All in Good Time
Author's Note: Set during Bad Blood. I felt that the interaction between Mike and Alex in the aftermath of the courtroom shooting was lacking complete depth. This is my version of how two best friends ("potential lovers") would have reacted.
The gun came out of nowhere. Suddenly, the defendant – Brendan Quillian – was waving it in all directions in the courtroom before firing a shot at Elsie. After watching Elsie fall to the floor of the courtroom, he had the gun now pointed at her.
"You're the one who has brought all these troubles to my doorstep" he sneered as he aimed at her and pulled the trigger….
Alex sat up in her bed, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, her fists clinching the comforter like they were some life line that would prevent the bullet from hitting her. The bullet that she was dreaming about, the bullet that she kept thinking should have been hers instead of Elsie's.
Her breath caught and she tried to take a few deep breaths to clear her head. She turned to her bedside clock. It was 2:30 in the morning.
She pushed the comforter aside and went to the bathroom to look at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and her was hair sticking all over from tossing and turning. She splashed some water on her face, before deciding to head out to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and maybe have a quick chat with Ignacia, who was stationed on her couch tonight. Maybe talking to someone would help release some of the stress that was building into a headache.
Alex tiptoed into the living room, not wanting to wake Ignacia in case she was sleeping deeply. She switched on the small lamp in her kitchen and turned around to see the couch. What she saw surprised her enough to make her walk to the couch and touch the shock of thick black hair softly. There was no Ignacia Bliss on her couch. It was Mike, and she didn't even know that he was the one who had stayed behind. He hadn't mentioned it even once during dinner and in fact had himself let Ignacia in when he, Mercer and Vickee had left after dinner.
Confused about his presence in her apartment, Alex sat on the floor in front of the couch and tried to wake him up. She touched her palm to his face and said his name softly, "Mike."
He was awake and alert in an instant. He sat up and got his bearings on the environment quickly. He looked at her anxiously, "Coop, what happened? Why are you awake?"
"I had a nightmare, so I woke up to make some tea. I saw you on the couch instead of Iggy. What are you doing here? Did you not let Iggy into my apartment or have I been zoned out since evening?"
He sighed and moved on the couch and patted the seat next to him for her to sit. Alex got up from the floor and sat next to him on the couch.
"I did let her in. Then I checked in with her after you fell asleep. I offered to trade places with her. Actually, I kind of begged her."
"I don't understand.." Alex said.
Mike took her hand in his and said "I needed to keep watch over you tonight. After what happened in that courtroom and after my callous behavior all day, I wanted to do my part in keeping you safe."
Alex smiled and turned to him "Do you want some tea? I am making some."
He nodded and let go of her hand. Alex stood up and went to the kitchen to put on the kettle for boiling water. She took out two mugs and set it on the countertop.
She turned to face him, and said. "I would have asked for you myself if it hadn't been for the aforementioned callous behavior. I thought maybe you didn't want to be in the caretaker role anymore."
"I am not planning on giving away that role to anyone else, you know." He had gotten up from the couch and was standing in the kitchen doorway.
"Didn't seem like it to me." She turned to get the kettle to pour into the mugs.
"Coop, come on.."
Her shoulders slumped and she kept the kettle down. She spoke softly.
"You know, when Quillian started firing in the courtroom, I was able to think only about who I needed to see in that moment. In that moment when my life could have possibly ended. It was you."
Mike moved closer to where she was standing and put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him.
She continued speaking softly. "When I saw you standing in Battaglia's room, all I wanted was for you to fold me in your arms and hold me till the trembling stopped. But you didn't." She looked down at her feet. "That's when I realized that I was alive and well. Because you were you and…."
Mike put a finger beneath her chin and lifted her face so that she looked at him. He spoke, "When I heard that there had been a shooting in the courthouse, my first thought was to thank god that you were locked in a trial and not somewhere about the courthouse for a madman to shoot at. Then when I got to know, that the shooting had taken place inside a courtroom – the courtroom where you were present – I became frantic. People were saying that a woman had been shot and all I could think of was that Quillian hated you. It must have been you. That thought cut me off at the knees. You have no idea what all went through my mind in those 10 minutes before the news came that you were safe and out of the courtroom. When I saw you in Battaglia's room, I wanted to do all the things that you just mentioned. But you're right. I am me and you are you and we were in the DA's room. I didn't want to jeopardize any chance of not getting to play night guard at your place tonight."
"Why didn't you just ask me instead of switching with Iggy and all that?"
"I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. I knew you were unhappy about my behavior and had specifically asked for Ignacia. I just thought I'd slip out in the morning and Iggy would take my place before you woke up. You would be none the wiser."
Alex closed her eyes and let out a chuckle. "God, Mike. Why is everything so complicated around us?"
"Because it's us. " Mike said simply.
Alex smiled and nodded at him. "You're right."
She stepped away from him and turned again to put the tea bags in the mugs. Before she could, he reached out for her hand and pulled her into an embrace.
He folded her in his arms and she tucked herself into his body as much as possible.
"I believe a 'folding in my arms' is long overdue." Mike said as he kissed the top of her head.
She chuckled as she pressed her face into his chest. "You have no idea what all is long overdue."
Mike was grinning as he pulled away and smoothed her hair and kissed her on the forehead. "I have a very good idea, Ms. Know-it-all Prosecutor. All in good time."
She smiled at him and realized that he was making a promise, as much to himself as to her, to slowly figure out the crazy, complicated and indispensable relationship that they had forged over the years.
She took the tea mugs, handed one to him and took him by the hand. Tonight she was drinking tea on the couch, with her best friend. The best friend who was promising her that more will come in the future. But for tonight, this was enough.