Checking Up

Richie & Libby

by Atonia & Layne

Richie ran up the steps by his office to check on Libby, he’d just had a stressful interview with Miss Peeg and Zack, it was after five o’clock and he was about spent for the day.

Libby let him in, “Hiya Libby, sorry I didn’t get up here sooner, it’s been a hell of a day, how ya doin’ kid?” He hugged her and stepped back to see the tiredness in her eyes.

"I'm okay," she replied, hugging him back hard. It had been a hell of a day for her too, alone with thoughts of everything that had happened lately.

"You look all in," she told him sympathetically. "Can I get you something to drink?"

“I should be waiting on you, I can find a drink. How are you…really?”

"How am I really?" Libby bit her lip. "I don't know, Richie. All mixed up, I guess. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. Nothing seems to make sense right now."

She watched him in her kitchen. Thought how nice it was to have him there, making himself at home.

Richie found a beer in her fridge and came over to Libby and just held her closely for a moment, “Is anything supposed to make sense,? Come and sit down, off your feet…Richie’s orders okay?” He got her to the sofa, “have you had anything to eat today? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’ll order something from Andy’s, “ he pulled out his phone, “anything come to mind you wanna eat?”

"For some reason, a giant sub sounds good right now," she told him. "Comfort food, maybe."

Then she grinned. "And maybe a little of that chicken soup I brought to you that day. Cures what ails you, remember?"

Since she'd had her accident, Libby had seen some sort of nurturing side come out in Richie. Totally unexpected, but appealing. This was not the side of Richie Roberts that anyone talked about around town. But then, of course, stuff like that didn't make for good gossip.

Richie met her eyes and smiled, “chicken soup eh?” he called in the order. “I’ll have to go pick it up in about fifteen minutes, Andy’s out sick and March is cooking.” He glanced at her forgetting about March. “sorry, I forgot.”

Libby dropped her eyes from his. "It's okay. March and I- We were never gonna work out anyway."

She turned toward her kitchen cabinets, suddenly busy with opening and closing them. "I think I've got crackers here somewhere for the soup."

Richie watched her for a moment, “one of these days little lady you are gonna talk to me about March and Dan Evans.” She was hiding something from him, he just knew it.

Libby grinned at the 'little lady' bit. "Oh, yeah? And just what kinda juicy tidbits are you gonna tell me about Richie Roberts in return?" This ability to laugh and joke was one of her favorite parts of being friends with him. It lifted her spirits a little.

"I want the truth now, not the kinda stuff I can hear from Mr. Jessup any day of the week!"

Richie’s eyes became light and teasing, “You’ve had all my juicy bits,” he patted her behind and walked toward the door, “I’m going to pick up your dinner.”

Libby walked to the door with him, patting his behind in return. "And I hope to have 'em again, really soon. " She gave him a knowing look. "I'll be right here when you get back."

Richie bounded down the steps and walked down to Andy’s to pick up dinner. He knew it would be awhile before any of those benefits of their friendship would be available to him and he realized he would miss it. Right now he just wanted to take care of her and make sure she stuck to the doctor’s orders.

Libby sighed as she watched him go. Already she missed those 'friendly benefits', that being close to him that made her forget everything else. Maybe this was a test of their friendship, she thought. A trial that might decide whether or not they could be friends without sex.

That thought scared her. They'd talked and they'd done other things together, but sex had been a consistent part of their friendship. Would Richie feel as friendly toward her without while she recovered?

Trying to shake off her worry, Libby got out plates and glasses and set the table while she waited for him to return.

Richie was surprised when March brought out their dinner, it was full on in the dining room from what he could see.

“You are feeding Libby tonight, I added a few things, chocolate chip cookies, I just wanted a moment to ask you how she is?”

“She’s ah- in pretty good spirits, considering. She’ll be okay. Thanks for the extras.”

“Sure Richie, ciao” he smiled and headed back to the kitchen.

Richie stood there a moment considering March, he was one nice guy and if anybody had to be the father of her baby, he secretly hoped it was March and not Dan who always seemed about to explode. He walked thoughtfully back up the street and back to Libby’s flat.

“I forgot drinks,” he said as he came in the door, “but I got dessert, compliments of the chef.”

Libby looked up from the table, where she'd been putting out napkins. "That's okay. I've got all kinds of drinks in the fridge--beer, sodas, iced tea."

She smiled slightly at the mention of the chef. "That's like March. He's a really nice guy."

“Yeah, he is a nice guy which makes me ask the question why did you throw him over and was it his baby?” Richie reached for the iced tea.

Libby met his eyes. "I honestly don't know if it was his baby or Dan's." She blushed a little at having to say this, but if she couldn't say it to Richie, then who? "It could have been either. I- I slept with both of them very close together. I guess you think I'm some kind of tramp."

Suddenly, it really mattered what he thought of her, Libby realized. It was important to her that Richie didn't think she'd sleep with just anybody. What Mr. Jessup or anyone else in town thought, she could care less. But what Richie thought of her meant something.

“Me think you’re a tramp? No Libby I’d never think anything like that about you. I think you’re pretty mixed up sometimes but you don’t have tramp qualities,” he smiled and mussed her hair a little.

“Let’s get this food out, I don’t think I had lunch today.”

"You don't think?" she teased. "You're working too hard, when you can't remember whether or not you ate! Got a big case going on?"

“Several big cases and no I didn’t have lunch. I nearly lost Miss Peeg today she walked into a dangerous situation and got bashed on the head. That will teach me to send her out again on a job I should have been doing myself. Got any mustard?”

"Yep." Libby got the mustard out of the fridge and handed it to him. "Poor Miss Peeg! Is she all right?" The woman had talked to her kindly, Libby thought. Even if she hadn't been very encouraging about her friendship with Richie.

She was hoping he had forgotten his question about why she had broken up with March.

“Yeah, she’s got a lump on her head and a band-aide, I will say this about her the woman’s got guts. She’s absolutely fearless but that’s what gets her in trouble.” Richie bit into his sandwich, he noticed she hadn’t answered about March but he let it ride, one of these days he’d get it out of her.

"Maybe she should be a reporter," Libby remarked. "Tell her we can use her down at the Times, with Abby and I both being out."

"Speaking of which, I'm gonna go back to work tomorrow. Abby just got out of the hospital too and she still needs time off. I really need to be there."

“Now what did the doc tell you?” Richie raised his brows, “Three days of rest and as long as the bleeding didn’t get any worse you could get up, huh? Right?, You’ve got another day of rest coming Libby. Fuck the Times.” He bit hard into his sandwich and chewed.

"Is that what you'd say about your office, Richie? If you were the one out of work? Fuck it?" She'd be willing to bet that hardly anything kept Richie out of work.

“What I do and what you do are two different things, Libby Tyler. You aren’t going to work tomorrow. Somebody has to tell you and that somebody is me, eat your dinner.”

"You're bossy, you know?" Libby raised her eyebrows at him, as she took a bite of her food. It was good. March really knew how to put together a sandwich. And she noticed he'd filled it with vegetables too. Probably remembered how she hated healthy eating.

"How does Miss Peeg put up with you? And just how do you propose to keep me from going to work, if I decide I want to go?"

“Miss Peeg puts up with me because I pay her to. As for you, I’ll lock you in, I got keys and locks you don’t know about so there.” He gave her a smug look and took a drink of his iced tea.

There was a little bit of a twinkle in Libby's eyes. She was enjoying herself for the first time since the accident, days ago. "Am I under house arrest or something? Don't I even get a lawyer?"

“Yes…and no.” Richie sat back in the chair with a twinkle in his eye.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?"

“It means you are under house arrest and no you don’t get the lawyer at least not tonight, I got calls to make and sleep ahead of me.”

"Thanks, Richie." Libby's eyes were serious. "For coming here. For dinner. For the company. All of it."

"And I'm sorry." She saw his puzzled look at that. "That we can't- That I can't have sex for awhile."

“Hey, I’m sorry too but I think we’re gonna survive ya know. Now can I trust you not to go to work tomorrow?”

"Oh, all right." She gave in grudgingly. "I guess I have a couple of movies I could watch to keep my mind occupied."

"I have a follow-up appointment at the clinic the day after that. Hopefully, they'll tell me everything's okay and there's no problems with going back to work."

Richie pushed his chair back, he was going to have to leave to make his call to Scott. “Good,” he came around the table and hugged her, “I gotta go kid, you get your rest tonight, I’ll come and see ya tomorrow okay?” he couldn’t resist a soft kiss on her lips.

That kiss felt good. She slid her arms around him and held it for a few minutes. She wasn't feeling very sexual right now, but it was great just to feel the warmth and affection.

"Richie, you don't have to check on me every day. I can take care of myself and I know you've got a ton of work to do."

“It ain’t like it’s outta my way, I’m just downstairs. I’ll see ya sometime tomorrow,” A quick hug and he was out of the door and down the stairs walking across the street to talk to Nonnie about the day’s events in Coffs.

From her window, Libby watched him go, thinking someone oughta tell Mr. Jessup about this kind, sweet side of Richie Roberts. Wondering if his ex-wives had experienced very much of this side of his personality and how they could have left him if they had. Looking forward to the next six weeks being up very quickly.

And wondering if Nonnie Scott was a client of his.