FAMILY

CHAPTER 13

This chapter is set during "Shrink Wrapped". It's always been a favorite episode of mine because the family is so deliciously psychotic. This is the last chapter for season 3. Next will come season 4 with some of my all-time favorite "perps": Nelda (gotta love a psychotic nurse!), John Tagman (Neil Patrick Harris at his creepy best), Doreen Whitlock (for the first time I felt revulsion and compassion for a mother who could murder her own children), and of course Annie's favorite serial killer, Nicole Wallace. Not to mention the first introduction of Mike Logan to the Major Case Squad.

Thanks as always to my beta, spook. And to all my e-mail buddies whose parental brains I picked for how Bobby should deal with his three mischievous children. I decided that Ally, Phillip, and Andrew have been entirely too well-behaved and the result is this chapter. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

"Phillip! Get down from there now!" The voice that had intimidated hardened criminals seemed paltry and inadequate in the face of a seven-year old boy's determination to explore the books on the top shelf of a very tall bookcase.

"But Daddy, I want to see what books they have up there," Phillip said as he let go of his precarious perch with one hand and pointed to the top shelf.

"I said NOW!" Bobby's exasperated voice was joined by his imposing height as he stood up. Phillip sighed gustily and jumped the few feet to the ground.

"Ah, gee! It's boring here!" Bobby did not answer, he simply pointed to the sofa where Ally and Andrew were already sitting. But as Phillip headed across the visitor's lounge towards the sofa, Bobby heard another argument break out from that direction.

"Andrew, stop it! STOP! You're going to ruin it! Daddy! Andrew keeps messing up my picture!"

"I did not! Your picture is dumb! I just wanted to draw Sandy and make it better!"

"Both of you stop arguing right now. Andrew, leave Ally's picture alone; draw your own picture."

"Ha ha!" Ally sang smugly, receiving a warning scowl from her father.

"You can have your stupid old picture," Andrew muttered as Phillip threw himself into the corner of the sofa and folded his arms angrily across his chest.

Bobby sighed and sat back down next to his mother, shaking his head in annoyance. It was a cold February Sunday and he had brought the children to visit. But all three had been in bad moods since they woke up that morning. The hour and a half drive to Carmel Ridge had seemed even longer as the children argued and whined the entire time. Since arriving they had continued the arguments with one another and with their increasingly frustrated father.

"What is the matter with those children today?"

Bobby shook his head at his mother's question. "I don't know, Mom. Maybe they didn't get enough sleep last night. Or maybe they have been cooped up in the house too much this week. They've just been pills all day today."

"Seems to me they are acting out because they aren't getting enough attention from their mother. Maybe if your wife spent more time with her children and less time at that church of hers, they would be a little happier and calmer."

Bobby ran his hand over his face and sighed, frustrated now with his mother. "Your wife…" His mother hadn't said Annie's name in months, referring to her instead as "your wife". He very much wanted to tell her that the only reason "his wife" was working at the church's soup kitchen that day, rather than being with him and the kids, was because she still refused to see Annie.

"You know that isn't true, Ma," he said, knowing that it was a mistake to argue with her. "Annie's a good mother and spends plenty of time with the kids. They're just having a bad day today."

"I know attention-seeking behavior when I see it," she said primly. "I had a couple children myself, if you remember correctly. But I didn't let outside commitments become more important than our family time."

Bobby resisted the urge to laugh, thinking of the frequent "commitments" to the mental hospital that had kept her away from home for a good portion of his childhood. He sighed again, knowing that arguing or pointing out the obvious flaws in her logic would do no good. He was almost relieved when Phillip's attempts to annoy Andrew by touching him with his foot finally erupted into a full-scale wrestling match and he went to break it up. But once he had pulled them apart, had a little talk with them about how to behave, made them sit back down on the sofa, and returned to his mother's side, he discovered with dismay that she was not done with her complaints.

"Frank came to see me yesterday. You know he still can't find a job. People just don't want to hire him because of his arrest. Something he has your wife to thank for."

"That's enough Mom," Bobby said firmly, looking meaningfully towards the children. Frances glanced over at them. The twins were oblivious to the adults' discussion; they were too busy trying to touch another without getting caught. Ally, however, was watching her father and her grandmother with a solemn expression. Frances smiled at her and gestured for her to come to her.

"Let me see your picture, Ally," Frances told her. Ally took her picture and climbed into the chair next to her grandmother. Bobby gave a sigh of relief that his mother had dropped the subject.

In the car later Ally asked, "Daddy, why doesn't Grandma like Mommy anymore?"

Bobby glanced at her in the rear view mirror; he didn't answer right away, pondering how to answer.

"Grandma still loves Mommy," he said slowly. "She's just mad at her right now. But she'll get over it. Sometimes people get angry, but they still love each other."

"Like you and Mommy get angry?"

Bobby looked at her again. "What do you mean, Ally?"

"You and Mommy talk in mad voices a lot. But you still love each other, right?"

Bobby swallowed. There had been a lot of arguments in the last few months but he hadn't realized that the children were aware of them.

"Yes, Sweetheart, Mommy and I still love each other."

They arrived at the library in time for "Family Story Time", which was geared towards school-age children. Bobby dropped Ally at the section for older children where today they were discussing "Harry Potter" and making wizard hats. The boys were happy to see that their favorite librarian, Miss Sarah, would be reading to them today. Since she didn't work every Sunday, it was sometimes another librarian who read to them. Bobby hoped that they would behave themselves here in the library. He sat down in a chair, with Phillip and Andrew at his feet. From the first words of the book, Miss Sarah had their complete attention.

"You look straight ahead. You try to breathe normally. You can smell the scent of the huge cat that is staring back. You are a cameraman. He is the King of Beasts. Your only thought is 'I hope he has already eaten today.'" (Face to Face With Lions by Dereck Joubert)

Bobby smiled at the animation she put into the reading. This was why she was a favorite. It seemed to him that Miss Sarah enjoyed Story Time just as much as the children did. When she was finished, there was silence in the room for a moment and then the children all descended on her with questions about the story and about where to find books on specific topics.

As he watched Sarah with the children, Bobby's investigator's eye noted that although she was smiling, there seemed to be an air of sadness about her today. He knew she was a widow; he and Annie had discussed how sadness seemed to envelope her after her husband's death. But in recent months she had seemed genuinely cheerful. He supposed grief had a way of coming back now and then when she least expected it. He would mention it to Annie tonight; he knew she would want to pray for her. As Phillip and Andrew ran off to find books to check out, Bobby got up to say hello to Sarah.

"Well, it's always nice to see one of my favorite families, the Gorens." She smiled up him. "Where is your wife today?"

"She's working in the church soup kitchen today. The kids and I went to visit my mother."

"The boys seemed a little antsy when they first came in. But they settled right down. You know, your kids really are well-behaved. And they genuinely love reading. A joy for any librarian," she laughed.

Bobby laughed with her. "Yes, they've been quite a handful today. But they always enjoy coming here and hearing you read. How are you? And how is Jia Li?"

"We're both fine; thank you for asking. I just can't believe how fast Jia Li is growing. It seems like yesterday that Tony and I got off the airplane with this tiny baby."

"They do grow much too fast," Bobby nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess I should go catch up with my group. Make sure they haven't started a fire or pulled a bookcase over."

Sarah laughed. "And I should get back to work. It was nice seeing you, again. Tell Annie I said hello. And would you give my uncle a message for me when you see him? Tell him that according to Mapquest this library is exactly 7.34 miles from 1 Police Plaza and takes about 17 minutes to drive, depending on traffic. And it has been much too long since he took his favorite niece out for lunch. Do you need to write this down?" She laughed again and Bobby chuckled with her.

"7.34 miles, 17 minutes. I'll remember."

Once they were home, Ally took her books up to her room while the twins spread their books on the kitchen table. They had chosen several books about lions, including the one that Sarah had read to them. With all three children quiet, not fighting, and occupied, Bobby took the opportunity to go downstairs to his office and go over a file he had brought home.

He and Eames were working on a frustrating case, the murder of a young musician. He had been having an affair with his psychiatrist and their interviews with her, her psychologist husband, and grade-school teacher daughter revealed a disturbingly dysfunctional family. Bobby became engrossed in reading the file and looking through several of his books on psychology and profiling. He lost track of time until he heard the sounds of children yelling from upstairs. Sighing, he closed the book and headed upstairs to see what the children were fighting about this time.

When he opened the basement door, the shouts of all three children and the barking of the dog hit him with force, as well as another sound he couldn't identify at first, a buzzing sound. He rounded the corner into the kitchen just in time to see Andrew pulling back his fist with the intention of punching Ally in the face.

"STOP!" His booming voice caused all three children to freeze and fall silent; even Sandy stopped barking. The only sound was the buzzing, which he now realized was coming from the electric hair trimmer in Ally's hand. In the few seconds before all three children began to simultaneously explain what happened, he took in the scene in the kitchen, unable to believe his eyes.

Soft, golden fur was scattered around the floor of the previously immaculate kitchen. Sandy, their dog, stood next to the kitchen table with the fur on her back shaved almost completely off. Ally was standing between the dog and her twin brothers, holding the buzzing hair trimmer in her hand. Phillip and Andrew were facing her. All three of them had furious expressions on their faces; a handful of dark curls were lying on the floor between them and Andrew had a swath of stubbly hair, just behind his left ear, through the dark curly hair that was so much like his father's.

After a brief moment of silence, they all began talking at once. "Daddy! Look what they did…." "Daddy! Look what Ally did….." "Daddy! Ally tried to…." Their frenzied voices caused Sandy to begin barking again.

"ENOUGH!" Again there was silence. "Sit!" Bobby pointed to the sofa in the living room. Three pairs of round eyes stared up at him and then they walked single file into the living room. As Ally passed, he held out his hand and she put the hair trimmer in it. He turned it off and set it on the table. In a gentler tone Bobby ordered Sandy, "Go lie down girl." She obediently went to her bed by the stove and lay down in it, resting her head on her front paws and looking up quizzically at her big master.

He went to the living room and stood looking down at the tops of one blond and two dark brown heads as all three children stared silently at their hands in their laps. Bobby sat down on the coffee table in front of the sofa and leaned his elbows on his knees.

"Alright," he said, trying to keep his voice calm, "Ally you go first."

"How come she gets to go f.…?" Phillip's protests died on his lips as Bobby frowned at him wordlessly.

He looked back at Ally. "They were shaving Sandy! And Phillip was holding her head and Andrew was shaving her and I told them to stop and they said they didn't have to and I said I would tell and they said so? and I told them they were gonna get in trouble and they said no we won't and I told them to stop and they wouldn't so I made them."

"How did you make them?" Bobby asked. Ally looked down and didn't answer. Andrew was wiggling in his seat; he raised his hand but Bobby ignored him and asked again, "How did you make them stop, Ally?"

"I took the razor away," she said softly.

"And?" Bobby prompted.

"And…I…shaved Andrew's head," she whispered, tears beginning to fall.

Bobby crossed his arms and looked at the twins. Finally he acknowledged Andrew's waving arm. "Andrew?"

"Sh…she grabbed the razor," he said excitedly, "and she said 'See how you like it' and she pulled my hair and she shaved it! See?!" He turned his head and pointed to the shaved area.

"And she tried to hit me!" Phillip added. "But she was too slow!" He stuck his tongue out at his sister and she returned the gesture.

"Stop!" Bobby ordered and they both looked sheepishly at him. "Why were you shaving the dog?"

"We wanted her to be a lion," Phillip said.

"A lion?"

"Yeah! Like in the book Miss Sarah read to us," Andrew offered. "We were going to make Sandy look like a lion and we were going to take pictures of her like in the book."

"You were being mean to Sandy! You are mean boys!" Ally's voice rose in indignation.

"Sandy liked it! You're the mean one! You tried to shave Andrew!"

Phillip reached over and gave Ally a push. She pushed back and all three children began yelling.

"That's enough!" Bobby stood up and they all looked up at him. Bobby was angry and frustrated. He decided he was not up to refereeing another fight today. "I want all of you in your rooms now! And do not talk to one another! Do not touch one another. I'm very angry with all of you right now. And I'm very disappointed in all of you. Upstairs now!"

They all headed for the stairs, crying now. Having their Daddy angry with them was heartbreaking. Having him disappointed in them was more than they could bear, especially Ally. She wailed, "Daaaadeeee!" all the way up the stairs. He could still hear all of them crying from downstairs, even with the doors shut. Bobby sat down on the sofa with his elbows propped on his knees and put his head in his hands.

He was still sitting there when Annie came home ten minutes later. As she walked in the house she saw Bobby sitting forlornly on the couch and heard wailing coming from upstairs. She sat down on the coffee table and waited for Bobby to acknowledge her. He finally looked up at her with a beleaguered expression.

"What's going on?" she asked softly.

"They have been fighting and arguing and into everything all day long. Go look in the kitchen."

Annie leaned over and kissed his cheek, then walked into the kitchen. She stared at the mess on the floor. Sandy jumped up and ran over to her, whining to be petted.

"Oh Sandy! What have they done to you," she exclaimed, kneeling down and scratching the dog behind her ears. Sandy followed her back into the living room. "What happened? And do I see the twins' hair on the floor as well as Sandy's?"

Bobby sighed and leaned back, running a hand over the back of his head. "Sarah read a book about lions to them at the library today, so the boys decided to make Sandy look like a lion. Ally found them shaving the dog and got mad. She took the trimmer away and shaved a patch of Andrew's hair."

Annie looked at him in silence for a moment, and then she smiled and began to giggle. She tried to be quiet so the children wouldn't hear her, but the giggling fit was only getting worse. She buried her face in her hands and leaned over to put her head in Bobby's lap. Bobby crossed his arms over his chest and frowned down at her quaking blond head.

"It's not funny, Annie."

"I'm s..s…sorry," she said, sitting up and trying to gain control. Then a fresh burst of giggles erupted. "No I'm not! It is funny!"

"It's not funny," he repeated. "These kids have been out of control all day."

"C'mon, Bobby! Shaving the dog? Shaving each other? It's hilarious!"

He didn't answer; he just continued to frown at her with his arms crossed. Annie's giggling subsided as she realized that he was angry and wasn't seeing the humor in the situation.

"Babe," she put her hand on his knee and looked up at him apologetically. "I can see that you had a bad day and I'm sorry. I know they are a handful sometimes. But you don't find this just a little funny?" She smiled up at him.

"No I don't. Someone could have gotten hurt. And frankly, I'm surprised that you aren't taking this more seriously."

She held his gaze for a moment and then asked softly, "What happened with your mother today?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What did she say or do that has you in such a bad mood?"

"I told you, Mom is fine. It's the kids we are talking about. They have been fighting and getting into things all day. And this stunt they pulled could have been dangerous. Someone could have gotten hurt."

"But no one did. So we talk to them, give them consequences, and usually you and I would be laughing about it. Why are you taking this so seriously?"

"Maybe because you aren't," he said. "You're the nurse, the one usually so concerned with safety. Why aren't you concerned now? And for that matter, why was that hair trimmer even down where the kids could get to it?"

"What?"

"Why was the hair trimmer down where they could reach it? Why didn't you have it up in a cupboard where they couldn't reach it?"

She looked at him with an incredulous expression for a moment before answering.

"Are you blaming me for this?"

"I'm just saying that if the trimmer was put away where they couldn't reach it, maybe none of this would have happened."

"And where were you when it happened?" she asked, angry now.

"I was in my office."

"You must have been there a long time." She waved her hand towards Sandy, who was lying at their feet. "It took them a while to find the trimmer and to shave that much off of Sandy. And then more time for Ally to find them, get the trimmer from Andrew, and shave him. Maybe if you hadn't been so immersed in your research you would have realized your kids were getting into trouble."

"And maybe if you had been with us, none of this would have happened."

"That's not fair," she said softly. "You know that I wanted to be with you today. It's not my fault that your mother won't see me."

"It's not?" he asked quietly.

He knew he had scored a hit and saw the hurt flash across her face. She didn't answer; they sat for several moments just looking at one another. Then Ally's voice became louder as she opened her door and with a tearful voice called to him.

"Daadeee….can I come out now?"

"No," he called up to her. She renewed her wailing and closed the door. Bobby stood up and headed towards the stairs. "I need to go talk to them. Leave the kitchen; I'll have the kids clean it up."

"Do you want me to talk to…"

"No," he cut her off, "I'll handle it." He could feel her eyes on him as he went up the stairs.

Bobby went to talk to the boys first. As he walked by Ally's room he heard her in there, still crying. He found the boys sitting quietly on their beds. He explained to them how necessary a dog's fur is and that Sandy was going to have a hard time staying warm with hers shaved off. He also had a serious talk with them about hitting girls, especially their sister. He told Ally that she could have hurt her brother by trying to shave his head and discussed how her little brothers looked up to her and needed her to be a good role model. As each of his children cried in his arms and told him how sorry they were he thought how much he loved that his children had such tender hearts. Just like their mother, he realized with a stab of guilt over the stricken look on Annie's face earlier.

He ordered all of the children to apologize to one another. Consequences were meted out: for the next month there would be no allowances and no video games, instead their time would be spent on extra chores around the house. For tonight they were to clean the kitchen and take their baths so that they could go to bed immediately after dinner. Three subdued children preceded him down the stairs and greeted their mother. Annie was sitting on the couch reading, with Sandy lying at her feet. He glanced in the kitchen and noticed that the hair trimmer was missing from the table. The children told Annie about the consequences Daddy had given them and she nodded her head in agreement.

Looking at him over their heads Annie said hesitantly, "Maybe before they clean the kitchen, I should cut Andrew's hair and try to even it out?"

"You're right," he said softly. "That's a good idea. Look, I…ah…should go buy a doggie sweater for Sandy before she needs to go outside again. Do you mind…" He trailed off.

"I'll make sure they clean the kitchen and get started on their baths."

Bobby returned with the sweater for Sandy to find the kitchen was clean, Andrew was sporting a new buzz cut, all three of the children were bathed and sitting quietly on the couch reading, and Annie was in the kitchen preparing dinner. The evening passed quietly, with the children subdued while he and Annie spoke very little. After the children were in bed and the dinner dishes had been cleaned, he went down to his office while Annie curled up on the couch with a book.

She was in bed when he finally went upstairs. He stood for a moment and watched her sleep. With another twinge of guilt, he saw that there were dried tears on her cheeks. He sighed as he got into bed, trying not to disturb her. But she rolled over in her sleep and snuggled up against him, murmuring "Bobby" in her sleep. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

He thought about how much he loved the many different ways his name sounded on her lips; the questioning sound of her voice when she called to him to ask a question, the tinkling sound of laughter as she gasped his name while he tickled her or teased her, the husky, throaty sound she made when she moaned his name in the throes of passion, the drowsy way she called to him even in sleep, as she had just now. He also thought about the angry sound of his name coming from her when they were having an argument, something that seemed to be happening with increasing frequency.

He knew she was correct earlier; this was a situation that he would normally find very funny and the two of them would laugh together, trying not to let the children hear them. Why had he reacted with such anger? He supposed it was just the combined stress of visiting his mother and the children misbehaving at every opportunity all day. But he knew he was wrong to blame Annie for what happened, and wrong to blame her for his mother turning on her. Her hesitancy in suggesting that she cut Andrew's hair before sending the children to clean the kitchen sent another stab of guilt through him. It was rare that they were not on the same page when disciplining the children. This was a detail she would have normally pointed out to him when they discussed what consequences would be appropriate before talking to the children.

He sighed and buried his face in her hair, breathing in the faint scent of lilac that always made him think of her. Annie never used perfume. She said that she had stopped using it in nursing school because she didn't want to walk into a room with a nauseous patient and have her scent cause him or her to throw up. But the body wash, lotion, shampoo, and conditioner that she used were all lilac-scented and it clung to her lightly, causing Bobby to always associate that scent with her.

Bobby had intended to apologize to Annie, but in the morning rush of getting ready for work and school he couldn't find a private moment to talk to her. Nor could he for the next two days as she was working and the case that he and Eames were working on heated up and consumed his time. But he noted that Annie seemed to have simply forgotten their argument. She spoke to him without anger, kissed him goodbye in the mornings, called him a few times during the day just to check in and to discuss child care and dinner arrangements.

On the morning of the third day after the dog-shaving incident, he and Eames finally broke the case they were working on; they had managed to get a confession from Camilla Barnes and arrested her for murdering her mother's patient/lover. As they headed back to the office to complete the paperwork, Bobby thought about this family. Camilla's psychiatrist mother and psychologist father had been playing a game of psychological warfare all of her life. It shouldn't have surprised them that their daughter had finally decided to enter the war herself, but with tragic results for the troubled musician who was also caught up in this "game". Even as he felt revulsion for Camilla's crime, he couldn't help also feeling compassion for the neglected little girl growing up in such a poisoned atmosphere.

He thought about Ron Carver's reaction to this case. "This family," he said, "makes me want to go home and kiss my wife."

As they finished the paperwork, Bobby realized that he had the same desire that Mr. Carver did; he wanted to kiss his wife, to hold his children, to remind himself that his family was healthy and happy. He leaned his forearms on his desk and looked across to Eames.

"I'm going to take the rest of the day off," he told her.

"OK," she said questioningly. "You know we have a couple of other cases…."

"I know, and I'll be back first thing in the morning. But there's something I need to do right now."

Alex frowned at the mischievous smile he flashed her. "What do you need to do right now?"

"I need to play hooky with my kids and my wife," he said with a chuckle. Alex looked at him incredulously as he got up and went to the captain's office to clear his time off. He changed into the extra pair of jeans and tee-shirt he kept at the office for times he and Eames went undercover, and then pulled on his coat.

Bobby checked his watch as the elevator descended. He knew that Annie wasn't working today, but would be at the church helping to serve lunch. If he hurried, he could pick up the kids from school and get to the church before she was too involved in serving. The school secretary gave him the same incredulous look that Eames had when he told her he was taking his children out of school for the rest of the day, and no, it was not a family emergency. The children were also surprised, but always eager for an "adventure" with their daddy.

They arrived at the church as the volunteers were setting up the tables. He watched from across the room as the children descended on a surprised Annie, telling her that Daddy said they were all "playing hooky" today. She smiled hesitantly at him as he walked over to her.

"But the lunch…I don't know….the others are expecting me…." She faltered as she looked up at him.

"Go ahead and leave, Annie," the pastor said, smiling as he walked up and greeted Bobby and the children. "We have plenty of volunteers today. Go play hooky with your family."

They took Annie's SUV and the children kept up a constant line of questioning about where they were going. But Bobby refused to answer, laughing at their many attempts to "break" him. As they pulled into the parking lot for Chelsea Piers, the yells of excitement inside the vehicle were almost deafening. Since it was now lunchtime, Bobby steered them to one of the many restaurants to eat before any activities.

Over lunch Ally asked, "Daddy, does this mean you aren't mad at us anymore?"

"No, Sweetheart, I'm not mad."

Phillip excitedly began, "So does that mean we don't…"

"No," his father cut him off with a laugh. "There are still consequences for what you did. You still forfeit your allowances and video games and still have extra chores. Today," he said, smiling across the table at Annie, "today is a reprieve."

After lunch he took them to the batting cages. All three of the children were involved in playing baseball; the boys were to graduate from T-Ball to Little League this year. They enjoyed hitting the balls and watching their father's accuracy with pitch after pitch. They all laughed at their mother's poor batting average, hitting only about one out of every five pitches. Engrossed in their own batting practice, they didn't pay attention when their father went to give their mother instruction on batting technique. It was just as well that they were distracted when Bobby stood behind Annie and put his arms around hers and his hands over hers on the bat. And it was just as well that they didn't notice their father whispering in their mother's ear, because whatever "instructions" he was giving her caused profuse blushing and laughter on her part but did not seem to improve her batting one iota.

After the batting cages, the boys wanted to go to the rock wall and climb. Annie begged off this activity, despite pleading from her children and her husband's promise not to let her fall. During Alex's pregnancy they had finally stopped the rock wall climbing on their trips to the gym, and Annie had yet to resume that activity and did not want to try it now.

"Besides," she said softly, making sure the children could not hear, "you know it turns me on to watch your muscles when you climb."

Bobby laughed and kissed her. As he climbed and kept a close watch on the children, he glanced back occasionally to see Annie sipping a soda and watching them. When the children had tired, he helped them down and sent them over to sit with their mother. With a grin he looked at her and then turned and climbed to the top of the 23 foot wall.

"Show off," she laughed when he had rappelled down and joined them.

"Can we go to the Sky Rink now?" Ally asked.

This time it was Bobby who said he would watch and resisted the children's begging. He told them that he preferred solid ground under his feet, not two thin blades on slippery ice. He chuckled when Annie promised she wouldn't let him fall, imagining his 5'5" wife trying to hold up his 6'4" frame.

He settled in a seat near the ice and watched Annie and the children skate. He laughed at the boys' antics, neither of them minding the number of times their rear ends met with the ice. He was struck once again by how much Ally looked like her mother, and especially how graceful the two of them were on the ice. He rested his chin on top of his fists resting on the railing. Annie's laughter rang out and filled him with a warm feeling of well-being. While the children played tag, she skated over to where he was sitting. He stood as she came to the opening in the railing leading to where he was sitting.

Her face was flushed with the cold, the exertion, and the laughter that was still bubbling up from her. He leaned down to kiss her and she reached her arms around his waist. She squealed as her skates slipped and almost slid out from under her. He grabbed her and pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her as she tightened her grip around his waist.

"Don't worry," he whispered in her ear. "I won't let you fall."

He helped her step up off the rink and led her to where he had been sitting. They sat holding hands and watched the children. Ally was trying to teach Phillip and Andrew how to skate a figure eight. Bobby let go of her hand and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"For what?" Bobby looked back over his shoulder, surprised that she seemed to be genuinely unaware of what he had to apologize for.

"For being a jerk the other day."

Annie smiled and said, "Bobby…" There it was again; the soft warmth in her voice as she said his name. "You are no jerk."

Still looking at her over his shoulder he asked, "How do you do that? How do you forgive so easily and quickly? Is it your religion?"

Her face lit up as she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his shoulder before answering.

"It is my religion in part. God has forgiven me, and keeps forgiving me, for so much. How can I not forgive others?"

He thought to himself that there couldn't be much for God to forgive her for, but he didn't say it. He knew she would only protest and this wasn't the time or place for a theological discussion on the nature of sin.

Instead he asked, "If religion is part of it, then what's the other part?"

Now she laughed and linked her arm through his. "Well, because you are so hot, of course! No woman in her right mind could resist forgiving a hunk like my husband."

Now Bobby laughed too. He leaned back and put his arm around her, pulling her close. "You were right, you know."

"About what?"

"About the dog-shaving incident. It was funny." He smiled down at her. "Actually, it was freakin' hilarious!" They both began to laugh and Bobby continued. "You should have seen it! I walked into the kitchen and there was all this fur and hair and Andrew was about to hit Ally. When I yelled 'Stop!', everyone froze and it was completely silent. Sandy was wagging her tail and that literally caused the 'fur to fly'. There were all these tufts of fur flying around the room. But I think before Ally got there and started the fighting, Sandy had just been sitting there quietly, letting the boys do whatever they wanted."

"I was so shocked when you told me to look at the kitchen and there was this mess, and I could see that there was dark hair lying on the floor along with Sandy's fur. And poor Sandy! She looked so forlorn, like she was embarrassed to be seen with her fur shaved off!"

"Maybe we should sue Miss Sarah and the New York Public Library for damages since they introduced such dangerous ideas to impressionable children."

They both laughed for several minutes. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her. They were interrupted by three voices calling to them from the railing.

"Mommy!" Ally called, "I can't teach Phillip and Andrew to do figure eights. Will you come teach them?"

He released her and she got up to go back out on the ice. He sat back and watched her instruct the boys and then lead all three of the children through figure eights. They followed her single file, looking like three ducklings following the mother duck. As he watched his family, Mr. Carver's words about the Barnes family came back to him.

"This family makes me want to kiss my wife."

He would kiss his wife, he decided. After stopping for pizza for dinner on the way home, after the children were in bed, when they were alone in their bedroom. He would kiss his wife and then he would make love to her. Afterwards he would lie in the dark with her wrapped in his arms. He would remember then how thankful he was to the God that his beautiful wife loved so much for bringing this extraordinary woman and three incredible children into his life.

End Season 3

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