Chapter 2

Alex was at her desk, finishing paperwork from the case with Logan. Bobby walked in, saw her there, turned as if to leave again, then turned back. He walked all the way in, thunked his binder onto his desk, and sat in the chair long enough to make it quiver when he stood again. He marched off to the Captain's office without a word.

Eames watched him out of the corner of her eye. She felt like she'd stopped breathing. She wasn't sure from his behavior if he was still angry with her, or just didn't know what to do with himself. After several minutes with the Captain, he returned to his seat.

Bobby rubbed the back of his neck, scraped his fingernails over his short beard, and cleared his throat. "Hello," he finally grunted.

Her voice almost failed her. "Hi, Bobby." They both pretended to be absorbed by paperwork for a moment. "Uhm, how was Michigan?"

He glanced her way, then looked down and rubbed his left hand on the leather of his binder. "Uh, you know, good. We solved the case."

"Good, Bobby. That's good."

"You ready?" Logan interrupted, asking the question of Alex.

"Uh… yeah," she said. "Mike and I are heading out for lunch. Maybe we can pick up a new case this afternoon?" She said to Bobby.

Again, Bobby tried his damnedest not to make eye contact. "Yeah. Sure. Have a good lunch."

After she walked away, he spent several minutes opening and closing desk drawers, when all he really wanted to do was break them. He wanted to feel the wood splinter against his skin. Finally, Goren shoved his chair away from the desk and got to his feet. He marched off to the elevators, berating himself. He'd gotten what he wanted, hadn't he? The breakup, the late flight back, the chance not to talk to her much.

It sucked that it all hurt so much.

"Look, Alex, I know you don't really want to talk about it, but… it's Goren, isn't it? Something happened between you two?" Mike asked.

Alex sighed. Again, she knew Mike was only trying to be a friend. Silently, she nodded.

"You gonna… be able to fix it?" Mike asked. He wondered how Goren and Eames would ever be able to work without each other.

She let go a long, ragged sigh. "Depends on what you think can be fixed." She brushed away a tear that snuck out of one eye, cleared her throat, and picked at her salad.

"Sorry," Mike said. He really hated to see women cry. "It was… it was, a… a break up?"

She closed her eyes, sighed, and nodded.

Mike shook his head. How could Goren be so stupid?! He stayed quiet for a long time, until she seemed herself again. "Look, uh, if you want to forget about things for a while, we could hit a movie or something sometime."

"Logan, are you asking me out?"

"No, nothing like that," he said. "Just pals, you know."

She managed a real smile. "Thanks."

Goren was unusually silent as the Captain briefed them on the new case. Ross looked between the two of them. They stood at opposite sides of his office, Eames with her arms folded most of the time. Eames never even looked Goren's way. He wrapped up his briefing and as they started out to their desks, he called out, "Eames."

She came back in.

"You and Goren all right?"

She glanced out at their desks; saw him lean against his, looking back towards the office. "We'll be fine, sir."

"You'd better be."

"Yes sir."

As the day progressed, Bobby was folding in on himself. Alex, of course, seemed to be able to work with him just the same as always. She was tough that way.

He, on the other hand, was all or nothing. He either thought entirely and completely about the work, or her. There was no middle ground. When he worked the case, he rattled off important information like some kind of automaton. When he thought of Alex, he was silent as a stone.

At the end of the day, he met with the Captain alone. When he walked out, he'd been granted the opportunity to burn all of his vacation time.

"Eames, I need to see you," Captain Ross said as he walked past her desk. She got up and followed him. "Close the door behind you," he said. Again, she did as he asked. Ross waited until she sat down, then he sat down as well. "I had a long talk with your partner last night," he began.

Alex's cheeks burned. Just what did Bobby tell him? They had agreed not to tell anyone, except her family, and his friend Lewis.

"Goren's taken a leave of absence," he told her. "He asked me to convey the message to you. He's dealing with some very personal issues and he needed to take some time to work things out."

He's running away. "How long?" She asked.

"Two and a half weeks, maybe more if he needs it."

Now her cheeks colored with anger. He was deserting her. He couldn't face things head on and so he was going to pull his disappearing act. Damn it, Bobby!

She stood up too fast, and swayed a little. Ross jumped from his seat and steadied her, asking if she was all right. She sank back into the chair, and he hurried out, asking someone to bring a cup of water.

Alex felt sick. She held her head in her hands and tried to pull herself together.

Captain Ross gave her the cup of water, and his voice was gentle. "Maybe you need a couple of days off, yourself," he said.

She nodded. After drinking the water, she felt better. "I think I'm going to go home, Captain," she said.

"You want me to walk you out?" he asked.

"No. I'll be fine."