Thanks to ciaddict and TCIF for all their help and encouragement. As always, the usual disclaimers apply...
Chapter 15 Face to Face
Eames watched Bobby stride down the hall and she hurried after him; not to stop him, but to get Amy. Reaching Bobby's desk while he was still gathering up the necessary papers, she halted in front of Amy.
"Come with me," she said sternly.
"What," Amy replied confused.
"I said, come with me," Eames said urgently.
"Why? What is going on," Amy insisted as she stood up.
"We have to talk. Now." Eames took the other woman by the arm and steered her back towards the interrogation rooms, looking around quickly to make sure Bobby did not see what she was doing.
Leading her into the observation room and closing the door behind them, Eames studied Amy. "You've really made of mess of things, you know that?"
Amy crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Eames.
"Have you any idea what this is going to do to him?" Eames waved her arm at the glass, indicating the room where Trey and his lawyer were still waiting.
Amy turned her head and saw Trey and Mr. Harrington.
"What's going to happen to him," she asked Eames.
"What's going to happen to him," Eames echoed. "Aren't you concerned at all about what's going to happen to Bobby?"
Amy continued to look through the glass into the interrogation room. Eames continued, "Amy, do you have any idea what you've just done to my partner?" Amy turned and looked at Eames dumbly.
"His life has been a living hell since I've known him. Do you have any idea what knowing about you and Trey would have meant to him?"
"What do you mean," Amy asked Eames, her curiosity piqued.
"All his life everyone he's ever known and loved has walked out on him. His dad was a womanizing cheater who left for good when he was eleven. His mom checked out mentally years ago and died earlier this year, and his brother has been in and out of rehab for drugs and alcohol for the last 20 years or so. And now you," Eames told her angrily.
"What about me," Amy said indignantly, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Not only did you break up with him, you kept a family from him. A family he so desperately needed. A family that would have made all the difference in the world to him. Do you have any idea what his life was like growing up? What it's been like these last 20 years? Do you?"
Amy was sobbing as she looked at the angry pixie in front of her. There was no doubt in her mind that Alexandra Eames was one hell of a strong woman. She hoped like hell she never made her this mad outside of this room.
A sudden movement on the other side of the glass caused both women to look in that direction. Amy found herself frozen in place as Bobby entered the interrogation room. "Wha—what is he doing?" Amy started to panic. "He, he can't go in there."
"Why? Are you afraid he'll tell Trey who he is? Don't you think Trey will figure that out when he sees Bobby," Alex asked her. "You got yourself into this mess by not telling them, what did you think would happen if either one of them ever found out?"
"I don't know," Amy sobbed. "I never thought about it. I—I didn't want to mess up Bobby's life…" Amy's voice trailed off as she watched the three men talking. Eames's eyes narrowed as she caught Amy's gaze in the reflection of the window; she studied Amy nonjudgmentally, sensing there was more Amy needed to say. She almost missed Amy's next statement, it was so quiet.
"I didn't want him to hate me," she said, placing her hand on the glass as if to touch the men on the other side.
Trey looked up when the door to the interrogation room opened and the big man walked through the door. He had always wondered how he would feel in this moment. Right now, he was still reeling from the thought that he could be charged with his wife's murder; seeing his father walk through the door was the last thing he expected, and he simply stared at the man with a stunned expression on his face. The scraping of the chair next to him as Mr. Harrington stood caused him to automatically remember his manners and he stood and faced the man numbly.
"Detective Goren," said Mr. Harrington as he shook the newcomer's hand. "It's good to see you again. I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Me, too, Mr. Harrington," said Bobby, shaking the man's hand. He turned to Trey. "You must be Mr. Wainwright," Bobby said, extending his hand to the young man. Trey was stunned; the detective seemed not to know who he was. He shook the detective's hand and sat back down when Bobby indicated they should.
"Well, now that the formalities are out of the way, I need to tell you that we owe you an apology," Bobby looked frankly at the two men in front of him. Stay neutral, he told himself. There will be time for emotion later. "It seems that Jimmy Murphy is carrying an old grudge against you and your late wife, Mr. Wainwright. He's been angry with her for marrying you instead of him, and thought he could punish you by framing you as his accomplice. We got him to confess that he was lying about the money, so you're free to go. I just need you to look over these papers and make sure all the information is correct, then you and Mr. Harrington will sign them. I'll have my partner, Detective Eames, and Captain Ross sign as well, since they interrogated you, and you'll be free to go."
He watched as Trey and Mr. Harrington read over the papers and signed them. "Your mother is waiting for you outside. Do you have any questions?"
Trey sat quietly and studied the man in front of him; he wondered if he should say anything. Taking a deep breath, he decided now was as good a time as any. "Do you even know who I am," Trey asked him softly. He watched the myriad of emotions play over the older man's face. Will I look like that at his age, he wondered.
Bobby took a calming breath and looked at Mr. Harrington, who was watching them with an amused expression on his face. He turned back to Trey. "I do now."
Trey's eyes widened. This was not the answer he was expecting to hear. "Now?" Bobby nodded. "You mean, she never told you?" Bobby shook his head, noticing as he did so that Mr. Harrington's eyes widened at his response.
"Um, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I'll step out for a minute." Mr. Harrington stood picked up the release papers. "These are in order. I take it your captain was the gentleman who handled the interrogation?"
Bobby turned and gave the man a polite smile. "Yes, he was. Thank you."
Mr. Harrington gave Bobby a curt nod as he quietly left the room.
Bobby returned his attention to Trey.
"Oh, boy," said Trey softly.
"Oh, boy is right," Bobby agreed. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said sincerely.
Trey studied the man in front of him, a man who had been so close all his life and yet so far away. "Thank you. I think you really mean that."
Bobby smiled gently. "I don't really know what else I'm supposed to say." He shrugged. "I never expected anything like this to happen."
"Let me guess, she cut and ran?"
Bobby looked at him quizzically. "Amy? Yes, she did. Why do you ask?"
"She always does. She almost got married twice, but couldn't seem to take that last step and go through with it. I think she gets scared. She doesn't want to get hurt."
"I didn't hurt her, Trey," Bobby said softly, pain evident in his brown eyes.
"I know that. Someone did at some point though; I'm just not sure who."
"I think I know, but your mother should be the one to tell you, not me."
"How did you find out," Trey asked curiously.
"My partner figured it out, actually. She had seen some photos of Laura with you in them, then I brought an old photograph taken in Germany the night before Amy left to come back here. She had seen the picture at your mother's home and made the connection. She and my captain had kept the pictures away from me until today, after they were sure about who you were. She placed them in the file I was to go over your mom with. That's when I learned about you. I had no idea why Amy attacked me earlier until I saw the pictures for myself."
"Mom attacked you," Trey asked incredulously.
"Yeah, right out in the middle of the squad room after you were brought in. Charged at me with fire in her eyes and smoke coming out of her ears. Then she called me an ahole and swung her purse at me," Bobby told him. "She swings a mean purse, too."
Trey stifled at laugh at the image of his angry mother charging a detective. "That sounds like Mom when she's mad. You learn quickly not to get on her bad side," he said with a smile.
"I'll bet," Bobby agreed. "How did you find out?"
"I've been asking Mom for years. After Hudson was born, I found a scrapbook in a closet with pictures and newspaper articles about you in it. One look at the pictures and I knew. I had planned on looking you up, but then Laura got so sick with her depression and all, and well, now all this."
The two men looked at each other quietly for a few minutes.
"So, what do we do now," Bobby asked him. "I've missed so much; we can't go back and redo the past…" his voice trailed off as Trey's expression began to change. Bobby rubbed the back of his neck and reached into his jacket pocket. "Look, you need to get out of here and go home. Take my card; call me if you feel like it. No pressure, ok?"
Trey took a deep breath, but Bobby could see the anger blazing in his eyes. "Thank you. I will. If you'll excuse me, I need to find my mother." Before Bobby could stand and tell him good-bye, Trey took the card and was out of the room.
Bobby sat for a minute, taking in all that had transpired. The sound of a door slamming behind him had him on his feet and in the hall in a matter of seconds.
Trey had exited into the hall to find Mr. Harrington and Captain Ross waiting for him. Ross shook his hand and apologized, then explained that his mother was in the observation room with Detective Eames. Flinging the door open with a powerful shove, Trey charged into the room, eyes blazing, words aimed at his mother.
"How dare you," he hollered at her. "You knew!"
Amy whirled away from the glass to face her angry son, arms raised in defense. "Trey, Trey, calm down. You have to understand—"
"Understand? He was here all this time and you never told me? I asked you, over and over to tell me about my dad, who he was, where he lived, and you never told me!" He advanced towards her menacingly and Eames stepped in between. Trey stopped short of bumping into her, but continued his tirade towards his mother. "You KNEW he was here, didn't you?"
Amy looked away, her head dipped towards the floor, shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Mom," Trey yelled painfully, tears now streaming down his face. "All this time! All this time I could have known him, and you never told me. He – he seems nice, Mom. Why? Why?" Trey was sobbing now, his shoulders heaving. Eames moved away, noticing Bobby standing in the doorway. Behind him, Ross was discretely taking in the scene, ready to step in if need be.
Trey turned and looked at Bobby standing in the door. "She knew all this time. Can you believe that," he asked Bobby. "Why would she do that?"
Before Bobby could answer, Amy moved forward to place her hand on Trey's shoulder. "Don't touch me," he yelled, whirling around to swipe her hand away. In his angry and hurt state, he misjudged and his arm smacked his mother in the jaw, knocking Amy back into Eames, who was able to brace herself and keep the two of them from falling on the floor.
Amy cried out in shock and pain from being hit. Bobby moved to grab Trey. "Let go of me," Trey yelled at him, twisting out of his grasp and moving away. "You know I didn't mean to hit her, it was an accident!" Trey turned away, muttering under his breath, "Even if she did deserve it."
"What did you say," Bobby roared, turning Trey around to look him in the face. "Don't you dare talk about your mother that way."
"Or you'll what? Punish me? A little late to be starting that now, isn't it?"
"Go home, Trey," Bobby said in a quiet but firm voice that scared Trey. "Go home and cool off. We'll talk about this later." Trey stormed out of the room towards the elevators. Mr. Harrington hurried after him, calling after Trey to wait for him and he would drive him home.
Ross suddenly appeared at Bobby's elbow, ice pack in hand, grim expression on his face. "I trust we've had enough outbursts for today?"
"Yes, sir," Bobby replied, taking the ice pack from his captain and handing it to Amy. "Thank you."
Eames had squatted down next to Amy, who had sat down on the floor, and was examining her face. "Are you going to be alright," she asked the woman.
Amy nodded.
"Let me get my purse and your things and I'll give you a ride home," Eames told her. Amy nodded again and pressed the ice pack up to the side of her face. Eames slipped past Bobby and left the room, Ross following her.
"I'm sorry," Bobby said. He felt helpless and to blame, but wasn't quite sure why.
Amy smiled at him feebly. "Me, too. This wasn't quite how I imagined all this, or how I expected it to turn out."
"Well, what did you expect us to say, Amy? 'Oh, cool! This will be fun!' I don't think so," Bobby told her, his emotions barely restrained. "Look, this is neither the time nor the place, but we will talk. You have an awful lot of explaining to do, to both of us." Bobby turned on his heel and left Amy sitting on the floor of the observation room, heartbroken and full of regret once again.
Later that day, after everything had settled down and the squad room was uncharacteristically empty, Bobby sat down at his desk and sighed. He reached over and took the photograph from off of Eames's desk and studied it. His long index finger gently touched the photo and he moved it across Amy's face, almost as though caressing her. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought back over everything that had transpired throughout the course of the day. Oh, Amy. What have I done….
Across town, alone in her Upper East Side townhome, Amy Wainwright lay across her bed, a photo in a simple gold frame clutched in her hands. She, too, studied the photograph, and lovingly caressed one of its subjects. Tears filled her eyes as she remembered the shock and betrayal on the face of someone she thought she would never see again. She recalled the meeting between Bobby and his son in the interrogation room, an encounter she had never expected to play out the way it had. The tears began to run down her cheeks and her breath became sobs of anguish. Oh, Bobby. What have I done...