Bobby.

I've always wondered and never quite found the right way to ask why a 6'4" towering bear of a man with the perfectly respectable and melodious Christian name of Robert would introduce himself as "Bobby". What about "Bob" or "Rob" or even "Bert"? Why "Bobby"? Do you suppose at some point, maybe when he first realized that he surpassed his father's height, or the first time he sensed somebody back down in real fear when he warmed them up with those lungs of his, he decided that going by "Bobby" made him less threatening?

I guess another reason could be simply that his mother calls him that. A lot of us get stuck with our mothers' personalities expressed in the form of our first names. Luckily some of us also have big brothers who will shorten our pretty-princess names at the first opportunity to something that makes us just another one of the boys. Ensuring we won't get made fun of in the squad in later life. Because with the last name Eames you practically get assigned a badge number from birth. Even if you're a girl.

Maybe that's why that Peter guy from a few weeks back caused my hackles to rise so fast when he just tossed that "Alexandra" out there. I almost jumped up and socked him one. Shades of the playground and that time Billy Miles from down the street cut off my right pigtail, purple ribbon and all, and I asked my big brother's girlfriend to cut my hair to even it out before mom got home. God, how Mom cried over my hair. You'd think Billy cut off my right arm. And Ross… was I interrupting something? Yeah, just the barely suppressed outrage of a ten year old girl who wanted nothing more than to be one of the guys…

Strangely, though, Bobby's name has always tripped right off my tongue. Because despite the fact that I've never known exactly why he chose it, I know what works. And his name just… works. I can't imagine him by any other name.

AN: Bonus points if you picked up my leetle pop culture reference. Double bonus points if you know who Billy Miles is, too (I swear, that name just slipped in there).