- Put the gun down Angie...
- Listen to what Goren just told you...
Put the gun down...
And listen to what Goren had just said.
Detective Stabler wasn't serious.
In addition, he was holding her at gunpoint with his service weapon.
So no, she wouldn't drop her gun.
Not with this scumbag, who stood in the cage right next to her, who had raped, and killed her mother.
And who was still alive.
No.
She wouldn't put the gun down.
Not until he was dead.
- You wanted me to take care of you too.
- Don't listen to her...
At Goren's words, Angie turned towards him, averted her gaze from the criminal, to see a Goren who was trying to get closer slowly.
She then raised her gun slightly, making him step back, and letting him know she was ready to shoot him if he took another step.
- Goren... Step back…

God God...
Stabler not only had to manage Angie, but also keep an eye on his assigned partner.
Goren was totally different from him, always seeking to handle the matter with discussion.
Stabler preferred to use force, rather than talk.
It always worked better.
But right now, he could see that the teenager wasn't in her right mind, she'd just lost her mother, and she didn't think it was fair that her mother's rapist and killer was standing right next to her, spitting abuse at her, and he was still alive.
And Stabler knew that no matter what Goren told her, it would do no good, and she wouldn't listen.

She'd walked into the svu, gun in hand, and fired at random, already wounding two people.
An inspector and a member of the audience.
Stabler didn't want anyone else to get hurt.
And strangely enough...
He had a bad feeling about what was going to happen.
As if...
Someone would get hurt again.
- So you can't kill me, you little bitch.
At the filth the criminal spat at her, Angie lost her temper, raised the gun at him and fired again.
- Stop Angie.
At Goren's screams, Angie turned to him, gun still raised, and fired.

- It's Stabler... Something's happened to Goren.
Something had happened to Goren...
No.
Eames struggled to hear Stabler's words.
It was simply impossible.
Stabler must have been mistaken.
She must have misheard.
Yes.
That had to be it.
- There had been a shooting at the svu...
A shootout...
As her words took up more and more space in her mind, Eames realized that what Stabler was telling her was very real.
Oh, dear...
No.
This couldn't be happening.
Not after what she'd just discovered.
No.
Eames must have been in the middle of a nightmare.
- Goren was badly hurt...
Goren was badly hurt...
Eames felt as if her heart were being crushed into a thousand pieces, so excruciating was the pain.
She could hardly breathe, as if she'd run out of oxygen.
She instinctively put her hand to her heart, trying to breathe.
But impossible.
It was as if all her oxygen had been taken away.
No.
This was a nightmare, and she was about to wake up.
Stabler could only be wrong.

Bobby couldn't do that to her.
- Eames... You're still here...
At Stabler's concern, Eames tried as best he could to breathe, and to catch his breath, but with difficulty.
- Or Bobby... Has he been taken...
- Eames... You've got to know before...
Oh, God. Oh, God.
What did she need to know...
She didn't like this at all.
Should she expect the worst.
- He's between life and death.
Between life and death...
No.
Everything but that.
Goren couldn't die.
She hadn't found him, only to lose him again.
She wouldn't let him.
- Stabler... Tell me the name of the hospital...
- He's at Mercy general hospital.

- Let me through... This is my partner at the major case.
At the screams of the female voice, who was pushing with all her might against the two policemen who were trying to stop her, banging them with her fists and kicking them, making them wince, Stabler realized that he'd better intervene, because he knew who this person was.
It had to be Eames.
- Let her through...
The two policemen stepped aside, relieved to escape the blow of the little blonde lady, to let her pass, red-faced and glaring at them.
So it was her.
This was the woman Goren had been calling all along as the paramedics wheeled him into the operating room.
And from what he could see, she seemed to have a strong character.
And she was strong too, not shying away from a punch when it was needed.
When she reached him, she stopped in front of him, staring into his big hazel eyes.
- Where's Bobby...
Oh... Oh...
But she still called him by that diminutive, not by his name.
So maybe they weren't just partners.
Which is why Stabler understood better why Goren kept asking for her.
- I said...
- He's in surgery.
Name of God...
But she wasn't convenient at all.
But on the one hand, he could understand her.
His partner had just been shot, and he was between life and death.
He'd probably have reacted the same way.
- You'd better sit down…

Reluctantly, Eames let Stabbler guide her to some seats, where he made her sit down, and came to settle down next to her.
- I've got to tell you...
Eames turned her face towards Stabler, a face of immense sadness, mingled with pain, which squeezed her heart.
- Goren refused to let go of his document case. He handed the document case to Eames, who took it in his hands and held it close to his heart. He kept calling you too...
My God...
It hurt so much what Stabbler was telling him.
He still had that damn document holder on him.
But most of all, he hadn't stopped calling her.
Tears welled up in his eyes, clouding his vision.
- He was crying... Telling me you'd finally be happy to be rid of him.
Goren had cried...
And he'd said she'd be happy to be rid of him.
But she wasn't.
Yes.
She'd resented him for fourteen years.
Fourteen years she'd been miserable without him.
And despite everything she'd told him, she still needed him in her life.
And she was ready to give him a second chance.
- I've never seen one of my partners... Or one of my colleagues... Be in this state for a partner.

It was normal.
Stabler didn't know the past she and Goren had.
A past, which Eames was sure now, had been based on true feelings of love.
And today...
Mon God...
Eames clutched the document holder with all her might, trying not to let her grief spill out and cry.
- I think he cares about you more than he cares about a partner. Gently, Stabler pulled Eames' little fingers away from the document case, and opened it, revealing the Eames drawing, which she had torn into several pieces, and stuck back together with scotch tape. I'm sorry... But I looked at why Goren refused to let it go. He took out the drawing and placed it in Eames' hand. Goren's in love with you.
In love with her...
Looking more closely at the drawing, and the tears it had made, and above all, seeing that Bobby had glued it back together, Eames realized that what Stabler had told him was true.

If Goren had kept this drawing for so many years, it wasn't as a trophy, but because it was important to him.
And the proof was that he'd glued it back together, even though she'd torn it apart.
My God...
Eames hadn't believed in Goren...
Nor in his love.
She'd doubted him.
And had preferred to believe her father.
Eames still remembered Goren's mother's words.
Listen to your heart, and you will be.
Yes.
She knew now.
That she should never have doubted Goren, or his love.
But now it was too late.
Goren was between life and death.
And he might not survive.
Without knowing that she still loved him as much, and as strongly, as on the first day.
Eames's tears cascaded down her cheeks, and she clutched the drawing in her hands and let her grief run free, crying her eyes out.
To Eames' despair and sadness, Stabler brought his hand to her back, stroking it.
- Don't worry, Eames... I'm sure he'll fight on... With his heart clenched, Stabler gave Eames a sad smile, trying to comfort her. Just to stay with you.

If only what Stabler said were true.
Eames hoped so much that Goren would pull through, and that she'd finally be able to tell him what she'd always kept deep in her heart.
That she still loved him.