The usual disclaimers. Please read and review! Thanks
Chapter 7
First Day
Monday came all too fast. For the first hour and a half, Captain Deakins briefed Alex and Bobby on the workings of Major Case Squad. D.A. Ron Carver joined them. He congratulated the two detectives, and covered his role in and with MCS. When the meeting broke, Alex and Bobby were shown to their desks.
Bobby looked at the close proximity of their desks to Deakins' office. "You get the feeling he's not too sure about all this?"
Alex nodded, though her feelings included that they were more unsure about having a woman lead detective in a new department.
Bobby saw her look. He glanced down at the desks. "So, which one do you want?"
Alex shrugged. Bobby waited. She looked up at him. "Which one do you want?"
He grinned. "I prefer to have my back to the boss, and able to see who's entering the squad room."
She laughed. "Okay, I'll warn you when Deakins is approaching."
With that, Bobby began moving a mauve colored chair to her side of the desk. "Goren, what are you doing?"
He stopped and stood up. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked at her sheepishly. "They say, only real men can wear pink. I would rather not have to prove it everyday. Besides, the back of that chair is higher, and will give me better back support."
Alex smiled. "It's not pink, it's mauve, and I'll go with the back support excuse." She snorted. "The real man thing..."
He looked at her puzzled. "Mauve, what's that?"
She furrowed her brow, pointing at the chair. "It's like pink, but not quite."
Bobby bent down and continued to push her chair to her side of the desk. "That's what I said, pink." He moved his chair to his side.
Alex rolled her eyes. Taking a seat in her chair, she began going through her desk, checking the supplies. Bobby followed suit. A small pad of self-stick notes landed on his desk blotter in front of him. This is pink. Was scrawled on the top sheet. Bobby grinned.
Next, Alex checked out the coffee room. Looking in the cupboards, she sighed. It wasn't nearly as well stocked as the one in Vice. The sugar was gone, and there was barely enough creamer left to lighten a cup of coffee even a little bit.
Captain Deakins quietly stepped in the room watching her search. "If there is anything in particular that you need, just let Janet know. She purchases the supplies."
Alex jumped a little when he began speaking. Turning, she saw he had an apologetic look on his face. "Just lots of coffee, creamer, and sugar."
Deakins smiled. He poured himself a cup of coffee. Leaning against the counter, he looked at Alex. "Let me know if this doesn't work out between you and Goren."
Alex tilted her head. "It's a little early to think the worst, isn't it?" She saw his concerned look. "Captain, I can handle myself. He won't push me around."
He smiled again and nodded. "Just let me know, okay?"
Alex nodded, feeling a heaviness began filling her heart and gut. Bobby wasn't his first choice.
She walked back to her desk. Bobby looked up at her and smiled at her as she sat down. She returned his smile. Frowning slightly, he looked over his shoulder watching Deakins sitting down behind his desk. He looked back at Alex, who was trying to make herself look busy, so she didn't have to look him in the eye.
He nodded to himself. "Okay, so I wasn't his first choice. We can make this work, Alex." He spoke softly, coaxing her to look at him. She looked up, and saw him giving her his boyish grin. "At least I know where I stand. I can live with that, and build on it."
She smiled, realizing that he was right. Far better to know where you stand at the beginning than to be blind sided. "We'll prove him, and the others wrong." Bobby nodded.
As the day progressed, Alex and Bobby began familiarizing themselves with cases that had been tossed to MCS. As they spoke about a case, Bobby wrote notes. They discussed, and argued over what was in the files.
Catching some of their 'discussion', Deakins looked up from his desk and glanced at the two. He shook his head. This will never work. At one point he heard Alex give Bobby a snarky reply. Deakins smiled. Got him good with that one. He smiled even bigger when he realized that Bobby had backed off. Maybe...?
