A/N: I replaced this chapter to fix a minor canonical error. Nothing else was changed.

The doorbell rang bright and early the next morning. Barek came out of the kitchen and opened the door. Deakins smiled at her from the hallway. "Are you the designated doorman?"

"It would seem so. Come on in, Captain."

"Everyone's ok?"

"Yeah. We're fine."

"Is Goren still in a funk?"

"Nah. We got him out of that. He is worried about his mother, though."

Deakins nodded. "I know. But he doesn't want her becoming a target, too. He knows I'll check on her. I always do when I have to send him out of town, so she knows me."

Logan wandered out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee. "Coffee's ready. Oh, hi, Captain."

"Mike. Where are Goren and Eames, or don't I want to know?"

Barek answered, "Alex is getting dressed and Bobby's in the shower."

"Everyone's packed?"

"Yep," Logan said.

"Did Goren make arrangements for his apartment?"

Barek answered, "He called the landlord and talked with him. Lewis is going to keep his stuff for him in a back room at his garage, until we get back and he can find another place. Everything's square."

Deakins nodded. "Good."

The bedroom door opened and Eames came out. "Good morning, Captain."

"Hi, Alex."

"Coffee's ready," Logan told her. He looked back at Deakins. "Are you our ride?"

"I'm afraid so."

Without looking up from buttering her bagel at the table, Barek replied, "It could be worse, Cap. We could be heading up there with Logan giving directions. He can't direct his way out of a paper bag."

"Well, at least with you driving, we'd get nowhere in record time."

Eames chuckled as she spooned sugar into her coffee. "This is like going off to camp."

The bedroom door opened again and Goren came out, buttoning the last few buttons on his shirt. Logan grinned. "Look how nice he cleans up."

Goren took a playful swing at him, and Logan grabbed his fist and laughed. Deakins smiled at his detectives. "I'm glad to see you are all in such good moods. Finish your breakfasts and let's get on the road."

"At least it's Sunday," Eames pointed out. "We shouldn't run into much traffic."

Goren poured himself a cup of coffee and said to Deakins, "I called Carmel Ridge. I told them not to allow any visitors except you and your wife. Mom likes your wife."

Deakins smiled at him. "All right. Don't worry about her, Bobby. She'll be fine."

Forty-five minutes later they were heading out of the city toward the safe house the four detectives would call home until Nicole Wallace was safely behind bars for good.

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

Deakins turned off the highway onto a dirt road. Logan looked skeptical. "A dirt road? Oh, man!"

Deakins said, "Don't be judgmental. I think you guys are going to like this place. And it's off the beaten path, so it's very unlikely anyone is going to find you. The place is fully stocked, and I'll be out next week with supplies." He pulled a phone from his jacket pocket and handed it to Barek, who was sitting in the passenger seat. "If you need anything, or you have to get in touch with me, use this and only this. You all need to hand over your phones before I go. Especially you, Goren, since Wallace has your number."

"Right."

Eames slid her hand into his when he tensed at the mention of Wallace's name. He gently squeezed her hand. Sighing, he said, "Captain?"

Deakins glanced into the rearview mirror. "What, Bobby?"

"Two things. First, would you mind calling to let me know how my mom is after you see her?"

"Not a problem. The other thing?"

He hesitated. "Let me know what's going on with the case. Y-you know, if she…turns up."

Deakins looked at him again before he finally nodded. "Ok, I will, but only if I have your word you're not going to do anything stupid."

He nodded. "I won't."

Deakins shifted his head to look at Eames. "Alex?"

"I'll do what I can, Captain."

She ran her fingers along the outside leg of his jeans where his leg rested against hers. He looked at her, eyes bright, and he smiled, capturing her offending hand and holding it firmly.

Logan was still watching out the window at the deepening woods, missing the entire exchange. "Are we in Canada yet?" he grumbled.

Deakins smiled. "The cabin is on a nice lake. Good fishing."

Goren looked suspiciously at his captain. "This isn't a registered safe house, is it?"

"It's not an FBI safe house."

"Thank God," Barek sighed. "Every criminal in the country has his own list of the FBI's safe houses."

"Captain?" Goren pressed. "It's not owned by the department either, is it?"

"No."

"How many people know where we are?"

"Just me. I have the four of you signed out for temporary duty in Kansas."

"Kansas?" Logan asked. "What the hell is in Kansas?"

"Not us, moron," Barek replied.

"It's your cabin, isn't it?" Goren continued.

Logan looked at him. "You're like a friggin' pit bull when you get something on your mind, aren't you?"

Goren glanced at him, then looked back at the captain. Deakins nodded. "Yes. It's my cabin. You're the only one who's been out here before."

The big cop nodded. He reached across his partner to nudge Logan. "The fishing really is great."

"What's the cabin like?" Logan looked out the window again, still uncertain.

Goren just smiled. "Try not to worry unless you're certain you have something to worry about, Mike."

Deakins pulled into a cleared area and broke through the encroaching trees to a small parking area. Situated on a rise above them was a large cabin, and 400 yards down the rise on the opposite side was the lake. A private dock extended into the water. They got out of the car and looked around. Deakins smiled. "See, Mike? It's not so bad. I take care of my people…especially my best teams of detectives. My dad left me this cabin when he died. I grew up spending summers here, and so have my girls. It's not much different now…more trees and undergrowth, but still remote and quiet. Out back there's a shed; the boat's in there. If you're in a mood to row, it's got oars and oarlocks, or there's an outboard in the shed. Bobby knows how to run it."

He led them up the stairs onto a large screened in porch. Pulling the keys from his pocket, he unlocked the front door and they went into the cabin. They stood in a huge central room. Deakins pointed up the stairs where a railing ran the entire way around the upper level. There were four doors along the walls. "Four bedrooms upstairs." He pointed to corresponding doors along the lower level. "Den, office, kitchen, game room…and down this hall, two bathrooms, one on the left and one on the right. There's a pool table in the game room, and a bunch of games. My girls love to sit out on the porch and play board games. The kitchen's fully stocked, the TV's in that cabinet over there. DVD's are in that cabinet across the room. We've got satellite…no cable this far out. Make yourselves at home. Let's get the car unloaded, guys."

Barek and Eames watched their partners leave with Deakins. "Wow, look at this place, will you?" Barek said.

"No one can say Deakins doesn't take care of his people." She looked to make sure her partner wasn't in earshot. "I don't expect Wallace to find us out here."

"Do you expect them to find her in the city?"

"Bobby doesn't."

"Of course he doesn't."

"I tend to agree with him, Carolyn. She seeks him out. If he's not around, I doubt she's going to make an appearance. They are going to have to look hard to find the rock she's under."

"I hope they don't have to look for too long. I mean, this place is great, but I don't know how up I am for being around Logan 24/7. He's a great partner, and I really do like him, but he drives me up a wall sometimes, and I need a break. Don't you need a break from Bobby? His intensity has got to be hard to take sometimes."

"Sometimes. But Bobby usually knows when to back off. Remember, we've been partners for a long time. We…know how to read each other, and we've learned to give each other space when we need it."

"How'd you train him to do that?"

Eames laughed. "I didn't. He trained me."

"Ow!" They heard Logan yell from the porch, accompanied by the bang of a slamming screen door.

"Watch out for the spring on that door, Logan," Goren warned, too late.

"Thanks, Goren. Shit, that hurt." He came into the cabin with two suitcases. "I am not even going to ask what you two packed."

"At least I came with more than a paper bag," Barek retorted.

"I don't have a paper bag," he protested. "It's a gym bag."

Goren was behind him with Logan's gym bag and another suitcase, smaller than the two Logan carried. Deakins followed with two paper bags of groceries, handing them off to Goren, who carried them in to the kitchen. "Well, I've got to be getting back to the city. Oh, there's a washer and dryer down under the porch. Hand over those phones." They each gave him their cell phones and he slid them into his pocket. "Ok, now, you kids behave yourselves. Call me if you need anything and, for God's sake, stay put."

Logan gave Goren a gentle shove. "That was for your benefit."

Goren looked at him. "Thanks. I think I figured that out."

"Just wanted to be sure."

Deakins looked at Barek and Eames. "Good luck."

He smiled and headed out of the cabin. Logan rubbed his hands together. "Ok, guys, Dad's gone now. What do you want to do?"

Barek grinned at him. "First dibs on bedrooms!"

She ran up the stairs with Logan right behind her. Goren looked at his partner with a smile. She asked, "When were you out here?"

"I think it was after partner number five went packing. I guess the captain felt sorry for me," he grinned. "I had fun with his family. His girls are sweet."

"Sweet on you?" she teased.

"Not that I know of..." He suddenly looked worried. "I hope not. They're just kids…"

"Not any more, they're not. Once a girl hits puberty, all bets are off."

"No…"

"Yes." She gave him a quick kiss and headed up the stairs to claim her bedroom.

He sat down on the couch and sighed heavily. Eames looked over the railing down at her partner. "Bobby?"

He looked up. "What?"

She pointed across the cabin. "Logan and Barek have those two rooms, so these two over here are ours."

"Ok." He got up and grabbed their bags, bringing them up the stairs. Logan passed him at a run, with Barek close behind. He hit the front door and was across the porch, through the screen door and down the hill before Goren got to the bedroom doors. He looked at Eames with half a smile. "I wonder what he said now."