Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan

They walked along the busy snow drizzled street, her pulling on gloves as he stuffed his cold hands into his jeans pockets. He knew he hadn't been completely forthcoming in the diner. He left a few things out, like the description of the car; however, he had to be sure she wouldn't betray him.

Eames pulled out her cell and made a call while they walked to the nearest bus stop. "Captain, it's Eames...Yes, it went good...No, no, he's not coming in. Believe me, Captain, I tried." She was quiet for a long moment, listening while they stopped at the crosswalk. "A desk manager at the motel, you and Barek need to speak with her again. She withheld valuable information about the case...She can ID the woman who was in the room with him and the driver of the vehicle that picked her up...The vehicle? I'm not-"

"She said it was a Ford Mustang uh, a, uh...late model '60's or early '70's," he told her as they started across the street.

Eames looked up at him as she told her police captain, "She was driving Bobby's car."

He stumbled slightly as he looked down at her. It was his car?...Nice.

"All right, Captain, I will." She closed her phone as she asked, "Why'd you keep that from me until now?"

Shrugging, he told her, "I had to make sure you wouldn't betray me first...I'm glad I told you, or else I would've been running around the Bronx looking for my own car."

"You never would've found it. The cops of the 44th have it in their garage." She glanced around him, down the street. "Bus is coming."

He took a glance and saw it half a mile down the block.

"Where are you staying?"

He looked around the neighborhood as he told her, "Any place that'll take me. I try not to stay at the same place twice."

She looked him over as she said, "You don't have that black backpack of yours."

"After the hotel got raided, I figured it wasn't smart to leave anything behind. Or to keep it with me." Looking down at her, he smirked, "I'm a fast learner."

"You always were. Bobby, I know a place you can stay, or at least go when you have nowhere else. Everyone will be looking for you at your place, but not at mine."

He eyed her as he asked as the bus screeched to a stop next to them. "Yours?"

"I told you I was moving. It's a two story townhouse in Rockaway. No one knows about it," she said as she held her hand out to stop the bus driver from closing the doors on her. "I haven't even turned the electricity on yet."

"Hey, lady, you getting on or what?"

She glared at the driver as she told him, "One second," before telling him, "It's safe, and besides me, no one will ever know you're there."

"Eames, I appreciate it, but-"

"All I'm asking is for you to think about it," she told him as she stepped onto the bus. "Whenever you want, give me a call. Okay?"

Giving a nod he told her as the doors closed between them, "Okay."

She was standing on the steps of the bus, staring down at him as it started to pull away from the curb. He could see it in her eyes. She was in pain, a deep sorrow of loss, and it was because of him.

As the bus disappeared down the busy street, he wondered if that look would ever go away. He wondered if he loved her as much as she did him.

DA Jack McCoy's Office
One Hogan Plaza, Manhattan

McCoy had called him that morning, after Eames had left, to inform him of a meeting in his office at one that afternoon concerning Detective Goren's case. That had given him and Detective Barek time to go to the Bronx to interview Teresa McNeal at the Royal Motel.

With all the evidence gathered thus far in the investigation, he was certain that McCoy would drop this ridiculous quest of taking it to the Grand Jury. There was no evidence of any kind proving that Goren had done anything wrong, other than talking to Caleb Cunningham alone. Goren had already been suspended for that little stunt. Granted, he now knew why he'd done it, however, that was no excuse.

And because of that little stunt, he was now a suspect in a murder investigation.

Walking into the office of the DA, Deakins held out his hand to shake the one being offered. "Jack."

"Jimmy, it's good to see you again."

Turning to Barek, he introduced her, "This is Detective Barek. She's been recently hired by me to oversee this investigation."

Jack shook her hand as well before telling him, "I wasn't trying to make this personal, Jim, only fair. You understand."

"I do, but you also have to understand that none of the detectives were making it personal, least of all SVU. If anything, they were only taking over the case that had been originally assigned to them in the first place. Caleb Cunningham was theirs."

"And if I'm not mistaken, they had it wrong. As for it not being personal, are you sure about that? Last I heard, Logan was Goren's friend and Eames is currently his girlfriend."

"Please, gentlemen," Carver said as he walked into the office. "I can hear you both all the way down the hall. Who's conducting the investigation shouldn't be more important as to what has been discovered during said investigation."

"All I'm saying, Ron, is that this case is personal to the detectives of the Major Case Squad, especially to Detective Eames. And I know that because she's been stalking around in my reception area for over an hour. I know you three noticed the wear pattern in my floor when you came in," Jack announced as he waved a hand toward the door.

As if on cue, it opened and Eames charged in telling Jack, "I thought I asked to be notified when they got here."

"And I thought I told you that you weren't invited," Jack told her right back. "Jim, you want to take care of this."

Deakins glanced to Eames. She had her arms crossed over her chest, feet planted, and jaw set. She wasn't going to leave easily, not without someone dragging her out. "It's okay with me if she stays. Carver, is that a problem for you?"

Carver shook his head as he answered, "I see no reason why Detective Eames would have to leave. She did work the early part of this investigation, and she did talk to Detective Goren this morning."

Jack glared at the both of them, looking ready to throw them all out, before resigning. "Can't say I'm not surprised. Fine, you can stay," he addressed Eames, "but I'm free to throw you out anytime I deem appropriate for you not to be here."

"Then I guess I'll need to know what qualifies as appropriate," she snarled back with a lot more attitude.

"Eames," Deakins said, "You're pushing it."

She looked at him, apologized, then glared once more at McCoy before sitting down.

He held back a smirk as he took a seat as well. There were a number of reasons why Eames was a great cop, her fearlessness was definitely at the top of that list.

Once everyone was seated, Jack got right down to business. "Now, enough with the pleasantries. What have you found out?" he asked to no one in-particular.

Deakins looked to Barek and gave her a nod, letting her know it was her time to take over. Even though he was Captain, she was lead detective on the case.

Barek held nothing back as she told McCoy everything from Caleb Cunningham's autopsy to the drugs found in Goren's system, to their interview with Teresa at the motel.

The moment she was done, Jack sat back in his chair and let out a loud, audible sigh.

Deakins was certain that with all this added information that Jack would hold off on the Grand Jury indictment.

Carver felt the same as he spoke up, saying, "If you present Goren to the Grand Jury in relation to the Cunningham death, Jack, I assure you I'll knock it all down with all this evidence."

"You can't prove the nurse on the video from the hospital is this Nicole Wallace. You can't prove that she committed the murder."

"And neither can you," Carver interjected. "The only thing you can prove is that Detective Goren went in that room alone, something that he even admitted doing. The fact is, no one was in that room during the time of death to know who committed the act. However, what we do know is that Miss Wallace has been identified as the driver of Goren's vehicle, which contained a needle. That needle was used to paralyze him. We know that Caleb Cunningham was also poisoned using a needle that was full of potassium chloride, and that Miss Wallace has used these methods before on her victims."

Deakins glanced over at Carver and felt a brief smile form on his face.

"And from their history," Jack was saying, "Goren knows Wallace's MO very well, wouldn't you say?"

"No, he wouldn't," Eames exclaimed from her seat next to the desk. "He's suffering from amnesia; he has no idea what her method is."

"Allegedly," Jack shot back.

"I've talked to him, you haven't. He would never lie about not remembering not only who he is, but his family, his job, and me," she retorted.

"Even if it were true, detective, that's beside the point." McCoy leaned on his desk as he told her, "It doesn't matter because Caleb Cunningham was killed before this supposed bout of memory loss. As for his paralysis, the needle was in his car, in his possession."

"Are you accusing him of drugging himself?"

"It wouldn't be the first time a suspect drugged himself," McCoy said as he dared anyone to say he was wrong.

They all wanted to, Deakins was sure, but it sounded like McCoy had a strong case. One that was hypothetical and full of circumstantial evidence, but a case nonetheless. He could see the DA giving a strong argument with what they had, and he had a feeling that if given the chance Jack would do all he could to convict Goren.

"The only thing that can be taken away from all of this," Jack said, breaking him out of his thoughts, "is that Goren probably didn't kill Brenda Hanson. Yet, your eye witness was in the office the whole time and at some point had to leave, either to use the bathroom or to go home at the end of shift. The lot has no cameras, so no one knows if the car ever came back or if he jumped in it before it left the parking lot. You said yourself that the paralytic wasn't long lasting."

McCoy had said that last part looking right at Detective Barek.

"You go through with this," Carver said, "and I will jump across the bench to defend Goren against these allegations."

McCoy looked right at Carver as he told him, "I'm looking forward to it."

Alex's Apartment
Rockaway, Queens

Since she told Bobby about staying at her townhouse, Alex decide to at least get the place ready. When she moved out of her old apartment, she put most of her leftover furniture in storage. She figured it was due to a small part of her that feared one day she would be once again on her own. It wasn't just because of Bobby, but because she'd been alone for a long time after Joe's death, and she learned a long time ago that anything can happen to anyone at any given moment; that the present wasn't a guarantee for the future.

So, she'd kept her bed-among other things. The delivery truck arrived a few minutes after she did, which was five-thirty on the dot. The two men carried the box spring and mattress to just inside her front door before leaving. She ran after them as she yelled, asking, "What about the headboard and-"

"Beside the boxes, that's all there was," the driver told her as he got back into the truck.

Alex stared at him as she said, "I had the whole set."

"Look, we got what was there. You got a complaint, call the manager of the storage unit."

Alex watched as the truck pulled away, already thinking of things to say to the manager when she saw him walking her way. His head was down, and once again covered with the Yankee's cap. On his back was the black backpack, the same one he'd used last year while working undercover to catch an artist who was killing women to photograph.

She was certain he hadn't seen her yet as his eyes were focused on the ground in front of him. She had no idea how he had found her, but she wasn't the least surprised. He was very resourceful, no matter what he did or didn't know.

He looked up and at seeing her, smiled slightly. "I wasn't sure if you'd be here or not."

Shaking her head at him, she said, "You look like you're freezing."

He was, and so was she. The temperature had dropped dramatically over the last 24 hours, indicating the coming snowstorm. Snow had already started to fall, thickening the already thin layer that had fallen earlier that morning. From what she'd heard so far on the news, the snow wasn't supposed to stop now until morning.

Bobby followed her inside and she quickly shut the door. She felt the shiver of cold despite the door being shut. "The only thing is-"

"There's no heat," he said as he looked at her before pointing to the fireplace. "Does that work?"

"It should. I got the electric turned on, but my landlord neglected to tell me that the central heating was out of commission. Probably why this place wasn't already rented."

She headed to the kitchen and opened one of the boxes that had been delivered along with the bed. On the way there, in preparation for if and when Bobby decided to stay there, she stopped off at the store to pick up some groceries. It wasn't a lot, but enough for a few days.

She pulled out her old coffee machine and plugged it in. She prepared it and switched it on; within seconds it started to brew. Going over to the stove, she turned on the oven as she pulled out a frozen pizza from one of the four grocery bags. The heat from the oven would also help to heat the rooms.

She put the pizza in the oven and set the timer as she heard him enter the room. Bobby was a big guy, and she could hear him easily in the empty house. "I got styrofoam cups for the coffee and paper plates for the pizza."

She turned and found him standing by the entryway, staring at her, in just a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Even his boots were off, but she presumed that was because he didn't want to track snow through her new house. And that stare he was giving her, it wasn't a creepy one but an inquisitive one. It was the look he would get when he was trying to figure something out. He was trying to figure her out.

"So, which is it?"

He blinked back and shook it. "I'm sorry..."

"Friend or foe?"

He stood there for a moment, thinking about it, before a small smirk twisted his lips. How she missed that look, and those lips.

"Friend," he said as he finally stepped further into the kitchen. "I got the fire going. Guess it's a good thing I own a lighter."

She frowned a little and she wasn't surprised that he'd picked up on it.

"What is it? I didn't smoke before?"

"No, you did. You had quit for nearly eight, nine years, but had started up again."

He leaned back against the kitchen counter, keeping a distance, as he asked, "We've been together that long?"

Shaking her head, she told him, "We haven't even known each other that long. It'll be two years this March."

"And how long as police partners?"

"About four years. We were partners up until we had to let our chain of command know; after that..." she hesitated before telling him, "They dealt with it by splitting us up."

He gave a nod as he said, "Fraternization isn't looked upon lightly, I would think."

She felt a stab in her heart as he said that. The pain she'd felt, that they had felt, over the breakup of their partnership was lost on him. He just stood there, leaning on the counter, and logically reasoned it all out.

"But I guess it was worth it since we both agreed, and we're still together now."

She smiled hearing him say that. "Yes," she told him, "it was."

He looked away, studying the floor, and she took the time between the silence to fill them both styrofoam cups full of coffee. As she handed him the cup full of black coffee, he asked, "How, uh...how serious were we?"

Alex didn't know how to answer that, or how she felt by his use of past tense. Feeling at a loss in how to explain it, she opted for, "It's complicated."

"But it was..." he trailed off as he rubbed at his head; she knew that meant he was having difficulty either asking or finding the right words.

Helping him out, she said, "Serious?"

Bobby looked up at her, smiling slightly as he said, "Something...important."

Alex thought about it, then answered, "That's one way to look at it."

"And what would be another way...your way?"

Alex gave a shrug as she said, "Unique. You're very much an...acquired taste."

She saw that smirk again; the one that whenever she saw it she couldn't help but smile too.

"The water works?" he suddenly asked.

She reached over and turned on the tap, releasing a gush of water. "Yep."

Bobby pointed over his shoulder, asking, "Bathroom that way?"

"Up the steps, first door."

She watched as he took a couple of steps to leave. He stopped, hand rubbing along the back of his neck-such a Bobby thing to do-before turning halfway back toward her.

"That's not...I wanted to ask you something else."

She had to restrain herself from bracing up. Bobby was already having trouble talking about them, if she showed any fear of what he might ask then he might just decide to not ask it. "Ask away; whatever it is, I'm not going to be mad, Bobby."

He nearly looked ashamed, or scared himself, as he walked back into the room. Setting the cup down on the counter, he told her, "When I was at my home the other night...you touched me."

Alex thought back to that night as she gave a nod. She remembered his reaction; it wasn't a pleasant one. "I remember," she told him even though she knew it wasn't a question.

He sighed as he started to pace a little while he explained, "Its...The thing-" he stopped as he turned back to her but continued to look to the floor. His hands were gesturing out to her as he said, "Even though I can't remember much, I get these feelings, you know. Someone touches me, usually nothing happens, except...except when it's with someone I know or find out that I have a history with. With my brother, when I went to see him last night, it was anger. A lot of anger. I immediately read him and felt...what I felt. Then the other day, with Nicole...the same thing but, not anger."

He looked up at her then and she suddenly realized why he had that look. Alex tried not to let it get to her, to sharpen the blade that had been twisting her heart ever since she first learned of Bobby's amnesia. It wasn't working.

"My question is...why? Why was she able to do that, and...and the person who loves me, didn't."

Alex took a deep breath as she willed the nervousness that shook her body down. She tried to hide it by taking a drink of the coffee, which seemed to make it worse.

After giving it some thought, she finally came to the conclusion that it was because they were starting over in a way. They were back to square one with each other and that made her think of first meeting him. And, of Bobby's first meet with her, and then his first with Nicole. She remembered why she'd questioned Bobby's interest in her before, and shook her head at what she was about to say.

"It's because she would, and I wouldn't." Bobby was surprised by that, and when all he did was continue to stare wide-eyed at her, she explained, "Our relationship wasn't due to an instant attraction or love at first sight, but from our friendship. We fell in love with each other over time, Bobby. I can't believe I'm about to say this...Nicole is more your type, in nearly every way. She's tall, blond, intelligent as you, and foreign. The fact that she's a psychopathic killer is the only reason you're not with her instead. When you two first met, it was instant. Even I could see it in you. You were drawn to her, intrigued by her, and, like I said before, she was the same with you. At the diner, I left out the part of your own obsession with her, but it's not the same kind. Where she wants to play with you, in probably every sense of the word, you want to get her. To bring her down, hard."

"Like...Captain Ahab and Moby Dick."

Alex nodded. "You could say that."

"The only thing with that is that Ahab died at the end; he was consumed by his obsession." Alex looked at him and he instantly read her. "I'm, consumed...by her."

"I wouldn't go that far, but it is unhealthy. She gets to you, and you let her. She's not the only one you've done that with, but she is the only one that has gotten away, three times." Alex sighed heavily, feeling the weight of what she'd just told him. "You had it hard, Bobby. In life and love, trust and...letting yourself fall in love, they don't come easy. What you felt with Nicole, I believe is due to you being more acceptable to it. It's not just intrigue you feel towards her, but a lot of sympathy, hate, and maybe even empathy. And they're right at the surface. What we feel, and how you feel about me is deeper. It runs deeper than the surface."

"So," he said, "it could be that its buried, with everything else." Bobby looked up at her from staring at the floor. "It's something...I have to discover all over again."

Alex felt the blade being pulled from her heart as she saw the look in his eyes. The wonder, and near fascination, made her wounded heart start to heal. "I guess so."

His smile was light, and open, as he gave a nod. "Okay."

TBC...