"Jimmy? Have I got something to tell you and Angie…"
Alex and Bobby stared at each other. Oh, shit.
Daniel spent a few minutes chatting with his old friend Jimmy Deakins, aware of, but ignoring, the chaos he'd caused with this phone call.
Colleen and Peter were sulking in a corner, their victory dancing mercifully having ceased.
Matthew and his wife Margaret were commiserating quietly with Sean and his wife Judy.
DJ, who aside from Alex was the only single sibling, was bouncing around impatiently, wise enough not to make noise while his father was still on the phone.
And Alex and Bobby were…well, he could only see Alex' face, her mouth a little round O of surprise and dismay. Bobby's face was hidden behind her, and he appeared to be mumbling into her hair, which she seemed to be ignoring.
Finally hanging up and feeling quite pleased with himself for having pulled off this little coup, Daniel was startled when DJ virtually exploded in a fit of immaturity.
Pointing at Alex, he sing-songed, "You're in trouble, you're gonna get it." He then walked over to her, turned around, and shook his booty right in her face, which, while incredibly strange, at least served to break her reverie, and drew Goren out from behind her far enough that one of his glaring eyes could be seen.
Before Alex could recover enough to speak, Judy did. "Mary, mother of God, DJ, hasn't Alex been traumatized enough? You gotta show her that nastiness, too?"
This drew a few chuckles from around the room, serving only to further fuel DJ's tantrum. He had been humiliated enough today; it was someone else's turn, and he knew which two someones he was choosing for the honor.
"Baby Girl got caught by the Captain! Hah!" DJ was on the verge of his own victory dance when his father spoke in a stern voice.
"Daniel John Eames, Jr., ENOUGH! Back off, cool down, and shut up!"
Daniel had everyone's rapt attention, and their silence, with that little outburst. In the Eames family, there was no greater sign of impending parental smackdown than the use of one's full name.
DJ backed off and shut up; the cooling down would take a little longer.
Turning to Alex and Bobby, Daniel said softly, "Jimmy's not your captain anymore, and he probably wouldn't care even if he were. He wanted me to tell you, and I quote, 'I'm happy for them, and it's about time.' So you don't need to worry on account of him knowing."
Bobby's face still half-hidden in her hair, Alex answered seriously, "We're not worried about the Cap..Jimmy knowing, Dad. It's just that if he knew, and you guys knew, who else does? Word travels fast on the force, you know that; and we haven't quite figured out how to handle this in respect to our jobs." Bobby nodded his agreement, but before the conversation could continue, a sudden and rapidly increasing noise interrupted.
"Oh, no," Margaret laughed, "Approaches the thundering herd."
Just as she spoke the words, the various Eames grandchildren made their entrance, noisily begging for sustenance. 12-year-old Katie carried Christopher, with Ryan, Susie, Matthew, Jr., and Patti hot on their heels.
As the rest of the adults took the kids into the kitchen to begin curing their mass starvation, Daniel leaned over to Bobby and Alex, "Come on and eat. Every problem seems easier to handle with a full stomach."
Deciding by an exchange of looks that this idea had merit, Bobby and Alex followed Daniel to join the family.
Mealtime at the Eames household was, as always, an upbeat, loud, and somewhat messy affair. Kids were stealing food off your plate while happily "sharing" with you anything vaguely resembling a vegetable; everyone seemed to be talking at once, and managing to consume mass amounts of food at the same time. Bobby usually enjoyed the energy, but today he had a lot going on in his head, so much so that he failed to notice when Christopher gave Alex a sizable love bite on the arm. Only her pained squeal drew him from his thoughts.
"Christopher Alexander O'Hara, NO BITING. You say you're sorry right now." Colleen spoke harshly, causing her son's big hazel eyes to widen in shock, then fill with tears.
Under the table, Bobby put a hand on Alex' knee, aware that while she had instantly forgiven her nephew, she wouldn't and couldn't interfere in his mother's disciplining him. He knew moments like this were especially hard for her, and he wanted her to know he understood.
Both Christopher and Alex were on the verge of a meltdown when DJ stepped in. Seated on the other side of his nephew, he took the boy's arm in his mouth and bit down just a little, causing Christopher to look over at his uncle in shock. "Hey, Pooh, don't you bite my little sister, or I'll bite YOU!" While he wasn't hurt, apparently the thought of getting bitten back hadn't yet occurred to the toddler, who immediately leaned over and kissed Alex' arm where he'd bit it, saying a sweet "Sorry, Auntie Alex."
Both Alex and Colleen shot DJ grateful looks; say what you would about that particular smartass, he knew just how to relate to his nieces and nephews, possibly because he still had a lot of child in him. The meal continued more or less normally, with no more incidents or injuries, which may actually have been an Eames record.
After everyone had finished eating, Alex and Colleen took Christopher upstairs to bathe him, laughing happily together at the amount of food that had managed to make its way into his ears and hair. Bobby was helping the others clean up when he felt a hand on his arm. Daniel leaned in close to say, "I'd like to talk to you alone a minute, Bobby."
His stomach churning, Bobby knew this was it. The Father Talk, the one Alex had hoped to prevent from happening, but of course Daniel Eames waited until she was otherwise occupied; no fools, these Eameses. Preparing himself for a lecture on getting involved with your partner, defiling Daniel's daughter, and generally being unsuited for serious relationships, Bobby was surprised at the friendly way Daniel invited him into his den, offering a drink. Softening me up for the interrogation; clever, Mr. Eames, but not clever enough! This is my game, and if you think you can scare me away from your daughter, you've got another think coming. Bobby was so enmeshed in his own paranoid thoughts, he missed the question Daniel had asked.
"Uh, I, what did you say?"
With a knowing smile, Daniel repeated, "You're aware of how much my daughter loves you, aren't you, Bobby?"
"I…uh, Eames loves me. I know." Oh, way to be articulate, Goren. Hey! When the hell did Eames' voice get into my head? That's…interesting.
Daniel was suddenly very serious. "She doesn't just love you, Bobby, she likes you, she respects you; she's in love with you. I've never seen her this happy. When Joseph was killed, I thought that was it for her; she retreated inside herself, and I thought we'd never get her back. I was wrong, and her mother told me so. Katie said 'She'll be okay, Danny, she's our Baby Girl, and she's made of strong stuff. And the right man will come along, and he'll love her, and she'll be okay.' I learned early in my marriage never to argue with Katie; God rest her soul, but she could make me wish I'd never been born when I was wrong." He laughed at the memory, but it brought sadness too.
Refocusing his attention on Goren, he spoke emotionally. "It was rough near the end there, Bobby, when she was so sick, and there was nothing I could do to help her. I…I need to know if you can be strong for my girl if something like that happened to her. Do you love her enough to stand by her through the worst life has to offer?"
Taken aback by the depth of Daniel's feelings, and reminded, too, of his own mother's situation, Bobby met Daniel's eyes, and said in a strong and even voice, "I can love her through anything, Daniel, and I would never be able to do anything else but be with her, no matter what the circumstances are."
Nodding, Daniel smiled. "Then you two will be fine. I know she loves you enough; I just needed to make sure you love her enough. Life is a lot of things, Bobby, not all honeymoons and roses, and life with my daughter won't always be easy. She's stubborn, which she got solely from her mother's side of the family, of course. She's a lot like her mother was, so let me tell you this: she's worth it. Whatever you have to go through together; if you get separated at work, if you scream at each other over the remote, or the burned dinner, or the mortgage, if you have one child or ten, having a woman like that love you the way she does is worth anything tough you have to do to keep it."
Neither man was winning the battle to keep tears out of his eyes, but it was okay. Bobby came to realize that he had gained not only a friend, but a true ally who understood him; Daniel began to see the depth of this man's love for his daughter, and to realize that she had, all on her own, found her perfect match. When they had collected themselves, Daniel reached out his hand to take Bobby's in a manly handshake.
"Welcome to the family. We're glad to have you."
A/N – Thank you for continuing to read and review; you guys make my day.