The sun had set and the overhead lights shone brightly on the field. It was the end of the fifth inning of their six inning game, and the score was tied 1-1. Both runs had been scored in the third inning. Casey Novak had scored SVU's sole run, while Logan had made it home off a grounder by Carver. "Not another damn draw!" Logan swore.

"It's just a game, Detective," Carver's ever calm voice informed him.

Logan bit his lip to keep from going off on the ADA. He'd had a run-in with Stabler after their last game and he wanted to beat the SVU team so badly he could taste it. He threw his hat at the ground in front of the bench in frustration. "Maybe you want this too badly, Logan," Goren observed. "You're too…uptight."

Logan glared at him. "Don't profile me," he growled. Goren's half-smile just made him angrier.

Deakins spoke up. "Ok, boys, play nice. Top of the order—Logan you're up."

Barek and Eames were sitting at the end of the bench, closest to where Goren stood. "Are you trying to piss him off totally, Goren?" Barek asked.

"No. I don't get why he's mad. This has been a good game. The teams are closely matched."

"It would help if you tried a little harder," Eames put in.

"What makes you think I haven't been trying?"

"You haven't had a hit yet."

He shrugged. "I've gotten on base. It doesn't matter how you get there."

"You're not a very aggressive player," Barek observed.

Goren just smiled. Eames looked toward the infield. "Your partner is aggressive enough for all of us, Carolyn."

"He is a little competitive."

Logan popped the ball toward left field, where it dropped right in front of Munch. He scooped it up awkwardly and relayed it to Novak who threw it to Fin on second, where Logan was safe.

Carver was up next. Barek watched her partner take a lead off second, but Stabler and his team were watching as well. Three times, Stabler threw the ball to Novak, driving Logan back to the bag. Carver caught the top edge of the ball, bouncing it to Stabler, who threw it to third, but Logan had decided to remain where he was. That pissed off the pitcher. Logan just grinned at him and shrugged.

Barek shook her head. "He really likes goading people," she laughed. She looked at Goren as she got up and walked over to the bats. "Well, maybe you haven't done much at bat, but you are a good fielder. Not what I expected."

"Oh? What did you expect?"

"You're a big guy, Goren." She picked up the bat she liked and swung it. "Most guys I know who are your size aren't very…graceful."

He laughed. "Thanks."

She looked out toward the infield as Hanigan caught of piece of the ball. It skittered up the third base line, where it was neatly scooped up…foot on the bag…and Logan was out.

"Uh, oh," Barek said. "I'm glad I'm up next. Tell you what, Goren."

"What?"

She looked at him. "You hit the ball if you get up to bat again, and I'll buy the beer for you and your partner after the game, win or lose. I don't care where it goes or what happens. Just hit the damn thing."

Goren just smiled that small amused smile Eames knew so well. "Barek!" Logan yelled. "Quit flirting with Goren. You're up."

As she headed toward the plate she held up the bat toward her partner. "If you don't settle down, Logan, I swear I'll use this bat to settle you."

Goren looked at his partner with a frown as she walked around him to loosen up for her turn at bat. "She wasn't flirting," he said with a frown.

She picked up a bat and answered, "Ignore him, Bobby. He's just mad."

Logan finished his cup of Gatorade and sat down in the seat his partner had just vacated. Goren watched him for a minute before Logan noticed. "What?" he snapped.

Goren opened his mouth to say something, but Eames interrupted. "Don't, Goren."

He looked at her innocently. "I wasn't," he protested.

She walked over to him and said quietly, "He's not in a good mood, Bobby, and you are the last person who needs to talk to him. You guys get into a fist fight and Deakins is going to have a cow. I like Carolyn, but I don't want to be partners with her while you two bozos are in time out."

They heard the umpire say, "Ball four! Take a base!"

"That's my cue," Eames said. She looked pointedly from her partner to Logan and said, "Behave."

She stepped up to the plate and Logan muttered, "What are you going to do now, without your bodyguard around?"

Goren frowned at him. "My bodyguard?"

He nodded his head toward homeplate. "She runs interference for you all the time."

Goren looked thoughtful as he picked up two bats and balanced them, one in each hand. Choosing one, he swung it. "So you do know how to swing one of those," Logan observed.

Goren looked at him, bat resting lightly on his left shoulder. Before he could say anything, they heard Eames' bat make contact with the ball. The ball sailed over Stabler's head just out of reach, dropping to the ground between Fin and Novak. Fin scooped it up and scanned the infield. Eames was safe on first, Barek on second, and Carver decided to play it safe and remain where he was on third base.

Deakins called to Goren, "Ok, Bobby. You're up."

As Goren stepped up to the plate, Logan complained, "Has he even swung the bat yet?"

Everyone ignored him. Both detectives were similarly intense, but while Goren's intensity made people nervous, Logan's often made people want to punch him.

Stabler had fallen into a rhythm; over the last three innings the majority of his pitches had been in the strike zone. Logan was getting more and more agitated as Goren continued to let the pitches slide past him. With a full count, two outs and the bases loaded, the next pitch was the one that counted most.

The fastball left Stabler's hand and he was shocked to hear a resounding crack. He swore. That was a solid hit, a powerful hit. He watched helplessly as the grapefruit-sized ball sailed over the heads of his outfielders and beyond the fence at the far end of the field.

Logan just stared, unable to believe what he'd just seen. A grand slam homer. "I'll be damned," he muttered.

"That's what happens when you underestimate him, Logan," Deakins said.

Eames and Barek walked back to the bench with Goren, who returned to his position by the fence.

"Why the hell didn't you do that four innings ago?" Logan asked as he slid over on the bench to make room for Barek and Eames.

Goren shrugged. "I didn't like any of the pitches."

He smiled at his partner, then looked back out across the field. Barek elbowed her partner. "What's up with you, Logan? This is the first time we've ever even been ahead of this team." She looked at Goren and Eames. "He may be competitive, but he's not usually an ass about it."

Logan hated being talked about as if he weren't there. Already irritated, he turned toward his partner. "Look, Barek…"

"You don't want to go there, Logan," Goren warned. "Not with your partner."

Logan got to his feet and glared at Goren, who didn't move. They heard the bat make contact with the ball. Distracted, the tension defused, Logan turned to watch the ball Deakins hit fall into Fin's glove.

Deakins came over to the bench and picked up his glove. "Let's go, kids."

At their final up at bat, SVU scored one run on a line drive from Stabler. The ball shot past Deakins, between Goren and Eames into center field, where it was scooped up and relayed to Goren. He shot the ball to Barek at third just in time for her to tag Stabler out for the second out of the inning. The next two batters, Patterson and Fin, made it to base, but the third out followed when Cragen popped the ball up between second and third, where Eames easily caught it. The final score was Major Case 5, SVU 2.