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Release	By : KaticaLocke Category: G through L > Law & Order Views: 3499 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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How they managed to get to her apartment without a major traffic accident, Alex would never know. Looking back, it was a really stupid thing to do, but at the moment it had seemed the only solution. Not even realizing how lucky there were, they staggered out of the elevator and down the hall, Alex fumbling for her keys as Bobby leaned against the wall and dozed. Once the door was open and they were safely inside, Alex had barely latched the chain before heading for the kitchen.
�Need. Coffee. Now,� she groaned, rummaging through the cupboard for the jar of instant she kept for emergencies. This more than qualified. She debated just eating the crystals, but finally decided that was pushing it a little. She didn�t want to be buzzed for hours, but it would be nice to stay awake long enough to shower and eat. �Want some?�
�Please,� Bobby replied from the living room. She popped two mugs of water into the microwave. �Is this a new picture of your nephew?� Alex smiled. Trust him to notice.
�Yeah, that�s the wagon I got him for Christmas.� In a moment, he had joined her in the kitchen.
�He sure looks a lot like you,� Bobby said, leaning against the doorframe.
�Not surprising. Everyone says my sister and I could be twins.� She took the steaming mugs out of the microwave, stirred a generous spoonful of crystals in each one, and turned to hand him his. She froze mid-motion. He was staring at her, watching her with that intensity that bordered on frightening. �What?�
�I�ve seen your sister, and I�m sorry, but she doesn�t have any of your fire, your brilliance. She is pretty, but so is a quartz crystal. You�re - you�re a diamond, more precious than any other, proof that incredible things come in small packages ... and made from the hardest substance on Earth,� he added with a smile. She finished handing him his mug and they sipped their bitter wake-up juice in silence for a moment. �Better than a diamond,� he mused, mostly to himself as his eyes drifted off to stare unseeing at the floor. �Men kill for diamonds, they die for them, but none ever come back for them.� Alex let his words roll around in her head. She was far too tired to really appreciate them, but she knew a good line when she heard it.
�What was it like, over there?� she asked. He shrugged one shoulder.
�Can�t remember, not really. It�s for the best, I suppose. It would make it hard to enjoy this life if you were constantly remembering that better place.�
�It is better, though?�
�Oh, yes, that I do remember. No pain, no fear, all my questions were answered, all my doubts laid to rest.�
�So, why�d you come back?� Alex asked, looking down into her mug to keep him from reading her eyes. She had called him back from paradise, called him back into this festering sore of murder and greed and pain and filth - because she didn�t want to be alone, because she couldn�t stand to lose another one. She didn�t hear him move across the kitchen, but he was suddenly standing in front of her, close enough to feel the heat of his body.
�I get to spend eternity there,� he said softly, leaning down to catch her eyes like he so often did, drawing her up with him as he straightened. �I only have the rest of my life to spend with you.�
�My God, you can be a smooth talker when you want to be,� Alex said, her cynical, angry at the world smirk trying to make an appearance. It ended up being a lot softer than she�d intended. Bobby smiled back and reached up to brush the hair out of her eyes, his fingers tracing the contour of her cheek as he brought his hand back down. "You really shouldn't do that," she said, but she made no attempt to move away.
"Do what?" Bobby asked. "This?" He cupped her face again, his thumb sliding across her lips, a feather-light touch. He leaned toward her, then hung back, his dark eyes searching hers. "Do - do you really want to me to ... stop?" That small voice in the back of her mind was mumbling something like, �Yeah, you better stop, I guess,� putting up a big fight about it. She reached back and set her coffee cup on the counter, then smiled and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his. There were no fireworks, to weak-kneed, out of breath heart palpitations, just an overwhelming sense of peace and harmony, a warmth that enveloped her from head to toe, as if everything was right with the world.
They broke the kiss and she stepped into his arms, leaning her head against his chest. His heart beat steadily against her cheek and she felt her eyelids coming down, too heavy to fight against. She yawned.
�I told you I�d fall asleep,� she said, trying to muster the energy to step away from his warm, teddy bear-like comfort. Instead, she snuggled a little closer. �This just feels so good.�
�Better than Sledge?� She could feel the jealous edge in his words rumble all through her body as he spoke. Opening her eyes, she stepped back and looked up into his face. He wouldn�t meet her eyes, but she could read it in the little lines around his mouth - he was jealous.
�Well, he isn�t quite so tall,� Alex said, watching his frown deepen into a scowl. �I�m joking. Of course it�s better than with Sledge. I don�t love him, I love you.� Wow, I said it again, she thought a with a girlish grin. She had the sudden urge to run from room to room, yelling it at the top of her lungs. Too many sappy romance movies, she decided, firmly squashing the urge like a big, annoying bug. He didn�t quite look convinced, though. �Bobby, sweetheart, I was so tired I�d have fallen asleep against a light pole.� His frown eased into a shy smile.
�Did you call me ... sweetheart?�
�I - yeah, I guess I did,� she said. �You don�t like sweetheart? What about pumpkin? Or precious? Puddin'? Pookey?�
�Those are my only choices, sweetheart or some random word from the P section of the dictionary?� He laughed, that full, rich laugh she hadn�t heard from him in so long. �Sweetheart is fine, just ... unexpected. Twenty-four hours ago, we were Goren and Eames, now we�re sweetheart and - and honeybunch.�
�You call me honeybunch and you can sleep on the couch,� Alex said, her lips twisted into a wry smile. Bobby pressed his knuckles to his lips, his brow furrowed in thought.
�Hmm, I�m going to have to ... give this some thought.� She gave him a playful shove toward the doorway.
�Why don�t you shower while I fix breakfast?� she suggested. �We can discuss pet names while we eat.�
�You don�t need any help?�
�I can manage, I think. You want toast or frozen hash browns?�
�Wheat bread?� She nodded. �Hash browns, then.� She laughed.
"I knew that. Go. Shower. Towels are in the hall closet." He started that direction, then swiveled around.
�You don�t want to - to join me?� She wasn�t sure what showed in her face, but the words were hardly out of his mouth before he was apologizing. �I - I shouldn�t have - Sorry, Eames, I - �
�So, we�re back to Goren and Eames, are we?� she said quietly. He fell silent. For a moment, they just stared at each other.
"I think we need to talk," they said simultaneously.

~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well, that could have gone worse,� Alex said with a smile, handing Bobby a bar of soap so he could wash her back.
�I don�t know,� he said, his large hands gliding across her slippery skin. �I think the Treaty of Versailles was less complicated.�
�What�s complicated about it?� She turned around, letting the shower spray beat against her shoulders, and lathered up his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. �We treat each other as we always have, with kindness and respect, we acknowledge that it is impossible to keep personal and professional relationships separate, but will try to minimize the disruption one may cause to the other -�
�Did you get Carver to write this up for you? �In the case of one party�s failure to appropriately transport dining implements to a designated sanitizing area, see sub-paragraph twenty-three ...�� Alex laughed, running her hands up the sides of his neck.
�If remembering to put the dishes in the sink is all we fight about, we�ll be blessed.� That distant, thinking stillness settled over him, his hands coming to rest on her hips. She let her hands slowly wander down his chest, letting the sensation of soap suds and stiff, curly hair glide along her fingers, waiting for him to speak.
�I suppose fighting is ... unavoidable,� he said after a moment. His hands tightened around her waist, a small reflex action to whatever thoughts were currently occupying that marvelous brain of his. �I don�t ever want to - to fight with you.�
�Oh, come on,� Alex said, �if we never fight, how can we have glorious make-up sex?� He smiled slightly, just the effect she�d hoped for. �Disagreements are a part of life. We�re going to have them, we just have to deal with them like adults. You can�t try to psychoanalyze me and keep your own feelings locked up tighter than the gold repository - Don�t look at me like that, you do and you know it. In return, I�ll tell you if I need space, and I will, but I will always come back, I will never abandon you.�
�You can�t know that, Eames.�
�If you can come back from the dead, I can do this. That's a promise.� She grinned. �Now, wash my hair, I�m starting to get pruny.�

~*~*~*~*~*~
Alex slipped into bed, dressed in only a thin, sky blue silk camisole and matching panties, her hair still warm from the blow dryer. She lay back into the pillow with a sigh, staring up at the wedge of golden light spilling out of the bathroom and across the ceiling, listening to the rhythmic scritch, scritch ... swish as Bobby worked on shaving that overgrown stubble back to its normal length. Scritch, scritch ... swish. Oh, God, was she tired. Scritch, scritch ... swish.
Alex opened her eyes. She hadn�t even been aware that she�d closed them. The room was dark, cold, empty. Climbing out of bed, she shivered and silently made her way into the living room. Bobby was sitting on the couch, his head cradled in his hands. She tried to speak, but the words wouldn�t come out. Something was wrong. Hesitantly, she reached out, her fingertips brushing his shoulder.
�You can�t save me, Eames.� His voice was hollow, lifeless. �Your cat wants out, but the hounds are close, the hunter knows you. Accept the choice, do not fight, and trust the chimaera. You can�t save me. You tried, I know you did, but it wasn�t enough. All your love wasn�t enough.� He looked up now, his face replaced by a darkness, an empty hole that was slowly consuming the rest of him.
She sat up with a gasp, her heart pounding loud in her ears. The light was still on in the bathroom. Swinging her legs out of bed, she padded across the carpet, hesitating outside the door. This was stupid. It was just a nightmare. He was fine.
The door swung inward - Bobby looked down at her with one eyebrow raised, wearing only his shark boxers, his face still dotted with flecks of shaving gel. She let out a breath she hadn�t known she was holding.
�You okay?� he asked, a concerned frown darkening his brow.
�Yeah,� she said, giving a slight nod, then more vehemently, �yeah, I�m fine, just making sure you hadn�t fallen asleep in the sink.� She rubbed one hand along her forehead. What a strange dream. She glanced up to him find him still watching her. �Try not to wake me when you come to bed," she said, turning away. He caught her gently by the arm.
"What's wrong, Eames?" Uh oh, he was using his, 'I know you're hiding something, and you're going to tell me, or else,' tone of voice. Most of the time, she'd have waited for the 'or else', just to see him work, but she was too damn tired.
"It was nothing, okay, just a - a really weird nightmare. I just had to check and see if you were all right."
"A nightmare, a - about me?" She described the dream as best as she could remember. He nodded several times, slowly, and when she was finished, he turned back to the sink, rinsed the shave gel off his face and turned out the light. In the darkness, he took her hand and led her to the bedroom, where the morning light fought to invade their twilit haven, seeping beneath the curtains. They climbed into bed and she snuggled up against him, her slight figure a perfect fit against his. "I'm sorry," he said at last.
"For what?"
"For depending on you so much, for - for making you shoulder the responsibility of - of me." Alex propped herself up on her elbow and frowned at him.
"Bobby, you're no burden, I assure you."
"Yes, I am," he said with a self-depreciating laugh. "And you're so afraid that you'll let me down, that you won't be enough, that it's giving you nightmares. 'You can't save me,' remember?"
"It was a stupid dream," she said, lying back down and staring up at the ceiling. "I don't even own a cat. And what the hell is a chimaera?"
"A mythological, fire-breathing beast with the head and foreparts of a lion, another head and the rear of a goat, and a serpent or dragon for a tail,� he said. �Also can refer to any fantastical creature that is a compilation of two or more real animals. And it�s a group of really ugly, cartilaginous deep sea fish. And a type of car.�
�Okay, okay, thank you, Encyclopedia Brown,� Alex said. �I rest my case - It was a stupid dream. After all, how can I trust a monster, fish or car?� She felt him shrug. �You may be right, though,� she conceded after a moment. �I do worry that something will happen. Ever since Nicole ... She seemed to get to you, worse than any of the others, and every time she slipped through our fingers, I watched you fade farther into the darkness, and there wasn�t anything I could do.�
�You were there, Alex, that was all I needed,� he said, leaning his cheek against her head. �The darkness isn't scary as long as you have a beacon, a shining light to lead you back home. You�re my light.�
�Your light,� Alex said with a smile, her eyes drifting shut. �I like that.�
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