Part 10

"Home sweet home," Bobby murmured, unlocking the door to their house.

"Safe from Clara and her HMEH's."

Bobby blinked. "HMEH's?"

"Hungry Man Eating Housewives."

He chuckled. "That's a perfect name for them. I think I was proposed to several times tonight."

Alex arched an eyebrow. "Healthy ego, haven't we?"

"It'd be healthier if you were responding to me."

Alex blinked. "Huh?"

"All tonight…those guys were talking about how beautiful my wife was."

Alex looked up at him, suddenly starting to understand where this was going. "Bobby…this isn't real."

"Maybe not our marriage. But what you and I have, is." He reached out, his hand cupping her cheek. "You know I can tell the difference between real and make-believe. Even when I'm undercover."

"Can you?"

"Let's find out, shall we?"

Bobby leant down and pressed his lips firmly against hers. His arms went around her waist, tugging her closer to him so she couldn't get away.

Alex's mind went blank. Part of her knew that this was the point of no return…and the other part of her – most of her – didn't give a damn.

Bobby almost smiled as he felt Alex's hands slide up his chest and wind around his neck. His tongue gently stroked across the seam of her lips and she moaned, opening her mouth to him. The kiss grew deeper, as he explored her mouth, tasting what he had wanted for years.

Alex pressed herself against him, the kiss reinforcing how much she wanted him.

All too soon, Bobby pushed her back. He looked down at her, lips kiss-stung and swollen, eyes half-closed.

"The difference between real and make-believe is that there I was kissing Alex Eames, not Emily Cormwell," Bobby told her. "And when I finally "bag" you, as the HWEH's put it, it will be my name you'll be saying, not the name of some fictional carpenter."

Her eyes widened at his words, before narrowing in confusion. "HWEH's?"

"Horny Woman Eating Husband's," Bobby replied, heading further into the house.


Alex woke up the next morning and glanced next to her, sighing when she realized Bobby hadn't come to bed. She got up, making her way down the hallway in search of him.

She checked all the guest bedrooms, with no luck. A pain was forming in the pit of her stomach, and she was starting to get really worried when she finally found him.

He made a comical site, his tall frame stretched out on the sofa, his feet hanging off the end. He was sleeping peacefully, even though he looked very uncomfortable.

Alex carefully made her way over to him, hoping she wasn't going to wake him. That metal around his neck was glinting at her again, and her hand reached down, intent on picking it up to look at it.

All of a sudden, a hand gripped her wrist, almost giving her a heart attack.

"Jesus, Bobby!" she cried.

"Instant reaction," Bobby murmured, his eyes still closed. "They're dogtags. Everyone gets them when…"

Alex pulled her hand away. "I know what they are," she said testily. "You look uncomfortable."

"Does that surprise you considering my legs are hanging off the edge?"

"What surprises me is what you're doing here instead of in a bed."

"I heard this is where husband's sleep sometimes. I thought I'd try it out."

Alex rolled her eyes. "God, you're impossible sometimes."

Bobby opened one eye. "Who? Ben or Bobby?"

Alex glared at him. "You know who I mean."

"Do I?"

"I'm going to get breakfast." Alex stalked off.

Bobby started to move on the couch, hoping that all his limbs were still going to cooperate with him after being tortured all night in an uncomfortable position. He finally got up stretching out his aching muscles.

Making his way into the kitchen, he found Alex rattling around in the fridge.

"So, who do you think is more pissed off at who?"

Alex looked up at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You're in one of your moods."

An eyebrow shot up. "Excuse me?"

"Those moods you get in when I know not to annoy you too much because you're pissed off about something."

"You kissed me last night."

Bobby arched an eyebrow. "Did I do it wrong?"

"And what was all that about "bagging" me! I swear to god, you won't be bagging anything if you keep…"

Bobby let out a frustrated groan as he bent down and kissed her again. He smirked when Alex struggled against him, and he finally let her push him away.

Before she started ranting again, he put a hand up. "I was not going to "bag" you. I have more respect for you than that. But I did know that saying something like that would get you all riled up. And you are pretty cute when you're angry."

Alex's eyes widened. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

"That's a good question. Maybe it's the way I slept last night. Maybe it's you getting angry…again. Maybe it's just you."

"I make you crazy?"

A slow smile spread across Bobby's face. "Okay, now I know its you. And probably something that was slipped in my drink last night."

"We have a lot to talk about," Alex reminded him.

Bobby watched her very carefully for a moment, his teasing tone finally leaving him. Taking a deep breath, he reached around his neck and took his dogtags off. He took her hand, putting the tags in it and closing her fingers around the cool metal.

"That's me," he shrugged. "How biblical. Holding me in the palm of your hand."

Alex looked at the tags in her hand and then looked up at him. She sat herself up on the counter, leaning over and placing the tags back around his neck. "That's not you." Her hand moved to his forehead. "That's you." Her hand then rested against his chest, just over where his heart lay "And that's you. And those are what I want to know about."

Bobby took her hand kissing the palm of it gently. "Are you going to struggle if I kiss you again?"

"Probably not," came her quiet voice.

He smiled and their lips crashed together. Alex's arms rested against his back, her legs wrapping tight around his waist.

Bobby groaned into the kiss, his hands pushing her closer against him.

A long throaty moan escaped Alex's lips as Bobby pressed kisses down her neck, sucking the soft skin into his warm mouth.

"Bobby…"

"Yoohoo!"

"Ignore her," Bobby decided, going back to her mouth.

Regretfully, Alex pushed him away. "I can't," she replied. "We can't just be Bobby and Alex. We have to be Ben and Emily too." She got down from the counter, heading out to the door.