Thank you again, beta girls, for your help and your friendship. Once again, the usual disclaimers apply...

Chapter 19 Mom and Dad

Amy led Bobby to the back of the house. They went out a plain door at the end of the hallway and stepped into an anteroom with a door that opened into the backyard and had another hallway going out of each side. The room was very plain, almost utilitarian like, as were the hallways. Bobby looked around with interest.

"What is this," he asked Amy curiously.

"When my grandfather bought this place, he also bought the two on either side. He put rooms like this in all three homes and connected them with hallways so that the family and the house staff could come and go between all three without having to go outside. There are similar hallways on the two upper floors. In the basement, he simply knocked out large sections of the walls. It all seemed very mysterious to me as a child; now that I and my family live here, it's very convenient."

"Wow," said Bobby in amazement as he continued to look around. Amy thought he looked like a kid in a candy store and wondered if he was like this during investigations. She'd have to ask Detective Eames about that sometime, she thought to herself, following that up with a mental note to get together sometime soon with Bobby's partner for a little "girl talk."

Amy led Bobby off to the left, explaining that the hallway to the right led to Trey's home. About 50 feet away, the hallway opened into another anteroom like the one at Amy's house. Here the hallway ended. There was a door on the right leading outside and a door on the left that Bobby assumed led into the house. This room was different in that someone had put up coat hooks on the wall. There was a bench with cubbies under it for shoes. Bobby noticed the shoes were small and muddy. "Are those your mom's shoes," Bobby asked, pointing to the bench.

"Yes, she has a beautiful garden out back. Maybe she'll show it to you sometime."

"I don't remember her gardening back in Germany," Bobby commented.

Amy looked at him in amazement. "I'm impressed; you still remember all those details from back then?"

"You'd be amazed what I'd remember," Bobby said softly, his eyes looking at her intensely.

Amy swallowed hard; Bobby thought he saw a slight flush to her cheeks. "Well, um, we really should go inside. My…uh…Dad, AJ, is…ehem," she cleared her throat and waved towards the door, "is waiting for you."

"Oh, okay, sure," Bobby said amusedly, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips; his eyes were dancing at her discomfort. So, I wasn't imagining it after all, he said to himself. More to think about later….He reached out and opened the door, holding it for her and indicating for her to enter.

As Amy led him down the hall towards her father's study she thought to herself, this can't be happening. After all these years I still have such strong feelings for him. What is going on here, she wondered.

Suddenly, a woman's voice called out from the kitchen, "Bobby? Bobby Goren? Is that you," Patty Wainwright appeared in the doorway, casually dressed in slacks and a bright green blouse, drying her hands on a dish towel. She was older and grayer now, but still as tall and elegant as Bobby remembered her all those years ago. She smiled and held out her arms to him. "It IS you," she said excitedly, wrapping him in a hug.

She stepped back and studied him, her hands still on his shoulders, smile wide on her face. "Oh, Amy told me you were stopping by. I just can't believe it. I hope you're not mad at all of us; after all, we have honored Amy's wishes all these years. Oh, my goodness!" She hugged him again. "I still can't believe it," she said, stepping back to admire him. "You look so handsome, just as I remembered you. Well, I mustn't keep you any longer; AJ is waiting for you in his study." She took his hand in her smaller ones and held it tight. "Please promise me you'll come back and sit in the kitchen and visit with me, for old time's sake? I used to love our kitchen chats back when you and Amy were dating. You were like the son I never had," she started to tear up and dabbed at her face with the towel.

Amy felt like she was 16 again and bringing a date home for the first time. She grabbed Bobby's arm and pulled him down the hall and away from her mother. "I promise he'll come back and see you, Mom. Dad's waiting, remember?"

"Oh, yes, dear; I remember. It was good to see you again, Bobby."

"You, too, Mrs. Wainwright." Bobby looked at Amy and chuckled. "She hasn't changed a bit, has she?"

Amy just shook her head in agreement. "I felt like I was 16 and bringing you home for the first time!" She giggled and leaned into his arm. Bobby loved the feeling, even though it sent alarm bells clanging inside his brain. "Too soon! Too soon!" they seemed to scream at him. Shut up, he thought back in response.

They arrived at the double doors to AJ's study and Amy knocked quietly. "Well," she said, turning to face Bobby. "Here we are, the lion's den," she commented with raised eyebrows and a smile. "Have fun. Dad promises to have you back to me in time for dinner," she said, as the doors slid open and AJ appeared.

"Dad promises no such thing, young lady," AJ said with a smile.

"Da-ad," Amy admonished, stepping over and stretching up to kiss the older man on the cheek. "Play nice," she told him, gently squeezing his upper arm. "You promised."

"Of course, honey," AJ responded, smiling fondly at his daughter and returning her kiss with one of his own. "Run along now, we men need to talk."

She winked at Bobby and touched his forearm. "If you're not back by 6:30, I'll come rescue you." He grinned at her in return. Both men watched her disappear back down the hall before turning to face each other in the doorway.

"Robert," AJ began, extending his hand to shake Bobby's. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you again, too, General," Bobby agreed, shaking the older man's hand in return. AJ Wainwright was only two inches taller than Bobby, but even after all this time, seeing him again made Bobby feel like he was 21 and meeting Amy's father for the first time.

"AJ, please, call me AJ," AJ said, stepping back, inviting Bobby in and putting him at ease. "I haven't been General in a long time and neither one of us is still in the service. Amy tells me you still have a taste for a good Scotch whiskey."

"Yes, please." Bobby stepped into AJ's study and stopped in his tracks. He turned in a slow circle as he took in the room. Tall, dark oak bookshelves lined all the walls, occasionally broken up by tall windows with window seats. The desk was a large mahogany creation in the ball and claw style, hand-carved and hand-rubbed and well preserved. The perfectly proportioned leather furniture seemed as though it was made for the room. A well-stocked bar was set in the built-ins behind the desk. The coffee table and side tables which graced the room were also perfect. To Bobby, it was the study he had always dreamed of having someday.

As though in a trance, he moved towards one of the shelves and ran his long fingers gracefully and lovingly across the spines of the books. He found himself whispering their titles as he moved along. "'Brave Men', 'The Battle of Leyte Gulf', 'The Federalist Papers', Hemmingway, Shakespeare…" his voice was soft and reverent.

AJ watched the younger man move around the room, taking it all in, admiring the tomes that lined the shelves, and caressing them as though they were long lost friends. He moved to stand next to Bobby and handed him his drink. "You like them," AJ said quietly, indicating the books on the shelves.

"Like them," Bobby said incredulously. "I love them." He accepted the drink and took a sip, pausing to cast an admiring glance at AJ. "My mother was a librarian; she would have loved this room," he commented reverently. "Look at these titles you have; and such a variety." Bobby moved down the rows of shelves as he spoke. "'Don Quixote' by Dumas; 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley; Ernie Pyle's 'Brave Men'. Wow. And the authors: Grisham, Clancy, Michener, Shakespeare, Twain, Conan-Doyle, Dickens, Melville, even Chaucer and Neitchze. Have you read all of these?"

"Most of them. Some are Patty's; a few are Amy's." He pointed to a wicker basket tucked discretely under one of the side tables and overflowing with board books. "Even my grandson has his books in here," he chuckled.

"It must be nice," Bobby mused. AJ caught the sadness in his eyes as he spoke and wondered just exactly what put it there. The discovery of his son and grandson after all this time, the missed opportunities, or was it something else entirely? AJ knew from the beginning that there was more to Bobby than meets the eye, or than the younger man was eager to share with the world. He also sensed that those secrets contributed to the sadness; AJ hoped Amy would have another chance to erase some of that sadness from his face.

"Well, we didn't come here just to talk about my books," AJ said next. "Come, sit down. Make yourself comfortable." He indicated the two leather sofas facing each other in the center of the room and sat himself down on one of them. Bobby took the seat directly opposite and placed his right ankle on his left knee as he sat, then leaned back and took another sip of his Scotch.

"This is excellent Scotch, sir," he told AJ. "Very smooth, very mellow."

"I'm glad you approve. I wasn't sure if you were a single malt or a double malt kind of man, so I just poured you some of my favorite."

"You can never go wrong with Glinlivet," Bobby said knowledgeably.

"Very good," AJ crowed. "A man who knows his Scotch. I knew there was more to like about you than just the way you treated my Amy." He raised his glass in salute and winked as he took a sip. Bobby raised his glass and grinned back at him as he, too, took another sip of the amber liquid.

"I've been keeping up with your career, Bobby."

Bobby looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a look of curiosity. "When Amy told us she was pregnant I had to make sure you were as good a man as you seemed to be. I was surprised when you left the service. I made some inquiries and found out you were bored. Imagine my surprise when I discovered you had become fascinated with Declan Gage and profiling." He let that last comment hang in the air. When Bobby said nothing, but waited to see where he was going with that statement, AJ continued.

"We had high hopes for you in the Army, you know. Several of my colleagues and I had our eyes on you; felt you were a rising star, could have gone far up the ranks had you stayed in."

"Well, sir, I had never really planned on staying in all my life. For me, it was a way to get an education, figure out what I wanted to do with my life and keep me out of trouble. After I met Gage and got involved with profiling, leaving the service and joining the NYPD just seemed to make sense. Besides, I never really did see myself as "high ranking officer material". I'm too unconventional, too quirky."

"I happen to like quirky, myself," AJ said with a chuckle. "But, I know what you mean. I finally had had enough of the political bullshit myself, especially once I got to the Pentagon. I only stayed in as long as I did for the pension and benefits it afforded me. After Patty's father died, it all seemed rather immaterial, but I stayed in as a matter of pride. I'd been in for so long by that time, what was another few years, you know?" Bobby nodded his agreement and took another sip of his drink.

"So, what are you intentions regarding my daughter," AJ suddenly asked gruffly. Bobby was caught so off-guard by the question that he choked on his drink, spewing Scotch onto his pants and the coffee table in front of him and nearly dropping his glass in the process. "Well, now, I didn't mean to get you so upset," AJ said calmly. "I just asked a question any well-meaning father would ask, especially of the man who was the father of her child."

Bobby stared at him in near disbelief. "Well, I, um," he stuttered. "I'm not really sure what my intentions are, sir. I only found out two days ago, I'm still kind of stunned by the whole thing. I mean, I still like Amy, but I don't really know her any more. And Trey, well, he seems like a nice boy, but I'm going to need more time than just two days to make up my mind."

AJ seemed to consider what Bobby had just said, then smiled. "Well, said, son; well said. I'm sorry if I caught you off-guard; I just have to be careful that you weren't back just for the money."

"The money, sir?"

"Yes; after Amy's grandfather died, he left three-fourths of his entire estate to Amy. We got the house here and in Utica, as well as the Gallery and executorship of the Public Trust, but the rest of it, the other two houses here, the stock, the winery, the 50 billion dollar trust fund, all of that is Amy's." AJ looked at the stunned expression on Bobby's face. "She never told you about her grandfather?"

"Oh, she told me lots about her grandfather. Summers at the estate, Saturdays at the Metropolitan Art Museum, his desire to start a winery at his upstate home; but not the rest. Where did all of that come from?"

"My father was an industrialist. He made billions on steel and oil. My sister and I were his only children. She died in a car accident when she was 22; both she and her fiancée were killed instantly. As his only grandchild, Amy became the apple of his eye, and basically his sole heir. I never really wanted even what we got; serving my country in the military meant more to me than running Dad's company. Thankfully, he understood and supported me.

"Dad sold the company shortly before he died; that's where the trust fund came from. He hadn't worked at the company in years, but was the owner and majority stock holder. I encouraged him to take the company public and retire. That's when he started the Gallery and the Public Trust. The winery came later. Dad sweet-talked Amy into starting the winery with him. Now, she's passing it on to Trey, whom I must say loves it more than she does. Well, that's enough about us, what about you?"

Bobby didn't quite know what to say. Being a police officer seemed to pale in comparison to AJ and Amy. "My family and my background are not important to me. Amy is, especially in light of her having given birth to my son. Trey is, for obvious reasons, and Hudson, well, I'm still in shock that I'm grandfather, but he's a cute little guy and I'm looking forward to getting to know him."

"You're in shock that you're a grandfather? Hell, son, I'm still in shock that I'm a great-grandfather. But, I suppose that's what you get when you have kids early in life." AJ placed his now empty glass on the coffee table and shifted so that he was leaning forward to focus an intense gaze on Bobby. "Now, why do you say your family and your background aren't important? Didn't they shape you; cause you to be who you are today?"

"Yes, sir; to an extent. There are also things about my family that give me pause about myself, things I'm not comfortable talking about, if that's all right." Bobby shifted uncomfortably as AJ continued to study him intently. He'd never been the object of such intense scrutiny before and found he'd rather be the giver than the receiver. No wonder his suspects wriggled and squirmed so much. Before he knew it, he found himself volunteering a few things he never thought he would share with anyone, much less with someone he barely knew. "My mom died almost a year ago, of lymphoma. Being in this study, surrounded by all these books…well, it reminded me of her, and how she instilled in me my love of reading. I'd love to come and just sit here and read sometime, that is, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all. Anytime you need to escape from the pressures of being a detective on the NYPD, you're welcome to come here and get lost in a good book." AJ chuckled as Bobby looked up at him in surprise. "Oh, don't look so shocked. Amy told us all about you being a detective with the Major Case Squad after she, uh, made a spectacle of herself in your squad room the other day."

Bobby smiled and chuckled at the memory. "She made quite an entrance back into my life, that's for sure. I don't ever want to make her that mad at me again." Bobby winced and shifted his shoulders at the memory of her purse hitting him on the back.

"She haul off and hit you," AJ asked, amusement dancing in his blue eyes.

"She tried to," Bobby answered him. "I grabbed her wrist as she swung at me, but I wasn't able to stop her purse from whacking me in the back."

"Ouch," AJ winced sympathetically. "She always was a firecracker." AJ looked at his watch, then stood up from the sofa. "Well, looks like I've kept you here long enough. Amy wants you back by 6:30, so I'd better see to it you're over there before then, or she's liable to come after me with her purse."

Chuckling again, Bobby also rose from the sofa where he had been sitting, placing his drink on the table as he did so. He extended his hand to AJ and shook it warmly. "Thanks for the drink and the talk, sir. I enjoyed it."

"Please, Bobby; I insist you call me AJ. And you're welcome for the drink. My offer about the library is open-ended; any time, you understand?" He looked pointedly at Bobby as he said this, and Bobby knew he wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

"Thank you, sir, I mean AJ," Bobby said.

AJ walked with Bobby to the doorway. "You think you can find your way back?"

"As long as Patty doesn't grab me and tie me down in the kitchen for her turn."

Now it was AJ's turn to chuckle. "Ah, Patty's harmless. You just tell her I said you were off-limits for the rest of the evening, and she has to answer to me if she doesn't like it, okay?" Bobby smiled and waved as he turned and walked back down the hallway.