The first time someone said that she felt dizzy and light-headed and almost passed out. Seeing her look of confusion they had continued to explain.

No we think he feels something for you, too.

And damn if those words hadn't kept her up most of that night.

Yeah, around anybody else Detective Goren isn't anything like he is with you. I mean he talks to you, he smiles at you, and not like he does when he's trying to crack a perp, either. Don't even get me started on the way you two are in a crime scene, either. Or here at the precinct too, for that matter.

Come again?

Well there can be 20 some people in a room and he explains everything like it's just the two of you there. If it weren't sort of romantic it would be totally creepy. And as far as the way the two of you are here it's like one or the other always has to be at the other person's desk. It's almost as if you can't solve crime unless you're invading each other's personal space.

Ha ha. That's hilarious and completely untrue.

But no matter what she said they would continue to talk as if she hadn't spoken at all.

And of course there's the fact that he listens to you. He actually hears what you say. That's a rarity we don't see him anxious to repeat with anyone else.

She would always fall back on her standard reply. Roll her eyes and say, while not quite meeting their gaze:

"We're partners."

"Yes, but you're partners with possibilities."

People who saw the two of them together were amazed. They…

"Hey Eames," Speak of the devil.

She brought her hands together in front of her face like she was blowing air into them to warm up before she spoke into the microphone at her wrist.

"Uh yeah?"

"You got anything?"

Aside from exposure to every air-borne virus in a ten block radius? No.

She actually felt like telling him that and the only thing that made her refrain from doing so was what the question really meant. Alex had worked with Bobby long enough to know that he could handle being by himself for long periods of time. Sometimes there were these long silences between them, especially when Bobby was trying to figure something out, and suddenly he would turn to her and start talking as if he had never stopped. Some may have found that a little disconcerting and even have thought that Bobby dismissed Alex's presence from his mind entirely and only addressed her when he noticed that she was still there. But Alex knew that wasn't true. She knew that Bobby appreciated her patience and that starting a conversation up seemingly out of nowhere was his way of saying thanks. He recognized that she was there the whole time, thinking about the case like he was. If he were to dismiss her from his attention he wouldn't bother bouncing ideas off of her, or go one step further—he wouldn't bother to track her down so he could bounce ideas off of her, and she had enough late-night phone calls to prove that he often did just that.

So in their current situation his question was more a gesture of concern. After all, if she had something would she keep it to herself? He recognized that she was there with him and he was taking the time to make sure she was okay. She figured asking her outright must go against the guy code or something. She realized she had yet to answer.

"I'm afraid not. No sign of life here. You?"

"No. He must have taken some Valium or some other sedative earlier in the bathroom. He's out like a light."

"Are you sure he's not dead?" She cringed at her tone and hoped that Bobby wouldn't comment. Boy I wish that didn't sound so hopeful! Although it would mean I could get up and leave.

"I can see him breathing." Thank god he didn't say anything.

Sometimes Alex felt so, well, stupid around Bobby. It was hard not to, what with his genius level IQ and immense storehouse of knowledge that he could access at random and ad nauseam. Most of the time she really enjoyed the way his mind worked and admired it. Sometimes she even teased him about the wealth and breadth of his knowledge. She recalled one incident in particular. They had been called to the apartment of a missing woman. Bobby had immediately been drawn to the bedroom wall, upon which was plastered writing in a language Alex didn't recognize but which she was sure he did.

"Go ahead, impress me," she had said, knowing full well he was about to do just that.

He had turned to face her and had given her a searching look, not even cracking a smile before explaining what language it was and the possible significance. But he had admitted not knowing what the words were, just the language.

He had kept his gaze on her the whole time he had been giving her the description. He probably didn't even notice that he did that but she did and it was one of the many things she was glad about when it came to her partner. He was the consummate gentleman and treated her with the utmost respect. Whenever he was cracking a suspect he would always refer to them as a team, even if he had really figured out the whodunit without her. Sighing she realized she could go on lauding Bobby's finer qualities all day.

But the day to do that was not today. Today she was freezing, alone, and about to get soaked. Adding a feeling of incompetence to the list didn't seem to be out of line. She sighed at the feeling.

"What's the matter?"

"I just feel so stupid." And yet behold! There are new depths to my stupidity. Why did you say that, Alex? She almost groaned aloud but thankfully caught herself.

"About what?"

What indeed? Think fast Alex, think fast!

"Just that I shouldn't be worried about being comfortable when this case is more important."

Okay so sometimes going with your first thought isn't always the best choice. Like now. Oh lord, deliver me!

And he did. In the form of an enormous crack of lightning and a roar of thunder which gave way to what could only be termed as a torrential downpour. Within moments Alex's hair was plastered to her skull and her clothes were thoroughly drenched. She started thinking about getting something hot to drink after this…maybe coffee? Mmm, she could almost taste the slightly bitter aftertaste and feel the liquid as it just barely burned her tongue, just the way she liked it. Or maybe hot chocolate? It was almost that time of year.

A thunderous boom shook the city and streaks of lightning lit up the night sky. Seconds later all of the lights within the area went out, plunging the city into darkness.

"Bobby?" she called out instinctively.

"Damn it!" he cursed back.

"I bet that woke him up," she muttered to herself, still keeping a watchful eye on the door. How was she supposed to distinguish him now? Maybe she should move closer? Yeah, that's what she would do. She was on her feet and moving before she remembered she needed to tell Bobby where she was going.

"Goren, I'm moving in closer. I'm having a hard time seeing the door."

"Eames? He's out of bed...I can't see him!" came Bobby's reply, which caused her to pick up the pace. She crossed the street and went to stand beneath the building's awning.

"Hey, Goren? I'm in position outside of the door. What's the status on our guy?"

"Well you were right, that did wake him up. He's just come out of the bathroom and seems to be muddling around from what I can tell. I can only see in when the lightning strikes." He answered in a much calmer tone of voice.

            Alex settled against the building and waited for another update from Bobby or for their suspect to make his presence known. She didn't have long to wait.

            "Eames, he's making a call on his cell phone, seems agitated," A long pause followed this declaration. In fact Bobby didn't speak until the next two bolts of lightning had struck. "He's gone. He's headed your way, Alex."

            "All right."

            She didn't have much time pass before the action heated up. The suspect exited the door and waited at the end of the awning, apparently for something, or someone. Hmm, what could it be? Someone to pick him up? Yes, maybe a cab? Under cover of darkness Alex was able to move so she stood closer to the suspect. Moments later a yellow taxi cab pulled up and she stepped even nearer to him, trying to hear his destination. The door shut in her face just as she made it and the cab pulled away. Running along the sidewalk by it she trained her eyes where the door was and waited for the next stab of lightning. Once it struck she was able to make out the cab's medallion number and she stopped running for a moment, repeating the number in her head a few times until she was sure she had it memorized. She turned and made her way back to the hotel, standing underneath the awning again. Bobby's voice soon reached her.

            "Alex? You there?"

            "Yeah I'm here. He got into a cab. I couldn't hear where he was going but I got the medallion number. I'm sorry. I'm back outside the complex."

            "I'll be there in a few minutes."

            Crap. Bobby was disappointed in her. No doubt if he were down here he would have found a way to share the guy's taxi or at the very least he would have had some ancient Mayan trick for reading lips in the dark to use. She smiled a little at that. He pulled up in front of the apartment complex a little while later and as he got out she saw he had an umbrella ready to go for her. She started to go for the driver's side door out of habit but caught herself before actually opening the door and let Bobby lead her to the passenger side where she was pleasantly surprised to see that he had laid out a blanket on the seat and she saw another one on his side, obviously to hand to her when she got in. She shook her head before getting in to try and rid herself of some of the water. Bobby made his way back to the driver's side while she peeled off the top layer of her outfit and folded it into a wet pile that she placed on the floor of the vehicle. As he got back into the car and handed her the extra blanket she noticed that the heater had been turned on. She was touched by the thoughtful gesture and consequently felt even worse for losing the suspect and she sighed in frustration. Bobby looked over at her and frowned at the look on her face.

            "What is it?" he asked.

            "I'm sorry that I lost Jun-Thai. I know how frustrated you must feel and I accept full responsibility."

            He spared her another glance as he maneuvered the wet streets. She looked like she felt guilty and he realized that she thought he was upset with her. He would have laughed but he could tell she was taking it a little too seriously. He decided to cut straight to the heart of her fears.

            "I'm not upset, Alex. Why would I be?"

            "He got away."

            "Not exactly. We have the medallion number. We'll call the company and find out when the cab's due back in. Then we'll go question the driver and get a look at his trip log. From there we have an idea of who he was meeting. We're one step closer to nailing these guys."

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Standard Disclaimer applies…..I own the plot, not the characters

Spoiler: All eppys

Author's Note: Thank yous are as follows:

Autumngold—Thank you! I love G/E stories too!

daf9—Cute play on words! I like it!

Chloe—Awww thanks! I appreciate that!

Kiera Kingsley—Yes ma'am! Thank you!