FAMILY
Chapter 4
Annie made her way downstairs in the dark house. It was 5:00 AM and the early September sun would not rise for over an hour. She wanted some prayer time before waking the children up to start the day. Bobby was up already, of course. She saw the light under the door to the basement as she curled up on the window seat with her Bible and her prayer journal. She had been there nearly an hour when the basement door opened and Bobby came out. He smiled slightly when he saw her and moved to squat down in front of her.
"I have to go, we got a call."
The somber look on his face made her ask, "What is it?"
"Cops," he said softly and Annie felt a familiar tingle. She felt it whenever she heard that a police officer had been killed, but couldn't put a name to it. It was a combination of fear for her husband and relief that this time it was someone else's husband. Bobby continued, "Two undercover detectives shot along with two men they were buying guns from."
Annie leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
"Do you want to wake the boys up and wish them Happy Birthday before you go?"
He smiled and nodded. She followed him upstairs to the twins' room. Bobby knelt down between their beds and kissed each one on the forehead.
"Happy Birthday guys," he said softly.
Phillip and Andrew stirred, and then awakened. They both jumped out of bed and scrambled into Bobby's lap, where he was sitting on the floor. Phillip yelled, "Yay! We're seven!"
Bobby laughed and wrapped his arms around them. "Seven is a very important birthday. So how does it feel?"
Andrew said excitedly, "I feel all grown up now. Do I look different?"
"Definitely all grown up," Bobby told him.
The noise woke Ally and she came into the twins' room, rubbing her eyes. She climbed onto Andrew's bed next to Annie and snuggled up to her mother while they watched the boys with their father. Bobby hugged them and said, "I have to go to work now, guys, but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday first."
"Are you going to be home for our birthday dinner, Daddy?" asked Andrew.
Bobby tousled his hair. "I'm going to try my best, Buddy. But I can't promise anything, OK?"
"OK, Daddy," they both said. Bobby hugged them again before getting up. He leaned over and kissed Ally on the top of her head, then headed to the bedroom to get dressed for work.
"Can we watch cartoons until breakfast, Mommy?" asked Phillip.
"OK, you're all up early so you can watch cartoons."
All three children trooped downstairs and Annie went to the bedroom. Bobby had taken a quick shower. She sat on the bed and watched him putting his suit on. When he was dressed and ready to leave, she stood to hug him. Bobby held her tightly for a moment and whispered, "Cops." She nodded her head and squeezed her arms around him tightly. She knew the toll it took on the entire police department when they had to investigate the murder of one of their own.
He called that evening to tell her that he would be working late and would miss the twins' birthday dinner. He knew they would be disappointed. Phillip and Andrew had requested dinner at Sal's because they knew it was their daddy's favorite restaurant. This wouldn't be the first birthday or holiday that he had missed. It was a sad fact of life that as a cop and a nurse, Bobby and Annie often worked holidays. Annie had always managed to arrange days off for the children's birthdays, but she had to work some holidays every year. Bobby's schedule was more unreliable, never knowing when he would be called in on a case at the last minute. It was a way of life for their children; they were disappointed at times but they understood.
"Well, Rhoda will be very sad that her favorite customer isn't there," Annie said with a laugh. Rhoda was a waitress at Sal's with a huge crush on Bobby. She flirted with him outrageously when he went there without his wife and only slightly more subtlety when Annie was with him. Bobby was known to flirt back with her and as a result he enjoyed excellent service.
"Well, be sure to give her my love," he teased.
"Bobby," she said as a thought occurred to her. "What about the birthday party this Saturday?"
The boys had requested a policeman-themed birthday party, which was to be that weekend. What they didn't know was that as a surprise, Bobby had arranged for some squad cars and officers to arrive with red lights and sirens to present each of the boys at the party a pretend NYPD badge.
Bobby sighed. "I don't think that's going to happen, Babe. Everyone's working on this case so there won't be anyone available to pop in at the party." He hesitated and added, "I'm not sure I'll be there, either."
Annie knew that the only part of his job that Bobby hated was that there were too many times like this; missing family events because of a pressing case. She thought for a moment, trying to rearrange plans in her head.
"It'll be OK," she said. "They didn't know about the officers and the badges, so they won't know the difference. They'll be making their own police vests; we'll just have them make badges too. Don't worry about it, Baby. They will understand."
"I know," he sighed. "I just wish….' He trailed off, and then changed the subject. "Eames came in today and she's still here."
"But she's on maternity leave," Annie exclaimed.
"Yeah, the captain reminded her of that too. But she said she's not sitting home when we have two murdered cops."
"Well, tell her not to overdo it, or I'll come over there myself and drag her out. Remember, I know where I can get a pair of cuffs."
Bobby laughed and told her he would pass the message on. After they hung up, she went to break the news to the kids. As expected, they were disappointed. It was Andrew, who wanted to be a policeman just like his daddy, who nodded stoically and said, "It's OK, Mommy. Daddy's got to get the bad guys." Phillip agreed.
She smiled at her boys, who looked so much like their father. She took them to Sal's, as planned. And as she expected, Rhoda's face registered her disappointment when Annie and the children showed up without Bobby. But she was polite to Annie and very sweet to the children, treating them as though they were her most important customers. After dinner Rhoda brought out two small birthday cakes with a single candle on each, and was joined by the rest of the staff in singing "Happy Birthday".
Bobby came in late that night. Annie was already in bed, but was still awake. He showered and then climbed into bed. She could see the fatigue and frustration on his face. He didn't want to talk about the case; he pulled her close and held her tightly until they both fell asleep.
He was up early and gone before the children even got up. Annie spent the day running errands and picking up last-minute supplies for the party the next day. Janey would again be helping her, as well as the mother of one of the boys' classmates.
Annie had wanted her mother-in-law to come as she had for Ally's birthday party, but it had not worked out this time. Bobby's brother, Frank, was still in rehab following an arrest for drug possession. He had two more months before he would be released and the closer it got the harder it seemed to be for him to wait. He had taken to calling his mother almost daily and complaining about the rehab and about his brother. It was Annie who had discovered his drugs and turned them over to the police. It was also Annie who had insisted that they press charges, when the detectives had offered to dispose of the drugs and let Bobby handle it privately. While Frank would have gladly told his mother that his present situation was all Annie's fault, Bobby had warned him not to say anything about her involvement. As far as Frances knew, it was all Bobby's fault. Since he had enough fear of his brother to keep Annie's name out of it, he was more than glad to feed his mother's ire at his brother instead. As the calls and the complaining became more frequent, Frances had become more agitated. She began hearing voices and seeing bugs. The doctor was trying to adjust her medications. In the meantime Bobby, as her conservator, had ordered the staff not to put any more calls from Frank through to her unless he was present. This had only served to increase his mother's anger, but he refused to budge.
Bobby called in the afternoon and told Annie that it was going to be another late night for the entire squad. He said that they were all tired, but no one was complaining. They all wanted to get a cop killer off the streets and would work as long as necessary. He sounded tired and when she asked if he had eaten his answer was vague. She suspected he had eaten little or nothing all day, and she suspected the rest of the Major Case Squad had followed suit.
Annie called her friend and next-door neighbor, Janey, and asked her to pick the children up from school and keep them at her house until she returned. Then she called and ordered pizza for the entire squad. She went to the store and picked up a variety of sodas and cookies for dessert. She arrived at One Police Plaza at the same time as the pizza deliveryman and they went up together. As the elevator doors opened on the eleventh floor, she could hear the activity of people shuffling through paperwork and moving quietly but quickly around the bullpen. Captain Deakins was leaning over Detective Jefferies' desk and was the first one to look up and see her.
"Annie!" The captain walked over and kissed her on the cheek. "What are you up to?"
"I just thought your detectives are probably not eating or sleeping regularly. I can't do anything about their sleep, but I thought I could at least provide them with sustenance. Is there someplace I can set all this up?"
Deakins laughed and said, "Sure, that interview room over there is empty. Go ahead and put everything there." He kissed her cheek again and said softly, "Thank you Annie. The guys will really appreciate this."
Bobby had looked up when Deakins called her name. He didn't get up or say anything; he just watched her progress across the squad room. She smiled and winked at him as she passed. It took three trips to get all the pizza and supplies delivered. By the time they got back with the second load there were already grateful detectives munching on pizza.
Once she had everything settled and had given the delivery person a big tip, she headed to Bobby's and Alex's desks. She stopped next to them and pointed at Alex.
"You, Pregnant Lady! When's the last time you ate?"
Alex laughed at her and said, "I'm fine, Nurse."
"That's not an answer. You are eating for two and I can hear Baby asking for pizza. I brought you a treat if you clean your plate like a good girl," Annie said as she pulled a bag of Skittles out of her purse.
Alex raised her hands in mock surrender as she got up and headed for the interview room. Annie laid the Skittles on Alex's desk and turned to her husband. He was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed and an amused look on his face. She leaned against his desk, crossed her arms, and stared back at him in silence. They looked at one another for a few moments and then Bobby smiled at her. He got up without a word, put his arm around her shoulders, and walked with her to the interview room. She sat and talked with Bobby and Alex while they ate.
"So where is your new partner?" she asked.
"She's chasing down something in records. She'll be back soon," Bobby told her.
Bobby and Alex were nearly finished with their pizza when a young red-haired woman walked into the bullpen. Captain Deakins spoke with her and pointed to the interview room with all the food. Annie watched as the young woman laid some papers on a desk and walked towards the interview room. As she walked into the room, Bobby stood to introduce her.
"Bishop, I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Annie Paine. Annie, Detective Lynn Bishop."
Annie stood and shook hands with Bishop. "I'm glad to meet you, Detective."
Bishop murmured a greeting and then served herself some pizza and soda. The other detectives had drifted back to their desks with their food. Bobby, Annie, Alex, and Bishop made small talk for a few minutes. Bobby and Alex finished their food and excused themselves, Bobby leaning down to kiss Annie on his way out. There were a few moments of silence when Annie and Bishop were left alone.
Finally Annie said, "I'm glad I got a chance to meet you. I've been wanting to since you and Bobby have been partnered."
Bishop looked uncomfortable. "I know…Goren told me that you wanted to meet. I just….I just thought that since we will only be partners for a short time, there was no need."
"I know, and it's OK. I just like to meet all of Bobby's partners and get to know them."
"All of his partners? Or all of his female partners?" Bishop asked.
Annie was speechless for a moment as she looked at the younger woman. "Wh…what?" she finally managed to say.
Bishop held her gaze and said, "Look, I've had male partners before and I know how their wives see female partners."
"What?" Annie asked again, at a loss for words.
Bishop sighed impatiently. "I know how it works. I know people get the wrong idea about male/female partners and wives can get jealous of all the time they spend together. But Goren and I won't be partnered for long, so I decided I just didn't want to put the energy into reassuring another wife that I don't have the hots for her husband."
Annie stared at her for several long beats. Suddenly she began to laugh. Bishop looked at her as though she was crazy and Annie laughed even harder. She was having trouble breathing and she laid her forehead on the table as she gasped. She sat up and looked through the glass walls of the interview room. She could see that several people had heard her laughter and turned to look at her, among them her husband. He and Alex were both looking at her quizzically and for some reason that seemed incredibly funny to her. She was holding onto the table and had tears streaming down her face as she howled with laughter. Bishop stood up and looked like she wanted to escape from the lunatic before her.
Finally Annie managed to gain control of herself. She took some deep, steadying breaths and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She looked up at Bishop and took another deep breath.
"Y…you think that….I…I wanted to….to…tell you," she lost control and began to laugh again. She covered her face, took some more deep breaths, and tried again. "You think I was afraid…that…th…that you would…seduce my husband?" She couldn't help the giggles that followed.
Bishop looked at her warily. "Well, when a partner's wife says she wants to meet me, it usually means she wants to make sure I know he's taken."
Annie looked at her and realized she was completely serious. She patted the chair that Bishop had just vacated and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed at you. Please sit down." Bishop sat down and watched Annie as she continued. "Detective, how many male partners have you had?"
"A few," Bishop told her.
"And their wives all thought you were after their men?"
"The ones who were married or had girlfriends. And I'm not the only one. It's a fact of life for female cops. We have to prove to the men that we're just as tough as they are and prove to their wives that we aren't just waiting for an opportunity for a roll in the back of a squad car."
Now Annie was completely serious. She looked out at Bobby and Alex again. They had both gone back to their paperwork.
"I really am sorry. I had no idea. It really never occurred to me that could be the reason you refused to meet me. Now I remember that when Alex and Bobby first became partners, she refused to meet me too. Is that why?" She looked at Bishop. "Did Alex think I wanted to 'scope out the competition' too?"
Bishop shrugged. "Probably."
"The thing is…that isn't the reason I wanted to meet you, or the reason I wanted to meet Alex. The thought never even crossed my mind. I don't worry about women throwing themselves at my husband. I don't have to trust or mistrust anyone because the person I do trust is my husband. I know that he would never do anything to hurt me."
The look on Bishop's face clearly said that she didn't believe her. "Then why did you want to meet me?" she asked.
"The same reason I insist on meeting all of his partners, and his or her spouse. Partners depend on one another, sometimes it's a matter of life and death. I want the person who has Bobby's back to remember that he has a family. I didn't want to tell you to keep your hands off my husband," she smiled. "I wanted to tell you that there is a wife and three kids depending you to protect him."
They were silent for a moment. Bishop said softly, "Well, now I feel a little silly."
Annie patted her hand. "Don't feel silly. I really had no idea it was like that for you. I know the women have a harder time of it on the force. I just didn't realize that suspicious wives were a problem." She smiled at the younger woman. "I really would appreciate it if you would refrain from trying to seduce my husband." She laughed before adding, "But more importantly, I really would appreciate you having his back."
It was Bishop's turn to laugh and Annie joined with her. They sat for a few more minutes talking, and then Annie stood up to leave. They shook hands.
"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, Ms. Paine," Bishop told her.
"Don't give it another thought. And please call me Annie…Detective."
"You can call me Lynn. Or Bishop."
"It was nice to meet you, Lynn. I'll call you and we'll have dinner sometime…maybe after this case is over."
Bishop nodded and Annie left. On her way out she stopped to tell Bobby and Alex goodbye. Bobby walked her to the elevator.
"So what went on in there? You were laughing awfully hard."
Annie smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek. "I'll tell you about it later. I think Lynn and I are going to go out for dinner one of these days."
"Lynn?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Lynn," she said firmly. The elevator door opened and Bobby kissed her quickly before she got on.
Once again, Bobby came home late and left early the next morning. Phillip and Andrew were awake before Annie. They ran in and jumped on her bed, full of excitement over their party later in the afternoon. Ally woke up soon after and joined them in the big bed. She was almost as excited as her brothers because she would be allowed to stay and help with the party.
Annie sent the boys next door with Janey's husband, Rob, and Janey joined her, Ally, and another mother to decorate. The party would be in the front yard. They set up tables and blew up balloons. There were cut-out footprints around the yard, some leading to "loot" (candy), and some wandering aimlessly. They had made a cardboard "jail", "hideout", and "bank" for one of the games. Annie went to pick up the cake and was pleased with the way it had turned out. It was cut in the shape of a police car and decorated to look like an NYPD squad car. The gift bags for the guests had small, inexpensive toys, boxes of crayons, safety coloring books, and stickers that Bobby had collected from the department.
She brought the boys home to clean up and change. The guests arrived and they were busy for the next two hours with the games, the crafts, the presents, and the cake. Things were winding down and parents would be arriving soon to pick up the group of tired little boys.
Suddenly the sound of sirens filled the air and everyone looked up to see two squad cars and three unmarked police cars coming down the street from both directions, lights flashing and sirens blaring. They all pulled up in front of the house, completely blocking the street. The car doors opened up and detectives and uniformed officers from the Major Case Squad stepped out, their badges prominently displayed. The boys all stood still, completely speechless. It occurred to Annie that it was the quietest any of them had been for the last two hours.
She saw Bobby, Lynn, and Alex step out of an SUV. Bobby didn't come forward right away and Annie wondered what he was doing. Then she saw Captain Deakins step out of another vehicle. He smiled at her as he walked over to her.
Captain Deakins faced the ten little boys standing and staring at the police cars and flashing lights. He cleared his throat and said in a loud voice, "Phillip and Andrew Goren! Would you step forward please!"
Phillip's and Andrew's eyes grew big as they walked over to stand in front of the captain. Deakins knelt down in front of them and said, "I hear that there is an NYPD party going on here today and that you two young men want to be Major Case Squad detectives."
Annie smiled as the boys nodded wordlessly. They had met the captain on several occasions, and had even been to his home for a barbeque, but he looked rather intimidating with his suit and tie, his badge in place, and with a very authoritative look on his face.
He told them, "Well, you can't be detectives in my squad unless you are wearing a proper gold shield." He pulled two small badges out of his pocket and pinned them to the twins' shirts. Annie looked closely and saw that they were small replicas of NYPD detectives' badges. Deakins went on, "The detectives and officers have badges for each of your guests as well."
With that the detectives and officers moved among the guests and pinned badges on each boy's shirt. Phillip and Andrew had huge smiles on their faces as Deakins stood up and solemnly shook hands with each one.
"Welcome to Major Case, men. And now you all get to have a ride in one of the cars—with lights and sirens, of course."
Now the boys all found their voices again and they yelled and scrambled to the cars. Bobby took Phillip and Andrew in the car with himself and Lynn. Alex waited with Annie as all of the cars left for a drive around the neighborhood.
Annie laughed as she told Alex, "I thought the surprise was cancelled because of this case. And I never expected the captain to put in an appearance!"
Alex said, "It was the captain, actually. He decided we needed something to ease the tension and that spending a few minutes with a group of little boys hopped up on birthday cake was just what we all needed. Besides Bobby was so depressed over missing this that we thought we better do something."
The cars returned with their very happy and very excited occupants. Annie made sure the boys thanked the captain and all of the officers. She hugged the captain and thanked him profusely, embarrassing him. The officers got back into their cars and left the same way they had arrived. Bobby, Lynn, and Alex stayed behind for a few minutes. As parents began to arrive to pick up the guests, Phillip and Andrew took Bobby to see their gifts and tell him about everything that they had done at the party. When they left, Annie walked with him to the car, holding hands.
At the car she smiled up at him and asked, "Have I mentioned lately what a great dad you are?"
He smiled and said, "Well, not today."
"You are a great dad," she said softly.
He kissed her lightly before getting into the car. She waved goodbye to Alex and to Lynn and watched as they drove away. She was amazed at what the entire squad had done today. She knew that all of them were affected by the murder of two fellow officers and that finding the killers was of utmost importance to them all. She knew they were all putting in long hours and missing time with their own families. Yet they had put all that aside for a short time in order to make a group of little boys happy. Bobby had talked about police officers being part of a family and she had seen that today.
Bobby continued working late and leaving early until they finally made an arrest in the case. A young man and woman had been responsible for the murders. Seeing their pictures in the paper, Annie thought they looked like they could be high school sweethearts, ready for the prom.
On the day of the funerals for the two slain detectives, Annie picked Alex up and they drove to the church together. Standing in the midst of all the dress uniforms, Annie looked around at all the faces. She watched the grieving families, the stoic resolve on the faces of every officer present. It made her feel proud to be a part of this NYPD family.
She looked up at her husband, handsome in his dress blues, that same stoic resolve on his face. She thought her heart might burst from the love and pride she had in this man. His strength, his understanding, and his tenderness; all combined to make him not only an excellent police officer but a devoted and loving husband and father as well. After the service was over, she moved to stand next to him and slip her hand in his. He squeezed her hand and looked down at her. Their eyes met and held for several moments and it felt once again as though he could read her thoughts. He smiled sadly and whispered, "I love you," before they moved with the crowd leaving the church for the funeral procession to the cemetery.
He came home early that day and spent time with the children. Then he went to bed when Annie did and wrapped his arms around her. He fell asleep quickly for once. He never released her, but held her tightly against him all night. Annie fell asleep with her face resting on his chest, feeling the familiar, comforting thud of his heart against her cheek.
End Chapter 4
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