Chapter 33: It's Time

Her first day off from work, she kept herself occupied around the house and ran a few errands that she'd been putting off for a while. She had lunch with her father at the hospital and stayed long enough to see her mother wake up. It was nice to see her eyes and hear her voice, even if it was raspy and weak. She told Chris she looked tired and needed to take a break from working so hard. Chris chuckled and told her mom that she was already on it and promised that she'd take care of herself just as much as she took care of everyone else, even if she didn't know how she would. Her mother stayed awake for an hour before falling asleep again. The number on her monitor was getting lower and lower. They'd told them that if it dropped below seventy that would mean she was in heart failure. Her monitor read seventy two. Chris stared at the monitor as the number dropped and the machine beeped: seventy one. Her father was used to it. He barely responded to the noise, only glancing up for a second before returning his attention to his wife. He brushed her hair and put chapstick on her chapped lips. Chris smiled as she watched her father care for her mother. She felt lucky to have grown up in house with two parents who showed her what true love was all about, all the way to the end.

A nurse came in and checked her vitals, her fluids, and asked both Chris and her father if they needed anything. They both said they were fine. She nodded and left them alone again. Robbie Sr. sat down and started reading a newspaper he'd gone out and gotten early that morning. Chris read a book she'd brought with her. She didn't check the time until her brother and sister came in at four thirty. They went right over to hug their father who they hadn't seen in a couple days because they hadn't been to the hospital every day like Chris. She got up and gave her seat to Jeza to sit by their mother's side and went out to call Amanda. She told her that the trial was still going on. It didn't look like it was going too well so far. Chris reminded her that they were trying someone who hadn't actually broken any laws so it not going well made a lot of sense. She said they were still getting information about Simon every day and Barba was hoping things would turn around.

"How's your mom?" she asked.

"She's fine" she answered without thinking. "I mean…she's still dying and everything but she's comfortable; not in any pain. I'm at the hospital now. We're all here. It's, uh, it's getting closer to that time I think" she said sadly. "She was awake earlier. I got to talk to her" she said in a happier tone. "The first thing she said was that I look tired" she said with a laugh. Amanda laughed on the other end of the phone. She paused for a moment to take a breath and her emotions hit her hard when she thought that she might have had the last conversation she'd ever have with her mother. "I'm scared Amanda" she said with a tremble in her voice. "I don't know what I'm gonna do without my mom". She heard her name and turned to see her mother's doctor standing behind her. "Um, I have to go" she said clearing her throat. "The doctor needs to talk to me". She was glad that she needed to get off the phone. She didn't want to break down talking to Amanda. Not now. Not when she'd done such a good job holding it together so far. She said she'd call her later and quickly got off the phone to talk to the doctor. She told her that her mother's blood pressure had dropped below seventy and she was now in heart failure.

"It won't be much longer now" she said sympathetically. "I thought you might want to be the one to tell your father. It's time to start saying your final goodbyes".

"Thank you". She nodded and walked away leaving Chris standing in the middle of the hallway alone. Jeza stuck her head out of their mother's room and told her their mom was awake and was asking for her. Chris hurried back to the room and took her seat next to her mother's bedside and took her hand. "Hi mami" she said softly.

"Mija" she said weakly, "You look after your sister. I'm counting on you to make sure she does well. And promise me that you'll take better care of yourself". Christina silently nodded her head. "I mean it, Christina. I want you to be happy, not worry so much. Promise me" she repeated.

"I promise".

"I love you, mija. Everything about you. Everything". Chris stood up from her chair and leaned over her mother, kissing her on the cheek then hugging her.

"I love you too" she said blinking back her tears. She pulled away and retook her seat. Gloria turned her head and looked at her husband who was sitting on the other side of her. She had such love in her eyes. She knew this was their final goodbye.

"You're going to be ok" she said. He took his wife's hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly. His eyes filled with tears that spilled effortlessly down his cheeks. "You have to be strong. Tienes que cuidar de nuestros hijos. Te quiero" she said softly. Roberto Sr. broke down and started sobbing. Chris looked over her shoulder to see her standing next to her with tears streaming down her face. She reached over and took her hand, giving it a supportive squeeze. Robbie Jr. was standing behind his father. Chris could see that he was fighting back his tears but he couldn't stop a few of them escaping his eyes and falling down his cheeks. Roberto Sr. got up from his chair and kissed his wife softly on the lips.

"Tambien te quiero" he whispered. A single tear escaped Gloria's eye and rolled down her face. Her breathing slowed and her eyes got heavier and heavier until they finally closed. Chris stood up and stepped into the hallway then came back with the doctor. Robbie moved over to stand by Jeza and let the doctor take his place by the monitors. The room was silent apart from Jeza's sniffles and the beeping monitor. They sat and waited, listening as the beeping of the monitor slowly sped up then emitted a continuous tone and they saw a flat line on the screen. Jeza fell into her brother's arms and they cried together. Robbie Sr. let his head fall on the bed and he held onto to his wife's hand for dear life as he sobbed into the blanket. Chris just sat there and stared into space, showing no feeling at all; feeling no feeling at all. The doctor pushed a button to turn off the monitor, silencing the deafening sound letting them know their loved one was gone. She quietly made her way out of the room to give them some time alone as a family.

It took a while to for Christina to get her father to let the doctors take her mother from her hospital room. He didn't want to be away from her for a minute but she couldn't let him stay there with her body forever. They took her down to the morgue. The hospital had given them all the forms they would need when her mother had decided she didn't want any further treatment. Chris told her father that it was time to sign them but he said he wasn't going to sign anything. She took him downstairs to the waiting room while she went back up to her mother's room. She packed up all her father's things and left the room to talk to the doctor. She made sure everything was in order to have her mother's body sent to the funeral home. The doctor assured her that everything was in order. The last thing they needed was the form to skip the autopsy and the release form. Chris explained that her father was having a hard time and she'd need more time to get the forms signed. She told her to take her time. They weren't in any rush. Chris thanked her and then went back downstairs to her family. It was nearing six thirty and she wanted to get her family home but her father was refusing to leave the hospital. He wanted to stay there until Gloria was moved to the funeral home then he wanted to stay there until she was buried. Chris was worried that he'd say he'd want to stay at her grave once she was buried. She tried to get Robbie to help her with their dad but he just stormed angrily out of the hospital. Chris followed him outside, yelling for him to come back but he just got in the car and screeched away from the hospital. Chris went back inside and made sure that Jeza was okay to wait with their dad while she went to work to get the forms she'd left in her desk. She looked at her father then back at Chris before nodding her head. She told her to call if she needed anything but she wouldn't be long. She left the hospital and headed to the precinct.

Chris walked into the precinct a little after seven, not expecting Murphy or anyone else from her team to still be there. But when she walked into the squad room, they were all there sitting at their desks. She just went over to her desk and opened her drawer looking for the papers she'd left there. They all looked at her wondering which one of them was going to say something first. Lt. Murphy told them that Chris was on leave for a week and that she was not to come in at all or have anything to do with their cases until her week off was over. If she came in before then, they were supposed to tell him. They didn't get the chance. Murphy saw her walk in and came out of his office to send her packing.

"Reyes, it hasn't even been a whole day yet and you're back" he said obviously annoyed with how stubborn she was.

"Don't worry" she said looking over her shoulder. "I'm not staying". She turned back to her desk and opened another drawer, finding what she was looking for. She grabbed the papers and closed her drawer. When she turned around Lt. Murphy, Amanda, Fin, Nick and Olivia were all staring at her. "I'm leaving". She took a step to leave but Murphy spoke again.

"Is that work?" he asked.

"No, it's not" she said.

"Let me see" he said holding his hand out for the papers.

"Why?" she said annoyed.

"Because I don't believe you. I ordered you to take a week off. That means no paperwork, no visits to the courthouse, and no phone calls trying to get info on how our cases are going". Chris looked accusingly at Amanda.

"It wasn't me" she said defensively. Chris handed over the papers so he could see that it wasn't work. He looked them over seeing that she was telling the truth. They were legal papers having to do with her mother's care.

"How's your mother doing?" he asked handing her back the papers. Chris swallowed hard and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"She, uh…." She cleared her throat and blinked back tears. "She died a few hours ago" she said softly. She saw the sympathy immediately on everyone's faces and before they could start to console her she spoke up again. "I'm fine" she said with confidence. "I have to get back to the hospital. They can't release her body to the mortuary until they have these so…." She cleared her throat again. "Ok. Well, I'm gonna go". She couldn't get out of there fast enough. Amanda quickly stood up from her desk.

"You sure you don't need anything?" she asked concerned. Chris nodded her head.

"I'm fine" she said again, trying harder to convince herself than them.

"Take as much time as you need" Murphy said even though he knew she wouldn't take nearly enough. She just nodded silently and walked out of the squad room to get back to the hospital.

"Hundred bucks says she calls you crying tonight, Manda" Fin said leaning back in his chair. Rollins looked over and gave him an unpleasant glare. "What?" he asked innocently. Amanda shook her head and sat back down at her desk.

"She wasn't even gonna say anything" Amaro said. "She was just gonna take her papers and leave and not say a word. We wouldn't have known".

"Well, we know now" Murphy said, "So we check in on her, make sure she's taking care of herself. One of you find out when the funeral is; we'll take time out to be there". He walked back to his office, "It's still a week. No Reyes for a week" he said stopping inside his doorway. "Knowing her I might have to extend it" he said under his breath. He shut his office door and they got back to work.

When Chris arrived back at the hospital, Jeza and her father were still sitting the in waiting room where she'd left them. Javi was there now sitting next to Jeza and Roberto Sr. was in a daze, staring blankly into space. She went over to the nurse's station and asked for a pen then went back and kneeled down in front of him. He continued to stare blankly, almost as if he was looking right through her. She wondered how long it would take for him to be okay. She sat the papers and pen on his lap.

"Papa, necesito que usted firme estos papeles" she said softly.

"No". She could barely hear him. His voice was soft and weak. He was so broken.

"Papa, tienes que. If you don't sign they won't release mom's body to the mortuary" she explained. "Por favor, papa". He finally stopped staring into space and looked her right in the eyes. She picked up the pen and put it in his hand. More tears escaped his eyes as he signed one form, then the other. Christina took the pen and paper from him and stood up. She told Jeza she was going to go give the forms to the doctor and not to go anywhere. She saw a familiar face out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Franco walking into the hospital. He looked at her with sadness in his eyes and she knew that he knew her mother was gone. She wondered how he'd found out but in that moment it didn't matter. She walked over to him, wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. She could feel a lump building in her throat but she swallowed it down, breathing deeply to control her emotions.

"Jeza called me. Lo siento mucho, mi amada" he whispered. "Lo siento". She stood there in his arms for a few more minutes before pulling away. "If you need anything, I mean anything, I'm right here". She took another deep breath and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Ummm, no. I'm…I'm okay" she said. Then she changed her mind. "Actually, there is something".

"Name it" he said quickly.

"Robbie stormed out of here and he's god knows where doing god knows what" she said.

"Don't worry about it. I'll find him" he said confidently. He gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze then headed out of the hospital to go find her brother. She turned and went for the elevator to take the papers her father had just signed to the doctor. She took the forms and told her she'd take care of them getting to the right people so her mother's body could be released in a timely fashion. Chris thanked her for everything she'd done for her mother then said her final goodbye before going back downstairs to her family. She was finally able to get her father out of the hospital and to the car to go home. She didn't have the energy to argue when Jeza asked if Javi could come over. She just shrugged her shoulders and got in the driver's seat. Jeza took that as a yes and told Javi to get in the car. They were halfway home when Chris' phone started to ring. She answered and it was Amanda. She said that Robbie was at the precinct and he'd obviously been drinking. That was just what she needed: her brother drunk and belligerent at her job. She called Franco and told him she'd found him and to meet her at the precinct. She turned around and headed to the precinct to get him. When she pulled up, she told them to wait in the car and she'd be right back. Chris walked into the squad room to see Robbie sitting at her desk going through her drawers. She walked right over to him and hit him on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's go" she said shutting her desk drawers. She put her hand under his arm and tried to pull him up. He looked up and saw it was his sister and shrugged her off.

"Let go of me" he slurred.

"Let's go, Robbie" she said annoyed.

"Leave….me alone" he said angrily. Franco walked into the squad room and saw Chris standing over her brother trying to get him up. He walked over to help her.

"Robbie" he said taking his arm and pulling him. "Venga hermano. Vamonos". He pulled Robbie to his feet and helped him keep his balance. "Vamos a llevarte a casa". Everyone was standing around watching as Chris and Franco tried to get Robbie out of the squad room.

"I'm not going back to that house" he said still slurring his words. He tried to take a step away from Franco but he lost his footing and fell backwards onto the floor.

"Ay dios mio" Chris said under her breathe. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with. Why, of all of the places Robbie could've chosen to go, did he choose to come to her job. "Robbie, get up. Dad and Jeza are waiting downstairs in the car. Let's go". Franco helped him up from the floor but Robbie kept fighting him.

"You" he said looking at Chris, "you did this. You were supposed to save her" he said stumbling out of Franco's grip. "You let her die". Chris' breath hitched in her throat.

"Robbie come on man" Franco said grabbing his arm, "Stop talking" he said sternly.

"She let her die" he still slurring and stumbling around. Chris turned around and headed out of the squad room.

"Wai….Christina" Franco said calling after her.

"Let her leave" Robbie said waving her off.

"Hey, you need to get your head on straight" Franco said grabbing Robbie by his shirt. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Robbie pushed Franco away from him.

"My mother just died" he said angrily. He headed out of the squad room, kicking a chair on his way out. Franco stood there for a moment, just like everyone else, digesting what'd just happened. He cleared his throat and apologized for the interruption then followed Chris and Robbie out of the squad room. Amanda felt horrible for Christina. She wanted to go after her but she didn't want to argue with Murphy about getting involved. She decided she'd go over to her house and check on her when she left the precinct.

Chris had driven off with her father and sister, not bothering to wait for her brother after what he'd said to her. Franco had a hard time dealing with Robbie but finally got him home. Chris was sitting in the living room drinking. Franco got Robbie up to his room then came back down stairs. He went to the kitchen and got himself a glass then joined Chris in the living room for a drink. They just sat quietly with each other and enjoyed the richness of Chris' father's bottle of old scotch. It was nearing nine o'clock and Chris was exhausted from the day. She finally looked over at Franco and told him he could go.

"Seguro?" he asked. "I don't mind staying".

"Yeah, I….I'm just gonna go to bed" she said tiredly. She got up from the couch and took their glasses and the bottle of scotch to the kitchen. When she came back, Franco was waiting by the door. He grabbed her shirt and pulled her into a hug, holding her tight and kissing her top of her head.

"I'm just a phone call away" he said finally letting her go. "No importante que hora es, puede llamarme". He stood there and stared in her eyes. He'd never seen her so sad before. It broke his heart. He brought his hand up to touch her cheek, then without thinking stepped into her and brought their lips together in a soft kiss. She didn't immediately pull away but she didn't kiss him back either. She just stood there, numb and broken. There was a knock at the door, prompting Franco to end the kiss. He turned and looked to see who it was. "It's Amanda" he said asking Chris if she wanted her to come in. He hoped she'd say she didn't want to be bothered but she nodded her head, telling him to let her in. He opened the door and let her inside then said goodnight and made his exit, locking the door on his way out. Chris didn't say anything to Amanda. She just turned and went upstairs to her room. Amanda followed silently behind her closing her bedroom door once she was inside. Chris undressed, climbed into bed, and pulled the covers over her. Amanda wasn't sure what to do. She kicked off her shoes and took off her jeans and button down and climbed into bed with her in her underwear and tank top. She laid there quietly for a moment and just as she was about to say something Chris turned over and scoot into her. She wrapped her arm around her waist and laid her head down on her chest. She breathed deeply in and out. Amanda could tell that she was trying hard not to cry. She held onto her and ran her hands through her hair. It felt good to be there for her; with her. After ten minutes, Chris' breathing had slowed and she'd fallen to sleep. It didn't take long for Amanda to join her.

Spanish-English Translations

Tienes que cuidar de nuestros hijos- You have to take care of our children

Te quiero- I love you

Tambien te quiero- I love you too

Papa, necesito que usted firme estos papeles- Dad, I need you to sign these papers

Papa, tienes que- Dad, you have to

Por favor, papa- Please dad

Lo siento mucho, mi amada- I'm so sorry, my beloved

Venga hermano. Vamanos- Come on, brother. Let's go

Vamos a llevarte a casa- Let's get you home

Ay dios mio- Oh my god

Seguro- You sure?

No importante que hora es, puede llamarme- It doesn't what time it is, you can call me