A/N: Ya know, I'm really starting to like this Rob guy. It's so fun to write siblings interacting with each other, it reminds me of my crazy family!
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"It's a long story, huh? Well, the day is still young, and there's plenty of time for you to tell it," Rob told her as he buckled her into the passenger seat of the black-and-white he'd driven over, as though she were a little girl. "So you can start talking any time."
She tolerated his actions with affectionate annoyance, waiting until he pulled his hands back from her lap to give him an irritated look. "You know, I stopped being five about thirty-four years ago. I can buckle my own seatbelt."
"Yeah," he said, sounding harassed, as he climbed into the driver seat, "and I bet you think you can work without falling asleep at your desk, too. Give it up, Al," he added as he pulled the car away from the curb. "You're not invincible, as much as you might want to be."
"I never said I was invincible. All I want is for everyone to stop treating me like I'm not capable of the basic functions of life." When he didn't counter her comment, she took the opportunity to change the subject, leaning slightly forward and patting the dashboard. "Man, I haven't ridden in one of these in years. What happened, they demote you back to the street?"
"Har, har." He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out his open badge case, tossing it into her lap. "Still gold, brat. I walked to work this morning, so when your partner called, I just grabbed the car closest to the front of the garage and went. And don't try to distract me while I'm busy telling you what's good for you," he added with a slight smile.
"At least you realize how dumb you sound," she replied, ignoring the nickname she'd gotten used to by the time she turned three. "Wait, you're working today?" The way Bobby had spoken about him being 'on call,' she'd assumed that Rob had the day off and had offered to play babysitter. "Then why did you say you could come get me any time, and how'd you talk your lieutenant into letting you go?"
"Are you kidding?" he asked in disbelief. "You're a celebrity among cops, my dear sister. Johnson wouldn't dare try to stop me for fear word might get out that he interfered with the recovery of the heroic Detective Eames - that's 'Detective Eames' you, of course, not 'Detective Eames' me."
"Oh, god," she moaned, scrubbing a hand over her face. "Please tell me you just made that up and no one's actually called me 'heroic'." If she hadn't known it would hurt, she would have slumped down in her seat in embarrassment.
He glanced at her and started to say something, then moved his eyes back to the road as a taxi cut him off. "Jackass," he muttered as the cabbie flipped him off and swerved into another lane. When the cab had disappeared, he looked back to her. "Let me put it this way: my status in the precinct has gone up just from being related to you."
Alex closed her eyes and groaned, half in distress at his words and half in pain from the unexpectedly sharp turn he had just made onto her block.
"If it makes you feel any better," he said as he blithely stole a parking spot in front of her building from a Hummer that had been waiting patiently with its blinker on, "I don't think they'd be as effusive if you didn't happen to be a woman and less than half the guy's weight."
"I know," she said with a sigh. "That's why I hate it. If I'd actually done anything other than let myself get squished between a criminal and a wall, I'd feel a lot less guilty about people's reactions. And by the way, cutting that truck off was seriously bad karma."
"You worry about my bad karma; I'll worry about my stubborn, injured sister." He carefully opened his door and stepped into the street, crossing to her side of the car. "Besides," he continued as he pulled her door open, "he moved too slow and that tank would never have fit into this spot."
"Yeah, and the only reason he's not taking the time to park and kick your ass is because you're driving a radio car," she shot back as she watched the driver of the Hummer glare at her brother before driving off in search of another space. "And I don't count as injured anymore, since everything's been fixed and I'm just recuperating."
"Uh-huh," he said, leaning in and batting her hands away so he could unbuckle her. "And that's why you need help to walk, and why you fell asleep at your desk this morning?"
"Shut up," she snapped, although she allowed him to help her step out of the car and stand up.
"Just sayin'," he said with a grin. "And speaking of how you're not injured, you need a hand walking?"
"That's a cheap shot, Robbie. You know I do."
Rob shrugged. "Hey, cheap shots are more convenient than expensive ones. Let's go," he told her, offering her his arm, which she took reluctantly. "So," he said casually a few seconds later, trying not to notice how heavily she was leaning on him as they walked up the steps of her building, "you didn't tell me why you're sleeping with your partner. And if you won't tell me, I'm going to be seriously tempted to hunt him down and get an answer from him instead."
"I'd kill you."
"Never stopped any of us from interrogating your boyfriends before. Whatever kind of 'hero' the rest of the Force thinks you are, you're still my little sister and I still reserve the right to drive away any boys who hang around you that I don't approve of."
She abruptly stopped walking and pulled her arm out of his grasp. "You're not going to be driving away anyone, thank you very much. And he's not my boyfriend."
"But you're sleeping with him anyway?" He pulled open the door of her building and ushered her through it, hiding a smirk when she bristled at his words.
"I am not . . .! Damnit," she growled, pausing to cross her arms and glare at him, "it's not that kind of 'sleeping.' I have nightmares and having him there keeps them away, and that's all."
"Nightmares," he repeated neutrally as the elevator doors opened in front of them.
"Yes, Rob, nightmares. About nearly getting killed. Remember that whole thing, or are you too busy speculating on my relationship with my partner?"
"Down, girl. I'm not speculating on anything, at least not until I get more details out of you. And I will get details out of you," he added as they stepped out onto her floor. "Or, if not you, someone else."
"There is no one else," she told him smugly, unlocking the door of her apartment and pushing it open a little too hard.
"Ve haf our vays of makink you talk," he replied in a terrible German accent, looking around at the room he was standing in. He hadn't seen his sister's apartment since . . . well, probably since he and his brothers had helped move her in a few years ago. The place wasn't nearly big enough for her to host family events at - those almost always ended up being held at their parents' house in Staten Island - so there was really no reason for her to invite any family members over here.
"Hey, Alex?" he said when he realized she'd dropped his arm and disappeared into the kitchen. "Since when are you so neat?" The floor was devoid of the shoes and books that had always littered her bedroom when they were children, and an assortment of sweaters and jackets were hung in a neat row behind the door instead of thrown carelessly over the arm of the couch.
"I'm not. Goren cleans when he gets bored," she replied distractedly, popping her head through the doorway. "Do you think you could do me a favor and go buy milk and bread?"
He didn't bother to respond to her request; the first part of what she'd said was more interesting by far. "Uh-huh. So not only are you sleeping with him, but he hangs around here enough to get bored and you're letting him clean your apartment, too. Sounds serious to me."
"I swear to god, if I hear one more word about him I'm going to personally make sure you can't have any more kids," she said, snatching the nearest kitchen utensil, which happened to be a a corkscrew, and waving at him threateningly. "And then Jen will divorce you and I'll laugh."
"Geez, they couldn't give you a drug for the bitchiness along with everything else they've got you on?"
"Not after I threatened the doctor's vital organs," she lied sarcastically. "So watch your mouth."
"You have nightmares, so he sleeps with you?" he said, walking past her into the kitchen and leaning casually against the counter.
"What?" she said, caught off-guard by his subject change.
"That's what you said, isn't it? You have nightmares about being hurt, and having him sleeping with you makes you feel better?"
"So what if it does?" she said defensively. "It's my life and my bed."
"Uh-huh, and I'm sure Dad will agree with that when I tell him," he replied, turning away and pretending to be interested in a box on the counter. "Why yes, Alex has heard all the warnings about mixed partnerships, but she still doesn't see anything wrong with sharing a bed with her partner . . ." he began, as if their father were listening.
"You know," she sighed, tired of trying to argue with him, "you're so busy being snarky and trying to piss me off that you're forgetting that you ought to be kissing his feet for keeping Brewer from killing me. That occurred to you lately?"
The amusement faded from Rob's face. "Believe me, I know exactly how lucky we all are that we didn't lose you."
"That's not what I said," she said. "What's lucky is that he was in there when it happened and he was big enough to pull the guy off me. I'm serious, you should be willing to forgive him just about anything in return for that."
"I never said he wasn't a good guy and a good partner."
"Then why are you talking like you think I should drop him?" she retorted. "You think it's better for me to not be able to sleep because of the nightmares and go and get myself reassigned to some female partner who wouldn't have had a chance against Brewer either?"
"Al . . ." he sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not saying I dislike the guy. In fact, I actually think he's pretty decent, both as a cop and as a person. I'm just trying to point out to you that it's not the brightest idea to get so close to any guy who happens to also be your partner." When he returned his eyes to hers, they showed deep concern.
She couldn't yell at him when he had that 'worried older brother' look on his face. "I told you, he's not my boyfriend, so you can stop panicking. Besides, he feels so guilty about me getting hurt that if I wasn't keeping him near me, he'd probably ask to be reassigned."
"Makes sense to me. That he would feel like that, I mean," he added hastily when her eyes narrowed, "not that he would be guilty."
She shook her head and crossed the room to hug him. "I worry about him," she told him quietly. "He's the best partner I've ever had. And one of the best men I've ever known, in general. Take that however you want," she added, "but please, just don't try to interfere with what I'm doing."
He put his arms around her cautiously, not sure how much pressure her ribs could stand. "I'm not going to go after him. I'm just ragging you because you're my sister and while you're busy worrying about him, me and the rest of the family are busy worrying about you."
"Well, quit with the worrying." She took a step back and looked at him, cocking her head to the side in an unconscious imitation of Goren's favorite posture. "You know, it never occurred to me before that hugging him feels a lot like hugging you or Sean or John."
"Uh . . . Because he has a habit of tickling you at random moments?" he asked teasingly, feinting toward her with his hands outstretched.
"No, and I'll thank you to keep your hands far away from my ribs, tickling or not," she replied primly, slapping at his hands to make her point. "What I mean is that I never put together the thoughts that you three are all way taller than me and that Goren is, too. Maybe that's why he makes me feel safe," she said thoughtfully. "You guys have always been my protectors."
"You're getting mushy on me, Al. I think it's time for you to hit the sheets."
At the mention of sleep, she yawned widely before she could stop herself. "Hmm, guess you have a point. You going to go back to work?"
"No way. I'm supposed to stay and keep you company until loverboy gets here after work."
"I don't feel like hitting you again. Step on your own foot for me, would you?" she said tiredly. "You can stay, I don't care. I'm just saying that I don't need to be babysat. You're going to be bored as hell hanging around here for half a day."
"I've got paperwork that I left in the car. I'll keep myself occupied." He gave her a gentle push toward her bedroom ."Don't worry about me. Go catch up on your sleep."
"Hey, it's your afternoon," she said with a shrug. "Waste it how you want." With that, she allowed the momentum of his push to start her walking.
"Good girl. Sleep well," he told her, following her into her living room.
"I'll try. Oh," she added, pausing in the bedroom doorway and looking back at him, "and if you hear me scream, don't freak out, just come and wake me up from the nightmare."
Taken aback, he could only watch, speechless, as she gave him a tiny smile and disappeared behind the door of her room.