Chapter 33

"Look, uh, can I help you with something, Detective Goren?" Manschweitz asked. Bobby had been hovering nearby, watching him doing his deskwork.

"Uh… I was wondering, well maybe if you've got a minute…" Bobby jerked his head in the direction of the interview room.

Palmer broke into a cold sweat. He was well aware that Goren had been Eames' partner for years. He was also well aware of why the partnership had ended. "S-sure," he said, and a trace of his old lisp touched his tongue.

He let Bobby lead the way. He followed into the room, and at Bobby's gesture, sank slowly into a chair. Bobby shut the door quietly.

"I… uh… I appreciate how you've been looking out for Alex."

Palmer was like a deer in the headlights, afraid to move or speak.

"I'm not sure if you know, but… the uh… the baby's mine."

"I'd heard that," he managed to say.

"Well, anyway, I appreciate it."

He nodded, nervously.

"But the thing is… Alex, she… she's very independent."

"I know that."

Bobby smiled. "Look, I think maybe I… intimidated you or something, but the thing is… if you keep it up, she's going to sock you one."

"What?"

"You-you're overdoing it. She doesn't like to be coddled, doesn't want it, doesn't need it."

"I was just trying to help."

"She doesn't want your help."

"But-"

"And maybe I made you feel like you had to, and if that's the case, I'm sorry. I was upset the day she got cut, and I suppose I uh…" Bobby paused. Manschweitz still sat, frozen. He was completely uncomfortable. "Well. I'm sorry. Just back off a little before she hurts you."

For three weeks, Palmer had been much more palatable. He offered to buy her lunch, but she politely shook her head. "I brought something today," she explained. He grabbed his coat and headed out.

When her phone rang, Alex snatched it up from the desktop, pausing to read the name on the display. Logan.

"Eames," she said.

"Eames, what the hell is wrong with Bobby?"

"There's something wrong?"

"He can't seem to concentrate on anything today! I may as well be working solo. You can't tell me you haven't noticed."

She nodded with a frown. "I didn't know it was that bad at work. He's got something on his mind."

"No kidding. Any idea what? Or how we can get it off his mind?"

She sighed. "I think it's… I think he's been thinking a lot about family. His family… his mother."

"She's been gone, what…?"

"Two years. Three, come fall."

"Eames, you've gotta do something. I can't work with the guy like this. If he keeps it up, I'll have to say something to the Captain… for my own safety."

She knitted her brow. "Okay, Mike. I'll talk to him."

They'd settled into a regular routine. Through the week, he stayed at his place, and on the weekends, he stayed with her. They called each other every night; it was a way to force communication to happen. When they were together, they tended to express themselves more in physical ways.

"Logan said you wanted to see me?" he said, and she could tell by looking at him that he hadn't been sleeping well.

"Bobby, could you come over tonight? And stay?"

He nodded. "Is everything all right?"

"Sure. I…" She reached out and touched his hand. "I just need some contact, that's all."

His lips turned into a grin, and he nodded again. " Sure. I'll see you later."

It was seven by the time he pulled in. He'd stopped by his place for a few things, and grabbed a bite to eat. He put the key in the lock and let himself in.

The first order of business was a passionate kiss. He dropped his duffel to the floor so he could wrap his arms around her. As they unwound from each other, he let his hand drift over her belly, and they both laughed when their daughter kicked.

Bobby searched for the sensation again, but the baby was content to leave him be. "She's been doing that?"

Alex nodded. "Off and on. Not so much during the day." Alex was reluctant to withdraw. It seemed that every time she was this close to him, she wanted to curl up in his arms and just stay there. "You want something to drink?"

"You got a beer?"

"I'm all out. I've got juice, though. Grape or apple?"

"Grape."

She left long enough to fill his glass, and they sat on the couch together. Bobby drank half of it down in one swig, then set the glass on the coffee table. He took her in his arms again.

Alex's fingers tugged at his whiskers, and after another kiss, she looked into his eyes. "You look tired," she said.

He mumbled something about burning the candle at both ends and gave her an unconvincing smile.

"You've been thinking about her."

He looked up, surprised that she knew.

"Your mother."

He nodded. "I guess I… Dr. Tenorio started it. And then I see," he reached out and touched her swollen belly again. "I see what you go through… she did it twice, my mother. And as… as sick as she was, she loved us."

"I know she did, Bobby."

He settled back into the cushion on the back of the couch. "I should have done more for her."

"You did the best you could."

He nodded, and spoke his next thought reluctantly. "'Better than Frank' isn't much of a measure to go by."

She reached out to him again, forcing him to give her a moment of eye contact. "You did the best you could. You loved her."

"You know, she always… pulled it off, somehow. After Dad left us, she worked, she managed to provide for us. Her schizophrenia… she had a hard time, keeping jobs."

"She was a strong woman. Determined. Persistent. Intelligent." Alex smiled. "Sounds like you."

He smiled a little, and she nestled herself against him. "You can't change the past, Bobby. All we can do is try to work on the present."

"Something wrong with the present?" He asked, a little defensive.

"No, not with us. Things are good, now." She knew by his silence that he wanted the rest of the story. Alex sighed. "Logan was worried about you."

"Logan?!"

"He's your partner, Bobby!"

"If he's got a problem with me, why didn't he just say something?!"

"I didn't say he had a problem, I said he was worried."

"Oh, don't go making it sound like Logan cares about me. We're not that kind of partners, Alex. You're softening the blow."

"He said you are having trouble staying focused."

Bobby was very still.

"He said it's bad, Bobby. He's worried about his safety."

"And he comes to you with this?!"

"Better me than the Captain."

Bobby shook his head angrily and pouted. She was right. Logan was right, too, for that matter, though he'd probably never admit it. Usually when he got this bound up in his head he called in sick. Now he didn't have any sick leave, so he was trying to push through it at work, without much success.

"Hey," Alex said, her voice soft and her fingers lightly drifting over his arm, "I'll bet a good night's sleep will take care of it."

"I haven't slept right in a week," Bobby admitted.

She stroked his beard, her long fingernails tingling his cheeks. "Maybe I can help you with that."