Disclaimer: Since I can't claim them and I can't buy them on eBay I guess they aren't mine.
Rating: PG
Category: Angst, Drama
Spoilers: None
Author: Traci traci_ann@yahoo.com
Summary: Alex's good mood goes bad fast when they are assigned a murder case in which the victim was the mayor's son-in-law and things take a near deadly turn.
Author's Notes: While this is not a song-fic I have to admit it was inspired solely by the title of Lonestar's "One More Day With You". I think it's Lonestar. Anyway… this is not really a case per se either…. just an angst fic that has small references to a case.
Thanks to Tracy for looking over it for me once again!!
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Just One More Day************************
Detective Robert 'Bobby' Goren paced the waiting room floor, occasionally wiping tears a way. "It should have been me," he muttered over and over again.
"And you think it would have been any easier on her if it had been you?" Captain James Deakins asked. Though he would never admit it verbally, Goren and his partner Alexandra 'Alex' Eames were his favorite team. To lose one of them… "She has the best surgeons working on her."
Goren sighed and stopped. "Why did she do it?"
**************************
Earlier that day….
Alex smiled brightly at him when she walked into work.
"Well, you certainly look like the cat that ate the canary," Goren commented.
"Not the canary, just the best cinnamon roll I've ever had." She placed a brown bag on his desk. "And I even brought one for you."
Shaking his head, he chuckled. "Thanks." He continued to watch her as she sat at her desk across from him and settled in for the morning. "What has you in such a good mood today?" he finally asked.
Her brown eyes met his. "Nothing really. Spring?"
"Why, Alexandra Eames, are you in love?"
"WHAT?"
"Well, you have all the signs. Upbeat mood. Doing… strange things like bringing your partner breakfast. Smiling non-stop…"
She leaned forward a bit so only he could hear. "I'm not in love. I'm not even dating anyone but you know that."
He shrugged. "Just an observation."
"If you don't stop observing me I'll take that breakfast right back from you."
Laughing, he opened the bag and sniffed. "Oh no you won't. It's mine now."
Alex shook her head and turned on her computer. "Did you finish that report on the Hothel case?"
"Umph," he mumbled over a big bite of cinnamon roll. "It's…"
She looked at him and rolled her eyes. "You can swallow first."
Sheepishly he glanced at her and continued sifting through a small stack of files, pulling one free. "Here it is."
Deakins walked over to them and dropped a new file in front of Eames. "Hope you weren't having too nice of a day."
She opened it while Goren shoved the rest of his breakfast back in the bag.
"The Mayor's son-in-law?" she asked handing the file over to her partner.
"He's been involved with shady dealings in the past," Deakins offered.
Goren read through the report. "It says here he's been arrested for… drugs and… extortion?"
"The mayor's daughter is a bit of a rebel. She's also our main suspect too." He left the two detectives.
"Well, so much for my good day," Eames mumbled, gathering up a few items to take with her.
Goren smiled at her. "I'm sure there'll be more." His hand rested on her lower back as he led her to the elevator.
******************************
Sitting with his wrists resting on his knees, Goren stared down at the worn hospital floor. "Have they found him yet?"
Deakins shook his head. "Carver pushed an arrest warrant through so when they do…"
"I owe it to Alex to be out there finding this guy," Goren whispered.
"She'll need you to be here when she gets out of surgery. Don't do this to yourself, Bobby."
Slowly his lifted his head. "How can I not? That bullet was meant for me."
********************************
"No wonder the mayor never wanted his family life made public," Alex commented as she and Goren walked into the home of the mayor's daughter and now deceased son-in-law.
The living room was littered with empty beer bottles and crushed cans.
"I'll take the bedroom," Goren said.
Alex looked around then headed towards the bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet above the sink, she called out, "They were still using." Carefully she removed and bagged needles and tiny bags of what appeared to be cocaine before joining Goren in his search of the bedroom.
He held up a large bag of marijuana. "They sure weren't into keeping it a secret."
"At the very least we'll be able to keep the daughter on drug possession charges for awhile." She turned back to the doorway when something in a nearby mirror caught her attention. With no time to think, she pushed Goren.
"Alex, what the…?" He heard a gun go off and reached for his, aiming it at the window where the shot had come from. Running over to it, he looked out but saw nothing. "He got aw…" His blood ran cold. "Alex?" His breathing quickened. "Alex!" Kneeling beside the unconscious form of his partner, he checked for a pulse while dialing 911 on his cell. "Officer down at 5387 West 63rd street." After giving all the information, he hung up. "An ambulance will be here soon, Alex." Crimson liquid began to pool around her and it took all his willpower not to break down. "Please, Alex."
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"I don't know what she saw or heard that alerted her there was a shooter but…" Goren swallowed hard. "I should have been more alert," he whispered.
Deakins offered no response. No matter how many times he tried to tell Goren he was not to blame there was only one person who could ever make him truly believe it – the person presently lying on a cold operating table.
"How is she?" AD Carver asked as he quietly walked into the waiting room.
"No word yet," Deakins informed him.
Carver glanced over at Goren. "I don't know if this will help any but we got him. Not even the mayor will be able to get away with shooting a police officer."
Bobby looked up. "That mayor shot Alex?"
Carver nodded and sat down. "I pulled a few strings and got most of the force working on this. It was actually two detectives in SVU that caught him. He had also killed two prostitutes in hopes of taking any suspicion off of himself so they were already on the case."
"And… will he get just a slap on the wrist?" Bobby asked through gritted teeth.
"Maybe if the only people had been his son-in-law and the prostitutes but… They are having trouble getting a lawyer to defend him right now because he shot an officer."
"I guess that's something," he mumbled, his gaze once again returning to the floor. "Not that it helps Alex." Without another word, he got up and left the room.
"It's bad I take it," Carver asked.
Deakins nodded. "And he's blaming himself. Apparently Alex saw something and pushed him out of the line of fire."
"It'll destroy him if…" Unable to finish the thought, Carver took a deep breath, sat back and prayed.
**************************
"Robert Goren?"
Holding his breath, Bobby turned around in the pew of the chapel and saw a doctor standing in the short aisle.
"We have you listed as the person to talk to about medical issues." He slid into the seat behind Bobby.
Warm, bitter liquid pooled in Bobby's brown eyes and he nodded.
"There are some decisions that need to be made. She has a living will…"
Bobby's hands shook.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Goren. I wish I had better news."
"What… is her condition?"
"The bullet punctured her left lung which we were able to repair." He hesitated. "It also nicked one of the main arteries of the heart which caused a great amount of internal bleeding. She has not regained consciousness. I know this is a terrible time for you but I need to know what you would like us to do. Her living will states she does not wish to be kept alive by artificial means."
The tears rolled down Bobby's face and he nodded. "That's right. What… are…"
"What are the odds of her coming out of it with the help of life-support? I honestly do not know. Each case is different."
As much as Bobby wanted to keep Alex with him no matter what he had promised her to honor her wishes if and when the time ever came. He shook his head. "It was her wish not to be… not to have… How long does she have?"
"Again, there is no way to know but I'll take you to her right now if you would like."
Numbly, Goren followed the doctor to a private room. Before opening the door, the doctor turned to Bobby. "Talk to her. Let her know you're here." He then stepped aside and Bobby opened the door.
Once inside, he closed it and only then did he allow is eyes to fall upon the pale complexion of his partner. Forcing his body to take him to her bedside, he grasped her hand and fell to his knees holding back the tears and pain no more.
***************************
Two days had passed since Alex had been shot. The only times Bobby Goren could not be located in her room was when her family was in with her.
Though having not regained consciousness, Alex had managed to hang onto the fragile strand of life she was desperately clinging to.
Deakins stepped into the room feeling as if were somehow intruding. "Bobby?"
Goren lifted his head from where it rested on Eames' cold arm.
"Any change?"
"No," Goren sighed.
Remaining quiet for a brief moment, Deakins placed a plastic bag on a nearby table. "My wife was worried you weren't eating enough healthy food so she sent this along for you."
"Thank you." He began rubbing Alex's right hand between his own to keep the circulation going. "What… was the mayor's… motive for killing his son-in-law?"
"He blamed him for getting his daughter into drugs. He's claiming he did not realize you and Alex were police and thought you were more drug dealers and he only shot her trying to protect his daughter."
Anger flared in Bobby's eyes when he looked at Deakins.
"No one is buying it," he quickly added. "I'm… I'm going to go but if you need anything…"
Bobby's gaze returned to Alex. "All I need is for… her to… wake up."
Fighting back his own tears, Deakins silently left the room.
"Just one more day, Alex," Bobby whispered against her ear. "One more day to tell you… to let you… Please, Alex, one more day."
****************************
The third day came and went with no changes.
As he fell asleep with his head on her arm, he once again whispered, "Just one more day, Alex."
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The next morning Bobby woke to someone shaking him. His head shot up in search of the person, fearful for the worst. No one was in the room.
"Why just one more day?" Alex's hoarse voice reached his ears.
His tired chocolate eyes searched hers, unsure whether to believe his ears.
"You only want me around for one more day?" she asked again, struggling to smile.
"Are you really awake or am I dreaming?" he asked, ignoring her question.
Her fingers tightened slightly around his hand. "I'm really here, Bobby." His tears fell freely causing her own eyes to fill with tears. "It's okay."
He tried to speak but no sound emerged. Instead he buried his head in the space on the pillow between her neck and shoulder.
Alex turned her face towards him and painfully managed to lift her left arm to rest her hand on the back of his head. "I'm sorry, Bobby."
With a muffled laugh he lifted his head only slightly so as to look at her. "You're sorry? Alex, you save my life. You… nearly died for me."
"You still haven't answered my question. Why just one day?"
"I'd ask for just one more day everyday for the rest of my life if that's… if that's what it took to keep you here."
**************************************
"Are you ready to go?" Bobby asked as Alex took one last look around the hospital room that had been her home for more than two weeks.
"Yeah." Still a bit unsteady on her feet, she had to sit on the bed when she turned to look at him. "I see you cleaned up a bit for my big escape."
He grinned sat beside her as the waited for the nurse to return with a wheelchair. "I've been known to clean up when occasion calls for it."
Alex reached up and touched his face. "I still like the stubble better." Her fingers slid from his face. "Deakins told me you never left me."
Bobby said nothing.
"He also told me they made you make a decision regarding my living will." She paused. "I know it was hard for you but thank you for honoring my choices." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "And the next time I start off a day in such a great mood, pour coffee on me or something."
Goren laughed and helped her over to the wheelchair as the nurse rolled it in. "I'll try my best to snap you out of it next time."
Their eyes locked for a passing moment – sharing the fear of how close they had come to losing each other. They would go back to being Eames and Goren of the Major Case Squad soon enough but for now they just wanted to be Alex and Bobby, two friends who were slowly beginning to realize how much they really meant to each other.
"I'll… I'll take her," Bobby offered to the nurse.
The nurse smiled. "I'm sorry, hospital regulations."
Alex reached out and took his hand as he walked beside her and smiled up at him. "You get to drive me home so let her do her job."
Smiling back, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze happy in knowing that not only would he be taking her home; he'd be taking care of her and that meant she was still with him. At that moment he promised to ask for just one more day with Alex each and every day for as long as he lived.
The End