This is dedicated to my new bass teacher, who is just as smart, quick, and snappy as Eames…and also pregnant with twins.
Alex Eames. Thirty something years old. Detective of New York's Major Case Squad. Silky dirty blonde hair a little past her shoulders. Tigger pajama bottoms. White tank top. No bra.
She walked out of her kitchen clutching a spoon and a carton of Haagen Dazs, which was suddenly snatched from her.
"Uh uh," said her partner, Bobby Goren.
"Give that back," she said, reaching to grab it from him. It was a rather futile effort as he was over a head taller than her and had arms twice as long. It was well out of her reach. "I need that!" she exclaimed.
"You do not," he said, digging the spoon in and taking a bite himself.
"Yah?" she said, pointing to her slightly bulging stomach. "Your kid has a different idea. You can't deny your child desert even before he's been born. That's just not cool, Bobby," she finished with a pout.
"You're not even 3 months in, ice cream would make you sick," he said, taking another bite.
"I feel just fine," she said matter-of-factly. "Look me straight in the eye and deny a pregnant woman ice cream."
He leaned over, going past her eyes and straight to her stomach. "Mommy's just a little cranky. She doesn't really need the ice cream."
Alex popped him on the head. "Ow!" With Bobby caught off guard, she snatched the carton from him. He stood up straight and stared her down. "At least have something a bit more healthy?" he pleaded. "And less expensive? If you eat a carton of that every 2 days you'll gain twice as much weight as you're supposed to and it'll cost a fortune."
She took a big spoonful before handing the carton back. "Mood killer," she said grumpily.
"You'll thank me when you don't feel like a beached whale."
"I already feel like a beached whale," she pouted, sitting down on the couch.
Bobby returned the ice cream to the freezer and brought her a spoonful of honey-nut peanut butter instead. He handed it to her and sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close.
"Are you kidding?" he said playfully. "My Eames? A beached whale? Never." He delicately swirled his index finger on her abdomen.
She giggled and snuggled in close. "Ross is gonna flip his lid," she said.
"You haven't told him yet?" he asked. "I thought you were going to?"
"Oh no," she said. "I'll wait till it becomes obvious, like I did with Deakins."
"Are you going to tell him about us?"
"I don't know…He shouldn't worry about it until he absolutely has to."
"What if something happens to you?" he asked.
"Nothing's gonna happen to me. Don't you ever watch Animal Planet? I'm a protective mother-to-be: I'm twice as likely to shoot whoever is threatening me at the time," she said confidently.
"Oh, that's comforting," he said, not sounding convinced. He nuzzled his button nose into her neck below her ear.
"So, what are we going to do now that you've taken my ice cream away?"
"Hmm," he mumbled, biting her neck. "Burn calories."
She tried to push him away. "I'm already hungry, burning calories will only make the problem worse."
"I'll let you have your ice cream back," he mumbled enticingly, working his way down her neck to her bare shoulder.
She laughed openly and said, "You can't demand sex in exchange for ice cream!"
"Why not?" he asked teasingly, delicately pulling the strap of her tank top off her shoulders.
"Because I won't be controlled like that," she said defiantly. Suddenly, and within 2 seconds, he had turned her over and pinned her down on the couch.
"I'm twice your size," he growled.
"Not for long," she said, challenging him. He looked at her, that awesomely sexy look that had made her melt in the first place (and which, 10 minutes later, had landed her in a position similar to the one she was in now). She looked at him in deep thought and then said, "I want the ice cream first."
"Yes, Ma'am," he said, getting up and walking to the kitchen. Alex just lay there on the couch.
He returned, straddled her again, and stuck a spoon out. She opened her mouth and took the bite of chocolate swirl. "Mmm … Baby says thank you…" She took another bite from the outstretched spoon. It really couldn't get any better than this. Bobby; in her lap; spoon feeding her ice cream; chocolate ice cream…
He then set the box down on the coffee table and said, "Ok. My turn."
"Hey!" she laughed. "You can't do that! That's not fair! I need to consume at least as many calories as I'm going to burn…ere go, I'm going to need the whole thing…at least that," she added quickly.
He laughed maniacally, "Not a chance," leaned in, and kissed her ferociously. She grabbed his neck and pulled him in harder, kissing him until she finally had to stop so she could breathe.
"Bed?" she asked.
He shook his head and kissed her again. "Right here."
"We haven't done that since-"
"-the first time," he grumbled, pulling her legs around him and leaning in to kiss her again…
She remembered it like it was yesterday- it practically was yesterday… 4 months ago they had been working on a case, lounging around her apartment eating Quinoa and small strips of cold, salted steak. It was late, she was tired, and she was desperately trying to concentrate when she finally screamed in frustration. "Agh! I'm done! My brain can't take this anymore! It's yelling at me! It's yelling 'Bed, Alex!'" She was very animated. Bobby laughed and she got up off her spot on the floor and began her monologue.
"It's yelling, 'Alex! It's been such a long day, and you're tired! I'm tired! You can't subject me to soothing music, overload me with information, and then stuff me with food just before bedtime! What were you thinking?'" She was stalking around the coffee table, legs bent, hair frazzled, and her hands were extended beside her. She stalked between the couch where Bobby was sitting and the coffee table, looked him in the eye, and said, eyes bulging, "Agh!" and screamed in his face.
"Alex!" he shouted back at her, grabbing her shoulders. "Stop screaming!" She stopped, breathing heavily from her anxiety attack, looked straight into his eyes- made the mistake of looking straight into his hazel eyes- and suddenly screamed and tackled him.
He jumped back in a frenzy, trying to free his limbs. "Whoa! Whoa! Eames! What the hell did I do?"
"Nothing!" she shouted, then paused and added quietly, "I think…" She was straddling his lap and was panting.
"You can't think," he said. "I think that was the point of your…display."
"Oh… good," she said, then lunged into him and kissed him, pushing him on his back on the couch.
She was surprised that he didn't resist hardly at all. He was certainly surprised, but she was proud of herself for convincing him that this wasn't such a bad thing in a record amount of time. She had put her hand around his neck and held his face to hers when she felt his hands rise to her hips. She let go, looked at him, smiled, and knew she had done the right thing when he smiled back…
And here she was, back where she started just a few months ago: on her back on the couch, her body pressed against his…but this time was different. She had a little piece of him inside her already…two, actually…
But, shhh…he doesn't know that yet…