Thank you for the reviews, they are greatly appreciated.

Podie1 - I think they'd have an amazingly cute kid, but then I would. Thanks. I hope this chapter is good enough.

Again, a huge thank you to B (cess525) for the beta job.

Grace Under Pressure

The next morning didn't arrive with ease. Bobby had spent the entire night wrapped up in guilt whilst Alex and Mike had spent the night together but apart; separated by the words they weren't saying to each other. When Alex figuratively crawled into the squad room, Bobby immediately felt his guilt increase tenfold; believing himself to be the cause of her obvious unwell state of being.

He already had placed a steaming cup of coffee at her desk. Along with a packet of skittles, knowing full well she'd ignore the traditional breakfast snacks and go straight for the sweets. Bobby felt his hope drop when she pushed the coffee aside and placed the skittles in her desk drawer, looking green as she did so.

"Eames...?" He started but couldn't finish. His mind tip-toeing on the brink of insanity as he realized she might actually hate him for what he'd done yesterday.

Alex sighed and looked at him, her face full of confusion as he looked at her with worry. "What?" She asked, genuinely confused. He couldn't bring himself to say it but he gazed towards the coffee cup and she followed his line of sight. "Oh." She quickly looked back at him, desperate to try and cover it up before he figured her out. "I-I don't really feel like having a drink right now..." Inwardly she groaned at the sloppy way she'd covered it up; knowing for certain that he had to put it all together in his mind by now, being the genius that he was. Though when she looked up she saw nothing but sadness in his eyes and she was surprised to see guilt written all over his face. It took Alex a significant amount of time before she realised why he might feel guilty. "Oh... Bobby, no, I'm not angry at you, I, honestly, don't feel like drinking caffeine."

Bobby blinked.

His eyes darting from the cup to her face. "Y-you're not?"

Alex shook her head, swallowing the nausea that came with that movement. "No, I'm not. It wasn't your fault that she got the wrong end of the stick."

Bobby nodded, paused over the subject and then looked back at her with worried expression, "Then what's wrong?"

That's when Alex realized she'd stuck her foot in it. Now she had to find another way of covering it up, "I just don't feel very well." She waved her hand dismissively, "Stomach bug."

"Oh." Bobby wasn't buying it but he gave his partner a concerned look. "How long have you had this bug? You should eat-" She shot him a deadly look that knocked him into silence. Bobby quickly raised his hands to show defeat, noticing the threatening look on her face and the piercing way her eyes shot him. "Ok, sorry."

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Somehow the looming threat to Bobby didn't seem to phase him for long because by the time it was lunch he was already back to badgering her about food. Although to him he was being a concerned and considerate friend, worrying about her well-being; it was enough to drive her insane. Bobby, being the kind partner that he was, had gone to fetch them both a sandwich from the deli but whilst he was tucking into his, she was not touching hers.

The problem was that it wasn't just the morning sickness that had taken away her appetite. It was the way Mike had been so quiet with her ever since he'd found out. She would've preferred that he told her what was going on in his head, instead of keeping it all to himself because he didn't want to upset her. That just served to aggravate her further. The way they'd slept in the same bed, miles apart, had been the worst night she had spent with him since they'd begun dating. Alex found the idea that he wouldn't walk away from this noble and a decent thing to do, and she appreciated it but she didn't want this to make him miserable and she couldn't help but want him to be happy about it.

"...Eames?"

Bobby's voice seemed miles away but it was slowly pulling her back to reality; she didn't want to come back however and she was trying to ignore that she'd heard him.

"Alex?"

The sound of Mike calmly saying her name brought her back to reality with a snap. She looked up to see him standing behind Bobby, who had turned around to look at him. She shot him a quizzical look as he glanced at her untouched sandwich. "I'm going to get some lunch, you wanna come with?"

Alex looked down at the sandwich and curled her nose up at the idea of food but when she looked back at Mike she saw something else in his eyes. Pleading? She wasn't quite sure what it was but it was enough to make her realise that she should go with him instead of staying in the office to poke at the unwanted sandwich of doom. She nodded, standing up to get her coat. Before she left the office, she grabbed the offending sandwich and passed it to her partner, "Here. Thanks."

"Maker her eat!" Bobby called out after them as they walked out of the squad room.

As they walked towards the elevator, Mike softly placed his hand on the small of her back. "You've not eaten?" He asked.

She shook her head as the elevator doors opened, sighing as they walked into the small space together. "No." The doors closed and she allowed herself the moment to at least pretend that everything was normal between them. "Just morning sickness."

She expected him to roll his eyes or ignore the comment completely, but instead Mike said, "Oh, so does it last all morning?"

Alex looked at him, dazed for a moment as she allowed the question to process. "No."

"No?" He asked, seemingly curious.

Shaking her head, she said, "No, it lasts all day!"

A confused but concerned look graced his features, "Will you eat anything at all?"

"Probably later."

"Good." He grinned and she frowned. He leaned into her as the elevator reached it's destination. "I'm taking you out to dinner tonight."

Still frowning, they walked out into the corridor and headed towards the building exit. "You are?" She asked, perplexed at the thought.

"Yep." She looked up at him as he wrapped his arm around her softly. "Just 'cause. You'll find out later."

"You're being purposely mysterious, aren't you?" She asked, an air of sarcasm to her.

He grinned, "I am."

Alex growled in frustration, "You know I hate that!"

Mike couldn't help but laugh at her reaction but it left Alex more puzzled and worried than she had been before. Her mind racing over the prospect of Mike wanting to tell her one of two things, the first being he was happy about everything and that they would be okay, the second one being the complete opposite of the first. Alex looked up at him and he seemed fine, just more introspective than usual and quieter.

She had to hope that that was a good sign but her nausea returned at the thought of him going for the second one.

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By evening she had barely eaten anything except for toast so when they reached the restaurant she felt famished and hungry but was too nervous to even consider food. Mike could see her anxiety written all over her face and he wanted to quickly get this over with for her benefit, but he still hadn't quite come up with the words to say or the correct form.

The waiter seated them to a table; one that was thankfully secluded and away from most of the other guests. Alex gingerly sat in the seat, never ceasing to take her eyes from Mike in case she missed a clue or something that told her what he was planning to say. She never imagined he would make her this nervous, but then she hadn't exactly imagined she'd be having a baby with him either so she truly was walking on foreign ground.

"Can I get you some drinks?" The waiter asked politely, with a smile and a generous amount of customer service; fishing for a tip.

Mike just shrugged, "Beer, whatever you have on tap."

The waiter looked at Alex, "Ma'am, we have a great selection of wines-"

Alex lifted her hand up to stop him, "Water will do just nicely, thanks." He just nodded in response, a little put off by her seemingly rude behavior. His mind already racing through a thousand insults about customers and how they could learn to be a little bit friendlier.

Mike looked at her with raised eyebrows but he didn't comment on it. She looked back at him and tried to smile before launching herself into a ramble, "Okay, look, whatever it is you plan to say will you please say it before we order the food because otherwise I'm gonna be sitting here starving but not eating; pushing peas around the plate whilst you sit there and look angsty, pretending to be enjoying it." Alex took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. Mike's brows had already reached his hairline in a mix of surprise and amusement, "And if what you're gonna say is gonna hurt than say it quickly and get it over with!" Her quickly spoken words brought Mike a moment of confusion whilst he tried to figure out what she had said. Her voice had raised an octave, practically ordering him to speak, but her eyes were diverted by the glass of water that appeared in front of her. Mike gestured a quick thanks to the poor clueless waiter who walked away feeling more confused.

Ignoring the beer now sitting before him, Mike smirked at her. "Finished?" Alex didn't reply, she just looked at him with an impatient look on her face. "I already said that I wasn't going to walk away."

Alex sighed. "I don't want to be an obligation to you, Mike."

He reached across the table and placed his hand over hers. "You're not."

"Really?" She asked, not sounding as sure as he did. He nodded, unsure of how to convince her otherwise. "Then say something other than how you plan to not walk away."

Words failed him at the time when he needed them the most. He wasn't used to this kind of situation and he was doubting the success of all of the words he'd planned to say before. So, instead of trying to recaptured his vocabulary, he pulled his chair around the table so that he was sitting beside her. The feet of the chair scraping against the surface of the floor, causing one or two people to look at them with frowns on their faces.

Alex felt herself blush with embarrassment at the way Mike was drawing attention to them, but it was quickly replaced with shock as he captured her lips and locked himself to her, trying to convey the words through body language instead. For a moment, Alex struggled against him but she became intoxicated, eventually relaxing against him before remembering where they were.

The only person watching them was their waiter, who was now suspiciously eyeing the beer tap; turning to his colleague he said, "What the hell is in this beer?"

Mike felt her pull away and he allowed her too, looking at no one else but her. "Uh, so?" She asked and he rolled his eyes.

"So... I'm happy, I'm okay." He replied, not wanting to have to get all sentimental on her. Keeping his voice low, "I thought about it a lot last night and I am okay, a little bit... I dunno, nervous. But I swear, I'm not seeing you as some sort of pregnant ball and chain." Alex closed her eyes in a mix of relief and embarrassment. "So..." He eyed the menu and turned back to her to see her eyes were open. "Can you eat now? Or do I have to force feed you?"

Alex groaned, "You're not going to become overprotective are you?"

Mike grinned, "Hell yeah, for the whole nine months!" This caused Alex to sigh in frustration, "You're stuck with me!"

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TBC