Author: SilentG
Title: Forever Free…
Fandom: LO:CI
Pairing: B/A
Rating: K+
Spoilers: Minor S10 spoilers
Archive: Anywhere – no need to ask – just attribute, and let me know if possible
Disclaimer: Not mine
Summary: She's reading Goren's favourite book. She has a dream about him. Two-shot. B/A as usual. S10 compatible.

A/N 1: In one of the early S10 epis, Goren says his favourite book is Forever Free, by Joe Halderman. This is extremely ironic to me, and was an early hint IMO of the intended shippiness of S10. You'll see why. Minor spoilers for some S10 epis.

~.~.~.~.~

CHAPTER ONE: AND AND AND

He'd finally asked her out… kinda… and they'd ended up at the beach.

After chickening out outside Gyson's office, Bobby hadn't had the courage to satisfy the expectation in Alex's eyes that day, or his own desires. Work had been busy, and his therapy sessions had been draining, and and and. He knew… knew from her face that his hopes for them weren't completely off-base, but there were so many variables, so many uncertainties, so many ways in which he couldn't see the way forward, couldn't see the outcome.

So for a week, he'd procrastinated.

Watched a parade of emotions… yearning, hope, impatience… pass across the face of his partner, only making up his mind to do something when he exited Gyson's office the next Sunday, irrationally disappointed not to see her waiting for him again.

He found himself loitering on the sidewalk, cell phone in hand.

"Eames," she'd answered, somehow imbuing the single word with a warmth and humour that made his muscles and sinews come alive.

"Hey," he'd said, his mouth leaden and his tongue 10 times too big, as seemed always to be the case when he had something important to tell her.

"Hey yourself," she'd replied, then nothing.

He'd gotten the message though, loud and clear. Your move. After what seemed like an age, he'd croaked out a question about her plans for the day, and she'd told him she was going to chance an afternoon at the beach.

"You want some company?" He'd blurted before giving himself a chance to chicken out.

"Who says I don't already have company?"

Bobby'd been so surprised, he'd dropped the phone. By the time he grabbed it off the pavement, Alex was gone. He tried calling back, but it went straight to voicemail.

He'd been standing there on the sidewalk, feeling like a heel, when his phone had vibrated. A new text message.

COME PICK ME UP.

BRING A BOOK.

AND NO WORK TALK.

AND NO WORK.

And here they were.

The water wasn't warm enough for swimming yet, but the June day was soft and breezy and beautiful, just like his companion. Bobby wasn't terribly comfortable slouching in his t-shirt and slacks on the blanket she'd carefully spread for them, but they were under dappled shade from a stand of trees, and that plus sunscreen, a wine cooler and his partner's company was enough to polish away the rough edges of his day, if any.

"Did you finish the books I lent you?"

"I did," she said, in that way that made him want to ask her more questions. Like her Noooooo when he'd asked her if she'd been a client of that dating service… There was just something about her tone that made him feel like she would tell him things, if he'd the courage to ask her.

"And?" He found his gaze drifting between Alex's expressive face and the sand she was sifting through her fingers, making piles on her toes that she then wiggled away. Was it the breeze lifting and fluffing her hair that made her look so carefree? Or was it something else.

He'd loaned her the Forever series by Joe Haldeman, which he'd mentioned one day contained his favourite book, and which she'd been curious about as a result.

Just today Dr. Gyson had managed to put him on the spot about it… perhaps that was what brought the books to mind, weeks after he'd given them to Alex.

"What?" Dr. Gyson was reacting to his sudden frown.

"Nothing. I just remembered I loaned my favourite book to someone a while back."

"And what is your favourite book?"

An innocent question, that moments later had him cringing and squirming in his chair. When he'd told her (Forever Free), turned out she was familiar with the series.

"So your favourite book is about a super-intelligent, elite special forces operative who marries the woman he works with, who is, coincidentally, the only person he's ever felt close to?"

Bobby willed himself not to twitch. "Well actually, that's the first book. The sequel…"

"I'm familiar with the sequel. Where, having made his choice, the hero and his wife disappear to create a world unto themselves."

At his abject nod, Gyson seemed to take pity on him and directed the conversation elsewhere for the rest of the session. It wasn't until she arose to walk him to the door that she revisited the topic.

"The protagonist went on a solo mission, didn't he? One that took him 10,000 years into the future?" Bobby nodded, knowing what was coming next. "And his partner followed him, didn't she? She time-jumped on her own so that she'd be there for him. When he was ready."

Suddenly he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what Alex thought of the books.

Which feeling was amplified when he saw the hesitant, pensive expression that had swept the carefreeness from her face.

"It's OK," he said, "If you didn't like them."

"Oh I liked them," she replied. "But," her head twitched the way it did when she was uncomfortable, "I think it was your books that made me have a weird, horrible dream last night."

~.~.~.~.~

A/N 2: I got spanked by a reader for bumping an old fic of mine… I hope this will salve any irritation folks might have felt! And BTW nobody has to be logged in to review my fics, but there's no need to leave un-signed reviews if they're uncomplimentary; I value and respect every person's opinion, even if it's not positive! Part deux will be up soon.

WORDS: 1048 UPLOADED Sunday, January 22, 2012

TBC. One, Two, Better review!