"Alright, I'm goin' in." Eames told Logan as she looked at her watch, then at the door to the Men's room. "He's been in there almost twenty minutes."

"You sure you don't want me to go?" Logan asked hesitantly, hoping she would say no.

"No, I'll go. You stay out here and run interference."

"Gotcha." Logan nodded as he watched her walk toward the Men's room.

Eames pushed open the bathroom door to find Goren holding his left hand under the sink faucet and watched as bloody water ran down his hand. Looking past him she saw two fist-sized holes in the wall and frowned.

"Ya know, I brought Logan in the room with me, when I told you, so if you needed to hit something you could hit him. He's a lot softer than the wall, especially around the middle."

Goren looked up at her, a ghost of a smile swept across his face, then disappeared. He looked back down at his hand. "I'm fine Eames."

Eames walked up to him. "I'll be the judge of that." She put her hand on his arm and turned him, gently, to face her. "Let me see what you did."

With her other hand Eames pulled a paper towel from the dispenser and gently dabbed it along the knuckles of his left hand. She winced after she tossed the paper towel away and got a good look. The top of Goren's hand was already a deep purple and all of his knuckles were skinned, but the skin of his index and middle finger knuckle was torn deeply and barely hanging on.

"Good job." Eames said shaking her head, then to Goren's surprise, she reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief, she knew he always had. "I'm sure it hurts like hell, but you'll live." She said as she wrapped his hand, covering his wounded knuckles, with the handkerchief.

"Thank you." Goren said quietly. "I'm sorry-"

"Stop right there Bobby, you have nothing to apologize for. You handled the news as well as anyone else would have...even better, given your family history."

Goren rubbed the back of his neck. "If I'm being honest with myself...I'm really not surprised that he had gotten other women pregnant...I just don't understand why he never said anything. I mean, I cleaned out his apartment after he died, Eames, and there was no evidence that he had other children. Not one damn picture, not anything." He was starting to get angry again, so he started to pace.

"He was a self-centered, selfish man, Bobby, from what you've told me, you know that...and I think if he told you it would have validated how you felt about him. Joe and Skye are the truth about the kind of man your Father really was and he wasn't going to give you that."

"He could deny everything else, but he couldn't deny them. DNA doesn't lie."

"Exactly."

Goren stopped pacing. "So what do I do now?" He asked quietly.

"You don't have to jump right in, Bobby, give yourself some time ...you weren't aware of them for years, a few more days won't make a difference. I'm sure they're going to be as surprised as you are."

Goren nodded. "You're right, Alex...as always." He smiled.

Eames smiled back, thankful she could calm the storm, that was his emotions. His smile had reached his eyes, making him look ten years younger and her heart skipped a beat.

"C'mon, let's get outta here. This is more time than I've ever wanted to spend in the Men's room."

"Thank God," Logan said when Goren and Eames came out of the Men's room. "I was running out of excuses for why the guys couldn't go in there." He noticed Goren's hand. "Feel better?"

Goren nodded. "I'm good."

"Logan!" Ross called out as he walked out of his office and joined the three Detectives standing at Eames' desk. "Miss Briggs is on her way up. Let's get her together with the boy as soon as possible so we can get the case moving."

"Wheeler is with him in interrogation. I'll ask Miss Briggs the basics, then I'll bring her in." Logan told him.

Ross looked at Goren. "For obvious reasons, you can't be part of the case, but there's no reason you can't observe what's going on."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Keep me informed." Ross started back to his office but stopped when he saw Goren's hand. "You sure you're okay with this, Detective? You can take some time-"

"I'm fine, Captain, I don't need any time, but thank you for offering."

Ross nodded. "Okay. If you change your mind, let me know."

"I thought for sure he was going to send you home when he saw your hand," Logan said after Ross left.

"He might not trust me, Mike, but he trusts Eames."

Logan elbowed him playfully. "Don't feel bad, pal, he doesn't trust me either."

"Can you blame him?" Eames asked shaking her head, smiling, at the two of them. "The two of you are walking trainwrecks."

"Hey, there she is." Logan said as an officer walking with a young woman was approaching.

"Are you okay?" Eames whispered, watching Goren as Skye Briggs drew closer.

Goren nodded. "She looks like him."

The officer and Skye Briggs stopped in front of the three detectives.

"I'm looking for Detective Logan?" Skye Briggs addressed Logan, Eames and Goren.

"I'm Detective Logan." Logan said, taking a small step forward.

"Hi. I'm Skye Briggs, I'm here for my brother Joe Goren."

Goren flinched when he heard his last name, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. Not only did he see their Father in her, but he saw himself and Frank and it made him angry, again, that she was kept from him.

"Excuse me," Goren said quietly and walked quickly towards the conference room.

"I'm sorry if I interupted-" Skye said looking from Logan to Eames.

"It's okay, you didn't. We're working on another case and need to get back to it." Eames smiled reassuring her, then went after Goren.

"Is Joe okay?" Skye asked Logan.

"Yes, he's with my partner and Mr. Morales. I just need to ask you a few questions. then I'll take you to him." Logan told her. He led her to Wheeler's desk. "Have a seat. Can I get you anything? A drink?"

"Water would be great, thank you."

Logan nodded. "I'll be right back."

Eames watched Goren pace for several minutes, letting him calm, before she spoke.

"Bobby, maybe you should take some time...at least take today."

"I hate it and it's making me crazy, Alex...I hate that he kept me from knowing her...and then I see him in her eyes and it makes me-" Goren shook his head. "I don't want to have mixed feelings about her before I even know her."

"You can't confront him, so you're going have to forget about him, Bobby...it's the only way the three of you are going to work."

"I don't know what to do, I can't just turn it off." Goren sat down on the corner of the conference table and rubbed the back of his neck.

Eames pulled her phone out of her pocket as it rang. "It's Logan." She peeked through the blinds and looked out into the bullpen. Skye Briggs was sitting at Wheeler's desk, but Logan was gone. She answered the phone.

"Where are you?"

"Breakroom getting water. How's Goren?"

"Working through it. What's up?"

"I'm gonna do the interview at Wheeler's desk...yours is right next to it, soooo-"

"I understand. Thanks. Mike."

"Anytime, sweetheart." Logan said and hung up, before she could say anything about him calling her "sweetheart", which she hated.

"Remind me to smack Logan upside the head later." Eames said as she put her phone in her pocket.

Goren half smiled. "No problem."

"He's doing the interview at Wheeler's desk, so if you want we could go out to our desks and-"

"Eavesdrop?"

"Call it multi-tasking. We can go through the reports on the Doherty case we're taking over and just listen. It might ease your mind a little."

Goren took a deep breath and stood up. "Okay."

Eames put her hand on his arm before she opened the door. 'Look past him and see her." She told him.

Goren nodded "I'll do my best."

He said as they walked out to their desks.

Logan had just sat down when Eames and Goren emerged from the conference room and sat down at their desks. He took out a legal pad and began the interview with Skye Briggs.

"First, let me say, I'm sorry for your loss. We are doing everything we can to solve this as soon as possible."

"Thank you."

"What was your relationship to Daniel O'Malley"

"We weren't related. Pops was like a father to me...my best friend. He was the first person I met when I moved out here seven years ago."

"Where are you from?"

"Arizona. I came to New York to meet my Father. I needed a place to stay and a job and Pops gave me both."

"Do you need to call your Father, to let him know your here and what happened?"

"No. Joe is my only family here. My Father died six years ago and my Mother died when I was sixteen. I have grandparents in Arizona, but that's it. Joe's Mother is in prison and she was estranged from her family, so it's just the two of us now. Pops, Joe and I...we were family." Skye wiped tears from her eyes.

Logan offered her his handkerchief. "Do you know anyone who may have wanted to hurt Mr. O'Malley? A former employee? A patron from the bar?"

Skye shook her head. "Everyone loved him. He helped everyone, employees and customers, even if they didn't deserve it. He believed everyone deserved a chance. to do better, to be better."

"Does he have any family we could call?"

"His wife, Mary, died twenty years ago and his brother, Patrick, was killed in Desert Storm. He has a son, Bryan, whom he hasn't spoken to in over a year. I'm not sure how to find him. He's a junkie and an alcoholic and Pops told him not to come around anymore unless he was clean."

"They parted on bad terms then?"

"Yes. Pops had given him another chance and let him work in the bar as a cook, but he stole a little over five thousand dollars over a week, so Pops let him go. But he always hoped Bryan would clean himself up, he still loved him. If Bryan called, he always answered. Pops would have never gave up on him."

"Was Mr. O'Malley seeing anyone? Any recent break-up?"

"He was dating one of the servers, Annie Myers, but I think it was more serious for him than it was for her. She went back to Ohio a few months ago to take care of her Mom. She said she would be back, but I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't. They talked on the phone alot. Pops was making plans to go see her if she wasn't back by Thanksgiving."

"Joe was born here?"

"Yes."

"You said his Mother, Amber Thomas, was in prison. Bedford Hills?"

"Yes, for at least twenty five years. I got full custody of Joe when she went in."

"Witnesses say he stood face to face with the shooter, with his autism, will he be able to positively identify the guy?"

"He'll be fine. He can do it."

"Can you provide access to Mr. O'Malley's office at work and his home?"

"Yes. Joe and I live in the apartment above the bar so you can come by anytime. I could give you the key to his apartment or I could go with you. Whatever you prefer."

"Okay. I think we're good for now. Let's go see Joe."

"Can I see Pops?" Skye asked hesitantly.

"He's with the M.E. now. I can call over there and see if she's done with the examination. If she is I can take you over there."

"Thank you. I'd appreciate that."

"No problem." Mike smiled. "C'mon Joe's been waiting for you."

Tbc...