The Courthouse
Chapter Two: The Corridor
Author: Dragon's Daughter 1980
Spoilers: "In the Wee Small Hours" (aired November 6, 2005)
Pairing: Bobby/Alex
Disclaimer: NBC and Mr. Wolf have complete ownership over the Law & Order shows. That being said, I'm just borrowing the cast for my own enjoyment and I promise to return all characters unharmed.
Author's Note: I've only occasionally watched L&O:CI, so I'm not completely sure about the canon. I also didn't have a chance to tape "In the Wee Small Hours" so I'm working from memory. So please excuse any of my errors (and drop me a note about them). Thank you.
The world, as always after a turning point in their partnership, disappeared around them. No one else mattered at the moment. It was just the two of them: man and woman, sharing an inexplicable bond of understanding and trust.
She looked up as he stepped closer to her. She was used to his invasion of her personal space; in fact, she was so accustomed to it that had become a constant in her life, his steady, reassuring bulk behind her, subtly hovering protectively enough around her to step in if he thought she was being threatened. She felt like she had betrayed him, and according to the internal, unspoken code of the NYPD, she had; she had listed only his flaws, and none of his genius, for the world to remember. Now, afraid of what she would see in his eyes, she still forced herself to look up at him, pushing back her tears of anger at herself.
He stepped closer to her; his heart hurting to see her in pain. He didn't blame her for what she had written all those years ago. It was when the rumors had been at their height, when he had been fearful of losing his job, when their pairing had been a new, uncomfortable strain on him. Now, he couldn't imagine it being any other way. She could have left at anytime during their partnership, but she hadn't. She had stayed with him despite all of the times she disagreed with him, all the times when he must have unnerved her with his 'erratic' behavior. Whenever he hovered precariously close to the dangerous line, she went beyond the call of duty and partnership to always be there to pull him back. And the look in her eyes before she read her traitorous words had told him that she wouldn't — couldn't — leave him; that alone had reassured him more than anything she could say now.
Their eyes met: hers in silent apology and his in silent acceptance. Their partnership was shaken, but the trust they had in each other was still firm. No one, and nothing, could ever change that.
"I should have told you, Bobby," she said quietly. Every part of her was silently pleading for him to give her time to regroup.
"You're right, you know," he said, trying to comfort her in his own way, "I am an acquired taste. I'm lucky that you withdrew the letter." He prayed that she saw the honesty in his eyes. Then, gentleman that he was, he did as she had asked, and graciously excused himself, leaving her — as much as it irked him — to tend to her wounds and find peace with herself. She would return to him when she was ready, and until then, he would wait for her patiently.