He's done this before. He's been assigned to a squad and partnered off, only to have his partner going in the other direction before he even knew what was happening. It hurt, but he never really let it show. No one has ever known the effect that being treated like some kind of department freak show has had on him. He knows he's different, odd, even. He figures it's why no one has ever been able to put up with him.
And then he came to the Major Case Squad. He doesn't really know how it happened, even now, five years later. For that matter, he doesn't know how he managed to hold on to this partner for so long. Alexandra Eames was the answer to the prayers he didn't even know he'd been saying. Finding out she'd requested a change in partners earlier on had hurt, but she was still there. And he found himself consciously thanking God every day that she had not taken off on him.
Now he watches her as she starts in on the paperwork that has appeared on her desk, yet again. He knows he should be working on his own, but for some reason, watching Eames is a lot more interesting. She still hasn't noticed that he's looking at her, and he doubts that she will, unless he says something. Behind them, the door to Captain Deakins' office is partially open; the lights are still on, letting both detectives know that their commanding officer is still present.
Neither of them say anything. After a few minutes, she realizes that he's looking at her and looks back at him, the expression on her face somewhere between amusement and exasperation. He ignores it, content to continue watching her. He knows something that she doesn't, and that something is the one thing that's kept him going since he walked into the MCS five years ago.
He's bounced between squads, been assigned partner after partner, never seeming to fit in anywhere. And then he came here…and there was Eames…and a partnership that he could be sure wouldn't break up anytime soon. There was the Major Case Squad, and an assignment that he knows he won't be taken from before he's ready. Eames eyes him intently for a long moment and smiles faintly before turning back to his paperwork, as he finally decides to turn to his own.
Five years, and he's still here. Five years, and he still has the same partner he was assigned to when he came in. He leans back in his seat after a while and resumes watching Eames, a faint smile crossing his own face as he does…all because he knows that he has finally found somewhere he fits in…somewhere he belongs.