Warning: If conversations eluding to homosexual relationships offend you then please don't read this.
Bubbles and Speak
The noise level in the room could only be described as loud. But the volume level came with excitement and with the addition of alcohol Alex was sure the neighbors would be round later with a complaint against her but it didn't matter.
She hadn't laughed this hard in absolutely ages. Something about sticking Jo and Jessie in the same room always meant there would be an erruption of laughter and side splitting moments to last a life time. The TV show Will & Grace was finished, the credits had already rolled and now it seemed they were hungry.
Alex rubbed her cheek a little, worried she was going to have to keep her mouth straight for days to recover from the 'chuckle muscle' ache she was getting right now. She stood in the kitchen, grabbing some items together such as chips, dips and chocolate. Thankful she had at least gone shopping at some point during the week to get some food in, although none of it was substantial but that didn't matter either.
"So, hon, when did you start using 2in1 hair products?" Alex stopped what she was doing and looked at Jo with a frown. "Your hair looks good though." Jo walked over to her and studied her hair.
"I don't use those." Was all Alex could say, silently wondering if Jo had perhaps had too much to drink and was now, finally, losing her mind. Alex grabbed the bowls and passed one to Jo so that she could help her. Jo took the bowl and followed Alex out of the room.
"So," She continued as they walked towards the living room, "Why do you have it in your bathroom?"
Alex shrugged, not turning to see Jo, "It must be Mike's." They walked into the room and Alex missed the expression that appeared on Jo's face. Jo raised an eyebrow, smirked and then seemed to cover it up when she looked at the others in the room. Katie and Carolyn were in a deep conversation about Bobby; from what Alex could gather it seemed Katie was curious to know how he was doing.
"So, how come his hair care stuff is in your bathroom?" Jo asked, standing right next to Alex but making sure the whole room heard. Katie looked up from her conversation, whilst Jessie stopped talking to Megan. Alex shot Jo a 'bored' look. As far as Alex was concerned Jo should've already known why that was. "Did you two move in together without me knowing?"
"No." Alex said, trying to reassure her sister. Jo liked to be informed about everything. "He just stays here. Why is that important?"
"I don't know why not." Jessie commented, causing Alex to look at her as the others started digging into the chips. "I'd move in with him in a heartbeat." Jessie snapped her fingers to show how quickly she'd do that.
Alex snorted, "I'll bet."
Jessie smiled softly, not missing the defensive tone of voice Alex was using, "I'm so glad you're in a serious relationship. When Joe died I honestly thought you would take up a vow of celibacy." Alex suddenly had a flash of her former husband's face flash through her mind and she understood where Jessie would have got that impression from. It's not like she'd rushed back into the dating scene but then who would? Jessie smiled and then turned to Katie, "So, let's change the subject for Alex's sake and let Katie tell us all about this Adrian."
Katie stared at Jo in surprise and hurt; Jo looked at Jessie with a scolding expression on her face. "Who's Adrian?" Megan asked, interested even though she didn't even know these women. If they wanted her to be there she was certainly going to take part.
"Yeah." Alex agreed, looking at her eldest sister, "Who is Adrian?"
Katie shot Jo a look, "You're in trouble." She then looked at the others, "Just some guy I've been dating."
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Mike walked down the coridor to his apartment, rummaging through his pocket to find his keys. He hadn't been home in a few days so he had to slow down whilst he tried to remember where his keys even were, he seriously hoped they weren't at Alex's house because if he went back it would look strange and they'd probably think he wanted to watch Down With Love with them or something. Mike shivered at the thought.
Turning the corner to reach his apartment he was surprised when he saw a man waiting outside his door. The man turned around and looked at Mike, who knew he had a shocked look on his face. "I knew you'd be here."
"Goren?" Mike asked, confused. "What? How?"
"I knew that they were planning a girls' night for Eames and I thought you'd need company."
Mike snorted, "Yeah?" Bobby nodded, slowly. Mike looked at him for a moment and then nodded as well, "Fancy getting a few beers?"
Bobby shrugged and then nodded, standing up straight and looking at Mike, who was slightly shorter than Bobby but not by much. "Sounds good."
"Great." Mike replied with reserved enthusiasm, "Let's go." He turned on his heal and they walked back out of the building.
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"Hold on."
Jessie looked at Alex, her face full of concern and worry, Alex looked back at her with a face full of confusion and questions. The moment Jessie had said those two words the whole room had come to a halt. "You were... kidnapped?" The shock in her friends voice was unmaskable. Alex looked at Jessie and sighed, "By a serial killer?"
Alex didn't quite know where this had come from. She knew the conversation had once again drifted back to why Mike seemed to be living with her, although that wasn't true as far as she was aware, and somehow Jessie had discovered what had happened 9 weeks ago and was now looking pale. "Well," Alex really didn't want Jessie to worry, she tried to make it lighthearted, "It was more a woman emulating a serial killer." She tried but nobody can turn something like that into a joke and certainly not the actual victim. Alex looked at Jo, "You didn't tell her?"
Jo frowned and quickly noticed how everyone was looking at her, "Seriously, I'm not a gossip. Why does everyone always assume that it'd be me?"
Alex looked back at Jessie, seeing the concern in her long-time friend, "Jess, seriously, I am fine."
"Promise?" She asked and Alex nodded. Jessie eventually agreed by nodding.
"Okay." Megan said, hoping that no one would mind if she tried to put some good mood back into the conversation, "Let's put the movie on."
"Actually." Alex said, looking at Mike's partner with a devilish smirk on her face as if she planned to embarrass the woman. "You've been sitting there, all nice and quiet. But since you're here and since everyone else has had their private lives displayed, I think it's only fair game to make it your turn."
Megan suddenly felt a little small by having five women looking at her, all agreeing that she reveal something about herself. But Megan recovered from that quickly. "What would you like to know?" She asked, calmly, smirking slightly as she knew they hadn't quite expected her to agree so quickly.
Jo grinned, "I'm game." She looked at Megan who matched Jo's look, but she could see the cheekiness is Jo's eyes like the question was going to be strange, "Have you slept with any of your partners?" Alex nearly choked on her drink, since she'd chosen that moment to take a sip. "Don't worry, hon, I don't mean her current partner." Alex shot her sister a look but then she turned to Megan to see if she was going to actually reply.
Megan shook her head, "No."
"Are you single?" Jessie asked, liking the way they seemed to be interrogating the poor woman.
"Yes and no." Megan replied.
"Ooooh." Jo said, enthusiastically, "Now we're getting somewhere." Megan looked at her, her lips tight together trying to stifle the smirk that was threatening to cover her entire face.
"That's a curious answer. I take it you're in a relationship that's not considered to be 'steady' but is 'heavy'." Carolyn said, in an analytical tone of voice. The word 'heavy' implying the obvious.
"Perhaps." Megan replied
Jessie chuckled, "You're really something. We're gonna have to go out sometime together." Megan looked at Jessie with a raised eyebrow; she definitely didn't see that comment coming.
Alex eyed her friend suspisciously, "When did you turn gay?"
But Jessie just shrugged. Megan frowned, "This seems to be a growing issue for me." She commented, looking at Jessie, "Are you?"
"Why do you wanna know?" Jessie asked, suggestively.
Jo laughed, Katie giggled and Alex was trying not to laugh too hard, amused she laughed whilst saying "Oh my God." Carolyn smiled and tried not to get involved.
Megan looked at her, giving her a look that told her she needed to answer her question first. "I might be." Jessie replied to Megan's question elusively.
Alex rolled her eyes, "You know she's pulling your leg, don't you?" Megan took her eyes of Jess for a small moment to glance at Alex before turning back.
"Maybe."
"Or you're pulling hers." Alex corrected. "I can't tell."
"Me neither." Katie agreed, watching Jessie and Megan with fascination.
"I had no idea." Carolyn said, seriously. Alex looked at her and shook her head.
"Y'know." Jo said, looking directly at Jessie, all too aware of the thick heavy atmosphere that was filling the room, the words being spoken were just bouncing off the silence like an echo. "Jess, I always thought you were into men. I mean, Megan's a lovely woman but don't you think she's lacking something?"
Jessie looked up at Jo and grinned. Megan also looked at Jo and she smirked.
"I knew it." Alex said, she said it with such enthusiasm and such spirit that everyone looked at her. She started laughing and this caused the calmness that had inhabited Jessie and Megan to dissipate and they began laughing with her.
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"So, was it your idea?" Mike looked at Bobby, who was fiddling with his bottle of beer as they sat in a semi-crowded bar with John Munch from Special Victims Unit.
Bobby shook his head, still peeling the label of his beer, "No."
"This is evidence of how much time you've been spending with this woman." Munch said to Mike, who nodded and then grinned, he had no problems with how much time he'd been spending with Alex. Munch continued on, analysing with a smile, "One - you're annoyed that this was planned without your knowledge. Two - the only thing you could do instead is go out drinking with two friends."
Mike looked at Munch, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, "You trying make a point?"
Munch kept a cool face, "I always make a point."
Bobby laughed softly, "He-he does have a point, Logan."
"How's that?" Mike asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. He had this sneaking suspiscion they were ganging up on him.
"Well, you do spend alot of time with Eames to the point where you've got nothing to do without her." Bobby replied, taking the time to look at the man's face as he spoke, glancing at Munch as he did so, speaking slowly.
Mike looked at Bobby and then at Munch, "Are you saying I don't have a social life anymore?"
Bobby shook his head but Munch nodded, laughing a little, "That's what we're saying." Munch leaned over the table and gave Mike a buddy slap on his shoulder. "It's alright, it happens to the best of us. All men eventually lose themselves in one woman."
Mike refused to speak mostly because he wasn't sure what to say. It's not like he planned to go out and continue his social life exactly where he'd left it - picking up women in bars and having small but passionate affairs with women - but there was something almost frightening about what these two men were telling him. He'd become... domesticated. Without even realising it.
"Logan, it's a good thing." Bobby continued.
"Yeah?" He asked, sounding hopeful.
Bobby nodded and Munch replied, "If you're gonna settle down with a woman, you could do worse than Alex Eames." Mike shot him a look, looking a little offended but unsure how to take it, "Oh, that was a compliment."
Mike slowly nodded, "I can never tell with you."
"How do you know Eames?" Bobby asked, still stuck on the thought of Munch actually being able to make that statement and have some facts to back it up.
"We've met." Munch replied, calmly. Mike stared at him. "As in work." Both men still looked at him, waiting for an explanation. "It was when she worked Vice." Mike made a hand motion for him to continue but Munch just looked at him before taking a swig of his beer.
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TBC