With Margaritas: Chapter 4 Episode: Smothered

By: The Confused One

A/N: Hope you like this one. I had a bit more to play with this time. To me, "Smothered" is the first episode where you get the hint that something is up with Bobby's mom, or maybe that's just me reading too much into it. Anyway, enjoy and please review. Thanks.

Alex watched Bobby closely as she sat down and pushed his margarita towards him. She smiled softly and tried to coax him out, "So you do have a mom."

Bobby instantly met her eyes and had a very confused look on his face. He slowly became a little indignant and replied, "Of course I have a mother Eames."

Alex laughed now. She hadn't been able to help herself. She assured him, "I know that. I was just… look, you never talk about your family. I was just intrigued by the comment, that's all. I'm curious."

Bobby sighed. He understood. He was very private, and he had a tendency to not open up. She was grasping at something. He took a sip of his margarita and decided he wasn't ready to talk about his mother yet. He knew she needed something. It wasn't fair to her for him to stay silent. Taking a deep breath, he gave her a nibble, "My mother isn't well. She hasn't been well for a long time. I just don't like to talk about it."

The admission stopped Alex dead in her tracks. Looking up to meet his eyes again, she spoke softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. Do they know what it is?"

Bobby closed his eyes. He was afraid she'd ask. It was a can of worms he was afraid to open. He was afraid that if he started talking about it she'd go running for the hills. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away. They were starting to click, some. Sure, at Lois' crime scene, he had missed the joke, but that was only because he hadn't been paying attention. He sidestepped the question, "Yeah. They do. They're doing what they can for her."

Alex nodded, taking what she could get. Trying to get a little more from him, she asked, "What about your dad?"

Bobby laughed bitterly. Before he could stop himself, he explained, "You mean the womanizing drunk who ran out on his family when I was teenager?"

Alex was thrown. She let his words sink in. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. She couldn't imagine not having her father in her life. It made her angry. It was hard for her to understand what kind of man, what kind of louse walked out on their family. From his words, Alex guessed he felt the same. She tried to reach out to him, "God, Bobby. I'm so sorry."

Bobby couldn't believe he had said it. He had promised himself we wouldn't, but there it was. He had lain out quite a bit of his baggage for her to look out. He decided he had to be more careful. He couldn't say too much. Finishing his drink, he let his anger at his father got the better of him, "He was a poor excuse for a man. Don't worry about it."

Alex closed her eyes. It was hard to hear. She pushed a little further, "Does he know about your mom?"

Bobby met his eyes again. He didn't want to say anymore. He had had enough. He warned, "Eames."

Alex sighed, realizing she had hit his wall. She replied, "OK, I'll drop it."

Bobby nodded. He stared at the table and replied, "Thank you. Look, I think I'm going to go."

Irritated and worried, Alex deflated. She tried to talk to him, "Bobby. Don't go. I'm sorry. I know it can't be easy to talk about. We don't have to talk about it."

Bobby sighed and rubbed his neck. He tried to reassure her, "No. It's not you. I just. I'll see you tomorrow."

Alex sighed and watched him take off. Resisting the urge to bang her head on the table, she chastised herself. She realized she shouldn't have pushed. He wasn't mad, but he was uncomfortable. Alex shook her head, finished her drink, and left. She'd make it up to him later. She'd get the whole story and the truth out of him eventually.