Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, just borrowing for my nonprofit pleasure.

A/N: I am glad so many people are liking this. Writing for me is sort of organic. I may plan it out ahead of time, but who knows what will happen when it comes time to write the words. Since I am new to this fandom, I have only seen about half the episodes. I understand that there was an Nicole ep. to start this season. I have no clue what happened in that ep. What is Nicole's current status on the show? Also, I am wondering if anyone can tell me what happened at the end of the Wee small hours. I understand that Eames was on the stand and said some things, and they discussed it afterward. Please e-mail me at if you have info on these things. I will try to be as close to canon as possible. Thanks for writing reviews. I am happy to read each and every comment.

Sheila

Something Precious

Chapter 2

Alex felt it deep in her gut the minute she walked into the precinct. It filled her with memories, some good and some bad. She felt Bobby standing at her right shoulder, and was glad he was with her. It amazed her how many familiar faces still floated around the old building. She nodded at several, and noted that more than a few just stared back at her. She saw the desk sergeant schmoozing with some patrol officers, and she smiled. Ryan had manned that desk for the last twenty five years. There wasn't a street in Queens he didn't know intimately. Every cop that walked through this precinct house dealt with old Frank Ryan. She hoped to catch his eye; she had fond memories of his gruff but concerned demeanor and all the good-natured teasing he had sent her way.

Frank Ryan did look up, but it wasn't the warm look she was expecting. His craggy face wrinkled into a distinct frown as his gaze turned to recognition. She looked away, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. Bobby sensed her discomfort and slipped his arm under her elbow, steering her toward the stairs.

His office was at the end of the squad room on the second. Again, she had to walk through a room filled with detectives; almost all of whom were men. Alex didn't try to catch anyone's eye this time. She headed straight for Zinsky's office. Through the glass she could see him at his desk, feet up, laughing with a couple of detectives. She didn't hesitate. She tossed her head back and strode in.

Zinsky looked up, and the laugh died on his lips. His eyes widened and he stood up. "Oh my God, as I live and breath, it's Lexie Eames."

"Can it, Robert. We need to talk." Her voice was low, almost a whisper.

"Who's the goon?" Zinsky gestured with his head at Bobby.

"This is my partner, Detective Goren."

"You sleep with her yet?" The man winked. Bobby didn't react. This was Alex's game, and he was going to play by her rules.

"I need to talk to you." She looked at the other detectives. Zinsky waved an arm and they cleared the room. She waited until they shut the door. "You have a daughter who goes to the same daycare as my nephew."

He chuckled. "I heard all about it. Never thought you were cold enough to give away your own kid. Glad I never found out the hard way."

Bobby sneered at him.

"I can't have them in the same daycare. My nephew will be going somewhere new. I'm just here to clarify with you that you never have contact with him or any other member of my family. Do you understand?" Alex Eames was a small woman and she spoke quietly, but her intensity carried the energy of the room.

Zinsky shook his head. "You somehow imagine that I would really want anything to do with you and your bastard kid. This is not a problem. Unlike you, I have a life. I have a wife and child. Look at you, Lex. Tired and beat, you're an old woman, not even 40 years old. All you have is your job; nothing more. I've heard about you. Pathetic, really."

Alex stared at the wall behind him, saying nothing.

Zinsky turned to Bobby. "You never knew her then. So young, so pretty. She had such energy, always the life of the party; nothing like the hag I see before me now."

Bobby stepped forward and took Alex by the arm. "Time to go."

Alex turned to look at him as if waking up. She shook off his hand. "You're a bully, Robert. I don't care what I look like to you. I've been spared the years of an abusive marriage. I…I just can't imagine what drew me to you in the first place. Makes me feel dumb that I ever saw something in you."

Zinsky was on his feet and pointing at Bobby. "Hey you, whatever your name is, get the bitch out of my house and make sure she never comes back."

She stepped toward him, but Bobby was there. He gently but firmly steered her out of his office. "Don't think I forgot what you did to me you little whore!" was the last sounds they heard before Bobby pulled her down the staircase.

Outside, she walked past the car, arms folded tightly across her chest. Bobby trotted after her. "Alex!"

She turned and waved him away. He could see her eyes blurry with tears.

"Get in the car," he said softly when he reached her.

She turned away from him. "I want to be alone. I'll grab a cab."

"In his precinct? No, Alex, I don't think so. You want to be alone? Great, but you're getting in the car and you're letting me drop you off at home."

She stopped for a moment, the crisp winter air making clouds of steam rise up around her. She looked at him and nodded, following him to the car.

He was quiet until he got to her apartment complex, ignoring the tears she tried to stifle. He stopped and turned to her before she could open the door. "I let you play it, Alex. I didn't say a word, God help me I didn't say a word." He paused and looked out the windshield. "But if I ever see him again, so help me, it's on. I am not going to stand by while he…speaks to you like that."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Just what I need, another man in my life who can't control his anger." She opened the car door and got out before he could reply. He watched her trot up the stairs to her apartment building. Then he let out a deep sigh and dropped his head against the seat, cursing the bad timing of his outburst.

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He was at her apartment at midnight. She hadn't answered any of his phone messages, and sleep wasn't going to happen for him if he didn't know she was all right. There was no response to his knocking, and he wondered if she was out and deliberately ignoring his calls. She had never done that before. She knew how he obsessed on things. He had a key but hated to use it. She had given it to him a couple of years ago when she went on vacation, and when he tried to give it back to her when she returned, she told him to keep in case of emergency. He went over in his head one more time whether this would qualify as such. He decided to ignore his doubts, and turned the key in the lock.

The lights were on in her apartment and the sounds of a television show came from the living room. He walked through the kitchen and saw the liquor cabinet open. When he turned into the living room, the sour smell of hard alcohol hit him. Alex lay sprawled on the couch, the glow of the blaring TV being the only illumination in the room. He found the remote beside her and shut it off. Then he switched on a light beside her couch. It was clear that his partner was soused; just as it was clear that this was not a regular event. The whiskey on the table was the same bottle Deakins gave each of them three Christmases ago.

He sat down softly on the couch and lifted her shoulders so that she was leaning against him. Then he spoke into her ear, "Alex, wake up, Alex. It's Bobby."

She responded with a groan and nestled her face into his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile a little. "Alex," he said louder. "wake up."

A blurry eye opened and attempted to focus on him. Then a realization gripped her, and she pushed away from him. "Whoa," he said, "It's Bobby. You're okay."

Blonde hair fell over her eyes and she took a minute to orient herself. "What are you doing here?"

"You weren't answering your phone. Apparently, you were too busy drowning yourself in cheap whiskey." He picked up a 2 liter bottle of 7-up on the coffee table. "You can't be too hard core if you were mixing your liquor with soda pop all night."

"Stuff tastes like lighter fluid without it," she mumbled as she pushed the hair away from her eyes. "Why did you come?"

"You were right earlier. I let my temper get the best of me. That's not what you needed to hear at that moment."

She rubbed under her eyes and discovered the debris of her mascara. "You can tell me this in the morning."

"No, Alex listen. I want to say this. I want to tell you that I know how awful he was to you. I have never thought one thing he said to you in there. You have to understand it for what it was. He's a bitter man, and Nicole has orchestrated it so that you're in his path again. He fears you. He knows you are the one woman he could never control and so he attacks. It's fear aggression…like, like in a dog who attacks because it can't understand."

She tried to concentrate on his words. "Bobby, I…I don't know what to say. Thanks. I'll think about it. I'm just so tired right now."

He leaned toward her. "Zinsky isn't the point here. He's the distraction Nicole threw at you. She has you rattled, unsure where to focus. We have to deflect all this and concentrate on her and what she did to our vic. You got me?"

"Yeah," she was rubbing at her throbbing temples.

He got up. "Where's the ibuprofen?" She pointed to the bathroom and he disappeared. Then she heard him moving things around in the kitchen. He came out with a glass of water and pills. "This is the best hangover cure. Drink three glasses of water and take three ibuprofen. You'll be as good as new in the morning."

She took the water and let him deposit the pills in her other hand. "I'm going to stay until we get three glasses in."

"Bobby"

"I want you back at work tomorrow bright and early. We have to be on our game."

She nodded at him, wincing at the pain building in her head.

"I'm going to be back to pick you up at 8 a.m. You be ready, okay?"

He got up, keeping an eye on her until he got to the door. She stayed focused on the glass of water in her hand.

"We're going to get her, Alex." He waited. Finally, she raised her head and gave him one last acknowledgement. It was only then that he could close the door behind him.

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Alex was amazed that she felt as well as she did. There was only the hint of a headache. And she found she was able to eat part of the egg and sausage sandwich he had waiting for her in the car. She remembered everything he said to her, and somehow it tempered the embarrassment she felt at having him find her in that condition.

She felt ready for Nicole and even smiled when she saw her escort bring her into interrogation. Nicole smiled back at her before fixing Bobby with a smirk.

"So Alex, how is Robert? Did the two of you have a nice chat?"

"No, not really, Nicole. He's an angry, stupid man. His act is tired. Seeing him actually reminds of what I feel when I see you."

"My, you did sharpen your claws before you came to work today, didn't you?"

"Just an honest observation. How about we move onto to more important things like what you know about the death of Roberta Jones and the disappearance of Bettina Garcia."

"Absolutely. Let's talk about it. What do you think, Bobby? You just going to stand back there and watch today?" She flashed him one of her mega watt smiles and Alex wondered if there would come a day when she didn't look like she just walked out of an ad for a fashion magazine.

"Well, Nicole when you're around, there's really so much to see," Bobby replied softly.

Alex felt a twinge of annoyance in her gut. She wondered how much of what he said was really the truth. "Did Bettina talk about Roberta Jones?"

Nicole looked at her. "In fact, she did. She said something about how she was going to 'kill that skanky ho bitch' the minute she got out of here. Of course, I told her that was against the law. I had hoped, perhaps, that I could sway her to a more moral existence, but she seemed determined."

"And you didn't report this to authorities. Well, that might make you an accessory after the fact."

"Oh, but Alex, I feared for my life. You don't know what it's like in there." Nicole didn't try and hide the sarcasm that coated her words.

"Do you know where Bettina is?" Alex asked.

"We never exchanged numbers. She was really a common sort, you know. Probably never read anything more challenging than a cereal box. I'm pretty sure she thought Moby Dick was porn."

Bobby snorted. "Sometimes I forget how funny you are, Nicole. Tell us more. I hang on your every word."

"Bettina has a boyfriend that she mentioned. His name is Carlos Gregory. She said something about him being on parole. Lives in Brooklyn, I think."

"Well, that was easy," Alex stood up, wearing a slightly puzzled look.

"That gives us some time to talk about other things." Nicole smiled brightly at both of them.

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, I'm not sure I can handle another one of your revelations."

"No more revelations. I'm just surprised that you don't see what's right in front of you."

Alex slapped the table with one hand. "Okay, I've had it. No more. Save it. Whatever you know, we don't need." She got up and left the room.

Bobby watched his partner leave, and then turned to Nicole again. "You play too much and we get bored."

"You really think it's a good idea to focus solely on Bettina?"

"That's where the crime is, Nicole. Where else would we focus?"

"Sometimes, there's no way to know where to focus. Sometimes, it's coming from all directions."

Bobby shook his head. "It's too vague."

"Okay, Bobby, you want specifics. I'm tired of her. She gets in between us. Her common sense practicality, it's annoying. She's dogged and that's boring. She grates on my nerves. She interrupts the dance we have, you and I. I don't like her anymore." She stared straight at him.

Bobby felt air leave his body. He couldn't do anything other than meet her stare blankly. A minute passed before he had the presence to tap the glass and summon her escort. Without a word, he walked past her and out the door. No one was standing at the mirror. No one else had heard her words. He saw Alex on the phone at her desk, and he realized how right Nicole was. Alex was dogged and practical. She was no doubt on the phone hunting down Carlos Gregory.

She looked up at him. "She say anything else?"

He shook his head and turned away. He had told her that Nicole was trying to break her focus, and so Alex no longer had any time for the psychotic blonde. She was going to carry on as if there had been no Robert Zinsky. He was doing the best he could to stay on top of her game, and yet Bobby got the distinct feeling that the last words that Nicole had said to him were the only ones that really mattered.

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