A/N: You guys are really overwhelming me with reviews. Thank you! It of course also helps my motivation to write more. And this is the result. Yet another chapter. Carolyn and Mike take turns in talking to their new partners. Confrontation in the next chapter. I have an idea for part of that chapter already. I have to see how things are going to go tomorrow. With some luck I'll be able to update tomorrow, but I'm not making any promises. Enjoy!

Part seven

His partnership with Carolyn wasn't bad. She just wasn't Alex. They were both eccentric and both needed a more straightforward partner to make a partnership really work.

He'd expected Alex to mention their break. In stead she'd turned to Mike like she was glad he was gone. They were smiling and joking around a lot of the time. And yes, he still saw Mike touching her. He and Alex didn't talk to each other anymore. She only went to talk to Carolyn when he wasn't around. She seemed happy with him. Maybe he should ask Deakins to make the change permanent. All he wanted was for her to be happy and she clearly wasn't happy when he was around.

Mike and Carolyn had decided to take it upon themselves to see how bad things really were between Alex and Bobby. Both would talk to their new partners. Carolyn saw Bobby look at Alex every once in a while. She saw the look of longing and sadness in his eyes. She'd thought about telling Bobby about her conversation with Alex. She decided not to, Alex had told her that in confidence.

Walking down the street with her new partner, Carolyn thought now would be a good time to bring up Alex. "You miss her a lot, don't you?"

Stuffing his hands in his coat pockets he nodded. No use in denying, Carolyn was observant.

"Why don't you talk to her?"

"She doesn't want to talk to me."

"I think she does."

He shook his head. "I've tried, she made it clear she doesn't want me around." He shrugged. "Maybe this change is for the best."

"Don't give up so easily." She didn't know if she would be able to convince Bobby. He seemed determined.

"Why not?" He asked, turning to her. "She seems perfectly happy with your former partner. Doesn't seem like she misses me. She won't even greet me anymore, won't even look at me anymore. Don't tell me not to give up! I cannot fight anymore, not if she clearly doesn't want me to." Getting frustrated with the situation his hands started to flail around.

"I miss her! She has been the best thing that ever happened to me. She was the one partner who understood me. More important, she was my best friend. I miss her every day. To see her walk around the squad room, but not being able to even say hello to her, hurts. I cannot turn back time. I really hurt her, she has every right to be mad at me. I want her to be happy and if that means backing out of her life, I will do exactly that." Realizing he'd said more than planned, he walked away.

"Stop, Goren!" Carolyn ran after him. His declaration had shocked her temporarily. Catching up with him she caught his arm and turned him around. "Why won't you fight for her, fight for what you had? Maybe she needs you to make the first move."

"How can I, Carolyn? She won't talk to me. Why can't you see that?"

"I know." She really didn't have a solution either. Alex refused to say a word to Bobby. Was she doing that to protect herself?

"Can we… can we just go back to work?"

"Yeah." Together they continued their walk to One Police Plaza. Her attempt to talk to Bobby hadn't really helped. It seemed there was nothing Mike or her could do. She could see how much Bobby still cared and she wondered why Alex couldn't see it. Without Bobby's knowledge, Alex did still watch him in the squad room. She was subtly about it, but Carolyn did see it. She also saw the pain in her friend's eyes. She shook her head. They both shouldn't be so stubborn. Bobby needed to push Alex and Alex needed to lighten up. There was no way that this was going to resolve itself any time soon.

Alex, in her turn, missed her best friend. Sure she had fun with Mike and he was a good partner, but he was no Bobby. He seemed to be getting along with Carolyn. Secretly she'd hoped his partnership with Carolyn would fail, if only to prove that what they had was special. That she was the only one he wanted at his side.

ON THE drive back from a crime scene Mike thought a little talk would be perfect. Carolyn and he felt guilty about the way they'd teased Bobby. The break in the partnership of their friends had been a big surprise. He knew Alex was hurt, he saw it in her eyes. The joy he used to see when she was with Goren was gone. There seemed to be a constant sadness in her brown orbs.

"Have you considered talking to him?" Mike asked, lounging back in his chair. He liked the fact that Alex preferred to drive.

"Don't, Mike." She warned her new partner.

Ignoring her warning he went on. "Is this what you wanted? You wanted to lose him?"

"Back off, Mike. You have no idea what I want."

"Apparently it's not him." He was not going to make this easy for her. Alex needed to be pushed and he was going to do exactly that. "You know he's been trying to talk to you. You simply refuse to have him near you. Since the split up, he's stayed away from you. Is this the way you want it to be?"

"No."

"Then do something!"

"Why me? Why can't he do something?"

"You know why. Don't play dumb, Alex." He looked at her and saw her hands were holding the steering wheel tightly. "How can he do something when you avoid him?"

"I know. I just… I needed him to realize what he said. I needed him to make a move."

"I know, but you know Goren better than anyone. We pushed him and he reacted, but went too far. When he realized his mistake he probably felt awful. I can understand that you didn't want him near you in the beginning. But you could have at least acknowledged the problem and told him you needed time."

She knew Mike was right and nodded. "Maybe I should…"

"Talk to him." Mike finished for her. "I'm not saying you have to solve things immediately. Just tell him that he needs to give you time or whatever you need. Tell him this change isn't going to be forever, that you want him back, but just don't know how yet. Tell him he's not losing the best thing that ever happened to him."

Mike was probably right. She needed to let Bobby know that this was just temporary. She wanted…, no, needed him back. She missed his gentle presence by her side. This week she felt like he'd given up on them. He didn't even look at her anymore. Listening to Mike maybe she was to blame for that. She hated the fact that she yet again was going to have to take the first step. It all seemed one-sided, as if he didn't want to have their partnership back, as if he didn't care. Tomorrow she would talk to Bobby, try to sort some things out.

TBC...