DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Dick Wolf. I am just borrowing them for a little fun.

Still Be Mine

gorenrocks

Chapter One

From the end of, The War At Home:


Captain Danny Ross said, "Good job, Detectives. If you can give me your paperwork…"

"You can save it. I'm leaving." Detective Robert Goren interrupted. "You wanna fire me, fire me. I don't care," he finished under his breath, and the big detective tossed his leather binder across his partner's desk, not bothering to watch it sail over to his own.



Standing next to her Captain, Detective Alexandra Eames watched Bobby announce to the entire squad room that he did not care anymore. Did not care about his job or about their partnership -- and did not care about her.

He was pushing her out of his life completely. And that was entirely unacceptable.

The anger that had pummeled her weary body finally surrendered its assault, and the knot in her twisted gut came undone like loose shoelaces on a toddler. A cold bucket of fear doused the remaining embers as she wondered what she could do to stop her partner's hemorrhaging rage before he lost everything.

Alex glanced at Captain Ross who was watching her. He frowned, almost a grimace, shook his head of dark brown curls, and then stalked back toward his office. What would he do now, had his limits been reached, or exceeded? What trouble would he make for Goren?

Fuck Ross, she thought. So what if Bobby pushed his buttons? Ross always had to be the alpha dog and always made it known, too; he seldom gave Bobby a break. Stopping only to grab Bobby's leather binder and her car keys, she ran to the elevator and prayed she would catch him before he left. She had to shake some sense into him, and above all, she would never let him push her away again.


Alex nearly laughed aloud with relief when she saw all six foot four inches of Bobby Goren lumber tiredly toward his vehicle. Now, how to make him wait for her… ? Bobby, listen to me, please!

"Goren, wait up!" Even from the distance, she saw his sturdy frame stiffen and he seemed to hesitate, as if debating whether he would actually stop. As she quickened her pace and his broad shoulders loomed close, she realized as her heartbeat raced that she had not yet worked out what to say to him.

Her breath came in short, sharp gasps once she reached him, and she clutched his binder protectively against her chest. Bobby's dark brown eyes smoldered while he studied her intently, but he made no move toward her and his lips remained drawn in a tight straight line.

Finally, he said, "Eames, I have to go. Now."

"You can't just leave, Bobby," she explained patiently, as if chastising her nephew. She calmly handed him his binder.

Goren wasn't buying it. "Yeah? Well watch me."

Alex grabbed his arm and squeezed his bicep. This stopped him cold and, eyes narrowed, he stared at her hand as if it were a rare artifact.

"Look, Bobby, you have to let me help you." Alex waited until she had his attention, but his gaze was unfocused. Still, sensing she might be losing him, she forged on. "Talk to me, so I can put in a request with the Captain. What do you need? A week? More? Tell me and I'll put in the paperwork for you. "

"Eames," he started, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I will not let you do this. We are partners," Alex whispered, and then paused, trembling, nearly choking on the word and everything it meant to her, and what she believed it still meant to him. "Maybe you don't care about that right now, but I do."

Alex blinked back the hot tears and pushed down anger that would do neither one of them good. She loved this man and knew he loved her; they had both admitted it during too many drinks after cases too filled with pain. They were closer than most partners were, in fact she did not know of any that were quite like them. An intensely private man, through the years he had shared his life with her in both unguarded moments and intimate conversations during long stakeouts. Then after her kidnapping and his mother's illness, he had shut down and abruptly ceased communicating.

Bobby gently pried her fingers from their death grip on his upper arm. Anxious, she looked up at him, and found his veiled gaze betraying concern. She could use that information to her advantage, so she twisted her hand and squeezed his, capturing three of his big fingers in her tight grasp. She moved her body to his side; their arms and hands entwined and pressed between them.

"I will not let you give up on us, Goren."

Alex felt his body tense but she did not flinch from his unyielding stare. Finally, he nodded once, and she stepped back and released his hand. Surprisingly, he held on to hers and rubbed his thumb across her wrist, and she shivered.

"Okay," he nodded again, "okay. I'd like to take a week off."

"Fine," she said. He let go of her hand and she hugged herself tightly, now visibly shaking. "Go now. I'll take care of everything."

A muffled bang startled her and she jumped. Definitely not a gun and most likely a car backfiring but enough to jar her already edgy nerves. Shivering again, she glanced at Bobby who appeared unfazed and was staring at her.

"You-- you're cold." Her big partner shrugged out of his brown coat, and wrapped it around her shoulders. The suede jacket's weight and warmth overwhelmed her senses, and it was as if Bobby embraced her. Alex took a deep breath and stared down at the oil-stained ground, fighting back the sting of tears. His hand briefly tipped her chin, and looking up she saw him study her eyes until he was apparently satisfied. He flashed a ghost of his old smile before he turned and quickly walked away. Worry warred with hope – a rush of longing that the Bobby she so desperately needed would return to her soon.

TBC

If it all fell to pieces tomorrow,
Would you still be mine?

--Take It To The Limit, The Eagles