A/N: Here's the final chapter of this little story.
Ch. 3 – Answers
Putting the phone back in its cradle he carefully replayed the conversation he'd just had.
"Hey, it's me, Alex," she'd started the second he'd picked up the receiver, "Can I come over?"
"Uhh, yeah, sure," he replied.
"Great. I'll see you in twenty minutes."
She'd be over in twenty minutes. That meant she was probably coming from her apartment.
What the hell? Wasn't she supposed to be at a party tonight? Didn't one of them have some kind of social life?
He quickly tidied up his living room, putting books back on their shelves and case files in their folders. He was nearly finished when there was a knock at the door.
Surprised he went over and opened it.
He looked at the woman standing before him, confusion present on his face.
"Are you going to let me in, or just stare at me?" she asked after a few seconds.
"I didn't buzz you in, did I?" he said as he moved back to allow her entry.
"No, I followed one of your neighbours in."
"Uh. Weren't you going out tonight?" he asked, reaching out to take her coat, his eyes then wandering over her attire. He couldn't help himself really. She looked fantastic.
"I did. I take it you didn't go anywhere tonight," she said nodding towards the living room table at the vodka and shot glass as she entered the room.
"I changed my mind. Do…do you want something to drink," he asked as he picked up the vodka and the shot glass and carried them into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I'll have some of what you were just having," she said, leaning against the kitchen counter while he pulled a second shot glass from the cupboard.
He poured them both a shot and watched as she downed hers in one go before motioning for a re-fill.
"You wanna talk about it," he said, as they walked back into the living room.
"Not really," she said, sitting down on the couch.
After a few seconds, she turned to face him.
"You know what? I really don't like New Year's Eve. I mean when you were younger it was all fun, but now, its just sort of depressing. Another year gone."
"Yeah it is," he said, downing his shot, before re-filling the glass.
"Glad it only comes once a year," she said with a sly smile.
He offered her a small smile before pouring himself another glass.
They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes before Bobby spoke up.
"Why do you stay?" he said all of a sudden.
"What," she said confused, not having any idea what he was talking about.
"I mean I get recognition for nearly everything we accomplish, but none of it would ever even be possible if you weren't there. But no one understands that Alex." He sighed. "You deserve so much better." He hung his head, staring at the floor beneath him.
She moved closer to him, placing one hand on his arm, and tilting his face towards her with the other.
"Bobby, none of that matters to me, you've got to understand that. I stay," she said looking directly in his eyes, "because I want nothing more than to be with you."
After the words had left her mouth, he could see in her eyes that she was afraid she'd said too much.
"Good," he said, reaching out and brushing her hair back behind her ear, "because I feel exactly the same way."
He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers. Their kiss started slowly, and gently, and developed into a passionate, fiery clash of tongues. Hands roamed to places that he been previously forbidden, as they explored what they both had wanted for so long.
Later, as the lay in tangled in his bed sheets, she whispered in his ear, "Happy New Year Bobby."