Right when she walked in she knew something was wrong with him. It was probably about his mother since he was going through so much with her having cancer.

"Hey Goren let's go outside and have a smoke." Bobby looked up at Alex shocked at her suggestion. She didn't smoke but he knew she just wanted to get him alone so that they could talk.

"I'm not in the mood to talk."

"I don't want to talk, I just want a cigarette." She grabbed her coffee and took a few sips.

He finally gave in because she wasn't going to stop unless she got her way. She was always like that.

"Fine let's go." He grabbed his pack of cigarettes and followed her outside. Before they left she gave Ross a look saying that they were taking a short break. Even though it was still really early and they both had just gotten in, it wasn't that busy so Ross didn't care if they took a break.

Bobby stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it before handing one to Alex. He lit hers as he puffed on his. He enjoyed how close they were when he leaned down to lit hers. He could smell her mango shampoo or body wash. He couldn't tell which one it was.

"So I thought you were quitting." She teased.

"I thought you were never going to start." He teased back. She would always give him shit about his bad habit and try and get him to quit. She never wanted to get into that addiction but she occasionally smoked one if she ever went out with friends. Every few months or so.

"Ok look Bobby I know you don't want to talk to me but I'm your partner and best friend so you can talk to me about anything." He knew that he just didn't want to lose it while he was talking about his mother. He knew he would start crying and he didn't want to ever cry in front of her. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He never wanted her to think less of him.

"My mom is dying of cancer. They have a new treatment that is experimental and it might prolong her life."

"Well that's great. Have you talked to the doctors about it?" Halfway through her cigarette she took out of her mouth and put it out. Bobby always smoked the strong ones and she hated them.

"I already have. The only issue is that it would be about five to six thousand dollars a month and that's basically what we make a month so I won't have any money left for anything else. I mean I don't go out that much but I need a place to live so I can't help her out in that way." Alex could hear the sadness in his voice.

"Can Frank help out at all?" That was a really stupid question on her part because he was never around.

Bobby laughed sarcastically. "Yea right I'm not holding my breath for that."

"Well maybe I could…" Bobby stopped her before she finished.

"I'm not taking anything from you Alex. I don't want to do that to you."

"I'm offering. Not out of pity or anything like that. I'm your friend and I want to see you happy."

"Thanks for the offer Alex but I can't let you do that." She stopped pushing it because it wasn't going to happen. They sat outside for a few more minutes in silence while Bobby finished up. They went back inside with a little tension to finish off the day.

When it was almost time to leave Alex waited for Bobby to get into the SVU.

"Would you like to have dinner at my place tonight?" Bobby was a little surprised at that. He had never been over at her house before unless it was a case related reason. And she never invited him over for dinner. Sure they went out sometimes but on a professional level. This was on a personal level and Bobby didn't know how to react.

"Um sure, that sounds good." She started the car and they were off to her house. She had been thinking of a solution to his situation and had come up with the perfect idea. If he wasn't going to take money from her, she was going to give him something better.

When they made it to her house, Bobby felt a little awkward when they walked inside. She lived in a pretty nice house. Joe gave her enough money to where she could buy something like this.

"You want a beer?" She threw her keys and purse on the side table going into the house.

"Sure I'll take whatever you have." She walked into the kitchen as Bobby just stood there looking around her house and at all the pictures she had. She saw him from the kitchen and laughed.

"You can have a seat Bobby. Please make yourself at home." He finally sat down on the couch but still looked around the house. He looked towards the kitchen to see if Eames needed any help. His line of vision was a great thing to see. Alex was bent over in the fridge grabbing the beers on the bottom shelf. Her dark jeans made her backside look amazing. He had noticed lately she was dressing a lot sexier. She probably didn't realize it though. Her sweaters were a little tighter and her jeans fit to her perfect curves. He noticed that she was wearing bras now too, probably ever since she had the baby.

He closed his eyes and stopped himself. She is your partner and could do a lot better then you. He thought to himself as he tried to calm down. That's all he needed for Eames to see his erection and kick him out of her house.

"Here we are." She handed him a beer and took a seat next to him. He moved a little farther trying to give her more room on her small couch.

"Thanks." He took a few sips and could see that she was watching him through the corner of his eye.

"Bobby I'm not going to bite. You can sit a little closer to me."

"I know Eames; I just want to make sure you have plenty of room."

"Call me Alex in my house please."

"Alright Alex I will move over a little closer to you." He moved a little closer to her which he liked. He could feel the warmth coming from her body.

"So I'm starving right now and I don't think I can wait for takeout. I'm going to put a pizza in the oven. If that's alright?"

"That's perfectly fine." She got back up to go put some pizza in the oven. He took the opportunity to look around some more. She wasn't a big book fan but she had a few on a bookshelf in the back. She had tons of pictures of friends and family. He envied that. He didn't have much family left and forget about having friends.

As he was looking through pictures he stopped and smiled at the picture hanging up. It was of the two of them a few years ago at the Police Commissioner's Ball. She had on a gorgeous red dress that made him have to take an extremely ice cold shower when he got home.

She came back into the room holding a bag of chips and salsa. He went back on the couch and they sat in the same position they did before.

"This is good."

"I know I am starving." She ate the chips like a horse but he thought it was cute.

"So Alex what's this about? I know you didn't just ask me here for dinner." Now was the time for her to tell him her idea.

"Ok you're right there is a reason and I am not taking no for an answer. You are going to get rid of your apartment and move in with me since you will be paying for your mother's treatment." His eyes bugled out of his head after this statement. There was no way he was doing that but there was no way Eames was taking no for an answer.

TBC