With Margaritas: Chapter 3

By: The Confused One

A/N: I know it's been a while since I've written a chapter for this story, so I hope you all enjoy it. There wasn't as much angsty stuff to pull from in 'Art', but I think I managed to find some of the more interesting things from that ep. Enjoy.

The waitress put two margaritas on the table and walked away. Alex happily picked hers up and took a sip. With amusement in her eye, she eyed her partner. Smiling, she teased, "'Welcome to the human race', huh?"

Bobby smiled ruefully. He thought for a moment, before admitting, "It sounded good at the time."

Alex laughed. Sometimes, like now, Alex appreciated Bobby Goren's sensibilities. He sometimes had a way of capturing a thought perfectly. She agreed, "No. It was good. She was whining and deserved it."

Bobby smiled even more. He was relieved and pleased. He was glad she thought it was funny. He liked and trusted her sense of humor. It made him happy to think he had made her laugh. Taking a sip of his drink, he changed the subject, "Well, I agree with you. I think the two of us going through some museums together would be fun."

Alex sipped her drink again too. She smiled still. She was almost surprised he had brought up the museums again. They had definitely not agreed on what was good art. It had been, interesting though and she had enjoyed the conversation despite herself. She agreed, "We'd make an interesting pair. I still can't believe you like Lucien Freud."

Bobby took another sip of his drink before explaining, "I told you. I like art that makes me think."

Alex snorted. She remembered him saying the same thing earlier. Sipping her drink, she quipped, "Right. I'd hate to see your apartment. I bet that stuff is everywhere."

Bobby smiled slightly. He hated to burst her bubble but he had to. With amusement, he admitted, "No. You were right about that. You can't live with it. I just like to visit it."

Alex smiled, amused. She decided not to go any further with the conversation; it could go places she really didn't intend. She was still trying to get her footing with him at times and didn't want to wade in too deep, without his prodding, or say something to embarrass them both. She decided to change the subject, "You never told me you were in the army."

Bobby had been expecting her to bring up since the moment he had mentioned it. He wasn't too keen on going into the details. He did admit it though, "I was trying to escape some things at the time. It helped."

Alex nodded, taking what she could get from him happily. Taking a sip of her margarita, she asked, "How many other languages do you speak, anyway?"

Bobby sighed. Taking a gulp of his margarita, he coyly replied, "A few."

Alex shook her head. She was getting irritated. He was going to play games and be cute about it. It actually concerned her, on a couple of levels. She got serious and asked, "Why do you do that?"

Bobby looked at her. He grew serious too. He didn't need to ask her what she was talking about. He already knew. He sighed and finished his drink. He admitted, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to shoot you down like that."

Alex shook her head. She appreciated what he said. She could tell he was slowly getting more comfortable with her. She liked that. She wasn't sure why but she did. She wondered if it wasn't just because she was beginning to really like him too. She was beginning to get more comfortable with him, or maybe it was because he'd finally start to open up to her. She felt it was obvious that many things weighed heavily on Bobby. She sighed and let him off the hook, "Its fine. It was just curiosity."

Bobby nodded. He knew what she was trying to do, and he appreciated it. He just refused to let her do it. He tried to explain, "It's reflexive."

Alex nodded. Realizing he wasn't going to drop the subject, she agreed, "I know. It's why I don't let it bother me."

Bobby sighed. He knew he wasn't good with the sharing and letting people in, but he knew he needed to. He felt it, somewhere inside, that he and Alex had the makings of something special, and he certainly didn't want to ruin it. He promised, "I'll try to do better."

Alex smiled again. Finishing her drink, she was glad she had told Deakins to scrap her request for a new partner. She assured him, "I don't take it personally. Don't worry about it."

Bobby sighed, again. He hated putting her in the position of having to deal with his hang-ups. He didn't really like making anyone deal with them. He simply replied, "You are probably the most understanding and patient person I've ever met."

Alex laughed. She shrugged and quipped, "You haven't seen me when someone makes me mad."

Bobby smiled again. He really did think she was amazing. He met her eyes and teased, "Remind me to avoid pissing you off that much."

Alex laughed again. She was happy. She was beginning to feel they were truly starting to understand each other. It was slowly coming, and she was happy about it. She teased him too, "I'm too busy keeping you out of trouble to get that mad."

Bobby looked down, embarrassed, at the table. He knew what she was getting at. He admitted, "I have authority issues. I know. I'm trying to work on it."

Alex snorted. Sometimes she got frustrated with Bobby's antics, so she quipped, "Work harder."

Bobby smiled. Meeting her eyes again, he assured her, "I'm trying not to drag you into this stuff."

Alex, irritated, raised her voice slightly, "I'm not asking you to try to shield me from anything Goren. Stop trying. I don't mind doing it. Really, I don't. It's part of the job. You have your partners back, but you have to remember we're in this together. What does it take to get that into your head?"

Bobby stared at the table again. He wasn't sure why he always felt he said the wrong thing to her. He finally spoke, "I'm sorry. I have issues with the concept of 'we' sometimes too. I'm not used to it."

Alex shook her head. She nodded and smiled slightly. Sometimes he made her crazy. Just when she was getting comfortable he has to be an idiot and then make it up to her, all in five minutes. It sent her in all sorts of directions, and she didn't like it at all. She was deciding he could be completely impossible sometimes, but she was becoming quite aware of the fact that she was handling him better and better with each passing day. She curtly replied, "That's something else you should work on."

Accepting the tongue lashing, Bobby nodded and quietly agreed, "Yeah. I should."

Alex yawned. Looking him over, Alex surmised Bobby hadn't taken her comment like she had expected or meant for him to. With a sigh, she tried to smooth things over, "That was me kidding Goren."

Bobby smiled slightly. There was a bit of relief that fell over him. He had truly been worried that she had meant it. It confused him though. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him. It wasn't like him to miss someone's true meaning when he was paying attention. The wheels turned in his head. After a moment he figured it had been his reflexive fear rearing its ugly head. He had interpreted her the way he had expected her to react. He mentally kicked himself and vowed to pay better attention. Finally looking at her, he realized she was staring at him. It also finally occurred to him that he had been silent for a couple of minutes now. He finally spoke, "Right. Sorry."

Alex grabbed her purse. She shook her head and smiled. She could practically see the gears turning. It amused her. She pulled out a ten and announced, "It's getting late, and I'm tired. I'm going to head home. I'll see you tomorrow Goren."

Bobby nodded. He watched her put the ten down on the table and stand. He replied, "Night Eames."