Disclaimer: Sadly enough, I don't own anything. This is written for pure enjoyment only and no profit to be gained!

Special Thanks To: B R Cary, chlark4, cifan, da-doink-doink, Darin's-Sis, deliriousdancer, judeey, LadyBlueDevil86, LOCISVU, moonchild712, Muse of Fire, rindy713, romiross, Serienjunkie 91, Tracey Claybon and x8x Krazee Benson Fan x8x.

CHAPTER 5:

After Bobby and Alex finally pulled away from each other, Bobby started to get up off the bed when Alex softly tugged at his arm.

"I'll be right back." He whispered and stood up. He teetered for a brief moment, but then caught his balance and turned towards her. "I have to…to change my bandage again…" He murmured as he looked down at the blood soaking through the gauze and ace bandage. "And I…I didn't get a chance to clean up my cuts very well…"

"Sit back down, Bobby. I'll do it." She replied and stood up next to him. "Just rest, ok?" She exclaimed and watched as he heavily sighed. Bobby went back to the bed and carefully sat down. He was too tired to resist and didn't want to argue.

"Where's your first aid kit?" She asked as saw him struggle to lie down.

He gasped when his head finally hit the pillow and then weakly whispered, "In the…the bathroom under the sink."

Alex nodded and went to retrieve it. When she went into the bathroom she quickly noted his discarded t-shirt, button up shirt and tie on the floor. They were both coated in his blood and it made Alex close her eyes at the sight. For a moment she allowed herself to recall back to how it had happened. She felt herself shake at the recollection and then bent down, picked up the clothes and set them on the side of the bathtub. A few minute later she went back out to Bobby with the necessary supplies.

When she entered his bedroom, he was still lying down but with his eyes closed. He looked so tired; she could tell he was trying to hide his discomfort.

He's probably in a lot of pain.

"Bobby?"

"Yeah?" He answered without opening his eyes.

She bit her lip. "I'm back."

He opened his eyes and looked at her but said nothing. Carefully Alex sat next to him on the bed and peeled away the bandages that he'd put on earlier in the night. Once removed, Alex couldn't hold back the quick intake of breath.

"It's fine." Bobby said almost immediately. "It looks worse than it is."

Alex only nodded and quickly cleaned it up as best as she could. She knew what he was doing; he was trying to reassure her. Alex was no fool though, she knew he hurt.

After bandaging up the knife wound as best as she could, Alex scooted up the bed a foot or so and softly reached for his face.

"Jesus, Bobby." She mumbled. "What were you thinking?" She asked.

Alex pulled another alcohol swab out of the medical kit and started to clean up his face. Bobby closed his eyes due to the touch and thought back to the event. He winced when the alcohol swab first touched his cuts but he soon got used to it. He was doing all he could not to show his discomfort; not just because of the pain, but because of the question she'd just asked him. He knew what he was thinking at the time, but he was deathly afraid to tell her.

When Bobby opened his eyes back up, he delicately grabbed her arm to halt her from any further movement. "I wanted to kill him, Eames." He finally spoke, looking directly into her eyes. "I didn't want him to touch you ever again. I was so angry." He admitted and then started to shake. "I…I'm sorry, Eames. I'm so sorry. I had no right…" And Bobby felt his eyes start to water. He let go off her arm and looked away.

"Bobby…" She set the alcohol swab down and lightly gripped his shoulders. "What are you apologizing for?"

"For…everything." His voice faded.

Alex knew that this was his way of apologizing for Tates. She would gladly accept it, though in her eyes, there was nothing to forgive. For now though she decided to leave that one alone.

"Bobby…" She cupped his face to get him to look her into the eyes. It worked. "You have nothing to feel bad about. If it wasn't for you, god only knows what would've happened." She paused and began to lightly rub small circles on his cheeks with her thumb. "I should be apologizing for what happened to you. I should've stopped it while I had the chance but…"

"No!" He practically leaped out of bed. "I didn't want you to. I wanted to…I wanted to hurt him." He whispered the last part.

"And I wanted you to hurt him." She smiled and removed her hands. "I just didn't want to see you hurt in the process."

"It was worth it." He mumbled, though his body was telling him otherwise.

Bobby sat up in bed and turned so that his legs were dangling off the side of the bed. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and she looked at him questioningly. She saw how much energy it took out of him just for that small movement.

"I'm ok, Eames. Really." He said when he felt her gazing at him.

She snorted. "You don't look it."

"No?" He joked.

She weakly smiled at him, though she felt as if she wanted to cry. "You look like fucking hell, Goren."

"Gee, thanks, Eames, don't hold back." He deadpanned and rolled his eyes. "I feel like it, but I'm fine…just a…a little sore."

A little sore my ass, Goren.

"How do you feel?" He asked, turning to the side as best as he could to face her. It occurred to him that he never asked how she felt. Here she was taking care of him and he hadn't even made sure she was ok.

"A lot better than you look." She softly answered. "I just have a few bruises…"

Bobby knew she was taking it hard. He knew she blamed herself for his injuries and that she wasn't letting on how sore she really was.

"I'm fine." He mumbled again not so convincingly. "Don't worry about me…"

"You don't look fine." She stated. "In the morning I'm driving you straight to the hospital to get you checked out…because I do worry about you. And don't tell me not to." She sternly told him as if she had read his mind,

He looked into her eyes and nodded. She was surprised he didn't fight her, about any of it.

For him to give up that easily…he must feel a lot worse than he's letting on.

"Ok, Eames. But tomorrow...and only if I'm not feeling better."

She tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a weep.

"I don't think you're going to feel better tomorrow. And I think you're going to need some stitches…and not just on your side where he...." She froze. She didn't want to say the words.

"Stabbed me? Or attempted to…"

She nodded. "Yes." She whispered.

"Bastard."

"I'm sorry." She weakly projected.

Bobby reached up with both hands and caught hers in his.

"Alex, please stop apologizing. I don't regret anything I did. I just wish he never would've touched you. That's what made me so angry. I knew, I just fucking knew that he was the one to hurt you and it sickened me. It…it still does…" His voice faded but the look in his eyes showed the love he was feeling. He didn't try and hide it either.

"But you got hurt." She whispered, almost child-like. She couldn't seem to pry her eyes away from his.

"Nothing that time won't cure. I promise, I'll be fine."

She chose not to respond to that and he let her hands slip out of his. Alex started to clean up his face again as best as she could, but she knew it would need to be professionally done in the morning.

Well, technically today since it's already a little past midnight.

Once she finished cleaning him up and put the supplies back in his bathroom, she came back into the room. Bobby was lying back down on the bed, eyes half opened. He was struggling to stay awake, she could tell. Alex wanted to say something, anything, but she wasn't sure what to say. So instead of saying anything, she just stood next to the bed at a loss for words, and stared at him. She couldn't help but allow her eyes to scan up and down his body .

Bobby opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Eames…I…If…" He stuttered. He was terribly afraid of what he was going to say next. "Would you like to…to sleep here…next to me?" He asked and then quickly added, "Normally I would just…I would let you have my bed and I would…take the…the couch but I don't think I'd be able to…to sleep on it right now…" He drifted off and chanced a glance her way. There was a smile on her face and it was then that he knew he'd chosen the right words to say.

Alex walked around to the other side of the bed and was about to sit down when she stopped. She bit her lip and looked at him.

"What?" He asked nervously.

"Just…did you want to change clothes…into something more comfortable…with less blood on them?" She asked and nodded towards his jeans.

He smiled. "I would love to but I'm afraid I can't right now. Too—"

"Sore." She finished for him. He nodded. "I can help you…if you want." She said shyly.

"Its fine, Eames." He stated and then added, "As long as you don't mind sharing a bed with someone who has a little blood on him." He smirked and then yawned.

"A little?" She asked and then sat down on the bed. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I'm too tired to move." He admitted.

"Ok…" She said and quickly took off a few layers of clothing. Once her shoes were off, she got under the covers and lied down.

She felt him look in her direction. She knew he was looking at her.

"Is this ok?" She asked nervously.

He turned to switch the lamp off and then whispered, "No."

Alex's eyes were closed when she asked him, but they shot wide open when she heard his words.

I knew this would ruin everything. I shouldn't have made him feel guilty about sharing the bed. I made him do something he didn't want to do and now he's uncomfortable.

She was about to get up off the bed when she felt him shift in bed and lightly drape his left arm around her waist.

"Now it's ok." He whispered and she felt her heart soar. She shivered and barely recognized his next words, "This is ok, right?" He hesitantly asked.

Please say yes. Don't reject me.

He didn't know what to expect from her, but the response he got was definitely not one of them. She started crying. Her sobs came louder than either one of them anticipated and she turned onto her left side and weakly reached for him. She grasped onto him when she saw him come towards her. He was on his right side facing her and immediately wrapped his arms around her as best as he could. He held onto her so tight that it hurt.

"Just let it out, Alex. It'll be ok, I promise." He soothingly said. "I won't let anything happen to you. You can trust me." His voice faded.

And those words, you can trust me, only made her cry harder. She was angry with herself.

I can trust him. I know I can trust him. I also know he feels betrayed because I didn't come to him. I should have. Maybe all of this could've been prevented if I would've done to him in the first place…

After her crying quieted, she pulled back and looked at him. Their eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, and she was surprised when she saw glistening tears in his eyes.

"Thank you, Bobby." She said and took a deep breath. "Just…thank you." She whispered once more and reached up to stoke the side of his face.

There was no need to respond to her. They both knew how they felt. He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. Alex saw him lean forward and she too leaned in a bit to meet him half way. It was a small kiss, nothing too heavy but it meant more than words could express. When he pulled back, she could tell he was looking for some sort of rejection from her, but he never got it. Instead, she smiled and closed her eyes. He got the message and couldn't help but sigh in relief.

She re-opened her eyes to look at him and started to stroke his cheek again. It was him this time that closed his eyes. Alex only stopped stroking his cheek when his breathing evened out. He had fallen asleep already. She let her hand fall down to his chest and kept it there until she fell asleep. It ended up between then, gently resting on Bobby's right arm.

It was that night that something changed in their relationship. It was for the better, they both knew it. Bobby and Alex felt like they were finally connecting again after years of struggling. They felt loved, cared for, and the best part about it was they both existed. Everything else, all of their problems, insecurities, and guilt were forgotten if only for the one night. They knew they were going to be just fine as long as they had each other. They both felt like they were slowly coming back to life. It was the first time in a long time that both of them had felt so alive.

The End.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

-Albert Einstein

A/N: Well, there it is. I hope you guys liked it. I thought about doing another chapter where they wake up, talk, go to the hospital, etc. I could do it, but I'm not sure. I have so many other stories already written down that I'm just dying to post something new. And, of course, about three nights ago I got another idea for a fic, so I've been working on that one non-stop. LOL

Anyway, let me know what you think. I'm not sure if I like ending or not. Is it ok? Please R&R either way. Thanks.

Until my next story,
-Snyder-