A/N: Bet you're all surprised with ths quick update. I wrote this chapter in about two hours. You guys inspired me. Thank you so much for the helpful reviews, they truly did inspire me. I did not include the date of Leo and Alex in this chapter. I looked at the votes for and against and there were more against. I do have Alex talking about it. The dinner with Lewis is in there because there were more votes for than against and I also liked the idea. Thanks to the person that suggested to have Carolyn talk to Alex. I was already thinking about that and thought it would be a good way to talk about the date with Leo and how she felt about everything. Since this update is surprisingly fast I can take some more time with the next one. Not quite sure what to do. Should I let Bobby come by to help out with the painting? Or should he do something else to surprise her? I'd like one more chapter before they go to Rent. So suggestions and ideas are welcome. I always try to listen to them.

Chapter nine

Dinner with Lewis and Bobby was hilarious, though Bobby might feel different Alex mused as she saw the look in her partner's eyes. She decided not to let his mood get to her. Lewis was funny and charming in his own way.

"Tell me Detective Alex..."

"Call me Alex, Lewis."

Lewis smiled and continued with his question. "What would I have to do to get you to go out with me?"

Alex thought about that for a moment. "I don't know, Lewis."

"You know…" Lewis wiggled his eyebrows. "with me you can drive any car you want. You say the word and I'll have the car prepped and ready to go. Doesn't that sound good?"

"I have to admit that certainly does sound appealing, but I don't know if that's enough." She glanced at Bobby who tried hard to appear disinterested, but she knew he heard every word.

Many people thought he wasn't really insightful, that he only knew about cars, but they were wrong. When it came to his friends Lewis read them well. He was also always ready to help out. "So if I was six foot four, had curly hair, brown eyes and knew a little about anything, you would marry me without a doubt?"

Alex laughed out loud at that. "You're pretty sure about that aren't you?" Though her words were directed at Lewis, she looked at Bobby. He had looked up at Lewis' words and was now looking at her with curious eyes. She returned her eyes to Lewis and continued. "I do like my men tall, dark and handsome. But you wouldn't be Lewis if you changed and that wouldn't be much fun. No, I like you just fine. No need to change at all".

"I would for you, Alex, just say the word." Lewis looked at his friend, noticing how quiet he was. He leaned over the table as if he was going to let Alex in on a secret. However his voice wasn't soft enough for Bobby to not hear it. "I remember in high school Bobby had a crush on this girl. Couldn't blame him, the girl was beautiful. Well maybe not that beautiful, but I guess at high school the standards were a bit different."

"So you're saying she was blond and had big boobs." Smiling she looked at Bobby, who was suddenly very interested in his food.

"Yeah. This girl of course had a thing for jocks and not nerds. Bobby decided to try out for the basketball and football team. He got on the basketball team, not surprisingly considering his height. He had also noticed the girl seemed to date guys who had slightly longer hair. So Bobby grew his hair. That probably wasn't the best thing to do. His curls were unruly and there was nothing he could do. At a certain point I thought he might be going for an afro look. Bobby ignored it and walked up to the girl, asking if she wanted to go to the prom with him. He was shot down in flames. The girl commented on his hair and how she couldn't be seen with a wannabe. The next day he quit the basketball team and got his hair cut. He was back to being normal Bobby."

She couldn't help herself, she laughed, the image of Bobby with an afro hairdo was just too funny. She did feel sorry for him, knowing it had probably taken a lot of courage for him to ask the girl out. To be shot down in flames must have hurt. She reached over the table and placed her hand on his. "I like you just fine, Bobby. No need to change at all."

The rest of the dinner continued in the same joking and teasing way between Lewis and Alex. Bobby commented now and then, but mostly enjoyed the company of his two best friends. He loved watching Alex, she was beautiful when she smiled and the sound of her laughter was wonderful. Even if he was the subject of their joking around most of the time, he didn't care. It was all for fun.

On Sunday afternoon, after her date with Leo, an exhausted Alex let herself fall back on her couch. Leo and her had gone to lunch and after that a walk in the park. It was nice and Leo had tried to get her to respond more. It had no effect, Bobby was on her mind. The dinner with Lewis and Bobby had been so much fun. That combined with the day she'd spend with Bobby she had started to imagine… spending most of her days with him. Spending time with Leo simply made her see that he wasn't Bobby and could never be. Sure Leo made her laugh, was easy to talk to and not unattractive. But she knew all too well that she would never develop feelings for him, mostly because her heart seemed to be spoken for already. It seemed as if Bobby's name was engraved on it and would never fade away. The afternoon with Leo had made her realize that her feelings for her partner were so much deeper than she at first thought. She had gently told him that it would be best they wouldn't go out again, that for her it wasn't working. Leo had asked if it was the man who'd send her the tickets and she had nodded. He had understood and just said that he hoped the man knew how special she was.

A surprise had waited for her at her front door as she'd returned from her date. In front of her was a large canvas wrapped in brown paper with a string tied around it. Curious she had opened her door, picked it up and quickly walked into her apartment. She'd ripped the paper off it and had been pleasantly shocked. She was confronted with the painting she'd been looking at in Mrs. Maier's art gallery. Only Bobby would do this for her. She placed it on a nearby table and stepped back to look at it. It truly was beautiful and she was thrilled about it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She hoped it was Bobby so she could thank him, maybe he even wanted to come over. She picked it up with a cheerful hello.

"Alex, it's Carolyn. Finally, I've been trying to reach you since forever."

"Is something wrong?" She got concerned.

"No, nothing's wrong." Carolyn quickly reassured her friend. "Where have you been? I tried to reach you yesterday to go shopping, but you were gone."

"Bobby surprised me and took away."

"Oooohhh, really. Where'd he take you?"

Alex shook her head at her friend's curiosity, but couldn't blame her. In fact it was nice to talk about her day and maybe Carolyn could shed some light on what to do. "He took me to some place he owns and we spend the day there. We went shopping and at the end of the afternoon we went back. Then the three of us had dinner."

"Three? Who's the third?"

"Lewis. He'd lend Bobby his car and we had to bring it back."

Now Carolyn understood. Briefly she'd wondered if Bobby had a mysterious person hidden at the place he'd taken Alex. "And how was it?"

"Great, Carolyn. He was so relaxed and open with me. I saw a side of him I'd hardly seen before."

She and Alex had often talked about Alex's attraction to Bobby. Alex had always said that Bobby wasn't interested nor would he ever be. She had told Carolyn that being close friends was all they were ever going to be. She had often tried to point out to Alex that Bobby wasn't not interested, that she only had to watch him and see that he was hesitant. "How does that compare to your lunch date with Leo?"

"It doesn't and I told him it was the last time."

"What did he say?" Despite the fact that she thought Alex belonged to Bobby, she knew Leo was a decent guy.

"He understood."

It seemed as if Carolyn sensed Alex's question. "What are you going to do now?"

Alex sighed. "I don't know, Carolyn. What am I supposed to do? Not once yesterday did he come out and say to me that he'd send me the tickets to Rent. Not once did he say… hey Alex I like you." She ran her hand through her hair and leaned her head back on the couch. "He's tried to show it in his own way. The fact that he opened up to me already tells me a lot and today he send me a painting. But I want to hear it from him. I had to ask him three times before he agreed to come with me to Rent. I don't want to try so hard. I want him to tell me how he feels, I need more than… gestures."

Carolyn could certainly understand Alex's frustration. Bobby Goren wasn't an easy man and she imagined that letting someone love him was even more difficult for the Major Case detective. But she also knew Alex and knew that she wasn't that different from Bobby. Alex sometimes averted answering personal questions. "Were you open with him? Did you make it clear that you feel more than just friendship for him? It works both ways, Alex."

"I know and you're probably right. I had to hear from others that I was special to him and he told me in a roundabout way, but never did he say to me that I was special to him. I… I need to hear it from him, Carolyn."

"Maybe you have to keep pushing him." It was an idea… the best one she could come up with at the moment.

"But I don't want to do it all alone. This can't be one sided. I just….want more from him."

The line was silent for the following moments. Neither woman had anything to say. Carolyn couldn't give her friend the solution she was looking for and Alex didn't have anything to add.

"I wish I could help you, Alex. Try to get some rest and I don't know… maybe Bobby will surprise you again. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, bye." After hanging up Alex dialled the familiar numbers of Bobby's phone. She got his voice mail and left him a message thanking him for the painting. Telling him how happy she was with it and how she needed help hanging it up.

TBC...