Disclaimer: No characters related to CSI:NY, Law & Order or Law & Order: Criminal Intent are mine.
A/N: Alex's answer and DNA tests all in one chapter – Yippee ;o)
30 August 2004 – Sal's Restaurant, Brooklyn, New York
"Alex?" Bobby repeated her name, his voice coming out as a hoarse whisper.
Alex's heart was screaming at her to say right now, as soon as humanly possible; whilst her head was cautioning her it would be best to wait until the situation with Sammi and Lil was resolved. She closed her eyes, trying to make a decision. She felt the tips of Bobby's fingers brush tenderly against her cheek.
"Sweetheart?" How could a single word convey so much desperation?
Alex snapped her eyes open, looking deeply into Bobby's. He was hiding nothing from her at this moment. She could see all his love for her, his unquenchable desire for her, his respect for her as a person, his profound need for her; it seemed a million emotions swirled through his gorgeous brown eyes. There was no doubt now in Alex's mind, she knew her answer.
"As soon as we can arrange it." Her response came out so quietly that only Bobby could hear her.
Not that anyone at the table was in any doubt that Alex had agreed to move the wedding forward. It was obvious from the way Bobby grabbed his fiancée out of her chair, pulling her into his lap and kissing her as though they were the only two people in the room.
31 August 2004 – Major Case Squad, One Police Plaza, New York
Alex Eames sat at her desk, chewing nervously on the end of a biro. Bobby was currently in Deakins' office, requesting the day off on Friday for both of them. They were now getting married in under a week. With the hormones rushing through her system she was torn between laughing and crying at the thought. Her hand rubbed over her stomach. At least she would officially be Mrs Goren before Goren Junior started to show, she sighed softly to herself. She had insisted on them having a reasonable period to organise the wedding but now, with the baby on the way and the prospect of being four months pregnant by the time they'd originally planned to get married, part of her was actually quite pleased about the change in plans. Alex shook her head ruefully, she hadn't realised she could be so old-fashioned.
Things had gone well at the doctor's office that morning. Everything was fine with both her and the baby. The doctor had told them the baby would be putting in an appearance around May 10th. Bobby had, unsurprisingly, asked an extensive list of questions; everything from how best to deal with her morning sickness (even though she'd pointed out to Bobby that she knew how to deal with it) to the possible complications for both her and the baby. The doctor had been very understanding, patiently dealing with Bobby's questions and reassuring him, given that Alex's previous pregnancy had gone so well and Nathan's birth having been natural and complication free, that the risks to mother and baby this time round were minimal. Now they just had to wait until October for the ultrasound scan. Bobby, being Bobby, was already impatient for the opportunity to see the baby.
"Excuse me, Alex, your partner around anywhere?" Danny Messer, from the NYPD Crime Lab, was standing at the side of Alex's desk.
Alex was jolted from her thoughts by the simple question, feeling a little foolish at being caught daydreaming in the squad room.
"Oh, hi Danny. He's in with the captain at the moment. Those the DNA results he's waiting on?" Alex pointed at the large envelope in Danny's hand.
"Yeah, Mack said to give them to Goren directly. Don't leave 'em lying around on his desk, don't risk anyone else seein' 'em. A duplicate set have been couriered over to the 2-7 for Briscoe and Green. Mack seems to have a real panic on over a couple of DNA comparisons. He had me rush them through the system, no names, code numbers only on all three samples. He filled the names in on the report himself." Danny grinned at Alex. "I didn't know you guys were doubling up on cases with Homicide these days. Can't pick up enough cases of your own?"
'Nice try, Messer, but no cigar.' Alex knew Danny's curiosity must be peaked by Mack's secrecy regarding the identity of the contributors for the comparisons but she wasn't about to fill him in on the details. The young man could certainly be charming when he wanted to be but Alex was used to dealing with charming men.
"You could just leave them with me, Danny." Alex offered.
"And have to go back and have Mack ask me if I'd actually handed them to Goren. No thanks, Alex." Danny seated himself in Bobby's chair, making himself comfortable.
He sat chatting with Alex for a while, then he nearly jumped out of his skin as someone spoke behind him without warning.
"You planning on changing jobs Messer, or can I have my desk back now?"
'Shit, how does he do that?' Danny thought as he stood up. He was always surprised that a man as big as Bobby Goren could move so quietly.
"Hi, Detective Goren. Mack asked me to bring these down for ya." Danny held out the envelope, surprised to see a look of apprehension settle on Goren's face.
"Thanks, Messer." Goren took the envelope from the younger man. "Tell Mack I appreciate it."
"You're not gonna tell me what this is about are ya?" Danny looked from Goren to Eames and back again.
"No." The partners replied at the same time.
Danny couldn't contain his chuckle, he hadn't expected any other answer. "Well, I guess I'll be getting back to the lab then."
"See ya, Danny." Alex called after the departing forensics expert.
Bobby simply sat in his chair, silently staring at the envelope in his hands.
"Bobby, you've gotta open it sometime. It's not gonna bite ya, whatever the results are." She managed to keep her tone teasing, despite the butterflies in her stomach.
Goren had been sitting, staring at the results envelope for nearly half an hour and the suspense was killing Eames.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Eames." He smiled at her sadly.
Alex stood up and walked round their desks. She gently gripped his arm, tugging lightly. His body responded to her automatically and, without even thinking about it he stood, allowing her to guide him to the conference room they regularly used. She got him settled in one of the chairs, envelope on the table in front of him.
"Wait here. You're gonna need coffee, either way." Alex turned and left the room.
Moments later she returned and placed a cup of coffee next to the envelope and a cup of herbal tea on the table beside Bobby. She turned back, closing the door and shutting the blinds to give them privacy. She sat down in the chair next to his, clasping the cup of herbal tea between her hands to try and stop the shaking in them.
"You're sure about doing this here?" Bobby asked, not turning to look at her.
"Would you rather we told Deakins the results or have Homicide report them to him officially?"
He picked up the envelope, taking his knife out of his pocket he slit the envelope carefully along the sealed edge. He continued to stare at the envelope, making no move to take out the sheets of paper it contained.
"Eames, I … I can't do this." He turned towards her, offering the envelope to her, his own hands shaking.
"You're sure you want me to read them?" She took the envelope from his hand.
He nodded, his eyes locked on her face, his expression one of mute pleading.
He wasn't even sure which way he wanted the results to turn out, there hadn't really been time for him to sort through his emotional response to Lil's assertion regarding her daughter's paternity. His ever-active mind started to turn the possibilities over once more. If Sammi wasn't his child then the possible complications this could cause in his relationship with Alex would simply not exist. On the other hand Sammi deserved to have at least one biological parent who gave a damn about her and Lil didn't seem to. With Jeff out of the equation and Michael dead, if he wasn't her father the child would continue to be raised mostly by her grandparents, who obviously loved her dearly but were definitely not getting any younger. That was until her indifferent mother chose to change the arrangements currently in place or Nicky and Leah could no longer cope with the strain of raising such an active child. No one would be in a position to stop Lil from doing whatever she liked with Sammi, if she chose she could cut the child off from her family entirely. The idea of Sammi, who was obviously a bright and intelligent child, being in the sole care of her shallow, intellectually narrow-minded mother, did not sit well with Bobby at all.
Alex's gasp drew him back out of his mind's wanderings.
"Oh God." Alex put the papers on the table, turned and took both his hands in hers. As they looked into each other's eyes they could both see the turmoil within. "She's yours, Bobby. Sammi's your daughter."
A/N: I know some of you are going to hate me for making Sammi Bobby's child – but bear with me – please :o)