Eames was tired. It was well past midnight when she pulled the car away from the hotel. She looked in the rearview mirror, where Barek was shoving her partner off her shoulder. "Let me know if he's going to barf all over the car, would you?"

"What are you going to do if he is?"

"Pull the hell over and stick his head over the gutter, that's what. I'm not driving around every day with the car smelling like puke."

"What about your partner?"

She stopped at a red light and looked over at him. "Great. He's dead to the world. How the hell am I going to get him up to the apartment?"

"I'll help you. It'll give this one here more time to sleep it off before I get him home." She shoved him off her again. "So, how did this party stack up compared to ones you've been to in the past?"

She looked at the man asleep in the passenger seat, and she smiled. "It was one of the better ones. What did you think?"

"Aside from Logan's little incident, I had a really good time. Your partner's a great dancer, you know."

She nodded. "Yes, he is. You wouldn't think so, would you?"

"There's a lot of things I wouldn't think about him, especially considering all the rumors out there."

"Yeah, well, you know how it goes. You can't believe everything you hear."

"Did you?"

She nodded. "At first I did. Never tell him that, though. I came to find out that almost everything was exaggerated."

"Really? What wasn't?"

"Well…he is as intense as they say he is. Sometimes even more. But most people misunderstand his intensity, and they mishandle him because of it."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"How do you handle him?"

"The same way you handle yours."

"You threaten him?"

Eames laughed. "Sometimes. But Bobby responds better to a different kind of persuasion."

"Like?"

"He responds best to intellectual persuasion."

"Intellectual? That's no fun."

Eames smiled. "It can be. Ever match wits with a genius and be able to hold your own, and even win once in awhile?"

"I can't say that I have."

"It's challenging. And it can be fun. Bobby is never boring."

Barek smiled. "No, I don't guess he is."

Eames parked the car outside his apartment and looked at her sleeping partner. This was going to be interesting. "Maybe I can wake him up enough that he can walk to the apartment under his own power."

"I sure hope he can at least help, or he's going to be sleeping in the car."

They got out of the car and Eames walked around, opening his door. "Bobby?" She gently shook his shoulder. "Come on, Bobby, wake up."

He groaned and opened his eyes. Frowning, he looked at the two women, struggling to get his eyes to focus. Eames took his hand and gave it a tug. "Come on. We're home."

He looked past her at the building, then around him at the car. Understanding dawned slowly. Finally he nodded and pulled himself from the car. Eames and Barek caught him when he stumbled forward. "Ok," Barek said. "He's up."

He took a couple of unsteady steps toward the building, "Not for long," Eames said as she kicked his door shut.

They each grabbed an arm and guided him toward the building. Barek groaned. "Steps."

"As long as he doesn't topple over backwards, we'll be ok."

Slowly, they helped him negotiate the steps and got him safely into the lobby. They leaned him against the wall while they waited for the elevator. He shook his head, waking up some more, and looked around him. "Where are we?"

"We're home. Give us another minute or two and we'll have you in your apartment."

He looked at Eames and then at Barek. His eyes scanned the lobby. "Where's Logan?"

"We left him in the car. He's not in any better shape than you are."

He looked confused. "What's wrong with me?"

Eames laughed. "Not a damn thing, Bobby. Come on."

They pulled him away from the wall and into the elevator. Eames looked at Barek and said, "I so don't want to be either of these guys come tomorrow."

Barek laughed. "You got that right."

The elevator doors opened again, and they pulled him out into the hallway. Walking down the hall, Eames said, "Damn. I left my keys down in the car."

"Want me to run and get them?"

"No. He has his with him." She looked up at her partner. "Bobby, give me your keys."

"My what?"

"Oh, for Pete's sake." She patted the pockets of his jacket. "Of course you don't put them in your jacket," she grumbled. Patting the pockets of his pants, she found the keys. She shoved her hand into his pocket to get them.

"Hey," he said.

"Shut up, Goren." Shoving the key into the lock, she turned it and pushed the door open. She looked at Barek. "That could have been a lot worse."

He stumbled to the couch and collapsed onto it. She looked at him. "Stay put. I'll be right back."

He waved a hand and the two women left the apartment. Barek looked at Eames as they headed toward the elevator. "You have a key to his apartment?"

"Yeah. And he has one to mine. We exchanged keys a couple of years ago, just in case we ever need them."

They walked to the car and Eames pulled the keys from the ignition. Barek opened the back door. "Mike? Come on, we have to go home now." He groaned, but didn't open his eyes. "Come on." She shook his shoulder.

"All right, all right…" He grumbled, sliding out of the car onto the sidewalk. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

They helped him to his feet and guided him toward Barek's car. "Are you going to be able to get him home?"

"I'll just take him to my place. He can crash on the couch. I have a ground floor apartment and I am not fishing in his pants for his keys."

Eames smiled. "Maybe you'll be there in another five years."

"Yeah, maybe. If I don't kill him first."

She opened the passenger door of her car and Eames guided him into it. Barek leaned over him to buckle his seatbelt. "Hello," he said with a grin.

She looked into his face. "Touch me and it will be the last thing you ever touch."

His grin widened. "I wouldn't think of misbehaving, my dear."

"Oh, go back to sleep."

She stood up and shut the door. She smiled at Eames. "He's a good partner. At least he makes me laugh."

They both laughed. "Drive home safely," Eames said as she looked up at the building. "I'd better make sure he's ok."

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"The last time he got like this, he tried to make himself a sandwich and nearly cut off his finger with his switchblade."

"Ah. Better make sure all the toys are put away, then."

"Yeah. Good night."

Barek waved and got into the car while Eames headed back into the building.

Opening the door, she saw that he had not moved. She shook her head and smiled. With an effort, she managed to get his jacket off. Then she coaxed him to lie down, took off his shoes and covered him with a blanket. She gently stroked his hair, leaned down and kissed him. "Good night, Bobby," she whispered.

Silently, she left the apartment, locking the door behind her.