A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Enjoy!

Royal Motel

Melrose, Bronx

The Royal Motel was located between a car service called 'Uptown' and an automotive repair shop and right across the street from a building construction warehouse that sold, according to the sign, lumber and building materials; and at one in the morning, they were all deserted, giving the street an eerie stillness that made him take a quick glance over his shoulder every couple of feet.

Graffiti from the local gang decorated the steal door that he opened for the motel. Stepping inside, he felt the hot whiff of air coming from the vents. There was a man behind the desk who hadn't been there a few days ago. The man looked up from the sandwich he was eating while talking on the phone.

At seeing him, the man spoke into the phone, "I'll call you back, I got a customer." He hung up the phone as he asked, "Is it just you?"

He walked up to the desk and gave a curt nod as he looked around. "Yeah." The TV in the corner was on, showing highlights from a college basketball game, but the sound was muted.

"For how long?" the man asked as he grabbed a receipt book and started to fill out the date and time.

"Just for the night. I, uh, I was here a few days ago...over the weekend."

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Cash or credit?"

"Cash." He gestured to the receipt book, saying, "I was with a woman...she paid. And, well, its just I was out of it. I didn't plan on it, but we came back here and next thing I know, she's gone and I'm left without a name...or number."

The man smiled a little as he told him, "I'm gonna need your name and number before I give you hers, pal. And I'll need to see some ID."

Taking out his newly bought wallet, he said, "I didn't have to show ID last time."

"Last time I wasn't here and you weren't after my receipts."

He pulled out his ID card as well as a hundred dollar bill. Handing the man both, he took his ID back before the man even glanced at it and the receipt book that was passed over to him. Instead of filling out the information for the room, he flipped through it until he came upon the receipt he was looking for.

It was dated for Saturday the 19th, paid in cash for three days, and even though the name was fake he hoped the phone number wasn't. He took out his pen and notepad and wrote it down while saying, "The woman who was here on Monday working, she told me that since the room was paid in cash that there was no receipt."

"Yea, Teresa's like that," the man said with a snide smirk. "She's got an attitude with anyone who has dick. She probably wouldn't have given it to you for anything less than a thousand while making you declare what a chauvinistic pig you are." He gave a huff of a laugh while saying, "She probably wouldn't have even told you if you were a cop."

"I take it that most men who come here, it's to cheat."

"Among many others. Take a look around pal, this isn't Times Square. There's no reason for a motel here except to lure in the filth off the streets. No offense."

"None taken. When's Teresa's next day on?"

"She'll be here in the morning, around six."

Giving a nod and taking out a fifty, he tossed that down as he said, "I'm going to need that room."

Bobby & Alex's Apartment

She couldn't sleep; kicking the sheet off her hot body, she got out of bed and headed down the hall. The apartment was hot and stuffy as the steam rolled of the radiator. She turned it off before going into the kitchen. Taking out a bottle of water, she downed it before grabbing another.

Usually she didn't get this hot. She used to sleep peacefully with the heat on, curled up under the sheet and blanket, and with Bobby right up against her. She hadn't been able to sleep that peaceful in days. No matter what, something bothered her. It was either too hot or too cold, or too much room, or it was too quiet, or...anything and everything.

The real reason was that the bed was empty; Bobby wasn't there. He made it comfortable, safe, and warm. Without him there she didn't feel as if this was her home. She felt like an intruder. As she looked around the kitchen, and out into the living room, she realized what Bobby must have felt when she moved in. This wasn't hers, and it could never be theirs, because it was his.

Bobby had been right. This was his home, his sanctuary, and she had invaded it. She had been glad that she decided to move out, but now she wondered if she should still go ahead with it.

What if Bobby needed her there? Then again, what if Bobby no longer wanted her there? Those questions pained her, worried her, and was the reason why it was so damn hard to sleep at night.

But above all, she simply missed her boyfriend.

Taking the bottle water with her to the bedroom, she drunk it while getting dressed. It was after one in the morning, but she needed to get out. It didn't take long before she was zipping up her coat, grabbing her car keys, and leaving.

The streets were dark and empty due to the bitter cold that had settled in the region. In a few days they were expecting more snow and from the sounds of it, it was going to be worse than the one from last year. Keeping her mind and eyes focuses on the task of driving, she able to push her troubling thoughts to bay until she was over the bridge and parked in front of the little one-stories house.

She should have called first, she thought as she walked up to the front door and knocked. After a couple of long seconds, she pulled out her set of keys when the porch light flicked on. She smiled weakly toward the peephole as the locks turned and door opened.

Terry was standing shirtless in front of her as he asked, "Alex are you okay? It's late."

"I'm-" she cut herself off before she could tell him that she was fine. If she was fine she wouldn't have been there at two in the morning. "I can't sleep," she admitted. "Is Liz here?"

Terry rubbed at her rumpled hair as he leaned against the doorframe. "She's working the midnight shift at the hospital this week."

"You mind if I came in?" she asked while wondering why he hadn't done that already. Terry would've already had her sitting on the couch while getting her coffee or a beer by now.

He seemed conflicted as he kept rubbing his hand through his hair; Alex had known him for a long time and had picked up on a few things about the man; she knew that when he kept doing that, it meant he was afraid or worried about something. She took in his appearance again, the no shirt, no socks or shoes, dress pants with no belt...

Staring hard into his eyes, she knew.

"Terry..." was all she could out before he stepped away from the doorframe and nearly pushed her back while stepping out onto the porch with her.

"Alex," he said calmly as he shut the door behind him, "don't-"

"Don't what?" she nearly yelled before catching herself. "Don't kill you or don't tell my sister? Because I'm about to do both."

Terry leaned against the pillar and covered his eyes with his hand. "I was going to say don't yell. Nate's asleep."

Alex felt her anger erupt as she hit him hard on the shoulder. "You're cheating on your wife, my sister, with your son asleep in the next room? What the matter with you?"

He hadn't even flinched when she'd hit him. Terry kept his head down with his hand covering part of his face while she went off. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Oh please, Terry, save it. I don't care about your intentions. You're screwing another woman in the bed where your wife sleeps. You don't accidentally do something like that."

"I didn't say it was an accident. I didn't...It doesn't mean anything."

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes as she started to walk away.

"I love Liz, Alex."

"You sure have a messed up way of showing it."

Terry pushed off the pillar and started for her. "Don't tell her."

Alex stopped and turned to face him head-on. "Fuck you, Terry."

He stopped at that sharp snap. Staring wide-eyed at her, he gave a box as he said, "I deserve that."

"You deserve a hell of a lot more than that."

"I want to tell her," he said as she started back toward her car. "I want a chance to-"

"No amount of explaining is going to keep her from cutting your dick off or save your marriage."

"Maybe not, but I still want to be the one to tell her. Please, Alex."

Alex stopped with her hand on her car door. Sighing in irritation, anger, and frustration, she turned to face him. "Okay, but I don't want Nate here."

"I'll call someone to come-"

"I'll take him with me."

Terry looked back at the house before telling her, "Okay."

"And I want her gone. Now."

Terry stared at her for a moment before giving a nod. "Whatever you want."

Alex leaned against her car as she crossed her arms, telling him, "I'll wait."

Terry gestured over his shoulder, explaining, "I have to drive her home."

"She can walk, or take a cab, I don't care."

Rubbing over his head again, he said, "I'll call a cab."

She watched as Terry went back into the house and shut the door. Her whole insides felt on fire, like she was seconds away from erupting. Everything hurt and she wasn't sure if it was from her anger, or her sense of betrayal...or if it was because she knew how much this was going to destroy her sister.

Once the woman was in a taxi and gone, she finally went into the house. She saw Terry seated at the kitchen table, drinking out of a bottle of whiskey and smoking a cigarette. Seeing that took her by surprise because she knew for a fact that he didn't smoke. In fact, Terry hated smokers. She ignored him for the moment as she went to check on her nephew.

Nathan was fast asleep, curled up into a ball on his stomach with his backside sticking up in the air. At seeing him, she eased a little. Placing a hand on his back, she felt his warmth and smiled. She gave him a quick kiss before leaving the room.

She didn't know what she was doing, call it the cop in her blood, but she went into the kitchen and sat down across from her brother-in-law. While she'd been standing outside, she kept thinking of him and why he would do such a thing. It really wasn't like him. She knew him, and she knew that he wasn't that guy.

Then she had remembered a conversation they had a week ago. She remembered thinking that Terry had been depressed. She knew that his marriage with Liz was taking a huge turn. Not only were they new parents, but now Liz was working all the time at the hospital while he was always at the office. That was one of reasons she had offered to watch Nathan last weekend, so that Terry and Liz could have a night together for the first time in months. Because of what happened with Bobby, she had to cancel it, which made them cancel their plans.

She sat for a long time, thinking about all of this, until Terry spoke.

"This was the first time," he slurred as he stared at the table. He was still shirtless, not bothering to put one on before getting drunk. "And we didn't even get that far before you knocked."

"Would you have done it if I hadn't?"

He sighed heavily as he closed his eyes. Shaking his head, he said, "I don't know…maybe."

"Why?" she wanted to ask more, but at the moment that was all she cared about. "Why do you want to throw it all away?" When he didn't answer, she asked, "Who is she?"

"We used to work together," he simply, nearly numbly, answered. "She flirted with me for months. I would always turn her down. I really do love your sister, Alex," he told her as he finally looked up at her. She hated to see it, but she knew that he was telling her the truth. "Tonight, like I said, I didn't mean for this...She called me up, offered that we had dinner to talk. At first I said no, but then I thought...it'll be nice to actually have dinner with someone besides a two year old for a change."

"How did dinner lead you back here?"

"She lives here too. She usually takes the ferry, I offered her a ride. I've been talking Nate up the entire time at dinner. How smart he is; he's quick, you know," he said with a soft smile of pride. "He's already saying words and figuring things out. She wanted to see him."

"Terry, she was baiting you."

"I know that," he said a little angrily. "I'm not an idiot. I knew what she was doing. I'm not gonna sit here and try to lie about it. I knew she wanted to get me here, alone."

"Then why?" she asked again. "And if you tell me that you don't know, I swear-"

"I don't deserve them," he softly said. "I don't deserve this family."

"What makes you say that?"

Shaking his head as he clenched his eyes closed, holding back tears, he said, "I'm a failure. I don't...they're better off without me. I want-...I want her to leave me."

As she listened to Terry's drunken explanation, something he said hit her. She hadn't realized it until just then. Taking a breath, she asked, "Did you lose your job?"

Terry covered his face again as he gave a nod.

"How long ago was this?"

Terry was shaking as he told her, "Three months ago. I've been looking; I didn't think it would take this long. That's what she said she wanted to talk about. She knows someone who can get me a position at a firm, but only if...if we could be..." he stopped talking as he picked up the bottle and took a drink.

Alex's jaw dropped. "She solicited you, and you agreed? That's sexual harassment."

Terry smacked the bottle hard on the table as he said, "I know. God, I'm so fucked." He dropped his head in his hands and started shaking.

"I don't know what to do here, Terry. I thought you were just being a cheating asshole. Now, I know you were just a desperate one. Liz still has to know."

"I can't tell her. She can't know that I'm out of work. That I've got no money...We have a mortgage, a kid to take care of...Fuck, Alex, I bought a boat."

"She's going to notice when your house goes into foreclosure. What are your options?"

"Death," he said. "I've got a pretty sizable life insurance."

"I'm serious."

"So am I," he snapped as he looked up at her with tear stricken eyes.

Alex reached over and took his hand. She didn't know what to say after that, so she stayed quiet until Terry stood and left the room. Taking a breath, she got up as well and went into the guest room.

Royal Motel

He couldn't sleep so he went over the questions he had for his meeting with Eames in morning. When he couldn't think of anything else, he left the room. The wind had picked up and it was colder than it had been earlier. Taking out a smoke, he lit it up as he started walking.

He could hear the roar of the cars on the interstate a few blocks over. The noise was actually calming; he seemed to enjoy it in a way. There was a form of familiarity it brought him. He didn't know why, other than the fact that he was so used to it. New York City was a very loud place to live; it wasn't for anyone who enjoyed peace and quiet, or a relaxed environment. If you weren't willing to work, to be on the go, and getting yelled at half the time on the street, then the city definitely wasn't for you. However, he loved it.

Getting to the corner of 164th street and Grand Concourse, he was stopped by the concrete block barriers lining the road. The street was under construction. Looking around, he started along the barriers until he found a gap between two of them and walked through. He stomped over the dug up asphalt and concrete and ground as he made his way to the other side of the street. With not finding another gap on the other side, he gripped a barrier with both hands and lifted himself up and over then kept walking along 164th street, passing Joyce Kilmer Park.

There was a 24 hour deli on the next corner so he stopped and picked up a sub sandwich, cup of coffee, and another pack of smokes before continuing his walk. He didn't know where he was going or why, all he was doing was keeping his legs moving as he absently let his mind think. He stopped trying to focus and to force his memories to come, instead, he let his mind run free.

A few more blocks and the sound of a subway train roaring above him broke him from his thoughts. Looking up, he found himself in front of Yankees Stadium. He started down River Avenue, walking along the stadium and looking at the posters of all the baseball players. As he walked, taking in the names and jersey numbers, he heard a voice in his head.

It was her voice. It was Eames.

"Oh wow. These are amazing seats," Alex said as she took out her digital camera to take a picture of the field and of her favorite player, Derek Jeter.

"Told you they were good," he told her as he took a seat.

They were along the left field sidelines in a couple of box seats he'd been able to get from a buddy of his. Seated right next to Alex was a sports photographer for the New York Ledger and next to him a couple seats over were a few guys with the FDNY and NYPD. Because of work and then traffic, they arrived half an hour late to the game, but at least they got there.

It was the first day of July, coming up on the July 4th weekend, and it was hot. The humidity wasn't too bad but the night air was stifling. To ease his slight discomfort, he took a sip of his beer while Alex finally took her seat beside him. He handed her the carrier box that was full of food but not before snatching up a foil-wrapped ballpark hotdog loaded with mustard, relish, and onions. His favorite.

As the announcer called a Red Sox player who stepped up to the plate, he leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Happy birthday."

Alex kissed him back. "You're such a good boyfriend," she said before kissing him again before returning her attention to the game. Then, she looked over at him while he took a bite and she said, "That thing is going to give you a heart attack."

He nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, probably," before taking another big bite of the hotdog then downing it with a big gulp of the cold beer.

For most of the game they enjoyed each other's company as they joked with each other, talked, and tried to forget about work. "Tried" was the key word because whenever the action in the game slowed, his mind kept going back to the case they were working. The work he'd put into the ongoing case was nearly obsessive, so much so that he hadn't seen Alex after work in what seemed like weeks. Tonight was their first night together but only because it was his birthday gift to her. Alex's actual birthday was last week, but the Yankees were out of town, capping a 2-1 series win over Baltimore.

When the ninth inning rolled around, he was on his feet trying to encourage the Yankees to break the 3-3 tie to win the game. Then when Boston got the third out he sighed and sat down, nearly exhausted. "Extra innings," he said with a groan as he took a drink of his beer, draining it.

Alex relaxed back in her seat and smirked over at him. "Stop groaning. This is a good game. And be glad it's extra innings and not a Boston win."

He pulled out his scorecard and pencil, filling it in as they waited for the start of the tenth. "They would've won by now if your boyfriend could hit the ball," he said, teasing her about Jeter going 1 for 4, with no runs.

"He's not my boyfriend, you are, and I don't like him for the way he bats."

Rolling his eyes, he started to laugh a little. "That's right, you only like him for his looks. Very superficial of you, Eames."

"Okay, kettle, go ahead and call me black. I remember when you would-"

"Can we not talk about me right now?" he nearly snapped, making Alex stare over at him.

"I was only teasing you, like you were with me." She eyed him as he waved down the beer guy and bought another one. "How many have you had?"

Giving a shrug, he took a drink and leaned forward in the seat as he focused on the game and not on her look. They were both silent as they watched another scoreless inning, taking the game into the eleventh.

He left to use the restroom and also bought them some more food: nachos, burgers and fries to share. When he returned to the seat, she was on her cell phone. Once she got off, he handed her the food and asked, "Who called?"

"My dad. I told him we were coming to the game tonight and he wanted to talk crap about the Yankees. He's still a Boston fan at heart."

They ate their food as they watched the eleventh inning battle come to a close with no runs. The fans were getting restless by the start of the twelfth. Something needed to happen and he could feel that the players wanted, and needed, something to happen as well.

That something happened with two runners on, two outs, with a count of 1 and 2 as Red Sox's right fielder Trot Nixon hit a foul ball down the third base line. Jumping out of his seat, he watched as Derek Jeter, The Captain himself, darted across the field from shortstop as he stretched out and made an incredible catch. But Jeter couldn't stop himself fast enough as he took a flying dive right over the empty box seats next to him and into the stands face first.

For a split second he couldn't believe what he'd just seen, and then instinct kicked in as he went to help the man to his feet along with everyone else who were seated there. Jeter's face below his right eye was cut and bleeding as well as his chin, but he fine as he stepped over the seats and wall to a roar of cheers. The fans were going crazy.

As the Yankees staff helped Jeter off the field, he and Alex looked at each other smiling before they started to cheer with everyone else. That was the best catch he'd ever seen in baseball…ever. It was incredible.

Then the only thing that could've made it better were the two runs hit in the bottom of the thirteenth inning, giving the Yankees the win.

He kept walking, lost in that memory and smiling because it stayed, as he turned down 161st street and headed back toward the direction of the motel.

TBC…