Yay! New SVU and CI tonight! (does EO and BA happy dance) Here's hoping tht we get a little shippiness!
Disclaimer: They ain't mine... And that's the gospel truth.
This chapter is for Blu, Infinity Star and Confused, my mentors and idea givers. Thanks, ya'll!
Alex stood at the foot of Bobby's bed and watched anxiously as Dr. Page carefully removed the tube from Bobby's throat, then listened to his breathing. Once he was satisfied, he looked up at Alex and gave her a reassuring smile. "His breathing is a little more shallow than I'd like, but he's doing very well, considering everything," he stated, and Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He saw her obvious relief, and he said, "Don't worry, Detective. I honestly believe that he's going to be fine. Now we just have to wait for him to wake up."
She nodded and moved to stand at the head of her partner's bed, gently picking up his hand and holding it in her own. Page saw the tenderness and love in the action, and he smiled at Alex and said, "I can see that he's in good hands, so I'm going to leave the two of you alone. But if he has any trouble breathing, or if anything looks wrong-"
"I'll find a nurse," she finished, and he nodded, then walked out of the room.
Alex waited until he was gone before perching herself on the edge of Bobby's bed, right beside his head. Then she carefully stretched her legs out and eased her arm under Bobby's neck, resting his head in the crook of her arm. Using her arm to support her upper body, she ducked her head down and brushed her lips against his, then gently kissed his nose. "Okay, Bobby. You need to wake up now," she murmured, running her palm along his cheek.
He didn't stir, but the deep, steady breaths that he took on his own comforted her, and she laid her head on his shoulder and watched him, waiting for a sign that he was ready to return to her.
Alex was dozing lightly when she felt him stir, and she quickly propped herself up and laid her hand against his cheek, watching him intently. His eyes fluttered open, and she let out a teary sigh and stroked his jaw with her thumb, murmuring, "Hi, stranger."
He blinked, then slowly turned his head so that their eyes met. "Alex." Her name was little more than an exhaled breath, but she understood and welcomed the sound of his voice.
"I'm right here, Bobby," she whispered thickly, and a small smile lit up his tired features. He raised his hand and touched her cheek, and she automatically closed her eyes and leaned into his gentle touch.
At the feel of his hand against her skin, Alex shuddered and laid her forehead against his, staring into his sleepy brown eyes. "I thought you were going to sleep forever," she joked weakly, and he managed a small chuckle as she pressed her lips against his, her hand sliding under his neck to draw him closer. He reached up and laid his hand on the back of her neck, his fingers running through her hair.
When she released his lips, she looked down and realized with some disappointment that he had drifted off to sleep, and she ran her fingertips along his cheek. But this time as her fingers lightly skimmed his skin, he sighed softly and stirred a little, turning his head in towards her touch. She smiled and kissed his forehead, then laid down beside him and curled her body into his, with her hand resting just over his heart.
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Alex looked up from the book in her lap and smiled as Carolyn, Mike and Deakins walked into the room, all of them wearing broad grins on their faces. While Carolyn and Deakins found seats, Mike sat Brianna's carseat on the floor, then gently lifted her into his arms.
"He's still sleeping?" Carolyn asked, a hint of disappointment lacing her voice. Alex smiled and checked her watch, then said, "I need to go ahead and wake him up, anyways. Dr. Page says that he needs to be woken up every hour for the next twenty four hours, to make sure he doesn't slip back into a coma."
Everyone watched as Alex leaned over and touched Bobby's cheek, murmuring words that were too soft for anyone to hear. He groaned and shifted his hips, then turned his head and called, "Alex?"
"Sorry, Bobby," she said apologetically as he looked at her with a sour expression. "You know the routine. Besides, there are some people here who want to see you." She raised his bed so that he was sitting upright, and a smile appeared on his lips as he saw his colleagues and friends.
"Hey, man. Good to see you awake," Mike stated, stepping across the floor to grab Bobby's hand. Bobby returned his handshake with equal enthusiasm, then Carolyn stepped forward with the pink bundle in her arms. Alex climbed up onto the bed with Bobby and scooted as close to his side as she could. Carolyn smiled at them, then said, "Bobby, this is our daughter, Brianna Riley Logan."
He grinned up at her and said, "She's beautiful. That's all you, Carolyn."
A wave of chuckles swept through the group, and Mike shrugged and said, "Hey, that's what I said."
She shook her head at Mike, then turned to Bobby again and said, "We wanted to ask you this before everything happened. We would be really honored if you were her Uncle Bobby."
"Really?" he asked softly, his eyes wide and hopeful. She laughed and nodded, then stepped forward and placed Brianna in his arms. Alex carefully slipped her arm under Bobby's for extra support, and Bobby's heart warmed as the baby looked up at him and smiled.
The room was quiet for several minutes, until Bobby broke the silence. "Mike, what possessed you to start singing like that?" he asked, and Mike paled, then started laughing and shaking his head.
"Hey, I had to do something to get your partner to smile," he protested as Bobby offered the sleeping child back to her mother. "And it was that or I let her beat me up."
"What do you mean let me?" Alex demanded, and Mike froze as Carolyn laughed and lightly swatted his shoulder. Then she turned to her partner and asked, "You could hear us talking?"
He looked thoughtful, then nodded, slipping his arm around her waist as she laid her head on his shoulder and sighed softly. "I heard all of you," he murmured, and she blushed as she remembered her less than stellar performance with Dr. Patterson. "It was so frustrating when I heard you crying, Alex, and I couldn't even say anything to make you feel better," he sighed, and she shook her head and kissed his the top of his head, rubbing his arm gently.
"Don't worry about it, Bobby. You're awake now, and that's all that matters," she swore, holding him to her tightly. He returned her hug fiercely, kissing her hair as they sat in each other's embrace.
Carolyn brushed a tear from her eye, then poked Mike and motioned to the door, and he nodded. "Hey, we're going to head out, you two." Mike nodded, and Bobby and Alex watched them leave.
Once the door shut, Alex climbed off of the bed, then carefully lowered it back down. Bobby watched with a smile as she then lifted herself back onto the bed and stretched out beside him, her arms wrapping around his waist. He yawned, and she propped herself up on her elbow and toyed with a piece of his hair, smiling impishly. "You going to fall asleep on me again, Goren?" she teased, and he looked up and smiled gently at her.
"No," he stated, but even as he said it, another yawn escaped his lips, and his eyes began to droop. She shook her head and leaned over to lightly kiss his lips, then watched as he drifted off to sleep again. Once she was certain he was asleep, she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, sighing in complete contentment.
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The squad room was dark and silent as Deakins walked through the elevator doors, and he sighed. He hated having to be the first one there every morning, but pretty soon, Bobby would come back and reclaim that duty. He smiled at the memory of seeing his two best detectives cuddling on the narrow hospital bed.
With a chuckle, he walked over to his office, but something caught his eye, and he walked over to Bobby's untouched desk. There, amongst the reports and mold covered cup of coffee that no one had the heart to remove, sat a plain white box with a delicate bow on top. He looked around, and curiosity got the best of him as he lifted the box into his hands.
The next thing he knew, he was laying on the floor of the bull pen, and something warm and sticky covered his face. He brought his hand to his cheek, then up to his eyes, and he inhaled sharply as he saw the amber liquid that stained his fingers. The pain registered a moment later, and he fell back and lost consciousness, a relief from the pain that was eating at him.
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Alex was holding a sleeping Bobby in her arms and drifting in and out of slumber herself when Carolyn ran into the room, breathless and looking as white as a sheet.
"Car, what's wrong?" she whispered, and she stumbled up to the bed and looked at Bobby, then at her.
"It's the captain! He was attacked!" Carolyn gasped, and Alex's eyes widened as her grip on Bobby tightened fractionally.
"Is he okay? What happened?" she demanded, and she wiped at her eyes and tried to catch her breath.
"He's here, but they say he was hurt pretty bad," she mumbled, and she nodded at her, encouraging her to continue. "Ryan went in this morning and found him. From what we can figure out, there was a box or something rigged to explode, and Deakins found it."
"Oh God," was her only reaction, and Bobby let out a soft whimper when she held him just a little too tightly. She loosened her hold on him, and he snuggled down into her side and returned to sleep.
Carolyn looked down at Bobby, then looked at Alex with a worried frown on her face. "Is it normal for him to be sleeping this much?" she asked, and she nodded as she ran one hand through her partner's hair.
"Dr. Page said it's normal, and I'll be able to take him home tomorrow," she answered, and it was Carolyn's turn to nod in understanding. "Go find out how he's doing for me, okay?"
She contemplated her request, then nodded in acquiescence and walked back out of the room as fast as she had come in.
As she walked down the hall, lost in troubled thought, Carolyn didn't notice the person walking directly behind her. She turned the corner and proceeded to walk down the two flights of stairs. But before she could take the first step, a chillingly familiar voice rang in her ears.
"Hello there, Detective Barek. Or is it Detective Logan now?"
She whirled around, only to receive a blow to her jaw. Stunned, she stumbled backwards, and a pair of hands reached out and gave her a violent shove forward, sending her spiraling down the two flights of stairs.
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The hairs on the back of Alex's neck stood up, but she held herself still and pretended to continue sleeping as the intruder eased into Bobby's hospital room.
Opening her eyes to a crack, she saw the man walk around the bed and over to Bobby's side of the bed, retrieving something from his pocket. She saw him examine the needle, and before she realized what she was doing, she leapt out of the bed and tackled the assailant. Using his surprise to her advantage, she roughly jerked his arms behind his back and shoved him to the floor, pressing her knee into the small of his back.
"Nurse!" she shouted, and a few seconds later, several nurses rushed in, their mouths agape at the scene in front of them. "Call the cops! This man tried to kill my partner!" she barked, but she made the mistake of becoming distracted, and the man threw her off of his back and leapt to his feet.
He reached into his jacket, and Alex watched in horror as he produced a gun. Pure terror coursed through her veins, but she managed to force her body between her partner and the gun. She waited for the inevitable, but to her shock, the man placed the muzzle of the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, his lifeless body falling to the floor.
For several long seconds, she didn't move. Then she heard Bobby call for her, and she turned around and buried herself in his strong arms, clinging to him as tears cascaded down her cheeks at the realization that he had nearly been stolen from her again.
She didn't hear as the body was removed from the room and blood was cleaned from the floor. She didn't hear the nurses as they gave their statements, or the praise offered to her for her act of heroism.
All she could hear was the sound of his heart beating in her ear, strong and steady. A sob racked her body, and she felt his arms tighten around her as he slowly rocked her back and forth murmuring softly into her hair. She clung to him and held him tightly, her fear refusing to allow her to relinquish her hold on him, even after she had fallen asleep.
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Alex leaned back in the chair with Brianna in her arms, watching with tears in her eyes as Mike clasped Carolyn's hand and mumbled something that sounded like a prayer and a curse. Once she had heard about Carolyn's fall, everything began to slide into place, and she knew that they weren't safe. Someone was attempting to kill them, and she knew somehow that it was all connected to her. They were trying to hurt her by hurting the people that she loved most, including her colleagues that she had come to view as family.
She knew that none of them were safe, least of all Bobby, and that she had to tell Mike her fears. She pushed herself up off of Bobby's bed, then walked over to Mike's side. "Mike," she started softly. "This bastard isn't going to stop until he gets what he wants. I'm taking Bobby away from here as soon as he's released. You should take Carolyn and Bri somewhere and disappear for a while, too." Mike didn't move for a moment, but she saw him nod, then reach for his child. Alex laid Brianna in Mike's arms, then walked back over and sat in her chair beside Bobby's bed.
"I love you, Bobby," she murmured softly, tucking her right hand into his. Biting her lip, Alex gently brushed a lock of stray hair from his forehead, then smoothed her fingertips along his cheek. She looked around the room at the people who had come to be her closest friends, and tears welled up in her eyes. She knew what she had to do. That didn't necessarily mean she wanted to.
She sighed again and laid her head on Bobby's arm, her body slowly relaxing as she felt him take each breath. As long as he was okay, she could do this. They would get through this, together.
TBC...
A/N: Heh, I couldn't kill him. (shrugs shoulders) What can I say? I'm a big ole softie... Review please, bunnies!