A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far! I really appreciate it!

Thursday; it was the last day that he and Alex would be working together before she got her new, permanent, partner. Bobby still couldn't get his mind to accept the drastic changes that had transpired in just 48 hours. Being able to work with Alex again, even though it was hard on both of them, had excited him. Now, just as quickly as she came back into his life, she was leaving it again.

He turned off the warm water and reached out for the towel hanging on the hook. After patting himself dry, he wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower. It was four in the morning and the locker room was still void of life besides his own. It usually worked that way. Everyone had gone home, or gone somewhere other than staying at the department, while he stayed and worked.

His house was too empty and quiet for his mood. If he had gone home he would have ended up drinking and walking the floor. He would have worn himself down and dulled his mind barely enough to fall asleep on the couch. And he didn't want that. He wanted to work. So he had stayed and done just that. Logan had clocked out around ten and said something about not seeing his girlfriend in a few days. He had only nodded as he taped the photos of the dead woman around an empty interrogation room.

They didn't have a lot of space to work with like he had at Major Case. And there were no separate rooms for interviews or confereneces. All they had were two interrogation rooms and the open department floor where their desks were. For having only sixteen homicide detectives in that department, he figured it was good enough.

Bobby took his time dressing as he thought about what he had learned from his night of investigation. He had found more files that had the same MO as the other murders. Most detectivs just looked at the evidence, concluded that there was nothing they could do, and then went on with the next case. There were some women who haven't even been identifyied. Jane Doe's to the system as well as to the detectives who caught the case. It infuriated him that his fellow detectives had a complete lack of concern with getting justice for these women. None of them asked or wanted to be killed despite their profession, or the situation they found themselves in.

All together he had found ten victims. Ten. That was inexcusable.

Bobby was pulling on his shoes when he heard the locker door open and close. Turning his head, he leaned over to see around the edge of the lockers and spotted a couple of detectives coming in with backpacks over their shoulders. They were both dressed in shorts and t-shirts, most likely they had just gotten done working out in the gym that was next door to the department.

One of the detectives, Jackson, spotted him and with an awkward smile asked, "What's up, Goren? You getting in or leaving?"

Bobby shrugged a little as he put on his other shoe and stood. Picking up his towel off the bench, he told him, "Leaving."

"You up for a game tonight? It's in the city, at the NYC Gym."

"I don't know, we'll see." Bobby used the towel to wipe the remaining water off the back of his head and neck as he shut the door and snapped on the lock.

Jackson watched him for a moment before telling him, "We're playing some guys from your old squad. So far, I've got three guys. Travis, Mitchem, and Rivers here," he pointed to the other detective who was getting reaady for a quick shower. "We could use you, and that friend of yours. Stabler?"

Bobby nodded at Jackson remembering Elliot's name. He and Stabler had met up a few times when he was on the island investigating a case. They would grab a lunch or dinner together, sometimes with Benson but most of the time it was just the two of them. Then if Elliot was still there after working hours, they would get in a couple games of one-on-one at the gym. Logan would sometimes show up and invite them out for a drink afterwards. Logan liked watching sports, he just wasn't all into playing them anymore.

Giving it some thought, Bobby nodded a little. "Yeah, okay;. I'll talk to Stabler and see if he's up for it."

"Great," Jackson's smile was a little more normal now, like he had finally felt comfortable with being near him. "Be there at seven if you can."

After Jackson walked away, Bobby hesitated as he was suddenly regretting his decision. Oh well, he shrugged it off. He could use the workout that a good, friendly game of basketball could give him. The only thing he was truly concerned about was hurting his knee, but that was a constant concern with his job and he never did let the pain interfere with it.

His phone vibrated in his pocket as he headed down the hallway toward the doors. Taking it out, he saw Logan's name and flipped it open. "Goren."

"Hey buddy, you at work still?"

"I'm actually on my way out. I need breakfast and the food in the cafeteria here isn't nearly as good as the food at One Police Plaza."

Logan laughed before telling him, "The ferry is docking now; wanna meet up somewhere. You can fill me in on what you learned."

"How about I check out the car and pick you up instead?"

There was silence on the line before he told him, "Okay."

Nearly twenty minutes later he was picking Logan up. "Wanna drive?" he asked as Logan opened the door on the passenger side.

"As long as you can stay on the road and out of a ditch, drive," Logan told him after he slid in and quickly put on his seatbelt.

Bobby pulled away from the sidewalk and started driving as the clouds parted, letting in the sunshine.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" Logan asked after a couple minutes of silence.

Shaking his head, he kept his eyes on the road while answering, "I was too busy to sleep."

"So, fill me in."

Bobby glanced over at him. "Can you wait until I stop driving and get at least two cups of coffee in my body first?"

Logan said just as seriously, "No."

Even with his protests and nagging, Bobby made him wait until they were sitting at the counter in a diner not too far from the department before he told him what he had learned. Sipping on his third cup of coffee, he leaned on the counter and turned his head to be looking at Logan. "There's ten of them so far."

"Jeez," Logan said shaking his head. "Have all been identified?"

"No, there're three Jane Doe's."

"What about the investigations?"

Bobby again shook his head. "No one cared enough. The evidence sat while the cases went cold, then they stuck the files in the back of the drawers and ignored them."

"Top-notch police work," Logan said dryly before taking a big gulp of the coffee. Looking at the cup, he said more sarcasticly, "This isn't nearly as good as what you make."

Bobby couldn't help but huff out a laugh as he rubbed at his tired eyes and face. "There isn't a lot of evidence." Covering his mouth, he sighed deeply before telling him, "I don't know if we're going to be able to solve these."

"What? At all or in time for the deadline?"

He closed his eyes as he felt the aria of defeat engulf him. "Both."

"We've barely got started and you're already calling the game? That's not like you. What's this about?"

"I just don't think we're going to get far with this." Bobby turned in his seat so he could face Logan. "I've studied the files all night, looked at the evidence found at the scenes…" he trailed off as he shook his head. "It's all slim at best. There's nothing. No DNA, nothing that points to a suspect or where to even start. And as, honorable, as our intentions are to find the guy for these women…Mike, it doesn't look likely."

Logan had listened to him and he saw the concern and the doubt that played across his face. He sat his coffee cup down as he asked, "Is this what you really want to do? Give up before we've even started, because the Bobby Goren I've known for the last month and a half has never given up so quickly."

Bobby stared at Logan as he felt his defenses rise once again. He wasn't giving up, or trying too. He didn't even want to abandon the case, but for some reason he wasn't feeling the excitement he had the day before. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically and maybe it was just his fatigue talking. Shaking his head, he tried to regain some of his credit by telling Logan, "Okay, we'll follow them up as best we can. I think we should focus on the ones that are more recent. I was going to check out that hit-and-run also."

"You're taking on this and the hit-and-run?" Logan asked, a little surprised. "The victim was fourteen, right?"

Bobby gave a nod as he turned back around and refilled his cup with more hot coffee. He was feeling sluggish and drained, not at all like he was ready to tackle a full day of police work.

"Do you want us to split up? If we do that, we'll be able to hopefully solve more cases by the end of the year."

Bobby was surprised at hearing that coming from Logan. "If…uh, if that's what you want to do."

"I'm not saying it's what I want to do, I'm saying maybe that's what we should do. We'll both work the serial case, but take on another case as well. You with the hit-and-run, and I was feeling pretty good about that stabbing at the Rockaway Club last week."

Bobby didn't know what he was feeling at Logan's suggestion, but suddenly being replaced offically tomorrow as Eames's partner, and now Logan asking for them to work alone, it was twisting a familiar sense of guilt and indifference within him. "Like I said, what you want, we'll do."

Logan didn't responsed right away as they both finished their coffees and ate their food. It wasn't until they were heading out to the car when he spoke. "What're you doing later?"

"You mean tonight?"

Logan answered, "When else?" as he opened the driver's side door after Bobby handed the keys off to him.

"I might be playing basketball. Why?" Bobby asked as he slid into the passenger seat and closed the door. Having Logan ask him about this evening had reminded him to give Elliot a call.

Logan started the car and immediately cranked the heat up in the car. "Hitting a bar afterwards?"

Bobby looked away from dialing Elliot's number as he eyed Logan. He was amazed that Logan still wanted to drink with him after what happened a few nights ago. "Not afraid I'll have another lapse in sanity?"

"No, I'm always afraid of that. I've learned to live with it."

Bobby smirked as he said, "If I'm still able to move afterwards…why not."

Like he suspected, there wasn't much to start with the prostitution serial murder case. The newest victim had been murdered four days ago, having been too long between discovery of the body and the start of their investigation the evidence was inconclusive or tainted by the snow that had fallen. They would have to wait for another victim before they could actually do something productive; Bobby hated that knowledge the most. Someone else had to die before they could gain any ground in the investigation.

What he could do was warn the woman working the streets and inform the patrols about a possible serial murderer/stalker of these women. Bobby had made sure that every watch sergeant informed the patrols coming and going throughout the day and night to be extra vigilant and report anything or one usual. An officer had been standing at the desk when he had informed Macy of his suspicions and the officer actually laughed at him, telling him that it was a lost cause and that no one was going to take it seriously.

Bobby had wanted to rip into the officer but realized that maybe he was right, and getting into it with the officer was only going to cause more bitterness and resentment than what he was experiencing already. He had dropped it but hoped that not all the patrols felt the same as that one officer did. He could only hope. That seemed to be all he was doing lately: hoping.

Hoping for forgiveness, for redemption, for acceptance, for his job, his sanity, and most of all, for Alex.

Logan had taken the car to the club where a forty-eight year old man had been brutally stabbed to death last week while he stayed at the department. Taking the steps down to the M.E.'s office, Bobby flipped through the photos of the fourteen year old boy whose life had ended way too soon. It seemed like at the age of fourteen was when life really started to get fun. The youth and innocence of being a kid was ending as the experimentation and inhibitions of teenage curiosity was taking over. Love was more than just of sports and cars but of girls, or boys. Life started to become more complicated but the excitement of it all made it worthwhile, even the heartbreaks.

Staring at the young boy in the autopsy photo, he felt a twisting of pain and sorrow in his gut. He wondered if the boy got to ever experience the pleasure of a first kiss before his life was tragically taken away.

"Everything okay?"

Bobby jumped at the voice. Snapping his eyes away from the picture, he realized it was Brenda, Kerr's assistant, and she was watching him with concern. "Yeah…" he cleared his throat a little before saying, "Everything's fine."

Brenda came up to him and took the photo from his hand. "Terrence Hughes. Such a shame."

"You conducted his autopsy?"

She gave him a shy smile as she told him, "Of course. Kerr, as good as he is, gets weird with the younger victims."

"Uh, weird how?"

She shrugged as she started up the steps he had been coming down. "He says he doesn't like cutting them open anymore. I tease him about getting too old to do the work."

Bobby smiled a little at the thought of her teasing that old man. "I bet he doesn't like that."

Laughing a little, Brenda told him, "He hates it." Her openness eased as she looked down at the floor before telling him more seriously, "If you want to know more about the autopsy--"

"Can you talk about it now?" Bobby quickly asked.

She looked hesitant before saying, "Sure. I was actually on my way to get some lunch. If you wanna join me…?"

She left it open for him to decline or accept her lunch offer. Bobby didn't hesitant in his answer as he started climbing the steps next to her. Looking at his watch, he realized that it was already one. "Where're you going?"

"The Sandwich Shop a few blocks down."

It had been a long time since he had a meal strictly with a woman and he was starting to feel the familiar awkwardness as he sat in the booth across from Brenda nearly fifteen minutes later. They had decided to walk to the little diner that was famous around Staten Island for having the best sandwiches, hence the name of the place.

"Are you getting used to it here?" Brenda asked as she picked up her menu and looked it over.

Bobby already knew what he wanted so he didn't bother touching his menu, expect only to fidget with the sides of it as he answered, "Not really. I like the city."

"You do remember how freezing cold the city is walking around, right? All that wind slicing around the buildings and streets."

Bobby nodded as he smiled, "It's a slight negative aspect of an overall great city."

"I don't call minus twenty degree winds blowing into my face a slight negative aspect."

Bobby couldn't help but laugh as he leaned back in booth. Some of his unease was fading as he got comfortable being around the woman. He hadn't spent much time with Brenda since coming to Staten Island; he had worked with Kerr a number of times before with Major Case, he and the old man were used to one another. Brenda, much like himself, was new to the island; she lived in Jersey until four months ago. That was one of the many things she had told him during their walk.

He flipped open his binder and pulled out the file on Terrence Hughes. Taking out the photos, he asked, "I, uh, I actually have only a few questions," he began telling her as he leaned over the booth to show her the photo.

Brenda sat the menu down so she could fully look at the photo he was showing her.

"This, here," he pointed to an indentation that was on the boy's lower back.

"That was where the car impacted him."

"And this?" he asked, pointing to a what looked to be a symbol.

She studied it closely then looked at him. "How'd you see that?"

Bobby shook his head, "Doesn't matter…It's a symbol, isn't it?"

"Looks like it. It's hard to tell with the bruising."

"But it could be from the license plate." Bobby sat back down in the booth as he asked, "How tall was Terrance?"

"He was about six foot. Looked like a basketball player, or track runner."

"How so?"

"Long arms and legs," she told him as the waiter came up to them. Brenda placed her order of a turkey sandwich with a salad and tea.

Bobby ordered the spicy Italian club, salad, and a coffee. "So," he started back up once the waiter was gone. "If he was struck by a car, it would have clipped him in the legs, not his lower back. It had to be something much more higher off the ground, like a truck."

Brenda looked surprised and impressed. "Huh, I hadn't thought about it, but, I only really think about performing my job and not the particulars of the crime."

"Well, sometimes thinking about how the crime was committed might help with knowing what to look for when you perform the autopsy."

Brenda eyed him for a moment before asking bluntly and with a hint of anger, "Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?"

Bobby realized how that sounded and immediately apologized. "Sorry, uh, no…I wasn't…I was just saying that it-it uh, might help with, with um…" God, he was dying and dying fast. As he searched for what to say to the woman, he saw a slight teasing grin on her face.

Brenda began chuckling as she shook her head at him. "Forget it, Goren. I was only messing with you. You're right, I still have a lot to learn about this job. Next time, I'll do that and see how it goes."

Even though Brenda was talking like a woman fresh out of college, she wasn't young. One of the other things Brenda had told him during their walk was that she used to be a Biology teacher at a high school in Jersey. She hadn't gone into detail about what changed her career path, but at the age of thirty she had quit and went back to school to be a Medical Examiner. Four years later, she landed the job on Staten Island working for Eddie Kerr.

"What do you remember about the autopsy?"

"All my notes are in the file," she told him as she accept her salad that was placed in front of her.

Bobby continued to watch her as his own salad was sat down and his coffee was refilled. "What's not in the file?"

Brenda looked up at him as she poured ranch dressing over the salad. "What are you really trying to ask me?"

Bobby looked down at his food, trying to ease the sense that he was interrogating her. "Sorry," he apologized again. "I'm used to questioning suspects. Um, what I was asking was, uh…Do you remember anything else like…How was Sullivan acting? Did he even bother to show up?"

"No, he was there. In fact, he was standoffish, which is unusual for him."

"How so?"

"Well, he's nothing like you, but he's not just one to just stand and watch either," she told him with a hint of teasing in her voice.

Bobby found that he liked hearing it before he pushed that feeling away and scolded himself for letting himself feel that way toward her. The awkwardness was pushing it's way back in. He shifted in the booth as he tried to regain some sense of comfort but he highly doubted that anything would help, not until she was no longer near him.

Brenda didn't ease the teasing tone as she continued, oblivious to his discomfort. "He would get up close to the body, turn it to see something clearer or more closely. He doesn't attempt to actually touch or remove evidence himself," she gave him a pointed look before saying, "but he always tried to gather as much evidence and information as possible."

"And he didn't do that?"

She shook her head. "I remember wondering if something was wrong with him, like maybe if he was sick that day or if it was the fact that it was such a young boy. Whatever it was, he stood near the door the whole time, watching. He barely even looked at the kid."

Bobby thought about that as he finished off this side and drank another cup of coffee before his sandwich was brought to him. He was about to take a bite out of the Italian club when he heard a noise coming across the table. Looking up, he watched as Brenda closed her eyes as she took another bite of hers.

"Hmmm," she hummed again. "This is so good."

Bobby felt a shiver run down his spine at the noises she was making and immediately hated himself for it. He really needed to get as far away from that woman as possible. A couple of minutes later, his cell phone vibrated. He quickly swallowed the food down his throat and took a big gulp of coffee before he flipped it open. "Goren."

"I need someone to come with me, preferably you."

It was Alex. Bobby barely took the time to thank Brenda for lunch as he tossed some money on the table and headed out. "Where?"

"I have a meeting with the Connelly's accountant. Harlan got back with me about those tax papers and it looks like they forgot to report about half their fortune to the IRS."

"Tax evasion."

"There's that, but there's also something kinky going on with the money."

Bobby felt his lips twist up at the word 'kinky' and the way she said it. "Oh, how's that?" The walk back to the department was not fast enough for him.

"Like the fact it doubled overnight. One day it was in his bank account, then it disappeared, and then it came back twice as much as what it was to start with. It was exactly the beginning amount doubled to the very last cent."

"It could be money laundering. Any word yet on the money I got from the casino?" Bobby asked as he jogged across the empty street and up the steps to the department.

"Nothing yet. That's going to take a while, maybe even months."

"I've got a friend, she's with the FBI, and she develop this program specifically for money tracking. If a bill is hot, she'll know about it in hours. I already called her but it went to voicemail, I'm just waiting on a call back. I'm hoping I can get the program from her to use, or, if she can run it for me, but that'll involve me figuring out a way to get the serial numbers of all those bills to her without actually giving her the money."

"You can always scan them and send them to her."

Bobby shook his head at that. "Yeah, I can just see me scanning over a few thousand dollars and then faxing them. That'll take days."

Alex actually laughed at him. "You need to embrace the world of technology, Goren. We can scan the images on the computer and just send them directly to her computer. It'll take only a few hours."

Bobby stopped at his desk to grab his gun which was locked in the bottom drawer. "Oh. Well, when she calls me, I'll suggest it. So, where do you want to meet?"

"At the office of Lionel Green. I'm halfway across the bridge now, give me about twenty minutes and I'll be there."

Bobby rubbed at his head as he looked around the room at the other detectives. "Uh, I'm gonna need a ride. Logan's off on another case and he drove."

Alex was silent for a moment before saying, "I'll pick you up on the way."

Lionel Green's office was located in a newly renovated office space above a mom and pop bakery in the center of town. The smell of freshly baking bread was overwhelming as it consumed the entire building and about two city blocks. Bobby took a seat in front of the desk next to Alex as he took in the office. There were a couple of degrees on the walls, picture frames on the desk and bookcase behind it, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Is this about Mr. Connelly?" Green asked as soon as they had sat down.

"Was he your client?" Alex asked instead of answering the question.

"For over ten years, and since you're here I'm sure you know that."

Bobby glanced over at Green having heard the irritation in the man's voice. "Then you also know the other reason why we're here, correct?"

Green looked away from Alex to stare at him. "Actually, I don't."

"Come on, Mr. Green, of course you do. We know that he's been your client for over ten years so that also mean that we know that his…uh, books, are off."

"His books?"

"Yeah, you know, his books. His accounting books."

Green had shifted back in his seat and was turning a little red as he stared at him. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was in change of all his finances and I can assure you--"

"Then you can assure me of the reason why he cheated on his taxes, how he was doubling his money overnight…" Bobby trailed off as he gauged Green's reaction.

Green looked lost and confused as he reached for the top drawer to his desk. "Mr. Connelly wasn't cheating his taxes," he said sternly as he pulled out a thick file and opened it. "Here, this is a copy of his last Federal return; everything is accounted for."

Bobby took the sheets and looked them over. Mr. Green was right, everything was accounted for. Alex handed him the file she had brought and he compared both; they were different. "Uh…" he handed the files over to Alex so she could verify what he had seen then addressed Mr. Green. "It seems that your client was running one by you."

Alex handed both the files to Green as she told him, "Is there anyone else that he would have gone to? Another accountant? An assistant of yours?"

Green shook his head. "No, he always came to me. I don't…Why would he do this?"

"So if he was ever investigated, we would come here and see that it's all legit and not think twice about it," Alex told him.

"Those files, they were in his house…" Bobby looked over at Alex before he stood. "Could you excuse us, we'll be right back." He motioned for Alex to follow him out of the office. Once the door was shut, he turned and asked, "Was it verified that the papers I found were what he actually sent to the IRS?"

"Why wouldn't they be?"

Bobby rubbed at his head as he felt the anger rush through him. If he had been there, at Major Case with Alex then he would have thought of it before instead of right in the middle of his questioning. He felt blind sided, and he hated that feeling because that only came from inadequate police work. "I'm not sure, but before we continue it has to be verified. Just because he had those papers doesn't mean that he was actually defrauding the government."

"Then why change them and then keep a copy for his personal records if they weren't real?"

"I don't know, Eames, it could be for a number of reasons, but the only thing I'm concerned with at the moment is whether or not those were what he sent."

Alex had pulled out her phone during his tantrum and sighed heavily in annoyance. "I can do without the attitude, Goren."

Bobby eyed her and wondered where the irritation was coming from before shaking it off. It was coming from working with him, he told himself as he opened the door and went back into the office.

He was feeling dead on his feet as he once again got into the passenger seat of the SUV and snapped on the seatbelt. As it turned out, Greg Connelly wasn't cheating on his taxes. That knowledge was confusing him even more. Why would he redo the tax papers with false information and keep them with his records. And it still didn't explain why his money would suddenly double overnight with no apparent reason. The money would one day be in there, then gone, and then suddenly reappear with twice as much.

"I think that if you try to think about this case too much your brain will cave in on itself."

Bobby glanced over at Alex and smiled a little. She was right, he was already getting a headache from thinking about all the possibilities. However, there was one thing he was feeling certain about even though he didn't know how to prove it yet. "He was defrauding someone," he told her. "There's no other explanation. He was keeping them as proof to show someone else, maybe a business partner?"

"Or the man who killed him and his wife."

"It's funny though, you know, being killed over not committing a crime." Bobby took a second to think about that before something clicked. "Unless, that was what he was getting paid to do. What if it wasn't his money?"

"He became an millionaire using someone else's hard earned cash?"

"What I mean is, half of the money was his, the other half wasn't…The dirty half. He was getting paid to launder someone else's money through his own bank account. The phony tax documents were not of his money but of the guy that is defrauding the government."

Alex stopped at a light and looked over at him. "You're confusing me, Bobby."

"At least I'm not the only one confused," Bobby mumbled under his breath as he rubbed at his head. He needed sleep, and some more coffee. "But, I could be right."

"A lot of things at this point could be right, I'm not ruling anything out. We're back to square one anyways, and tomorrow it won't matter what you think because you'll be off the case. I swear, this whole thing with you and Copeland is pissing me off."

Bobby stiffened at that as he stared out the windshield. She was right, come tomorrow all this headache over the Connelly murders would be over for him because he would no longer be on it. And after today, Alex would have no reason to call him or see him ever again if she wanted it that way. "Is that because you still don't know what it is you want?"

That bitter question had slipped out and he was nearly cursed as he felt the SUV jerk to a sudden stop in front of the department. Bobby held his body still and his eyes glued to the dashboard as he felt her eyes on him.

"I can't believe you just asked that."

Bobby gathered enough willpower to turn his head to look at her. The hurt he saw there would've killed him if he wasn't hiding behind his stubbornness. He wished he could tell her that he didn't mean it that way or that he was sorry, but neither of those things would help to ease the pain in her eyes even though they were the truth. He really didn't mean it that way, not the way she took it. It was meant to be directed toward their partnership and not anything more intimately personal than that. "Alex, I didn't mean it…I was just asking --"

"Goren, right now, I don't care much about your intentions or what you meant. What I want is for you to get out so I can go."

She was barely containing her anger and it infuriated him that he was the one who had made her that mad. Bobby only nodded as he swung open the door and got out. As soon as he shut it, she pulled away from the curb and drove off.

Bobby groaned and closed his eyes. Idiot.

The ball rolled around the hoop twice before falling off, away from the net.

"Son-of-a-bitch," Bobby groaned. "That's the third time."

Elliot caught the ball and laughed as he tossed it back to him. "I guess today isn't your day, Bobby. First Alex, and now you can't shoot for shit."

Bobby caught the ball and bounced it a few times before taking another shot at the basket. It hit the rim only to bounce over the hoop and into the awaiting hands of Elliot who was standing below the basket.

"You're oh for five. Stop thinking and get it in the damn basket," Elliot told him as he tossed the ball back to him once again.

Bobby caught the ball and took a moment to wipe the sweat off his hands before dribbling the ball around the three point line as he changed positions; getting to the corner, he took another shot, this time it went in.

"Nothing but net!" Elliot exclaimed as he caught the ball. "Was that so hard?" he asked as he tossed the ball back to him.

Bobby eyed him as he caught the ball. "Do you think Alex will ever forgive me?"

Elliot shrugged as he waited for him to play. "I don't know."

"Would you forgive me?"

"After what you said today, no."

Bobby threw the ball at him and Elliot caught it laughing. "I didn't even mean it the way she took it."

"I still can't believe you said that." Elliot started dribbling the ball, heading to the free throw line. "Did you apologize?"

"It wouldn't have done any good."

Elliot shook his head at him before eyeing the basket. "That's inexperience talking. Take it from me, apologize."

Bobby positioned himself under the hoop as he told him, "She told me that if I said I was sorry one more time she'd hit me."

Elliot had started to throw the ball as he said that; he couldn't stop the jerk in his arms and the ball hit the backboard and fell to the floor. "When did she tell you that?"

"A few days ago."

Elliot watched as he grabbed the ball and threw it back to him. Catching it, he asked, "Why is she so angry with you anyway? I thought everything was fine."

"I think she wasn't over the fact that I cornered her in the woman's restroom."

Elliot really looked stunned at that. "Backup, Bobby, you lost me. Why were in the woman's restroom?"

Bobby ran a hand through his damp hair as he thought of what to tell him. He had been wrong and it had been totally inappropriate for him to do that. "It was when we found out that she was getting a new partner. She was angry about it and stalked off. I followed."

"And you two got into it in the restroom," Elliot finished for him as he eyed the basket. "Still, even if she says she doesn't want an apology or that she'll beat you to death if you tell to give her one, apologize." He took another shot at the basket; the ball hit the backboard before dropping into the basket.

"Nice shot."

Bobby looked around Elliot as he turned around. Jackson was walking in with Travis and Rivers trailing behind.

"Mitchem couldn't make it; he's on a stakeout," Jackson told him as he walked up to greet them.

Bobby looked around at the other men as he said, "All we need is five anyway."

"Yeah, but it would've been nice to have the option to switch out."

"Please, the only time the guys from Major Case were remotely a worthy component was when Bobby played for them," Elliot announced as he tossed the ball to him. "Now, you got him."

"And you can keep him!"

At that, they all turned and watched as the detectives from Major Case filed into the gym. Bobby recognized all of them but one.

Anderson had been the one to shout that and he was smiling at him as he came over and shook his hand. "Just kidding, Goren. We actually miss you."

"Yeah," Matthews agreed as he came up next to him. "Now with you gone, Anderson has to actually do some research instead of just asking you."

Bobby smiled as the men laughed, but his mind or eyes wasn't one any of them. Across the gym, taking off his hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants, was Harry Copeland. Copeland was tall, about six-two, athletic build, dark skin and eyes, and he was young. He wasn't too young to not be a experienced cop, but that didn't ease his feeling that this guy wasn't good enough to be partnered with Alex.

Anderson followed his eyes. "That's Copeland."

Bobby nodded. "I know." Turning to catch Anderson's eyes, he reassured him, "It's fine."

"You sure?"

Bobby smiled slightly as he nodded. "Yeah."

It looked like Anderson didn't believe him but he didn't say anything else about it.

"He's confused," Olivia told her as she tossed her a towel.

Alex caught the towel and wiped the sweat off her face and neck. "I've seen Bobby confused, this isn't it. He's…" she trialed off as she tried to figure out what he was. She couldn't do it. "I have no idea actually. I've never seen him like this before, ever. He's so angry and…"

"Sexually frustrated."

Alex eyed Olivia and rolled her eyes. "It's not that either."

"Are you sure? I've found that whenever a man I was involved with was snapping at every little thing it was either because they were assholes or because I hadn't slept with them in a week."

Alex downed half the water bottle before saying, "I give you that; he has to be a little sexually frustrated, it has been months."

"It could be jealousy."

Alex started to walk beside Olivia as the headed toward the locker room. "I don't know, I've never seen him jealous."

Olivia stopped as she told her, "Maybe this is it. He did say that only after you brought up your new partner."

"Yeah, but he didn't mean it that way, and I know he didn't. I was just angry myself over the whole thing and then he said that and…" she breathed out. "I think we're both just scared. I know I am. I don't want to lose him but at the same time I don't know how to be with him. Sometimes I can be open and not hide my feelings, but other times it's like I have to ignore what I feel just to be around him without wanting to shoot him."

Olivia was watching her closely before lowering her voice and telling her, "I know that it's not true, but some of the things you tell me about your relationship with Bobby, it reminds me of what woman say who are in abusive relationships."

"He's not--"

Olivia quickly raised her hands and cut her off, "I know, that's why I said it's not true. It's the way that he comes off, and the way that he makes you feel around him, unintentionally of course." She eyed her seriously before telling her, "It's the way some victims of abuse react. They unintentionally present the same feel that they were subjected to. Sometimes it's to protect themselves, other times it's to make themselves feel more comfortable. I mean, can you image what it must be like for your whole life your level of familiarization and comfort came from a chaotic and abusive world?"

"So, for Bobby, chaos is familiar and even comforting, while calmness isn't?"

"Exactly. I'm not saying that he doesn't need the calm, because he does, especially with you. But, he also needs the chaos, if not…It can be scarier than the emptiness of it."

"Well, he gets enough chaos from the job and his mother combined. Why does he need it from me too?"

Olivia actually laughed at that. "It's not that he wants the chaos from you, he doesn't."

"Then what is it because I'm at a lose. He says he wants me, but he pushes me away when it gets tough. He can't tell me that he loves me even though I know he does. He gets angry with me for even bringing up his family and asking about his past. He says he doesn't want to be judged yet he can't seem to stop doing things that make me want to judge him." Alex stopped her ranting as she looked at her friend. "Am I demanding too much of him?"

Olivia shook her head as she told her, "You're asking the wrong person. Have you asked him any of these things?"

"That's just it, I've tried and all I get is a question in return or he avoids it, or he leaves the room. He's impossible, but I can't help but want to love him. I'm pathetic," she whined as they headed into the locker room.

"You're not pathetic," Olivia tried to tell her. "You're just hopelessly in love."

"What's the difference."

Olivia shrugged, "The sex."

"You mean the sex that we're not having."

"Why aren't you? You're still together and I'm sure you both could use it," Olivia told her as she unlocked the small gym locker.

"Bobby doesn't do mindless sex. He'll think that if we have sex than it means all is forgiven and we're back to normal."

"Then forgive him already."

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

Alex sat down on the bench and shook her head. "I honestly don't know. I just know that every time he tries to force his way back into my life, I get mad at him for it. I keep telling him its on my terms, that I have to figure out what I feel and want, and he thinks he can control when and how I do it."

Olivia had sat down next to her as she was talking. Turning to her, she asked, "Do you seriously think he's trying to force his way back into your life?"

"He called me," she said holding up her cell phone, "every day since we separated. Some days, more than once."

"Can you blame him? Not only is he in love with you, but he's been with you every single day for four years. And you're the one that told me that he doesn't adapt well to change. This is a huge change for him. Maybe he just wanted to talk."

"Now you're sounding like Bobby. That's what he said; that he just wanted to talk and it doesn't have to be about us."

"Then why don't you answer the phone the next time he calls. Alex, this is your problem."

"Oh, brother, here we go," Alex sighed as she tossed the towel onto the empty spot beside her.

"The both of you are so used to looking out for your own selves, and guarding your feelings, that when you two got together you've been doing nothing by fighting each other. You two are at a constant war with one another because you've always been at war with your emotions. Alex, you haven't been able to love anyone since Joe, or wanting to love else. You had spent years leaving your personal feelings and emotions out of your job and hiding them from the men that you dated, that when you fell in love with Bobby it all became too much. When you hid your emotions from him, it felt like you weren't giving to the relationship, and when you dished them out, it felt overwhelming not only to yourself but to him as well since he hadn't experienced the full range of who you were until then."

"And Bobby did the same thing and I reacted the same way."

"Yes, exactly. When he let his emotions out, they overwhelmed you, scared you, because he always hides them all the time. You two fell in love with one another without fully knowing who you were falling in love with, and now that you know, it's freaking you both out."

Alex took that into consideration as she grabbed her clothes and headed for the showers. "Okay, maybe you're right. Maybe me and Bobby did fall in love too quickly for our own damn good. Maybe I didn't fully know him or understand him before I did, but that's not going to change how I feel."

"I didn't say it was, I was only trying to bring some things to light."

Thirty minutes later, Alex pulled her purse over her shoulder and shut the locker door. Olivia was waiting for her having finished getting changed before her and met her near the door out of the locker room. They started across the gym, going to the entrance, when they heard a familiar voice coming from behind a partly closed door that led to the basketball court.

"Elliot's here?"

"Oh, yeah, he said something about playing a game with the guys from your squad."

"Really? Wanna drop in on it, see who's winning?"

Olivia shrugged as she followed her. "Sure, but since Bobby is no longer with Major Case, I can guess who's losing."

Alex smiled at that as she opened the door. "He is a pretty good player." As soon as she got done saying that, she looked over and stopped in her tracks.

Olivia walked into the back of her, sending them both stumbling forward. "Alex, what…? It that Bobby?"

Alex crossed her arms over her chest and watched as he Elliot pushed the two men who were shoving each other apart. One of the men was a tall African-American that she had never seen before, the other was Bobby.

"Hey," Elliot yelled again, but it wasn't at Bobby. "Knock it off. It was a foul and you know it."

"He was goal tending!" Copeland yelled.

"And you knocked him to the ground!" Elliot yelled right back.

"Hello, ladies."

Alex looked over at the sound of Logan's voice. "Hey, Logan. What's all this about?"

"It depends. Are you asking about the basketball game or the pissing contest?"

"Preferably the one that involves Bobby looking like he's about to pound that guy into the floor."

"That would be both," Logan told her as he leaned back against the wall. "It started out as a friendly game and turned into who could foul the other one the most without coming right out and hitting one another. And, before you ask, Bobby wasn't the one who started it. Copeland accidentally landed a pretty nasty elbow to Bobby's right eye during the first half. They were both lucky I wasn't here for that. I showed up during halftime."

Alex looked at him then at the man who had been shoving Bobby. "That's Copeland?"

"From what I've heard from the Major Case guys, he's actually a pretty good guy. What started this whole thing between him and Goren was that one of them, I think it was Matthews, let it slip that Bobby was feeling jealous and intimidated by Copeland. Then, one thing led to another and this started."

"So they started fighting over that? That's ridiculous."

"They're men," Olivia announced. "They always have to fight over something that's stupid."

"Well, it's not that they're fighting over that, it's that they're fighting over you. New partner feels he has to prove that he's man enough to watch your back. And Bobby, well, being both your boyfriend and ex-partner, he has to fight for you no matter what."

She heard some yelling and looked over in time to see both Bobby and Copeland going up for the rebound as the ball bounced off the rim.

They collided as Bobby grabbed the ball and came down with it. He quickly passed it to Elliot who dribbled it down the court as Bobby hurried toward the basket. Elliot tossed it to him and Bobby caught it before going right into a lay-up as the same time Copeland reached him and jumped up to block the ball. Copeland fell right into Bobby, sending them both tumbling to the floor as the ball hit the rim, bounced around it, and then dropped into the basket.

Both of the men on the floor pushed each other away and got up. Elliot was immediate by Bobby's side helping him up as he patted his back.

"That's game," Logan said with a wide grin. "Sorry, honey," he told Alex, "but Major Case lost. Your boyfriend killed them. Hey!" he yelled across the court. "Hurry up and shower! Drinks are on me!"

Bobby accepted a couple of handshakes and pats on the back from fellow detectives as he started toward the door. Alex noticed that he was slightly limping and she knew that his knee was killing him. Before he reached her, Copeland tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.

Whatever was said between the two men it seemed to have settle the anger between them. Bobby shook his hand and was actually smiling a little.

As Copeland walked by her, he told Bobby over his shoulder, "See you later, Bobby," before he was out the door.

Alex leaned against the wall next to the door as Bobby came to a stop in front of her.

"How long have you been here?"

"I came in when you and Copeland were having a shoving match."

Bobby shrugged and smiled, "That wasn't…We weren't actually fighting, Alex."

"I know, Logan explained it to me. He said it was a pissing contest. Who won?"

Bobby straightened and stared down at her as he took that. "It wasn't that either, we were just…We were having fun."

"You were having fun pushing another man down?"

"It's the game…You don't understand."

"You're right, I don't. I just want to make sure that when I see Copeland tomorrow that we're going to be fine."

Bobby looked at her, trying to read her, before he nodded. "You'll be fine. There's nothing going on with me and Copeland. He'll be a good partner for you."

"Hey, Goren," Logan said as he came back into the gym. "You still up for drinks?"

Bobby glanced up at him then back down at Alex. "No, I think I'm just gonna go home." Walking by Logan, he said, "But thanks anyway."

Alex watched as he left and then looked at Logan. "How is he, really?"

Logan shrugged. "In pain, but then again, when isn't he?"

Alex followed Logan out of the gym and into the parking lot. She found Olivia standing outside talking to Elliot. Smiling at the other SVU detective, she asked, "Are we still hanging out or were you wanting to go have drinks?"

"I promised you a girls night out and I'm not changing that," Olivia told her as she stepped away from Elliot.

"And I'm actually going with Bobby," Elliot told her.

That surprised her even though it shouldn't have. Bobby and Elliot had become good friends since they worked together to find her two months ago. "Oh, okay, well…Then I have no reason to worry."

"You can always come, Alex," Elliot told her.

Alex shook her head. "Maybe some other time."

Elliot seemed to get that as he nodded. Reaching out, he squeezed her shoulder before heading for his truck. "He misses you, you know."

And she missed him too. Alex watched as he got into his truck and drove away.

"Maybe that's his problem," Olivia said as they started for Alex's car. "You're missing from his life. You're no longer there to ground him, to calm him, and to keep him from being…chaotic. It's a scary place."

"What is?"

"His life without you."

Alex didn't want to think about the fact that Olivia could be right. That knowledge scared her, but the more she thought about it that more she knew that Olivia was right. Bobby's life was in turmoil because she was no longer part of it.

TBC…