Alex Eames glanced over at her partner of over six years. For once, he was the one engrossed in the high stack of paperwork in front of them, while Alex just couldn't seem to concentrate.
'How do I ask him to do this?' she thought.
She absently played with her pen, while she considered ways to bring the subject on her mind up with Bobby. Who knew it would be so hard to ask her best friend to meet the new man she was seeing? But Alex knew why. Bobby was more than a partner and best friend. He was the man she truly loved, but could never have. She knew deep down that she was only seeing this other man because she wasn't getting any younger and if possible, she wanted a family. Maybe she could find a way to love Don, eventually. Even as the thought crossed her mind she knew she would never love someone as much as she loved her precious Bobby. Of course, she had loved her late husband, Joe, but it had been a different kind of love.
"Eames? Are you OK?" Bobby's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I'm fine." Alex replied, trying to concentrate on the huge stack of paperwork on their desks. She couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness at his use of her last name. She didn't understand why, after almost seven years of partnership, he couldn't manage to be on a first name basis with her.
Bobby looked at her for a moment but he didn't say anything.
Alex took a deep breath. "Really, Bobby, I'm fine." She tried to sound convincing, but knew by the look on Bobby's face that he didn't believe her. A few minutes passed before she broke the silence again.
"Bobby?" He set his pen down and looked at her expectantly. It was now or never. She continued before she lost her courage.
"Would you do me a favor?" she said cautiously.
"Anything" Bobby replied casually yet, with sincerity.
"Thanks" she said, smiling softly. "Um, could you come over for dinner tomorrow night at my place? See, I'm seeing someone new, and he seems like a nice guy. But, I don't know, I kind of wanted you to meet him. You know, 'make sure the best friend approves' kind of thing." Alex smiled nervously. She noticed the strange look on Bobby's face and hurried on. "I'll understand if you don't want to. It sounds strange I know. Forget I said anything. It's not -"
"- Eames." he said, cutting her off. "I'd be happy to do that for you."
"Thanks Bobby."
Bobby just smiled that adorable smile he reserved just for her. But there was something different in his soft brown eyes. Alex thought she saw a small hint of sadness in them. But it was gone so quickly, she thought she might have imagined it. Or maybe it was just her heart seeing what it wanted to see.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, but she could feel his gaze on her. She looked up to find he eyes fixed on her. She could tell he wanted to say something, but she knew he wouldn't without some prompting.
"What is it Bobby?''
"What? Oh. Nothing." he said looking a little startled.
"Alright. If you decide you want to tell me, I'll be here." Alex said. She wanted to know what was on his mind, but didn't want to force it out of him.
He looked back down at his papers, but made no move to finish them. He sighed quietly. But not quiet enough.
"Come on Bobby, whats the matter?"
"It's nothing really. Just...well..." he looked up at her almost shyly. " Did you really mean it, about me being your best friend?"
"Yes, Bobby. I meant it" Alex replied.
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