With Margaritas: Chapter 5 "The Faithful"

By: The Confused One

A/N: Well, it seems to me that in many ways "The Faithful" seemed to be turning point for them. They really started connecting after this ep, so I decided to use that feeling I got from it. Anyway, also, I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find transcripts of the second, fourth, and fifth seasons. I'm going to run out of first season eps, eventually, and because they haven't released the DVDs of the second season yet and I generally don't tape if I'm watching I don't have anything from second season. So, if anyone has any ideas of where I can find some transcripts, I'd be forever grateful. Thanks. Please read and remember to review.

Storming into the bar, Alex was getting angrier by the minute. The longer it took to find him the more frustrated and angry she became. With a sigh, she spotted him. She marched over to him. She kept her voice low and hissed, "I just talked to Carver. What the hell do you think you were doing? I thought we agreed to tell Carver about Melanie Grasso."

Bobby laughed bitterly. He was too drunk to care how he came across. Refusing to look at her, he corrected, "You agreed. I couldn't. She's a good mother, and she didn't need to be dragged into this. What did you tell Carver?"

It was then that Alex noticed the four empty glasses and the one half full glass of scotch. She deduced he was extremely drunk and it wasn't about Melanie Grasso or Kevin Donovan. What he had told her after talking to Howard kept running through her head. Something was very wrong, and she wasn't leaving till she got some answers from him. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. All of her anger from earlier was gone. Now she was just worried. She assured him, "I didn't tell him anything. I'll be right back Bobby."

Bobby nodded absently. He continued to stare into his scotch, contemplating if he should finish the whole glass, yet. After a few moments, he sensed her sit down. Looking up, he realized she must have gone to get the margarita she now had in front of her. He watched her sip it. He warned her, "I think I've had quite a lot to drink Eames. I lost count. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be good company for awhile."

Alex almost smiled. She ignored his comments. She breached the subject carefully, unsure of how a drunk Bobby Goren would react to her prodding, "How's your mom doing?"

Bobby let the alcohol talk, "She was having a bad day when I talked to her on the phone. 'They' were there."

Taking another sip of her margarita, Alex was totally confused. She questioned, "'They'?"

Bobby looked up and met her eyes, realizing what he had just said. Desperate, he tried to shrug it off, "Forget it. Don't worry about it."

Alex sighed. She had momentarily hoped that drunk Bobby would be more forthcoming than sober Bobby. Refusing to back down this time, she pushed, "No. Bobby, talk to me. What's going on with you? I'm sick of this cryptic crap."

Staring at his glass, again, Bobby realized she wasn't going to leave him alone till he told her all of his deep dark secrets. With a sigh, he let it all come out, "You were asking how I was so good with Howard before? I told you it was practice. It's, my mother. She has schizophrenia, and she's in a facility, Carmel Ridge. She was diagnosed… when I was seven. I grew up with it. My lousy excuse for a father couldn't handle it. He preferred to get drunk pretty much every night and sleep with any woman who crossed his path. It took years before he left completely, but he basically, um, checked out when I was seven. My older brother is probably in Atlantic City or Vegas right now spending all the money he has and then some gambling. I stopped helping him, when, when I realized he didn't want to help himself, and I, uh, lost touch with him. He never comes to see her."

Alex watched as he downed the last of his scotch. All she wanted to do in that moment was hug him, comfort him. She had picked up on the fact that there was a lot of turmoil in his life. The last time he confessed something to her had confirmed that, though until now he hadn't allowed her to speak of it. He had dealt with horrible things at way too young an age, and all of this had been more than she had imagined. She felt totally unprepared and unskilled to help him. It was in that moment that she realized that somewhere along the way over the last eight months or so that they had been partners she had begun to think of him as more than just a partner. He was a friend, and she hated, more than anything, seeing him in pain. She knew there were no words she could say that would make it better, but she said what she could, "I'm sorry Bobby. Those are not things a child is supposed to have to deal with."

Bobby laughed cynically now. He tried to brush his confession away, "Don't worry about it. I mean. I still have plenty of time to round out the Goren family tree and make a mess of my life too. I could still become a drunk or…"

Something instinctual seemed to snap in Alex. She stiffened at the thought of Bobby throwing his life away. Momentarily thinking of her Aunt, Alex had to take a deep breath and remember this was Bobby not the woman who had hit her little brother. Deciding not to finish her margarita, she insisted, "You are not like your father. I don't like the idea that even a part of you thinks you are, because your not."

Bobby shrugged. He was in the mood to be combative, and he was sure he knew what was coming. It was what always came when he finally opened up. She'd go running for the hills and request a new partner. He pointed out, "How would you know? You never knew him. Of course, I could schizophrenia."

Exasperated, Alex argued, "Intense and idiosyncratic, yes, but there is nothing wrong with your mind. Someone would have to be stupid to think there was." Thinking momentarily, she changed gears, "You know what? You've had enough to drink tonight. You're coming with me back to my place to sleep this off on my couch, and don't you dare try to argue."

Bobby sat dumbfounded. A part of him couldn't believe she was still in the bar offering her couch to him. The other part of him was beyond grateful and daring to hope she wasn't going to be like the others. Before, if his behavior hadn't driven them away, his life story had. Meeting her eyes as she stood, he knew she mean it too. With her help, he finally stood up. He let her usher him out of the bar and to her car.