Chapter Thirteen

Bobby remains in the stall of the bathroom. He no longer has the urge to throw up. He flushes the toilet for the second time then positions himself on the floor, resting his back against the cold ceramic structure. He pulls his knees up and rests his head on them. Once again, he is the center of everyone's needs, Alex, Robby, his mother, his brother and now Jackie and Rachel.

His thought process changes quickly, would it be a brave thing to choke the life out of Charlie? The image of him on top of Alex enters his mind once again. He runs his fingers through his hair. "They show no signs of trauma or bruising," he repeats aloud what the doctor said. "She didn't fight him, she couldn't…." he stands. "She wouldn't, if she did it would only make him angry and with him believing that she was Jackie, the consequences would have been dreadful, oh my God." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. He exhales as he reaches for the lock. Opening the door, he strolls over to the sink and splashes handful after handful of water onto his face.

He exits the Men's room and can hear someone screaming. It is a man's voice. The words are not clear but as he walks down the hall, the screaming gets louder and louder, "Jackie," the voice screams. He watches as a medical team enters the room, he can hear the struggling, then silence. He's asleep now, perfect time to suffocate someone, stop it, stop thinking like that. The fibers from the pillow would be in his esophagus and the two cops on duty would see you walk into the room, he turns back, to which he came.

He returns to the reception area and Ross is there, waiting, asleep. Perfect time to…he nudges Ross's foot with his foot, "Captain, Captain, wake up."

"Goren," he stands and gazes upon Bobby's red and tired eyes "Are you alright?"

"Yes and so are they, physically anyway."

"I have made reservations at a local motel for us," he reaches for his arm, Bobby doesn't resist. "Come on let's go, you need some sleep."

He agrees that he needs sleep, but leaving her, them here alone….NO. "I think I'll stay here, you go on I'll see you in the morning or," he frowns. "What day is this?"

Ross steps back, frowning a bit, "Monday," he states firmly, he repeats, "Yes its Monday," checking his watch, "Monday afternoon." Ross says. He reaches for his arm, "Are you sure?"

He steps forward ready to retaliate with hostility but he stops, "Yes," he smiles, "Yes I'm sure."

He watches as Ross leaves the room then he sits down. He removes his cell phone and begins the list in his mind of phone calls, he decides to call John then he will call Jackie.

Half an Hour Later

He makes his way to pediatrics and the receptionist smiles at the approaching man. "Good afternoon sir," she says with a lilt in her voice.

"Afternoon, could you please tell me which room Rachel Sp…." He frowns, your wife and your daughter, the doctors words go through his mind.

He fakes a sneeze, "Bless you," she says then hands him a tissue.

He accepts, "Thanks," he says then wipes his nose. "Could you please tell me which room Rachel Goren is in?"

"Room 310," she points, "Right down that way.

"Thank you," I should tell them I suppose, maybe later. This is just too much, too much to focus on….I need a drink, he chuckles softly to himself.

She smiles, "Hi Bobby, how's Alex?"

"She's alright," he sits on the edge of the bed, lightly patting her arm, "I thought you'd be asleep."

"I was but when they moved me from the other bed to this one I woke up." He smiles, she shows bravery, he has seen that expression before, on himself. She notices his solemn expression, "What's the matter? Are you alright?"

"Me," he places his hand on his chest, "I'm fine, a little tired but….don't worry about me, you take care of yourself."

"When are they going to take me for that CAT scan? Did Alex go yet?"

"I don't know and no."

"Does my Mom know what happened?"

He stands hoping it will give him some courage, "No I didn't want to tell her what happened over the phone. She sounded very weak and I thought it best to tell her when she feels better."

The little girl lies back down on the bed, nodding her head, "Good," she states. "She would want to get out of bed and come up here," she pauses to adjust her pillow. "And then she would get sick all over again." He can only smile. "Has my Dad….have you seen my Dad?"

"Yes I talked to him," he begins to pace around the room. "He ah is a little confused about some things."

"You mean that he thought Alex was my Mom."

"He called her Jackie?" He asks as he gazes out the window.

"Yes and Alex said that if he thinks that I'm your Mom that we should go along with it and we did."

He turns to face the young girl, "Did he hurt you at all?"

"He hit me over the head but….he gave me chocolate milk, he remembered it was my favorite. I didn't even know he knew that." She punches the pillow then lies down. "He never talks to me; sometimes I feel that he doesn't even know I exist." She moves her head slightly to get a look at the big man, "Bobby." She watches him as he bites his lip.

"Yes honey, what is it?"

"Don't be sad for me."

He closes his eyes to fight back the tears he feels developing, he uses the tissue the receptionist gave him and once again fakes a sneeze. He wipes his nose and his eyes. "Bless you," she says.

Stuffing the tissue in his pocket he walks toward the bed, "You," he sits down, "You are a very special girl, it's your father who has the problem honey, not you." He wraps his arms around her and she does the same laying her head on his shoulder. He whispers, "Don't ever think that it's your fault, because it's not."

He moves his arms from around her back and takes a gentle hold of her arms, "Now, I want you to lie down and get some sleep."

She concedes and closes her eyes, "Stay with me till I fall asleep." He caresses her forehead, he doesn't need to answer.

That is all for now