She hung up the phone and the Captain arrived at her desk a few seconds later.

            "So what's the good word?" he asked.

            "Well sir, Goren is at the Pier Ten Restaurant in Jersey City, waiting for Jun-Thai and our mystery guy to make an appearance. I just came back from a visit to Russ to see if he could help with the id for our anonymous man. I'm going to head out to Jersey City to relieve Goren at noon unless they show up beforehand. I thought I'd get some of this paperwork cleared off of our desks in the meantime."

            She realized that with that statement she had unwittingly committed to doing some of Bobby's paperwork for him. Darn it all.

            "Sounds good. Keep me updated."

            She nodded and Deakins went to make the rounds at the other desks in the precinct. She sighed and reached for the file folder in front of her. When the phone rang an hour and a half later she had managed to finish all of her work and about a third of Bobby's pile.

            "Eames."

            "It's me."

            "Oh, hey."

            "They're here."

            She looked at her watch.

            "Do you want me to head out now?"

            "Yeah. See you in a bit."

            "Ok, call if you need me."

            "All right. Bye."

            "Bye."

            She crossed the floor to Deakins' office and knocked on the open door.

            "Come in," he turned around, "Yes, Eames?"

            "That was Goren, sir. Jun-Thai and his guest have just arrived. I'm heading out there now."

            "Ok. You two be careful."

            "We will, sir."

            She had been driving for about 25 minutes and was almost at the destination when the phone rang.

            "Eames."

            "It's me."

            "What happened?"

            "They came and left already. Well actually they're still here, sort of."

            "So they're gone from the restaurant but still on the premises?"

            "They're in the parking lot. I didn't hear if they were headed anyplace in particular. They seemed ill-inclined to talk until now, when there's no way for me to hear what they're saying without really drawing attention to myself. I'm just going to have to follow one of them."

            "Lucky me that I am not there to share in the fun. Well give me a minute and I'll see if I can get any information out of the waitress as soon as I get there."

            "I'll do it."

            "No offense but she's already likely to remember you. Besides I could use another chance to flex my acting chops."

            He grinned at that.

            "Ok. I'll follow the mystery guy. Once I see where he's going I'll sit there and write down what little I heard while I wait for you to check in."

            "What's the waitress's name I'm looking to talk to?"

            "Bambi."

            Her eyes widened.

            "Please tell me you're joking."

            He shook his head back and forth and chuckled.

            "It should be easy to tell her apart," he added with a grin she could hear, "She's the only one wearing a big red bow in her hair."

            Alex hung up the phone and drove the rest of the way to the restaurant in silence. She sighed and opened the car door, jogging up to the entrance. She noted the peeling red paint on the surprisingly heavy door as she opened it and went in, looking around the place like she was looking for someone which of course she was. Finally she acted like she had just spotted Bambi and made her way over to her.

            "Hi. Could you help me? I was supposed to meet someone here and I am so late. I wonder if you saw him. About this tall, Asian, probably looked ready to kill someone?"           

            "Oh yeah. Man, he was pissed."

            "Oh damn. Did anyone join him?"

            "Yeah…this other Asian guy."

            "Oh good. Well at least he didn't get totally stood up. Did you happen to hear where he was going?"

            She gave Alex a suspicious look. Her body language suggested maybe she was venturing into uncomfortable territory.          

            "Yeah I know—what kind of question is that? But if he went home then I know he's okay. On the other hand if he went into work then he's really pissed and I should just avoid him all day. So did you hear them say where they were going?" And she gave the waitress what she prayed was her most hopeful expression, wringing her hands together as if she were nervous.

            "Well I don't know what it means but I heard them say they were going to see each other at the party. Does that help?"

            Alex reached out to grab the woman's arm for a moment as if she were profoundly grateful.

            "Yes. It's great news. It means he's not mad at all. Wonderful! Thanks so much! Hey, while I'm here could I get a cup of coffee to go?"

            The girl smiled and nodded and when she came back Alex gave her an extra large tip.

            "Oh yeah. I'm going to pretend that I never made it here so if you could pretend you never saw me the next time I'm in here?" She shrugged. "I figure it's better than letting him know I missed him. Guys can be so touchy about stuff like that, you know?"

            The waitress smiled a co-conspirator's smile and winked at Alex.

            "Sure thing."

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Disclaimer: I'm changing time zones soon and I hope that with that change comes a reversal of fortune that may in fact lead to my ownership of the characters. So while I cross my fingers and pray I will simply say plot=mine, characters=theirs.

Author's Note: Could you guys be any greater? I submit that you cannot! Your support and encouragement means so much to me, really. Thank you. Individual thank you's are below:


Chloe6—"the ultimate cheery-me-upper fic"? I like it! Thanks so much for reviewing, and for doing it so soon after I had posted! That was such a pleasant surprise!

Kahliaa—Aww shucks. I'm just glad you like it. And I'm so happy you think it's funny. Knowing I'm not laughing alone is a wonderful thing.

Kajee—Thank you thank you! I'm delighted that you are enjoying it!

Desanera—Wow right back at you! Such lavish praise! Thank you so very much! I am humbled.

Dirce—LOL…chapter 11 fogged up your windows? Too funny…but sometimes those weather patterns can be downright unpredictable, not to mention uncooperative. This is sort of a filler chapter so it's low on the suggestive content, sorry. I'll get back to it soon! Thanks for hitting the old review button.

MagentaLee—I'm glad that all is right with the world again. Whatever I can do to help I will. Thanks for asking the question, and for reviewing.


cookie24—Thanks, cookie! Your review was so nice to read, and I look forward to helping make your year.

 
BlueAngel8341—It's been a hoot? That is *so* a word I use and I cracked up when I saw it in your review. Thank you for using your rainy day to make one of mine brighter and much happier!

Cyclone2—Um no. No resolution for a while. Sorry to disappoint but it's just a feint. Thanks for your review and gentle encouragement.

geena1029—You seriously check back that often? Wow. I'm so impressed with your dedication. I hope that the one time you checked and saw this that it wasn't too disappointing for you. Thanks so much for reviewing.

Quicksilvermad—Well gee thanks! I'm impressed with your use of "unfurls". I love it when people break out their vocabs! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

The Confused One—Why thank you! I love getting reviews like yours, they make me smile for hours. Thanks for reading and reviewing!