A/N: I actually wrote this last year and have been waiting to post it, which is often a good thing because it gives me time to think about it. It was initially going to be a oneshot, but I got to thinking that I have never really explored the start of Bobby's relationship with Maggie. And since this one shot was growing to epic proportions, I decided it deserved more. So for everyone who loves Maggie and her relationship with her daddy--this is for you.

He never looked them in the eye. To do that would be to make a connection, and there was only one woman in the world he wanted to connect with. But she was inaccessible to him and he was doomed to live an unfulfilled life. His body, however, still had its needs and its urges, and he couldn't help his desire to fulfill them.

The dates he had who pushed for more than he had to give never lasted. The last thing he wanted...the last thing he needed...was pressure to 'fix' his life. They didn't understand that it was broken beyond repair or that he had no real desire to put effort into the impossible. For him, they were a means to an end. They satisfied his body, for a little while. There was nothing they could do for his heart or his soul.

There were a select few women, just a handful, who understood him and never tried to move him past his pain. They knew why he called, knew what he needed, and they willingly met his needs. When he left them, his body was satisfied for a little while, until the next time he gave one of them a call.

He didn't bring them home with him. His apartment was his refuge from the world and no one violated its sanctity. Over time, there were two people, and only two, who came to frequent his inner sanctum. Eames would certainly be welcome but she didn't come by very often. Her marriage had taken her beyond his grasp and her pregnancy had secured that loss. Mike Logan was there frequently, and he was fine with that. He knew what Logan was trying to do, and he appreciated his efforts, futile though they were. He was on a collision course with his own demons, and he lived side by side with a misery of his own making. He'd had a chance to be happy, once. But he'd let that chance slip by and another had swooped in to claim the prize. If she knew he had ever considered her a prize, she would throttle him. So he withdrew from the world at large, turning an outward face that never revealed his pain to others. But Logan knew...and he allowed that. Logan had slowed his downward spiral, but no one could stop it.

The only other person who crossed his threshold on a regular basis was Denise. She was his favorite among his dates and the only one he ever brought to his apartment. Denise understood him about as well as he allowed anyone to. She knew his body, knew what he liked and how to get him to respond to her with physical passion. And she never asked for more than he could give. She was content to accept what passion he had to offer, knowing it was superficial and could never be more. His only regret with her was that he couldn't give her more. But she soothed away his guilt and when he was with her, he exhausted himself, and he slept. She was the only one who ever saw morning in his bed.

He dozed lightly, as close to content as he ever got these days. Beside him, Denise ran her fingers across the light sheen of sweat on his chest, waiting for his cue that he was ready for her again. After a short while, he stirred and turned toward her. With soft kisses and a gentle touch, he slowly coaxed her back toward arousal...until the phone rang.

Involved in what he was doing, he was tempted to ignore it, but a niggling voice at the back of his mind refused to let him get away with it. Reluctantly, he rolled away from her and fumbled for the phone as she swallowed a soft groan and let him go. With a heavy sigh, he dropped back against the pillow. Denise knew enough to leave him alone, in case it was a call-out, or his mother. He couldn't quite manage to keep the annoyance from his tone. "Goren."

There was silence on the other end and he frowned. "Hello?"

A small sound almost like a whimper carried across the earpiece, followed by a quiet voice. "I am so sorry...I...Bobby...I hate to bother you..."

He slowly sat up on the edge of the bed, his frown deepening. "Eames?"

"I...Ricky is on a stakeout...and I can't reach Dad or one of my brothers...Jake is sick...and...and...I don't think I can drive to the hospital myself..."

"Hospital?" Panic sent his already overloaded mind into a spiral. "What's wrong?"

Another moment of silence was followed by a tone he knew very well. "Wrong? I'm in labor, Einstein."

"L-Labor?"

"It's the only way this baby is going to find his way out, Bobby."

His brain tripped over itself for a moment as he processed everything she'd just said...she was in labor...the baby was coming...and she...was stranded...oh, shit...stupid... "I, um, I'll be right there, Eames. Just...take it easy...okay?"

She hesitated. "You know...I can call a cab...I shouldn't have bothered you..."

"It's not a bother. You...you should have someone with you. I'm on my way."

He could hear the relief in her voice. "I have time, Bobby. So don't break the sound barrier..."

"I'll be there shortly."

"Okay...and Bobby?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He hung up the phone and turned to look at the woman in his bed. "Denise...I, uh, I'm sorry..."

She smiled at him and trailed her hand down his arm to his hand. She understood about partners, and she didn't question him. "It's all right, Bobby. Alex needs you. Go on."

She watched him dress in a soft gray shirt and jeans. He returned to the bed, leaning down to give her a soft kiss. "I'll make it up to you."

She laid her hand on the side of his face. "I know you will, baby."

He grinned sadly. He really wished he could give her the love she deserved from him. "You...don't have to go. Just lock up when you leave in the morning."

She gave him another soft smile and a kiss. "Good night, Bobby," she whispered.

He touched her cheek and strolled from the room. His head was swimming as he made his way to his car. Sliding behind the wheel, he started the car, pulled out of the space and floored it.

When he pulled up in front of her house, she was waiting for him. He got out of the car and trotted around to help her down the stairs, not caring if she could do it herself. She shouldn't have to. He was relieved when she didn't shake off his assistance.

He helped her into the passenger seat and returned to the driver's side. She was breathing hard, panting, when he slid behind the wheel. "Eames?" he asked, concerned.

"Hospital, Bobby."

When he didn't react, continuing to watch her with worried eyes, she reached her hand out and grasped the front of his shirt in a tight fist. Struggling not to make her voice sound threatening, she repeated, "Hospital!"

"Okay...okay..." He slammed the car into gear and pulled out of the driveway, driving carefully, but fast. She was too preoccupied to object.

He was pacing the room restlessly as they strapped the baby monitor to her stomach and examined her. No one paid attention to him, thinking he was the baby's father. He knew that was the assumption that was being made, and it was a reasonable assumption, one he thought to correct. But then he thought twice and decided that, since she obviously wanted him there, he would let it slide so he could stay...unless she chose to correct them.

Once everyone left the room, while they waited for her doctor to arrive, he sat down beside her bed. Leaning over, he caught her eyes. "H-how do you feel?"

"All right. Bobby, thank you so much for bringing me in."

"You're welcome."

"You have to work tomorrow. You don't have to stay."

"You shouldn't go through this alone, Eames. I...can stay. I-I'd like to stay. If Ricky shows up, I'll go."

Eames studied him, unable to explain her reluctance to let him go. She nodded although she knew deep inside Ricky was not going to show up at all. And not for the first time, she found herself thankful for a partner, and a friend, like Goren. Beyond any doubt, she knew she could depend on him.

Eames' obstetrician, Steven Burke, arrived not long after they did. "Hello, Alex. How are you feeling?"

She gave him a brief smile. "I've been better."

He smiled and looked at her partner, not hiding his surprise at seeing him. He had met him the few times he had brought her in for an appointment, and he was impressed by the big man's quiet intelligence. The few questions he had asked were well-thought-out. He held out his hand. "Hello, Detective Goren. I'm surprised to see you here."

Goren shook his hand. "Ricky is on a stakeout, and I didn't think she needed to go through this alone."

"That's very thoughtful." He smiled at Eames. "Let me have a look and see what's going on."

Eames was amused, but touched, when Goren excused himself from the room for the examination. When he returned, Burke was saying. "Looks like we're going to have a baby sometime tonight or early in the morning. I suggest you rest every chance you get tonight." He looked over his shoulder at Goren. "Do you plan to stay for the duration?"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation, further impressing the doctor. The thought of sitting all night at his partner's bedside did not give him a moment's pause.

Burke smiled and nodded. "I'm going to have a busy night, but I'll be around. I won't miss this."

Eames smiled at him. "We'll be ready."

The doctor left and she glanced at Goren, half expecting him to look worried about her use of the pronoun 'we.' But she knew by the look on his face that he hadn't even noticed. He was lost in thought, concerned about the unexpected. She knew there was nothing she could say that would calm his nerves. Experience alone would settle him. It was going to be a long night.

As morning approached and Eames' labor progressed, Goren got more distressed. He fought to keep it under control, but he hated seeing her in pain. Dawn was breaking and her contractions were getting closer and closer. As the pain escalated, she grabbed onto his hand and leaned into his shoulder, unable to fully suppress the moans and cries that accompanied the pain.

Ever since Eames had told him she was pregnant, Goren had suffered mixed feelings about the entire ordeal. He hated that she would be on maternity leave again. Even more than that, he struggled with feelings of resentment that this baby would secure her marriage once and for all. Any hope he had once harbored of someday earning her love was gone. And yet, he had been unable to hide his fascination with the entire process, especially after the first trip he'd made with her to the doctor. He still found himself captivated by the sound of the baby's heartbeat over the Doppler instrumentation. And the slurry of emotion that had assaulted him the several times she had suddenly grabbed his hand to place it on her stomach had been eclipsed by a powerful sense of wonder at the movement beneath his hand. Resentment and fascination had battled for dominance within him for months...until that day in the park ten days earlier when she had expressed hope that he would be involved in her baby's life, something that had seriously not occurred to him before. Now, he was uncertain about how he felt, but her pain was swinging him back toward resentment.

Burke perched himself on a stool at the edge of the birthing bed, watching and waiting for the baby's arrival. Eames' was in pain and, by extension, so was her partner, watching her and being unable to do anything to help her. "Okay, Alex, push!" Burke encouraged.

She pushed as hard and as long as she could before falling back toward the bed, only to be overwhelmed by another contraction. Goren's only source of reassurance was the doctor's calm, unconcerned demeanor. When Burke suddenly got busy, his worry escalated until the doctor said, "Keep pushing...you're doing great. Let's get these shoulders out..."

Two more pushes, and Burke was holding a messy little person in his hands who quickly began squealing a loud protest at the loss of the warmth and comfort of life inside Mommy. Eames collapsed against Goren's chest, which he would definitely have noticed except for the fact that he was enchanted by the baby Burke passed over to a nurse right after he said, "Congratulations, Alex. You have a little girl."

Goren's eyes never left the baby as he watched two nurses and another doctor fuss over her in the warming bed by the far wall. He unconsciously held Eames against him as Burke finished up with her, watching as they cleaned up the baby and wrapped her in a pink blanket.

When the nurse brought the baby over, Eames reluctantly pulled away from his broad chest while the nurse settled the newborn bundle in his arms. All he could do was stare at the baby's little face topped with dark hair that curled out from under a pink hat. Eames watched her daughter settle against her partner's chest as she struggled to control her emotions. And when she looked at Goren, she could clearly see all of her own intense emotions reflected in his face. She wasn't sure what to make of him, but she felt reassured as she watched him settle in the chair. And she smiled at him, even if he was paying no attention to her. Almost instantly, it seemed, her big partner had fallen in love with her tiny little daughter. She leaned against his arm to watch the sleeping baby who was nestled against his shirt. He whispered, "Do you...want to hold her?"

She noticed a hesitancy, almost a reluctance in his offer, though he was sincere. He knew his place, or thought he did. "She seems happy," she said softly. "You hold her."

Comfortable and content, as well as being several stages past tired, she fell asleep resting against his arm. He watched the baby sleep for awhile before he realized her mother was also sleeping. Knowing she would never know, he gently kissed her forehead, then turned his full attention back to the newborn girl. His previous unsettled agitation was gone. Eames was right there, safe and well, and she had the baby she had always wanted. He knew he was not this baby's father and he had no claim to her, and yet, somehow, that just did not matter to him. She had stolen his heart.

A short while later, a nurse came in to take the baby to the nursery for a little while, to weigh and measure her and give her a bath. He couldn't understand his reluctance to let her go, but he knew he had to. Placing a gentle kiss on the baby's forehead, he let the nurse take her.

Leaning back in the chair, with his partner still sleeping against him, he tried to figure out what he felt, and why, but the night's events caught up with him quickly. Before he got very far with his introspection, he drifted off. For the first time in a very long time, there was no trauma associated with his sleep, only rest. Unhaunted by nightmares and regrets, he simply slept.