Right Next Door

Chapter 2

Robert

The days following Paul's death were agonizing. Paul and Robert were each other's first partners after the academy and they spent just about every day together for the past five years.

There was so much chaos around the event that led to his death and rehashing it with his commanding officer, Internal Affairs, and Maggie, Paul's wife, left him completely hollow inside. He was angry at the idiots responsible and would have killed them when he finally caught up to them in his squad car, but he knew he had to follow the law and apprehend them appropriately.

The hardest thing he had to do was tell Maggie that he left Paul on the side of the road in order to go after the bad guys. He knew he did his job according to protocol, but he wished he could have been there while Paul was dying. A witness to the crime came up as Robert was connecting with Dispatch, requesting backup and an ambulance to get there. The Good Samaritan knelt next to Paul, prayed over his body and gave the medics a full report when they arrived on scene. Robert presented him an award from the Mayor of Seattle for his outstanding citizenship about a month later and thanked him profusely for being there for his friend during his final moments.

The apprehension of the men who killed Paul turned out to be a great win for the city of Seattle. Both men had a laundry list of offenses against them and were currently wanted for a gang-related shooting that took place in a night club the month prior. The arrests sent them to jail for a long time without the possibility of parole and also uncovered other gang members wanted for various drug and gun charges.

But even though the people who killed Paul were off the streets, Robert felt like the entire ordeal was pointless. He still lost his best friend and partner. Paul's son, Aaron, lost a father he'd likely never remember in the first place, and his wife Maggie was left to raise their child on her own. Without any other family support, Robert vowed that he would always take care of Maggie and Aaron. He checked on them several times a week, spent time with them around town and they shared just about every holiday together.

At some point along the way, Robert realized he developed feelings for Maggie that went beyond platonic. He looked forward to seeing her whenever they made plans. He would text her every day and did whatever necessary to make her laugh.

Maggie

Monday through Friday, Maggie and Aaron's days were structured sometimes to the hour.

It was Wednesday so that meant Pre-K for Aaron and Dr. Kepler's office for Maggie. She went back to work earlier in the year when Aaron started school because there was only so much cleaning she could do around the house; plus she needed the social interaction.

She could tell it was a busy day in the office because her office manager breathed a sigh of relief when she came through the door.

"Thank God!" she exclaimed, waving her hands toward the heavens. "We are backed up. Would you mind jumping right in? Nancy called in sick and the Natives are getting restless."

"No problem, Becky. What's on the agenda for the day?" She deposited her purse into the cabinet next to the nurse's station.

"A mixed bag." She began listing off the patient files organized on the wall. "You've got a migraine, what looks like a stomach bug, a cold, then a sport's physical to do. It's just another fun day at the office!" she said with a wink.

Four hours later, Maggie had finished up the paperwork for her final patient of the day. She took some time to clean up the workstation that all of the nurses shared, and clocked out. On her way to pick up Aaron, she decided to stop at the grocery store for some sushi to go. When Aaron was escorted to their car by his teacher, he was animatedly talking about all of the projects he had worked on that day and asked for a snack to eat on the ride home. That boy's appetite never curbed.