TITLE: A Promise Redeemed

CHAPTER 2

Author: Tubbie at T (used to be PG)

BETAed by Linda (ever vigilant and ready beta)

SYNOPSIS: Conversation.

COMMENTS: Bobby and Alex have promises to keep.

DISCLAIMER: Everything relating to Criminal Intent is owned by Dick Wolf and NBC productions. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda.

Bobby returned the bottle and glasses to their sack. It was time to let the past be the past.

As they walked across the lawn, Bobby reached over her shoulders and pulled her close.

"I can only seem to make it here once a year." Alex sounded happy and sad.

"I know. It's hard to acknowledge yesterday when today is so demanding."

"Well today looks like it is going be beautiful." Alex noted how clear the sky is becoming. "How did you get here Bobby?"

"Lewis dropped me off. I never know how long I'll be when I come out here."

"Lucky for you I drove." They were at the entrance and she pointed out the car.

"Alex, Why me? Why choose me?" Bobby asked with concern and a definite need for a deep answer.

"You've got good taste in clothes." Alex wanted him to relax and not start a deep analysis of this new change in their partnership.

He stopped and gave her a look to relate he was serious.

"You could so beat up my ex-boyfriends." She replied with a come-on-lighten-up smile.

He continued his non-verbal plead to his question. She could tell he wouldn't let this slide. Internally she sighed, thinking deep analysis fodder coming up.

"OK." She grasped both his hands and looked him straight in the eyes. "I am being selfish. You're not just smart, but intelligent, funny, sensitive and a dozen other things that make you desirable to me. But mainly, and here is the selfish part, you can put up with my quirks and idiosyncrasies."

Bobby cocked his head to the left, and slightly squinted at her.

"Oh, like you have the 'odd behavior' department all to yourself? I'm not joking about this Bobby." She tugged his hands so he would continue moving toward the car. "You tolerate my behavior. Really, it's that simple. Rummage though that index card file about me in your head, you will know it's true."

Bobby did just that as he resumed walking, then riding, and finally sitting on Alex's couch.

"So, maybe it's more like a file cabinet, than an index card, of information you've gotten stored away about me in here." Alex lightly touched the top of his head as she passed him going toward the kitchen.

Her apartment came into focus as soon as her words connected with his mind. He watched as she returned to set a fresh cup of coffee in front of him.

Sheepishly he began "Um, how long have I been…"

"…been at my apartment?" She finished for him. "Long enough for me to believe that if you have that much to dissect about my behavior. " She sat next to him with her mug of coffee, "You will be bolting out the door any minute. Or have at least a weeks worth of questions to ask."

"Leave? No, I don't want to… I-I wasn't thinking about you."

She stopped mid sip and wonder what he had been thinking about.

Bobby read her confused look. "I wasn't thinking about you. I was thinking about how I think about you."

"And how do you think about me?"

"I" Bobby paused trying to collect his thoughts. His knee grazed the table as he peered down into his coffee mug.

"It's different. The way I think about various things. When we get a case and I need to figure out the perp. It's as if I'm standing looking at a quiet lake. Then it all changes, I watch the ripples from a rock that has just broken the surface. I don't know with who or what I am dealing. I have to reverse engineer the, how, what, when and why of that action. Then you and I decipher that occurrence in order to put the picture together and get the answers."

Bobby looked to Alex; she gave a nod to let him know she was following. "When I think about my family, uh friends, most people I know, it's like a slow running stream. It is steady predictable and seems never changing. There are subtle things here and there, details that change and need to be checked, but I already have the answers I need to deal with the people I know."

Alex nodded again and figured she must be in this last category.

"At first you kind of flowed though that last group." Bobby rubbed his hands together. "But, it's different with you." He put his hands around is mug on the table to feel the warmth radiating from the smooth ceramic sides. "It became different. It's like a clear deep pond in the woods. The scenery is beautiful, it's very relaxing, a calm sense to it. I can spend as much time there as I need. Although I think I know all that there is to know about this place, every time I return, I learn something new and different. I know the surface, but I can't bring myself to find how deep the still waters are."

"So, "Alex set her cup down. "When you think about me, you don't really think about me?"

"Part of what I am trying to say is, I have learned more about me than you, from thinking about you." Bobby was remembering how tired he was at the cemetery and the need to relax seemed greater now. "Does this make any sense?"

"Yeah, I think it will make more sense after you grab a nap." She rose and offered her hand; he accepted and she guided him to the bedroom. "Go ahead, kick off your shoes, strip down, you need to get some sleep." She turned for the doorway. "I'll be back; I'm off to get another blanket for you."