I thought of you with love today but that is nothing new.

I thought about you yesterday and days before that, too.

I think of you in silence; I often speak your name.

All I have are memories and your picture in a frame.

Your memory is my keepsake with which I'll never part.

God has you in His keeping; I have you in my heart.

It was time…she wasn't sure she was ready, but she had to go. She couldn't abandon him; she swore she never would. She had no idea how this was going to be, and she couldn't do it alone. So she picked up the phone, and she called Mike Logan.

He parked the car and looked out the window. Then he looked at her. "What do you want me to do, Alex?"

"Come and say hi. Then let me be alone with him."

He nodded. "Sure."

They headed from the car across the grass and she slipped her hand into his, for comfort. She slowed as they approached the still-fresh grave, tightening her grip on his hand. The headstone had been placed. An NYPD detective's shield had been carved at its head, above the letters M.C.S. and followed by the words:

Robert O. Goren

Killed in the line of duty

August 20, 1961 – May 10, 2010

Gone yet not forgotten, Although we are apart,

Your spirit lives within me, Forever in my heart.

Logan nodded his head. "Nice, Alex."

She squeezed his hand before she released it and gave him a gentle nudge toward the headstone. He dropped to one knee beside it, placing a hand on the smooth marble. It had always seemed pointless to him, talking to the dead. But in Goren's case it just…made sense.

"Hey, big guy. I…I really miss you, you know. Nothing's the same without you." He was quiet for a minute, as if listening, but he wasn't listening…he was feeling. Slowly he stood up, looking at Eames, then back at the grave. "We're taking care of her for you. Of course, no one ever did that as well as you did. But we're doing our best."

He walked away, stopping just before he got to her and looking back. "Hey," he said. "If you run into Lennie Briscoe up there, tell him I said hi."

He stopped beside Eames, and responding to an urge that came out of nowhere, he gently kissed her cheek. He choked back his emotions, but his voice was tight as he said, "That…that was from him. He's all yours now, sweetheart. I'll wait in the car. Take all the time you need."

She watched him walk away before she turned back to the grave. She knelt beside the headstone, sitting back on her heels. "Hi, Bobby." Reaching out, she laid her hand on the dirt, noticing the fresh sprouts of grass that were beginning to grow. "I…I miss you so much. It's so…hard to do this without you. I really don't have any idea how to make it work." She ran her hand over the cool marble of his headstone. "I…I'm really mad at you for this, Bobby. You should have let him take us both out. Then…then I wouldn't hurt so damn bad." She sat down on the edge of the dirt, resting against the headstone. "How do I make it work? How do I go on living without you?"

She closed her eyes, and she could see him in her mind as clearly as if he were really there, just a little way off from where he was buried. He strolled toward her with his easy grace and sat with her, leaning back against the headstone. I really haven't gone anywhere, Eames. Death isn't an ending. It's a whole new beginning. I'm right here with you, all the time. Just look inside you, in your heart, and there I am. He reached out to lay a hand on her cheek, and she could feel a feathery wisp of air caress her where his hand touched. You never have to be without me.

Her throat hurt from holding in the tears, and her eyes burned. "It's not the same, Bobby."

No. And it never will be. But can I tell you something?

"Of course."

In her mind's eye, he tipped his head forward, to catch her eye. There was a boyish grin on his handsome face and he let his finger stroke the back of her hand. She felt a light breeze blow across her hand as he caressed it. I don't hurt anymore, Alex. Everything that haunted me during my life is gone. All I have left now is you. You were all that was best in my life, and you are what I haven't let go. And I'm happy.

She looked into his eyes and she wished she could touch him. "You say you're with me. How long will you stay?"

As long as you need me to.

"And if I find that I can never let you go?"

Then I'll be here. Just like I always was. I'll wait for you. I really don't want to go anyplace without you, anyway.

He leaned closer to her, and his lips touched hers… She opened her eyes. She placed her fingers on her lips, which tingled and felt warm. But there was no one sitting by her. She rested her hand on the ground in front of her, gently rubbing circles the way she used to on his chest and his back. "I…I love you, Bobby."

I love you, too, Eames, his voice whispered on the wind, as clearly as if he were standing behind her. She looked over her shoulder, but no one was there.

She kissed the marble headstone and whispered, "I'll be back."

I'll be waiting, the wind whispered, caressing her body.

She got up and slowly walked back to the car, where Logan waited. And as she walked, she could feel him with her. In the warmth of the sun, she could feel his love. In the wisp of the breeze, she could feel his touch. In the whisper of the wind, she could hear his voice. She would never feel alone again.

She slid into the passenger seat and Logan studied her. "You ok?"

She nodded. "I think so."

"You…felt him, too."

She nodded. "He's here, Mike." She rested a hand on her chest, directly over her heart. "And he's never going to leave."

Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you. I loved you so--'twas Heaven here with you.

A/N: The phrase Alex chose for Bobby's headstone is a beautiful phrase, but it's not mine. I could not find an author listed anywhere, so I credit it to the anonymous person who wrote it. I thought of you today is also credited to its anonymous author. Grieve not is credited to Isla Paschal Richardson. Of course, I own none of the L&O franchise. They are all Dick Wolf's...and I apologize for not taking care of them this time around. If it's any consolation, this was an infinitely difficult piece to write and I shed at least as many tears as y'all did. I do love Bobby Goren :-)