A/N: This was unexpected. I didn't plan on writing another chapter today, but apparently my muse thought otherwise. Don't expect this to happen too often. Some of you might not agree with my decision here, but I thought that Alex who is really trying would get frustrated by Bobby's lack of reaction. That in my mind could cause her to feel helpless. That's how I see the changes in Alex in this chapter. Hope that doesn't seem too OOC for some of you. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews! Ideas and suggestions are always welcome.

Chapter ten

Hesitantly he knocked on the door of her apartment. He'd heard her voicemail message while he'd been hanging out with Lewis. After almost bumping in to her and Leo while he was about to drop the painting off, his mood had gone downhill. He had observed Leo and Alex while they walked on the side walk away from her apartment building. Leo hadn't touched her, but kept close to her and Alex was smiling and enjoying herself. It had hurt that after the day they'd spend yesterday she was going off with Leo. Still he had dropped off the painting, knowing how much she loved it.

After her voicemail he'd wondered where Leo was. Surely he could have helped her out, but no she had asked him. What did that mean? Well he was about to find out.

"Hi." Alex smiled at her partner and best friend. She took a moment to take in his attire. He was wearing black slacks with a long sleeved white shirt. One sleeve had something printed on it, but she couldn't read it. She stepped back to let him enter her apartment.

Quietly he watched her. She wasn't wearing any shoes and he noticed how small she was. Dressed in dark blue sweats and a grey NYPD shirt, she looked completely relaxed. "You...euhh, you needed help?"

Walking passed him she took his hand and lead him into her living room. Stopping in the living room she suddenly gave him a brief hug. "Thank you for the painting."

Confused by her physical contact he stuttered. "I… you're…" He sighed. "I know how much you liked it." He thought it was best to get down to business. "Where do you want it?"

She had thought about it. First above her couch in the living room seemed a good option. But this was his gift to her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to share it with anyone. She was sure her family would comment on it when they would come by to visit. There were two other options, her guest bedroom or her own bed room. The guest room would be a bit too private since even she wouldn't see it. So that left the bedroom and she liked that idea. She would have something of him close to her. She would be able to see it before going to sleep and when she woke up in the morning. Logical would be to hang it on the opposite wall of her bed, but there wasn't any room. It could be hung above her bed or on the wall left to her bed above the small table. She preferred above her bed. "In the bedroom."

He looked at her with open mouth. They were going to be in her bedroom together… hanging up a painting?

"I'll go grab the tools, you pick up the painting and go to my bedroom. I can't decide if I want it above my bed or on the wall left to my bed. Let me know what you think."

He watched her walk away to grab the tools. He picked up the painting and walked to the door of her bedroom. Standing there he took a few deep breaths. Slowly he opened the door and stepped into the room he'd admittedly imagined in his dreams.

The room was large with warm sand coloured walls. There was a king size bed in the middle which had two nightstands next to it. Against the wall on the right of the bed there was a large closet. The wall opposite of her bed held a big open closet with a TV in it and a lot of books. The room was peaceful and relaxing.

"What do you think? Above the bed or on that left wall?" Alex's voice sounded behind him.

Left wall his mind screamed, but that wasn't what came out. "Above the bed."

"Yeah, I thought so too." Standing next to him they both looked at the empty space above her bed. It was the ideal place for the painting. "Well, let's get going." She put the hammer, nails, and screwdriver on her nightstand and plopped on her bed. Sitting on her knees she looked at him. "Come on, we can't hang it up from where you're standing." She padded the mattress.

Reluctantly he got onto the bed. Alex grabbed the painting out of his hand, stood up on her bed and held it against the wall. "How's this?"

"Good." Bobby quickly grabbed the pencil on her nightstand. Standing so close to her that he could feel the heat coming from her, he willed his hand not to shake as he put a small sign on the wall to indicate the place of the painting.

Alex, who sensed his hesitance, put the painting down on her bed. She turned toward him, increasing the body contact as her breast brushed his upper arm. She saw his eyes go from her eyes to his arm and back. "Never thought I'd want it here, did you?"

He swallowed thickly. That double entendre was simply too much for him and he looked away. Leaning over he grabbed the drill. Straightening he noticed she hadn't put any distance between them. She smiled innocently at him. "Need a hand?" She whispered at him before slowly licking her lips.

"Eeuuh… no… thank you." He placed his hand on her shoulder and slowly pushed her away. "You'd better watch out." She really did need to back off otherwise her wall might end up damaged because he hadn't been able to keep his cool. Luckily for him she did back off. Not only that, she didn't tease him again which made the process of hanging the painting go even faster. Standing at the end of her bed they looked at the end result. The painting hung straight and looked perfectly at place. She slipped her hand around his waist and leaned against him. "You're a pretty good handy man. Wonder what else you're good at?" Winking at him she left him alone in her bedroom.

Leaning his head back on her couch, Bobby sighed. Who would have thought hanging up a painting could be so… interesting. He was still confused by her mixed signals. Here she was often touching him, smiling at him and hinting at him, but she was also still dating Leo. He watched her return with two beers in her hands. Handing him one she sat down on the couch closely next to him. If there'd been more room he would have shifted, but there wasn't.

"How was your date with Leo?"

"How do you know I had a date with Leo?" She asked, looking at him.

He hung his head, wondering if he should tell her, but since he'd asked. "I saw you."

"Where?"

"I was going to give you the painting when I saw you and Leo on the side walk."

"Oooh." What to say?

"How was it?" He asked again.

She shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I mean Leo's nice and all, but that's it. There's nothing there. There's no possibility of more." She looked at him, but found he was looking intently at his beer. Placing her hand on his cheek, she turned his head towards her and quickly dropped her hand again. "I told him that I didn't want to go out with him anymore." She watched his face closely for a reaction and was frustrated when he didn't show any.

"I'm sorry." He offered.

She wasn't about to hold back the frustration she started to feel. "Are you? Are you sorry?"

Shocked he looked at her. "What… what do you mean?"

She stood up from her place on the couch and stood in front of him, looking down at him. "I'm sorry, is that all you can say? I'm not blind Bobby, I saw how you reacted to Leo's advances and I can imagine you didn't like it when you saw us today. You know, I thought about why you seemed to dislike him. I told myself it had nothing to do with possible feelings you held for me. So I went out with Leo and I had fun. Then you show up, sending me gifts and taking me out to this wonderful cabin. Letting me in on a part of your life you hardly share. What am I to think? Are you interested in me? You would think so when you tell people that I'm your Alex and that I'm special. I wish you'd say it to my face. You wanna know why I broke it off with Leo? Because…" The frustration left her voice and defeat took it's place. "… he's not you." She turned and walked away from him. "I don't want to be the only one who's putting her heart on the line." She said before stepping into her kitchen giving both of them time to think.

Bobby was dumbfounded by Alex's anger and frustration towards him. But her last statement left him shocked. He was happy she'd ended it with Leo and yes he disliked the man because he'd encroached on his territory. And now…, she told him she'd broken if off with Leo because… Leo wasn't him. That meant that she wanted him. His heart skipped a beat at that. He looked up when he heard a sound. There was Alex, looking at him with watery eyes. Slowly he stood up, wanting to approach her and pull her into his arms. She held her hand up, signalling him to stop. "Could you please go home? I… want to be alone."

He wasn't going to leave her alone when she was like this. He shook his head and stepped closer. He stopped when he saw her step back.

"Please, just… leave." She'd said so much more than intended.

Realizing how much she needed to be alone he nodded and with slumped shoulders her walked passed her. His hand softly brushed her side in passing. At her door he looked back at her for a moment, but her back.

TBC...