Diclaimer: I do not own Law and Order Criminal Intent...or the rights to snicker bars.

Apathy Chapter 3: Framed

It was a chilly evening, and Goren noticed it as he treked along the sidewalk, ignoring the cars that went speeding past him. Sure, he could have hailed a taxi, but he felt he needed a good walk, especially after what had happened that day. Tuesday. It was officially the only day he truely hated. First, he had gotten to work late because he had woken up and not had any clean clothes to wear. Next, he had to indure an onslaught of questions from his partner at work for showing up late. Not only that, but he also had to deal with Adrian Night. The stupid new rookie the major case squad had gotten.

Oh how the very thought of Adrian made his blood boil. Something about that boy wasn't right. From his natural navy blue hair, to his eyes of the same hue, Bobby didn't like anything about him. What also helped to unsettle the older detective, was the fact he had yet to see Night's right eye, which seemed to always be covered by his bangs. It was bothersome, especially when he was a person who was big on eye contact.

He could tell what a person was going through by looking into their eyes-usually. That wasn't the case when it came to detective Night though. Maybe that was why he had taken a sudden disliking to the boy. Though, there seemed to be more to it than that. Climbing the stairs to his apartment, he reached into his pocket for his keys before stopping infront of his door.

Freezing, he surveyed it, a frown instantly crossing his lips as he found it slightly ajar. Quickly pocketing his keys, he withdrew his weapons from his holster at his hip. Nudging the door further open with his foot, he slipped in and turned on the light. Once the room was illuminated, he cursed, still ready to shoot if anyone decided to pop out at him. It looked like a tornado had hit his apartment. His living room was messy, his couch sliced open. Papers, crumpled and not littered the room. His coffee table had been knocked over and the coffee mug that had been on it had been knocked over too, spilling what remained of the beverage onto his carpet.

Slowly, being catious, he made his way into the kitchen to find his dishes thrown to the ground, over half of them shattered. Even his kitchen window, which overlooked a rather regal part of the city, had been cracked down the center. Pots and pans were everywhere, joined by what remained of the food he had in his fridge and cupboards. Sighing, he combed the rest of his apartment, finding the bathroom had been flooded and his bed had been ripped to shreads. Thankfully, whoever had done this hadn't found the loose floorboard in his closet where he stored the things that were most precious to him.

Finally dubbing his apartment safe for the time being, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911, before calling Eames as well. He needed to see his partner.

"Detective Goren, whoever did this was smart and didn't leave any of their own evidence behind." one of the CSU techs stated, watching the tired looking detective. "We did find some finger prints, but we're guessing they are yours, because we also found powder used in latex gloves. Whoever did this wasn't stupid and didn't want to leave any evidence."

"Um, Goren sir, you might want to come see this." a young man stated as he poked his head out of the bathroom. Sighing, Bobby sauntered into the bathroom, looking to the shower as the tech pointed to it. He instantly cursed, eyes widening. In the bathtub was a mutilated body of what looked to be a young girl. One the wall above her, staining the tile, was her blood. Someone had written something on it.

The detective stared at it for a moment, before finally making out the words that had been sloppily written with the child's blood. 'I told you'

Bobby tried to hold back his trembling as he stepped out of the bathroom, not even bothering to look at the young CSU tech. His stomach churned as he walked to the door of his apartment and out of it, moving to lean on the nearby railing, his large body trembling.

"Bobby?" a soft, familiar voice questioned as Alex Eames jogged up the steps and approached him. She was worried as soon as she saw her partner trembling. Frowning, the young woman slowly approached him and set a hand on his shoulder. "Bobby?" she questioned again.

"What?" Goren answered weakly, turning to meet Alex's concerned hazel eyes.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Hell if I know." came his retort as he rested his arms on the railing, resting his head on them, eyes closed. "I just came home to find my apartment ripped to shreads, a dead body in my bathtub, and the words 'I told you' written on the tile in her blood." he hissed, taking deep breaths as he tried to calm himself.

"A body?" Eames whispered, mortified. "Who would do this Bobby?"

"Adrian." came his answer.

"Bobby! That's not fair." she snapped, frowning. "You can't blame this on him just because you don't like him."

"You remember what he said Eames. How he threatened me with 'unpleasent' things if I didn't start showing a liking to him." standing up straight, he looked to his partner, wincing as he saw the disbelief playing in her beautiful hazel eyes which seemed to glitter in the moonlight.

"That was a silly little threat, he wouldn't follow through with it. He's not that kind of person..." she stated.

"Not that kind of person!" he snapped suddenly. "You don't even know what kind of person he is! You've known him for what...2 days?" he began pacing rather frantically. "2 days and you already like him. Why don't you just go off and become his partner? Drop me like you wanted to all those years ago?"

Eames was obviously frustrated with the way he was acting, retorted without thinking, "Maybe I will." and with that, she turned and left, leaving Goren once more watching after her, tears coming to his eyes. He quickly blinked them back and ran a hand through his curly locks of hair.

"Detective?" one of the CSU techs questioned, walking out to stand near Bobby. Opening his eyes, Goren watched the tech, frowning.

"Yeah?" he questioned.

"You might want to check into a hotel tonight or something for tonight. Or go to stay with family. We won't be done combing over your apartment until later." the young man offered the detective a smile.

"Yeah..alright." came the detective's distant reply as he pulled his coat tighter around himself. Decending the stairs of his apartment, he froze for a moment, gaze switched to the shadows. Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw someone fleeing, but a second later there was nothing but darkness. "I must be going crazy..." he muttered, rubbing his forehead slightly, trying to think of where he could go.

One any regular day, he would have gone to Eames's place and crashed on her couch, but that was obviously out of the question. He wouldn't be able to get near her when she was still mad and while they were still both disagreeing on the whole issue of Adrian Night. His thoughts switched to Mike Logan, but he immediatly dismissed that thought. He didn't want to spend the night with Logan, and he didn't know Barek well enough to even consider her as an option.

He soon came to a desicion abd caught a bus up to Camel Ridge where his mother was staying. It was only about 8pm when he got there, still enough time to slip into his Mom's room and talk with her a bit before crashing in one of the comfortable chairs there.

Walking through the automatic door that led into the hospital, he walked up to the front desk. The young red haired woman there greeted him with a smile.

"Hey Bobby, here to see your Mom I'm guessing? She wasn't expecting you, but I'm sure she'll be happy to chat with you before she goes to bed." the woman stated.

"Yeah. My day has been crap, so I decided to come and talk with Mom." he replied, offering a weak smile.

"Alright, well, you can go ahead and go talk with her if you want, even if visiting hours are over..." she paused, grinning. "You're always welcome." the young female offered him a wink and watched as he muttered a soft 'thanks' before padding off towards his mother's room. Without knocking, he slipped in and spotted his mother sitting on a chair near the large window, gazing out at the courtyard illuminated by the moon above.

Slowly, she turned to look at him, an ever so slight smile crossing her lips. "Bobby." she whispered softly. Her smile vanished as she noticed the troubled look that played upon her son's visage. He always let down his guard when he was around his Mom. She'd never judge him. "What's wrong?" she murmured softly. Bobby came to sit in the chair beside his mother, sighing.

"Lots of things. How have you been doing?" he inquired.

"No no no, we always talk about me whenever you are here." she stated. "Lets talk about you for once. More than just your usual, 'Work is doing fine'" she twitched slightly, closing her eyes for a moment as she rubbed her forehead, before once more looking to Bobby.

"Alright..." he murmured, sighing. He had hoped his mother would be open to him talking to her, that was why he had come. It didn't take long for him to launch into an explanation of the past few days. About Adrian Night, and his bickering with Eames, as well as what had happened with his apartment. His mother listened intently, and when he was done, offered him a hug which he accepted gratefully.

"I don't really know what to tell you Bobby." she murmured softly, letting him sit back up. Offering him a smile, she set a hand on his cheek. "Just know that I'll always love you. Now..." she paused, yawning. "Mind helping me into bed?" Bobby simply smiled and did so. He stood and watched her fall asleep, before moving to sit down in the plush chair a few feet from her bed.

It didn't take long at all for him to fall asleep, clearly exhausted.

Authors notes: And there is another chapter for my beloved readers. Keep reviewing! It motivates me.