Disclaimer: I don't own them. Wish I did, though.

Spoiler for Endgame and Amends

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A few days after Amends

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Eames returned to work after a few days off and was surprised to find Bobby's desk empty. She set her things down and quickly scanned the squad room for his large frame but didn't find him. She checked her watch then looked back at his desk, no sign of him being there already. Maybe he left me a voice mail. She looked at her phone; no messages. She called his cell; it went straight to voice mail. Maybe he had an appointment and he just forgot to tell me about it. She put her phone down and got busy.

An hour later, Ross stops at her desk, "Where's your partner?" Alex had noticed since day one, that whenever Ross mentioned Goren, his voice would take on a disdainful tone. This time was no different. She tried to make something up to cover for him, but honestly, she was at a loss. She couldn't imagine where he could be. "I don't know, Captain. I was hoping you would be able to tell me." Ross rolled his eyes, "Since when have I been able to tell you anything about your partner?" She cursed him under her breath as she watched him walk away.

Eames called Bobby's cell phone again, but there was still no answer so she tried his home phone getting the same result. She let some more time pass before deciding to go check on his apartment.

On her way there, she got a text message from him. She had to pull to the side of the road to make sure she read it correctly: TAKING A FEW DAYS. PLEASE TELL ROSS.

What the fuck? It didn't make any sense to her right away, but then she thought about the hell he had recently been through between his mothers passing away, then this latest cop shooting that turned into an emotional nightmare for both of them.

Eames was at first hurt and angry that he was re-examining Joe's murder, but once she understood his motives, and that he was probably right, she went along willingly. It was hell reliving the death of her husband, but in the end it was the best thing that could have happened to her. She realized that deep down, she must have been second guessing the official report all along. Something in her cop brain told her it didn't add up. And even as she fought Bobby to drop the questioning, each step he went down made her see that he was right. Now that she had the truth, she felt relief, and experienced awakening of sorts. For the first time in years, she felt liberated; free to move on with her life. Even though it had only been a few days, she finally felt freedom from Joe; something that had eluded her for all these years. She wondered if Joe had been right there with her all is that time since his murder, trying to let her know his killer was still out there, because once she put those cuffs on Dr. Manny Beltran, she felt like a new person.

The only thing that scared her about her new outlook, was that she now felt even more drawn to the one person in her life she shouldn't have those kinds of feelings for. It seemed to her that remaining tied to Joe and his memory for so long afforded her the luxury of keeping her heart closed off to any other possibilities of heartbreak. But by avoiding pain, she also avoided the pleasure and happiness that also goes hand in hand with falling in love. Once she lost that tie to Joe, her heart became vulnerable again and she didn't know if she liked that. But, if there was one person who she could trust to handle her heart with care, she knew it would be Bobby.

Alex also knew the case was tough on Bobby, but she had no idea how hard it truly was. For him, it was a labor of love. Eames was the one person who had stuck by him. The one person who he knew he could always count on. So when he started digging into Joe's murder, and he realized the pain he was going to put her through, he almost couldn't bear it. But he loved her. He was in love with her, although he thought he could never admit it to her. And because of the total devotion she had shown him in the past; standing by him and forgiving all of his erratic behavior, he felt he owed it to her to follow through and make sure Joe's killer was, in fact, behind bars. But, he saw the pain he put her through. When she stood in front of him, holding back tears ("This isn't one of your puzzles."), he felt like someone kicked him in the gut. He didn't think she would or could ever forgive him this latest outrageous, arrogant, act. When the case wrapped up, he packed up and took off. He couldn't bear to face her and see the anger, or worse yet, hatred, in her eyes.

She made her way inside his place and called to him. No answer. She crept in to the living room, then to his bedroom and peeked inside. "Bobby?" Still no answer. She checked his bathroom; it was empty too, so she went back to his bedroom. She knew he wasn't there, but still felt odd going into it. She had never been in his room before and she felt like she was breaking the law by going in without him. Then the thought of going in there - with him - flashed across her mind and she felt herself blush. That thought stopped her dead in her tracks. "I shouldn't be in here," she said out loud, knowing no one would here her. She scanned the room; her eyes stopped on his bed. It was unmade, and the sheet and light blanket were both a twisted mess in the middle of the king sized bed. Again, her imagination got the best of her, and she pictured him tossing and turning, unable to sleep, rendering his covers in the state she saw them in. I know another way those sheets could have ended up like that. And again, her mind was racing as images of her and Bobby, having wild, passionate sex made her body ache. She made her way closer to the bed, then leaned down and touched his pillow, just because she wanted to.

She went back into the bathroom and noticed there wasn't a toothbrush or toothpaste on the counter or in a drawer. He went somewhere, but where? She went back to his bedroom and opened a few drawers. It looked like there were voids where clothes should have been, and judging by the contents of the drawers, he seemed to have taken nothing but t-shirts, sweatshirts, and jeans (along with socks and boxers). She opened his closet and wasn't surprised to see not only a full closet but also his normal work shoes. She determined he didn't take any dressy clothes, only casual stuff.

She settled on the bed; deep in thought. If I was Bobby Goren, where would I go?

She sat there for a while, running over different conversations in her head. She started with the case the just closed. It certainly was fucked up…fucked up enough to make her want to run away, too. But to where? Where would she go?

Then she thought about his mom, and how she died, and the case that surrounded her dying. Mark Ford Brady. Damn, his name alone gave her chills. Could he possibly be Goren's biological father? Now THAT would certainly throw him for a loop. Enough to run away? Maybe. Maybe between that and Copa and Joe… "That would certainly do it." She answered her musings out loud.

Suddenly, she got it. She knew where he went. Sullivan County. Brady's land.

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She went back to work and explained to Ross that she did hear from Bobby and that he needed some emergency time off. Luckily and surprisingly all at the same time, he said he understood and was actually relieved to know that Goren "finally learned when enough was enough." She left his office shaking her head. Ross always had to throw in a dig.

Alex knew where he was, but she also knew he did need time alone, so she decided to let him get some…for now. She would give him a few days and if he wasn't back, she would go find him. She reasoned to herself that part of why he took off was because of her, and that he might think he hurt her. She needed to let him know she was okay.

Three days later, Goren was still away. Alex put her request for vacation time in, then packed a bag.

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