--

They were lying on the bed together, both silently trying to comprehend what they just did. After sobering up a bit, reality was setting in. And so was regret.

They didn't speak to each other. Sooner than later, Alex did end up passing out. Once she was asleep, Bobby got up and started to pace around his apartment. He wished to God that they were at her place so he could get the hell out of there. Instead, he had to wait until she woke up; then they had to look each other in the face.

He finally came to rest on the couch. There's no way I'm going back in that bedroom, he thought as he widened his eyes and shook his head. What a fucking mistake…what the hell have we done? And what are we going to say to each other? After sitting and lamenting for the better part of the night, the alcohol in his system finally got the best of him as he drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up the sun was shining. He got up and to go to the bathroom, on his way by his bedroom he stole a quick peek; she was gone. First relief than all out panic overcame him. She snuck out?! She's so embarrassed by what we did that she couldn't even say goodbye? Shit! Then it dawned on him, that's exactly what I was going to do if I was at her place. Oh, fuck! We totally fucked up!

He leaned against his bedroom doorframe and banged his head against the wood. Idiot!

--

When Alex had woken up she tried to remember where she was. It took her a few seconds to jog her memory; but then it hit her. Crap! What the hell did we do last night?

Then she remembered; Chip, kissing, shots, flirting, laughing, more kissing, touching…Oh, Fuck! She remembered him leaving her alone on the couch, and her following him to his bedroom. I did this! I pursued him and made this happen! Shit!

She sat up and looked around for her clothes. She remembered she took them off in the bathroom so she tiptoed in there and put them back on. She opened the bathroom door and listened for him. Where the hell is he? Then she heard soft snoring coming from the living room so she took her shoes back off, picked them up, and walked as quietly as she could past him and out the door.

Once she was in his hallway she put her shoes on then rested her back against the wall. Chicken! She admonished herself, but she couldn't help it. How am I gonna face him on Monday? What are we gonna say to each other? Should I wait until Monday or should I try to contact him before then? Suddenly she became aware of the pounding in her head. The tequila was rearing it's ugly head once again. She closed her eyes, pushed herself off the wall and got the hell out of Bobby's building.

--

She turned the lock on her door; she was finally home. She quickly went to her bathroom, leaned over the tub and ran the water, then moved to her bedroom to get undressed. As she removed her clothes she got the first reminder of the night before; she smelt Bobby on her shirt as she pulled it over her head. She closed her eyes and held the shirt to her face while she drank in the distinct scent that belonged to her partner. Memories of their love making flashed in her mind and she was startled to realize she was thinking of it as love making, not just hooking up. To her, what they shared was more than a one-night stand, but she knew that that was what it ultimately had to be.

Alex finished getting undressed and moved to the bathroom. She stood there brushing her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror; reminder number two and three were staring her in the face. Alex saw two hickeys glaring back at her. Rather than being mortified, she reveled in them. She admitted to herself that the night before with Bobby was incredible, more than she had ever expected it to be. And now as she stood there looking at the reminders of their coupling, she couldn't help but feel both longing and remorse.

The longing was obviously for him and for what could never happen again. The remorse was not for the act, but for knowing that she has probably hurt Bobby by running out on him. She was then picturing him sitting in his apartment trying to make sense of what happened and probably blaming him for the whole thing.

Alex knew she had to go back and she had to go back right away. She opened the drain on the tub, turned on the shower head instead, jumped in and took the fastest shower of her life. Once she was done she changed, ran a brush through her hair, then practically ran out the door.

--

After standing in his door frame and banging his head for close to a half hour, Bobby finally retreated to his kitchen. He shuffled to the fridge, grabbed a beer and cracked it open. He was already in pain from the night before, but he figured, What the hell? Best to ease myself into a hangover later on than deal with that AND the memories of the night I shared with Alex. Thinking about her and what it was like to make love to her was too much for him to deal with right then. He had to force himself to block out the memories of her words as they made love; he had to try and forget how wonderful it was to be inside of her.

He was lying on his couch, nursing his beer, when he heard a knock at the door.

--

"Come on in." His heart was in his stomach as he watched her glide past him.

Alex walked into the living room, turned around and faced him. "Bobby, we need to talk."

"Well there's a bit of an understatement," he said as he passed her and flopped back onto the couch. He was lying out on it so Alex came over and sat in front of him on his coffee table.

"I shouldn't have run out."

"Why not? I would have if I were you." She heard the hurt in his voice, it made her body ache with sadness over what had happened.

"Still, it was wrong. I think we need to talk about this…you know…clear the air."

"Eames…we got shitfaced and slept with each other. Biggest mistake of our lives. Let's just chalk it up to bad judgment and move on. We both know that's what we want." Bitter. That's how he sounded to her and she hated it. He must think that I regret what we did and he's hurt by that. I need to tell him that I don't regret it.

Alex knew what she had to say but she was really not sure if he would believe her. She took the leap of faith anyway, "Bobby…what happened last night…I don't want to think of it as a mistake." She waited for him to give her a reaction. He did so by casting his eyes toward hers; she thought she saw relief in his eyes.

"Then what do you think of it as, Alex?" His voice had softened.

She paused, making sure the words came out right, "Well, I don't know." She saw he looked a little crestfallen so she continued quickly, "But I do know that I don't want to think of it as a mistake. I mean, my god Bobby, I know we were drunk, but to me…last night was incredible."

He gave her a nod while his eyes fluttered closed at the memory of what they did.

"And, well, unfortunately I also think that it would wrong to try and take…what we did…any further right now. I'm afraid it will get in the way of our jobs and I think we are both too committed to our careers to take a risk like that." Alex swallowed hard as she waited to see what his thoughts were.

Bobby shifted slightly on the couch, thinking about what she just said. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew she was right. Still, his lack of confidence in her feelings came sputtering out in his words, "Are you sure that this isn't just a convenient way to blow me off?"

Before she thought about what she was doing, Alex climbed on top of him. She leaned down, first kissing his ears and cheeks then pressing her lips on his and searching out his tongue with her own. Their kiss lingered while their hands once again explored each other. But then he could feel her ending the kiss and pulling away so he did the same.

"Bobby, that is what I felt…and do feel. But we can't go back there."

He nodded his head, he knew she was right.

She started to get up but he held her still with his hands on her shoulders. Once she stopped, he moved his hands to her head, cupping her face and gently placed one last kiss on her lips. "Alex…last night was…it was more than I ever imagined it would be." She leaned her forehead against his and whispered, "For me, too."

Then she pulled away and the words came out in a whisper, "But we have to be strong and not let that happen again."

"I agree."

With that they smiled at each other, then they got off the couch.

Before Alex left, she leaned up to him one last time and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll never, ever forget what we had." She was breathing hard, she really didn't want to go.

"Me, too…never." It took every ounce of his willpower to back away and let her leave.

--

a/n: *ducks flying objects*

I have no idea how I turned this into an angst-y little ending. I truly didn't mean it to happen but sometimes the muse gets what the muse wants. But, there

will be more, I have another story already in the works, two chapters in. I'm going to end this one here, but once I get the next one posted, I'll make sure the summary say's it's a follow up to this one. My thought is that this is the beginning of a series of these sort of hook-ups. I promise you, I will not allow this to end with them apart. Okay? And if you all don't think I check out the profiles of those who have been reviewing...FloatingAmoeba...please don't yell at the screen (and my apologize to you and your boyfriend if you already have)! You'll be happy...eventually, just hang in there!

Thank you so much for reading. Also, if you've reviewed or "faved", THANK YOU! I really can not thank you all enough!

Until next time…cifan.