Logan looked across the table at his partner as the waitress set their plates in front of them. Once she was gone, he said, "How was your night out with Eames the other day?"

"Ok. Most of the time I just don't know what to say, but it's good for her to get it out. There's no way she can tell Bobby half the stuff she tells me. He'd lose it."

"That bad, huh?" He hesitated for a moment before asking about a thought that had him troubled. "He doesn't hit her, does he?"

"Hit her? No. He's not suicidal. If she didn't kick his ass, she'd shoot him. I don't know what Goren would do, and that's not something I'd even want to think about."

"I know what he'd do, and it wouldn't be pretty…"

She mixed the gravy into her potatoes. "How is Bobby?"

"There's no easy answer to that question. Sometimes he seems fine. Other times, well, he's not. He knows she's unhappy and he's powerless to do a damn thing about it. You know him well enough to know how that sits with him."

"So what do we do?"

"We? What can we do?"

Barek looked thoughtful. "I was thinking…"

"That's never a good thing."

"Don't be an ass. You know what Sunday is?"

"Uh…the 20th. Why?"

"It's Bobby's birthday."

"Okay, and?"

"Are you really as dense as you pretend to be? We take him out for his birthday…all three of us."

"That won't sit well with Ricky at all."

"Just leave that to Alex and me. You get Bobby to the club and I'll make sure Alex gets there."

"Club? Do we have to go to a club?"

"What's wrong with clubbing? You like it."

"I do. He doesn't."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I took him clubbing once, and I won't make that mistake again."

"Why? What happened?"

"I met this great girl—man, she knew how to party. While I was…preoccupied, he took off. Took me two hours to find him, and I never saw her again."

"Why did you have to go looking for him? He knows his way around the city."

"Yeah, he does, which is why it took me so damn long to find him. It was a month or two after the wedding and she would have found out what a rough time he was having if he'd gotten his ass arrested."

She understood that. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"There's a small pool hall we like to go to. He plays a mean game of pool. Maybe with Eames there I'd stand a chance of winning a game or two."

"It's not about you, idiot. It's his birthday."

"We could ride the subway all night and he'd be happy if it meant he could spend time with her. He likes playing pool. I promise."

"Ok, then. You get him to the pool hall and I'll bring her."

"You sure Ricky's gonna let her out of his sight? I mean he doesn't like Goren to start with."

"I'll handle it. He can't object if I don't tell her why we're going out. She's just going out with me. He seems okay with girls' night out."

"But on Sunday?"

"Why do men have to make things so difficult?"

"Men? Ah, never mind…"

She smiled. "Smart move, Logan."

Ricky watched his wife get dressed to go out. "You sure this is just a night out with Carolyn?"

"What else would it be? I don't lie to you, Ricky."

He seemed appeased by that. "You know you have work tomorrow."

"Which is why I'm staying with Carolyn tonight in the city. What is your problem? You never worry about me getting to work any other time."

"Yeah, well, just make sure you stay with Carolyn."

"Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do like that?"

"Your husband, that's who. I don't want you spending any more time with him than you already do."

"Him? Is this about Bobby again? Damn it, Ricky! This insane jealousy of yours has got to stop. I have never given you reason not to trust me." The doorbell rang as she got right in his face. "If I wanted to sleep with my partner, there is nothing you could do to stop me."

With that, she turned and left, grabbing her overnight bag and slamming the door. Ricky went to the window and watched his wife walk to the car with Barek and get in. Why did he feel so insecure every time she left his sight? He had no idea why he felt so threatened by Goren. He could blame the rumors, but it was more than that. Why couldn't he trust his wife?

Barek looked at Eames. It wasn't hard to see she was angry. "You had trouble getting away?"

"No more than usual. I just had to listen to more of his crap. He's so damn insecure and I don't know why. Thank God we're not going out with Bobby tonight."

"Why?"

"Never mind. It doesn't matter." She looked out the window for a minute. "You know, Bobby never treats me like this."

"He's not your husband."

"Too bad," she grumbled.

Barek looked at her, surprised. "What? What the hell do you mean by that?"

Eames slumped down in her seat miserably. "It's been over a year, Carolyn, and I don't know…I'm beginning to think I married the wrong man. When we were dating Ricky was fun, and he never had a problem with my work or my partner. Everything changed after the wedding. Now every time I turn around, we're fighting, and it's usually about Bobby. I mean, Bobby can be difficult, and he frustrates the hell out of me sometimes, but he always treats me right."

Barek nodded. "He always will." She changed traffic lanes and said, "Uh, about tonight, Alex…I wasn't exactly honest with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know what day today is?"

She thought about it for a moment before it dawned on her. "Bobby's birthday. Oh, damn, I forgot. I should have called him this afternoon…"

"Relax. He and Mike are waiting for us…well, Mike is, anyway. Bobby has no idea we're coming."

"And you didn't tell me…"

"…so you wouldn't have to lie to your husband," Barek grinned.

Eames smiled. "Thanks, Carolyn." She liked surprising her partner, and she was looking forward to seeing him. As her churning emotions settled, she realized that she really wanted to see him tonight, and the hell with her husband and his damn insecurities.