A/N: Thanks so much to all of you who have taken the time to read and review. I really appreciate all of your suggestions and comments. They are a treasure for "first timers" like me! I hope you are all happy with Anna's age. I thought about making her older, but decided to use my age instead. And, don't worry, Bobby will definitely make up for having to leave on her birthday!
Disclaimer: Llywelyn's is the name of an actual bar, in St. Louis, but it doesn't have karaoke and doesn't look like I described. They do sell one hell of a rarebit sandwich, though! "I Only Have Eyes for You" was written by Warren/Dubin. And, of course, I do not own any "Criminal Intent" characters. DW does.
Chapter 4: Tea and Teasing
Alex made her way out of Llywelyn's ahead of her partner. Over the years she had learned to get a lead on Bobby whenever possible; her short, quick steps no match for his long, deliberate strides. As she crossed the street, she glanced back, expecting to see Goren hot on her heels. But he wasn't. Alex stopped, turned back towards the pub and waited. She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.
Bobby wasn't walking towards their SUV, he was strolling; hands in pockets, head back, eyes bright, grinning like a Cheshire cat. As he stepped off the curb he began to whistle. Alex's nearly fell out when she recognized the tune: "I Only Have Eyes for You." She stood there, in the middle of the street, staring at him as he passed. He continued on and reached the car. When he realized Alex wasn't there, he turned back and looked at her. "What?" he said, unable to wipe the grin from his face. "Aren't you coming?"
"Sure, Bobby… I'm coming," Alex answered. She returned his toothy grin, shook her head in amusement and headed towards the SUV.
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Andrew sipped his coffee and tried not to stare at his sister. It had been just over a half hour since Bobby and Alex had left the pub, and Anna still hadn't stopped smiling. Well, he thought to himself, at least I won't have to bother asking if she enjoyed her birthday.
Tommy brought the small Black Forrest birthday cake from the kitchen and sat it on the table. Drew had made a point of picking it up from the bakery and bringing it by the pub the day before, so that she wouldn't see it. Anna squealed in delight.
"Oh, Drew, it's so lovely," she said. "I almost hate to eat it!"
Tommy wished Anna the best and left the siblings alone. She stared at the design; pink roses all around the top and bottom edges, and in the center, around a single candle, white icing spelling out "Happy 37th Big Sis." She gazed up at Drew with full eyes, took his hand and mouthed a silent "I Love You."
He returned her sentiment and watched her as she closed her eyes and made her wish.
"Need I ask what you're wishing for?" he teased.
She blew out the candle with a giggle and answered wryly.
"Now, little brother, you know if I tell you, it won't come true."
She was home by ten, left over cake in tow. Drew had switched shifts in order to take her out to dinner and had to be at One P.P. by 6 a.m., so the usual "after birthday dinner celebration" had been postponed. Anna put the cake away, turned on the tea kettle, and headed for the bedroom. She slipped into her favorite pajamas and grabbed her embroidery supplies, intending to finish a sampler before bed. She curled up on the sofa, sipping her Chamomile tea and began to sew. But she found herself unable to concentrate. The more she watched her hands, moving smoothly with each stitch, fingers gently weaving thread in and out of fabric, the further her mind drifted… back to Llywelyn's… back to Detective Robert Goren…
They were alone, his hands cradling hers gently but insistently. He looked at her with those eyes… bottomless, soulful eyes that drew her out of herself and into him. She couldn't move, couldn't break his gaze. Bobby brought a hand up to her face and his thumb slid down along her jaw line, under her chin, across her mouth. "Anna…" Her name was a whisper on his lips and he pulled her closer, enveloping her in the strength of his embrace. She ran her fingers through his hair and down his neck, across his strong shoulders. The feel of him was electric and it excited her. His lips caressed her cheek and she moaned his name. He lifted her face in both hands, tilted her head back, and kissed her. She took his bottom lip between hers and sucked it, tasting him. Bobby's tongue slid between her lips and she felt the heat of him spread through her…
She snapped awake at the sound of her phone ringing. Anna shook her head, trying to clear her mind as she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me."
"Drew, what is it? Is something wrong?" She sat up straight.
"No, nothings wrong, Miss Worry Wart, I just needed to ask you something."
"Well…"
"You know on the way home, I was thinking that it might be difficult for Detective Goren to call you."
"What! Drew…"
"You didn't give him your phone number, silly!"
Oh, shit!
"Would you like for me to give it to him? I can go up to the 11th floor and leave a note or something."
"Oh, Drew, I don't know if you should do that…"
"Do you want him to call you?" He asked, amusement obvious in his voice.
"Well, yes. Yes I do." God, this is so high school!
"Then do you want me to give him your number or what?"
"Yes. If you don't mind and… if it isn't any trouble."
"It's an elevator ride, sis. It's no trouble."
"Thanks, Drew." She blushed into the phone.
"You're welcome. Hey, are you all right? You sound funny"
"Um… I'm… I'm fine…I just fell asleep on the couch." And then started having hot, nasty fantasies about your tall, dark, and handsome colleague.
"Oh, well, go on to bed. I'll call you at lunch tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Drew. I Love You."
"Love you, too. 'Bye."
Anna placed the phone back in its cradle and took her cup and saucer into the kitchen. She turned off the lights, went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face.
As she dried her face off, she caught her reflection in the mirror.
She was smiling.
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"Dammit to hell!" Goren slammed the door of the SUV so hard the entire car shook.
"Bobby, you have to try and calm down…"
"Calm down? We bust our asses to bring Carver incontrovertible proof that this sleazebag killed two people and this is where it gets us?" He was gesturing wildly, hands chopping through the air. "I mean Jesus Christ!"
"Bobby it's not Carver's fault. Judge Harris…"
"Judge Harris is a douche bag," he interrupted.
Alex chuckled at her partner's choice of words. "Well, that may be true, but Shelton's lawyer convinced him that they need a hearing…"
"To determine if somebody tampered with the evidence that is going to put his client away for good." His voice was full of venom.
Alex took a deep breath and decided to let her partner be. She had seen him upset like this before and knew the best thing to do was to let him stew a bit and try to talk to him after he had gotten over his initial anger. She put the car in drive and headed toward his place.
A few minutes later, she heard his voice from the passenger side of the SUV.
"I'm sorry, Alex."
"Bobby, you don't have to apologize…"
"Yes! Um… yes… yes, I do. I shouldn't have taken it out on you." His voice was softer now, a resigned tone settling over him.
"Look, I'm as upset as you are, okay? I know we did everything by the book, you know we did everything by the book. Deakins, Carver – hell, probably even Judge Harris – knows we did everything by the book. But somebody messed with that evidence somewhere along the line and if we don't find out what happened before the hearing," she stopped, shaking the anger that risen in her away.
"If we don't find out before the hearing, that prick walks free." Bobby sighed deeply and looked at his partner. "Where do you want to start?"
"Well, I'm going to start by taking you home. Then I'm going home, taking a long, hot bath, and getting a good nights sleep," she looked directly in his eyes, to emphasize her next point. "I would suggest you do the same because starting tomorrow, we have exactly two weeks until that freaking hearing."
"Yea, two whole weeks…," he groaned, rubbing his head with his right hand. "To go back over a case it took two months to build."
They drove the rest of the way to his apartment in silence; both of them dismayed at the prospect of a fortnight spent wading through an entire caseload of paperwork.
As they pulled up to his building, Alex thought of a way to distract her partner's mind, if only until the following morning.
"Bobby?"
"Yea, Eames."
"Are you going to call Anna?"
Bobby's face softened at the mention of her name. "Well, I was, but now this…"
"Screw 'this', Bobby," she said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers.
"Eames…"
"Don't 'Eames' me, either. I've never seen you like that with a woman. She threw 'Detective Smooth' for quite a loop," she teased.
He stared down at his hands and fiddled with his binder.
Alex looked at her partner quizzically. He looks… what… embarrassed?
"I… I don't know, Alex. I pretty much made an idiot of myself. She probably just told me to call her… you know, to get me out of her hair."
"Out of her hair! Good grief, Bobby! If you couldn't tell how much she liked you, then you really are off your game."
Goren's head snapped up. He had to force himself not to glare at his partner. He took a deep breath.
"Eames, that's just it. I…I…," he stopped again, wanting to get the words right. "When I looked in her eyes, when she touched me, I knew…"
"Knew what?"
"I don't want to play games with this woman. There's something… there's just something different about her. Something that could be pretty special." He blushed, surprised to hear himself talking this way about a woman he had spent less than a half-hour with.
Alex stared at her partner, her mouth hanging open. He turned, looked at her, and sputtered a laugh.
"What, Alex… why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"I just, I'm not used to seeing you like this, Bobby. You usually are so confident and charming and…" His eyebrows shot up and a grin started to cross his face.
"… Not to me, you jerk!" Alex smacked him on the arm and continued. "Look, she really liked you. You should call her, go out with her. It's been a long time since you had someone to share things with, Bobby. You deserve this, especially if she makes you feel the way you say she does."
The thought of seeing her again does make me feel… happy, he thought. Happy and excited….
"But, now, with this hearing business, I won't have the time to…"
Alex interrupted him. "Are we going to be working our butts off – yes. Long hours and mounds of paperwork – yes. But you can't work twenty four hours a day, Goren. You still have to eat and I suppose…," she gave him a devilish grin. "Sleep."
He burst into embarrassed laughter, covering his face with his hands. "God, Eames!"
She laughed with him and for a moment the worries of their job lifted.
"Okay, okay, that's enough, Alex. I'll call her, I will." He looked over at her. "Thanks, I guess, for the um… encouragement."
"Your very welcome, Bobby. Now get out – I want to go home!"
He got out of the SUV, told his partner he'd see her in the morning and started to walk into his building.
Alex couldn't resist. She rolled down the window and called after him.
"And Bobby, you will, of course, tell me everything…"