Desk Duty

Summary: Eames/Goren. Alex is bored of desk duty and wants to get back to real detective work, but at what cost? BA.

This is my first BA fic which isn't just a one shot, it won't be too long though. It's another one set around Alex's surrogacy. Reviews and comments would be very gratefully received, thanks!

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"I'm bored." Detective Alex Eames announced, slamming shut a folder and startling Bobby Goren who occupied the desk opposite her's.

"Eames, it's only ten o'clock." Goren replied, putting his pen down and looking across at his pregnant colleague with a vague hint of amusement on his handsome face.

"I know." Eames laughed hopelessly. "I'll be glad when this baby is born." She added, her hands subconsciously moving to rest on her rounded stomach.

Goren smiled, he was reaching out to pick up his pen again to continue his note making when Eames spoke again.

"Where's Bishop today?" She asked.

Goren shrugged. "She called in sick."

"You have that effect on people." Eames teased and Goren allowed her a small smile in response. "Anyway," She continued. "It means I get my partner back."

Goren looked at her. "Alex, I may do field work and work cases with Bishop but you are my partner."

Eames smiled. She had been worried about being replaced but now she knew it was foolish and that she had no reason to be. She may have had her doubts in the past but now Alex couldn't imagine doing this job with anyone but Bobby Goren as her partner.

An hour or so later James Deakins appeared out of his office and approached the detectives.

"Goren, I've got a case for you and Bishop." He said.

"Bishop's not in today." Goren replied. "She called in sick." He looked up to see Eames already pulling on her jacket. The two men exchanged a glance and looked back at their colleague, but it was Goren who spoke first.

"Alex, you're on desk duty, you have to stay here. There might be something at the crime scene that may harm the baby." He said, concern written all over his face and reflected in his hand gestures.

"Bobby, if I stay here one minute longer I am actually going to go clinically insane." She protested. "I'm coming with you."

Goren looked towards Deakins who just shrugged.

"Come on then." He said, secretly pleased that he was back working with his 'real' partner again.

Goren and Eames arrived at the crime scene ten minutes later and they took in the sight before them.

"What have we got?" Eames asked the male officer who was manning the crime scene tape, fitting back into her role as a field agent as if she had never been away from it.

The young officer looked at her stomach before forcing himself to look her in the eye.

"Uhm," He stuttered before clearing his throat. "Looks like a hit and run but it could also be foul play."

The two detectives stepped under the tape, Goren holding the yellow plastic up to help Eames. She was grateful for the aid but she wished people would treat her normally again. She was pregnant, not incapable of doing the job. She knew it would be strange being pregnant on the job and having her duties restricted but she had underestimated how good it would feel to be out pounding the streets with Bobby again.

Goren and Eames approached the victim, a young man of about twenty. He was dressed in jeans and a hooded top, with iPod earbuds dangling around his neck from where the force of the collision had knocked them out. For now the cause of death did appear to be the result of a hit and run but they would know for definite when they got the body to the medical examiner.

"What a waste." Eames sighed, looking down at the boy and feeling a slight movement from the baby in her stomach. She was glad she was passed the morning sickness stage; she didn't want to contaminate the scene. "Were there any witnesses?" She asked Bobby.

"I don't know." Goren replied. "But I think Officer Lawson is talking to some potential eyewitnesses over there." He pointed in a vague direction to his left while he knelt down to examine the victim more closely. Alex leaned over to see what Goren was observing but her baby bump didn't allow her to get as good a look as she would have liked.

"What do you think?" Eames asked, righting herself back to an upright position.

"I see needle marks on his wrists." Goren said, looking up at her from his position crouched on the ground. "I could be that he was a user and that the hit and run was nothing to do with that but it is possible that they could be related."

Eames nodded; doing this job had taught her that nothing was impossible.

Goren and Eames returned to the squadroom before their visit to the medical examiner's office. The victim had been carrying a wallet and in it they had found his driver's license that revealed him to be Jimmy Archer, aged twenty and a student at NYU. His parents were being called in to identify him but there was very little doubt about the victim's identity.

"No priors." Eames told Goren, looking up from her computer screen. "But he was arrested for possession of cannabis a few years back but he was never charged."

"Interesting." Goren replied. "Maybe he has escalated from cannabis to heroin since?" It was more that he was thinking out loud than directly addressing Eames, but she knew this and simply nodded. She wondered how Bishop handled working with Goren, probably about as well as she had to begin with, she realised with a smile. Her phone beeped, halting any further conversation between her and Goren.

"Eames," She answered. "We're on our way." She added after a few moments. She flipped her phone shut and looked at Bobby. "Dr. Rodgers is ready for us, apparently she's found something very interesting."

Goren and Eames stepped into the cool autopsy lab, the smell of disinfectant hanging in the air. Now Eames was even more relieved that the morning sickness had passed.

"You don't need to do this, Alex." Goren told her, placing a large hand on her shoulder. "You can wait out here, if you like."

But Eames shook her head firmly. "No, I'm comin' in."

Despite his concern for her, Goren was impressed but her dedication, he knew that most women would rather be at home knitting booties but Alex Eames took the pregnancy in her stride and he couldn't help noticing how it added to her radiance.

"If you're sure." He said, knowing that it was best not to argue with her, especially with the added pregnancy hormones but he also wanted her to know that he cared.

Taking a deep breath, Eames pushed open the door and Goren followed her inside to where Elizabeth Rodgers was waiting for them. She indicated to the detectives far more track marks than Goren had been able to spot at the scene. Both wrists were covered with scars and she pointed to needle marks on the soles of his feet too, the signs of regular user and someone who was trying to hide their habit.

"Have you determined cause of death?" Eames asked.

Rodgers nodded, flipping through the chart in her arms. "Archer was suffering from an overdose of heroin, even without the car accident he would be dead by now anyway." She replied.

"So, is there anyway that the overdose and the hit and run could be connected?" Eames asked.

Rodgers shrugged. "It's possible, but that's up to you too." Goren and Eames took this as their cue to leave and walked back into the New York afternoon that was pleasantly warm after the time they had spent in the autopsy lab.

"What now then?" Eames asked, really enjoying being back in the role of field agent and the time she was getting to spend with Bobby.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Alex?" Goren asked, he valued having her back to work with for a while but he knew her's and the baby's wellbeing had to come first. "Bishop will probably be back tomorrow."

Eames felt hurt but did her best not to show it. "No, Bobby, this our investigation and I intend to work on it until we found out what or who killed Jimmy Archer, even if I'm doing it from the maternity ward."

Goren smiled, he knew better than to argue with Alex Eames, especially when pregnant.

So what did you think? Please review! D Xx