The patrol car pulled into the half-filled lot and parked. He had no trouble spotting Alex's car. Nate Bedford scanned the lot. "What are we doing here?"

"Alex is playing ball so we're taking a break to watch."

Bedford frowned. "Watching or checking up on her?"

"Does it matter?"

"For chrissake, Rick, he's not gonna do something in the middle of a damn crowd. Especially not a crowd of cops."

"Not that anyone will notice, no. You coming or not?"

Bedford sighed as Waters got out of the car. He slid out of the passenger seat and looked over the top of the car at his partner. "What did Hammond tell you?"

"Screw Hammond. She's my wife."

Shaking his head, Bedford followed him toward the field. They had no trouble finding Alex's team, even at this distance. They were the ones who had a little girl running around the bench. Each time she would trip, she would get back on her feet, usually helped by at least one set of hands belonging to a smiling adult, and she was off again.

She was a cute kid, but he found himself annoyed by the reminder that he never wanted kids to begin with. That kid made his real job so much more complicated. Alex should have cleared it with him before she got pregnant, and that was one thing he wasn't able to forgive her for, even though the kid was already two. When he had to walk away, he was going to leave her with that responsibility, and he refused to feel guilty about it. Kids had never been part of the plan, not for him. He was glad that John kept her most of the time. He'd gotten really damn tired of being woken in the middle of the night, especially when he had to be at work at seven the next morning. Alex, after all, had asked for this, not him. But John sure did love her. That was something he just could not bring himself to do.

He watched the interactions of the players on the bench with his little daughter. There was that ass Logan, lifting her up and tickling her. Then Logan laughed when she tried to tickle him back. She scurried away from him over to Alex, climbing up onto her lap and taking the water bottle she gave her. She took a drink and handed it back, hugging Alex's neck and giving her a kiss before she climbed down. Racing around the bench several times, tapping each person she passed on the knee, she stopped before a couple of people to say something. Logan was one of them, and Alex's captain was another. Continuing on, she tripped and fell at least twice on each pass, once again lifted to her feet by helping hands. She smiled broadly at their laughter. Those people genuinely seemed to like the little girl.

Bedford elbowed him. "How old is she?"

"Who?"

"Maggie, you moron."

"Oh, uh, she turned two sometime in May, I think."

"Don't even know your kid's birthday?"

"Shut up, Nate. I shouldn't even have a damn kid."

"I don't know why you have to be such a prick about it. It's a done deal. She's really cute."

"You want a fat lip?"

Bedford raised his hands in surrender. "I'll wait for you in the car, asshole."

Waters turned his eyes back to the bench, searching for the one person he did not see. He refused to believe Alex was doing something, on duty or off duty, without that partner of hers, particularly with Logan there. From what he could tell, Logan and Goren were tight. He broadened his search...oh, there he was, off by the fence watching the game. He would have expected him to be over by Alex...his gut tightened and he swallowed a wave of jealous anger. He watched Goren turn, as if someone had called his name. Though their voices didn't carry over the din of the game, he realized who must have called him when he saw the big guy drop to one knee. The little girl ran into his arms. He perched her on his leg and talked to her as though she were able to carry on a real conversation about something important. He found himself incapable of even pretending that what the child had to say mattered to him, not that he could understand the babble he'd heard her use lately anyway. Yet there was Goren, seeming to hang on her every word, as if he really did understand her babytalk.

When the team took the field, the kid ran to the bleachers where John was sitting. She perched herself on his leg and watched the game until the teams switched again and her mother came back in from the field. He expected the kid to run to Alex, but she didn't. He was surprised that it was Goren she chose to run to. He was even more surprised when his wife's partner scooped her up and gave her his undivided attention. And then...a hot ball of fury settled in his gut when Alex stepped up to his side, rested her hand at the small of his back and said something to her daughter. While the kid had her mother's attention, he noticed that Goren was watching Alex, certain her attention was not on him. With a soft, muttered curse, he headed back toward the patrol car. If he went down to the field now, there was going to be a fight. He was even more convinced now that Goren was in love with his wife...and it appeared to him that he was trying to use that damn kid to get to her. As if the son of a bitch needed any props to get Alex's attention. Yet another reason to resent the child he never wanted in the first place. This was becoming intolerable. He would have to do something about it.

Getting into the partol car, he slammed the door. "You busy next weekend, Nate?"

"Why?"

"Because if Alex goes out, I want to know where she goes. If Goren has anything to do with her, it's time for us to teach him a lesson."

"Us? Since when did I join in on your vendetta against Goren?"

"Since I told you it was time. We got sent on this job together, you back me up."

"I don't want to hurt the guy, Rick. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"Not yet, he hasn't, but wait. He will. That's why I want to know where Alex goes."

"Spying on your wife...she's gonna be all kinds of pissed when she finds out."

"She just can't find out, then."

"You do anything to her partner and she's liable to notice, you idiot."

"Just let me handle it. All you gotta do is what I tell you."

He started the engine and gunned it. Bedford shook his head. This was getting out of hand now, and he didn't like it one bit. But his orders were to follow Waters' lead, no matter what. He wondered if this was what Hammond had in mind. With a silent sigh, he mused that Ricky was his best friend, and he would follow him to hell and back. Now he wondered if there was any back from the hell he was leading them into.