Author's notes: Happy (belated) Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I must give credit and thanks for the words of the wise woman that Bobby thinks about to The Mominator (a.k.a. MARY T for those of you not yet familiar with her new pen name). She used those words in a review of this story. They stuck with me, so I knew I had to use them. This is the last chapter for this story, but don't fear. I'm getting ready for the sequel (after I write a chapter for "Cecelia Rose" that is). Thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story, placed it, me or anything I have written on their Favorite or Alert list. I truly appreciate it. I'm always amazed to look at the traffic counter and see that someone's actually reading something I wrote. LO:CI and its characters belong to Dick Wolf and company; I'm just taking them for a spin in my imagination for a little while. Read, review and enjoy. :o)
Saturday, August 26
Major Case Squad Room, 8:30 p.m.
Captain Ross had just walked over to Alex's and Bobby's desks to hand them some signed reports when Lt. Antonio Garcia dashed into their area. "Frank Devlin's on the loose," he said. "On the loose where, Lt. Garcia?" Ross asked. "We think he's on his way to the hospital." The captain sighed heavily. Alex and Bobby were already out of their seats and grabbing bulletproof vests before Ross said anything to them. Lt. Garcia ran after them as they headed towards the elevators. "Be careful out there," Ross shouted at them.
"How in the hell did Devlin get away from your guys, Tony?!" Bobby asked when the elevator doors closed. "I don't know, Bobby!" he replied. "He managed to get out without anybody seeing him." Bobby blew out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair. He stood toe to toe with Tony. "Frankie Devil is cleaning house! He's going to kill anyone who gets in his way! Especially an innocent woman who he thinks has something that belongs to him!" "Chico, don't you think I know that?!" Tony countered, poking Bobby in the chest. "I'm busting my balls trying to keep tu corazón from getting killed! Don't you FUCKING DARE think I'm not on my job!"
Alex pushed herself between Tony and Bobby to separate them. "Stop it! Both of you!" she said. Bobby backed away, throwing his hands up. Alex gave him a hard look. "Now is not the time for you to lose your cool, Bobby! You know this! You need to be focused if we're going to catch this crazy psycho and bring Angel out of this situation alive!" Bobby leaned against the wall, looking back and forth between Tony and Alex. When the elevators doors opened, he blew out a breath as he pushed himself off the wall. As he walked out, Bobby said, "I'm cool. I'm so cool that I'm fucking ice cold."
Saturday, August 26
Hudon Medical Center, 8:45 p.m.
"Alright, I copy that," Officer Darren said into his walkie talkie. He had just been informed to be on the lookout for Frank Devlin. He stood up, placing the radio back on his belt. He knocked on Angel's door. "Come in," she said. He opened the door and saw her walking towards the bathroom. "You need something, Officer Darren?" Angel asked. He shook his head. "No ma'am. Just making sure you're okay. I'm going down the hall for a quick minute." He didn't want to alarm her about anything. She smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'll be here." He smiled before closing the door.
Officer Darren walked slowly down the hall, on his way to the nurses' station. He quickened his pace and took out his gun when he heard screaming and a gunshot. The young nurse he had dinner with came out of a patient's room. "Go back inside!" Officer Darren barked as he passed her. When he reached the nurses' station, he found Frank Devlin firing a few shots into the elevator. "NYPD! Put down your weapon!" Devlin just turned around and shot him in the arm and chest.
The nurse that Officer Darren told to stay inside of the room came running out of her hiding place. She managed to drag him to the supply closet while Devlin fired at them, emptying his clip. She slammed and locked the door. "Hang on, Kenny," she said as she looked for something to stop his bleeding. Officer Darren groaned in pain as he reached for his radio to report the situation. "I repeat, shots fired at Hudson Medical! Officer down! Shooter is Frank Devlin. He's armed and dangerous. Approach with extreme caution."
Frank Devlin put a fresh clip into his Sig Sauer .45 as he walked down the hall to Angel's room. He opened the door and walked inside. He narrowed his eyes at the closed bathroom door. He went and sat on the edge of the bed to wait. He raised his gun, pointing it at the door when he heard water running. Angel walked out of the bathroom pushing the I.V. pole ahead of her, unaware of the danger that was in the room with her. As she turned off the light, Frank Devlin said, "Hello, Laurel Goren."
Angel turned her head slowly towards the unfamiliar voice. She held onto the I.V. pole with both hands. Devlin laughed as he stood up with the gun pointed at her head. "Or should I say, 'Hello, Angelica Pierson-St. John?'" he said. He laughed harder as her eyes widen in surprise. She gripped the I.V. pole tighter. "Fear. That's good. I feed on fear," he said menacingly. He shot at the walls on either side of Angel's head twice, causing her to let out a small yelp. "Go ahead and scream your head off. That'll only hasten your death." Angel bit her bottom lip to keep herself from screaming.
Devlin walked closer to Angel, jamming the muzzle of his gun hard against the bandage on her forehead. Her eyes watered at the pain. "You have something that belongs to me, Angelica," he said through clenched teeth. "I want it back before I blow your pretty little head off." She slowly shook her head. "I…I…I don't have anything of yours," she said quietly. Devlin chuckled, shaking his head. "Why do people always say that?" he wondered aloud. "That really pisses me the fuck off!" With his free hand, he yanked the I.V. needles out of her arm and flung the I.V. pole across the room.
Angel let out a small scream as Frankie Devil put his forearm across her throat, pressing her against the wall. She struggled to breathe as she clawed desperately at his arm, trying to remove it. The more Angel struggled, the harder Devlin pressed the gun against her forehead and his arm across her throat. "Tell me where my property is, bitch! I might consider not choking the shit out of you!" Devlin spat. Angel didn't even attempt to say anything. Instead, she gathered her wits about her and did 2 things: kicked Devlin in the leg and scratched his face.
Devlin stumbled back just enough for Angel to get out of his grasp. She made a break for the door, but he recovered quickly from her unexpected attack. He stuck out his foot and tripped her. The tumble Angel took stunned her a little. Devlin reached down and pulled her up to her knees by her hair and t-shirt. He jammed the gun in her face, causing a small cut across the bridge of her nose that started to bleed. "You do that shit again, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your head," he said as he pulled Angel to her feet.
Angel pressed her lips together tightly. The pain in her head and arm was excruciating, but she was not about to give Devlin the satisfaction of knowing that. He gripped her tightly by the back of her neck, pushing her through the door ahead of him. He was taking her down the hall. "Bobby, where are you?" Angel thought to herself as a small tear rolled down her cheek.
Saturday, August 26
Hudson Medical Center
Ground Floor Level, 9:10 p.m.
"You really need to stop beating yourself up over there," Alex said. Bobby hadn't said anything since he got off the elevator at 1PP. He just got into the SUV and stared out of the window, brooding. She sighed heavily. "Look. About what I said earlier," she started to say, but he shook his head. "You're right," he said. "I need to focus before I get other people killed. I need to…get my feelings under control before someone uses them against me." Alex remained silent, preferring to listen to Bobby. When they pulled up to the hospital, the SWAT team was already there.
Alex and Bobby got out of their vehicle. He tossed his jacket into the backseat before putting on his vest. Alex did the same thing. Then they both walked towards the SWAT team commander. Lt. Antonio Garcia came up behind them, touching both detectives on the shoulder. "I just got word from a Sergeant Chambers that the bodies of retired NYPD officers Cliff Barnes and Marty Sanders were found in the middle of the street in Devlin's neighborhood," he said. "Two bullets through the heart." The blood drained out of Alex's face. "Oh my God!" she said in disbelief. "Cliff Barnes is…is dead?" Tony nodded. "Alex, what's wrong?" Bobby asked. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Cliff Barnes was my godfather," Alex said quietly. She was still slightly shocked by the news. "He and his family lived across the street from us when we were growing up. He moved about 2, 3 years ago when his wife died. Marty Sanders was his partner the whole entire time they were on the force. Dad always said that Marty was a hell of a poker player." She swallowed hard before putting on a brave, but stony face. She looked at Tony. Then she looked at Bobby. She pointed her index finger at them and hissed, "I want this fucking son of a bitch!" Tony and Bobby looked at Alex and said in unison, "Done." She nodded before turning on her heel, stalking towards the SWAT team commander. "Alex is pissed off," Bobby thought. "This is about to get interesting."
The SWAT team commander, Lieutenant Patrick Camden, had the plans and schematics of the hospital building rolled out onto the hood of his car when Bobby, Alex and Tony approached. He shook hands with all 3 of them before getting down to business. "We've managed to evacuate everyone from the ground floor up to the floor the shooter was last seen. Fortunately for us, the floor where the shooter is doesn't have very many patients up there," he said. "I just informed the detectives here that our shooter has killed 2 retired NYPD officers in his neighborhood," Lt. Garcia said. "Are there any casualties here?"
Lt. Camden frowned as he shook his head. "No. Just injuries," he replied. "He's broken a nurse's nose. Her name is Faylene Duncan. The shooter took random shots at the other nurses that were on the floor he got off on as he forced them onto the elevator. A couple of them have superficial wounds." "What about Officer Darren? He was guarding a potential witness." "The last thing we heard was that he and Nurse Jennifer Kelley were hiding in a supply closet. He took a couple of rounds in his arm. She dragged him to safety."
"So, what are we doing?" Alex asked. Camden handed them each a radio, then pointed at the plans and said, "I've got teams searching the evacuated floors via the stairs and the elevators." Bobby looked at the plans, then at the building. "This…hospital was renovated 2 years ago," he said. He pointed to an elevator shaft. "Are you using this service elevator as a part of your search?" Camden shook his head. "That old service elevator isn't used any more since the new service elevators were installed. It's been turned off."
"But the control room to this old elevator is on the floor where the shooter is!" Bobby said. "The shooter will probably try to escape using this." Camden sighed heavily. "I'm well aware of that, Detective," he said. He pointed across the way at a middle aged man dressed in a polo shirt and khakis. "He's the head of the maintenance department. He assures me that the door to that particular control room is locked and that he has the only key."
Bobby opened his mouth to say something, but he thought better of it. "Fine," he said tersely. Lt. Camden narrowed his eyes at him before he picked up his rifle. "Follow me," he said as he headed towards the entrance of the hospital. Alex, Tony and Bobby followed behind him. When they walked in, Bobby took a look around at his surroundings. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Then it hit him. "Devlin knows how to pick locks. He could easily pick the lock to that old service elevator."
"Lt. Camden, I want to go check out the old service elevator for myself," Bobby said. Camden stopped in his tracks. "Fuck," he muttered softly under his breath as he turned around to look at Bobby. "Detective Goren, why in the hell do you want to check out that damn elevator?! Is my word and judgment not good enough for you?!" Bobby stepped up to him. Alex and Tony exchanged semi-worried glances. "It's not that I don't trust your word and judgment, Lt. Camden," Bobby said. "It's more of a…a need to satisfy my own curiosity." He and the SWAT team commander stared at each other for a few minutes.
Camden blew out a breath. "Fine. Go right ahead and satisfy your damn curiosity then!" he snapped. "Then when you're done chasing your tail, maybe you'd like to join the rest of us for the real mission!" He turned around and walked off. "You want us to go with you?" Alex asked. Bobby shook his head, clipping the radio to his belt. "No. Just let me check this out for myself. Then I'll catch up with you." He headed off towards the old service elevator alone. Tony and Alex followed Camden.
Saturday, August 26
Hudson Medical Center, 9:25 p.m.
Frank Devlin found some clear plastic cable ties on the floor by the nurses' station desk as he and Angel walked down the hall. He pushed her down into a chair so that he could bind her hands together in front of her. She didn't look at him or say anything as he pulled the cable tie tightly around her wrists. She kept staring at the ground, looking at the trail of blood on the floor. "Where's Officer Darren? Is that his blood?" she thought. The sad look on Angel's face made Devlin laugh. "Yeah, that's that punk police officer's blood," he said. "If he doesn't get those bullets out of him soon, he'll die from blood loss." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Big fucking deal. One less cop in the world."
Angel looked up at Devlin, a shocked look on her face. She opened her mouth, but then quickly pressed her lips together. "How can you have such pleasure in taking a human life?" she thought to herself. Devlin chuckled. He leaned down and said, "I don't give a fuck about anyone or anything. As long as my wants and needs are met, the world is a safe place. But if my world is messed up, then chaos will reign until order is restored in my world again." He searched her gray eyes.
"I'll be damned," Devlin said. "I wondered why Eden was wearing gray contacts. Now, I know why." Angel turned her head to the side when he began to stroke her cheek. "Beautiful light skin. Just the type of woman Davey loved getting blowjobs from." He straightened up, looking down at her with a lecherous glint in his eye. "I bet you like to be called Angel," he said. "Makes all the men you've fucked feel like they're getting a slice of heaven when they tap that ass. Davey must have been in heaven when you wrapped those pretty lips around his dick."
Angel mentally shuddered at the thought of David Brewster touching her. "Not in a million years would I go near that fool." Devlin laughed at the disgusted look on her face. "Davey's dick must have been too small for you," he said. She glanced up at him briefly before averting her eyes back to the blood trail on the floor. He pressed the gun hard against her lips, making her turn her head to look at him.
Angel's eyes widen in a mixture of fear and disgust as she watched Frank Devlin unzip his pants and pull out his manhood, stroking it up and down its shaft. "It will feel so wonderful when I get your mouth wrapped around this," he said as he moaned in pleasure. He removed the gun from her lips as he stepped forward and rubbed his penis against her face. Angel quickly pushed herself away from Devlin in the chair she was sitting in. She stood up when the chair hit the desk. Her gray eyes burned with defiance.
Devlin smirked as he pointed the gun at Angel. "This must be more dick than you have ever had. Probably bigger than that detective you fucked, Detective Goren." Angel kept a neutral look on her face at the mention of Bobby's name. "You wanna know how I know that detective fucked you?" Devlin asked as he zipped up his pants. Angel kept her mouth closed. She just stared at him. "Your silence speaks loudly. That tells me you did the nasty with him. Plus, you've got his last name as your alias. That means you mean something to him. The weak link in his armor."
Frankie Devil reached out and gripped Angel's upper arm. He pulled her down the hall towards the control room of the old service elevator. When they reached the control room, he made her lean against the wall next to the door. He put the palm of his hand against her forehead, knocking her head against the wall. The stunning blow caused Angel's eyes to water. She slid down the wall to the floor in pain.
Devlin scoffed as he put the gun in his waistband and pulled out his lock picking tools. He had the lock picked and the door open within 15 seconds. He went inside of the room and started flipping the switches to turn on the old service elevator. "Dumb bastards," he thought to himself. "They forgot that my construction company worked on the renovations for this place." Once he was satisfied that the elevator was operational, Devlin took the gun out of his waistband. He walked back outside and yanked Angel back onto her feet.
"We're on our way out of here," Devlin said as he gripped the back of Angel's neck and led her towards the old service elevator. "Now that I have my hands on a cop's woman, they'll be more than willing to let me out of here." He pressed the down button. "I'm not worth anything, but they won't let you leave out of here," Angel said quietly. Devlin laughed as he pushed her into the elevator. She stumbled over her feet and fell onto the ground. He got on and pressed the button for the ground floor.
"You underestimate your value, Angel," Devlin said, a sly grin on his face. "NYPD will do whatever it takes to protect one of its own or their family members." Angel stared at her bound hands as she slowly shook her head. "I'm not with Detective Goren or anyone else on the NYPD force," she quietly lied. "My husband died 4 years ago. I've been alone since then." Frankie Devil knelt down and gripped her by the chin to lift her head. "Well, then whatever happens to you when I get out of here won't matter to anyone. You'll take me to my property. I'll have my fun with your body. Then I'll kill you. A brilliant and simple plan."
Devlin stood up to lean against the wall next to Angel. He aimed his gun at the top of her head as they rode down to the ground floor. She lowered her eyes to the ground to hide her tears. "I wish I knew where you are, Bobby Goren. I need to tell you I love you before I die."
Bobby slowly walked down the empty hallway to the old service elevator. Declan Gage's voice echoed in his mind. "You have to assume the worst. You have to assume she's dead." Bobby knew those words applied to Alex when she had been kidnapped by Jo Gage, but he had to face the grim reality that those words applied to Angel as well. He had to face the reality that Frank Devlin would take her life without thinking about it. "Frank Devlin, you son of a bitch! If you take Angel's life, I swear I will make you know the meaning of hell when I get through with you!"
As Bobby approached the elevator, his ears picked up a faint humming sound. The humming sound grew louder when he turned the corner. He looked up at the elevator indicator and saw that the elevator was coming down. He went back to the corner, leaning with his back against the wall as he watched the numbers on the indicator count down to one. When the elevator doors opened, Bobby stepped away from his hiding place, gun aimed at the doors. "NYPD! Come out with your hands up in the air!" he said in a loud booming voice.
Bobby heard laughter coming from the elevator. "I don't fucking think so," Frank Devlin said loudly. He grabbed the back of Angel's neck, pulling her to her feet. "Walk," he said as he put the gun to the back of her head. She did as she was told. Bobby was slightly taken aback at seeing Angel come out of the elevator. "She's bruised and bleeding," he thought as he noticed the cut on her nose and the bruises on her arm. She quietly exhaled the breath she didn't realize she had been holding when she saw Bobby. Instead of feeling relieved at seeing him, Angel felt fear. Fear at the fact that this crazy man who was holding her captive would shoot him in cold blood just as he had done to Officer Darren.
"Detective Goren, we meet again," Devlin said. "What a pleasant surprise." "Put the gun down, Devlin," Bobby said. "There's no way you're walking out of here with a hostage." He took a couple of deep breaths to help him focus on resolving this situation as quickly as possible. Because he knew if the opportunity presented itself, he would put a bullet right between Devlin's eyes. Devlin clicked his tongue. "You honestly think I'm going to give up so easily?" He jammed the gun's muzzle against Angel's temple hard, causing her to whimper.
Bobby tensed up as his face hardened to stone at the thought of killing Frank Devlin flashed briefly through his mind. The words of a wise woman came to his mind as well. "Never underestimate the actions of a man in love." Right now, right this minute those words rang very true. Devlin scoffed. "I've seen that look before, Goren. Trying to decide the best way to kill me without getting yourself in trouble, are you?" Bobby narrowed his eyes at Devlin's taunting words.
Frankie Devil chuckled. "You are such a pussy, Detective!" he said as he repeatedly hit Angel's temple with the gun. "As long as I have her, neither you nor your NYPD brethren can do a damn thing to me! Pretty Lady here has told me that she's not anyone's woman. Therefore, I know you really won't give a damn whether she lives or dies. I CONTROL her life!" Angel glanced briefly at Bobby before looking down at the ground. He regarded her with sadness in his heart. "I do give damn about her. I gave her my heart," he thought. Devlin positioned Angel between him and Bobby, his gun pointed at the back of her head.
"What are you going to do, Detective?" Devlin asked. "Let me kill her and walk out of here? Or let me walk out of here with her?" Neither option appealed to Bobby. Instead, he slowly raised his hands. "How about I trade with you? My life for her life?" he asked. Angel looked up at Bobby in horror as she watched him put his gun down on the floor and take a step away from it. She silently mouthed "No, Bobby" as tears fell down her face. He quickly glanced at her as he raised his hands again, focusing his attention on Devlin. Angel couldn't believe her eyes. She trembled a little as her fear of Bobby dying for her was coming true.
"Mi vida es no importante," Angel said softly. Frankie Devil smirked. "Of course, your life is not important. Your life as you know it will be over once I get out of here," he said with a smile. "John 15:13," Bobby said with conviction. Angel bit her bottom lip as she looked at him. "I don't want you to die," she thought. The look on her face told Bobby exactly what she was thinking. "I don't want to die, either." Devlin looked at Bobby. "Aww. Does someone want to have last rites said over them?" he asked mockingly.
Devlin pointed his gun at Bobby as he gripped the back of Angel's neck. "You know that bulletproof vest looks kind of thin," he said. "Like it 's not going to stop bullets." He cocked his head from one side to the other. He shrugged and said, "I don't know if these are armor piercing bullets I have or not. Oh, well there's only way to find out." Bobby fell backwards as Frank Devlin shot him 3 times in the chest.
Lt. Camden gave the hold position signal to the group he was leading, which included Alex and Tony, when the gunshots and the scream came over the radio. "All teams, hold your positions. I repeat, all teams hold your positions," he said into the radio. Alpha and Bravo teams radioed back that they were holding their positions. "Rick, where are those shots coming from?" Camden asked into the radio. "Don't know, Cam," Rick, leader of the Alpha Team, replied. Camden was about to ask the same question of the Bravo team leader when a female voice repeatedly shouted "Bobby!" over the air.
"That's coming from the old service elevator area!" Alex said. She recognized Angel's voice. She turned around and headed towards her partner with Tony following close behind her. Camden told Alpha and Bravo teams to hold their positions while they when to check out the disturbance.
Angel screamed as Bobby fell to the ground, his arms stretched out on either side of him. Without even thinking, she pulled away from Devlin's grip. She ran over to Bobby, falling down to her knees at his side. "Bobby! Bobby!" she yelled as she shook him. He didn't open his eyes. Devlin laughed at Angel as she continued to shake Bobby's seemingly lifeless form. She looked down at the 3 large bullet holes in the vest. She shook him again. "This is suppose to protect you," she said. She laid her body across his and sobbed, "Please, don't die! Don't go! Don't die!"
Devlin walked over and kicked Bobby's foot to make sure he was dead. Bobby still didn't move. "Hmmph! Serves your stupid ass right for getting in my way," he said. He reached down and grabbed a handful of Angel's t-shirt, pulling her up to look at him. He jammed the gun in her face and said, "You lied to me!" She looked at him with disgust. "Go to hell, you arrogant bastard!" she shouted. "You murdered an innocent man!" He leaned closer. "I'll go to hell when I get my property back and have you suck my dick, bitch!"
Devlin was so distracted talking to Angel that he didn't notice that Bobby was breathing. He put his hand on his gun. In one fluid motion, he sat up and put the muzzle of his gun in Devlin's face while grabbing tightly onto Devlin's wrist that held the gun. "Give me a FUCKING reason to pull the trigger, Frankie," Bobby said in a pained voice. Angel scooted away from them, shocked at seeing Bobby alive.
Bobby snatched Devlin's gun out of his hand and tossed it away. He recognized Alex's footsteps coming down the hall. "Clear!" he said in a loud voice. Alex, Tony, Lt. Camden and the rest of the SWAT team converged on Frank Devlin to take him into custody. Lt. Camden motioned for a couple of doctors and nurses to come into the area with stretchers. "You're a crazy son of a bitch, Chico," Tony snapped at Bobby as he helped him onto a stretcher. Bobby groaned and writhed in pain. "Shut the hell up, Tony," he said through gritted teeth as he was being taken away.
After Alex had cut away the plastic cable tie from her wrists, Angel had followed her into the emergency area where Bobby was. They stood next to Tony in a corner, watching the medical personnel take care of Bobby. He looked at them and gave them a thumbs up sign with a pained look on his face. "Ay Dios mió," Angel muttered quietly as a tear fell down her cheek. Tony put a comforting hand on her shoulder while Alex squeezed her hand. "He'll be okay," Alex said. "He better be okay or I'll kick his ass."
One of the nurses that worked on the floor where Angel had been staying walked up to her. "Mrs. Goren, you need to come with me so that the doctor can check out your injuries," she said. Angel shook her head. "I'm fine," she said as she continuing watching Bobby. The nurse, who couldn't have been no more than 25 or 26, put her hands on her hips. "You need to come with me NOW, Mrs. Goren," she said firmly. Angel turned her head and looked at the nurse. Her mind flashed back to 4 years ago, the day her late husband Garvin died. She was in the hospital room with him when he went into cardiac arrest. The nurse who first came into Garvin's room told Angel she had to leave. "If he dies, he will not die alone," she had said to that nurse.
"If everyone thinks I'm Bobby's wife, then it's time to play the part," Angel thought to herself. "Until my husband gets up and walks out of here on his own two feet, I'm NOT going anywhere," she said quietly aloud. The look on her face and the tone of her voice made the nurse take 2 steps back. Bobby lifted his head and said, "Angelica Marie, go with the nurse." She looked at him, shaking her head and biting her bottom lip. Another nurse walked over, lightly grabbing her hand. "Mrs. Goren, you can stay in this bed," she said as she pulled Angel towards an empty bed.
Angel laid down on the bed on her side, facing Bobby. He turned his head to look at her and smiled. "Hey, Beautiful," he said. "Hey, Handsome," she said through her tears.
Tuesday, August 29
Angel's Home, 1:00 p.m.
"You're too quiet over there," Bobby said. He was driving Angel's purple Cadillac, the one DeMarco Anderson had left her in his will. She was sitting in the passenger's seat, looking out of the window and playing with her necklace. "What's going through your mind, querida?" She turned her head and smiled at him. "Not much. Just a lot of stuff," she said softly. "Anything you want to talk to me about?" he asked hopefully. Angel shook her head as she looked down at her hands. Bobby sighed heavily. "Don't push her," he thought to himself. "She'll talk to you in her own time. Hell, we've got a lot to talk about besides this hostage thing."
Bobby reached over and squeezed Angel's hand. "Well, you know you can talk to me whenever you're ready," he said. She placed her other hand on top of his hand. "Okay," she replied. She turned her head to look out of the window again. There was a black Saturn Vue with a red bow tied around it sitting in Angel's driveway when they pulled up to her home. "What in the world?" she said as she got out and walked over to inspect the new car.
Angel looked back at Bobby, a big smile on her face. "You get this for me?" she asked. He smiled as he shook his head. "No. Janelle and Drew did. They worked with your insurance to company to get you a new car." He unlocked the trunk and took out Angel's duffel bag. He closed the trunk lid, then reached out for Angel's hand. She gladly took his hand and let him lead her up the steps. He unlocked the door and stepped aside to let her walk in first.
After Bobby closed and locked the door, he dropped the bag onto the floor. Angel turned around and put her arms around his waist. "It's good to be home," she said. He gave her a squeeze. "I'm glad you're home, too," he said. He kissed her forehead before pulling away from her. "Come on. There's something in the yard you need to see." He took her hand and led her through the kitchen.
When Angel and Bobby stepped onto the porch, a loud group of voices yelled, "Welcome home, Angel!" She covered her mouth in surprise as she looked around the yard at the decorations and the people. Alex and her entire family, Mike Logan and Megan Wheeler were there. Janelle and Drew were there as well with Benjamin, Loretta, Eddie Lee, Jayson and Tonya and their kids. Lewis, Rob and Courtney. Even Sasha and Celena were in attendance. Bobby leaned down and whispered in Angel's ear, "I did this." She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you," she said before she walked down the steps. Bobby just smiled and watched as everyone came up to her.
Bobby and Angel were finally home alone when the welcome home party broke up around 6:00. They stood on the front porch, watching and waving as the last guest drove off. Bobby wrapped his arms around Angel's waist; she wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, then laid his forehead against hers. "You happy?" he asked. She nodded. "Very much."
Angel pulled back slightly to look up at him. "Thank you for saving my life," she said softly. Bobby smiled and said, "You're welcome." She bit her lip as she glanced briefly at the ground. "Are we ready to be an 'us' yet?" she asked. He shrugged. "If you're ready, then I'm ready." She thought for a second before she nodded, letting out a small contented sigh. She caressed his cheek and said, "I am ready. I love you, Bobby." He nuzzled his face in her hand. "I love you, too, Angel."