CI: Overprotected Chapter One

Author: rebel diamonds
Title: Overprotected
Rating: PG
Summary: Future Fic. Emma Jane Goren recounts how everyone found out about her, with a little help from her parents’ favorite psychopath.


Emma Jane Goren-Eames could say a lot about growing up with two cops for parents. Of course there existed the same old “look both ways before crossing the street” and “never talk to strangers” but there was also an underlining awareness of something more, a bigger threat that was never talked about but could be seen in the looks between her parents.

To say her father and mother were cautious would have been a grave understatement. With all they’d seen, it was inevitable – the random young women and children that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They tried so hard to keep her out of harm, but always with the knowledge that no matter how hard they struggled, so much of it was still out of their hands. Emma wasn’t aware of the countless hours her parents spent lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, worrying about her.

Consequently, her conception was not a planned one. Emma’s parents had managed to keep their personal relationship secret so as to not be split up. Her father was, to be honest, impossible to work with and her mother had been the only one in a long line of partners to get him to trust her. It had been dicey for a while, and her mother had almost not made it and had put in for a transfer, a touchy subject then, but now years later it was a fact her father liked to hold over her mother’s head and playfully taunt her with it. She joked it wasn’t too late to retract the retraction. All this statement ever earned her was a smile and a kiss.

His inability to function with anyone else did not bode well for him or the NYPD. Everyone knew of his monumental meltdown the last time she left him to go on maternity leave. If people found out exactly whose baby she was carrying this time, his new partner reassignment was going be permanent. So, late at night, talking quietly in bed, the mutual decision was reached to keep the pregnancy a secret for now, something her mother was slightly less at ease with than her boundary-pushing father.

So with a few strategic changes in her mother’s wardrobe, effectively hiding the early pregnancy, mum was the word. Her family didn’t even know. So successful were they in fact, while she was still in the womb Emma had managed to become central in quite the drama – one her mother didn’t talk about, even over a decade after the fact.

So the worrying had begun early.

It had started with a woman named Nicole Wallace. This information, of course, she got from her father, who was much more honest and forthcoming with information her mother deemed too upsetting for their daughter. Her mother had all out forbid the utterance of the ‘N’ name in their home after this particular incident. Her father reasoned that Emma could look up the case reports and newspaper stories someday, so wouldn’t it be better coming from them anyway?

This Nicole character had been something of an arch nemesis of her father’s, his professional intrigue in her rivaled only by her mother’s distaste.

Over the years Nicole’s sickness had only escaladed, as had her slipperiness when it came to the justice system. Emma’s parents had had yet another run in with this woman and were trying to pin her for several deaths of children in the area.

It all started, as do most infamous stories regarding her father, in the interrogation room. It had escalated to the point where both her parents were ranting at this woman, laying out her crimes, the children she’d killed, throwing pictorial evidence onto the table in front of her. Unlike the many other times they had run into Nicole, her mother was more involved in the case then ever before, as the victims were infants of parents who had trouble conceiving, her surrogacy and current secretly delicate situation foremost in her mind.

Alex leaned on the table over the woman in question, “Six children, Nicole, babies. You killed them and left them for their mothers to find,” she stated angrily.

Nicole was calm, “Maybe they were neglectful mothers. Maybe their children were better without them.”

“That wasn’t for you to decide!” Eames railed.

Nicole retracted in surprise at Eames’ invasion of her personal space. She considered the detective for a moment. “Speaking of mothers,” Nicole dragged her gaze to Goren, as she usually did when the talk turned to mothers, “you better tell your partner to calm down Bobby. That rising blood pressure can’t be good for the baby.” She leaned back to observe them both.

Bobby kept his body lax, “What?” he asked as he managed to hide the shock and anger that welled up inside him; but Alex startled noticeably, her arm twitching to grab at her stomach protectively. How could she possibly know that?

For the past hour they had gruelingly questioned Nicole, and with that little bomb she had managed to change the entire dynamics of the room and, taking into account the Captain and numerous other people of law enforcement and the justice system on the other side of the two-way mirror, most likely their lives.

Nicole smiled in satisfaction. “Woman’s intuition,” she answered the unspoken question. She leaned conspiratorially across the table to Alex, placing her hand on top of hers, “But thank you for confirming it. Who are the lucky parents of this egg detective?”

Eames wretched her hand from under Nicole’s trying not to look shaken. She could deny it, but it would take the focus away from Nicole. Silence permeated the room. Alex internally chastised herself – why had she grabbed at her stomach, what else had she done to give it away? She couldn’t help her natural protectiveness; it was their baby, their one and only shot at bringing a child of their own into this world. Alex and Bobby ignored her line of questioning and both took a deep breath, trying to gain composure and control over the situation. On the exhale, they instinctually met each other’s eyes across the room.

Nicole, who had been watching them the whole time, had a realization, “Oh my God,” she slid back in her chair, her arm snaking over the back. A flicker of puzzlement crossed the detectives’ faces at Nicole’s stunned expression. “Well,” she breathed, looking at the floor before gaining her composure. She lifted her chin, “Congratulations are in order, Bobby. How’s the proud papa holding up? I’m sorry I forgot a cigar.”

“Now why would you think that, Nicole?” he asked. There was no way she could figure that out from a glance.

She ignored the question, “Will you name her after me, Bobby?” If the earlier divulgence had failed to stir him, the disclosure of the fetus’ sex succeeded. No one, absolutely no one knew the results of the ultrasound except for the three people that were present – Alex, the doctor, and himself. “Don’t blame yourselves detectives,” she continued. “You two are always glancing at each other; these were just a bit more telling. As for the gender, I had a fifty-fifty chance.”

Yeah, guess my ass, Alex thought. Granted, Nicole was possibly one of the only people able to rival Bobby’s observant deductive skills, but still. She knew. Somehow, someway, she knew.

“I admit I was wrong Bobby. I said people like you and I weren’t meant to have children. Apparently I was wrong. Though, you did tell me not to count you out just yet,” her eyes raked over Eames’ torso. Alex could feel the yogurt she had eaten earlier rise towards her throat. “I just didn’t know you already had someone in mind.” Nicole turned her eyes directly to the two-way mirror, effectively meeting the eyes of Captain Ross, who Eames could swear she could hear fuming over the discloser.

Goren moved to say something, but abruptly stopped. Something clicked in his head, Alex saw it when he shook his finger and he visibly paled. Just as suddenly, Bobby stormed out of the room, making no attempt to hide the fact he was marching into the room opposite the two-way mirror.

Ross and the DA stood speechless waiting for him when he entered. “Dr. Michelle Winland. Her office is 1445 East 32th Street,” Bobby announced.

“What is this detective?” the DA asked. Ross hovered over Bobby’s shoulder, keen to question him on another subject.

“That’s it, that’s the connection; all those parents were treated at Winland’s office at one time or another. Nicole was there. That’s how . . . she knew. Look, if you ask the employees there they’re going to describe someone matching Nicole’s description.”

When Ross made quick work of sending officers out to follow the lead, Goren slipped out of the room with them, forcing the captain to hold his tongue on the pregnancy issue. He tried to control his anger and turned back to the mirror.

Nicole was spitting poison at Eames, “Aren’t you worried about passing on his mother’s disease? These things are genetic, you know.” Bobby reentered the room. “But you know that.” She was met with silence. She looked back and forth between the two of them. A slow smile crept to her lips, “Ohhhh, so this wasn’t planned?” She clucked her tongue, shaking her head slowly. “Naughty, naughty, Bobby, bringing a bastard into the world.”

Alex almost didn’t get there in time to stop him as he launched himself across the table at her. Alex’s sharp “Bobby!” echoed off the walls, stopping him short.

“Just shut up, Nicole. Just the hell shut up,” he growled. They actually through he might kill her and judging by how startled Nicole was at his outburst, she thought so too.

The Captain must have thought enough was enough because he appeared in the doorway instantly. “Both of you, get in here . . . NOW.” The were led to the next room, Bobby jerking his arm away from the hand Ross had placed on him. The captain took a minute to look over his detectives. Goren was visibly shaken and so was Eames, he could see it behind her eyes. They didn’t look at each other. Ross kept his voice calm, “Is it true?” he asked. Neither of them said anything. “Are these allegations true?” this time more insistently. “Detectives,” he ground out.

Bobby spoke up, “Yes . . . Yes,” he repeated, his voice louder, stronger. Granted, they did not want the news to come out this way, but there was nothing to be ashamed of -- they were adults in a mature, committed relationship. Their personal life was none of Ross’ business until the pregnancy would affect Eames’ ability to perform her job and that wouldn’t be for months. “It’s true.”

Ross looked over at Eames, “You’re pregnant,” he stated.

She lifted her chin and met his eyes, “Yes.”

He nodded towards Bobby, “With his child.” Eames answered in the positive. “And Dr. Winland?”

She’s the ob/gyn who performed the ultrasound,” Eames replied. She pointed at Nicole, “She good, but she’s not that good. The only way she could have known I’m pregnant is if she was in that office.”

Ross nodded, comprehending the consequences of these new facts. “I want you both off this case,” he stated finally. If Goren had been aggravated before, it couldn’t be compared to the objection that rose inside him now. But Ross cut him off, “Neither of you can look at this case objectively.” He continued, “And I want you both out of here until Monday morning then I want you in my office. Don’t think this is over.” Goren took a step forward, but Ross held up his hand, “We’ll discuss this on Monday. Don’t make me have officers forcibly escort you out of here detective,” he warned, aware of the cops, who had no love loss for Goren, who lingered at the doorway. “Both of you, go home.”

“But Nicole . . .”

“Is going to lawyer up and will be in the capable hands of Logan and Wheeler. Go. Home.” Ross swept out of the room, letting the door close behind him.

Bobby and Alex turned towards each other, now alone together in the room. The moment was bittersweet – they both knew this was the end of their secret -- the moment between them was even more fleeting than they thought. She looked so dazed, they both were. With all that had transpired in such a small amount of time, their professional and personal lives irrevocably changed. Bobby’s fingers twitched at his side, wanting to reach out and touch her, common sense telling him they were in their place of business stopped him. To hell with it, he thought, everyone’s going to know in a few hours anyway. He reached his hand towards her.

“Bobby,” she breathed, as if she had been waiting for it. He pulled her into his arms and into his chest. They stood there like that for minutes, composing themselves, giving each other strength until Alex quietly suggested that they better get out of there. They quietly gathered their things from their desk and left, holding hands when they reached the street.

Late that night, hours after they should have been asleep, they lay in bed together, staring into the darkness. Her strong voice rung out in the darkness, “I will not let her ruin this for me.”

He shook his head, gathering her closer and burying his nose in her hair. This always made her smile. She learned early in their relationship, though he had initially tried to hide it from her -- his smelling obsession did not stop at the crime scene.

She clutched at him harder, startling him, “Lie to me,” she whispered in the dark, “Tell me everything will be okay. Tomorrow, and Monday, and the next day, and the next year. Lie to me.”

He kissed her temple softly, “Everything will be okay,” he spoke into her skin. “And I’m not lying. I promise.”

TBC