Medical testing annoyed Bobby, and he just wanted to get it all done and over with. Carol, Bergman's receptionist, tried to schedule as much of it as she could as soon as possible. Almost two weeks passed with some kind of testing scheduled almost every day. He put in later hours at the squad room than his wife, to try to make up for the time he spent away dealing with medical appointments, and his partner stayed as late as he did. The captain noticed.
As Ross prepared to leave for the weekend, two weeks following Bobby's last appointment with Bergman, he approached the partners at their desks. He glanced at Eames' and Albright's desks, vacated hours earlier. "Another late night, gentlemen?"
"We have work to do," Bobby answered.
"How is your case coming?"
"We're looking for probable cause for a search warrant," Mike answered. "If we can't find it, we'll confront the suspect at his office and see if Bobby can get him to say something incriminating."
"When will that be?"
Mike glanced at Bobby, not sure where the captain was going with his questions. "Beginning of the week."
Ross nodded. "Forget the probable cause. Goren has a better chance to make the guy talk. Call it a night, gentlemen."
"But, sir..." Bobby started.
Ross looked at him, and his eyes softened. "Go home and spend time with your family. Both of you."
"Sir, I've been out of the office..."
"I know, Goren. Your wife keeps me in the loop because you won't. Go home."
Bobby looked at Mike, who nodded. He was anxious to see his own family. Silently, Bobby put away the files on his desk and Ross nodded. "Have a good weekend, gentlemen."
Mike was ready to go before Ross was gone. "You want a ride home?" he asked his partner.
"No, thanks," Bobby answered.
"You sure? You look tired."
"I'm good. Go on home, Mike."
Finally, Mike nodded. "Okay. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Yeah, that sounds good."
With a wave, Mike headed for the elevator.
When Ross came out of his office thirty minutes later, Bobby was still there, reading through a file. With an impatient sigh, Ross approached his detective. "I thought I told you to go home, detective."
"Yes, sir. I just, I wanted to finish this."
"Goren, go home. Hug your kids and tuck them in to bed. Love your wife. Enjoy your life outside this damn place, before it's too late."
Bobby looked up at the captain. "Sir, I don't know how much longer my doctor will let me work."
Ross laid a hand on Bobby's shoulder, much like Deakins would have done. "You can't squeeze ten years' work into six months. You do what you can for as long as they let you, but don't overdo it trying to make up for something that's not your fault."
"Sir..."
Ross pulled up a chair and sat facing his detective. "Listen to me. I'll tell you what I want to happen, what I am going to fight for if it comes down to it. You're going to work for as long as they let you, and I appreciate that because you're a damn good detective. You'll get called for a heart, and after the surgery, you'll recover and then you'll come back to work. Maybe you'll have restrictions you didn't have before, maybe not. Either way, I expect you back at work after your recovery, and I will fight for your job. Are we clear on that?"
Bobby nodded. "Yes, sir. Thank you."
"Right now, you have to find the balance between home and work. Trust me when I tell you that home is more important. I think you know that, but try not to get lost in the minutiae. Your family should be at the head of your priority list." Ross reached out and closed the file, laying his hand flat on top of it. "Now go home. I'll see you Monday."
With a sigh, Bobby pushed his chair back from the desk. "Good night, captain."
"Good night, detective."
Ross remained seated as he watched Bobby walk to the elevators. He noticed the limp in his gait and recalled what Deakins had told him about Goren and Eames. They'd fought an uphill battle to be together. The past year had been particularly difficult for them. He wheeled his chair around to look at the pictures on Bobby's desk. Ross knew the importance of embracing one's children while they were still little. He also knew the toll that the job took on family life, the time it carved out of children's lives. His marriage had not survived his career and he didn't see his sons anywhere near as often as he wanted to see them. Goren, by all accounts, was a loyal man, devoted heart and soul to his wife and children, and Eames had first-hand knowledge of what it took to be a cop that his own wife never had. Maybe that gave them an edge that most cops never had.
He stood and picked up a picture of Maggie. Studying the little girl's face, he smiled. She was the spitting image of her father. He replaced the picture and glanced at his watch. It was time to pick up his boys. He left the squad room, determined to have a good weekend with his sons.
Bobby pulled into the driveway just after nine o'clock. He got out of the car, locked it and limped down the walk to the porch. When he went into the house and closed the door behind him, he was accosted by a happy puppy who seemed to grow bigger every day. He leaned over and ruffled the puppy's ears. "Hi, Zeus. Where is everyone?"
The puppy ran toward the stairs as Bobby took off his coat and hung it up. Zeus waited for him, then ran up the stairs ahead of him, stopping again to wait at Maggie's bedroom door. He nosed the door open and trotted in, jumping up onto the bed and curling into a ball at Maggie's feet. The little girl was reading a book, and she looked up at her puppy when he returned to the bed. When her door creaked, she turned her head toward it to see who was coming into the room.
Expecting one of her brothers, her little face lit up when she saw her father. "Daddy!"
She jumped out of bed and ran into his arms. He lifted her into a bear hug and asked, "How was your day?"
"Good. Mrs. Harris played a math game with us."
"How did you do?"
"I did good, but Harry did better!" She smiled with pride at her brother's success. "He's good at math. I'm better at reading."
He carried her to the bed and set her down."What are you reading?"
She slid under the covers and he tucked her in, then sat on the edge of the bed. Holding up her book, she said, "It's a Magic Tree House book," she told him, holding it up for him to see. "It's the first one. My teacher let me take it home, and when I finish it, I can get number two. She has all-a Magic Tree House books and she said I can read 'em all!"
"Dinosaurs Before Dark," he read. He felt bad because he hadn't been able to read to her over the past two weeks. "I, uhm, I'm sorry I haven't been able to read to you, lately."
"It's okay, Daddy. Mommy telled me you been at the doctor a lot. She said they're tryin' to make you better."
"They are, but still..."
She patted his arm and leaned over to her nightstand, grabbing a bookâthe Little House book he had been reading to her. "I got it right here whenever you're ready to read," she said with a smile. "I 'member what happened, so don' worry, Daddy."
"Let me see Mommy and I'll come back to read you a chapter."
She smiled broadly. "Okay!" she answered happily.
He gave her a kiss and stood. "I'll be back," he promised.
As he left the room, she spoke to her puppy. "Didja hear that Zeus? Daddy is gonna read us chapter thirteen of Little Town on the Prairie!"'
Zeus wagged his tail and batted his paw in the air. She giggled and went back to reading her Magic Tree House book.
The door to the bathroom down the hall was closed and the light was on. Bobby knocked lightly on the door and opened it. Alex was kneeling on the floor beside the tub. Tommy and Molly were in the water, soapy and splashing. Both kids shouted his name with excitement and Alex smiled up at him. "How was your day?" she asked.
"Not bad," he replied, sitting on the closed toilet beside her and reaching down to tickle his son.
"How do you feel?"
"I'm good."
"You stopped on the way home?"
"Uh, yeah. Down by the park. No one was there."
The park was just a half mile away, and he'd stopped to smoke before he came home. "Dinner's in the microwave," she said. "Go change and eat while we finish in here."
"I promised Maggie I would read to her."
"It's Friday, Bobby. She'll be up for a little while. Go eat your dinner."
"Dinner, Dada," Tommy parroted.
"Din, Da!" Molly added, splashing with both hands.
Bobby softly laughed. "Okay, okay. I'll go eat dinner."
He reached out and ran a finger along his wife's jawline. She leaned into his touch and he trailed his finger up and around her ear. She bumped her shoulder against his knee. "Go," she said with a smile.
He leaned over and placed a kiss on each child's wet head, then he kissed Alex on the lips. "I'm going," he replied.
He paused at the door to watch his wife play with the children before he left the room. After changing into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, he went downstairs bare-footed, heated his dinner and sat down to eat.
Alex had chided him into stopping on his way home to smoke so he would be hungry for his dinner at least part of the week. The pot made him hungry for more than dinner, but he ate his evening meal most nights and he had gained back three of the pounds Bergman had fussed at him for losing. He was feeling better and, according to his wife and his best friend, he was looking better as well.
He cleaned his plate, rinsed it and set it in the dishwasher, then he went back upstairs. Alex was putting Molly in her pajamas and Tommy was running around the baby's room with no clothes on. As soon as he came into the room, Tommy squealed and ran to him. He lifted the little boy into his arms. Molly made a happy noise and tried to turn over as he approached her changing table. "Let Mommy dress you, squirmle," he said. "Where's Harry?"
"In his room," Alex answered.
With a nod, Bobby said, "I'll get this little monkey dressed for bed and say hi to Harry."
"Thanks," Alex replied. "I really wasn't feeling up to chasing Captain Bare Bottom around the house to get him dressed."
He laughed lightly, leaned over and kissed her, lingering until the two kids protested, wanting kisses of their own. Bobby obliged and then left the room with Tommy. He got the little boy ready for bed and set him on the floor to play with his Duplo blocks as he went down the hall to Harry's room.
He knocked lightly on the door and pushed it open. Harry was sitting on the floor with half a dozen cars around him. He looked up sharply, then relaxed when he saw that it was his father. Bobby sat on the bed. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked.
"Jus' playin' cars," Harry answered.
"Can I have a hug?"
Harry smiled and jumped to his feet, throwing himself into Bobby's waiting arms for a hug. Bobby held the little boy against his chest, enjoying the contact and the sensation of Harry's arms, squeezing him as tightly as he could.
"I heard you played a game in math today," Bobby said.
Harry leaned back in his arms. "We did, an' I winned!"
"I'm very proud of you," Bobby replied, which made the little boy beam with pride.
"I telled Miss Harris that you been helping me with my math, and she said she can tell."
Bobby smiled. "I'll have to keep helping you, then. We'll work on it tomorrow. Right now, I'm gonna go read to Maggie. Do you want me to come back to read to you?"
Harry thought about it for a minute before he shook his head. "That's okay, Daddy. I wanna finish drivin' around town, and you needa read to Maggie. She misses you."
Bobby kissed Harry's head. "Okay. I'll be back to tuck you in."
"Okay!"
Harry returned to his cars and Bobby went to read to Maggie.
When he was done with Chapter Thirteen, Bobby read to Tommy, then he and Alex tucked in all four children. Once they were settled in bed, Alex slid into his arms and gently stroked him as she nestled her head beneath his chin. He softly groaned and tightened his arm around her. His need for her hadn't lessened any and he enjoyed her tender caress.
He groaned softly. "I...uhm...I talked to R-Ross today," he said.
"What did he have to say?" she asked.
"He...wants me to come back to work, after the surgery," he said.
"That's good," she answered, determined to be positive about the outlook for his life.
"Yeah," he agreed.
Her hand stopped moving and he shifted, moving his hips toward her. "Don't stop," he whispered, a hint of pleading in his tone.
She smiled. "Sorry," she apologized, resuming her light stroking.
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, enjoying her touch as it became more firm, a little faster and a lot more pleasant. She didn't stop again.
A/N: Magic Tree House is a series of children's books by Mary Pope Osbourne.