Chapter 21

He heard her sigh and was instantly alert. Bobby stretched out his hand, reaching for his crutches. "Alex?" He said as he scrambled to get to his feet. He moved clumsily, but he managed not to fall. Bobby was at her side in two strokes with the crutches. "Alex?" he repeated.

She opened her eyes and looked around, then settled on his face. "Where? Hospital?"

He nodded.

"How'd I get here?"

He grinned at her. "Long story. I had to call an ambulance." He brushed her hair back away from her eyes. "It's good you're awake," he said. "It means you're getting better." He took her hand in his. "How are you feeling?"

"I have a headache," she complained. "I'm thirsty, too. Can I have a drink?"

He hobbled to the pitcher on the table and poured some water into a cup. Then he found a straw to put in it and helped her get a drink.

"Bobby, your leg," she said quietly.

"I'm doing fine."

Two days later, Lewis drove them home. Alex got the door, and Bobby limped in on his crutches, then Lewis followed, carrying a bag of items from the hospital.

"Lewis, stay for dinner. I'll get a pizza."

"Got a beer to go with that pizza?" He asked.

"Sure."

"Slow and easy, Alex," Bobby told her as he watched her settle in on the couch.

She waved a hand in the air, dismissing him. Bobby pulled his phone out of his pocket and called for pizza. Then he settled in beside Alex on the couch, easily dropping an arm around her. "I've been waiting a long time to do that," he said, smiling at her.

Lewis flopped into the recliner. "I hope you two are done with all this drama. You're wearing me out," he complained. "How about let's have a nice seven or eight months of boring-ness and then have a wedding, all right? I'll even be your best man."

Bobby grinned at Alex. "I didn't even have to ask him."

"It's a deal, Lewis," Alex called out. Her phone rang. She couldn't reach it, so Lewis found it in her coat pocket on the other side of the room. He handed it to her and headed for the fridge.

"Eames," she said. "Hey Mike. Yeah, c'mon over. We're getting a pizza."

"Tell him to pick up some beer," Lewis called, "You're almost out."

"Mike, get us some beer, okay? Thanks."

In an hour, the four friends were sharing a pizza and a few laughs. "Make sure you invite Ed to the wedding," Mike said. "Him and Meredith."

"Meredith?" Alex asked. "Who's Meredith?"

Logan got a grin a mile wide. "Oh, you don't know. Meredith went to China with him. They've had a thing going, ever since."

"Oh, this I gotta hear," Alex said. She tossed her plate on the coffee table and leaned against Bobby's chest.

"Meredith Shu works with the gang unit. She speaks fluent Chinese, so she got sent over to help out Green and Daniels when they were chasing down the crew from the Bellflower. I guess they had a little pleasure on their business trip."

"Anyway, the Chinese authorities kept most of the crewmen when the treasure ship pulled into Shanghai. I guess they'd sold something originally owned by China and they shouldn't have. We extradited three, Hui and Jin Chang and Kenny Song."

"Kenny's working with the Feds, so his people got him out. Jin Chang confessed to killing Lin, his Dad's going to get him a good lawyer and the DA's office is going easy on him since they saved your life, Bobby." Logan drank a swig of his beer. "Anyway, back to Ed and Meredith…"

Bobby drank his beer, the first he'd had since his release from the hospital. He leaned his head down and kissed the crown of Alex's head. She snuggled a little closer. Even now, she responded to his every move. He tuned in to Logan's story and was simply happy. He had his treasure, right here in this room.

THE END

A/N Thanks so much for reading. I'd love to hear what you thought of it, especially the stuff you liked!