Page 38 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

“No reason to feel bad for that.” Tommy’s voice was full of conviction. “We didn’t do this to any of them, and Bobby got hurt trying to stop it.”

Judy let out a resigned sigh. “True,” she agreed. “As a mother, this is the worst kind of day.” She glanced at Tommy before adding, “Though I suppose it is for you too.”

Tommy had never let himself dwell on it for too long. On the surface, he knew Bobby’s career was more than driving around in his patrol car and picking up drunks off the street, checking on bums in doorways, or scaring the shit out of twelve-year-old shoplifters. Tommy spent most nights trying to ignore how any random call Bobby answered could end in bloodshed. “I hate his job.”

His words were simple and to the point, but they were so true on so many levels, meant more than even he wanted to admit.

“So do I,” Judy said, dropping her head back against the wall. “He wanted to make a difference in the world, wanted to save lives, help people. I told him he could do that in a lot of ways. He could be a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, even a priest.” She laughed at herself. “But from the time he was a boy, all he wanted….”

Tears started to slip out from the corners of her eyes, and she whispered a small curse as she dabbed them away.

Tommy figured, even as meddlesome and as much of a pain in the ass they were to his family, they needed cops more than they needed priests. He just hated that Bobby was one of them. Before Tommy could say anything, a young doctor in dark green scrubs stalked toward them. He looked exhausted.

“Mrs. McAlister?” he asked, looking directly at Judy.

“Yes.” She stood straighter. “Robert McAlister’s mother.”

He nodded his head and looked down at his chart before meeting her eye again. “He’s out of surgery, and he’s doing fine. We removed the bullet from his upper arm. He lost a lot of blood, but it didn’t do any major damage to the muscle, and it didn’t hit bone. We need to watch for signs of infection over the next few days, but we expect him to make a full recovery.” He paused there as if to let the good news sink in. “He’ll be sore for a few weeks. We had the plastic surgeon close the wound, but there still may be a scar.” The doctor flipped the metal folder shut and added, “He was very lucky.”

Tommy thought it was about damn time something went their way.

Judy let out a choked cry she had obviously been holding in and crossed herself as she whispered, “Oh thank you, God.” She looked at the doctor with a hopeful expression. “Thank you, doctor. Can we see him?”

“Just family, but I can take you back now.”

Tommy wanted to scream. He wanted to grab the doctor who had just given him the best goddamned news of his life and break his neck.

Judy saved the doctor from dismemberment when she said, “Come on, Tommy,” and pulled him by the hand.

The doctor shot her a questioning glance, but the look on her face was stern and unyielding. No one protested as they were escorted to the elevators.

Bobby looked pale and thin against the white sheets on his hospital bed. An IV bag hung on a pole by Bobby’s head, the tubing and shunt taped down on his right hand. His left upper arm had a wide bandage wrapped around it with a dark brown stain that made Tommy’s stomach churn. The heart monitor beeped evenly in the background, measuring his breaths, his pulse, and his oxygen levels as he slept. The TV was on, suspended over Bobby’s bed with the sound off.

Tommy wondered if they should maybe leave and come back later. He didn’t want to wake Bobby, and in some ways, now that he knew Bobby was going to be all right, he didn’t want to face him.

Judy had no such qualms. She marched into the room like she was about to scold him. Tommy smiled and closed the door, watching as Judy ran her hand through Bobby’s hair, waking him up.

“Hey, Ma.” Bobby coughed on the words as he tried to sit up.

“You scared me half to death,” she told him, anger and worry warring for dominance in her expressions. When she spoke again, she sounded disgusted. “Shot in the line of duty.” She glared at him, but her brow was creased, and her eyes were shining with more tears.

Bobby winced as he tried to sit higher in the bed. “I’m fine, but thanks for asking.”

He was trying to tease and, Tommy could tell, lighten the mood, but Judy wasn’t ready for that. She looked closely at her son, hovering over him. Tommy wondered if his own mother had ever looked at him like that. If she had, he never noticed. The thought sent a pang through him, a quiet ache that rippled inside like one more drop into the bucket of painful memories he carried around with him.

Judy searched Bobby’s face as if she were looking for answers to too many questions or trying to see if more damage hid under the surface. The kind of damage surgery and doctors and medicine couldn’t fix.

Bobby seemed to sense what she was doing. He said softly, “I’m okay, Mom.” She didn’t look like she believed him, and he went on. “It was a hard night. It scared the hell out of me. My partner is in ICU right now, and we don’t know how that’s gonna go. We almost lost Parker, and I had to shoot two teenagers in the line of duty.” Bobby bit his lip then, taking a deep breath. “But I did my job, and I have to be okay with that.”

Tears were spilling down her face, but she nodded her head and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Tommy felt like an intruder watching the two of them together, hearing Bobby tell her things he probably wasn’t supposed to tell anyone yet.

Judy said softly, “Okay, then.” She stood up straight and wiped her eyes when she pulled back, a determined look on her face. “I’m going to find Robin and see if I can get any more news about Andrew.”

Tommy knew that Drew was Bobby’s partner. He was an older man with kids and a wife, and he was a good guy. He was Bobby’s friend, and he watched Bobby’s back. Tommy was sure the guilt Bobby must have been feeling was unbearable.

“Thanks, Ma.”

She glanced at Tommy then. Bobby followed her gaze. He didn’t look as surprised as Tommy thought he would, but he did look grateful to see him standing there. “I found this one in the waiting room. I was afraid he might throttle someone if he didn’t get to see you.”

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