Chapter 4

A/N: Bobby's perspective on that night a year ago.

x x x

Sunday–9:15 am

Lewis' apartment–Brooklyn, NY

After a shower and a change of clothes, Bobby goes over to visit Lewis. They live in the same building but on separate floors.

Lewis invites him in, then goes into another room to finish a phone call.

Bobby wanders into the living room and takes a seat. There's a pack of cigarettes and a lighter on the table beside the lamp. Bobby opens the pack, removes a cigarette, and holds it in his hand. He doesn't want to light it.

The window near the fire escape is open and traffic noise from the street below provides the right amount of background noise to keep him from drowning in all of his thoughts.

Eames.

He exhales heavily and sits back in the chair.

Lewis enters the kitchen for a minute, then returns to the living room with a cup of coffee and an iced tea for himself. He hands the coffee to Bobby and then sits in the chair beside him.

"Thanks," Bobby mutters back. He sips his coffee and then sets it down on a small side table. His gaze drifts toward the window, where he watches a man painting some cabinet doors on his fire escape.

Lewis doesn't know what to say and what might be off-limits. Bobby is in one of his moods; sulking, irritable, withdrawn.

They spoke on the phone an hour ago when Bobby called to update him on his dinner with Alex. Since it seemed like he had more to talk about, Lewis invited him over for coffee.

Now he can't decide if Bobby has any plans to talk, or just wants company, a cup of coffee, and to stare at his neighbors.

He starts with something easy. "So, Mr. Eames is going to be okay?"

Bobby nods.

"That's great news."

Another 5 minutes pass in silence. "And, how's Alex?"

"Fine." Bobby picks up his cup of coffee and drinks the rest of it down.

"Bobby, I know you're upset about something. What happened?"

He sits up in his chair, fidgets with the lighter in his hand, and mumbles something about pictures.

"What was that?"

"The pictures," Bobby says louder, also trying to be heard over an impatient cab driver blaring his horn outside Lewis's window. "She reacted when she saw the pictures," he explains.

"What pictures?"

"At dinner last night, Eames and I were talking about our families. I showed her pictures from my visit with Molly. She was okay until she saw the three of us; Leona, Molly, and me. Then she looked upset."

"What did you expect?"

"I didn't expect her to get upset."

"Did you tell her about Lisbon?"

"Had to."

He rolls his eyes. "I bet that went over well."

"What do you mean?"

Lewis takes a swallow of his iced tea. "I still don't get why you went back to Major Case."

"What exactly have I done wrong? I'm trying to make some extra money for Lisbon."

Lewis sits up, lights a cigarette, and turns toward him. "Okay… We'll back up a bit. You and Alex slept together. From the limited information I've gathered, the sex was great. You two obviously care for each other. It's personal, so things got sticky. Then you leave the NYPD for a year and return with a serious girlfriend and plans to move out of the country. If Alex is upset, it's probably because she's not over you."

He shakes his head. "She didn't want me! I woke up that morning, and she was gone. No note, nothing. I went over to her place to talk that night and she was too tired because her dad disappeared and she spent the day looking for him. Fine. I get that. But the ball was in her court after I stopped by. The first thing she said to me on Monday morning was about work. I thought that night meant something to her, but I guess not. We're just friends. We're better off that way."

Bobby finally caves and lights the cigarette he's been holding.

Lewis waits for a siren to go by before speaking. "Nothing happened because neither of you did anything about it! I'm not saying you're the only one to blame here. But the problem remains until you clear the air."

He takes a puff of the cigarette and exhales slowly. "She's with someone. The guy seems like a jerk. He doesn't have the courtesy to show up at the hospital while her dad is sick. But hey…it's none of my business."

Lewis chuckles. "Oh, that's good."

"What?"

"Attack her boyfriend. That's easier than the two of you having an honest conversation about your relationship or whatever you're calling it."

"Come on!" Bobby groans.

"You think I got this perspective from having another best friend for most of my life? Bobby, I've hung around you too long. You'd be telling me the same thing if the situation were reversed."

"Forget it. Eames isn't harboring any feelings for me. Maybe she's upset that I'm leaving the force again and moving to Lisbon. They're short-handed in her squad."

"Yes, she's not happy about you moving to Lisbon. You're both not happy."

"I AM happy, and that's enough," Bobby snaps.

Lewis laughs. "Fine… I'll stop annoying you. But I also think it's time you tell Leona how you feel about moving to Lisbon. The truth!"

"What? Did I get drunk and say something about not wanting to go?"

"Yeah, you did," Lewis responds. "But you've also said it while sober."

"It's what makes her happy. I want her to be happy. We're a couple, and I have to be supportive."

"Being supportive doesn't obligate you to want the same thing. You're talking about a move to another country."

"Relationships require sacrifice. But I'm doing this for her." Bobby puts out the cigarette and stands.

"Where are you off to?"

"I'm picking up a few things from home, then over to Leona's."

"Bobby…" Lewis sits up in his chair.

Halfway to the door, he stops and turns around.

"Leona's great. I'm happy for you," says Lewis. "Most people never expect to find someone so quickly after a bad breakup."

"Eames and I didn't break up. We never started!"

"My point is… You're hurt. You're angry. You got your heart broken. Seeing her again can't be easy. Don't think you can just go over and sleep with Leona to get Alex out of your system. You need to deal with whatever went wrong with Alex. Stop running and just face it."

Bobby shakes his head. "Thanks for the coffee." He leaves, slamming the door behind him.

xoxoxo

Sunday–10:45 am

Leona's Apartment–Queens, NY

Back at his apartment, he grabs what he needs quickly, heads out the door, and hops the subway to Queens.

A few blocks later, he's knocking on Leona's door. She opens the door for him, then hurries back into her office. She has a 2-bedroom apartment, with one room as her office/spare guest bedroom.

Bobby sets his bag inside her room and then goes into the office. She's sitting on the guest bed and working on her laptop. He climbs onto the bed and sits beside her so he can watch her work.

"It's for the blog. It's part of that series on destination spas," she explains.

Bobby nods.

"How's your friend's dad?"

"He's good. Just needs some medication adjustments."

"I think the Knicks are on," she tells him.

"Hmm?"

"In case you were bored."

"I'm not bored. Am I bothering you?"

"No."

"Hmm."

Ten minutes later. "You okay, Robert?"

"Yeah."

"You seem sort of mopey."

"Hmph."

"Usually, you're chatty about this or that," she responds.

Another 20 minutes pass. Leona sends the draft of the blog post to her proofreader and then checks the clock. "She'll have the draft back to me in an hour or two. Then I just have to do some edits and upload it."

"Hmm."

"While you're here, I've got—" She loads a link on her computer, and he kisses her neck.

"Robert…"

"What?" He resumes kissing her neck.

"I—" She tries to shift away from him and refocus on her screen, while also laughing at his persistence. "Hey… I'm trying to talk to you."

"Go ahead." He stops to answer her, then resumes kissing her neck.

"I've got a couple of flats that we can look over. They are in the neighborhood of Baixa." She clicks on the link and shows him the screen. "I thought we should—"

Bobby takes the laptop from her, closes it, and sets it on the floor, then goes to kiss her lips. After a few seconds, she gives in. They get up and move to her bedroom.

x

About two hours later, Bobby wakes up in Leona's bed. Leona's not there, but he can hear her typing in the next room. Probably finishing up her blog post.

He checks the floor and finds his jeans, shirt, and underwear lying there.

Lewis's remark suddenly crosses his mind.

'Don't think you can go over and sleep with Leona to get Alex out of your system. You need to deal with whatever went wrong with Alex. Stop running and just face it.'

He puts his clothes on, fixes his hair, and goes to find Leona.

"I'm done!" she announces, standing up from her desk. She closes her laptop. "Always feels good to get one of those out of the way."

"That's great!"

"You seem better," she remarks. "Did the nap help?"

"Yeah, but I didn't sleep much last night. Hey, why didn't you wake me when you got up?"

"There was no waking you, you were zonked out. Fire engines sirens passing by don't even wake you. So, how about we grab some lunch?"

"Sounds good to me."

"When we get back, we're looking at those flats. We need to decide quickly so we can be in one of them by July."

"Fair enough."

x x x

7:10 am (Earlier same day)

Mount Sinai Hospital - Brooklyn

"What was that about?" asks Daniel, as they watch Bobby leave.

Alex shrugs. "Any word from Jerry?" she asks of their younger brother.

"He got to my place around 4:30 this morning. He's asleep on my living room floor. I told him to bring Jas whenever he gets up. I figure by then she'll have woken up, too. Teenagers." Daniel rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "So, did Mark ever call?"

"Nope."

"What the hell is with this guy? You've been dating him for months and, except for Liz and Peter, the rest of us don't know him. I'm not saying he has to come to every Eames gathering or emergency out there, but he could at least call."

"Mark's busy. Work and all."

"You're a police captain with an understaffed squad and you've got time for him."

"His caseload picked up. We've just hit one of those busy periods. He wants to make partner."

"You're very understanding." Daniel puts his arm around her. "Come on, let me buy you breakfast."

"How about I buy you breakfast? Aren't you the one living on a pension, starting a business, paying child support, and that child's about to turn 16?"

"I tell you what. I'll let you buy me breakfast. But you'll have to tell me what's going on with you and Goren. I saw Liz's radar up as she bounced back and forth between you two last night, and I can see in your eyes that something is up."

"And I thought you were retired, Lieutenant."

"Yes, with nothing to investigate, except my daughter's boyfriends."

"Fine. You buy me breakfast."

He laughs. "That was easy. Come on."

x

After breakfast, Alex and Daniel return to the hospital and join the rest of the family gathered in the waiting room.

"Alex and I talked during breakfast. Rather than hiring some in-home care person, I'll stay with Dad for a few weeks until he's back on his feet," Daniel announces.

"The rest of us will fill in whenever Daniel needs a couple of hours to himself," Alex adds.

Everyone nods their agreement.

Alex and Daniel go to their dad's house and spend the rest of the morning getting things set up for the next few weeks.

As Alex is leaving her dad's place, her phone rings. She glances at the display, rolls her eyes, then answers.

"Oh good! Your phone works. I was beginning to think it was just you."

"I'm sorry. I had my phone turned off. How is he?" Mark asks.

"He's going to be fine. What did you want?" she huffs.

"I was hoping I could see you."

"Want me to send you a selfie? That way it won't require you to take time away from your work."

"I know I deserve that… I'm sorry."

"Except for Liz and Peter, my family and friends think I made you up."

"Can you come over?"

"I've got things to do at home. I'll call you later." She ends the call and puts her phone away.

x

Sunday - 5:15 pm

Alex's apartment–Queens, NY

Alex returns home, puts on her workout clothes, and goes for a run.

There's too much on her mind right now.

Her dad is going to be okay, but he has weeks of recovery ahead of him. He's going to be irritable as hell when he finds out about the strict diet and exercise plans the doctors set for him.

Alex comes to a stop at a corner with a no-crossing light. As she waits, her eyes drift toward the next block. After her early breakfast and her long run, she's hungry.

On the next block are at least five restaurants with food options that sound better than the choices closer to her place.

Might as well pick up some food to go while she's here. She reaches the corner, gazes across the street, and suddenly, there's Bobby. He had just exited the Vietnamese restaurant and held the door for the person behind him.

It's Leona.

They don't notice her, but she's half a block away.

Alex steps out of the foot traffic and pretends to be checking her phone while she causally watches the couple on the opposite side of the street.

So far, they're both just chatting. Then Leona erupts into laughter over something and Bobby joins in.

As their laughter subsides, Bobby wraps his arm around her. She reaches for him and they exchange a few kisses. The couple turns and continues walking in the opposite direction.

Alex tucks her phone back into her belt.

Maybe she's been clinging to hope that something would change and she and Bobby would find their way back to each other.

But she can't erase what she just saw.

Yes, it hurts. But he's happy.

She skips the restaurant and heads home.

x

Back at home, Alex cleans up and then makes a call.

"Hey, Alex. Glad you called," says Mark.

"Are you working?" She hears him typing.

"Yeah. But I'm caught up enough. I'm making dinner. Want to come over?"

"Sure. See you in about an hour?"

"Sounds good."

x x x