Tommy gripped the tennis ball in his left hand, drew back and let the ball fly across the backyard with Zeus in hot pursuit. Sitting in the grass near Tommy, Sean clapped his hands and giggled happily. When the puppy returned the ball, Tom handed it to Sean. "Now you frow," he said.

Sean drew his arm back to throw, but when his arm came forward to launch the ball, it slipped from his grip and bounced behind him. Zeus charged around him and grabbed the ball, and both boys laughed.

Mike sat nearby, watching the little guys, and he looked up when the sliding door opened and Bobby came out onto the porch. He studied his friend intently before he nodded. "At least today, you have the sense to look hung over."

Bobby sat beside him on the top step of the deck and scratched his head, folding his arms around his little son when the toddler charged at him for a hug. "Where's Alex?" he asked.

"She went to get pizza for dinner. Harry and the girls went with her."

"Dinner? What time is it?"

"Just after four."

"Really? Hmpf. I...uh, I didn't...Really?"

"Very eloquent." He watched Tom scurry back to Sean and hand the baby the tennis ball. "Would you care to explain why you weren't on the couch this morning and why your wife hasn't been storming around the house slamming things?"

"Why would she? Was she mad?"

"No. Not at all. And that's what I don't understand."

"What do you mean?"

"Buddy, I was the one who brought you home last night, remember? You were all kinds of messed up. Is she blaming Frank for it?"

"Uhm, no. We...talked about it. We talked about a lot, actually. We're good."

"Really? She didn't go postal on you?"

He shook his head. "No. She actually handled, uh, well, me, pretty well. She, uhm, she understands."

"She does? Then maybe she can explain it to me because I don't."

"What don't you understand?"

"Why she's not gunning for your brother and sticking you in the backyard to sleep."

"Frank isn't responsible for my decisions. And...I have my reasons...for the things I do."

"Care to share with the class?"

Bobby picked up a stick and turned it over in his hands. "You know most of my issues, Mike. Everything kind of caught up with me yesterday. I...I don't cope well with loss. You know that. Losing my mother was difficult for me, and then John...but...I don't know how I'm going to handle losing Denise. And it won't be long."

"I know, man. I know."

Bobby flicked his fingernail over the end of the stick. "Can I ask you an honest question?"

"Always."

"Why are you marrying her? I mean, I know you've always cared about her, but in all the years we've been friends, I never sensed any jealousy from you. I never saw any passion or desire from you for anyone but Carolyn."

"Well, first of all, I don't have the same deeply passionate nature you do. I don't think I've ever fallen for a woman as hard as you fell for Alex and Denise. I don't wear my heart on my sleeve. Yeah, I've always liked Denise, and as I got to know her better, I just liked her more. I always loved her for the way she dealt with you. She's a very special woman. My affection for her has been growing until I turned around one day and realized that I do love her. A lot of people may frown on me for marrying a dying woman, but this is something we both want. And it's the simplest way, and the most certain way, for me to take the baby. No courts involved. The baby's mine because she was my wife."

"That's a big responsibility, Mike."

"I know. Hey, I had to grow up sometime, huh?"

"Are you really sure...about the baby?"

Watching Sean, Mike nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. Denise has been worried about who would end up with her baby. It wasn't something she was willing to put on you. She knew you'd take the kid in a heartbeat if she asked you, but you already have a tribe to support and she knows that she's not your wife's most favorite person. She asked me if I had any ideas, and the best one we could come up with was me. Ain't that a kick in the pants?"

Bobby laughed, then winced and rubbed his temple. "The baby will be lucky to have you as a dad," he said.

"I never thought anyone would ever say that about me."

Bobby focused his attention on his stick as he peeled off the outer bark. "Bottom line, Mike. Are you doing it because you love her?"

"Bottom line? Yeah. This is for her and for me, too. I don't want to let her down. I've done that to too many people. And I'm doing it for you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You. I know how you feel about her better than anyone else does. Probably even better than you do. I know you'll sleep better at night knowing her baby is happy and well cared for—and with someone you know. It's something I can do and something I want to do. So it's a win-win situation for everyone. The only way it could possibly turn out better for the kid would be if Denise lived."

"Would you still marry her if she wasn't dying?"

"Yeah, I would. I don't want her to die, Bobby, but I can't do anything to keep her here. Neither of us can."

Mike reached out and touched the stick. Bobby looked up at him, his expression somber. Quietly, he said, "She's a good woman. She never deserved me, not with all the crap I put her through. I'm glad she has you."

"She'll never look at it that way and neither will I. For what it's worth, she loves you. She always has. And she understood that you could never love her back the same way. She accepted that and never tried to change it."

"Maybe things would have turned out differently if she had."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But she doesn't regret it. Do you?"

"No, except that I hurt her."

Mike shook his head. "No, buddy. You didn't ever hurt her. It was all circumstance. Things just didn't work out a certain way, but that's life. And it doesn't change the love in her heart, or in yours."

Bobby was quiet, once more turning over the now-naked stick in his hands. Zeus trotted up to him and placed his mouth around the stick, his tail wagging as he looked up at Bobby expectantly. With a smile, Bobby released his hold on the stick and the puppy took off with it. Mike nudged him. "So, you wanna tell me what happened yesterday?"

Bobby shrugged. "I got overwhelmed by all of it. So much change, Mike."

Mike knew better than almost anyone that Bobby did not cope with change well. "Yeah, I know. How does Frank figure into it?"

"He doesn't, really. He just happened to show up at my mother's grave and he remembered that it was my birthday. He bought me a drink or twelve and then we went back to his place."

"What'd he give you while you were there?"

"Not much. A couple of joints, a couple of beers and two packs of cigarettes. I still have a pack and a little more."

"Why the pot?"

"It's nothing new."

"Since when?"

Bobby sighed. "I guess it's been about six months. Sometime after my first knee surgery in March. They found an arrhythmia during the surgery, so I...I've been seeing a cardiologist since then, about every two to three months."

Mike frowned. "Why?"

"I haven't been good to my body; you know that. The damage that was done to my heart when I was shot back when Maggie was a baby is catching up to me. I'm trying to quit smoking, but my life isn't making it easy. The pot...well, it's a once-in-a-while thing. It was his suggestion, actually."

"Does Alex know, about your heart?"

"She does now. It's nothing to worry about yet, and he's keeping an eye on it."

Mike was quiet for a while, watching Tommy play with Sean and Zeus. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Mike, I, uh, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want anyone to worry. The damage is done and there's no undoing it. All we can do is try to slow down the progression of it."

"And she didn't kick your ass for not telling her sooner?"

"No. At least, she hasn't yet."

"Bobby...level with me. Alex—is she going to be a young widow again?"

"Well, she's younger than me..."

"Dammit, you know what I mean."

"If you're asking if she's going to outlive me...yeah. She is."

"How long?"

"There's no way to know. It could be six months or six years. It could be more, or less. They don't know."

Mike became very quiet as he digested everything Bobby had just told him. Bobby watched him. "Mike?" he said softly. "Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking."

Mike slowly shook his head. "Man...I...As hard as it is losing Denise...I can't..." He stopped to refocus himself. "I can't even imagine how fucking hard it would be to lose you. Alex...the kids...and-and me...What are they doing for you?"

"Everything they can. I don't know what to tell you, Mike."

"Just...tell me you're not checking out any time soon."

Bobby shrugged. "I...I'm doing everything the doctor tells me to do. I don't know if it's too late to change things by taking care of myself now, but I'm gonna try. I'll do everything I can. That's the best I can promise."

Mike knew that he couldn't ask for more, but he sure wanted to. As ridiculous as it sounded, he wanted Bobby to promise him he wasn't going to die. Instead, he bit his lip and looked out at the two little boys playing with the puppy a few feet away. "The kids," he whispered, trying not to sound choked up. "Maggie..."

"I know," Bobby answered. "Believe me, I know."

Mike finally looked at him, his eyes moist. "Promise me you're doing everything you can to make it right?"

Bobby understood only too well how his death would affect the ones who loved him. "I promise."

Mike extended his hand, Bobby took it in his and they shook on it.

It was a very small ceremony, held in chambers of Judge Ida Boucher, who had long been one of Mike's favorite judges. She had been both surprised and delighted when Mike approached her, asking if she would perform the ceremony for them and explaining the urgency of it. Her heart went out to him. She was delighted that he had finally found love and saddened that he was going to lose her too soon. Pleased that he had chosen to come to her, she readily agreed to his request and to the date for which he asked.

Now they stood before her with her clerk standing by with Bobby as witnesses. Bobby had offered to ask Alex to join them, knowing she would have agreed because of the circumstances, but Mike had declined, not wanting Denise to feel any apprehension during the only marriage ceremony she would ever have. Although Denise liked Alex, she knew well that Alex held no love for her. Bobby's wife had spent too many years battling jealousy over the decades-long relationship Denise had with Bobby. It was difficult for her to get past that. Mike felt it best not to draw together two women who had no particular fondness for each other at a ceremony of which one did not approve. It would be too uncomfortable for everyone and he was not going to put Denise through that.

Denise's strength was failing rapidly, and it took an enormous effort for her to venture out to the courthouse, but she refused to be confined to her bed for one of the happiest moments of her life. So she traveled to Manhattan and, flanked by the two men she loved most in the world, she agreed to love, honor and obey one of them for the rest of her life. She had already proven her abiding love for the other, and they knew that would last as well.

Each man held her gently by the elbow, supporting her weight between them. By the time Judge Boucher secured the union and offered her congratulations and best wishes, Denise had no strength left. Mike kissed her tenderly, thanked the judge and carried his wife to the car. Bobby went with them to the vehicle and leaned in to give Denise a gentle kiss. "Be gentle with him," he said with a smile and a wink.

She found the strength to laugh and returned his smile. Gently, she laid a cool hand on his cheek. "Thank you," she said softly.

"For what?"

"Just for being you."

He arched an eyebrow and her smile widened. He laid his hand on her enlarged belly, smiling when the baby kicked him. Then he pulled out of the car and stepped back. Mike gave him a questioning look. "Not coming back with us?"

Bobby absently rubbed his chest. "Uh, no. I have, uhm, something to do."

"Everything okay?"

He nodded. "It's just...uh, one of those things."

Mike met his eyes, and he understood. "Call me if you need a ride or something."

Bobby nodded as he watched Mike get into the car and drive away. He loosened his tie, unbuttoned his top button and walked off down the street.