Luke paused outside his daughter's bedroom door, hearing her talk to herself as she often did when she thought no one was listening. Mid-terms had been horrid this semester, or so she had said, and he had caught her with more than a dozen tape recorders she had hidden during her classes since PCU didn't allow any electronics in the building. He wouldn't have been surprised to learn that she recorded them because she spent the majority of the semester asleep. At least if that was the case he could get back at Laura and further prove that Lulu was more like him than her mother.
He wished he could remember what she was majoring in this time since she had already changed the objective five times and this was only her first year in college. She would tell him, but he'd look like an idiot so he figured he'd wait to ask until the day she graduated…the day he applied and received his final Social Security checks.
Turning the knob slowly, he threw open the door, pleased when he heard her shriek in surprise. She was still in her pajamas despite the fact that it was nearing one in the afternoon, not that he minded, but she was usually up and ready before the sun even had a chance to rise. "Hey Buttercup. What are you doing?"
For a girl who had mastered diversion tactics almost as ruthlessly as her cousin Patrick, she sure was spooked by the innocuous question. He didn't miss this, or the amount of time it took for her to answer him, "Oh you know, just studying. I have a pretty harsh final in every class."
"Oh yeah? Where are your books?" Luke questioned, his eyebrows lifting in suspicion.
"My books?" Lulu glanced down at her unmade bed and realized that only sheets covered her mattress. Unfazed she explained, "I'm trying to memorize my notes."
"Where are your notes?" Luke countered, folding his arms over his chest.
"Why are you so suspicious? Did you have to chisel your notes down when you went to school?" Lulu teased.
"The old jokes might work with your godfather, but they're not going to work with me." Luke assured her, smiling at the small cluster of years that separated him and Mac in age.
"I was trying to speak to you in a language your generation would understand. Was I speaking too fast for you? Should I write it out in caveman?" Lulu wondered, giving him a toothy grin.
"Spencer through and through." Luke let out a whistle of admiration for his youngest child. Without being asked, he crossed the room and sat on the end of the mattress. "Thank God you got more of me than your brother or you might start making me talk about my feelings."
"You're such a funny little human." Lulu commented, twisting a wayward curl around her index finger. "What brings you by?"
"This is still my house last time I checked. I pay the bills. I made a deal with the loan sharks--err, don't go down any dark alleys in case I get into any trouble with that, okay princess? I kind of offered you as collateral." Luke showed off his most stunning grin.
"Nice to know you were thinking of me Dad." Lulu rolled her eyes.
"You kidding? You and Cameron are my hope for the future!" Luke announced, almost leaping to his feet in excitement. "Lord knows that brother of yours has been stung by the love bug and thus can't think straight."
"I do have a lot to do." Lulu whispered awkwardly.
"Leslie Lu, aren't you a little cold with this window open?" Luke asked, disregarding her polite approach of kicking him out.
"Is it cold? I can't even feel it. It must be the stress from these finals." Lulu concluded in a strangled pitch.
"Let me just close this window for you and you can study." Luke offered, standing up.
"You know, I can just do it. I don't want you to strain your back." Lulu reasoned breathlessly.
"Don't patronize me, Lulu. I'm still the man of this house. I can shut a damn window." Luke snapped, shying away from her touch when she tried to grab his arm. "What's with you anyway?"
"Nothing." Lulu lied, trying to figure out how to buy some time. "Have you been on the bike today? I'd hate to think it was rusting away in the garage."
"Lola and I have gotten acquainted yes, but she's a little pissed at me for taking the car this morning even though she knew it was below freezing and your mother threw a fit." Luke mused, his eyes widening. "Do you get locked out a lot?"
"All the time. Why do you ask?" Lulu couldn't keep the tremor out of her voice.
"Well there's a rather large ladder outside your window and I thought it might have walked here on its own." Luke replied.
"You're hilarious Dad. Just so funny." She made another grab for his arm, but that's when he chose to stick his head out the window.
"I'm no philosopher Barney," Luke addressed the half naked teenager as he struggled to keep from tumbling off the end of the roof. His eyes were slow to lift to Luke's and in them the older man saw fear and astonishment. "But it's kind of cold to be hanging out, don't you think? Especially in Elmo boxers."
"Yes Sir." Bradley agreed, holding onto the small landing beneath Lulu's window so tight his knuckles were white. "Can you give me a hand?"
"I don't know if I want to do that. Maybe this isn't the kind of thing a father wants his daughter to see before she's married." Luke countered solemnly.
"Dad! Help him or get out of the way and let me!" Lulu scolded. He didn't have to turn around to know her face was screwed into a reproachful manner and her hands were glued to her hips.
"Leslie Lu, don't interrupt." Luke shot back, scratching his chin in contemplation.
"He's freezing to death out there and it's all your fault!" Lulu charged irritably.
"My fault? I'm not the one who stripped him down and threw him out a window into thirty-seven degree weather." Luke pointed out.
"Is it really thirty-seven degrees?" Bradley asked quietly. "I think my fingers are going numb."
"This is like the preamble to the level of pain I'm going to inflict upon you Buford." Luke clarified with a nod.
"His name is Bradley! Why must you tease him this way? Move!" Lulu cried, shoving her father out of the way.
"Now Bradley, I assume your parents told you the story about the birds and the bees, yes?" Luke wanted to know, restraining Lulu with one hand.
"Yes Sir." Bradley tried to nod, his eyes blinking furiously to battle the weather.
"I'm also going by the notion that I interrupted anything in relation to that between you and my little girl, yes?" Luke went on, his tone as cold as his face was expressionless.
"Yes Sir." Bradley answered helplessly.
"I guess this is as good a place as any for you to ask for my permission to marry Lulu." Luke figured, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Dad, stop it!" Lulu snapped, but he paid her even less attention than he did her mother when she was going on about what the neighbor had done with her garden.
"Lulu, maybe you should wait downstairs until Bradley and I have made arrangements for your future." Luke suggested, biting the inside of his cheek when he noticed how angry she was.
"I'm not a child! You can't control who I have sex with!" Lulu declared emphatically. Bradley gave her a look that proved she had just signed his death warrant.
"I thought for sure I'd have to send Lucky away due to his own crazy hormones, but you? That's it. You're becoming a nun." Luke decided sharply.
"You're overreacting! We're two consenting adults…" Her voice trailed off when she saw her father reach out and peel away one of Bradley's fingers. "What are you doing?" She asked in dismay.
"Proving a point." Luke replied gravely.
"What is this really about? We've been sneaking around almost as long as Cruz and Bobbie—"
"Stop helping!" Bradley shouted at her. "Please God, just be quiet."
"I don't think I like that tone, Bradley my boy. You have to respect ladies." Luke schooled him sternly.
"I apologize." Bradley responded immediately.
"That's a good boy." Luke belittled the young man, shoving another finger away from the windowsill.
"Why are you trying to make me fall?" Bradley demanded incredulously.
"You won't marry my daughter and I can't think about the two of you going at it like rabbits—well ever—but especially not when you've put no ring on her finger." Luke reasoned.
"But we're not serious." When Lulu's eyes widened in alarm, Bradley knew he had said the wrong thing. "I mean—"
"So this is what? Convenient sex for the both of you?"
"We're being safe Dad." Lulu explained in resignation.
"Why do you insist on sending me into an early heart attack, Daughter?"
"Why are you being so damn stubborn? All I'm trying to do is make you see the truth of the matter. You're going to tell me Mom is the only woman you've ever been with?" At his silence, she smiled in victory. "My point exactly."
"I've never had sex with any woman I didn't care about. Sex isn't just about mutual agendas, Lulu. It's about sharing something special with someone you care about. Have some respect for your own body. This—I can't even look at you." Luke realized ignoring the way tears instantly sprung to her eyes. He slammed the window shut and threw the lock, storming out of the room before he could say something he would surely regret.
"Did you make the reservations like I told you to?" Alexis slid on her favorite pair of black tortoiseshell glasses as she regarded the young man sitting behind her desk in her reclining leather chair. He smiled, apparently incredibly amused that the first words out of her mouth weren't in relation to, "How did you get in here?" or "What are you doing in my chair?"
"A month ago." Patrick replied with a purposeful expression. He took a moment to stretch his arms above his head and let out a long yawn. "I made a joke about memorizing the menu and they told me that I was more than welcome to make a suggestion and they would prepare it especially for Robin's birthday."
"Good. Robin will love that." Alexis conceded with a nod. "What kind of flowers are you going with?" She wondered as she sat in the chair opposite her desk. Having been on her feet all day, all she wanted to do was sit down. "Don't say roses."
"Don't you know me at all, Alexis?" Patrick wiggled his eyebrows at her to which she rolled her eyes and strummed her long fingernails against the end of her desk.
"If you're thinking Central Park, I can personally guarantee that's a bad idea. In fact, I'll print out the crime statistics for you." Alexis offered condescendingly.
"They'll be no horse and carriage through Central Park, I promise. The point of this celebration is to do the unthinkable." Patrick explained ardently.
"Does she have any idea?" Alexis folded her hands together in contemplation. She had to admit, this one had sparked her curiosity from the beginning. Let's see how far he was willing to take this.
"Nope. I haven't even brought it up. For all she knows, I don't know when it is." Patrick beamed. This was going to be a night Robin would never forget.
"I've made out a schedule for you. Feel free to deviate from it as often as you see fit." Alexis handed over a one-page document she had put together for him upon request.
"Oh Madam DA, you care!" Patrick exclaimed, pushing the chair back with enough force to propel him to his feet and taking the paper from her.
"Don't spread it around. Compassion is not what got me this position." She half-smiled, watching him skim through the list before she went on, "I've seen a lot of men come in and out of Robin's life, all of them claiming to make it better, easier on her if you will. You're the only one I see actually trying."
"Yeah, this is getting way too Lifetime for me, but thanks for the compliment. I appreciate all your help." Patrick told her solemnly.
"I guess what I really want to know is," She paused and leaned over the desk to catch his engrossed stare. "You've already got Robin. She loves you. She never asked for you to return her feelings or do anything at all. What's your endgame here, Patrick?"
"Don't take this the wrong way, but shouldn't I be having this conversation with Mac or maybe even Robin's dad?" Patrick reasoned quietly.
"They both offered, but when they told me that weapons would be involved, I decided it'd be best for me to approach the issue. Don't get any ideas though. You step out of line and I have a nine millimeter in my desk I only use for emergencies." Alexis clarified pragmatically.
"I don't feel comfortable discussing this with you." Patrick admitted sternly.
"Right because this is the sort of conversation you should have over beers with your bonehead best friends. I understand." Alexis mocked critically.
Patrick started to argue the point, but he figured she was right on the money. "I haven't thought of Robin and I in future terms."
"Why not?" Alexis persisted tenaciously.
"It's better to live in the moment." Patrick bit out tersely.
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Alexis condemned him sharply.
"Well that's my answer." Patrick reiterated and rubbed his forehead uncomfortably.
"You're worried you won't have one, aren't you?" Alexis concluded, her eyes widening in understanding.
"I didn't say that." Patrick countered, stabbing an accusing finger in her direction.
"Have you talked to Robin about this? It's obviously eating you up inside--"
"I think we're done here." Patrick started to move toward the door, but Alexis stopped him in his tracks with one impressive glare that seemed to drill into the back of his head. "What do you want from me?" He asked without turning around.
"A straight answer." Alexis blew out intolerantly.
"I love Robin. Why do I have to put on trial for the way I feel?" Patrick wanted to know.
"You're not on trial!" Alexis argued emphatically. "I'm trying to gouge your intentions."
"I don't have any god damn intentions, alright? This isn't any of your business." Patrick shot back rigidly.
"I know we don't know each other that well, and you probably think whatever you tell me I'm going to run to Mac with it. But I really believe you've got something you want to say. Maybe it's something that you're embarrassed or too much of a man to talk about. You ought to take advantage of this opportunity." Alexis suggested.
"What good does planning ahead do?" Patrick asked after several beats. She flinched at the panic she heard in his voice. "When you're not even sure tomorrow is going to come for both of you? Can you tell me that, Alexis? Can you tell me how I'm supposed to handle the fact that the woman I love with all of my heart could get something as simple as a cold and be dead in a matter of days?"
"But Robin's healthy--" Alexis cut in.
"For now! She's healthy for now. She's good for now. She's safe for now. But what about tomorrow? What if she doesn't make it to this next birthday? Have you considered that, because, if not there's no reason to force me to?" As he spun around to face her, his face twisted in unmistakable agony, Alexis realized she might have pushed him a bit too far. She could backpedal all she wanted; she had still driven the arrow into his back, had still inflicted an unnecessary amount of pain on him for reasons that now seemed self-serving.
"You knew this beforehand." Alexis reminded him relentlessly.
"No, I didn't." Patrick retorted angrily. "I didn't know she had a life-threatening disease when this whole thing began."
"Then why stick around once you did know?" Alexis challenged. "If you couldn't handle this, why—?"
"I exposed myself when I got her out of the car. She told me she had it and begged for me not to, but I did it anyway. I don't know what I was trying to prove."
"So you feel obligated to her now?"
"No. Never. God, I don't want to talk about this." He stabbed his fingers into his hair, holding his head as if he worried it might implode.
"What's the harm? Better to yell at me than Robin, right? You obviously don't feel comfortable discussing it with her and that makes sense. It's not like I wait for Mac to come home just so I can ask how many bullets flew past his head that day." Alexis stated. "Death is not some faraway conception for either of us, Patrick. It's all around us, everyday. We're two of a kind, you see. Other people, they avoid unpredictable situations, whereas we throw ourselves into them for one purpose and one purpose only: to share our lives with the people we love. Mac's badge is just a symbol, one of hope, of justice—the defining difference between right and wrong. That same badge is just an extra something he carries with him everyday. It doesn't make him a better cop, a better man. It doesn't stop bullets or bring the bad guys to their knees. It's a part of him, but it doesn't define him."
"Robin isn't defined by her disease, that's what you're saying?" Patrick assumed, his hand hovering over the door handle.
"I was trying to relate to your fears, because I have them too. I have them all the time. I've seen, firsthand, what people can do to each other, all in the name of love. I guess what I'm trying to get across to you is that you and Robin are lucky to have found each other, because you both understand that time is a gift and shouldn't be squandered away. You've both learned how and when to pick your battles and move on. I shouldn't have belittled you for living in the moment because, God, what I wouldn't give to learn how to do that." Alexis mused. "I don't have all the answers," She continued, "But I do know that they're worth it. Loving them, needing them, it's what makes us human. That's why it's so hard to say the words sometimes."
"I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate your insight, but I've got to do the whole guy thing and leave now." Patrick replied.
"Understood." Alexis smiled. "Get out of here. You've got a party to plan."