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Chapter 17 Taking Her Advice

Bobby paid for their order while Alex picked out a table. She hadn't been able decide between Chinese or the new sandwich shop a few blocks from his apartment and had left the final decision to him. He said a sandwich seemed like it would better suit his stomach than Chinese, so off they went.

They had decided to walk since the day was gorgeous; not too hot and the sky was a high, cloudless blue, full of hope and possibility. Out of respect for the problems she was sure were roiling around in Bobby's always busy brain, Alex spoke little as they walked, recognizing that Bobby would prefer companionable silence to talking.

Upon reaching the shop, they discovered the line was out the door and stretching down the sidewalk. Alex surreptitiously glanced at her watch.

"We don't have to eat here if you don't have enough time," Bobby said quietly into her right ear. She jumped slightly, feeling guilty that she'd been caught.

"No, it's okay, I have time," Alex replied.

The man in front of them had heard their exchange and commented over his shoulder to them that the line moved very quickly here and they should only have to wait about ten minutes to get to the counter. Bobby thanked the man and resumed his thoughtful silence.

The man was right, and the two detectives soon found themselves at the counter facing a menu of the most incredible sounding sandwiches they had seen in a long time. A huge variety of meats, vegetables, breads and sauces awaited their decisions. Alex chose a Reuben, saying she hadn't had a decent one in a long time. Bobby went with a simpler turkey club, hoping it would be fairly gentle on his still unsettled stomach. Both chose iced tea with lemon.

The young lady behind the counter graced Bobby with a huge smile and several flirting glances as they ordered. Alex watched wryly out of the corner of her eyes as Bobby graced the cute cashier with one of his killer smiles. She grabbed their drinks and headed off in search of a table.

Bobby soon joined her with the number 75 on a square piece of yellow paper stuck on a pole with a stand on the bottom of it. Placing it on the table so that it could be seen from the kitchen, he took the chair across from Alex and sat down. They both swept their gazes around the seating area, taking in the booths, various sizes of tables and the posters of scenes from America's national parks adorning the walls.

"This seems like a nice place," Alex commented.

Bobby nodded in agreement. "It must be good, too. Look at the line of people here."

"This tea is fabulous," Alex gushed, having just sampled her drink.

Bobby raised his glass to his mouth and took a few sips. "Mmm-hmm," he agreed with her as he found himself suddenly draining half his glass. "Guess I must've been thirstier than I thought," he said sheepishly.

Suddenly, a young man in a white shirt and black pants materialized at his elbow. "Would you like some more tea, sir?" Bobby turned to his left and noticed the server was holding a pitcher of tea in one hand and a small bowl of lemon wedges in his other. "We have endless iced tea service here," the young man told him. Bobby gratefully held out his glass for a refill. The young man slipped the bowl of lemons onto the table and silently moved off.

"Wow," Alex commented. "Free tea refills at your table? This place is tops in my book."

Bobby gave her a small smile, knowing how she felt about iced tea. "I'll have to remember that the next time I need a favor from you," he told her mischievously.

Alex cocked an eyebrow at him. "You mean you would bribe me by bringing me here? I'd probably do anything you asked!"

They laughed. It was nice to hear him laugh, even if it was short and soft. He needed to laugh more, Alex thought. It lit up his face and made his eyes dance and gave her the impression that all was right in Bobby's world, if even for a few all too brief seconds.

"Bobby, Amy would like for you to call her back," Alex told him gently. She watched his face and the emotions that played over it. "If it helps any, she apologized to me for her behavior the other day." Alex heard Bobby's sharp intake of breath and waited. When he refused to talk and looked down at his hands resting on the table, she went on. "I told her it was understandable, since we were all caught so off guard by everything. She really wants you to get to know Trey." Alex leaned forward to catch his eye before she continued. "She was also concerned about you."

Bobby lifted his head at her last remark, uncertain of the truth behind Amy's comment to Alex. Alex nodded at Bobby. "Will you call her?" Bobby just looked at Alex. "Today? Please, Bobby," Alex pleaded.

Bobby sighed as he nodded at Alex. "Thank you," Alex said as she straightened up. "Our food's here," she said next, noticing the server standing by their table. "Let's eat."

After enjoying their sandwiches for a few minutes, Bobby surprised Alex by asking her, "Eames, what would you do if you got the same news I did?"

Alex chewed her food thoughtfully and carefully considered his question and her answer. She took another sip of tea before she replied, "I don't know. I'd be mad, of course. I mean, who wouldn't be, being cheated out of seeing your own child grow up. I'd be sad about all the milestones I'd missed. And, I think I'd be very angry at the person who didn't tell me. Is that about right?" She looked pointedly at Bobby, who had been nodding in agreement at everything she'd just said.

He set down his sandwich and looked at her. "So, my having all those feeling is perfectly normal?" Alex nodded. "Why is it so hard to sort them all out, Eames? I mean, one minute I feel like crying and the next minute yelling, and all the time I just want to find Amy and wring her neck!" He became embarrassed at his sudden outburst and looked down at the table, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck in that characteristic gesture that Alex knew so well.

"I don't know, Bobby. If I knew how to make it easy, I'd be rich. Talking to Amy would be a good place to start, but only if you promise me I won't have to arrest you for wringing her neck." She smiled at him.

Bobby looked up at her and gave her a crooked half-smile back. "I promise, Eames." He changed the subject. "My sandwich is wonderful; I'm glad we came here."

"Me, too, Bobby," replied Alex warmly. "Me, too. Hey, you wanna come back to the office with me after lunch? I've got some reports I need you to sign, plus Logan and Ross are worried about you, too."

"I'd need to clean up first, but yeah, sure, I'll stop by," Bobby told her. Alex smiled at him again; it was good to see him in much better shape than how she had left him last night.

The rest of their lunch passed in companionable conversation; they discussed the paperwork Eames had been doing that morning plus a couple of their cases. After they were done, Eames grabbed her wallet and threw several dollars on the table for a tip. When Bobby began to complain, she stopped him. "You bought lunch, I'll cover the tip."

"Fine, Eames, but leave the guy a little bit more," Bobby implored her. "He did a great job keeping us supplied with iced tea."

Alex shot him one of her infamous looks. He just laughed at her as she threw another dollar down on the table. "Is that better?"

Bobby continued to chuckle at her as he steered her out of the shop ahead of him.

When they reached Bobby's apartment building, Alex stopped. Bobby turned and looked at her. "You coming up?"

"No," said Alex. "You have a phone call you need to make. Besides, I'm having dinner at my sister's tonight; today is my nephew's birthday and he specifically invited me over for pizza and ice cream."

"Okay, I'll see you in about an hour. Thanks for getting me out for lunch; I really enjoyed it."

Once again, Alex was surprised by Bobby's gratitude and his willingness to show his appreciation towards her. Whatever was causing this, she hope it stuck around for a long time.

Bobby entered his apartment and went straight to the kitchen table. Picking up his favorite picture of Amy, he moved to the couch and sat down. He felt like he needed to be sitting down for this phone call. Slowly, he pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. Taking a deep breath and summoning up every ounce of courage he could find, he thumbed a few buttons on the phone and put it to his ear. As he listened to it ring, he realized he was nervous; he hadn't felt this nervous about calling a girl since high school.

"Hello?" Amy's voice came through the phone and into his ear, sending shockwaves of emotion coursing through his veins. After all this time, she still had a powerful effect on him.

"A—Amy," Bobby stuttered.

"Bobby," Amy asked in return.

"Yes."

"Oh, Bobby; I was hoping you'd call. Are you alright? When you weren't answering your phone earlier, I called Detective Ea—I mean, Alex, and she said you weren't feeling well?"

"I'm better now," Bobby answered; his heart was pounding. Why in the world was he like this? He was glad he had decided to sit down. He looked at the photo as he talked to her. "Eames said you wanted me to call you. Are you okay?"

"I think so; at least for now. I wanted to apologize for lashing out at you the other day, in the squad room? I'm sorry; I was wrong. You had no way of knowing and I realize now that you didn't know and you weren't doing it to be mean, you were just doing your job, like you're supposed to do and had no idea who was involved and I over-reacted and … oh, dear, I'm rambling, aren't I? I'm sorry, I'm just nervous, I guess…."

Bobby smiled, in spite of himself. She was just as he remembered her being all those years ago. It was hard to stay mad at those memories. "Yes, you were wrong," Bobby told her seriously. "Thank you for apologizing, I appreciate it. I'm sorry, too. If I'd had any idea who Trey was, I would have gone to you first and the whole thing would have been handled very differently."

Amy was quiet on her end. Bobby could hear her breathing; he waited to see if she would speak. Finally, he broke the silence with a question he used to ask her all the time when they were dating. "What are you thinking?"

Now it was Amy who found she was smiling in spite of the situation. Damn him! She never could stay mad at him for long when he asked her that. "I'm thinking how much we all have missed. I'm thinking all the 'what if' questions I'd been asking myself for the last 25 years. I'm also thinking we need to continue this conversation face to face."

"I agree," Bobby said matter-of-factly.

"Good. Are you free for dinner tonight?"

"Tonight," Bobby asked her; she had caught him off guard with her forwardness, but he was willing to give her a chance to explain herself.

"Tonight's as good as any. We have a lot of catching up to do; we might as well get started as soon as possible. Can you come over?"

"Will Trey be there," Bobby asked. He wasn't sure he was ready to face his son again just yet.

"Not necessarily. If you're not ready to see him again, I can ask him to stay home. I'm sure he'll understand."

"We had left things up in the air, and then he got mad at you and I stepped in and, well…"Bobby paused, took a deep breath and continued. "I'm not sure he wants to see me right now."

"Hmmm. You have a point there. I'd be hesitant, too. Knowing Trey like I do, though, I think he's more unsure if you want to see him right now than the other way around."

"What should I do, then," Bobby asked her.

"I know you gave him your card; let him call you. He and I still haven't talked things out yet; he'll come to me when he's ready. He likes to sort all of his thoughts out first. Once we clear the air between us, I'll encourage him to call you. So, can you be here around 5?"

"I could probably be there by 4, if that's okay with you. I have to stop by the squad room first and finish up a few things with Eames, and then I can head over to your place," Bobby told her.

"Do you know where I live," Amy asked him next.

"Yes. I got called away the day Eames stopped by your home during the investigation. We were sitting outside your home when I got a phone call about a family emergency. I think I can find it again."

"4:00 is fine. I'll see you then. Bye, Bobby," Amy said softly.

"Bye, Amy," Bobby answered her. As he hung up the phone, he realized that he had been staring at her photograph during their entire conversation. He checked the time on his watch and realized he had better get moving if he was to shower, stop by the squad room and be at Amy's by 4.