She kept her hand tucked firmly in his as she led him away from the cabin. He followed; it wasn't like he had a choice. "Ok, now tell me…what the hell did I miss?"

"You could stand in the middle of the tracks and miss the train, Mike. First, Deakins takes Bobby off alone for more than a half hour, and it wasn't to talk about his mother. Then, they come back and we could tell he was all worked up. You couldn't see that?"

"That's my point, Carolyn. He's always all worked up."

"You're a damn detective, place it in context. He wasn't like that when we went out to the car."

"Yes, he was. Remember, Eames was mad at him."

"Not like that, Mike. Oh, why do I bother? You wouldn't notice the flames if your pants were on fire."

"I would so," he frowned.

She laughed. She was no longer leading him. They had arrived at the lakeside and were walking along its shore. The water lapped lazily at the edge of the land, and she walked beside him. She hadn't removed her hand from his. That he noticed.

A gentle breeze blew through the trees, ruffling the leaves as it ruffled their hair. Coming across a fallen log, he sat down and guided her to sit beside him. "So how long do we have to traipse through the forest before it's safe to go back?"

"Let's just give her time to deal with him. He doesn't like to talk about what disturbs him, even with her. That drives her crazy. But she'll draw him out."

"Great…we'll be here awhile." He looked out across the water. "The first time I met them, he struck me as weird, and I wondered about her, too, for sticking with him. I haven't changed that opinion much. He is weird. But I see why she stays."

"Why?" It was rare that her partner was insightful abut relationships and she wanted to hear what he had to say.

Brow furrowed, he looked at her. "Because he needs her to."

Barek nodded. That was exactly why Alex had decided to stay. But it wasn't why she still did. Then she noticed he was still looking at her. "What?"

"What about you? Why do you stay? I know I'm not the easiest guy in the world to get along with."

"That's true. You're not. But somebody has to keep your ass out of trouble. You kind of grow on a person after a while."

"Yeah, that's what my mom used to say."

"Well, you're not back on Staten Island yet, are you?"

"Hopefully we can keep it that way."

"As long as you curb that temper and don't hit any more councilmen, we shouldn't have a problem keeping you out of trouble."

He leaned toward her and kissed her forehead. She looked at him, dark eyes bright. Turning her face up toward his, she let his lips find hers, and she slid her arms around his neck. Trouble was a relative term.

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

Eames opened the cabin door, not surprised to find her partner pacing the room. She closed the door quietly behind her and waited for him to notice her. And she waited. And waited. Fed up with waiting, she finally spoke up. "What the hell happened?"

He stopped pacing, looking toward her with surprise. "I…how long have you been there?"

"Too long. What is going on?"

"I…I did it again." He was pacing again. "I…I am really getting…fed up."

"Is your mom ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. Nicole…tried to get in to see her….by pretending she was you."

"Oh, Bobby…"

He stopped to look at her and waved off her response, rubbing the back of his neck. "They…knew better. I told them no visitors…and they recognized she wasn't you." He looked at the floor. "She…went after Lewis, too…and Deakins' daughter Emily."

Eames sat down heavily. "Oh, my God…are they ok?"

"Yeah, but they might not have been." He took off pacing again. "I…I underestimated her…again. I…never warned Lewis…I didn't think…I didn't think she knew…"

She felt another surge of irritation at him, but she choked it down. "What did she do to him?"

"Nothing…she just tried to get…information from him." He shook his head. "He didn't know anything."

She felt relieved. She liked Lewis. He had his own way of endearing himself to people, and he was one of Bobby's oldest and closest friends. "I'm glad Lewis is all right." She continued watching him travel around the room, and he wasn't calming any. "Is Emily ok?"

"Yeah. Deakins sent all three of his girls…to stay with their grandparents."

So…everyone was ok. Now for the hard part of the conversation. "What are you going to do?"

That made him stop. He looked at her, head tilted, thinking. "Do? I…I don't know. I don't have a whole lot of…options."

That much was true. Deakins was a very smart man. He hadn't left them a vehicle. Of course, that would be a minor hindrance to her stubborn partner if he had a mind to leave, which she was afraid he did. "Bobby?"

He turned toward her, but he didn't see her. His mind was elsewhere. She shook her head, getting up from the chair and walking over to him. "Stop pacing, dammit. I'm not going to chase you down."

"What?" His eyes cleared. "Oh, uh, sorry…"

She placed her hands on his arms and held onto him firmly. "Look at me, Goren."

He turned his eyes to hers. "Alex…"

"Not a word. Listen. I know you feel we have to do something, or that you have to do something. And I know what you're thinking. But I want you to promise me that you're not going to take off alone." She wanted him to promise he wouldn't take off at all, but she knew he wasn't going to promise her that. She had to take what she could get.

"Why do you think I'd do that?"

"That's what you were planning, isn't it?"

"Well…"

"Damn it, Bobby!"

"Don't go getting mad again…please."

She took a deep breath, and she couldn't keep it from trembling as she exhaled. "If you take off, Bobby, I'm done with you."

A dark frown crept across his face. "What?"

She looked at him. "You heard me. I can't do this any more. I…I can't. If you want to take off and walk into her trap, go ahead. You won't be coming back."

"Alex…"

She met his eyes, tears brimming in hers. "And if you do…you're going to be looking for another partner."

"No…Alex…."

She sat down on the couch and he dropped down beside her. She looked at him, the pain in his eyes making it all the harder to keep the tears from falling. "When we became partners, you wouldn't include me on anything. It was all you. Then 'you' became 'us.' And now you're going back to 'you' again, and I can't deal with that. It's 'us' or it's nothing, and you have to make that choice. Either we face her together, or you're on your own, for good. Because one way, I'm going to lose you to her, permanently. The other way…we have a chance of coming out of it together…and staying that way. Together. It's your choice, Bobby."

He buried his head in his hands, shoulders slumped. Defeated. She hated to see him that way, but she knew, deep in her gut, that if he did something stupid, like take off to face Nicole alone, she would bury him. And that would kill her, too. She laid a hand on his back, gently rubbing, comforting.

He relaxed a little when her hand came to rest on his back, making small circles, trying to reassure. He wanted desperately to spare her any further contact with Nicole, but she wasn't going to let him do that. 'Us' or nothing. He truly would be nothing…that's what he was without her. How could he protect her if she wouldn't let him? He wasn't going to lose her. Nicole was not going to come between them, and neither was the threat she posed to them. He wouldn't let it. Without making a sound, he turned toward her, pulling her into his arms. He covered her mouth with his, desperately seeking a response, and she gave it to him. He made his choice. As always, he chose her.