When they reached Bobby's neighborhood, Alex slowed the car down. "Now what?"

Logan checked his watch. "This is good. We're going to drive past his house, see whether there're lights on, or what."

"It's up on the left. Watch the second floor."

"Got it. Yeah, there's no sign of life. Good. We're gonna catch him there."

"Where?"

"That's what I need you to tell me. You've driven him home before, right?"

"A bunch of times. You know, I've never actually seen him drive." She followed Logan's train of thought. "I get it. You think he's headed for one of his usual haunts. Risky."

"Nah, it's day two. It's a perfectly reasonable time to go to one of your favorite low-key places, nothing too expensive, and nothing experimental or trendy. That way, you get a feel for whether she's going to be high-maintenance or not."

"Barek's right. You are a pig."

"We all are, and you all know it. So, where would he go? He's in a good mood, probably pretty hungry, too."

"Well, I can remember at least three different places we've gone to. I think the bar is out. Maybe the Mexican place he wanted to try…no, wait. I've got it. It's the Italian place. When in doubt, head for mommy's cooking." She shook her head in disgust.

Logan perked up. "Great! I could really go for some osso bucco. Even if I'm wrong – which I'm not – we still win."

"I'm afraid you've got a couple of problems, there. First off, there's next to no way we can sit in there without being spotted. And secondly, you're not getting osso bucco – it's the wrong region of Italy. Most of the places around here do southern Italian, like Sicilian. Osso bucco's a Milanese specialty, and that's up in Lombardy."

"Oh, yeah? Thanks for the geography lesson, Bobby." He rolled his eyes.

She just smiled. "You're the one bragging about how observant you are. How you can live in this city and not learn about food is beyond me."

"I eat it, I don't research it. As for the other thing, I do have a backup plan. You'll have to make do with takeout, though, if we can get that without being seen. You mind?"

"You don't stay a cop long if you don't like eating in cars. I'm still getting a cannoli, and you can owe me the drink."

"You're on." If she didn't know better, she'd swear he was flirting.

They parked and made their way over to the small restaurant. Logan sized it up as they approached. "Oh, this is good. Casual, but not too casual." He turned to her. "Why do women take pizza on the day after as a personal insult?"

"Because you're either saying you're cheap or we are." She checked the foyer through the window. "If he's here, he's already in."

"After you." He held the door open, then followed her inside.

They were met by a young waitress, who picked up a pair of menus. "Good evening. Two for dinner?"

Logan stepped forward, ducking to get closer to the server, and dropped his voice. "Sort of, but we have a problem. We think a friend of ours is here…"

"Oh, and you want to join their table?" The girl smiled, looking expectantly at each of them.

"No!" Eames blurted. "I mean…"

"She means it's kind of the opposite problem." Logan shot her a meaningful look.

Alex groaned to herself, but played along. "We'd rather our friend not know we were here. It's like a surprise."

The waitress looked confused for a moment, then widened her eyes. "Oh. I get it." She began looking into the seating area, joining the conspiracy. "What does your friend look like?"

"He's a big guy, not fat, big, taller than me, comes in here a lot…" Logan began.

A sharp squeal from the girl cut him off. "Ohmigawd! That guy?" She turned to Alex "I thought you looked familiar. Hey, did he dump you?"

"No, I…" Alex tried to interrupt, but the girl was caught up in her scenario.

"What a rat! He's in there, all right," she growled. "And I thought he was nice! My ex did the same thing to me!" Logan gave Alex a helpless shrug as the waitress continued. "Are you sure you wanna sneak around and not get in his face? I say go for it - just go on and dump a bowl of alfredo on the bum and his little miss tits! Show him you got a new guy – you're not her brother are you? Good! You got a better guy, and… "

Eames had to do something. "Actually, she's my sister. I'm checking up on her, not him."

That stopped the tirade dead. "Oh, um, I…"

"It's okay. He's my assistant, and I asked him to take her out. I just wanted to see how they were getting along." She gave a sympathetic smile, and the waitress's horrified expression softened a little.

Logan slung his arm around Alex's shoulders. "See, honey, I knew you were being silly. She's a little overprotective, " he added. After digging in his pocket, he extended his hand towards the girl. "We just want to pop in, get something to go, and maybe see how it's going. No big deal."

The girl looked down, then took something out of his hand and brightened visibly. "Ok, they'll get your order in the bar. I'll let you know when you can peek in."

Logan kept his arm where it was as they walked away from the dining area. Alex took advantage of his proximity to hiss, "Honey? That's going to cost you."

"Not if you don't want your 'assistant' to hear about his job title, sis."

"Hey, I am the senior partner, you know. Technically…"

"Whatever. Nice save, by the way. Between that and the twenty I slipped her, I think we're good."

"As long as we don't get spotted and you don't try anything else cute."

He grinned at her, and slipped his arm away. "Aw, sweetie, I'm just trying to reassure you. Just because you're not 'miss tits' doesn't mean you don't have your charms."

Alex got in a quick elbow to his midsection as he drew away. He was still smiling as he pulled out a bar stool for her. He handed over a credit card, snapped out his order, and turned back to her. "I'm gonna run out for a second. Can you hold down the fort?"

"Sure. Grab a bottle of water for me while you're polluting your lungs." She reached for her purse, but he left before she could offer him any cash.

She was debating getting a glass of marsala while she waited, which would let Logan off the hook for the other dessert and the drink, when the waitress came back.

"Sorry it's taking awhile. They're really wrapped up in it, all talking, no eating. If it helps, I think she's having a good time. I tried to take their orders, but he was telling her some gross story about an octopus or somethin', and I thought she was gonna pee from laughing."

"Ew. I've heard that one, I think. Crawls up your nose, right?"

The girl wrinkled her own nose in sympathy. "That's the one. Complete with hand gestures. Don't take this the wrong way, but your sister's kinda weird."

"Family. What can you do?"

"Yeah, but you might want to hook her up with somebody more normal next time, if it's not too late. Maybe help her shop, too. You have great shoes."

Great, she had a new best friend. "Thanks. Too late, you said?"

Nodding, the waitress gestured out towards the dining room. "Uh-huh. Are you sure you don't wanna interrupt them? I was gonna say you could catch her in the ladies', or while he left, but they're not moving."

"No, I better not." Then curiosity got the better of her. "Just show me where they are, and I'll look really quickly."

"Ok, c'mon." Alex followed the girl to the edge of the doorway. "If you look from here, he can't see you. If you want hide from her, I can take you around…"

"No, this is fine." It wasn't really. Bobby's back managed to block her view pretty effectively, so all she could get a good look at was what seemed to be the edge of a long purple skirt. Angling for a better view would mean she'd run the risk of being seen herself. If body language was any clue, though, the waitress was right. He did seem to be having a good time, and she could hear them both laughing.

She retreated to the bar to wait for Logan and the food. Luckily, both appeared relatively quickly.

He had a brown paper sack under one arm, and seemed ready to go. "Any developments?"

Alex described her failed attempt, then added, "I don't think we're going to be able to get a good look at all."

"Sure we will, just not here. Like I said, I have a backup plan." He patted the bag. "We're set. If you grab the food, we can motor."

"Or at least idle elsewhere."

"You get the picture. After you."