I do not own the CI characters, nor do I gain anything from writing these chapters. Just pure dee fun. Please read and review! Thanks.

Chapter 8

Home

Alex was released from the hospital three days after giving birth. Although she received some attention from her family, most went to the baby, and she didn't feel wronged about that. She sighed. She was grateful she was able to do what she did, but she did miss having family and friends around more often. She had sent most of the flowers, and gifts home with her sister. She did keep a lovely bouquet that Bobby had brought by. Mix of crocus, lavender, and baby breaths. She sat it on the coffee table, enjoying the fragrance and colors.

Sitting on the couch, she felt a sudden loss. Wrapping herself around a pillow she cried into it. Shit, I feel like I'm falling apart. The doctor had talked with her about the baby blues. Not so much from being a surrogate mother, as being a mother that went through childbirth and the shift of hormones. She leaned back on the couch. She was grateful that these surges lasted a short time. She sighed, wiping her sleeve across her face. The biggest relief she had was that her sister insisted on her visiting as often as she wanted. The doctor affirmed that would help reduce the sense of 'loss'.

The phone rang. "Hello?"

His soft voice came over the line. "How are you doing?"

She stretched out on the couch, rubbing her empty abdomen. Damn these hormones. "Ah, fine. How about you?"

Bobby smiled into the phone. He had read up on surrogacy, and child birth. He had an idea of what she was going through. "How about I come over tonight?"

Alex laughed. "You've been visiting the library again, Goren?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, thought you might want some company tonight."

She nodded. "I could use a friend."

Bobby's heart lifted. He knew that she appreciated him as a partner, but verbally acknowledging that she considered him a friend. He paused a moment. "Any particular kind of movie you want?"

She shook her head. "No, surprise me."

Within an hour, Bobby was knocking on her door. Eames had busied herself getting some food together and picking up the living room. She opened the door. As usual, he didn't arrive empty handed. He had a selection of movies in one, and a bag in the other.

He smiled when the door opened. "I figured some wine was in order for tonight."

Alex smiled and took bag from his hand. "What movies did you bring?"

He grinned. "A wide variety."

The thought of having company, his company, was elating her. As usual, he spoke to her about the latest case. She gave him some quick insights to what she thought as they ate sandwiches. Bobby listened with interest. Keeping her in the loop had not only helped Bishop and himself, but also kept her in focused on returning to work. He wanted her back.

Bishop was evolving, but she was not, could not, become the partner Alex is. He realized that early on. But he worked with what he had, trying to get her to become more pliable, but her resistance was unbelievable.

Alex cocked her head. "You know, you shouldn't be so hard on Det. Bishop."

He stopped mid-bite. "What do you mean?"

She laughed. "You're use to working with me. I am sure Bishop is good. It's just that she is an awful lot like you."

He gawfed at that. "She's nothing like me."

Alex took another bite of her sandwich. "Oh yeah she is. You're two very intelligent, analytical people. The problem is, you think with both sides of your brain, she is one sided."

Goren tilted his head. He slowly chewed his bite, thinking what Alex had said. "Okay, how do I work with someone like that?"

Alex took a sip of wine. "You pull her along as you go. Like you did me."

Bobby shook his head. "I didn't do that with you."

Alex smiled. "You did at first. I picked up the beat after the second or third case. You have your own tempo, Bobby. Not that I'm complaining. It's just that people not use to your way of working a case, are caught off guard."

He thought a moment. He realized that Alex was right. "Okay, I'll cut her some slack."

Alex nodded. She knew it would be a few weeks before she would be ready to return to work, and wanted things to end well between Bobby and Bishop. Bobby stood up and began cleaning up the kitchen. Alex busied herself going through the selection of movies he brought.

Holding up one, she smiled. "How about 'The Shooter'?"

He laughed. "That's a far cry from 'The Whole Wide World'.

He was relieved that his partner was leaning back towards the 'kick ass' movies. Alex grinned at his acknowledgment. She went to the living room and put the movie in. He put a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

Alex heard him coding in the microwave. She looked into the kitchen. "What, you still hungry, Bobby?"

He smiled. "You forget Alex, popcorn doesn't count."

The End.

A/N: This concludes this story. Hope you all enjoyed. I appreciate all of your reviews and tagging the story, and myself into your alert and favs.

Before I begin another, I am going to take a bit of a break and see where I want to take our two favorite detectives (and let's not forget the jacket!). I am open to suggestions. Send me your ideas! Thanks.