Okay, so this is a prequel to my other story Morning Meetings and I guess it's a sequel to Hopelessly Addicted as well. It's a Mike/Alex pairing so consider that a small warning. Thank you to everyone who reviewed that story that meant a lot to me. I don't own CI but if I did I'd bring Deakins, Carver and Barek back for sure.

I know this isn't the popular choice. I'm just experimenting here with my personal favourite idea. Can't help it since it certainly won't disappear until it's run it's course. Feel free to tell me what you do and/or don't like about, constructively of course. ;)

Edited: This chapter has been revised.

Evening Encounters

Detective Alex Eames was making a bee line towards her car that was parked in One Police Plaza Garage. It was the end of a long-ish day at work, a case had been broken that morning and she and her partner had been filing paperwork ever since. She was so wrapped up in going home that she couldn't hear the man calling out her name. She felt a hand brush her arm and she turned quickly to see Detective Mike Logan looking at her, a little out of puff as he'd clearly been chasing her. "Hey, didn't you hear me?" he asked, catching his breath. Her first thoughts were that she had thought that Logan was physically fit and right now it seems she had been somewhat wrong. But it was catching his breath quite fast.

She shook her head, "Sorry, no, I was too busy thinking." Laughing at herself she suddenly realised how much she was beginning to sound like her partner.

"You hang around your partner too much." Mike commented with a mischievous grin. She thought for a moment he could read her mind but no, he was just teasing her in his own way. She gave him a smile that would satisfy him a little to know that his comment was taken in jest. She turned to carry on walking and he walked beside her. "Listen, you got plans for tonight?" he asked, she looked to see if he was asking seriously.

"No, just me and a chinese takeway. My personal date with the TV." She sarcastically replied, not really wanting to be serious. The past few weeks had been hard on her partnership with Goren, and the cases doubly so.

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm fed up of dates with TV's, so what do you say you cancel that date and let me take you out for dinner instead?" Mike asked, making Alex stop dead in her tracks just as they were about to reach her car and look directly at him.

"You're asking me out? On a date?" She asked, incredulously, she couldn't believe her ears. Had someone hit him on the head? This had to be somekind of practical joke.

"Well date, dinner, whatever word you want to use for it. I'm asking you if you want to join me. So what do you say?" She looked him in the eyes trying to see if he was serious, because with Mike Logan you just never did know. She was surprised to find that not only was he serious but he was also waiting for an answer. She was about to say no, but when she thought about it her plans really weren't that good and she could really use the company after the case they'd just have. And who better than a man with a sense of humor?

"Alright, fine. I'll join you but it had better not be disappointing." She replied, with a smile she accepted his invitation and he grinned. Even if it was some sort of practical joke, she'd only find out if she played along with it.

"Good, I'll come pick you up at 7.30." He walked off before she could respond. She suddenly began thinking - My God, it really was a date or very date-esque but instead of feeling worried like she thought she would she suddenly felt the tiniest bit excited, plus it wouldn't be fair to change her mind, would it?

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She had to say she had been surprised. Mike, so far, was being a true gentlemen. Well, as gentlemenly he could be without being too obnoxious. He'd simply taken her to an Indian restaurant, knowing that they both liked their food relatively spicy. "So, are you going to tell me why you spontaneously asked me out?" she asked, really wanting the answer to be revealed. The cop within her was suspicious. She knew she liked him, he was handsome but to be honest she had never even entertained the idea that he would've wanted to date her, she knew she wasn't his usual type. Despite the fact they had been staring at each other alot during the past few days at work, shouldn't that have been her clue? She had thought she was just fantasizing about a stupid female daydream that in her world rarely came true.

"Sure, I wanted some decent company." He replied, not revealing anything that hadn't already crossed her mind. He looked at her and he gave her a smile, he put his fork down and looked at her. She was dressed in a simple red top, low cut but not too low to reveal anything and a simple necklace. Her hair, down, as always. He liked that simple style of dress that she had. He liked women but less often felt like more. More work for his imagination, which when it came to women he definitely liked using.

She gave him a smile to say it was okay, she could tell he wasn't the kind of guy who explained his actions that way. "Next you're going to tell me that you're a hopeless romantic down at heart." She laughed as she spoke, "A big softie after all." He appreciated her stab at humor and he grinned.

"Sssh!" he put his finger to his lips. "Don't tell anyone, I've got a rep to protect." She laughed again and he laughed with her. There was something about his attitude that seemed different, she liked this side of Mike, she'd never seen this side before. His voice was still that deep voice, the kind she always had a soft spot for but he also seemed less edgier. Maybe it was the spicy food.

Feeling the need to bring some kind of discussion to the dinner rather than sitting looking and watching each other, Mike decided to try to get her to talk. "So, uh, why did you say yes?" Not exactly the best question but it was a start to break the unease that was beginning to fall between them. This was not how he planned for it to be.

"I wanted some decent company." She repeated his earlier response and he grinned again.

"Me?" he asked, a hint of playfulness in his voice. Putting his hand to his chest and over playing the question.

She laughed, "Yeah, you're better than the TV." he nodded his head whilst laughing showing that he took that one as a joke. "How are you fitting in at Major Case?" She asked, suddenly. It was something she was curious of because he had been there for 7 months now, but he hadn't really ever mentioned how he was doing there.

"Great. Barek's great, a little quiet, a little quirky." he replied. "But I've had worse for partners. You?"

"How am I fitting in at Major Case? Well, it's been a rough five years, but I'm finally fitting in." She joked and he laughed, suddenly no longer interested in his food. He shot her look and she realised that he'd meant with her partner, since he'd mentioned his."Well, it's been a little tough since the Garrett case but we're doing okay." She finally gave an almost completely sincere answer but she wasn't comfortable with serious. "That was a bizarre case, huh?"

He nodded, "Hmmm, my favourite." For a moment she thought that he was imitating Homer Simpson.

"Bizarre cases?" She asked, and he nodded again.

"I don't like it when they're straightforward. I feel like I'm being cheated out a job." He replied with another grin.

"Well lucky for you you got pulled away from Stanten Island then." she put her fork down as well, showing him she'd had enough food. Indian food was very filling after all. "Well, more lucky that you stuck your nose in that case a year ago otherwise Deakins wouldn't have pulled some strings." Mike laughed at the irony of that, true, if he hadn't come over to the squad room to complain about what had happened to his then girlfriend, Gina, he never would've met Deakins, Barek, Goren or Alex for that matter.

"Well, that's timing for you." That had double meaning, as the waiter took their plates away and returned with a desert menu. Alex was smiling at him the whole time the waiter was picking up plates and when he left Mike's curiosity finally showed. "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing." She was clearly trying to surpress her smile, but she wasn't winning, not by a long shot.

"No, come on, that's not nothing. I want to know what you're grinning at." He looked at her directly and she began to laugh. "Well, see, I take you out for dinner and you laugh at me." Feigning his hurt. This just made Alex laugh harder but she couldn't help it. She covered her mouth to try and stifle her laughter but it wasn't working and it was also too late. He knew she was laughing and he assumed it was at him. He raised his eyebrows and shook his head at her.

"I'm sorry." She said between fits of laughter. "But... you've got..." She waited until she calmed down a little bit and that looked at him seriously, dead on, straight and poker faced. She spoke calmly and quietly, keeping her voice straight. "You've got mango chutney in your hair. That's gonna be a pain to get off." Mike closed his eyes in the embarrassment and then opened them just to see her smiling at him. He smiled back trying to cover his embarrassment and be 'manly' about i. He picked up his napkin, trying to locate the chutney. "Here." she took the cloth off of him and stood up, reached over and carefully removed the chutney from his hairline as best as she could. But some still remained, she chose not to tell him since she'd already embarrassed the poor man enough.

"Thank you." he mumbled trying to hide his embarrassment but she was still smiling when she sat down. He finally laughed a little at the whole situation and he relaxed. "So, did the waiter see it?" Alex gave a small laugh as she saw his desperate expression. She couldn't help it, she just had to tell him the truth.

"Are you kidding? He's the one that accidentally dropped it in your hair." The look on his face was the prize for Alex as she decided that honesty really was the best policy.

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TBC

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