Chapter: Last Day In Court

Rating: T ( Will be M later on )

Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order CI or the characters from the show. I only own the characters I make up.

A Special Thanks To: Caia, gerfan, ladybrin, MackenzieW, Shellster and to everyone else who has read my fanfic. Thanks guys!

A/N Hello all, here is chapter 4. I hope you like it. I'd write a longer A/N but it's 2:34am and i'm tired lol. Good night all!

On with the story.

Alex was at the courthouse a half hour before her partner's fate was to be decided. She had spent the whole night before down at the station, trying to find anyone who might have both the means and motive to frame her partner. She tried desperately to find anything that would clear her partner of the crime he had been convicted of but still found nothing, not one tiny peice of evidence that would help Bobby. Alex hadn't gotten any sleep the whole night. The truth was, she wouldn't have been able to sleep, even if she would have been at her apartment. She was too worried about her partner. Now she sat in the empty courtroom, awaiting the arrival of the judge, jury, lawers and most important of all, her partner, Bobby Goren. Alex couldn't keep her mind off him. She had been dreading this morning because she knew that, no matter what Bobby was sentenced with, he would be going to prison. It was a thought that she couldn't stand and didn't want to think about. All of a sudden, Alex was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the door of the courtroom swing open. She watched as her partner was lead into the room in hand cuffs. Bobby was looking in the opposite direction, this seemed rather odd to Alex since he normally looked over at her. Then he looked towards her and she instantly knew why he had kept his head turned away. Bobby had a black eye, along with some other minor scratches, it was clear he had been into a fight or several,Alex didn't know for sure butherheart sank. Bobby was already getting into fights in jail, she knew prison would be a million times worse. This just made her more determined to find the truth, but it didn't bring her any closer to knowing how in the world she was going to do it.

It didn't take long for the verdict to be announced. The judge stood up. Deakins put his hand on Alex's shaking shoulder.

" Robert Goren, I hereby sentence you to life inprisonment for the murder of Denise Willows, " the judge stated.

Then the two police men walked Bobby out of the courtroom. Both Alex and Deakins were in dismay, although they weren't sure why. They both knew that, one way or another, their friend would be going to prison. Bobby walked through the courtroom with his head hung, he couldn't believe what had just happened. He lifted his head and looked at Alex as he walked by, she was on the verge of tears as he passed. She wanted to yell to him, tell him that she wouldn't give up, that she would find the truth but she couldn't. Her emotions wouldn't allow her to speak, not at that moment for she knew if she tried to speak, she would break down right there in the courtroom. After Bobby was out of the courtroom, Alex didn't move, instead she just sat there, staring at the door where her partner had just walked through.

" Come on Eames, let's get out of here, " Deakins said softly, putting his arm around the younger woman and leading her out of the courtroom.

The captain walked Alex out to his car. " Get in, " he instructed.

Alex gave him a strange look. " This is your car, " she said.

" I'm taking you home, " Deakins said firmly.

" I'm not going home, i'm going back to the station, " Alex said.

" Like hell you are. You were at the station all night last night, you got no sleep at all and I doubt you got much the night before either. There is no way i'm letting you go back down to that station until you get some sleep and that's an order, " the captain replied firmly.

" But sir... , " Alex started but was cut off.

" There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it, Eames, " he said.

Alex through her hands up in the air. " Fine, but I DON'T need a ride home, i'll drive myself, " Alex barked.

" Oh no you're not, driving back to your apartment in New York traffic with no sleep would be a suicide attempt, " Deakins said.

Alex was hot now, she wanted to take all the stresses of the day outon her captain, who was being very stubborn at the moment. Sure, Alex knew he was just trying to help but at the moment, what she really wanted was to go home and be alone, since the captain wouldn't allow her to go back to the station.

" And what about my car, " Alex barked.

" I'll have an officer drop it off at your apartment, now get in, " Deakins directed, pointing toward the car door.

" Fine, " Alex barked, as she got into the captain's car and slammed the door behind her.

Most of the drive to Alex's apartment was silent. Neither of them spoke. Deakins knew that Alex would probably feel better if she talked about her feelings, but he knew she wouldn't, that justwasn't Alexandra Eames. The captain knew that this whole ordeal was weighing down hard on Alex. She was extremely upset about what was happening to her partner, then again, who wouldn't be? Deakins could see that Alex trusted her partner and she believed everything he had told her, despite what the evidence says. The captain had felt that way in the begining too, but now he did wonder if Bobby was really framed as he claimed or if he was really guilty. He hated to even be thinking those thoughts, but as a police officer he was trained to follow the evidence, not the heart and the evidence lead to Detective Bobby Goren. That's not to say that Deakins didn't believe Bobby anymore because he did, but he knew that Alex had to consider the other possibilty but he wasn't about to bring that up at the moment. Not when Alex was already very upset as it was. Finally, Deakins pulled up to Alex's apartment.

" Now you go get some sleep, Eames. I don't want to see you back at the station until you've got at least 8 hours of sleep, " Deakins said.

" I'll just look for suspects anyway, " Alex mumbled under her breath.

" What was that, " Deakins asked.

" Oh... I ah... I said i'll see you tomorrow, " Alex replied and then headed into her apartment.

Meanwhile, Bobby was laying on the jail house cot, dreading tomorrow, then day when he would be sent to prison.

To Be Continued:

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