A/N: Surprise, surprise... four updates in four days. And an even bigger surprise my dear readers, this is the last chapter. After finishing chapter ten I thought I could let them think about stuff for a while before they would talk, but I thought it wouldn't be good for the story. And then I thought, well Alex confronted Bobby and tells him to leave, but maybe this was exactly what he needed. He's used to running away, but maybe now he realizes that he can't or doesn't want to walk away from her and needs to do something. That's why I did why I did. And I did end the fic because I don't think other chapters would have added more to the story. I hope that's all right. I want to thank you all for the feedback, for the help, the ideas, suggestions and kind words. This one was a great ride!

Chapter eleven

He was walking toward his car when he thought about what he was about to do. He couldn't leave her like this, not when his own incapability was the source of her distress. She needed to know that he felt the same. That he was in love with her. That without her, his life seemed bland. Not wanting to give himself time to chicken out he turned on his heels and stormed back to her apartment. Sure she was going to be angry with him, but he could deal with that. He could not deal with the thought of her in pain.

Impatiently, so much unlike earlier, he knocked on her apartment door. Finding she wasn't reacting fast enough he knocked again. He regretted it immediately when he saw her red puffy eyes. This time there was no hesitation at all and in one swift motion he had her in his arms, engulfing her with his body. "I'm sorry." He whispered in her hair.

The embrace only lasted shortly. "Why are you here?" Alex's voice was still a bit hoarse from her crying. She tried to step back, but the hands on her waist held her close.

He answered without words. Holding her eyes he slowly lowered his face. His eyes focused on her lips and he saw her tongue sneak out to wet them. First he placed a small kiss on the side of her mouth before he covered her lips with his. Gently he slid his lips against her. Nipping and tasting he took his time exploring her. After a couple of minutes he ended the kiss. Letting go of Alex he saw her stumble back, confusion written in her eyes.

She was about to speak, but he beat her to it. "You're right, I didn't like the idea of you and Leo. And yes I did send you the breakfast and the tickets. Look…" He ran a hand through his hair. " you're my partner and my best friend. Somewhere along the way the lines got blurred and suddenly you'd become so much more. After the day we spend yesterday I didn't expect to see you on a date with Leo. I got confused about what… or who you wanted. You confused me Alex and I thought that maybe I'd been reading too much into all this."

He didn't want to be apart from her and smoothly closed the distance between them again. His left hand found its way to her waist as if it had done so many times before and with his right hand he cupped her jaw, tracing his thumb over her jaw. He looked intently in her eyes. He couldn't resist and softly graced her lips with his. "Alex, we spend most of our time together at work. If we do this, we'll be in each other's face almost every second. Is that wise? Is that good? My biggest fear… is that I'm going to loose you because it'll get too much for you...I'll get too much for you." He looked away for a moment, needing time to find his words. "I can deal with a lot of things, but I don't think I can deal with losing you. I don't want you to walk out of my life."

In his eyes he showed her his vulnerability for the first time and that meant a lot to her. The fact that he returned to her and didn't run like he used to, said so much. She traced his full bottom lip. "I'm not going anywhere, Bobby. You have nothing to fear."

This time she initiated the kiss and quickly deepened it. She heard a groan and didn't know if it was his or hers. It didn't matter. She felt herself being lifted as he wrapped her in his big strong arms.

Before she knew it she was lying on the couch and Bobby hovered over her. She wasn't sure how far he was willing to go, nor did she know how far she wanted to go. But Bobby apparently knew. He gave her a soft kiss on her forehead before he looking at her. He sat on the couch, with his hands on the couch above her shoulders on either side of her neck. He smiled down at her. "You're beautiful."

She smiled shyly at him. She never knew how to react to praises and one about her appearance was rare. She knew he meant it, could see it in his eyes, but still… His hand was on her stomach. Her shirt had risen up when he'd carried her to the couch and now he was caressing her exposed skin. His sly grin informed her he'd felt her shiver. With her hand on his she stopped his caress. For a short while they enjoyed their new found closeness.

"Would you have done all this if it hadn't been for Leo?"

"It probably would have taken me a bit longer." He answered honestly. "Why didn't you try?"

"Probably for the same reason you didn't." She saw him nod his head, agreeing with her. "How'd you get the tickets for Rent? That show has been sold out for weeks." She knew because she'd tried to get tickets several times and had failed.

"I know a guy there." It was a buddy he knew from his days in the army. He owed him one and he'd figured now was a good time to collect.

Another comfortable silence fell between them in which they exchanged several soft kisses. Again it was Alex who started talking. "Bobby, did you stake your claim on me?" She asked innocently, though the sparkle in her eyes was probably obvious to him.

He decided to play innocent. "Why would you say a thing like that?"

"'Cause Mike once told me you got mad at him when he was about to ask me out. Told me you said I was not to be approached. He told me you had staked your claim on me." She wasn't about to let him in on the fact that that idea secretly thrilled her. She liked the idea of being his.

"Logan… he…eeuuhh… probably misinterpreted things. I… I would never…I don't see you as… my property."

"But didn't you call me your girl to Lewis?"

Guiltily he didn't look at her. He did see her as his and he liked that idea, but knew that a strong, independent woman as Alex probably didn't like that idea.

"I like the idea of being yours." She softly admitted, looking into his gentle, dark, brown eyes. In reaction he gave her his shy little boy smile, the smile she adored.

"And am I yours?" He dared to ask.

She gave him a bright smile not at the least embarrassed by the fact that she did indeed see him as his. "Yes, you are and I made sure people knew."

He raised his eyebrows at her words. How come he hadn't noticed? Yet when it came to Alex he sometimes was a bit oblivious. "How about we go out for dinner tonight?"

She shook her head. She'd rather stay inside to enjoy the change in their relationship. "Let's order in and… see what happens."

The End