Barek was looking through Eames' video cabinet, which they had set up and filled earlier when the guys were at Goren's dealing with Wallace's latest menace. Logan was looking over her shoulder. "Quit breathing on me, Mike. You need to ease up on the garlic and onions if you want to get this close to me."

He grinned, a mischievous spark in his eye. "If I do ease up, can I get closer?"

She swung at him as he jumped back. "Don't be a pig. At least I let you within three feet of me."

"Of course you do. That's striking range."

She looked at him and they both laughed.

Across the room, Eames was sitting on one end of the couch, her brooding partner on the other. He had slumped into his corner of the couch, head resting back, looking toward the ceiling but seeing only whatever it was his mind was letting him see. Ok, she'd had enough of this bullshit. Reenergized by a decent meal and no longer angry at him, she slid across the couch, closing the distance between them. He looked at her, but there was no real reaction from him. She hadn't realized he was that troubled, that lost in his thoughts. She felt at least partially responsible for driving him there. Ah, well, time to draw him out.

Goren looked at his partner, but he wasn't really seeing her. His mind was far away, with his thoughts. He was still deeply unsettled by what had transpired during the night, and even more troubled by Eames' unrest. He felt responsible for how worried she was. He couldn't blame her for being angry with him. For the second time he had placed himself in a potentially fatal situation with Nicole Wallace. Twice now he had waltzed his stupid ass right into it. She was dead on right with that assessment. He had to be very careful now not to do it again. The third time was a charm, and he did not want that written on his tombstone. He hoped the safe house was the right place for them to find safety. He didn't want any harm to come to her, or to Logan and Barek. He liked Barek a lot; she had almost as much spunk as Eames did. Neither of them took any crap from their partners, and Barek certainly had her work cut out for her. Logan gave her a lot of crap. And Logan…he was becoming as close to a friend as he had ever had in the department, aside from Eames. No, he wouldn't be able to bear the guilt if anything happened to any one of them at Wallace's hand. This was his burden to bear. Not theirs. Enough blood had been shed…

His train of thought suddenly abandoned him. Like waking from a bad dream, he came back to the present suddenly, disoriented and confused. Eames had found a place beside him. She snuggled into his side and rested her head on his shoulder. When that had failed to draw him out, she had slowly unbuttoned his shirt, gently fondling the soft curls that covered his chest. But it was the whispering in his ear that had drawn him from his thoughts. He had no idea what she had said. It didn't matter. He turned his head toward her and she smiled, a relaxed, content smile. She had him and she knew it. He slid his arm around her and held her close. Instead of focusing on his thoughts, he focused on her…the gentle caresses of her hand…he closed his hand over hers, stopping it from moving any more.

"Something wrong?" she asked innocently.

"Not yet," he answered.

She laughed quietly and he smiled. Logan and Barek moved away from the cabinet and Barek grinned at the couple on the couch. "Nice to see you smiling, Bobby. You feeling better?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I am."

Logan dropped onto the couch at the end Eames had abandoned. "Keep it up, then, Eames."

"Keep what up?"

"Whatever you're doing. He's a pain in the ass when he's brooding."

Goren looked at him. "I wasn't brooding."

"What do you call it?"

"I was thinking."

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

Barek slipped the DVD into the player. Eames asked, "What are we watching?"

She dropped into the recliner, which she had warned Logan he'd better not sit in if he knew what was good for him. He had tried once before to usurp her spot, and he still remembered that bruise. It had taken trial and error, mostly error, on his part, but he had learned that when his partner meant business, it was in his best interest to listen to her. "Ghostbusters," she answered.

"We tried to find something that wouldn't make Einstein there think too much," Logan replied.

Eames laughed. "I don't think there's anything on the planet that can't get him thinking."

Goren looked at his partner, admitting, but only to himself, that he wasn't doing a whole lot of thinking at the moment.

Eames spent the entire movie gently teasing him, keeping him from retreating back into himself, but deliberately stopping before he could get too worked up. "What the hell are you doing?" he murmured into her ear.

"Taking care of my partner," she softly replied. "Remember I promised you I'd never let you lose your mind?"

"Damn it, Eames…"

"Shhhh…watch the movie."

He nuzzled her ear. "Is it safe for me to assume you're no longer mad at me?"

She turned into him and answered him with a kiss. Logan leaned toward them and whispered, "Come up for air, guys." Eames smacked him. "Ow! You're spending too much time with Barek."

Goren had leaned back and stretched out his legs. "You asked for that, Mike."

Logan grinned and mimicked Goren's position, stretching his arms over his head. "Yeah, but it was worth it."

He spun quickly, flipping over the arm of the couch before Eames could smack him again. As he walked behind the couch, he tapped Goren on the back of the head. "I'm gonna have to teach you to be more of a smart ass so I'm not the only one getting smacked."

"Maybe you should figure out when to keep that mouth of yours shut."

He disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a soda. "Yeah, but where's the fun in that? Besides," he leaned closer to Goren. "It's easy to make Barek smile when I'm a smart ass. I don't go in for the charm angle like you do."

Goren half-grinned. "I guess I'm just not as much of a masochist as you are."

Logan laughed. "Maybe not."

---------------------------------------

The thunder rumbled in the distance as the rain began. The gentle patter of raindrops drifted in the partially open window as the curtains billowed in the cool, damp breeze. Eames snuggled closer to him, again letting her hand stray across his chest. He took a deep breath and kissed her forehead. "I thought you were sleeping," she whispered.

"No."

"Thinking?"

"Of course."

"About what?"

"You." That much was the truth. He was thinking about her. He was feeling better about leaving the city for the time being, getting her away from the danger Wallace presented…getting them all away from that danger. He still hadn't figured out how he was going to manage keeping them safe while he made sure Wallace didn't cause any more harm. Would he put himself in harm's way? Not if he could help it. He kissed her again. But he would protect her, any way he had to. And Logan and Barek? He'd brought them into this. Logan might squawk about things from time to time, but he'd entered this willingly. And Barek had not uttered a single complaint about being drawn along into the maelstrom.

The thunder was getting louder and Eames, almost asleep, nestled closer to him. He turned his thoughts to her, and his mind settled for the time being. He was finally able to drift off to sleep with her safe in his arms.