The cue ball rolled across the felt and exploded into the racked balls. Two of them disappeared from sight, one into each corner pocket. "Damn," Mike Logan muttered. "You drop at least one of those damn balls every time you break."

"You have a problem with that?" Goren grinned.

"Hell, yeah. I only beat you that one time, and that was only because you couldn't see straight."

The big cop laughed. Logan smiled. It was good to see him relaxed and laughing again. He'd really been a mess when Eames got married. She'd spent the past eight months working on getting her partner back to normal and Logan was relieved to see that she'd succeeded, mostly. There were still times…times that Logan saw but no one else did…when Goren wasn't ok. Every Friday night, the two men went out, Logan looking for fun and Goren looking for peace. Then Logan saw the restless anxiety Goren hid from his partner. And Logan saw his pain. That came through loud and clear after too many drinks. He still had a hard time with his partner's marriage, and he couldn't find any peace in life outside the job, a fact he hid well from her. No matter what he did, he was unable to find what he sought.

Logan had found there was a fine line in dealing with Goren. After he'd had a certain amount to drink, he would open up and talk to him. Once he got past that point, talking was useless and before that point, he wouldn't talk much at all. Logan still struggled to find that line, sometimes getting there, sometimes missing it. Goren was no help at all. He kept switching what he was drinking so there was no way for Logan to gauge how close he was, sometimes, until it was too late. But he kept trying.

Logan picked his drink up off the bar. "I swear if you clear the table again, I'll hit you with this stick, Goren."

Goren lined up a shot. "A quarter a ball too rich for you, Mike?"

"Only when I play you."

He missed the shot, and Logan got the impression it was intentional. He glared at Goren before turning his attention to the table. Two shots later, it was Goren's turn again. Logan leaned against the wall and watched him. He was willing to bet that if Eames had settled into a happy marriage, Goren would have eventually been fine with it. But Eames wasn't happy. Caught up in a whirlwind romance, she had accepted Ricky's proposal before she really knew the man. Now she had to deal with his anger and jealousy, and she was miserable. She tried to hide it from her partner, but that was damn near impossible. Goren was too good at what he did, and he knew his partner too well. Hell, even he could see that there were problems. He noticed how she would put off leaving at the end of the day, and Goren always waited with her until she was ready to go. She went out a few times a month with Barek, and his partner confided in him some of the things Eames told her. He had a hard time not telling Goren, but he'd given his word. Ricky had major problems with his wife's partner, and that caused a lot of trouble in the marriage. Only two things kept him from telling his friend what was going on with Eames. The first thing was that he had no clue how Goren would react, and that worried him enough to keep quiet. The other was that Eames didn't want him to know, probably for that same reason.

He swore when Goren sank the eight ball. "Damn it, Bobby. Throw me a bone here and let me win at least once in awhile."

The big cop smiled as he racked the balls again and Logan chalked up. He caught the cue ball Goren tossed to him and lined up his breaking shot. Leaning against the bar, Goren took a drink from his beer then asked, "What would you think if I got married, Mike?"

The little white ball went flying over the racked balls and Logan glared at him. "You did that on purpose."

Goren retrieved the cue ball. "Sorry. Go ahead and take another shot."

"Damn straight I will. Where the hell did that come from? Why would you want to get married?"

"I get tired of being alone."

"So you get a roommate or a puppy. You don't friggin' get married." He lined up the break and Goren kept silent while he made the shot. One ball dropped into the left corner pocket. "A marriage does best if there's passion, you know."

"Yeah, I guess."

Logan lined up his next shot, raising his eyes to look at Goren. "You're not thinking of getting married, are you?"

"No. I just wanted to know what you thought."

He straightened up. "Honestly?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not being an ass, Bobby, but if you ever get married, unless you're going to marry Eames, it's not going to work."

Goren leaned his chin on his hands, resting on top of his cue stick. Logan saw the shadow cross his face. But he felt he had to be honest with him. He knew there was no passion in his friend's heart for anyone or anything but the job and his partner. He leaned down again to line up his shot. Another ball disappeared from sight and he walked around the table. He stopped by Goren. "I really think that."

"Yeah. I know."

"You know what I'm saying then?"

"Yeah, I do. Thanks for being honest. I needed to hear that."

"She really hurt you, didn't she?"

"Who?"

"Your partner, stupid. When she got married."

"Take your shot, Logan."

"I thought so." Whenever he broached a subject Goren didn't want to discuss, he changed the subject, and Logan learned quickly to take the hint. The only time Goren had ever punched him was when he had pressed too hard and too long after too many drinks. Now he knew when to back off and he did.

He missed the shot and stepped away. Married? What had put that thought in his head? "Sometimes I wonder what it must be like to be you, you know? It makes my head hurt."

That made Goren laugh and miss his shot. Logan laughed as well. "I'd let you retake that shot but I'm not stupid."

Good-naturedly, Goren backed away from the table, letting Logan shoot. This time around, Logan was the one to sink the eight ball. "There's your bone, Mike."

Logan laughed and swung his cue stick at Goren, who easily caught it. Logan set the table up for the next players while Goren put the sticks in their rack. They both stepped up to the bar. Logan looked at his friend. "I finally decided it would suck being you."

"Welcome to my world," Goren muttered as he finished his beer and signaled for another.