A/N: Wow, I'm loving the reviews, they are so informative and helpful. Thanks everyone!

Enjoy!

St. George Country Club & Gym

St. George, Staten Island

Her pulse was racing higher, 180 and still climbing. Sweat soaked through her navy blue tank top making it stick to her body as her legs burned, but it was a good burn. It made her know that she was working hard, pushing herself to go faster and for a longer period of time.

She loved to run. Had been doing it since she was a kid running on track teams all through her high school years. It was her kind of meditation. Once she was running and her legs were in that groove where it felt like she was flying, she was relaxed and happy. Her mind would drift as her body floated. It was cleansing. She was free.

There was no hurt from the memories of her past that haunted her still. No memories of Joe lying on the hospital bed, unable to come back to her before his life faded away. No memory of holding her newly born nephew in her arms right after his birth, only to have to give him away. The pressures from the job disappeared and she wasn't worried or thinking about a case or Bobby.

It was just she, her movements, the air, and the feeling of being one with herself. Nothing else mattered.

She was so focused on her body and what running did for her that she forgot about the woman running next to her at the other machine. Turning her head to the right, she smiled at her sister as she asked, "Tired yet?"

Liz shook her head without losing step. "I'm good for another five, ten minutes."

Alex looked down at the time and realized they had been running for nearly thirty minutes. It felt like they just started. "Yeah, I'm good for another ten."

Wednesday was her late day at work; she didn't have to be at One Police Plaza until ten o'clock, so it was her day to have an early workout with her sister. It also gave Liz a chance to get out of the house and for them to spend some quality time together without her husband, Terry, and their son, Nathan, running around them causing havoc.

"How is Nate doing this week? I haven't had a chance to come out to see him lately."

Liz got a huge grin on her face as she said, "Great. I think he understands that we're going to be going to dads this weekend because he's bound and determined to start walking before then."

That made her smile. It seemed like every week that kid was doing something new. "Yeah, and once he figures it out, he'll be running. I don't see him spending too much time walking anywhere."

Liz was laughing because she knew it was true. Even though Nathan was only eleven months old, he was way ahead of any baby she'd seen. He was a doer, not a sit-back-and-take-it-easy kind of kid. And he looked like his brain was always working, taking everything in until he figured out what to do about it all. Once that kid was ready to really talk instead of just grunting out sounds, there would be no stopping him.

She had a strong suspicion that Bobby was the same way when he was a child.

It had been eight months and she was still missing Nate every single day that she didn't get to spend with him. She had carried him for her sister and brother-in-law and even though she knew that she had to give him to them once he was born, a small part of her wished that he was hers. She hadn't realized how much she wanted and would have loved to be a mom until she actually carried a baby for nine months.

When her and Bobby first got together, he had told her that he didn't want children, and she had agreed. She didn't think she could be a working mom, having to leave her child every day to go to work and not spending enough time with them. It was scary to think that maybe she had been wrong.

"So, Angie was wondering what I was going to get mom and dad for their anniversary. She was talking about maybe all of us chipping in for something."

Alex thought about that as her running slowed as the cool down cycle began. "Sounds good to me, I have no idea what to get them. After fifty years of being together, I was going to get them tickets for separate cruises."

Liz was laughing with her as she said, "I think dad would have a heart attack if mom went on a cruise without him. Mom would be excited though."

Alex smiled a little as she watched the people around them, running and working out. "Bobby's coming."

At that, Liz nearly tripped on the treadmill. She recovered without falling and stared over at her in near shock. "Seriously? What'd you do, cock-block him until he agreed?"

She shot a glare at her sister before slowing down her pace as the machine slowed. "No, he decided on his own, which probably means that he got sick of me asking and gave in."

"I don't know how you put up with him...How do you put up with him? Any other man and you would have left or kicked him to the curb by now. Of course, there hasn't really been any other man since Joe."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say...why him? I know you say that you love him, but he's impossible. From what I hear, he has a lot of problems. Remember Valentine's Day?"

How could she forget, Bobby had succeeded at making her think that he didn't have a single sentimental bone in his body.

"He got you a cappuccino maker."

Alex smiled at the memory. A month before Valentine's Day, Bobby had ordered her a beautiful necklace from Ireland. It was supposed to have been delivered to his apartment on the 14th of February. When it didn't arrive, Bobby went out to get her something quick and he couldn't think of anything she would like until he saw the cappuccino maker.

She could still hear his voice in her head as he explained his reasoning behind it, "You're always complaining about having to pay $6 for a cup of coffee. I thought you'd like it."

Alex was still laughing at the memory as she explained "That was a mistake because the Jewelry Company shipped the necklace he got me a day late. God, the poor guy. When he gave me the cappuccino machine, I was so upset. I laid into him hard, telling him that it was a gift a person would get for their mother. He visibly paled, threw his hands up in the air, and sat down on the couch with his arms covering his head as I berated him for almost an hour over it. A whole hour of me yelling at him and he didn't say a word to me about the necklace because he said he wanted it to be a surprise."

Liz was trying not to laugh so hard as she finished the story. "Wow, he must have panicked bad to get you that thing instead of another necklace or earrings or something. Hell, even lingerie would've been smarter than that."

"What can I say, that's Bobby. He may not know how to say it, but in his own way, he shows me that he loves me."

"Yeah, well, Terry's like most men too. He can't find an emotion with a flashlight and map, but he has no problem telling me that he loves me. And he had no problem meeting our folks or spending time with our family and friends."

Alex huffed out a deep sigh. "Neither did Joe. By now we were married and having weekend party's with our friends and families, and renting a summerhouse on the beach, talking about forever."

Liz was staring at her again. "Do you realize that you're always comparing Bobby to Joe? You probably need to stop; it's a losing battle anyway."

"That's not fair," she told her sister as she realized that she had been comparing them. "Bobby is definitely no Joe, but I can tell you that I trust him, and care for him deeply. He's not like some men I've dated who cheated on me or tried to control me. And he would never hurt me physically."

"He's hurt you other ways?"

Alex was quiet for a moment and decided to be honest; she could always tell her sister everything. "He's hurt me emotionally before but he never intended to, he just doesn't know how to relate sometimes. I'm not trying to make excuses," she told her sister before she heard the comeback. "Bobby wouldn't want me to make excuses for him anyway. He hates that. He's very honest," she continued after a moment of thinking, "maybe painfully so. And, he cooks for me sometimes, he makes me laugh, and he never lets my gas tank get below the halfway mark."

Liz chuckled at that. "He fills your tank up for you?"

"Yeah, he does. He started doing it because he uses my car on Sundays to go visit his mom, but now he does it all the time because he doesn't want me to have to spend all my money on gas. Oh and when I'm with him I never have to pay for anything."

"His mom's crazy right?"

Alex frowned as she eyed her sister. "Liz, I don't want to go there."

"Sorry, I was just confirming my information." Liz was quiet for a moment as they both slowed to a walk. "You're settling with him."

Alex nearly laughed at that. "I am not."

"Yes, you are. I know you; I've known you all your life, and Alex Eames, you are settling. It's probably just easy for you to be with him anyway. He does work with you, and you don't have to worry about whether or not he's secretly married like Brad. Or if he's going to have a problem with you being a cop like that one guy you dated...Tim. Oh, and what about that Justin guy. Now he was a real piece of work."

Alex closed her eyes and shook her head. "Liz, I don't need you telling me about every bad guy I've dated. And, I'm not settling. Settling is thinking that you couldn't do better, so you stay with the idiot you're with."

"So, you admit, you could do better and he's an idiot."

Alex wanted to hit her sister, but she was too busy nearly freezing at that thought, and with the thought that soon entered her head. She had had better, and she lost him.

She did have a man who was everything she wanted from a companion. They had a marriage and a deep loving connection that helped them get through the bad times and enjoy the good ones. They had a future that they both thought about and wanted to share with each other, and even though both were uncertain about wanting children, they never ruled it out completely.

She had everything she wanted and ever thought she needed, until it was taken from her.

Liz was looking at her as the machine rolled to a stop. "You're thinking about Joe again, aren't you? And how he was your better."

Damn it, how did she always know what she was thinking? It had to be a sister thing. "It doesn't matter because I'm happy to have Bobby. He's different, and more complicated, and yes, he's not perfect, but I love the hell out of him."

Liz continued to stare at her for a long moment before saying, "I think you're in denial."

Alex stepped off the treadmill and grabbed her towel to wipe the sweat off. "You remember Aunt Janet and Uncle Bill? She was soft-spoken and sweet, always helping out mom with us kids and bringing over pie. And Bill was loud, obnoxious, and rude and he would forget her birthday almost every year because it was during hockey season and he was too busy watching the games. We asked her how she could love him because none of us could figure it out. And do you remember what she said?"

Liz frowned and rolled her eyes. "She said she loved him and he made her happier than any man she had ever known."

Alex was nodding in agreement. "With Joe, it was no question. Everybody saw us and they could see how much in love we were and how happy we made each other. With Bobby, everyone looks at me like I've lost my mind. Everyone that knows about us asks me 'why'. And do you know what I say? I say because I love him, and he makes me happier than I've been in a long, long time. I haven't been this happy since Joe was alive. I know you feel the same way about your husband. The difference is, everyone can see it, but if they didn't and they had to ask, you would tell them the exact same thing."

Liz stepped toward her and pulled her into a long hug. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just worry, that's all."

Alex hugged her sister a little harder before pulling away. "I know, but you shouldn't. You should worry about the couples that look perfect on the outside, because if I've learned anything from my job it's that the wife is usually popping pills and screwing the gardener and the husband is snorting coke and screwing the nanny." She laughed along with her sister before grabbing her bottle of water and tossing the towel into the laundry bin. "Let's go; it's getting late and I want to spend some time with Nate before I have to jump on the ferry."

Harlem River

Washington Heights, Manhattan

He removed the silencer then stuffed the gun down into its holster before putting the silencer into his jacket pocket. It had been too short. He was missing his time with her already, and she had only been gone for a grand total of twenty seconds. He watched as the blood seeped from the gunshot wound to her head; seeing it run along the soggy grass and mud and mix with the water in the river.

She had been weak, too weak for him. For the four days he'd had her, she never fought back. Pitiful bitch. He had thought from having spent days watching her at the gym and dealing with clients that she would have put up a fight, gotten down and dirty with him, exciting him more. Instead, she did the exact opposite and thought that if she went along with him that he wouldn't hurt her. Stupid bitch. She should have known that he was going to hurt her no matter what.

What she did was ruin the game for him, the excitement of the kill. The kill always tasted better if it fights back, if it showed its strength just before death. It would have been more satisfying instead of this...

He scooted his booted foot under her and barely went to roll her before gravity took over. Her body tumbled down the short embankment and almost into the river. Her left arm and leg were floating in the water while her right side was stuck in the mud. The blood now seeped into the water, polluting it.

Staring down at his kill, he pulled out the cell phone in his jacket pocket and dial three numbers.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

He almost couldn't breath; this would be the first time he called in his own crime. "I've killed another one. You can find her on the bank of the Harlem River, Manhattan side, near Washington Heights," his deep, throaty voice told the operator before he flipped the phone shut.

Matheson & Clark Prosecution Office

One Hogan Plaza, Manhattan

Bobby shifted in the seat across from Harold Matheson, who was the Prosecutor in the case Judge Jameson was presiding over, as he balanced his leather binder on his right leg. "Mr. Matheson, I know that Judge Jameson's daughter was working for you. Her involvement, investigating the case...that's against policy regulations. Now, I could go to my ADA and get a warrant, come back, and make sure I get everything that proves that on paper and in public record. Or..." he let that settle between them before he continued, "You can talk to me here and now, off the record, and nothing has to come of it. You can deny your part in it later, saying she was investigating it without your knowledge. It's up to you."

Matheson didn't even bother to make it look like he was going to play hardball after that. He sighed heavily, leaned back in the chair, and rubbed at his eyes under his glasses. "Miss Jameson was working for me. She expressed interest in following some leads, and I let her. I know it was wrong, but..."

Bobby watched as his eyes kept darting toward the photo of his wife and family on the desk. He knew what had gone on between them, but he had to make sure. "She was a, uh...a very attractive young woman."

"Yes, she was."

At the reddening of his cheeks and the fact that he didn't get defensive at that remark but instead accepted it, Bobby had gotten his answer. "You were sleeping with her."

"For two months," he simply told him.

"Did she want to end it, once her...assignment was done?" he asked as he looked down at his notes.

Matheson shrugged. "We never really talked about it. I assumed we would."

Bobby nodded as he was already envisioning a scenario where the Prosecutor was her killer. "When was the last time you saw her? That night?"

"No," he shook his head. Matheson suddenly leaned forward on his desk, staring right at him. "The night she was killed, I was with my wife and her parents, at the theater. I'll send over the ticket stubs and you can ask everyone I was with. Annabelle, she was such a loving, good person, but she was also adventurous and rebellious. And like any normal twenty-five year old, she just wanted passion and a purpose."

Bobby didn't know quite what to say to that, so he thanked the man and left the office. It wasn't more than a minute later that his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. "Goren," he said as he answered.

"Hey, it's Detective Benson. We got another body."

Once she gave him the information on where the crime-scene was, he quickly said into the phone, "I'll be right there," before he flipped it shut.

Abandoning his wait for the elevator, he hurried down the stairwell and out of the building and jogging toward the parking garage. It wasn't until he was flooring the SUV out onto the streets of Manhattan with the siren flashing that he pulled his cell out and called Alex's cell number.

"Hey, Bobby," she said sweetly as she answered. "I'm-"

"We got a body," he somberly interrupted her. "Harlem River, by the Washington Heights neighborhood. I'll meet you there."

Harlem River

Bobby pulled out a pair of latex gloves as he approached the embankment. After blowing into them, he slipped them on as he observed the area. Detective Stabler and Benson were already there; Benson was talking to an officer while Stabler was pointing down at the naked female body and asking the Medical Examiner a question.

He didn't recognize the M.E. but he didn't give her presence much thought as he stepped down into the muddy bank and squatted down just above the victim's head. "You done?" he asked the M.E. without looking up from the dead woman's eyes.

"Yes, but I'd appreciate it if you don't-"

Bobby had already reached out and as gently as he could, turned the woman's head toward his. Single gunshot wound to her left temple, the kill shot. There were multiple knife wounds on her face, neck, arms, legs, chest, and...he didn't have to look to know there would be knife cuts on her upper thighs and private areas as well. None of the knife cuts were too deep; they weren't meant to kill her but to inflict pain.

"How many of the other victims were...exposed?" he quietly asked without taking his eyes off the woman.

He heard Stabler answer, "She's the second. All the other had some clothes on."

Bobby barely gave any indication that he heard the answer as he placed his forefinger and thumb against her soft lips before spreading them apart as he bent down closer and took a sniff.

The smell was painfully familiar and he nearly gagged. It was something sweet mixed with a chemical that burned at his nose hairs. He hadn't smelt that in thirty years, not since he had tried to give Carla mouth-to-mouth.

"Uh," he stopped to he cleared his throat when he heard how rough it was. Bobby around for the CSU techs and waved them over. "Swab the inside of her mouth, her tongue, and around the edges of her teeth, and at the back of her throat."

He slowly righted himself as he looked up the embankment toward the other detectives. At the sight of Alex watching him, he smiled a little as he gestured around the area. "No shoe prints down here except for ours," he told her. "The killer, he...pushed her down while he stayed up there," he explained as he pointed up to where she was standing.

Alex looked around the area and shook her head. "It's concrete up here. He's afraid of us knowing what kind of shoe he wears."

Bobby nodded in agreement as he kept his eyes locked with only Alex. "Must be something...uh...unique."

"We're here too, Goren," Stabler told him, not even trying to hide his annoyance.

Bobby stared at him for a moment as he tried to figure out what that had to do with anything, before he shook it away.

"It hasn't been long; the call came in thirty minutes ago. I suspect that's how long she's been dead," Stabler filled in as he went to turn to say something to his partner.

"Then our killer...he might not be too far." Bobby was searching around the area as he made his way back up to where Alex was.

They were very close to the neighborhoods that lined the river. Since yesterday, it had turned cold and it was feeling like autumn. Trees were nearly skeletons as the fallen leaves coated the sidewalks, cars, streets, and ground. Grey clouds covered the sky, making shadows around the homes and buildings dark and inviting for anyone wanting to hide out and watch.

"You think he's watching us?" Alex asked as he came up beside her.

"I know he is." Bobby continued to search the area with his eyes as he explained his reasoning. "He called it in. He's...evolving, taking more risks. He wants us here, now, so he can watch us and let us know that he's in control. And you know what else?" He looked down at her. "He wants to get caught."

"After all this time?"

Bobby shook his head as the familiar anguish of thinking like the killer invaded his mind. "Something happened. And from the sudden change in his methodology, leaving the victims naked and exposed, my guess is that his motive changed. He's looking to fulfill a, uh...different need, or he's obsessed with someone else. Whatever it is, he's not going to stop until we get him."

The officers searched the surrounding neighborhoods, but came up empty.

Bobby walked back to the parked police vehicles with an officer who had helped him search around the block.

As he approached, Alex came around the SUV and headed to her car. "Follow me back to One P.P., I'll drop my car off there and we can ride to the 16th Precinct together."

Bobby nodded as he walked by her and rounded the vehicle and got into the driver's seat.

Special Victims Unit

Bobby followed slowly behind Alex as they entered the SVU's squad room. Their department was obviously different from theirs, but it felt warmer and less intimidating. It had to be because it was slightly smaller and the building was older and the colors were darker. The heat was on making him slip off his overcoat and tug at his tie, loosening it from around his hot neck. The smell of coffee filled the air as well as phones ringing and soft chatter from other detectives.

He was about to follow Alex over to the captain's office when he heard a familiar voice.

"Well, well, if it isn't my long lost boy, Bobby Goren."

Bobby turned toward the voice and smiled slightly as he made his way over to Fin. Fin pulled him into quick, half hug. "How's it goin', Fin? I didn't know you transferred here."

"Yep, four years ago."

A tall, skinny man with glasses that he didn't recognize was leaning up against the desk Fin was standing next to. He was eyeing him as he asked, "So, how do you know this degenerate?"

Bobby couldn't help but smile at the playful manner between the two; he must be Fin's partner. "We both worked narcotics...long time ago." He quickly looked over the desk and spotted his name on some forms: Detective John Munch.

Stabler was suddenly standing a few feet away from them. "You used to be a Narc? I can't see that."

Bobby glanced at Stabler before looking down at the floor. A lot of people had a hard time seeing that.

"You kiddin'. Goren was a genius at undercover work. He never got made, not once."

Bobby felt the heat of embarrassment creep up his neck; rubbing along the side of it, he tried to ease the feeling away. He needed to change the subject, and fast. "So," he said as he addressed Fin and Munch, who still wasn't even trying to offer up his name. "Are you two going to be helping with our case?"

"Yeah," Fin answered. "We'll probably be pulled in to do some legwork, but the main investigation is all you guys."

"Alright," Bobby nodded a little as he patted Fin once on the arm. "We got a, uh, meeting with your captain, so..." He extended his hand to Munch as he said, "It was nice meeting you, Detective Munch."

Munch's eyes widened slightly as he frowned. Bobby couldn't hide the amused glint in his eyes if he tried. "Same here, Detective," he said a reluctantly as he shook his hand once.

Bobby was still amused as he met Alex outside Captain Cragen's office.

"What's so funny?"

Bobby shrugged as he held the door open for her. "Nothin'."

The meeting with Cragen was quick. He just confirmed that they had officially been given the consent of the Chief of D's to work with the SVU on the case, and Eames gave him the run down of what they had so far, which wasn't much.

Bobby closed the door and leaned down to say to Alex softly, "I missed you earlier."

Alex looked up at him, a little surprised. "Yeah?"

Bobby nodded slightly as he said, "I interviewed Matheson and...you weren't there." He went to step away, but quickly sidestepped back and leaned down again. "Missed you, being there."

Alex was trying not to blush as she nodded in understanding. "Next time, I'll be there."

A while later, after both Bobby and Alex went over every file of all nineteen victims, Bobby was rummaging around the department trying to find a board to write on when he found the clear whiteboard in the A/V room by the wall. Rolling it out into the main room, he positioned it up against a wall and grabbed a marker. Unlike the Major Case Squad, the SVU department didn't have separate rooms for conferences or interviews. Everything took place out on the floor.

In one column, he wrote down everything they knew from the bodies and the crime-scene, the killer's methodology. In another, he brainstormed over everything he was starting to understand about their killer, his pathology.

"Do you know what they say about people who are left-handed?"

Bobby stopped writing and glanced over his shoulder at Munch. "What's that?"

Munch shrugged as he said, "You tell me, you're the one who's left-handed." He smiled a little before taking a sip from the coffee cup in his hand before walking away.

Bobby watched him go before turning back to the white board, he shook his head and stared at it. His concentration was broken because of the absurdity of John Munch. Sighing in frustration, he went over to the table that had all the coffee stuff and prepared a cup.

He felt her move up against him as she refilled her cup with the strong coffee. Bobby smiled down at her as he passed her the sugar.

"I called the Captain," Alex told him as she stirred the sugar in her cup. "He thinks it'll be a good idea if we pass the Jameson case onto another-"

"No," Bobby said as he shook his head. "We can handle both cases."

Alex sipped at the coffee and making a face that told him it was still too bitter for her liking. "Goren, you're going to be so focused on this case to ever remember that we have another one."

"I'm not giving up the case, Eames. Look, we have a meeting with the Red Light CEO's and their lawyers in two hours. After talking with them, and we're still at a dead end, then...maybe." He stared down at her for a long moment before looking away. "We can handle both," he stressed again.

Alex finally smiled as she said, "I know. That's what I told the Captain. He was just letting us know that the option is there if we need it."

"Well," he said before he took a long drink for the cup and nearly spit it back out. It was horrible. "We're not going to need it." Picking up the sugar, which he hardly used in his coffee unless he was at a crime-scene at three a.m. or subjected to the 'cup of coffee from hell', he poured enough in it to sweeten two cups of coffee.

"What's this?"

Bobby looked across the room to see Stabler reading over the board. Taking another test drink from the cup, he made his way over to where the other detectives were standing as they reviewed what he had written. "That's what we have so far."

Stabler shot him a glare. "I know that, I mean what's this." He pointed to the other column, the one where Bobby had written down his thoughts about the killer's pathology.

"That's my profile."

"So," Stabler said after he was finished reading, "This guy is, according to you, changing his M.O. and he wants to get caught."

"He, uh...he's getting desperate for the attention. I don't know why, but, he changed a lot of his methodology with the past two women."

Stabler crossed his arms as he studied the photos they had of only ten of the victims. "Seems the same to me. He rapes them and tortures them with knife cuts."

"Yeah, but with all the others, there were years between each murder. Then it moved from years to months, and now, with the last two, it went from two months to only five days...escalation."

"He can no longer control himself?" Stabler asked as he returned his focus to him.

Bobby shook his head. "No, he's still in control. What it means is a-a, uh, a couple of things. He's becoming more confident, yet he's getting more, um...impatient. The impatience is probably what's causing him to want to get in contact with us. What, uh...fueled his need before is different than what's driving him now, hence the change in the way the women were found, naked and exposed. The other victims, they were left clothed and placed under a bridge or overpass." He finally stopped his rambling and mindless movements, his hands falling to his sides as he looked from Stabler to Benson. "He wants to get caught, or else he wouldn't be drawing this much attention to his crime. Not now, not after thirty years."

Stabler looked over at Benson and then back at him as he told him, "This is all great and everything, Goren, but I'll wait to get the rundown from Dr. Huang before I-"

"You don't trust my profile?" Bobby asked in disbelief.

"What I am saying is that I'll wait for the man with a PH.D. in the field to confirm."

Bobby shook his head as he rubbed furiously at the back of it, trying to calm his nerves. "Has anyone ever told you that you're belligerent?"

Stabler redden as he stepped closer to him. "You think I'm stupid?"

"I didn't mean it that way, just...you know, more brawn than-" Bobby was cut off as he was pushed back by Alex as Stabler charged toward him.

Stabler threw a fist that was caught by Fin as he and Munch held him back as they tried to talk him down.

As the guys wrestled with Stabler, Alex pushed him back until his legs hit the side of a desk. He shouldn't have been surprised by the violent response from Stabler; a couple of years ago Elliot had hit him in that very room after he had gotten Jared Darsal's confession. He couldn't take his eyes off the irate man until Eames pulled hard on his tie. Staring wide-eyed at her, he saw that she was just as angry as Stabler was. "What?"

Alex pushed him a little harder before stepping back, just only a step. "What's the matter with you?"

Bobby struggled to say something, but nothing was coming out. He had no idea why she, and Stabler, were both pissed off. "I was just stating-" he finally got out before Eames cut him off.

"I don't care; it was rude and completely uncalled for."

Bobby wasn't getting it; he had spoken his mind many times before and she had never gotten on his back like this afterwards. "I...I don't understand," was all he could say as he shook his head.

Alex sighed, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "Just don't do it again, okay, not here," she strictly told him before walking away.

Bobby watched as she stopped next to Benson and Stabler and started talking to them; she was probably apologizing for him. He didn't need her to apologize to anyone for him; it wasn't like he'd done something wrong.

Stabler was still eyeing him with his hands clenched into fists, but whatever Alex was saying to him, he nodded and walked away to his desk. He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and left the squad room.

Fin was suddenly at his side; he was staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest and looking ready to deck him. "I've gotta say, Bobby, you haven't changed much in four years." He glanced over at the rest of the detectives before saying, "Next time I'll let him hit you."

Bobby smirked as he nodded. "I appreciate the warning."

Fin patted him on the back before turning to walk away. "And wipe that smirk off your face before Liv sees it."

Alex came back over to him. "We're leaving."

Bobby stilled. "Eames."

"There isn't anything else for us to do right now. The autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow morning, and forensics won't be back for hours. We," she looked up at the clock, "have an hour before we have to meet with the Red light guys, and we haven't even eaten lunch yet. C'mon, lets get back to One P.P., check in with Deakins and go get something."

Bobby didn't want to go. He didn't want to stop working the case, but he knew he had to. They didn't have much to do until tomorrow. They didn't even know who the woman was yet so they had no starting point with the victim. "We need to talk to people who knew the victims. They've all been identified except for this one..."

"Listen, Goren, I haven't had anything since breakfast. It's nearly three. We can start making the rounds of the victim's families and friends tomorrow. Fin and Munch can help, but right now, I need food or else I'm going to kick your ass."

Bobby felt himself give in at that. He hated when he wasn't doing something productive for a case, but he hated a hungry, pissed off Alex Eames more. "Fine."

Red Light Incorporation

Financial District, Midtown, Manhattan

Bobby was too restless to sit at the conference table, so he stood behind while holding his leather binder over his abdomen as Alex took a seat across from the two CEO's, Eric Curtis and Matthew Douglas, and their lawyers, Larry Jackson and Alan Reynolds, who were representing them.

"You can sit, Detective," Curtis told him.

"I'd rather stand...thanks," he said as an after-thought.

Bobby took his time studying the men in the room. The lawyers were being paid very well. They wore Brooks Brother's suits and silk ties; Jackson had a gold wedding ring and a gold plated tie clip. Reynolds had no ring but he would rub at his left ring finger occasionally and his tie clip was the American Flag with 9/11/01 across it. "You lost someone, in the towers."

Reynolds blinked back and stared at him in surprise. "How...?"

"Your wife?"

Reynolds strict stone-faced facade slipped as he nodded. "Second tower."

Bobby looked at his feet before saying, "Sorry." And he truly was sorry.

The silence in the room was suddenly engulfing as that short conversation set everyone back.

After a long moment of tension and uncertainty, Douglas cleared his throat. "Can we get on with it, please? I've got things to do."

The irritation and coldness in his voice spoke volumes to Bobby; apparently Douglas didn't care about other people's feelings. He set his focus on him as he half paid attention to the questions Alex started to ask.

Douglas was a tall man, about 6'2'', and his black hair was slicked back. His face was tan and it held no worry-lines, scars or any other marks. His suit was tailored, fitting the slim man perfectly and he could tell that he worked out from the width of his arms and shoulders. And his nails, they looked manicured. Douglas took great pride in his appearance, nothing was anything less than perfect.

"Had Miss Jameson been to talk to you anytime in the last two months?"

Douglas gave Alex a polished smile, he answered, "We have never spoken to the Judge's daughter."

"But, you knew she was working for the prosecution," Bobby suddenly asked.

Douglas turned to him and after a moment, he smiled a cocky grin as he leaned back in the chair. "Okay."

"You've been to her apartment," he asked; it was a shot in the dark to gage the man's reaction.

Douglas didn't falter. "Why would I?"

Bobby wasn't about to back out of his bluff just yet; his gut was telling him that he had the guy. He just needed to prove it. "What if I told you we have a security footage of you there?"

"You don't," Douglas quickly shot back, "or else you'll have a warrant, now wouldn't you?"

Tou-fucking-chรจ. Bobby gave a cocky smile right back at the guy as he crossed his arms together behind his back. "There's no reason to be defensive. If Miss Jameson was investigating the case, and she was seeking information, you would have every right to be at her apartment, right? To talk, or help her in anyway possible. If that was what happened, there's no reason to deny it."

"But, I didn't."

Bobby didn't let his smile slip as he looked down at Alex; she was following his act as she knowingly smiled back at him.

"Mr. Douglas," Alex picked right up where he left off, "you don't have to lie. Forensics can do amazing things, like..."

"Getting fingerprints off the tiniest, round, buttons," Bobby finished. They knew that the building Annabelle lived in, no one could get in without being buzzed in. So, he had to have pressed the button for her apartment.

Bobby watched as Douglas arrogance slipped, but just slightly as his smile dropped. Before anything else could be said, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. It wasn't loud enough to be heard, but it distracted him long enough for the moment to be gone.

"Detectives," Jackson spoke with a finality. "This meeting is over. If you want to speak to my clients again, it'll be only after you present a warrant."

Bobby stared at the caller ID and groaned at the person who had interrupted him. Shaking his head in frustration, he left the conference room with Alex leading the way.

"Who called?"

"My mother," he simply told her as they got onto the elevator.

Alex Eames' Apartment

Bobby lowered the heat on the chicken and then stirred the Alfred sauce into the pan with the fettuccine noodles. Alex nudged him a little as she took two wine glasses down and filled them halfway with the bottle of Riesling white wine Bobby had left there a few weeks ago.

He watched her set the bottle down and then waited until she lifted the glass up to her lips before he nudged her back. She shot him a look, making him grin as he added the chicken strips to the pot with the noodles.

"That wasn't funny," she scolded him.

"Yeah it was," he mumbled back while he stirred everything together around the pot. "Is the garlic bread ready?"

She grabbed the cookie sheet that held the garlic bread off the counter and handed it to him. "How come whenever you cook for me its Italian food?"

Bobby shut the oven and set the timer as he said, "Maybe because it's the only thing I'm good at making, besides Chili, which you don't like."

"That's 'cause you put stuff in it I don't like, like jalapenos."

Bobby couldn't resist taking her by the hips and pulling her closer to him. "I'll leave them out next time."

Alex smiled slightly as she ran her hands up his black T-shirt and around his neck. "I still won't eat it."

Bobby chuckled before kissing her deeply, letting his tongue taste the warmth of her mouth before reluctantly pulling back. "Hmm, even though I love Italian food, I'd rather be eating you."

"As flattering as that is, I just want the Italian food."

Bobby groaned and turned off the timer that beeping at him. "You're so mean."

"Don't forget the Parmesan cheese," she told him as she went over to her kitchen table and started clearing it of the notes and files they had scattered over it.

They ate while they went over the two cases they were working. Alex had agreed that Douglas was looking good as a suspect and they were trying to come up with ways to get to him. There wasn't much they could say about the SVU case seeing how they were at a standstill until they had more information.

Bobby fell silent as he looked up from his second glass of wine at Alex who was just finishing eating. He'd been done for at least five minutes before her. He had been waiting to ask her a question ever since leaving work but was afraid to speak it until now. "Um, Alex..."

She sat back in the chair and raised a brow at him as she sipped on her wine, indicating for him to continue.

He shifted in chair at that look as he fingered the stem of the wineglass. Taking a calming breath, he continued, "Uh, back at the SVU department, when you got mad at me...um, I was wondering...why had you gotten so mad, at me." It didn't sound like a bad question, but he was still scared about asking because he didn't know how she would respond.

Alex was eyeing him with confusion as she pondered the same thought. "You were afraid to ask me that?"

Bobby frowned as he waited for an answer. Was she evading the question?

Alex recognized his irritation and sat forward in the chair and leaned on the table. "Bobby, I told you why at the department; it was uncalled for and rude."

Bobby nodded a little, but he was still confused. "It's just...I do that all the time, it's the way I am and you've never had a problem with it before."

"Yes, I have, but I just ignore it because you usually do it to suspects or hostile witnesses, people I'm not looking to form friendships with."

"You want to be their friend?"

Alex shook her head at his oblivious nature to such things as forming bonds. "Why not? I like them, they're good cops and when..." she faltered as she stared hard at him; her face was slipping as she tried to control her emotions. "When you were taken, they were there for me. Bobby, I know you and Stabler can't be in the same room together without having a pissing contest, but he was busting his ass trying to find you. I mean, he went from hitting you one day to going to bat for you against a Judge the next. And Benson has done nothing but try and be on good terms with us."

"I was trying to be nice, he was the one that-that second-guessed me and told me that he didn't trust my profile."

Alex wanted to laugh. "Jesus Christ, Goren, the one person who had the nerve to contradict you and you attacked him."

"Attack? I didn't-"

"Maybe not with your fists, but with your words."

Bobby stared into Alex's stern eyes for a long moment before closing his eyes and rubbing at his forehead. "Okay."

"Okay, what?"

He opened his eyes to be staring into her pleading ones. Bobby loved Alex's caramel colored eyes, but to see her looking at him like that always broke his resilience. "I'll...try to be, nicer."

Alex didn't look convinced but she nodded anyway.

"I mean it," he seriously told her. "If you want to be friends with them, then...I'll back you up, Alex."

She didn't say anything for such a long time that Bobby was starting to get nervous. He needed to know what she was thinking behind those stunned yet contemplated eyes. Draining his glass, he went to stand when she was up and kissing him so hard he nearly fell backwards out of the chair. The bruising kiss was so intense that when it ended he couldn't breathe, or barely form a thought.

"Thank you," she whispered against his lips before picking up her plate and empty glass and headed to the sink.

Bobby sat confused until he could think straight again, and then the only thing he could say was "You're welcome."

TBC...