Bobby POV


"So how's the case coming?"

Logan's question was posed as he sat heavily in the chair next to me, and his eyes were still on his wife, who's at the bar with Alex.

We just got to Steve-O's a few minutes ago, and it seems like we beat everyone else here, so we pushed a few tables together and now it's time to relax.

Funny how much I feel I need the relaxation, considering it's only Monday.

I mean, I used to work for weeks…months, really, without a break. Time away from the squad room didn't mean I wasn't thinking about cases or reading files or doing something work related.

Of course, that was before Alex.

Now as much as we live for the job, what's more important is the time we can carve away for ourselves, whether it's with friends or just the two of us.

"A non-starter," I answered as Alex and Carolyn got back, each of them carrying two glasses of beer. "Well, technically."

"Technically?"

"COD was a self-inflicted overdose," I explained.

"Ha," Logan responded as he shook his head. "Figures."

"What?"

"Definitely not worth me getting upset over, huh?"

"You mean because Ross gave it to us instead of you?" Alex questioned. "You know he didn't…"

"I know," Logan interrupted, and I'm glad to see that he truly seems to understand Ross' motive for withholding that case. It wasn't about lack of trust or prejudice about his new family, but just simply concern for Logan himself.

"It's just…" he continued, but then he trailed off, still grinning as he looked at Carolyn, as though the two of them are sharing a secret. And then I guess he silently told her she could spill the beans because otherwise she never would've said what she did next.

"He voluntarily spent his lunch break in Skoda's office," she revealed, and she said it teasingly, but I can also tell that she's proud of him.

Hell, I'm proud of him.

He talked to a shrink?

Already?

Without being coerced or threatened or strong-armed?

He's miles ahead of me when it comes to stuff like that.

Alex reached across the front of me and put her hand against Logan's forehead.

"You don't feel warm," she remarked, working hard to hold back a grin. "But that strep might be coming back, so maybe you should get checked out."

"Funny girl, huh?" he joked. "And don't get too excited. It's not like I'm going back or anything. I just…felt like I needed an objective opinion on some things."

I nodded thoughtfully, impressed with his maturity.

"Did it help?" I asked.

He caught my eye and was quiet for a solemn moment before breaking into a smile again and saying, "Hell no. He's a shrink, right? What does he know?"

"What does who know?" Lupo asked, having just crossed the bar and pulled up a chair. Bernard was right behind him and he sat down next to his partner.

"Skoda," I clarified as I waved to the waitress. "Knows nothing."

"And this is news?" Bernard said on a laugh.

"So what'd you guys get today?" Carolyn asked them. "Anything good?"

"Paint by numbers," Lupo answered easily. "State senate staffer, death by twenty-two."

I sat back in the chair and picked up my glass, always in for a quick solve.

"So…scandal cover-up? Money or sex? No, wait…drugs," I guessed spiritedly.

"You don't get enough of this stuff during the day?" Alex asked as she nudged her leg against mine. "Let the boys work their own case."

But Lupo answered me anyway, saying, "We're not sure yet, but I'm thinking he stumbled onto some shady backroom deals."

"Uh uh," Bernard said, shaking his head. "It's an affair, Lupes. Didn't you see how the wife was shooting daggers at the assistant?"

"Then why isn't the assistant dead?" Lupo argued.

"Because the wife put a stop to it, only the staffer already had the skinny, so he was blackmailing them for a better position," Bernard replied. It sounds like they've had this discussion once or twice already today, but that's the sign of a good partnership. They each have their own idea of what went down, but they'll work together to follow the evidence and find the truth.

Lord knows Alex and I have been on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to theories.

Even this morning, when we went to Hell's Kitchen.

"You think it's the Irish?" she asked me as we made the drive.

"Ross does. That's why he wouldn't give it to Logan, right?"

"I guess. They're going to have to talk about that, though, because if Ross keeps cherry picking, Logan's going to get pissed."

"I'm sure he is already," I pointed out. I hadn't even been in the room when the case was doled out, but I can imagine Logan's face if he felt like he was being slighted. "Maybe we should say something to Ross."

"Not yet. Let's see if they work it out," she suggested. "And as for this case, it's hard to say. I don't even see anything here that indicates why it might be a Major Case. The victim hasn't been ID'd. No COD yet, so no sign of a pattern."

We still weren't sure once we got to the crime scene.

"Detectives," Liz greeted us. "I can't say for sure yet, but I think you might be wasting your time."

"Because…"

"See this?" she asked as she used a glove finger to move the victim's watchband aside.

"Track marks?"

"Fresh," Liz said with a nod. "As in…hours old."

"So where's the needle?" I posed as I glanced around.

"Under the body. Give me another minute, and we'll get her moved, and then you can take a closer look at it."

Alex and I checked out the vicinity while Liz secured the body on a gurney and loaded it into the coroner's van, and then we met back at the spot where the body had been.

A used syringe was lying on the pavement, the casing cracked, probably from the weight of the victim falling on it.

"She still had it in her hand…so she was just standing right here?" Alex deliberated. "She burns out the mainline, then bottoms out before she can put it away?"

"It happens."

"Look at her clothes. Does that outfit say junkie to you?"

"Again…"

"Yeah, I know. Park Avenue does drugs just like Two Twenty-third," she retorted.

"I'm not saying you're wrong."

"You're not saying I'm right, either," she said with a small smile.

"Let's find out what was in this syringe," I said as I bagged the needle. "We'll see what she was doing and if it coincides with the drugs in her system."

So we did.

She was shooting Fentanyl. It matched up with Liz's findings, too.

"COD is Fentanyl overdoes," she said on the phone. "It looks like she's been using it for quite a while, although not always through injection. But still…I'd say it's an accidental overdose."

So…case closed.

"Okay. Did you get an ID on her?"

"Not yet. No prints on file, but I'm running her face through DMV and Missing Persons. When I get a hit, I'll pass it on to the locals for notification."

"Or…"

"Or I can call and let you know?"

"That'd be great," I said. "See you tonight, okay?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

I hung up with her and then passed along the information to Alex.

"Why'd you tell her to call you?"

"Because…I don't know."

"Because you think I might be right," she said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Maybe," I conceded.

She looked at me triumphantly and then pulled out the file to write up our notes, and I took a moment to think back over the details.

I mean, Alex made a good point.

Addicts take care of their needles because they aren't always easy to come by, and she was in a public place at six-thirty in the morning…she wouldn't have kept the needle out another second longer than necessary, and yet it was still in her hand when she hit the ground.

And she was dressed nice.

Like Upper East Side nice.

Not that an addict has to look like one, but still…there are a few lingering questions in my mind.

Although even if she finds out the victim's ID, it won't really matter.

Because once the ME says it's not murder, there isn't a whole lot we can do.

Of course, since the ME happens to be walking through the bar right now, coming to drink a few beers with us, I can probably get her to hold off on that official designation for a little while.

"Before you ask, I still don't have an ID," Liz commented as she sat down.

"You think I was going to hit you up for information about a case?" I asked innocently.

"A non-case," Alex reminded me purposefully.

"Right," I agreed. "But still…"

"Your overdose?" Ross questioned. "You're still looking into that?"

"There are a few loose ends," Alex explained. "And you know how Bobby hates those."

Ross smirked as he nodded, and then he glanced over at Logan and said, "This is my payback for not giving you guys the case, right? Bobby's going to make a federal case out of an OD."

"Not a federal case," I argued, but Ross was chuckling as he said, "Tie up your loose ends, Goren. I'll give you another twenty-four hours to decide whether or not it warrants a full investigation."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Liz said smartly. "Does the Chief of D's decide cause of death? Because I'm pretty sure I said self-inflicted overdose."

"She's got you there, boss," Lupo said with a grin. "You might want to think about asking nicely."

"That usually involves saying please," Bernard added.

"I was already planning to do the begging tonight," I spoke up in an effort to take up for Ross, since he was giving me leeway on the case.

Of course, my comment didn't come out exactly as I intended.

Logan barked out a laugh and said, "We really don't want to know about the sex games you and Alex play."

"I meant with Liz," I corrected quickly, and at everyone's continued laughter, I added, "About the cause of death."

"But you're still going to beg later, too, right?" Alex remarked, playfully adding fuel to the fire, and then conversation quickly devolved into a barrage of innuendo.

"Alright," Ross said loudly in an effort to stave off further discussion, and at first I wasn't sure why, but then I saw Jeremy and Mulder approaching the table.

"Don't want to give him any ideas, huh, boss?" Logan joked quietly.

"He heard more than enough last Friday night."

Liz cleared her throat and caught my eye across the table and said, "But in answer to your question, Bobby, yes, I'll hold off another day."

Which means we get to spend tomorrow…doing what? We don't even know who she is yet. Am I just looking for a puzzle when there isn't one?

"Maybe we can trace the Fentanyl," Alex whispered as everyone else started talking with the newcomers. "And talk to regulars in the area. Someone has to know who she is, even if the facial recognition program comes up empty."

I love how we're always just right there.

I flashed her a smile and took hold of her hand under the table and then settled in for the group conversation.

We spent a couple more hours at Steve-O's before making the short walk home. By the time we left, the place was packed, mostly with our friends. Lauren, Jennifer, Mary, and John…they all showed up shortly after Mulder and Jeremy. Connie arrived not long after that, as well as Cutter and it was nice to see how at ease he is now with our group.

And yet at the same time, there were a lot of undertones going on.

Lauren was especially quiet, and I noticed Bernard's worried glances.

Mary and John were having a subtle argument, about which Jennifer and Cutter seemed to have taken opposing sides.

"Sounds like Mulder had a good first day," Alex commented as we stood together on the shaggy green rug in the bathroom, each of us brushing our teeth.

"I'm glad he didn't get into any trouble over what happened in Boston yesterday."

"Agent Stern must be one of the good guys," she speculated.

"Uh huh. I guess Mary and John are still battling over how much protection he needs."

"Do you blame her for worrying about him? His name was mentioned three times in two days."

"Hey, I'm on her side," I assured her. "We know how ruthless those guys can be. So Mulder's going to work on the emails, right? I bet he'll have something fairly quickly. They're mobsters, not computer wizards."

She hummed her agreement as she put away her toothbrush, and then I asked, "Can you believe Logan talked to Skoda?"

I'm still having trouble swallowing that bit of information and yet it seems like it did him a world of good.

He and Ross made nice.

He's still upbeat about his family ties.

And he's making headway on his case. It's a sticky one, too, involving Kevin Shaw.

"He says he wasn't there," Logan told me earlier this evening.

"And you believe him? You said they have his tags, right?"

"Partial. And just because his car was there.."

"I know," I agreed. "Just don't…"

I trailed off at that point, not wanting to preach to him, especially considering he spent time in both Ross' and Skoda's offices today.

"Buy property in Florida without getting a ground test first?" he supplied, clearly not at all offended by my implied caveat.

"Something like that."

"I'm walking the steps," he assured me. "And Carolyn's right beside me, and you know what she'll do to me if I get out of line."

"Nothing you won't like, I'm sure," Alex had piped in, and that had him off and running, teasing about exactly what Carolyn likes to do to him when he's been a bad boy.

"Hey, I don't suppose you talked to my dad today," Alex asked me as she pulled out a hand towel to wash her face.

"No, why?"

"It's just been awhile since we've peeked in on the business. It worries me a little."

"We'll stop by in the morning, on the way to work," I offered.

"It's not necessary. I'll just give him a call," she said easily. I'm not sure how much longer we'll hang onto the PI business, considering how well things are going at 1PP.

Technically it's Carolyn's business, so that decision should be up to her, but I know she'll put it to a vote with all of us.

Although it might be kind of nice to keep it running, just as a back-up. Maybe something to keep our minds occupied if things ever slow down at work.

"So where's your money on Lupo's case?"

"You mean am I on board with the ethics violations or the affair?" I asked with a smile. I'm not sure what it is about crime-solving that always makes me happy.

Well, it hasn't always.

But it does now.

Doing it with Alex.

"I think it's unrelated," I stated.

"Really? It's just coincidence that he's a staffer on a campaign?"

"Uh huh. You disagree?"

"I like Bernard's theory," she remarked. "The affair, blackmail…it's textbook."

The mention of Bernard's name had my mind thinking back over the evening. How Lauren sat quietly next to her husband for most of the night, not contributing much.

"Oh hey, was it just me, or was Lauren off tonight? Is something going on with her?"

"You mean other than her rapist escaping prison?"

"That guy Flowers?" I asked in surprise. "He's out? Since when?"

"Just this weekend."

"How come you know that and I don't?"

She smirked at me through the mirror's reflection and said, "Honey, there are so many things I know that you don't."

I quirked an eyebrow at her, but as usual, she makes a very good point.

"Connie told me while we were in the ladies' room at Steve-O's," she confessed. "She said Detective Benson is working on a lead, but I'm sure it has to be unsettling for Lauren."

"Not the way to start a marriage," I commented.

"Well, Mike and Carolyn got married after almost getting blown up, so…"

"True," I said with a smile. "And I was still recovering from the baseball bat to the leg."

"Oh, speaking of Jocelyn Moser…Cutter said her appeal is gaining momentum."

"She was forcing girls into prostitution by getting them hooked on drugs and threatening deportation. She really has a chance to go free?"

She shrugged and turned towards me, looking directly at me instead of through the mirror.

"Do you really want to stand here and talk about Jocelyn Moser?" she asked, and she's got that look in her eye that gets my motor running.

"What are my other options?"

"We could go to bed," she posed. "And not talk."

As she made the suggestion, she turned and went into the other room, shedding her clothes as she walked.

I'm thinking talking's overrated.

TBC...

Next up: Cutter


A/N: Don't get too spoiled with the quick postings - I'm just catching us up to where we were before. After ch10, it'll probably go back to one or two new chapters per week. Thanks for reading :)