"I don't know," she shrugs.

"This is me you're talking to," he reminds her.

"I used to love a nice quiet evening, and now I can't stand it. I'm so used to your voice overtaking the quiet that..."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I just..."

"Why did you have so much to drink last night."

"I just wanted to go out and have fun, just once."

"How did that work out for you?"

"It didn't. I started drinking and then I just felt worse. I wished that you were there with me."

"Because you know I'm an entertaining drunk?" he tries to give her an out.

"It's irrational to miss you so much."

"No it's not. We were partners for nine years."

"But now we're not."

"So what do you want to do about it?"

"I don't know. I'm tired of being alone."

"And you ran out of options?"

"I just keep coming back to you."

"Why?"

"If I could answer that I would."

"Alex you like to be in the driver's seat, so drive."

"I just want to know."

"To know what?"

"What it would be like. What it would be like if we weren't partners if we were..."

"If we were what?"

"If we didn't have to hide behind a line of professionalism. If we could do whatever we wanted."

"We can."

"I'm scared," she admits.

"Of what?"

"Ruining everything. We can't go back."

"Alex stop battling your demons, and just listen to your heart for once."

"I want to be with you."

"Be with me?"

"I want to be with you everyday for the rest of my life," she reveals.

"I think that you're still intoxicated."

"I'm fine."

"Alex I would... I wish that I could give you what you want."

"Why can't you?"

"I don't want to screw up either. I don't want to lose you. I can't guarantee that I won't do something that will make you want to walk away. I'm not good enough for you."

"Have you ever been good enough for anyone? Maybe you're just not good enough for you."

"You really want this? I've got a lot of baggage."

"And I don't?" she retorts.

"Alex loving me is like hoping to catch ebola, it will only end badly."

"I'll take my chances."

"On me?"

"Why not?"

"Aren't you tired of covering my ass? Having my back all the time? If I were you I wouldn't even talk to me. I've put you through so much..."

"I've been waiting for nine years for you to see it. I thought that you would see it, and everything would fall into place."

"I saw it a long time ago."

"So why didn't you do anything? When have you ever sat by and let an opportunity pass you by? That's not the Bobby Goren I know."

"I don't want to hurt you. I hate to see you hurt."

"I'm not easily broken."

"If anyone could do it, it would be me."

"I'm going to make you miserable."

"I'm miserable now, it's a chance that I'm willing to take."

"Alex I'm no good for you."

She walks over to him. She looks into his eyes, "Don't do this. Don't walk away from me, not again."

He can hear the pain in her voice. He can see the hurt in her eyes. He can feel her pain. He gets off the counter. He inches towards her.

"Don't go," her voice quivers.

He clenches his jaw, trying to break down in front of her. He takes a deep breath, and tells her, "You know that if you get stuck with me it will be for life. I might go off the deep end."

"I'm not afraid to have you committed," her lips curl into a devilish smile.

"You should have shot me when you had the chance. Why didn't you do it? You didn't even know what was going on..."

"It didn't matter. You were my partner. I trust you with my life. If you had gone rogue I would have known. I would have been able to tell."

"You think I would have shot you?"

"I would have felt it. I would have seen it in your face as I pointed a gun at you."

"And what did you see?" he questions.

"I saw fear. Not fear that I would shoot you, but fear that I would never trust you again. I saw helplessness, because you were afraid that there wasn't anything you could do or say to get me back."

"I'm foolish," he admits.

"I know."

"You shouldn't have stayed. You should have run. You should have requested a new partner, and never looked back."

"I couldn't. I was in too deep to ever go back."

"I guess sometimes being partners is like working for the mob. You know too much to ever be able to leave."

"Bobby I don't care who you think you are. I know you, sometimes I think, better than you know yourself."

"Sometimes you do."

"I can read you like a book."

"I can read you by your looks," he replies.

"I would hope so."

"I bought you something," he admits.

"When?"

"This morning."

"When? What did you buy me?"

"Look in the microwave," he answers.

She turns, and opens the white microwave sitting on the counter. She pulls out a piece of wax paper with a pastry inside. She closes the microwave door and places the pasty on the counter.

"A danish," she smiles from three feet away from him.

He closes the gap between them. She looks up at him, waiting for him to make a move, any move. With no warning he envelopes her in a hug. She holds tightly to his big warm body. He kisses the top of her head. After several moments he lets go of her. They stand half a footstep apart. He stares at her with big brown eyes. "I'll never leave you," he admits. Her eyes light up, but she doesn't ruin the moment with words. She takes a breath of relief. He smiles, and adds, "Who else would be as willing as I am, to feed your danish addiction?" She shakes her head. She steps closer to him. She wraps her arms around him, and presses her head against his torso. She stands frozen, for minutes, just listening to him breathing.