The Long and Winding Road: Pt. 6

By: The Confused One

Rating: I think we might have reached PG-13, maybe.

Pairing: If the other chapters didn't make the pairing
clear, then this one certainly will. It's Bobby and
Alex, of course.

Warnings: There is some language in this one. Besides
that, I would say there is much of anything in this
chapter to be worried about.

Feedback: Why, I'd love some feedback! Please send
it all to Charmed1500y... I look forward to
reading it. Thank you.

Archive: An obvious yes to Amorous. Someone else?
Just let me know where it's going, please. Thanks
lots.

Summary: This chapter basically concludes the first
part of this fic, and it begins the second part.
Yeah, it's one of those. This is a LONG fic, and I'm
over apologizing for that fact. LOL

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own a thing. Only wish I did.
Please don't sue.

Bobby maneuvered his arms around, in order to take a
bite of the meat that was on his fork, as he listened
to Martin and Luis prattle on about what they were
going to do now that they were in charge. This, in
turn, was making Bobby less and less comfortable.
Their coldness just reassured him that his instincts
about them, from the start, were correct. They
weren't being honest with him. They weren't to be
trusted, and he was definitely not under any illusion
about how they felt about him. He knew that they saw
him as expendable or even more so than their own boss.
He painfully took a sip of his red wine. He was too
busy still trying to make any sense of his memories to
pay attention to what they were saying anyway.

Gunfire instantly brought Bobby out of his thoughts.
He exchanged looks with Martin and Luis. It didn't
sound good. A man walked into the room saying,
"People are here to search the mansion. They have
SWAT guys."

The three men were instantly on their feet. They all
found themselves brandishing their guns. Watching the
two men walk off, Bobby breathed relief. He didn't
trust them enough to want to go with them through
this, and she was pleased to see that they didn't seem
to want him with them anyway. Bobby took off in a
different direction. Bobby could hear the screaming
from the SWAT guys mainly, gunfire, and running.
Going through the dark halls of the house, Bobby made
his way through, hoping he wouldn't get spotted before
getting out the back door. Suddenly rounding a
corner, he came gun to gun with one of the cops. A
lone cop held her gun on Bobby as Bobby held his on
her.

Squinting in the dim light, Alex's eyes immediately
lit up. Gasping she shakily asked, "Goren? Bobby?"

Staring at her in confusion, Bobby suddenly realized
that he recognized her. She was the cop from the
visions and the clinic. Ignoring the names she used
for him, he venomously spat, "You."

Alex was taken aback by the hatred in his voice. She
tried again, "Bobby. Yeah, it's me." She shook her
head, remembering he didn't remember her. She
explained, "Look. I know you don't remember me, but
we know each other…"

Bobby cocked his head to the side in his familiar
gesture when he's dealing with exceptionally
belligerent suspects. He bitterly interrupted her, "I
know who you are. I know you're a cop. I know you've
been following me around. I saw you at the clinic. I
know we've talked before. What do you want from me?"

Alex closed her eyes, realizing that she barely missed
him at the clinic. Deliberately keeping her voice
steady and low, Alex started to explain, "Bobby."

Bobby roared an interruption, "Thompson."

Alex cringed slightly at the thought of calling him
anything but Bobby, Robert, or Goren. She tried
again, "Listen to me, please. I don't know what
exactly they've been telling you, but you're a cop.
You're my partner. You're name is not Robert
Thompson. You're name is Robert Goren. We're in
Major Case."

Staring at her, Bobby began letting the words sink in.
Staring at her, his stomach began to lurch again. He
just knew. He could just feel it. She wasn't lying.
He could trust her. With relief he lowering his gun,
it was killing his arms that both had casts and
bandages. He tilted his head slightly again. He
ventured, "Eames?"

Alex's eyes lit up again. She saw it in his eyes,
realization. He believed her. He trusted her.
Hearing her name, Alex wanted to cry again. With a
huge smile, Alex egged him on, "Yeah. That's me,
Bobby. You're remembering me, us."

Bobby watched as she lowered her gun now too. He
wasn't sure how to process the information. He wasn't
sure how to truly believe it. Something inside
screamed that she was on his side, that she was
telling him the truth though. Something about her,
about them, felt so right to him. He knew it had to
be the truth. At a loss for words, Bobby asked, "A
cop? Partners?"

Alex smiled slightly. She guaranteed him, "I promise
you you're a cop, and we're partners." Looking away,
Alex picked up the radio attached to her belt. She
radioed in, "Deakins, I found Goren. We'll be coming
out, here in a second. Over."

The radio made a crackling sound before Deakins
radioed back. They could tell he was smiling, as he
spoke, "Thank God. I'll see you both in a minute
then."

Bobby was still in shock. He wasn't entirely sure how
to respond to her. He wasn't sure how he felt. He
weekly replied, "I'm sorry."

Alex smiled a real smile now. It felt good too.
Releasing some of the tension felt good. Looking into
his eyes again, she never remembered being happier to
see him. She quietly choked out, "I was so afraid I
was going to..."

Bobby looked down at the floor, painfully aware of the
amnesia. Looking back up at her, he echoed his own,
earlier words, "I'm so sorry."

Alex closed her eyes and let some of tears fall. She
knew. He might believe her. He might trust her, but
he didn't remember her. Holstering her gun, Alex
watched as Bobby painfully did the same. Pulling a
badge out of her pocket, Alex was shaking. She thrust
it out for him to take. She whispered, "This is
yours. I've kept it with me."

Bobby took the badge with his right hand, and opened
it up. Small glimpses of interrogations, paperwork,
books, their house, and kids instantly seemed to come
back to him. He was the one shaking now. Looking
back up at Alex, glimpses of kisses, sharing food, and
research surfaced. He whispered, "Alex. I really am.
I am so sorry."

A few more tears fell down Alex's cheek. She was
happier than she ever imagined being. Moving forward
she engulfed Bobby in a hug. She whispered, "I love
you."

Giving Alex a light kiss, he let her take the badge
back. Watching Alex put it in his pocket, he
admitted, "I know. I love you too. God, Hayley must
be terrified."

Alex nodded emphatically. She explained, "Yeah.
She's with Kate right now. I, I couldn't. Nothing's
out yet. Bobby, we, we can't keep this a secret after
this. Somebody is going to find out."

Bobby stared at her, a little confused now. Trying to
piece it together, he was only getting frustrated. He
finally just asked, "Kate?"

Suddenly remembering again that he didn't remember,
Alex instantly answered, "My sister."

Continuing to give Alex a confused expression, he
asked, "No one knows?"

Alex closed her eyes once again, realizing he didn't
remember that much. She simplified it, "No. No one
knows. We're not married. We even have P.O. boxes so
that Deakins, our Captain, doesn't know. It, it
started out, us trying to keep our relationship quiet.
We didn't want to walk away from our partnership then
have things fall apart. By the time I got pregnant,
we knew. We could never tell anyone. We didn't want
different partners, and we knew they would have been
forced us into different shifts and partners. We know
the rules. By default, with the department Ryan and
Hayley were surrogacy gigs. We've just, always found
a way. We've always just found someone to watch them,
and we've always purposely kept from talking about
them at work."

Bobby blinked a couple of times. He wasn't sure his
brain could handle anymore at the moment. He finally
spoke, "Alex. Your parents…"

Alex put her hand up to stop him. Shaking her head,
she explained, "My family thinks we're married, and
we're not partnered together. We just happen to work
at the same time, a lot. See what I mean? It's a
mess, and it's all about to come crashing down around
us. Not that I can complain that much. We've kept
this whole thing going this long. Someone is bound to
figure it all out after this though. Especially since
Ryan was involved. That nephew story will only hold
so long, especially when you don't even know where
your brother is."

Bobby put up his left hand to stop her. Slightly
angry, he backtracked, "We've been insane enough to go
around giving everyone a different story, and it's
actually held for over sixteen years?"

Placing her hand to her forehead, Alex once again
explained, "It's my fault OK? I started the whole
mess by lying to Kate about why we spend so much time
together. They bought elopement."

Bobby moaned. Shaking his head, he began pacing. He
finally spoke, "This is a nightmare."

Alex closed her eyes before nodding. She finally
admitted, "One we've been living in for seventeen
years now. One I started, and you've never let me
forget it either. Believe me. I know we need to get
this out. It's about to blow up in our faces anyway.
God, I even have Hayley lying to Kate to protect this
thing. It's gone to far. It's already cost us Ryan,
and it's corrupting our daughter. I regret every day
that I started this mess. I should have listened to
you. So please don't start on that tirade again.
Look. Whatever happens, this is definitely not the
place to talk about this, with each other or anyone
else. Deakins is here. We're going out there. We're
talking to him for a few minutes, then you're getting
checked out by a doctor. We'll go from there. No
arguments."

Bobby smiled. With a nod, he replied, "Fine, but if I
have to see a doctor, you're doing the talking to
Deakins."

Alex laughed now. Turning around, she whispered,
"Come on Bobby. Time to go home."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Reaching the front door, they were surrounded by other
SWAT officers. Making their way past them, Alex
opened the door. Stepping outside behind her, Bobby
was surprised at the sheer volume of SWAT guys who
were waiting outside. Bobby whispered, "A lot of
people just to come find me."

Alex smiled again. She explained, "We figured we
could get some other evidence while we were searching.
You know, plain sight."

Bobby laughed. Shaking his head, he replied, "I'm
sure Carver loved that one."

Alex laughed now. She admitted, "You're right. He
doesn't know we're using it for more than just looking
for you."

Arching his eyebrows, Bobby replied, "Didn't think
so."

Before Alex could defend her self, a voice spoke
behind her, "Goren! Eames! It's about time you two
showed up."

Spinning around, Alex came face to face with Deakins.
Giving him a small smile, she assured him, "Yeah,
sorry about that. It took a few minutes to get him to
come out here."

Looking Bobby over, Deakins took note that he did,
indeed, look very good for someone who had just fallen
off a building a day ago, and he said so, "You are
definitely one lucky son-of-a-bitch. Made out quite
well."

Both Bobby and Alex smiled. It was true, and they
both knew it. Bobby was very lucky. Especially since
Santos was dead. Alex spoke up, on Bobby's behalf,
"Yeah, he's definitely lucky. He can walk and
everything. He just managed to break a couple of
ribs, his right-arm, left wrist, and even a couple of
fingers, and some bruising in areas."

Deakins realized then that he had managed to get into
a staring contest between himself and Bobby. He
didn't like it. Bobby was too withdrawn, too quiet.
He offered, "And a good case of amnesia too. Right?"

Bobby looked away finally. He admitted, "Yeah."

Alex closed her eyes before jumping in, "He needs to
get checked out by a doctor. Then, if they let him,
I'm taking him home."

Deakins nodded before ordering his long-time friend
and start detective, "Goren, either way, take a few
days before you come in. All the work can wait till
Friday. I want you to take it easy."

Nodding his head, Bobby expressed his gratitude,
"Thanks."

Bobby turned around to follow Alex to the car. Taking
a few steps away, Bobby was quickly out of Deakins'
view and mind. There was too much to do. When an
officer seemed to appear out of nowhere, to talk to
Alex. Bobby watched for a moment, slightly away from
the two of them. The young officer had a bright smile
on his face. He greeted, "Eames. I'm glad to see
you. Someone told me. You found him?"

Alex smiled at him. Nodding, Alex instantly pointed
to Bobby, who grudgingly stepped forward into the
conversation. Alex introduced Nikolas and Alex,
"Nikolas, this is my partner Bobby Goren. Goren, this
is Nikolas Smith. He helped me find the clinic you
were at."

Putting on his best polite face, Bobby explained,
"Thank you. I'm glad she wasn't alone."

Nikolas smiled. He could tell already that he liked
Bobby Goren. He cared about her, his partner. It was
obvious to Nikolas why she had wanted him back. He
was just glad that someone who cared about her was
partnered with her. He had definitely grown to like
her. She was strong, determined, and independent. He
liked that. Nikolas politely replied, "It wasn't a
problem. You've got a god partner Detective Goren."

Bobby smiled brightly. He assured Nikolas, "I know.
Don't worry."

Nikolas nodded, accepting Bobby's reply. He replied,
"Just take care of her."

With each exchange, Bobby found himself liking Nikolas
more and more. He wasn't afraid of them, like many of
the officers they met at scenes, and he cared. It was
obvious to Bobby that Nikolas liked Alex. Bobby
assured him, once again, "I do my best."

Nikolas nodded again. Moving his attention back to
Alex, he replied, "It's been a pleasure Detective.
I'll see you around?"

Alex gave Nikolas a half smile. Nodding, she replied,
"I'm sure we will. Then you'll get to see what all
the fuss is about. All of this. Slow night."

Nikolas laughed now. He turned around, and began
heading to the house, to finish his job, Nikolas
called over his shoulder, "Sounds fun. Can't wait."

Alex had a huge smile on her face till she noted where
Bobby was looking. A couple of SWAT guys were
escorting a handcuffed Martin and Luis to a squad car.
Alex asked, "Recognize them?"

Bobby gave her a small nod. He replied, "Martin
Domingus and Luis Lopez. They're the two that took me
to the clinic."

Alex eyed them angrily now. They were being escorted
right by them now. Walking by Alex, Luis looked
bitterly at her before spitting on her. All four
people instantly stopped walking as Bobby got into
Luis' face. Keeping his voice in controlled rage,
Bobby demanded, "Apologize."

Luis laughed. He challenged, "Make me Goren."

Doing much of anything else, only reminded Bobby that
he was still hurt badly. He wouldn't be doing
anything to anyone. Then it registered. Luis had
called him Goren. Bobby instantly retreated a little.
The SWAT guys instantly kept going with them.
Wild-eyed Bobby stared at Alex. She said out loud
what he was thinking, "He shouldn't know your name.
Santos knew before he even got up there. It was a set
up from the get go."

Anger immediately engulfed Bobby. He bitterly
continued the thread, "It's not a coincidence that
they made both Ryan and I. This proves it. There's a
leak somewhere in the department."

Alex closed her eyes. She questioned, "But we tried
to find it when Ryan died. We're not going to get
anywhere near it."

Bobby refused to believe it. He wanted this guy. No
one was going to stop him from making the mole pay for
what happened. Gesturing, Bobby asked, "When I fell
of the roof, I, I can't remember the set up. What was
the set up? Who was where?"

Alex closed her eyes and thought for a moment. She
began naming people and positions, "That ass Hodges
was with me in the van. A team: Winston, March,
Nelson, and Parker were waiting for the signal right
outside. Carson was on the other roof. He was the
sharp shooter…"

Alex instantly stopped at the look on Bobby's face.
He had stopped pacing, and was looking at her now.
Wide-eyed once more, Bobby explained, "Carson is the
leak. I overheard part of a conversation about a guy
named Carson. Something about him deserving something
for everything he had done for them. It's too
coincidental, and they didn't want me to hear it.
They shut up the moment they realized I was in the
room."

Alex closed her eyes again. If she could have thrown
something in that moment, she would have. Instead,
she kept her voice low and angrily spat, "I should
have known! I should have fucking known! He didn't
even take one shot at Santos! I, I wrote it off. I
believed. I thought he was being straight with me."

Bobby instantly looked back up at her. Staring into
her eyes, a look of panic swept over them both. Bobby
admitted her worst fears, "I've been inside. I have
information. I can put them both away for life now.
I don't know why they didn't just kill me before, but
they're going to want to keep me quiet. They're,
without a doubt, going to want to keep me away from
that trial. I snooped, like always."

Alex spun around and began running to the car. Biting
back the pain that was still in his leg, Bobby was
right behind her, running. Starting the car, Alex
didn't even bother putting on her seatbelt. Starting
the engine, she bitterly blew off some steam and
threatened, "No one touches her. I swear to God. If
someone so much as lays a finger on her, there will be
hell to pay."

Praying that they were over reacting. Bobby tried to
convince them both, "I'm sure she's OK. I'm sure
we're over reacting."