Dani walked back into Goren's apartment and dropped her bags out of the way, against the wall. Goren removed his tie and dropped down on the couch. He leaned his head back, eyes closed, seemingly asleep or meditating. Dani perched on the arm of the couch, on the opposite end, and waited.

Bobby spoke without moving his position, "Dani, quit watching me. Go change into something more comfortable. We'll get to it in just a few minutes but right now, I need to get my thoughts together."

"Yes, sir." Dani answered and grabbed her bag and walked back into Bobby's bedroom to do as he instructed. Once she left the room, Bobby opened his eyes and smiled, ruefully.

She's like a kid in the principal's office, Goren thought. She knows she's going to catch hell; she's just not sure for what. Well, let's just let her stew a little longer.

Goren stood when Dani returned, dressed in Capri style sweats with a t-shirt and flip-flops.

"Make yourself comfortable, Dani, while I go change." Goren replied as Dani dropped down in the recliner.

"You're doing this on purpose," Dani challenged as Goren walked past her, headed to his bedroom.

Goren stopped but didn't bother to turn around, "Maybe," was the simple response and then continued to his bedroom. Dani sighed in frustration and then got up and grabbed her briefcase with the files for the entire investigation. She sat back down on the couch and began spreading them on the coffee table, pulling information she thought Goren would want to see. She didn't hear him enter the room and jumped when he dropped down on the couch next to her.

"Jesus, Goren. For a big man, you're quiet." She snapped.

He smiled and began taking the files and looking over the papers Dani had pulled. She relaxed back into the overstuffed couch and watched the detective work. He methodically moved from one stack to the other, stopping to grab a pad and pen to make notes. When he had gone through everything she had plus files he added from a stack at the end of the couch, he made a few more notes and then quietly studied his work. Dani thought she had dodged the inevitable bullet but she thought wrong. His first question was a direct hit.

"So, when did you realize your partner set you up?"

Dani's face turned instantly red. She tried to push up from the couch but Goren grabbed her arm, impeding the action. "It's time to stop running, Dani, and face the music. For whatever reason, he played you, and you let him. Now that tells me either your not as smart as I thought you were or you're involved."

Dani's outrage was evident. She jerked away from Goren and pushed up from the couch all in one motion.

"Kiss my ass, Goren!" and she walked to the window behind the couch. Bobby let her dangle for a few more minutes.

"Coming here, you thought you could clear him or at least justify what he was up to. You've been covering for him a long time; even hiding information from your captain unless I'm really wrong about Zach and he's in on it, too."

"Damn you, Goren. You know Zach's not involved."

"So you are?"

"No!"

"Then you've definitely been covering up for your partner."

Dani turned to face Bobby, unshed tears rimming her eyes. "You gonna tell Strayer?"

"Not my place. It's yours. You should've done it a long time ago." He sounded like a dad, scolding his daughter. Dani hung her head, embarrassed by her actions and shamed by how it made her look to the big detective. Goren continued, "When were you sure?"

Dani came back to couch and dropped down by Goren, "When the bust in Houston went so badly." Dani made eye contact again, finally, with Bobby. This time, she was totally composed. She gave him the same information she had told Eames in the SUV on the way to her apartment. The tears of a few minutes ago completely gone. "He handled all the contacts; all the set up. Jake Wills, that's my partner," Goren nodded, "he doesn't know I had the doctors send the slugs from his injuries to ballistics. It was department issue that hit him. They made sure that the wounds he took would take him out of the field – out of the circle of suspicion – but not kill him."

"Why follow his leads here, Dani? You knew you weren't doing anything but making yourself look guiltier."

"He's been my partner since I got out of the Academy. When he transferred to Narcotics, he convinced the captain at the time that we were a team. He brought me along."

"You didn't find that strange?" Goren asked incredulously.

"I hadn't been on the force long enough to suspect it was strange. Afterwards, I noticed that wasn't the norm but I thought maybe he'd earned the right." As she spoke, Dani knew the explanations sounded naïve. It made her sound down right stupid. "We'd only been in Narcotics three months when we went undercover. We got quick arrests, quick convictions. The captain got promoted and Strayer came in. Only after he got to the department did Wills get a little more secretive about our work. Guess he knew Zach was a straight arrow."

"You still didn't answer my question. Why come here?" Goren pressed.

"I guess I thought there was still hope he was redeemable. Guess that's not the case, huh?" Dani looked again at Goren.

Bobby didn't know what he wanted to do first: hug her because she seemed so lost and alone or slap her for being so blind and stupid. He didn't completely blame her for wanting to excel. Moving up to Narcotics after only a short time on patrol would have been a feather in her cap. She was obviously good at what she did – Bobby had seen her handle the situation with the dealer, all the time protecting him. There was still one question and he knew she was going to get pissed all over again.

"Dani, if we're going to do this, I have to know one thing. When the time comes, who are you going to choose – Jake Wills or me?"

It felt like he had slapped her. This was the crux of the whole issue – trust. She'd never done anything to cause someone to doubt what she stood for – she had now and it hurt. She leaned forward on the couch, the tears she thought she had under control, slipping down her cheeks. Again, Goren let her be. The next few words would either make or break Dani. If he didn't like her response, there was nothing for him to do but arrest her and extradite her back to Houston. Her law enforcement career, over.

She took a deep breath and wiped the tears off her face. Dani sat up straight and turned to look at Bobby. Inwardly, he smiled when he saw her eyes. The old saying, the eyes are the mirror to the soul, told the story of Dani Cantrell. He'd bet she was a piss-poor poker player because she couldn't bluff with those vivid green eyes.

"The bottom line, Goren, is this. My partner on this case is you. If Jake Wills is what we believe him to be, I won't hesitate to arrest him or shoot him, whatever the situation warrants. I have your back, Detective Robert Goren. If you don't believe me – or trust me – then here. Here's my badge." Dani slipped the Houston PD shield from her briefcase and slammed it down in front of Bobby. She got up and walked back to the window.

She didn't realize she was holding her breath until she saw the movement reflected in the window. Dani watched as Goren reached over and picked up the badge she had put in front of him. He stood and walked over to her, knowing she was watching him in the window. He was right behind her, his head clearly visible above hers. As he handed her the badge, she reached to take it. He wouldn't release it but instead, he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Don't remove it again or offer to give it up so easily. Next time, I won't give it back. Think, Dani. If it means that much to you, fight to keep it." As their eyes locked, again in the reflection in the window, he released the badge and turned back to the couch.

Eames' timing was perfect. She unlocked the door and entered, bag on her shoulder, pizza box in hand. She looked from where Dani stood, still holding her badge by the window, to Goren's form by the couch. Goren went to the door.

"About time you got here," he smiled as he took the box and the bag of groceries Alex had set down by the door when she unlocked it and went to the kitchen. Eames shut the door behind her. Dani still had not looked at Alex. She walked over next to Dani and dropped her travel bag beside her, forcing Dani to acknowledge her presence.

"You ok?" Alex asked.

"I am now." She turned to face Eames. "Your partner is a very difficult man to understand. He basically calls me stupid, threatens my job, questions my loyalty and then, tells me not to back down from the fight. I'm not sure whether to hug him, hit him, kiss him, or see if he wants to go ten rounds in the kick boxing ring. I don't think I've ever been this confused."

Alex laughed. Dani had summed up all that was Robert Goren in a simple statement. Alex knew Bobby was lurking in the kitchen, giving her time to smooth the waters with Dani. The hard part was over. Bobby knew Dani was what he suspected all along, a good cop with a deeply rooted sense of loyalty – someone not unlike himself. It gets you into trouble but overall it's a pretty good quality.

Alex answered, "Dani, I feel the same way on a regular basis but the bottom line is this. There's no one I would ever want for a partner but Robert Goren. I've been mad enough to shoot him myself, but I know, when everything's on the line, he's the one I want to be with me. You can bank on that."

Dani nodded, knowing she had come to that conclusion herself. Alex took Dani by the arm and steered her to the table. "Let's eat. It'll be better on a full stomach."

Dani couldn't argue that. There was still a good deal of night left and it wasn't going to get any easier.