First Kiss 54

Alex walked down the sidewalk, headed for the throng of investigators pow-wowing outside the stone steps. She could see Logan's head clearly; he stood a head taller than most of the officers present. As she walked, she couldn't help but feel the absence at her side.

The 1-6 had called in Bobby to help out on a case. Nobody wanted Major Case to take it over, and so Ross told Bobby to go join them for a week or two, see what turned up. Today was the start of the third week.

Alex had been filling in, playing third wheel to all the other partnerships in the squad. She had been of help to them, and a couple of cases closed more quickly with the extra manpower to move things along, but it wasn't the same as spearheading an investigation. Working with any of the detectives in Major Case was different than working with Bobby. She'd grown fond of his quirkiness.

Logan spotted her and parted the crowd to make room for her to join them. "Thanks for coming, Eames," he said. He introduced her to the group, though she already knew most of them. She listened while the CSU guys updated the detectives on what they had so far. Mike asked Eames to go back in with him, to see if they might have missed anything.


That afternoon, as Alex worked on some paperwork, she looked over at Bobby's desk again. She wondered for a moment if this was, maybe, how he'd felt when she'd been gone on maternity leave. Of course, he'd been assigned a temporary partner, so it was certainly different in some ways. She stared at his barren desk. The emptiness, that was probably the same.

She'd heard through the grapevine that he'd really made his partner uncomfortable with all the comments about how "Eames" did things. Alex had stopped herself from doing just that with Logan today.

She checked the clock: a quarter to six. Alex got out her phone and dialed him, wondering if he would be too busy even to pick up. She left a message on his voicemail, inviting him to meet her at Hennesey's for dinner and a drink, if he was free.


Alex nibbled around the edges of her sandwich, still keenly aware of his absence. She sat alone in a booth, and took note of the extra roll of silverware unclaimed on the table top. For the first time, she saw how large the opposite seat was without him in it.

"Still got a place for me?" he asked, walking up behind her.

She almost jumped up and hugged him. Instead, she beamed at him and nodded her head in the direction of the empty seat. "Sure do," she replied. "How's the case?" she asked before the waitress scurried over to take his order.

"Solved, wrapped up, over and out," he said, with great relief. "We did paperwork all day today."

"Sounds like you're glad to be out of there."

His eyes met hers. "They're good guys, but… they… they didn't understand. You know, like y-you do." He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. "I felt like I had to explain everything I did, everything I wanted to do."

His drink arrived, and he took a swallow. "How about you?" he asked.

Alex's smile was half-hearted. "A little boring, really. I tagged along here and there, helped out the others." She picked up her sandwich. "I missed you," she admitted before taking a hefty bite.

His food arrived, and he hid his grin by digging in quickly.

"I guess I'm just…used to… this," she added, motioning back and forth between them.

They quickly settled into easy conversation. Being together was comfortable for both of them. They drank a toast to their reunion and Bobby asked her to join him for a dance. The dance floor was across the bar, dark except for the swirling of colored lights. It was already packed. Bobby held her hand until they found a clear spot to dance. They moved to the heavy bass of the song and laughed. As the thumping faded, the DJ started a ballad playing. Most of the crowd exited the floor, taking it as an opportunity to get a breather.

Because Alex was small, she got bumped and turned by the people walking by. She was pleasantly surprised when her back landed against Bobby's chest. He placed his arms around her, and lowered his head to hers, cheek against cheek.

The corner of his mouth eased against the corner of hers. She rotated, turning into the kiss, taking more of his lips into her mouth with each nip. She felt the tips of his fingers dipping into her back pockets, pressing her body closer to his. Alex responded by counting his vertebrae with her fingertips, inching downward until she smoothed her hands on his backside.

The kissing stopped, and they nuzzled each other, touching lips against skin only for the pleasure of the tingle, the music encouraging their slow affections.

Alex smiled. It was like that first meal after a long and difficult fast.