Author's Notes: Well, here it is as I promised. Bobby's musical surprise from the Eames grandchildren. The song is set to the tune of "Camptown Races." I'd like to dedicate this chapter to deliriousdancer because she's the only one who knew what song I was doing and she didn't kill me when I didn't include it in the previous chapter. LOL Thank you very much, deliriousdancer for your patience. I hope I did okay.
Okay, folks. I'm going to leave this chapter in the regular format instead of my usual "weird" format. I'm just going to insert a lot of page breaks after the paragraphs. I will go back to the "weird" format if I need to.
Janelle's chanting style comes from the "Nutty Professor" movie. You know, the one with Eddie Murphy ("Hercules. Hercules. Hercules.") You get the idea. LOL
As always, thanks to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story. I truly appreciate it. LO:CI and its characters belong to Dick Wolf and company. I'm just taking them for a spin. Any and all mistakes are my own. Read, review and enoy. :o)
Sunday, August 20
Residence of Johnny and Janet Eames, 4:05 p.m.
Alex and Janelle converged on Angel when she came out of the house onto the porch and down the steps. "Are you okay?"Alex asked. Angel nodded and said, "Yeah. I'm fine." "Are you sure?" Janelle asked. Angel sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mama Hen. I'm sure that I'm fine," she said with a chuckle. Janelle nudged her and asked, "What did Super Freak have tosay for herself?" Angel opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find the words to sum up her conversation withAlannah. "Alannah is…whipped. Very whipped," she said, choosing her words very carefully. Alex and Janelle exchangedpuzzled looks. "What does that mean?" Alex asked. "It means that all Alannah wants Bobby for is sex. Plain and simple. To her, Bobby is a live 6 foot 4, walking, talking vibrator, not a real person." Alex and Janelle simply said, "Oh."
Alannah came out of the house and walked down the stairs. She smirked as she looked Angel up and down before heading to where Chazen was sitting. "What was that look for?" Janelle asked. Angel shrugged. "Just her way of saying that she's better than me, I guess," she replied. Bobby walked up to the group. "You okay?" he asked Angel. She nodded. "I'm fine." He lifted her shades up to look into her eyes, to see if she had been crying. He chuckled as she crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "Yeah, you're okay," Bobby said as he put Angel's shades back down. She smiled. "You gonna tell me what you two talked about?" he asked. Angel shook her head and said, "Nah. We didn't talk about anything that you should be concerned about." Bobby looked at Alex and Janelle. Janelle shook her head. "She wouldn't tell us either," she said.
The music stopped suddenly. Janet stood on the porch and said very loudly, "Time to eat, everybody!" She pointed to the table where Shannon was sitting and said, "Adults sit over here!" Then she pointed to the table where Shane was sitting and said, "Everybody under the age of 18 sit over there!" She turned the music back on and walked down the steps, heading towards Bobby. "Why don't you sit at the head of the table in that folding chair?" she said. "That way everybody can see and talk to you." "Okay, sure," he said. Janet looked at him, then looked at Angel. She smiled and patted Bobby on the back before walking off. "What was that all about?" Angel asked. Bobby shrugged. "THAT," Alex said as she looked at Bobby, "was Mom's patented subtle way of saying she wants details of what's going on between you and Angel."
Janelle grunted and said, "Hmmph. Well, if that was subtle, then the Mack Truck is about to run us all the hell over." She pointed with her chin at Loretta, who had a determined look on her face and was heading straight towards Angel. "Ay Dios mió," Angel said softly under her breath. Loretta smiled up at the group, then focused her attention on Angel. "Baby Girl, why don't you sit next to me at the table?' she asked sweetly. Before Angel could open her mouth to respond, Jayna and Courtney ran up to her. "Auntie Angel," Jayna started, "you gonna sit with us at the kids' table?" She looked down at the girls and smiled. "I sure will," she replied. She turned to Loretta, patted her on the arm and said with a smile, "Sorry, Mama LoLo, I'm going to sit with the kids." Jayna and Courtney smiled and each took one of Angel's hands and pulled her towards the food line.
Janelle covered her mouth and snickered. "You just got voted off the island," she muttered. Loretta looked at Janelle and frowned. "What'd you say, Janelle?!" she asked sharply. Bobby and Alex exchanged amused glances as they watched Janelle uncover her mouth and straighten up. "Nothing, Mama." She grabbed Bobby and Alex by the arm and pulled them away from Loretta. "I said we're going to get in line," she said over her shoulder. Loretta grunted. "That's what I thought you said." Alex smirked at Janelle. "You're scared of your mother," she said. Janelle rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up," she said playfully.
When Bobby sat down to eat, he just looked around at everyone and smiled. He felt happy and overwhelmed at the same time to be surrounded by people who truly loved and cared for him. He was fascinated by how they all interacted with each other, how well they managed to find some kind of common ground beside their friendship to him to communicate. Hell, he was surprised by how Alannah and Chazen were actually holding a conversation with Dr. Rogers despite the fact they had been keeping to themselves for most of the time. "Guess Dr. Rogers isn't too common for them," he thought. Alannah looked at him and arched an eyebrow, a mysterious smile on her face. Bobby wondered what Alannah and Angel had talked about. If Angel wasn't going to tell him, surely Alannah's loose lips would spill the beans. "You okay?" Alex asked, touching Bobby's arm. He nodded. "Yeah. Just lost in thought for a second," he replied. She pointed at the untouched coleslaw on his plate. "I slaved over a cold refrigerator to make that coleslaw especially for you. You better eat it all." Bobby laughed. "Yes, ma'am. I will." He looked around again at everyone before taking a bite of his coleslaw. "Yep. Everybody's happy."
Jimmy Deakins stood up and knocked on the table, trying to get everyone's attention. "May I have everyone's attention for a minute?" he asked. "Quiet down a little, everyone," Johnny said, "Jimmy has something to say." All of the talking died down. Deakins smiled at Johnny and gave him the thumbs up signal. He raised his plastic cup into the air and looked at Bobby. "I'd like to propose a toast to the man of the hour, Robert Goren. A great man, a great detective and a great friend. There's an old Irish blessing that says 'Wishing you a rainbow for sunlight after showers,
miles and miles of Irish smiles for golden happy hours, shamrocks at your doorway for luck and laughter too, and a host of friends that never ends each day your whole life through.' I wish you a happy birthday and hope you have many, many more to come." Then he sat down. Everyone raised their glasses and cheered while Bobby just smiled and blushed at the heartfelt toast from his former captain. "Thank you, sir," he finally managed to say.
After everyone had finished eating their fill of hamburgers and hotdogs, Janet and Loretta brought out the birthday cake, while Johnny and Alex brought out the gifts. They placed everything on a separate table near the coolers of ice. Jill and all of the Eames grandchildren had gone into the house. Bobby started to go look at his cake, but Janet motioned for him to sit down. "Not yet, Bobby. Not yet." She went and turned off the music again. She clapped her hands together as she stood at the top of the porch steps. "Before we let Bobby cut his cake and open his gifts, we're going to have a little entertainment. I have no idea what it is, so I'm going to turn it over to Jill." On cue, Jill came out of the house. She was wearing on her head a plastic green derby that was leftover from St. Patrick's Day. Janet did a double take before she went to sit down next to Johnny.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce to you the Eames-Hampton Singing Troupe." Jill said. "They have been working all week long on a special surprise musical number for their Uncle Bobby. So, without further ado, please put your hands together as the Eames-Hampton Singing Troupe comes to the stage." Everyone in the "audience" clapped their hands and laughed as Jill went and opened the screen door. The Eames grandchildren came walking out, single file, in order according to their height, with Christopher bringing up the rear. They all had plastic green derbies on their heads like Jill except they had some letters on theirs. Each one was carrying a straight black cane with a white tip on the end. When they lined up across the porch, the letters on their hats formed the words "We heart Bobby!" Bobby chuckled and shook his head at the sight. "I heart you guys, too," he said with a laugh.
Jill went and stood at the end of the line next to Christopher. She pulled a harmonica out of the pocket of her shorts. "Everybody ready?" she said. "Ready!" the kids said in unison, putting their canes in front of them to lean on. Jill blew a note on the harmonica and the kids started to sway and sing:
Happy Birthday, Uncle Bobby
Doo-da, Doo-da
Happy Birthday, Uncle Bobby
Oh, de doo-da day
We hope you really like this song
Doo-da, Doo-da
We worked on it all week long
Oh, de doo-da day
You know we love you so
That's why we sing and dance
To see you smile and laugh
That's why we're taking this chance, oh
Happy Birthday, Uncle Bobby
Doo-da, Doo-da
Happy Birthday, Uncle Bobby
Oh, de doo-da daaaaaaay!
At the end of the last verse, the kids all got down on one knee and waved their hats in the air. Everyone got up on their feet, clapping and cheering. Bobby was all smiles as he clapped the loudest. "That was great, you guys!" he exclaimed as he walked to the bottom of the steps. "Happy birthday, Uncle Bobby!" the kids said in unison as they came down the steps to hug Bobby all over again. "Did you really like it, Uncle Bobby?" Barbara asked. He looked down at her, smiling and nodding. "I most certainly did." She gave him an extra squeeze around the middle. "Okay, guys. Go put your hats in the bag and come back out for cake," Jill said as she came down the steps. She handed her hat and Christopher's hat to Brianna. "Come on, Christopher," Brianna said as she took her baby brother's hand and led him up the steps into the house.
Alex walked up as Bobby gave Jill a hug and a peck on the cheek. "That was great, Jill," he said. She did a little curtsy. "Thank you, kind sir." Alex gave her a hug, too. "How in the world did you manage to keep that a secret?" she asked. Jill sighed as she shrugged. "There's going to be a big pizza party at my house this upcoming weekend. You and Bobby are welcome to come if you're not on duty," she said. Alex nodded her head in understanding. "Oh, yeah. Bribery does work well with kids." While Bobby had been talking to Jill and Alex, Janet had some help in moving the gift table and the birthday cake closer. When all of the Eames grandchildren had came back outside, Janet took Bobby by the hand and led him to his cake "Wow!" he exclaimed as he admired the cake. "This is a great! How did you get a picture of my badge?" he asked. Janet pointed at Alex. "She lifted your badge out of your pocket one day to take the picture for me." Bobby chuckled as he shook his head. "Great. I'm partnered with a damn pickpocket."
Janet lit the candles on the cake. She raised her hands as if she were conducting an orchestra and said, "Okay, everybody, we sing 'Happy Birthday' on the count of three. Ready? 1,2,3." Everyone started singing on her mark. Bobby briefly closed his eyes, then opened them to blow out the candles on his cake. "What did you wish for?" Rob asked. Bobby shook his head. "I'm not telling," he said. "He probably wished for a 1967 Shelby GT500," Lewis blurted. Bobby just laughed. "Do you want to the cut the cake or do you want me to do it," Janet asked. "You can do it," he replied. She handed him the knife. "Then you make the first cut and I'll do the rest." Bobby cut the cake, cutting a corner piece for himself before handing the knife back to Janet. She pointed with her head at the gift table. "You go and open up your gifts while Alex and I hand out the cake."
Bobby rubbed his hands together, excited like a little kid as he walked over to the gift table. "This is the best part," he said as he picked up a small box. "Whatever you don't like, you can give it to me," Shane said. Bobby gave him a "yeah, right" look before he started ripping the paper off. "You gotta tell us who gave it to you, you big do-do," Rob said with a laugh. "There's no need for name calling, Robby-Boy," Bobby said as he shook his finger at him. He picked up the piece of wrapping that had the gift tag on it. "It's from Alannah," he said. He looked at her and smiled. She smiled and winked. He lifted the lid on the box. Inside were 2 gold tie clips. One had his initials on it, the other had 3 diagonal lines with 3 diamond stones on it. "Thank you, Alannah," he said as he turned the box around for everyone to see. "You're welcome, Robert." She looked over at Angel and smirked. Angel just rolled her eyes and chuckled. Janelle leaned over to her and whispered, "You want me to clock this bitch one good time in the mouth?" Angel made a face, shaking her head. "No violence, Janelle. Behave!" she whispered back.
"Open the one with the balloons on it, Uncle Bobby," Justina, Sean, and Brianna said at the same time. Bobby held up the gift they were talking about. "This one?" he asked. "Yes, that one," they said. He ripped the paper off the gift. It was a scrapbook. "Oh, God," he said with a laugh as he looked at the cover. On it was a picture of Bobby dressed up in a Humpty Dumpty costume that was taken 3 years ago at a community center where he, Alex and other Major Case Squad members had volunteered to be a part of a play. The words "Our Uncle Bobby: What A Good Egg" surrounded the picture. "Alex! I thought you got rid of this picture," he said as he turned the book towards her. Alex laughed. "Are you kidding me?!" she said, still laughing. "That's a very cute picture."
Bobby groaned and shook his head. He flipped through the pages of the scrapbook. On each page was a picture of Bobby with each individual Eames grandchild. They each had decorated and written something special on their page. Of course, Christopher's page had colorful scribbles on it. "Thank you, guys," he said with a smile. "You're welcome," the kids said together. Bobby started to lay the book back down on the table, but Angie Deakins came up and snatched it out of his hands. "I think we all need to see this," she said playfully, walking back to her seat. Bobby just groaned again.
The next 2 gifts Bobby opened were a white dress shirt with 2 ties and a laptop computer with a webcam that were from Courtney and Rob respectively. "Now, you can keep in touch with Courtney," Rob said. Courtney ran up to Bobby to give him a hug. "Mom helped me pick out the ties," she said. "They're very nice. I love them. Thank you, Courtney." He gave her another squeeze before she went to sit back down. Then Bobby opened the leather binder gift from Alex, Mike and Megan. "Thank you. This is very nice," he said as ran his hand over the smooth leather and the small plate that had his name engraved on it. "You're welcome," Megan said. Bobby exclaimed, "Whoa!" as he opened the gift from Antonio. It was a bottle of Gran Patron Platinum Tequila, the very, very good sipping stuff. "We'll drink that later when the kids are gone," Antonio said. Bobby laughed as he gave him the thumbs up sign. "Thanks, man."
Bobby opened a birthday card that was from the Hamilton and Spencer families, which every one, including the kids, had signed. Inside of it was 5 new and crisp 100 bills. His eyes widen in surprise. "We didn't know what to get you," Janelle said. "So, we decided that would work." Bobby at a loss for words. His mouth was agape as he looked at Janelle and Drew in disbelief. He was amazed that people he had just met would give him a large monetary gift such as this. Angel chuckled as she leaned over towards Drew and Janelle. "Bobby doesn't realize that our families normally do big things like this." Janelle nodded in agreement. "Apparently so. If your family was here, he'd have over a thousand dollars easy in that card. He'd probably pass out then." Bobby finally found his voice and said, "Thank you all very much." "You're very welcome, sweetie," Loretta said.
Janet walked up to Bobby and touched his arm. "This gift is from Johnny, me, the rest of the Eames family, the Deakins, the Carvers and Dr. Rogers," she said, pointing behind Bobby. He turned around and saw Johnny coming down the steps with a black suit carrier in his hand. Johnny opened the carrier and pulled out a charcoal gray suit with thin white pinstripes. He handed it to Bobby. He stood there admiring the suit in awe. "I hope you like it," Angie said. "Paula and I picked out the color." Bobby nodded, smiling. "I like it. I was thinking about getting this later in the year. Thank you." He handed the suit back to Johnny, who put it into the carrier and took it back into the house.
"Oh, Lord," Angel muttered softly under her breath as Bobby reached for her gift. "Don't read the card. Don't read the card," she kept saying over and over again in her head. "Last, but certainly not least," he said as pulled the envelope out of the bag. "This is from…from Angel," he said, reading the tag on the bag. "Ah, crap! He's going to read the flipping card!" she thought. Angel looked at the ground while Bobby opened the envelope and started reading the card. On the front of the card was a small gray mouse holding a humongous two-tiered white cake with the words "Happy Birthday" on it. Next to the mouse were the words, "This is me…." On the inside, the rest of the message said, "….bringing you all the birthday wishes my heart can hold!" Underneath that, hand written in purple ink was "I Love You. Angel."
Bobby blinked twice to make sure he read the words correctly. "She said 'I love you' first," he thought. He didn't know if he should feel relieved or scared that Angel said the L word first. He just knew that she let it be known how she felt about him in a simple card. He looked at her and smiled when she looked up. Angel gave him a small smile before she bit her lip and looked at the ground again. "I shouldn't have said 'I love you.' This is not the place to have said that. I just made a fool of myself." Bobby put the card in one of his cargo pockets before ripping the paper off of his gift and opening the box. "Thank you, Angel," he said, slipping the watch on his right arm. "This is great." Angel looked up and smiled. "You're welcome," she said.
"Speech! Speech!" Rob said. "Yeah! Speech! Speech!" Lewis said. Then everyone started saying "Speech! Speech!" Bobby smiled as he stepped away from the gift table and moved to where he could see everybody. He held up his hands to quiet them down. "Um, I…I really don't know what to say," he said as he started moving his hands. "I…I just want to thank you all for being here and helping me celebrate my birthday. It's…it's…It does an old man's heart some good to know that he has friends and family who love and care for him." Everyone laughed. "Uh, um, thank you all for the wonderful gifts. I really didn't…expect to receive anything but some birthday wishes and maybe a card or 2. Kids, thank you for the musical surprise. I really enjoyed it. I just…just want to say thank you all for being my friends, family, co-workers, colleagues. I may have an odd way of showing it, but I do I know I'm very…fortunate to have you in my life."
Everyone started to clap when Bobby cleared his throat as he reached in his pocket and pulled out Janet's and Alex's gifts. "Um, I…I have thank you gifts for Alex and Janet. Please come up here." Alex and Janet looked at each other as they walked towards Bobby and stood on either side of him. He handed Janet her gift first. "Thank you for…for doing all of this for me. Words can't describe how much you, Johnny and the rest of the Eames family mean to me," he said. Janet started to get teary eyed as she opened her gift. "These bracelets are beautiful, Bobby," she said. "Thank you." She got up on her tiptoes and kissed Bobby's cheek before giving him a hug. "You are always welcome in our home and in our family," she said. Bobby ducked his head and smiled before turning to Alex.
Bobby handed Alex her gift. "Thank…thank you for being my friend and my partner and for not letting my….eccentricities scare you away." She nudged him in the arm as she opened her gift.. Alex put an arm around his waist and squeezed as she admired her new watch. Bobby squeezed her back. She looked up at him and said, "Thank you. It's very beautiful." He smiled down at her and squeezed again. "You're welcome." Janet and Alex walked back to their seats and showed off their new trinkets.
Bobby looked down at the ground for a second before he cleared his throat again. "Here goes nothing," he thought to himself. He took a deep breath and said, "I…I have one more thank you gift to give that is extra special. Angel, could…could you come up here for a second, please?" All eyes fell on Angel as she looked at Bobby with wide eyes. She pointed at herself and asked, "You talking to me?" Bobby laughed. "Yes, I'm talking to you. Come here." He felt like he was re-enacting a scene from 'Taxi Driver.' Janelle started clapping her hands and chanting "Angel. Angel. Angel" when Angel stood up. She turned around and shook a finger at Janelle. "You stop that," she said with a laugh. She walked up to Bobby and stood next to him. He reached into his pocket, pulled out her gift and handed it to her. "This is for you," he said quietly.
Angel tore the paper off the box and lifted the lid. Her mouth fell open as she saw the gold band. Loud gasps ran through the crowd as she blurted "Oh my God!" out loudly before clamping her hand tightly over her mouth. "He just gave her a ring!" Janelle yelled before she covered her mouth with both hands. A big smile spread over her face as she rocked back and forth, trying to contain her excitement. Tears formed in Angel's eyes as she looked back and forth between the ring and Bobby. He smiled as he calmly took the ring out of its box and placed it on the 3rd finger of her right hand. He patted his heart as he thought of what he was going to say. Finally, Bobby said, "This…this belongs to you now. You hold it in…in your hands. Be careful with it, okay?" He laid her right hand on his heart , then laid his hand on top of hers. "I love you, Angel."
Cell phones with cameras were pulled out as Bobby put that ring on Angel's finger. Angel, with her mouth still covered, just looked at Bobby, tears flowing down her face. All of the kids started murmuring amongst themselves. "Mama, does this mean Auntie Angel is getting married?" Jayna asked. Tonya shook her head and said, "No, baby. Not yet." "Grandma, are we getting a new aunt?" Shana asked Janet. "It looks like it, dear," she replied through happy tears. "Uncle Lewis," Courtney said, "do you think it would be okay if I called her Auntie Angel?" Lewis put his arm around her shoulders and replied, "I think Angel would like that. I know that would make your Uncle Bobby very happy if you called her that."
Alannah shook her head in disbelief. "That's my ring she's wearing," she said softly to herself Chazen tried to put a comforting arm around her, but she pushed it away. "That's my Robert and my ring that little tramp is trying to take away from me," she hissed at him. "Big deal," Chazen said. "You can do much better than him." Alannah turned and looked at him, her emerald green eyes flashing with fire. "No one, and I mean NO ONE, takes anything that belongs to me unless I say so. And I haven't said so!" She turned head to look at Bobby and Angel, a stony look on her face. "Oh, yes, Miss Angel. Robert IS coming with me whether you like it or not."
Angel still had her mouth covered as she looked at the ring on her right hand. Bobby's declaration of love still rang in her ears as she gripped at his shirt. Bobby looked down at her, wondering if she was happy, sad or what. He leaned down to catch her eye. "I…I really wish you'd say something," he said. "Are you happy?" Despite the fact that her mouth was still covered, he could see the smile on her face as she nodded her head vigorously. "Baby Girl, you gotta say something," Loretta said. Angel shook her head. "I don't know what to say. I can't breathe," she thought to herself. "Breathe, Baby Girl! Breathe!" Janelle said. She chuckled as she shook her head and thought, "Dang! I had to tell her that when Garvin popped the question."
Angel slowly removed her hand from her mouth. She took a couple of deep breaths and then softly said through her tears, "Te amo con todo mi corazón, Bobby," before she wrapped her arm around his waist and put her cheek on his chest. Bobby smiled as he put his arms around her and rested his cheek on top of her head. "Te amo, Angel," he said before everyone started to surround them. Angel peeked out from behind her hand and smiled as their friends and family started congratulating them. Alannah inched her way to Bobby and tapped him on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Robert," she said sarcastically. She looked down her nose at Angel. "Congratulations, Angelica." "Thank you," Angel said with a smirk. Alannah grunted before she leaned to whisper in Bobby's ear, "I want to speak with you. Alone. NOW!"
Bobby looked down at Angel. She stepped away from him and nodded. "Go do whatever you need to do," she said. Bobby excused himself as he followed Alannah up the steps into the house. Janelle walked up to Angel and gave her a sideways hugs. "Congrats, Baby Girl," she said. "Thank you," Angel said. She turned her head as Janelle discreetly pointed at Bobby and Alannah. He was holding the door open for her. She angrily brushed passed him so fast that she almost knocked him over before he followed her in. "All hell about to break loose?" Janelle asked. Angel nodded. "You know what they say. 'Hell hath no fury like a Super Freak scorned.'"