Disclaimer: I have as much chance of ownership as the world does of spinning on a new axis.
Spoilers: All eppys, just to be safe.
"I aim to please," he deadpanned as he led the way down the sidewalk.
"So how do you want to handle the party tonight?" Alex asked.
"Well it's probably best if we arrange to meet there, see if we can chat up some of the guests and then talk about our discoveries afterwards. What do you think?"
She nodded, concealing her disappointment that they wouldn't get to go together.
"That makes the most sense."
But he seemed to sense her lack of enthusiasm.
"What is it, Alex?"
"What's what?" she responded, careful to keep her tone neutral.
"I don't know; you seem sort of anxious about this party. Are you all right with going?"
"Um, sure. I mean, why wouldn't I be?"
He leaned toward her, dipping his head in that way he sometimes did with criminals.
"Maybe you're wishing you could go with me, knowing full well how bored and lonely you'll be without me there beside you."
That was so dead on that Eames did the only thing she could think of at the moment. She stopped in her tracks and burst into laughter.
"Uh, sure. You just keep telling yourself that, buddy."
It turned out that she was the one to fall victim to replaying Bobby's teasing remark over and over in her head. And it disturbed her. Was she at a point that the thought of going somewhere without him really bothered her this much? And if she was, when did she arrive at such a sad state of affairs? It didn't bode well for the future. The future of what, she wasn't too keen on exploring. So as she contemplated her choice of attire for the evening she resolved to just deal with the party as she would any other investigation. The key was professionalism.
"Professionalism, Eames. Professionalism. You can do it," she muttered to herself over and over as she rode the elevator up to the party. She rocked back and forth on her heels and after catching herself doing that began swaying side to side, all in a vain effort to calm her nerves.
It was all for naught. The minute Alex walked in the door and spotted Bobby all thoughts of professionalism flew out of her head. She wondered if he somehow had in fact mastered the art of mind reading and delighted in doing whatever he could to derail her plans. He usually looked good; she mused as she stood just inside the doorway and watched him mingle with the guests. But tonight there was something about him. Aside from the obvious there was the lure of the unattainable, she decided as she catalogued his appearance. Knowing she was supposed to be pretending she didn't know him was a hard pill to swallow. He was wearing well-polished black loafers, black chino pants pressed so crisp they looked brand new; a cream turtleneck underneath a charcoal blazer and his face was without its customary stubble.
But what had made her breath catch when she first laid eyes on him was his choice of accessory for the evening…glasses. How did he know she had a weak spot for men in glasses? Give her Clark Kent or Peter Parker any day, she thought with a sigh as she stared at him. The combination of recalling her comic book crushes and Bobby's appearance caused her to start contemplating what she'd really like to be doing, given half the chance. Because she was on the other side of the room from him she felt as though she was far enough away from his mental probing that she could indulge herself without him realizing it.
Unbeknownst to Alex, Bobby had been aware of her presence the minute she stepped through the door. It bothered him slightly that his radar was so attuned to her presence that he had literally sensed that she was there before turning around to glance at her out of the corner of his eye. He took a slow, deep breath when he felt her eyes on him. Why had he told her they should stay away from each other tonight? Had he honestly believed he was going to be able to concentrate fully on anyone else but Alex? As he mingled he noticed more than one man's eyes being drawn to her and he cursed himself for his stupidity. Now he was not only stuck with trying to extract as much information about Jun-Thai from all these people as possible, he was also going to be dealing with keeping this sudden, irrational flame of jealousy that had settled upon him in check.
Alex made her way through the crowd and only paused for a second when she felt Bobby's eyes on her. She covered it by checking her purse strap but she felt extremely disconcerted, like she was suddenly naked in the room full of strangers. Make that quasi-strangers, she clarified to herself when she saw Shelia and what's-her-name over by the buffet table. Shelia caught her eye and waved Alex over.
"Great party, huh?" she commented as Alex arrived.
Alex let her eyes travel around the room, distinctly ignoring Bobby, before responding.
"It looks pretty good. So tell me, who are the men worth knowing?" She knew girl talk was the number one way to distract most women, herself not included (unless the subject is Bobby, her conscience teased). Instantly the two women crowded closer to Alex in a conspiratory huddle.
"Well, there's always Doug from the Jenkins office on 29," Shelia began.
"But if you go for him just remember two things," the woman whose name Alex still didn't know began. She stopped and looked over at Shelia and the two women began laughing.
"And what would those be?"
The two women looked around to make sure that no one was paying attention to them. Eames followed suit and accidentally caught Bobby's eye. Only her years of training protected her from doing something really stupid like gasping, yelling hello or worse, winking at him. That would be really bad because she definitely felt like flirting with disaster (which is what any romantic encounter between them would probably be, she mused) when he looked at her like he was now…like she was the only woman in the room.
"Number one is to complement his hair if you want him to do something for you," the nameless woman began, drawing Alex's attention back to the conversation at hand. Alex looked back and forth between Shelia and her friend, unable to believe she'd processed that sentence correctly.
"I'm sorry. What did you just say?"
The two women laughed at the expression on Alex's face.
"You heard me."
"You've got to be kidding me," Alex said with a laugh. "I can't wait to hear what number two is."
"Number two is to tell him as early on as possible that you hate Mexican food," Shelia said through her laughter.
"Even if you don't," Shelia's friend supplied before Alex could ask the question.
"Why do I need to do that?" Alex asked, although she was afraid she already knew the answer.
"Doug loves Mexican food," Shelia began but was unable to continue due to her laughter.
"But Mexican food does not love Doug," her friend finished for her. All three women burst into laughter, heedless of the attention they were drawing to themselves. As soon as they quieted down Alex noticed Bobby making his way towards them.
What on earth was he doing? She wondered. Was he out of his mind? They couldn't risk exposure. Shelia noticed the direction of Alex's gaze and released a low whistle.
"Wow, is he a hunk."
Her friend nodded and all Alex could do was stare helplessly.
"Would you care to dance?" Bobby asked Shelia.
"I'd love to," Shelia replied.
Wait. Shelia? He came over to ask Shelia to dance? Before Alex had a chance to turn this to her advantage and question Shelia's friend she too was swept away to the dance floor. What was this world coming to? But she was not jealous, she assured herself. Not at all. Definitely not jealous. Maybe a little miffed that no one seemed to want to dance with her, she admitted silently, feeling a little unattractive.
"Yeah, well what can you do?" she muttered to herself.
"Well I can ask you to dance myself. Would you do me the honor?"
She whirled around and found herself face-to-face with none other than Jun-Thai's mystery man. Alex could hardly believe her good fortune. He stood about half a foot taller than she and had short and spiked brown hair and hazel eyes. All in all not a bad looking guy at all, Alex mused. She nodded her head in reply to his request and placed her hand into his. He led her onto the dance floor and while they got accustomed to the way one another's bodies moved she quickly recalled all the details she could muster about the fake persona she had used in her last undercover case. She was taking no chances with this gracious whim of Fate.
He led them around the floor a few times before deciding to break the silence.
"So what's your name?"
"Deborah Wingfield. What's yours?"
"Shang Lum. I haven't seen you around."
"Have you been looking?" she countered saucily, knowing that flirting was a great diversionary tactic.
"Sadly I must confess…the answer is no. Had I only known that doing so would lead me to you I would have been looking long before now."
"So what brings you out tonight?"
"The ghost of a chance that there will be a beautiful woman I can spend my night with, for starters."
Eames smiled, knowing that this guy hardly had the bantering skills necessary to keep her interested.
"How's that working for you?"
"I found you, didn't I?"
She nodded her head and let him continue to lead them around the floor, hyper conscious of the fact that the longer they danced, the more his hands began to roam. She probably would have felt a lot better if she knew that she wasn't the only one who was watching where Shang's hands were landing.
As Shang led Alex off the dance floor and over to a secluded corner of the room Bobby found himself biting the inside of his cheek. Normally he really enjoyed dancing and would prefer to combine questioning subjects with a few turns around the dance floor whenever feasible. But seeing Alex in Shang's arms left a sour taste in Bobby's mouth. And it became bitter when he realized what he needed to do.
end of chapter
Author's Note: How much do I suck? Can't even begin to find the words to describe it. I cannot believe so much time has passed since my last update. Where did this year go? Happy Turkey Day, everyone. I hope this holiday season brings you times worth remembering and loved ones to share them with.
Reviewer thanks:
Mammypooh – I am so pleased that you're enjoying the story so much. I did a double take when I read that it had been almost a YEAR since my last update. I swear it doesn't feel like that. Thank you very much for reviewing and reading.
May – I'm so sorry that I've kept you waiting. I hope you can forgive me? Thank you for taking the time to write!
Alamo Girl –Your kind words mean so much to me. I'm so sorry that my update was so slow. Thank you for giving me such lovely feedback.
FreeYourSoul —Thank you!
Talifiney –Yes, your review was definitely one of the ones that inspired me to finish up and post already, so thank you very much for that.
Nic Nic – Aww, thanks. I really appreciate that compliment.
ces625 – Well I hate that I made you wait, 'cause I know how bad waiting for an eppy can get.
ces625 – I could ask for no more than to hear that you enjoy this story, so thank you for that.
Aria –Don't you worry…I have no plans to leave this story unfinished. Thank you for taking the time to review!
Kajee –Wow, your feedback could not be any nicer! Thank you so much! I appreciate that you inquired about my move and it did go well so thanks. You rock!
Meakashi Gosterful — I hope that you are on my update list so that you do not have to keep checking so often. I am so sorry that I did not update any sooner. Thank you for being so thoughtful.
Quicksilvermad – Thank you very much for writing to me through the pain. I am sure you have recovered by now and I hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Anonymous – Reviews like yours always crack me up. Thank you.
Saxonny – Yeah, sorry that I did not post soon at all. But thanks for writing.
CI-SVU-4EVER – Your review might qualify as an overshare in some circles but I appreciate that you enjoy it so much, I really do. Thanks for asking about the move, it went alright.
Emma – Your review was really sweet and I thank you for reading and reviewing. Thanks!
Anyel – You are very kind, and your review was such a nice one to receive in my mailbox.
AgentRowan – Thank you for such positive feedback. I do apologize that I could not update as soon as I had hoped. Thank you for reading.
Lizzy –Your review was such a pleasant surprise in my mailbox and it made me smile. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
Dirce – And here beginneth my thanks. I appreciate that you are enjoying the story so much. I am so pleased to read that. Thank you.
DoM05 – You are so very generous with your praise. Thank you for reading and reviewing, I appreciate it.
crazy-dreams – That resolution so did not pan out the way I had hoped, which was a total bummer. Happy New Year back (hey, it's almost that time of year) and thanks for writing.
inner-storm – Your review had me totally misty-eyed, and I was so moved. Thank YOU for writing, I am so pleased to have played even a small part in your journey to fanfic writing.
Kahliaa – I am so pleased that you have stayed with me. Thank you for reading and writing, as always. Your review kept me inspired through the long haul.
ccabello – Thank you for writing. Yours was the first one to come to my mailbox and I am still as pleased by it as I was the day I received it.