Tara caught herself thinking about last night the next morning at work. She had been so sure Stanley was going to ask her to marry him, but he hadn't. She got wondering if she'd imagined seeing the ring box there and the ring inside. Was she losing her mind?

"Well?" Lucy asked, coming up to her desk. Her smile was suggestive.

"Nope," Tara shook her head. Lucy's mouth fell open.

"What?!"

"I know."

"I was so sure..."

"So was I."

"Do you think he chickened out?" Lucy asked.

"It was a romantic evening, and we had a lot of fun. He didn't seem scared," Tara mused. "Maybe it just isn't the time yet?"

"What is he waiting for?!" Lucy demanded. Tara laughed. They both caught sight of Jack then, and his face said that something bad had happened.

"What's wrong?" Sue asked, seeing him too. D and Myles turned their attention to him as well. Jack opened and closed his mouth before clearing his throat. He had no idea how to even start.

"Bobby...Bobby won't be coming in today," he said slowly.

"What happened?" Tara asked, feeling frightened suddenly. Despite being with Stanley, she still had a soft spot for Bobby. She had been disappointed he hadn't pursued her after their date a year ago. Then again, he had said he still had feelings for Darcy. It had been confusing.

"His parents died," Jack answered sadly.

"Oh, no!" Lucy gasped. Sue covered her mouth with her hands. Myles and D looked shaken.

"When?" Myles asked after a moment.

"Last night. There was an accident at the restaurant they were eating in. A fire. They and a few others didn't make it," Jack finished sadly.

"Poor Bobby," Sue whispered.

"He's gone home to...to make the arrangements. I told him to call me if he needed me to go over there," Jack said. They all stood and looked at one another. It was difficult to imagine losing your parents just like that. Tara knew she'd be hysterical. She thought about Bobby alone on the airplane. She knew he was an only child. He'd never really spoken of any other relatives. He had no help in this.

"I can't even imagine," Lucy said, holding a hand over her heart. Jack pressed his lips together, knowing what she meant. He couldn't either. He sat down at his desk heavily, thinking about his friend. Bobby had refused to let him come too, but Jack wished he had insisted harder on going. Even though Bobby always said he was fine, Jack worried his friend would start gambling again. With Tara getting engaged soon and this, it might just be enough to push Bobby over the edge.

...

Bobby sat on the plane with his head resting against the window. He watched the world pass by below him, and he thought of all the people walking around oblivious to the pain of death. He wanted to be those people very badly. He didn't want to face what he was about to face when he got back home. A part of him wished he had let Jack come too. He had thought he could handle this, but it was becoming apparent that he couldn't.

"I'm so sorry," the woman beside him said when her baby started to cry again. "Shh, shh, shh." She bounced the baby on her knee desperately. Bobby looked at the two of them, and he knew he was in for a long haul. Then, he realized he was being given a distraction.

"May I?" he said, reaching.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yea. It'll help," he answered. She gladly handed her baby over, and Bobby took him in his arms gently.

"His name?"

"Joey."

"Hey, Joey, mate," Bobby said, doing a little jiggle with his arms. Joey stopped crying and stared up at him. "Yea, you like that, huh?"

"Wow," the woman said, smiling. "He normally hates strangers."

Bobby looked down at the little boy in his arms and felt emotion washing over him again. This baby was innocent to the harshness of life. Bobby would give anything to be innocent of life again. After about ten minutes, the baby fell asleep, and Bobby handed him back to his mother.

"You're a life saver," she whispered, getting comfortable with Joey.

"Anytime," he answered, giving her a ghost of a smile.

"I'm Jodie," she said.

"Bobby," he responded.

"I can tell from your accent you're heading home," she smiled. "I am too."

"Yea," he nodded. He closed his eyes, hoping she'd get the hint, which she did. There was 17 hours left on his flight, and he dreaded when they ended because that meant he had to face the worst thing he'd ever had to face in his life.

...

"Tara?"

"Yea?"

"Did you hear what I just said?" Lucy asked.

"Ummm, no," Tara confessed. She was thinking about Bobby. She couldn't think of anything else, not even the case they were working on. She had called her parents on lunch, and she was pretty sure she wasn't the only one calling their parents today, but she couldn't stop thinking about where Bobby was and what he was thinking and feeling right now.

"I said, are you going to confront Stanley about the ring?"

"What? No. Luce, I don't even want to think about that right now," Tara dismissed.

"You're right. I was just trying to distract myself from the vibe in this room," Lucy sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I understand."

"I'm sad we can't support him at the funeral," Lucy said sadly.

"Me too," Tara bobbed her head. She couldn't bear to think of him alone in a church. Would there be many people there? Would he end up being the only person there? She was starting to get a crazy idea in her head when Lucy talked again.

"I'm going to collect for flowers to send to the funeral home over there," Lucy began. "It's the least we can do since we're all the way over here."

"I'll chip in," Tara agreed, reaching for her wallet. Her mind was still spinning, but her logic was calling her an idiot.

"Thanks," Lucy said, taking her bill. She went to ask the others, leaving Tara staring at her computer. Before she thought much about it, she opened a tab on an airlines website and looked for a flight. She barely heard the others talking as she pumped in the information she wanted and pulled out her credit card. She had no idea what she was doing. She felt a little bit crazy, but she couldn't stop thinking about Bobby being all alone at his parents' funeral; it made her feel incredibly heartbroken. It motivated her to click "submit" on the screen. She stared at her purchase, hardly believing she had just done it. She looked over at her coworkers, knowing they'd be shocked. She looked back at her computer screen, feeling confident she'd made the right decision suddenly. She was going to Australia.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! I really do appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback. I hope you're still enjoying this story! I have lots planned ;)