Author's Note - A big thank you to brynnamorgan, Lina-Baggins, The X-Pig, KendraC, thousand-miles, TrinityWildcat, Eliza, 08ClassicRockChicky08, Claire M C, Carissa, justawriter, Sw33tangelgrl, ShadowSage2, Angelfirenze, Shell, and TriStateCopFan for their wonderful reviews.
Specifically:
KendraC - I'm not in class, I teach class, sort of. I'm a substitute at an elementary school, and this time of year everyone calls in 'sick' at least once. But hey, only four more days and then I'm free! And he was cute in Mystic Pizza. It's a pretty good movie.
Eliza - I figured if I tried to drag it out any longer, it was going to turn into a soap opera, and I didn't want that.
08ClassicRockChicky08 - Hey, love the new name. Classic rock rocks! LOL, Ch 27 - 'quiet' just refers to the fact that shs was so silent the first time. I have not seen Full Metal Jacket, but I have heard about VDO's role. He gained seventy pounds for it. I may have to hunt down a copy and check it out.
ShadowSage2 - I'm glad you enjoyed. Yes, back to the main plot - saving Bobby and catching the bad guy - although that's easier said than done. As to what Alex wanted to say, that's open to interpretation. I like to think she wanted to say 'I love you', but she could have been thinking 'Let's just be friends'. I guess we just have to wait and see.
Angelfirenze - You've been hearing good things? From where? Hope you like the rest as much as the first three chapters.
How long they stood in the middle of the cell, just holding each other, Alex wasn't sure, but it must have been a long time.
"Hello? It everything okay? Alex?" Olivia's voice echoed down the corridor. Reluctantly, Alex drew away from Bobby.
"It's time to -" she started, looking around for her pants.
"I know," Bobby said. "Time to finish this and go home." Alone, Alex added silently, with just a hint of sadness. She quickly slipped into her clothes.
"Are you two ... finished?" Olivia's voice was right on the other side of the curtain. Alex glanced at Bobby as he pulled on his jeans.
"It's okay, Olivia," Alex called. "We're decent." Olivia pushed through the blankets, her large, dark eyes wide and cautious, as if she didn't quite believe Alex and was afraid she'd catch them in the act. Alex waited for the inevitable 'What the hell happened to you?' as she caught sight of Bobby's face, but it never came.
"Are you ready? John says we better get moving if we want to do this before dawn."
"Before dawn?" Alex repeated, only half listening. Was Olivia not looking, or was light bad? She glanced up at Bobby, and her mouth fell open. The blood was gone from his face, along with the welt she'd left, and the shiner Elliot had given him.
"Yeah, apparently, something bad will happen if the sun rises in the middle of the spell. What are you doing?" Bobby had been trying to button his denim shirt, but Alex pushed his hands away and quickly undid the few he'd managed to fasten. She tugged at one side of the shirt, trying to pull it off his shoulder.
"What's going on, Eames?" Bobby asked, a slight frown on his face.
"How's that lip?" she replied. He touched the point of injury, his frown deepening. He reached up and plucked the bandage off the cut above his eye. Alex's eyes widened. It was healed without a mark. In a moment, he'd stripped his shirt off and turned his back toward her.
"You want me to leave?" Olivia asked, taking a step toward the curtain. They ignored her. Alex loosened the edge of the surgical tape that held the bloodied gauze pad in place. Fast or slow, this was going to hurt. She took hold and ripped downward, bringing a hiss of pain from her partner. One by one, she picked off the suture strips, but after the second, it was clear what she would find. Silently, Alex guided Bobby to take a step backward, nearer the bars, and Olivia gasped. "What - ? How?" Alex looked up at Bobby.
"Two damn good questions," she said.
Bobby straddled the chair, his forearms resting on the back, as Munch, Elliot, Huang and Deakins examined the place on his upper back where the wound had been. He sat patiently, all but ignoring them, watching Alex with dark eyes. His expression mirrored her thoughts exactly - Now what do we do? Office policy discouraged the pursuit of a relationship, especially if they wanted to remain partners, but they had never been known for their strict adherence to the rules. But did they even want a romantic relationship? Love didn't necessarily lead to romance. She couldn't exactly see herself married to him; she hadn't really planned on ever marrying again, and sharing a Santa mug full of pens was one thing, sharing a bathroom was completely different. She glanced away from him as Munch turned to her.
"And you're sure his injuries were still there after you were ... intimate?"
"Well, no, I can't be sure," Alex said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was a little preoccupied."
"So we heard," Logan said, giving Bobby a way-to-go grin. Bobby ignored him.
"Sex is a very powerful magick," Munch said in all seriousness. "You probably just didn't notice - "
"Look," Alex interrupted, "it couldn't have been the sex." She hadn't wanted to mention their fight, but it looked like she didn't have a choice. "After we had sex, there was a - a misunderstanding. I got angry, and - and it got physical - "
"Did he hit you?" Elliot and Edward asked in one voice. Alex rolled her eyes.
"I hit him, okay. I left a red mark here -" She reached out and touched her fingertips to his cheek. "- and my fist went through his lip and into his teeth. I had cuts on my knuckles, but they're gone, too." She flexed her fingers, watching the unmarked skin slide across her joints.
"You shared blood?" Munch asked quietly. She and Bobby exchanged glances.
"Probably, a little. We were both bleeding." Munch looked at the floor, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"And after the fight, then what?"
"We made up," Alex said, trying to make it sound inconsequential. "It was just a misunderstanding, after all. And no," she said to Logan's raised eyebrows, "it wasn't that kind of making up." A heavy silence filled the room, and it was pretty clear that no one believed her. Honestly, she couldn't have cared less.
"I take it back, Alex," Munch said, "you would make a very good witch. Healing takes a lot of power, whether it's intentional or incidental. With practice, you could be one of the best."
"No thank you," Alex said, slowly waving her hands in front of her. "No offense, but once this is over, the closest I want to get to a witch is watching The Wizard of Oz with my nephew."
"Pity," Munch said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "The Council's been at me for years to take an apprentice."
"Anybody here order a pizza?" Fin asked, sauntering into the room from the direction of the main doors, his arms stacked with boxes. Alex's stomach gave a painful twist as the delectable aromas of pepperoni, tomato sauce, pineapple and melting cheese wafted through the air. Behind her, somebody's gut growled in protest, and they all moved as one, like a pack of flesh-eating zombies toward their prey. In moments, Fin was stripped of his cargo and left standing alone in the middle of the room. "You're welcome - ingrates," he muttered, wandering over to where Olivia and Munch were sharing a cheese and tomato pizza.
"Thank you, you're a lifesaver," Olivia said, wiping her mouth on a napkin before leaning over and planting a quick kiss on his cheek. Alex raised her eyebrows. Things sure were different around here. Smiling slightly, Fin snagged himself a slice and glanced at his partner.
"Thanks," Munch said, "but you can forget about a kiss."
"I'm heartbroken," Fin replied, his smile widening.
"Do all witches and warlocks take apprentices?" Bobby asked suddenly, looking up from the slice of pepperoni, green pepper and black olives that he'd been meticulously stripping the olives from. Munch stared at him over the top of his glasses while he chewed and swallowed.
"It's strongly recommended," the warlock said. "Magick gets lost when it's not passed down. So much has been lost already, most of us take two or three in a lifetime, just to make sure."
"Even Raum?" Munch drew a slow breath in between his teeth, a soft hissing sound.
"Dark witches and warlocks have their own ways, I'm afraid." He set down the rest of his pizza and took that lecturer's stance again. "They only teach those they intend to kill. Unlike us, they don't pass on their knowledge for posterity. They want to be remembered as the last great warlock, the last great witch. When they do find someone with promise, someone powerful, but untrained, someone like Alex, actually, they take them as an apprentice, and teach them whatever they can. Our power is like a muscle that you can't see or feel, but you have to use it for it to become stronger. A dark warlock will wait until the power is awakened in their apprentice, and then they will kill them, stealing that power for their own. In this way, the master can go on forever, until he makes the mistake of getting too greedy, waiting too long, and letting the apprentice become strong enough to fight back and win. Then the apprentice becomes the master, and the cycle starts all over again." Alex glanced up at Bobby.
"What are you thinking?" she asked. He stared blankly at the wall, then shook his head.
"I don't know ... something." Behind them, Captain Cragen cleared his throat from the doorway of his office.
"The next shift is on it's way," he said wearily, his coat in hand. "I told Captain Owens that you guys were in the middle of a drill and were not to be disturbed under any circumstances. Hopefully that'll keep everyone off the roof." Bobby set his half-eaten pizza on the box lid and wiped his hands on a napkin.
"Can I ask you a favor, Captain Cragen?" he asked. Cragen hesitated.
"I suppose." Bobby headed down the hallway, back toward lockup, and motioned for Cragen to follow. They disappeared into the break room. The room peered curiously after them.
"So," Alex said after a moment, "what can we expect up there, with this spell stuff?"
"I couldn't begin to guess," Munch replied. "Magick like this is, by definition, unpredictable. When drawing on your own energy, like I do when I heal, it either works or it doesn't, but when you go calling up otherworldly powers, like we're going to, anything goes."
"Otherworldly powers?" Novak repeated, sounding more than a little uneasy.
"Yeah, God and Goddess, the Elements, that sort of thing. Most of the time, if you ask nicely, the tend to do what you want, but sometimes ... " He shrugged and took a bite of pizza, as if that explained something.
"We really don't want to know what could happen, do we?"
"Probably not," Munch replied. Alex waited for the others to run for the hills, Edward, Novak and Carver, at least, but nobody moved, except Logan, who grabbed up the last slice of pepperoni. A heavy silence descended on the squad room, broken only by the quiet sounds of eating. It suddenly dawned on Alex that this could very well be their last meal. Amazing how fast pizza could turn to cardboard in your mouth. They glanced up from their separate thoughts as Bobby and Cragen emerged from the break room, the captain with a small plastic evidence bag in his hand and Bobby stripping off a pair of latex gloves.
"Get this to Raul, you said?" Cragen asked. Bobby nodded.
"He owes me one. Ask him to call me as soon as the results are in. Thanks again, Captain." Alex tried to make out what was in the bag as Cragen slipped it into his front shirt pocket, but all she could tell was that it was small and black.
"What are you up to?" she asked as Bobby returned to her side to finish his pizza.
"I have a hunch," he replied, a thoughtful crease in his brow. Cragen slipped his coat on as he headed for the door.
"Good luck with your ..." He waved his hand in a whatever gesture. "I'm going to try to catch some sleep. And remember, worker's comp won't cover you if you turn into frogs. Good night." Across the room, Munch sighed.
"Okay, you heard the Captain, finish up. Sunrise is in an hour and a half." Alex paused with her pizza halfway to her mouth. Hadn't Olivia said something bad would happen at dawn?
"What happens at sunrise?" she asked. "Besides the obvious?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Munch admitted, "the texts aren't clear, but I'd rather we not find out. I guarantee it won't be pretty."
Disclaimer - Law and Order: CI and SVU, and the characters protrayed therin, are the property of Dick Wolf and Assoc., but Detective Sledge is all mine, Mwa ha ha ha! Er, ahem ... please don't sue.