Chapter 9

On the one hand, he was disgusted with his broken hand, and how it had put a halt to their romantic activities. On the other, he was sitting in his bed watching a movie with his arm around Eames, and that was…nice.

She had changed into one of his t-shirts, and it hung long and loose on her tiny frame. He could feel the heat of her bare legs against his, and that was a sensation he was enjoying, as well. He still rested his left elbow on his knee, still had his casted hand elevated. He kept dozing off, and the weight of the cast caused his hand to fall and wake him.

Eames caught his hand this time, and he woke to find her face inches from his, her eyes searching his. "You're tired," she said.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"How's your hand?"

"Better."

She leaned her body forward, freeing his right hand from around her shoulders. "Lie down, Bobby. Get some sleep." She must have seen the disappointment on his face, because she spoke again. "I'll stay right here."

He gave her a hint of a smile, then obediently scooted down into the covers until he was flat on his back. He rested his broken hand over his chest and after she got comfortable sitting up against the headrest, with a smile he snuck his right hand over to her thigh.

Alex smiled, too. She liked the way his hand felt against her skin. "Good night, Bobby," she whispered.

"G'night," he mumbled.


It wasn't even 4 a.m. when he woke, a little too early to call it a morning salute. Her hand was resting against his abdomen, and it was all he could do not to turn and pull her close, devouring her with kisses.

Instead, Bobby lay perfectly still, counting between each gentle breath she exhaled, registering the tiny twitches of her fingers against his stomach. Never had he dreamed he would find himself this close to Eames, this intimate with her.

She sighed and turned onto her back, her right hand lying relaxed on the pillow beside her face. He turned to his side, leaving the rough cast to rest against his hip, and caressed her with his eyes. Even with his shirt covering her, he could easily make out the shape of her breasts, soft and relaxed beneath the fabric.

Finally, Bobby got out of bed to take care of morning necessities. He swallowed a few ibuprophin while he was at it, hoping to ward off the throbbing that was already starting beneath the plaster. He retrieved his t-shirt off the floor, and saw that she had rolled to her side again. Bobby paused, studying her from this new perspective. Without thinking, he reached out and petted her hair.

Alex's eyes opened, and she sat up quickly, blinking away sleep. "What are you doing?" she asked, not quite fully alert.

"S-sorry," Bobby said, withdrawing his hand.

"No, wait," she said, reaching out for his hand. She was remembering now. Something was different now. Something had changed, yesterday… last night. Bobby hesitantly gave her his hand. Alex gave him an apologetic smile. "Good morning," she said.

Bobby smiled and sat down on the mattress, his feet still on the floor. "Morning," he replied.

She ran one hand along his arm, stopping at his cast. "How's your hand?"

"It's okay," he said with a shrug.

Alex got onto her knees and moved closer to him. She carefully placed her arms on his shoulders. "Let's try this again," she said. Reaching out, she touched her lips to his. "Good morning," she said, drawing back from the kiss.

Now he grinned. He eased closer to her and offered her another, longer kiss. "Good morning," he said.

She ran her hand along his thick chest hair. They kissed again, and Bobby dropped the shirt back on the floor. His hand slid gently up her side and just touched the swell of her breast. Alex moaned and the kiss lingered on, parting long enough only for each of them to draw a breath.

His right hand continued to explore, the cotton of the shirt bunching up and falling away with the motions. Her own hands freed themselves from his chest hair and eased around his ribcage until she was holding tightly to his back.

Slowly, his hands moved, encircling her. She felt the cast, but it did not hurt. Their lips separated, and Bobby pressed his forehead against hers. For a moment, neither had words.

"I… I haven't made the coffee yet," he said.

Alex smiled, and then laughed. "Who cares?" She said, kissing him deeply. When they broke apart again, he was smiling too.

They made out a while longer, but every time Bobby tried to move things along, he tried with his left and was stopped by the cast. He became more and more frustrated, and finally pulled away from her. Not wanting to give her the wrong idea, he cupped her face in the palm of his right hand and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before he stood and walked two steps away.

"I'll start some breakfast," he said, without looking at her. Then he walked out of the room.

Alex was no fool. She knew exactly why he stopped, exactly what was bothering him. With a heavy sigh, she leaned back in the bed and tried to put out the fire that had been building inside her.


"Damn it smells good in here," Logan said, as Alex let him into Bobby's apartment. "Did I miss breakfast?"

"Sit down," Bobby said. "I'll get you a plate."

His original intention had been to make omelets, but again, without the use of his left hand, he couldn't pull it off. Instead, he and Alex had eaten scrambled eggs with vegetables mixed in. He quickly made Logan a batch of the same.

When Bobby set the plate in front of him, Mike caught him by the cast and whistled. "It's really true," he muttered, before letting go.

"I… uh… I'm sorry about your tooth, Mike."

Mike ran his tongue along his gums. "No hard feelings. Besides, I'm thinking you got the worst end of that deal, after all."

"It's your hard head," said Eames. "Anybody else's jaw would have given before Goren's hand."

They chuckled, then Goren asked, "How is your head?"

Mike reached up, touching the stitches that were hidden by his hair. "Pretty good. I finally woke up without a headache today." He looked up at Goren then, pure gratitude in his eyes, but he said nothing. He would be indebted to Goren forever. He had saved his life.


A/N Thanks to everyone who has been readingand reviewing! At this point, a few reviews would do a lot to get me kick-started again. Thanks!