Disclaimer: I am not rich enough to own them. That said, we need to start a fund to buy the show for the fans. Then, we could do whatever we wanted with it.
A/N: Ok, so, I'm in the middle of one of my "my life sucks I'm going to cry over everything" phases, which I hate... Don't worry, it'll only last about an hour, and it's because I'm so incredibly tired and pissed off at myself cause I let the guy I like graduate without really talking to him about it. This is the product of this state of mind. Hope you enjoy, please leave me a review.
Self Hatred
"Detective Eames."
That sugary sweet, gently accented voice could only belong to one woman. Alex's head snapped up. "Nicole."
The blond smiled, sliding into the chair opposite her. "I trust this seat isn't taken yet." Though her face was innocent, Nicole's tone held a wealth of skepticism, a certainty that there was no way anyone was going to be sitting with Alex.
"Not at the moment, no." Alex tilted her head to one side and stared at the woman who was her partner's nemesis. "What are you doing here?"
"I was in the neighborhood. Figured I'd see how an old friend was doing." Nicole leaned forward. "But we aren't friends, are we, Detective?"
"No." Her response was calm, emotionless.
"I'd even go so far as to say that you hate me. Do you hate me, Detective?"
"Yes." Again, no emotion.
"And why is that?" Nicole was playing this like an interrogation, Alex noticed, using techniques she'd picked up from Bobby.
"You make me hate myself."
That was not the expected answer, it seemed. "How?"
"You break him down, strip him of himself, and I can't do anything to stop it." Alex reached out a finger, absently running the tip over the rim of her water glass without breaking eye contact with the woman across the table. "No matter how much reassurance I can give him, how much I convince him I won't ever leave him alone, that he won't become what he fears, you have the power to take that from him. I hate myself because I can't save him from you." She leaned forward, face now inches from Nicole's. "Can I ask you a question?"
"What?" There was a visible struggle to regain composure, one that required Nicole to sit back and remove herself from such close proximity to the smaller, fiercer woman.
"Why do you want to see him suffer?"
"He's made my life a living hell." One shoulder rose and fell in a graceful shrug. "I just need to return the favor."
"Mmm." Alex stared at her until she blinked, looked away.
"You're getting more like your partner every day, Detective." The tone was derisive, dismissive.
"Because that's the highest compliment anyone could give me, I'll take it as such." Alex's eyes fixed on a point over Nicole's shoulder, near the door. She stood and gathered her coat in one swift movement. "Because I want to see you suffer, too, I'll make sure you get an invitation to the wedding." She stalked off towards the door.
Nicole watched as she wrapped her arms around one of Bobby's.
"Bobby, I don't feel like eating here after all. Why don't we try that new deli down the street from my apartment? There's that history channel special on the search for Atlantis that you wanted to see."
Nicole couldn't miss his noise of assent, the way his arm settled around her waist, or the diamond flashing on her left hand. Her face froze in a way that had an approaching waiter scurrying off. It was over. She'd lost, and Alex had won. No matter how she pushed him, he would no longer break. The battle for Robert Goren's soul was finally over.
