Title: This Day

Author: Bron (bronwyn_00@excite.com)

Authors Notes: This is the first time I've tried this format, it's written
in the first person from both Bobby and Lindsay's point of view. It should
be pretty easy to tell which is which. Huge thanks as always to June, Jewel
and Ally for their constant support and encouragement.

Disclaimer: Not mine they all belong to DEK and ABC

Dedication: This one goes out to Jo and Ryo, you probably aren't reading
this but if by chance you do, you guys rock, this is in homage to you, I
only wish I had a quarter of your talent.
______________________________

This Day

I've been known to be incredibly stupid sometimes. Actually stupid is one
of the nicest things I've been called in my life. For the purpose of this
story I wont list the others, at the moment they aren't relevant anyway. In
fact I wouldn't be bringing up the stupid part either, except from the look
of the woman standing in front of me it appears as if I've done it again.

"Bobby" she says, hands on hips adopting what I would term a defiant stance
"How dumb are you?"

Dumb? Well that's better than stupid isn't it? Maybe things aren't as bad
as I originally thought. Best to tread lightly though when answering such a
general question, on the off chance I make myself sound stupider.

"Well" I say, reaching up to scratch my chin "I can't be too dumb" I'm
careful not to use the word stupid, if Lindsay didn't use the word, I'm
certainly not going to be the first too. I mentally pat myself on the back
for that piece of reasoning, and then note she's waiting with some measure
of impatience for me to continue "I mean I had the foresight to hire you
didn't I?" I give her my most charming smile.

She doesn't appear impressed.

"You just stood up in open court and called Judge Swakheim an unmitigated
jackass"

There's just no denying the facts, especially when they're laid right out
there for you "Yes"

"In open court"

I nod solemnly "Yes"

"Why?" She's waving her hands around in a strange pattern, I believe to
show her confusion, but I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it's a new dance move
"Why would you do such a thing?"

I force myself to focus "Well it's like this Lindsay, the guy is an
unmitigated jackass" I try to lighten the moment "You know you're lucky I
didn't call him what I was thinking, I toned it down considerably"

She crosses her arms over her chest and at this point I'm thinking that I
may have made some sort of miscalculation, but I'm not entirely sure where.
"I'm lucky?" she asks frostily, oops there it is. "I'm not the one that
just spent the better part of four hours in a holding cell. You're lucky
he's not going to report you to the bar"

"I don't think he can report me for telling the truth"

I'm guessing by the look on her face that if I don't say another thing ever
again it'll be too soon. Wisely I close my mouth.

"It was in open court Bobby" I nod but stick to my new no speaking policy
"I mean you shouldn't call  a Judge names even in chambers, but you
definitely shouldn't do it IN OPEN COURT"

She's yelling at me now, so using my astute powers of observation -- which
I might point out I wish had kicked in a little earlier -- I'm assuming
she's taking this situation a lot more seriously than I am. I throw caution
to the wind and abandon my new no talking policy.

"It's not that serious Lindsay, I've had run ins with Swakheim before, it
never amounts to anything"

"This is a very sensitive case, Bobby. It was a hard one for us to win from
the beginning, exactly how are you making things better for us  by getting
the Judge off side as well" Uh-oh her arms are crossed again, this cant be
good. But on a side note I'm thinking she looks particularly sexy when
she's pissed.

Where the hell did that come from?

I push that thought aside (for the moment) and choose to focus on the
matter at hand. "I should apologise" Just the thought of apologising to
that unmitigated -- hmm I probably shouldn't go down that road again -- to
Judge Swakheim is leaving a bad taste in my mouth, but for the first time
since I got released from the cell Lindsay isn't frowning at me so I'm
thinking I've finally said something right.

She nods as if to confirm my previous thought  "You really should"

I sigh and start to walk down the corridor, since we're still at the
courthouse at least I don't have to go far to find him, actually now that I
think about it, that's probably why Lindsay refused to let me go back to
the office. It takes me a few seconds but I suddenly realise she's
following me.

"I think I should come with you"

"Why?" I ask, more than a little annoyed. Hey I've had a bad day here, I've
yelled at a Judge (okay that part was fun) but then I spent four hours
cooling my heels in a cell, only to be released and yelled at by one of my
associates, I think I'm entitled to a little annoyance.

"Because Bobby, if you go in there alone, he'll say something to make you
angry, all thoughts of an apology will fly from your mind, and you'll end
up saying something else stupid" Okay did she have to use that word? I
thought we'd agreed on dumb. "At least if I'm there, I have a chance of
preventing that"

"You were at the courthouse" I point out with what I consider to be totally
reasonable logic "You didn't prevent my outburst then"

She crosses her arms again. I really need to stick to my original no
talking policy.

"Well some of us learn our lesson, and some of us are entirely too…." Okay
I swear if she uses the word stupid again I'm really going to crack,
fortunately (or not depending on your opinion of her substitution) she
doesn't.  "… idiotic to realise when to quit"

About this time I'm thinking it's very fortunate that we've arrived at the
Judges chambers, I've had about all the yelling I can handle. "I'm going in
alone" I say stubbornly. She opens her mouth to protest but I jump in
before she can. "No Lindsay I mean it, despite your obviously stellar
opinion of my character I do know how to apologise, and being that I am an
adult I think I can do it without supervision. Besides…" I try for the
charming smile again but my second attempt seems no more successful than my
first "… It's best you distance yourself from me, because if he throws me
in jail again, you'll have to take over the case"

And with that sterling piece of logic I make my exit.

* * *

I'm so mad I could scream. Or maybe just kick something really hard. I'm in
the process of deciding which one would be better as I  enter the office.
Even though it's after 7 everyone's still there working. It doesn't
surprise me we hardly ever get out of the office before 8.30 any night.

Ellenor and Eugene break off a heated discussion as I enter. I guess I must
be conveying some sort of emotions because Ellenor gives me a strange look.
"Lindsay are you okay?"

"I'm fine" I'm gritting my teeth so the answer comes out a lot harsher than
I meant it too. If I don't stop soon I know my jaw will start to ache, so I
force myself to take a couple of deep breaths.

I seem to have captured the attention of the entire office now, which is
okay really because I'm feeling an overwhelming desire to vent.

"Anything you feel like sharing?" Eugene asks. You can always count on
Eugene to ask the right questions, I'd smile at him if I wasn't still
so angry.

"Only that…. that…" I struggle to find a word to convey my true feelings
"Nincompoop, of a boss we're all misfortunate enough to work for"

Nincompoop? Where the hell did that come from? Of course I blame Bobby for
this as well, normally I'm a very articulate person, but well he's gotten
me so angry, and now I'm coming out with words like Nincompoop.

"Nincompoop?" Rebecca sums up my thoughts. "Did you just call Bobby a
nincompoop?" I'm not entirely sure but I think she's laughing at me. At
least if she is she has the grace to cover it up behind her hand.

"Yes"

Eugene sighs "What'd he do this time?"

"He stood up in open court and called Judge Swakheim an unmitigated
jackass"

There are varying degrees of emotions from the other people standing in the
room. Rebecca and Ellenor seem to share my distress (I knew I always liked
those two), Jimmy looks surprised, and Eugene …. well the only way to
describe Eugene's reaction would be 'pure mirth'. It takes him a moment to
stop laughing.

"Man" he says wiping a tear from his eye "I wish I'd been there to see
that"

"No Eugene" I think you could safely describe my tone here to be cold "You
really don't." I take a deep breath and reign in my temper. "We were
finally making headway, I'm pretty sure we had the jury on our side, which
isn't that easy a thing to accomplish when they've just sat through four
days of the most boring testimony ever submitted, and Bobby goes and
creates a scene" I click my fingers "And like that we're back to square
one"

"Where is he now?" Rebecca asks.

I allow a hint of a smile "He's apologising, if everything went well with
Judge Swakheim, and if he can get a cab at this time of night, he should be
back" I look at my watch "Soon. If not…." I shrug.

"Aren't you overreacting a little bit Lindsay" Jimmy asks "I'm sure it's
not as bad as you think it is" I guess that's Jimmy's idea of being
encouraging, but if you ask me it falls significantly short of the mark.

"No I'm not overreacting, Jimmy" I say, and I also note that I'm gritting
my teeth again. "I've put in a lot of work on this trial. I've been working
on it for three months, and in the space of two minutes my…." I falter
again.

"Nincompoop?" Ellenor supplies helpfully.

I glare at her "… Idiot of a boss goes and ruins it."

I hear the door open, and in walks the idiot himself.

* * *

I walk into the room and it feels like I'm about to face a firing squad.
I'm getting a myriad of disapproving looks from everyone. Well actually I'm
not getting one from Eugene, he looks downright pleased, which doesn't make
me feel any better.

Rather than face the room at large I decide to focus on the one person I
can't avoid. "Lindsay can I see you in my office for a minute"

She shrugs and walks in ahead of me. I close the door firmly at my back,
hoping the others get my not so subtle 'Do not disturb' message.
Realistically though I already expect at least half of them to be listening
at the door.

"You couldn't have waited?" I ask.

She shrugs again and makes herself comfortable on my couch. I'm thinking
she's heard of my no talking policy and has decided to adopt it.

I try again. "I was expecting you to be there when I came out"

This time she raises her eyebrow, I don't know if that's an improvement or
not, and frankly I'm too scared to ask. But two can play this silence game.

I stare her down.

She stares back.

Well this isn't quite going to plan, I'm just about to crack and probably
start babbling like an idiot when she finally consents to speak.

"You didn't tell me to wait"

I'm sure I'm gaping at her "I didn't what?"

"You didn't tell me to wait"

"It was certainly implied"

"No Bobby it really wasn't, I believe your exact words were, I want to do
this alone"

"So you took that to mean, 'Go back to the office and leave me stranded
without transportation'?"

She nods "Yes"

"I couldn't get a cab, Lindsay." I whine, yes I'm actually at the stage of
whining now. "I had to walk"

Her lips quirk, and I do not take any amusement in her enjoyment of the
situation, I mean lets recap my day again because it just keeps getting
better, I get thrown in jail, yelled at by my associate, forced to
apologise to what I can only charitably refer to as a disgrace to the robe,
deserted by aforementioned associate, and made to walk back to the office
-- have I mentioned that it's raining ouutsidde? -- and am now being laughed
at by said associate. If I kept a journal I'd really want to rush home and
write all this down because this is certainly a day I'll want to relive for
the rest of my life.

"It's not funny, Lindsay"

Her expression grows sombre again and for a moment I'm sorry I took her
smile away, she really does have a beautiful smile.

Okay I have to stop having these thoughts, they could only lead to trouble.

"I know"

She does?

"You do?"

She nods "I was there Bobby, I know how unfunny the whole situation is"

Okay I really think we're talking about two different things here. I open
my mouth to set the record straight but she continues before I have a
chance.

"How'd it go with Swakheim?"

"Fine" I was hoping to convey an air of confidence when I said that but
somehow I don't think I pulled it off. I couldn't say for sure but it looks
like Lindsay's gritting her teeth.

"What happened Bobby?"

"Nothing" She rises swiftly and starts pacing the small area to the right
of my desk, and now I'm positive she's gritting her teeth. I want to point
out that if she continues to do that her jaw will start to ache, but I
don't think she'd appreciate my advice. No matter how well intentioned, so
I wisely keep it to myself.

"It went well" I say quickly. "I offered an apology which he accepted, and
I didn't say anything to cause us further problems or embarrassment" I
offer her my most trustworthy expression and either I'm a better actor than
I thought I was, or she believes me, either way she noticeably relaxes.

It's not that I'm not actually telling the truth, I'm just leaving out the
10 minute lecture Swakheim subjected me too, about showing proper respect
for Judges, and how lawyers like me (his words) are what's wrong with the
legal profession today. I mean why should I bog Lindsay down with the
details? I'm actually doing her a favor.

So instead I just smile, and for once it seems to work, because she smiles
back at me.

* * *

I'm smiling at him, which frankly after everything he's pulled today
surprises me a little. But what can I say, Bobby has that affect on me,
when he smiles -- and  I'm talking full fledged smile here not that cocky
grin he's so fond of, although that's cute too -- but when he actually
smiles I find it extremely hard (ok I'll be honest) I find it all but
impossible to resist him.

Of course I'd never tell him that because all that would get me would be a
cocky grin.

Still he's smiling and I'm smiling and I can practically feel the tension
seep out of the room. Which is nice because I really don't like fighting
with him. As much as sometimes he can be a real (okay I'm grimacing as I
say this but it's honestly the first word that pops into my head)
nincompoop, for the most part he's a great boss, and I value his
friendship.

Okay so really I wish we could be  more than friends, but that's really not
relevant to the issue at hand is it?

He's looking at me like he's expecting me to say something "Well good then"
I manage.

His face falls and I'm guessing he was expecting a little more praise than
that. A couple of quips about men and their ego's immediately pop into my
mind but I bight them all back. Most of them were fairly racy and
considering where my train of thought was a moment ago I decide it's safer
all around not to go there.

I'm about to make a further comment to stroke said ego (was that a bad
choice of words?) anyway I have a quip at the ready when I glance up at
Bobby. He's regarding me with an expression that can only be described as
incredibly intense. We're standing less than a metre apart and I can
literally feel the heat radiating from him. If I didn't know better I'd
swear he could read every thought that had been going through my head.

The thought of that of course brings a blush to my cheeks (damn my fair
complexion) and now his expression while no less intense is laced with
humor as well. And I know without a doubt that he does know what I am
thinking, even though I don't know how he does. He takes a small step
forward and I hold my ground.  I like to think it's because I'm making a
statement and has nothing to do with the fact that his desk is behind me
and I couldn't retreat even if I wanted too, (which for the record just in
case you were wondering, I don't)

Unfortunately Rebecca chooses this moment to knock softly on the door and
open it. She looks back and forward between us, and I wonder if everyone
can feel the charge in the air, (although I'm hoping Rebecca can't because
that would be embarrassing) but I'm thinking she's more than likely just
making sure we haven't killed each other yet. She announces that everyone
is going home, and with a small smile (that leads me to believe she's
probably more astute than I gave her credit for) she closes the door again,
a couple of minutes later we here everyone leaving.

Bobby turns back towards me "We're all alone"

I nod and swallow hard, he's standing really close to me now, and quite
frankly it's distracting in all the best ways. Not that I'm complaining but
it does make it hard to concentrate.

He reaches out and lightly tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear, and
all thoughts of concentration fly out the window. "Lindsay" he asks, and I
think (although as I just said I'm not really paying attention) his voice
sounds a little uncertain. "What would you say if I told you I really
wanted to kiss you right now?"

I swallow again (even harder than before if that's possible) and I'm sure
my voice sounds about three octaves too high. "I think I'd say yes"

* * *

I'm sure I heard her correctly. Lindsay just gave me permission to kiss
her. We're in my office and we're standing close, and I mean really close.
And from some recess in my brain I actually found the courage to say I'd
like to kiss her (a thought I might add I've had for quite some time) and
she actually said yes.

I can't believe it.

Of course I'm glad she said yes, (apart from for the obvious reason),
because if she'd said no, I'm pretty sure I've already broken about 6
sexual harassment laws, and considering she's a lawyer too, I'm pretty sure
Lindsay'd be aware of what they are. But instead of threatening to sue me,
she's actually giving me permission to take the next step.

Okay I can do this.

I mean I've kissed heaps of girls in my time right? (Alright maybe not
heaps but enough to know what I'm doing). So I take another step forward (a
small one because there wasn't that big a gap to bridge in the first place)
and I kiss her.

She responds with enthusiasm (which is always nice) and suddenly I am
deepening the kiss, pulling her tightly against me, and her arms have found
their way around my neck. It's an unbelievable sensation, kissing Lindsay,
one I wish now I'd found a long time ago. I'm pretty sure it's just become
my favourite pastime.

After a moment she pulls away, and though I'm loathe to let it end I ease
away from her slightly. She runs her tongue along her teeth and sighs "Wow"

I'd be feeling pretty smug right now if she hadn't taken the rug out from
under me as well. As it is all I can do is mirror her sentiment. "Yeah wow"

Her lips quirk into that small smile I've always found endearing and she
trails her hands from the back of my neck to my shoulders. "What happens
now?"

I raise my eyebrows "Well if you don't know…."

"Bobby" she punches lightly on the arm, and I chuckle and pull her close
again.

"I guess we should start out slow" I say, although every part of my body is
screaming for her I release her and step back. I sense she needs a little
time to adjust. "How about some dinner?"

She nods "That'd be nice" then she frowns "Bobby what about the others?"

"I can't afford to feed them all Lindsay, besides six is definitely a
crowd"

Her lips quirk again, and I decide to make it my permanent mission in life
to always keep Lindsay smiling. "I mean what will they think about this?"
she waves her hand in between us.

I reach out and grasp her hand and hold it tightly in mine. "For now lets
just focus on us, we'll worry about everything else later"

She nods accepting my answer and I squeeze her hand tightly, pulling her
with me out the door.

This day has just gotten a whole lot better.
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bronwyn_00@excite.com