A/N: I think I posted the Nicole chapter too quickly after the Psycho Babble chapter. People may have missed it. Go back and read it, if you didn't! I'm proud of it.

//

Alex walks in on Bobby in the empty room. His head is cradled in one hand, and the other is clenching his thigh so tightly she can see the whiteness in his knuckles. He is shaking a little. She walks over to him, and places a hand on his shoulder, mildly pleased when he doesn't shrug it off.

"We've gotta stop meeting like this," she murmers. He looks up at her, his face filled with nameless emotions. He grasps her hand, and pulls her towards him. Their lips meet, and she can feel sadness, and gratefulness both in the kiss.

"Nicole?" He asks, when they finally separate.

"It's a toss-up," Eames says. "Life in prison, or the chair."

"Why is the death penalty on the table?" Asks Bobby, startled.

"Because the ADA wants to imply that Nicole orchestrated your kidnapping," Alex says. "That plus the other countless murders committed in cold blood."

"But I don't—" Bobby's voice trails off, and he shrugs out of her grasp, to go stand by the wall, his hands in his pockets.

"You don't think she had a hand in it?" Alex asks.

"I don't know," Bobby mutters. "And I don't want to know. If she goes down for the murders, so be it. But I don't want her to die because an overzealous ADA is drawing conclusions."

"Bobby," Alex sits down at the table, shaking her head. "Your brain never ceases to amaze me. After all she's done to you…you don't want her punished on your account."

"No," says Bobby flatly. "I don't want any more people punished on my account."

//

Alex takes a moment to think this through, and then gives a small smile, her mind leaving the touchy subject of Bobby's guilt.

"Jesus, Bobby," she moans, "you know my heart nearly dropped out of my chest when you kissed her." Bobby grins at her, and it is so like his old, familiar grin that Alex's stomach gives a little flutter. God, does she want her Bobby back. Whole. With that old cockiness. She wants to kneel with him at a crime scene and listen to him spout new, bizarre wisdoms to her. She wouldn't even mind if he flirts with waitresses.

"There are all sorts of ways of gaining control during an interrogation, Eames," he says. They both laugh, and, briefly, the old Bobby does come back. His heaad tilts and he peers at her, a little light dancing in his eyes.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Alex prompts, tugging at Bobby's arm. "Let's leave before Nicole takes her long walk."

//

As they walk through the hallway of One PP, Eames does catch a glimpse of Nicole being taken to the cells. Bobby is looking elsewhere, taking in the familiar pathways of his workplace, probably longing to sit in one of the rooms and paste up pictures, connections, draw out the inner workings of his incredible mind. Nicole is looking directly at him, ignoring Eames. Her gaze is penetrative, invasive. Alex tenses up, but Bobby, lost in thought, doesn't notice.

When they reach the elevator, Alex notices that Bobby's shoulders slump a little.

"What is it?" She asks.

"Just thinking about what the hell I'm going to say to Olivet tomorrow." He says, sounding slightly mournful at the thought.

"Tell her that you vanquished the enemy," Eames says, half joking.

"Did I?" Bobby asks, almost to himself.

"Didn't you?" Eames asks. "Didn't you slay your white whale?"

"Well," says Bobby. "For Ahab, the white whale was partly himself."

They ride the rest of the way in silence.

//

Comments, folks! I'm a poor out of work graphic designer/humor writer. Comments are like food stamps! I live off them!