Summary: Alex and Bobby realise their partnership has become out of tune. Tag to The War At Home.

Series: M/A series, sequel to Tight Bonds and Loose Shackles - it might be helpful if you read that to get what's happened to the characters previously but not 100 necessary.

Pairing: Mike/Alex relationship, Bobby/Alex friendship

Spoilers: The War At Home, Maltese Cross, Blind Spot, Siren Call (Basically S6)

Podie1 - Thank you so much for your reviews. I enjoy them so much. Sorry this has been so long coming, I guess I can't multitask to such a high degree anymore eh ;)

Thank you so much to Scifi Girl for the excellent beta:D

Out of Sync

The imaginitive sound of a clock ticking was threatening to drive her up the wall. Every minute she was twisting her neck to look at the clock to the her right, on the wall, to check the time only to find that it was just one minute later from when she had last looked. Driving herself round the bend, she made a mental note not to look again but one minute later she did so without thinking.

"Dammit." Alex Eames cursed angrily, causing her partners head to shoot up in surprise by her outburst. A look of surprise written on his face, unsure of why she had swore. Amusement fluttered across his face when he realised that she was just desperate to go home, like him. Bobby's own fingers tapping against the table, creating a steady rhythm in his mind that was actually helping him to concentrate on his work more than before. Gliding his fingers across the page, he flicks it over and begins the next one. Alex, however, just watches him and then sighs as she looks down at her work and doesn't really want to move on to the next report.

She looks back at the floor. "God dammit." She repeats and then bangs her head against the desk. This stirs a chuckle out of Bobby, who watches with fascination as she becomes increasingly frustrated. She brings her head back up and pulls an annoyed face.

"Eames, it's just one more hour." Bobby said, finding her unusual impatience a little disturbing if not amusing.

Alex rolled her eyes, "It feels like ten." She picked up her pen and looked at him, "Queues at the box office move faster than this."

"Yeah." Bobby agreed to her sarcasm with a small laugh, the day had slowly progressed and was now ceasing to move at all. He knew why she was desperate to get home, "You know, the reason time appears to be moving slowly is because of your intense desire to go home to Logan... there is this saying that-"

"-Ah." She interrupted, "I swear if you say 'A watched kettle never boils' I will walk out."

Bobby chuckled at her comment, "I won't finish." Alex rolled her eyes, knowing that he was basically telling her that that was indeed what he was going to say.

The shrill of the telephone ringing caused her to jump inwardly. She smirked at Bobby, "Saved by the phone." She grabbed the receiver and quickly placed it to her ear. "Eames." Bobby used this moment to get some more work done instead of having to keep his partner entertained. Whilst she spoke on the phone his mind drifted back to thoughts of his mother, who was continually calling him to remind him to visit her on Thanksgiving this weekend and as he checked the clock he realised she was late for her usual phone call.

Alex dropped the receiver back in it's cradle but it didn't snap Bobby out of his thoughts, not that she expected it to but she couldn't help but notice that his fidgeting had increased during the time she was talking on the phone and worry lines had deepened on his face. Worry for her friend caused her to take a chance, "How is your mom doing?"

Bobby glanced up at her, as if confused by her question and unsure of it's meaning but she could see through him just as well as he could see through anyone else. He paled slightly and darted his eyes between her, his work and her desk. "Uh, do you have the ME report from the Di Berto case?" He asked, rubbing his neck and then forcing his arm to rest on his desk instead. Alex felt herself stumble inside for a moment, confused by his lack of response and unsure of whether to allow his subject change. "I need it to make sure I get all - all the details right for my report." He scratched his head and avoided eye contact.

Her eyebrows reached her hairline and beyond, now she knew he wasn't being honest with her; Bobby never needed to check details on cases for reports because by the time they reached this point with a case he knew the whole thing like the back of his hand. "Uh, sure." She mentally shook herself and realised she was allowing him to get away with this but she couldn't really do anything more and honestly, she had no idea what to do anyway. She had to let him deal with this in his own way.

But there was something about the way he brushed her question off altogether. Alex sighed inwardly and watched him as he looked down at his work, and she noticed the way he was trying to make it look like that his work was his main concentration but she could tell that he wasn't really reading the report at all, he was skimming over the words and putting on act for her and that helped to bubble up a sense of frustration and anger in her that she couldn't explain.

"Ok." Alex began, her mind fumbling but putting on a strong appearance. "My parents are doing their thanksgiving dinner that my mum grumbles into cooking, you're invited."

Bobby absentmindedly replied, "I'm busy this weekend, Eames."

Alex mouthed an "Oh." holding the 'O' shape on her lips.

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Walking through the door she felt mortified at the cold air that hit her. It felt colder than it was outside. Alex frowned as she looked around the empty living room; devoid of all life except for PJ, her replacement Lovebird, who chirped at her the moment he saw her. Alex didn't speak back however, her concern for Mike taking over for a moment as she walked through the living room and headed for the place she had last seen him; the bedroom.

"Mike!" She called out, concerned because he'd only been released from hospital two days ago after an agonising two weeks of arguing, demands and pressures from him to leave. He'd tried to 'escape' many times; she'd even caught him trying to head out of the hospital building wearing nothing but an overcoat. It had been difficult to get the man to stay there whilst his body healed. "Mike?"

She stopped walking for a moment when she heard someone grunting. Her face screwed up in confusion as she quickly began moving and rushed towards the bedroom. She poked her head round the door and saw him lying on the floor, next to the bed, in a ball; communicating to her he was in pain by using body language. She quickly crossed the room and knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder in concern, "Mike, what are you doing?" She asked softly, her voice showing her concern and love for him all in one go. He grunted from obvious pain and as she felt his head, she could feel his cold skin and her insides drop as her concern turned into a bolt of fear.

"I'm alright." He muttered, trying to catch his breath, unable to do so because he was restricting his lung capacity by maintaining the human ball.

"C'mon, get up." She held onto his arm, the one that hadn't been broken, and helped him up. Mike resisted, unsure of how much pain this would cause him, but he was curled up next to the bed and he realised it wasn't that far to go. She held onto the edge of the bed for support as she carried the brunt of Mike's weight, which was a feat for her considering how small she was and how big he was. Mike tried to hold the sound of pain in but he had no choice but to let it out in a yelp as he landed on the bed. "Sorry." Alex apologised.

Mike rolled onto his back and looked up at her, "It wasn't your fault."

"What were you doing?" Alex asked, confused and concerned.

Mike groaned and rubbed his eyes, "I was, uh, trying to cool down so I opened all the windows." Alex frowned, he wasn't making any sense, "Okay, so then I realised it was mistake and tried to close them all when I-"

"-You hurt your ribs didn't you?" She interrupted, asking him with an accusatory tone of voice. Mike just laid still and looked up at her, as she shot him a look.

"Well, you try lying on your ass for two weeks and see how bored you get!" He responded, going on the defensive.

Alex snorted, "I've been there and done that remember." Mike immediately looked guilty. "It's okay." Alex dismissed it immediately, refusing to go back to her kidnapping ordeal. She sat down beside him and without waiting for permission she undid several of the buttons on his shirt.

"Desperate eh?" He asked, suggestively, waggling his eyebrows and making a point to look flirty with her.

She chuckled, "Yeah, desperate to get a look at your ribs."

Mike grinned, "Baby, all you had to do was ask." Alex laughed at him as she began examining his ribs. Carefully running her fingers over it and feeling to see if anything had moved, become worse or swollen since she'd last done that for him.

After she'd done and was satisfied that he hadn't done anything to damage himself that she could see, she fastened his shirt back up. "I don't really have to ask, do I?" She asked, keeping her tone low as she looked down at him, resting on her hands and hovering above him with a sly smile on her face.

Mike grinned, "Well no."

"Good." She lowered her head to give him a chaste, sweet kiss that he hungrily accepted. When she pulled back he looked disappointed but didn't say anything. She looked up at the window and sighed, standing up to close it to at least keep one room in the house warm.

"Sorry." Mike muttered. She shrugged, not really needing an apology; closing the window with a bang. She turned to look at him with a quizzical look on her face, and he could tell something was wrong. He could feel it radiating from her like a tangible cloud. "What's wrong?"

Alex felt herself leaning towards the idea of lying, maintaining the illusion that she was fine; the same illusion she'd been magically showing her partner by continuing to be sarcastic and her usual charming self, if not for her benefit then for his. But, as she hesitated with answering, Mike's suspicion that something was wrong increased. Alex was stood at the foot of the bed so Mike had to twist his neck a little to see her face but he could see something, and being the good detective that he was he started to deduce what that might be. "Is it a case?"

"No." She replied, finally answering him. She walked back round the bed to sit back next to him.

Alex smiled, trying to look encouraging and happy, "I'm worried about Bobby."

"Ah." Mike suddenly felt it all click into place, "His mother?" Alex jerked her head to look at him, eyebrow firmly raised. "Oh, I heard you ask him about her."

"Oh." was the only answer Alex could reply to that.

"And I also heard him not answer."

Alex just repeated her, "Oh."

Mike looked up at her, and moved his good arm to pull hers so that she would look at him. "What?" he whispered, trying to coax her into talking.

She took a deep breath, "I don't know, it's probably nothing but I get this... feeling that he doesn't trust me enough to talk about it." Alex hesitated and frowned at her own use of words; shaking her head she avoided eye contact with Mike for as long as possible before being defeated and having to look at him. "It's nothing, I'm just being..." she let her sentence trail off when she realised that she didn't know what she was doing.

Mike frowned and tried to offer her sympathetic smile that came out as a grimace. "Look, he's a guy, he probably just wants to drink it all away."

"That's not Bobby." Alex quickly argued back. "He doesn't do that, he dwells on things and over-analyses them until they become a bigger issue than they were in the first place!"

Mike snorted, "Either way, as a guy he probably doesn't want to talk about it."

Alex nodded slightly in agreement, "Maybe." Mike tried to sit up, deciding enough was enough but Alex stopped him by placing her hands on his shoulders. "What are you doing?! Rest your ribs before you make them any worse and end up back in hospital and I know you don't want that." Knowing she didn't want to hurt him, he continued to sit up.

"Ok, I'm not an invalid." He managed to sit up relatively straight, "But I am a detective and I can tell something else is bothering you so spit it out."

"Thanksgiving." She replied, looking into his eyes and showing him her sadness.

"And that's bad?" Mike asked, incredulously. "Your Dad has been going on about how great that day is!" Alex looked surprised by that. "Oh, when I was in hospital he kept talking about it like it was as amazing as Christmas."

That earned a smile from her. "Yeah, he loves Thanksgiving, he gets the kids all dressed up." Mike started to chuckle a little at the thought. "Problem is I feel kind of guilty."

Mike's frown deepened as he looked at her in confusion. "It might be the meds but you're not making sense." Alex rubbed her face in frustration and felt this desperate need to have him hold her but she didn't want to just grab him and end up hurting his ribs.

"I know, I'm sorry." Alex apologised, feeling incredibly stupid but not quite understanding where all this was coming from. The past couple of weeks had been so hard on her, and as a matter of fact the past couple of months had been draining and all she could think of why she was just deciding to get upset about it. But she couldn't change how she felt and she couldn't seem to stop this feeling of disillusion and despair; frustrated with everything like she just wanted to scream. "It's just Bobby is going to have to spend this weekend at the hospital, and you are obviously in too much pain to come with me and I... well, I just feel... fed-up!" She threw her hands up in the air to show her frustration and Mike looked at her for a moment before considering a response.

"I may be in a lot of pain but I'm still going." He told her, his masculine voice treading softly so that he didn't add to her frustration. "As for you feeling fed-up well I do have a solution to that but-" he looked down at his bruised ribs, "-as you can see I'm not quite able yet but I am willing!" Alex smiled a little at the fun suggestion but still looked gloomy. He snaked his working arm around her waist and silently gave her permission to snuggle into him. "Goren probably wants to spend time at the hospital this weekend, I wouldn't feel guilty about that."

"I know, I'm being stupid." She loudly berated herself after a sharp intake of breath. Mike momentarily wondered if she was having a female monthly problem and if this little mood swing period of hers was connected to that but, when he considered it, he realised that asking might actually confirm it and confirming it would mean he'd get an earful. Instead he kissed her temple and rubbed her side with his hand, hoping to generate some comfort. He could not wait to be out of these bandages. "You're still going?" She asked, twisting a little to look up at him as her head rested in the crook of his neck.

"Yep." Mike replied, attempting to put on his best enthusiastic voice; as much as he could muster in his current state of health. "I'll be there, resting on your Dad's big recliner." He added with a chuckle.

Alex snorted with laughter, "Yeah, I can't see that going down well with him."

Mike grinned,

"We'll tag team him; you distract him and I'll yoink the chair."

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Thanksgiving Thursday was a day that so far had been peaceful and quiet; Alex stuck in her thoughts for a while whilst Mike slept and rested, needing the energy for when they went to her parents house because if he remembered correctly there was always something happening and her family was so full of energy.

As she rummaged through her wardrobe to find that dress that Mike had been looking at a few weeks ago, she found herself immersed in her own thoughts and feelings. Her worry for Bobby had increased tenfold recently; he'd become more introverted than usual, and that was saying something. She knew that he was losing his mother slowly to cancer and she could possibly even relate, her own mother's stroke a few years ago had been frightening; her whole family crowding the waiting rooms at the hospital as they waited on news whether it be good or bad. But Bobby was treating her differently as well, pushing her away and whether he knew it or not that was hurting more than she cared to admit. Bobby was her best friend and her partner, and she trusted him explicitly; she'd always thought he'd felt the same but now she was not so sure.

She was sure she was looking forward to a weekend away from her job, and away from any of this worry.

Finding the dress hanging at the very end of the wardrobe, concealed by other clothes, she pulled it off the rail and slipped it over her head, covering her body in the soft material and suddenly realising her skin had been cold the whole time she'd been thinking.

As she stood in front of the mirror, looking to see if she looked okay, she heard a content sigh behind her and the sound of a man clearing his throat. Alex turned and saw Mike standing next to the dresser, leaning on it for support, with a happy and satisfied look on his face. He had a pleased smirk on his face, his mouth curved as his eyes surveyed her body up and down. Alex just looked at him, with feigned annoyance; she actually like the way he was pleased with her outfit, not that she'd tell him that. "What?" Mike asked, with a laugh, "Can't I admire the way you look in a dress?" A smirk started to appear on her face and she tried to stifle it. "You should wear one more often, that way I'd get used to it."

"I think that's incentive for me not to wear one." Alex replied, giving him a small amused smile. Her eyesight focused on Mike's ribs and plastered arm, and she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Good." He moved his plastered arm around to show that he had some muscular ability. "See?" He grinned.

The smile on Alex's face grew. "I can see that." He crossed the space between them with three long strides and carefully engulfed her in his arms, doing so without causing any pain to himself. He lowered his plastered arm down her back and slowly, carefully, caressed the base of her spine before cheekily lowering his hand. "Hey." She giggled, "You've definitely got that arm working again."

A large grin formed on Mike's face, "Oh, yeah."

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A madhouse and a zoo would be the words to describe the Eames house on thanksgiving. Children littered about like small animals causing their parents to go crazy to the point where Alex had finally agreed to see them in action outside in the outfits her father had dressed his grandchildren, and great grandchildren, in. The November air was cool but the sun provided a little warmth, yet not enough for her to abandon her coat altogether. Long knee-high boots kept her legs warm and she was thankful for them.

Mike's strength and energy had depleted and he had decided against going outside with Alex, her sister and the children. Opting to stay inside where it was warm and he could close his eyes, although he claimed he wouldn't sleep. Jo stayed at the table whilst Alex sat on the bench with the kids running around her in full costume.

She cursed herself for bringing her phone with her when she heard it ringing in her coat pocket. With a sigh she answered it, "Eames." Several of the kids climbed about her, two of them trying to sit on her knee. "The Deputy Commissioners Daughter?" She sighed, mostly inwardly but it was still audible, she could hear the way Ross didn't sound happy about this either. Alex figured he had wanted to spend Thanksgiving with his sons. "Okay, I got it."

Her nephew, Nathan, repeated her "I got it!" As he, and his cousins, ran around her. Alex sighed and looked at them before looking towards the house. So much for having the weekend free, and she could already hear her partners' anguish because she had known what Bobby when he said he was busy, it meant he'd spending all of his time with his mother.

With a heavy sigh, she stood up and walked towards the house.

She dragged her feet into the house and immediately walked into the living room where she had left Mike sleeping. Her father took one look at her face and the cell phone in her hand and he knew what was happening. "Now?"

She nodded, sadly, "Yes, now."

Johnny Eames looked at her glumly, one more year where his youngest daughter wasn't going to be involved in the family holiday. He should know better because he was a cop but it brought him sadness. He noticed the way she was looking around the room, "He's upstairs in the guest room, getting some real shut eye."

Alex smiled at him and headed for the stairs leaving a trail of disappointed faces in her wake.

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TBC