"If you were there you would have heard what he said or found a way to ride along with him."
Sometimes he wondered about his partner. He knew that people gave her a lot of grief about being paired up with him and that for some reason rumors were going around that he did all the work and she was just the researcher. He couldn't fathom how anyone could think she wasn't absolutely vital to their partnership, especially Alex herself. But her current tone told him she considered her presence tonight a burden. He struggled to allay her concerns.
"Or not. I doubt he would have taken kindly to turning around and seeing a guy who towered over him trying to hustle him into an enclosed space."
Well that did make her feel a little better.
"Maybe. You're just trying to make me feel better."
"Depends."
"On what?" she asked.
"If it's working or not."
She pretended to think about it until he shifted his gaze to her.
"Maybe just a little."
He smiled at her and she found herself wishing he would smile more often. It changed the whole dynamic of his face. She turned to look out the window and it was then she noticed where they were going.
"Why aren't we headed toward the precinct?"
"We're going to your place."
"Why?"
He looked at her like she was crazy.
"So you can get some dry clothes."
Sometimes she had to wonder about herself. Why had that possibility not occurred to her? Maybe because your mind was occupied with another reason for going to your apartment? One that would happen say, in your dreams? She twisted her head away from Bobby and closed her eyes for a moment, willing the negative self-talk away. A dose of humor was in order, she decided.
"Oh, okay. But only if you promise to make yourself useful and call the cab company while we're there."
"No deal."
"What?"
"You can call the cab company now and I'll call the pizza guy while we're at your place, if it makes you happy."
Pizza sounded really good.
"Mmm, that sounds like a great idea."
She reached over into the back seat and pulled out the phone book they kept in a plastic bin along with spare pens, notebooks, and other odds and ends like a deck of playing cards. She twisted and felt along the car floor for her cell phone.
"It feels weird to be doing this," she commented.
"What? Searching for the phone?" he retorted dryly.
"There's that infamous Goren sense of humor trying to rear its ugly head," she teased, tossing him a smile over her shoulder as she continued digging, "I meant having you drive while I do something else."
"Yeah it's weird for me too. I forgot to move the seat back before I got in and I banged my knee on the steering column."
"Oh, poor baby," she sympathized as she reached over and rubbed his knee without really thinking that move through.
Oh dear lord in heaven. Alex, were you born this stupid or are you learning as you go? You better come up with some smart-ass comment pronto or else he is going to freak out more than he probably already is.
"Are you sure you're going to be able to walk up the stairs to my place? Maybe I should just put you in the freight elevator."
Thankfully Bobby didn't seem to think anything of her actions or if he did he sure recovered quickly.
"Oh is that the infamous Alex Eames sense of humor I've heard so much about?"
Finding the phone she straightened up and sent her partner a mock glare.
"Don't make me hurt you. Now try not to sing along with the radio too loud while I make these phone calls, okay?"
He almost laughed at that one.
"You wish I was the one who sang along with the radio, Eames. Unlike some people whose names have been withheld I am capable of self-control."
"Right. 'Cause I'm the one who once began dancing to salsa music to fake out a suspect?"
"That had nothing to do with losing my sense of control."
She just smiled and went about dialing the number and asking for the manager. By the time they arrived at her apartment she had let Captain Deakins know of their progress and they had learned that the cab wasn't due back for another four hours. Plenty of time for them to eat and get back to the station and maybe if they were lucky they could relax for a bit before rushing back. The power came back on just as they arrived at her door. Unlocking it Alex stepped through to make way for Bobby.
"You want the usual?" he asked as she disappeared into the bedroom.
"Yes please," Her voice called out. "Would it bother you if I took a quick shower, too?"
He shook his head although she couldn't see him and told her to go ahead. Then he started to think about her choice of words. It was one of his personality quirks. He rarely heard something without immediately analyzing word choice. Would it bother him if she showered? He ran through various synonyms for the word bother: aggravate, agitate, alarm, bore, concern, disconcert, disgust, dismay, displease, distress, disturb, eat, embarrass, hurt, impede, inconvenience, insult, intrude upon, irk, irritate, pain, perplex, perturb, provoke, pursue, put out, tantalize, taunt, tease, torment, trouble, upset, and vex.
Would any of those words apply? What word would he have chosen to use instead of bother? Well let's see…if he was thinking about Alex in the shower then...wait a minute! Where had that thought come from? His innocent twisting of her words suddenly took on indications that were anything but innocent. But instead of trying to think of another subject for his brain to toy around with he indulged himself and continued on. So his mind started to eliminate the synonyms based on his own preferred usage and the current scenario. Would he say that the idea of Alex in the shower aggravated, alarmed, or bored him? Not likely. Would he say the idea filled him with disgust, dismay or displeasure? These were unlikely as well. He coughed, feeling a little uncomfortable. But once he locked onto something he rarely let go and now wasn't proving to be one of those rare times.
In fact the longer he stood there dwelling on it the less probable it was that any of the words would apply save a few choice ones like disconcert, tantalize, and tease. He released a deep audible breath. Yes, those fit nicely. The knowledge that she was showering one room away definitely tantalized him, the images teased him and his feelings in general on the subject left him disconcerted.
So in conclusion did Alex use the right word? Probably not in the way she thought but as he contemplated that statement some more he definitely imagined himself being bothered. He finally broke that train of thought and set about looking for something to distract him. As he wandered to her bookcase he loosened the collar of his shirt and browsed the titles, not really seeing them. His mind drifted back to thoughts of his partner. Sometimes she said some things—like this recent shower comment, for one—that just begged his poor brain to snap to attention from the immediate visual. He recalled one case where the suspect had called her a devil. Before he had the chance to defend her Eames had come right back with a snappy one-liner: "You should see me in a blue dress."
And damn if his brain didn't immediately picture Alex in a blue dress. It was navy blue. Thin spaghetti straps held up the bodice, which prominently featured a low neckline. The material was silk…whoa boy! What was he thinking? Goren had difficulty but he was able to shake that memory. Almost immediately another one sprang up to take its place. They were inspecting a dead body and Alex had taken one look at the woman's miniskirt and had known what year the woman had died. When he looked at her she had just shrugged and he felt compelled to comment.
"You wore one of those?"
"Yeah. And I looked good in it, too."
He bet she did then and didn't doubt how she'd look in one now. That thought had zinged through his brain before he was even aware of it. Alex's voice reached him and effectively snapped him out of his musings.
"I'll be out in a few minutes. Can you entertain yourself?"
"I'm sure I can manage," he joked. He decided to call the pizza guy and then maybe read a little to pass the time. After making the call he walked over to peruse the reading material available a little bit more seriously this time. He smiled as he came across Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go! That was such an Alex book to have. He loved her collection of books. She was definitely like him when it came to possessing a lot of eclectic reading material. But his tastes were a little different than hers. Whereas she liked a lot of fiction he strayed toward nonfiction. He figured between the two of them they had a pretty decent library. It was good that they didn't have the same taste in books, he mused. That would make things boring. The way it was now she could tell him about the latest novel she was reading and he could usually give her some factual references to go along with it. Bobby grinned as he recalled their conversation on the way to work a few days ago. She had been telling him all about this book about a woman from Southeast Asia, specifically Korea, who moved to New York to start a new life for herself, leaving her family and friends behind. Years later tragedy forced her to go back home and she was finding the transition difficult.
Bobby had been able to tell Alex a little bit about the customs and climate of the country, having served a tour there. The first time he had done that with her she had just looked at him for a moment and he wondered if maybe they weren't going to get along too well after all. It was in the beginning of their partnership and Bobby had bent down to pick up a book that had fallen off of her desk. Looking at the title he realized he had never read it and had asked Alex about it, figuring they might as well try and build some sort of working friendship and that this was as good a way as any to start the process. He knew he had this penchant for offering any relevant facts his mind had accumulated over the years whenever he sensed an opening. But as he spouted off some random fact her look had been one of disbelief. Maybe his new partner thought he was too strange to work with?
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Disclaimer: I own the plot…well I share it with my muse, actually. The characters, though, are a whole different story. I don't own them.
Author's Notes: Thank you's are below:
The Jack Loving Misfit—Would that be Jack McCoy, perchance? I really appreciate you taking the time to review and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!
Autumngold—Well I don't want Bobby to be totally oblivious in this story and every little bit he does to be nice to Alex is all good. I will try to update as quickly as I can! Thank you for checking in again…I really am grateful!