Title: Away from you

Author: thousandmiles

Rating: K+

Spoilers: None really, but you have to know about Logan and Barek.

Summary: Alex leaves because someone else needs her. Bobby is left alone, but with some pushing decides to go after her and gets surprised.

A/N: I wanted some angst this time combined with romance/humor. So out of nowhere this idea came to mind. I want to be slightly original. I didn't want to go for the Alex is seriously injured/Someone's dying or other clichés. Besides there are way better fics out there who handle the clichés so much better than I could ever do. A short chapter to start with and get the story going.

Away

"I need to talk to you, Bobby." Alex Eames stood at her desk, looking down at her partner.

Surprised by the uncertainty he heard he looked at her. Her face didn't betray anything. With a nod he stood up and followed her into one of the exam rooms. She was nervous, he could see it in the way her eyes darted across the room. Both kept standing and a short silence fell between them.

Taking a deep breath, Alex went for it. "I have to go away."

"What do you mean?" He shifted on his feet and crossed his arms in a defensive posture.

"I'm taking a leave of absence. I… I have to be somewhere else."

"Where?"

She wondered if she should tell him the truth. Yet she knew she couldn't without shedding some tears. She needed to be strong. Her friend needed her these final days. She realized that she needed to reassure him in some way that she wasn't leaving him. But she couldn't do that right now. Her head was full with the things to come and the uncertainties that came with that. "I'm sorry, Bobby. I'm leaving in a couple of hours. I really need to go." She knew he wouldn't let her walk out of the room, without demanding more answers. So when he grabbed her wrist, she wasn't surprised.

"What's going, Alex?" He knew her like no one else and knew she was holding something important back. "You know you can tell me." He bend until he could look her in the eyes. He could see her hold back her tears and it tore at his heart. "Did something happen to your family? Is it your mother?"

"No." Her voice turned soft.

He was leading her towards the table and chairs. With a slight push against her shoulders he made her sit down. Crouching down in front of her he tried again. "Tell me."

She refused to meet his eyes, knowing that it would be her undoing. "I can't… I'm needed somewhere else, Bobby."

He recognized the determination in her voice. Nothing he could say or do would change her mind. "Okay." Standing up he stepped away from her. "Just… be careful. Can… can I call you?"

Standing at the door she looked at him. "Yeah…I… I'd like that. Bye."

For the next ten minutes Bobby stayed in the exam room wondering what to do. Go after her and get the story or let her go and call her in a few days? He wanted to comfort her, but she didn't want him to. So he let her walk away, hoping she would come to him when she needed him.

THAT EVENING Lewis' and he were hanging out in his apartment. He was in a foul mood, but he hadn't want to cancel. Lewis, who'd known Bobby since high school, was no fool and pointed out his mood. "What's wrong with you? You're acting like you just lost your best friend."

Lewis hit the nail right on the head. It was true, he had just lost his best friend and the woman who meant more to him than anyone else. "Eames left."

"What? Why?" His friend exclaimed.

"My words exactly." Bobby mumbled as he emptied his beer bottle. Grabbing another bottle from the fridge, he continued. "All she said was that she had to go."

"But she has to have a reason to just leave."

"Yes, I just don't know it. She didn't want to tell me. It's bad, I know it. She's hurting." Tiredly he rubbed his face.

"What are you going to do about it?" Lewis demanded to know. He was confused by his friend's behaviour.

"She said I could call her."

"Bobby!" Lewis raised his voice to get his friend's attention. "You're a cop. You can find out where she is. Go find her! She's hurting and she probably needs you."

"No." Bobby sighed. "If she needed me she would have said so. She didn't want me to know where she is. She doesn't want me near her."

"I don't believe that. The woman you love is out there alone and something's wrong. Use your skills to find her and go to her." Lewis couldn't believe his friend's lack of action.

"I don't know if she wants me to. What if I cause her more pain." The beer made him even more depressed, the thought of losing Eames now gripping his heart painfully.

"You don't know that until you've talked to her. Now tomorrow you are going find her and you are going after her Bobby. You know as well as I do that you don't want her to be alone in her distress. And you need her just as much." With a pad on the back, Lewis left his friend alone to think things over.

TBC...