The Long and Winding Road: Chapter 12

By: The Confused One

A/N: I guess this is the chapter you get to find out if your mental guess of who set all of this in motion was right. Enjoy. Remember to R&R. Thanks.

Alex instantly met his eyes. She wasn't going to let him take responsibility for this. She insisted, "Don't you dare do that. Don't pull away from me right now. It's always been us with her. We're partners Goren. You don't think I've been a part of this? I've always been part of her game as much as you have."

Deakins ignored the partners comment. The rules made it clear that they wouldn't be partners for much longer. He was still confused though about what they had found. Deakins demanded answers, "Who is Ella Miyazaki?"

Looking at Deakins, Bobby suddenly remembered he was there. He explained, "Nicole Wallace."

Suddenly it all clicked for Deakins. He cryptically asked for confirmation, "Right. Ella was the girl she took in…"

Alex nodded and cut him off, "Yeah."

Bobby resisted the urge to throw the file. He was angry now. Nicole had always enjoyed toying with him but bringing his family directly into their long standing vendetta was crossing lines he knew Nicole probably didn't even see. She was angry that he and Alex were together. Remembering the long distant conversation he had had with Nicole, he knew she was also angry that he was happy and had children. She must have found out and lashed out. Bobby walked over to Trevor's desk. He had to find out what they had on Nicole. He asked, "What do you have on the name, Ella Miyazaki?"

Trevor looked at the list. He nodded and pulled out a file from his stack. He explained, "I thought that one would catch your attention. She was one of yours. I saved it. It says she's dead."

Bobby nodded. He didn't really want to go into a long explanation at the moment. He simply reassured Trevor, "The file is right. I need to know if you pulled any addresses or any known associates that were recent."

Trevor wasn't completely sure what this was about, but he could tell it was important. He hoped he'd get the full story, eventually. Though he felt he had pieced a lot of it together while he had put the file together. Trevor pointed to the file and answered, "Page 3. Nicole Wallace is the only known associate in the system."

Bobby quickly flipped to page three. He smiled. There was indeed a recently purchased home in Yonkers. Looking back at Trevor, he added, "Thank you."

Alex watched Bobby return to their desks. She had watched him in silence with Deakins. She was hoping he had a real lead, and she didn't like Bobby's demeanor. He was suddenly more fidgety than normal and she could see the rage in his eyes as he walked back over to their desks. He was out for blood. She understood it. Nicole had come after their children. It was enough to make them both see red. It was more than either of them could take from her. She knew she was going to have to keep him in check now. He was crossing into his red zone. No one affected him like Nicole. She twisted him inside out. It took everything Alex had sometimes to get him back in the real world. Alex wasn't sure she had the strength this time. Hayley was going to have to be enough to keep him grounded. Bobby walked up behind her. He put the file down in front of her and pointed to the address. He triumphantly added, "She's getting sloppy."

Alex met his eyes. She hated to admit it, but someone had to say it. Someone had to keep reality in sight, "Don't be so sure she's there. She could be toying with us."

Deakins agreed. They couldn't count their chickens before they hatched, but he was glad they were making progress. They at least now had a name of a suspect. He added, "You're going to need backup."

Alex nodded in agreement. It was definitely a bad idea for the two of them to go in alone. She suggested, "Get us a SWAT team and some uniforms and have them meet us at the building."

Alex stood up and grabbed her stuff. Bobby scooped his stuff up too. He handed Deakins the open file and wordlessly followed Alex to the elevator.

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Nicole walked into the poorly lit room. She smiled slightly and addressed her hostages, "They're going to bring you lunch soon. I wanted to know though Kate, what do you really know about Alex and Bobby's relationship?"

Kate tried not to react. Something about this woman sent chills up her spine. She seemed to be complete evil to Kate. Kate faked disinterest, "I know what I need to know."

Nicole smiled wider. She laughed. She definitely saw the family personality similarities now. Walking back out the door, Nicole taunted, "Ask your niece. She knows more than you do."

As the door closed, Kate looked at Hayley carefully. Hayley was trying to pretend nothing was wrong. Kate knew better and finally asked, "What don't I know?"

Hayley looked at the floor. She took a deep breath and looked back up at Kate. She admitted, "Mom and Dad aren't married and are still partners. No one they work with knows about Ryan and me."

Kate was shocked. She rubbed her face with her hand. She didn't like where all of this was going. It wasn't looking good for them. Kate finally asked, "And who is that woman?"

Hayley shrugged. She explained, "I have no idea. I swear I don't know. She apparently knows my parents though."

Jamie was confused. She didn't like what was being implied, it didn't track. She asked, "So we've been kidnapped because some psycho-bitch is angry that Bobby and Alex aren't married?"

Kate shook her head. Staring at the door, she corrected her cousin, "No. I think she's angry that my parents got together in the first place."

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Alex was in the hall of the abandoned building and leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. She could feel him walk over towards her. He took the same position across from her against the other wall. His words were barely audible, "I'm sorry Alex. You were right. She set this up to buy herself time."

Alex finally looked over at Bobby. She assured him, "It's not your fault. We had to check this out. Maybe we'll find something here that will help."

Bobby finally met her eyes. He nodded. He hoped she was right. Maybe there'd be a clue here, but he doubted it. Nicole never did anything by accident. He should have remembered that before. He replied, "I should have remembered she doesn't do anything without a plan. It's been a long time since she's surfaced."

Alex felt almost defeated. She was so afraid they had hit the last dead end. With a shrug, she weekly answered, "She's always twisted you inside out."

Before Alex could respond, a familiar voice called after her, "Detective Eames."

Alex drew her attention to the officer approaching the two of them. She smiled slightly. She greeted him, "Officer Smith. Hi."

Nikolas looked her over. He stopped smiling. She looked like she had been to hell and back. He questioned, "Why are you and Detective Goren here?"

Alex sighed. She stood up straight and explained, "We're looking for a woman, Nicole Wallace. She. She has our daughter."

Nikolas stopped instantly. It had been the last thing he had expected. He had a million questions all at once. But nothing came out. Before he could compose himself enough, another officer shouted from a room, "Detective Goren. We found something."

Bobby hadn't even bothered to move the whole time Alex had talked to Nikolas. The other officer had his instant attention though. He wordlessly followed the officer into the room. Alex and Nikolas were right behind him. Sitting on a small card table in the middle of the otherwise empty room was a letter addressed to Bobby. Snapping on gloves, Bobby picked it up and opened it.

Bobby,

I'm disappointed in you. Surely you know better than to think I'd make it this easy. Tisk. Tisk. You're losing your touch. Hayley really is a beautiful little girl. You're very lucky. If you want to see her, Alex's sister, nieces, or nephew again I suggest you do as my associate told you earlier. I want Luis Lopez and Martin Domingus released. If they don't get released you'll never see your daughter again.

Nicole

Bobby glared at the note. His rage built. She was gloating. It was almost more than Bobby could handle.

Still trying to digest what Alex had told him, Nikolas was getting impatient. He needed some answers, and he was increasingly worried about Alex. He finally broke the silence, "What does it say?"

With those words, Bobby saw red. Slamming his fist into the table, he dropped the note and stormed out.

Nikolas jumped with the slamming and watched Bobby leave. He looked over to see Alex staring at the letter. She was holding and her hands were shaking. With a sigh, he reached out to her, "I'm so sorry Eames. If I can do anything…"

Alex put her hand to stop him. Looking at the CSU tech, she put the note back down and replied, "Bag it."

Nikolas followed her out of the room. She was leaning against the wall again. He didn't see Bobby anywhere. He ventured, "Is he OK? Do you need to go find him?"

Alex shook her head absently. She stared into space and weekly answered, "He knows where I am."

Nikolas shook his head. He had never seen anyone look so defeated. He tried again, "I can. I'll go find him."

Alex's eyes snapped to meet his. She shook her head and reiterated, "I told you. He'll find me when he's ready. He needs some space."

Nikolas pointed to the front door. He had a feeling she was feeling helpless. He figured she needed something to do, something tangible to try to deal with. He tried one last time, "I mean. He slammed his hand pretty hard on that table in there. With those casts on…."

Alex sighed. She nodded. She silently headed for the door and replied, "He's by the car."

Confused, Nikolas followed. He was going to ask how she'd know that but thought better of it. Intuition between partners wasn't something to be taken lightly, especially partners who had crossed that line. Nikolas decided it would be best if he just kept him mouth shut for awhile.

Following her outside, Nikolas was only slightly surprised to find she was right. There he was, pacing around the car, kicking at the gravel and dirt.

Alex approached him. Shaking her head, she grabbed his arm and began inspecting it. Meeting his eyes, she finally soothingly asked, "How bad does it hurt?"

Bobby sighed. He finally admitted, "Enough."

Alex almost smiled. Shaking her head, she suggested, "We never did get you checked out."

Bobby shook his head no. He cut her off, "No. We have to go to IPP."

Alex sighed. She nodded. She wasn't in the mood to argue and his request wasn't unreasonable. She watched Bobby getting into the car, making sure he really was OK enough to go to IPP instead of the ER. She was grateful to Nikolas. He had managed to get her moving again and give her something to worry about that she could do something about, Bobby. Impulsively, she called back to Nikolas behind her, "You want to come with us?"

Nikolas was a tad surprised to hear her ask. Finding his voice, he answered, "Yeah. Sure. I can come with you."

Alex nodded. She headed for the drivers side and replied, "Get in then."

Nikolas did as he was told. He wasn't surprised at how quiet the ride back to IPP was. He had expected it. Too much stuff was going on with them for idle chit-chat. The three made their way to the elevator and to the Major Case squad room.

Getting off the elevator, Alex had had enough. Bobby hadn't even given her a hint as to why they were back there. She hated it when he did that. She hated feeling out of sync. She hated not being able to read him. Her normally abundant patience was running thin. Annoyed, she pressed Bobby, "So why exactly are we here?"

Bobby sighed. At his desk, he gestured a little and admitted, "We need to talk to Carson. He's the only piece we have left. He's our last lead."

Sitting down, Alex nodded. It killed her to admit it, but she knew he was right. She agreed, "Yeah. You're right. Harrison and Trevor can talk to them. You. You can go watch and do whatever you need to do. I. I'm going to stay here."

Bobby stopped. Realizing she misinterpreted what he had said, he expounded, "No. We need to talk to him."

Alex suddenly froze. She couldn't believe her ears. Standing, she wagged her finger at him and hissed, "What? Aren't you the one who just this morning told me we couldn't…"

Bobby was agitated again. He gestured wildly and insisted, "Yes. Things have changed. This is not the same suspects."

Alex ignored the fact that he had interrupted her to argue back, "That's great Bobby. She has to get involved before you get serious about finding our daughter."

Bobby stopped, stunned. He couldn't believe she had really said it. He watched her walk around him and to the elevators. Bobby had no words, if she was going to be like that. He looked over at Nikolas, who with a sigh was taking off after her. Bobby closed his eyes and sat down.

He knew. She had wanted him to come for her, again. She didn't want Nikolas to come after her, but Bobby couldn't bring himself to follow. All he could think of was what a mess this was. He bitterly decided Nicole would love to see them now. She had finally broken them and, by extension, Bobby feared, him. He wasn't sure exactly where things with him and Alex had gotten so frayed in the last few hours, but he suddenly realized it had. Bobby knew he needed to fix things with Alex, but he was in no mood or place to even try. He wasn't done brooding. Besides, he had a suspect to interrogate. He was going to talk to Carson himself come hell or high water. Nicole Wallace was pure evil, and Bobby Goren wasn't about to lose anymore time.