Bobby POV

Ross' offer took me by surprise.

We could keep working for the department as partners?

My first response to that was no.

If the offer had been made even just a few weeks ago, I may feel differently about it, but I had things straight in my head now.

I was perfectly happy to leave MCS.

Not only that, but we'd committed to Logan and Carolyn. They'd gotten rid of her smaller office so that there would be room for all four of us. They'd been drumming up business and had clients waiting in the wings for our start date.

But the flip side of that? Three years and Alex could have her retirement.

She would have a full pension instead of the prorated one that she qualified for now. It felt to me like maybe that would be a more prestigious end to her career rather than walking out early.

So for Alex, I held my tongue and tried to remain impartial.

I listened as Ross outlined Akers' proposal. He would tear up our paperwork. We would stay on at MCS for three years as partners. We could have our pick of cases.

And if the first part of the proposition didn't have me suspicious, then without a doubt the last part would've sounded the alarm.

Our pick of cases?

That was unheard of. Distributing the caseload, assigning the best-suited detectives to a case when available…that was Ross' job.

Akers wanted leverage on us. He was afraid that we might cause trouble for the department if we talked publicly about what had happened with Moran.

"Captain, with all due respect, I'm a little suspicious about the offer," Alex remarked.

On the same page, as usual, I thought with a smile.

"As well you should be," Ross replied. He looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't.

"Akers is putting pressure on you to talk us into it, isn't he?" I asked him.

"Obviously for good reason," he said with a cynical grin. "You know how to read between the lines with the best of them."

"How much trouble are you going to be in if we decline?" Alex asked him.

"I'm not worried about that. Politics aside, you two need to do what's best for you."

"We'd like to take some time to discuss it," I said. I wasn't going to speak for Alex. I felt her hand brush my leg, but it was only fleeting, just a means of getting my attention.

"Bobby," she said quietly.

I'd been avoiding looking at her because I didn't want to project my wishes onto her. I knew she could take one look at my face and know what I was thinking.

She was worried, up until as recently as last week in St. Thomas, that I would regret leaving the department.

If they were offering to let us stay as partners, she would do it if she thought I wanted to.

And of course, I would do it if I thought she wanted to.

If we weren't careful, we'd end up like the damn O'Henry story.

But I looked at her and she looked at me and I realized that I had worried for nothing. We were of one mind.

"We don't need to take any time," she corrected. I nodded slightly and so did she, maintaining our visual connection. "We're not interested in staying on with the department."

"Are you sure?"

"We're sure," I said. I finally broke our gaze and looked back at Ross. "If there weren't strings, we may have entertained the possibility, but to be honest, we've already made commitments elsewhere. And I think we've both made our peace with it."

"That's right," she agreed. "But again, I'm wondering what the cost will be for you."

"I probably won't get invited to the Commissioner's Ball this year," he replied sarcastically.

"That's no loss," Liz commented as she came into the room. "Those things are a snooze fest anyway."

"So he's seriously putting the screws to you to get us to come back?" I asked.

"He recommended that I use any means necessary. Although I don't think for a second that he expected you to decline."

"I guess he doesn't know us very well," Alex said.

With that, Ross let the topic drop and Liz waved us all into the kitchen.

Dinner went better than I'd expected.

Ross seemed almost normal, and his reluctance to follow Akers' orders and try to entice us to stay with MCS really gave me a newfound respect for him.

I had thought that he was all about the book, but maybe he was learning to follow his own code of ethics rather than someone else's. I could have taught him that lesson a long time ago, but I guess each person has to get there at their own pace.

"So did you guys find a new place?" Liz asked.

"We did. My dad found it for us, actually. It's in Brooklyn."

"We just got some furniture today, so it's starting to shape up," I added.

"You've been living there without furniture?" Ross asked.

I shrugged. I wasn't going to mention that we had a bed. Somehow I knew that would earn me a kick from Alex, even though I would only be stating the facts.

"So, Brooklyn," Liz said. "Is it anywhere near Logan?"

"Somewhat. It's about ten blocks away from them."

"That'll be nice for when you start working together. I take it the business is going well?"

"Carolyn has a lot of connections," I answered. "The FBI loves her."

"As long as you use her for your PR instead of Logan, you guys should be fine," Liz teased.

"Mike's not good with public relations, but he was with the force for a long time, so he knows quite a few people, too. He's been able to bring in several clients already," Alex spoke up in Logan's defense.

Not that Liz was seriously insulting him, because I know for a fact that Rodgers thinks very highly of Logan.

But I've also noticed that Alex always takes up for Mike. Unless he's teasing her. Then she gives him hell.

"When do you start working with them?" Ross asked.

"A week from Monday. We were going to take time off for a honeymoon, but since we were able to get that in last week, we'll just start right away," I replied.

"Yes, and thank you for that," Alex added. "We really appreciate the time off. You'll probably take some heat for that, too, won't you?"

"I have a feeling I'm going to be the department whipping boy for awhile."

"Well, let me know if you need any pointers on that," I said. Ross looked shocked that I'd made a joke about it, but Liz and Alex started laughing.

After his stun passed, he managed a light chuckle.

"I think I probably had that one coming," he admitted.

"I didn't mean…"

"It's fine, Goren. Really," he insisted with a wave of his hand. And he seemed sincere, so I let it go. Aside from that, he'd called me Goren instead of reverting to detective, so all seemed well.

"Oh, I looked into that Rhonda Hagen case," he said after a minute. "They're going to send it back to Major Case."

"A cold case file is coming back to us even though there aren't any new murders?" Alex asked him.

"I requested it. It was your case originally. You and Goren can work it this week. I'm sure Logan will want to stick his nose in it, too, since he's the one getting the pornographic text messages."

"Pornographic texts?" Liz asked, nearly choking on her drink.

"Oh, the captain didn't tell you about that?" Alex asked with a smirk.

Don't say it, Alex, I silently begged.

I wasn't sure if I could handle those words coming out of her mouth in the presence of our boss. Which was silly, really.

I'd heard her say far worse things during the course of previous investigations, but for some reason…and maybe it was the fact that I now had carnal knowledge of exactly how well she could use that mouth…I'm not sure. But whatever the cause, it was difficult for me to remain detached when she started talking dirty.

"I'm sure Liz doesn't want to hear it," Ross said, cutting Alex off before she could say anything.

"I'm sure Liz does," Rodgers countered with a smile. "This is the woman who killed the old man with carbon monoxide poisoning, right? And then got his son to dump him in the river?"

"That's right," Alex confirmed. "When we went to arrest her, she had taken off. She sends Logan a random text every month or so. This latest was especially descriptive."

"I think she's going to come back soon, if she's not back already," I said. "She's going to reach out to him. She's escalating in her need to get his attention."

"Yeah, I'd say this last one got his attention," Alex added. "I don't remember the last time I saw him look so embarrassed."

"Logan? Embarrassed? Okay, now you have to tell me," Liz said.

I was saved from hearing the recount by my ringing phone.

"Excuse me for just a minute," I said and then I got up from the table and stepped back into the living room. I didn't recognize the number on the display, but I answered it anyway.

"Goren."

"Bobby? It's Irene. I can't find Dylan."

"Can't find him? What do you mean? Where are you?"

"My mom posted bail for me today. I got out and came back to her house with her. Dylan was here all evening. We had dinner an hour ago, and then he went up to his room. I just checked on him and he's not there."

I wasn't sure why she had called me, although I guess the rest of her support system was still in jail.

"Can you come?" she asked me. "I'm really scared. I think he overheard me and my mother talking about what was going on…please, Bobby. I need you."

I closed my eyes while my brain raced.

Would the boy have really run away? Or was he just off sulking somewhere?

Should I bump it off to the local precinct? Did I really want to get sucked back into Irene's world?

"Please," she said again. "Bring Alex. I don't mean…I'm not trying…I just need your help. Both of you."

"Okay," I agreed. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

I hung up but didn't make a move toward the kitchen yet. I ran my hand over my face and took a deep breath.

"We'll be where?"

I turned to find Alex standing in the doorway.

"Dylan ran away. Irene called to ask…to beg for our help."

"Ran away? How long ago?"

"She last saw him an hour ago."

"Last saw who?" Ross asked as he came up behind Alex. Liz was with him, too.

"Dylan Medina. He's run away, or so that's the consensus."

"Did she check with any other family?"

"They're all in jail. Mostly anyway. The sister-in-law wouldn't have any interest in him, but we'll check her out. I think that's it."

"What about his friends?"

"She called around, but he's been on Long Island with the grandmother all week. His friends are in Murdock Woods."

"He's ten. I'm sure he can figure out public transportation," Ross said.

"This is the little boy of your murder victim?" Liz asked.

Alex nodded and went to get our coats.

"We'll come, too," Ross said. "Let's not have this case end any more tragically than it already has. Maybe we can get it resolved without calling in the locals. Otherwise, it might look bad on Irene. Even if it's not her fault, they could still revoke her bail."

I was happy to hear that Ross was so willing to help, and even more surprised when, as we were all walking out to our cars, he added,

"Hell, call Logan, too. See if he and Carolyn can help. With six of us looking, we should be able to find him in no time."

TBC...