Redemption
Chapter Seventy-Nine
He'd never expected to sit so long with Lilly, yet once the two of them started talking, neither could stop. He checked his watch as he walked down the hall, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a take-out bag from Slappy's in the other. Dinner was just about to be served to the patients and Bobby figured Danni could use a reprieve from the flavorless-chicken and the guacamole-flavored pudding—hence the take-out bag.
He'd enjoyed talking with Lilly, because he felt like he truly hadn't gotten to know her as well as he would have liked. After all, she was already cat-sitting for them, along with the fact that they've been neighbors for almost a year; it was a bit late, but well worth it. She was a very intelligent girl—her intelligence could have been a match for Myles's, yet she didn't like to flaunt it as much as Harvard did—and she had an incredible outlook on life. Another thing he noticed was her gorgeous smile; one that seemed to light up the entire room with just the slightest quirk of her lips. He had happily complimented on the attribute and he was rewarded with a shy blush.
"You must have the blokes chasing after you like mad," he quipped, adding a swoon-worthy wink into the mix.
She timidly shook her head as she rubbed the kitten's belly, making the tiny motor within purr with life. She was trying to avoid his gaze and the scrutiny she would endure if she told him the truth, but there was something inside of her that told her that Bobby wouldn't judge her and that she could talk to him about anything. "Not really," she admitted, her head lowered. "Boys don't really like me." She screwed up her face to make it look like it didn't matter, but Bobby could tell that it did.
"Aw, a gorgeous, little sheila like you? They must be mental!" He wasn't just saying it to make her feel better; he actually meant what he said. He'd been young once, but if he'd been thirteen, the sheila in front of him would be on the top of his list. She was even aspiring to join the FBI, which he felt she would accomplish with little difficulty.
Smiling to himself as he approached Danni's room, he couldn't believe how much he'd cheered Lilly up with just a few words, even calling boys stupid at one point and telling her to whack them over the head to get their attention—of course, he didn't mean literally and he hoped she'd understood that.
There was one thing about his talk with Lilly that really stood out. It had nothing to do with what was said, but what he felt as he looked down at the still cherub-like face. The feelings of wanting to become a father and have talks like this with his children was overwhelming and though he would want to spend time with just his wife, the prospect of having a child so soon after marriage was appealing. He and Danni had never gone into detail about the subject, but he figured it would come up sooner or later and once it was brought up, he was going to make sure that everything was resolved before coming to a conclusion.
Sighing softly and shaking his head, he knocked on the opened door, leaving the topic of children for another time. He smiled when he saw Danni's eyes light up, a genuine smile forming on her lips as he walked over to her, setting his gifts upon the tray before leaning down and giving her a soft kiss upon the lips. With just that one simple motion, he would have loved to have deepened the kiss and send both of their minds into oblivion, yet she had company at her bedside that was snickering to show that he was still present. Pulling away slowly, despite her whimper of protest, he turned his gaze toward the guest and smiled. "I see they let you out, finally," he quipped as he half-sat on the side of the bed, one arm propping him up and the other resting lazily on the leg that rested comfortably upon the mattress.
DeMarco sat in the bedside chair—Bobby's bedside chair—one arm in a sling and cast; his ribs obviously bandaged tightly underneath the button-up shirt he was wearing; and a rather nice bruise gracing his forehead. He looked like hell had chewed him up and spit him out, but at least he was up and about. "Yeah, they unchained me and let me out of my cage just after lunch," Jeff joked, rolling his eyes playfully at the Aussie.
This was the first time Danni had seen this, so she couldn't help but wonder if Bobby had known all along that Jeff had been FBI. There was always the chance that he hadn't, DeMarco obviously very good when it came to doing undercover work; she just couldn't help but be curious. Who knows? This all could have been an act of that male ego she'd been exposed to her entire career and they were just making friendly for her sake.
It hurt her head to try to figure it out, so she just let them do what men did best when their pride was on the line. Chuckling softly, she pushed herself up in the bed, Bobby helping the last few inches as she clutched at her stitches. Smiling at him, she reached for his free hand and intertwined their fingers, loving the feeling of her small hand wrapped securely in his larger, stronger one. She could remember when she didn't need a man's protection and safety; only what else they had to offer her, but being without Bobby's touch, these days, was like being without air. She needed it to feel alive.
"Jeff was just filling me in on everything that I missed," she told Bobby, giving his rough hand a squeeze. Along with him revealing his orders to her—though not telling her everyone who'd known his mission—he'd explained how the bomb was never put to use and the Bomb Squad was able to dismantle it without it blowing up in their faces—pun intended; his words, not hers.
The Aussie nodded, though didn't try to hide his expression of dislike for the man. It wasn't that he didn't like him as a person; far from it, he felt that in different circumstances that the two of them would get along quite nicely. But, he'd put his friends—his family—in danger because he'd screwed up and that could have caused him to loose not only Danni, but Jack as well and only God knows who else if that bomb had been deployed.
Noticing the look, Jeff awkwardly cleared his throat before standing up. He knew he needed to do a lot of damage control when it came to his team, and that was why he was gracefully going to step out and let the two lovebirds spend some time together.
Watching for his perch on the side of the bed, Bobby watched as DeMarco leaned down and placed a kiss upon Danni's cheek and whispering something in her ear. The fist that was propping him up clenched and unclenched quickly, jealousy rearing its ugly head before Jeff stuck out his uninjured hand for the Aussie to shake. Eyeing the hand and then the man, the thought of completely snubbing him seemed better and better. But, that was before he felt Danni's gentle squeeze; something that told him that there was no need for him to be jealous. Sometimes she always knew what he was feeling, though he couldn't help it if he wore his emotions for her on his sleeve. She was more important to him than anyone else in this world and he wasn't going to lose to someone else. He would make sure of that.
Defeated by just that small motion, Bobby took hold of Jeff's hand and shook his firmly; squeezing it with just the right amount of pressure to show him the taste of what could have been much worse if Danni had been lost when Dessa shot her. "Bobby," he heard Danni whisper to him in warning and that made ease up before dropping the other man's hand completely. He looked to Danni to see her rolling her eyes and mumbling, "Men" under her breath.
"So," he began once Jeff was completely out of the room, "hungry?" He gave the most genuine smile he could muster, only to receive one in return with a roll of her eyes. If she had been able to pull her legs up to her chest in the teasing manner he loved so much, the look would have been simply perfect. She nodded, which prompted him to draw the take-out bag over to them, placing a kiss upon her forehead before removing everything that he'd bought.