I just realized that it's almost Robert Goren's 'birthday' ... so it's time for more in the continuing saga of fluff... :)

Birthday Boy

Bobby Goren walked slowly down the corridor at One Police Plaza, heading towards the Major Case Division. Head bowed, lost in thought as his gaze focused on the tiled floor unaware of the muffled thud of each footstep.

His thoughts were far removed in time and space from present day New York City. He was lost in the jumbled memories forty years ago… Of sitting at a kitchen table listening as to a woman singing softly as she bakes a cake, of a brother sneaking through the room with something hidden behind his back, of a man ruffling the boy's hair as he walks past saying, "I'll try to be home early tonight, Bobby." He could almost hear the tune his mother sang under her breath, and almost feel the weight of his father's hand on his head. His eighth birthday; this is one of the good memories … when they were all still a family. He let himself savor these precious moments; sometimes it was easy to forget that there was a time when there were good memories.

Turning the corner, he walked into the early morning near empty calm of Major Case. He nodded a greeting to another officer as they passed each other. The shift didn't start for another hour. He preferred coming in early. He normally spend the time going over his notes, organizing his thoughts, his priorities for the day – putting on his game face. He realized that wasn't going to happen today. Looking around the room, he wasn't surprised to find himself one of the few detectives in the room.

His gaze landed on the neatly organized desk across the room – Blake's desk. That sent his thoughts flying off on an entirely new tangent. She had invaded his thoughts since the day she'd transferred into Major Case and hadn't left it since. Weeks later, he'd had his first opportunity to see her in a social situation – her birthday. It wasn't long after that they began dating. Those first weeks when they'd managed to keep their relationship a secret had been fun and enjoyable in a way he hadn't allowed himself in a very, very long time. Even now, months later the fun and joy was still there. He couldn't believe the turn of luck this signaled.

He stopped short. Without realizing how far he'd walked he found himself in serious danger of tripping over his desk. Sighing in annoyance, he realized he was going to have to rein in his thoughts in and get to work. He collapsed unceremoniously into the barely cushioned seat of his desk chair, letting it swivel to the side slowly as it adjusted to the sudden weight of his bulk. The thick material of his suit jacket bunched up uncomfortably at his shoulders, irritated he shrugged off the offending garment, flinging it over his shoulder where it landed on the chair's backrest with a light, muffled thump. Once again, he looked around at the empty desks surrounding him, idly wondering if someone had declared a national holiday or something. Now wouldn't that be something, he thought wryly. The hushed sound of muted footsteps echoed through the building as someone walked down the hall and into the elevator, the scrap of the metal doors ringing loudly before the office was plunged into silence once more.

Of course, no one is here, - he thought - realizing for the first time that he had no case to work on, there was nothing pressing on him that need fixing or solving, no one to save or help.

He laughed weakly, rocking back in his squeaky chair to run a hand through his unruly brown hair.

Leaning forward, he rested his chin in his upturned palm. With no case to divert his attention, his thoughts flew back to Blake – and the upheaval of his life she had seemed intent on bringing about. She had been able to insinuate herself into a place that he hadn't allowed anyone access to and it was beginning to scare the hell out of him. Every rule of conduct that he held himself to seemed to dissolve whenever she was around, and that was definitely a frightening turn of events for a man who had vowed to keep his work life and personal life completely separate.

Oh God, he realized with a harsh intake of breath, I've really fallen in love with her. He screwed his eyes tightly, trying to rid himself of the thought. He cared deeply for her, she had helped him in so many ways, he'd even told her he loved her – and he did, he'd meant it when he said it. But, being in love with someone was a much bigger deal than saying, I love you.

He glanced over at her desk quickly, images of her smiling at him while they sifted through mountains of paperwork, drifting through his mind before he slammed his hand up against his forehead and shook his head hastily, trying to rid himself of those thoughts.

"You can't do this," he reminded himself, singing the mantra over and over again. "You promised yourself, you promised work would be the most important thing, that you would completely refocus on work, rededicate yourself to 'the job' he continued, humming along while desperately trying to reverse the track his heart was taking.

"This isn't happening, this can't be happening…" he murmured, collapsing back into his chair again, before laying his head in his hands, unknowingly pushing a stacked pile of folders onto the floor beside him. He looked down at the papers, trying to extract some meaning from their smooth, white texture before leaning back once more with a sigh.

"You're so doomed.." he told himself with a nervous laugh "Only you could manage to fall for someone at work, after you said that would never happen." he nodded along, mentally kicking himself for allowing such a thing to take hold.

His phone let out a shrill beep, causing him to jump in surprise before he lunged on the offending piece of technology. He glanced down at it once before flicking it open, not in the mood for conversation with the whirlwind of thoughts parading through his mind. Before answering, he looked down at the caller ID, noticing the black text standing out against the white background.

1 new message, it read, and underneath Blake.

His heart skipped a beat as he retrieved the text message, forcibly punching at the buttons, racking his brain for any reason why she would have called and left him a message. He'd only left her and their apartment half an hour ago and she was supposed to be here at work in less than an hour.

"Finally…" he murmured with a sigh, watching the message appear before his eyes.

Check your desk, read the cryptic message, confusing him even more. What could she possibly mean by 'check your desk'? His gaze raked the surface of his desk as he began pulling open drawers and ransacking the contents. What was he looking for? Why hadn't she just told him what he was looking for?

Under a stack of folders, he found the yellow post-it note. He stared at it, it's meaning taking time to sink in.

Good morning Birthday Boy

I'm sitting outside the building now. With coffee – your favorite blend! You shouldn't have to accept anything less on your birthday – now should you?

If you're not out here within the next five minutes, I will come up there and drag you out myself. Don't think I can't do it.

Today is not a day to be at work! You know it, I know it, your partner knows it – even Captain Ross knows it. So, no argument or excuse will suffice…

Surrender Goren!

Plus – I don't know if this is any enticement for you at all, but the rest of your birthday present is with me and I really don't think you want me to bring it upstairs.

~Blake~

His heart was beating madly against his chest as a silly grin spread across his face. Pushing the contents of his desk back to some semblance of order before reaching back and grabbing his jacket, he spun out of his desk chair, failing to notice the offending squeak that had been annoying him for weeks.

As he walked happily towards the elevator, mind at full speed to analyze the message, he realized that he hadn't truly celebrated his birthday in 16 years. With a small smile he watched the metal doors screech open before jumping inside, punching at the ground floor button while whistling Happy Birthday to himself.

"Why fight it?" he muttered as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. He spotted Blake's car across the road and the familiar smiling figure sitting inside "After all, it is my birthday…"

"So, where's my present?" asked a grinning Bobby leaning through the passenger side window of the car parked out front of One Police Plaza, startling the woman sitting behind the steering wheel who was intently staring at the phone in her lap.

"Geez Bobby," murmured Blake in surprise, jumping as his warm voice invaded her thoughts and shocked her back into her surroundings. "You didn't have to sneak up on me!" To be honest, she was remembering another birthday - her birthday from almost a year ago – 10 months and 15 days ago, to be exact. And how far she'd – they'd – come. Not wanting him to see that – he saw everything – she turned and flashed him an angry look, directing it straight towards the man currently grinning in front of her.

"What?" he asked defensively, watching Blake's face stare at him with her mock anger.

"Don't scare me like that again." she accused, desperately trying to hide her smirk, before leaning over the passenger side and opening the door, gesturing for him to get in, while he laughed incredulously at her outburst.

"You okay Blake?" he asked mockingly as he slid in next to her, outdoing her smile with a full-blown grin. "You seem a little wound up?"

She had expected him to be flustered and even a little out of sorts since she had interrupted his plan for the day – which was to ignore his birthday. But she was the one who was flustered and unnerved. He really had no idea of the heart stopping effect that grin of his had on her.

The only response she could muster was a sharp, "Shut up Bobby or you won't get your present." Putting the car into gear and pulling out into traffic provided her with a valid excuse to keep her eyes on the road ahead and not on the man seated next to her.

She had yet to come to understand what was so fascinating about him anyway. He wasn't the classically handsome guy – oh sure, there was something very attractive and appealing about him, she understood that, but any number of men she met fell into the same category. She snuck a quick glance in his direction, watching the casual attitude he had adopted, arms spread out across his legs, fingers tapping away at his knees in time with the music. His eyes were lit up like a kid at Christmas, dancing with the sunlight of the bright morning while seeming to project their own light, an enthusiasm that was solely Bobby. She'd seen this eagerness in him before, but mostly in connection with finding the truth or revealing the guilty. Yet, that had been more of a compulsion, a need that often left him tired and overwhelmed by a sense of futility. But today in this light, the inner light was made him appear more kid like by the second and the grin he was trying unsuccessfully to hide was only reinforcing her opinion.

"I thought you said the rest of my present was in the car, or where you just playing with me?" he asked suddenly, head spinning towards her at lightning speed and stunning her.

She shifted her gaze towards him and smiled, happy that he had taken the bait. "Well, not exactly, I just needed you to be in the car to get to the present." she conceded, watching his face contort in confusion as he analyzed this new information.

"Where are you taking me? Where are we going? Huh?" he asked with a grin and Blake found herself feeling sorry for the adult that had to look at that eagerness and answer to that face when he was a child. There was something about him today - , again she found herself coming back to the word childlike - about his behavior today. She knew he'd had to grow up fast and at a young age. It was as if he'd rediscovered that lost half of childhood and was allowing himself to live it out, cheeky grins and all.

"You'll see." She murmured in response to his earlier guess, choosing to ignore the tightening in her chest as she faced down that grin again.

Meanwhile across from her, Bobby felt so, well the word 'alive' was all that came to mind, almost like he was on something and he had no intention of coming down yet. He knew later on that night he would crash, probably quite hard, and the weight that the day brought would seep into his consciousness slowly throughout the afternoon, but right now, being on cloud nine was all he could think about, and he had no intention or returning to earth too soon. Especially not with the promise of the day spent with his favorite blonde detective.

Finally, the car pulled up in a busy car park, brightly colored tents competed with the frenzied scurrying of children and the equally frenzied parents running after the children.

"I can't believe it." He murmured, feeling his jaw gap as he turned with wide-eyed wonder to stare at Blake in amazement. "Are you serious?" he asked, grinning like a mad man. "You brought me to the…"

"Yep." Blake nodded, hardly able to control her own laughter at the sight of pure happiness and youthful excitement that was playing across Bobby's face.

"The circus…" He breathed out slowly, as if saying the words any louder might shatter the illusion forever.

Unable to remain sitting or even in the car, he flung open the card door, jumped out and ran around to the other side to open the door for Blake, his wonderful amazing girlfriend had brought him to the circus!

Not caring who saw them or which of his rules he was breaking his arms engulfed her small frame and pulled her close. Softly he whispered, "How did you know?"

She shook her head, not understanding. Seeing that she didn't understand, he stuttered, "No… nothing… I don't know…"

Laughing at his confusion she extricated herself from his grasp. Smiling up at him she reached out to squeeze his hand tight with her small one. "You ready, Birthday Boy?"

"Yep, I sure am." He smiled back at her before turning back to marvel at the sight. With that she led them on their way to the front gates, ready for a day of circus filled fun and adventure.

"When was the last time you went to the Circus?" he asked casually, watching as stray drop of vanilla ice cream rolled unceremoniously down the crease where her hand was curled around the waffle cone. His gaze slowly drifted up to her mouth, her red lips parted slightly to catch the frozen treat they had picked up on their way out of the main arena tent, the 'Big Top'.

"Don't know…" Blake admitted with a smile, shifting slightly under his intense gaze "I can't remember much about it though. I remember the Ferris wheel and the terror and certainty I felt that I was going to fall out of it." She laughed quietly, remembering the time her Junior High School had reserved several buses and taken them to a small circus playing nearby. He eyes darted up to glance at Bobby for a second before they resumed their gaze across the crowds. The pair had been lucky enough to find an empty bench across from the milling crowds of people making their way on and off the rides, games and minor tent shows after the thrill of the three ring circus events they'd all just witnessed.

"Come on…" Bobby said around his last bite of waffle cone. Grabbing onto Blake's hand tightly he was pulling her up and off the bench without warning.

"Hey!" She squeaked out before smashing into his chest. Stepping away from her he began to drag her down the midway towards the rides. She followed awkwardly, trying to avoid the falling remnants of her waffle cone that had been crushed between them.

"Bobby… slow down would you?" She begged as they met up with the slow moving crowd in front of them.

He didn't have much choice but to slow down, but he came to a sudden stop so that they wouldn't get separated from the other. He turned back to look at Blake, a smile spreading across his face as he noticed the cute, befuddled glare that he'd come to love over these past few months. The way her head fell to the side as her brow crinkled in confusion or her mouth pursed in concentration made was a highlight of his day now, and he loved watching her contemplate a new problem or idea.

"What?" Her question broke into his thoughts. Realizing she'd caught him staring at her, and seeing the mixture of expectation and amusement on her face jolted him into action. She didn't yet realize that where they were standing was right in front of the Ferris wheel.

"We're going up." He pointed up at the Ferris wheel as did she. The hand he grasped pulled away from him and he had the fleeting thought that maybe her fear of Ferris wheels was a genuine fear.

"You're not scared are you?" He teased affectionately, with just the right amount of understanding and compassion to allow her to an out, if this was indeed too much for her.

"Of course not." Was her quick reply as she brushed past him, headed straight towards the man with the tickets, leaving Bobby to follow after her, once again grinning after her while once more searching out her hand. He squeezed it tightly as they climbed into the small metal booth, both pausing briefly to negotiate seating arrangements.

"I'll just sit here." Blake laughed nervously, eyeing Bobby's calm, yet still grinning face as he sat down opposite her, still holding her hand and playing with the ring on her right hand.

Nodding towards the ring, she explained, "It's one of the few things I have left that belonged to my mother." She smiled softly, bringing her free hand up to rest upon Bobby's larger one. "I remember her telling me that an old boyfriend had given it to her. She said she wore it to remind my father that she'd had other options. That she wore it as a challenge for him to never take her for granted."

"I think I'm beginning to see where you get your sense of humor." Bobby smiled in return, leaning back against the metal railing to give Blake a little space. The Ferris wheel was slowly creeping higher and higher into the sky, the city slowly spreading out in front of them.

"Reckon we'll be able to see the office?" Bobby asked as he shifted his view towards the Manhattan skyline searching the buildings for the familiar shape of 1PP. He heard Blake laugh quietly behind him and turned towards her with a smile, silently asking her what she was laughing about.

"We're not that high up Bobby." She explained softly, her voice losing some of its teasing edge as her eyes shifted to the ground. "And of all the ro…

"Hey…" Bobby reached out for her as she stopped speaking, "You okay Blake?" he asked, leaning back across the booth to catch her eye.

"Yeah Bobby, I'm good" she nodded, perking back up as she realized he had picked up on the change with her almost immediately. This is Bobby's day… stop being such a baby she admonished herself and sent him a happy smile in confirmation.

"So, what gave you the idea of bringing me here anyway?" he asked, quickly making the change of conversation to lighten the heavy silence that had suddenly descended upon them.

Blake's face immediately lit up, happy to have her attention be diverted to talking about her genius plan. Bobby settled himself back against the metal railing's once more, happy to lose himself in the delight on Blake's face.

"I saw the picture of you and your brother with your parents at the circus when you were little." she answered, watching Bobby's eyes respond in recognition as a lazy smile spread across his face at the memory. "So, when I was trying to think of what to get you for a birthday present, I thought a trip back to a good time …"

"Thank you…" he murmured in response, suddenly avoiding her gaze as the floor suddenly became very interesting. "No one has ever put that much thought into my birthday before." he admitted softly.

"I'm sure they have Bobby…" Blake scoffed lightly. Ignoring the squeak that would have usually unsettled her she leaned across and laid a hand on Bobby's knee silently, squeezing her hand into his as it came to rest a top hers.

"Today's been a good day." Bobby smiled Bobby happily, wishing he could say and do more to show just how much he appreciated what Blake had done for him. Just how much he loved her and everything about her.

"It has been hasn't it?" She grinned up at him, happy that the light had returned to Bobby's eyes. "I'm really glad you had a good day."

"Where to now?" She asked, hoping that this wasn't the signal of the end of the day. The cynical part of her mind asked, didn't the Ferris wheel ride always signal the end of the day?

"Well, I've been feeling like I deserve a nice dinner, you want to join me for it?" asked Bobby suddenly.

Teasing now, "Well, that sure sounds like a proper date. Do people who are dating, well, actually living together, still go out on a proper date?"

"Well, if you'd rather not…" Bobby started.

"No, no, no… wait right there. I didn't say I didn't want to. I do… honestly. I'd love to have dinner with you. It was just the way you asked. You looked so serious." Blake laughed as she replied.

"So, how about I pick you up at your door at 7?"

"At my door… at 7. My door... that sounds perfect." He'd been a good sport all day and played along with her, she could easily play along with him now.

They smiled once more at each other before Bobby made a bold move and slid over next to her, resting his hand on her own before griping it tightly. He leaned over her to plant a soft kiss to her head as he whispered, "I'll never take you for granted."

Blake's heart beat wildly as she allowed her body to relax and ease against the side of his before she lowered her head down to rest against the warmth of his shoulder. "I'll never take you for granted either."

Bobby felt his breathing quicken slightly before returning to normal. Bobby's arm slowly wrapping its way around her figure and pulling her close, watching the world unfold before them as the Ferris wheel made its last loop around.