Once they left Carmel Ridge, his irritation seemed to fade. He turned in his seat to play and joke with Maggie. Her favorite game to play with him in the car was Gotcha, and Eames felt her worries fade as she listened to Maggie's laughter. She glanced at Bobby, who was smiling as he reached over the seat to grab Maggie's tummy. She squealed happily. His free right hand reached over to rest on her stomach, and he shot her a glance and a soft smile before returning his attention to the back seat. She rested her hand over his and lightly caressed it.

When Maggie finally tired of the game, deciding instead that she wanted to play with her baby doll, which was on the seat beside her, he turned back in his seat, removing his hand from his wife's belly and replacing it with the other. This time, though, he slipped his hand under her shirt and settled it against her bare skin. There would have been no problem if he'd left his hand where it was to feel the baby's movements. But no...his hand had to wander, caressing and teasing, so that by the time they got to Logan's, she was ready to throttle him. But she couldn't be too mad. He got her laughing and that put them both in a good mood...although it did take her awhile to settle herself down.

When they left late that night, he was surprised when she tossed him the keys. She was glad to let him drive home; she owed him one for this afternoon. She knew Maggie would fall asleep quickly, which she did. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he lightly kissed her head. Slowly, she untucked his shirt so she could stroke his skin...and she repaid him for torturing her earlier.

When he parked the car, she leaned over and kissed him hard, then got out of the car and hurried into the building. "Eames..." he started, choking off the rest of his sentence. "Dammit."

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before he tucked in his shirt. Getting out of the car, he gently took Maggie out of her carseat. She snuggled into his shoulder and softly sighed. He kissed her and carried her inside.

When he got into the apartment, his wife was nowhere to be seen. He kicked the door closed and carried Maggie to her room. He was glad they'd thought to bring a sleeper and change her into it before they left Mike's. All he had to do was take off her jacket, tuck her in and kiss her. Leaving the room he took off his own jacket, tossed it on the chair in the living room and went in search of his wife.

She wasn't in the bedroom or the bathroom, so he headed for the living room and kitchen. When he rounded the corner into the kitchen, she met him in the doorway, pulling his head down to hers for a soft kiss that lingered. Her right hand came down to pull his shirt back out and he wrapped his arms around her, slipping his hands under her shirt to tease the skin just above the waistband of her slacks. With a groan, she softly bit his lower lip, an opportunity he welcomed to slide his tongue past her teeth, pulling her closer. He laughed when he felt the baby kick him. "I don't think he likes this," he whispered against her mouth.

"I don't care," she answered, pulling her head back from his. It was the only pregnancy where this had come up. "I have been tired, nauseous, uncomfortable, cranky and now I'm getting beat up from the inside on a daily basis. He always gets his way. Now I'm getting mine for a change."

He laughed again as she reclaimed his mouth. She deepened the kiss as she played with the buttons on his shirt. When her fingers slid across his bare skin, he caught his breath and pushed his body into hers. He choked back a laugh when the baby pushed back against the pressure of his abdomen against hers, which invaded his space. She pulled back. "What's so funny?"

"I'm just not used to being pushed away from you like that."

"Welcome to my world, Bobby. Try being on this end of it."

He leaned over to look her in the eye, smiling. "I didn't say I didn't like it."

"Neither did I," she answered with a soft smile, drawing him back in with another kiss. Without warning, she pulled out of his embrace and disappeared. Recovering his senses, he took off after her into the bedroom. He loved these games she played. Sometimes she frustrated him, but he let her have that. For some reason he would never understand, she seemed to get a kick out of it. Besides, the end result was always worth it.

----------------------------------------------

He dozed lightly as she stroked his chest. "Bobby?"

"Hm?"

"Will you tell me what's wrong?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her sleepily. "Nothing's wrong. Why?"

"You have been restless and irritable all week. You're not usually like that...well, restless, yeah, but not irritable."

"Alex, I'm fine."

"Liar."

"No. Really." He sighed heavily. "You know how I get when you're not around the squadroom. And I don't like thinking of you needing surgery. I worry enough. Sometimes it just gets the better of me. I can't predict when. You should know that by now."

It sounded reasonable, even to his ears. He pulled her closer and lightly played with her hair. It was mostly true...he was unsettled by her absence at work and he did worry about what the doctor had said. He just left out other details of what was causing his unrest...and he hated doing it.

She snuggled into his embrace and sighed. He did seem better. Maybe she was worrying over nothing. He made sense; that would explain a transient restless irritability like he'd been showing since Monday. She shivered when his fingers brushed over her skin.

"Are you cold?" he asked, knowing full well that she wasn't.

"No."

He nuzzled her until his lips found hers again. When he pulled back from the kiss, he asked, "Are you happy, Alex?"

"Do you have to ask?"

"I want to hear you say it."

"Yes, Bobby. I am very happy."

He pulled her tight against him, fervently hoping she would continue to feel that way.

She caressed his arm and asked, "So what are you working on this weekend that you can't go to visit your mother?"

"A new case. If you don't want to go..."

"No, it's not that. I promised. I was just wondering."

This was her first week of maternity leave and she hated feeling out of the loop. He understood that. "Sorry. I had other things on my mind."

"So tell me about it."

Fortunately, it was the truth that they had a new case and he briefly described it to her. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when she didn't press for details about his weekend's work, which had nothing to do with the socialite's murder he and Bishop were investigating. He hated keeping things from her and he wondered how some guys did it all the time...it was killing him. He finally concluded that they just didn't care...or maybe he cared too much. No, that couldn't be it. How could you care too much for someone you loved?

He compared this to the years he had spent not telling her about his encounters with Ricky. That was different. That really had not involved her at all and if she had known, she could very well have placed herself, and maybe even Maggie, in harm's way. That was something that had been strictly between him and Ricky. This...this did involve her...to an extent. But she had enough going on with the baby, possibly facing a caesarian, which had a long list of possible complications for her and the baby. No, he wasn't going to worry her with this as well. And maybe by the time he was ready to tell her, it would be over. After all, it was a simple investigation. Not a big deal...he just hated keeping it from her.

Now his mind was moving too fast and the guilt that came with it was more than he was ready to deal with right now, so he turned to her, coaxing her back to a state where she could shut down his hyperactive mind...and she did.