A/N: To everyone who's been marvelling at how I can update so fast, I thought I'd explain my very simple strategy: I haven't done more than an hour of homework a week since I started Spilled Blood. I have a psycholinguistics test tomorrow. I have yet to open the book, because every time I sit down to look at the study sheet, Rough Draft calls me with the siren song of my fics. I'm gonna fail, but at least I'll get nice reviews here...

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Ten minutes later, they were seated at a round table along with Annie and Susan, their respective husbands, Dan, Janet, Oli, and Jimmy. "Someone actually put thought into this seating arrangement," Alex remarked as she observed her dinner companions.

Susan smiled slightly. "That would be me. I figured everyone would be most interested in catching up with the people that were their friends back then. It didn't work out perfectly, but I kept most of the groups together." She studiously avoided looking at Janet or Jimmy as she spoke.

The man next to Susan, presumably her husband, stole a sideways glance at her. "You guys wouldn't believe how many hours she spent agonizing over who dated who and who bullied who. I thought she'd lost her mind the way she was muttering about 'John' this and 'Chess group' that. Oh," he added, seeming to just remember, "and I'm Dave." He added a little wave. "Hi."

A chorus of hellos answered him. "I guess maybe we should do introductions," Susan said after a moment. "I don't know if we all know each other. I am - was - Susan Alexander. Now it's Susan Hunt, and this guy," she said, jerking her thumb toward the man who'd just spoken, "is my husband, Dave Hunt. Uh, I did chess."

Dan, who was sitting on Dave's other side, raised his hand in a motionless wave. "Dan Hon. Chess."

"Oli Matthews, misfit extraordinaire," Oli said from his position to Dan's left.

Jimmy Willis looked around the table, his lip slightly curled. "Jimmy Willis. I was starting quarterback of the football team."

Alex blinked, trying to figure out how this short, portly man could have been an athlete at all, let alone one who got tackled regularly. After a moment's silence, she realized everyone was looking at her and Bobby expectantly. She elbowed him and he looked up. "Oh, sorry. Bobby Goren. Chess. This is my girlfriend, Alex Eames," he said, pointing to her.

She smiled brightly and, looking directly at Jimmy Willis, added, "I didn't go to this school, but for the record, I was prom queen at my high school." Her tone of voice made it clear that she wasn't just bragging; if Jimmy was going to talk about being a football player as though it made him better than everyone else, she could play that game too and show him that he wasn't as special as he seemed to think he was.

The reactions she observed in the next few seconds were amusing, to say the least. Bobby, who'd already known about her high school diversions, just smirked; Annie and Susan exchanged an amused look; Dan seemed to be looking at her with new, wider, eyes; Oli leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and grinned at her; and Janet sniffed haughtily. Jimmy Willis slid his chair a little closer to Alex and accidentally-on-purpose brushed his hand against her thigh. She tried not to show her disgust at the action.

Bobby watched Jimmy move and was considering saying something when Alex turned to look at him and lowered her eyebrows in a silent "don't." He thought for a second. She wasn't in physical danger, and that was the only type of danger she might not be able to handle by herself. If she wanted to deal with the groping ex-athlete, he'd stay out of it unless she needed him. Curious about how she planned on dealing with the guy, he just gave her a tiny nod and looked back up at everyone.

Annie looked up from whispering to her husband after a second. "Annie Lombardi. I was Annie Rialto back then. I was in, uh, drama. And this is Mike, my husband," she said, gesturing to the tall, dark-haired man sitting next to her.

There was something odd about Annie's husband, Alex reflected. In fact, she realized after looking at him for a few more seconds, Mike Lombardi bore a remarkable resemblance to Bobby. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but she filed it away in her brain, next to the memory of Annie cutting off Bobby's introduction earlier in the night.

Janet Stapleton, totally oblivious to the contemplations of her table-mates, gave them a wide, toothy smile. "Janet Stapleton. I was a cheerleader. And," she added, glancing at Alex, "I was also prom queen."

Alex barely restrained a snort. She was beginning to think Janet Stapleton and Jimmy Willis were perfect for each other - a match made in, well, hell.

"Well!" Susan said with forced pleasantness. "Now that we all know each other - oh, here comes the first course!"

Bobby leaned over to whisper to Alex. "Oh, I checked off, uh, 'chicken' for your main course when they sent the form. Is that ok?"

"Chicken's fine," she said with a nod, then leaned back so a white-coated waiter could place a salad bowl in front of her.

There were various idle comments around the table about the attractiveness of the lettuce and the freshness of the cheese as everyone began to dig into their salads. ""Sue," Annie said, looking up when she had finished about half of hers, "this is really good. Were you in charge of the food, too?"

"No, that was Emily Andrews - she's good, isn't she?"

Janet sniffed haughtily. "Emily - that mousy girl with frizzy hair and big glasses? Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that she organized this," she said, gesturing toward the elegantly-set table.

"That's her," Susan said, unfazed by the woman's insults. Janet would be eating her words soon enough, when she saw what Emily had grown up to be. "Bobby, didn't she do chess with us freshman year?"

He put down his fork and nodded. "I think so. I remember there being a minor revolt when we found out we were going to be down to only one girl after that year."

Janet looked up and met Alex's eyes, mouthing, "Womanizer."

Alex gave her a polite smile and stabbed an olive with her fork. "I would have thought you'd kind of expect a shortage of girls in something like the chess club."

"Just because it was expected," Dan said, "didn't mean we couldn't dream. After all, we had at least one, so why not others?"

Susan smirked. "They were using me as a recruitment tool by senior year."

Annie frowned. "A recruitment tool? As in, 'join our club and you get to see a real, live girl'?"

"Or worse yet," Alex interjected, "the 'hostess' clubs that rich schools have, where it's nothing but pros-"

"Nothing like that," Bobby interrupted her hastily. "She means that we put her out front at activity fairs. It was a good marketing strategy."

"Since when are you an econom-" Annie began with raised eyebrows.

"No, no no!" Alex waved a hand to cut her off. "Don't give him a question like that. He'll start listing all the economics textbooks he read for fun last year, and I, for one, don't want to fall asleep in my salad."

The sheepish look Bobby gave her as he acknowledged that she was right sent the table into gales of laughter.

"You mean he's gotten worse?" Susan managed to say between giggles.

Alex turned her head, studying his face for a second. "I wouldn't say 'worse.' The Encyclopedia Goren has come in handy pretty often in our line of work."

"Your line of work?" Jimmy repeated from next to her. "As in, your collective line of work? But you said you were a . . ." He stopped, trying to remember what it was she had said before he'd mentally cast her as a police department secretary.

Bobby cleared his throat. "I believe she said she was a, uh, civil servant. Which she is, as am I. We're paid from your taxes."

"You're a cop?" Jimmy said to her, as though he'd never heard of such a thing before. Then a second later, with a leer, "Does that mean you carry handcuffs, honey?"

Under the table, Alex clamped her hand down on Bobby's thigh, reminding him not to intervene.

Giving Jimmy a politely blank look, she replied, "Why yes, yes I do. And since you're an accountant, I guess you carry . . . a pocket protector?" As she'd hoped, her insinuation that he was a nerd froze the smile on his face. She just continued to smile pleasantly.

Jimmy stared at her for a moment, but couldn't penetrate her polite mask. He decided to assume it had been an innocent comment, because really, why would such a pretty little girl insult him like that? "No, no pocket protector," he finally said without heat. "Just, uh, checks for large amounts of money."

Trying not to move his arm too obviously, Bobby pried her hand off his leg.Then, rather than blow up at Willis as she feared he'd do, he just moved their hands to her thigh, giving it a gentle answering squeeze that let her know he was aware that she was up to something that would be amusing for everyone, except maybe Jimmy Willis.

"Ooh, large amounts of money!" Alex exclaimed, entertained by the broad spectrum of looks she was getting from the table's other occupants. "Tell me, Jimmy," she said, resting her chin in her free hand and staring up at him as if she were impressed, "is it your money?"

Bobby's hand squeezed her leg again, this time as he held back a laugh. He noticed that Annie and Oli were both pressing their lips closed as if to hold back similar laughs.

Jimmy Willis blinked. The woman just kept smiling, but somehow she kept turning things around on him. Well, not this time. He'd caught on to her game. "My money, along with others'," he said. Then, mimicking her phrasing, "Tell me, Alexandra, do you do most of your police work on the street, looking for . . . what do they call them? Johns?"

A collective gasp rose from everyone else at the table, with the exceptions of Alex, who had been hoping for him to pitch this question, and Annie, who figured Alex must have long ago had an answer prepared for questions like this. "I really don't think -" Susan began.

"It's fine, Susan," Alex said, waving away the woman's concern. Looking back at Jimmy, she gave him a disturbingly calm look. "I did a tour through Vice. They wanted me to stay there because I made such a good hooker. I looked perfect in a miniskirt and go-go boots - you should see the pictures - but you see, I have this problem: I'm smarter than I look. And they like to put smart people in jobs where we get to use our brains. That means off the street and on to an elite squad like Major Case."

Jimmy stared at her. "But-"

"Oh, and Jimmy?"

"What?" he said cautiously.

"We busted someone at your company last year for cooking the books. I'd watch my back if I were you."

The table exploded into laughter and chattering.

". . . hear that? She kicked his ass!"

"I wish I could think that fast on . . ."

". . . he had it coming . . ."

By the time a very confused waiter appeared a few seconds later with their dinners, Bobby had his arms around Alex, who was too busy laughing to worry about holding herself up in her chair; Dan was wiping tears of laughter from his eyes; Annie was bent over the table with her head in her hands as she giggled madly; and the rest of the table was laughing at the sight of everyone else laughing so hard.

Jimmy Willis, however, had had enough. "You'll have to excuse me," he said coldly, pushing back his chair and standing up, almost knocking over the waiter.

"Oh, come on!" Alex said, lifting her head out of Bobby's shoulder and looking up at the man. "That was just . . . how did you put it earlier tonight? 'Just a little teenage fun'?"

Willis's jaw clenched and he turned away, slamming open the door to the room and disappearing through it.

The table's attention turned back to Alex, whose face now bore a look of satisfaction. "What?" she said at their guarded looks. "That was exactly what he said an hour ago when he told me how he used Bobby as a target in high school."

"Delayed revenge?" Annie's husband said after a second, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "You had him dancing to your tune all along, didn't you?"He turned to his wife and mock-whined, "How come you don't verbally flay my enemies like that, honey?"

"Because I prefer to flay them physically, dear," Annie replied with perfect composure.