Part Seventeen:

Bo and Nora look back and forth between themselves and Hank. Finally Hank ends his call and looks over at them. Nora lets go of Bo’s hand and steps between him and Hank, “What’s going on, Hank?”

He holds up his phone, “That was Viki. She wants to see the three of us at the hospital in a half hour.”

“The hearing is supposed to start in an hour.”

Hank nods, “I’m going to go talk to Fitzwater right now. See if we can postpone the hearing until we hear what Viki has to tell us.” He lays a hand on Nora’s shoulder, “I’ll be right back.”

They both nod as Hank walks away. Nora turns and looks at Bo, “What do you think that’s all about?”

Bo looks down in the direction that Hank just went, “I don’t know, Red.”

Hank returns a few minutes later, “Well she wasn’t happy but that’s nothing new when it comes to Fitzy. The hearing has been rescheduled for one this afternoon.” They all walk back into Hank’s office, “Let me just grab my briefcase and we can head over to the hospital.”

Bo leans in and kisses her quickly on the cheek, “I’ll go get the car.”

Nora turns and takes Hank’s arm. She looks up at him, “Why do I have a feeling that whatever we’re walking into isn’t going to be pretty.”

Hank sighs, “Because we’re talking about Todd Manning, and whenever we do that things never go as we plan.”

They arrive at the hospital ten minutes later. Bo takes Nora’s hand and the three of them make their way to the sunroom at the end of the hall. Bo steps aside, his hand on the small of her back as she enters the sunroom. Viki turns when she hears them approach. Viki walks over to them, embracing Nora then kissing Bo on the cheek, before letting them know the reason behind their meeting, “Thank you for coming so quickly. I know you had a hearing set for this morning but I have something to tell you…well actually Todd does.”

The three of them exchange quick glances before turning back to Viki, “We’re listening,” Nora says quietly.

Viki motions for them all to sit down. She looks between her closest friends, hoping that despite all that has happened, their friendships would remain. She looks over at Hank, “Todd wants to talk about a deal.”

Bo stands up, “No way in hell!”

Nora grabs his arm and pulls him down beside her, “Let’s hear what Viki has to say, okay?”

“Red…” he begins to protest.

“Please, Bo. Just listen,” she pleads.

He sees the look in her eyes. He nods his head and sits down beside her, taking her hand and giving it a quick squeeze, “Okay Viki, let’s hear it.”

“Todd is willing to drop all the assault charges,” she pauses for a moment, “if he’s able to plead no contest to the hit and run.”

Bo stands up and walks over to the other side of the room, looking out over the small terrace that flanked the one side of the sunroom, “No contest for killing our daughter.” He says quietly, “He literally wants to get away with murder,” Bo turns around, “No…no deal.”

Nora walks over to him and takes his hand, “Bo…”

Bo shakes his head, “No, Red…there’s no way I’m letting him get away with killing our daughter. I’ll deal with whatever the Judge decides when we get back to court this afternoon.”

 

Nora turns and looks at Viki and Hank, “Could you give us some time?” Hank and Viki both nod and walk out. Nora waits until the door closes behind them before turning back to Bo, “Bo…listen to me, please.”

“I can’t let him get away with this, Nora. I’ll take my chances with Fitzwater before I let this happen. He has to pay for what he did.”

She reaches out and lays her hand on his cheek, “Making Todd pay is not going to bring her back,” she says quietly.

He lays his hand on top of hers, removing it from his cheek, “You can honestly let this go? Let him plead this out and walk away with a slap on the wrist?”

“If it guarantees that you’re coming home to me when this is all said and done and we can finally get our lives back, you bet I am,” she leads him over to the chairs, “I just want our life back, Bo. We’ve spent too much time apart because we were stubborn and willful, and we let our pain get the most of us. We’ve been given this second chance. Who cares about Todd, tell Hank to make whatever deal is necessary. Let’s just go out and live our life, Bo. It’s what she would want us to do.”

He lays his hand on her cheek, she presses her cheek against the palm of his hand, “You’re amazing you know that,” he says with a smile.

She reaches out and runs her finger down the side of his face and across his lips. She leans in and places a soft kiss on his lips, “Well if I am it’s because of you.”

He leans in and kisses her, their kiss becoming more passionate as they became lost in one another, both forgetting they were standing in the middle of the sunroom. It wasn’t until they hear Hank clear his throat for the third time that they break apart. Nora turns in his arms and wraps her arms around his neck, brushing the lipstick off his lips, “Umm…,” she says with a little hesitation, “we’ve come to a decision.”

Hank and Viki both look at each other and then between Bo and Nora, “Well...,” Hank asked.

“Make the deal, Hank,” Bo looks over at Nora and then back over at Hank, “We just want to be able to focus on each other,” he lowers his hand and places it on her stomach, “and our future.”

An hour later after meeting with Judge Fitzwater Bo and Nora walk out of the hospital hand in hand. Bo suddenly stops, causing her to stop short as well. She looks at him, trying hard to read his face, “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

“Did that really happen?,” he asks, pointing down the hallway towards Todd’s room.

“Yeah, it sure did. You’re free and clear of the assault charges and Todd’s still going away for causing my accident.”

“If John hadn’t come forward as a witness to what happened that day in the interrogation room things may have gone a whole different way for us in there. I’m so glad he had a feeling we were a time bomb waiting to explode that day and had kept an eye on us from behind the one way mirror.”

“I just wish he would’ve been able to make it back into the room when he sensed trouble before you and Todd actually went through the door.”

He laughs, “Yeah that sure would’ve saved us a whole lot of heartache.”

She smiles, “Well it’s over now, Todd’s going away for 10 years and we’re free to finally live our lives.”

He smiles ‘that’ smile and slowly backs her against the wall. He brings his lips down onto hers, capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss. He breaks their kiss, their breathing coming in quick bursts as they try to catch their breath. He leans his forehead against hers, “Let’s finish this at home,” he says with a wink.

He takes her hand and they walk out the sliding doors, neither noticing Hank smiling at the end of the hallway. He shakes his head and pulls out his cell phone to call a cab…his ride having just walked out the door…

TBC….