A/N: So my story THE UNEXPECTED is coming to a close, and I really enjoyed writing the MAJOR major case story. I have decided to write this story, a more developed, plotted, romantic, and well written story. This one will be more like the other long, good ones you have read, hopefully. I can only dream of being as good of a writer as those Bobby and Alex writers. Anyway, here is the first installment of a fun, yet serious case from the major case squad.

Pairing: Alex and Bobby

Set: Season 4

Rating: T, for now

Enjoy!

Mama Pascali's

6:30 pm

Friday, May 25

The small restaurant was decorative, lively, and very welcoming. The Italian family restaurant was full, as it was every Friday night.

Bobby enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and the familiarity of the place. Run by the Pascali family, Lewis' mother and father plus siblings and their children, the restaurant was a regular hangout for the two boys while in school. Bobby smiled at the memory of him and Lewis coming nearly every day, or whenever Bobby could get away from his mother, and asking Lewis' dad for a soda. They could sit and play pranks, tease, and joke with the Pascali family. Teasing Lewis' five sisters was their favorite past time, besides talking cars. Those same five girls had become like sisters to Bobby.

And now, sitting across from him in the booth they shared, was a very dear, special woman that he held close to his heart.

Her warm brown eyes twinkled at him as he relayed stories of him and Lewis in their younger years. Her short blonde hair framed her beautiful smiling face. She was a small, petite woman, but stronger than most men. She was a snarky spitfire, but damn did he love her. The only thing keeping him from telling her so, was that she was Eames.

He loved his partner.

"What is it, Bobby?" Alex asked, lightly tracing her fingers over the rim of her fruity tequila drink that one of Lewis' sisters insisted she try. She was glad she had.

After work they had decided they both needed drinks, but Bobby had insisted on something a little nicer than their usual cop hangout.

"What?" Bobby asked, his eyes becoming more focused, the glazed look disappearing from his gaze. Alex smiled brightly, sending his hear fluttering in his chest.

"You're staring," she smiled sweetly, leaning her arm against the edge of the table. He found it hard not to let his eyes wander over her small, curvy figure clad in a white tank top, revealing soft, smooth, tan skin. The brown orbs settled on the valley between her breasts, but he quickly looked away and back up to her face. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked with a smirk, her teasing tone provoking a small upturn of the lips from Bobby. With a tight chuckle, he shook his head at the beautiful woman across from him.

"No, Eames, you don't. I was just thinking is all," he explained, tilting is head slightly in the Bobby Goren way. Alex rolled her eyes. He knew she would want more of an explanation.

"About?" Alex pressed, humoring him. Bobby smiled softly, and glancing behind the blond detective he saw his friend approaching them. With a smirk on his face, he returned his eyes to hers.

"You," he said casually with a shrug, catching the look of surprise and confusion in her bright, intelligent eyes. "Hey, Lewis!"

"What's up, Bobby?" came the reply from behind Alex.

Annoyed, Alex continued staring at Bobby—glaring, Bobby noticed with amusement. He knew this would bug her until she was able to talk it over with him.

Damn, she thought to herself. Damn you, Bobby. You know you can't just say that to me, and then leave it at that, without a damn explanation.

Catching his eyes, she glared at him. His only response was a boyish smile. Alex playfully rolled her eyes, being sure that he could see her do it.

"Well, nothing much, Lewis," Bobby said, stifling a chuckle as he turned away from Eames.

"Bobby Goren? Up to nothing?" Lewis teased, looking at Alex, and slapping Bobby on the arm as the large detective scooted over for his friend.

"Oh, no…He's up to something," Alex said dryly, sending a glare Bobby's way over the rim of her glass as she took a drink. But the man wasn't listening, his attention was somewhere else entirely.

Furrowing her brows, she turned around in her seat to follow Bobby's line of vision. At the door stood a relatively short man, only a few inches taller than herself. She silently observed the man's suit and tie attire, with polished brown shoes to match his brown hair. He had a growing mustache that didn't really have a positive effect on his appearance, and pinned to his suit lapels was a pin of a green, white, and red flag—the Italian flag.

"Bobby," Lewis said breathlessly, disbelief written all over his face.

"Yeah, I see him," Bobby replied, turning slowly to Lewis and gesturing for him to get up. Confused, Alex watched as both men stood from their table. It seemed they had forgotten all about her. Looking towards the man near the door, she watched his face carefully. He seemed harmless, her cop's intuition wasn't sending red flags in the air. Then she saw the realization spread across his face as Bobby and Lewis approached him.

Alex watched in suspense as her partner and his friend approached the man with grim faces, they looked almost menacing. Sliding to the edge of her booth, she waited in case she needed to intervene. The only red flares she saw were coming from Bobby and Lewis. What the hell were they doing?

The mustached man's face slowly fell, taking on a confused and worried look. He looked scared, afraid of the two harmless men she called her friends.

Bobby and Lewis advanced on the very familiar man, who looked ready to turn on his heels and run as fast as his little legs would take him. Just a few more feet.

"B-Bobby? L-Le-Lewis?" the man asked in a thick Italian accent, backing up a step and bumping into the bar that the two men had strategically trapped him against. Two more feet. The man was nearly cowering. Alex frowned at the scene before her, hating the confusion she was feeling.

They got closer, and Bobby kept advancing, but Lewis couldn't do it anymore.

Lewis burst out laughing, clutching his stomach and slamming his hand on the bar counter. Bobby turned to his friend, finally letting the smile he had painfully been hiding slip onto his face. Looking to the now confused man before them, Bobby laughed and clapped him on the back.

"How are you, Peter?" he laughed aloud, his eyes twinkling mischievously. The man, Peter, let out a loud sigh.

"What the hell, guys?" he breathed out, trying to be angry but a smile slipping onto his face beneath his dark mustache.

"We got you good!" Lewis exclaimed, slapping his knee. The three men laughed together, Peter shaking his head.

From her spot alone at the table, Alex watched with a brow raised. Crossing her legs, she rested her hand on her thigh and regarded the three men as if they were a crazy, wild species. Honestly, she didn't have a clue what to think about the situation, so she patiently waited for Bobby to return to her. He wasn't the first person to find their way to her table though.

Alex watched her partner with a deep affection in her honey-brown eyes, a smile curving her lips slightly. She didn't notice right away the little woman that wiped the table clean two tables away, swiping the dishrag over the table and studying the pretty blonde that Bobby had brought in. Her dark hair lined with silver was falling from her low ponytail after such a long day, and a small smile played on her wrinkled lips. Finishing the small two person table, the older woman moved to Alex's table.

"Hello, Miss," she greeted, a shadow of an Italian accent in her voice. Alex looked up in surprise, a smile immediately appearing at the kindly woman before her. She had never met the woman, but she knew she was Mrs. Pascali.

"Hi," she said softly.

"You are here with Bobby? Yes?"

Alex smiled brightly as she nodded. Mrs. Pascali laughed with joy, and immediately took a seat in the vacant booth seat across from Alex.

"Wonderful! Bobby is such a sweet man, and he deserves a sweet, pretty girl like you," she gushed. Alex froze, her smile slipping from her face. The woman thought they were together, as in…together, romantically.

"Oh, no, Mrs. Pascali—"

"You must call me Mama, just as Bobby does," Mrs. Pascali insisted, reaching her hand across the table. Alex hesitated in her reply. She really didn't want to disappoint this nice woman, whom obviously loved Bobby. She was saved from answering, though, when Bobby and Lewis appeared with Peter beside them.

"Mama," Lewis said, warningly. He gave his mother a pointed look, glancing between Bobby and Alex and shaking his head. She chose to be oblivious. Of course her son was wrong, there was something.

"Well, I guess I will leave you four to it. It's nice to see you again, Peter, dear," the older woman said, getting up from her seat and patting the short man's cheek.

"Thanks, Mrs. Pascali," Peter nodded once, smiling at the sweet woman.

"Goodnight, Miss," she smiled, turning back to Alex before looking at the boys warily. "Boys…" With a teasing smile still on her aging face, she walked away. Bobby smiled affectionately at the retreating woman before turning to Alex.

He wasn't surprised to see her peering up at him with her arms folded, her legs crossed, and her brows raised at him. Rubbing the back of his neck, he smiled somewhat sheepishly. Moving to her seat, he sat next to her, forcing her to scoot over to keep space between them.

"Sorry 'bout that, Eames," he apologized softly, reaching over to the other side to grab his drink—actually his third drink of the night. She was often amazed by his tolerability of alcohol, he could definitely hold his liquor. Yet, maybe his drink was only mild compared to his usual.

Taking the now open seat across from the two detectives, Lewis and Peter sat looking between the two.

"Eames, this is Detective Peter Morreti, from Italy," Bobby said, introducing her to his mysterious friend. Alex smiled politely, looking at the nervous man. He obviously wasn't very good with women, too shy and anxious.

"Peter, this is my partner Detective Alex Eames," Bobby said, nudging her slightly with his shoulder. Peter seemed to visibly relax, he could deal with her if he only thought of her as Detective. It might seem rude, but he would only be able to deal with this pretty woman if he didn't think of her as a woman.

"It's nice to meet you, Detective," Peter said, nodding politely in greeting. The poor man had to forcefully make eye contact, he hated the effect beautiful women had on him—or rather the way he reacted to them.

Alex wasn't a First Grade Detective for nothing, and she was able to notice the man's anxiety. She could tell he was warming up to her though after Bobby introduced her as a fellow detective and police officer.

"You can call me Alex if I can call you Peter," she said, smiling easily at Peter before glancing at Bobby. The man looks too smug, she thought to herself.

Bobby did indeed feel smug. He was sitting very close to his beautiful partner in a tight fitting booth, and he was deeply enjoying her subtle, natural teasing manner—almost as much as he was enjoying her proximity.

"Of course, you can call him Peter, Detective Alex," Lewis spoke up, grinning foolishly, "because you're the newest addition to our gang."

Bobby smiled, shaking his head amusedly at his friend. Alex merely laughed, mirroring Bobby and shaking her head.

"I'm honored, Lewis, but I don't want to ruin the 'Boys' Club.'" she said, putting her hand up to decline.

"Naw, if anything, you would make it better. Me and Bobby have been together forever. Then our junior year of high school, Peter came as an exchange student from Italy. He liked us so much he decided to stay one more year before having to go back for college," Lewis continued, putting an arm around Peter and clapping him on the shoulder. "Ain't that right, buddy?"

Peter smirked, shaking his head at his good high school friend.

"Sure, Lewis," he acquiesced, rolling his eyes in good humor.

"So what's brought you to the U.S.?" Bobby asked, taking a drink from his glass a while later, after Mrs. Pascali had brought Lewis and Peter drinks and refills for Alex and Bobby.

Peter smiled, bringing his glass to his lips and taking a quick sip.

"The United Nations have a meeting tomorrow morning. The Italian Ambassador happens to be a good friend of mine, and he asked me to come along as head of security," Peter explained.

Alex raised her brows, Bobby nodded, and Lewis tried to sniffle a laugh but it escaped in a snort. This gained him a glare from Peter and amused looks from his other friends across the table.

"I'm serious. And I may be short like you guys always tease me about, but I am a good cop and friend. Naturally, I jumped at the chance. So here I am now, in New York City, sitting with you two bums and the lovely Detective Eames—eh, Alex," he amended, his voice becoming softer and more respectful compared to the insults to the males.

"Yeah, I missed you too, Peter," Lewis said sarcastically, smirking.

"I have missed you too, especially outsmarting you Lewis. Bobby's hard to get, but you are fun to mess with," Peter rebounded, a matching smirk to Lewis' on his face.

"Humph…" Lewis huffed, shaking his head. Victorious, Peter turned to Bobby and Alex with a smile on his face and his drink poised in his hand.

"Earlier you said you were partners?" he asked. Both nodded. "What department?"

"We are with the NYPD, Major Case Squad," Bobby explained, glancing to his left at Alex with a smile. "She's the only one that will put up with me there."

"That's sweet," Peter teased, but he didn't miss the blush that colored Alex cheeks or the way Bobby glanced down with a small smile.

Observing the two the rest of the night proved to be interesting, and when the time came for the detectives to leave, Peter knew there was something beneath the partnership that they nourished. He would definitely have to dig more tomorrow evening, when they planned to meet up again.