This was a really good note to end it on. The first sign of Alex letting herself release some tension. She really needs to stop bottling things up. I'm looking forward to another cocktail of angst and healing. Please do sink your teeth into Season 7.

Talk about pick me ups! I loved this chapter. Thank God Bobby was able to rummage the words and the foresight to talk Alex out of her delusions of selflessness. I also got a little emotional inside, but then I always get a bit emotional as far as Ground Zero is concerned. Beautifully written, as always. And I have whole bag full of Patience w/ your name on it, Penn. Brava!

ok, if you INSIST, i'll accept that this is the finish of "queen of spades." but only if you promise to keep writing something to continue the saga. i like the progress alex has made to get to this point. i want to read more! (and i'm still wondering about the case and how rebecca and bobby are going to part ways. after the conversation alex and bobby just had, i think bobby needs to make clear to rebecca and they have no future as far as intimacy goes.

Okay, now I feel sorry for Alex. But I wish she'd get her act together and see that they're perfect for each other. At least she's crying over her bird. Maybe that's the start of the healing process? Thanks for the added chapter. It does help to clarify and understand her position a little better.

that was powerful! i love where you took them emotionally through this chapter. and i think you were very brave to risk putting them at ground zero because of possible negative reaction, but it definitely worked for me. you said "finis," but then you promised more. i hope so! i want to follow this case, and bobby and chase, and especially bobby and alex. go for it!

interesting question you pose. yes, alex is more short-tempered with him, less trusting, more frustrated. i definitely see that in the tv eps. but his behavior over this season and last has been more and more erratic, and i think that's a big part of why she's struggling with him. also, as you note in your writings, blind spot was a damaging experience for both of them.

i think the main thing troubling bobby, though, is his mom's death. yes, we can see that it frees him in a way, but like most little boys, he loved his mom dearly. her abuse he correctly attributed to her illness, and he still desperately longed for her love and acceptance. he no doubt remembers how he felt when he had that -- in his crucial formative years, before she got so sick. she taught him to love books and libraries. and now that she's gone, he knows he can never experience that love again. he misses what he can never have, what he can never fix, and any sense of freedom he feels is probably accompanied by terrible guilt for feeling it.

so, i hope that bobby's dalliance with chase will light a fire that brings him and alex back together somehow -- shakes them out of their distant dance of angst. that's what i'd love to see.

alex has been a real trouper through all this. yes, she's given bobby a hard time, but under the circumstances, i think she's done way better than most of us would. she sure rescued them in the captain's office. i hope she and bobby pull it together in their relationship.

Who's to say? Um... me!

I'm not wigging out just yet. Only because of that trust I was talkin' about earlier. But for now I'm just immersing myself in the meticulous details and unspoken candence of your writing. But I am frustrated. Still searchin' for sunshine here.

I have to say, I was not "on board" at first, but something in your style kept me reading. There is much more to these characters than we see on TV every 2 weeks, especially Alex. Bobby is meant to seem such an enigma, but, in my opinion, Alex is the bigger mystery. She keeps everything so close to the vest. Its one of the reasons I found untethered so interesting - the obvious emotion from Alex. Perhaps there is something happening that we are not privy to yet. Anyhoo, I enjoyed your perspective. They are an interestin twosome!

I'm so glad there's more to come. I can see Bobby waiting for her like that. I just hope she comes to realize how much she needs him, too. Great story!

You're truly a gifted author.
I'm sorry you had such a hard time with this story:(..I'M personally a BA shipper...& that they should stay together FOREVER! haha..but I do read other pairings only because it's fair. This story was doing amazing before..and it's doing even better now that there's some BA:). Keep up the good work!

Great story! Although I'm not a shipper, I also am not anti-shipping. And I want for Bobby whatever he wants. So if he wants Alex, I'm for it, too. Looking forward to the next installment.

Beautiful chapter. What a perfect way for Bobby to describe how and who he is now.

The important part of fanfiction is the word FICTION. You tell an incredible story and if you want to bring in other characters and take our duo down unfamiliar roads, well go ahead. I know everyone who enjoys reading ff forms opinions and favorites but it should not cause an author to second guess their work. If I dont like the way a story is going, I don't read it. When I read a story it is new and I don't really have to link it to an episode or a previous story. This is not the only story that has brought in outside interests or talked about the Goren/Eames breakdown, or Bobby's fall into the abyss. Good grief, some stories have had these two suicide, commit murder, shot, stabbed, raped, in love, and in some very unrealistic situations. I enjoy them all. I know I am rambling, but it is just FICTION, not something that will cause the world to tilt.

I'm looking forward to more. I dont mind either way around pairings, as long as the story is told well. Would like some more Nicole, Bobby intrigue. Love her as a character and the interactions she has with Bobby. There's such strong dynamics involved and the intellectual sparring is wonderful to watch. Aww that you finished this story so abruptly but would love some more CI from you with all four characters plus Nicole. ;-)