A/N: Thanks again for the great reviews. Some of you suggested that Laura should meet Bobby, so there will be a meeting. Don't know how yet, but it will be there. So here's Alex's confession... maybe not the way you like it, but it's just too much fun to have a twist in the road. Just like always suggestions, ideas and grammar stuff is welcome. Enjoy!

Part fifteen

Unlike him, Alex didn't move away from him. She acknowledged the importance of staying connected with him. Yet she knew, her words weren't going to be easy for him.

"Your… confession isn't a complete surprise to me. I suspected you were confused. Your… remarks and reactions made me doubt my suspicions. I guessed you were jealous, but I wasn't quite sure."

She was silent for a moment, trying to put some order in her thoughts. "I guess we both don't deal well with our feelings. And that concerns me."

"Alex." Bobby interrupted her. He could guess where she was going with it and he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it. "I need to know how you feel." He turned around, needing to see her.

For the first time that evening Alex felt insecure and she tried to back away from him. Bobby surprised her by quickly grabbing her hand, stopping her from walking away. "Tell me." He pleaded with her.

"I've fallen in love with you." Never before had she spoken those words out loud.

His heart skipped a beat at her words. This was something he'd wanted to hear her say for so long, but never expected to actually hear. She loved him. He ignored the sudden urge to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

"I've felt like this for a while now. I'm surprised you never noticed."

He didn't have an answer to that. Maybe he didn't want to see it, maybe she was better at hiding it than he was, or just maybe he wasn't as good in reading her as he thought he was.

"I was never sure how you felt, but lately I guessed you felt the same. The fact that we are partners doesn't bother me much. I know we can deal with that. But… these last couple of weeks have given me much to think about. You really hurt me when you didn't want to fight. It hurt me that you just walked away."

"Alex.."

"I need to say this, Bobby." And she knew, he probably wouldn't want to hear. "It made me see that when it comes to our feelings, we hurt each other. We've had arguments in a way we've never had before. We just keep hurting each other. Maybe going down that road isn't the best thing to do. Maybe we should keep things like they are, partners and… good friends. Look at today. We had fun, we enjoyed each other's company, it was nice. I missed that. It made me think that maybe we're better off just being friends."

Her words weren't a complete surprise, but that didn't mean he liked them. She wanted him to fight. He would never forget those words. He wasn't about to give up now. "What if I don't want us to be just friends?"

"You're not the only one who has a say in this." She walked away from him and sat down again on the couch.

"I know and I'm not saying I have." He hurried to say, not wanting to get into another fight with her.

As he had found out recently, sometimes reasoning didn't always work. Sometimes you had to listen to your heart. Reasoning that was what she was doing now. He needed her to feel. He knew of only one way.

Slowly he approached her. Standing next to her, he held his hand out to her. Questioningly she watched him. He gave her a slight nod, urging her to trust him and take his hand. Feeling her hand in his, he pulled her up and giving her no time to step away he enveloped her in a warm embrace. His arms were around her, one around her waist, the other around her shoulder with his hand in her hair at the nape of her neck. Gently he pressed her forehead against his chest.

He was delighted when he felt her arms go around his waist and heard a soft sigh. "Do you feel it, Alex? Do you feel how good this is? How right this is?" Letting the words sink in and enjoy the closeness, he kept silent. He placed a soft kiss on her hair.

"I'm not giving up, Alex, not when it feels so right. You wanted me to fight and I will." Pulling back he cupped her face in his big hands. Closing the distance he searched her eyes for any indication she didn't want this. Seeing none, he closed his eyes as his lips tentatively brushed hers. Once, twice before he pressed his lips on hers. He wanted her for feel how good it felt. He was sure she felt the sparks the moment their lips touched.

Reluctantly he pulled back when he felt her wanting to deepen the kiss. Tracing her jaw with his finger he placed a kiss on her forehead. He saw she was still processing everything. "I'll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams." He whispered. Walking away from her, he grabbed his coat and left.

Minutes later Alex was still rooted on the same spot, trying to process everything. This wasn't like Bobby to be so impulsive. She touched her lips, closed her eyes and remembered that sweet, soft kiss. It felt so right, his lips felt so good. To be enveloped by his big body with his arms around her made her feel so cared for and relaxed. He was going to fight and it was what she had wanted him to do. But she wasn't sure if their love for each other was enough.

Suddenly she remembered his words. Was he planning to come by again tomorrow? Before she could contemplate his words the sudden ringing of the phone disturbed her thoughts.

"Eames." She answered, greeting the caller in a somewhat distant voice.

"Hey, Alex." Carolyn called to check up on her friend. "I wanted to know how things are since the tennis match."

"I don't know." Alex sighed, dropping down on the couch. She truly didn't know where they stood.

"What's wrong?" Concern was clearly heard in Carolyn's words.

"I wish I know. I don't know where we stand. We talked and told each other how we felt."

"And?" Carolyn was anxious to hear it.

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? How can that be? What did you say?"

"He told me he had feelings for me. That I made him feel unbalanced. And I told him I was in love with him." Alex explained to her friend.

"And you didn't start making out immediately?"

"Well…"

"You did?" Carolyn yelled into the phone.

"We kissed."

"And?"

"It was…" Alex had a dreamy smile on her face, not realizing that Carolyn couldn't see it. "amazing."

"So what's the problem?"

"Maybe this isn't the right thing to do, maybe we're better off as friends. I thought I had it all figured out and then he just… makes me feel out of control. I just don't know what to do."

"Have you considered that now that this might become real, you're getting scared?"

Alex didn't have a answer to that question. Was Carolyn right, was she scared now that there was a chance?

"Just think about it, okay? I'll see you Monday. Bye."

Without saying goodbye, Alex put the phone down. She had a lot to think about tonight.

TBC...