Disclaimer: Same old stuff - I don't own them they belong to Dick Wolf.

A/N: In the spirit of the season, this plot bunny jumped into my head. I tried to stamp it out and kill it so I could continue Defining Moments and A Charmed Life but it had to be written so don't say I didn't try to spare you. Thanks to gorengal for the beta!

A LOCI Christmas Carol

Advice From a Friend

As he made his way home on Christmas Eve, Bobby Goren tried his best to ignore the happy crowd of last minute shoppers and people running home to their loved ones with prettily-wrapped presents. It was the first Christmas since his mother died and he had nowhere to go. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Alex invited him to spend time with her family. But he just couldn't bring himself to be around a happy family right now. Especially one that wasn't his.

A cold wind whipped around him as a light snow fall began just as he arrived at his apartment building. He escaped the busy street into the relative calm of his building, feeling the quiet envelop him as the entrance door closed behind him. Even here he couldn't escape the holiday. Wreaths were hung on some doors and the scent of pine mixed with turkey, ham and other holiday food filtered out into the hall.

By the time he entered the sanctity of his apartment, Bobby felt bone weary and depressed. After he shed his coat and dropped his binder onto his desk, Bobby changed from his suit to gray sweats and checked his refrigerator to see if there was anything salvageable for dinner. He knew all he had was some left over Thai food, wilted lettuce and four bottles of beer. For a moment he considered ordering a pizza but decided he wasn't really hungry so he settled for a beer and some cheese crackers.

As he dropped onto his sofa and turned on the TV, he heard some neighbor's children running down the hall, squealing "Santa's coming, Santa's coming!"

There's got to be some kind of psychological consequence to fooling your children into believing in an old guy in a red suit who encourages children to sit on his lap and tell them what they want most in the world. Christmas...bah humbug. He chuckled as his channel surfing landed him on the George C. Scott version of 'A Christmas Carol' a second after the phrase entered his mind.

"It's better than 'A Wonderful Life' for the millionth time," he muttered to himself.

An hour later he started nodding off when his cell phone rang. For a moment he hesitated answering it but then thought hopefully it was Ross or Eames calling him out on a case. The caller ID said Eames Cell so that was promising.

"Yeah, what's up, Eames?" he replied, wondering how depressed he had to be for a potential homicide on Christmas Eve to make him feel better?

"Hey Bobby, just wanted to let you know you're still invited to dinner tonight. My brother's partner and his wife will be here, too, so you won't be the only non-Eames here," said the cheerful voice of his partner.

"Uh...thanks, Alex, but I already ate and I think I'm just going to bed. It's been a long day."

"For me, too, you know. But I understand. Tomorrow is still an option as well, Bobby. My family's Christmas celebration always include the entire neighborhood - and no, I'm not related to the entire neighborhood."

Bobby chuckled despite himself. "Thanks, I'll think about it, all right?" He hoped he could placate Alex enough so she wouldn't continue to pester him. He appreciated her offer but this was his first Christmas without his mother and while there were holidays when she wasn't the most pleasant or lucid person to be around, she was his mother and he loved her.

"All right. I know a brush off when I hear one. But I wish you would think about it. You shouldn't be alone on Christmas."

"I'll be fine," he said, trying to sound convincing for both Alex's sake and his own. Besides, I'm alone the rest of the year, why should tonight or tomorrow be any different?

"Merry Christmas despite yourself, Bobby."

"You, too Alex." Bobby tossed his cell phone back on the coffee table and decided he'd had enough of those ghosts of Christmas. He turned off the TV and went to bed.

He was in the middle of a deep sleep when he was rudely awakened by the sound of his phone ringing. Once again, he found himself hoping he was being called out to a crime scene. I must really be pathetic if I'm looking forward to working - especially in my line of work.

"Goren," he croaked into the phone.

"Robert Goren?" an unfamiliar male voice asked.

"Depends. Who wants to know?" Bobby asked warily.

"Um, I'm Jack, a bartender here at Peter J's and there's a Mike Logan here who...well, he's not in any shape to get home and I..."

"Logan?" Bobby was confused. Why would Mike Logan have someone call him to help? They got along great at work but they weren't exactly friends who hung out after hours. "How drunk is he? He lives just a few blocks from..."

"Oh, he won't make it to the door let alone a few blocks."

"How did he...I mean...why...oh fine. I'm on my way." Bobby groaned as he pulled himself out of bed, got dressed and made his way to Peter J's, Logan's favorite watering hole. Why me? Why would Logan call me? It's not like he doesn't have any other friends. It was midnight by the time he got to the bar. Logan was seated at one end of the bar, nursing his drink.

"All right, what's going on, Logan?" Bobby demanded as he sat on the stool next to his colleague.

"Goren, what the hell are you doing here?" Logan asked, looking rather confused.

Bobby felt the last of his patience slip away. "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"I don't know, you tell me. I'm here all the time. This is the first time I've seen you here," Logan said in a tone that indicated he was just as annoyed as Bobby was. "So I'm the one who should be asking you what's going on?"

Covering his face with his hands, Bobby sighed. "Look Logan, you had the bartender call me to come get you because he said you were too drunk to..."

"He called you?" Logan looked over at the bartender who was oblivious to their conversation as he tended to customers at the other end of the bar.

Now Bobby was really confused. "Didn't you ask him to? I mean how else would he get my number or even know I exist?"

Logan reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a card and turned it over. "Great." He rubbed his eyes and groaned. "I wrote her number on the back of the card you gave me back when we worked on that prison guard case."

Bobby felt even more confused. "Logan, you're not helping. What are you talking about?"

Ignoring Bobby, Logan yelled for the bartender. "Hey, Jack!"

"Need a refill?" the affable Jack asked. "How about you, sir?" he asked Bobby.

"No, Jack. I wanted to ask you, what on earth made you think I wanted you to call this guy to come and rescue me? Didn't I say I was hoping to get lucky?" Logan pointed at Bobby.

Jack, who's curly blond hair made him look like he was all of twelve and much too young to be working in a bar, shrugged. "Hey man, I'm new here and for all I know...well...you know." He looked at Bobby and back at Logan. "It's none of my business which way you swing."

Logan blushed as Bobby started laughing. "Logan, I'm flattered but you're really not my type."

"Shut up, Goren," Logan muttered. He pointed at the phone number scribbled on the back of the card. "That's the number I wanted to you call! The one with the name Tanya above it! "

"Oh, well, I can call it now if..." Jack began.

"Forget it. Just another Christmas Eve I can spend by myself, thank you," Logan said as he tossed the card into an ashtray.

"If you wanted to spend Christmas Eve with someone, why didn't you go out with Tanya in the first place?" Bobby asked.

"She had a family gathering to go to. She invited me but I'm just not into the whole...I don't know. Happy families depress me sometimes." Logan finished off his drink and slapped his hand on the bar. "That's it for me, Jack. Thanks anyway." Logan dropped a ten on the bar. "And no hard feelings. Just don't tell anyone about this EVER."

Jack smiled. "No problem. Merry Christmas!"

Bobby followed Logan out to the street.

"So what were you doing that you could leave to come help my sorry ass out?" Logan asked.

"Sleeping."

"And I thought I was pathetic." Logan chuckled.

"You are pathetic. At least I wasn't trying to pull some bullshit stunt to get my girlfriend to spend the night with me." Bobby was feeling impatient and annoyed.

"So, speaking of girlfriends, where is Eames tonight?"

Now it was Bobby's turn to blush. "She's having dinner with her family...and she's NOT my girlfriend."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Goren." Logan smirked. "She did invite you to dinner and probably Christmas day with her family didn't she?"

"She was just being nice because she doesn't want me to spend Christmas alone. She's my partner, Logan."

"Oh so you've tried to make a move and she shot you down?" Logan persisted.

Bobby glared. "No! I'd never do that! It would be disrespectful and..."

"And you're going to tell me you've never even considered it?"

"It's none of your business, Logan. What's up with you and all these questions about my personal life?"

Logan waved his hand dismissively. "Like I said, tell yourself whatever you want but you're an idiot if you don't at least try it."

"Try what? Propositioning my partner?" Bobby stared at Logan in disbelief.

"No, try taking her up on her invitations and you might find your relationship can be more than just about work."

"First of all, none of this is your business. Second, why the hell do you care, Logan?"

Logan shrugged. "I don't really. But you seem like a decent guy, Goren. Sure you're a little unorthodox but you're always out to do the right thing and you deserve a lot better than to end up like me."

"Like you? How do figure I'm like you?" Bobby asked.

"You will be if you keep brushing off invitations to Christmas gatherings with someone who actually cares about you. If you push people away and isolate yourself and convince yourself that your life is better without all the complications of an actual relationship you'll find yourself pathetically trying to fool some poor girl into coming to rescue you from yourself," Logan explained bitterly.

"Logan, there is no way I'm anything like you. I..."

"Not yet, my friend, but you're well on your way." Logan pulled his collar up against the cold wind. "Do yourself a favor and consider taking Eames up on her offer. If you don't you'll wake up one day and find yourself heading for retirement, wondering what you're going to do with yourself and your lonely apartment when you don't have to go to work everyday."

"Is that what you think about, Logan?" Bobby asked, realizing he really didn't know much about Logan. He always assumed the man had some kind of active social life from the way he talked about dates he'd had. In retrospect Bobby realized he never spoke about the same woman more than twice. It did sound frustratingly familiar.

"A lot as of late, actually." Logan smiled sadly at Bobby. "Don't make the same mistakes I did, Goren."

Bobby shook his head. "You don't understand, Logan."

"Maybe not. But I know if I had an Alex Eames in my life, I wouldn't push her away." Logan turned to leave. "Just think about what I said."

Bobby watched Mike Logan walk away. You really don't understand. My mother is gone and left me with the knowledge that my father may not be a drunken, womanizing, negligent father but a serial killer/rapist. Add to that Eames and I still aren't completely back in sync. I thought we were getting better but sometimes I just don't know...

Stuffing his hands in his coat pockets, Bobby headed in the opposite direction for home.

tbc...