A/N: I'm still exploring Frances Goren, On the show, they always portray her as such a shrew. I have always though that she must have some redeeming qualities and that there must be times when she gives the love and concern that our hero deserves. This is my take.

The Panchito's Mexican Restaurant is a real restaurant and since Mexican Food and Margaritas are two of my favorites, I wanted to take Bobby there.

Bobby's expertise on Tequila comes from Wikipedia and my own personal experience.

Please read, review and enjoy!

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Chapter 6: Memories and Margaritas

Bobby groaned as the alarm went off at seven. Alex had agreed to swing by and pick him up before they went to interview the woman whose number they had found in the dead man's pocket. He had just gotten out of shower and had only gotten his pants on when he heard the knock at the door.

"Hey, your early." He said to her as he let her in. "Let me finish getting dressed." He noticed her staring at his chest and quickly shrugged his way into his undershirt.

"Yeah, well if I had known about the floor show, I would have gotten here sooner." Joking about his state of undress.

"We need to stop and get something to eat, I'm starved." He called out to her from his bedroom.

"I got it covered. I stopped at your corner diner and got egg sandwiches to go, they're in the car."

Bobby stuck his head out of the bedroom door as he was tying his tie and whistled. "What time did you get up this morning?"

"I got your favorite and orange juice for you, grapefruit for me." She told him, not responding to his question.

Bobby finished with his tie and was putting on his shoes. He had noticed the circles under her eyes, he was quite sure she hadn't gotten any sleep after they had finished with the crime scene.

They went downstairs to the car. "Do you want me to drive?" Bobby offered since he knew she was tired.

"I'm not so tired that I'm suicidal, Goren." She quipped climbing into the driver's seat.

"One little close call that wasn't even my fault and I'm branded for life." He remarked back at her as he hooked his seatbelt.

"Oh Alex, look at the cornerstone on that building, did you know that building was built in blah, blah, blah, in the meantime, those poor pedestrians were running for their lives." She teased him but her grin took the sting out of her words.

They arrived at the woman's house and began to question her. A look from Alex sent him out of the room. Once on the porch, Bobby noticed a planter that had been moved. Standing on top of it in this position made it easy to see inside the house. He also found an interesting series of knots tied in a string that appeared to have been dropped by whoever had been playing at peeping tom.

They went and interviewed Aiden's family and a few friends but no one had any information that was helpful. They would have to interview the employees of We Be Cool on Monday, the office where the party was held and where Aiden had worked.

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After Alex dropped him off, Bobby got his car and started the long drive to Carmel Ridge. He was playing the details of the case over in his mind but they kept warring with his memories of his lunch with Alex the day before.

He had thought she would stay mad at him for pushing her about who sent her the gift but she had surprised him by not only apologizing to him but by telling him all about it. Her apology had made him feel like a schmuck for not admitting to his snooping.

It bothered him to no end that she had been sad and upset after the trial and he had left her alone and vulnerable. He had asked her if she had checked the guy out and she admitted she had. The last two guys she had dated had both turned out to be married players just out for a good time. The last one wouldn't leave her alone even after she had found him out. Alex wasn't aware of it, but Bobby had tailed the guy for a few nights, snapped some compromising photos and mailed them to the guy's wife. The last he had checked they were in divorce court where the lawyer who Bobby had recommended in his letter was in the process of stripping the philandering husband clean of all his assets.

The one thing he hadn't heard in Alex's voice as she talked about this guy was any real interest. She wasn't interested in the man's favorite subject and she didn't mention any other common ground they had discovered they shared. So why had she been wearing the necklace when she arrived at the crime scene last night?

In his distraction, he almost missed his exit. Maybe, Alex was right about his driving as he heard the horns honking from the other drivers.

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"Hey, Mom, how are you feeling today?"

"Like crap, Bobby, like crap." Frances Goren said. "I hate being here," she looked directly at her son, "I understand it, but I hate it."

"I know you do, Mom. Its chilly out but there's no wind. Do you want to go out and take a walk?" He offered, glad that she seemed coherent and more herself today. He helped her on with her coat and a pair of warm low heeled boots. He handed over her winter hat to put on. She reached up and kissed him soundly on the cheek as he wound her scarf around her neck.

"I am really glad you're here, baby." She said taking his arm as they walked down the road away from the hospital. The area surrounding the facility was nestled in the upstate mountains. It was too bad that his mother was rarely calm enough to come out like this with him.

"You let me know when you get tired, okay?" They strolled along a stream bed listening to the water chortle rapidly over the rocks. They saw a rabbit hop out briefly, sniff the air and disappear under the brush.

"Do you remember being at the Library with me while I was working?" He mother stopped and rested her arms on the top of the footbridge they were crossing.

"Yeah, I do. I was pretty young then but I was always so proud of you. You always knew where everything was, no matter what."

"I still do in my head, go ahead, ask me any title, any author." His mother grinned.

Bobby threw up his hands in mock defense. "I believe you, Ma, I believe you."

"I never took Frank there, I couldn't have counted on him to behave. He would have gotten me fired. I had old lady Mertz watch him after school." She breathed deep and tilted her head toward the sun. "But I could always count on you to sit still and behave. Of course, I couldn't count on you to stay away from the books that you were too young to be reading!"

Bobby laughed, a genuine laugh, it had been a very long time since he had laughed with his mother. "I can't help being curious. It's how I get paid now."

"I don't like you doing something so dangerous, why couldn't you have gone into teaching, you're a good teacher, Bobby."

"Teaching's great if someone wants to learn, I have no desire to try to force knowledge into the heads of those who could care less." He leaned down to capture his mother's gaze. "I'm good at my job, I like it and I have a good partner. I'm happy."

"Tsk, all the people you spend time with are criminals, you're never going to meet a nice girl and give me grandchildren hanging out with crooks all the time."

They walked again in silence, enjoying the day. "Frank called me yesterday." Frances Goren said, out of the blue.

"He did?" Bobby asked warily. Who knew, it might be true.

"We talked on the phone, he said work was going well and that Susan and him were talking about getting married in the spring."

"That's good." He said, realizing his mother had slipped into the past and was recalling events from nine years ago.

"That's all you have to say?" She looked at him, studying his face as if she wasn't' quite sure she knew who he was.

"Are you getting tired, Mom? Maybe we should start back." He took her hand gently and placed it in the crook of his arm. "Can you tell me how the story of Anna Karenina goes again."

"You always did like that story, didn't you? It begins: All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Frances Goren's storytelling voice began to weave her magic as the two figures made their way back up the road to Carmel Ridge Hospital.

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The following week passed quickly. He and Alex had made progress on the murder of Aiden Grant but were being held up by the doctor/patient privilege of Dr. Kate Pynchon and Robbie Boatman.

It was only a week until Christmas when they were able to set up their trick to maneuver Dr. Pynchon into confessing to the torture she had subjected Robbie Boatman to and her role in the subsequent cover up of the murder of Aiden Grant. This wasn't one of those cases that felt good at the end, everyone involved had been a decent person trying to make the right choices, trying to make sense of their world.

"I'm starving, do you want to grab a bite to eat?" Alex asked, once they had finished writing up their reports.

Bobby was surprised. While lunches and even breakfasts were meals they often shared, dinner, especially when they were free from their case, was not.

"Uh, yeah, okay," He answered nervously, wondering why she was asking him to dinner.

"After this case, I think its finally time I make you buy me that margarita."

"Oh, well we can do that." He brightened.

They arrived at Panchito's Mexican Restaurant and could hear the mariachi band when they opened the door.

They took a table far from the band. Bobby ordered a pitcher of margaritas.

"So, have you been here before?" Alex asked. He nodded. Alex huffed. "One of these days I will find a restaurant or café in the city you haven't been to yet."

Bobby smiled. "I like to explore, find new places." The pitcher arrived and they both sipped their drinks.

"I have this vision of you out prowling the city at night when you should be sleeping." She stirred her drink to melt the ice faster.

"Sometimes," he shrugged. He could sense something different with her. A nervousness or restlessness. "What's going on, Eames?"

"Nothing, can't a girl ask her partner out after a tough case?" She shook her head. "Okay, the truth? This one bugged me. Maybe it was cuz it's so close to Christmas, you know 'God rest ye merry gentlemen may nothing you dismay.' How can one person treat another like that?"

She downed her glass and poured another. He noticed that her hand was not completely steady. The waiter came and took their dinner order. The band had switched to Feliz Navidad. Alex giggled.

He realized now, she wanted something that felt normal, that felt right to counteract the horrors they had listened to and speculated about during this case. He had to wonder why she hadn't just called the Professor guy.

"Okay, did you know that tequila is made from the blue agave plant which is grown in the volcanic soil that surrounds the city of Tequila in Mexico?"

Alex shook her head and tucked into her enchilada that had just arrived. "Here in the States, you shoot tequila with salt and lime but when I was stationed in Germany, they shoot it with cinnamon and slices of orange." Alex wrinkled her nose. Bobby began to build his Fajitas that had arrived sizzling at the table.

For the rest of dinner, he kept her laughing with stories and anecdotes about the liquor. "And National Tequila Day is July 24th so, next year we can always see if Deakins is game to give us our new favorite holiday off."

The waiter brought the check and Bobby grabbed it from her. "Hey, it was my invitation." She said leaning against him trying to capture the paper in his grasp.

"You only had to tell me you needed a friend tonight." He said softly, still holding the check out of her grasp. Her face was upturned to his, a teasing grin was on her lips, the soft lighting danced in her eyes.

"Thank you, Bobby. That was exactly what I needed." She laid her head against his shoulder and he allowed his arm to come around her in a small embrace. He could smell the scent of her shampoo.

"Anytime."

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They reached the parking lot and Bobby insisted on the keys. "I only had one, the rest of the pitcher went into your glass."

"How do I get my car back then, Goren?" She stepped up to playfully try to intimidate him.

"I drive you home, then come and pick you up in the morning." He said simply, opening the passenger door for her.

Bobby glanced over at her, once they were on the road. She seemed happier and less keyed up. Well, tequila will do that to a person. He also knew what it did to you by morning.

"So, how do you know so much about tequila, did you do a stint as a bartender somewhere?" Alex turned in her seat so she was fully facing him.

"Uh, no. I dated a girl whose family owned a private label distillery."

"And you didn't marry her?" She had stepped out of her shoes and used one toe to nudge his leg.

"No, now if they had owned a Scotch Whiskey distillery, there would now be a ring on my finger."

"That's not funny, Bobby." She said suddenly. Her buzz was beginning to wear off.

He pulled the car into her driveway and put it in park. "There you go, safe and sound." He detached her house key from the ring and got out to see her safe inside.

They climbed the steps to the porch. The wind chime was tinkling in the slight breeze. Alex was silent as she put the key in the lock. Bobby caught her arm just as she was going to slip through the door. He put a hand to her chin to raise her face to him. He could see the glisten of tears in her eyes.

"Hey, what's this? Its all okay." He whispered as if to a child.

"The trial," she began but her voice broke. She swallowed. "I didn't mean to do anything to hurt you, Bobby."

He chuckled richly and pulled her into his embrace. "I told you not to worry about that. I was proud of you. You did fine and I am so grateful you did decided to stay." He felt some of the tension leave her body. God, this was so dangerous! Her arms were around his waist. His chin was resting on the top of her head and he wanted nothing more than to lower his mouth to her ear and tell her everything he longed to do to her. This is your partner, Goren. With great restrain he pulled away from her.

"Go inside, drink a big glass of water and I will see you in the morning." He told her.

"Why don't you come in? For coffee, I mean." Alex held the door open wider for him.

He stood on the threshold, sorely temped to walk into the house with her. "Why didn't you meet up with Dante tonight, Alex?"

"What kind of question is that?" She asked in return.

"An honest one."

"I'm going out to dinner with him tomorrow."

Bobby felt like someone had dumped a pitcher of Margaritas over his head. "Well, I hope the two of you have a wonderful time," his voice was full of sarcasm. "Maybe he'll dedicate his next book to you?"

Alex looked contrite and then the full meaning of his words hit her. "You checked him out didn't you? You son of bitch, what gives you the right to pry into my life!"

"I had every right!" He bellowed back at her. He turned on his heel and marched back to the car.

"Goren! Goren come back here!" Alex yelled from the porch. Somewhere a dog began to bark.