This chapter is dedicated to Alex and how she spent the rest of the day. Hope you enjoy and please review. Thanks!!!

Chapter 2

"Follow me Bobby! Get up and come after me," she thought, but she couldn't, she wouldn't look back. Alex walked straight back to 1PP, got in her car, and never did look back. If she had, she would have seen Bobby, still on that bench, defeated.

By the time Alex reached her home, the tears had started to fall. "Why do I let him do this to me? That's it. Alex, my girl, never again. What did I expect anyway, there in that beautiful courtyard, a confession of undying love? I'm an idiot. And, I'm through with this. We'll just be partners. Get through each case one at a time. I'll come home and do whatever it is I do when I'm not thinking about him. I'm a strong, independent woman and I'll be just fine." She grabbed her bag and forced herself up the stairs. But the sight of an empty house was just too much. She closed the door behind her and slid down to the floor in a heap. The tears flowed freely. "Damn it Bobby."

At long last, the tears slowed. Alex dried her eyes and made it as far as the kitchen. She let out a sigh and popped the top on a can of Coke. She took a sip, and sat at the kitchen table thumbing through the day's mail. Finding nothing of any interest, she ran her fingers through her hair and took in a deep cleansing breath. Off to the bathroom she went. "A nice long, hot bath, followed by a cup of hot chocolate, Gladiator (nothing like a little butt kicking to make you feel better) and then bed. I will not think about Bobby" was her last thought before slipping into the tub.

Half way through the movie, the phone rang. She half hoped and half dreaded Bobby was on the other end. The caller ID read Michael McCalister. It was her sister calling. She answered the phone as cheery as possible, "Hey Sis!"

"Hey Alex, what's going on with you?" Libby asked in just as cheery a tone.

"Not much, long day." Alex said.

"Uh huh, how's Bobby?"

"He's fine"

"He's at your house, isn't he?", she said rather mischieveously.

"No, unfortunately, he is not." The cheery tone was gone and sadness threatened to creep right through. Her sister sensed it immediately.

"You two having trouble?"

"Same ol' same ol'"

"What do ya' mean?"

"It's complicated. Bobby has a lot going on right now."

"Like what?"

"Well, I don't know exactly. What I do know is that it doesn't involve me".

"Oh, Alex. Why don't you just tell him how you feel? I mean, come on, you've been pining over the guy for years now."

"First of all, I have not been pining. Second of all, it's complicated."

"Yeah, you said that already. And I'm not buying it. What's the real hold up, Alex?"

"I don't know. It's just… I used to think he cared about me. I was sure of it. Just when I thought we had a chance, he told me to 'back off'. It was last year, at Thanksgiving. I just... I can't get past it. You don't tell someone you care about to back off."

"Well, why don't you start there? Tell him he hurt your feelings. Find out if he meant, 'back off I can't involve you with this' or 'back off, this isn't going to work between us'. I mean, what have you got to lose, Alex? You're miserable like this."

"That's just it. I've got everything to lose. If I can't have Bobby outside of work, I at least want him with me at work. If I tell him how I feel, and it's not reciprocated, things would never be comfortable again."

"Look, all I know is that you can't keep going like this. You've got to resolve things with Bobby one way or another."

"Yeah… I know, I know. Now, enough about me. How's Nathan?"

Alex and her sister finished their conversation and Alex suddenly felt very alone. She still had to quiet her nerves at times. Since Joe Gage, she rarely entered a room in the house without flipping on the light first. She checked her cell phone for messages, of which there were none, and scootched in under the covers. They were cold, and she was painfully aware of the vast expanse of her queen sized bed. There was plenty of room for someone else now that she had truly let the ghost of her husband go. She had been so hurt and so angry at Bobby for opening those old wounds, but in the end, he was right. In opening those old wounds, Alex realized she had never let Joe go. She visited his grave the day after they booked the doctor. She asked Bobby to take her to the cemetery at lunch. He had stayed in the SUV while Alex visited Joe's grave. She knelt on the dirt in front of his head stone. "We got him Joe. This time we really got him. Bobby helped. I've told you about Bobby before. He's a good man. It killed him to reopen your case. I could see it in his eyes. He knew how much it hurt me too, but he was right, and I think he actually did it for me". She took a deep breath and felt her lip start to quiver. She looked down at her clasped hands and back up at the head stone. "I have to let you go Joe. I couldn't do it before. It's been so hard here without you". The tears spilled down her cheeks, faster than she could wipe them away. "I love you Joe, I always will, but it's time. You need to rest, and I need to live. I stopped doing that the day you died. So, I'm here today... to let you go... and to let you know, that I'm OK". She kissed her hand and placed that kiss over his name. She stood and wiped her face. When Bobby saw her heading back to the SUV, he stepped out of the truck. Alex stopped just short of his reach and started to cry again. Bobby stepped forward and, for once, held her without hesitation. She relaxed into his embrace and cried into his chest. He rested his chin on her head and was content in just being there for her. As her sobs began to quiet, they reluctantly parted. Bobby held her hands and gave her a small, comforting smile. At that moment, Alex had thought she could see everything in his eyes. She was sure that he knew this trip was about letting go of Joe to make room for him. She was sure that, in that moment, they both knew.

"How could I have been so wrong?," she said in slightly more than a whisper. One tear escaped out of the corner of her eye. She turned over on her side, away from the door toward the window. The moon was full and the night sky was uncommonly clear. Alex drifted into a restless sleep.

TBC