Thought Police

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This story is on an AU track.

Chapter 11: New Old Faces

"Lieutenant Eames? There's someone here looking for you. Front desk."

She turned, and then, for the first time in hours, a genuine smile crossed her face. "Bobby!"

"Plus one," he added, matching her smile as he held up the car seat he was carrying. "I told you I might have trouble finding a babysitter."

"That's no problem." She reached out her arms to take the baby from him. "She'll be fine here. Won't you, darling?" she cooed to the baby, who giggled in response, kicking her little legs into the air.

"So," Bobby asked, quickly growing serious, "what's the big emergency?"

"Our kidnappers have stepped up their tactics," she said grimly. "They grabbed a third agent in broad daylight. Didn't even bother trying to misdirect us this time. A junior agent was nearly killed in the process."

He nodded, absorbing the information in his customary silent way. "Where do you need me?"

"Zach's already working on a profile with a consultant from California. Well, and another consultant from Texas, when he deigns to assist with the investigation. See if you can help with that, okay? Oh, and just so you know, the consultant - the one who's actually working - the agent who was taken is his brother. He's trying to work through it, but he's pretty rattled."

"Understood."

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Bobby was a man well-versed in languages, but it took even him a moment to realize that the curly-haired stranger was speaking English. Half the words that came out of his mouth Bobby barely recognized, and even the familiar words were being employed in unfamiliar ways.

He cleared his throat softly, causing Zach and the stranger to turn abruptly. The detective's face melted to a smile as he recognized the newcomer. "Bobby! Alex called you in on this too?"

He nodded. "She thought you might be able to use my help. I think she's at the point of pulling in anything she can think of."

"She's right," Zach replied. "This is not a time to turn down help. Charlie Eppes, meet Bobby Goren, a former Major Case detective with a knack for analyzing people."

"Nice to meet you." Bobby shook the smaller man's hand warmly. "You mind catching me up on what you're working on - preferably in English?" he added. "I stood there for a full minute and I still have no idea what you said."

Zach laughed. "Charlie's a mathematician, they have their own language. Don't worry, once he finds a conclusion he thinks we need to know, he'll explain. In our language."

"In that case, carry on and I apologize for the interruption." Bobby turned to Zach as Charlie buried himself once again in the math. "Alex said you had another consultant working on this?"

"I'm starting to feel outnumbered," Zach joked, nodding. "Yes, we do. Sometimes, at least. Jane is, well, a little different. I don't know his whole history, but I've parsed out a few tidbits. He doesn't have any kind of law enforcement training. If I had to guess, I don't think he ever intended to end up doing this kind of work, though he's been doing it long enough that he's used to it. He knows on some level what the rules are, he's just decided which ones he does and doesn't follow and that's that."

"No wonder Alex is frustrated."

"Yeah, that personality clash is a disaster waiting to happen. Best thing anyone can do is to keep them separated as much as possible."

"And wait for the explosion."

"Well...yeah, that too."

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"She's beautiful," Lisbon commented, looking fondly at Sarah where she lay in Alex's arms. "How old?"

"Six months." Alex shifted the baby, allowing her to sit up a bit more.

"Really?" Lisbon asked, and then blushed. "I'm sorry, that was probably insensitive. She's just...smaller than I would have expected."

"It's okay. And yeah, she is small. She was a preemie; it'll be awhile before she catches up." She paused a moment. "Have you and Jane been considering..."

Lisbon blushed an even deeper red then. "Okay, what gave it away?"

"You keep resting your hands on your stomach," she said with a smile. "I used to do that constantly when I was pregnant. That plus the fact that while everyone else was guzzling their coffee, you not only didn't touch yours, you looked at it like it was about to attack you."

"It was!" she protested. "I thought I was about to throw up from the smell."

Alex grimaced in sympathy. "Oh, I remember those days well."

"Was it worth it?"

She smiled down at Sarah. "Worth it and a half."

"Do me one favor," Lisbon added after a moment. "No one else knows - except Patrick, of course. I understand if you want to keep me out of danger, but if you could at least be subtle about it..."

Alex smiled. "Consider it done."

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Zach's phone rang loudly, startling him, Bobby, and Charlie out of the analysis that they had quite literally been working on all night. "You have to take that?" the mathematician queried.

The detective glanced down at his display and grimaced. "Yeah, I'm afraid I do. Keep working, I'll be back in a minute." He put the device to his ear. "Cecelia?"

"Zach?" The familiar voice was fast with panic. "Zach, thank god. I was afraid I wouldn't get you."

He drew a deep breath, forcing himself not to give in to the same panic he could clearly hear in her voice. "Celia, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Oh, oh, it's not Andrea," she said quickly, and he let out a breath of pure relief. "She's fine, still at school. It's me. There's been an incident."

No longer feeling the surge of panic, Zach was just able to make out the sound of sirens in the background. "Incident? What happened?"

"Um, some kind of shooting, I think. I heard shots, anyway."

"My God. You weren't hit, were you?"

She gave what might have been a pained laugh. "Not exactly. What happened was, well, we heard the shots, and then everyone started running, and I sort of ended up falling down some stairs."

"Sort of," he repeated, feeling a desire to laugh despite the serious situation. The young woman's levity was contagious. "Are you all right?"

"Broke my arm," she replied matter-of-factly. "I'll be fine, but I probably won't be able to pick up Andrea today. God only knows how long I'm going to be stuck in Emergency."

"Do what you need to," he replied immediately. "Take care of yourself. I'll worry about Andrea. Keep me posted."

"Who was that?" Bobby asked as Zach hung up the phone.

"My daughter's nanny," he replied. "Looks like I'll need to come up with some kind of alternate arrangement. But not now. What was it you were trying to show me?"

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"Alex!" Zach called after the Lieutenant. "Do you have a minute?"

She glanced down at her watch. "One, literally. I'm on my way to the airport with Colby to pick up Don's family."

"I won't keep you," he assured her quickly. "I just...I need a really big favor."

She paused in the middle of putting on her coat, turning to him with a look of concern. Zach hardly ever asked for anything. "What is it?"

"I've got a massive childcare snafu," he said bluntly. "I've been trying to find an alternative but right now I'm out of options. Would it be okay if I brought Andrea here for a while until I can find someone to watch her? I've done it before, she won't be any trouble."

Her face softened as she looked at him. "Of course you can, Zach."

He started slightly, appearing surprised, if pleasantly so. "Really? That easy?"

She smiled kindly. "Zach, I'm a parent too. I understand that things sometimes happen that we can't plan for. And even more so for you, being a single parent. Sure, bring here here if you need to. But," she added firmly, "take Serena or someone with you when you go to pick her up. I can't trust that even personal errands are safe anymore."

He nodded. "Understood."

Of course I had to bring Bobby into the story as more than a sideline character. Is anyone surprised?

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