Residual Demons

By: The Confused One

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own CI. If I did, B/A would have mad sex. LOL Or was that a little blunt? Seriously, I'm making no money from this, so please don't sue. Thanks.

Rating: K+

Warnings: Spoiler warnings for "Blind Spot". I think that about sums it up.

Feedback: Yes, please. Reviews fuel my muse.

Archive: Anywhere. Just let me know where. Thanks.

Summary: Bobby visits Alex in the hospital. Post-ep for "Blind Spot".

A/N: Well, here's my solo "Blind Spot" post-ep. Please enjoy, and remember to review. Thanks.

Waking up with a start, Alex stifled a groan of pain. Her breathing was labored as she instinctively pulled away when a hand touched her arm.

Letting her go, Bobby watched her with concern. Pushing back the pangs of guilt, he soothingly spoke to her. "Hey. You're safe now. It's just me."

Closing her eyes, Alex instantly relaxed and tried to stop shaking. She had never been happier to hear his voice. Looking over at Bobby, she remembered she was still in the hospital. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, she whispered, "Sorry."

He watched as she painfully lied back down. Shaking his head, he continued to speak softly, "Don't. It's OK. Do you need anything? Some water?"

Alex shook her head. She swallowed hard. She had to know. She wanted to know. "Did you get anything from the scene?"

Bobby closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he braced himself. "Yeah, it, uh, told us everything. We…uh, even got her to confess."

Pushing the relief that Bobby had caught her kidnapper aside, Alex eyed him carefully. Confused, she hesitated a moment before asking, "Her?"

Bobby rubbed his face with his hand. His stomach was churning again. He whispered, "I'm sorry, Alex. I'm so sorry. It was Jo. She…was jealous. She was trying to get Declan's attention. She took you to get Declan's attention from me. She-she was going to kill you." Taking a shaky breath, he could barely finish as he took her hand. "I'm so sorry. This was my fault."

Squeezing his hand gently, Alex swallowed hard. Pushing back her tears, she tried to assure him, "No, Bobby. It wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for this. You didn't do this to me. Jo did."

Shaking his head, he kissed her knuckles. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat up straight. Not letting go of her hand, he confessed, "I've been…thinking about every time I should have seen it coming. I was…in their house all the time for years. I…saw what he exposed her to. I saw how much he neglected her, and I didn't do anything. I was too busy...soaking up every word he said. I didn't even think about her. From the moment I saw her again, I should have known. I missed it. I didn't see any of it. I didn't realize what she was capable of. I failed you, and I failed her. I didn't even…see how much Declan was like my own father."

Closing her eyes, Alex quietly replied, "Oh, Bobby." Meeting his eyes, she insisted, "Listen to me. You did not let me down. You did not fail me, and you are not responsible for what she did. Don't let her tell you that you are, because you're not. I'm going to be OK. We're going to be OK."

Putting his hand to his mouth, he replied, "Alex, you didn't see her. She-she was right about something. The way we…both grew up, we could have both gone either way. I could have gone either way. I have so much wrong with me. I have so many demons."

Shaking her head, Alex reminded him, "But you didn't go that way, Bobby. You're a good man, and I love you. You've beat so much of your past already. The demons that are left, we deal with together. Don't second guess yourself. Don't do that yourself, to us."

Hesitantly, he let go of her hand. Getting up, he began pacing. He couldn't let it go. He whispered, "I'm not even close to being good enough for you. Look at what I caused." He motioned to her, and then, with a disgusted sigh, wiped at the couple of tears that escaped down his face.

Getting worried, Alex forced herself into a sitting position. She didn't like where this conversation was going. Watching him pace again for a moment, she demanded, "Damn it, Bobby. Stop. Look at me." When he finally did, she sighed a little in relief. Meeting his eyes, she tried again. "Bobby, this was not your fault. You did not cause this, and you do deserve me. You deserve to be happy, to have good things. You deserve us."

Bobby closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. Returning to the chair beside her bed, he whispered, "I've never been more terrified. I love you so much. I couldn't…take it if I lost you. I need you too much. Declan…Declan tried to get me to…accept the idea that you were dead. I couldn't do it. Not completely. Not really."

Closing her eyes again, Alex quietly replied, "It's OK. It's OK if you did. You…had to. The, uh, profile…you had to accept it was possible."

Closing his eyes, he admitted, "It's…how we found Amanda. Jo…put her in your trunk, and parked the car in the garage at 1PP. We didn't know Amanda was missing. I-we knew that's where the next victim…where you would be."

Alex let a couple of tears fall down her cheek. Reaching out, she took his hand again. He looked so far away. When he seemed to snap back in and look at her, she whispered, "I'm OK. I'm right here."

Bobby nodded. He continued, "When I got that text message…my heart stopped for a minute."

Watching him, Alex ventured, "It was you, wasn't it? You called."

With a slow nod, Bobby confessed, "Yes."

Alex closed her eyes for a moment. She quietly confessed, "She had the sheers to my face. Your call…stopped her."

Bobby closed his eyes, processing that information. He came so close to losing her. All he could do was whisper again. "I'm sorry."

Trying to hold her emotions back, Alex choked out, "When…she had me, I kept thinking about how much I love you and wanted to see you again. I…didn't want to die that way. I didn't want to die in that place, and…" She covered her mouth with her hand as she finished, "…I didn't want to leave you. I didn't want you to have to see me like that."

Bobby moved to the bed. Taking her into his arms, he held her close. Rubbing her back soothingly, he whispered, "It's OK now, Alex. You're safe. I'm so sorry, baby."

Finally letting go, Alex sobbed quietly. She spoke through her sobs, "I was scared. God, Bobby, I…didn't think I was going to get out of there. Then once I got loose…that door was bricked up. I had…I climbed up the wall. I had to beg out the window. Eames' don't beg. I don't beg for anything. I…don't beg."

Holding her close, Bobby gasped a little. He remembered the scuff marks at the window. He hadn't really let his mind focus on them till now. He had known they were hers. He had known from what he had been told that they were her scuff marks. His voice was barely audible as he spoke the words, "Scuff marks." Shaking his head, he couldn't let her see how much this had affected him. He tried to assure her, "There is nothing wrong with begging, Alex. It got you found. You…are so strong, so brave. You survived. You know…that."

It took a few more minutes but Alex began to get herself back under control. She understood his point, and she knew he was right. It was every cop's rule of thumb. It was all about survival. Pulling away, she ignored the pain in order to take his face into her hands. Leaning forward, she captured his lips with hers in a kiss. Pulling away, she swore to him, "I am going to be OK. I don't need to be treated with kid gloves, and I will be back."

Bobby nodded slowly. Seeing the pain in her eyes, he took her hands and put them beside her. Barely a whisper, he replied, "I know." He had faith in that.

Satisfied Alex nodded. She added, "Promise you you're going to stop blaming yourself. This was not your fault."

Bobby closed his eyes and nodded. "I'll try." After a moment, he saw that the pain on her face was only getting worse. He suggested, "Come on. Lie back down and get some more rest."

With a nod, Alex only winced once as she lied back down. Looking over at him she commented, "You still look like hell, by the way. Go home and get some sleep, please."

Moving back to the chair, he took her hand and replied, "In a few minutes. I just…want to sit here with you a little longer. I have plenty of time to catch up on my sleep. Ross gave me a couple of days off." He also decided in that moment to recruit her brothers to make a couple of changes to her house before she came home. He didn't want any curtains that would bother her PTSD. He was going to get her a new bird, get her a new door, and make sure the place was sparkling clean. Then he'd worry about his own curtains. He wanted his place to stay Alex Eames friendly.

With a soft sigh, Alex whispered, "Hmm, I really don't think our original plan is going to work anymore."

Bobby nodded. With a sigh, he resigned himself to the truth of her words. He agreed, "I know. Don't worry about it right now. We can talk about it tomorrow."

Alex closed her eyes and whispered, "Yeah." Bobby kissed her hand again and watched as she drifted back to sleep.