Sierra
“Are you heading over to see Donna and the kids?” Wilson asked Burke as the four men entered the stairs to retrieve their things from their offices.
Burke braced himself, waiting for his team to hit him with more advice. “Yeah, why?”
“I still think it would be good for Rae to talk to Donna at some point, that’s all,” Wilson answered. “Maybe after Christmas we could have all of you over for dinner. The kids could play; Rae can tell her about the job from her point of view.”
“Becca would like to meet her too. Are you bringing her family to the agency Christmas party?”
Burke hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. “I don’t know. I have to talk to Saxton about it. It’s her family too,” Burke replied.
“You need to let Angel know if it’s a possibility,” Wilson said.
“Yeah, I will,” Burke said.
Rogers went down to four to his office within the medical suite. The three other men went up. Burke swung by Angel’s desk on his way out. He wanted to find out if it was even a possibility to bring them.
“Of course it is,” Angel said. “Just let me know by tomorrow afternoon if they’re coming and how many. There’s always enough food; I just need to be sure we have enough chairs and tables for everyone.”
“Thanks, Angel. I want to discuss it with Saxton first, before I even mention it to Donna and her mom.”
“I knew you had stayed in touch with her after the Op to resolve Laura Lee’s case. I wasn’t aware you were actually seeing her until Becca told me you were flying them out for Christmas,” Angel said.
“Honestly, Angel, I’m not sure of the status of our relationship. It’s complicated. I think this visit will determine what it is or isn’t,” he said with a frown.
Angel laid a hand on his shoulder. “Rich, have faith that whatever it’s supposed to be, will be clear to you both.”
“Thanks, Angel. I’ll let you know if they’ll be there.
And if they do come, can you do me a favor and send out a text message to the team to not call Becca’s sister’s place the murder house?
I haven’t told Donna the history of that house, and I don’t plan to, as I’m sure it would freak her out to know. ”
Angel smiled. “Sure. I can do that.”
After he’d pulled his vehicle out of the garage, he dialed Donna.
“Hello,” she answered excitedly, seeing the call was from Rich.
“Hi, I’m on my way,” he said.
Donna smiled into the phone. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me too,” he said.
His prior conversations with Wilson and the team regarding her ran through his thoughts again as he drove. He realized that he was excited to see her and her kids. Maybe things would be different between them this time. Maybe he would allow things to progress in their relationship.
When Burke parked in the driveway beside the rented minivan, the front door opened.
The kids ran out before he even got out of his car.
He was greeted with hugs and all three of them told him about the plane trip, the house, and the swing set in the big back yard, the bedroom with the three bunks like their mom wanted for their home, and the huge television in the family room with their excited voices overlapping each other.
Burke chuckled at them and herded them back to the front door.
Once inside the house, he embraced Donna, noting how much weight she’d lost since he’d last seen her, not that her weight had ever bothered him.
His own mother had carried a few extra pounds all her life, and she’d raised him to value what was inside a person and not judge anyone by their physical appearance.
Donna watched Rich’s eyes go up and down her form, and he smiled.
“You look great,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said, pleased he noticed her slimmer body, which she had worked so hard to achieve.
Dorthea sat in a chair in the front room beside the Christmas Tree, a book in her hands. “Hello, Richard,” she greeted.
He crossed the room and went to her, bending down to embrace her.
“Hi, Dorthea. I’m glad you are all here for Christmas.
” All three of the kids followed him and stood in front of him beaming with excitement.
“And look at that Christmas Tree and all those presents!” he said, his eyes going from the tree to the kids.
“There’s gifts for you here, Rich,” Elijah said.
“There is?” he asked, his voice exaggerated.
All three kids nodded with big smiles on their faces.
His gaze went back to Dorthea. “Can you do me a favor and keep an eye on the kids for a few minutes?” Then his gaze shifted back to the kids.
“I need to talk to your mom alone for a few minutes, you know, Christmas secrets.”
“Sure,” Dorthea said. “Kids, go back to watching television in the other room. Give your momma and Richard a few minutes.” She smiled, assuming the couple wanted a few minutes alone to kiss and become reacquainted, as it had been months since they’d been together in the same place.
Burke looked around. His eyes landed on the stairs. “Up there,” he said to Donna. He wanted her as far from the kids as possible when he showed her the picture of the man who was found dead in Richmond.
Donna pulled him into the master bedroom at the top of the stairs. She closed the door. When she turned to wrap her arms around his neck, the expression on his face stopped her. “What is it?”
“A body turned up in Richmond matching your description of the man you saw choked. I have a picture of him. Do you think you got a good enough look that you’d know if it was him or not?”
This was what he was bringing up, not even two minutes after he was through the door? She was extremely disappointed. She shrugged. “Maybe.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and brought the picture up. “Take your time,” he said as he turned it for her to view.
It only took a second, and Donna was sure it was the man. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” she insisted, irritated that he asked.
By the expression on her face, he knew that she was sure. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. He also hit dial on his phone and brought it to his ear.
Smith answered on the first ring. “What do you have for me?”
“Positive ID on the Vic,” he said.
Donna pulled away enough to see him with his phone pressed to his ear. She hadn’t seen him dial. And here she’d thought he wanted a few minutes alone with her for other reasons.
“I’ll notify Big Bear and let you know how he wants to proceed.”
“Thanks,” Burke said. He slid the phone back into his pocket.
“So, now what?” Donna asked, pulling herself from his embrace.
“My boss will decide how we’re going to proceed. More than likely, our agency will contact Richmond IAB.”
“Internal affairs,” she said. “He’ll know the info came from me.” She didn’t even try to hide her fear.
“You’re assuming he’ll know he’s under investigation. And even if he does, he won’t necessarily know if there was a tip or it came from you or another source. Besides, it won’t matter. You’re not there.”
“I will be after Christmas. I can’t stay here forever, no matter how much I’d like to,” she said, her thoughts running wildly through her mind.
He stepped into her and pulled her tightly against his chest. “We'll worry about that later. You’re doing the right thing, reporting this.”
She wasn’t so sure. “I tried to convince myself I had only seen him choke that guy out, like you said, and that he didn’t kill that man.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he did. COD was manual strangulation,” Burke told her. She had the right to know.
“Shit,” Donna cursed.
“Don’t be afraid. You’re here with me, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Burke said soothingly as he caressed her back.
“Yeah, I guess I’ll worry about that after Christmas.” When she was back home alone.
“Not then, either. Laura Lee, Dupont, and I are all going back to Richmond with you after Christmas.”
“You are?”
“Yes, we are. Donna, I’m going to take care of this. I’m not going to leave you out there alone to deal with this.” He pulled back and flashed her a smile, trying to alleviate her fear. “And I’ll set that detective straight.”
“Thank you.” She dropped her head against his chest and took in the incredible sensation of being held by him.
After several quiet moments, he spoke. “Hey, I still need to do my Christmas shopping for the kids. Do you think your mom will watch them for a couple of hours? We could go shopping and get lunch, just the two of us.”
He knew he was doing it again, sending her mixed signals.
Why did this have to be so difficult for him?
He liked her a lot. He’d decided he would have a conversation with her regarding the job, the danger, the sacrifices, and what it would mean if they moved forward with this relationship.
He still wasn’t sure she could handle it, but the alternative of not having a relationship was not palatable to him either.
He wouldn’t have that conversation today, though, probably not, well, maybe. He’d see how the afternoon and evening went.
“They’re going to be disappointed that you’re not going to spend the day here with them,” she said. “You saw how excited they were to see you.”
“I’m sure if they know I’m going Christmas shopping for them, they’ll be okay with it.
How about we go now, and we’ll be back shortly after lunch?
I’ll spend all day with them, and I’ll cook us all dinner tonight.
They liked my lasagna. We can stop at the store and pick up any ingredients we need for it. ”
“They liked your garlic bread,” she said with a smile.
“They liked my lasagna too,” he insisted. “And I’ll tuck them in tonight,” he offered. Yes, he’d like that too.