When Bobby came around again, the first thing he noticed was that he was comfortable. Sort of. He recognized the fog in his head from the pain killers that took away most of his discomfort. His other senses recovered at different rates. He heard hospital sounds—monitors beeping, hushed voices, wheels on linoleum. He smelled hospital scents—antiseptic, vomit, urine, blood. Great. What was he doing in a hospital? Someone touched him and he unconsciously flinched. Familiar voices spoke in hushed tones, answered by not-so-familiar voices.

With an effort, he forced his eyes open. Sure enough, he was in a trauma room. His leg ached, and he moved it to try to relieve the discomfort. Pain flared and shot up into his hip. He groaned, and the voices were silenced for a moment. The next words that were spoken—Get a nurse—came from his wife.

His vision cleared slowly and he looked around the room. The first person he saw was Alex, her pretty face creased with worry lines that he knew he was responsible for putting there. Mike stepped through the door, his face also a mask of worry. Over in the corner...Ross? Why was he there?

More sensations began to return, and now he was aware of more focused pain, in his thigh and in his side, but it was manageable. He tried to moisten his lips, but his tongue was dry, too. He shifted his position, groaning softly as the pain flared again, but it faded after a moment.

"Be still," Alex admonished.

"What happened?" His voice was hoarse, and he coughed. "How did I end up here?"

Mike moved closer to the bed, handing Alex a cup of water. "You're a bullet magnet."

"A what?"

"Shut up, Mike," Alex snapped without venom as she held the cup for Bobby to drink. "They're not much more than flesh wounds, but you collapsed in the squad room. They called an ambulance."

"Why?"

Mike's expression shifted from worried to amused, now that Bobby was awake and somewhat coherent. "Did you miss the part where she said you collapsed in the squad room? When people do that, we tend to call for an ambulance."

The door opened and a doctor came into the room. The doctor was young but he had a reassuring demeanor. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I want to go home."

Alex looked at Mike and smiled. It was a very familiar song and dance. The doctor shook his head. "We aren't sure about that just yet. We're waiting on some lab work. Have you been sleeping well, detective?"

Bobby shrugged. "I have a lot on my mind."

"You are suffering from exhaustion, which intensified your body's reaction to relatively minor injuries."

"Didn't the pint-and-a-half of blood his pants soaked up contribute to that?" Mike asked.

"It did, somewhat, but minus the exhaustion, his body could have easily handled losing that amount of blood. It was a combination of factors that landed you here, detective. I am leaning toward admitting you for observation, letting you get the rest you need."

"I can..."

"No," Alex interrupted. "No, you can't rest at home. You might prefer to be there, but we have four children and a puppy that you cannot say no to. If you come home, once the sun comes up, you'll be up, too. Another hour and you'll be out in the yard playing tag or something. Besides, if you're here, I will know exactly where you are for a day or two."

Bobby shook his head stubbornly and pushed himself up to sit. The room tilted and spun a little. He grabbed the side rails and closed his eyes, allowing a wave of nausea to pass. "I'll stay on the couch," he promised. "We can play Monopoly or Yahtzee instead of tag. I can teach Maggie to play gin."

Alex looked skeptical. "Is there something I can put in his food to make him stay put, doctor?" she asked.

He smiled. "I can give him something that will encourage rest."

Bobby's eyes narrowed. "You're gonna sedate me?"

"Just a little."

"Medicated sleep isn't good sleep. The medication inhibits the development of REM sleep, which is what the body needs..."

Alex leaned over and pressed her mouth against his, not caring that Ross was in the room. What was he going to do? Split up their partnership? Oh, wait...he'd already done that.

The surprise of her sudden kiss was short-lived and he closed his eyes, lightly touching her cheek. She pulled back slowly. "I'm sure the doctor knows all about the pros and cons of sedation," she gently chided. "That's his job. And your immense store of obscure knowledge isn't getting you out of this one. If you want to come home, then you come home with a bottle of little green or red or yellow pills that will keep your ass planted on the couch or else you keep this-" She fingered his IV line. "-and get an armful of liquid 'keep your ass planted in the bed' medicine. There is no third option."

"You drive a hard bargain," Bobby muttered.

"Take it or leave it."

Mike smiled at the couple. "I have a third option and it's simpler and more effective. We just tell Maggie that Daddy has to stay on the couch or he'll end up back in the hospital. She won't let him get up to take a leak."

"Don't you dare," Bobby growled.

Mike lightly punched his leg. "Then you gotta stay put on the couch."

Bobby's eyes shifted between Alex and Mike. He felt ganged up on, but he didn't resent it. He didn't even want to think about his life if either one of them were not in it. "Fine," he conceded reluctantly. "I'll stay on the couch."

Alex looked at the doctor. "How long?"

"Three or four days."

She twisted at the waist to look at Ross as he said, "Take five, for good measure."

The doctor nodded. "Let me go see if those labs are back before I make any kind of final decision. I'll be back shortly."

Once he was gone, Bobby returned his attention to his wife. "Kevin?"

"He's okay. Gomez doped him up and they have to wait for that to clear his system before they can take him to surgery to get the bullet out of his shoulder. He's up on the seventh floor, sleeping. Penny is with him."

Penny was Kevin's girlfriend, a sweet, little pixie that Bobby loved to tease. She was as tough as Alex, though, and gave as good as she got. The first time she'd met the children, Maggie recognized her name. "Penny, like the money," she observed.

Penny had smiled at her and reached out to pull a penny from thin air behind Maggie's ear. Maggie was delighted. "Daddy can do that, too!"

Penny had easily won the children's hearts, and she always had a supply of pennies and sleight-of-hand tricks on hand to delight them.

"What about Gomez?" he asked.

She turned to look at Ross and the men followed her lead. The captain stepped forward. "He died on the way to the hospital."

Bobby looked concerned. "Has Mrs. DeMarco been charged?"

He nodded. "The original charges were assault with a deadly weapon, reckless endangerment and the illegal possession of an unregistered weapon."

"And now?" Bobby asked.

"Now the assault charge will be upped to murder two."

"See if you can convince Mr. Caver to make it man one."

"Detective, she came to a crime scene brandishing a gun with the intent to kill. It's pretty clear-cut."

"She killed a drug dealer, a fugitive, who is responsible for her daughter's death!"

"The law doesn't change just because he was a bad man. He had a life and she intentionally took it from him."

"Take off your blinders. There are extenuating circumstances. She's not a repeat offender and she was under duress. Her daughter just died as a direct result of something Gomez did."

"He gave her drugs. He didn't make her take them."

"Come on, captain. You're splitting hairs. Justice can't be blind or it's not justice at all. Ask Carver to plead her out. He has grounds for man one. I've seen him give better deals to convicted felons. This is a grieving mother."

"I think she deserves a medal," Alex added.

Mike nodded agreement. "She did a public service, cleaning that piece of garbage from the street. Saved the taxpayers a shitload of money in the process."

Ross considered standing his ground as a matter of principle, but these were good cops asking for leniency. He thought about his sons, and he nodded. "All right, detective. Calm down. I'll talk to Carver."

Goren eased himself back onto the pillow. "Thank you," he said, suddenly exhausted.

Eames stroked his hair and he tried to keep his eyes open, but it was a losing battle and he drifted back to sleep.

The room was dark as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. No one moved, but she heard deep, regular breathing. She closed the door and tiptoed to the bed. They had spent the night at Grandpa's but Daddy hadn't been there. He'd stayed overnight at the hospital, and Mommy had stayed with him. He had been asleep when Uncle Mike brought them home from Grandpa's. Mommy said that he hadn't been sleeping well at night, so the doctors gave him medicine to help him sleep better. Sometimes, the stuff he drank that looked like apple juice but definitely was not, helped him sleep, too, but when he drank that, he snored when he slept. He wasn't snoring now.

The door behind her opened, letting light into the room, and Alex looked at her. "Maggie, what are you doing in here?" she whispered.

"I jus' wanted to see Daddy. I didn' wake him."

"Didn't you believe me when I told you he was in here?"

"A course I did, Mommy. But I still wanted to see him."

"He's okay, baby, but he needs to sleep. Now come on."

Maggie took one more look at her sleeping father and she followed her mother from the room.

Alex led her downstairs and watched her run to the couch, tackling Mike with her little girl version of a bear hug. Alex had postponed dinner with Carolyn for a couple of days so that Bobby could rest and recover with fewer distractions. She hoped they could help Carolyn and Mike get their relationship back on track. She was getting used to having Mike around, and she liked it, but he didn't belong there on their couch. He should be at home with Carolyn and their son, if they could work it out. Mike had asked if he could bring Sean over for the weekend, and of course, she said yes. Refusing his request wasn't going to drive him back home. It would further alienate him from his son. Getting Carolyn to give Sean up for an entire weekend was going to be a challenge for him.

Molly was off by the toybox, picking out blocks and stacking them. A builder, Alex wondered until the baby pulled a ball from the toybox and threw it at the stack of blocks, knocking them over. Nope, spoke too soon. She smiled as the little girl began stacking the blocks again.

She walked behind the couch, leaning over to kiss Tommy, who quickly scurried up the back of the couch to give her a big hug. He was such an affectionate little boy, always ready with a hug and kiss. She couldn't help but wonder if Bobby had been like that when he was little, before his mother's disease robbed him of his happy childhood.

Her little son bounced back into his place beside Mike and settled in to watch cartoons. Harry was seated in Bobby's recliner, watching Mike play with Maggie and Tom. His expression was wistful. He wanted to join in, but he was reluctant. Dr. Bennett said he just needed time. Rome wasn't built in a day. Eventually, the little boy would realize that Bobby and Mike were not going to hurt him. On her way to the kitchen, she stopped and leaned over to kiss Harry's head. He looked up at her and smiled, and he warmed her heart.

It had been a long day and she was making a simple meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup, one of Bobby's favorites. She wasn't sure he was going to get up to join them, but if he didn't, she would bring him some later.

As she was dishing out the soup, the sounds from the living room changed and she knew Bobby had come downstairs. She took down another bowl. She'd told the kids they could eat at the coffee table in the living room so she began bringing the bowls into the living room. Mike hopped up. "Here. Let me give you a hand."

Bobby started to move but Mike gave him a warning look. With a sigh of resignation, he settled back on the couch. Molly crawled over to him and he picked her up, settling her beside Tom in his lap. Maggie nestled into his side and he slid his arm around her.

Harry watched the other children snuggle with their father, with the man who wanted to be his father, too. They were happy, and they were safe. Those were alien feelings to him, and he didn't recognize them. He slid from the recliner and climbed up onto the couch next to Maggie. Bobby looked at him and smiled. Harry worked up a small smile in return. Bobby moved his hand, trying not to react when Harry cringed. But the boy recovered quickly, reminding himself that the hand that moved toward him was a hand that would never strike him. He reached out and slid his little hand into Bobby's much larger one. It was big, but it was also warm and inviting and...safe. It was a hand that would protect him, not one that would inflict pain.

Once the soup and sandwiches were laid out on the table, it was time to eat, and Harry released his hold on Bobby's hand. It was a small step, but that's what it was going to take, and Bobby was a patient man. Alex handed him a bowl of soup and sat beside him with her own. Mike sat in the recliner with Molly in his lap, giving her spoonfuls from his own bowl.

It was a quiet scene of domestic comfort that Bobby had once believed he would never experience. Looking around the room, watching his children eat and laugh with each other as his wife nestled against his side and his best friend fed their baby girl, he knew that life would never be better than it was at that moment. It was a rare time, and Bobby was truly happy.

A/N: Well, folks, that's it for this installment of the Choices series. Thanks for coming along for the ride! Stay tuned for the next story, in which we will learn of Denise's fate and that of her baby while Harry continues to adapt to life in a happy, loving family. Also feel free to bless me with ideas, if you have any. Even if I don't use them, they are very welcome! Bis spater!