Disclaimer: Once more, Law and Order Criminal Intent and all it's characters don't belong to me. So far, the only character that belongs to me is the illusive Adrian Night. Everything else belongs to Dick Wolf.

Apathy Chapter 2: Night still rules over the day

"So Adrian." Logan started, watching the young man whom was sitting in the small desk behind the cement post he had once occupied. "How are you liking your new desk?" he inquired, a taunting smirk crossing his lips.

"It's fine. I've had worse." he grumbled, eyes narrowing at the older detective for a moment before he sat back in the rickety chair.

"At least you aren't complaining. That's always a good sign. I'm sure everyone will like you more than they like old Logan here." Barek stated as she approached her partner, patting him lightly on the back.

"I'm going to beat you over the head with...a fish." Mike muttered, playfully shoving Barek away.

"Pfft. I'd like to see you try Mikey-boy." came her retort as she offered him a smile.

It was Tuesday morning, the second day Adrian had been with the major case squad. He had joined on Monday and had put the 4 veteran detectives ill at ease with the fact he was well aware of their names, and claimed he knew a lot of their background information. Logan and Barek didn't seem to mind him much, and Eames ignored him the best she could. Goren on the other hand, seemed to treat Detective Night like he had some sort of disease. He avoided him like the plague which began to worry Alex. It wasn't like her partner to outright shove people away, not without giving them a chance or getting to know them.

Currently, the blond haired detective was sitting at her desk, frowning as she stared at Goren's empty chair across from her. He was late, that wasn't like him. Tapping her pen on the desk, she looked around the room, seeming twitchy. Her hazel eyes finally landed upon Logan and Night just in time to see Barek walk off towards the vending machines.

"At least Mike seems to be getting along with the new kid..." she murmured softly to herself, facing forward to look at Goren's seat and jumped slightly, surprised to find her partner sitting there, watching her.

"You know he's going to be trouble if Logan is getting along with him." Goren mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

"Nice of you to show up. Are you okay?" Eames asked, leaning forward slightly, propping her elbows on the desk so she could rest her chin in her hands.

"Fine. Why do you ask?" came his reply as he seemed to ease up slightly. This was his partner he was talking to, he didn't need to be tense and overly protective of himself.

"I don't know. I guess it's because you came in late today. It's only 30 minutes late, but still, what kept you?" she inquired, head cocking to the side slightly, her hazel eyes catching the artificial light.

"I got caught in traffic." came his answer as he shrugged.

"You don't drive." Eames retorted, frowning.

"I took the bus." he replied.

"Show me the bus ticket." she commanded.

"I...don't have one. I didn't need one, I just paid with the change I had." he answered.

"You're lying." Alex stated, frowning.

"No I'm not." Bobby muttered.

"Yes you are. If you took the bus here, that means you're probably going to take the bus home. So therefore you, being Bobby Goren, would get a day pass for the bus." she stated.

"I'm going to walk home." he replied, shifting in his seat. This was something he hadn't wanted to do. Arguing with his partner wasn't on his to-do list for the day.

"Why won't you talk to me?" Alex questioned.

"I am talking to you." answered the older detective.

"That's not what I meant Bobby." she retorted. "You know what I mean."

"Are you sure about that? It's not like I'm a mind reader or anything." came his irritated answer. "Why don't you just stay out of my life. I don't interrogate you whenever you come in late."

"Yes you do." Alex stated.

"Well..." Bobby frowned, trying to think of a retort. Not thinking of anything, he merely growled and pushed away from his desk, standing. "Just forget it." and with that, he left the room, trying to bury his emotions.

"Oh Bobby..." Eames murmured softly, frowning as she watched her partner leave the room.

"Woah, what's eating him?" Barek questioned as she approached Eames's desk, a snicker bar in hand.

"I don't know." Alex answered, sighing. "I'm really worried about him though. He really doesn't seem to like the new kid." her gaze switched to Adrian, and a shiver ran down her spine as their eyes locked and he gave her a feral smirk. It lasted only a second before he continued talking with Logan, making it seem like he hadn't even noticed her.

"You okay there Alex?" Barek questioned when she watched her friend pale considerably.

"Ye...yeah." she answered slowly, running a hand through her hair and closing her eyes for a moment.

"You sure don't look it." the other female detective commented, frowning, concerned.

"I'm fine, promise." Eames answered as she slowly stood. "I'm going to go find Bobby. Make sure Logan and Night don't get into too much trouble alright?" she offered her friend a smile, before turning and leaving the room, leaving Barek standing there.

Sighing, the other female sauntered back over to Mike and Adrian, coming to stand beside her partner as she unwrapped her candy bar. Reaching over, Logan took hold of the top of the Snickers bar and ripped part of it off, popping it into his mouth.

"Thanks for the candy Barek." he stated after he had chewed and swallowed, throwing his partner a grin.

"No problem." she answered and smacked him upside the head.

"Hey!" he whined, rubbing his head. "Must you always hit me?"

"Yup." came her simply reply as she took a bite of her candy bar.

Adrian observed the two silently. In all truth, he had never had a partner to work with. All his teachers had him work alone, since they swore he did better that way. Personally, he had never liked it, but had grown used to it anyway. He didn't need anyone. He could function quite well working on his own. Looking away from Logan and Barek, who seemed to be teasing each other, he allowed his gaze to wander to where he saw Bobby's silhouette, Alex standing near him.

Robert Goren. That was the only one of the 4 detectives he was worried about at the moment. He was obviously the leader, even though Adrian knew Mike liked to believe that was his title. Goren could either make him, or break him. His team, no matter how much they pretended to dislike each other, would follow his lead. If he didn't like him, then they wouldn't like him.

Night couldn't let that happen. Not on his watch. He repressed a growl and kept himself from lashing out as a hand was waved in front of his face. His eyes became focused again as he looked at Logan who was watching him with slight curiosity.

"Welcome back to reality. Have fun in lala land there Adrian?" he questioned, grinning, but it soon disappeared as he saw the cold look Night gave him.

"Sure, whatever. I'm going out for a bit." he muttered softly before standing and grabbing his coat. Putting it on, he left the room, passing by Goren and Eames, pausing in the shadows as he listened to bits and pieces of their conversation.

"It's obvious you don't trust him Bobby...but why?" Eames whispered softly, frowning as she gazed up at her brown eyed partner.

Goren gazed down at her, observing her silently, before shrugging. "I just think he's going to be more trouble than he's worth. It's a feeling I get deep in my gut whenever I look at him. Whenever I look into those eyes...have you noticed how un natural his eye color is?" he questioned.

"Well..yeah. But it's not that weird. Not...really anyway." frowning, she shifted her weight from foot to foot before closing her eyes for a brief moment. Finally, she opened them back up and once more gazed up at Goren.

"I knew you wouldn't understand." he muttered and turned from her, finally noticing the figure that was watching them from the shadows. He growled, "Quite the eavesdropper I see." he stated, glaring as Adrian stepped forward from the shadows.

"I was always a good spy." came his off handed remark, waving his hand lightly as if to dismiss Bobby's aggression towards him. "But seriously." he locked eyes with Goren, which caused the older detective to instinctively move in front of Eames in a defensive manner, throwing up the wall around his mind and emotions, clearing his eyes of all feeling. "You better start giving me a chance. Or you're going to find yourself in a very...unpleasant situation." he offered the older detective a wink, before putting on his sunglasses and stepping out of the hallway, getting into the elevator and vanishing from sight.

"Now can you see why I don't like him?" Bobby questioned, looking at Eames in a pleading fashion.

"No, I can't, other than the fact he's different. But you have to remember Goren," she used his last name in a scolding manner, which actually caused Bobby to flinch, "you are different too. Give him a chance, like I gave you one." and with that, she turned and promptly walked off.

Goren stood there, staring after his partner broken heartedly. Maybe he was over reacting, but something about that boy didn't feel right.

Author notes: Haha, another chapter completed. Hum de dum. Please review. I've got the basic chapters up, and don't plan on embarking into the plot unless people are actually reading this and enjoying it. So yeah. No feedback, no chapters. End of story.