He went to work on Monday morning with a spring in his step. He felt a profound sensation of relief at finally having felt the warm touch and passionate response of another human being, a sexy petite, busty female human being no less. He'd forgotten how sublime sex could feel and how much he'd missed the intimacy. The skin on skin and the intense orgasms had done him the world of good, and he had slept more deeply on Sunday night than he had in many moons. He came back to work on Monday a new man. It wouldn't be quite accurate to say that he strutted into the office '70s style, but the attitude was definitely there. And the change was clear to everyone who saw him.

He entered the office in well-tailored brown designer suit, matching brown striped tie and the requisite tie clip, all of which were in marked contrast to the recent collarless (and even sometimes plaid) efforts he had been wearing to work. Prior to his date with Polly, he had gotten himself a fresh haircut, shave and nail clip. With his best black leather shoes on and pulled up to his full height, he cut quite the impression.

Instead of averting their eyes, the people he passed looked at him, said good morning and gave him eye-contact. He smiled back at them, as he had missed the energy of MCS over the past week. Darla, the cute PAA, gave him a wink and offered him a donut from the box on her desk, which he declined. A hand suddenly reached out from behind him and Mike Logan helped himself to a donut, giving Darla a wink of his own as she picked up the phone.

"Hey Goren, welcome back!" he gave him a thump on the shoulder.

"Hey Mike, anything happen while I was away?"

"Well Alex solved the cases all by herself… and you obviously got comprehensively laid."

Goren gave him stern eye-contact and tilted his head while scratching the back of his neck aggessively, but Logan was no so easily deterred.

"Oh, c'mon, don't deny it! You look ten years younger and what the heck is that on your neck? Little bloodsucker was she? Give me her number when you're done," he said in a low conniving tone.

Despite having tried to choose a shirt with a high collar, Goren was not able to disguise the fresh looking hickey on his neck. What was he supposed to do, wear a turtleneck all week, apply make-up? Before Goren could formulate a comeback, Mike was heading towards the elevator with a grin and a backwards wave. Goren continued towards his desk. To his surprise, Eames was already there. He usually arrived before her. He didn't realize how eager she was to see him again.

"Hey!" he greeted her brightly. "Did you miss me?"

This was so unlike Goren, that before she even looked up, she knew. That bastard! He got laid! was her first thought. After she watched him take a seat and scoped out his suit and hair, her second thought was that he no longer looked like a hot mess. She couldn't help but feel little disappointed. Now he was just back to being just hot, and where was the intrigue in that?

"So are you all professionally developed now?" she asked. She sure as hell wasn't going to admit to him that she didn't enjoy the week without him as much as she had anticipated. She thought that working her cases alone would be fun. While she was quite capable of doing it on her own, she had missed her six foot three-and-a-half inch shadow.

"Eames, you wouldn't believe how amazing this software can be. I have to trial it some more but…." She tuned out his drone, not because she didn't care, but because her mind was someplace else while she was staring at him. He was dressed in brown and looked like tasty coffee and chocolate and all things good and decadent. His hands were flailing around as though they were starring in a finger-and-wrist porn fetish movie. He slowly leaned back in his chair…Wait! What in hell was that on his neck? A hickey? He had a hickey? Her jealousy rose as she started to imagine what that body had been up to and into for the past week, and hitched her breath at some images which flashed before her eyes (and at some flashbacks of her own recent masturbatory fantasy). Liam who?

"EAMES?"

She snapped back to the present and tried to reorientate herself. She tried to update him on the case she had been working on, which she had almost closed barring a few minor details and checks, but he seemed distracted. The captain had just received news of a homicide and was waiting for the OK on Major Case's jurisdiction before assigning it. She was pretty sure they'd get it.

Then along came Polly.

Goren had ignored Polly's call to his cell that morning, and hadn't yet played the message she'd left. Truth be told, he didn't trust himself not to agree to another tryst with the little pixie. If he did agree, he risked it progressing from being a one-night stand to being some sort of relationship. His eyes widened with alarm at her sudden appearance in the bullpen. She was wearing a casual little black dress with a white-lace feature at the hem, and dark green opaque tights. IT staff could pretty much dress any way they wanted he guessed. Still, she did not work in One Police Plaza, and he was a little taken aback. Although her vision was not unpleasant, and brought back the memory of some savored past sensations, he felt the need to get her away from Eames as quickly as possible.

"Hello Detective Goren…I mean Robert," Polly said in greeting. He stood up, aware of Eames', and the rest of the eyes in the bullpen, upon him.

"Pix, Polly, it's good to see you," he found himself shaking her hand and wondered why. "I was just telling my partner about the software. Polly here is one of the programmers," he addressed to Eames, without looking at her.

"Polly Parker, this is my partner Alex Eames," he said guiltily. Polly probably already knew her name from reading about their cases in her research, but he couldn't help remember whose name he cried out while he was banging her. Had she come just to scope Eames out? Maybe she thought that he had cheated on her. Either way, he needed to separate them.

"Pleased to meet you," said Eames. "I hear your team is doing some good work."

"Well, we couldn't have done it without Robert. He made quite an impression on us. He's a genius."

"And it seems you made quite an impression on him too," she said with almost undetectable sarcasm. She looked up at Goren and her eyes said it all. He rubbed the hickey on his neck. Caught!

"Well, what can I do for you Polly?" he cringed internally as Eames watched him squirm from side to side.

"I came to talk to Jim Bowser on level 6, but thought I'd pop in and say 'Hi'."

"Uh, OK," said Goren. He knew that everyone within range was now looking at him, and probably guessing the reason for his awkwardness.

"Could I talk to you for a second?" Polly asked, trying to make eye-contact with him.

"Yeah, sure sure. Uh, I'll get you a coffee from the break room," he ushered her out quickly, not remembering to ask Eames if she wanted one. He was caught off guard and didn't realize he had placed one hand on the small of Polly's back while he guided her quickly out of the room.

He can't have. Is she even legal? Well, that explains why he looks so happy today.

Alex wasn't sure whether the thoughts were hers or whether she was tuning into the murmurs around her. Now Goren and Polly (stupid name!) were out of sight, she felt eyes trying not to look at her to gauge her reaction. Her reaction was that she was fuming fiery hell out of her ears and trying not to show it. So that was his type now, some tiny dark-haired young, young woman? She isn't even smart or sophisticated, yet that's who he chose to spend the past week with? Is he having a midlife crisis? Why the hell would in bring her into our workplace? She kept her countenance smooth, engrossing herself in her work. She was an observant detective and could feel the change in atmosphere around her. The knives were out and being sharpened.