| Seperation Anxiety Episode 34 |
** Cassidy sat, parked at the corner. She had the perfect view of Pete Armstrong's apartment. Nash had sent her out on surveillance a few hours earlier, under explicit instructions to call the minute he moved. Pete was a suspect for the murder of two local convenience store clerks. Nothing was certain, he was just a suspect. She watched as a thin, dark haired Hispanic man walked across the street. The man looked just like him. An exact replica. The eyes, the hair, the body, the face. Cassidy got out of the car, she had to see him up close. She glanced up to Pete Armstrong's apartment, there was still visaible movement in the kitchen. She had time. She followed the man down the strret. It was Evan, it had to be. Pete glanced down where he knew Cassidy was parked and waited a few moments for her to return. When Cassidy didn't come back, he made his exit. ** Dr. Jones looked at Bill sadly, "unfortunately, it doesn't look like the medicine is taking the desired effect." "So my trip out here was useless." Bill suddenly wished he had left Lili at home with Rachel in San Fransisco, instead of making them both uproot their lives on the off chance he might live a few months longer. "If anything, it bought you a little time." Dr. Jones knew he couldn't give Bill any definite guarantees as to how long he had. "How much time?" Bill wanted to know how much time he had, to see what he had time to accomplish. "No more than six months." Dr. Jones hated to bring the bad news. ** Cassidy looked around, Pete Armstrong was gone. She got into her car and pulled out the phone, already dreading Nash's wrath. "Bridges." Nash had been waiting for her call all day, hoping they'd catch him before anyone else ended up dead. "Daddy, it's me. Armstrong got away. He's gone." Cassidy didn't want to tell him why. She didn't want to explain. "What? I told you to call for backup." Nash tried not to get too angry, but this case could go on forever if they didn't stay one step ahead. "I'm sorry, Daddy, I thought I saw him." Cassidy hadn't anticipated the distraction, she thought she could handle surveillance. "Who?" Nash hoped she was referring to seeing Armstrong elsewhere. "Evan. I thought I saw Evan." Cassidy tried to keep herself from breaking down. She had to focus. ** "Bill, it's me Louis." Kat's call was the one he had been dreading. This would definitely complicate the custody situation with Lili. "Louis, what can I do for you? Bill knew by Louis' tone that the news wouldn't be good. Something had come up. "I spoke with Kat today, Rachel's married. That Leek guy is her husband.'' Louis knew any hopes for Rachel and Bill were gone, but her marriage to Harvey would increase Bill's guilt about asking her to come to Boston. "I see. " Bill suddenly didn't know why he begged her to come to Boston with them Rachel would get Lili back in a matter of months anyways. He couldn't help but blame himself for causing a rift in her marriage. "Finish drawing up the papers and we'll talk." ** "Daddy, where's Rachel?" Jerry checked every room for here, but she was no where to be found. Harvey had originally come by to check on Doc and make sure everything was locked up, but he decided to stay. "She's in Boston, with Lili." Harvey assumed Jerry thought she'd be home sooner, his concept of time was a little off. "She coming home soon?" Jerry missed having Rachel around. He wanted to stay with her and his dad. "Not quite yet, bud." Harvey knew he still had another three weeks before Rachel would be back. Long distance romance was proving to be more difficult than he anticipated. "Why?" Jerry wanted to know why Rachel and Lili had to be in Boston. They should be there with him and his dad. "Lili's dad had to move to Boston, and so did Lili." Harvey didn't know how to explain the situation so a four-year old could understand. Even at his age, it was complicated. "Why Rachel?"Jerry reasoned that his if parents didn't live in the same place, Lili's didn't have to either. "She wanted to spend time with her little girl, just like I want to spend time with you." Harvey enjoyed the time with his son, he just wished Rachel was there to share it with. "Rachel doesn't want to be here to?" Jerry couldn't comprehend why she had to leave, it seemed so strange without her there. "Of course she does, but right now, she's with her daughter." Harvey never thought of them dividing their time with their kids and being apart. He always pictured them spending the coveted custody time together with their kids. ** "Do you want to talk about what happened today?" Nash knew Cassidy was upset, but he thought it might help to get it out of her system. "No." Cassidy didn't want to talk to Nash about Evan. He didn't know him like she did. He wasn't close to him. Nash hired Antwon to fill his place and that was that. "Cassidy, I don't know what your going through, but I can listen." Nash wanted to do what he could to make her feel better. Obviously, his attempts were futile. "You wouldn't understand, no one would." After Cassidy thought about it, she reconsidered what she had said. Only one other person would understand. He was already gone for the night. ** "So have you considered my offer?" Rachel knew Harvey would be at her house after work, she wasn't surprised when he answered the phone. "I must've been blinded by love at the moment, remind me." No specific offer came to mind for Harvey, but then again much of the time he spent with Rachel before she left was memorable for other reasons. "You don't have it pencilled in your agenda? In that case, forget it." Rachel laughed, surprised Harvey forgot something like this. He was the one who brought it up. "Completely unfair, you kept distracting me with your evil ways." Harvey chuckled, knowing he was all too willing to take advantage of each and every distraction she offered. "Where are you?" Rachel wondered if he had gone into the storage room yet since she left. The mystery of what was really inside always bothered him. "You called me here, isn't it obvious?" Harvey laughed, "I'm in the kitchen." "There isn't any ice cream so there's no point." Rachel knew that Harvey would be looking for the coveted Ben and Jerry's. "Put down the unused spoon and walk towards the storage closet." Harvey chuckled, "that sounds a little kinky, Rache." Harvey set the spoon down on the counter and walked down the hall. "Am I supposed to just stand here or what?" "Aren't we impatient." Rachel laughed, wondering if Harvey had gone in there yet or not. "If you pop out of the closet, I'm filing for divorce." Harvey questionned what she was getting at by sending him to the closet. She probably forgot something she needed him to send. "Open the door already, I haven't got all night." Rachel wished she was there with him, to see his immediate reaction. "Opening the door, walking inside...Rache, honey, this isn't a closet." Harvey was completely surprised. Not only was the room decorated to his liking, but he recognized nearly every piece of furniture inside. Harvey walked around the room, impressed with the effort put into adding the perfect touch. He sat down on the bed, not yet notcing her letter. Moments of silence passed, "Harve, you still there?" "Is this bed from where I think it's from?" Harvey recalled one of their last weekend getaways, "I don't even want to know how you got your hands on some of this stuff." Harvey chuckled softly, "when did you do this?" "When you started becoming a regular guest, I started renovating the closet." Rachel laughed, she had a difficult time convincing Harvey. She couldn't imagine why he questionned her credibility. "Have you seen your office yet?" "I have an office?" Harvey didn't know what he did to deserve the special treatment, but he was loving every minute of it. "Second door to your left, if you're sitting on the bed." Rachel's main concern was the Deadroom, she knew how much time and affection Harvey put into the original. "You've got to be kidding." Harvey walked in and looked around, in complete awe. The room was beautifully dedicated to the Dead. ** Cassidy walked into her room and retrieved the box from her closet. She hadn't looked inside for quite awhile. She had to now, she had to see him again. Cassidy looked at the pictures one by one, each shot displaying a different side of the man she loved. The man she had loved and lost. "Why did it have to be you, why then?" She knew nothing in the box would give her the answers she needed, the ones she wanted. "I loved you, Evan, why did you leave me?" Cassidy collapsed weakly onto the bed as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. ** "Do you miss Harvey, Mom?" Lili realized there had been a difference in her mother since they left San Frabcisco. It was as if something or someone was missing from her life. She sat on Rachel's bed as Rachel got ready for work early the next morning. "I do." Rachel didn't completely regret her decision to come, she loved being with Lili. Unfortunately, leaving Harvey behind was a lot harder than she anticipated. "Maybe you should marry him, you might not miss him if he lived with you." Lili questionned why Harvey hadn't joined them in Boston. Rachel would've been happier there if he did. "You think?" Rachel wondered how much her daughter knew of her relationship with Harvey. They tried to keep their romance low-key around the kids. Maybe she could tell Lili the truth. "But if I married him I might not be here now." "I'd still see you." Lili slid off the bed and walked towards the door, "Daddy says when he goes, you'll get me all the time." Something didn't sound right. Rachel never considered having Lili all the time. "Where's he going?" Rachel looked at her watch, she had 15 minutes to get to work and no time to discuss Bill's cryptic message. "I've got to go sweetie, we'll talk when I get home." ** "Going through withdrawals?" Antwon looked at Harvey across the barge, he was more than depressed. "Is it that obvious?" Harvey chuckled, even arriving to work on time seemed odd without Rachel there. "You're pathetic." Antwon smiled, a little envious of Harvey's relationship. He couldn't resist the chance to say something about the calender. Maybe that would lighten his mood. "Has Ms. April called to check in?" "Only twice a day." It took Harvey a minute to realize what Antwon referred to Rachel as. "Will you give up on that already? Unless I see proof, I'm going to doubt this thing even exists." "Follow me." Harvey followed Antwon to his desk and he removed a large manila envelope from the last drawer, the one that was always locked. Antwon had mad ehim wait long enough. He pulled out a folder, trying to make the contents appear inconspicuous. Antwon smiled, and handed Harvey the folder. "Nothing a few students won't do for charity." A grin slowly formed from ear to ear as Harvey flipped through the pictures, as soon as he got to April --- Antwon seized the calender from him. "You've seen enough!" Antwon grinned, Harvey was such an easy target to tease. Wanting a better view, "hands off my wife!" Harvey didn't intend to blurt that out as he did, and Antwon certainly didn't expect to hear what he said. "Say what?" In shock, the calender dropped to the floor as Harvey scrambled to pick it up. He looked at the picture, it was Rachel alright. "You're married? to her?" "Please don't say anything, to anyone. She'd kill me." A smile formed across Antwon's face. "You dog." Harvey had finally succeeded in keeping Antwon's type of girl. Antwon had taught Harvey well. "She's yours, so give me back my calender!" ** "Cassidy, Deputy Chief Martin wants to see you sometime this afternoon." Nash had already spoken with him, he knew Martin was ready to let her go from the force. "Good morning to you too, Daddy." Cassidy had a terrible night. She didn't even feel like getting up, let alone coming to work. Life was a continued daily struggle. "You told him about yesterday?" "I had to, it's my job." Nash wouldn't have mentioned it to Martin, but he knew it would be better if he told Martin himself rather than stories circulating through the grapevine. "I'd expect that from Rachel, but not you." Cassidy knew Rachel well enough by know to say she did everything by the books. Nothing was off the record with her. "What's that supposed to mean?" Nash wondered what Cassidy had against Rachel, and now against him. "What I mean is you're my dad, you know what I'm going through. You know what happened." Cassidy wanted sympathy, she never expected to run out of chances with her pity card. "I'm also your boss, I have to draw the line somewhere." He didn't want to give Cassidy an ultimatum, but he knew that's probably what it would come down to. ** "It's lunchtime." Rachel knew she was four hours ahead, but she felt the need to call Harvey at the time they'd normally be meeting after lunch. "Antwon isn't getting his daily show." Harvey glanced over to Antwon's desk and smiled. He couldn't help but think about the calender. Harvey definitely wanted to ask her about it. "The rumour mill is still going, you know." "Certainly we aren't fueling it?" Rachel laughed, she was sure fictional reasons for her absence were spreading through the SIU like wild fire. "Don't I wish. Something about Nash having you transferred there because he couldn't stand us being together here." Harvey chuckled, the things people come up with. If the calender got into the wrong hands, there'd be no telling what people would say. He had to switch the subject. "Jerry asked about you last night." "Did he?" Rachel knew Jerry had accepted her as pat of his father's life, but she didn't think she was an essential part of each visit. "I think he misses you almost as much as I do, he wants to stay with us." Harvey laughed to himself, the possibility of that was more than a long shot. "I'm all for it if you are." Rachel knew she wouldn't be home for a while, and what Lili said about Bill might factor in, but she knew having Jerry around all the time would be great. "Are you serious?" Harvey knew she liked kids, but he didn't anticipate her willingness to fight for custody of his son. "Why not? He's your son, you deserve to be with him as much as she does." Rachel didn't know what more she could say, "it seems to me as if the custody agreement has been unfair for quite awhile." "Even if it's just a few more visits now and then, you'd be okay with that?" Harvey didn't want to impose upon her life. He questionned if her willingness to take on Jerry had anything to do with her being with Lili. "Do you even have to ask?" Rachel knew Harvey just wanted to be sure, he'd never want to place Jerry into a situation where he wasn't wanted. "I might just keep you after all." Harvey chuckled, couldn't help but be amazed by how well their marriage was working out. Despite the fact she was across the country, the relationship couldn't be better. "Good, I think your thirty day return policy is over." They definitely passed the test. Rachel subconciusoly put a thirty day trial period on their marriage, to see if they could even tolerate eachother that long. Things were going much better than she expected. Maybe they'd last after all. ** "Deputy Martin, you wanted to see me?" Cassidy cautiously stepped into is office. She hadn't been surprised when his secretary called. "Yes, Cassidy, have a seat." Deputy Martin waited for her to sit down. "I hear you've had a few problems lately." "You could say that." Cassidy didn't know where to begin, she was in too deep. No one would understand where she was coming from unless they were there themselves. "I'm trying to be understanding, please know that, but when your personal life starts to effect your work... I'm afraid I've got to get invovled. " He put off saying something long enough. Rachel had brought it up on more than one occasion and Nash was afraid to say something that might make him appear biased. "You heard about yesterday?" Cassidy assumed he had heard one way or another about what happened while she was on surveillance. "I did. I also know you've taken a great deal of personal time off. As an employer, I can't prevent you from doing that --- but as a professional, I feel as if you're falling behind. Please don't be offended, but perhaps you're in a little over your head?" He considered his options carefully, he knew what he had to do. "Maybe you're right." Cassidy hated to admit it, but maybe Nash was right all along. Maybe she had become a cop for all the wrong reasons. "I'm not trying to reprimand you for grieving or your loss, but I feel that some changes should be made." He knew Nash would question his decision later on, but that was something he'd have to live with. "I know things haven't been the greatest with Rachel." "She's a good cop, a hard act to follow." Cassidy had to credit her with that, but Cassidy never wanted to pursue a friendship. "That's exactly why I paired her with you, there's a lot you could learn." He smiled, thinking the partnership could've been more beneficial for them both. He knew Rachel wasn't the type to easily open up and Cassidy wasn't ready to ask or share. He knew it wasn't his place to bring up Rachel's personal life. "So am I fired?" Cassidy felt as if she was being written off. With Rachel gone, Martin obviously didn't have much faith in her being at the SIU. "You shouldn't jump to conclusions. All I'm saying is I want you to consider why you're here and doing what you do, evaluate your reasons. See if it all adds up. If anything changes, we'll talk." He didn't want to fire her, she had potential. Cassidy had to get past what happened with Evan, just like Rachel got through Ben and Ryan. ** "Well, little man, I guess it's time for you to go home." Harvey wished he had more time with Jerry, but between Anna and his work, there was no opportunity. He had taken him to the airport right after work. "But I don't want to." Jerry wasn't ready to leave, he didn't want to go back to Anna. He was ready to throw a small fit if he had to. "Jerry, you can come back soon. I promise." Harvey didn't know what to do, Jerry had never acted like this before. He'd have to ask Rachel if Jerry mentioned anything to her. "I won't go." Jerry latched himself onto his father's leg, unwilling to let go. He was insistent upon staying. "Jerry, you have to go back to Mommy's. If I don't send you back, she might not let me see you." Harvey knew he was playing with fire as far as Anna was concerned. Whenever he asked for Jerry, he was at her mercy. "If you can't come soon, Rachel and I will come see you." "And take me home?" Jerry didn't want to live with Anna, he wanted to be with Harvey. At least he got their attention and time. Harvey knew he couldn't get into this with Jerry, he was much too young to understand. "I'll talk to Mommy and see what I can do, okay?" "Promise?" Jerry wanted a guarantee that Harvey would try and get him, so he could be with Rachel and his dad all the time. "Mr. Leek, I'll take him from here." The stewardess came over towards them and reached for Jerry's hand. "I promise." Harvey knew it was a stretch, but he'd do what he could to ensure his son's happiness. Even if it meant dealing with Anna. ** Cassidy pulled up at the bar just off the highway, and put her car into park. She got out and walked in, ready to drown her sorrows. Cassidy chose her stool carefully, she wanted to be alone. The older, grey haired bartender made his way towards her. "What'll it be?" "Scotch on the rocks." Cassidy wanted to forget what was going on and quick. She needed to free her mind. "That's no drink for a lady." The bartender guessed she was attempting to drink away life's problems, surely she knew it wouldn't work. "It is for a lady with a brokenheart." He placed the drink infront of her, and she swallowed it down with one swift gulp. "You best wait a minute and let that one sink in before you ask for another." He assumed she'd be the type to talk his ear off, or leave with someone she'd want to forget later on. "Just have it ready." Cassidy wasn't in the mood to deal with the bartender's attempts to control her. She got enough control from Nash. "Care to talk about it?" The bartender could see she was desperate for someone to listen. He slid the next drink across the bar. "I don't think you have the time or interest. " Cassidy wondered if anyone would understand what she was going through. She quickly downed the drink before her. "You never know, hit me." She seemed interesting enough, definitely like she'd have a story to tell. He dropped the ice into the cup and poured the scotch, "three's your limit." She grabbed the drink and quickly emptied it's contents into her mouth, "give me a beer, for the road." "As you will..." He grabbed a beer, and poured it into a chilled mug. "You won't be driving." "I'll call a cab." Just then, she thought of it. He would understand. She'd go to see him. As soon as she finished her beer, she'd go. He'd listen. ** "Bill, we've got to talk." Rachel had been mystified by Lili's statement all day. Something definitely wasn't right. "I was thinking the same." Bill opened the door further and allowed her to step in. "Have a seat." Rachel followed Bill into the living room, wondering what he wanted to talk about. Maybe Lili referred her comment back to him. Bill sat down in the chair across from Rachel. "You go first." "Okay, I was speaking with Lili this morning about San Francisco and she mentioned something you had sai..." Rachel couldn't imagine why Bill would be offering to give her daughter back. "I shouldn't have asked you to come... to come here to Boston." Bill couldn't help but interrupt. She had to know the truth. "Bill, I didn't mean it like that." She didn't mean to imply she was unhappy there with her reference to San Francisco, he misinterpreted her. "I know, but I shouldn't have made you leave your husband and son." Bill felt guilty about taking her daughter away again, that's why he asked her to join them. He never anticipated her being married or having another child. "How did you know about my son?" Rachel didn't care if he knew she was married to Harvey, she wanted to know how he knew about RJ. Not even Harvey knew about RJ. "My lawyer hired an investigator." Bill knew it was time to come clean, he might as well tell her everything now to spare themselves problems later. "You hired one to find me and another to check me out?" Rachel couldn't fathom why he'd need to know such intimate facts about her life. "Can I ask why?" "I did it for Lili. I had to know she'd be okay." Bill did it to reassure himself he was making the right decision about giving her back. He had to know she'd be with a good family, whether it was her birth mother and father or not. "Did it never occur to you to ask? I think I've been pretty open as far as my life story is concerned." Rachel knew she hadn't been completely honest about Harvey, but that was at his discretion. "I know, I realize that now, but I didn't want to pry." Bill knew he should've been more foreward with Rachel, but Louis warned him against it. "So you paid someone to pry for you?" Rachel paced across the room, wondering why Bill would take an investigation to such an extent. There better be a damn good reason. "Did you think I was a fraud or what?" "No, that's not it at all. God, I don't know how to tell you this." Bill didn't think there was any eloquent way to put it, he was going to give her daughter back because he had to. "Tell me what?" Rachel didn't know what else she could take. Things were certainly turning out differently than she expected. "I shouldn't have made you come because you're going to get Lili back soon enough, if you want her." He had to come out and say it, there was no other way to tell her. "What? Bill, I never intended to take her away from you. That's not what I meant to imply by coming." Rachel hoped Bill wasn't doing this because of her, that wasn't fair to Lili or himself. "I know, this would be happening whether you came to Boston or not." Bill planned to give Lili back to Rachel no matter what, as long as she wanted her. "Really?" Rachel paused a minute, "care to tell me what's going on? I feel as if I'm a little in the dark." "I've got under six months to live, that's why I wanted to find you in the first place. When Mary got sick again, it made us realize it could happen to me too. We decided early on that when things got bad, we'd try and find you." Bill was now completely at ease with the decision he and Mary made. He'd done the right thing by finding Rachel. "So this was in the works all along?" Rachel questionned her profession as an inspector. She missed such obvious clues. "You could say that." Bill thought for a minute before continuing, "I'd like to tell you that you could go home to your husband and the life that you love tomarrow --- but, if possible, I'd like to take care of some of the paperwork now?" "Of course, whatever you need." Rachel couldn't believe what Bill was doing for her, he was giving Rachel her daughter back. He had to pay one hell of a price to make it happen. "I know you have to talk to Harvey, but I'm hoping we can make this work." Bill knew Lili would be perfectly alright growing up with her mother, he only wished he'd be around to see it happen. ** Harvey opened the door to leave, surprised to find Cassidy waiting on his doorstep. "Cassidy, what are you doing here?" "Do you have a minute, to talk?" Cassidy had to task to someone who'd understand, Harvey was always a good listener. "I was, ah, come on in." Harvey was just on his way out to Rachel's. He stopped at home to pick up a few necessities. Harvey walked back into the living room with Cassidy, surprised by her visit. Surely, she wasn't upset about Rachel leaving. "I'm sorry to bother you, I just needed to talk to someone." Between her confrontation with Martin and the Evan look-a-like, it hadn't been a good couple of days. "You're the only one who'd understand." "I'm all ears." Harvey relaxed on the couch, it was obvious he wasn't leaving again any time soon. "Yesterday, I was supposed to be doing surveillance and I saw someone who looked just like him." Cassidy knew Harvey would understand, he missed him almost as much as she did. "Just like Evan?" Harvey had done a double-take himself on more than one occasion, he tried not to let it get to his head. "Yeah, I swear it was him." Tears slowly began to well in the corner of Cassidy's eyes. "I went after him... thinking about him. It's all I do." Cassidy knew she had to get help, this wasn't right. She had to move on. "I miss him so much, Harvey." "We both do." Harvey could smell the alcohol on her breath, evidently she'd gone for a beer or two after work. "But we both have to move on sooner or later." "No one understands what were going through, no one knows our loss. Not Rachel, not my Dad, not Joe..." Cassidy felt as if she and Harvey were the only ones truly effected by Evan's death, they were the ones who loved him the most. Harvey was the only one who could help her get through this. "How do you do it? How do you move on?" Harvey guessed she had more than a drink or two, she normally wasn't this talkative or foreward. "It just takes time, the right people come into your life and you see that you can move on." "It's so hard, Harvey." Cassidy struggled to wipe away her tears as quickly as they fell, "I thought becoming a cop myslef would make it easier, but it's worse." Harvey felt her fall helplessly into his arms, there was nothing he could do or say to make it better. He couldn't exactly ask her to leave. "Harvey?" "Yes?" She looked up into his eyes, realizing how lucky she and Evan had been to have him in their lives. Harvey didn't know how to react, one wrong move and there could be hell to pay from Rachel and Nash. "Have you ever thought about us?" Cassidy wondered if he ever considered them, them as a potential couple. Maybe the booze was taking a toll, but she had wondered about it before. Now was her chance to find out. "Us moving on with our lives after he died?" Harvey wasn't sure what her question was meant to imply. "Yes, well, that too. More like us, as a couple" Cassidy sat there next to him, moving in closer. She brushed his cheek lightly with her hand, ready to kiss him. This was so not what he meant. ** |
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