This is a great story, ciaddict. I really love backstory, and you make Bobby and Annie's relationship so sweet and convincing. I laughed at the smartass line... Keep it up.

Thanks for all the kind words, guys! I know for sure now that it will be ten chapters and I hope to finish them this weekend. At least, that's the plan. We'll see how RL cooperates.

Early in the evening the hospital administrator met with the heads of all the departments to discuss the need to continue with the disaster plan. Although there had been few wounded survivors so far, and the outlook for more was dim, it was decided to continue for another twenty-four hours and then reassess. The staff was asked to stay. They brought extra cots into the lounge so that the staff could stagger “nap breaks” throughout the night. Because cell phones were not working and land line phones were overloaded, few people were able to contact loved ones. The hospital administrator offered to allow the staff to take turns using a few of the computers in order to access their e-mail.

Annie knew that her grandfather and the rest of her family must be worried. She didn’t know how much information the Carmel Ridge staff was allowing Frances to have, but she would be worried also. When her turn came to use the computer, she sent a message to Janey first. She was worried about how the children were reacting to what was going on. She told Janey that she would be at the hospital for at least another twenty-four hours; she had not been able to contact Bobby, but to just tell the kids that he was working and would be home as soon as he could. Her grandfather didn’t have e-mail, but she sent messages to her uncle and cousins telling them that she, Bobby, and the kids were all OK and that she and Bobby were working. She sent an e-mail to Carmel Ridge with the same information. She did not mention that she had not talked to Bobby since just after the second plane hit the south tower, or that she did not know where he was.

Around 7:00 PM, Annie was just discharging a little girl who had fallen off her bike and needed sutures on her leg, when she was called to the reception desk. Janey was there with Ally, Phillip, and Andrew. All three of the children ran to her and she knelt down, put her arms around them, and held them tightly. It felt so good to hold them.

The boys were excitedly telling her about their day and the games they had played in Janey’s backyard. Annie noticed that Ally was quiet and that she was watching the TV at the desk with an anxious look on her face. So Annie told the receptionist that she was taking her dinner break and would be in the cafeteria. She herded the kids away from the TV.

Annie wasn’t really hungry, but she bought a salad for herself. Janey told her that the kids had already eaten dinner, so she let them pick out dessert. As they sat at a table far away from the TV that had been brought into the cafeteria, she listened to more of the boys’ stories. They were too young to understand the magnitude of what was happening, and found it a treat to be able to spend the night with their best friend on a school night.

Ally was quiet as she ate her ice cream and finally she asked, “Mommy, where is Daddy?”

“He’s working, Sweetheart, like I am.”

“Is he in his office?”

Annie hesitated and glanced at Janey before answering. “I don’t know where he is exactly. But I don’t think he is in his office.”

Andrew spoke up. “Daddy is looking for the bad guys”, he stated confidently.

Phillip said, “Yeah, Daddy always gets the bad guys.”

Annie leaned her chin on her hand and smiled at their unquestioning faith in their father. Ally seemed to accept the boys’ explanation about Bobby, but then asked, “Are all those people in the waiting room hurt?”

“No, most of them are just here looking for family that they think might have gotten hurt today.”

Ally thought about this and then asked, “And you’re taking care of the hurt people?”

She struggled with how much to tell them about the death toll. She was always honest with her children, but she didn’t know how to tell them that most of the people in those towers when they collapsed had not been hurt, but had died. She decided now was not the time. Later, when she and Bobby were together, they would talk to the kids about how serious this was.

“Yes, Ally, we are taking care of hurt people who come here. The doctors and nurses at all of the hospitals are staying all night just like we are doing here, so that we can take care of any hurt people.”

That seemed to satisfy Ally and she went back to her ice cream. Annie sat and talked with the kids and with Janey for an hour, then she knew that Janey needed to get them home so she could put them and her own kids to bed. They walked back to the ER and Annie walked outside with them to say goodbye. Ally noticed the wall where family members had been hanging missing person fliers, and stopped. She stared at the fliers solemnly and silently. Annie knelt down behind Ally and put her arms around her.

“You know that your Daddy is going to do his very best to help find those people.”

Ally didn’t answer, but she turned and put her arms around her mother’s neck and buried her face against her. After a moment, Annie kissed the top of her head and told her that they needed to go. She kissed each of one of them and told them to mind Janey (she looked emphatically at the boys when she said that), and that she hoped to be home with them tomorrow night.

Annie watched them walk away to the car. Then she turned and looked at the wall of fliers. She fought back tears as she looked at all the pictures and descriptions. Finally she turned away from the fliers and looked in through the glass doors at the people sitting quietly in the waiting room, hoping to see a loved one being brought in by ambulance. She sighed deeply and walked back in and went to work.


“I’ll be back in six months—is that too soon to get married?”

She couldn’t answer because he kept kissing her. Finally she pushed him away so she could catch her breath.

“Six months? I think we can do that. I just want a small, simple wedding. Is that OK with you?”

“Whatever you want. Just tell me where and when. You know, I won’t be able to help you much from Korea. But, I know my mother would love to help you, i..if you want, that is.”

“Your mother knows?”

He smiled uncertainly, not knowing if she would be angry that he told his mother before asking her. “Those errands I had to run with my mother yesterday? We went ring shopping. She helped me pick this out.”

Again she saw his insecurity in his eyes. Only with his family was he like this. She loved strong, confident Bobby. But insecure Bobby tugged at her heart, making her want to put her arms around him and tell him everything would be OK. She took his face between her hands and kissed him.

“The ring is beautiful and I would very much like for your mother to help me plan the wedding. I know the girls will help me, but I don’t have a mother and if yours will stand in, I will be honored.”

They sat on the bench until late that night, kissing and planning their future. The wedding would be in November. Six months after that Bobby would leave the Army. They discussed it and it didn’t make sense for Annie to quit her job for nine months in order to join him in Korea. As difficult as it would be to be separated for so long after being married, they agreed that Annie should stay in her apartment until Bobby returned to New York. Annie suggested waiting to get married until he was discharged from the Army, but Bobby was emphatic that he wanted to marry her as soon as possible.

Bobby left for Korea the next day. Annie called her grandfather to tell him the news. He was ecstatic for her and said he was happy to welcome Bobby into the family. She told her roommates next and they squealed with joy. She didn’t want to bother Janey on her honeymoon, but she knew she would never forgive her if she didn’t tell her right away. Janey was thrilled and more than happy for this interruption. She promised they would get together as soon as she returned so they could plan. She called Frances the next day and nearly every day after that. They had lunch together at least once a week.

The next three months flew by. Bobby tried to call at least once a week and they continued writing long letters every day. The plans came together quickly. They would be married in the small church that Grandpa had attended his entire life and the reception would be held in the banquet room of a small inn. He asked her if she wanted to wear her mother’s wedding dress. After trying it on, she decided she would wear it. It would need very little alteration. She felt that by wearing the dress, she would have her parents with her on her wedding day.

For several days in a row, Annie had been calling Frances. They were planning to have lunch on Annie’s next day off. But each time she called, Frances seemed distracted and some of the things she said didn’t make sense. She kept talking about bugs in her apartment. Annie suggested she call the super if she was having a problem, but Frances just said that she would find them.

On the day they were to meet for lunch, Annie went to Frances’ apartment. She heard yelling coming from the apartment as she came up the stairs, and then a crash. She ran to the door and knocked. There was no answer, but she could hear Frances yelling inside. Annie tried the door and it was unlocked, so she opened it and went in calling Frances’ name.

She couldn’t believe what she saw. The apartment looked like a tornado had hit it. Papers and books were strewn everywhere. The coffee table and one of the chairs in the living room were turned on their sides. Cabinet doors were open and the contents lying on the floor. She didn’t see Frances as she walked from the living room to the kitchen, where she saw the same mess. Cupboards open, dishes and cooking utensils strewn on the counters, table, and floor.

Annie called Frances’ name again. Now she heard the yelling again, louder and distinct. “I won’t have bugs in my home! I won’t!” It was coming from the bedroom. Annie followed the sound and found Frances pulling shoes from the closet. The dresser drawers were open, and as in the other rooms, the contents strewn on the floor. Annie stood in the doorway for a moment before speaking.

“Frances? What is going on? What are you doing?”

Frances ignored her and continued to dig through the closet, muttering to herself. Annie went over to her and gently touched her shoulder. Frances whirled around and looked at her. Annie was shocked at her appearance. Frances, who was usually so meticulous with her grooming and her clothes, looked as though she had not bathed in days. Her hair was dirty and standing up as though she had been running her hands through it. She was wearing a nightgown and bathrobe that were wrinkled and looked like she had been wearing them for days. She looked at Annie with wide eyes.

“Did you find them? I can’t find them. But I hear them, I know they’re here. Bobby, where’s Bobby? He’ll find them. He always finds them.”

“Bobby’s in Korea, Frances, you know that. What are you looking for? I’ll help you.”

Frances looked at her blankly, then said, “No, no, no, no. Bobby finds them. Frank can’t ever find them, but Bobby knows where they are. Tell Bobby, just tell Bobby. He knows how much I hate bugs. He will come, he’ll find them.”

She went back to digging in the closet. Annie wasn’t sure what to do. She went to the bathroom, which was in the same shape as the rest of the apartment. The medicine cabinet was empty, so she searched through the mess on the floor and found a bottle of medicine, an antipsychotic. She looked at the date on the bottle, the directions, and then she opened it and counted the pills. It looked as though Frances had not been taking her medication for at least two weeks. She rolled one of the pills into her hand and went to get a glass of water.

Back in the bedroom, Frances had moved from the closet and was digging through all the clothing on the floor. Annie squatted next to her and said as gently as possible, “Frances, I need you to take this pill, OK? Then I’ll help you find the bugs. Please take this.”

Frances looked at the pill in Annie’s hand for a moment and then hit her hand, knocking the pill to the floor. “No, no, no, no, no! Get it! Get that bug! Where’s Bobby? He knows how to find them! Where is he?”

Annie sighed and picked up the pill. She went to the living room. She found the phone and looked for an address book or list of phone numbers. Frances went to the kitchen. Annie could hear her rummaging through the mess on the counters and the floor, yelling about bugs. She dialed the phone number for Bobby’s small studio apartment on the base, but there was no answer. She looked at her watch. It was 12:30 PM, which meant it was 1:30 in the morning in South Korea. If he wasn’t home at that hour, he must not be on base. She knew that sometimes he traveled during an investigation.

Annie finally found a list of phone numbers on the floor and there was a number listed for Frank. She hoped it was a current number, since Bobby had told her Frank moved around a lot. She called the number and Frank picked up on the third ring.

“Yeah?”

“Frank?”

“Who wants to know?” He wasn’t sounding very friendly.

“Frank, this is Annie Paine, Bobby’s fiancée.”

There was silence for a moment, and then he said, “Annie? Oh sure, Annie. How are you? Hey, Bobby told me you guys are getting married. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, and I’m fine. Frank, I’m with your mother right now. It looks like she hasn’t been taking her medications and she’s hallucinating and tearing the place apart looking for bugs and I don’t know what to do for her.” She knew she was talking too fast. She paused and took a deep breath.

Frank told her, “Hey, whoa there, slow down! Just give her a pill. She’ll be fine.”

“I tried, but she won’t take it. She thought it was a bug. I just….I don’t know what to do, Frank.”

“Aren’t you a nurse or something? You must have something you can give her.”

“Yes I am a nurse, but I don’t carry drugs around with me. I only give what is prescribed by a doctor—in the hospital. I’m out of my element here. Please Frank, can you come over? I don’t know what to do.”

Annie hadn’t heard Frances come into the living room, so it startled her when she began yelling, “No, no, no, no, no! Frank doesn’t know! Bobby, I need Bobby! Where’s Bobby?”

Frank told Annie, “I’d like to help, but you heard her. She wants Bobby, not me. She always wants Bobby when she gets like this.”

Annie was getting frustrated with his attitude and Frances’ constant yelling wasn’t helping. “I know she wants Bobby. But you and I know he can’t be here. Please, please come over here and help me.”

“Hey, she doesn’t want me there, OK? She wants her precious Bobby. It’s not my fault he decided to join the Army and ‘see the world’ and leave me here to take care of our crazy mother. I can’t do anything with her when she’s like this, and she doesn’t want me around. So I stay away. If Bobby cares so much, let him come back and take care of her.”

Annie’s temper flared. “So you can’t ‘handle her’ when she’s not worshipping you as the perfect son? When she gets difficult to handle, you just bail? How many times has Bobby sat and listened to your mother recite the litany of your accomplishments and what a perfect son you are—and yet he manages to stick around and help her when she needs it!”

Frank was yelling now. “You don’t know what you’re talking about! You think because you screw my brother and go to lunch with my mother that you know anything about my family? You don’t know squat!”

The line went dead. Annie hung up the phone and turned to look at Frances, who was now pulling the cushions from the couch while continuing to yell. There was a loud knock at the door and she went to the small foyer. She had left the door open and there were two uniformed police officers standing there. Before she could get to the door, Frances screamed and pushed past her. She ran to the front door and tried to slam it shut. One of the officers put his hand up and kept it from shutting. Frances kept trying to close the door.

Annie tried to talk to Frances, but she wasn’t listening. So Annie put her arms around Frances’ waist and pulled her away from the door. Frances turned and ran back to the living room. Annie opened the door and the officers came in. They introduced themselves as Officers Randall and Johns.

Officer Randall told Annie that there had been several complaints from neighbors about yelling and crashing noises for two days. Annie led them to the living room, where Frances was standing in the middle of the room. When she saw the officers, her eyes widened with fear and matters went from bad to worse. Frances began yelling again and throwing books and other items at the police officers. Annie tried to get to her to stop her, but the officers were quicker.

They grabbed her on either side and pulled her arms behind her. Officer Johns handcuffed her wrists behind her. Frances was hysterical now, screaming incoherently and crying. Annie tried to get to her to comfort her, but Officer Johns warned her to stay out of the way as they pushed Frances towards the door. Annie was crying now as well.

“Please let go of her! She doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s schizophrenic and I think she’s off her meds. Please! You’re scaring her!”

Officer Randall told her, “You need to stand back, Ma’am. She just assaulted two police officers. We are going to take her to Bellevue for a seventy two hour hold. You can see her there once they get her admitted.”

Annie watched helplessly as they half dragged Frances out of the apartment. She followed them out to the street where they put her in the back of a squad car and drove away. She was shaking as she went back to the apartment and looked around at the devastation. She wasn’t sure what to do. She called Frank again and told him what had happened.

“They took her to Bellevue for seventy two hours. Frank, she’s really scared. I think it would help if you would go see her.”

Frank laughed bitterly. “She’s spent so much time there they probably have a room with her name on it. She’ll be fine. They’ll have her so full of drugs pretty soon that she won’t even know if I’m there or not.”

“Frank, please…..”, but he had already hung up. Annie sat down on the couch and put her face in her hands for several minutes. Finally she sighed and got up. She searched until she found Frances’ keys, used them to lock the door as she went out, and then she headed for her car. She drove to Bellevue and asked to see Frances. But after keeping her waiting for two hours, they told her that only family would be allowed to see her until the next day.

Not knowing what else to do, Annie drove back to Frances’ apartment and let herself in. She tried calling Bobby’s apartment again, not really expecting him to answer. Then she called the base switchboard and left a message for him to call her as soon as possible, either at her apartment or his mother’s.

She spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening trying to put the apartment back together. She was able to finish the living room and kitchen before going home for the night. She would return the next day to work on the bedroom and bathroom. Bobby didn’t call that night. Back at her apartment she told Sue and Emily what had happened, and called Janey to talk to her. Janey wasn’t working the next day and promised to help Annie finish cleaning Frances’ apartment.

In the morning, Annie drove to Bellevue again. They let her see Frances, but she was medicated. She sat in a chair in her room, staring out the window. She barely acknowledged Annie’s presence. Annie sat with her for an hour then kissed her cheek and promised to come back in the afternoon.

When she let herself into Frances’ apartment, she found Frank there going through the desk. He turned when she came in and smiled.

“Hey Annie. Bobby’s ‘little woman’. How ya doin’?” She looked around at the living room that she had cleaned the night before. Papers from the desk were spread out haphazardly on top of the desk and on the floor. Frances’ purse was empty and lying on the floor, the contents had been dumped on the sofa. She looked at Frank, saw that his pupils were dilated, and realized that he was high on something. Bobby said cocaine was his drug of choice lately and she assumed that was the culprit. He seemed friendly and happy at the moment and she didn’t want to provoke him, but she was irritable from worry and lack of sleep.

“What are you doing here, Frank? If you are looking for your mother she’s at Bellevue. Or did you come to help clean the apartment?”

“Hey, the apartment doesn’t look so bad. I don’t know what you were all upset about yesterday.”

“It doesn’t look bad in here because I cleaned up”, she said looking pointedly at the mess Frank had made. But he seemed oblivious, so she went on. “Have you been in the bedroom or bathroom? That is how the entire apartment looked yesterday. I could use some help getting it cleaned up before your mother comes home. I’m going to take her some clothes and something to read when I go back this afternoon. Would you like to go with me?”

Frank snorted derisively. “Like she would even know I’m there. No thanks. The crazy thing just doesn’t appeal to me. I’ll come see her when she gets home. Well, I gotta go. Supposed to meet someone. See ya.”

Frank paused at the front door and turned back to her. “Lucky Bobby, marrying a nursemaid for our crazy mother. Good deal.”

Annie didn’t reply, she just watched him leave. She sighed and turned back to the mess. She checked the contents of Frances’ purse and wallet. There was no money in the wallet. She didn’t know if it was empty before Frank came in or not. But her checkbook was there and all the checks seemed to be accounted for. As she was cleaning up the desk there was a knock at the front door. It was Janey and Annie was so happy to see her that she hugged her. She told her what had happened with Frank. Janey had no problem believing he had taken money out of his mother’s purse. They finished cleaning the apartment. It went quickly with two of them working.

After putting together some clothes and books to take to Frances, they got ready to leave. They were planning to get some lunch before Annie went back to Bellevue. She considered the possibility of Frank coming back and this time possibly taking Frances’ checkbook. She thought it would look bad if she kept the checkbook herself, so she took it out of the purse and found a hiding place for it in a box of pictures in the back of a closet.

When Annie arrived at Bellevue, Frances was in bed. She opened her eyes and watched as Annie showed her the clothes and books she had brought and hung the clothes in the small closet. She kept up a steady stream of chatter, telling Frances stories about the people she had seen at lunch and in the hospital. Frances didn’t respond but she kept her eyes on Annie. Annie raised the head of the bed so that Frances was semi-reclining. She sat in the chair next to the bed and began to read one of the books she had brought, a book of poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

She sat and read for the most of the afternoon. She made Frances get up and walk with her to the activity room, and told her more stories. She helped her back to her room and read to her until supper was brought to her. She sat with Frances and made sure she ate at least half of her food. After supper, she helped Frances to dress for bed, then sat and sang softly to her until she fell asleep.

The doctor came in once to check on Frances. He wouldn’t tell Annie anything about her condition because she was not family, although he assured her that Frances was receiving the treatment she needed.

Annie got home around 9:30 that night. Although it wasn’t late, she was exhausted. The drama of the day before, the sleepless night, cleaning Frances’ apartment, and spending long hours with her talking and reading nonstop were taking their toll. Emily had made spaghetti for dinner and she and Sue insisted Annie eat something. Then she went to her room and lay down on her bed, too tired to change into her pajamas. The phone next to her bed rang and she picked it up.

“Annie?”

“Bobby!” She sat up on the bed. “Bobby, I’m so glad to hear your voice.”

“I just got back on base and I had an urgent message to call you. What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

She was so relieved to hear his voice she almost began crying right then. But she kept control as she briefly explained what had happened with his mother, and where she was.

“Oh, Annie, I’m so sorry you were caught in the middle of this. She’s been doing so well….I guess I just….I thought maybe this time it would last. You shouldn’t have felt like you had to handle it. I should have made sure you had Frank’s phone number. I’m sorry.”

“I did call Frank. When I couldn’t reach you, I found his number in your mother’s desk and called him. But he wouldn’t come over. He said that she only wants you when she gets like that. She was asking for you. She said you knew how to find the bugs.”

Bobby sighed. “Bugs. That’s an old one. Its been around since I was a kid. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve crawled around on the floor catching ‘bugs’. Are you OK?”

“I’m fine. I just didn’t know what to do. I tried to give her one of her pills, but she wouldn’t take it. Then she started throwing things at the police officers and everything was so out of control. They took her to Bellevue on a seventy two hour hold. She’s sedated, but this afternoon she was at least awake. The doctor won’t tell me anything because I’m not family.”

“I’ll call them and see what I can find out. If they can keep her long enough to get her medication regulated she should be OK—until next time. But you don’t have to worry about this. I’ll call Frank and he’ll take care of getting her home and settled.”

“Frank?! I don’t see him helping. I couldn’t get him to come over yesterday, and today he refused to even go see her in the hospital. He was high when I saw him today, how is he going to take care of her?”

“Yeah, I know he doesn’t like going to the hospital. We spent a lot of time when we were kids visiting her there. I’ll talk to him. It’ll be OK.”

Her fatigue and the stress of the last two days made Annie’s tone sharp. “I don’t think you’re getting this Bobby. Frank bit my head off yesterday. He said you joined the Army so that you wouldn’t have to take care of her, that you left him to do it. He called her crazy. He yelled at me, said I didn’t know anything about your family, and he hung up on me.” Reliving that phone call made her angry and her voice became louder. “I’m standing in the middle of his mother’s apartment that she has torn to pieces, she’s totally out her mind, yelling about bugs, and he just hangs up on me!”

Bobby’s voice was soft and persuasive. “Annie, I know he’s got a problem with drugs. It hasn’t been easy for Frank.”

“Now you sound like your mother. ‘Poor Frank, nothing ever goes right for him.’ Maybe you and your mother need to stop making excuses for him. Why are you defending him?”

Bobby’s voice was tinged with anger. “I’m not defending him and I’m not making excuses for him. I’m just saying you don’t know Frank, you don’t know what it was like for him, for us.”

“I know a junkie when I see one! And I know what codependency looks like. He isn’t going to lift a finger to help your mother because all he cares about is himself and where his next fix is coming from.”

Bobby’s voice was angry and harsh this time. “Stop it! Frank was right, you don’t know anything about this family. He was taking care of Mom when he was just a kid, and he was taking care of me, too. Who do you think got me up and made me get ready for school when our mother was crawling around her room looking for bugs? Or when she would really go crazy and get locked up? He was the oldest and he was the one that it all got dumped on. Dad wasn’t around to help, but he sure was around to yell at Frank if he got a B instead of straight A’s. It wasn’t easy for me, and it sure wasn’t easy for Frank. Who can blame him for not wanting to come running every time she gets like this? You’ve seen her like this one time, Annie, one time. Do you know how many times Frank was the one to call the hospital and watch her get dragged away? You don’t have any right to judge him.”

Hot, angry tears were running down her face. “No right? You and Frank wouldn’t even know where your mother is right now if it weren’t for me. The police would have taken her away and you just wouldn’t have gotten an answer when you called. And how long would it have taken Frank to figure out she wasn’t home? I’m the one who was here, Bobby. I’m the one who had to stand there and watch her get handcuffed and thrown in a police car. I’m the one who spent yesterday and today cleaning her apartment. I’m the one who spent a good part of today reading to her and keeping her company.”

She took a deep breath and went on, “I’m sorry Frank had such a crappy childhood, but it doesn’t excuse abandoning his mother now. She is sick and she needs someone to be there for her when she gets like this. Frank needs to get over himself and take some responsibility for his own life. And you need to stop being your mother’s whipping boy and stop letting your brother and your father treat you like crap!”

“Don’t tell me what I need, or what my family needs. You’ve known them for, what? Three months? And now you’re an expert on what we all need? You think that because you were able to charm my mother into liking you, now you can save our whole family. You’re just going to tell us what we’ve been doing wrong and how to fix it, is that right?”

“Now you sound like your brother. Do you know what he said to me, Bobby? Do you want to know? He said that I think I know all about your family because I’m ‘screwing’ you and because I’ve had a few lunches with your mother. He said you joined the Army so you could stick him with taking care of your ‘crazy’ mother. He said you are marrying me so you will have a nursemaid for your mother. Do you know he was at her apartment today when I went to clean it? And he sure wasn’t there to help clean. He made a mess going through her desk and her purse. What do you suppose he was looking for, Bobby? Her wallet was empty. Do you think it was empty when he got there?”

“Stop it! Just stop. Do you think you’re telling me anything I don’t know? I know my brother’s an addict. I’ve been there. I’ve seen him when he’s high; I’ve seen him when he’s trying to kick it. You don’t have any proof that he took anything from her wallet or her apartment. And you don’t have to worry about my mother anymore. I’ll call the hospital and take care of arrangements, and I’ll call Frank and work things out with him.”

“Fine, you ‘work things out’ with Frank, since you two are the experts and I don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s getting late here. I need to go.”

Bobby’s voice softened. “Annie, I didn’t mean….”

“Don’t. Just don’t. I need to go. Goodbye.”

“OK. I….OK. Goodbye.”

After she hung up Annie took a long, hot shower so that her roommates wouldn’t hear her crying. She didn’t sleep very much for the second night in a row. She lay awake thinking about the phone call. She and Bobby had never had a fight before, only good-natured debates about art or movies. She didn’t like ending the call while they were both still angry, but it was difficult to resolve things when they were thousands of miles apart. She finally fell into a restless sleep just before dawn.

End Chapter 7

wow I bet they both didn't sleep, very good chapter.

another great chapter. I bet Bobby was squirming on his end of the phone at the end of the call.

That was a magnificent chapter, Ciaddict. I am so proud of Annie that she is still the woman Bobby loves; and still faithful to her relationship with God despite of what happened to her. That's some kind of strong spirited woman you got there! Good job!

ooooo, conflict! A long distance fight? I HATE those.......nicely done with Chapter 3. Loved the whole interchange with the boys and Ally and Annie in the cafeteria. Great job!

I hate it when Bobby/any woman fight. Doesn't matter who the woman is. This one is no exception. Bobby is a very hard guy to get to know and to open up to.

I did review over at FF, I assume you saw that. That is I reviewed once I found out the alerts weren't working. I just found that out this morning and apparently this has been going on for 2 days. Geez.

I wondered what was going on. It always sends me an alert when I post a chapter or story (which is weird, since I know I just posted it!), but it didn't do that with the last chapter. I hope they have that fixed soon because I have several that I have on my favorites.

My internet service and cell phone (both same company) have had no signal today. My daughter thought it was because of the smoke over the Valley because of all the fires around CA. But my son's cell phone was working. Anyway, this is the first time I've been able to get on-line since early this morning. And its late, so I won't be able to stay long. But it did give me an opportunity to finish the next two chapters, which I have sent off to Spook. Tomorrow I will work on the last chapter--hopefully I'll get it finished tomorrow.

I had several also (4) that were updated and I didn't receive, of course that was as of yesterday morning. I think the authors have now realized what is going on and are now holding off posting until it is fixed, however long that is gonna be. I checked this morning and I see very little updated today. I just checked. I have 1 today. I don't know if FF.net will catch up or not from when they were down. We'll have to see.

That is weird. I was having trouble yesterday with server problems with my internet provider so I am not sure what is going on. I had issues with FF and this site. Hope them fires get under control.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
CHAPTER 8

“Excuse me, nurse. Have you seen my husband?”

Annie looked at the small, frail-looking, elderly lady. She had to be in her eighty’s. She was standing at the reception desk, holding a picture of a handsome, silver-haired man.

“This is my Harold. Harold Scott. I’ve been looking for him all day. Is he here?”

Annie took the picture from the woman and looked at it closely. Her heart sank as she recognized the distinguished-looking man. Harold was there. He had been found a few miles from the World Trade Center and brought in by ambulance. He must have been close to the site at some point because his clothing was covered with the dust and debris from the area. There was an inhaler in his pocket, but no wallet.

The inhaler indicated a history of lung disease. When the ambulance brought him in, he was having difficulty breathing and could not answer any questions. They had worked to save him, but the dust from the collapse of the buildings was too much for his already damaged lungs. He had passed away just thirty minutes earlier, with Annie holding his hand. He had not been able to answer any questions about who he was, and so had been listed as a “John Doe”.

She looked at the hopeful face of Harold’s wife. She was sure the man in the picture was the man whose body was still in one of the rooms just a few feet away.

“Mrs. Scott, its one o’clock in the morning. What are you doing out so late? Does your family know where you are?” Annie was stalling, hoping there was family she could call before giving Mrs. Scott the bad news.

“No, you see I sneaked out of the apartment. My granddaughter was staying with me and I didn’t want to wake her. But I have never been able to sleep very well without Harold next to me, and wondering all day where he could be….well, I just had to get up and do something. We just celebrated our sixtieth wedding anniversary in June, you know. Since I couldn’t sleep, I decided to just go looking for him myself. I called a cab so I could go to the hospitals in the area. This is the third one I’ve been to. Is he here?”

“Why don’t you give me your phone number so I can call your granddaughter? I’m sure she would want to be with you while you look for him.”

“No, dear. She would just want to take me home and we would argue. I just want to look for Harold.”

Annie sighed and couldn’t delay any longer. She needed some way to identify the man and she didn’t want to give Mrs. Scott false hope. So she told her, “Mrs. Scott, there is a man here who passed away. He looks like your husband’s picture, but he doesn’t have any identification on him. Can you tell me what your husband was wearing?”

The hopeful look faded from the woman’s face as she answered, “He had an appointment with our stock broker, so he was wearing a suit. A black suit with a white shirt, and a purple tie with silver designs on it. Our great grandson gave it to him for his birthday.”

The black suit and white shirt were right, but there was no tie. He must have taken it off and lost it at some point during the day.

“Oh, and his pocket watch. He has a gold pocket watch. It belonged to my father and I gave it to him on our wedding day. He always carries it with him.”

That confirmed it for Annie. The man had somehow lost his wallet, but inside his jacket pocket was a beautiful old gold watch.

“The man who passed away had a gold pocket watch. Ma’am, why don’t you come and sit down while I call your family? I think it would be better if one of them identified him.”

The woman’s eyes filled with tears, but she maintained her composure.

“I don’t need to sit down, dear. I will give you my phone number so you can call my granddaughter. But I would like to see Harold, please”, she said firmly.

Annie looked at the woman for a moment, and then she smiled sadly at her and nodded her head. She wrote down the number Mrs. Scott gave her. Then she took her arm and escorted her to the room where Harold was lying. Mrs. Scott approached him and stood looking at his face for a moment. She looked back up at Annie.

“Yes, yes….this is Harold. His clothes are all dirty. What happened to him?”

“I’m not sure, Mrs. Scott. He was brought in by ambulance a few hours ago. We think he must have been in the vicinity of the World Trade Center when the buildings collapsed, and then was wandering around all day. He didn’t have a wallet with him; he must have dropped it or it fell out somewhere. But he did have an inhaler with him. Did he have asthma? Or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)?”

“Yes, he had COPD. He uses oxygen at night, but he doesn’t always need it. He always hated taking those portable tanks with him. He told me he would be fine with just his inhaler. I should have insisted that he take the tank.”

“I don’t think it would have made a difference. The dust was just too much. We have had strong healthy firefighters and police officers in here today with breathing problems because of it. Someone with your husband’s condition just couldn’t overcome all that dust.”

Mrs. Scott looked at Annie and nodded. She picked up Harold’s hand and held it in both of hers. She asked, “May I stay with him for a little while?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll get you a chair. Then I’ll call your granddaughter.”

She got the chair for the woman and then she made the phone call. She explained to the granddaughter that Mr. Scott was there and had passed away, and that Mrs. Scott had come looking for him. The granddaughter thanked her and said that she would call her parents to meet her there.

Annie went back to check on Mrs. Scott. She hadn’t sat down in the chair. She was standing by her husband’s body, holding his hand in one of her hands and caressing his face with her other hand. She looked up when Annie came in and told her that her family was on their way. Her face was wet.

“Tell me something…..Annie, is it? Tell me something Annie. Was someone with Harold when he passed away?”

“Yes, Ma’am, there was a doctor, a resident, another nurse, and myself. I…um….I was holding his hand when he passed away.”

“Good, I’m glad of that. Harold hated to be alone. He always wanted me in the room with him. He loves sports and I hate them. A few years ago we finally bought a second TV, so that I could watch something else while he was watching sports. But it was a waste of money. He just didn’t like being in a room alone. He insisted that I be with him. So I would read or knit while he watched his sports. I’m glad that he wasn’t alone when he died.”

Annie didn’t answer because she was afraid she was going to cry. Mrs. Scott smiled at her through her tears. Then she turned back to her husband. She sat down in the chair, still holding his hand. Annie felt a lump in her chest. As she walked out of the room, Mrs. Scott began to sing softly.

It was about an hour before Mrs. Scott’s son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter arrived. Annie checked on her several times and offered to get her water or tea. Mrs. Scott politely refused. She just sat holding her husband’s hand, and occasionally she reached up to lovingly caress his face. When her family arrived, Annie showed them to the room and left them alone.

Mrs. Scott’s son finally convinced her that it was time to leave. As they were walking out, Mrs. Scott stopped at the desk where Annie was standing. She reached out as though to shake Annie’s hand. But instead, she pressed something into Annie’s hand. It was the gold watch.

Mrs. Scott said, “I want you to have this, Annie. You have been so kind to Harold and to me. I know he would want you to have it.”

Annie looked at the watch in her hand and couldn’t speak for a moment. But then she pressed the watch back into Mrs. Scott’s hand and firmly closed her fingers around it.

“You are very sweet, Ma’am. But I can’t accept this. I want you to take this watch home and when you are ready, give it to one of your children or grandchildren. I think your father and your husband would want you to keep it in the family.”

Tears filled the elderly woman’s eyes as she looked up at Annie and smiled tremulously.

“Annie, are you married? Do you have children?”

“Yes, I am married and I have three children.”

“Treasure every minute with them. One day you will wake up and realize that sixty years have passed in the blink of an eye. But if you have lots of happy memories, it makes all the difference.”

Annie watched them walk away and the lump in her chest seemed to grow so big that she thought she couldn’t breathe. She abruptly told the receptionist that she was taking a break and walked out of the ER. There weren’t many places to be alone in the hospital, but she desperately needed to be by herself. She went to the stairwell that led down to the basement. She went in and let the door slam shut behind her.

Annie sat on the first step. She put her face in her hands and leaned down to rest her hands on her knees. The tears she had been holding back all day began to flow. All the worry about Bobby, the look on her daughter’s face as she looked at the missing person fliers, the sorrow on the faces of people looking for family members, the fatigue, the waiting and hoping that they would begin bringing survivors in from the rubble, the growing knowledge that there were very few people who survived, and the sad acceptance on the face of the woman who had just lost her husband of sixty years all welled up in her until she wanted to sob and to scream. Instead, she cried and cried, hugging herself and rocking back and forth.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, but finally she had cried herself out. She sat quietly, bent over and hugging her knees. She heard the door open quietly and someone came in, but she didn’t look up until a tissue was handed to her. She looked up and saw Dr. Myers, one of the attending doctors in the ER. He silently held out the tissue to her. She took it and wiped her eyes, then blew her nose. He didn’t say anything, and she was grateful because she didn’t want to talk to anyone. They sat there in the stairwell in silence for several minutes. Finally Dr. Myers handed her a clean tissue. Annie wiped her face and stood up. He stood up with her, still saying nothing, and opened the door for her. She walked out of the stairwell and turned to him.

“Thank you”, she said simply. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. He just smiled at her, nodded, and turned to go back to the ER. Annie watched him walk away. She went to the women’s bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Then she went back to the ER and back to work.


The ringing of the phone woke her. The clock said 10:00 AM. Her head hurt and she felt like she was in a fog. She picked up the telephone. “Hello?”

“Ms. Paine? This is Gina Morris at Bellevue Hospital. I’m Mrs. Goren’s nurse. She is asking for you. Her doctor is going to be here around 11:00 and Mrs. Goren wants you to be here with her to talk to him. Will you be able to come?”

She looked at the clock again. An hour to get dressed and get to the hospital. She sighed and told the nurse she would be there as soon as she could.

When she arrived just after 11:00, the doctor wasn’t there yet. Frances was up and dressed. She was more alert, but her affect was still somewhat flat. Annie sat and talked to her for a few minutes until the doctor arrived.

He sat on the side of the bed and told Annie, “Mrs. Goren said she wanted you to be here and she signed release of information to allow me to speak to you about her condition. She is responding well to the antipsychotic medication. She is still having hallucinations, but the sedative is helping to keep her calm. We would like to keep her here for another week or two to make sure her drug levels are therapeutic and she is responding to treatment. However, since she doesn’t seem to be posing a danger to herself or others, we can’t keep her if she refuses—which she does. She insists she wants to go home and she has promised to comply with her treatment. But we are concerned that she lives alone. I think she would do better if someone were with her, at least for a while, to make sure she is taking her medication.

“Her son, Robert, your fiancé I believe, has been in touch with me from Korea. He had hoped to contact his brother and ask him to stay with her for a week or two. But he hasn’t been able to contact him yet and neither have we. We still have the rest of today and tomorrow morning. But legally I have to release her tomorrow afternoon, whether arrangements have been made or not. Mrs. Goren thought you might be willing to stay with her, if we aren’t able to make arrangements with her son.”

Annie looked at Frances, who reached over and put a pale, frail-looking hand on hers. She said, “I know I don’t have any right to ask you this. But Frank is so busy with his job and Bobby isn’t here. I’ll understand if you say no, I just….I want to go home.”

Annie sighed and squeezed Frances’ hand. “You have every right to ask me, Frances. I’m almost family, aren’t I? I’ll make arrangements at work to take off next week and I’ll come and stay with you. Don’t worry, its going to be OK.”

She stayed a while longer discussing Frances’ medication and treatment regimen with the doctor. Then she went to her hospital and spoke with her supervisor. She explained the situation and asked for a week’s vacation. She went back to the hospital and spent the rest of the afternoon with Frances. Bobby called and talked to his mother, but he didn’t ask to speak to Annie and she didn’t ask to speak to him. Frances told him that Annie would be staying with her when she went home, but Annie had no idea what he said about it.

By the time visiting hours were over she was more exhausted than she ever remembered being. She told Frances goodnight and promised to be back first thing in the morning. She went home thinking how very much she wanted to climb into her bed. She took a quick shower and dressed for bed, after assuring her roommates she had already eaten at the hospital. The phone rang as she was getting into bed. She knew immediately who it was.

“Hello.”

“Annie”, Bobby’s low voice was soft. Suddenly the toll of the last two days was too much and she began to cry, holding the phone to her ear but unable to answer. She cried for a long time. Bobby didn’t say anything. When she was able to get herself under control and find her voice, she took a deep breath and apologized.

“Bobby, I’m so sorry. You and Frank are right. I don’t know anything about what your family has been through. I was just scared and I……I just wanted…..I’m sorry.”

“No, Baby. I’m sorry. I had no right to say those things to you. You are part of this family and you can say whatever you want to me. Listen to me, OK? You were right about Frank. I keep hoping he’s going to get his life together, but he’s a junkie and he doesn’t care about anyone but himself. I finally got hold of him, and you’re right. He won’t even go see her in the hospital and he definitely won’t be going to stay with her and take care of her. I told him he can’t talk to you like that again. And….and…I told him that we aren’t sleeping together.”

“You told him what?” For some reason, the fact that Bobby told his junkie brother about her virginity struck her as hilarious. She began to giggle, then to laugh. Tears were running down her cheeks again, but this time from laughter. She could hear Bobby calling her name and he sounded concerned, but she couldn’t stop.

“I’m s..sorry”, she finally gasped.

“Annie, are you alright? What’s so funny?”

“I’m fine, really. I just….it hit me….” She couldn’t go on for a minute, and then she composed herself and asked, “Did you really tell Frank that I’m a virgin? What did he say when he found out you aren’t even getting any sex out this relationship?”

Bobby chuckled and didn’t answer right away. “He called me an idiot.” Annie howled with laughter and now she could hear Bobby laughing with her.

When they had both calmed down, Bobby told her, “Mom told me that you are going to stay with her. You don’t have to do that you know.”

“I know I don’t. But I’m going to do it.”

“It’s not too late to run for the hills.”

“Yes it is. It was too late the day you took that lollipop from me in the ER.”

He chuckled again. “I love you, Nurse Paine.”

“I love you too, Sergeant Goren.”

“I wish I could kiss you right now.”

“Me too.”

“So…..what are you wearing?”

Annie started laughing again. “You really know how to ruin a Kodak moment, don’t you?”

“It’s getting late over there and I suspect you haven’t slept much the last two nights. So I’m going to say good night. And I love you.”

“Good night. And I love you too.”

Annie stayed with Frances for two weeks. After the first week, she felt it was safe to leave her alone while she was at work. By the end of the second week, Frances seemed almost back to normal. Although there were times that she heard voices and occasionally she complained about bugs, she was able to care for herself again. Annie called her every day to remind her to take her mediation and ask how she was doing. On her days off she went to see her to make sure she was taking her medication and seeing her psychiatrist.

She knew that Frances had tried several times to call Frank, but was not able to reach him. Bobby called his mother once a week and when he called Frances complained that he was so far away. Annie began to notice that the more frustrated Frances was that she could not contact Frank, the more she took it out on Bobby. When she talked to him on the phone, it sounded as though Frank were coming to see her every day, although Annie knew that he had not been around. She continued to claim that Frank was a scientist with a research company, but Annie had not seen any evidence that he actually had a job. Nevertheless, Frances frequently compared Bobby to his “scientist” brother—always unfavorably. Annie decided to stay out of it and let Bobby deal with his mother in his own way. Until the day Frances turned to Annie with her complaints about Bobby.

After a call from Bobby one day Frances told Annie, “I don’t know why Bobby joined the Army. He’s been in Germany and now Korea. I think he just wanted an excuse to stay away from the family. He could have gone to college like Frank did and stayed here close. But, oh no, he wanted to get away.” She became more agitated as she talked. “He just wanted to be rid of me, his crazy mother. Frank stayed here, he has never been ashamed of me. But Bobby has always resented me. He never wanted to take care of me. He says he is done with the Army when his time is up, but I don’t believe it. He’ll find a reason to stay and go half-way around the world, as far from his crazy mother as he can get.”

“Stop it”, Annie ordered and Frances looked up at her in surprise. Annie sat down on the sofa next to her and took one of her hands in hers. “Frances I want you to listen to me very carefully. The first time I met you I wanted you to like me because I knew it was important to Bobby. But then I started to care about you, and now I love you. But Bobby is the most important person in the world to me. And you can’t talk about him like this. I don’t like you talking to him like this either, but he’s a big boy and it’s between the two of you. But around me it has to stop. Do you understand?”

Frances nodded silently. Annie squeezed her hand and smiled. “Good. Now let’s go get lunch.” That was the last time they discussed it. Frances was careful not to complain about Bobby to Annie. She continued to give him a hard time when she spoke to him, but not as much if Annie were in the room.

Bobby returned three days before the wedding. Annie thought her heart would burst with love and pride when he walked through the airport gate in his uniform. The next day they drove to Connecticut. Bobby’s family and their friends coming from New York arrived the day before the wedding. The small inn where the reception was being held was owned by a long-time friend of Annie’s grandfather and she gave them an amazing discount on the rooms for all the visitors. Sue and Emily were staying at Grandpa’s with Annie, as well has her cousin Marian. Janey left her new husband at the inn and insisted on spending Annie’s last night as a single woman with her old roommates. The morning of the wedding they served her breakfast in bed just as Annie had done for Janey, and they all sang “Goin’ To the Chapel.”

Annie stood in the bride room of the church wearing her mother’s wedding dress. She was surrounded by Marian, Janey, Sue, and Emily. The girls were chattering and laughing but Annie was silent, looking at her reflection in the full-length mirror. When Grandpa knocked on the door, her friends left them alone. He looked at her and his eyes filled with tears.

“You look so much like your mother did the day she married your father. They would be so proud of you.”

“Oh Grandpa. I love you.”

Now Annie was crying. Her grandfather hugged her and then he said a prayer for her and for Bobby and for their marriage. He kissed her cheek and told her he would meet her in the foyer to walk her down the aisle.

There was another knock on the door and Frances came in. She smiled at the sight of Annie in her wedding dress, and kissed her on the cheek.

“Annie, I just want you to know how happy I am that you are marrying into our family. I’ve never seen Bobby so happy, and I’ve always wanted a daughter. I know I can’t take your mother’s place, but I would be very proud for you to call me ‘Mom’. If you want to, that is.”

Annie thought how fruitless it was for her friends to spend so much time putting her makeup on her, since it seemed that she would be crying it all off before the ceremony even started.

“I would be very happy to call you ‘Mom’. Thank you. And I plan to keep on making Bobby happy because I love him so much.”

Frances hugged her then wiped her tears away. “OK, enough of that maudlin stuff. Do you have something borrowed, something blue, some old, something new?”

Annie laughed. “Yes, I have it all covered. The garter, of course, is blue. I borrowed Janey’s little beaded purse from her wedding, and inside that I have the handkerchief that my mother carried the day she got married. And for something new, I have this bracelet that Bobby gave me last night.”

She held out her arm to show the delicate gold bracelet.

“Good, so you are covered. But, would it be OK if you had two things that are ‘something old’? This belonged to my mother and she gave it to me on my wedding day. I want you to have it. I think it will be lovely with your dress.”

Frances opened a jewelry case to reveal a beautiful string of pearls. Annie’s tears started flowing again. Frances put the necklace on her and hugged her again before going to be seated.

Annie would be very happy later that the ceremony was videotaped because all she could remember was seeing Bobby in his uniform waiting for her as she came down the aisle. Frank was his best man and seemed to be sober. Lewis and Annie’s cousins were his ushers. Marian was the maid of honor and her three roommates were the bridesmaids. It was a lovely ceremony and she was glad to see on the videotape that it went smoothly.

The reception at the inn was beautiful. She thought again that her heart might burst when Bobby took her in his arms for their first dance.

There was no alcohol served at Annie’s insistence, but she suspected that William and Frank had been drinking between the ceremony and the reception. But she was glad to see that they were behaving themselves. They even seemed happy for Bobby. Frances was also having a very good day. She was enjoying her role as mother of the groom.

Bobby danced with his mother and Annie danced with her grandfather. She danced with her new father-in-law and found him to be completely charming. Frank asked her for a dance and she followed him onto the dance floor. As they danced Frank smiled at her, and then looked pointedly at the pearls Frances had given her.

“Well, this family doesn’t have much of value but you managed to find something worthwhile, didn’t you? I see Mom gave you the ‘family jewels’. Congratulations.”

Annie did a slow burn and considered several comebacks. Mostly she wanted to just slap his smug face and walk away. She looked over at Bobby and saw that he was watching them. She knew he could read her face, even from that distance, and would realize something was wrong. So she smiled at him, then she smiled up at her brother-in-law.

“Tell me something Frank. Did it take you a long time to learn how to be such a jerk, or did it come naturally to you?”

Frank laughed loudly and attracted attention. He smiled down at Annie and said, “You know, Annie, I think you and I are going to have fun.”

“Oh, I doubt that it’s going to be fun. But it will be honest.”

He laughed again. “Yeah, it’ll be honest.”

Neither of them saw Bobby approaching until he tapped Frank on the shoulder and asked, “May I cut in?”

Frank laughed again, gave Annie a mock bow, and walked away. Bobby pulled her into his arms and looked down at her.

“What was that all about? I could see you were hurt and angry. What did he say to you?”

Annie saw the anger burning in his eyes. She smiled at him and said, “I don’t want to talk about Frank on my wedding day, OK? I’ll tell you about it another time. Just dance with me.”

She felt him relax. He leaned down to kiss her and then held her close as they danced. She looked into her husband’s eyes and thought that she had never imagined it was possible to love someone so much. She felt as though her heart would burst. Annie closed her eyes and laid her head against Bobby’s chest as she tried to burn this moment into her memory.


End Chapter 8

This is very beautifully written, may I say. I hadn't come across it before. Thank you for sharing it!

Aw they made up and got married. Very sweet. Such sadness that Harold died and his poor wife had to suffer thru that. ::sobs:: Poor Annie missing Bobby and wondering where he is. You are just ripping my heart out here but still a great story.

You did another outstanding job with this chapter. I can't wait for the next one. I have to go play "go fish" with The Princess, then we're all going to pick up The Son from youth group and surprise the kids with a trip to Coldstone (found a good coupon.....yum!), so, hopefully I can get stuff to you later....or maybe in the morning..........

Great job again. I can't wait for the next chapter. Is it gonna be their wedding night? Or would Annie rather not share that? Cool if she doesn't, Bobby can be so hot with his women that our computer screens would just burn up!

The wedding night?? ::begins fanning:: The possiblites. . .

Your chapter is...



... ciaddict! Great imagination you have! I love this 'Lunch' thing which reminds me a lot of you Please, keep it up!

just checking for the next chapter. Anybody seen Bobby lately?


::wanders off::

"Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya Tomorrow, you're always a day awaaaaaay"

you know that i never get tired of your golden voice, mom! mwuah!

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
CHAPTER 9

Around 5:00 AM, Annie tried sending an e-mail to Bobby’s work account. She hoped that maybe he would go back to the squad room at some point and check his e-mail. She went into the doctor’s lounge and lay down, but couldn’t sleep. She lay there in the dark, listening to the even breathing of the others taking a sleep break. She thought about Bobby dancing her around the kitchen. Was that only yesterday? It seemed like weeks ago. She began to pray silently. She prayed for Bobby and Alex, the other detectives with MCS, Captain Deakins. She prayed for her children, for her grandfather, Frances. She prayed for the victims and the families. Finally she relaxed and dozed off for a few hours.

The morning of September 12 was much like September 11 had been, sunny and warm. Yet everything had changed. The staff continued to watch the news. And they continued to wait for victims. But the ER remained quiet, except for families searching for missing loved ones. Even the normal traffic of car accidents, broken bones, heart attacks were less than usual. It was as though everyone in the entire city was holding their breath as they watched the events unfolding at the World Trade Center, and wondering if there would be more attacks.

Throughout the day Annie checked her e-mail because the phones still were not working consistently. She received e-mails from her family, thankful that she and the family were OK. She received one from the administrator at Carmel Ridge telling her that Frances was worried, but reassured that she and Bobby were working. Janey sent her one telling her that Bobby had not returned home during the night and that she had left a note on their front door telling him where Annie and the kids were. But there was nothing from Bobby. She sent him another one anyway. She needed to feel that she had some connection with him and this seemed to be the only way. She told him how much she loved him.

The staff continued dealing with people looking for loved ones. Many of them came in over and over. They made the rounds of all the hospitals, as well as placing fliers all over the city. The fliers now covered the wall outside the hospital. Every time Annie went outside for a breath of fresh air, the sight of those fliers broke her heart.

Hospital administration finally decided they did not need to keep so many of the staff. Schedules were rearranged to allow for more staff than usual, just in case the rescuers began finding survivors. They brought in volunteers to deal with the family members searching for missing people. Annie was one of the people who would be going home tonight and returning in the morning.

She left at 7:00 PM. It was thirty three hours since she had arrived at the hospital, just over thirty four hours since the first attack—and since she had talked to Bobby. She walked through the waiting room and the families waiting quietly. She stopped to look at the fliers on the wall again. Then she turned and headed home.

The owner of the inn had given them the bridal suite for their wedding night. The next day they were to drive to a small inn in upstate New York for their honeymoon.

Annie and Bobby had discussed their wedding night once during a phone call several weeks earlier and Bobby expressed concern that it would not be enjoyable for her since it would be her first time. She just laughed at him.

“You know that I’m a nurse, right? I know all about the anatomy and physiology of coitus. I’ve seen more penises than you have. I’ve probably inserted catheters into more penises than you’ve ever seen. I think I’ll survive.”

There was silence for a moment before Bobby answered. “Are you going to talk like that on our wedding night? Because you’re making me hot!”

Annie laughed. “Absolutely. Sexy medical terminology it is. Shall I tell you about all the prostate exams I’ve assisted with?’

Bobby moaned, “Oh baby!” And they both dissolved into laughter.

What Annie discovered on her wedding night was that, although she knew the “mechanics” of making love, she was completely unprepared for the intensity of both the sensations and the emotions. Her tears afterward frightened Bobby, thinking he had hurt her.

But she smiled at him and said, “Oh, we are gonna do that a lot!”

Bobby laughed in relief. He would find out that Annie’s tears were a regular part of their lovemaking simply because she was so overwhelmed with emotion.

He grinned at her and asked, “Do you regret waiting so long?”

She giggled and replied, “No, not at all. But I do regret that I didn’t meet you about ten years ago.”

They both laughed and then Bobby brought her to tears again as he made gentle, passionate love to her.

They both wished they could stay at the inn forever, but Bobby only had two weeks leave. All too soon Annie had to see him off at the airport as he returned to Korea one last time. This was the most difficult parting yet, but Annie didn’t give in to her tears until Bobby was safely on the plane.

It was strange returning to her apartment. She was a married woman, but living just the way she had as a single woman. She went back to work and life resumed pretty much as it had before the wedding. Bobby called once a week and they wrote long letters almost every day. She called her mother-in-law every day and saw her frequently on her days off. It would be another six months before Bobby returned, but at least he would be home for good then. A month before he returned, she found a small apartment for them and moved into it.

After he was discharged from the Army Bobby applied for, and was accepted into the NYPD academy. Bobby continued his friendship with Declan Gage, even after he was widely criticized for publicizing details about a serial killer, who then disappeared. She met him a few times, along with his sad-eyed teenage daughter. It was obvious the girl craved attention from her father that was not forthcoming. At least it was obvious to Annie. It didn’t seem to be obvious to either Declan or Bobby. She was horrified the one time she visited the Gages’ home by the widely displayed photos of gruesome murders and torture. She told Bobby that she supported his pursuit of a career in law enforcement, but that she could not live with those kinds of photos in her home, especially when children came along. She insisted that if he had to bring files home, they be kept securely locked up where she would not come upon them accidentally.

Once he was working for the NYPD, Bobby went to college at night, thanks to the GI bill. He graduated with a degree in criminology. He insisted that they live on his salary alone and put all of Annie’s salary in savings. As a result, by the time Ally was a year old they were able to make a nice down payment on a house. Annie was thrilled to find a house they both loved next door to her best friend, Janey. After that, most of her paycheck went to house payments as Bobby was determined to pay off the mortgage as quickly as possible.

They were so happy when Annie became pregnant. Bobby was tender and attentive throughout her pregnancy. Annie could never forget the day Ally was born, when the doctor put her in Bobby’s arms for the first time. His face was full of wonder and his eyes brimmed with tears. Ally had opened her big blue eyes and gazed into her father’s brown ones. Annie could see that she would forever be her Daddy’s girl.

A year after Ally was born, William Goren died suddenly of a heart attack. It was a difficult time for Bobby. He was dealing with his own grief and unresolved issues between him and his father. At the same time he had to take care of all the arrangements and clean out William’s apartment. Once he found out William had not left any money, Frank was nowhere to be found. He did, however, put in an appearance at the funeral and played the doting son to his grieving mother. Frances took the news of her ex-husband’s death very hard, and Annie realized for the first time that Frances really had loved him.

It was around that same time that Annie began going to church again. She rediscovered the faith of her childhood and quickly became very active in the church. She joined the choir and a women’s Bible study group. She began working in the soup kitchen run by the church. She took the children to church faithfully. She read Bible stories to them and taught them to pray. Bobby didn’t fully understand her newfound faith, but he always supported her in whatever she wanted.

Frances’ mental health deteriorated after William’s death. She wouldn’t take her medication or see her psychiatrist. The hallucinations returned with a vengeance. More than once she disappeared for days at a time, to be picked up by the police wandering the street. Despite her talk about Frank and his “career” and the constant unfavorable comparisons of Bobby to his older brother, she became more and more dependent on Bobby. When she was hallucinating and afraid, it was Bobby that she called for. Unfortunately, this was happening more and more frequently.

Finally, just before the birth of the twins, Bobby went to court to request that he be named her conservator and then he arranged for her to be admitted to Carmel Ridge Treatment Center. Frances was extremely angry with him and for months refused to see him. Annie visited her regularly, but Frances refused to discuss Bobby. It was Annie who took the newborn twins to see her for the first time. Eventually she began to do well with the supervision and structure of the facility. She finally agreed to see Bobby and they somewhat repaired their damaged and fragile relationship. They settled into a routine where Bobby called her every day and went to visit her at least once a week. Frank visited Frances occasionally, but months would go by without anyone hearing from him or knowing where he was. Frances always claimed he was just too busy with his “important research job” to visit. Annie and Bobby didn’t try to dissuade her from her belief.

Annie discovered that Bobby was right about his brother. When he was clean and working his program, he was actually a very funny and interesting person. She would watch Bobby and Frank talking about books, science, astronomy, and so many other subjects. They laughed easily together. Bobby was so happy during those times and Annie always prayed for them to continue. But they never lasted long. Frank would begin gambling, “just for fun”, and before long he would be using drugs again. Then he would drop out of sight for months at a time. Even when he was clean and sober, she and Frank had an uneasy relationship. There was always tension between them and Frank seemed somewhat disdainful of her. The children, on the other hand, loved their Uncle Frank. He played with them and made them laugh. He was a wonderful uncle—until he would disappear yet again.

Bobby advanced quickly within the NYPD, thanks in part to the college classes he took, from patrol to detective, then to Narcotics. Annie was not happy with the four years he spent there, but she supported him as always. Before going to Narcotics, Bobby had always talked to her about his more interesting cases, although he didn’t give her many details until a case was closed. The Narcotics division was different, especially because of the undercover work that he did. He rarely talked about his cases. He always told her when he was undercover and gave her a phone number for his Lieutenant in case there was an emergency. She was happy when he transferred to the Major Case Squad. He seemed happy, too. His training in profiling was an asset to him there and he thrived on getting into the minds of suspects. Bobby talked about Declan Gage at times and wished he could consult with him on some of his cases. But Declan seemed to have disappeared into obscurity and Bobby lost contact with him. Annie never said it, but she was happy Declan was not around.

Life settled into a happy routine. That routine was severely disrupted and tested when Annie was attacked in the church kitchen and the child she was carrying died. But Bobby and her faith saw her through that difficult time, and she thought life would return to normal. Until the planes flew into the World Trade Center.


End Chapter 9

One more to go, guys! It might take a couple of days, but shouldn't be too long.

oh I love it, will you have Annie mention Nicole?

Thanks JRyan! No mention of Nicole in this story, but I do have plans for her in a future story. Who can resist Nicole?

Another great chapter! Can't wait for the next one!

You have plans for Nicole???

Another great chapter, cousin! You checked your email today? I sent you 2 chapters early this morning.........

I did, but I can't open your attachements, remember? That whole docx thing (which I totally don't understand). Can you copy and paste them in an e-mail? I'm anxious to read them.

Thanks for the kind words. Almost done. I'm just not happy with chapter 10 yet.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
CHAPTER 10

It was dusk as Annie drove down her street, and lights were going on inside houses. But as her house came into view, she saw that Bobby’s car was not in the driveway and there were no lights on. She pulled into the driveway, shut off the engine, and just sat for a moment. She could see that Janey’s car was missing next door and wondered where she had gone. Annie had sent her an e-mail telling her that she should be home no later than 8:00 PM. The children must be with her, because they probably would have seen her pull up and come running out if they were in Janey’s house. She looked up at the house that she loved so much, the house she and Bobby had been so proud to buy, the house that contained so many happy memories. She stared at the dark windows and the tears threatened to fall again. She laid her forehead against the steering wheel and said another prayer for Bobby.

She got out and walked up to the front door. There was Janey’s note for Bobby; she pulled it off as she unlocked the door and opened it. She stepped in and closed the door, not turning on any lights just yet. As she turned back to the living room, she gasped at the dark outline of a man sitting on the landing of the stairs.

“Bobby!” Annie dropped her purse, keys, and the note in a pile on the floor and rushed to where he was sitting in the dark. She knelt down on the step just below him, threw her arms around his waist, and buried her face (and her tears) against his broad chest. Bobby didn’t say anything. He just put one hand to the back of her head and put his other arm around her shoulders. He buried his face in her hair and held her tightly. They held each other in the dark silence of their home for a long time.

Annie pulled back to look up at his face. She saw dust in his dark, curly hair and on his clothing. He had removed his jacket and tie and loosened the collar of his shirt. His black leather slip-on shoes were also covered with dust. She reached up and held his face between her hands. He looked down at her, still silent. She couldn’t read his expression in the dark, but she could feel the dampness on his face. She pulled his head down to her and planted soft kisses all over his face, coming at last to his lips. He pulled her tightly against him again as they kissed. When the kiss ended he leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. Annie wrapped her arms around his back again and held him closely.

Finally she said, “I’ve been so worried about you. I was terrified you were in one of the buildings. I kept trying to call you or at least call the squad room, but I couldn’t get through.”

He sighed and stood up, pulling her up with him. They walked over to the couch and sat down. Bobby pulled her onto his lap and kissed her again. Annie put her arms around him, laid her head against his chest, and stayed silent as he began to talk. It seemed that once he started, he couldn’t stop the memories from tumbling out.

“After I talked to you yesterday morning, the entire squad headed out. We wanted to go to the site, but MCS was sent to do traffic control. Eames and I were directing traffic on Pearl when the first building fell. We heard this rumble and we just stood there watching it. It was unbelievable. And that dust cloud just rose up and spread out towards us. We didn’t get the full force of the blast like they did closer to the site, but the dust spread out and covered everything.

“We stayed there until noon. We tried to keep the street open for emergency vehicles to get through, but we heard that the vehicles that were already there were covered in debris and were useless, and that vehicles coming in couldn’t get close. People were coming out of the area on foot, covered with ash and dust. It looked like a war zone.

“Chain of command was a mess. One PP was supposed to be the command center. But field commanders weren’t keeping in contact. At first it was because the radios had so much chatter that they were useless. And you know the problems with the phones. But even after the radios cleared up, the field commanders just weren’t utilizing One PP. They were setting up command posts and then moving them around. It was hard to find who was in charge.

“Around noon, Captain Deakins found Eames and me. He had some uniforms take over on traffic control and he sent us to Pier 94. Dr. Rodgers was there and the M.E.’s office was setting up a temporary morgue. That’s where we stayed all day and night and into today. They were already bringing bodies in when Eames and I got there.”

Bobby paused. He laid his cheek on the top of Annie’s head and tightened his arms around her. He was holding her so tightly that it was difficult to breathe, but she stayed quiet and let him regroup. Finally he continued.

“It was bad, Babe, really bad.” His voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. “We helped with identifying the bodies. A lot of them had identification on them. The Missing Persons Center brought over pictures that families provided and we identified some that way. But then….th….there….were…..” He stopped again. “There were th….the…body parts.”

He held her tightly again and she could feel his tears falling onto her head and her face. After about ten minutes, Annie pulled away. She sat up and turned so that she was facing him and straddling his lap. She held his face between her hands and looked into his eyes. She knew that the haunted look she saw in them would be there for a long time, probably for the rest of his life whenever he remembered the events of that day. She kissed his wet cheeks.

He sighed and said, “It will take weeks, months to identify them. Some people will probably never be identified. When I finally left, I didn’t even go back to One PP to get my car. I took a cab home. All I wanted was to see you and the kids, and hold you all in my arms. Janey left a note on her door that she and the kids would be back soon. So I just came in here and waited for you to come home.”

Annie kissed him and got up. She turned on a light and went to the kitchen. She poured two glasses of iced tea and bought them out to the living room. She handed Bobby one of the glasses and sat down on the coffee table, facing him. They drank their tea in silence. Bobby put his hand on Annie’s knee and squeezed it lightly.

“The whole time I was in that morgue, I kept thinking about the families. I thought about you and that day you were attacked. When the captain told me what happened and that you were in the hospital I was so scared I couldn’t think straight. It’s a good thing Eames drove me to the hospital; I don’t think I could have found my way. And then I saw you in the ER. You were unconscious and so pale, you…..you looked….” He didn’t finish the thought. “I don’t know what I would have done if….if…you…if I had lost you. There are so many people who are going to hear those words I was so afraid I was going to hear that day….that someone they love is gone.”

He leaned back and held his empty glass with both hands, staring down at the ice cubes. Annie’s eyes filled with tears. This was the first time Bobby had talked about his feelings the day she was attacked. He had been so focused on her and helping her through it that, as usual, he pushed his own feelings and fears aside. She was ashamed to realize that she had been so caught up in her own pain that she had not considered how deeply the attack and the loss of their baby had affected her husband.

“Annie,” he said softly. “I know that just two nights ago I was reminding you about what you believe about God, and I’m glad it helped you get past what happened. But I said the things I did to help you, not because I understand anything about God. Wh…..when I look at what happened yesterday, the magnitude of the devastation, not just here, but in Washington and in Pennsylvania…..” He sighed. “All my study and research into the criminal mind just doesn’t explain what happened yesterday. I at least understand that Martin Ramsay was a victim of the lies his own brain was telling him. But this…I don’t understand this. And all the theological books I’ve read…it just doesn’t make sense. Where’s God, Annie? When thousands of people die in one day, within hours. Where was He?”

Annie took his glass and set both glasses on the coffee table. She looked at him for a long moment before answering.

“Bobby, you’ve read more than I have by theologians and great thinkers who all tried to find an explanation for evil. I don’t have any great intellectual answers. All I know is this: next to life itself, one of the greatest gifts God has given us is freedom of choice. The freedom to choose to follow Him or not. The freedom to choose to do good or to do evil. Without that freedom of choice, worship of God would be meaningless—we would nothing more than programmed robots. So when people choose to do evil things He allows them that freedom. But I believe above everything else that He never stops trying to speak to each and every one of us, to guide us to do what is good. He never stops speaking, whether or not we are willing or capable of hearing Him. Freedom of choice also means we have the freedom to refuse to listen. And if we refuse long enough and often enough, we may not be able to hear Him anymore. He has to let us see the results of the choices we make, good and bad. We need to see that choosing Him, choosing good, is best. Not because He will punish us if we choose wrong, but because we destroy ourselves and others when we choose not to listen to Him.

“I can tell you where He was the day I was attacked. He was right there with me, comforting me and reassuring me of His love. He was there speaking to Martin Ramsay’s delusional mind, urging him to stop. And I can tell you where He was yesterday. He was there with every one of those people. He was trying to speak that same comfort and reassurance to every single victim. He’s with each of their family members right now doing the same thing. And He was with every one of those terrorists, begging them to stop; pleading with them to listen to Him.”

Bobby took both her hands in his and just looked at her. The front door opened just then and all three children ran into the house. Ally was in the lead and launched herself into her Daddy’s arms. Phillip and Andrew were next and all three children squirmed to find a place on his lap. Janey came in carrying a ready-to-bake pizza.

“Bobby! I’m glad you made it home. When I got your e-mail, Annie, that you would be home, I figured you might not have eaten dinner. So the kids and I went and got a pizza for you. I’m going to put it in the fridge for you and then I’ll leave you guys alone. The kids have already had dinner and their baths; they just need to get their pajamas on. Do you both have to go in tomorrow?” Annie and Bobby both nodded and Janey added, “OK, then just drop the kids at my house in the morning and I will see you when you get home tomorrow night.”

Janey put the pizza away, hugged Annie and Bobby, and left. The kids had finally settled into their positions; Ally on Bobby’s lap and the boys on either side.

Phillip asked, “Daddy, did you catch the bad guys who blew up the planes?”

Bobby tousled Phillip’s hair. “Well, some of the bad guys were on the planes and we….we got them. We’ll do our best to get the rest of them.”

Andrew asked, “Did you shoot them?”

“No, we didn’t shoot them. They….died when the planes crashed.”

That seemed to satisfy the twins. Ally sat and looked up at her father solemnly. “We went to Mommy’s hospital and we saw sad people. Mommy says you are going to help find the people in the pictures.”

Bobby glanced at Annie and she explained, “People have been putting missing person fliers on the wall outside the ER.”

“Are you going to find the people?” asked Ally.

“I’m going to try.”

“Did a lot of people die, Daddy?”

Bobby hugged Ally to him and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, Sweetie, a lot of people died.” His eyes met Annie’s and she saw again the haunted look.

The boys were beginning to fidget. The enormity of what had happened was over their heads. But Ally had one more question.

“If we pray really, really hard for the bad guys, will they stop being bad?”

Bobby closed his eyes and didn’t answer right away.

“I don’t know, Ally. Should we ask Mommy to pray?”

“OK.”

So they all held hands and Annie prayed with her family. She prayed for the victims, for the families, for the rescue workers, and for the terrorists. When she finished, the boys, having been quiet long enough, started wrestling. Ally stayed in Bobby’s lap.

Annie said, “Babe, why don’t you go take a shower while I cook the pizza, OK? And you three scoot up to your rooms and get dressed for bed. If you hurry, you can stay up for a little while and watch TV.”

Ally kissed Bobby on the cheek and slid off his lap. All three of the children went upstairs. Bobby reached over, put his hands on either side of Annie’s face, and kissed her. He got up without saying anything and followed the kids up the stairs.

Annie went to the kitchen and put the pizza in the oven. By the time it was done, Bobby had come back downstairs, showered and clean-shaven. The children came down, dressed in their pajamas. Annie turned the TV on for them to watch while she and Bobby ate. It was not easy to find something other than news about the attacks, but she finally found some cartoons. She and Bobby ate in silence and then joined the kids on the couch. They watched the rest of “Spongebob Squarepants” and Annie smiled at Bobby’s pained look. When it ended, there was a brief news report about the attacks. A picture came onscreen of three firefighters raising the United States flag amidst the rubble of the World Trade Center. All five of them were silent as they looked at the poignant picture. The news report ended and Bobby turned the TV off.

He told Annie, “You probably want to take a shower, too. I’ll get the kids in bed.”

She kissed him and went upstairs. She stood in the shower for a long time and let the water wash away some of the stress of the last two days. After getting her pajamas on and French braiding her wet hair, she went into the bedroom. She stopped short when she found all three children in the bed and Bobby reading “The Giving Tree”. Annie smiled and Bobby looked at her sheepishly.

“They wanted to sleep in here tonight”, he said and shrugged.

Annie chuckled at her soft-hearted husband, and slid into bed. Bobby continued to read for a few minutes, until the kids all seemed ready for sleep. Bobby turned off the light. Annie propped herself on her elbow and began singing softly.

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though its breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
Youll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
Thats the time you must keep on trying
Smile, whats the use of crying?
Youll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

Thats the time you must keep on trying
Smile, whats the use of crying?
Youll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

All three children were breathing evenly when she finished. She lay back down and tried to find a comfortable position. Bobby reached across the three sleeping children and took her hand. He laced his fingers with hers and squeezed gently.

“I love you Annie Paine”, he whispered.

“I love you Bobby Goren”, she whispered back.

The End

I want to thank two special friends for all their help with this story.
Spookycc, for her help as my beta. She caught all (I hope!) of my mistakes. She also provided me with invaluable information on 9/11. She provided links to web sites about the events in New York, the NYPD, and the missing person fliers. She also let me bounce ideas off of her and gave me suggestions.

Judyg helped me over a huge writer’s block when I was trying to write about Annie meeting Bobby’s mother for the first time. One brief comment from Judy was all I needed for the dam to break and the idea to flow.

Thanks so much girls!

The poem, “How Do I Love Thee” was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The lyrics of “Smile” were written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons and recorded by Nat King Cole.

As a Californian who was 3,000 miles away from the events of this day, researching and writing this story became a very emotional experience for me. I hope that I have not offended anyone who experienced these events first hand. To everyone who was in New York, Washington, or Pennsylvania that day, please know that my thoughts and prayers were with you on September 11, 2001 and they are still with you today.

Great job, ciaddict! I've got goosebumps all over! You really hit the moment!

You already know how I feel about this chapter. Thank you for giving me the privilege of reading it yesterday and giving you feedback. I think you did a beautiful job with Annie's response to Bobby questioning God's presence. I had to do the same with my 4 year old son that day, as we lived 30 minutes from Ft. Polk at the time. I loved the chapter yesterday, and I love it even more today.

Congratulations on a great job!

This is a wonderful ending, ciaddict. I also really liked Annie's response to the tragedy, both to Bobby and the kids. Good job.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. I've been so obsessed with this story that now I'm trying to remember what it is I do when I'm not writing a story. I have some ideas for season 2, but not a full-blown story. I'll keep obses.....I mean....thinking about it.

Mea Culpa! I try so hard to stay as close to the canon of the show as I can (considering this is a AU story) and I just realized I blew it. I just watched Blink yesterday and Bobby said he was stationed in South Korea for 6 months. I have him there for, what? About 2 years? OOPS! Color me embarrassed! Oh well, it will just have to stand as AU--and in this AU he was in Korea for 2 years, or was it 2 1/2 years? See, I can't even keep track of my own story.

:::comes running in, balancing soda, popcorn and candy bars::: Yay! new Annie story!!!!


What? No story??

::drops head and shuffles out:::

Oops!!!! I didn't mean to tease! And with TCIF in captivity too. So very sorry. Can I blame it on my sleep-deprived brain?

Actually I have the first chapter done for the next story and I thought I would finish the second chapter yesterday, but didn't quite. I would post the first chapter, but I don't have a title and nothing is coming to me. I guess it could be titled "Untitled".

But I heard a rumor that Flashymom might be posting another chapter today.

Thanks again to Spook for beta'ing. And for listening to me whine about not knowing what to title this story.


Author's note: I do not own any Law and Order Criminal Intent characters, nor do I own any characters from Law and Order who might show up. Dick Wolf, of course, owns them and has done quite well by them.

I do own the other characters in this story: Annie, the children, Grandpa, and various other people (named and unnamed). They inhabit my imagination where they live out their lives trying to fit into the LOCI universe. This story goes back into the past and plays the "what if" game. What if Bobby was married and had a family? So here is a warning: There will be some necessary changes to canon in order to fit Annie and the kids into Bobby's life, creating a parallel LOCI universe. If you are not OK with that, you won't like this story (or any future installments) and I completely understand if you pass.

This "episode" takes place throughout season 2. Chapter one is refers to the episode "Bright Boy."





“Yay, Andrew! Good hit!”

Annie Paine clapped her hands as her five year-old son dropped the bat and ran to first base. This was the third Tee Ball game for Phillip and Andrew. She looked across the park and saw her husband, Bobby Goren, approaching. His partner, Alex Eames, was with him. They were detectives with the Major Case Squad with the NYPD.

Eight year old Ally caught sight of her father and ran to throw herself into his arms. Annie smiled and scooted over to make room for them in the bleachers. Bobby leaned over and kissed her as he sat down.

“You made it! The boys will be so excited! So, where does Captain Deakins think his two ace detectives are on this fine, sunny afternoon?”

Bobby chuckled, “We just interviewed a witness. The park is on the way back to One PP. So, what’s the score?”

Annie laughed and answered, “You know very well that there is no score in Tee Ball. It’s a skill-building, learning experience. You are going to have to wait a few years until they are old enough for Little League to do your ‘competitive sports dad’ routine. This is the second inning and Andrew just batted. Phillip will be up soon.” She leaned forward so she could see Alex better and said, “Hi Alex. Sorry Bobby dragged you out here.”

“He didn’t have to drag me. I love seeing the kids play. You aren’t playing today, Ally?”

“No, I’m in the Minor League. We have practice tomorrow and a game on Saturday.”

They all cheered and clapped as Andrew trotted home, and again as Phillip hit the ball off the tee. Both boys saw their father and yelled and waved to him. When the game ended, Bobby and Ally went out to the field to tell them how well they had done. Alex and Annie sat in the bleachers watching Bobby with the kids.

“The twins look like little clones of their father,” Alex observed. Annie laughed and agreed. After the boys got their juice and snack, they went over for a hug from Aunt Alex. Bobby and Alex said they had played hooky long enough and had to get back to work before the captain started looking for them.

Annie watched them walk away and then watched for a few minutes as all three of her children ran around with abandon, playing tag. It was hard to tell who was “it”, and ultimately it didn’t matter as the real purpose was simply running and screaming. She breathed in the scent of spring; sunshine, freshly-mown grass, and flowers in bloom. Everything seemed new and fresh in the spring, and especially this spring. As New York struggled to recover from the attacks of September 11, her family was also recovering from the attack on Annie almost a year ago that had killed the baby she was carrying and nearly killed her as well. She once again whispered a prayer of gratitude that her city and her family were finding some semblance of normalcy following the very traumatic events of the last year.

That night Bobby and Annie prepared dinner while the kids played upstairs. They often talked about their work, especially when something funny happened or when one of them had a hard day. Annie never revealed the names or identities of patients, but would describe interesting cases or