partner from IAB. Logan...there was his answer. He trusted Logan and he knew Logan would back him up right. He would have no hidden agenda. He had no idea where this investigation would lead, but he knew there were already cops involved on the wrong end of it. He needed a partner he could trust, and if it couldn't be Eames, then Logan was his best second choice.

Standing, he felt a little better, soothed by the pond and mildly relieved to have decided what to do about his partner. He was still unsettled about the entire situation, but he felt better able to control his restlessness now and perhaps even reassure his wife that nothing was wrong...yet.

As promised, he met them back at his mother's room. Maggie jumped into his arms. "Are you better now, Daddy?"

He kissed her. "I'm better."

She turned in his arms. "See, Gramma! He's better."

"Yes, dear. I see."

Alex could tell that he had, indeed, calmed himself, but she was still troubled about why he was upset in the first place. He was very used to his mother's criticisms. Something else was going on, but she couldn't imagine what it could be.

"So, Bobby," Frances began. "When are you going to bring that angel back to see me?"

"Next week. If Alex feels up to it, she can come out this weekend, but I won't be able to."

Maggie frowned. "How come?"

"I've got to work."

He glanced at Alex, read her questioning look and gave her one in return that said 'later'. Frances looked at her daughter-in-law. "Alex?"

"I'd be glad to bring Maggie out on Saturday."

Frances was happy. Bobby knew she wanted to see them more often, but he didn't know how he could make that work, given their schedule. It wasn't reluctance; it was logistics. But his mother didn't seem to understand that and he doubted she ever would. He knew she still resented being admitted at Carmel Ridge, and he had done his best to avoid having to do it. But once it was clear her disease was out-of-control and could not be managed on an outpatient basis, he'd had no choice. The only one who fully understood it from his perspective was Lewis, because Lewis had been there. He had seen things no one else ever had. Lewis knew how he'd struggled with the decision to admit her. He knew...and he understood on a level no one else could.

The visit ended on a happy note for his mother, wife and daughter, and he was glad for that. But Alex knew he was deeply troubled and he had to find a way to explain that without worrying her. When they said good-bye, none of them knew it would be his last visit for more than a few weeks. And it was his conspicuous absence in the weeks to come that would set his mother on a downward slide into the realm where 'they' were out to get her by harming her son.