Disclaimer: I own nothing, Dick Wolf owns everything.

A/N: I know a lot of these have been done but since I just started writing, I have a lot of catching up to do and seeing Brother's Keeper again last night, these thoughts popped to mind.

An Unbreakable Bond

Alex was watching Bobby as he was babbling about his brother selling his coat and making excuses for him. Something about everyone needing money. She nodded when she realized he was looking at her and had apparently asked her if she agreed. As he walked out of the morgue, she followed closely behind him, glancing at ME Rodgers who stood watching them silently. A look of understanding passed between them as Rodgers smiled sadly at Eames.

Wordlessly the two detectives got into the SUV and headed back to 1PP. Alex wanted to say something to him but she had no idea what would be appropriate. She couldn't really gauge Bobby's emotions when her own were in such turmoil. Mostly she was just going back and forth between wanting to hug Bobby and comfort him and wanting to beat the crap out of Frank if she ever got a chance.

"He never showed up on her birthday," Bobby said as he stared out the window. "That's why I thought...I was sure...it...it was going to be him."

Now Alex really wanted to throttle Frank Goren. She glanced over at her partner who continued to stare out the window. They had reached 1PP. It was a short drive to the ME's office. She parked the SUV and started to get out when she noticed Bobby wasn't moving.

"Bobby?"

Her voice pulled Bobby out of his rather depressing thoughts. He hadn't even noticed they had stopped. He glanced at Alex, who was wearing an incredibly worried look on her face.

"Sorry...I was just thinking..." he said as he got out of the SUV and joined her on the way to the elevator.

"You don't have to go back to the office, Bobby. I'm sure Ross will understand if you just went home. I can get the paperwork finished," Alex offered.

Bobby glanced at her and shook his head, "No, I...I can't let you do that. You've been covering for me a lot lately and...I just...I just want to feel useful."

Alex was surprised by his comment. They had just stepped into the elevator. "What are you talking about? You're useful...you got Corliss to confess."

"Yea...well..." Bobby smiled sadly, "I guess maybe I'm more useful at work than anywhere else."

The elevator doors opened and Bobby stepped out, heading towards his desk. Alex caught up to him and grabbed his arm. "Bobby..."

"Detectives, what are you doing back here?" Ross interupted as he spotted them entering the bull pen.

"It wasn't my brother. Just someone who had his coat with my card in one of the pockets," Bobby said as if that would explain it all.

Ross looked at Bobby with concern. While they had their differences, Ross respected Goren and sympathized with his current situation. He also didn't want his best detective to wear himself out. Even if it hadn't been his brother in the morgue, just the thought of it must have been incredibly stressful.

"Look, it's been a long day. You two can finish up the paperwork on the Corliss case tomorrow. Go home, both of you," Ross told Bobby and Alex.

This was about as much as Bobby could take. Now even Ross was feeling sorry for him. How pitiful was he that Ross would feel sorry for him? He wanted to scream at Ross. Not that he had done anything to warrant that but he was the closest target and at that particular instant, Bobby was feeling incredibly self-destructive. An irrational anger started rising in his stomach as he looked at Ross.

Before he could open his mouth, he felt a light touch on his back. Alex could sense Bobby was about to explode. She couldn't let him do that. Ross may have been feeling sympathtic but he wouldn't put up with Bobby yelling at him because he couldn't yell at his brother - who was the real cause of his current state as far as Alex could tell. All Bobby needed was to get himself suspended over something stupid like getting upset over Ross actually being nice to him.

Bobby looked over a Alex who stepped in front of him, putting herself between the Captain and Bobby. "Thanks, Captain. We could both use the break," she said, looking back at Bobby to give him a warning look that Ross couldn't see.

Ross nodded, "Good. Take a couple of hours in the morning if you have to as well."

Alex nodded, "Thanks again, Captain."

Looking at his two detectives, Ross wasn't quite sure what was going on but he sensed once again, Eames was trying to shield Goren from him...or perhaps this time it was the other way around? He was always impressed by the way they seemed to communicate with each other without even saying a word. It was both impressive and unsettling at the same time.

"I just don't want you two to overwork yourselves. You're no good to the department if you get yourselves sick," Ross said to both of them but they all knew he was primarily referring to Goren. With that he turned and headed back to his office.

Letting out a sigh, Bobby rubbed the back of his neck and stared at his shoes to avoid looking at his partner. "Sorry," he said so softly she barely heard him.

"Not as sorry as you would have been," Alex said as she turned to face him. "Come on, you're gonna make it up to me. I'm hungry and you're buying dinner."

Looking at her and seeing that she was not angry but concerned, Bobby sighed with relief and nodded. He wasn't hungry at all but buying her dinner meant he would get to spend more time with her. Normally going home and being alone provided some peace for him after solving a case. Tonight, however, was a different story. His mother was dying and he thought he had lost his brother tonight. Frank may not be much of a brother these days but Bobby remembered better times when they were younger and Frank tried to look out for him before he got so beaten down and tired of dealing with their parents that he just lost himself.

Even if it wasn't Frank lying dead in that morgue, Bobby still had no idea where his brother was right now and he had no idea when he'd see him again. For all he knew his brother was lying dead somewhere else. It left him with no one. No one except Alex.

Looking at his slumped shoulders and the look of fatigue on his face, Alex felt a pang of guilt. He really did have a very rough day...maybe he just wants to go home and be alone. She smiled at Bobby, "Hey, if you want to do this some other night..."

"No, no it's fine, I...I do owe you and I don't...I don't want to be...um...I'd like some company tonight," Bobby stammered, once again staring down at his shoes.

It never ceased to amaze Alex that some how the 6'4" bulk of a man who was her partner, could manage to look so much like a lost little boy. She smiled at him encouragingly, "All right, then. Let's go."

tbc...