Doubling Down – Chapter Five – Emersli1

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9 Minutes

Bobby alternated keeping tabs on his cooking with checking in on Chris and Eddie.

It looked as though both of them were in an uneasy sleep, and that worried Bobby in return.  He wished there was more he could do, and wondered again why Buck had left.  He had said something about someone counting on him … maybe he was volunteering with FEMA again?  What if he hadn’t warned them about the risks with his clots and blood thinners?

Bobby really needed Buck back where he could keep an eye out for him.  They really needed to sit down and discuss what it would take for Buck to upgrade his EMT credential to a full paramedic certification.  But it seemed as though every time Bobby got through to him, Buck was either somewhere else or on his way to somewhere else.

He checked on dinner again, his mind still spinning with ideas.  Bobby would do anything in the world for Buck, except let him put himself at risk again.  Right now, all he could do was look after Eddie and Chris for him … and he was happy to do it, though he couldn’t help but wonder when Eddie and Evan were going to get a clue.  At this rate they were just going to wake up one day and realize they were married.

Hearing a thump from Christopher’s bedroom, Bobby hurriedly turned the fire down and headed down the hall.  He tapped on the door, waited a moment, and then went in.  Chris was trying to sit up, rolling to one side and pushing, but it was obvious he was in pain and that was making it difficult.

“Hey Chris, can I help?  I talked your dad into taking a little nap while I fixed dinner, and he really looked like he needed the sleep.  I’m happy to help with whatever you need.”  He looked at the mutinous-looking little boy in the bed.  “You know, Buck asked me specifically to look in on you guys and make sure your dad didn’t overdo it or accidentally poison you with his cooking.”

Chris sighed, and then mumbled something reluctantly.

“I’m sorry Chris, could you repeat that?”

Another grumbly sigh.  “I tried to reach my glasses, but I missed and knocked them onto the floor.”

Bobby looked around and spotted the red frames lying half under the bed.  He grabbed them quickly, checked to make sure they hadn’t bent or broken, and handed them to Chris with a flourish.  “Here you go.  Hey, Harry said to tell you he’ll be over once you’re feeling a little better.  And if you ever want to play Switch, he’s up for it.  He said he won’t even get mad if you fall asleep in the middle.”

Chris accepted his glasses, settling them properly on his nose.  “Man, it was one time.  And we’d been playing for hours.  Harry just wanted to level up before he stopped for the night.”

Bobby had to laugh at the disgruntled remark.  “Well, he’s willing … anytime.  But for now, can I help get you propped up comfortably before I go back to the kitchen?  I’m making butter chicken for your dinner.”

Chris gave him a long, hard look that honestly would have done Chief Alonzo proud.  Or Athena.  Then the little boy shifted, and drew in a sharp breath.  Obviously in pain and just like his Dad.  And his Buck.

Moving forward slowly Bobby reached for the pillows mounded at the side of the bed.  When Chris didn’t protest, he fluffed them up and moved them into position at the head of the bed to support the boy.  “There, that should feel better.  Dinner should be ready in about fifteen minutes.  I figure I’ll wake your dad up in ten.  Sound good?”

Relaxing a little, back against the pillows, Chris nodded at the man.  “Thank you, Captain Nash.  And butter chicken does sound good.  Thank you for coming to cook for us.”

Feeling a little wrong-footed at Christohper’s unexpected formality (What happened to ‘Cap’?) Bobby nodded back.  “It’s no trouble.  I’m happy to help.”

Heading back to the kitchen an uneasy feeling rattled around in Bobby’s chest.

He somehow felt as though he’d been … demoted.

Well, Chris was tired and in pain.  It was probably just that.  But …

As he checked on dinner and stirred the pot one last time he couldn’t help but feel something precious was slipping away from him.

A sadly not uncommon feeling these days.

Where in the world was Buck?

Buck drove while Marsh read out the directions from his GPS.

This site was a little further out than most of their calls.  Right at the edge of their project area, actually.  They were going to have to park and hike for a couple of hours to get to the carcass, and no one was looking forward to it.  The sun was going down, and visibility was going to become an issue soon.  Fortunately, tonight was a full moon, so it wouldn’t be as bad as it might otherwise.

But still …

“Looks like this is about as far as we can go on roads.  You’re going to need to pull over at the rest area up ahead.  We’ll have to hoof it from there.”  Marsh indicated a small parking area on the right, so Buck pulled in and parked.

Jake looked at the dense brush and then hesitantly at Mateo.  “You gonna be able to make the hike?”  They hadn’t been able to bring the ATV, since the whole group had been deployed.  

“Yeah.  I’ll be ok.  Might be a bit slow.”  Mateo looked at the area consideringly.  “You might have to go on and just let me catch up.”

“Absolutely not.  We stay together.  No matter what.”  Jake was firm about that.  No one was going to be on their own.

“Right.  Of course.  I just forgot for a minute.  It’s just … it’s so weird to think of someone out here shooting at people.”  Mateo hadn’t been sheltered exactly, but he’d definitely grown up in a safe home in a decent working-class neighborhood where gun violence was a distant concern.

“Some folks are just crazy, I guess.”  Jake had grown up in a suburb that could have been used as the poster town for middle-class living.  Gun violence wasn’t something he was used to having to consider either.

Marsh and Buck just looked at each other and shrugged.  Marshall Sutherland had grown up around guns, but the idea of using them against people was a new one.

Of them all, Buck was the only one with any experience with interpersonal violence.  The others were trying hard to adjust their thinking, and they’d get there.  But for now, yeah Buck was definitely keeping his head on a swivel.

Moving to the back of the truck, the four men grabbed backpacks and gear and loaded up to head out.  They figured they might have to pitch a tent, though no one was very comfortable with the idea.  Hopefully they could get their work done before it got too late.

And hopefully the deer had died of natural causes.  Or CWD.

And how awful was it that the terrible disease they’d been investigating and fighting had become the best-case scenario.

With dinner ready to serve, Bobby went to wake Eddie.

He tapped on the bedroom door and peered in, looking at the man sleeping restlessly on the bed.  Bobby was about to go in when he heard a small voice call from the other bedroom.

Immediately changing direction, Bobby pushed Chris’s bedroom door open further and poked his head in.  “Hey Chris.  I was just getting ready to wake your dad up for dinner.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured when I heard you pass my door.  I just wanted to remind you, you can’t wake Daddy up by touching him.  You need to call from the door.”  The little boy looked up at him seriously.  “Or I could call him from here.  Daddy always hears me when I call.”

Bobby was truly touched by Christopher’s absolute confidence in his father.  “OK Champ.  Go ahead and call him, and I’ll let him know it’s time to eat.”

Chris raised his voice just a little, and put a slightly different tone in it.  Bobby couldn’t quite put his finger on the difference, but it was noticeable.  “Daddy, I need you.”

A thump from the other bedroom indicating feet hitting the floor.  “I’m coming, mijo.”

Within three minutes Eddie appeared at the door, looking in at Chris and then turning a suspicious gaze on Bobby.  “What’s happened, Buddy?”

Chris smiled a rather strained version of his usual sunny grin.  “Captain Nash says it’s time to eat, and I need my pills first.”

Eddie moved quickly to the hall bathroom, retrieving the medicine cup for dinner time pills and a small cup of water.  Returning to the bedroom, he moved to offer them to Christopher one at a time.  

Bobby wondered what he’d done to earn that suspicious look, then put it down to the man’s exhaustion and worry for his son.  “I’m going to go get dinner plated up.”

“Thank you, Bobby.  You’re going to eat with us, of course.”  It wasn’t said as a question, but Bobby nodded anyway. 

“I appreciate the invitation.  I’d like that.”  The whole thing felt weirdly formal, making Bobby feel more and more out of step.

Shaking the feeling off he busied himself getting dinner served, then realized he didn’t know where they were eating.

Moving back down the hall, he looked into the bedroom to see Eddie lifting Chris into his arms.  “Oh, hey… I … uh … wasn’t sure where to put the plates.”

Eddie moved through the open bedroom door and down the short hallway into the living room.  Putting Chris on the sofa in what was obviously a space made specifically for him.  A lap desk sat nearby, and as Bobby watched Eddie moved the art project off it and settled it over Chris’s legs.

“We’re mostly eating on trays right now.”  Eddie grabbed a couple of TV trays from the corner beside the TV stand, setting them up in front of the recliner and armchair.

Bobby hurried back into the kitchen and started bringing the plates into the living room.  Silverware and drinks followed, and soon the three of them settled into their dinners in a rather uncomfortable silence.

After a few minutes, Eddie broke the quiet.  “This is delicious Bobby.  I really appreciate your being willing to come out and check in on us.  And I know Buck will appreciate it too.”

Chris sniffled as he poked at his dinner, finally putting a small bite into his mouth.

Bobby, watching closely, offered, “Hey, Chris … if the chicken isn’t going down well tonight, I could get you something else.  It’s no trouble.”

Chris shook his head and took another small bite before laying his fork down with a sigh.  “It’s really good, Captain Nash.  I’m just not very hungry.”

Eddie remembered a conversation several weeks ago between Buck and Chris, when Chris was sympathizing with Evan’s difficulty eating when he was upset.  “Is something else taking up all the room inside you tonight, mijo?”

Another sniffle and a small nod.

Moving his tray to the side, Eddie got up and knelt down by the sofa … gently taking his son in his arms.  “Hey, I know you miss him.  I do too.  But you know he’ll call when he can, and he’ll be back in two weeks.”

The small head nodded against Eddie’s shoulder.  “I know.”

Bobby shook his head, and voiced something that, in retrospect, should have been kept behind his teeth.  “I just don’t understand why he would have left again right now.  You’d think Chris could have come before his travel plans, just this once.”  

Bobby realized as soon as the words cleared his lips that he was in trouble.

It just didn’t come from the direction he expected.