Disclaimer: Sadly enough, I don't own anything. This is written for pure enjoyment only and no profit to be gained!

Rating: Still rated T.

CHAPTER: 7

"I love you, Bobby. I can't leave the man I love. I'm just scared, Bobby. I'm scared for you…" She whispered. She didn't dare and break eye contact.

In that time Bobby's eyes darkened slightly. Alex saw it. He looked deep into her eyes as if to read her thoughts. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He wanted to know, he wanted to make sure this was real. Somehow, however, he didn't doubt her. He wouldn't question her either because he saw it all in her eyes. He knew she wouldn't take it this far unless she meant it. There was too much emotion in her voice, in her eyes for this to be a trick.

He deeply sighed and surrendering to the feeling. He no longer wanted to be the miserable, middle-aged man who had nothing but his work and his sick mother. He wanted to give into the feeling of being wanted and loved. He wanted to be with someone, with Alex and before he could think twice about it, he blurted the words out.

"I need you, Alex…." He voice was weak, almost strained-like. It was riddled with desperation, desire, passion but he got his point across.

"Oh, Bobby. You have me. You've always had me."

"I…I do love you, Alex." And Alex felt his body immediately shiver when she released her grip on his wrist and laid it on his chest.

"Do you, Bobby? Do you love me? Do you believe me?" She questioned him, a little surprised at how quickly he gave in. She had to know. She had to know that he was with her, on the same page as her.

Just don't hurt me, Bobby.

And he read her like a book.

"I won't hurt you, Alex, not on purpose. I can promise you that. I never want to be the cause of your pain." He said and raised his hands up to cup her face. "And I-I do, Alex, I do love you. I…I have for a long time. I just wouldn't allow myself to acknowledge it." He said as he slowly let his hands slip off her face where they quickly latched onto her waist. She nodded and he allowed himself to feel her smooth skin with his large hands. "I believe you, Alex." He murmured. "I can see it in your eyes." He whispered softly and slowly leaned down. He began to close his eyes, but he opened them back up. He didn't know how far she wanted to take things; that is, until she reached up and pulled his head down so she could capture his lips.

Bobby allowed himself to close his eyes this time and could suppress that moan that followed. This time he felt an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was loved? Cared for?

Someone loves me? Eames… My Eames… Oh, God.

"Alex…"

"I love you, Bobby, so very much." She said as she slowly pulled away to catch her breath. "I don't want to lose you. I can't." She murmured.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked and lifted her chin up with his middle and index finger. "You don't know about me."

"Bobby, I know more about you than you think. And what I don't know about you, you can tell me. We never talk anymore. What happen to us? We used to talk all the time, but now, now I have to find out about your mother through someone we were interviewing?"

"I'm sorry. I just…I try to deal with things on my own. It's how I…cope."

"You sure in the hell weren't during this case, Bobby. What the hell were you thinking?"

And he knew it was coming. He was waiting for it.

"I don't know."

Simple and easy.

"Fire you?!" She spat and then quickly dipped her head.

He swallowed hard. He was trying to think of something to say, something to explain his behavior, but nothing seemed good enough.

"I've always been able to separate my work from…from my mother, my life. During this case, I failed to do so." He rendered and hung his head down to match hers. "I'm sorry."

Oh god, it must be so hard for him.

She took one small step towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist as much as she possibly could. She didn't watch to torture him about it any further. She placed her head against his chest and sighed. It was reassuring. She needed to feel him. She needed to wrap her arms securely around him just to make sure he was there in front of her.

It felt good; so fucking good, natural, and long overdue.

"Bobby, you've got to talk to me. We have to be on the same page or we'll fall apart. If you want to stop now, if you want to turn back now is the time to say so."

"I know, Alex. I know, and I'm sorry." He said as her held onto her tighter. "And I…I don't want to turn back. Not with…I don't want to turn my back on you…on us."

"I know you're sorry." She paused to kiss his chest lightly. She loved what the shimmer of the water was doing on his chest hair. "And I don't want to turn back either. I've wanted this, you, for a long time. I just…"

"Didn't think I gave a shit?"

"Bobby, I know you care…it's just…" She paused.

"What, Alex?" He said as he brushed an angry piece of hair out of her face.

"It's just sometimes hard to tell." She sadly admitted.

He pulled back from her just then.

"Please, Alex, don't ever doubt that I care for you or that I love you. You can doubt everything else about me…just not that."

"I don't, Bobby…" She reassured him and leaned forward into his body once more.

"I know I don't show it, I know that I seem like a cold heartless bastard but I…" And then he stopped.

He what? He was sorry again? He had a lot to deal with? He just can't take it all? There were a lot of excuses once again that he could come up with, but none of them mattered right now.

"You're not a heartless bastard, Bobby. Look how much you care. Look at what you're doing for your mom."

He shook his head violently this time.

"Not enough. I can't even be with her. She calls me all the time at work and asks for me constantly. She asks me when I'm coming to see her. When am I going to get there? I keep telling her soon. Every time I talk to her it's soon. It breaks my heart that I can't be with her all the time. And what's worse is that I don't want to be with her all the time. This fucking job is killing her." He whispered in her ear and then added, "And she is killing me."

And Alex knew that that was true. His mother was slowly killing him. She wondered if he had anything left in him, but she knew that she loved him, all of him.

Bobby started to cry again. He felt so hopeless, so embarrassed. He tried to hide it under the still running water by dipping his head into the nape of Alex's neck, but she stopped him. She didn't want him to hide his pain from her any longer. She pulled back to look at him, to really look at him, and it scared her what she saw.

Jesus, no wonder he's so high-strung right now. He's been so upset lately, so distant. He's more concerned about his mother than anything or anyone else. And I can tell he needs a break from it all and it's making him feel guilty.

He tried to bury his face into the side of her neck again and this time she let him.

"Bobby, everyone needs a break."

"No! She's my mother. I should be there for her."

"But you have your own life, too, Bobby."

He snorted and half-heartedly laughed.

"Yeah right. Some life." He bitterly said. "I have nothing, Eames. I had a great job, but now that's more than likely gone."

"That's not true. Ross won't fire you, but he can't keep giving you second chances, Bobby. You've had your freebees. You're done, you've used them all. You can't keep doing this." She rubbed his back and he nodded. "And you have me now. You've always had me, Bobby, even if you never thought you did. You always have…and you can confide in me."

"I-I know." He whispered.

They pressed their foreheads together and Alex couldn't help but think about of their height difference. The water was turning cold so he pulled back and looked at her. It was then that he finally allowed himself to really look at her naked form.

"We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery."

-H. G. Wells

A/N: OMG. Wow, so it's been a looooong time since I've updated. I've never taken this long before. Sorry! I've just kind of…stopped writing. =( I'm hoping to finish this story up in the next chapter and then I'm more than likely going to stop writing for a while. I don't know for how long. Anyway, hope you're all still out there somewhere. Thanks for being patient with me! Still not sure if I'm going to turn this into a Rated M fic or not.

Anyway, Happy 50th b-day to VDO (June 30th) and Happy 4th of July to everyone!

-Snyder-