Standing in the parking lot, the blonde detective felt defeated. This is my fault. No one else's. He's the only who can help me and I've pushed him away. Again. I'm so stupid.

The self incriminating barrage continued until she forced herself to shut it down. There's a way to fix this. I just have to talk to him. I think. But what do I say? Eames returned to her desk to grab her keys and jacket and headed out to do what seemed like the impossible. Change Dr. Robert Goren's mind.

That last question stuck with her. What does she say? Hey, you know how I asked for your help and then attacked you? Yeah, well, will you still help me? She shook her head. How pathetic.

With five minutes left until she reached her destination, her cell phone rang. "Eames."

"Detective, where are you?" Very good, Alex. You took off and didn't tell the captain where you were going.

Trying not to let on something was wrong, she responded. "I'm meeting up with Dr. Goren. We're going over some things." Technically, it wasn't a lie but it still made her uncomfortable. When Hannah didn't answer, she felt it even more so.

"Just be careful."

"I will." The uncomfortable feeling morphed into annoyance.

"I mean it, Alex." Alex? Not Detective or Eames. Alex. This was Joe talking. Not Captain Hannah.

Eames pulled in front of Bobby's house. She turned off the engine. Sighing, she spoke. "Ok."

Satisfied, Hannah's tone became more authoritative. "Keep me posted, Detective."

"Yes, sir." The call ended and Eames took a breath. I can do this. I have to do this.

Steeling her resolve, she exited her vehicle and headed towards the front door. The doctor was home. His car was in the driveway and a small light shown through a window on the side of the house. Probably from the kitchen. Anxiety, fear, and apprehension fought with the courage Alex was beginning to lose as the door got closer. Here goes nothing. The detective knocked. No turning back now. She waited.

The other side of the door wasn't much better. The small home was filled with static electricity. The air was charged with self loathing, guilt, scotch and cigarettes. All of this emanating from one man. Bobby Goren. He was pacing from one end of the kitchen to other as fast as his inebriated feet could take him with a half empty glass of scotch in his left hand. I should've known better. How could anyone want anything from me? I'm broken. Useless and broken. My mother was right. She said it enough times. I should have figured it out by now. He stopped his pacing long enough to take another drink. Just as he started up again, he heard a knock at the front door. He sat his glass and slowly made it the door. This had better be good.

Bobby opened the door to find Detective Alexandra Eames on the other side. I can't believe this. Looking eye to eye, Alex was the first to speak. "Hi."

Goren huffed. "What are you doing here?"

Eames shoved her hands in her pockets. "I was hoping we could talk."

He didn't know if he really wanted to talk to her too or if it was the half a bottle a scotch he had killed, but he felt his feet move his frame to the side allowing the detective inside. Before Alex could speak, the smell of alcohol and smoke slammed into her. This is all my fault. Her eyes followed him into the kitchen where he grabbed his glass from the table. Turning to her, he spoke. "You wanted to talk. So, talk, Detective."

"Maybe I'll come back when you're not so 'busy'." She hadn't meant for it to sound accusatory but that's how Bobby took it.

He laughed humorlessly. "If you have something to say, then just say it." Sipping from the glass, his eyes bore into Alex.

She took a breath before speaking. "I'm sorry."

Bobby didn't say anything. He just turned to refill his now empty glass.

"I'm sorry." Eames said it again. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did." She paused to gauge his reaction. He hasn't kicked me out yet. That's a start. "I came to you for help. You only did what I asked you to do. It's just-" Alex's breath caught. Now for the hard part. I don't want to share my feelings. I don't even know what my feelings are anymore. I owe him, though. "Joe is a difficult subject for me. Most of the time I'm okay. Other times, this feeling comes over me and all I know is I have to bury it before I suffocate."

"I know." It was so quiet that she thought she imagined it.

"What?" The word was more exhaled than spoken.

"I know what that feels like." Goren kept his eyes trained on the floor. "Every thing around you starts to run in slow motion and then a loud rushing sound makes your ears ring so loud you can't hear anything else. Its hard to focus or even breath."

Alex stood frozen in shock. This man continues to amaze me. How does he know how to describe what I'm feeling?

Bobby must've read her mind. "I've felt that way a few times. Not in a while though. Then, you-" He stopped mid-sentence. Knock it off, Bobby. She doesn't care.

"Then I what?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Clearly, it does or would't have started to tell me."

Bobby rocked back and forth on his heels. "It really doesn't." He gulped the rest of his drink.

"Come on, Goren. How am I supposed to fix this when you won't tell me what I did?" Ok. That wasn't supposed to be said out loud, but there it is. Eames took a couple steps towards him but for every step she made forward, he took backward causing the kitchen table to now be a barrier between them.

"Eames, please don't." He was almost begging.

"Bobby, I-" That was it. Before she even blinked, Bobby slammed his glass down on the table with such force the glass broke in his hand. Alex was surprised the table didn't break with it. There were two ragged breaths before he palmed the contents on the table and violently slung them onto the floor.

"Do you really want to know, Detective? Fine. I'll tell you. You were the first person in years that I felt I could trust. That I felt completely comfortable around." He was nearly screaming. His eyes no longer dimmed by alcohol but lit up with intense emotion. "And then you come to me. You come to me, of all people, needing help. The idiot that I am, I chose to be honest. To be my true self and give you my unfiltered opinion. And what do you do? You decide you made a mistake. That you don't need my help. That you don't need me. I'm used to people writing me off, Eames. That doesn't hurt me. Not anymore. But with you?" Bobby exhaled hard. It was like his rant had been done in one never ending breath.

Alex didn't know what to say. Sure she was hurt but she never thought he had all of this hold up inside him. She wanted to comfort him. To tell him it was all her and her failings. Not him. Not at all. She didn't get the chance. The doctor looked wearily up at her.

"I'm going to bed. Stay or go. I don't care either way." He scrubbed his face with both hands. Amazingly, there was no blood from the glass that lay splintered on the floor. He swayed down the hall and into his bedroom. The door closed. Effectively cutting himself off from the world and from Alex.

Alex looked around the room. I guess that's what the captain meant by 'be careful'." For the first time in a very long time, Detective Alexandra Eames was uncertain of what she should or shouldn't do. The one thing she was sure of, though, was she wasn't about to leave him alone tonight.

She kept her mind occupied by cleaning up the mess left by their conversation. Conversation? Yeah, that what's we're going to go with. Other than an occasional snore, Bobby was quiet. Eames found herself thankful for that. She knew he was hurt, maybe even angry but she hadn't expected what she got. Wounded. Dr. Robert Goren was wounded.

Once the mess was deposed of, Alex melted into the couch. Using her coat as a blanket, she fell into a not so restful sleep. Images of Joe, Manny and Bobby swam through her dreams.

Six hours later, Eames opened her eyes. Shaking her head to help her realize where she was, Alex decided she might as well cook some breakfast. Using her 'detective skills', she found a few skillets, spatulas, and discovered bacon and eggs in the refrigerator. She smiled as she remembered her mother making this same meal for her father when he came home late.

When the food was almost done, Bobby came from around the corner. He cleared his throat to alert Alex to his presence. She nodded. "Good morning."

"Morning." He mumbled in return.

At least he's speaking to me. "You hungry?" She was going for two in a row.

He paused for minute then answered. "I could eat, I guess."

"Then, help me set the table." Goren did as he was told.

The silence was deafening. She couldn't take it anymore. "Bobby, are we okay?" The question spilled out from her. Bobby turned and looked at her.

"Yeah, we're okay." Alex looked at him for a moment. Then, she wiped her hands of with a towel she had sitting on the counter.

"Truce?" She held her right hand out to him. Relief would be an understatement to how she felt when she saw the patented Bobby Goren boyish grin grace his features.

He shook her hand. "Truce."

The two sat down to eat. This time the silence was comfortable.

It was short lived, however, when Eames cell phone rang. She excused herself from the table, then answered it with her back turned to Bobby. He wasn't worried until he spotted the change in her posture. Choosing not to say anything, he waited for her to speak first.

Eames sat back down and sighed. "That was the warden." Bobby tilted his head as if to say 'I'm listening'. "Manny Delgado was found hanging in his cell."

Suddenly, no one had an appetite anymore.