I know our bobby would probably go to the pound and get a mutt, but mom, I don't want a mutt. OOOO how about Homer? A retired Police dog? He was in two episodes. That way if Nicole ever comes around, he would bite her ass.

That's funny that you mention that. I was just thinking today about a friend I had in Oregon who had a retired police dog. They loved him so much that when he got really ill and had to be put to sleep they bought another retired police dog. I wonder if Homer is ready to retire? Oh wait, this is back in season 2. I think Homer puts in another appearance or two. Could be another retired police dog, though. I'll have to think about this.

I think a friendly mutt would be a cool dogg for them to have, ciaddict. Bobby wouldn't have anything against mutts, since he's very accepting of any kind of people he runs into in his work. Excebt bad dads. I think Annie would be all cuddly with any kind of dogg. She seems like a dogg-lover.

Glad I came in here to comment too. I would have missed to dog poll. I am in agreement with a couple of people that they should get a guard dog of some kind, not a pit bull or anything like that but a German Shepherd or something like that. I am not a dog person either as you probably read in the Shattered thread.

Shaggy was an accidental breeding, he is part Chihuahua and part Papulon(the dog in Tuxedo Hill). But he is the best dog we have ever had. Other dogs we couldn't house break or train. Shaggy will sit and fetch. And goes out the doggie door to potty in the back yard. He is so smart. He barks when he hears anyone drive in the driveway. And barks when any strange men come in the house, he likes the women, so he won't bark at them, lol. He had a brother when we got him, I wish we would have taken him too. He weighed 3lbs when we got him, he is 12lbs now. He is my baby.

HI - I just caught up with Rebuilding - everytime I read Annie, I am reminded how much I like her and think Charli and Annie would be friends in an alternate reality.

I have not read your 9/11 story yet. I want to have time to really focus on that since I've heard what an awesome job you did - so I'll get back to you on that one at a later date.

This story is wonderful, but I expected no less. You have intricately woven a life for Bobby based on LOCI eps that we have seen with a private life that has been left to our imaginations. I love how you do that and can't wait to read more.

Oooh - and my vote for a dog? How about an abandoned puppy found at an Eames/Goren crime scene? A lovable mutt that Bobby couldn't resist?

Now, there's a thought! I could see Bobby bringing home a stray, then pulling his own "big sad puppy-dog eyes" face at Annie to beg her to let them keep it -- it'd be all matted and muddy and in need of a serious bath and doggie grooming before she'd relent........

You know how much I love this story. I left you a review on ff.net........

I wouldn't want a dog that was knowningly exposed to violence. Never know what that could bring up.

Forgot to post earlier that ciaddict won't have her internet back up until Tuesday or so..... ....she's been "visiting" via her Mom's computer, but since she can't get USA/NBC to give her a new account, she can't get in to post. Hopefully by Monday or Tuesday she'll be back here to post.

Here's a little snippet from the email she sent me:

My internet is down until next week, so I stopped by my mother's to check my e-mails. But I can't sign onto the message board from here. They don't recognize my e-mail address, although I get notified that I have PMs at this very address. Frustrating.
*
*
I was reading the comments and suggestions about Annie (and thank you for your nice comment). I kind of liked the retired police dog idea, but kids always want a puppy. Now I'm liking your's and Judy's idea of Bobby bringing home an abandoned dog--that actually fits well with what I was thinking anyway. I had planned on Bobby bringing a dog home without talking to Annie first.
*
*
If you are online, I'll be at my mother's for a while and will try to come by this weekend to check my e-mails, but not sure if I'll be able to. I may go crazy Sunday with no access to the message board!

Thanks for the email from ciaddict, flashymom! Tell her we'll miss her til she gets back, OK?

Aww, I was wondering why I hadn't seen her around here. Tell her she is missed and I would probably go crazy right along with her. I usually run to my mothers when I have no internet access here and my mothers internet is sllllooooowwwww.

I don't have to tell her, y'all are telling her right now. She can read, just not post........Hopefully that will all be better by Tuesday, maybe Wednesday......::crosses fingers::

Oh yeah, forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder.

ADMIN!!

Get your butts over here and fix this darn thing so ciaddict can long in! I mean come on!


so........abou the dog, could a police dog have puppies? Then they would be at around Bobby and thus be given to him for free... just a thought

Howdy, ciaddict.

Hi, TCIF, I would think a police dogg would be fixed, so his/her attention didn't wander from the task at hand. I don't know that to be true, tho.

You really are a Doggett fan, aren't you?

Yes, exactly! GOOD catch!

I knew I recognized the actor's name somewhere. The same man who played as a bad cop on Terminator 2

And the same role in the new DirecTV ads on TV.

He must be a hottie when he was younger then?

He ain't bad-looking now. He plays in a show called The Unit, if it's still on, and I think he plays a military guy. He has very chiseled features and, we lovingly said, dogg-ears.

He still looks handsome as he ages. I like him in "Ladder 49". That movie was touching.

I think I heard that new season of The Unit starts on late September.

I noticed that. And he is perfect for military role

Thanks for all the suggestions on dogs, guys! Still haven't made up my mind (or should I say Bobby hasn't made up his mind?), but I've got a few chapters to go before a decision has to be made. And here is the next installment. Thanks as always to my beta Spook.




Thanks again to my sister, a retired Sheriff’s sergeant, for information on drug possession penalties and “cop culture”.

Annie threw away the remnants of her lunch, marked her place in the book she was reading, and prepared to go back to work. She had eaten lunch in the cafeteria because she wanted to get as far away from the ER as she could, but it was too cold to eat outside. It had been a busy morning and she suspected it would not slow down during the afternoon. She walked back to the break room and put her book and her wallet in her locker, then walked into the ER.

“Annie! Glad you’re back”, said June, the shift supervisor. “EMTs brought in a John Doe, probably homeless. He’s unconscious, looks like he was beaten pretty badly. The EMTs couldn’t get an IV started in the field and I wasn’t able to get one in. Dr. Silva is chomping at the bit to have one of his interns do a cut-down, but I talked him into letting you try first. He’s in Trauma 3.”

In a busy teaching hospital, residents and interns were always looking for reasons to do new procedures. And what could be better than an unconscious homeless man? No one to protest or care. While Annie knew the importance of experience for the doctors, she felt that sometimes they were a little too eager and sometimes unnecessary procedures were done. This was a perfect example. A “cut-down”—inserting a central venous catheter into a vein through a surgical incision in the chest or neck was a procedure usually only done when a patient would need intravenous fluids or medications over a long period of time. But if a short-term IV could not be inserted with a needle, the doctors would insert a central line. It was a popular procedure for the residents and interns. Annie and the other nurses tried to prevent unnecessary procedures when they could. If one nurse was unable to get an IV started, she or he would ask at least one other nurse to try before turning the eager interns loose. Annie was rather proud of the fact that she had a reputation for being able to successfully start IVs on the most difficult patients, including IV drug users who had worn out their veins.

As Annie entered Trauma 3 she said a silent prayer that she would be successful. The man was lying on the gurney, still unconscious. Dr. Silva was there, with a new intern. He was instructing the intern on how to set up for a cut-down, normally a nurse’s duty but Dr. Silva wanted his interns to be familiar with where supplies were kept. Annie approached the gurney, looking at the man’s arms to evaluate his veins, before looking at his face. When she did look at his face, she gasped out loud. His face was so badly beaten that it took a moment to register in Annie’s brain that this was no John Doe. It was her brother-in-law, Frank Goren.

His face was almost unrecognizable. It was covered with cuts and bruises. There was a deep cut just above his left eye and the eye was swollen shut. His right eye was black and blue. His bottom lip was split and swollen. She saw at least three cuts on his face alone that would need sutures. The EMTs had applied a splint to his left arm because it was broken; it would need to be X-rayed to determine how badly. Because of the head injuries they had put a collar around his neck to keep his head stable in case his spine was injured. His shirt was open and Annie could see that his chest and stomach were one huge mass of bruises and cuts. The force that would cause that kind of bruising likely also broke some ribs, something else that would need to be X-rayed.

“What’s wrong, Annie?” asked Dr. Silva. “Are you going to try to get an IV in or just let us work?”

Annie dragged her eyes away from Frank’s injuries and looked at the two doctors waiting on her.

“I…I’m going to try the IV”, she said. She mentally shook herself and tried to forget that this was her brother-in-law, tried to forget the phone call she was going to have to make to her husband, tried not to think about how upset he was going to be. Since his left arm was in a splint, she focused on his right arm. She could see where June had already tried a couple times to insert an IV. She felt along his arm and his hand, trying to feel for a good vein. She finally thought she felt one just above his wrist. She put her gloves on, cleaned the area, and inserted the needle. It took a moment of backing out slightly and moving it around before she felt the little “pop” of the needle sliding into the vein. She pulled the needle out, leaving the plastic catheter in the vein, and taped it in place. Since they needed to send blood to the lab for tests, she used a syringe to withdraw the blood and inject it into several tubes. Then she attached tubing from a bag of IV solution to the IV catheter.

Dr. Silva and his intern looked disappointed and the intern began putting away his supplies. Dr. Silva began giving orders for X-rays, CT scan, and lab work. There was a knock on the door and they looked up to see two detectives standing in the doorway. Annie knew Detectives Briscoe and Green. The hospital was within the 27th precinct where they worked and she had met them on numerous occasions. But she also knew them because they were the detectives who worked the case when Annie was attacked and stabbed last year. She smiled and waved them in.

“Lennie, Ed. What brings you here today?” she asked.

Lennie gestured towards Frank. “Your John Doe here. The unis called us because it looked to be a violent crime. So what do you have?”

Dr. Silva explained what they knew so far, but that they had quite a few tests to run.

“One more thing”, Annie said when Dr. Silva finished. “He isn’t a John Doe. I know who he is. His name is Frank Goren.”

Lennie and Ed both looked at her in surprise. Although Annie’s last name was Paine, they knew very well who her husband was.

Ed cleared his throat. “Any relation to your husband, Annie?”

“His brother.”

“So…uh…any idea who might have done this to him?” asked Lennie.

“Well,” Annie sighed, “I don’t know any names. But a few weeks ago Frank called Bobby to ask him for money. He said he owed his bookie and couldn’t pay him. Bobby told him he couldn’t give him any more money. He was pretty upset, but we haven’t heard from him since. Maybe the bookie sent someone to collect, or maybe he owed someone money for drugs. Frank is addicted to gambling and to drugs, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it has something to do with one of those things.”

Lennie and Ed exchanged a look and Lennie asked, “Does Goren know he’s here?”

“No, I only found out just before you got here. I haven’t had a chance to call him yet. I’ll call him as soon as we get Frank ready to go up for his tests. I need to get him into a gown.”

“OK, well…we should put his clothing in an evidence bag just in case we can get anything from them to help find who did this. Is it alright if I stay?” asked Ed.

Annie nodded and Ed got some evidence bags ready as Lennie stepped out of the room. Annie realized that she could not undress her own brother-in-law so she asked the intern, Dr. Allen, to help her. Dr. Silva told her to let him know when the tests were done and if Frank regained consciousness, then he left. Annie and the intern changed into clean gloves and pulled Frank’s shirt off. She winced as she saw that the injuries covered his stomach and his back. She dropped his shirt into the evidence bag that Ed was holding, and put his arms through the hospital gown. They pulled Frank’s shoes and socks off and they went into another bag. With the gown covering him, Annie rolled Frank towards her as Dr. Allen pulled his pants and underwear down. As he did, a plastic bag fell onto the gurney. Annie reached over and picked up a small sandwich bag. Inside the bag was a white powder. She held the bag up to show Ed.

“Damn,” he swore softly.

“Yeah,” Annie agreed.

All three of them stood looking at the baggie in Annie’s hand for a moment. Then Ed cleared his throat, looked over at the door, then glanced at Dr. Allen.

“Has he ever been arrested for drugs before?” Ed asked.

“Not that I know of.”

“Annie,” Ed said softly. “His brother’s a cop. If you want….this doesn’t…this doesn’t have to go beyond this room. That bag can just disappear.”

Dr. Allen told her, “I haven’t seen a thing.”

Annie stood for a moment, undecided. She looked at the bag in her hand, and then turned to look down at Frank. She looked at his injuries and thought about the many times he had asked Bobby for money, the times he had shown up at their home or at Carmel Ridge under the influence of drugs, the promises to get into a program. She took a deep breath and turned back to Ed.

“Detective Green, I think you are going to want another evidence bag for this,” she said firmly.

Ed nodded silently and held out a bag. He labeled the bags and went to join Lennie. Dr. Allen left and an orderly came to take Frank upstairs for X-rays and CT scan. Annie told her supervisor that she needed to call her husband and went to the break room. She called Bobby’s cell phone, but it went to voice mail. She left a message for him to call her. She called his extension at One Police Plaza and got his voice mail again. She left another message. She called One Police Plaza again and asked for Captain Deakins in the Major Case Squad. He told her that Bobby and Alex were in court all day. She explained about Frank and he said that he would get word to Bobby.

The orderly brought Frank back to Trauma Three. He was beginning to regain consciousness. Annie spoke to him and explained where he was. He didn’t remember anything from the entire day, which was not unusual with a head injury. Dr. Silva and Dr. Allen came back in. They put a cast on his left arm and sutured the three deepest cuts on his face. He had three fractured ribs. The CT scan showed a skull fracture. There was a small amount of bleeding, but Dr. Silva felt it would resolve. He wanted to admit Frank to the hospital overnight and repeat the CT scan in the morning to make sure the bleeding wasn’t getting worse. Under Dr. Silva’s supervision, Dr. Allen ordered pain medicine and Annie gave Frank some through his IV. While she waited for it to take effect, she went out to tell Detectives Briscoe and Green that they could come in and talk to him.

They asked Frank if he knew who had attacked him and he said he didn’t remember. They asked him several questions, but he just said that the last thing he remembered was eating dinner the night before. Annie noticed that neither of them mentioned the drugs. She had expected them arrest him, but instead they both closed their notebooks.

Lennie said, “Well, I think that’s all we need for now. We…uh…we’re going to wait around a bit and talk to your brother when he gets here.”

“Why do you need to talk to my brother?” asked Frank.

“Just some details we need to go over with him”, Lennie answered. Ed and Lennie both glanced at Annie.

“What’s going on here?” Annie asked. “Why aren’t you arresting him for possession? Why do you need to talk to Bobby?”

“Arrest me? I got the crap beat out of me. Why would they arrest me?” Frank asked incredulously.

“Because”, Annie answered him, “when Dr. Allen and I were getting you out of your clothes and into that patient gown, a bag of drugs fell out of your underwear. I gave it to Detective Green here, and I am curious as to why he wants to talk to Bobby and why he hasn’t arrested you.”

“Arrest me?” Frank yelled, angry now. “You turn in your own brother-in-law and now you’re mad that I haven’t been arrested yet?” His voice rose in volume as a string of curse words poured out.

Ed Green stepped forward and told him firmly, “Hey man, you’re going to calm down and shut your mouth. Both of you just calm down and we’ll see what we can do to work this out.”

Annie opened her mouth to argue, but Lennie cut her off. “Annie, there are things here that you don’t understand because you aren’t a cop. Just wait for us to talk to Goren.”

Annie glared at them, then turned and strode angrily from the room. Both detectives followed her. She saw Bobby entering the waiting room and she went to get him. She led him back to where Frank was, explaining about his injuries. He greeted Ed and Lennie, then looked quizzically at Annie as she pointedly ignored them. She saw him wince as he entered the room and saw Frank’s battered face. Frank immediately launched into a tirade about Annie.

“Your wife is trying to get me thrown in jail, Bobby! She found drugs on me while I was unconscious—drugs that I don’t even remember having. They could have been planted on me for all anyone knows. But Annie here turns them over to the police and then demands that they arrest me.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa”, Bobby said, holding his hands up. “Slow down. You found drugs on him?” he asked Annie.

She nodded. “Yes, and I gave them to Ed Green. Now he and Lennie want to talk to you.”

Frank started to speak, but Bobby cut him off.

“Hold it, Frank. Just let me talk to the detectives and see what they have to say. We’ll see what we can do about this.”

Frank silently glared at Annie as she and Bobby left the room. She led Bobby, Ed, and Lennie to the break room.

Ed spoke first. “Look man, Lennie and I, we don’t want to arrest your brother. Like I told……” he stopped and glanced at Annie, then started again. “There isn’t that much cocaine, but it’s enough for a felony charge. But it doesn’t have to be. It can just disappear.”

Annie’s eyes widened. “And as I told you, Detective, that won’t be necessary. Frank needs to face up to this.”

Bobby looked at her in surprise. “You mean he already told you that this could disappear and you insisted that they arrest him? Annie, this is my brother. Look at the shape he’s in! The last thing he needs is jail.”

“I’ve seen him, Bobby. I’ve been here all afternoon helping to put him back together. But the reason he’s in this shape is because of his addictions. He needs a serious wake-up call, and some time in jail just might do that.”

Lennie put a comforting hand on her shoulder and said, “Annie, I know you want your brother-in-law to get some help. But you don’t know what it’s like for a cop, or a family member of a cop, in the system. These cases get more publicity and judges hand down tougher sentences. This is his first offense. Someone has already beaten him to a pulp. It’s better if you handle it in the family.”

“This isn’t his first offense. It’s the first time he’s been caught. And ‘the family’ has been trying to ‘handle’ this for over twenty years. It’s time for him for him to face some serious consequences.”

“I’m not sending him to jail, Annie”, Bobby told her firmly. “If word gets out that he’s related to a cop, he’s going to look like he does now for the entire time he’s in there.” He turned to Ed and Lennie and told them, “I appreciate your help.”

They both nodded at him and all three men moved to walk out of the room.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Annie moved in front of the door and looked at them incredulously. She had heard of “the thin blue line” and “the blue wall”, but had never expected to have to face it herself. “You can’t be serious! What you are talking about is destroying evidence. And may I remind you that there are two witnesses? Dr. Allen and I both saw those drugs.”

“Evidence disappears all the time”, Lennie told her with a shrug. “Without the drugs, there is no case.”

“Annie….” Bobby started towards her and she put up a hand and he stopped. She was feeling particularly small, at 5’5”, standing in that room with three six foot plus men towering over her. But she put her hands on her hips and refused to move.

“You cannot do this, Bobby,”

Bobby looked at Ed and Lennie. Ed told him, “It’s your call, man.” Lennie nodded in agreement.

“Annie, he’s my brother”, Bobby said softly.

“And your brother needs help, not a cover-up. If I have to….I…I will go to the DA, to Captain Deakins, and to their superior.”

Ed and Lennie stood silently and waited for Bobby’s answer. He paced the room in frustration, rubbing his hand through his hair and across the back of his neck. Suddenly his fist crashed down on the table and he yelled, “Goddammit!” Annie jumped at the sound, but stood where she was, hands still on her hips.

Bobby turned to her angrily. “Alright! Have it your way!” He turned to Ed and Lennie. “Go ahead and arrest him for possession.” He turned back to Annie and told her. “I’m going to pay off his bookie.”

“Pay off his bookie? Instead of arresting his bookie, you mean? That’s just great, Bobby. How much does he owe?”

“Two thousand dollars.”

“Two thousand dollars?! Are you crazy? We are not going….” Bobby interrupted her.

“Isn’t it enough he’s going to jail?!” Bobby was yelling. “I’m not going to sit back and watch him get beaten like this again. I am going to pay off his bookie.” This time he put his hand up to silence her as she opened her mouth to protest. He continued in a low, furious voice. “I am not asking for your permission, Annie, or for your opinion. I’m telling you what I am going to do.”

An angry retort rose up in her, but she kept silent. She realized they were both angry enough to say things that they would be unable to take back. There was silence in the room for a moment. She could feel Ed’s and Lennie’s discomfort at being caught in the middle of their fight. Finally she stepped away from the door without saying anything. Bobby stalked out without looking at her, followed by Ed and Lennie. They went to Trauma Three, Annie following silently behind the three men.

Lennie said, “Frank Goren, you are under arrest for felony possession of a controlled substance….” He began reading Frank his rights as Ed snapped a handcuff to Frank’s right wrist and snapped the other one to the railing of the gurney. Frank shot a panicked look at Bobby.

“Bobby, what’s going on? I thought you were going to take care of this!”

With his anger tightly controlled, but evident by the slight quiver in his voice, Bobby told him, “I’ll tell you what’s going on, Frank. You are being arrested for drug possession. And this is what you are going to do about it: You are going to plead guilty and take whatever deal the DA offers, and pray that it involves rehab and not prison. And as soon as you are booked and I pay your bail, you are going to take me to your bookie so that I can pay him off and make sure his goons don’t come after you again.”

Frank exploded. “Prison?! You’ve got to be kidding me! This is how you ‘take care of this’?!” He pointed at Annie as he continued yelling. “What the hell did you tell him? How’d you get him to agree to this? This must be the happiest day of your life, seeing me go to jail. Unless the happiest day was the day you talked him into sticking our mother in a looney bin. Having us both locked up must be a dream come true for you, you fu….”

He was cut off as Bobby grabbed his gown in both fists and shoved him back against the gurney. Frank cried out as Bobby’s knuckles came into contact with his already bruised chest. Bobby’s voice was low as he brought his face within inches of Frank’s now frightened face.

“You will never speak to my wife like that again. Do you understand? Do you?” he repeated as he gave Frank another shake.

Frank nodded his head wordlessly. Annie slipped out of the room as Dr. Silva and Dr. Allen entered. She left them to work out the details of Frank’s arrest and medical care. Her shift would be over soon, and she had spent most of the afternoon dealing with only one patient—her brother-in-law. She went to see where she was needed.

She was coming out of a patient room as Ed and Lennie were leaving. She went over and shook their hands.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.”

Lennie put a fatherly arm around her shoulders and told her, “I’ve got news for you, Annie. No one caved back there because of your threats. You can talk to the DA or to Lieutenant Van Buren all you want. If Goren wanted us to make that coke disappear, it would have disappeared. He had some other reason for going along with you. You and your husband will work this out. I’ve gotta believe there are a couple of good marriages out there”, he laughed.

Ed told her that because Frank needed to have another CT scan in the morning, he would be staying in the hospital with a couple of uniformed officers to guard him. Once he was released from the hospital he would be taken to the precinct and booked.

“We told Frank to call us if he remembers anything about the people who did this to him that he would like to share”, Ed told her.

“Why don’t you just follow my husband when he goes to pay Frank’s bookie two thousand dollars of our hard-earned cash”, she replied in a sulky voice.

Both men laughed and Lennie gave her shoulder another squeeze. After they left, Annie went to give report to the next shift. When she was done, she looked for Bobby. She was told that Frank had been admitted to a room upstairs and that his brother was with him. She went up to his room and found two uniformed officers standing outside the room. She recognized Officers Johna Jones and Harlana Simmons. They were regulars in the ER, bringing in suspects who got hurt resisting arrest or interviewing victims of various crimes. She greeted them and they told her that Bobby was in the room with Frank. Annie asked if one of them would tell him that she was there. She knew Frank didn’t want to see her and she didn’t want a repeat of what had happened earlier.

Bobby came out and walked down the hallway with her. He said nothing and waited for her to speak. But she didn’t know what to say.

“Bobby, I….”she faltered and then fell silent.

Finally Bobby spoke. “I’m going to stay here with Frank tonight. If they release him tomorrow, I’ll go with him to be booked and post bail, and then take him back to his place. He’s probably going to need someone to stay with him for a few days because of his head injury.”

“You’re going to stay with him?”

“Yeah, at least for a few days.”

“OK.” Annie was trying not to think that he wanted time away from her because he was so angry. “Well…..I should go home then. Do you want me to bring you anything? Dinner? A change of clothes?”

“No thanks. I’ll be fine. I’ll call the kids later and tell them good night.”

“OK”, she said again. She looked up at him and tried again. “I…um….we need to talk.”

“I know, but not now. We’ll talk at home.” Bobby leaned over and kissed her quickly on the cheek. She watched as he turned and walked away.

“Now that man knows how to walk away”, said a voice beside her. She turned to see Abby Ryan, one of the few nurses who had been at the hospital longer than Annie. At 5’2” and with her red hair, Abby was known as a no-nonsense nurse who took no lip from patients or doctors. She was also known as one of the best nurses around and the residents and interns all tried to have their patients assigned to her. And she had an irreverent, and somewhat bawdy, sense of humor.

Annie smiled at her and said, “That is my husband you’re talking about, you know.”

“Oh I know, you lucky, lucky girl!”

Annie laughed and asked, “Are you Frank’s nurse tonight?”

“Yes I am. And with that hunky brother of his staying all night, I think I am just going to have to be checking in on Mr. Goren a lot tonight.”

Annie laughed again.

“I think I’m afraid to leave my husband here all night.”

“Oh I promise, I won’t touch; I’ll just look.” Abby’s tone turned serious. “You know, the rumor mill around this place works overtime.”

“And what does the rumor mill have to say?”

“Well, it seems a certain ER nurse was locked in the ER break room for quite a while today with three tall, handsome police detectives. There was a lot of yelling going on. Got people curious. Then they all come out of the break room, go into a room with a patient, where more yelling was heard.”

Annie sighed. “I don’t seem to be very popular with the Goren boys today.”

“You know, if it had been any other nurse taking care of Frank in there, that bag of drugs would have just disappeared. What were you thinking, honey?”

“I was thinking that maybe if Frank goes to jail for a while, he’ll get serious about his life and stop wasting it on drugs and gambling. Obviously, I’m in the minority.”

Abby gave her a hug. “You gotta do what you think is right, no matter how mad tall, dark, and handsome in there gets. It’ll all blow over. Now run along home to your babies and let me get on with admiring your husband.”

Annie laughed and hugged her back. She did as Abby suggested and went home to her babies. She explained to the kids that Uncle Frank was hurt but he would be OK and that Daddy was spending the night at the hospital with him. Bobby called and talked to the kids. With Annie, his conversation was brief and neutral. She fell into a restless sleep. Although she was often in bed alone, since Bobby liked to stay up late reading, somehow the bed seemed emptier than it ever had.

End Chapter 4

::sniffles:: poor Annie. (of course I think Frank got what he deserved after all the crap he's been through, but that's just my opinion....)


OK, back on the dog thing, what about a young, but injured police dog? Say one that just got the training done, but wound up with a badly broken leg, or ::gulp:: shot? So the decision is made to let the dog 'retire' early and Bobby takes said dog home?

It's just a thought....

Yeah don't worry Annie, Abby Ryan will take good care of Bobby, great chapter. Maybe I could push Frank out the window.

Wow! What can I say other than just WOW!!! So powerful, so well written. Poignant, beautiful, AND I could "hear" everyone's voices. Very realistic, too.

LOVE the whole scene with Abby Ryan and Annie! Look, not touch? She MUST be fictitious, cuz the real Abby would be all over Bobby in half a heartbeat!

Well, since Nurse Ryan has made an appearance in two other fanfics I thought it would be fun for her to show up here. That conversation was actually supposed to happen between Annie and the two officers (who, BTW, are my sisters!). But once Abby put in an appearance the words just came out of her mouth! Now I have to come up with something interesting for Officers Johna and Harlana to do (maybe they will need to "rough up" Frank ).

Thanks for the kind words, guys! This was not actually part of the story I had mapped out. But when I thought, "Hey, what if Frank ended up in Annie's ER?" it kinda took off on it's own and I just hung on for the ride!

Welcome back, ciaddict!

And it worked out beautifully! Why do the officers need to have anything interesting to do? I know, they could get in an argument with Bobby over who is driving Frank down to the station the next day! That could be fun! Going along for the ride can be very interesting. That's how my chapter 4 came in to being.......

My sisters both requested that I put them in the story, so that's who the officers are (first names anyway--no, I'm not creative enough to have made up those names, that was all my mother!). I have a couple of ideas for what to do with them. They'll be showing up now and then. I'm working on a one-shot story for Amends and they make an appearance there, too.

I liked the fact that Frank ended up in hospital. It just really illustrates the difference between Bobby wanting and hoping that Frank will change and Annie taking a hard line about it. I hope they can make up soon.

Another excellent chapter ciaddict - OK, I'm supposed to be working but can't concentrate today so I snuck in here.

I like that Annie is standing up to everyone for the right thing to be done for the right reason - ultimately to HELP Frank. Hopefully, Bobby will have time to think while he's away from home and see that Annie is only trying to get Frank the help he needs.

Kudos! Love the interaction between Annie and Bobby. She stands up for what SHE believes is right, even tho she knows it'll piss him off a lot. Your fic is a pleasure to beta, ciaddict!

That was a fabulous chapter, mom. I can’t wait to read the next installment. Oh, I’m getting married next year.

I really hope you called and told her that, and not just this message onthe board, 'cause I really don't want to have to bail her out from kicking your butt!

Me, either. Congratulations, by the way!

Thanks everyone for all the kind comments. I'm not sure which is more fun for me; actually writing the story or reading all the great comments!

Oh, and BTW--DaCarz is my cyberson, so telling me here on the board is fine. Next week I'm shopping for my cyber mother of the groom dress.

Here is chapter 5. I've sent chapter 6 to Spook to beta. I'm working on a one-shot story about Amends that I may try to finish this weekend before getting back to Annie and chapter 7. I think I just have two more chapters to go--but once I start, who knows? It was only supposed to be five chapters to begin with. But once Frank got beaten up, the story kind of took off in its own direction!

Thanks again to Spook.






The next morning Annie went in to work early so that she could check on Frank. She found Abby in the hallway talking to Officers Johna and Harlana. Annie smiled at the sight of Johna and Harlana. They couldn’t be more different in appearance. Johna was not much over five feet tall, blond, blue-eyed, and fair-skinned. Harlana was a good six inches taller, brunette, brown-eyed, and her skin was about three shades darker. But they had been partners for years and made a good team. The three women were laughing and Annie suspected they were talking about her husband. This was confirmed when they caught sight of Annie and the laughter increased.

“What are you three up to?” she asked.

“Oh just discussing how to get it spread around the NYPD that we spent the night with the great Bobby Goren”, laughed Johna.

“Not you too,” Annie moaned. “Bad enough I left him with Nurse Hotpants here.”

“Oh not to worry,” said Harlana. “We kept an eye on her every time she went in there. We protected your husband’s honor. She did ask to borrow my handcuffs, though.”

All four women laughed. Annie suspected that none of them would be talking like this if Bobby were within hearing, so she thought he must have stepped away.

“Where is my husband? Hiding from you three?”

Johna replied, “He went down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. He didn’t want to, but he didn’t eat anything last night and we all kinda ganged up on him and made him leave.”

“So….how is Frank?” she asked.

Abby replied, “In a lot of pain. I’ve been giving him Morphine and he’s been able to sleep. They’ll come and get him this morning for another CT scan. If there’s no more bleeding, he’ll be released.”

“And he’ll go straight to the precinct to be booked,” said Harlana.

Annie sighed. “Thanks guys. I’m going to see if I can find Bobby.”

She went down to the cafeteria and saw him sitting at a table with his hands around a coffee cup, a partially-eaten breakfast had been pushed to the side. His clothes were rumpled and his hair was mussed, and she saw the tired lines on his face. Annie sat down across from him.

“You didn’t eat very much,” she said.

“Hospital food,” he replied without looking up.

Actually, the food served in the cafeteria was very good. She supposed blaming his lack of appetite on the food was easier than discussing the real reason.

“I brought you a change of clothes. They are in Frank’s room, and you can take a shower in the doctor’s lounge.”

“You went in Frank’s room?”

“No, I gave your clothes to the officers”, she said softly. “I have to go to work.” She got up and walked away.

Annie heard later in the day that Frank’s CT scan had shown no further bleeding and he had been released. She thought Bobby would stop by to see her before he left with Frank for the precinct. But he didn’t.

He called that night after she got home from work. He talked to the kids and then had a brief conversation with Annie. He told her that after Frank was booked, he bailed him out and took him to his apartment.

“I took care of his bookie, and then I called Ron Carver and asked him to handle Frank’s case. And I got the name of a lawyer from him. We have an appointment tomorrow.”

Annie snapped, “You’re hiring him a lawyer? Why? A public defender can work out a deal for him, especially if your buddy Carver is going to hand him one on a silver platter.”

Bobby was silent for a moment. “I need to go. It’s time for Frank’s medication.”

“Fine. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

The next day Bobby went to the house while Annie was at work and packed some things to take to Frank’s. He called each night to talk to the children. He and Annie didn’t argue any more, but their conversations were brief and only concerned the children or necessary information about work or the house. She knew that he had returned to work, leaving Frank alone during the day. But he checked in on him frequently.

Ron Carver and Frank’s lawyer worked out a plea bargain in which Frank would spend one year in a residential rehab facility. If he successfully completed the program, at the end of one year the felony charge would be reduced to a misdemeanor. If he left the facility or did not complete the program, the felony charge would be reinstated and he would be subject to a sentence of one to five years. He was scheduled to enter the facility on December 2. Bobby was taking care of giving his notice at his apartment and putting his few belongings in storage.

Bobby called his mother every night, as he usually did, but he hadn’t told her anything about Frank and asked Annie not to tell her either. He said that he wanted to talk to her in person. Frank refused to go see her because he didn’t want her to see his injuries. The weekend before Frank was to enter rehab, Bobby picked Annie up to go to Carmel Ridge. He had asked her to leave the children with a babysitter because he didn’t want them there when he talked to his mother. Annie had made arrangements with a teenage girl down the street who babysat for them frequently. The ride to Carmel Ridge was quiet, neither of them saying much.

Neither of them said anything to Frances when they first arrived. They sat and visited, talking about the children mostly. Over the years it had become a routine for Annie to give Frances a manicure while they exchanged gossip; Frances about the patients and staff at the facility, Annie about her coworkers. The three of them played card games for a while. Bobby waited until shortly before it was time to leave before bringing up Frank.

“Mom,” he began. “I need to tell you about what’s going on with Frank. He…uh…he was arrested for drug possession,” he said, leaving out the part about the bookie and the beating. “The DA made a plea bargain with him and he’s going into a residential treatment facility rather than going to jail.”

Frances blinked and tried to digest this information. “Residential facility? You mean a locked facility like this?”

“No, it’s not locked. But he does need permission to leave, and he has to earn permission for anything like that.”

“How long will he be there?”

“A year.”

“A year?! A whole year?! And he won’t be able to come and see me for a year?”

“No he won’t. Even if he earns passes later on, he probably can’t leave the city. But he will be able to call you, as long as he doesn’t lose his phone privileges.”

“And where is he now? Is he going to come and see me before he goes away?”

“No,” Bobby told her. “He…uh…he had too much to do to get ready to go. He’s going in Monday and he won’t be able to come and see you first. But I’ll make sure he calls you before he goes.”

Frances’ eyes narrowed as she looked at Bobby. “He’s going away for a whole year and he has ‘too much to do’ to come and see me? I don’t believe you.” Her voice rose as she pointed an accusing finger at Bobby. “This is your doing, isn’t it? You won’t let him come and see me. You want to keep him away from me. You’re a cop, why didn’t you do something to help him stay out of that place? Because you wanted him to be locked up, didn’t you?”

Bobby’s voice was conciliatory. “Mom, that’s not true. I did what I could for him, but it was either this facility or jail for a year or more.”

Now Frances was outright yelling. “I don’t believe you! This is all your fault! You have friends, you have connections, you could have gotten these charges dropped if you wanted to. You didn’t want to! You’ve always been jealous of Frank because he was so smart and talented, and now you can get back at him by having him locked up!”

Annie went to Frances and took her hand. “Mom, please don’t do this. It wasn’t Bobby’s fault. It was…”

“Annie,” Bobby cut her off. She looked at him and he frowned slightly and shook his head. He didn’t want her to tell his mother the truth about what had happened. She opened her mouth to argue with him, but he shook his head again.

Frances missed this exchange because she was so furious. She snatched her hand out of Annie’s and pointed at Bobby again.

“Either you help your brother or don’t come around here again, do you hear me?”

“Mom, there’s nothing I can do. The deal has been made. If he doesn’t go to that rehab on Monday, he’ll go to jail.”

“You can do something if you want to, you just won’t! Get out of here! I never want to see you again!”

Frances’ roommate had been out of the room when this started, and now Annie realized she was standing in the doorway with her mouth open. She also saw staff members heading towards the sound of the commotion. Annie tried to reason with Frances.

“Mom, you don’t mean that. Please just calm down and listen.”

“I mean it! I never want to see him again!”

She was becoming louder and louder. Now a nurse and two orderlies were in the room. Annie saw that the nurse had a syringe in her hand. Frances continued yelling, but when she picked up a book to throw at Bobby the orderlies grabbed her and escorted her to a chair. Bobby slipped out of the room as the nurse approached her with the syringe, trying to talk her into calming down. Annie went to the doorway and looked out in the hallway. Bobby was slowly walking towards the elevator. She called his name, but he didn’t turn around.

She went back in Frances’ room. She was becoming increasingly agitated, so the orderlies picked her up between them and laid her on the bed. The nurse gave her the injection in her hip. Then they used soft cloth restraints to tie her wrists to the rails on the bed. The nurse assured her that they would check on her frequently and would release her as soon as the drugs took effect and she calmed down. She encouraged Annie to go ahead and leave and to call later for an update.

Finally Annie picked up her purse and left. She apologized to Frances’ roommate for the commotion. She took the elevator down to the lobby, but didn’t see Bobby anywhere. She went out to where the car was parked and found him just sitting silently in the car. She got into the car and he started it up and drove away. She waited for him to say something, but he remained silent. After twenty minutes she tried to talk to him.

“Bobby…”

“Don’t,” he said.

“But I don’t understand. Why didn’t you let me tell her the truth? That I’m the one who turned him in and that you wanted to help him?”

“None of that matters, and I do not want you to tell her anything,” he said firmly, looking over at her for a moment. “Leave it alone and let me handle it.”

They were silent for few minutes, and then Bobby said quietly, “I think it might be time to let the state take over as her conservator.”

“What?! Why?”

“For one thing, because she doesn’t want me around. And I’m just tired of her accusations and theatrics. Let the state make decisions for her.”

“But you know she doesn’t mean it! She’ll calm down. Bobby, you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious. I’m tired of it.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence. They didn’t even say goodnight when Bobby dropped her off at home. She stood and watched his car drive away. She went in the house and paid the babysitter. Bobby called later and talked to the kids. They were disappointed that he didn’t come in and see them but he told them that he needed to get back and check on Uncle Frank.

Annie worked the next day and when she got home, Bobby was there preparing dinner. They didn’t say much to one another during dinner or the rest of the evening, but the children were so excited to have Daddy home that they kept up a constant chatter. Once they were in bed, Bobby went down to his basement office without saying anything to her.

Annie had to work the next day, so she got ready for bed and read for a while. She turned off the light and tried to go to sleep, but she couldn’t. After laying there in the dark for an hour, she got up and went downstairs to find Bobby. She couldn’t stand the silence between them.

Bobby was sitting on the couch reading. He glanced up at her when she came down the basement stairs, but he didn’t say anything. He went back to his book. Annie went to the bookcase lining one wall and ran her hands along the books. She could see he was not going to make this easy.

“Did Frank get settled OK?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“How is he?”

Bobby looked up from his book. “The bruises and cuts are healing. I took him in to have the stitches removed. But he’s still having pretty bad headaches because of the skull fracture.”

“Is…is he still mad?”

“Yeah, he’s still mad.”

“Are you?” she asked softly.

“Yes.”

“Bobby….I’m sorry.”

He laid his book down and looked up at her. “You’re sorry for what, Annie?”

“What?” she asked, surprised.

“You said that you’re sorry. What are you sorry for? Are you sorry for turning those drugs over to Briscoe and Green? Are you sorry for insisting that they not help us out? Are you sorry for trying your best to get Frank sent to jail? Just what is it you are sorry for?”

She didn’t know how to answer him. The truth was that she was not sorry for any of those things.

“I’m sorry,” she began, “that you are angry. I’m sorry that you think I did this to hurt Frank. I’m sorry that there’s this strain between us.”

He stood up and began to pace. “So, you’re sorry that I reacted the way I did and you’re sorry for the results of your actions. But you aren’t sorry for your actions themselves? Did I get that right?”

Now she was angry. “Yes, as a matter of fact, you do have it right. I’m not sorry for my actions and I would do it again exactly the same way. I’ll tell you something else I’m sorry about, though. I’m sorry that my husband took two thousand hard-earned dollars out our savings account to pay off his brother’s gambling debt, knowing that it’s just a matter of time before he runs up another one. I’m sorry that my husband bailed his brother out of jail instead of letting him see just how lucky he is to be going to rehab for a year. I’m sorry that my husband spent money we can’t afford on a private attorney to handle a plea bargain that a public defender would have been perfectly capable of handling.”

“I tried to explain to you what could happen to Frank in jail. That beating he got is exactly what would happen to him the entire time if word got out that he’s related to a cop. Briscoe and Green tried to explain it to you, too. But you were so sure that you and you alone had the right answer that you wouldn’t listen to anyone. If you had let me handle this, I could have gotten him into a rehab exactly like this one. But you are so angry with Frank that all you could think of was that this was a perfect opportunity to punish him!”

“You’ve had over twenty years to get him into rehab and it hasn’t happened. It only happened now because of that drug charge, because he was forced to. I am so sick and tired of this family making excuses for Frank. And you’re just as bad as your mother. ‘Poor Frank, Mom and Dad expected too much of him, he had too much responsibility too young.’ I’ve had it up to here!”

“You don’t know what it was like growing up in that house! You had a happy childhood with loving parents and a doting grandfather. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“So because I had a good childhood, I have no right to say anything? I know what addiction looks like, Bobby. I know what co-dependence and enabling looks like. Frank is forty-four years old. When is enough enough? When do you start making him face the consequences of his actions? He’s the one who gambled his way into a two thousand dollar debt to a bookie. He’s the one who was in possession of drugs.”

Bobby exhaled deeply and turned away from her. He ran his hand over the back of his neck and stood with his back to her for a moment. Finally he turned around and said wearily, “I don’t want to fight about this anymore, Annie. Neither of us is going to change our minds, and what’s done is done. Just let it go. I’m not going to talk about this anymore tonight.”

He waved his hand in her direction as he turned and sat down at his desk. He picked up a book on criminal profiling that was lying open and began reading. Annie was furious at being dismissed, but she also realized that he was right. They were not going to come to an agreement tonight. Perhaps they never would come to an agreement on this issue. She turned and went back upstairs.

She didn’t think she would be able to sleep, but she settled into bed anyway. She spent some time praying, although she wasn’t sure what to pray for. For Frank’s life to change? For Bobby’s attitude to change? For her own attitude to change? All she could do was pour out her heart to God and pray for the ability to leave the answers to Him.

She had just begun to doze when her cell phone rang. She looked at the clock. 11:00. No one would be calling her so late just to chat. If Bobby weren’t at home her first thought would be fear for his safety. She opened the phone and said, “Hello?”

“Annie?” It was her uncle’s voice.

“Uncle Tom? Is something wrong?” She sat up in bed.

“Annie, Honey, I’ve got bad news. Pop had a heart attack tonight.” It felt like her heart had stopped. Uncle Tom went on. “He’s alive, Honey. But they want to take him into surgery and he’s refusing to let them unless you tell him it’s OK.”

“W….What happened?” Annie’s voice sounded shaky even to her.

“He had his poker buddies over tonight. They said he told them his left arm and shoulder had been hurting all day; said he thought he must have pulled something. Then he started complaining about heart burn, and then he just collapsed. The guys called 911 and an ambulance took him to the emergency room. He wouldn’t let us call you earlier; he said he didn’t want to worry you. But they did all kinds of tests and the doctors said he needs a bypass operation right away. Now Pop wants to talk to you. He says he won’t let them cut him open and play around with his heart unless his little girl tells him it’s OK.”

Annie took a deep breath. “OK, is the doctor there? Let me talk to him first.”

The doctor explained that the blood vessels of Grandpa’s heart were severely blocked and he needed a coronary artery bypass immediately to replace them. After discussing the options of surgery versus plaque-dissolving medication, she agreed that surgery was the best option and asked to talk to her grandfather.

“Is that my little girl?” Grandpa’s voice was cheerful, although it was weak.

“Grandpa, I’ve talked to your doctor and I agree that you need the surgery right away. I want you to sign the consent, do what the doctors and nurses tell you, and I’ll be up there as soon as I can. OK?”

“OK, Annie. If you think it’s best. You drive careful now, you hear? In fact you better wait until morning. I don’t think you should be driving so late at night. And the roads might be icy.”

“I’m coming tonight Grandpa”, she said firmly. “But I promise to drive carefully. And I’ll be praying for you the whole time. I love you, Grandpa.”

“I love you too, little girl.”

Uncle Tom came on the phone and repeated Grandpa’s advice to wait until morning. When she again insisted that she was not going to wait, he told her to drive carefully.

As she closed the phone, Annie tried to prioritize what needed to be done. She needed to pack a suitcase. But she needed to talk to Bobby first and let him know what was happening. Would he come with her? He was so angry with her. But he would put that aside for this, wouldn’t he? Her thoughts were racing now and she couldn’t seem to grasp onto any of them. She needed to talk to Bobby, but he was downstairs and her suitcase was right here in the bedroom. She should pack her suitcase and then go downstairs to talk to Bobby.

Annie went to the closet, pulled out a suitcase, and opened it on the bed. She went back to the closet and looked at the clothes. There seemed to be so many, what did she need to take with her? The clothes all seemed to blur together and she couldn’t concentrate. Which ones should she take? She went to her dresser and opened a drawer. It was her sock drawer and she stood looking down at them, unable to make her brain focus on which ones she should take. She was still holding her cell phone in one hand. She reached down and picked up a pair of socks with the other one. She looked at the socks. What was wrong with her? This shouldn’t be so hard, should it? Why couldn’t she even decide on a pair of socks to take?

Her hand began to shake and she felt like she was going to begin sobbing over her inability to choose what to pack. Finally she thought, “Bobby will know what to pack. I need to talk to Bobby.” So she turned and headed down the stairs.

Bobby was still sitting at his desk with his back to her. He heard her coming down the basement stairs, but he didn’t turn around. He just said, “Annie, I told you I won’t talk about this anymore tonight. Just go back to bed.”

She stopped halfway to the desk and looked down at the cell phone and the socks in her hands.

“I don’t know what to pack”, she said.

Bobby sighed as he turned around. “Pack for wh….” He stopped when he caught sight of her. “Annie? What’s wrong? You’re white as a sheet. What’s wrong?” He got up and walked over to her. He leaned down to look her in the eyes.

“I don’t know what to pack”, she repeated.

“What are you packing for? Where are you going, Annie?”

“To Connecticut. I need to pack, but I don’t know what to take.”

Bobby shook his head in confusion. “When are you going to Connecticut and why?”

Annie just looked at him. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words, “Grandpa had a heart attack.”

Finally she whispered, “I don’t know what to pack.”

Bobby looked down at the phone in her hand and gently took it from her. He flipped it open and checked to see the last incoming call. When he saw it was from Uncle Tom’s cell phone, he pushed the button to dial it.

“Uncle Tom? This is Bobby. Did you call Annie tonight? What’s going on?” Annie watched his face as he listened intently. Then he said, “OK, I understand. I’ll take care of arrangements here so we can drive up there…..Yes, I will......Give our love to Grandpa.”

He closed the phone and put it in his pocket. He put both hands on Annie’s face and leaned down to kiss her gently.

“Baby? Are you OK? Uncle Tom said we should wait until morning and I think we sh….”

Annie pulled away impatiently and said, “No! I have to go now!”

He grabbed her arms and pulled her back to him.

“OK, OK, OK. We’ll go tonight. OK? We’ll go. There are just a few arrangements I need to make. And you need to pack.”

“I don’t…….”

Bobby put his hands on her face again and smiled down at her.

“You need to pack some warm clothes, Babe, enough for two or three days. Jeans and sweaters.”

She looked up at him. “Jeans and sweaters,” she repeated.

“Yes, jeans and sweaters. And warm socks, like the ones in your hand. And underwear, and pajamas, and another pair of shoes.”

The thought that Annie had been refusing to acknowledge finally surfaced: Grandpa could die. She felt the sob rising in her chest as her eyes filled with tears. Bobby pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly as she wept loudly for several minutes. As her sobs began to subside and her shaking lessened, he pulled back with his hands on her face again and kissed her wet cheeks.

“I need to make some phone calls now and you need to go pack,” he whispered.

She took in a deep, shuddering breath, and said, “Jeans and sweaters.”

He smiled down at her and kissed her cheeks again.

“Yeah, jeans and sweaters.”

She hugged him tightly, then turned and went back upstairs to pack.

End chapter 5

OMG!!!!! Poor Grandpa! You're not gonna have him die, are you? But, then, that would help Bobby and Annie get over Frank and Frances.....what to do, what to do.........SO GOOD!!!! Another GREAT chapter, cousin!

"I don't know what to pack." -- that would be me. AND The Hubby would be my big protective Bobby: taking charge, making all the arrangements and telling me what to pack...now that I think about it, that's The Hubby all the time when I get that way!

Enjoyed it, loved it, so good......

Aww.....sounds like you got the prince on the first kiss, cuz! I tried three times and got nothin' but frogs. I think I'm done kissing frogs. Must be why I'm so in love with Bobby Goren.

I kind of hesitated to use poor Grandpa this way. It seemed like the lazy way out to have a crisis end the fight rather than working to resolve it. But I bounced the idea off Squarey and she pointed out that it happens in RL all the time; a crisis bringing people together. So, Grandpa just had to suffer to bring Bobby and Annie back together.

Have Granpa's situation cause Bobby to realize that handing over all of his mother's care to the state is a bad idea. Bobby and Annie still need to come to terms about Frank, maybe "agree to disagree" but still find a way to "make it work!" as Tim Gunn says. Crises DO bring people together, make you see the larger picture so to speak. I know you can use this in a way that helps the story. And, Grandpa is of the right age to have something like this happen to him, especially living by himself. AND, we all know that most of the time these blockages sneak up so slowly that we don't know how bad the situation is until a stress test is failed or a heart attack happens (my granddaddy had a heart attack and they ended up doing a quadruple by-pass -- found 2 more after they got in there). I like it, just wish suffering didn't have to happen to pull people together.

And, yes, I got the prince. BUT, he wasn't the first one -- almost engaged in college to a prince who's cultural treatment of women did not match up with mine, making him a pseudo-frog (?); then almost engaged 2 years later to a really nice guy, but God smacked me over the head and told me "NO". So glad I listened to God!

I really like this chapter! I can totally see that happening, especially Bobby holding a grudge until he realize that it's trivial

So after attending "E"s funeral today - I sat down to relax and read about Annie and Bobby. My computer froze 3 times and I had to log back in each time (see how much I wanted to read your newest chapter?)

So Bobby and Annie are fighting over Frank - I am totally not surprised and had to keep reminding myself it's Season 2, since Bobby's defendiing Frank. Annie is doing the right thing and what would be best for Frank, if only Bobby could calm down long enough to see it.

I hope Grandpa is going to be alright - just the fear of losing him will hopefully be enough for Bobby to get over his anger and be there for Annie.

Thank you for another great chapter ciaddict.

I keep forgetting who is here and at FF both and I always end up doing one and not the other. I am horrible at that. Well here I am, days later to let you know you are doing such a wonderful job writing this. My favorite was the end part when Annie was packing and she couldn't remember what to pack. I could see myself doing this. Definitely looking forward to more.

Read all of chapter 5 (excellent, btw) before it dawned on me that I'd missed chapter chapter 4 (also excellent)! It really does help to read them in order. It makes so much more sense now. LOL!!!
In my defense, I'm really tired, and it took me longer to get the thread of the story into my head than it should.

You are a very good friend for helping out my mom, spook. You deserve a box of beer from me this Christmas

Mom, once again, you have done it! Wonderful chapter! Excellente!

Thanks to everyone for the congratulations.

Mom, Desiree has baked something for you. Won't you come to our place for lunch tomorrow?

Should about be lunch time out in California, with NO HURRICANES to mess up your plans! (But, I'm not bitter.... ). Anyway, I hope lunch turns out well. Wonder what Desiree baked? Cheesecake maybe?

DaCarz, lunch was wonderful. Desiree is a fabulous cook!

I usually don't post a chapter until I have the next one ready. But to tell the truth, I'm beginning to confuse myself. So I'll go ahead post chapter 6 now. I have one page written of the next chapter and I'll be working on it this week at my mother's.

Thank you everyone for your comments and for your doggie suggestions. I'll be making that decision soon.

Thanks again to Spooky!






Squarey, a question in one of your reviews found its way into this chapter. It was just too good to resist.

Annie went up to change out of her pajamas, pack a bag, and pack one for Bobby. Meanwhile Bobby called the hospital and talked to the night shift supervisor. He told her about Annie’s grandfather and not to expect her in for at least the next week, but she would call when she knew more. He called Captain Deakins at home to let him know that he would be out for at least a few days. He called Janey and asked if she and Rob would keep the kids for the next few days. He called Eames and asked her to come over and stay with the children for the night, and take them to Janey’s in the morning.

Within an hour the bags were packed, Alex had arrived and told them not to worry about the children, and they were pulling out of the driveway in the SUV. Bobby decided it was safer to take the SUV instead of his Mustang in case there was ice on the roads.

Annie looked out the window as they drove. At this hour some of the houses they passed were dark as the occupants slept. Other houses still had lights on and TV’s flickering in some of the rooms. It was a clear, cold night and the windows in the warm car fogged up. She leaned her head against the cold window and closed her eyes, but she couldn’t sleep. She tried to imagine where Grandpa was right now, what was happening in the hospital in Connecticut. Bobby’s low voice drew her attention.

“What is it you call that surgery? A cabbage?”

She smiled. “Yes, a CABG. Coronary Artery Bypass and Graft.”

“That’s one of surgeries I watched.” Over the years, Annie had gotten permission from some of the surgeons for Bobby to observe surgeries from the teaching gallery. “They take veins from the legs and replace occluded arteries in the heart, right?”

“Right.”

“They have good success with it, don’t they?”

“Depends on the patient, but yes, statistically they have good success.”

“Grandpa’s strong,” Bobby said simply. Annie appreciated that he didn’t promise everything would be fine and give her assurances that he couldn’t know were true.

“He is strong.”

He changed the subject. “What ever happened at church with that petition Miss Silver was passing around to get rid of the pastor?”

“Oh, she didn’t get very many signatures. People love Pastor Ron. She’s moved on to Christmas and what is acceptable and what isn’t. I just try not to get caught up the debate.”

“Speaking of Christmas, when is the hospital having the employee Christmas dinner?”

Bobby continued asking her questions about church, the hospital, neighborhood gossip. It felt good to talk to him about insignificant things. It had been so long since they’d had a normal conversation. She knew he was trying to distract her and she loved him for it. She looked at his profile in the dark car, occasional oncoming headlights lighting his face.

“Thank you,” she said softly. He smiled, laced his fingers through hers, and brought her hand to his lips. Then he asked her to make up a story about the people in the car next to them on the freeway. By the time she had finished her story they were pulling up in front of the hospital. He let her out at the ER entrance and told her to go find Grandpa while he parked the car.

Annie was directed to the third floor to the waiting room for the Cardiac Care Unit. It looked like the entire town was waiting. Annie’s aunt and uncle, her cousins and their spouses, Grandpa’s poker buddies, and various other relatives and friends were all there. As soon as she entered the waiting room she was engulfed in hug after hug.

Grandpa was still in surgery. Bobby came in after parking the car and the hugging began all over again. They were offered coffee, soda, pizza, crackers, and cookies. Everyone settled in groups, talking in low voices. Bobby put his arm around Annie and pulled her close. She laid her head against his chest and watched all of the people who loved Grandpa chatting, eating, dozing in the chairs.

It occurred to her that Bobby was right. She did have a happy childhood. Her parents had been killed by a drunk driver when she was eleven and that had been traumatic. But Grandpa had been there, and so had almost everyone in this room. She had been loved and supported and comforted by all of them. She had grown up feeling secure and loved. She looked up at Bobby. For all of her married life she continued to feel secure and loved because of him. He was able to provide that for her even though he had never experienced it himself as a child. Where did that resilience come from? How had he developed it on his own when he had never seen it modeled in his own family? She wondered if Bobby felt guilty that he had found for himself the family that he and Frank never had as children, while Frank was still alone and still trying to smother the pain of his childhood wounds with his addictions.

Bobby noticed her watching him and he silently raised his eyebrows in question. She loved the way his forehead wrinkled when he did that. Annie smiled and reached up to smooth the wrinkles.

“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” she asked softly.

He smiled back at her and leaned down to briefly kiss her on the lips. He tightened his arm around her and pulled her head back against his chest. Annie thought she dozed off for a few minutes.

Then the doctor was there, explaining that the surgery was over and he felt good about Grandpa’s recovery. He said that once he was out of recovery and settled in the ICU he would allow four people to visit him, two at a time and for only five minutes. He would allow more visitors later in the afternoon if Grandpa was up to it. He advised everyone to go home and get some sleep.

It was decided that Bobby and Annie would go first and then Uncle Troy and Aunt Jeane. Because she was familiar with medical equipment and hospitals, she didn’t expect to be shocked when she was finally ushered into his room. But she was shocked. Working with all of that equipment on strangers was different than seeing it being used on her grandfather. For the first time in her life, Grandpa looked old to Annie. He lay in the bed with his eyes closed. He was pale and his cheeks slightly sunken. The white hair and the wrinkles that had been with him for as long as Annie could remember now reminded her that he was eighty six years old.

Annie leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. His eyes opened and he smiled up at her.

“There’s my little girl,” he said in a whisper.

“The doctor says you came through the surgery great, and he thinks you will recover well.”

They stayed for their five minutes and Annie prayed with her grandfather. She kissed his cheek again and told him she would see him later in the day. Grandpa grasped Bobby’s hand and told him to make sure Annie got some sleep. Bobby promised he would. Annie smiled, remembering when she had been in the hospital after she was attacked, and how she asked Grandpa to make sure Bobby ate something.

After her aunt and uncle visited Grandpa, everyone headed to their homes to try to get some sleep in the few hours left before the sun came up. Bobby and Annie went to Grandpa’s house. She didn’t think she could sleep, but Bobby insisted that she take a shower and change into her pajamas while he made hot cocoa for her. After she finished the cocoa he insisted that she get into bed. He changed into sweatpants and a tee shirt and slipped into bed next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and settled her so that her back was cuddled against him. Then he started to tell her a story for a change.

“Once upon a time a brave, handsome soldier rescued his clumsy friend from the teeth of a vicious dragon. The friend had sustained wounds from the dragon so the brave soldier took him to a beautiful, fair-haired nurse. She worked her healing magic on the friend. But when she saw the soldier she cast a love spell over him so that he would fall madly in love with her.”

Annie giggled at his retelling of their first meeting.

“Shh…” said Bobby. “I’m getting to the good part.”

Annie relaxed against him and fell asleep to the soothing sound of his voice. When she woke up, the sun was up, Bobby was not in the bed, and she smelled coffee and bacon. She went down to the kitchen and found Bobby making breakfast. They sat in Grandpa’s cheerful kitchen eating.

“You know,” Annie said thoughtfully, “Grandpa always thought I was the most amazing person in the world. At least that’s how he made me feel. Whatever I tried, he cheered me on. He even made my failures feel like victories because he just knew that I would learn from them and go on to be a success at the next thing I tried.”

Bobby leaned down and kissed the top of her head as he cleared the table. After they cleaned the kitchen and got dressed, they headed back to the hospital. They were told that Grandpa had a very good night and was stable. They were allowed to visit, two at a time, for 10 minutes each hour. The family all took turns. When it was Bobby and Annie’s turn, she was glad to see that he looked so well. He wasn’t as pale as the night before and he was more alert. She looked at his vital signs on the chart at the end of his bed. Temperature, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure—they were all stable.

The entire family met with the doctor and he said that he was pleased with Grandpa’s progress. He expected him to be in the hospital for several days, maybe a week. After the doctor left, the family discussed options for when Grandpa went home. A Home Health Nurse would visit him a few times a week to begin with, but the family wanted someone to be there with him when he got home. They also felt it was time to hire someone to cook and clean for him. Finally it was decided that Annie would stay with him for a week after he returned home. She and Aunt Jeane would begin interviewing people to hire to cook and clean for him. Annie also told them that Grandpa needed to move into the bedroom downstairs, at least for the first few weeks. Uncle Troy and Aunt Jeane went to talk to Grandpa and although he balked at hiring a “maid”, he finally agreed.

Bobby and Annie went back to the house. Annie called the hospital and arranged to take the next two weeks off work. She called Janey’s house and talked to the children, explaining what had happened and that Grandpa was going to be fine. She insisted that Bobby return home to the kids and to his job. He offered to stay a few days, but she told him she would be fine now and he should go. He would take the SUV and Annie would drive Grandpa’s car while she was there. Bobby would drive back up in two weeks to take her home. It was late afternoon when Annie walked him out to the SUV.

After putting his suitcase in the SUV, he leaned against the car and pulled Annie into an embrace. They stood with their arms around each other for several minutes.

“Are we OK?” she asked softly.

“Yes.”

“Because you feel sorry for me?”

“Yes,” he laughed but added, “and because Grandpa isn’t the only one who thinks you are the most amazing person in the world.”

“Bobby…..your mother…..”

He gently put a finger to her lips and said softly, “Leave it alone, Annie.”

“Just….please don’t do anything or make any decisions until after the first of the year, OK?”

“OK.”

He kissed her nose and she laid her head against his chest. It was a cold day and Annie pressed against Bobby’s warmth. He put a finger under her chin to tilt her head up, leaned down, and softly kissed her. He tightened his arms around her and he deepened the kiss. Her arms went around his neck as one of his hands held the back of her head and the other went to her buttocks and pulled her even closer. Annie’s heart rate picked up. She wiggled her hips against his and pressed closer. It occurred to her that they had not made love in over two weeks. Bobby’s lips moved down to her throat and his tongue touched the sensitive hollow there. Annie moaned softly and tilted her head back even more, her eyes closed.

“You know,” Bobby whispered against her throat, “I don’t have to leave right this minute. I have some time.”

Annie thought about this as he continued to kiss her throat. The first time they had visited Grandpa after they were married, Annie made it very clear that she was not going to have sex in her grandfather’s house. It had never been an issue for them in all the years of their marriage.

It has been over two weeks, she reasoned, and it will be at least two more weeks. Grandpa isn’t home, no one is here. But she thought about her bedroom in Grandpa’s house. Her childhood room, which looked pretty much as it did when she was sixteen, with her stuffed animals on the bed and pictures of horses scattered around. She sighed sadly as she realized that she just could not bring herself to make love in that house.

She suddenly realized that Bobby had stopped kissing her. She opened her eyes and found that he was watching her face. She had no doubt that he had read her thoughts as she struggled with the battle between her libido and her aversion to “desecrating” her grandfather’s house. He was grinning down at her with a knowing look, obviously realizing she had made her decision and they would not be making love that day. She tried to glare at him, but couldn’t quite pull it off.

“You suck,” she managed to say before dissolving into giggles. Bobby laughed loudly and hugged her tightly. He lowered his head for one more searing kiss before telling her good bye and getting in the SUV. Annie stood in the road and watched the SUV drive away.

The next two weeks were busy as Annie and Aunt Jeane moved Grandpa’s things from his bedroom to the downstairs bedroom and began interviewing people to cook and clean for him. Annie spent a lot of her time at the hospital with Grandpa, entertaining him and trying to keep him from annoying the nurses. The better he felt, the more anxious he was to go home, and the crankier he became. Finally, after five days the doctor released him. Annie went with Uncle Troy and Aunt Jeane to bring him home. Over the next several days there was a steady stream of family and friends coming to visit. Annie made sure Grandpa didn’t overdo it, insisting he go to his room to rest frequently. She and Aunt Jeane had interviewed quite a few people to work for him and had narrowed it down to three women. Once Grandpa was home, they brought each of the women in to be interviewed by Grandpa. They refused to listen to his objections to hiring someone and insisted that he make a choice. He finally agreed to hire Martha, a young, energetic college student. Annie insisted that she start work right away so that Martha and Grandpa could get used to one another before Annie went home.

She talked to Bobby and the children on the phone every night. The kids made a point of telling her all about what they did at Aunt Janey’s house every day, especially how much fun they had playing with her dog. She smiled at their efforts to wait patiently for an answer about getting a dog. She knew that they needed to give them a definite answer soon.

Bobby and Alex were working on the murder of a psychiatrist. He didn’t say much about it, but she knew that they were investigating Garcia House, a group home for mentally ill people. The Garcias were very well-known for their work with the mentally ill. Annie had made arrangements for several patients to be referred to them over the years. So she was as shocked as everyone else when she saw on the news that they had been arrested for Medicare fraud. Bobby didn’t give her too many details, but he did say they had been looking at them for the murder but now it looked like they weren’t involved.

Annie called her mother-in-law at least every other day. She knew that Bobby had not seen or talked to his mother since the day she said she never wanted to see him again. He did call the facility every few days to check on her, but he did not speak to Frances. It was difficult for Annie to talk to her because Frances was still so angry with Bobby. She tried to smooth things over, but Frances wouldn’t talk about it. She desperately wanted to tell Frances the truth about what had happened with Frank. But Bobby had told her, ordered her, not to say anything.

Finally the two weeks were up, and Bobby was coming to get Annie. He didn’t bring the children because they were going to leave soon after he got there and it would have made for a very long day in the car for three active children. When the SUV pulled into the driveway, she ran out and threw herself into Bobby’s arms. He lifted her off the ground and kissed her.

They went in the house and Bobby spent some time visiting with Grandpa. Annie’s cousin, Marian, arrived and said that she would stay with Grandpa for the rest of the afternoon and make sure he was settled for the evening. Martha would be there in the morning to make breakfast for him. As they got ready to leave, Annie checked once more to make sure Grandpa had everything he needed so that he would not have to go up the stairs, although the doctor had told him he could make one trip up and down the stairs per day. A nurse came to check on him twice a week and a physical therapist was coming three times a week. Martha came to cook and clean five days a week. Annie knew that between her aunt and uncle, her cousins, and all of Grandpa’s friends that there would be someone checking on him every day.

She kissed Grandpa Goodbye as Bobby took her suitcase out to the car. As much as she wanted to get home and see her children, she was suddenly reluctant to leave her grandfather. Grandpa, who could read her thoughts as well as Bobby could, patted her cheek and reassured her that he would be fine. She hesitated before getting into the SUV, looking back up at the house. Bobby wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the back of her neck.

“He’s going to be fine, Babe,” he whispered into her ear.

She leaned back against him for a moment, then sighed and got into the car. She was quiet as they drove away; looking out the window at the familiar streets she had roamed as a child. Neither of them spoke until they were on the freeway.

“I went to see Mom last night,” Bobby said quietly.

Annie turned to look at him. “Last night? You drove up there after work?” It was a long drive and would have meant getting home late.

“Yes. I….I just…needed to….see her.”

“Why?”

“We got the man who murdered that psychiatrist.” Annie was confused at the sudden shift in topic. But she thought he would get around to answering her question in his own time.

“Who was it? Did it have anything to do with Garcia House?”

“Well, yes, but the Garcias themselves weren’t directly involved. One of the doctors they were using to defraud Medicare was this ophthalmologist. He was performing numerous eye surgeries; useless surgeries. Most of the people he operated on have irreparable damage to their eyes. The psychiatrist was hacking into the Medicare database, trying to find his brother-in-law. When he went to see the ophthalmologist, Dr. Dysart, he panicked and killed him.”

“So Dr. Dysart killed him because he was afraid of being arrested for fraud?” Annie asked.

“No. Dysart wasn’t afraid of being arrested so much as he was afraid of not being able to continue his ‘work’”.

“His work?”

“Dysart only performed those surgeries on schizophrenic patients. He thought he could cure their visual hallucinations and that would cure their schizophrenia.”

“What?” she asked incredulously. “That’s crazy! Hallucinations aren’t caused by the eyes.”

“It is crazy,” Bobby agreed. “That’s the point. Dysart is schizophrenic. He started having symptoms in medical school. That’s when this idea came to him. If he could stop the hallucinations, he could cure the disease. He went all these years without anyone knowing that he was having hallucinations himself. When he hooked up with the Garcias, he had a steady supply of schizophrenics to work on. And the Garcias didn’t care what he was doing as long as they got their cut of the Medicare money.”

Now Bobby’s visit to his mother was beginning to make sense to her.

Bobby continued. “After we got his confession, I just couldn’t stop thinking about my mother. Dysart fooled people for years. No one who knew him had any idea. But he didn’t have anyone close to him to notice; no family, no close friends. If there had been anyone close to him, anyone who understood, maybe he would have gotten the help he needed years ago.”

Annie reached over and caressed his cheek. “Bobby,