Disclaimer: Don't own the characters or Law and Order Criminal Intent -stalks after Vincent D'Onofrio-
It seemed Bobby Goren wasn't the only one at the bar thinking. Little did he know his partner, Alex Eames, had been about three stools down, currently drinking a glass of water. She refused to drink herself silly and instead settled for having a beer, then a glass of water, and so on. Unlike her oblivious partner, Alex had seen Bobby. All in all, she was actually quite glad he hadn't noticed her. That gave her the opritunity to see the real Bobby Goren, without his mask on. He was definately interesting to watch when he wasn't hiding his feelings.
Even in the dim lighting she had been able to see the different emotions playing in his dark brown eyes. Longing and want were the main two feelings she could decipher. When he left she had considered getting up and following after him to perhaps interrogate him about what he had been thinking about. She especially wanted to know what had brought on the smile that had crossed his lips at one time or another in her observations.
But she bit back the urge to tail her fleeing partner. He wanted to be alone it seemed, and she would respect his privacy. For now anyway.
Sighing, she finished off her glass of water. She was inclined to get another beer, but decided against it and just asked for a refill of water. The bartender did as she asked, taking a moment to comment on her beauty and that someone like her shouldn't be alone in a bar.
Alex had only been able to smile and tell him it was alright. She had thanked him for his comment and watched as someone called for him. The bartender went to tend to other customers, leaving Alex Eames to her thoughts.
Pulling out her cell phone she flipped it open, fiddling around with it. It took her only a moment to notice the screen was cracked slightly. A frown crossed her lips as she took another sip of her water. She ran one of her fingers over the crack before shrugging lightly. The phone still worked. Plus, she had been wanting a new phone for sometime, and it was almost Christmas.
Christmas, she suddenly realized, was only in a few days. She was going to spend it with her family, but she got to wondering who her partner was going to spend Christmas with. Eames was very well aware that the only family he had was his mother. He'd go and visit her alot over the holiday season, but he wouldn't be able to stay longer than an hour, and wouldn't be able to really celebrate the holiday.
Sighing once more, she thought back to the question Mike had asked Bobby earlier that day at work. He had also asked her the same question and she, unlike her partner, had been able to name off a few things she wanted.
Some new cds, a few dvds, maybe a few new cute shirts and pants. Now that she thought back on it, she could have sworn Bobby had looked at her with something that resembled envy in his eyes.
As she sat there, sipping her water, she suddenly realized how stupid all the things she wanted were. They were all material items that didn't mean much of anything.
Alex thought deeper about what she wanted, and the vision of her partner seemed to jump into her mind. That's what she wanted for Christmas.
Bobby Goren.
The thought didn't surprise her or startle her as much as she knew it should have. Then again, she had been crushing on her partner for a while now. How could she not?
The first day she met him she tagged him as attractive. She wasn't even really concious that she had done it, it was just something she tended to do whenever she was put with a new partner.
He was attractive, until he opened his mouth on a case. She had been warned about him but being the person she was, she had just waved them off claiming he couldn't be as bad as they made him out to be. In the first weeks, she realized that the rumors were true, and had already been considering filing for a new partner.
It was fate that kept them together, it had to be. It had happened so suddenly, but one evening when they were working on case, they clicked. Her partner had muttered some sort of nonsense and she realized that he was right, and she knew how he had gotten to that conclusion.
The surprise in his eyes was enough to make her heart flutter. From that day on she came to realize that Goren had his own way to solve crimes that was efficient, even if it was a tad unorthodox.
She was brought out of her thoughts when the bartender poked her arm.
"Miss, I'm sorry to have to do this, but if you aren't going to order anything except water, could you leave? There are other people who would like to sit who plan on drinking." he offered her an apologetic smile.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Here..." she fished some money out of her wallet, setting it on the counter. Shoving her wallet back into her pocket she stood and headed out of the bar, inhaling the cool evening air. She looked in the direction she knew her partner had gone, and sighed softly.
"He defiantly is something I want." she murmured softly and turned to walk over to her car. She paused and shook her head. "No, he's not just something I want." she corrected, getting into the drivers seat and closing the door.
"He's everything I want." and with that, she started the car and drove off.
Author's notes: I got so many loving reviews I just had to write the partner fic as soon as possible. I don't know if I liked how this turned out, I was distracted by Law and Order while writing it. I hope you all like it. I plan on writing a connecting fanfiction so we can have some fun closure. I'll be sure to get on that as soon as possible, but for now I'm off to see The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. Please review! That is what inspired me to get this one out so quickly.