Chapter 20

"I'm… I'm going to the library." Bobby stood beside his desk, his mind already half a light year away from where he was standing. "I'm going to research something…"

"Okay," Alex said. "I'll catch up with you later." As she watched him walk away, she thought about the case. The murder occurred in the afternoon, and yet no one said they'd heard anything. She wondered if she might get someone to open up.

Alex read through her notes again, and then decided to do some canvassing. She gathered her things and headed for the elevators.

Just as the doors were closing, a hand caught them and they opened again. It was Logan. "Where you headed?" He asked.

"I'm going to the crime scene, I'm going to canvass the neighborhood again."

"I'll go with."

Alex jerked her head, inviting him in. He stood beside her in the car. "I'll fill you in on the way," she said.

Bobby returned to the squad room with a pile of books in his arms. Alex, Mike, and the Captain were perched on desks, deep in conversation. Bobby slowed, and gently set the books on his desk, beside the Captain. He gave Alex a quick once-over. "What'd I miss?" he asked.

"Your partner had a close call this afternoon," Ross explained. "But, we've got a lead."

"What? What happened?" his questions were directed at her.

Alex met his gaze. "Drive by. I was in the smoke shop, talking with the owner, and they shot through the window."

"Are you all right?" He demanded.

She nodded. "I'm fine, Bobby."

He gave Ross an uneasy glance before turning his attention back to Alex.

"The shop owner was hit. His daughter finally gave a statement."

All of a sudden, Bobby realized Logan was in the mix. "And you were there?" he asked.

Logan nodded. "Felt the bullet whistle as it blew past my ear."

Bobby's lips tightened, and he turned to Alex again. "I need you to fill me in," he said quietly.

She knew the look on his face, but she nodded anyway. "C'mon," she said, patting him on the back as she walked forward. The Captain watched them a moment, then walked Logan back to his desk.

The door had barely closed when Bobby said, "Why didn't you call me, or wait for me?!"

"It was just a general canvas, Bobby, there was no reason to think something like this would—"

"You always have to think that way. Play defensively. Especially now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"Because I'm pregnant? I should get somebody to hold my hand all the time?"

"Alex, you're being ridiculous."

"Bobby, you're being overprotective and proprietary."

He paused in his anger, and tried to think of a better way to continue the conversation. Bobby turned his back and paced a few steps before returning to face her again. He shook his head as he spoke. "You can't just think of yourself anymore."

"I do my job, and you're calling that selfish?!" She folded her arms and glared at him. "Maybe instead of blaming me for today's… mishap… Did it ever occur to you to be compassionate?!" Her blood was boiling. She muttered, and he couldn't hear every word. "domineering, insensitive…"

"If you're going to say something, say it to my face, Eames."

She bit her lip and held her breath, but her eyes were pure fire. "You want me to say something, Bobby? I'll say something. I'm a cop. And I'm not going to stop doing my job until I'm good and ready. You're just going to have to get that through your thick head."

"My thick head, huh? You're so Goddamn stubborn you don't see common sense! I never said you shouldn't work, Alex, just that you should have waited for me."

"I wasn't alone. Logan was backing me up."

"Hell of a job, he did, huh?" Bobby snarked.

Alex rolled her eyes and gave him a slight shove as she walked past him. The venetian blinds rattled against the door as it swung open and tapped the wall behind her.

It was everything Bobby could do not to cry out and put his fist through the wall. He stormed out of the interview room and down the hall to the bathroom.

It was Logan's unfortunate luck that he was washing his hands when Goren came in. He looked up, his eyes, in the mirror, locked on Goren's every move.

Bobby headed for the stall, then came back with a definite swagger. "What the hell happened out there, Logan?" he asked, but the accusation was clear.

"You already heard it all. She was interviewing the owner, and the bullets started flying."

"Where the hell were you?"

"I was eating chow mein. What the hell do you think I was doing, Goren?!"

Bobby snatched up Mike's shirt collar in his hands and pressed the thinner man against the wall. "Let me tell you something, Logan! When you're with my woman… my child… you don't make fucking jokes about it!"

Logan simply stared him down.

"Hey what the hell's going on in here," Detective Browning asked.

Bobby released Logan and braced his hands against the sink.

"You all right, Mike?"

"Yeah, fine, forget about it," Logan said, and hurried out of the room.

Browning stared at Bobby a few minutes, then remembered why he'd come to the bathroom in the first place. Bobby splashed some water on his face, dried it with a paper towel, and headed back to his desk.

Logan had already gone. Bobby sat down quickly and started flipping through the pages of one of his library books.

Alex did her work in total silence. It was a long, cold afternoon.