A/N: Thanks for the reviews everybody. I don't think any of my fics have ever gotten this many reviews. So part of this chapter was already known because I hinted at it in the previous one. Also I thought it was time for some confessions otherwise they would be dancing around the subject forever. So this could be seen as confessions part one. Let me know what you think, because it's important for me to stay in character with confessions like this. Ideas, remarks and suggestions are always welcome. Even though I don't use all the suggestions, I do always appreciate them and if it's possible I'll try to work them in my fic if it's possible. Enjoy!

Part fourteen

On the evenings that Lucy was with Alex, Laura always gave a call to check up on her daughter. Lucy was in the guest room talking to her mother, leaving Alex and Bobby alone in the living room.

"Has she always been so…" Bobby was searching for the right word to describe Lucy.

"Obnoxious? I think you bring out the best in her."

"Actually I was more thinking in the line of chatty." He ignored her remark. Looking at the way the guest room was, Bobby asked his next question. "What are you doing tomorrow?" This time he wanted to hear if Alex wanted him to spend the day with them. He guessed that this morning she felt obligated and she hadn't want to disappoint Lucy. Now he needed to know what she wanted.

"Why?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well…" He started, trying hard not to start stumbling.

"Aunt Alex, mommy wants to talk to you." Lucy entered the living room, handing the phone to her aunt.

"Sorry. I'll be right back." Alex apologized and went into the kitchen.

"Are you holding out on me?" Laura immediately asked after the exchange of greeting.

"Euuh…no?"

"Then why did you not tell me about uncle Bobby?"

Alex groaned. She could count on her niece to tell the family about Bobby.

"Who is Bobby? Is he your partner?" The name did sound familiar to Laura.

"Yes." Alex knew she was going to regret every talking to Laura about her partner. Hearing the scream from the other side, Alex held the phone away from her ears until it stopped.

"So are you two together now?"

"No." Was Alex's curt reply.

"But he is your boyfriend?" She was confused. What exactly was Alex relationship with this Bobby?

"Excuse me? What are you talking about? If I had a boyfriend, it would be nice if I knew."

"But Lucy said he's your boyfriend or something like that." Laura tried to remember her daughter's exact words.

"You should know by now not to believe everything she says."

"Ooh, I remember. She told me that Bobby told her he wanted to be your boyfriend."

"I doubt it." Bobby would never say a thing like that to her niece.

"But you do like him, don't you?" Laura remember how Alex talked about her partner. She'd always been curious to meet him. "Am I going to meet him tomorrow?"

"I don't think so."

"But I wanna meet him and I think David would too."

"Don't even go there, okay." Alex warned her sister-in-law. Apparently Laura thought she was about to introduce Bobby as her boyfriend to the family. "I'll see you tomorrow evening. Bye."

A couple of hours later, Lucy was finally in bed, giving Alex and Bobby the chance to talk. A much needed talk. Bobby, who had first taken his seat in a chair, now sat down next to his partner.

"Look Alex, I'm sorry about what happened last night. I… I was a jerk." He started.

"Yes you were." She wasn't going to object to his words.

"I wanna explain." Honestly he wasn't sure if he truly wanted to explain his actions, his reasoning, to her, but he knew she needed an explanation. He knew they needed it before they could move forward. "Remember how you said I'd become more hesitant and I'd changed around you?"

Alex nodded, anxious to hear his explanation.

"I've been dealing with some stuff lately. Stuff that's shaking up my footing, so to speak. I've been questioning it, wondering what to do, weighing the pros and cons. In the end I realized that I needed to feel, let my heart do the talking. Rationalizing to solve my… issues didn't seem to work. You know that when it comes to my feelings I get confused, sometimes even insecure. I start to doubt myself. I tried to hide it, tried to push it away. However at times it would surface, because in truth I couldn't really push it aside. I thought more about it, tried to listen to my heart, but my mind had the upper hand. I just felt so confused about everything."

She'd listened to every word, but she still had no clue what he was talking about. Sensing that Bobby was probably going to keep talking in riddles, she interrupted him. Gently she placed her hand on his. "Can you tell me what it was that confused you?"

"You." He said without any hesitation. He locked eyes with her for a brief moment. "My feelings for you." He admitted, this time looking away.

She was quiet for a moment, trying to process his words. She was the one who had left him feeling insecure and confused. His feelings for her had caused a battle between his heart and mind. She didn't know what to say.

Bobby took her lack of reaction as rejection. He could have destroyed their partnership with his confession. He could have just lost… her. Standing up he put distance between them. It would be easier to deal with rejection without her body close by.

She was not fooled. She could read him like no other and knew why he was distancing himself. However she needed to hear more from him.

"I… I was jealous." He turned his back to her. It was easier that way. "Sometimes it just came it surface and when it did… I said things I shouldn't have said. I didn't like how you and Mike acted. You seemed… close and I felt like I was losing you. At the diner I lashed out and I felt horrible." He ran a hand through his hair.

"I decided to listen to my mind again and that's when I decided to end our partnership. I really thought it was for the best. I thought it would be better to distance myself from you. Hoping it would make me forget about you, thinking that you would be happier with him. I was jealous Alex, and… I didn't know how to deal with that."

Continuing he started pacing. "Reasoning and logic, that's how I deal with stuff in my life. That's how I stay… balanced and focused. You… you changed that. You seemed to knock that right from under me. You make me feel… unbalanced."

She couldn't help but smile at his words. She knew, in Bobby's world that was quite an accomplishment.

Afraid that he might have insulted her he continued. "Not… not that feeling unbalanced is a bad thing. It's not… it's new and I didn't know how to deal with it. My feelings for you are very strong. I didn't know how to deal with it. I guess I didn't handle things that well."

"No you didn't." Again she wasn't going to deny the truth. She walked up to him, placing her hand on his strong back she felt his tense muscles. "Why didn't you talk to me?"

"Because I didn't think you wanted to hear it." His voice was soft. Her hand on his back felt nice. He felt the urge to turn around and take her in his arms.

"Why not?" She gently rubbed his lower back, knowing that he needed the connection as much as she did.

"Because we're partners and… you never hinted that you wanted to hear it."

"How about when I asked you to give me one good reason to go out with Mike? I even asked if you wanted it to be you. You ran, Bobby." Her hand on his back stilled.

"I know." He still hadn't turned towards her. His shoulders were now slumped. He felt defeated. "It was too… confronting. I can't compete with Mike… I won't." He reached behind him, his hand searching and finding hers.

"Who said anything about competing?" She squeezed his hand, letting him know that she wasn't going anywhere. She also hoped it would reassure him.

"What about you, Alex? You know how I feel. How do you feel about my… confession?"

TBC...