I really don't believe I pulled this off.
Alex shook her head and sighed. The remains of a young woman's life spread out on a conference table being pawed at by strangers trying to find some shred of something that would tell them who killed her. They didn't know her, they never would, and she felt a stab of anger. Not at her killer, that was a more dull rage, the sense that drove her every day. This was directed at the people in the girl's life who should have been able to give them answers enough to forestall this sort of activity.
Bobby looked at her, sensing from her expression what she was thinking. He caught her eyes and nodded slowly to show he understood. Standing and stretching, he ran his hand over a stack of clothes.
"We need more coffee." He headed for the door to the conference room. "Want anything else?"
She groaned and stretched in her seat. "For our killer to walk in and confess?" They shared rueful smiles and she turned back to the stack of papers she was going through as he walked out. There was nothing to find in any of the papers either, she knew it. What was there in the fact that despite working on the streets most of her life, she always paid her bills on time.
She packed the papers back into their box and put away the toiletries Bobby'd been sorting as if the secret to turning led to gold were in them. With a soft thump, she dropped the suit case they'd filled onto the table. Just as she opened it, Logan walked in with her coffee.
"Goren got a call; he didn't want you stuck with no caffeine." Mike smirked at her. "I think the idea scared him."
She took the coffee gratefully, smiling back at him. "We've been partners a long time. He knows the consequences of a decaffeinated Alex."
Logan laughed. "We All know the consequences. That's why I brought the coffee."
Still chuckling, he started helping her, pulling clothes out of the suitcase and making piles while she sucked down the first half of her coffee. For all his attitude Logan was meticulous when dealing with evidence. Unlike Bobby who would go through everything in an organic fashion, getting a feeling for the victim, Mike made stacks. She watched him with a small smile as he piled underthings neatly. He looked up to see her watching and shrugged. Any thrill at handling women's panties in this setting, even in front of a beautiful woman, had passed for him decades ago.
After the underthings came casual things, jeans, and t-shirts. Alex took another long sip of her coffee and went to help him sort. Nothing was fancy; it was all much too utilitarian for that. Levis jeans bought clearly because they would last, not because they were fashionable. T-shirts ranged from basic black Hanes crew necks to colorful vintage tops that made both of them grin.
When she picked up the Bionic Woman t-shirt, they both paused for a minute. She raised an eyebrow at Mike's reaction, knowing where hers came from. He shook his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"I had the worst crush on her," he admitted, folding the t-shirt neatly. "Strong, smart, crime fighter." He groaned. "And those legs."
She chuckled. "Hey, I liked her, too. Great role model." She took her turn to groan. "Those legs. I would have killed to have those legs.'
He laughed outright, throwing his head back, and she threw a black t-shirt at him. When he caught it, he folded it neatly. "You know, if they ever make that new version I heard they were thinking of we should watch it together. We can bemoan our lost youth."
Jimmy Deakins walked in at that moment and leaned against the door frame. He shook his head at both of them. "If you two talk about your youth, I'm going to start using a cane."
"You should watch with us, Cap," Logan said with a smirk. "Let your girls see how hip you are."
"I'm not hip, Logan. I've accepted that." He glanced at the clothes on the table. "Getting anything useful?"
Alex held up a gold lame micro mini dress. "Unless you think this is going to help us catch someone, no."
Jimmy's eyebrow went up and his jaw dropped a little bit. He turned his head a little to try and hide the sudden smirk when Logan spoke up.
"Kinda depends what you're gonna do with it, Eames. It's short enough to make your legs look great."
Logan left in a hurry, chuckling loudly, when he saw her glare. Jimmy patted him on the shoulder as he walked out.
"Don't feel bad, son, she scares the best of us."
She turned the glare on Jimmy, not relenting until he stepped close and reached across her to pick up one of the remaining t-shirts and started folding it. Leaning into him for just a second, she sighed happily at the whiff of his cologne she caught.
He lowered his voice to a rumble and touched the lame dress. "Don't suppose I could get you to wear something like this? Just for me?"
She looked up at him with an amused smile. "Just for you? If I wore that out anywhere, you wouldn't be the only one getting the show."
He chuckled and brushed against her hip. "Who said anything about going out?"
She blushed faintly and picked up another of the exotic costumes for their victim's work, folding it neatly after examining it. They stood together, sorting the clothes wordlessly until Bobby came back in.
***
A week later, case closed, Alex put the finishing touches on her outfit. Her hair was up in a loose bun and she wore oversized dangling gold earrings. She tugged at the hem of her dress and slipped on the glittering high heels. Taking a very deep breath, she opened the front door and stepped back to let Jimmy in.
He stood on the doorstep, taking in the image of Alex Eames, his practical and efficient detective, his laid back and sarcastic lover, dressed in a vintage gold lame mod mini dress. Her make up was all frosts and sparkles. She looked like she'd stepped out of the pages of a 1968 fashion magazine.
Something in his expression made her self consciousness flare. "It's ridiculous, I know, but it was the only gold dress I could find." She tugged at the hem again.
He stepped into the house, kicked the door shut, and wrapped his arms around her. Putting his lips to her ear, he reassured her more with his tight grip than his roughly spoken words.
"No, really, that looks great on you."