They sat in the SUV, in the dark, watching the empty church and waiting. It was just midnight, a nearly full moon hiding behind clouds that came and went. Eames looked at her partner when the moon briefly peeked out from behind its cloud cover. He was thinking. When she called his name, though, he didn't answer, and she began to worry how far inside he'd turned again and why. She reached over and laid a hand on his arm. He looked at her, saw the worry in her eyes…"What? What's wrong?"

She let out a sigh of relief. "You…scared me. That's all."

"I what? How did I scare you?"

"You have no idea what I've been through these last few weeks, do you?" When the confusion remained on his face, she said, "The past couple of weeks have had me running scared. I need some reassurance from you, dammit."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've been worried about you, Bobby. You've been more withdrawn than I have ever seen you. I've been afraid…" She stopped for a minute, frightened at the intensity of her emotions.

He frowned. "Afraid? Afraid of what?" He didn't think his scrappy little partner was afraid of anything.

She met his eyes. "Afraid I was losing you, you baboon. I've been terrified that you were going to turn so far into yourself that I wasn't going to be able to get you back."

He was silent, studying her with an odd look on his face. "I really had you…worried…that much?"

"Damn it, Goren…you can see the smallest detail and pick up on the most remote clues, but you can't see something that's right in front of your face. Why does it surprise you that I care about you so much?"

He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He just looked at his hands and fidgeted. She hadn't taken her hand from his arm, so she leaned closer and slid her hand down to his. Without hesitation he gently closed his hand around hers. "Sometimes, I just don't understand you, Bobby," she said softly. "And I want to understand you."

Finally he looked at her. "No one knows me like you do," he said quietly. "You know…I never worry about getting into their minds. I don't worry…about getting lost and never…coming back."

"I know you don't," she answered. And that drove her crazy, because she did worry about it.

He looked down at their hands. Her hand was warm, soft, and it felt good to hold it. "There's a reason I don't worry. I used to…be concerned. It used to cross my mind, after every case, 'what if I don't come back next time?' But I didn't put too much effort into worrying about it, because it never…mattered. I didn't have a lot to come back to. The job…the job always kept me going. And my responsibilities…but I realized that some day it wasn't going to be enough. Then things changed."

"What changed?"

"I got you for a partner," he said sincerely.

"What did that change?"

He looked back at her. "It changed me, Alex. It gave me…a reason to come back. We both know what they say about you. And it's true. I'm not such a nut job when you're around," he smiled.

She laughed. "You're not a nut job. You're just…intense…and brilliant. You make people uneasy because you're so damn good at what you do, and you just don't care what anyone thinks."

"Yeah, well, that's not quite true any more. I do care what you think."

"You have no reason to worry about me. The more I know you, the more I enjoy being with you. I've never known anyone like you."

"Is that good or bad? No, wait, I don't think I want to know."

"It's good, Bobby. I promise, it's very good."

He looked away again, thinking. Just when she thought he wasn't going to say anything more, he said, "Thank you, Alex."

"For what?"

"For staying. For giving me a reason to come back." He looked at her. "As long as you're here, I'll always come back."

"I don't want to be anywhere else." She released his hand, reluctantly, and checked the two-way to make sure it was on. She clipped it onto her belt. It was fast approaching the time for their quarry to make his move. They had to pay attention to the church now. She touched his cheek and smiled. He winked at her, then settled back in his seat to watch.

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She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Stakeouts were her least favorite part of the job. She hated just sitting and waiting. Goren was good at that, but she never had been. She got bored a lot more easily than her partner did. He was so used to being alone, all the sitting and waiting didn't bother him. His mind was used to being busy, even when his body wasn't.

"Eames…" His body was alert, his attention caught by movement near the church. She followed his gaze. A figure had appeared at the far corner of the rectory, mostly hidden in the shadows. Both detectives slumped down in their seats. The figure disappeared, then reappeared, but something was different. He was carrying something across his shoulders. They let him approach the church, climb the steps, unload his burden…

"Now!" he whispered.