A/N: New story! I'm super excited for this one. It's going to be much bigger and much bigger than anything I've ever done before. Just so you know, Bobby and Alex are in their early thirties in this story and have been partners for few years.
The morning of June 14th was damp and cloudy. The skies looked angry and grey and the wind blew a cool breeze that put an unsettling feeling in the air. The forecast called for a ninety percent chance of rain, however crime does not reschedule for bad weather.
And it would be dark day.
Detective Alex Eames picked her partner up outside his Bronx apartment and 7:15 am. He stood there bouncy slightly on the balls of his feet, waiting in his grey suit complete with a shiny tie clip. His long fingers held his leather binder to his side.
"Good morning, Eames." He said, as he slid into the passenger seat. His smile didn't reach his eyes. Their job never got any easier.
"Something tells me our victim doesn't think so."
They made their way to the upper east side of Manhattan. Neither of them were told much of anything except that the car the man was a found in had police tags and was a bloody nightmare.
Alex pulled the black SUV behind the sea of police cars. Bobby held the yellow tape up high as they ducked under. A young officer met them halfway, spewing out details of the scene. Bobby and the officer slowed to a stop but Alex continued.
Her feet carried her to the silver vehicle slowly. She felt as if she was floating. A CSU technician approached her but she didn't hear a word he said.
That car…
Her breathing became shallow, the voices around her were muffled by the sound of her heart beating.
The young cop was nice, but a little too eager for Bobby's liking. "Guy walking his dog found him in the car around 6:30. Thought the guy was sleeping at first but looked closer and saw all the blood." He said, grinning.
"Just a word of advice, you might want to wipe that smile off your face. This is a crime scene. Someone was murdered."
The officer's face fell immediately. "Sorry, detective."
"Where's the dog walker?" Bobby asked.
"He's right over there." He said pointing to a short red headed man holding a chihuahua. As he looked, he noticed his partner had gone ahead of him.
Her back was to him but he could tell she was walking like she was in a daze. She slowly turned to face the open driver's side door. Bobby watched as the breath left Alex's body. She stumbled back into two officers talking behind her with hand covering her mouth, the other stretching out to her side to keep herself from collapsing.
"Eames?" Bobby walked a few steps then opened his stride up into a jog.
Something was very very wrong.
Bobby put his hand on her shoulder but she was couldn't form any words. His six foot four frame stood in front of her but her tear filled eyes stayed fixated on the same spot. "Eames?" She did not answer him. Instead she shook her head side to side.
Bobby turned to see the victim. Although he hadn't seen him in years, Bobby did recognize him. His throat was sliced deeply, stab wounds covered his now pale body.
Damn.
Alex grabbed the lapels of Bobby's suit jacket with shaky hands.
"That's-"
Bobby chose to cut her off. He didn't want her to have to finish that sentence. "I know."
He swiftly took his partner, guiding her away by her shoulder and elbow but her feet couldn't hold herself up. Her body felt numb. Bobby held her up when her knees gave out. He picked her petite frame up slightly, bringing the hand on her shoulder to her waist, and set her down on the curb.
"Alex, I'm so sorry." Bobby couldn't imagine what she was feeling. "I'm so sorry you had to see that."
Jesus, that image will haunt her for the rest of her life.
The large hands on her upper arms comforted her but she soon began to sob. Alex turned her head, using her hair to hide her face from the many pairs of eyes on her. Especially the ones belonging to the gentle giant squatting in front of her.
Alex stood up suddenly, pushing Bobby aside and ran to the nearest alley.
Bobby followed but stopped. "Nobody thought to tell us his name?!" He yelled angrily at the crowd of officers watching them. They just stared in return.
He took long strides to catch up to Alex who was on her hands and knees throwing up behind a dumpster. Bobby knelt down beside her. He held her golden hair back in one hand and rubbed her back soothingly with the other.
He offered his handkerchief for her to wipe her mouth when she was finished. She stood shakily, using his arm for support.
"Sorry." She told him, looking ashamed.
"What are you sorry for?"
"I shouldn't be… crying here."
Bobby used his classic 'Goren lean' to get her to look at him. "It's a perfectly normal reaction."
She looked like she was about to lose it. Bobby pulled her to him. With her head cradled against his chest, she began to cry again.
A light drizzle descended upon them. Bobby wrapped his arm around her and started for the car. Her hand wrapped around his back and clung to his jacket. He put her in the SUV and told her he'd be right back. Through the worsening rain, he saw her put her head in her hands.
Bobby went back to the yellow tape where he was met by the CSU technician and the happy officer.
"Please tell me you got everything you needed to from the outside of the car before it rained." Bobby asked the CSU tech.
"Of course, detective."
Bobby nodded his approval.
"What uh.. what was that all about?" Officer smiley asked, curiously.
Bobby completely ignored him. "Two more detectives will be down here shortly."
Bobby walked away and stopped a few feet away from the car. The rain was really coming down now. He pulled out his phone and waited for Deakins to answer. This wasn't a call he wanted to make with Eames present.
"Captain, Logan and Wheeler need to take this one…." Bobby glanced up, squinting through the rain, at his partner who was wiping away the makeup that ran beneath her eyes. "It's Eames' brother."
TBC
A/N: Please review and let me know what you think!
