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Bo's Journey Home - Chapter 22 When Bo woke, he was completely naked in the bed, the comforter half on the bed, the sheet wrapped around his legs, the towel on the floor. The alarm clock was buzzing and he didn’t remember setting it. He jumped in the shower long enough to get his hair wet and shave, and then he dressed quickly and went down to face his father in the dining room.   Asa was sitting at end of the long dining table, reading his paper and sipping his coffee. Renee had all ready left for the Palace Hotel. Bo moved to the coffee service and poured himself a cup before turning to greet his father. “Morning, Pa,” Bo greeted him cautiously.   Asa looked up at Bo. “Feeling better this morning boy?” And then he added sarcastically. “Or you feel the need to kiss me again?”   Bo scowled at him. “I all ready regret it.”   “What’s gotten into you, Bo?” Asa asked.   Bo looked at his father. This was as good a time as any to tell him. Bo exhaled deeply and spoke. “I got news, Pa.”   Asa put his paper down. “Well, spill it; if it will explain last night.”   Bo nodded. “It might.” Bo hesitated. “It’s about Matthew.” Asa reached for his paper again. “Put your paper, down, Pa. You’ll want to give me your full attention for this.”   Asa let go of the paper and looked back at his son. “Well, what is it? You found the Rappaport boy, he’s home with his mother. That’s old news.”   Bo nodded. “You’re right, that’s old news.” Then he added. “But this isn’t.” Bo stared directly at his father as he spoke. “Matthew is not a Rappaport, Pa. He’s a Buchanan.” Asa stared dumbfounded at Bo, before comprehension filled his eyes. He was unable to speak. “That’s right,” Bo said, seeing Asa understood without Bo even saying it. “Matthew’s my son; mine and Nora’s.”   Asa stood up, yelling. “Well, Alleluia! I knew it. I knew Nora could never give life to a Rappaport! Son, you can kiss me with that kind of news anytime!”   “Settle down, Pa,” Bo tried to yell over Asa’s voice. “Just settle down.” Bo put his coffee down on the table.   “How did you find out?” Asa yelled. “Oh, who cares how you found out. What matters is the boy's a Buchanan.” Asa went and gave Bo a bear hug. “So, when are you bringing him over so I can meet my newest grandson?”   Bo released himself from his father’s embrace. “I don’t know yet. Soon.”   Asa looked at him suddenly. “What’s the problem?”   Bo hesitated. “There’s no problem. Nora and I are just trying to help Matthew deal with all of this, that’s all.”   Asa looked at him. “What’s to deal with? He’s a Buchanan. He should be proud.”   Bo rolled his eyes. “Being a Buchanan means nothing to him Pa. Right now, he’s just a little boy, who lost the only father he ever knew.”   Asa rolled his eyes right back at him. “So what? He has you.”   Bo nodded, growing impatient with his father. “Yes, he has me. But Sam dying and then finding out about me has been a lot for him to handle all at once. And he doesn’t understand what being a Buchanan means to you. So don’t you start by giving him a hard time about Sam.”   “Asa waved a hand at Bo. “Why would I give him a hard time about Rappaport? He means nothing to me.”   Bo was adamant. “Because whether you like it or not, Matthew loves Sam, and always will. You even mention Sam to Matthew, and I swear, I’ll never bring Matthew around you.” He stared directly into his father’s eyes. “I mean it, Pa.”   Asa sat back down at the table. “Fine. If you think I’m such a terrible influence, don’t bring him around.”   Bo rolled his eyes again. “Trying to talk to you is like talking to a mule. All I’m asking is that you let Matthew be himself, find his own way in this family.”   Asa looked back at his son. “Of course I will. I would never hurt my grandson.”   Bo nodded. “I know you wouldn’t, not intentionally. But Matthew has no understanding of your feud with the Rappaports. So, treat him like your grandson, and you and I will have no problems.”   Asa nodded. “Fair enough, son.” Asa smiled that cunning Grandfather smile again. “So, when are you bringing him over?”   Bo shrugged, wondering if he should have told Asa without Nora. “Don’t know yet. Nora and I haven’t even really told anyone yet. So don't tell Renee, let Nora do it.”   “I won't tell Renee. I keep secrets from her all the time. But I don't understand what you and Nora are waiting for.” Asa replied.   Bo tried to explain again. “I told you, Matthew is still trying to deal with all of this. Let Nora and me handle this our way, all right? Don’t make me regret telling you.”   “Suit yourself, son. I can be patient.” Bo rolled his eyes again at that remark as Asa picked up his newspaper again. “Congratulations, Bo. For you, Nora, and all of the Buchanans. One of our own, back in the fold.”   Bo allowed himself his first smile of the morning. “Thanks, Pa.”   Asa then added softly from behind the paper. “One left to bring back to the fold for you, boy.”   Bo squinted his eyes at Asa. “What was that?”   Asa shook his head, still staring at his paper. “Nothing, Bo. Nothing at all.”   Bo looked at his father oddly, not quite sure what Asa had mumbled. “I’ll see you tonight, then Pa.” Bo finished his coffee in peace and then left for the station. When he got there, Marcie was all ready there. She gave him an update from the weekend and he went to his office to review all of the reports. But before he started, he called Gabrielle. She answered on the first ring. “Gabrielle? It’s Bo.”   Her voice and tone were distant. “Bo? Where have you been? And where are you now?”   “I’m at work,” he answered. He ignored the first part of her question.   She was surprised. “Work? Where have you been all weekend? And last night?”   Bo closed his eyes, trying to keep himself calm. “I stayed at my father’s last night. I’ve been working on a case all weekend. But I’ll be at the Garrett tonight right after work. Meet me there.”   His tone had her nervous. It was a demand, rather than a request. “Is everything all right?” she asked him cautiously.   Bo avoided her question. “Just be at the Garrett tonight. We’ll talk then.” He hung up the phone, letting out the breath he was holding. He thought it would be difficult getting through the day. But his meeting with the Mayor took up most of his morning; his meeting with his detectives took up most of his afternoon. Before he knew it, it was 5:00 PM and he was getting ready to go deal with Gabrielle. Nora had left him several voice mails, and Marcie told him she had stopped in as well. Bo called and left Nora a voice mail before he left, asking if they could meet the next morning. He then headed to the Garrett. When he arrived, Gabrielle was all ready there, pacing the living room. She noticed that Bo didn’t remove his badge from his belt and his keys were slipped into his suit jacket pocket. He stood by the door with his hands in his pants pockets, looking at her. Gabrielle walked over to him to hug him. “It’s so good to see you. I missed you these past few days.”   Bo side-stepped away from her, walking towards the chair across from the couch. “Why don’t we sit down?”   She went and sat down on the couch; he sat on the matching chair across from her. She was nervously clasping and unclasping her hands. “How was your weekend?” she asked casually.   Bo looked directly at her. “Very informative.”   Gabrielle was getting more and more uncomfortable. “It was police business, right?”   “Yes,” Bo nodded, adding, “Regarding Matthew’s disappearance.” He was trying to gauge her reaction.   Gabrielle’s voice cracked a bit. “Is there new information?”   Bo nodded again, trying to control his anger. “As a matter of fact, there is.”   Gabrielle looked away from him and then back. “Anything you can share with me?”   “I was hoping you might share it with me,” he shot back, his temper rising.   There was an uneasy silence between them, and then Gabrielle spoke suddenly. “I’m sorry that Matthew overheard me telling Max you were his father. I wanted to tell you but didn’t know how.”   Bo cut her off; his temper had him on his feet. “Over heard you?” he yelled back at her. She could see he was furious. “No,” he disagreed with her. “He didn’t overhear you. You flat out just told him. And not only did you tell him I was his father, but you were more than happy to give him all of the gory details that went along with my breakup with his mother. You painted a picture for that little boy that drove him to run blindly from that diner, into the streets and down to the waterfront.”   Gabrielle tried to soothe his anger. “I didn’t mean to upset him.”   Bo was yelling at this point, pointing his finger at her. “That’s exactly what you wanted to do. You attacked a defenseless 6 year-old boy!” He stopped yelling, taking a deep breath and moving around the room, trying to calm himself. He went and stood behind the chair he had just been sitting on, leaning his hands on the back of the chair. His voice was lower but his tone still angry. “You had no right to tell him.”   Gabrielle made herself cry to try and calm his anger. He hated tears. “Matthew overheard me telling Max, I was just trying to explain what he heard.”   Bo shook his head, her tears doing nothing for him. “No, No, that’s not what you did. And telling Max?” Bo now began to pace slightly around the room. “He was missing for 2 ½ days. You should have told me right away what you did. And do you realize Matthew almost died?”   Now Gabrielle was shocked. “Bo, I never meant for him to get hurt.”   “Sure you did,” he countered. “It didn’t matter to you whether you hurt him physically or mentally, as long as you could drive a wedge between me and my son.”   Gabrielle was still crying her fake tears. “No, that’s not true. I didn’t want to come between you and Matthew.”   “Oh, that’s right. Between me and Nora, then, huh?” She didn’t answer and he continued, heaving a sigh. “Well, what you did accomplish was to come between you and me. You brought me to my senses. We’re through, you and me. I just came here to pick up some of my clothes. You can stay here if you want, but I’ll have my things out of here in 24 hours.”   Gabrielle stood and went to stand in front of him. “Please Bo, no, I made a mistake.”   Bo moved away from her. “And it almost cost my son his life.” He glared at her from across the room. “You allowed Nora and me to worry for 2 ½ days. Just be glad I don’t lock you up for withholding information in a missing child investigation.”   Gabrielle was now angry. “That’s what this is really about isn’t it? It’s about Nora. You ENJOY throwing her in my face every chance you get.”   Bo had a look of disgust on his face, his voice full of anger. “You really don’t get it, do you? This is not about Nora. This is about a little boy.” He pointed his finger at her. “And you, telling him things he was too young to hear.” His voice began to rise. “Do you think I ENJOYED trying to explain Sam and Nora to him?”   His voice got louder. “Do you think I ENJOYED reliving the death of my son Drew?”   Now he was yelling. “Do you think I ENJOYED hearing how my 6 year-old son fell into the Lantano River and nearly drown?”   Now his anger was overwhelming him. “Do you think I ENJOYED hearing my 6 year-old tell me he walked off with some stranger and then walked the streets of Llanview, alone, at night?”   Bo was screaming at this point. “And all because of YOU! So no, Gabrielle, I am NOT ENJOYING this at all.”   Gabrielle was crying now. “Bo, I’m sorry. Please, tell me how I can make it up to you?”   Bo was taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself. “You can’t. Ever. But I’ll tell you what I will ENJOY; packing my stuff, and getting away from you.” He paused again before driving the final nail in her coffin. “One of my biggest mistakes was letting you into my life.” He looked directly into her eyes as he spoke his next words. “But my worst mistake was letting Nora go. I’m now fixing both mistakes. I’ll have someone come get the rest of my stuff tomorrow.” He left her in the living room crying, quickly packing some suits and leaving without another word to her. To be continued