Bobby Meets His Match- Chapter 34
Finally- another chapter, in which we get to see a darker side of Bobby, and what a great friend Lester is. And Dr. Bynes has a very unusual experience. We are coming to the end of Bobby's story shortly now. Please leave feedback as I thrive on it!
Lester glanced worriedly across the dark cab of the SUV at the dark haired, scruffy bearded man sitting across from him- his best friend Bobby, who now seemed more like a stranger. The vehicle was silent, not more than 5 words had been said since Lester had arrived, almost 18 hours after he had gotten the call. At first, he thought Bobby was just messing around when he called and said he needed Lester to "get him the fuck out of here, before I lose my fucking sanity." But he had heard the tone in his friend's voice- a tone he hadn't heard in years. Now that he saw the shape Bobby was in he was not just glad he came, he was amazed Bobby was still functioning.
Lester had gotten to the campsite just as Bobby barreled through his last exercise with the finesse of a bull in a china shop, performing a skill a rookie medic could do just barely well enough to pass the class. The commander in charge took one look at what a mess Bobby was and told him to go to the camp infirmary, from which Lester had " sprung " him.
What the fuck was happening here? Well, he was pretty sure he knew but... He stopped the truck and faced his friend, steeling himself for the ordeal of having a real conversation... About THIS.
" Dude"Dude, what the fuck just happened? You look like shit." Bobby did look like shit. His eyes were bloodshot and his face lined. He looked like he hasn't slept in days and he was actually, well, jumpy. Bobby was not known for being jumpy or restless, but now Bobby was almost squirming.
Bobby's voice was tight and strained as he deflected the inquiry away from himself. " How's"How's Cathy? You didn't tell her did you?"
Tell her what? Lester thought. He wouldn't know what to tell her except that the man she loved had apparently gone off the deep end of a shallow pool.
" She's"She's fine, man,- hell of a lot better than you are. I told her I had to do a last minute takedown for Ranger and I might be gone a few days. Steph and Ranger promised to keep an eye on her."
Lester couldn't help being amused at the irony of having Stephanie keep someone else out of trouble. That was like the blind leading the blind. But Ranger would make sure neither of them got into problems, even if he had to lock them both in the building.
Lester was glad as hell that Bobby had called him. His friend needed him more than Cathy did. Lester suspected from the haunted look on Bobby's face that he knew what was wrong but…he waited, and waited, but was still shocked to hear words that he never thought would come from Bobby's mouth.
" Dude"Dude, I am so fucking messed up. I need help. I don't want to be Zeke."
Zeke? Who the fuck was Zeke? And had Bobby, the man of steel, who shot bad guys with his sniper rifle in one hand while patching a bleeding artery in the other actually asking for help?
Holy. Shit. This was surreal. And scary. If Bobby was this fucked up, what did it mean for the rest of them.
The quiet stillness of the room was broken by the cat leaping off the bed as Bobby approached. He slowly lowered his weight to the side of the bed, barely depressing it. His eyes ran hungrily over her small form taking in the sight of her like a dying man eying the oasis in the desert.
She looked so sweet and peaceful and so fucking sexy in his bed, wearing his t-shirt. God, he had missed her so much, the thought of her was the only thing that had kept him sane this past couple weeks. Her gorgeous red hair spilled over the pillows and her lips were slightly parted in sleep. He wanted to kiss her, to feel her soft lips under his. He was so exhausted he couldn't believe he was actually upright, he felt so fucked up, so broken…He wanted nothing more than to lie down beside her and hold her tightly to him, and finally sleep in the warm safety of her arms. But he couldn't wake her. He didn't want her to wake up, to see him like this. He knew he looked like shit, he knew in his current state he would scare her. He did not want her worrying about him. And he didn't want any of the ugliness about him now touching her.
Bobby and the guys had always laughed at Ranger when he broke into Stephanie's apartment just to watch her sleep, but now Bobby totally understood why. Sitting here next to her, watching her breasts rise and fall with her soft breathing, feeling the softness of her skin and the soft steady hum of her pulse under his fingers as he gently stroked her neck calmed him. She looked so beautiful and innocent.
He placed his hand gently on the tiny mound of her abdomen that was his child. He closed his eyes and pressed gently, wanting to feel his baby move within her. Lester and Ranger had both said she had been eating and taking it easy, and seemed to be healthy. He closed his eyes as if trying to draw strength from her to prepare himself for the battle ahead of him.
He pulled his hand back as she sighed and turned towards him in her sleep, and then settled down again. It was getting late and she'd be waking soon, so he needed to go. No fucking way did he want her to see him like this. He stood quietly, but couldn't bear to leave her without touching her. He slowly bent down and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her." I love you," he whispered to her soundlessly as he walked toward the door of his apartment.
He stopped for a moment at his desk and quietly opened a drawer searching for a velvet box he had put in here weeks ago. The sparkle and glimmer of the diamond, even in the low light mesmerized him. He stared at it for several moments, then stared back at the woman he loved sleeping peacefully in his bed, unaware of the darkness threatening to overwhelm him. He sighed, laid it gently on the dresser, and quietly left his apartment to face his demons.
Lester felt his skin start to tingle the second the elevator door opened into the posh exterior office. He hated these places, all antiseptic, and self righteous attitude. No fucking way would he ever step foot in a place like this, not even under torture, except for the dark haired man, his best friend, Bobby.
They had been through hell together, seen the worst life had to offer and come out relatively unscathed. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Bobby- nothing, not that Bobby would ever ask. So, when the one man he would die for asked him to come with him to do the one thing he would rather die than do, he came.
He was here for moral support for Bobby- and to control him if it came to that. But no fucking way was any shrink getting into his head. Not even a cute blonde one.
The last few hours had been full of firsts for Dr. Bynes. She had gotten a call on her personal cellphone late last night from a company called Rangeman. She had no idea how they had gotten her personal number, except that they did personal security. She vaguely recalled the name- one of her patients- Bobby Brown- said he worked for the security company. Not that he was still a patient. He'd come twice, done everything he could to use up the hour without really saying anything , and then gotten the heck out of her office. She hadn't seen him in weeks.
The deep, non nonsense voice on the phone, someone named Tank, of all things, told her to clear her schedule of all patients tomorrow. One of their employees, yes, Bobby Brown, would be at her office when he got ' done'done with a skip" at about 10:00. An amount equalling her regularly hourly rate for the entire morning was being deposited directly into her corporate bank account. There was to be no insurance company involvement, there was to be no third party involvement at all. All confidentiality rules were to apply. The only parties who were to have any knowledge of the sessions where herself, Mr. Brown, and Rangeman.
She expressed surprise at the unusual secrecy and urgency surrounding the session, and that she only dealt with legitimate businesses. Mr. Tank assured her the business was legitimate, but dealt with highly sensitive clients and national security, so the upmost in confidentiality was necessary. He gave her several names, including the mayor of Trenton, and holy shit, even some senators as references as to the legitimacy of the business. She as to expect Mr. Brown about 10:00, and to give his as much time as necessary, and was told that Rangeman would cover any further costs for any additional sessions Mr. Brown might seek under the same terms. She hadn't heard from Bobby in weeks, and suddenly this urgent secrecy?
She pressed the buzzer and a muscular man, shorter than Bobby, with dark brown hair and a seriously hot body swaggered into the room dressed like Rambo. He was dressed completely in black- black cargo pants and a t-shirt that said " Rangeman" that strained over his huge arm muscles. He also had on Kkevlar and she counted at least one gun, what looked like a tazer, and ...oh, my... handcuffs? She felt herself getting hot as she imagined this hot guy using the handcuffs for... the green eyed god came up to her and flashed her aher heart-stopping smile. What the heck? He caught her eyes checking out his clothes and grinned. " Sorry, about the outfits. We had to take down a skip before we came here. " He held out his hand, " I'm Lester Santos, and I believe you know Bobby Brown."
She had to work to hide her gasp as she saw the man next to him. She knew Bobby Brown, but it was hard to recognize this man as Bobby. He was still handsome, but the scraggly beard and bloodshot eyes made him look fierce, almost dangerous. And there was a restlessness about him that was the total opposite of the stillness he had shown before. He was dressed as his partner, but he didn't look like he should be carrying weapons of any kind in his current state. He looked like hell.
So, this time Bobby had brought a ' friend'friend?" " chauffer"chauffer"? " co-worker?" That was unusual. This guy looked pretty battle hardened too. Bobby immediately went over to the table and took off what looked to be three guns, unloaded them, checked the slides, and set them ,them, slides open on the table in the center of the room. He added the tazer and a knife, which he kept sheathed to the array. Well, good to know as messed up as he currently was, he still remembered her rule about weapons. He gestured to the other hot guy, Lester, who moved to the table and began disarming himself of his arsenal. Some kind of silent communication passed between the men and Lester went to stand, parade rest, against the wall just inside the office door his expression blank.
" Bobby, what's going on?" she asked him. Bobby stood in the center of the room, staring into space for a few moments. When his beautiful brown eyes were tortured and glistening with unshed tears as they met hers, " Dr"Dr. Bynes, I don't know if I can fucking do this, but I have to. I don't want to be like Zeke."
Cathy lay in bed, stroking Cinder, who lay next to her purring. She stretched and again wished that Bobby's big warm body was next to her. She smiled slightly as she recalled the incredible dream. She had dreamed he had been here with her last night, that he had stroked her and kissed her. She could still feel the warm heat of his lips on hers. She sighed. He was supposed to be home in a couple of days and she couldn't wait to see him.
Luscious smells drew her out of bed and into Bobby's tiny kitchen. Ella had left her a huge breakfast of French toast with whipped cream, bacon, and eggs. Ella had been so good to her, trying to fatten her up or perhaps compensate for the persistent nausea that had only recently begun to fade.
She made her way back from the bathroom ready to delve into the decadent breakfast when a blue fuzzy box on Bobby's desk caught her eye. That hadn't been there yesterday, had it? She didn't remember seeing it when she explored yesterday. Why would it be here and what was it doing here? She opened the tiny fuzzy box realization hit her mind just as the sparkle of the diamond hit her eye.
"Oh, Bobby!" she whispered.