Disclaimer: I don't own them I just feel a need to fill in the blanks on some of Dick Wolf's characters!

Rated T

Chapter Two

Acceptable Loss.

Alex POV.

The past 18 days had been surreal. I had handed in my notice the next morning with Captain Hannah. Bobby and I had been assigned to desk duties during our last week together and this was getting on Bobby's nerves and mine too. It is however a NYPD policy on retiree's. Bobby has really dug into the paperwork and had avoided any talk about his retirement and instead insisted on talking about my up and coming career change. We had both worked in order to make my transition into my new job as smooth as possible.

He had declined a farewell party from MCS. He had asked me out to dinner instead. Something was telling me he was going to inform me of his future plans and I was a nervous wreck. I had gotten to my place and changed into other clothes for my dinner with Bobby. He told me he would pick me up at 8pm. I felt like a teen waiting for her prom date and nearly jumped out of my skin when the doorbell rang.

Adjusting my ear rings I opened the door. Bobby had also changed into a midnight blue suit with a dark blue dress shirt and a red silk tie. He looked amazing. After he had complimented me on my dress, he led me to his car and drove me to a nice little Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, where he had reserved us a table for the evening. I had never been here before, but it was obvious that the staff all knew Bobby very well.

We were seated in a quiet corner of the restaurant and the food and wine was really great. We started off talking about my new job with the task force, I knew though that Bobby had something he wanted to tell me and my alarm bells were telling me I would not like it one bit.

Bobby POV

We had had a wonderful meal and had run out of topics to speak about, it was now or never. I finished the rest of the wine in my glass and readied myself to tell Alex of my plans.

"I think it is a great idea that you take the rest of your time with MCS as leave Alex, once you start the training for the task force it won't give you a lot of personal time. I..Uh… I invited you to dinner to thank you for all these years you have supported me. You are the best partner that anyone could ever wish for and I count myself as lucky to have had the privilege of working with you. I wanted to tell you that I will be leaving for Boston in the morning; I have been offered a job as a profiler with the Boston Police Department. As you know after Tate's it left me with some debt that I have to clear and the remains of my mother's medical bills. It is an offer that I couldn't afford to turn down."

Alex POV

It should have been clear to me that Bobby wouldn't be able to settle into his pension because of the debt that he was still paying off. I guess I had suppressed the thought that he would have to take on work and leave town. All I could hear from what he told me was that he was leaving me. An overwhelming feeling of sadness took over me. I couldn't let him think that I hated him leaving so I put on my poker face and told him that we would keep in touch, knowing that the boundaries that we had set in our professional lives would prevent us from doing that. Bobby drove me home, and I invited him in for a coffee but he declined and as I watched his tail lights disappear into the night I finally broke down and cried.

Bobby POV

As soon as I had driven around the corner and was out of Alex's sight I pulled my car over. I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her that I loved her and never let her go. It was better this way, for her sake. She needed a new start and I wasn't about weigh her down. I pulled back into the traffic and into my new life. Boston PD had hired me as a private consultant and the pay was twice as much as my salary at MCS, I hated giving up my apartment, but in order to get rid of the debt quicker I had to rent a small one bedroom apartment in Boston, where the rent was a great deal less than in NYC. To keep my sanity I would have to focus on my new job and try and forget Alex. As if I could ever forget her.

T.B.C ….