Eames glared at her partner, wondering just how much of a partner he considered her. "How did you know he was here?"
"I was looking through his records. He used to work out here, until they shut the place down a couple of years ago. I took a shot that he'd hide out here."
"Yeah, you almost took a damn shot..."
He frowned at her, but she had turned away. Now what was she mad at? He wondered if all female partners were this much work. Turning back toward the steps, he saw the little girl, shivering and frightened. "Eames," he called softly. She turned as he sat on the steps beside the child. "Hi, Kelly. My name is Bobby, and this is my friend Alex. How are you doing?"
She looked up at him, eyes wide and scared. She nodded. "Ok, I think. Thank you for not shooting my daddy."
"I try not to shoot people."
"He shot at you."
"He was scared. Sometimes people do things they wouldn't usually do when they're scared." She nodded. Without saying anything, the child climbed into his lap and snuggled against his chest. He looked surprised, but he let her stay there, resting his arm around her so she would feel safe. Gradually, her shivering subsided. Quietly, he said, "Can I ask you something?"
"Ok."
"We know you called the police when your mommy was hurt. That was exactly the right thing to do, and it was very smart of you. Did you see how your mommy got hurt?"
She nodded, not moving away from him. "I was hiding in the closet," she whispered.
"Can you tell me about it?"
She nodded again. "I saw Daddy hitting her. He chased her over the bed and he hit her more. Then he left, and I came out and tried to tell Mommy to get up, so we could go away, to Uncle Trevor's house. But she wouldn't get up and she was bleeding, so I called 911, like she told me to do if something was wrong. Then Daddy came back and I went with him, and he brought me here while Mommy gets better. We've been camping."
Goren smiled. "Is that what he called it?"
"Uh, huh. We ate hot dogs and roasted marshmallows over a fire inside. We even slept in a tent."
"That sounds like fun."
She giggled. "It was." She took a deep breath and pushed herself closer against the big cop. "When is Mommy going to be better?"
He looked at his partner, who had no idea what to say. He faltered for a moment, knowing that the professionals should be dealing with this. But he couldn't lie to her. "Your mommy was hurt badly, Kelly."
"So who is going to take care of me?"
"Your daddy said you can stay with your aunt, if you want to."
The little girl nodded. "That would be good."
He nodded at a female officer who had just come over to them. "This officer will make sure you're well taken care of. She'll get you something to eat and drink and someplace to stay until your aunt can come to get you, ok?"
"Can't I just stay with you?"
"I'm afraid not, as fun as that would be. I still have work to do. But Officer…" He glanced quickly at her nametag. "…Harrison is going to take good care of you." He looked at her. "Right, Officer?"
"I sure will."
Kelly finally nodded and said, "Ok. Will I be able to see my daddy?"
"Soon," he said.
She slid off his lap, took the officer's hand and started to walk off with her. She stopped suddenly, let go of her hand and ran to Goren. Climbing onto the step beside him, she threw her small arms around his neck. "Thank you for not killing my daddy."
Then she ran down the steps and left with the officer.
Eames had no idea what to make of her partner, but she was still furious at him for everything that had happened since they'd left 1 PP. She stewed in silence as they walked toward the car. When they got there, she stopped and held out her hand. "Give me the keys, Goren."
He looked at her, surprised. But he offered no argument, dropping the keys into her hand. She got behind the wheel as he climbed into the passenger seat. Neither said a word as they drove back to the squad.