Chapter: Sharing Stories

Rating: ( T ) will be ( M ) next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order CI nor do I own the characters from the show. I only own the characters whoI make up.

A Special Thanks To: Emily Sim, gerfan, lallyb1743, Shellster and to everyone else who has read me fanfic. Thanks you guys, you are the greatest!

A/N Hello, here is the next chapter. I tried to write it last night, but I was way too tired so I just gave up, nothing I wrote was making any sense lol. I also want you all to know that i'm moving this to the( M ) section next chapter. I doubt the next chapter will be too dark, but just to be on the safe side, i'm moving it. I just wanted to let you all know ahead of time, so you know where it is. I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!

ATTENTION: This fanfic will be moved to the ( M ) rated section next chapter, just so you know where to look for it.

Now, on with the story.

Alex drove the 20 minute drive over to the Moonlight Bar. The drive seemed to take hours, and of course there was bad traffic as there always is when you're trying to get somewhere fast in a big city. Finally, Alex was there, and all she could do was hope that the bar owner wouldn't be able to varify Jerry's claim, that he was somehow connected to the murder of Denise Willows. Of course, Alex knew this was a long shot, but it was a lead, the very first lead she had been able to find and she was hoping and praying that this would be the lead that would get her partner out of prison. Alex quickly got out of her car, as she walked to the entry of the bar, she looked up at the great big sky above her. It was dark outside now, and the dark winter sky was filled with bright stars, shining in the night. She wondered if Bobby was looking up at the great big sky too? She doubted it, most prisons don't have windows in the cells. Then Alex walked into the bar. It wasn't a very big bar, but it was full of people. As Alex walked towards the bar, some of the men made rude comments as many men do when they're drunk. Alex just ignored them, for her only concern was talking to the bar owner. She didn't have time to argue with some drunked men.

" Good evening mam, what can I get for you tonight, " the bar tender asked politely as Alex reached the bar.

" I need to speak with the owner, " Alex said simply.

" And who might you be, " the bar tender asked, slightly confussed by Alex's request.

" Detective Eames, " Alex replied, showing her badge.

" Wait one minute, i'll go get him, " said the bar tender. Then he headed into the back room.

Alex looked around while she waited, then someone bumped into her suddenly.

" Uh... excause me miss... would you like me to buy youa drink, " a obviously drunk man asked.

" Thanks, but no thanks, " Alex said nicely.

However, it was soon clear that the man wasn't going to take no for an answer.

" Ah... come on... of course you want a drink, " the drunken man said, putting his arm around Alex's shoulder.

Alex pulled away instantly, she wasn't in the mood for dealing with hard headed man who had a few too many drinks.

" I said, NO THANKS, " Alex said loudly.

" Oh... you don't have to be so rough, i'm just being friendly and offering to buy you a drink, " the man said, still no listening to what Alex had told him.

" I'm not being rough, I told you I didn't want a drink. I think you've had a few too many drinks tonight yourself, maybe you should go home and sleep it off, " Alex replied.

Before the drunken man could say another word, the owner of the bar emerged from the back room. He motioned for Alex to follow him back. Alex quickly did just that, releived to get away from the drunken man. It wasn't that she had anything against drinking, heck she even drinks sometimes, but shedoesn't like dealing with hard headed drunks who can't take no for an answer. Once in the back room, the bar owner motioned for Alex to sit down.

" So, what can I do for you detective, " the bar owner asked.

" I'm here to ask you a couple questions about your friend Jerry Hopkins, " Alex replied.

" What about him? Is Jer in trouble again, " asked the bar owner.

" No, not at the time being, I just need to know if you can varify that Jerry Hopkins was here at this bar on the evening ofFriday November 11th, 2005, " Alex replied.

" If Jerry was here, i'll have it on file, " said the bar owner. He opened up a large file cabinet and pulled out a file that said 11, 11, 05. Then he flipped through the pages. " Yes, Jerry was here, " he replied.

" Can you tell me what time he arrived and left, " Alex asked.

" Sure, he paid for his first drink at 9:30pm and paid for the last at 1:16am, " replied the bar owner, showing Alex the log.

" Alright, thanks for your time, " Alex said.

With that, Alex left the bar. Needless to say, she was very saddened to here that Jerry's story checked out. Now she was no closer to finding the truth then she had been earlier that day. Once she got back out to her car, she got inside and drove back to the station. Alex knew that Deakins wouldn't be there at this late hour and she was going to do some more digging, she had to find outwho reallymurdered Denise Willows, she didn't have a clue who did it, but the one thing that she was sure of was that her partner, Bobby Goren didn't do it.

A couple hours later, Bobby was awaken from his sleep by a strange sound, either his ears were playing tricks on him or someone was crying. Bobby listened closer, it sounded like the crys were coming from the cot bellow him. Bobby moved to the edge of his cot and looked bellow him, he saw the young man, Kaiden, curled up on his cot, crying.A surprised Bobby Goren climbed down off of his cot and nelt down beside the young man.

" Hey... uh... w-what's wrong, " Bobby aske softly.

Kaiden wouldn't look at Bobby, he just layed there sobbing.

" You know... sometimes... it... it helps to talk about it, " Bobby said.

" No... no not this, man... not this, " Kaiden sobbed.

" Not what, " Bobby asked nerviously. He didn't like sittuations like these, he wasn't very good with people, but he wanted to help.

" Nothing, man... nothing... y- you wouldn't... you just wouldn't understand, " Kaiden replied.

" Try me, " Bobby said.

" It's just... I can't... I can't get the thought of... of what happened out of my head, the... the night of the robbery, " Kaiden said, trying to stop his tears from falling.

" What happened, " Bobby asked softly.

" I was out with my buddies, we all were drinking. Two of the guys... they started talking about robbing a gas station, said it would be a peice of cake. Then one of em said he knew of a gas station and quick mart that stayed open all night. My buddies they... they said it would be cool to go down to the station... and see how easy it would... would be to rob. When we... when we got there... one of my buddies... he pulled a box from... under the seat... he... he wanted to rob the place... said no one woud get hurt... that there wouldn't be any shooting. I... I said it wasn't a good idea but I... I went along with it. When... when we got inside... when we pulled our guns... the worker... she started giving us the money... but then... then this old man... he... he come running from the back room with a... with a gun. He... he said he'd shoot if we didn't drop our guns. I... I dropped my gun but... my buddy... he... he shot the guy... he... he killed him and there was... there was blood all over the place. My buddies they... they just ran off... they just... they left him laying there... they didn't even care. I... I called 911... and when the police got there... I... I told them what happened... and who... who else was involved but it didn't matter... it didn't bring the old guy back. He just died... he died for no reason... it... it wasn't fair... and... and it was my fault. " Kaiden said, tears were falling once again.

Bobby just sat there, he didn't know what to say. Odd how things seemed different when you weren't a cop. Bobby felt sorry for the young man. " It wasn't your fault, " he said.

" I let it happen, " Kaiden replied.

" No, you wouldn't have stopped your friends... even if you... if you didn't help... your friends still would have did it anyway... and you're... you're not the one who shot somebody... your friend is, " Bobby said. " And... it sounds to me like you did what you could to help, "

" How do you figure, " Kaiden asked.

" Because you didn't run... you knew the police were coming... and you stayed. That's more then most people in your shoes would have done, " Bobby replied.

Kaiden just sat there, looking down at his cot for a while. Bobby watched him. Of course he wasn't sayingthat Kaidenrobbing the stationwas right, not in the least. However, calling 911 and not running told Bobby that he truly didn't want anyone to be hurt, he had made a mistake and it was clear that he felt terrible about what had happened. In Bobby's eyes, Kaiden was just a young boy who listened to his friends when he shouldn't have, as many young kids that age do and things turned out bad. Now he was paying the price.

" So what's your story? You said you're not guilty, " Kaiden asked after a little while.

Bobby told Kaiden what happened. After he finished he said. " My partner Alex, and my captain Deakins are the only people who believe me, "

Kaiden looked up at him. " No, not the only people... I believe you, " he said.

Bobby smiled then he climbed back up on his cot and went to sleep. His mind was full of thoughts about what Kaiden had just told him, about Alex, and most of all, about what was going to happen in the morning, when he was put out with all of the prisoners.

To Be Continued:

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