Chapter 13

Alex wound her way through the garage until she came to Lewis' office door. She shifted the sacks into one hand and knocked with the other.

He leapt up from his computer chair and opened the door for her. "Oh, uh, good, let me help you with that," Lewis sputtered, gently lifting one of the sacks from her hand. He led her to a small table and slid the papers littering its top with one hand. He set his sack down and gestured for her to do the same. "What's the occasion?" he asked her.

Alex smiled. "I wanted to thank you for everything… you're trying to do for Bobby and me."

She opened the sacks and fished out lunch sandwiches for both of them, with salads and fries on the side. "I'm glad you were there for him last night," she said.

"I'd do the same for anybody," Lewis said.

"At 4 a.m.? I don't think so." She smiled again.

Lewis accepted her compliment with embarrassed silence. After a few bites of his lunch, he pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Are you, uh, and the baby, you're okay?"

"Fine," Alex said.

"I know Bobby's a pain in the ass, Detective. He always has been. But he's worse with girls. I've been through this a lot of times with him." Lewis sipped from his drink and studied her face. "Are you going to break it off?"

His honesty struck her, and she stared into his eyes a moment. "I've thought about it," she admitted.

"It's what always happens," Lewis said. "Only… he never had a baby on the way before." Lewis picked a loose bit of lettuce off the paper from his sandwich. "Look, Alex… I told him… I told him he needs help. He needs to talk to somebody about this."

"Why can't he talk to me? I've told him a thousand times that I'm here for him."

Lewis shrugged.

"Do you think he'll go to someone?" She asked.

Lewis shrugged again. "You know what they always say… Doctors make the worst patients? He's spent his whole life being the one keeping everyone else together. His Mom, Frank… Bobby was the 'normal' one. Bobby was the caregiver… the expert caregiver."

"He doesn't want to talk to a doctor because he already knows what they'll say." Alex was saddened by the insight.

"He thinks he knows."

"And he's afraid of it."

"He's afraid to find out he's just like his mother. Or even worse, his father."

Alex took heed of his words. Lewis had known Bobby's parents. He was the only person, besides Bobby, who really knew what his childhood had been like.

"I hope you won't give up on him, Alex. But no one will fault you for it if you do. Even Bobby won't. He loves you, you know."

There was a note on the table in her perfect handwriting. The round loops on her letters were like the petals of a flower, the complete opposite of his left-handed scrawl. He read it, and then went to the guest room to ponder the crib problem again.

And he thought about what Lewis had said.

You'll do anything to prove to her you're an asshole…

You need a fucking shrink…

When Alex returned home, he was working in the guest room. She could hear the tapping of a hammer. She followed the sound and found him carrying the closet door and leaning it against the wall. Alex leaned against the doorframe and folded her arms.

"Hi," she said quietly.

He looked over and smiled. "Oh, uh, hi."

"You took the door off?" she wasn't harsh, only curious.

"Uh, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You wanna keep the double bed. A crib won't fit unless we put it flush to the bed. It's gonna be pretty close to the wall. The closet door wouldn't have any room to swing open… This way, we can still get in the closet."

She grinned. "Good thinking."

He rubbed his hands together, brushing away the dust from the old wood. Bobby took a few slow steps in her direction.

Alex raised up off the doorframe and stepped closer to him, too. She reached up and touched his cheek, looking at his scrapes and at the glaring bandage on his forehead. Then, without saying a word, she leaned up and kissed his lips.

Bobby kept his arms around her. "Uh, did you… have a nice lunch?" he asked. Her note had told him she was having lunch with a friend.

"Yes, it was good."

Curiosity got the better of him. "Who did you go with?"

"We didn't go anywhere. I took lunch to Lewis at the shop."

Bobby put it all together at once. "Commiserating?" he inquired.

"No. Not really. Just trying to... figure you out."

"Any luck?" he asked.

Alex shook her head and kissed him again.

"Lewis was… pretty mad at me," Bobby said.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Is he, uh…"

"He meant what he told you this morning, Bobby. He wants you to get help. And so do I."

"I can't… talk to a stranger…"

"You talk to bartenders all the time, don't you?" He frowned. "Bobby, if you want to be with me, with us, you have to find some kind of counselor. I'll give you until the end of the week to find somebody." She felt him go rigid under her grip.

"That's it, then?"

"It's a dealbreaker."

"I'm not going to Olivet. Or anybody that works with the force."

"Bobby, I don't care who you go to. Just get some help." With that, Alex's pleading eyes bored into him. She finally let go of him and left the room.

Bobby stumbled sideways until he bumped the edge of the bed. He sank down onto the mattress and raked his fingers through his hair. When the shock wore off, the anger coursed through him. He thought about finding Lewis, punching his lights out. He thought about packing up and leaving, like he'd done so many times before.

Then he thought about his child, and he knew it would have to be different this time.