Chapter 3

Bobby swallowed hard. He glanced at her again. He tried to explain, "That whatever happened, and we don't even know for sure what happened, it might not have been his fault. And that Kevin might not have been involved."

She lifted her head and glanced at him. "I really hope you're right." Because that scene... Joe couldn't have been dirty. He couldn't have been. Not my Joe.

Bobby licked his lips and took a turn. He kept his mouth shut then. She didn't want him digging into Joe's file. "You were...close to Kevin...and Theresa?"

She glanced out the window and answered, "I used to be. We see each other only occasionally now...Chrismas party...their daughter's birthday..."

Bobby nodded again. He glanced at her. "I'm sure she'll be grateful for you then." He was trying to give her something to hold onto. He made another turn and was grateful that the hospital was in sight.

"She had Mikayla the week after Joe died..." Alex was lost in her own memories. "We were going to be her godparents...Joe and I."

Bobby swallowed hard. They had been close. Very close. He spoke softly. "I'm...sorry, Alex." He knew how very hard this had to be on her. He wished he could take all of this pain from her, make it better for her.

Alex snorted. "Sorry doesn't change anything, Bobby." She closed her eyes and sighed softly. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean that. I just..."

Bobby shook his head. He pulled into the parking lot and assured her, "It's OK. I understand. It's not enough and doesn't make it better. Doesn't change anything. I...wish I could." He parked.

She turned to face him before getting out. "You're being to nice to me."

Bobby sighed. Getting out, he looked at her over the car. "I'm not. It's the truth." He motioned to the door and walked around the car to meet her.

She stopped at the door and took a deep breath. She murmured softly, "I can do this." I have to do this.

Bobby glanced over at her. He swallowed hard, hoping it wasn't a mistake to push her to come. He didn't say anything, not wanting to make this harder. He stepped up to the front counter and was pointed in the right direction. He pointed it out to Alex. "His...family and partner are down there."

She moved down the hall beside him. She was lost in her own thought. She hated this hospital. She swallowed hard as her eyes locked on Theresa's shaking form. She glanced at Bobby then back at Theresa. "This might...take me awhile."

Bobby nodded immediately and gave her an understanding look. Meeting her eyes, he assured her, "Take your time. I'm going to talk to...Grayson."

She started to move away and then stopped. "He's a hothead," she said before moving toward Theresa.

Bobby hesitated a moment and moved towards the veteran detective. "Detective Grayson...." He wanted to approach him cautiously. Losing a partner was never easy. Bobby knew from personal experience.

He sized Bobby up. He ran a tired hand down his face. He narrowed his eyes. "Detective Goren..." he sneered.

Bobby raised his eyebrows. He didn't want to make this an advesarial relationship. "I'm sorry...about your partner. My partner was close to him. We're going to do whatever we can to find out who killed him."

"Your wasting your time here then. The guy that did this is out there." He gestured toward the door and the city.

Bobby nodded again. Sizing him up, Bobby decided to tread even more lightly. "Well, to find him, out there, we need more information from you. We need to know what you know."

He gestured wildly. "We got seperated in the warehouse...I told you this already. We got seperated. I heard a shot and I found him laying there...bleeding." He gestured at his clothes.

Bobby sighed. He wasn't getting anything new. "You sure you didn't see anything, even out of the corner of your eye. Didn't hear anything but the shot?" He found that hard to believe. He would have been on heightened alert.

Grayson shook his head. "Man...I can't think straight. I can't breathe in here..." He undid the top few buttons on his shirt.

Bobby watched him closely. He was extremely nervous. Bobby didn't like it. "Would you...like to step outside and continue this?" He needed to make sure he had all the facts.

Grayson let out a breath and nodded. "Sure. Sure. Whatever."

Bobby raised his eyebrows and followed him outside. He crossed his arms and continued studying Grayson. "Tell me more about Wilkes, the guy you two were supposed to meet there... Would he have done this?" He had to cover all of his bases, but he was getting increasingly suspicious of Grayson.

Grayson chewed his bottom lip. It was more of habit than need. He shook his head. "Wilkes isn't violent. I think Kevin was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Bobby nodded. "Someone else just happened to be there? Like who?" He wanted answers, for Alex's sake.

"How the hell should I know? It was an abandoned warehouse. Wilkes is a CI. It's the only place he'd meet us." Grayson met his eyes. "Just what the hell are you trying to pull here anyway?"

Bobby sighed heavily. He shook his head and insisted, "I'm not trying to pull anything. I'm trying to get answers. Trying to find out who killed your partner." He sounded more confrontational than he meant.

Grayson moved closer to Bobby and pointed his finger. Seeing Alex move out the doors and in their direction, his face softened. "Hey, peanut." He moved around Bobby and pulled her into a hug. "How are you holding up?"

Alex hugged him back and said softly, "As good as can be expected." She pointed back toward the building and said, "Theresa needs to go home... She has to talk to Mikayla... I offered to drive her, but she said she wanted you to go with her...be with her when she told her."

Grayson nodded. He pulled back and met her eyes. "Yeah... I-I'll go inside. Get her home. Thank you..." He gave her another hug. "Call me if you need anything."

Watching them interact, Bobby silently fumed as his jealousy peaked. He watched Grayson disappear into the hospital. He frowned deeply and then looked at Alex. "You two...close?"

"Not really...that was a nickname Kevin gave me and it kind of stuck." She rolled her eyes.

Bobby sighed. He relaxed a little. With a nod, he looked back at the door. He was silently very relieved. "I think...at the very least...he knows more than he's telling."

Alex bit her lip. She glanced at Bobby and thought about this for a moment. "Grayson has always been a hothead...if that's what you're referring too..."

Bobby shook his head. He hated doing this, dragging more people she cared about through the mud, but she needed to know. "It's more than that. Something about him...I don't trust, and I don't trust his story."

Alex narrowed her eyes and moved toward the car. She nodded. She could respect that. She understood that. She moved around to the driver's side sheerly from habit. She searched her pockets for the keys.

Bobby sighed and followed after her. He hadn't expected her to take kindly to his insinuation. Reaching the car with her, he pulled out the keys and offered, "Alex, I... Let me drive again..." She was still too emotional. He could sense it.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Sorry..." She brushed against him on the way around to the passenger side door. She smiled at him over the hood. "Habit."

Bobby gave her a weak smile in return. He nodded. "Yeah..." He slipped into the car. He silently started the car and headed towards his place without even asking Alex where she wanted to go.

Alex closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. A stress headache was beginning to form. Her stomach was in knots. She then realized she hadn't eaten all day. She sighed softly. "I hope you restocked your tylenol..."

Bobby glanced at her and almost smiled. He should have known she'd know where he was taking her. He nodded. "I have plenty." He was hoping she could relax a little. He wanted her close, so he could keep an eye on her.

Alex nearly drifted off to sleep by the time the reached his apartment building. She yawned and stretched as he parked his car. "I could go for some food too..."

Bobby nodded. He was relieved to hear that. "I can cook us something, if you want... Or we could order some take out. Whatever you want..." He just wanted to take care of her.

Alex got out and met him around the side of the car. "Whatever is easiest for you. I don't want to be any trouble."

Bobby met her eyes. He reached out and almost touched her hand. Thinking better of it, he pulled it back. He insisted, "You're not trouble. Not ever. I'll just...cook us something from my fridge." He motioned to the apartment building and began walking towards the door.

Alex silently followed him. Bits and peices of their earlier conversation were flittering through her mind. She moved closer behind him, bumping into him when he stopped suddenly. It was then that she realized they were at his door. "Sorry," she said softly.

Bobby looked back at her and frowned. She was really out of it. He shook his head. "It's fine." He turned back and unlocked the door. He opened it and let her in. Following her, he shed his jacket, gun, holster, wallet, and badge. Putting them away, he ventured, "I'm going to...start on that dinner." He wasn't sure what he'd fix, yet, but he'd feed her. He needed to.

"Let me help," she said as she unclipped her badge and lay her gun on top of the fridge. She went to wash her hands. "And no arguing."

Bobby smiled again. He looked over at her. "Alright. Alright. You can help." He walked over to the fridge and began pulling some things out. "I was thinking...something easy, spaghetti."

Alex smiled over at him. "That's fine. Perfect even. I love spaghetti." She moved closer to him, grabbing a beer from his top shelf.

Bobby glanced over and nearly bit his tongue, literally. She was an adult. Allowed to make her own choices. He couldn't force her not to drink. He could say something though. "You sure...you want to be drinking right now?"

Alex glanced at him as she twisted off the cap. "I'm a big girl, Bobby." She took a long hard swallow of the cool, bitter liquid. Beer wasn't her drink of choice, but anything harder and he'd never leave her alone.

Bobby sighed. He finally nodded. "I know. I just... Drinking isn't going to make it all go away." He turned back to the food and started to boil the water. He wasn't in the mood to fight her about anything, least of all this.

Alex moved close to him, putting her hand at his waist. "Maybe not entirely..." And just as quickly as she placed it there, she moved it. "What can I do?"

Bobby tensed for just a moment. They should really talk about what happened, but he just couldn't. Not right now. He was grateful for her question. He wouldn't have to think about it. He pointed over his shoulder. "Can you grab the tomato sauce from the pantry?"

Alex nodded and headed for the pantry. "Just one can?" she asked as she searched for it.

Bobby glanced over at her and nodded. "Yeah... It's just the two of us..." He was grateful for the distance.

Alex smirked. The next hour went that way. Easy conversation and a little banter. They ate at the table, discussing anything but the case. She wiped her mouth. "That was perfect, Bobby. Now I'll clean up since you did all the cooking." She moved to stand up.

Bobby shook his head immediately. "No. Alex, you helped cook. You are not cleaning up. I want you to relax. You need to. You've had a long day. Please."

Alex had a good mind to argue with him, but she was tired. "Are you sure you don't need my help?"

Bobby met her eyes and nodded. She relaxed a little. "Yes. I'm sure. Please relax." He was just glad they had been able to avoid talking about the case. He was very worried about her. She needed the breather.

Alex put her hand on his cheek. "Thank you, Bobby." Without really thinking about it, she leaned up and kissed his lips softly. "I"ll just be in the living room."

Trying to understand what had just happened, he stared after her. His mind was reeling. She could make him feel so much without even trying. He shook his head. There's no way she had meant antyhing by it. Not like he meant it. She was exhausted and not thinking at all. He shook his head and wrote it off. He had to. Moving to the kitchen, he began working on the dishes.

A/N: We hope this longer chapter intrigues you. We love feedback so please review. Reviews are love.