Bobby POV

"The corner?"

"Fifteen minutes."

I gave Alex a nod and moved from the doorway of her office back to my desk where I grabbed my suit jacket from the back of my chair.

"Go home, Mike," I said.

"It's here somewhere," he said.

He was kicked back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk while he read over the Paramus file for what must be at least the hundredth time today.

"It's not. We have to find it somewhere else."

Because we'd gone over everything.

Repeatedly.

After the interrogation with Ellis, we'd made marginal progress, but not nearly what I'd hoped.

Although thanks to Wyatt and Yuille, we'd managed to nail down the identity of the Jane Doe found in Corlears.

"Cynthia Rorer," Yuille had said earlier when he and Wyatt burst into the conference room. "That's your Corlears Jane Doe."

"Are you sure?" Mike asked as he got to his feet and picked up a Sharpie.

Cynthia was one of the female friends on Delaney's list that they'd been unable to confirm was still living, so they'd made the trip to Lower Manhattan to check out her apartment.

"Her place was empty, but we found pictures," he said as he tossed a couple of photographs onto the table. "It's definitely her. Oh, and it looks like she had a cat, but there wasn't one around."

"Delaney," I said with a nod as I looked at Mike. "He probably took it to the animal shelter."

"Okay," Mike said as he wrote her name under the correct picture. "So now we've got names for all eight of the most recent ones."

"But we're still striking out with the older ones," I remarked as I picked up the stack of photos again. "There's got to be a way to figure out the order that these pictures were posted."

But so far we still couldn't put them into any kind of order.

So even though I felt sure that the first kill was significant, we didn't know which one that was.

No other precincts had come forward, so we basically had pictures of the additional five dead girls and only one slim case file to work from. The one from Paramus.

"I wonder how Scott's coming with that screenshot," Mike said as he dropped his feet to the floor and tossed the file on the desk.

"He would've called if he had something."

"And Liz was supposed to be looking over the autopsy results," he added, tapping a finger against the Paramus file.

"You know she'll call," I reminded him.

"I know," he said on a heavy sigh. He glanced around the room and seemed to suddenly realize that it was late.

"Where's Wyatt?"

"He and Yuille left a couple of hours ago."

"Oh," he said as he pulled out his phone. "Damn, and I missed a call from Liz."

He shook his head, obviously annoyed with himself, and then he listened to the message.

I watched him as he listened, hoping that maybe it was work-related and that she'd made some huge discovery, but after a moment, I could tell that it was strictly personal.

Or at least, that's what the grin on his face suggested.

"Yeah, okay. I'm out of here," he said as he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"We'll get back on it in the morning," I stated, knowing the case was bugging him just as much as it was me.

"I know. So you've got your…" he began, but then he trailed off when the door to Alex's office came open.

"Yeah," I said, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

The ring.

I ran my hand over the outside of my pocket again, just for confirmation that it was in fact still there.

And I knew it was.

I'd spent the majority of the day with my hand in my pocket, feeling the softness of the velvet fabric that covered the box.

For some reason, it seemed to help me think.

Touching that box was almost as good as having Alex sitting beside me.

Crazy, I know.

And even crazier that this step wasn't scaring the hell out of me.

I bought her a diamond ring.

Never in my wildest dreams had I predicted this day would come.

Or at least not prior to last summer, anyway.

But now, knowing she loves me and that she wants to be married to me…it's mind-boggling.

So if I could just solve this damn case and help secure her position in Major Case…

She caught my eye as she crossed the squad room, heading for the elevator.

I'd planned to go first, but it didn't really matter, and since I'd gotten caught up talking to Logan, it worked out fine this way, too.

She'd wait for me at our corner.

I stayed at my desk just long enough to let the elevator doors close on Alex, and then I said to Mike, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"You need a ride in the morning?"

"I don't think so. I'll call you if I do."

So I left the squad room, thinking about killing competitions and unidentified girls and offshore accounts containing a million dollars.

And of course, Alex. She was usually foremost in my mind.

She'd mentioned earlier about our Saturday evening plans with her parents. And it was fine with me, except for the fact that I'd kind of had that night in my head as when I was going to give her the ring.

But I'd come up with another time.

Maybe even Friday night, because hopefully we'd have something to celebrate.

It sure sounded like things were moving in the right direction towards this pivotal meeting, so…like I said. If Mike and I can take away the last bit of ammunition that Ross might have by solving this FBK thing, then there'll be no reason for Holt not to do the right thing.

I walked down the block and saw the SUV parked at the corner, so I did a quick scan of the area first, now paranoid about who might be watching. Surely no one would be following me, but had someone watched Alex leave 1PP, and now they were wondering why she'd cut off the engine but was still just sitting in the car?

It was always a possibility.

But I didn't see anyone, so I climbed into the SUV where I was greeted enthusiastically by Alex.

Very enthusiastically.

In fact, it almost worried me, because as she kissed me, she ran her hand over my thigh and I started wondering what I would say if she encountered the jewelry box.

Because I want it to be a surprise.

I want to give her all of the romanticism that I'm pretty sure she never had with Joe.

So I put my hand over hers, holding it in place against my leg, a mere inch or so away from the bulge in my pocket.

She didn't seem to notice.

She was too busy kissing me.

"Are you okay?" I asked when she finally pulled away.

"We don't have to go someplace warm," she said quietly, keeping her hand in mine. "We don't have to go anywhere at all."

"So…no honeymoon?" I deduced despite the fact that her words seemed to be a continuation of our talk this morning.

"I didn't say that," she answered, leaning in to kiss me again. "But it doesn't matter where we are. Do you know what some of my best memories are, of our time together since we've been a couple?"

I watched her expectantly and waited for her to elaborate.

"The weekends we spent in Mike's spare bedroom. You know, it was just me and you…"

"I think I can probably arrange to go to Mike's place for our honeymoon," I teased. She smiled fully and then turned back to start the engine.

"You know what I mean. I just don't want you to think that we have to go somewhere exotic. There's no need for that. Or for a ring or a fancy ceremony…it's just supposed to be about us, right?"

"It is," I agreed.

I leaned across the console and slid my hand over her thigh while at the same time I started kissing her neck.

"But that doesn't mean I don't want to give you the best of everything," I continued as I ran my lips across her skin.

"You already did," she countered. "You."

She was in a different mood tonight, and I could only guess that her run-in with Delgado was still on her mind, but we'd get to that.

She'd talk when she was ready.

In the meantime, I spent the drive home getting her so worked up that by the time we parked and went inside, she was nearly over the edge.

"It's a good thing Theresa didn't follow you," I said when I had her stripped down and pinned against the wall.

"Are we going to talk about her now?" she asked breathlessly.

"You know how my mind works," I said with a smirk.

She pulled her hand from beneath mine and reached down to stroke over the length of me.

"Yes, I do," she coyly.

And just like that, the tables were turned.

Not that there are ever any losers in our version of power plays.

She stepped away from the wall, backing me up until my knees were against one of the kitchen chairs, and then she nudged on my shoulders until I sat down.

She moved closer to me, stepping in between my legs, and then she started kissing her way down my throat to my chest, continuing on a downward track until I could feel her breath right there and suddenly it was me who was right on the edge and I sure as hell wasn't thinking about anything anymore…nothing except for how good she makes me feel and how the more I tell myself that the legalities of marriage don't matter as long as we love each other, the more I want her to be my wife.

I let my head fall back as I was taken over by the incredible sensations she was creating and then I had to stop it.

I have to have her…it has to be both of us because that's the way we've always done things.

I reached for her, bringing her up until she straddled my lap where I sat in the chair, and finally she was over me, surrounding me, and I was pushing up into her unreservedly as her mouth sought mine.

Her hands gripped the chair back, using it as leverage as we worked together to get back to that precipice. Considering how close I'd been only moments ago, it went on for quite some time.

And afterwards, as I sat there stroking my hands over her back while I tried to slow down my breathing, I thought about the ring in my pocket. I wasn't sure where my pants had ended up, but for some reason, I had the strong urge to feel that box again, to make sure it was there.

I wrapped my arms tighter around her and then stood up and turned around, setting her down in the chair instead.

"Where are you going?" she asked when I moved away from her.

"I'll be right back."

My pants were only a few feet away so I bent down and picked them up, feeling the fabric in search of that telltale lump.

"You don't have to put those on," she said as she watched me questioningly. I glanced back at her as her eyes traveled over me appreciatively. "In fact, I'd really rather you didn't. What's your hurry?"

"I'm not in any hurry," I replied. "I'm just…"

I trailed off as I looked her over…the way her hair fell over her shoulders and how her skin was red in places, marked from the roughness of my five o'clock shadow, and how she just had this overall glow about her…

And it hit me that we didn't need candlelight or mood music to make the moment.

We'd just made the moment.

So really, what better time was there than this?

I turned my back to her and reached in the pocket, pulling out the box and then letting the pants drop to the floor.

I took a deep breath, mocking myself for my nervousness since I already knew what her answer was going to be, but still…I took a second breath and then I turned around and stood next to her for a moment before dropping down to one knee.

TBC...