A/N: Rachmaninoff is pronounced "Rock-mah-ni-noff" and is often referred to in short as Rocky. So, Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto is called "Rocky 2" for short… Just something you might need… unless you're a music nerd like me…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bobby popped the CD in the player, patiently waited for it to load, and then hit the play button. The first chords of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto blasted through the speakers. Ah, the beauty of surround sound and no television to corrupt it.

He sat on the couch with his eyes closed, but quickly got up again. Classical music in loud volumes always gave him an uncontrollable urge to clean. He used the remote to increase the volume, and then began filling a mop bucket in the kitchen sink.

The suds slowly rose to the top, he turned off the water, and just as he was hoisting the bucket out of the sink, his phone rang.

He set the bucket down and removed his cell phone from his belt holster. "Goren," he answered.

"Hey Bobby, it's me."

"Hey, Eames. What's up?" he asked, balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder as he slid the bucket across the floor to the back of the kitchen. Can't paint yourself into a corner.

"Not much, I was just wondering what you were doing. Where are you?" she asked casually.

"Uh, I'm in the kitchen, getting ready to mop." Just then the recapitulation of the concerto filled his apartment. "Shit, sorry. Gimme a second."

He set down the mop, picked up the remote, and paused the CD.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Rocky 2"

"Rocky 2 the movie or Rachmaninoff?"

"Brownie points if you can guess." He pressed play again.

"Rachmaninoff," she stated.

He paused the CD again. "So, what are you up to, besides bugging your partner on our only day off?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Relax, Eames. I'm just teasing you."

"Oh," she laughed. There was an awkward silence.

"Wanna come help me mop?" he asked.

"What?"

"My apartment is a mess, I've got music-a-plenty, you sound bored. Wanna come over?"

"Isn't Lori back yet?"

"Nah, she gets back from Paris tomorrow. So, you coming over or not?"

"Uh, sure. You want me to pick up lunch?"

"That's ok- we can order when you get here."

"Ok, see you in 5."

"Bye," he said, flipping his phone shut, tossing it across the counter and watching it land in the basket with his keys. "Three points," he muttered with satisfaction.

He finished mopping the floor, took off his shoes and socks, and walked across the wetness to dump the bucketful of soapy water into the sink.

He restarted the CD and Rachmaninoff picked back up with his beating of the piano. Goren felt something furry slink between his legs.

"Ah- Lucy, no! I just mopped it!" He picked up the bright orange furball and tossed it over towards the carpet.The catlanded gracefully, but shot him a dirty look before prancing back off towards the couch.

Then he heard his doorbell ring. "Come on in!" he shouted, tiptoeing across the wet floor.

Alexandra Eames entered his apartment with a shy look on her face.

"Hey Eames. Gimme 2 seconds. Satan over here is screwing with my clean floors." He hunched over and pounced the cat, grabbing it around its overlarge belly. It meowed loudly as he carried it down the hallway and shut it in his bedroom.

He came back, kneeled down on the floor and examined the kitchen lenoleum. "Stupid cat," he muttered. "There's orange hair all over it again."

Alex laughed. "That's what you get for getting the furriest cat you could find."

He stood up again and wiped his hands on his shorts. "Correction- you and Logan thought it would be funny to buy me the furriest cat you could find for Christmas. And I don't even do Christmas. By all rights that cat is yours."

She laughed again. "Oh yah, I forgot Logan was in on that too."

He shook his head and said, "Here, I'll take your coat. Why don't you take a look at the menus on the fridge and see if you can't find anything."

She handed him his coat, flipped off her sandals, and walked across the wet floor to the fridge.

"Where's Uncle Shanghai's?" she asked.

"Threw it out."

"Shoulda known," she mumbled. "Uh, Thai or Japanese?"

"Japanese- I need noodles."

She pulled the menu off of the fridge and stepped back onto the carpet. She dialed the number and the phone began to ring.

"Where's Jordan?" Bobby shouted from across the room. He was attacking his dusty CDs and books with a swiffer now.

"At work- uh, yes… Alex Eames, 555-4325, uh, 16A Lawrence St… I'd like the Miso soup with noodles and… uh, the Unagi with noodles instead of rice…. How long?… ok, thanks." She flipped her phone shut.

"I got the miso and unagi- both have noodles so you can pick when they get here."

"Miso's mine," was his reply. She smiled. She already knew that.

"So, uh- what do you want me to do?" She asked awkwardly as she walked over to where he was dusting.

"Uh- how bout the rest of the kitchen. I only got the floor."

"Sounds good to me," she said before turning around and heading back towards the kitchen. Lucy the cat could be heard meowing deeply from down the hall.

"Stupid cat," he mumbled.

"I heard that- and if you really hated her that much you would have dumped her on me a long time ago. I think actually like her."

Bobby grumbled.

"What was that?" she asked again with a smile.

"Nothing- the Tilex is under the sink."

She pulled out the cleaner and set to work on the counters, dishes, and even the cabinet finish. She was elbow deep in suds and yellow gloves, he was sneezing from all of the dust, and they werehalf way throughRocky 3 when the buzzer went off signaling that their food was there.

Bobby got and paid for the food while Alex de-toxified herself and headed back towards the small couch in the living room. He sat down next to her.

"So, set a date yet?" Bobby asked before slurping down some noodles from the soup.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"The wedding?"

"Oh- not yet, just kind of in limbo right now until we can both find some time to sort it all out."

"Is he moving in with you- or are you moving out?"

"Oh- he's moving in."

"It's nice that you don't have to leave what you already have."

She choked on a noodle. "What?"

"I said it's nice that you don't have to move."

"Oh," she regained her breath. "Yah- it is nice."

Why was he doing this to her? It was like he knew about the dream or something. Like he knew exactly what to say to set her off- catch her off guard. She already hadn't been in her right mind when she called him- but then when he invited her over she freaked. After hyperventilating for a few minutes she pulled herself together and walked the familiar route to Bobby's apartment like she had done on numerous occasions before she had met Jordan and before he had met Lori. She almost never went over to his place anymore. It was almost taboo now that they each had significant others.

But here she was, sitting on his couch next to him eating Japanese food while he seemed to quote her dream word for word without knowing it.

And she hadn't really left anything behind yet...