| ** "Good morning." Harvey opened the door and gave Rachel a very welcoming kiss as she walked into his house. "Good morning to you, too. Here, take these." Rachel handed him a bag from the farmers' market and headed towards the kitchen after checking to make sure Jerry hadn't made his first morning appearance. "What's this?" Harvey carefully inspected the bag, finding fresh strawberries inside. "I could guess a few things but..." He chuckled at the thought, but there wasn't champagne in the bag. Rachel wasn't a morning person, that couldn't be what she had in mind. "They're for your son." Rachel shot Harvey a glance as he entered the kitchen. She took Jerry's favorite cereal bowl out of the cabinet and got out the corn flakes and milk. It was evident, Jerry had Rachel wrapped around his finger. "I'm going back to work tomarrow." Harvey was sure she'd think it was too soon, but he thought he should warn her now. Rachel cut up the strawberries and nervously threw them onto the cereal. "So that's it, you're just going to completely disregard what the doctor told you?" Harvey had nearly been home for a week and the doctor's warning couldn't have been further from his mind. He looked at her across his kitchen, standing in aggravated stance against the counter. ''Rachel, I'm going to be fine. The only reason you're so worried is because you were trained to put that medical mumbo jumbo into people's heads. Welcome back to the real world where we are forced to decipher it and derive our own meanings." He didn't want her to worry about him, but he knew she would anyways. She was that type of person. "I worry because I care about you, Harvey. I know what he said, he was being very realistic." He could see she was much more serious than he had been about the issue. Harvey didn't want to think about the worst possible situation, he wanted to think about the future. He walked over towards her and gently ran his hand across her face. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, you'll just have to deal with me." He moved in for a passionate kiss and a long embrace. It wasn't but a minute or two later when Rachel heard Jerry running down the hall. "Kid alert.'' He kissed her again before pulling away. When Jerry was around, they tried to keep things as low-key as possible. It wasn't easy. "Rachel, when did you come here?" Jerry eyed the table where he noticed a bowl full of corn flakes was waiting for him. Rachel always put fruit on his cereal, he knew it was for him. ''I wanted to see you before work and bring you strawberries." The last morning Rachel was there before Harvey got home, they had run out of strawberries and just put bananas on their cereal. Jerry had been disappointed. "You remembered?" Jerry was impressed, not only had she remembered he wasn't overly fond of the bananas but she came to make his cereal. "Sorry it's a little late." Rachel had intended to bring them two days before but she overslept and didn't get to Harvey's until that evening. Jerry grabbed a spoon from the drawer and sat down at the table to eat. "It's okay." Jerry gave Rachel his cheesiest grin in appreciation, complete with partially chewed cornflakes and milk dripping from his mouth. "I should get going, maybe I can get out of there at a decent hour." Rachel picked up her purse and started to walk towards the living room. "I'll walk you out." Harvey moved quickly to catch up, cutting her off just before she got to the door. "I've been home for the past few days and I feel fine, of course, you being here makes a considerable difference." He wanted to assure her he was okay, that he wasn't jeopardizing his health. "Harvey, I don't want to lose you." That's exactly what she was afraid would happen if he didn't tale care of himself. "Not like this." He wanted to lighten the mood, bring up a less somber topic. Harvey acted like he was pouting, distraught over his son getting her complete attention. "I must admit, I'm a little jealous of the special treatment Jerry is receiving while the sick go unattended to." Harvey grinned, hoping to spark some lively reaction. "Do you want berries on your cereal too?" Rachel knew Harvey wasn't talking about cereal. She grinned at him shamelessly. He ran his hand across her cheek and she thoroughly kissed him in return. "I had something else in mind..." As much as Harvey loved having Jerry around, he wanted some time alone with Rachel too. "We'll just have to see what we can do about that, won't we?" She kissed him again and hated to pull away, but she did. He stood there in the doorway, the scent of her perfume still permeating the air. ** Bill walked into his office building and found Maggie already preparing his morning coffee, even though he was coming in at ten-thirty, three hours later than usual. "Any messages?" He was hoping Rachel had finally called. He had sent the flowers nearly a week ago. "Just from Dr. Morgan, but he said he'll call you back later on." Maggie handed him his coffee before he walked to his own office. "Oh, alright." Bill thought about it for a minute, maybe she was seeing someone else and that's why she hadn't called. Maybe somehow she knew about him. "Maggie?" "Yes, Bill?" Maggie wondered about this mystery woman Bill was sending flowers to. She knew this was the cop who saved his daughter, but Bill seemed to have taken a much more personal interest in her. "Call the florist and have her send a bouquet of Gerber daisies and wild orchids to the same addresses, with the same message. But have them delivered this evening, around five-thirty or six." Bill at least wanted her to call, tell him what was going on and why she hadn't responded earlier. All he wanted was dinner and a chance to talk. ** "You ever find out who sent those funerial flowers to your house and the SIU?" Rachel had returned from the copier to find Harvey sitting on the corner of her desk. Harvey had been extremely curious about who was sending his girl flowers. He wished he could claim the act as his own, but circumstances at the time didn't allow for such a gesture. ''You mean it wasn't you?" Rachel smiled, only half serious. She knew that Harvey had been too busy at the time to worry about sending her flowers. "Maybe its a final romantic gesture from Vincent." "Ugh, bite your tongue." Harvey's sour face brought his disgust for that man to life. "There was a number on there, but I never called.'' Rachel had seen the number along with the message, break policy just this once. The message didn't particularly ring a bell. The only thing Rachel could think of was the often ignored company policy of no interdepartmental dating, but Harvey hadn't sent them. Nash wouldn't have done it either, not now. She didn't know the number so she never called. "Why not? Inspector McCabe, maybe you need to go back to the Academy." Harvey was interested, a definite mystery to be solved. "I've had a few other things on my mind." She jabbed him lightly in the arm with her pen to evoke some reaction. "Oh really? Such as...?" Harvey's eyes lit up at the suggestions as she whispered in his ear. "Care to exemplify?" "Not on company time, Inspector." Rachel smiled at him mischeviously, knowing she had successfully taunted him for the afternoon. She sulked back to her chair and sat down, pretending like she was ready to work. "Besides, you shouldn't be here." "What's the difference? I'm coming in tomarrow." Harvey wanted to come into see her and pick up a little work to keep him busy at home while Jerry took his nap. "You never listened to me when you came back to work much too soon." "That was different." Rachel's condition had been far less severe, whether Harvey agreed to that or not was a different story. He hadn't been thrilled with the doctor's news, but it wasn't going to stop him from enjoying his life. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Different,smifferent. Are you coming over tonight?" Harvey was planning to cook a nice dinner for her at his place with Jerry. "You tell me." She pretended to be indifferent with his suggestion and looked back over the files Nash had neatly stacked on her desk. Harvey walked towards her side of the desk and crouched to her level. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't leave'' he whispered in her ear and stood up, trying not to make a scene and attract everyone's attention. "That sounds promising." Harvey grinned and walked away from her desk, his attempts at teasing her daily would be renewed. ** "I'll get you the information as soon as I find it, I've got my secretary Maggie helping me dig." Bill had been on a mission to find all that he could about Cecilia's birth mother and get it all to Joe. Joe had come to his office to see if he had found anything yet. ''Whatever you've got, I'll take it.'' Joe could tell this wasn't going to be an easy case, especially if the birth mother didn't want to be found. "I just wish I knew where Mary had put it... that would help tremendously." Mary had dealt with much of the adoption process herself and had taken care of a majority of the work. All Bill had to do was sign the final papers and the check. "Tell me again why you're so interested in doing this now?" Joe couldn't understand why Bill would want to unearth the past at this point in Cecilia's life. "A variety of personal reasons." Bill didn't want to get into that right now, he wanted to find the papers so Joe could get to work. "Joe?" "Yes?" The tone Bill had used hinted at a change of topic, Joe wondered what was up. "You know Inspector McCabe?" Bill was sure Joe knew her, he was almost positive he worked with her on a day-to-day basis. "Yeah, why?" Joe wasn't sure why Bill would be asking about Rachel. He knew Bill had met her once after the incident at Riley, but he didn't think his interest would go any further. ''I was wondering if she was seeing anyone.'' Bill didn't want to blurt it out, but there was no way around it. Joe had a right to be curious about Bill questionning one of his employees. "I'm not really sure, she could be." There had been rumours about her and Harvey floating around the SIU, but there was nothing definite. He had to consider each piece of gossip carefully, thou according to the rumour mill, she should be do for a reunion with Nash right about now. "You got the hots for her?" He was now Joe the friend, as opposed to Lieutenant Dominguez, private investigator. "You have to admit Joe, she isn't too hard on the eyes." Bill smiled, she was quite attractive. ''Yeah, she's not too bad..." Joe had to tried to think of her as a woman and not an employee, "if that's the type of woman you're after." "Type?" Bill wondered what Joe meant to imply. "Hard-headed, fierce, loud, frank...she's a pint-sized bully." Joe smiled, knowing Rachel would've killed him for saying that. He paused a minute, seeing Bill was seriously interested. "So, you really like her?" "I met her once, at the hospital, but I'd like to see her again. She has an incredible smile." Bill was instantly smitten with Rachel, the fact she saved his daughter only helped her cause. "I could say something to her, if you'd like." The verses of the song from Fiddler on the Roof played in Joe's head, hoping this matchmaking endeavor could work out better than the one between his contractor and architect. "Not just yet.'' Bill grinned, hopeful now that Joe said he'd offer a hand and that she's not seeing anyone right now. Maybe he'd have a chance with her yet. ** "Before you leave, somebody robbed a florist and left the evidence on your desk." Nash pointed to the large flower arrangement that had just been set upon her desk by his secretary. "What's with all these flowers?" Rachel wasn't angry about receiving them, but she wanted to know where they were coming from. Nash followed Rachel over to her desk. "I think Harvey is really trying to say something." Nash had assumed all along that these flowers and the others had been sent by Harvey. "They're not from him. I asked." Rachel looked at the card again, finding the same message and phone number. "I was afraid they might be from Vincent." "I doubt he's sending flowers to you from the pen, despite the fact that you two are engaged." Nash smiled, he loved to torture Rachel about Vincent's proposal. "Who could they be from?" Rachel looked at Nash, partly accusative. "Don't look at me, I'm not crazy." Nash laughed, knowing he'd have to deal with Harvey if he made such a daring move. "Maybe you should call and find out." "I'm not sure I want to." Rachel thought for a minute the flowers could be from Scott, but she anticipated more anger coming from him rather than a kind gesture. "It's your call..." Nash wondered who the flowers could be from, considering maybe he should call the number himself. No. It was no longer his place. But what if he was just looking out for a friend? ** "Can I see Doc soon?" Jerry hadn't seen Rachel's dog since she left Harvey's house. King was a great dog, but not nearly as playful as Doc. Dinner had gone over well, as always, and Jerry had been the center of attention. Harvey couldn't remember a time when Jerry had liked one of his father's friends any more than he liked Rachel. "You bet." Rachel didn't mind having Jerry around, it kept her busy. She missed having a child in her life, a void she hoped would one day be filled. "Jerry, why don't you head upstairs and get a start on getting ready for bed?" Jerry nodded at his father's suggestion and went down the darkened hall. "I'm sorry about that." Harvey didn't want Jerry to keep imposing himself upon Rachel. He didn't want to throw her into a ready-made family. "Don't be sorry, I don't mind at all." Jerry's presence had been a highlight since her encounter with Bill and Cecilia. He definitely made the time go by faster and didn't allow her mind to wonder. "He thinks you're great." Jerry had told Harvey what he thought of Rachel. Harvey had been a little surprised with his reaction, not expecting him to take so well to a new woman in his life or the competition for his father's attention. "Oh yeah, what about you? What do you think?" His son's opinion was important, but it was what Harvey really thought that mattered. She looked at him suggestively. "I've done a lot worse." Harvey chuckled as she hurled the pillow next to her at him, and he saw the playful fury in her eyes. He pulled her in closer to him, "I'm not done yet..." Rachel released the second pillow from her hand, letting it fall to the floor, "but I don't think I've done any better." "Oh well, if that's the case..." Rachel's eyes locked with Harvey's, as they both forgot there was a small child in the house. "Kid alert." Rachel sat up before Jerry made it back into the living room. She realized that to anyone else, the peculiar position of their bodies and their intertwined legs on the couch would be suspicious. Harvey sat up and scooted farther down the couch as Jerry entered the room, still holding Rachel's hand underneath the pillow. "Time for a story?" Harvey tried to read Jerry a different story or two each night before bed. "I'm tired, Dad." Jerry stood before them, rubbing his eyes and looking ready to conk out on the floor. "No story now." "Want me to tuck you in?" Jerry shook his head, it didn't matter who tucked him in at this point. He was ready for bed. "I'll go.'' Rachel got up from the couch and waited for Jerry while he gave his father a goodnight hug. Rachel walked up the stairs with him towards his room. Harvey sat there a moment, wondering how he had gotten so lucky. Rachel was nearly as crazy about Jerry as he was. He never considered that anyone he brought home would ever hit it off so well with his son, but apparently he and Anna were both wrong. ** "What are you cooking up over there?" Nash looked suspiciously at Joe, rifiling through papers on his desk. Joe had gotten there surprisingly early t hat "Working on a case, for a friend." Joe wanted to tell Nash what was going on. "So, a little side job on company time?" Nash really didn't mind, they weren't exactly busy at the SIU for the time being. "What do you have?" "Personal matter, my friend's looking for someone in the city." Joe didn't want to get into details, though Nash's help would probably make a lot of difference in the case. Nash had a knack for finding people. "One of those." Nash really didn't like this type of case, never knowing for sure what one person's true motive for finding the other was. "It's not like that, his reason is legit." Bill had to have had a good reason to be looking for Cecilia's mom, he wasn't the type to do things spontaneously. "I see, but you still have reservations." Nash could tell by the look on Joe's face that there was something about this case that left him unsure. ** "I thought I told you to stay home and enjoy the day with your son." Harvey walked up the stairs towards Rachel. It was now customary for them to spend some time after lunch outside together. Rachel hadn't seen him all morning or during lunch, she thought maybe he took her advice. "I spent the morning with him at the zoo, I wanted to spend the afternoon with you for a change." He had a little work to do from Nash, but it wasn't anything he could't catch up on later. He wanted some time alone with Rachel to talk, but he knew they were still within earshot of many anxious listeners inside. "You spend lots of afternoons," she paused for a minute to check for anyone else and kissed him passionately while holding onto his lapels, "and evenings with me too." "I mean outside of work." Harvey knew what she meant, but a majority of their private relationship overlapped their professional. "Work doesn't count?" Rachel stepped back a minute, appearing to pout. "Not for times outside of this." Harvey pulled her back in for a long, investigative kiss. "What was that for?" Rachel was a little surprised he'd do that, being so close to the SIU. "I'm making up for lost time." Harvey smiled, knowing he was unable to promise when they'd actually get an evening alone. They'd have to make the best out of what time they had. ** "I wish I knew more about her, Joe. I do." Bill had regretted not being there with Mary when Cecilia was born. "Mary had made all the arrangements, she had wanted children from day one. When we found out we couldn't have our own, she was devastated. We looked into adoption right away. Her cancer was in remission, but it didn't make us the best candidates. We had a few calls right away, but nothing worked out." "Can they really discriminate like that, with her cancer?" Joe hadn't been aware that some agencies were so discriminatory and unfair. "They can and they do. Anyways, we decided to do it privately. Mary had a friend working as a nurse, with U of C at San Franscisco and she had heard about a med student who was giving her baby up for adoption. The nurse had talked to this woman and put Mary in contact with her. I wasn't ready for another let down so I stayed out of it. She met with Mary, and it was all legit. Mary said it was evident immediately that the girl loved her child, but just wasn't ready to be a single mother." "Did you handle everything for the adoption?" Joe wasn't sure, Bill's being a lawyer could've made things all the easier for them. "We had another friend handle it. We didn't want to smother the girl, or put too much pressure on her. We got our hopes up and she was very promising. I had spoken to her once or twice on the phone and saw her once, but Mary went to every appointment with her. The months went by and everything was going well. We didn't hear from her for a while in her last month, the due date came and went. She didn't call. I was convinced she changed her mind and was ready to move on. I had a business trip to go on, in New York. I wanted Mary to go, but she insisted she stay at home, she was sure she'd get a call. I left town and she called, two weeks after her due date, Cecilia was born. I came home and I had a family." "So it was a closed adoption, I take it?" From how it sounded, he assumed they hadn't had any contact with the mother since Cecilia's birth. "We offered to keep her updated, through the hospital. After a few months, we lost contact with her and no one there knew how to reach her. Before Mary got ill again, we planned to adopt another baby and told Cecilia she was adopted. We wanted her to meet her real mother eventually, and we figured that was a good time to tell her where she came from. Then, Mary got worse and we didn't adopt, but she made me promise before she died that I'd find her. She wanted me to give Cecilia a real mother, her real mother. Mary was convinced that deep down, she would've kept the baby if there had been a way. But, she loved her enough to let her go. She said it was now my duty to give her a second chance that she deserved." ''So that's why you want to find her?" His motives were now clear, he was fulfilling his wife's dying wish. "Among other reasons." Bill didn't want to get into depth, but this was his main cause for the search. "Anything you remember about her? That stands out?" Joe needed all the help he could get. "About Rachel? Wow... it seems so long ago." Bill couldn't remember much from around that time, he was consumed in happiness and nothing else seemed to matter. "Rachel's her name?" Up till then, Bill hadn't attached a name to Cecilia's birth mother. Now at least he had a name. "Yes. She had an Scottish last name of some sort, I don't remember it. I looked it up in the phone book before, and there were at least three women with the same first and last name in the area." Bill didn't expect it to be that easy, to look it up in the phone book and there she'd be. "I see. Anything about her looks?" A description might be useful. "She had a gorgeous smile, and the most expressive eyes... I do remember that much because I see it every time I look at my daughter." He remembered that much about her physical attributes. "Long, dark hair. It was past her shoulders, she wore it up when I saw her. Thin and petite." Bill knew that she could've very well changed in appearances over the years, everything from her hair to her weight. "I think Mary had a picture, but I have no idea where that would be." "A picture would really help." Joe needed a last name more than a picture, but he'd work with what he could. "Ever try and reach the father?" Joe knew it was a longshot, but it was worth a try. "No, Rachel hadn't told the father she was pregnant. I know Mary had seen a picture or two of him, after questionning Rachel about what the father looked like. He was a fellow med student and she transferred hospitals after she found out." He had learned that much about her from Mary. ''A pregnancy on the run, interesting." Joe couldn't make heads or tales of this woman. "She wasn't the careless type, I mean, the pregnancy wasn't planned but it wasn't unwanted either. If she didn't care, she would've had an abortion despite it being late in her pregnancy. Rachel wasn't the type of woman who sold her eggs or her plasma to get through school, she had money but she wanted to give her daughter a better life.'' Bill didn't know what a character description would do for Joe, but it was worth a try. "Okay then, I'll try and work with what I've got. I'll start with the hospital birth and employment records." Joe leaned back into his chair, this was going to be tough. ** "Now, before you get mad and storm off... let me tell you, I did this as a friend." Nash wanted to tell Rachel who it was sending the flowers, knowing she had been a little worried over it. "What have you done?" Rachel looked at him, he could see the anger in her eyes. He smiled at her, trying to calm her down. "I called that number, on the card." Nash had called the night before, he wasn't surprised to find out who it was. "Nash, I told you not to. I don't want to know." Rachel slammed her desk drawer and picked up her purse, ready to leave. "Rachel, come on." He knew she'd be concerned once she knew who it was, but he felt it was better she knew in case he did anything else. "Nash, leave me alone. I'm drawing the line here, this is too personal." Rachel didn't know where their friendship ended and his romantic interest began. "I told you, I did this as a friend." Nash could see why Rachel was so sensitive to the matter, but he did this to help her --- not hurt her. "It's Bill Chamberlain." "Dammit, Nash!" Rachel collapsed back into her chair, this was exactly what she didn't want to hear. "He knows, he has to know." "Maybe not, you said it yourself that he asked you out." Rachel had told Nash about Bill asking her out at the hospital. "That was because of what I did, I still think he might know something." Rachel wondered how Bill couldn't recognize her, the past five and a half years haven't changed her that much. "Rachel, you're an attractive woman and you're a good woman. You ever think maybe that's why he asked you out?" Nash wanted to believe that Bill hadn't found out who Rachel really was, that he had other reasons for asking her out. "Nash, don't start." In Rachel's mind, there had to be a hidden motive. "What are you going to do?" Nash thought perhaps she should call and set the record straight, but he didn't think she'd consider revealing herself as an option. "I don't know." Rachel would've preferred to go on not knowing who it was, it was easier to deal with the mystery than the truth. ** "What's a matter, Joe? You're too quiet." Inger sat with Joe on the couch. He had been quiet most evenings lately. "I know. This case I've got, I don't know what to do." He wanted to tell Inger so badly, but he didn't want to disregard Bill's request for privacy. "Ah, Joe..." She kissed him gently on the cheek, "you'll work something out, you always do." "But this is different, Inger. I'm really torn." Joe didn't want to get so involved with a friend's personal business, it just didn't seem right. He knew he couldn't give the case to someone else, Bill had come to him. "Why don't you tell me, Joe, maybe I can help?" Inger knew there would always be certain details of his job that Joe wasn't willing or able to divulge. "I wish I could, but I can't." Joe felt Inger had a right to know, Cecilia was almost like another daughter for them. ** Harvey watched from the doorway as Rachel lovingly tucked Jerry in under the covers later that evening. She closed the book and turned out the light before coming out into the hall where she found Harvey waiting for her. Harvey kissed her gently, "how did you do that? It normally takes me one or two stories before he'll even settle down." "Maybe I bored him to sleep." Harvey laughed at the thought, Rachel had displayed some of the most animated storybook reading he had seen yet. He couldn't resist kissing her again as she stood before him. "He has had to contend with me for the past few days." "That's not such a bad thing, there are worse punishments." Harvey walked with her towards the living room, stopping several times along the way to kiss her again. By the time they made it to the couch, kissing had transpired into heavily making out. "Harvey," she waited for him to respond, as he slowly began to unbutton her shirt. "Yes?" "Should we really be doing this, I mean, now?" Rachel knew it was something she'd have to get used to, but Jerry's presence had her concerned. "He's asleep, Rachel. Don't worry." He kissed her again to silence her. A few moments later, another thought crossed her mind. ''Harvey?" She had thought of something else... a little more important. "Yes?" He was a little annoyed by the distraction. "Are you sure you're up to this?" Rachel had been concerned about Harvey, medically speaking, and didn't want to damage his health by their rush to the bedroom. He kissed her again, and worked his way from her lips to her shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone standing in the hall. She turned her head back towards Harvey, completely mortified. "Harvey..." "You worry too much." He continued, ignoring her completely and then silencing her with a lingering kiss. "Harvey," she hoped he'd take the hint now as she struggled to move from underneath him. "What?'' Harvey was annoyed with the interruptions. He looked up into her deep brown eyes as she leaned in closer to whisper in his ear while clasping her shirt together with her hand. She was completely embarassed and had turned a nice shade of crimson. "Is something wrong?" "I believe we have an audience." Harvey looked to find Jerry standing in the hallway, his eyes locked on what he had found before him. They, or at least he, had some serious explaining to do. ** |
| Roadblock Episode 23 |
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