Page 91 of Bobby

“What was that about?” I ask as I watch the doctor move on from Lily to Ivy, checking her reflexes and looking at her eyes.

“Did Mason tell you a joke?” Bobby says as he comes back.

I look back at him with a head tilt. “A joke?” It takes a second, and then I nod my head. “You mean about the fake grenade?” I’m speaking in hushed tones so I don’t freak out the girls. Fake or not, they don’t need to know about it.

“Nothing fake about it.”

My eyes go wide, but before I can say anything else, the doctor pulls our attention.

“They seem to be okay. No initial signs of any problems. I’m clearing them to travel back with us once the team comes back,” he says as he puts a few things back in his bag.

“Thank you,” Bobby says, and the guy nods at me before leaving, closing the door behind him.

I walk to the girls, sitting by Ivy, and Bobby picks up a giggling Lily and sits before putting her on his lap.

“Next time we fly, I want to go somewhere fun,” Ivy mumbles.

“Me too,” Lily says softly.

I kiss their heads and nod, but it’s Bobby who speaks. “I think I can arrange that.”

I don’t know what to say to them. And for once, neither of them says anything to me. They don’t ask a single question, nor complain about being bored or hungry. We just sit here in silence, holding each other. At one point, Bobby reaches out and grabs my hands, and I feel as if the circle is complete. All of us touch one another, safe and sound.

We stay wrapped up in the silent cocoon until there’s a knock on the door, and then Danny sticks his head in.

“We’ll be taking off in five minutes.” He looks over the girls for a second longer before meeting my eyes. He holds my stare before nodding.

And I give a watery smile back. I know what that nod means without asking. It means the girls are safe. That this won’t happen again. At least not with Trevor. That he’s taken care of and is no longer a problem for us.

I won’t ask questions. I don’t care to know. Will I be upset by it? I don’t know. I don’t want to know how I’ll feel. I’m just relieved that it’s not something I have to fear in the middle of the night. Not a nightmare I’ll have to plan and prepare for it to happen again.

It’s over.

He closes the door, and Lily lifts her head off Bobby’s shoulder.

“Mommy, I’m hungry.”

“Me too, Mommy,” Ivy says with a look up at me.

“Me three,” Bobby says with a wide, innocent look that’s just enough to make us girls giggle at his antics.

“Well, I guess we should go see what they have before we have to buckle in for the flight home.”

“You guys don’t want any cookies, do you?” Tommy pokes his head in with a plate of cookies in his hand before popping one into his mouth.

“I like cookies,” Lily says, climbing off Bobby’s lap.

“Well, come on, munchkin. Help me eat them before my brothers take them from us. You, too, Ivy.”

The smile on my eldest’s face tells me this will end well. That the memories Bobby’s brothers make with my girls, today and the days after, will overtake whatever memory Trevor left with them.

The girls chase after Tommy, and I go to follow, but a hand on my wrist has me looking back at Bobby. We’re finally alone since yesterday in his office. So much has happened since then. Too much.

“Thank you. I can never repay you for this. Or your family.”

He tugs once, and I take the few steps to close the gap between us. I can hear my daughters’ happy voices behind me as the engines start up. But it’s a dim noise when I look into Bobby’s eyes.

“Always. I will always protect them. And you. In case I didn’t make it clear, I don’t plan to let any of you go. Ever.”