Law & Order: Criminal Intent – Redemption Song Part One.

A/N: Based on the early reviews (thanks to Lallyb and blucougar57) for chapter seven of The Temptation Of Goren, I decided to go on and write Redemption Song, a fan fiction based around six months after Bobby proposed to Maria. Redemption Song is written and performed by Stevie Wonder. I neither own the rights to him, the song, Dick Wolf's characters or title. I only own Maria and boy, is she fun to play with!

Senior Detective Robert O. Goren was a professional. Always had been, always intended to be. Which was why he was getting so flustered at the moment.

'Look, why are y-you asking me?' he asked exasperatedly, as Maria whipped past him.

'C-can't you j-just go shopping without me?'

Maria peeped her head out of the change rooms.

'Yeah, sure Bobby. I'll just go shopping for a wedding dress without my husband-to-be! Brilliant, inspired!' she snapped at him, disappearing behind the curtain again. Bobby groaned. When he had proposed to Maria, he hadn't banked on being dragged from wedding store to wedding store, looking for the perfect dress. Nor had he expected to be bombarded with questions about invitations, colours, flowers, catering and venues for the reception. All he wanted was a quiet life. Fat chance.

'What about this one?' Maria asked as she stepped out of the fitting room, wearing the sixth dress that day. Bobby hadn't liked any of the earlier dresses she'd picked out, but he was determined to try and find at least one that he did like. Bobby sat back and took in her figure. Maria's long, copper curls fell in waves to her shoulders, which were caressed by spaghetti-strap sleeves in a pale ivory. The ivory satin flowed out from under her arms and swirled about her feet. Simple, but elegant. Maria looked expectantly at Bobby.

'Well?' she asked hesitantly. Bobby tilted his head.

'Hmmm...' he hummed playfully. Maria shot him a warning looked. Bobby grinned and laughed.

'I think it's perfect. It's-it's so you,' he said softly. Maria beamed and ran down into Bobby's open arms. He lifted his fiance off the ground and twirled her around.

'I love you, Bobby Goren,' she whispered in his ear. Bobby brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her gently.

'I love you too,' he replied. He meant it, too.

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Alex had passed over the offer to go with her partner and his fiance dress-hunting that day. Poor Bobby probably needed someone there, as Maria would have bombarded him with questions that Bobby's mind wasn't programmed to think about, but apart from the fact that the shopping would have brought back painful memories of her own wedding, Alex was buried under a mountain of paperwork. Bobby, who always stayed back late, had absolutely none.

Deakins had stopped by earlier that day and asked why she wasn't out shopping with her niece.

'Maria can handle Bobby alone, she's proved that,' Alex had snapped back. Not intentionally, but at the moment, Alex Eames really just didn't have all the patience she wanted. She was still tying up the loose ends after the Gotham drug cartel collapsed, due to Maria's interference in her case.

Alex finished her report and sat back. She'd been the first to receive the invitation to Maria and Bobby's wedding. Bobby had asked her to be his best woman, but she had laughed and told him that if Lewis wasn't asked if he wanted to be the best man, he'd have a cardiac arrest. So she had settled for being Maria's matron-of-honour. It hadn't been long after Bobby proposed that Maria had moved out of Alex's apartment and in with Bobby. Suddenly Bobby had started coming to work in ironed suits and cleanly shaven. Alex grinned. She had mocked him when this had first started happening, but after a while she had taken to the pampered side of Bobby.

Even Deakins noticed the subtle difference in Bobby. To Bobby's credit, it hadn't affected his work. If anything, Bobby appeared to be sleeping a lot better since Maria had moved in. But it wasn't just Bobby's appearance that had changed. Alex noticed that Bobby was stuttering less and appeared more openly confident. Alex sighed. She'd known Bobby for the better part of five year and she had known Maria since before she was born. She just wasn't ready to see the pair together.

'Got room in your head for a few more thoughts?' came the soft voice. Alex looked up to see Deakins with a grim expression and a file in his right hand. He extended it to her.

'I think you should call Goren,' he said quietly. Alex gave him a confused expression and flicked the file open. Her face paled. She looked at Deakins, horrified.

'Oh my god!' Alex gasped and grabbed the phone.

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Bobby Goren approached the corpse carefully, tilting his head slightly so he could examine the dead woman from all angles. Normally, he would have treated this as any other case. But this time...

'Why on earth would anyone want to murder a gospel singer?' Maria asked Bobby curiously, tapping her foot furiously against the church's polished wood floor. Bobby noticed that she did this whenever her mind was running at hyper-speed, so he ignored it. He stood up.

'More to the point, could we be involved? After all, this is no ordinary church for us,' Goren replied softly. Maria breathed deeply. He was right; the church they were standing in the church that they had picked out for the wedding. Goren thanked his lucky stars that Eames had called when she did, because he was sure that Maria would have dragged him off to look at new furniture for his apartment. Maria stepped lightly around Bobby to examine the body. She held her hair back and examined the throat of the large, african-american woman.

'Wire marks; here and here,' Maria pointed out. Bobby nodded, pulling the pair of latex gloves that he always carried with him out of his jacket pocket and snapping them on.

'Can't have been a stranger to her,' Bobby said. Maria looked up.

'Why?'

'No sign of struggle. If the person who murdered her had been a stranger, she would have resisted and we would see tell-tale marks of wire slip,' Bobby reasoned. Maria nodded, impressed with his logic.

'Do we have ID on the vic?'

'Your aunt is bringing it with her. Said she'd meet us here in half an hour,' Bobby replied, as the recovery team cleaned up the area. A nervous priest, who had been lurking in the side of Bobby's sight, stepped forward. Goren snapped his head around and made a quick character analysis; roughly forty, balding, wire-rimmed glasses, caucasian, thin. Goren drew himself up to his full height, further terrifying the shaking clergyman.

'Um, excuse me, Detective...?'

'Goren, and this is Junior Detective Eames' Bobby said, indicating to where Maria stood talking to the ME, with her arms folded tightly. The priest relaxed a bit.

'Oh, you are detectives. I'm relieved. I was afraid that you were lawyers,' the priest sighed. Goren tilted his head.

'And you are?'

'Father Rogers. Goren... Eames... I seem to remember your names,' the priest said quietly. He snapped his fingers.

'Got it! You two are booked in to be married in four weeks!' Father Rogers exclaimed. Bobby coloured.

'Y-yes, we are,' he said quietly, running his hand through his dark hair. Father Rogers smiled warmly.

'Congratulations, detective. When did you propose?'

'Just after she came out of hospital. She was shot six months ago,' Bobby said bluntly, eager to get off the subject of his private life. Father Rogers blanched.

'Er, well, I suppose you are truly in love. Can I assist your investigation?' Father Rogers asked politely. Bobby's cop instincts kicked back in.

'Can you tell us who this lady is?' he asked. The priest nodded sadly.

'Yes, Sarah Delafontaine. Lead soprano in the gospel choir. Beautiful voice and lovely manner. Loved by everyone. I can't imagine that anyone would want to kill poor Sarah,' Rogers murmured, looking at the young woman. Bobby followed his train of sight.

'Father, we need to know everyone who has been in and out of this church over the last few days,' Goren said. Rogers nodded.

'Of course. It's all written down in the church registry. You need to sign yourself in and out, in case.. in case...' Rogers trailed off. Bobby nodded.

'In case something like this happens?' he asked. Rogers nodded. The priest stifled back a sob. Bobby patted him on the back, which nearly knocked the wispy man off his feet.

'I-I'm sorry, detective,' he hiccoughed.

'It's just that I knew Sarah from when she was a child. I baptised her myself. She grew up in this church. I couldn't imagine a lovelier child. Who would do such a horrendous, sinful deed?'

Bobby looked back at Sarah Delafontaine.

Who indeed, he thought.

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'Sarah Ariadne Delafontaine, twenty-four, born in Utah, but moved to NYC when she was three with her mother and sister Angel,' Alex recited to her partner back at the precinct. Bobby pursed his lips, tapping his pencil against his head.

'Anything else?'

'Grew up in the Anglican Church you guys picked out. Never had more than two boyfriends, was going steady with one guy; Rob Strickland. Devoted her free time to the gospel choir. Seems Miss Delafontaine was an aspiring American Idol.'

'Fame, some people will do anything for it,' Bobby spat sarcastically, dragging his notebook over and writing in Sarah's family tree in it. Alex looked at him.

'Oh no, let me guess,' Eames giggled, noticing the sour look creeping into Goren's face.

'She wants Guy Sebastian played at the wedding.'

'JUST because it's a beautiful song DOES NOT mean that I want to have it locked away in my memory forever!' Bobby thundered, as Alex roared with laughter. He sunk back in his chair sulkily. Alex got a grip on herself.

'Alright, alright. Maybe this is something. Angel is in the choir, too. Second alto, doesn't have as strong a voice as Sarah.'

'Do you suspect professional jealousy?' Bobby hinted mildly. Alex shrugged.

'It's worth a try.'

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Angel Delafontaine was younger than her sister. In fact, Angel appeared to be no older than sixteen. Goren tipped his head slightly to peer at her anxious face.

'Don't worry, Miss Delafontaine, we aren't here to arrest anyone,' Alex said politely. This didn't seem to calm Angel down.

'Y-you can c-call me An-Angel,' Angel said quickly. Bobby tilted his head to the other side. He noted the family resemblance; the same gently sloping nose and delicately crafted almond eyes.

'We're about the death of your sister, Sarah,' Alex continues. Angel jumped.

'Sarah was my half-sister, detective,' Angel snorted in derision. Bobby picked this up instantly.

'That's why she and Ma left Utah. Ma didn't have me until after she married my old man. They met in the Anglican Church, then Ma changed her name to Delafontaine. My dad adopted Sarah and changed her name, too.'

'What about S-Sarah's father? Did h-he ever come and see her?' Bobby asked stiltedly. Angel shot Alex a look as if to ask if Bobby was all there upstairs.

'Nah. Couldn't stand the bitch. Said if Ma ever tried to bring her to see him, he'd shoot the pair of 'em. Last I heard he was livin' with some skank in the slums of Utah,' Angel chuckled. Bobby rose.

'W-well, thanks Angel. You have our c-contact details if you think of anything important you need to tell us,' Goren said. Angel nodded, waving the business card half-heartedly.

'Sure, we'll all catch up for a little chat,' she rumbled. As Bobby and Eames left the house, Angel threw the card in the bin.

'I don't think I trust that girl,' Alex said softly as they got in the car. Bobby shut the door and stroked his chin, deep in thought.

'Maybe not, but the information Angel gave us rules out Sarah's father as a suspect,' he replied. Alex looked at him.

'But it doesn't rule Angel herself out, does it?' Alex said, rather than asked. She knew her partner's mind well enough to know what he was thinking. Bobby shook his head.

'No, it doesn't. I'm not sure I want to rule her out yet, either.'

'What about the priest?'

'Like I said earlier. Fame is something that people will kill for,' Bobby replied as Alex threw the car into first gear.

'If Rogers is involved, it's not the fame he's after.'

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'Well, this is a nice puzzle, isn't it? Lead singer in a gospel choir is murdered and the main suspect is her jealous sister,' Maria reflected as she paced Goren's living room. Bobby sat on his couch, reclining with a glass of red wine, his shirt open and tie lopsided.

'That's what I thought,' Bobby said, taking a swig of his drink. Maria stopped pacing to face her fiance.

'What else did you learn about her family?' she asked. Bobby laughed and patted the seat next to him. Maria dropped down onto the couch.

'Well, her father is still in Utah, which rules him out. Her mother married again after she arrived in NYC...' Bobby began, but stopped after he noticed the look that Maria was giving him.

'What proof did you have that Delafontaine married twice?' Maria asked quietly. Bobby widened his eyes.

'You don't think... surely not... that Sarah was illegitimate?' Bobby said, a smile raising the corners of his mouth. Maria shrugged.

'Why not? I am,' she replied. Bobby cocked his head.

'I knew you were an only child and raised by your mother like me, but I didn't know that you were illegitimate,' he said teasingly, kissing her gently. Maria grinned.

'Would it have made any difference?'

'Nope,' Bobby replied, swiftly kissing the tip of her nose. Maria laughed.

'Well, if you want my advice on the case, here it is. Tomorrow; get adoption records, marriage certificates and birth certificates on Delafontaine's mother. Find out what you can. Then put through a call to Utah MCS. Ask them what they know of her father. While they're doing that, go with Eames and check out the boyfriend. He might or might not be involved, but he might tell you something useful,' Maria concluded. Bobby stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

'What?' Maria asked, slightly confused. Bobby began laughing and pulled her to him.

'Damn it girl, you are definitely your aunt's niece!' he chuckled.

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Alex was half-way through her third beer before she realised that Deakins was sitting beside her.

Great, just great. This is all I need. Psychoanalytic captain at three o'clock.

'Are you alright?' Deakins asked as Eames knocked back the rest of her beer and slammed it against the bar.

'Never better,' she slurred. Deakins raised an eyebrow.

'Don't bull-shit me, Alex. I know there's something wrong. I'm asking you as a friend, tell me the problem,' Deakins said gently. Alex felt the angry tears rise.

'IT'S NOT FAIR!' she shouted, banging her fist on the bar and making Deakins jump.

'What's not fair?'

'Him. And her!'

'What?'

'Bobby!' Alex was practically screaming now. The drunks who were still in the bar at 11:30pm turned to look at the crest-fallen detective. She began to ramble.

'And Maria! They spend all their spare time together! What about me? I USED to be Bobby's best friend! I called Lewis the other night and he said Bobby hadn't called him in a week and that maybe I was over-reacting but I said no that couldn't be it because Bobby and I have been through everything together and now he's getting married to MY NIECE who I delivered when I visited my step-sister in Australia and Maria followed me everywhere she loved me and what I did for a job and now I feel so useless that I don't belong in their lives anymore...' Alex choked off, running out of breath. She sat, sobbing into the wood of the bar. Deakins gingerly rubbed her back.

'I'm sure neither Goren or Maria feel that way,' he said softly. Alex raised a tear-stained face to him.

'What makes you so sure?' she hiccoughed stiffly. Deakins bowed his head.

'Maria idolises you. To her, you are the ULTIMATE detective. Even though she is in love with Goren. As for Goren,' Deakins trailed off. Alex looked at him intently.

'Yes?'

'Goren is your partner. Whatever loyalties he has to Maria, rest assured they are only a fraction stronger than his to you,' he said positively. Alex looked at the empty beer bottle.

'I'm sorry sir...'

'Nothing to be sorry for. We all feel forgotten sometimes,' Deakins said, rising from the bar stool. Alex watched him blearily.

'Sir, could you...?'

'Sure. I wouldn't trust you driving, or even in a cab, giving the state you're in,' Deakins grinned, putting Eames' arm around his shoulders and half-dragging, half-carrying her to his car outside. The resident drunks resumed their bingeing.

Deakins lay Eames across the back seat. She'd passed out on the way to the car. He wasn't sure how many beers (there had only been three bottles near her but God only knew what she had drunk before then) she had had to drink, but it had been enough to completely bring her down. He hadn't intended to go into the bar tonight, but he had seen Eames' SUV still parked outside the precinct and had decided to take a closer look. In truth, Deakins was glad he had.

Alex snorted as he climbed into the car. The CO of the Major Case Squad allowed himself a small smile that one of his best detectives was passed out drunk on his back seat.

'Goren's going to have a field day over this one,' he chortled, as he let the hand brake off and steered the 4x4 into the midnight traffic of NYC.