It was in the wee hours of Thursday morning when the soft creak of footsteps sounded through Bobby's apartment. He stirred lightly in his bed, hovering between sleep and consciousness as he half-listened for what had made the noise.
There it was again. The fog was slowly lifting from his mind as he lay there, and he strained to hear the muffled sounds coming from the hallway.
Creak.
The door to his bedroom was sliding slowly open. Whoever was there was doing their best not to disturb him, but it was too late. He was now fully awake and listening intently to everything that was going on.
For a moment, he considered reaching for the gun that was hidden under the corner of the mattress. Before he could make a move, however, the door had opened fully and he could see someone standing there, silhouetted against the light from the hallway. A petite figure with shoulder-length hair…
"Eames?" he whispered into the half-darkness.
The figure stepped forward into the dimly lit bedroom and the lamppost outside the window illuminated her. In an instant, his suspicions were confirmed as his eyes traveled to the face he knew so well. Pulling the sheets off of himself, he sat up to face her, his feet resting on the carpet next to the bed.
Alex gave him a small smile. "Hi," she said simply. Her voice was so quiet that it barely made it across the room. She crossed the room to stand next to his bed. "I didn't mean to wake you up, but I wanted…" She trailed off for a moment. He could see her eyes shining with both emotion and the glow of the streetlamp. "I wanted to see you." She gave him a look of something like pleading. The expression on her face told him that she didn't know what else to say.
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Gently holding her wrist, he pulled her down to sit next to him on the bed. She leaned onto his shoulder and he placed an arm around her waist, resting his hand in the curve of her hip. He could feel the warmth of her tears on the bare skin of his arm mingling with the softness of her hair. He could tell that she didn't need him to say anything, so he stayed silent and simply held her while she cried.
He wanted to sit there and hold her for the rest of his life, to comfort her and dry her tears. He wanted to preserve this feeling forever, the joy that she had come back, that she had returned to him, that she needed him. He couldn't think of anything that could make him happier than simply knowing that she loved him too. He was content to simply hold her while she cried what seemed like every drop of water in her body.
After a while, her crying started to gradually subside until she had stopped altogether. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, wiping the last remnants of tears off of her face. She lifted her head to look at him through red-rimmed eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. He nodded, still not saying anything. "No one's held me like that for a long time," she said quietly, giving him a weak smile. She planted a small kiss on his cheek.
She sniffed again, trying to collect herself further before she continued talking. Lowering her head, she shifted her gaze down to the floor. "I came here tonight because I…I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," she finished quickly.
He shot her a confused look. "For what?"
"For…abandoning you. You told me you loved me and I ran away." She looked back up at his face, staring him straight in the eye. "I'm so sorry." The shine had returned to her eyes and she looked ready to cry again.
He kissed her forehead softly. "You have nothing to apologize for," he whispered into her ear. Leaning down to catch her gaze, he smiled at her again. This seemed to cheer her up; the tears that had started to form in her eyes were now gone.
He pulled her into him and hugged her tightly. He felt her arms snake around his waist, her warm palms coming to rest on his back. The desire to hold on to her forever struck him again. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to never release her, but he relented after a few moments and let her pull herself away from him.
He smiled softly at her, letting her know without words that they were okay. His arm was still stretched across her back, his left hand coming to rest on the curve of her hip. He felt a distinct air of comfort and intimacy about the whole situation and the ease with which he could touch her. It was more right than anything he had ever felt before.
"Bobby?" Alex said quietly. Her voice was much less timid now. "Can I ask you something?"
He gave her another gentle grin. "Anything."
"When did you fall in love with me?"
He chuckled softly. "I could tell you that it was the first moment I saw you, but I'd be lying. Besides, the truth is a much better story."
He paused for a moment as he remembered. "It was the day that you found out about my mother. Most people don't know how to react to that kind of information, but you…you just stood by me. It didn't scare you off. You just supported me, and…" He trailed off for a moment before continuing. "And I just knew."
She was beaming at him. She was so beautiful when she smiled. For the third time that night, he felt like holding her until all the time in the world had run out. It didn't matter that it was 3:24 in the morning. It didn't matter that they both needed to get some sleep. It didn't matter that they would have to go back to work all too soon. It didn't even matter that he would eventually have to let her go. The warmth of her skin against his was more than enough to make him forget everything else.
For now, all he needed was this.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed! A special thank you to my beta and everyone who was so very patient while I took forever to update. :)