| Open Spaces Episode 28 |
| ** "One week and they're still oblivious." Harvey grinned at Rachel across the kitchen, "think it's time to break the news?" He had been staying at her house since they returned from Vegas, there really wasn't much of a reason to go home, even King had come with to Rachel's. "You say one word and you're a dead man." Rachel was only partially serious, she really wouldn't mind if people knew, had the circumstances been different. "You still want to see a lawyer?" Harvey thought it was humorous now, and maybe they should just let things go. "I think it would be best, I mean if they found out, we'd fuel the SIU rumor mill for weeks... maybe even years." Rachel had enough experience with the rumor mill to know for a fact that news so big wouldn't be ignored. "Come on, what could they say?" Harvey wasn't nearly as worried about the gossip around the SIU as she was. "If they heard this, they'd make assumptions." Rachel knew all too well that they'd start to make stories up as the rumors spread. "Like what?" Harvey couldn't imagine the people at the SIU getting too much further from the truth. "I have no desire to be known as the slut of the SIU.'' Rachel didn't want to give him any more ideas, so she didn't want to come out and say they'd think she was pregnant. "Why would anyone say that?" Harvey didn't know how she came up with that. "Harvey, think about it... most people don't do things like this nowadays unless there's a reason to rush." It was bad enough when the rumors started about her and Nash, she didn't need them floating around about her and Harvey. "You mean like a baby?" Harvey's eyes widened at his suggestion. "Yeah, like a baby." Rachel's mocking tone made him grin. He hit the nail right on the head. Rachel could tell what he was thinking from the mischevious smile across his face. "Don't even think about it." "What? That's not such a bad idea, I wouldn't mind." Harvey kissed her, a million thoughts were running through his mind. Rachel returned the kiss and things started to heat up. Rachel pulled back, knowing they both had to get to work. "What has gotten into you lately?" Rachel certainly didn't mind the change, but was curious about where it was all coming from. ** "Bayside, Inspector Garcia speaking..." "This is Captain Bridges, over at the SIU. I was wondering if you could provide me with a little information." Nash knew Cassidy wouldn't have known about Ryan either. No one did. "How can I help you, Captain?" It wasn't very often that they got a call from the SIU, but they like to help when they could. "I was wondering, is it possible for me to get the files on Steve Johnson case?" Nash didn't want come right out and ask for Ryan Mazza's records. "Which case? There's been a few." Everyone on the force had some type of dealings with Steve Johnson. He was notorious with the San Francisco police. "Inspector Leek's run-in?" Inspector Garcia knew that the SIU's Inspector Leek had gone head to head with Johnson. "No. The latest one, before he fled." Nash knew he'd have to be more specific. "Oh. Officer Mazza's?" She wondered what he would want with that file. Then, it hit her. "Right. Can I pick it up today?" Nash wanted to try and give Rachel closure, she still felt responsible. "I'll have it ready." Inspector Garcia figured it out, Officer McCabe worked at the SIU. She probably wanted to see the file. ** "Dinner tonight?" Harvey softly kissed her neck while Rachel was standing at the copy machine, after making sure no one was around. He left it at that when he saw someone coming from upstairs. Rachel grinned, "is it ever just dinner?" "Are you suggesting I come home with you afterwords? I didn't think you were that type of girl." Harvey loved to tease her about how quickly their relationship had advanced, especially since last week. "Well, I'm certainly not that type of guy.'' Rachel shamelessly grinned while watching as Harvey's eyes widened, "remember, you say anything about anything and it's back to Casa Leek for you." "Ouch." Harvey laughed, as if their little less than obvious displays of affection at work didn't say enough. He thought about sending out a memo. "Is that a promise or a threat?" Rachel got hold of his lapels, pulling him in extremely close. "Do you really want to find out?" ** "No word back from Bill?" Joe hadn't brought up Bill's name in a while, Nash wondered why. "Not yet. I guess he's thinking it over again." Joe still wasn't sure why he had to find her in the first place. "Think he changed his mind, now that he knows who it is?" Nash considered this was the likely answer. "Could be. I mean, he wasn't upset to know it was her. Mainly, he wondered why she hadn't told him herself." Joe hadn't been able to answer Bill's question, he honestly didn't know why Rachel never told him. "What about the little girl?" Nash was worried about Cecilia and everything that was going on. "She knows he was asking Rachel out and looking for her mother, I guess he'll tell her that Rachel and her mother are the same person." Joe wasn't sure what Bill planned to do. "And Rachel still has no idea?" Nash wasn't sure if Joe had finally told her or not. "Not as far as I know." Joe hadn't wanted to tell her anything without speaking to Bill first. ** "Look's like things are going well with Inspector Femme Fatale." Antwon smiled as Harvey came in from outside. "What makes you say that?" Harvey knew they'd have to be a little more key if they didn't want anyone to know what was going on. He thought they were doing well, considering. "I don't know, could be that you come in a little later in the mornings and you go home instead of out with the boys every evening? Or just the lipstick on your cheek?" Antwon loved to tease him each morning, standing by the door with a stop watch was now a regular occurence. "Huh?" Harvey touched his face with his hand. "Left side, just off the lips. She certainly left her mark." Antwon grinned, Harvey had it bad for her and he knew it. Harvey rubbed his lower jaw, and checked his fingers, smeared with red. He looked at Antwon, a little embarassed. "Is it off?" "Yeah. Leave it to you to make the most out of lunch." Antwon laughed, wondering exactly what went on. "It's not what you think." Harvey certainly didn't want to fuel Antwon's imagination. "Uh huh. You're getting busy on the break." Antwon watched as Harvey turned a bright shade of red. "Am not.'' It wasn't like they had gone home for lunch or anything like that. "Are too." Antwon was convinced that with Rachel being the other half of the relationship, anything was plausible. "Oh, what would you know about that?" Harvey laughed at Antwon's shocked expression, that should keep him quiet for a while. "I know that Pleasures for men doesn't smell like Pleasures for women, which is what she wears. Thank you very much, Estee Lauder." Success was his, he had gotten Harvey there. ** "Nash, I hear you asked for a file." Deputy Chief Martin came towards Nash with the file in his hand, "now what do you want this for?" "Like you, I like to check up on past cases and see if there has been any changes." Nash wanted to see if Johnson had been caught elsewhere and review the file. "Your men weren't on this case." This had been a case for Bayside, not the SIU. "Wait a minute, what's the deal? Checking up on McCabe's record?" "No, was she involved with Mazza's case?" Nash had to play dumb, he didn't want to show Martin what he already knew. "You know damn well she was, that was her partner." Martin couldn't understand Nash not knowing such a key fact. ''It wasn't her fault, had your men not let him get away before... this never would've happened." "I never tried to blame her.'' Nash had never considered she had anything to do with Ryan's death. "Inspector Leek didn't handle the case as he should've, he was more interested in getting Johnson's partner in crime than Johnson himself." Martin wished that Bayside would've taken the case, but the SIU beat them to it so they just brought Harvey on with the team who initially took the case since he had a past run in with Johnson. When they failed, Rachel and Ryan were called upon the next time Johnson came to town. "I admit, it was faulty on both ends. Unfortunately, Inspector Leek was occupied when Johnson returned." "You can't blame Officer Mazza's death on Harvey." Nash didn't like Martin passing the blame. "I didn't say it was his fault, all I meant to imply was had he been on the case, Ryan might still be alive and on the force today. Don't get me wrong, Inspector Leek is a fine detective." He paused a moment before handing Nash the file, "how is Rachel?" "She's doing well." Nash didn't want to tell Martin that Harvey and Rachel were involved, it wasn't his place. "I take it things are going well with her and Cassidy?" Martin had purposely paired her with Bridges' daughter, hoping to get her into the SIU. "Cassidy's doing alright, Rachel's been an excellent teacher." He wondered if Martin had heard about his personal involvement with Rachel. He didn't want to mention Cassidy was re-evaluating her career choice. "I guess I can tell you this now, I was a little surprised when your daughter was placed at Bayside, that she became a cop. I guessed that after years of being around you, it was in the blood. Cassidy was decent, she knew the game. I paired McCabe with her because she's good, she could teach Cassidy what she knows. I also did it to get Rachel into the SIU. I planned on moving her and Ryan both in that fall since you lost Caitlin and Evan, but we know how that worked out. You got lucky with McCabe and Babcock, they seem to be doing well. I don't know that I made the right choice by signing them over, as far as your daughter's concerned." Martin felt Nash had a right to know what was going on, and do what he thought was best. "You didn't think I'd take Rachel, on her own, after what happened with Ryan?" Nash didn't know what he would've done had Martin asked. ''There were no guarantees. I put them on a case I knew you'd have interest in and Rachel screwed up with that wire, and you came to the rescue. Rachel needed to get out of Bayside. Of course, Rachel doesn't know any of this and I'd prefer to keep it that way. '' Martin knew Rachel wouldn't have left Bayside on her own. "Why did you sign Cassidy over, if you didn't think she was ready?" Nash wondered why Martin placed her at the SIU if he doubted her ability. "She was a package deal with Rachel. Rachel doesn't like to leave unfinished business, she said if she left she wanted to bring Cassidy along." Martin had been a little surprised, but was willing to follow her instinct. "Rachel asked to bring her as her partner?" Nash hadn't expected to hear that. "Take the file, Nash, but know this, I'm watching you. I don't want to see Rachel get hurt. She deserved that promotion to the SIU, but it's Cassidy I'm worried about." Martin wasn't beyond threats, if Cassidy screwed up, he'd take her out of the SIU so fast Nash wouldn't know what hit him. ** "Oh, Rachel..." Antwon couldn't miss an opportunity like this, she was alone and the perfect target. "What?" Rachel walked over to his desk, wondering what his toothy grin meant to imply. "Tell me, what shade of lipstick was it on Harvey this afternoon? Was it M.A.C., in auburn maybe?" Antwon only knew this from when she was undercover, he had seen her make-up bag. "Huh?" Rachel tried to act like she didn't know what he was talking about. "Isn't that the color you wear?" Antwon smiled as Rachel squirmed before him, completely baffled by how he knew. "You should know better. Between the lipstick and the Pleasures, you really left your mark after lunch." Rachel looked at him, mortified. "How much did you see?" "There was something to see? I just saw the evidence you left behind." Antwon loved watching her guilty face. ** "Cassidy, come here." Nash wanted to talk with her, see how things were going. "Pull up a chair." "What's up?" Cassidy sat down, wondering what was on her father's mind. "What do you think, about working here at the SIU?" Nash knew his pull had helped get her and Rachel in, but Rachel was up for the promotion anyways --- Cassidy wasn't. "It's a lot of work, but it isn't bad." Cassidy had to admit, it was a bit much. "Does this have anything to do with the review you asked Rachel to write a while back?" "No, it doesn't. What do you think about Rachel?" Nash had to ask, maybe Martin had made a mistake by pairing the two. "You mean as a partner or as a person? Or should I say, your ex-girlfriend?" Cassidy didn't mind that he had dated Rachel, but she wasn't happy her dad was still pining over her to some degree. "I'll ignore the last part, I meant as a partner." Nash knew Cassidy was a lot more uneasy about his relationship with Rachel than she let on. "As a partner, she's great. She really knows her stuff. Rachel's got a lot of experience." There was no question, Rachel excelled in many areas where Cassidy was still learning. "She's been a cop for five years." Nash had worried about them pairing Cassidy with someone that advanced, he wondered why they chose Rachel instead of someone who had only been with the force a year or two. "Yeah, she doesn't hesitate to pull her rank, that's for sure." That was one thing Cassidy didn't like, Rachel could always pull her rank and if Cassidy didn't do what she wanted, Rachel gave orders. "She shouldn't have to, you should listen to her.'' Nash had only seen Rachel do this once, and she was in the right. "Are you doubting my judgment or my ability as an officer?" She hated when Nash did this, Cassidy was never sure if it was because he was her dad or her boss. "No, but you shouldn't question her authority." Nash knew Rachel had to cover for Cassidy's inexperience more than once. He could see Cassidy was unpleased with the advice. ** Bill Chamberlain walked into the SIU, not sure where he should go. Joe wasn't at his desk. He recognized Harvey and approached him. "Inspector Leek?" "Yes?" Harvey wasn't exactly sure, but the man looked very familiar. He knew him from somewhere. ''Is Inspector McCabe in?" Bill tried to call her at home, not sure when she got off. When there was no answer, he assumed she was still at the SIU. "She's upstairs, I'll get her for you. Is she expecting you?" Harvey wondered where he knew the man from. "No, I really don't think she is." He shyly put his hands in his pockets and looked to the floor, wondering if he was doing the right thing. "Can I get your name? I'll let her know you're here." Harvey waited a moment, getting another mental picture of this guy. "Oh, yeah, sorry... it's Bill Chamberlain." A light went off in Harvey's head as the man looked up towards the stairs. That's where he knew him from, the hospital. He remembered what Rachel had told him after they left that afternoon. Harvey debated lying to the man instantaneously, wondering what he could want with Rachel now. The flowers were bad enough. "You know, I just remembered..." Harvey began, but realized he can't do it. "I'll get her." "Thank you." Bill paced around the area slowly, wondering why she would've lied to him about who she was. He wondered why she didn't tell him any reason he would've found the name so familiar right away, or why she didn't try to contact him anytime before or after. This explained why she never called him back. Harvey went up stairs, wondering why Bill would be here to see Rachel now. She had gone against her wishes and not told him who she really was, she lied to him to protect herself and her daughter and now he was here? It didn't make sense to Harvey, and he knew it wouldn't make sense to Rachel either. He got up the stairs and looked for Rachel, seeing her over by the coffee pot. Not knowing what he really wanted, Harvey decided to just tell Rachel the man was here --- not any of his own suspicions as to why he was. "Harvey," Rachel looked to him with her mischevious smile as he slowly walked up behind her. "Hey, Rache," Harvey replied quietly over her shoulder, in a more somber tone, "Bill Chamberlain is here to see you." "WHAT? What's he doing here?" She immediately braced the counter for support. "He's downstairs, he just came in," Harvey paused," do you want to come down or do you want me to send him up?" He lightly touched his hand to Rachel's back, hoping to calm her somewhat. "I'll go down." She was unbelievably tense and on edge, she had no idea why he would be there. She gave him a plausible lie and nothing else to go on, she gave him no inclination of who she really was. The shock of the moment overwhelmed her. Her eyes slowly began to well up with tears, she didn't hesistate to wipe them away, not wanting anyone else to see her this weak. She reached for the counter again for support, clutching it. "Rachel, are you okay?" Harvey looks at her, waiting for a response as he watches her eyes slowly welling up again and the water gently streaming down. She gripped the countertop as if she were holding on for dear life. "What have I done, Harvey? What have I done?" She released her hands from the counter and wiped her eyes, "get a hold of yourself, McCabe." She turned to walk away and started down the stairs. "Do you want me to go down with you?" Harvey couldn't help but ask, he knew for sure what the answer will be. "No, I should do this on my own." Rachel had no idea why he'd come back now. Surely if he would've known, he had an opportunity to say something to her at the hospital. She saw him there, on the landing. It was time to confront her demons. "You know, for being the only Rachel E. McCabe in San Francisco, you are a pretty hard woman to find." Bill smiles at her, trying to release some of the tension he sensed from the moment she approached him. "Do you have a few minutes?" "Yes," she hesistated a moment, remembering she had dinner plans with Harvey. She'd just have to hope for now that he would understand, "what can I do for you?" "Is there somewhere we can talk?" he questionned, motioning towards the door. "Yes, of course. I'll be just a minute." She waved him on and finds Harvey waiting just behind her on the stairs. He could see the worry has set in upon her face. "So?" He put his arm out and rested it gently on Rachel's shoulder. "He wants to talk to me," she paused, trying to collect herself, "outside of the SIU." "And?" Harvey knew they had dinner plans, but he certainly wasn't going to bring those up now as she stood before him so concerned over Bill Chamberlain. "I'm gonna go." She looked up to Harvey, as if she was seeking his approval. "Call me later, then..." He didn't want to be at her house if she didn't want him there. Harvey could use some extra hours at the SIU to catch up. He paused and Rachel began to walk towards the door, "Rache?" She turned around and glanced back at Harvey, with a slight smile "yes?" "Everything's gonna be fine." He wanted to go with her, to make sure everything was okay, but he knew she had to do this on her own. ** "Why aren't you out with the armed seductress?" Antwon wondered why Harvey was still hanging around the SIU at this hour. He had gotten off a couple hours before, but was at his desk staring at old files. "Trouble in paradise?" Antwon worried he might have caused a rift with his earlier comments about their lunch hour. "She had to take care of some personal business." Harvey didn't know if she'd want him to say anything about Cecilia or not, though just about everyone probably knew. "Oh.'' Antwon could see that this wasn't a laughing matter, "with the guy, the one who came in looking for her?" "Yeah.'' Evidently, Antwon had seen him and knew something was up. "What's with that?" "Can I trust you won't say anything?" Harvey knew if it was serious, he could trust Antwon. The last thing Rachel needed was this hitting the gossip mill. He knew Antwon respected Rachel enough not to say anything if he asked him not to. "Of course." Antwon could see they had hit a sensitive subject. Antwon pulled a chair up to Harvey's desk. "Dr. Babcock is ready to listen." Harvey gave a slight smile, "thanks. That guy, the one you saw, that was Bill Chamberlain." "She saved his kid at Riley, right?" Antwon remembered the name. "Dark-haired little girl, she handed her to me through the window?" "Right." Harvey wondered what type of conclusion, if any, Antwon would reach. ''And he asked her out then too, didn't he? He's the flower man?" Antwon had remembered overhearing her conversation with Nash, she wasn't too pleased when she found out who had sent the flowers. "Yeah, that's him." Harvey was a little surprised by what Antwon seemed to know. "But she turned him down, right?" Antwon could tell Harvey was unsettled about this guy being in Rachel's life. Harvey shook his head. "So what does he want?" "He's the father of her child." Harvey watched as Antwon's eyes grew larger. "She's pregnant?" Antwon thought he had really missed something, no wonder why Harvey looked so stressed out. "No, nothing like that. Her daughter isn't quite six." Harvey chuckled, this was exactly how rumours got started. "I didn't even know she had a kid." Antwon wondered why Rachel never told him about her, they were close and this was important. "Not many people do. Technically, she doesn't have her." It was obvious Antwon hadn't heard through the grapevine, luckily her secret was still pretty much kept just that. "The father does?" Antwon assumed if she didn't, he would. "Not the real father, the adoptive father." Harvey didn't want to get into a whole discussion about Scott. "Oh, it's like that. And she didn't tell him who she was? He didn't know who she was?" This explained why Rachel was so hesitent to call Bill about the flowers. "No. Apparently, he's been trying to find her and asked Joe for help." Harvey knew Joe and Bill were friends and Cecilia was in school with Lucia. "She went to talk with him." ** "So, why didn't you say who you were?" Bill looked at Rachel across the table, carefully studying each line on her face and comparing it to the mental image of the daughter he had considered his own. The small talk had gotten them half way through dinner, now it was time to cut to the chase. "I didn't think it was the time or the place, I thought you'd be angry about it." She couldn't believe what she was doing, she was sitting with the man she had given her daughter to nearly five and a half years before. "Angry? Rachel, you're Lili's birth mother --- you gave my daughter. I wouldn't be angry to know who you are." She was so humble and soft spoken, nothing like he had expected from the beginning or even when he met her again at the hospital. Rachel came off as a hard as nails spitfire, he would've never imagined this side of her. "But that's just the thing, I don't know that I couldn't have wanted more than you just knowing who I was." Bill couldn't have been more serious, he didn't believe that Rachel would just tell him who she was and expect things to remain as they were. "Oh." Bill pulled away from the table, sitting back in his chair . "See, that's exactly why I didn't say anything. You and your wife are her parents, not me. I'm the one who decided to give her up when she was born. I don't know that I could've ended things by telling you who I was - so I didn't. The last thing she needs is me screwing up her life at this point..." Bill interrupted Rachel, "are you done yet?" stopping for a minute to think, he smiled warmly at Rachel. "You're going about this completely the wrong way. When I found out who you were, it all made sense. What happened at the school was fate. It was a complete coincidence that you were who you are. This time, it isn't on you. I wanted to find you. I didn't know it was you till Joe told me. I recognized the face, but the names didn't click. " "But why did you want to find me?" Rachel couldn't, not even for one second, imagine why on earth Bill would want to find her again. She certainly couldn't fathom why his wife would want Rachel in the picture either. At least not now. "I couldn't just let you slip away. I guess that's why I started with the flowers, you were exactly the type of woman I was looking for. You reminded me of her mother, and it just didn't hit me that it was you all along. Lili has been asking about you quite frequently and I'd love to provide her with a better answer." Rachel was surprised to hear that Cecilia had asked about her. "Why would she be asking about me?" "Why wouldn't she be?" Bill thought it was perfectly normal. "Bill, please. I'm sure Cecilia doesn't even know who I am." Rachel wondered how her daughter could know who she was, she certainly wouldn't remember her. "Rachel, she does. She knows you saved her life, and she's going to remember that forever," he pauses a moment, "and if I have my say, she'll know who you really are as well. I haven't been calling you because your her mother, I've been calling to ask you out myself. It just happened that you were the same person. She should know that." "No. I don't want her to know who I am." Rachel got up from her chair, ready to leave. "Give me one good reason why not, Rachel." The expression on Bill's face changed to a more serious look. "Because, I'm the one that gave her up. I shouldn't get a second chance, not a chance like this." Bill moved in closer and lightly grabbed her arm, trying to prevent her from leaving. "I have to admit, I've thought about it myself as well," he pauses, "but, I think I'd regret even more it if I didn't give you and Lili a chance. You deserve this, Rachel, and so does she." "Tell me this, then, what does your wife say about all this? She certainly wouldn't want me coming back now." Rachel was now completely confused and frustrated. This just couldn't be happening. "She'd think it was wonderful. Actually, we brought it up a while ago, " he paused a moment, he was a little choked up, "Mary died almost a year ago." "I'm sorry, Bill. I didn't know." Rachel believed she was the biggest idiot on the face of the earth that moment. It made sense, she was gone and now he wanted to find Rachel to give Cecilia a mother. And she just shoved his offer back at him. He looked at her, with his teared eyes and his heart on his sleeve. She felt miserable. "I've got to get going. Thank you." She grabbed her jacket and ran out of the restaurant, straight to her car. She got in and slid down into her seat, starting to cry. ** |
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