Bobby swallowed the shot in one gulp. It had been a long two months. He had finally been admitted back to work, and for the last week had been on active duty. Deakins had kept him partnered with Alex for her last week, and the atmosphere between them had been tense. Alex had been a clinical, professional iceberg. Nothing had penetrated that glacial façade, and Bobby had been just as forbidding himself. He had followed leads without notifying her. He had ignored her presence whenever she was in the same room as him. When she spoke to him he answered with monosyllabic, disparaging remarks. He knew that he had been treating her unfairly, but he wanted to lash out and hurt her as deeply as she had hurt him; was still hurting him. Nothing had stung until the day she had turned away from yet another smartass comment of his and he had called her an unfeeling bitch. For just a moment he had been glad to have finally wounded her. Her whole body had seemed to crumble, and when she turned around her unmasked eyes had been clouded over with something dark and horrible. He was immediately ashamed of himself, but could think of no way to erase the injury he had just caused. So he had left her standing there, bleeding, and walked away. Just like that.

Now it was her turn to walk away. Tomorrow she would be gone forever, and he still couldn't really believe it. That she was choosing to uproot her life; to leave her family and relocate to a city where she didn't know a living soul, just because he wouldn't be there, hurt like nothing else ever had. He slammed his empty scotch glass onto the bar in disgust, not for the first time wondering how they had deteriorated from a healthy partnership and friendship to something so poisonous and destructive so fast.

~x~

Alex awoke to an incessant pounding. Pulling on her nightgown, she switched on the lights and made her way to the door. "All right, all right," she called, as the pounding continued. Looking through the peephole she saw that it was Bobby and unchained the door. He was standing there unshaven and ruffled, with a determined look on his face.

"You can't go to Boston."

Alex wrinkled her nose and asked suspiciously, "Are you drunk?"

He shook his head impatiently. "No, I'm stone cold sober. You can't go to Boston."

"It's done. I leave in four hours."

"You can't leave."

"I can and I am."

"Alex, please – "

"No, Bobby, enough. We've said all we have to say, and the past two months has only reiterated the fact that I've made the right decision."

He wasn't going to let her go so easily so he grabbed her by the shoulders to try and make her understand. "I need you, Alex. You're the only one who is able to put up with me for more than five minutes. You don't. . . you don't see what everyone else sees when they look at me. You see something more, and I. . . need that."

Her heart screamed for her to give him one last chance but she quashed its longing mercilessly. Her heart didn't know what was best for her. Her heart actually thought they could live happily ever after, but her head knew the cold harsh truth of reality. "You might need me, but I don't need you."

There was silence as he digested what she had said. "You're lying."

"I don't think so," she said softly, and winced as he let go of her arms and took a step back. She felt like crying. If he didn't leave soon, she would start crying. She was being weak and pathetic, and if there was one thing she had always prided herself on it was her strength.

"It's late and I need to get an early start. I think you should go." She held the door open for him.

"I can't let you leave, Alex," he said softly.

"Goodbye, Bobby." She walked back into her bedroom, leaving him standing in the open doorway. She sat on the bed and waited for the sound of the door closing, and when she heard the click the tears did come. They came hard and fast, and for once she didn't think about them being a weakness, she just welcomed the release they allowed.

Feeling so miserable, she didn't notice the shadowy figure that had entered the room. It wasn't until he spoke that she realised that she was not alone.

"Alex?"

Alex looked up to find Bobby standing over her. There was a time when she would rather have died than let him see her crying, but she was past caring. So what if he thought less of her. What did it matter now?

He crouched down in front of her. "I . . .I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Alex shook her head. "You didn't," she denied, even though she was aware how ridiculous it sounded.

"Then what are these?" he said, and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"It doesn't matter anymore," she said resignedly.

"Yes, it does. If something has upset you, I want to know what it is." He paused, brown eyes spilling over with compassion. "Tell me why you're running."