Aware
Disclaimer: Dick's, not mine.
Alex
Alex sat at her desk, slowly running her finger around the rim of her Santa mug. She looked across to her partner's desk – empty. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes.
"Good night, Eames," the new captain called out to her as he left his office. She didn't look up, but listened as his footsteps got farther away and finally the elevator made its way downstairs. Alex looked at the clock – seven pm. Right about now, Alex thought. She opened her desk drawer and pulled out a thick paper, ivory in color. The writing on the paper was too ornate and gaudy for Alex's taste. Wrinkling her nose, she read and re-read the paper in her hand:
Robert Goren
&
Lisette Montmatre
Request your presence at
St. Patrick's Cathedral
On
The 20th of August 2006
At
7:00 PM
For a ceremony celebrating their nuptials
And dedication of the love they have for each other.
That last part doesn't even make sense, Alex scoffed in her head. Her eyes welled up almost immediately. She threw the invitation back into the drawer, slamming it shut. She grabbed her purse and stalked towards the elevators. Inside the elevator Alex willed herself not to cry. You will make it home, you will eat dinner and then you will go to bed, Alex chastised. She swiped angrily at the tears that dared to fall. The elevator reached the lobby. Alex stood up as straight as she could, past the other co-workers who had straggled as well, and walked confidently out the front door. In her car, on the way home, she cried.
Bobby
"Thank you, thank you," Bobby squeezed the hand of yet another person he'd never met before wishing him congratulations – and a happy birthday. He grabbed another glass of champagne off of a passing waiter's tray. He looked around. Carolyn and Mike were dancing, while Jimmy and Angie were watching Mike and Carolyn dance. He smiled slightly. His new wife waved to him from where she was sitting, talking to Lewis. He smiled a little more, but did not walk over. He took another glance around the room. She wasn't coming. Bobby rubbed his face with his left hand in aggravation. The new Mrs. Lisette Goren caught him.
"What's the matter? Do you have a headache or something?" Lisette looked at him, worried.
"No, no, everything's fine. Just, the bubbles got to me," Bobby responded. He looked at his new wife. She was as tall as he was with long, curly black hair, ever-blushing cheeks and the greenest eyes Bobby had ever seen. She was what she called "black Irish". Nobody in her family was sure where the French last name came from, though.
"We're going to cut the cake now," Lisette stated, pulling on his sleeve to get him to come. Bobby followed his wife over to the cake. They had agreed not to do the standard shove a piece of cake in your spouse's face ritual, so they politely fed each other the extra-rich cheesecake with raspberry filling that Bobby wasn't really crazy about; he'd wanted the mocha. They posed for pictures and Lisette flitted away, greeting more people Bobby had never met before. He made his rounds again, hoping…
Alex
Alex sat in her car, debating, debating, and debating. She smoothed her dress out over her legs. Get some balls, Alex, and get out of the car, she thought angrily. Taking one last look in the mirror, rolling her eyes at her nose that was still red from her crying attack on the way home, Alex grabbed her purse and made her way up the stairs of the restaurant. She was accosted before she could actually make it in.
"Alex Eames, you look stunning!" Mike leaned in to kiss Alex's cheek and then stood back to take another look at her. "Good God, I don't know how he -," Mike stopped, realizing his error. Alex bit her lip and avoided his eye. "I'm sorry, Alex," Mike looked down at the ground, mortified. He took a nervous puff on the cigar he had come outside to enjoy.
"Do I look all right?" Alex adjusted the shoulder strap of her dress. Carolyn and Alex had chosen a long emerald green dress with a v-neck line – tasteful, not trashy. It had teeny little straps that Alex, as tiny as she was, was worried about snapping with one wrong move. She wore no jewelry, but had put a little more effort into her hair and make up than she usually did. She curled her hair, but thought it looked ridiculous so she pinned it up.
"Is the Pope a Catholic? Alex, you look wonderful. You look better than wonderful in fact," Mike said while taking Alex's arm. "You have to know, he's convinced you're not coming." Alex nodded.
"I almost didn't, honestly," Alex allowed Mike to lead her onto the dance floor, blushing at Carolyn's reaction towards her appearance. "You would think she'd never seen me dressed up before," Alex murmured.
"Well, I don't think we ever have," Mike whispered back. He reached up into Alex's hair and pulled out two pins, her hair tumbling across her shoulders. Alex glared at him, but kept dancing. He smirked at her. "It'll be all right, kid," he said to her as she rested her head on his shoulder. The song ended and they were rushed off the dance floor by a very pushy waiter.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goren," a disembodied voice announced. The lights dimmed, but Alex could make out her partner leading his wife across the dance floor. The tears came back.
"Oh, I know, don't they make you want to weep with joy? They are so perfect together," an elderly woman next to Alex commented. Alex looked over at Mike, who had his arms wrapped around Carolyn. Oh screw it. And with that, Alex bolted.
Bobby
The music started, "Moonlight Sonata". Again, Bobby didn't quite understand why it was chosen; every time he heard the piece it reminded him of the hobbling scene in "Misery". That's how I want to remember my first dance with my wife, Bobby thought. He glanced around the room. Alex. His heart skipped a beat as he watched her walk away.
"Was that her?" Lisette asked, watching his gaze. Bobby shut his eyes and nodded his response. Lisette took a breath and sighed. "You just married me because of the baby, didn't you? You stuck yourself in this marriage anyway, because you're too pig-headed to understand that I could've handled it – I didn't need your help," Lisette whispered furiously to him. Again, Bobby nodded. "You're stuck now. Congratulations, Robert Goren." Lisette laid a hand on his cheek, but quickly buried her head in his shoulder blade.
"I'm sorry," Bobby whispered. The song ended. Lisette looked at him, and then put on her best happy face, making her tears look like the happy kind. They walked off the dance floor together and then split up. Bobby walked around the hotel's restaurant, looking for Alex in every place he could think of. He walked by the cigar room, stopping at the scent of a freshly lit cigar. He opened the door slightly. And there she sat. Her eyes were rimmed red, the straps of her dress had slipped off her shoulders and she had kicked her high heels off. Brushing an errant curl out of her face, she looked up at him.
"Cigar?" She held it out to him as he took in the sight of her from the doorway.
"Alex…"
A/N – I swore this was going to be a one-shot. Yeah…I lied.