A/N: There's a time lapse of a few days between this chapter and the last one, just so you know.

"You damn well better have news for me."

Bobby, who was trying to hold his cell phone between two fingers while he tied his tie with the rest, mumbled a curse. "You want news? Her mom's dead and the wake's tonight. How's that?"

Riley was silent for a second. "Sorry. I wasn't . . . I keep forgetting why it is you're out there. How's she doing?"

He thought about that, picturing her pale face as it had looked twenty minutes ago, when she had disappeared into the bathroom to shower and dress. "Better, I guess. But today's really not the day to judge by."

"Ok, then. How about yesterday?"

Yesterday, they had spent much of the day in bed, but he definitely wasn't going to mention that to his loudmouthed partner. "She's dealing as well you could expect someone who just lost their mother to deal. Oh, hell . . . Riley, hold on," he broke off as Canis, who had nosed the door open when he wasn't looking, jumped on him, paws landing squarely in the middle of Bobby's white dress shirt. "Get down, damn it!" he scolded, pushing the dog's nose away.

"What the hell is going on over there, Goren?" Riley asked, intrigued by the sudden excitement.

"I - no! Go bother Alex, if you have to bother somebody!"

"I'd be happy to bother her if you'll just pass the phone to her," Riley said cheerfully. "That's assuming she's not the one making you yell right now, of course."

Bobby snorted a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, right. She's busy getting dressed, same as I am. In a different room," he added before Riley could infer anything from the statement. "And I wasn't talking to you. Her dog just busted in and jumped on me."

"A different room, huh?" Riley sighed. "Guess that means you haven't talked her into bed yet?"

"John."

There was no need for Bobby to raise his voice; his dangerous growl communicated his point just as well to his partner. "Sorry, sorry," Riley said, deciding to make a strategic retreat. "Can't blame a guy for trying. Am I allowed to ask if she's forgiven you yet, or are you going to rip me a new one for that, too?"

"We're working on it," Bobby said shortly as his tie finally decided to cooperate and knot properly.

"You said 'we,'" Riley noted. "That's got to be a good sign. Any idea how much longer you're going to be out there? I'm all for matchmaking and stuff, but the boss isn't quite as much of a romantic."

"What's he saying?" Grabbing his suit jacket with one hand, Bobby herded Canis out the door and toward the living room.

"Besides the whole ranting about why he ever gave you a job in the first place? Well, there's the throwing paperwork at me. I'm practically buried in it. He's also talking about going upstairs - how the hell did you get this job, anyway, that he's got to go up the ladder to get rid of you?" Riley asked, only realizing as he said it that it wasn't normal departmental procedure.

"A friend." He hung back for a second before entering the living room, inexplicably nervous about facing an Alex draped in black.

"You've got good friends then, man. Want to hook me up with them some time?"

"No," Bobby muttered distractedly, forcing himself to go ahead and turn the corner into the room.

Alex was sitting on the couch, leaning over so she was nose-to-nose with Canis, who'd run ahead of Bobby. Her slouched posture blocked his view of most of her body, but he could tell that she was wearing an unassuming pair of black pants that, he imagined, she had paired with an equally understated black jacket. Belatedly sensing his presence, she let go of the dog's collar and sat up. "Hi."

Riley was busy mouthing off in his ear; Bobby knew could temporarily tune him out and not miss anything noteworthy. He gave Alex a smile and crossed the room to stand in front of her, taking one of her hands in what he hoped was a comforting grip and mouthing a quiet, "Hey."

She managed a weak smile in return and nodded at the phone. "Who's that?"

"Riley." Turning his attention back to the phone, he said, "Look, John, I've got to go. Alex is -"

"Oh, no you don't!" Riley interrupted before he could even finish the excuse. "You've been gone for five damn days; you're sure as hell not hanging up now without giving me something to tell the lieutenant about when you're coming back."

"I can't . . ." He glanced at Alex, who was watching him curiously, and tried to think of something he could say that wouldn't alert her to the topic at hand. "I can't discuss that right now," he finally said tightly. "I'll . . . try to find out and call you later tonight."

"Yeah, yeah." Riley sighed loudly. "I bet you will. Tell Alex I'm sorry about her mother."

"Sure," Bobby said distractedly, already pulling the phone away from his ear. "Talk to you later." He could still hear Riley's voice coming through the phone when he snapped it closed and shoved it in his pocket, giving Alex an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"It's ok. What did he want?" she asked, pushing the dog away and slowly standing up next to him.

He shook his head dismissively. "The usual. He says he's sorry he couldn't be here tonight, for the . . ." A second later, he wanted to kick himself as he watched her face cloud over. She'd momentarily forgotten her pain, and he'd gone and reminded her. He was an idiot. "Oh, Alex, I'm sor-"

"It's fine," she broke in with a lightness he and she both knew she was faking. Needing a distraction, she took a step back from him and studied his suit. After a few seconds, she looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "You have paw prints on you."

"Shit." He looked down at his chest to find that, as he had feared, Canis's enthusiastic leap had left two dusty marks on the front of his shirt. "The dog, he, uh . . ." he muttered, trying to keep one eye on her and one on his shirt as he brushed at one of the paw prints.

"Here . . ." She reached out and joined the effort, trying to dust away the other.

Surprised at the touch, he raised his head to see her face. Their eyes locked, and for a second as hers widened, he was afraid she was about to burst into tears. Then her lips twitched and, to her shock as well as his, she burst out laughing.

There was a tinge of desperation to her laugh, but even so, Bobby couldn't watch her giggle without laughing too. Suddenly, they were both gasping with startled laughter. The hand she'd been using to brush at the paw prints flattened against his chest, then fisted, gripping his shirtfront like it was a lifeline, and she leaned into him, allowing him to put his arms around her.

The laughter faded after a minute, and he could feel her breathing slowly against his chest before she picked her head up, looking slightly bewildered. "I don't know what that was. I shouldn't . . . I don't know why I did that."

He loosened his arms enough to let her put some space between them, but didn't release her entirely. "Tension does weird things to people, and laughter can end up being a safety valve. You feel any better?"

She let out a deep breath. "I guess I'd rather laugh than cry, at least when I'm not in front of other people. I just . . . the thought that this is the last time I'm ever going to see my mom . . ."

"I know." Tightening his arms again, he rested his chin on top of her head and sighed. "Your dad's going to get worried if we don't get going soon."

She nodded and pulled back, reaching for her purse. "Yeah, I know. I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to get."

He followed her to the door, then hesitated before opening it. "Alex?"

"Yeah?"

He crooked one finger and used it to tilt her chin up so he could kiss her gently. "She knew you loved her."

Alex was silent for a few seconds, then just nodded slowly and took his hand. "Let's go."