Jimmy Deakins didn't quite know how to tell Eames about the news he had just received...but Goren would know. They left the squad room...

In silence the two partners left 1 PP. They headed away from the building, along the same route they had followed when Eames had first told him she'd been pregnant with Maggie. She looked at him, wondering what Deakins could have told him that would have him so troubled.

Finally, he asked, "Did you love Ricky?"

She gave the question some thought. "Yes. I would never have married him if I didn't."

"He said something to me last month…"

When he trailed off, she said, "Something that got you thinking."

He looked at her. Seeing her smile, he let his face relax and he nodded. "You do know that if you had been happy, I would never have had a problem with your marriage."

"Yes, you would have."

"But I would have been ok with it. Eventually." He looked away. "He told me that you were in love with me from the start."

She frowned. "Why did he say that?"

"You tell me."

She was silent for a long time. Finally she said, "I guess he was right. It wasn't something I ever really thought about. I mean, you were my partner, and I was never supposed to love you. But I did…and I do." She thought some more. "He was fine, in the beginning. He was charming and fun, and he was good to me. After the wedding, though, something changed, and I still don't know what. He started trying to control me, and that's something you never tried to do."

"I knew better."

"Yeah, I guess you did. But you always…respected me. You treated me right. I suppose, in a way, he was the one who made me realize that I did love you."

"So I did interfere…with your marriage."

"Without ever intending to. And don't you dare apologize. It was all me, Bobby. It was my mistake from the start."

"We all make mistakes."

"But this one was on a grand scale. Look what it did to you. I…"

He stopped walking, pulling her to the side of the pavement and leaning to the side, to look in her eyes. "What's done is done. Let it go."

"But…"

He shook his head, placing his fingers on her lips. "Let it go."

She was quiet, and she looked away. He waited a minute before resuming their walk. They were both quiet, and finally he said what he'd brought her out here to tell her. "Deakins just got a call from Rikers." Her only reaction was to look at him. "Ricky was killed this morning. He picked a fight with another inmate at breakfast and the guy beat him to death before the guards could stop him."

She looked away, not breaking stride, not saying a word. He left her to her thoughts and walked quietly beside her, waiting for her to speak. After a long time, she did. "I don't know what I'm supposed to feel."

"What do you feel?"

"In all honesty?" He nodded. "Relief."

"I wouldn't have predicted that."

"Why not? He tried to have you killed last month. Even in prison, he couldn't let go of his hatred for you. Do you think he would ever have just let it go?"

He had thought about that. He shook his head. "But, you know, it was just a matter of time before he messed with the wrong guy. Prison isn't a safe place for an ex-cop."

"So you aren't surprised by this."

"No. Are you?"

"Not really."

"And you're ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I stopped loving him a long time ago, Bobby." He understood that, and she knew he did. "Do you want to know how I really feel?"

"Yes."

She smiled at him. "Free."