“Intercession” by Scripted Starlet

Chapter 25: A New Beginning

Disclaimer: Like I told everybody four months ago, I own absolutely nothing when it comes to Law & Order, Criminal Intent. And even though a few of my family members have taken to calling me “Wolf Dick”, the creator of the aforementioned show is not responsible for that unfortunate nickname. Or any cheap jokes made at my (and his) expense.

A.N. Well, this was my very first fanfic and it feels really good to have finished it. I can’t thank you guys enough for reviewing so often and being so supportive. Lord knows that without that constant reassurance my lazy lil’ ass wouldn’t have been up to writing five—let alone twenty-five chapters. Whoosh! What a blur.

It’s been some ride, watching Jim, Carolyn, Sheila, Loretta, Frances, and Mike push our two favorite detectives together. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, it took a lot of help to get Goren and Eames going. Anyways, I trust the crux of this story’s title has been made clear. ;)

Here we go…

I opened the door using the spare key that Eames had given me at the very start of our partnership. An “in case of emergency” swap is not uncommon around the precinct, but luckily the key was as polished as the day she’d had it copied. I’d never had to use it before, and it had spent years sitting inside the envelope that it came in, gathering dust at the corner of my desk.

It’s funny how things work out, I reflected. Jangling off the end of my key ring, I shoved the breakthrough back in my pocket and closed the door behind me.

The first thing I heard upon entering the apartment was the sound of water running.

Shit! I knew I shouldn’t have hit the supermarket before coming back.

The time was 11:38 a.m. And it seemed as though Alex had won the race.

Grumbling pathetically over the missed opportunity of seducing her eyes open, I arranged the bags atop the counter and began putting away the groceries. I might as well get started on breakfast, I shrugged. At this point, it looked like the only trick I had left up my sleeve.

I had just finished dicing a tomato and was moving on to a second when the far off faucet squeaked to a stop. My hand tensed on the handle of the knife as I pictured Eames stepping out of the shower, her beautiful body steamy and warm. Fogging in anticipation, I may have come down on the helpless fruit a little harder than expected. Seeds and juice squirted left and right and I narrowly missed the splash, giving a shout of surprise as I leapt backwards and brashly tossed the knife in the sink.

The following sequence of moments happened fast. So fast that I was barely able to distinguish them.

There was a loud clanging noise and then a feminine curse and right after that an absolutely drenched Alex, running towards me with plastered hair and—you guessed it—nothing but a skimpy silk robe. Black this time.

I really, really like black.

She leapt into my arms without a second thought, soaking me as she held on intractably and pulled my head down so that she could kiss my mouth. Short, hard, desperate kisses. Dozens and dozens of them. As though I had been gone for several years as opposed to several hours.

“Whoa,” I managed, setting my hands on her face and trying to figure out what had caused the frenzy. “Hello to you, too.”

“I knew you’d come back,” she murmured, and although her lips were smiling, her eyes were shining with something other than attainment. The strings that strung me tightened when I recognized it as relief.

“Of course I came back,” I said slowly. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Alex laughed. And it was raw enough to be forced.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter.” The words were wavering. “You’re here now.”

She dug her dank head into my chest and I rubbed her back soothingly, unsure of what to say to this strange behavior. “Alex, are you… are you all right?”

Her body stiffened against mine before she inhaled sharply.

“I woke up alone,” she said, her voice muffled. “And then I got up and—and I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Oh,” I said stupidly, still not knowing what the matter was. “Well, didn’t you get my note?”

She pulled back. “Note?”

“Yes, note,” I pointed, careful not to let so much as a flicker of mirth cross my face. “The one tacked onto the refrigerator over there.”

She peered to the right of my arm and read it quickly. Scrawled in large, sharp, unmistakable letters:

Went to go pick up a few things. Be back shortly. Love, Bobby.

“I didn’t see it.” Eames sighed deeply and then stared at her feet. “I don’t think I even looked at the fridge, I was so… I may have panicked. Only for a second, though.”

“‘Panicked’?” I repeated, lifting her chin with my fingers. What I saw there disappointed me to no end. “You thought that I ran away again, didn’t you? After everything I told you. After everything that happened between us…”

I trailed off when the pain got to be too much.

I couldn’t believe that Alex had such flimsy faith in me. Did she really think I was kind of guy who would lead a woman on only to take everything back? Did she actually think me capable of abandoning her or… or using her in such a way?

“No.” Eames turned her back on me and shivered. “No, that wasn’t it at all.”

“Then what was it, Alex?” I bit out. Meaner than I’d intended it to be. “Come on. You owe me an explanation here.”

Her shoulder blades rolled defensively. “I said it wasn’t important.”

I walked around to meet her face-to-face. “It is to me.”

And then she gazed up at me with those eyes of hers. Big, miserable doe eyes that were so unlike the ones my partner usually wore. Suddenly I found it impossible to be angry with her.

“Just tell me,” I urged. “I promise not to get pissed.”

“I’m sorry, Bobby.” She laid her palm against my cheek as she collected herself. “I just... I didn’t want you thinking that I was being moronic or anything.”

“You’re the smartest woman I know,” I said automatically. “But why’d you think that I wasn’t coming back, Alex?”

She dropped her hand. “I told you, I didn’t think that! I knew you’d come back. But for a second there I thought that it… I mean… I thought that I’d…”

Sometimes I wish that I really could read minds.

“Yes?”

“I thought that I’d dreamt it,” she admitted, trying to look past me. I couldn’t contain my smile.

“Bobby!”

“I’m sorry—I’m sorry, but you thought you’d dreamt it?” The laughter was stewing in the pit of my stomach. “That the whole night was just one big dream?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time!” she snapped, swatting at my chest. “I’ve had dreams like that before. And it’s nothing to laugh about, Bobby. I woke up naked, cold, and alone! Without a trace of you anywhere. And my head hurt so much and my body was aching and when I didn’t see your clothes or any of your things or that note I started to go crazy!

“I figured that I’d gotten so hammered that I blacked out and did something stupid. Something stupid with... with someone I didn’t even know. Someone that I’d forgotten entirely and who’d clearly forgotten me because he just up and left. And even after I ruled out that possibility I couldn’t stop thinking that if I’d really been with you, then you wouldn’t have left me.

“So then it looked like there was no way that what I thought had happened had happened even though it all seemed so real and I—I was so lost. I almost cried! Is that so funny to you, Bobby? I almost—”

I clamped my hand over Eames’ mouth and pulled her trembling self back over to me. She pushed at me furiously for a couple of moments and managed to wrench her mouth away but I merely waited. Waited until all the fight had seeped out of her and Alex slumped against my middle, breathing hard to the side of my stomach.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered gravely. Hating myself for having done this to her. “I’m so incredibly sorry, Alex. I should’ve put the note in a more… prominent place. Or I should’ve let you know that I was stepping out for a while. Or I should’ve… I shouldn’t even have gone to begin with. I didn’t mean to put you through that. Any of that. Honey, I would never leave you.”

“I know.” She shuddered deeply and sank into me again. “I know…”

“Even before last night. Before we made love. Eames, I couldn’t leave you even if I wanted to. You’re a staple for me. My life wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t in it.”

Her arms fixed around my waist as I caressed her head. “I feel ridiculous,” she confessed.

“Don’t.” My throat was thick as I strove for something to lighten the situation. “Hell, I was half-afraid I’d gone out and picked up another twenty-five year old when I was waking up. Imagine my reaction when I opened my eyes.”

I felt the curve of her smile even through my shirt. “And found out I was twelve years older than your usual playmate? How disappointing.”

I swooped down and caught her lips. Nipping them in punishment and relishing how the wetness behind them tasted freshly of spearmint and dental floss.

“More like exhilarating,” I murmured, lifting her startled bottom up and onto the counter so that we could deepen the kiss. I groaned at the sensation of something so round and firm squirming and fitting perfectly into my palms. And by the time we bothered to catch our breath, Alex’s legs were twined around my hips and we both looked disgustingly happy.

Now this is more like it…

“You should’ve woken me up,” she whined, the tip of her tongue rolling up my neck.

“You should’ve called.” I was sliding my hands all over her damp, satin-covered body.

“And said what, exactly? Excuse me, Goren, but would you mind confirming if the amazing, earth-shattering sex that was just too good to be true did, in fact, happen between us? Or if I just made the whole thing up in this sick, twisted, unprofessional head of mine?”

“Believe me, Alex…” I worked her flesh between my fingers and she gasped immediately. “You don’t want to know the things that go on in this sick, twisted, unprofessional head of mine.”

“Ooo, a challenge,” she breathed. And then Eames leaned back and spread her thighs just an inch or so wider on both sides. Just enough to make my jeans tighten. “Don’t be so sure about that, Bobby. I’m nothing if not adventurous.”

“Oh, no…” I was torn between humor and arousal. “We’re not going to make it to breakfast, are we?”

“Breakfast?” She raised a brow.

Minx.

“Omelets,” I clarified. “Which I was in the middle of preparing before you came barging in here with that adventurous mouth of yours.”

“Hmm, that sounds an awful lot like a complaint, Bobby Goren.”

“Hey,” I chuckled, throwing my arms up ruefully, “I don’t care if I ever eat again.”

“That’s better.” She ran her fingers through my hair and I closed my eyes, enjoying the rightness of her touch. “You’d give up food for me?”

“Anything for you, Alex.”

And I meant it.

“I don’t know,” she purred, straightening her leg in the direction of the pan and stove. “Those omelets sound pretty tempting.”

“I could cook you something else if you’d like.”

“Mmm, like what?”

“Pancakes...” She kissed my mouth. “Hash potatoes...” She mewled appreciatively. “Crème brulee…” She started tittering.

“You’re trying to get me fat, aren’t you?”

“No, I just wasn’t sure what you’d want. So I got the works.” When she kept staring at me with that mischievous spark in her eyes, I mentioned, “I brought back some granola, too.”

“Sustenance in my very own pantry. Will wonders never cease.”

“I’ve come to learn they keep on going.” I curled my fingers along her cheek and glanced down her robe briefly before looking up. “Seriously, Eames, what do you want?”

“You’re initial instincts were just fine.” She pat me on the back and kicked me playfully as I went to retrieve the knife.

“Bossy in the morning, aren’t you?”

“I’ll make it up to you later.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

“As if you could stop me.” I could sense her rolling her eyes. “So where’d you go, anyways?”

“Well… home. To pack some clothes and raid the food that I had. Also, a couple of stores. There’s a bottle of aspirin sitting in that paper bag over there, by the way—in case that hangover of yours is still a problem. And I got some bananas to go with the eggs, which should be a cure-all combination. Oh, and tell me you needed a new alarm clock because I already bought one and I think I misplaced the receipt.”

“Yeah, I did.” Her tone was bright with surprise. “But I have to warn you that those things have a pretty short lifespan when it comes to me.”

I was slicing slivers of bell pepper when she came up behind me and hugged me again. “I really like the domestic side of you, Bobby. It’s very sexy.”

“Is it?” I smiled to myself. Calculating how long it would take for her to start undressing me. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“So you were the one who straightened things up around here before I had my say.” She toyed with the buttons of my shirt. “When I saw the kitchen floor looking all sparkly and immaculate I honest to god wondered whether you even showed up last night.”

I whipped around. “Oh, I bought you a new mug, too.”

Her jaw dropped. “You didn’t?”

“No, I didn’t.” I fended off her blows gleefully. “But it was worth lying to you just now to see your reaction.”

Which ought to remind you of something, my conscience nagged, killing the mood.

That can wait, the selfish side of me argued. And the rest of me concurred.

I was about to go back to chopping when Alex asked, “Did you go anywhere else, Mr. Perfect?”

The question upset my balance. “Uh, yeah.”

“Where?”

And the conscience returned.

It’s going to come out sooner or later. Just brave through it, Goren.

“Logan’s.”

“You went to go see Mike?” Alex grabbed my arm and studied me guardedly. “Why?”

“To smooth things over.”

She tipped her head in supposed understanding. “You probably said some things you’d like to take back, right?”

“Yeah, that and…” I set the knife down on the board. “I hit him.”

“What?” Eames’ face went white.

“I hit him,” I repeated, wincing in remembrance. “Before he drove home last night.”

She sucked in air fearfully. “Is he all right?”

“He doesn’t look too good,” I acknowledged. “But I think he’ll be fine.”

“Uggh, okay, Bobby.” She tore her hands through her hair. “Just what kind of a situation are we talking about here? I mean, did you beat him into a bloody pulp or did you—”

“—One punch. But… let’s just say I really made that one punch count.”

“Jesus Christ, Bobby!” she seethed. “What the hell were you thinking?”

Something about the way she said it made my blood boil.

“Alex, I was ‘thinking’ that he was sleeping with you! I was ‘thinking’ that while I was out there coming to my senses, he was in here ruining any chance I had. I was seeing red! What the hell was I supposed to do?”

“Maybe use your brain instead of your fists! This is so not like you, Bobby, that I can’t even fathom it. The poor guy! Does it show? Is he going to have to go to work tomorrow and explain to the Captain how he got that way?”

“Mike’s creative. He’ll come up with something.”

She kept right on glaring at me stonily. “Alex, don’t tell me that if you had shown up outside my apartment last night and seen some woman leaving my place that you wouldn’t have blown a gasket yourself.”

“This isn’t ‘some woman’, Bobby. This is Mike! We know Mike. We like Mike. We trust Mike.”

“Okay, well, one of your girlfriends then. Someone you trust. How would you feel if she had come prancing out at two in the morning and told you that she’d just spent the past couple of hours showing me ‘a good time’?”

I’ve never seen a person turn that shade of purple that quickly. “He told you what?”

Uh oh. Maybe I ought to have phrased the charge more delicately.

“Umm… listen, Eames—”

“—Knew it’d be bad,” she was prattling fiercely, “but I didn’t know it’d be that bad. The nerve of him. And right to your face, I can hardly—”

“—He was drunk. He probably didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”

“Like hell he didn’t!” she exploded. “Fucking Logan and his goddamned jealousy theory! This is my business. He had no right to meddle in my affairs.”

“He didn’t do it to be cruel,” I said earnestly.

“Doesn’t matter. It was not his call to make. What else did he say to you?” Eames tugged at my shirt and beseeched me sadly. “I want to know. Word for word.”

“No.” I shook my head. “He, uh, he didn’t say much. Besides, none of that matters now. I know the truth. And you and I are together, Alex. I don’t want to waste any time rehashing whatever it took to get us to this place. All I know is that I’m happy now.”

Alex flinched as though my divulgence had struck her all over again.

“I couldn’t bear that look on your face last night. You looked so miserable…”

“I was. For like a second.”

“I love you so much, Bobby. I would never have slept with another man like that. Not in my right mind, anyway.”

“I know.” And then, the seed of an idea sprouting, I smiled wickedly. “Must’ve been hard for you resist, though. Especially considering that ‘every guy in the bar’ wanted your number, huh?”

Alex blanched. “God, no...”

“Despite that you were asked to dance… what was it? Oh, yes. At least fifteen times. And how tall was that first guy, Eames? Was it 6’2” or 6’3”?”

She darted out of the kitchen. I followed stealthily. “‘Almost as tall’ as me, wasn’t that what you said?”

“No.” Alex started rearranging the cushions on the couch mechanically. Deterrently. “That wasn’t what I said. Not like that. You’re taking everything out of context! And I thought I specifically told you to delete that message.”

“I did… Eventually.” I crossed my arms over my chest and watched her fuss. “Sounds like you were the life of the party.”

“I was!” She socked the sofa with her right hand and straightened. “I damn well was, Bobby. And without you, too.”

“Right.” I raised a finger. “Which brings me to the best part…”

“Shut up.” Eames folded into herself at the corner of the couch and smothered her face with a pillow. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

“That you’re ‘fine without me’, right? That you don’t care how I feel about you ‘one way or the other’. And if I want to go out and ‘mess around with the cast of Girls Gone Wild’ instead of you then I can just take my ass straight down to—”

“—Gaah, Bobby, that wasn’t me!” She tossed the pillow into the air and sat up resistively. “That wasn’t me at all! Please stop repeating it. Please—it went over so much better in my head. Before I actually dialed the number. And then Mike tried to wrestle the phone away from me but once I started I couldn’t stop and all of sudden I was seeing red myself and… and busting out the expletives. Which you totally deserve, by the way. You deserve every word I said after throwing them back at me like this!”

“Who’s throwing anything?” I reached for her hands and guided her up off the sofa. “We’re just talking, here. And you shouldn't worry, Alex. I happened to find the message highly entertaining.”

She stood warily. “But you did delete it, right?”

I eyed her mysteriously and walked away.

“Right?” she called after me.

…

Thirty minutes later, Alex was stretching contentedly. “Well, that was delicious.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Too bad we didn’t get to the food.”

“That was better than food.”

“One day into our relationship and already you’re questioning my cooking skills.”

“Really? I thought I was praising your other skills.”

“Well, in that case…” I stretched as well and brought her down with me. “Go on.”

Eames smiled her secret smile and dragged her fingers along my chest. “I’m thinking of buying a new couch.”

“After we just christened this one? Alex, you’re supposed to be playing me up here.”

“It’s a small couch, Bobby. And you’re a big man.”

“Well, my living room set is pretty spacious. We could take this show over there sometime.”

And Eames would look very nice spread out on my kitchen table, as well…

“We could alternate.” Alex lifted her head excitedly. “You can come over here on weekends and keep me warm and I could go over there on weekdays. Especially after those long, hard nights when we have no leads and need to…” she kissed me meaningfully, “work off the frustration.”

“Frustration, huh?”

Eames’ eyes offered me promise. “Something tells me we’re going to be a lot more relaxed from hereon out.”

“Our solve rate will go through the roof,” I joked.

“And how.” That fiendish hand of hers crept downwards, causing me to moan.

“I guess we’ll find out to—tomorrow, won’t we?”

“I guess so,” she seconded. “We’ll see what we can do about the Jamesons, then.”

“Right…” I exhaled tiredly. “The Jamesons.”

Alex frowned and ceased at my voice. Correctly assessing that I wary about our disagreements on the case and, particularly, its prime suspect. But truth be told, my preoccupations extended beyond the realm of Napoli to work in general. I knew I cared more about Eames than I did my job and that, in and of itself, scared the shit out of me. And I also knew that that it would be unfair of me to ask that she keep our relationship a secret.

I didn’t want to lose my partner.

I didn’t want to lose my lover, either.

How the hell was I supposed to balance the two?

“Bobby…” Alex broke my concentration as she flopped over on her stomach aside me. “We’ll burn that bridge after we build it.”

I sighed. I hadn’t given Eames enough credit.

“I don’t want to lose you,” I whispered. “Alex, I love you but… the thought of working with somebody else is just—”

“—Shhh.” Her little finger stopped my lips. “This is the start, Bobby. We’re two clever, competent, caring adults. We can plan this. We can make this right. Let’s just take this… us… one step at a time. Does that sound okay to you?”

And I was elated that I could always count on Eames to be the strong one.

“I can do that,” I told her, hooking her tiny body to mine and swearing that I would never let go.

She felt like comfort. She felt like reassurance. She felt like home.

“I’m in love with you, Alexandra.”

Her breath hitched and her face beamed as she looked at me, opening her pretty pink mouth to reciprocate. And then…

Her stomach growled.

There was a brief pause as Eames and I stared at one another sheepishly. The token spell of embarrassment before the hilarity trumped through.

“Okay, Alexandra.” I rose and pulled my pants back up. “I am cracking those eggs and you are putting on some clothes before we wind up using all our resources and having no energy for the next round.”

“Bobby, you could’ve just gotten something already prepared. You don’t have to cook for me.”

“No self respecting boyfriend lets his girl eat takeout after a night like we had.”

“Boyfriend?”

The implication was there: Awful presumptive of you, isn’t it, Goren?

I didn’t say anything. Wanting to be certain that she wasn’t yanking my chain.

Alex smirked at my silence. “Weren’t we taking this ‘one step at a time’?”

Grabbing her by the legs and hauling her towards the end of the sofa, Eames squealed as I tore off my jeans and climbed on top of her again.

“Step one…” I informed her. “You’re mine.”

Breakfast turned into a late lunch.

…

For Kristen & Marion.

A.N.P.S. Who’s up for a sequel?