Chapter Sixteen:

Matthew ran into the house, followed by Nora. She smiled when she saw Matthew jump into Hank’s arms, “Uncle Hank! You’re here.”

Hank folded Matthew into his large embrace, pulling him tight against his chest, “Hey buddy, I sure have missed you.”

Matthew lifts his head off of Hank’s chest, his arms still wrapped around his neck, “I’ve missed you too, Uncle Hank. Are you going to stay here now?”

“I can stay for a little while, until this Thursday.”

Matthew nodded, “I guess that’s okay. Are you going to go back to London?”

Hank sits down, setting Matthew on his lap, “Yeah, I have to go back to London for a little while but I’ll be back home in a couple of months.”

They sat in silence for a little while. Matthew looked up at Hank, “My dad’s in Heaven now, Uncle Hank.”

Hank looked over at Nora who was sitting in the chair across from them. He looked back down at Matthew, “I know Matthew.”

Matthew nodded, “He’s my guardian angel, you know. My mom told me so. I have two of them now. My dad and Sam, I’m lucky cuz Destiny only has one.”

“Oh, I think both Sam and especially your dad are looking out for both of you.”

Matthew shrugs, ready to move onto the next subject, “My mom’s having another baby.” He looks over at Nora who looks surprised that he knows, “I heard you talking to daddy’s picture. You told him that you were having another baby.” He looked down at the ground and then back up at his mother, “I’m sorry I listened.”

Nora walked over and sat down beside him, pulling him onto her lap, “It’s, okay, champ. I’m not mad.” She kisses the back of his head, looking over at Hank, “Why don’t you go run outside and play before dinner.”

Matthew stands up, “Okay, hey can we have pizza and root beer?”

“Sure, I’ll call Sal’s in a few minutes.”

“Thanks mom.”

Hank and Nora sit in silence for a few minutes, her head resting on his shoulder, “He’s so much like his father, always trying to protect me. He keeps things bottled up just like his father, too.”

Hank pulls her closer, “You’re going to get through this all of you. Your kids are going to be fine.”

“I miss him”, she begins to cry, “I can’t...” She stands up and runs upstairs. Hank jumped when he heard the door to her bedroom close a bit louder than it should have.

*~*

Bo pulled into the driveway and quickly shut off the engine. He ran up to the house, the police cars, with their lights flashing, giving him a sinking feeling. He ran towards the voices coming from the kitchen. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her sitting at the kitchen table, crying. He ran over and knelt down in front of her, “Bridget what’s wrong? What happened?”

“Michael is missing.”

“What…”

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, trying to compose herself, “He went into Dublin this morning, said he had to pick up some papers for a case that he was working on. He called me from the office, told me he was on his way home and should be here in about an hour.”

She stopped when one of the agents came into the kitchen. Bo stands up and walks over to him, “What’s going on, O’Leary?”

“We found his car abandoned by the old bridge.” He pauses for a moment and looks back at Bridget sitting at the table, “They found blood on the seat and steering wheel…its Michael’s.”

Bo ran his hands over his face, “Let’s not tell Bridget about the blood until we have to.” O’Leary nods, “Thank you. Do you have any idea at all who would do this?”

“He’s made a lot of enemies over the years. It’s going to be hard to narrow it down unless we hear from them…if we’re going to hear from them.”

Bo nodded and shook the agent’s hand, “Thanks again. I’m going to go on in and sit with her. Please keep me informed.” Bo walks over and sits down beside her; placing his hand on top of hers, “He’s going to be okay, Bridget. He’s strong and he’s smart.”

Bridget just nodded, “I have to believe that, for the children’s sake.” She pats his hand, “Speaking of family and children what did you find out today?”

“I learned everything I needed to learn…”

“And?”

“It’ll keep for now. I can’t leave until we find him.”

“Bo…Michael wouldn’t want you putting your life on hold for him.”

He raised his hand to silence her, “If it weren’t for you and Michael I wouldn’t be here at all. You gave me a place to recover, a place to put what was left of my life back together. You helped me establish a new life before I remembered that I had someone out there waiting, but right now I’m needed here. Please…just let me repay this debt. Let me help bring him home to you.” He pauses for a moment, “If the situation were reversed and my wife had had a reason to believe I survived that explosion I would hope someone, no matter what personal sacrifices they had to make, would help bring me home to her.”

She just nods, placing her hand on his cheek, “You’re a good friend, Bo Buchanan. Your wife is lucky to have a man like you.”

He smiles, “From what I learned about her today, I’m the lucky one.” He lays a hand on her shoulder, “I’m going to go make a few phone calls to the office, maybe I can find out what else he might have been working on.” Bo stands up and walks into Michael’s office. He sits behind his desk and turns on the computer. He waits while it starts up, reaching into his pocket he pulls out the newspaper clipping that Marty had given them. He lays it down on the desk in front of him, running his finger over her face, “I’m sorry, Nora. I promise you, memory or not I’ll come home as soon as I find him.”

*~*

Nora turns when she hears a knock on the door. She turns and looks back out the window, watching Matthew playing in the backyard, pushing Destiny around in her stroller. Hank walks up and lays his hands on her shoulders, “Is there anything you need?”

“I need my husband.”

TBC