Chapter 18

Alex laughed, and took another bite of her lunch. She had missed Mike's stories.

"So… you're okay, right?" He asked, turning his eyes to look out at the rest of the people in the room.

"Yes, Mike. I'm okay."

"Bobby doesn't always seem-"

"Bobby's working on it. We're fine."

Wisely, Mike chose to drop the subject. He checked his phone, and saw he had a message. "I'll be right back," he told her, and got up to walk to the men's room, where it was quieter.

Alex got out her own phone, and dialed Bobby. She held her hand over her other ear to block out the noise of the dining room. "Bobby?" she said. "I'm at lunch, I just wanted to check on you." She listened to him speak, and cough, and speak again. "Well, it's too late. Ross already knows you're sick and he's not about to let you come to work and spread it around… what?" She paused while he repeated himself. "Yeah, I've been working with Logan again. He took me to lunch… What? Why?" she asked, wincing because Mike was walking back in her direction. She sighed. "All right, Bobby." She held out her phone to Logan. "Bobby wants to talk to you."

With a surprised expression, Logan took the phone from her. He hunkered down in the seat, one ear covered by the phone, the other by his hand. "Yeah?" He listened carefully. "Yeah, don't worry, I got it." Even Logan heard the wracking cough. "Goren, it's okay. No worries." He handed the phone back to Alex.

"Do you need me to pick up anything on the way home?" she asked him, and then listened. "All right. See you later, Bobby. And Bobby?" She turned slightly away from Logan. "I love you." When she hung up, she was smiling. "Poor guy. He hates to be sick."

He was asleep when she arrived home. Alex snuck into the guest room and sat beside him. She ran her fingers through his unruly curls.

Bobby stirred, and opened glassy eyes to stare at her.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi," he whispered, stifling a cough.

"Did you eat something?"

"Not yet," he said, and the cough broke through. He turned away from her until the spasms subsided.

"Do you think you can manage pasta?"

He shrugged. "I'll try."

She kissed his salty forehead, and he suppressed another cough.

Alex wasn't long in the kitchen before he joined her. Bobby slid into a seat at the table and rested his chin in the cup of his hand. "How was work?" he asked.

"Fine," she said. "They put me with Logan again. Did you know he's between partners again? I don't know what the guy's doing wrong, but it seems like they're dropping like flies lately."

"He sleeps with them."

"Bobby!"

He coughed. "It's true… well, I'm pretty sure it's true. He gets cozy and they sleep together and…" he shrugged, "somebody breaks it off."

"That's just gossip," she cried.

"I know he slept with Barek."

"What?!"

"I'm only guessing about Wheeler. But Barek… I'm sure about that one."

"Unbelievable," she said as she turned her attention back to cooking dinner. Bobby coughed behind her. "Have you had any cough syrup lately? That's not sounding good."

"It's time for another dose," he said, and before she could pour it for him, he took a hefty swig from the bottle and smiled at her.

"I'm glad you measure carefully," she snarked. "What did you say to Logan on the phone, anyway?"

"Nothing."

"Not good enough, Bobby. I am a detective, remember?"

He coughed twice and furrowed his brow. "I told him… to keep an eye on you."

"Bobby, I don't need a big brother watching over me," she protested.

"I know," he said, coughing again. "My intent was to get Logan to understand… I'm not jealous." And to keep you safe.

"You're not? Good." Alex smiled.

"I, uh… I made another appointment with Dr. Tenorio."

She poured the pasta into the water and gave him an interested grunt.

"I… I kinda left early the last time, and…"

"You did?"

There was a break in the conversation while Bobby coughed. "Sometimes… sometimes it's very hard for me," he explained.

"Oh. I… I understand," she said quietly, though they both knew she didn't, really. It was Alex's way of showing support. She was encouraged that he was speaking to her, but she wasn't trying to force him.

"… and I left early," he coughed, "and so I called to reschedule today."

"Good, Bobby. I'm glad." She stirred the sauce and took a moment to sit at the table with him. Her eyes were sparkling as she took his hand. "I really appreciate all you're doing for… for us."

The cough was mostly gone, it seemed. He wasn't coughing as often, but when he had to, it was often a debilitating episode that left him red-faced and gasping for air.

Bobby kept his scarf over his face until he was inside the building. He let it fall away as he entered the waiting room of the office and signed in. The receptionist made a note of his time and after a few minutes, Dr. Tenorio appeared.

"Robert, good to see you." She held the door open for him as he entered her private office. "I was glad to see that you'd rescheduled. Have you thought about why you left?"

Bobby shucked off his coat and let it fall on the back of the couch. "No, but I have thought about… why...why I'm coming."

She smiled, and gestured for him to have a seat. Then she sat in her own chair, eagerly awaiting his explanation.

"It's… well… I want to be a good father," he said.

She cocked her head in surprise. "Alex is pregnant?"

He nodded. "You see… my father… he wasn't around much… And when he was, well…"

There was an abundance of pain as he struggled to talk about his father. "So you're here, not because of the ultimatum, but because of the baby."

He nodded eagerly.

"Why?"

His face darkened. He glared at the doctor. "My father… thought… that raising boys meant… beating us into submission when we… and… being there for significant… milestones… he bought Frank his first car… he got me my first drink and a smoke… bought us both whores…"

"It sounds like you're very resentful."

Bobby nodded. "That's not what kids need! Even as a child I could see… how… hollow… his attempts at parenting were."

"And you don't want to turn out like him."

Bobby nodded, and suddenly had a burning desire for a cigarette. He rubbed his hands against his pants.

"Robert, where does Alex fit into this?"

He scoffed. "Wh-what? She's my… love, she's the mother of my child, the most important woman in the world to me." He swallowed hard, trying to suppress the tickle that was signaling a coughing fit.

The doctor shifted position, thinking about how to frame her words. "When you say you're here for the baby, I can tell you already have a commitment. To being a parent, to being there."

Bobby nodded.

"Do you think that same commitment is important in your relationship with Alex?"

Again, he scoffed. "What? I'm there for her. I'd do anything for Alex. I love her. She knows that."

Dr. Tenorio smiled. "Tell me again how you caught that cold?"

He hung his head and blushed, and the coughing fit finally overtook him.