A/N And now we move into the spoilers for Siren Call! Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review. It keeps me writing and helps me give you the speedy updates!

Chapter 13

Bobby's mother was terrified. She fluctuated from one extreme to another, and it was exhausting. First angry, in denial, then disheartened, then frightened beyond words. The staff at Carmel Ridge was always glad to see him. They never managed to handle her as well as he did.

It took its toll. He was only sleeping a few hours a night, dividing his free time between Alex and his mother. Determined to stay strong for Alex, he'd kept the news about his mother from her.

Alex was so determined to return to work that she hardly noticed if he seemed a little spent. Night after night, she told him how she wanted to go back, and night after night, he had to convince her she wasn't ready. Finally, on Friday night, they called a truce. The subject was off limits until Dr. Olivet decided to bring it up.

Instead, they watched movies. Comedies. Unfortunately, most comedies had an element of romance in them, and even that diversion proved not to be foolproof.

Monday afternoon was Alex's appointment with Olivet. He dropped her off, then headed to the library for some research regarding his mother, then leaned against the front of the car, waiting for her to emerge. He was especially tired today. His mother's schizophrenia had made an appearance over the weekend, and she was even more difficult than usual.

She came out the door and he straightened up. Bobby fiddled with his pen. "How'd it go?" he asked, taking a few steps in her directions.

"Three more sessions," Alex said.

"Yeah?"

Alex nodded.

"Well, I can drop you off,—" He struggled with his words. They'd planned on trying to spend some time together after this one, but Ross had just called before she came out. "Call, I… I got a…" He jerked his thumb back towards the car.

"Then let's go," Alex said.

All the nights of arguing about it churned back to the surface, and Bobby frowned in disapproval.

"I told her I wasn't getting any better by myself." She stared him down until he raised his eyebrows and shook his head in defeat. He held out the keys and dropped them into her hand. He wanted to speak his mind. He gestured to himself, then thought better of it. He'd already said his piece, more than once. Bobby raised his hands. Fine. Whatever. I'm not going to argue about it.

They examined the body, a young lady, 18 years old, dead in her car. They picked up a few clues and spoke with her stepfather, a cop from Water Haven. The first night of an investigation was always the longest. After following her trail to a high end bar, they pulled in a potential suspect and interviewed him. He gave them a lead on a boyfriend of the girl's. They took the time to find some background on Jason Raines, and called it a night.

Bobby could see she was tired. He drove her home. All in all, she'd done well. He allowed that maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe she was ready to be back, after all.

This was the first time in weeks that Alex had come home at night. Her abduction had taken place after two in the morning, and he didn't mistake the sound of her breathing as she tried to quell her fear.

"I'll, uh, walk you in," he offered easily.

Alex stayed frozen in the passenger seat until he opened the door on her side. Jolted into the present, she unfastened her seat belt and slid out of the seat. Bobby let her lead the way, but he stayed close behind her, making his presence known.

She unlocked the door and they went in. She turned on the lights, all of them. Bobby helped her check the rooms, and finally she was satisfied. She seemed a little embarrassed as they stood in the doorway again. "Thanks."

He looked down at his feet, and mumbled. "I'm here for you." After a few seconds, he kissed her temple. "You did good work today. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Bobby," she said quietly.

He raised his hand in the air as he walked away, and didn't drop it until he opened the door of the car.

The next morning, Alex briefed the Captain. Bobby joined her for the tail end of it, verifying that Raines ringtone was O Canada in the victim's phone. As they headed out the door, the Captain called her back.

"This is your idea of taking time off?" he probed.

She was ready for this. She knew everyone thought she'd come back too soon, and she knew sooner or later she'd hear it from the captain. "I appreciate your concern, Captain, but I'm fine." She followed Bobby's path to the desks.

She drove them to Water Haven, and they made small talk about the community. As they approached Raines' ad agency, Bobby noticed something was off.

"Blinds closed, middle of the day?" he observed. They walked together to the front door, and Eames knocked, calling for Raines. When they got no response, both of them felt their radar go up. After a glance, Bobby went back to the window, leaving Alex at the door. She continued to call and he found a sliver of an opening where he could see inside. Wiznesky had a gun trained on Raines, and was following him to the door, where Alex was.

Alex was already looking Bobby's way, waiting for his signal. He glanced at her and started to wrap his handkerchief around his knuckles. Alex drew her firearm.

He stared Alex down until he saw her draw her weapon. Bobby couldn't have expressed the cold fear he felt, knowing she was in danger. So soon, too soon after…

There was nothing he could do about it. They were here, on the job, and he had to trust that she could handle it. "This is not a good time," called Raines from inside. Alex backed away from the door, into a safer position. Bobby continued to watch through the window.

Raines saw that Wiznesky's attention was divided between the dor and the window. He took a chance and threw the front door open, running outside. Bobby smashed through the window with his hand and held Wiznesky at gunpoint.

"Drop the gun," Bobby said, even as Alex told Raines to lie down.

Wiznesky looked from Goren to Eames, and saw gun barrels in each place. "He murdered my Ashley."

"Officer Wiznesky, drop the gun," Bobby commanded. His voice was soft, but he was all business. He said it again, raising his voice this time. "Drop the gun!"

Wiznesky looked back and forth again, and then said, "Okay. Okay." He carefully placed the gun on the floor.

"All right, step away," Bobby continued. Wiznesky walked slowly, with his hands up, towards Eames, who had him in cuffs by the time Bobby was at her side.

They called it in and soon the Water Haven police showed up in force. The first to respond was Wiznesky's partner. Bobby paced the area, keeping his distance but carefully watching Alex. She hadn't shown any outward signs, but he could tell by the way she stared at Wiznesky that she was angry.

Water Haven PD made some excuse about grief, and Alex threw it right back at him. Bobby came closer, standing just behind his partner. He looked away, still listening as Wiznesky's partner promised to look into who tipped him off. He pointed to Raines and told them they were looking in the right place.

Alex took the lead questioning Raines. She was trying to prove to Bobby that she was okay. He let her. He had to show her he trusted her. He milled around the room, trying to pick up whatever clues he could while she asked the questions, made the small talk.

He'd gathered enough to know that this wasn't your typical office. Bobby suspected Ashley wasn't really working when she was here. He fired off a question, and then a comment about how intimate the place was. Raines blew off the insinuations, and Bobby tried to see into the minifridge when the man had it open while Alex resumed the questioning. They nearly collided, and Bobby backed off a little, then reached around Raines, finding a small bottle of sparkling Saki. Bobby took over the questioning again. He gave them another name, a new lead.

They wrapped things up and headed to the local high school to talk to Brian Murphy. Bobby chatted with people at the makeshift memorial on the school steps while Alex interviewed Murphy. They both gathered a few tidbits and met back again on the way to the car.

It felt like old times again. They were both getting back into their groove. They discussed the case on the way to see Raines' wife, and only a few moments were spared for more personal matters. He complimented her on the situation at the agency, and she asked about his mother.

By the time they interviewed Kelly Sloane, Raines' wife, they were tag-teaming the questioning like they'd never been apart. Like they'd never been through the ordeal with Jo Gage.

By evening, they were bringing the Captain up to speed. Ross listened carefully, and then ordered them to bring Raines in. They camped out at the Ad agency, having learned on the phone from his wife that was where he was most likely headed. It was a media frenzy, and he was hard to reach. They worked their way through the crowd of reporters, and Bobby flashed his badge, taking Raines by one arm. The man jerked out of his grip several times, becoming more and more agitated.

Alex had enough of it. "All right, Mr. Raines, let's go," she commanded.

"Why don't you hook up with a real man, Sweetie?" Raines told her. He reached for her and she deflected him.

"All right, that's enough!" Goren said. Raines took a swing at him, and Bobby ducked. Just as quickly, he had Raines against the wall, cuffing him. Bobby took him to the car and Alex followed.

"Good work," Ross said to them, walking by. "As soon as he's sobered up, we'll get him in interrogation. Why don't you two head home, bunk out for a while?"

They nodded in agreement as the Captain walked away. Bobby walked with her to the elevator. Once the doors were closed, he turned to her. "You're tired."

"So are you."

He nodded. He really wanted to know if she was all right, but he knew she wouldn't tell him. Not the whole truth, anyway. "I can take you home," he offered.

"No, Bobby, it's all right." He frowned at her, the worry evident in his face. "I'll… I'll be okay."

He held the doors open for her. "Good night, Eames."

"Night, Bobby."