A/N: Thanks you sooo much for the reviews. I'm just really happy you're enjoying this fic. It still surprises me, but surprises are nice. Thanks Karen for pointing out the English stuff. I appreciate that. Thoughts, suggestions, ideas are welcome. I found the exercise of this chapter online and thought it wasn't really an exercise. On the otherhand I did think it would be interesting for Alex and Bobby. I'm also surprised with my updates because I never update this fast unless I have more chapters ready. This is what your reviews have done to me:D I already have the idea for the next chapter in mind. Hopefully it won't take too long. Enjoy!

Part three

After everybody had introduced their partners it was time for a short break. Alex was alone at the table, waiting for Bobby to bring back their coffee. She wasn't alone long though. She was joined by Lucy, Erica and Amanda. The last two were partners at the MDPD. They looked very much like each other, both with long blond curls, yet Amanda was slightly bigger built than Erica. They were a funny couple, laughing and joking around all the time.

"Mind if we join you?" Lucy asked.

"Not at all."

The three of them quickly took their seats. There was an uncomfortable silence at first, but Amanda quickly solved that.

"So Alex, that's quite an interesting partner you have." Amanda said, looking at Bobby who was still waiting for the coffee.

"That he is."

"Tell us something about yourself. We know you worked at Vice and now Major Case. What else?" Erica said.

"I have two brothers and a sister. I'm the youngest of the family. My dad was a cop also so I guess it wasn't a big surprise I joined the force."

"Are you married or do you have a boyfriend?" Roy's voice was heard from behind the group as he approached them with a coffee for Lucy.

The women smiled at each other. None of them was surprised, it had only been a question who Roy would go for. Apparently he'd set his eyes on Alex. What Roy didn't know was that Bobby was right behind him and heard his question. His eyes narrowed, that man had no right hitting on his partner. Roy, the bachelor who was never serious about the women he dated. No way, he was going to try anything with Alex.

Bobby took the seat next to Alex that she had kept free from him. Putting her coffee down she thanked him. She answered Roy's question. "No, no husband or boyfriend." Nobody but Bobby noticed the sadness that crossed her eyes at the mention of the word husband. He knew the loss still hurt her even though she would never admit that to him. In a typical Eames way she quickly replaced the sadness by humor. It had always been her way out. "How can I, when I work almost 24 hours a day and even if I meet a nice man, and that's a big if, he's either to threatened by me being a cop or he has some weird fetish about handcuffs."

It did work though, the group laughed at her joke. "That's so true. What is it with men when they meet a female cop? Can't they handle a strong woman? Do they want women to be weak and stuff like that? Is it still the alpha maleness that wants to protect their female, but as cops they know we don't need protection. Does that mean we're not as interesting anymore?" Erica totally agreed with Alex. Wanting to get a man's point of view she turned to Bobby.

"What do you think, Bobby? You're a man. Why can't men handle strong women?"

Bobby, who was quietly drinking his coffee and keeping an eye on Roy, was surprised by the suddenness of question. If they wanted a man's opinion, why not ask Roy? He seemed to be the logical option. "Well…, I don't know why some men have trouble with a strong woman. I… I can't really answer that. But you can't ignore the alpha male tendencies within a man. It's in our nature. You see it in movies, it's always up to the man to rescue the lady. Remember those old comic books? It was always the hero saving the damsel in distress. Men like to safe a damsel in distress, it feeds their ego's. Growing up we're learned to protect the women in our family, a mother or a sister. Look at the television shows, it's the same. As a little boy we're raised to protect women who were once seen as the weaker race."

It was Roy who reacted to Bobby. "And you ladies can't deny that once in a while you like it when we step up and protect you."

Alex, who wasn't really listening to Roy, was smiling at Bobby. Trust Bobby to give a thorough explanation. She remembered a case where he'd said the same thing, pointing out that men liked to safe the damsel in distress. What she remembered most about that case was when they'd gone undercover. They had been looking for a street artist who'd met his victims as he painted their portrait. She should have known Bobby would totally get into his role as charming passer by. Should have expected it, but she hadn't and his remark had thrown her off guard. Not as pretty as the real thing. Luckily Bobby hadn't seen her reaction. She couldn't figure out why that particular remark hit home, but it had and she'd quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn't see her blush. And he hadn't because Bobby had been entirely focused on the case, playing his part very convincingly. They had flirted and for a moment they had been lost in each other's eyes. However, Bobby's mind quickly turned back to the case and they arrested the guy. Who would have thought he would have made a flannel shirt look so attractive? After catching the artist, neither had uttered a word about their flirting. She was sure Bobby considered it just as a 'part of the job' , not realizing that it might mean more to her.

She was brought out of her remembrance by a large hand on her shoulder who could only belong to one person.

"Ready to go back?"

Back in the room there were now cushions in a circle on the floor. Everybody waited at the entrance for Elsie to tell them what the idea was.

"To end this first day there are two more exercises that I have in mind. One really short one, the other focuses more on the group than the partnership. It'll be a nice way to end this day. Okay, let's get started. I would like for you and your partner to find a place to stand facing each other. Anywhere around the room, but no sitting down."

After each couple had found a place they waited for further instructions. "This exercise is an exercise in trust. In your work it's important to trust each other completely. Many couple have already mentioned the fact that they trust their partner with their lives. I want you to look each other in the eyes for a minute, if you want you can touch, hold hands. It doesn't seem a significant exercise, but how many times have you really held each other's eyes? You'll be surprised with what you find. For those who'd like to hold hands, please do so."

Several couples held hands. Bobby hesitantly extended his hands, not knowing if Alex would want to hold hands. She did and he pulled her a little closer. He marvelled in how his two hands enveloped her much smaller ones.

"The minute starts now." Elsie announced.

She'd often tried to read him by looking into his eyes, but he often diverted his eyes. Probably hiding whatever she was going to find in those expressive eyes. For the first time she could really look at him without getting frustrated that he would look away. She saw him try to shift his eyes, but she knew he would always fulfil an assignment. She was hurt when she noticed he wasn't letting her in. His eyes held a guarded look. Why? She couldn't answer that question. On the job she could understand he didn't want to let her know what it truly did to him, but now it was just the two of them. There was nothing here to hurt him. She would not hurt him. Why was he hiding from her? Alex on the other hand wasn't hiding anything and she knew he would read the hurt in her eyes. And at the moment she didn't care. She looked at him the anger and betrayal showing in her eyes.

"That's it everybody. The minute is over. I'm sure you all had some interesting thoughts and maybe even revelations. We are not going to discuss them together. This exercise was just for the two of you. You can discuss it later on if you want or not. Now if you would all like to sit down on one of the cushions, we'll start with the next game."

Bobby debated his next course of action, talk to Alex or join the group. He knew he'd hurt her with his guarded look. He just didn't want to scare her away with the depth of emotions. She was the only one who could truly get inside his head. If he'd let her in his true feelings for had been right there in his eyes. He could not let her see them for he could not handle the rejection he was sure going to follow. No, and even though he did not like hurting her, he had to for the other option wasn't really an option. Alex, oblivious to his internal debate hadn't released his hands yet and pulled him closer. She didn't even try to disguise the accusation in her voice. "You're still hiding from me, Bobby."

TBC...