Eames leaned back on the couch and looked at the flowers. They really were beautiful...all her favorites. She would expect no less from him. It troubled her that he wouldn't answer the phone. She wondered if he'd had a date earlier. She went over to her desk and sifted through some papers, finally locating the one that had Annie's phone number on it. She dialed the number and waited. "Hello?"

"Hi, Annie. This is Alex Eames, Bobby's partner."

"Oh, hi." She wondered how she got her number, but only for a second. Bobby shared everything with his partner.

She sensed a hint of coldness in Annie's voice and that puzzled her. "Have you seen Bobby?"

"Earlier. Why?"

"I just got a weird message from him and I was wondering if you knew where he was."

"Alex, I broke up with him today."

"You...oh. I'm sorry. How was he?"

"He was all right with it. Actually, he didn't seem very surprised."

"How are you?"

A pause. "You know, Alex, I really did start to love him. But he just wouldn't let me in and I can't be on the outside looking in when I'm with someone. I can't."

"I understand that. Bobby just doesn't let people in."

No one, except you, Annie thought bitterly. "How is he with you?"

"My relationship with him is different. We're partners and close friends, but that's it."

So she had no idea, either. She didn't even realize that she alone had found the way to Bobby's heart, and now that path was permanently closed to anyone else. "I'm sorry. I don't know where he is but I'm sure he's fine."

She dated the man, but she didn't know him, Eames mused. She was right; Bobby hadn't let her in. "Ok. Thanks, Annie. Good-bye."

She sat down in the easy chair and was not reassured. Not at all. It was one thing for Bobby to withdraw, but he was running away, and that meant something else entirely. He had never run away from her before and she had no clue what it meant. She just knew that it was not a good thing.

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

She went into work as usual the next morning. Deakins was waiting for her. "Eames, come in here please."

She knew this had to do with her absent partner. She closed the door behind her. "Yes, Captain?"

"Goren took a few days off."

She nodded. "I know."

The captain looked relieved. "Did he call you?"

"No. He sent me a message."

"Did he explain anything to you?"

"No. He just said he had to get away for a few days. What did he tell you?"

"He just said he needed some time off, to get his head on straight."

She frowned. What could he have meant by that? "Did he tell you where he was going?"

"No. I guess he knew you would go after him if he did."

She nodded. "He said he didn't want to be talked out of it."

"Did you try calling him?"

"Of course I did. He wouldn't answer, and the last few times I tried, his phone was turned off. I stopped by his apartment but he's not there and neither is his car." She sighed. "I called his girlfriend to see if she knows where he is. She said she broke up with him."

"Really? Maybe that..."

He trailed off as she shook her head. "No. I don't think so. I think there's more to it than that. If it was just a breakup, he would have called me. He'd have come over, had a few drinks and crashed on my couch. He's done that before. This is different. He's never done this before."

Deakins sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Alex. All I can say is give him his space. He'll be back."

She nodded. "Thanks, Captain. Will you let me know if you hear from him?"

"Yes."

He watched her leave the office. She seemed genuinely concerned and puzzled by her partner's abrupt departure. That made him worry even more.

She returned to her desk and sat down. Something happened that was weighing heavily on him, something he felt he couldn't come to her with. She tried to imagine what it could be but nothing came to mind. If he couldn't confide in her, maybe there was someone else he would have confided in. Maybe...

She pulled out a phone book, looked up Lewis' Auto Body and dialed. "Lewis' Auto Body. May I help you?"

"Lewis?"

"Yeah. Who's this?"

"This is Alex Eames, Bobby's partner."

"Detective Alex!" He seemed happy to hear from her. "How can I help you?"

"Lewis, Bobby took some time off and he seems to have left town. Did he say anything to you?"

"He called me last night and asked me to go visit his mom this week. Said he had some business to tend to and he wouldn't be around for a few days. Why? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. Did he sound ok?"

"Sure. Maybe a little tired, that's all."

"Did you know Annie broke up with him?"

"He mentioned it, but he seemed ok with it."

"Lewis, where does Bobby go when he needs to get away, to be alone?"

Lewis was quiet as he put some thought into his answer. "Well, since you've been his partner, he hasn't needed to go anywhere. But before that...since we were little, really, he always went to nature. He'd go down to the piers or to the harbor. He likes Battery Park. Sometimes he'd go to the ocean, or upstate to the Catskills, hiking and camping. One time, he friggin' went to Colorado. He likes to be alone in the woods or by the ocean when he's got to figure something out."

"When did he go to Colorado?"

"That was after his dad died. He had to come to terms with not feeling any grief over it. He wouldn't listen to me. You know how he is."

"Did you get any sense that he was troubled?"

"No, not really. Is he ok, Detective Alex?"

"I hope so, Lewis. Let me know if you hear from him, ok?"

"Sure. Bye."

She set the phone in its cradle. Lewis tried not to sound worried, but he was. He didn't even try to flirt with her and that was very unlike him. She sat there, looking at her partner's empty desk. Where the hell could he be?