A/N: Ahem. Another day of avoiding the homework assignment from hell . . . another day taken up by trying to keep myself from ficcing. Another failure at that ;) Oh, and apologies for any typos . . . it's way past my bedtime and my eyes are crossing, but I stayed up to finish this so I didn't have an excuse not to do my homework come tomorrow.

"Here we go," Alex said, walking out of Barek's kitchen and into the living room. "Two more mudslides, made to order."

Carolyn grunted her thanks and accepted one of the glasses from her, then gestured toward the movie playing on the television. "Think we'd make it through that?"

"What?" She put down the drink she was still holding on the coffee table and dropped onto the couch, then looked at the TV. "SEAL training?"

"Yeah." Barek took a sip of her drink and made a pleased-sounding humming noise. "You make these so much better than I do. How is that possible when it only involves dumping half the bottle in the blender and adding ice?"

Alex smirked. "Probably has something to do with how much soberer than you I am. You almost ran into the wall the last time you went to refill the drinks."

Carolyn thought about that, then frowned. "You are more sober than me. That's not fair! You've been drinking just as much, and I probably weigh more than you."

"You're just out of practice," Alex told her with exaggerated gravity, reaching over to give her a pat on the knee. "We'll start doing this more often and I'll get you into fighting shape. Then we'll challenge the guys to a drink-off."

"Speaking of challenging the guys," Barek replied, "I was serious - do you think we'd make it through SEAL training?"

"Hmm." She contemplated the scene playing on the screen in front of them, where Demi Moore was getting the living hell beat out of her. "Assuming we could physically stay alive through treatment like that? Hell yeah, we would. Me, I'd probably kill at least one of the jerks before I got through training, though. I think they frown on that, so maybe the Navy isn't my best choice for a career path."

Carolyn barely avoided snorting a sip of mudslide through her nose in response to that. "You know, when I picture that, I see Goren trailing along behind you, just waiting for you to let him get in on the revenge."

Alex grinned. "Oh yeah? What, you think Logan wouldn't actually go and push you aside do he could get to the guy? At least Bobby would ask first."

Stricking out her tongue, Barek rolled her eyes at the other woman. "Yeah, yeah, so my partner's got issues. At least he's getting a handle on them."

"He is?" Before Barek could answer that, Alex got to her feet. "I'm getting the ice cream out again. Which one do you want?"

"Yeah, he is. Him and Goren both are starting to get the hang of acting like human beings." She took another sip of her drink, then shrugged. "Grab me the brownie ice cream," she called after Alex, who was already on her way to the kitchen.

"True, he does seem to be losing his temper less," Alex called back, her voice muffled by the open freezer door. "You know anything about why that is?" she added, her voice innocent but her expression knowing, as she grabbed the ice cream and closed the freezer.

"What do you mean by that?"

Alex abruptly tossed the ice cream carton to her, grinning when Barek caught it handily. "Nice reflexes. And I didn't mean anything . . . except that you seem to mellow him out. Release some of his nervous energy, let's say."

"Mmm." Barek picked up the spoon she'd left on the coffee table when they put the ice cream away last, licked it clean of thin mint remnants, and pulled the lid off of the carton. "Don't think I don't know what you're implying."

"Oh?" Alex raised her eyebrows, brandishing her own spoon. "And what is it that I'm implying? Finish your drink."

"You're trying to get me to confirm or deny that me and Mike are . . ." She finished the sentence with a grunt and a shrug as she spooned a bite of ice cream into her mouth.

"Damn straight I am." Alex took a sip of her drink. "Can you blame me, after that show me and Bobby walked in on last night? What was that, coed naked beer pong?"

"We weren't naked!"

"Yeah, but only because we got there before he got all your clothes off you." Smirking, she added, "Did he apologize for ruining your blouse?"

Barek flushed and looked down at her drink, saying nothing.

"Why are you being so closed-mouth about this?" Alex prodded. "You afraid if you talk about it, it'll be real and you'll have to actually think about what it means for you guys?"

Carolyn downed the rest of her drink, scowling at the other woman over the rim of the glass. "Psychoanalysis, Alex? You're starting to sound like your partner."

"Yeah, well, my partner's usually right when it comes to stuff like that," Alex pointed out. "So answer the question."

Barek sighed. "Would you answer a question for me, first?" she asked, speaking more quietly now, as she set down her now-empty glass.

Alex blinked, feeling a vague sense of alarm at the new hint of worry in her friend's voice. "Yeah, I guess. What?"

"Mike talks to you, right? I mean, I know I know you and he talk about you and Goren, so I figure you probably . . . you know, talk about stuff about him, too, right?"

"Well, yeah," Alex said slowly, "but we haven't been friends for very long. I don't know what I can tell you about him, if that's what you're about to ask." She paused, studying Barek's face, then stood. "I'm going to refill our drinks. You can ask me your question when I come back."

"Uh, ok." She sat in silence as Alex left the room, then accepted her drink equally silently when Alex returned.

"So?" Alex prompted when Carolyn continued to do her best impression of a deaf-mute. "What's your question?"

Barek took a fortifying sip of her mudslide, then returned the glass to the table, keeping her hands wrapped around it as though for reassurance. "Has he talked to you about, you know . . . women?"

"You mean like ex-girlfriends?" Alex asked warily. "I, uh . . . well, no." And he hadn't, not really. He'd let a few things slip here and there, and she'd heard the same rumors as everyone else, but she didn't know anything concrete. And the last thing she wanted to do tonight was share her inferences with Barek and then turn out to be wrong.

Barek, though drunk, had perfectly good hearing, and she didn't miss the uncertainty in the statement. "You don't sound sure of that."

Alex took a quick sip of her drink. "He really hasn't, Carolyn. All I have is the same impressions and rumors you've already heard."

"Well, has he talked about me?"

She considered for a moment telling Barek about how Bobby had agreed to pump the other man for information, but decided against it. "Not much. The thing is, ever since you and he . . . you know, became an interesting topic . . . I've hardly seen him without you or Bobby, or both of you, being there too."

"So you don't . . . he hasn't told you anything?"

Shaking her head, Alex reached for her drink again. "He hasn't said anything specific to me, but Carolyn . . . I know he likes you. He watches you at work. He blows off going out at night in favor of eating pizza with me and Bobby because it means you'll be there. That's a change for him, hon. A big one."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She smiled at Barek. "Now it's your turn. What's up with you two?"

Carolyn toyed with her glass. "Nothing definite."

"Nothing definite?" Alex echoed with raised eyebrows. "You're tearing each other's clothes off whenever we leave you alone, and you say there's nothing definite?"

"We're not . . .!"

"Bull. Just tell me, Carolyn. You know I'm not going to spread rumors or anything. I just want to know where you guys are."

Barek sighed. "We haven't slept together, if that's what you're asking, but we're kind of . . . you know, moving in that direction."

"Uh-huh," Alex said thoughtfully. "And what does he have to say about that? For that matter, what do you have to say about that? Good, bad? Commitment, no commitment?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not the one-night-stand type, which I'm sure you already figured out, and I, you know, I think I like him, would like dating him."

"I detect a 'but' coming on."

"Mmm." Carolyn nodded and reached back to re-tie her ponytail, just to keep her hands busy so she didn't fidget. "Well, I mean, it's like you said. It seems really . . . un-Logan, the way he's acting. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, when I'll find out that I'm just a . . . a conquest and I've been taking this much too seriously."

"So he hasn't said anything that hinted either way? Nothing about you guys being an 'us' or anything?"

Barek ruminated on that for a few seconds before shrugging again. "How do you tell the difference between a partner's 'us' and a boyfriend's 'us,' when they're both the same person?"

Alex opened her mouth, then closed it again as she tried to think of an answer to that question. "I . . . you know, I don't have a clue how you do that. Maybe go by whether he's kissing you while he says it? Or not. You have a good point asking it, though, because I really have no idea. Does he even talk about things like 'What are you doing tomorrow night' or anything?"

"Did Goren?"

"Huh?" Alex managed, caught off guard by the turn-around. "Did Goren what?"

"Did he make it clear what he wanted, I mean?" Carolyn downed half of what remained of her mudslide, then wrinkled her nose at finding that it was mostly melted. "Did he talk about 'us' and stuff?"

Eames thought back a few weeks, trying to remember how she and Goren had gotten from being friendly partners to saying I love you to each other. "Well, it was kind of different with us. He . . . acted out, first."

"Acted out?" Barek echoed. "What does that mean?"

She smiled a little at the memory of their almost-romance mixed in with bloody work of the Andrew Kim case. "He started getting jealous of every man that came near me. But it wasn't 'til I threatened to put in for another partner that he actually opened his mouth and told me why he'd been acting like such an ass."

"Hmm. That's no good to me. If anything, Logan's being too nice, not being an ass. So what, Goren just came out and said, 'I want you to be more than my partner'?"

"Um, no, not quite. That came later. Actually, it was your partner's fault when he finally did."

Barek blinked. "My partner?"

"Yeah," Alex said with a grin. "Remember, I told you they got in a fight?" When the other woman nodded, she shrugged. "When Bobby punched him, I kicked Logan out and kept Goren in, and we had a knock-down-drag-out until he admitted that he was so afraid someone was going to steal me away because I'm the only one who 'fits' with him." She paused, then added, "And don't ever tell him I told you this, please. He'll either kill me or die of embarrassment."

Carolyn couldn't help but smile at the story, even as abbreviated as it was. "That's cute, Alex! At least Logan's good for something."

"Yeah, but we're not talking about what already he did for me; we're talking about what he can do for you," Alex reminded her.

"I don't know. I'm afraid to push. What if I'm just taking this way too seriously and he's just having a little fun? Because if that's what it is, I'm not sure I want to know."

Alex sighed. "You've got me there. Hey," she added, noticing that the TV screen had gone dark, "movie's over. Want to start the other one?"

"Yeah," Barek said, brightening considerably. "I could use a good cry right about now. Tell you what: you go grab the thin mint and open the wine, and I'll go find us a box of tissues."

"Now that," Alex said as she stood up, "is my idea of a fun way to spend the rest of the night. Screw our partners, I want to drool over Patrick Swayze!"

Carolyn, who was on her feet and almost out of the room at that point, stopped and looked over her shoulder at the other woman. "You're weird, Eames. You know that?"

Alex just shrugged. "You have to be weird to get along with Goren."

"Yeah," Barek muttered, smothering a giggle, as she headed out of the room again. "And you have to be even weirder to sleep with him."

"I heard that!"