If Looks Could Kill (Sideshow Bob Fanfiction)

Chapter Sixty-One

Author's Note:

We now fast-forward to Christmas Eve night! An exciting time in many households! Bob has now moved in with Caitlyn, and is happier than ever. Except for one thing; it is his first Christmas without Gino.

Enjoy!

Chapter 61

Bob had been acting like his old self a lot recently, Caitlyn had thought. His old self - before Gino died. Bob had been smiling a lot more, and laughing a lot more. He seemed so happy! Just like he had been before. If Caitlyn was entirely honest, she much preferred the happy Bob to the sad Bob. It was horrible seeing Bob upset, and as horrible as she felt for admitting it even to herself, it was emotionally draining for her comforting him; she was a very emotional person, and most times, it ended with them both being in tears. That wasn't fun for either of them.

In fact, Caitlyn hadn't even seen Bob cry since the fiasco with Franchesca and herself, and the attempt on her life. That was understandable to Caitlyn; anyone would cry in that situation. Probably, literally anyone who had a heart. Caitlyn still felt incredibly guilty for putting him and her mother through that horror; she also felt bad for believing Franchesca over Bob. But, almost impossibly, Bob had completely forgiven her, and it didn't even seem to faze him anymore.

Caitlyn wasn't a fool, however. She knew that Bob probably wasn't A-Okay 100% of the time, and he just hid it behind a mask of a smile. It stung a little to know that Bob probably used to do that even before. Before, when whatever pain he had was just about bearable. He was strong enough to mask that. But grief? That's almost impossible to hide. To ignore. And that was the final thing to push Bob over the edge from emotionally-stable to just emotional.

But Caitlyn understood that. She accepted that. She knew more than anyone how it felt when you were pushed over that line almost. She knew the feeling of helplessness. The complete loss of control over your emotions. It became about 100 times harder to keep your emotions in check. Under the radar. Inside. She knew how hard it was for Bob. And she had to say, she was more than impressed with how quickly he seemed to be pulling himself together. It had taken her years; it had seemingly taken Bob three months.

Caitlyn wasn't 100% sure of how well Bob was really doing, as a couple of night ago had cast a wave of doubt, chopping through the tranquil seas of certainty. Two nights ago, Caitlyn had come in from a visit to the supermarket, and it had been pretty quiet. Assuming that Bob was busy, or asleep, Caitlyn didn't call him to let him know she was home. After all, he was probably exhausted after a day at work. Thankfully, it was Bob's last working day before Christmas. Caitlyn had put the food away in the kitchen, and then decided to wander upstairs to check on Bob. It was silly, she knew, but she couldn't help but feel like he was in need of supervising. It wasn't that she didn't trust him not to do something unloyal or horrible... It was that she didn't completely trust him not to tell the whole truth - about whatever it was she was paranoid over? But either way, crazy or not, Caitlyn felt the need to check up on Bob.

Caitlyn climbed the stairs and was about to enter the bedroom when she noticed that the bathroom door was closed. She let out a small, internal, sigh of relief, assuming that Bob was just in the bathroom. She was about to walk back downstairs when she heard a sniveling coming from the other side of the door. Sniffling and gulping - it sounded like Bob was crying. She had hesitated outside for a couple of minutes, her hand hovering over the handle. But then she decided just to go back downstairs. It was saddening to hear Bob's sorrow, but she surmised that the door was closed for a reason. He wasn't alright right now, and he clearly wanted privacy.

Caitlyn went back downstairs and began cooking dinner for that night, humming to herself merrily. She was sure that he'd be fine. He was upset, that was all. He wasn't having a mental breakdown or a panic attack or anything serious. He was upset; he'd be fine.