Trial by Fire

Chapter 1

Title: Trial by Fire

Author:Andrea

Rating: M

Category: Crime, Goren/Eames romance. Eames POV

Disclaimer: Goren, Eames, Deakins, Rodgers, Carver, Benson and Stabler aren't mine. The rest are.

Timeline: Season 4

Notes: Thank you Dan and Karen for the beta reading!

Summary: Goren and Eames investigate a high profile case shortly after beginning an intimate relationship

Spoilers: none

Six weeks had passed since Goren had confronted me in Morelli's, his rat pack bar. We'd been back many times since, making sure we got the same booth every time. It was one of those neighborhood bars that you walk into and have no idea how it stays in business. It's dark. The rug still carries the smell of the millions of cigarettes that had been smoked there before the ban and God only knows what else. It's rarely busy and if you don't go up to the bar yourself, the service takes forever but it's the only place we ever kiss in public and Rodgers is the only person who knew it was special to us.

I'd thought that after we solved her serial case, Rodgers would've gone easy on Goren, but in the three cases we'd worked since then she'd become exasperated with him in the morgue every time. Why had I found it easier to adapt to him than everyone else? It may not have been instantaneous, but it hadn't taken me long to realize his techniques, while unusual, worked.

We'd passed a typical Saturday; our morning together, our afternoon with family and our evening together again. We'd closed our most recent case on Thursday and spent Friday doing paperwork so I'd been fairly confident when I saw my sister that afternoon that Goren and I would make the Eames family Sunday dinner. It had quickly become a habit for everyone to meet up at Liz and Brian's place. It was almost as if my family had been holding their breath since Joe died and now that I was seeing Goren, they breathed a collective sigh of relief and we could continue on with family functions. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was a cop. In fact, it was almost expected. Unfortunately this would be one Sunday dinner that Goren and I would not be able to attend, but that wasn't the first thing that occurred to me when my cell phone rang at 2:30 am Sunday morning. I was more concerned about be woken out of a very peaceful sleep.

"Eames," I answered groggily.

"It's Deakins," the Captain greeted me. "I just got off the phone with the chief of D's who just got off the phone with mayor."

"It's a big one?" I sat up.

Goren had turned on the light and then rolled onto his elbow to listen.

"A media feeding frenzy," he clarified.

"Who is it?" I groaned inwardly at the thought of having to deal with a celebrity victim.

"It's not the who; it's the how," he explained. "She was tied to a tree in Morningside Park and lit up," he informed me. "We don't know who she is."

"Where in Morningside Park?" I asked as I got out bed.

"Near West 120th Street, I'll meet you there."

Deakins had dispensed with calling both of us once he'd given us his apparent blessing, but nothing was ever said. We knew we were expected to keep up appearances. As we dressed, I filled Goren in on everything Deakins had told me.

"It's going to be a long night," Goren noted. "Why don't you stop for coffee?"

"I don't think I'll be able to drink coffee at this scene," I wrinkled my nose.

"If they know it's a woman, the fire damage couldn't have been too severe, meaning she either died of smoke inhalation or the fire was just a cover. The smell won't be bad," Goren was analyzing the crime before we'd even left the house.

"Okay," I shrugged. If he was wrong, I could just toss my coffee.

I could tell I was close before I arrived at the park. The sky was bright with media lights. I called Goren and he walked out to meet me. I'd had to park more than a block away.

"So?" I asked him as I handed him his coffee.

"I haven't been in yet," he took a sip. "The scene is swarming with CSU and SVU."

"SVU? Then why are we here?" I was annoyed.

"I dunno. Let's find Deakins and ask him."

When I got Deakins on the phone he explained where he was and we plodded through the throng of media and gawkers to meet him.

"I told you it was going to be a circus," he frowned when we found him.

"Why is SVU here?" I furrowed my brow at him.

"I guess the Chief of D's called everyone," he thrust his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Play nice."

I knew that comment was directed more at me then at Goren. I was far more territorial about my cases than he was.

"I'll try," I groused making Goren chuckle.

As we closed in on the scene I recognized Benson and Stabler from our early September case. Unlike them, we chose to hang back until they approached us.

"They're about to cut the body down. You might want to have a look," Stabler directed his comment to Goren.

"Not a sex crime?" I was curious.

"Can't tell yet," Stabler shrugged. "But in case it isn't, I thought you might want to have a look at the body in situ."

"Thanks," Goren nodded and immediately headed toward the scorched tree.

"But my gut tells me no," Stabler continued, speaking to me, now that Goren was gone. "This was all about the spectacle. They only called us because she was naked, but the M.E. will let us know for sure."

"Okay, thanks," I forced a smile and followed after Goren.

"Stabler doesn't think this is a sex crime," I told my partner, who was on his hands and knees at the base of the tree. The naked victim was bound to the trunk above him.

"Gasoline," he looked up at me. "I think he's right," he continued as he got to his feet. "There's no apparent trauma, but we'll have to wait until she's cleaned up to see for sure."

His speculation about the condition of the body before we'd even left the house had been right. She was covered in soot but she didn't appear to be burned at all. Her long hair looked like the ends may have singed but that's all I could see.

"The ropes aren't even burned," I leaned in to take a closer look.

"Okay, you can cut her down now," Goren told the techs from the morgue.

"I just spoke to the boys in the sector car," Deakins voice surprised me. "They called this in at 2:15. The top of this tree was on fire. They saw it from a couple of blocks away. When they got here she was already dead and the fire had burned itself out."

"I wonder if they saw anyone driving away," I asked aloud as Goren and I looked at each other. I knew he was thinking the same thing.

"If whoever did this was trying to cover it up with a fire, they did a really bad job," Goren told Deakins. "They didn't use anything at the base of tree except gasoline. Once the gas was consumed, the fire went out. That's why only the top burned. The fall leaves were the only other fuel."

"So they splashed some gas around the tree and thought it would make the tree burn?" Deakins furrowed his brow.

"They splashed a bit of gas on her and some on the bark. It would have been enough to draw the flames up the trunk, but no more."

"So they either never got their Boy Scout Survival badge or they never intended for her to burn," I nodded.

"And we need to know which," Goren confirmed.

"Okay. I'll see if the boys in the sector car saw anyone driving away," Deakins referred to my earlier comment.

"It's a long shot," I sighed. "There are a lot of routes away from this park."

"We still need to check it out," Deakins began to turn around.

"Captain," Goren stopped him. "Do you know if anyone found a gas can?"

"The search of the park hasn't turned up anything," Deakins shook his head. "But they're going to try again when it's light," he assured us before he walked away.

"I'll call the local ERs and see if anyone has turned up with a burn," I pulled out my phone. "If they're bad at starting fires..."

While I was on the phone, Goren walked off in the direction of the flashing lights. I was making my last call when I saw him walking back.

"No luck," I shook my head when I closed my phone.

"Fire department confirmed what I thought about the gasoline," he told me almost distractedly. "Rodgers is gone?" he looked around.

"Ya, she said she'd be doing the post this afternoon." I'd spoken to her in between calls. "And there was no tissue damage under the ropes."

"So she was either dead or unconscious when she was tied to that tree or she would have struggled," he opened up his case to write down his thoughts.

"And screamed for all she was worth," I added, looking toward Morningside Drive and then Morningside Avenue.

"This park is long and narrow," Goren knew what I was thinking. "Why here, where she would be discovered right away?"

"Maybe we'll get a better idea when we know who she is," I offered.

"Let's walk over toward Morningside Drive. It's closer. He probably came this way," he nodded toward a fairly open path through the trees. He took out his Maglite and scanned the ground as we walked.

"Here," I pointed to a recent drag mark on the path. "It's not deep; not a heel."

Goren shone the flashlight a few feet ahead of us. "There's another," he tilted his head to look at it. "It looks more like a stumble."

"Like someone was staggering," I nodded. "Maybe a good Samaritan was helping her so she didn't fall," I thought out loud.

"Walking a naked woman down this path?" Goren wasn't convinced.

"Maybe she wasn't naked yet," I suggested.

"He undressed her once they were in cover," he looked up at the street.

We followed the path all the way up the stairs to the sidewalk on Morningside Drive but found nothing. On our way back, when we were a couple of yards from the road I caught a glint out the corner of my eye.

"What was that?" I motioned for Goren to give me the flashlight. I shone it back over the area and saw the flash again, about a foot off the path.

"Good eye," I could hear the smile in his voice as we crouched down.

"I'm just closer to the ground," I chuckled as I pulled a pair of gloves out of my pocket. "It's an earring," I showed him with the flashlight.

"A bee," he noted as I picked it up.

"An expensive bee," I added. "Looks like topaz, diamonds and onyx."

"Custom made?" Goren wondered.

"I doubt it, but there might be DNA on the post."

"I was hoping to match it to a name, not the body," he explained.

"If there's a maker's mark, maybe we can do both," I stood up. "I wonder if anyone from CSU is still here."

"Eames?" Goren stopped me as I began to walk toward the clearing in search of a CSU tech.

"Ya?" I turned around.

"If he had to stop once he was in here to undress her, he would have to put the gas can down, wouldn't he?"

"Yes, he would," I looked where Goren was shining the light. "But I doubt we'll be able see where tonight. We should look again in the morning."

"I bet the arson squad has something we could use to sniff around for traces of gasoline," Goren mused as we headed back toward the clearing. Just as the trees began to thin out my phone rang.

"Eames."

"Where are you? I hear you but I can't see you." It was Deakins.

"Just coming into the clearing," I hung up when I saw him.

"Looks like he walked her through here," Goren explained our thinking. "And stripped her about halfway through."

"How do you figure?" Deakins looked puzzled.

"We found marks that look like someone was losing their balance, so we figure she was being helped through there," Goren nodded back toward the path.

"And we're guessing no one would've risked walking a naked woman down Morningside Drive," I continued. "We found this earring about halfway in."

"So he gets her drunk, walks her halfway in, strips her, walks her the rest of the way naked, ties her to this tree and then lights her up?" Deakins ran it through aloud.

"He killed her before he tied her to the tree," Goren corrected him bluntly. "I doubt the fire he started would've generated enough smoke to have killed her."

"She wasn't conscious when she was tied to the tree," I added. "She would've struggled."

"We're hoping an ID doesn't take too long," Goren sighed. "I'd like to canvas Morningside Avenue in the morning," He nodded, looking at me.

"Let me get this to the CSU guys," I nodded to a pair of techs who were packing up their kit.

Goren joined me just as I was handing off the labelled evidence bag and we began to walk silently toward my car.

Once we were out of everyone's earshot he stepped a little closer and began to speak. It was all I could do not to slip my hand into his.

"Why don't you go back to my place and get some sleep. I'll go and do the paperwork. There isn't much we can do at this point anyway. When I'm done, I'll join you."

"Are you sure?" It wouldn't take much to talk me into sleep over paperwork.

"We both know I can get by with a lot less sleep than you can," he chuckled.

"Ya, but I don't want you to have to get by," I stopped and turned to face him. I could no longer stop myself from touching him. I took his hand but I really wanted to throw my arms around him.

"I guess I didn't say that right. I don't need as much sleep as you do. This way, the paperwork gets done and we'll both get the sleep we need."

Every cell in my body wanted to hug him and tell him how much I loved him. As I looked up into his eyes it was like I was being drawn toward him, but I knew I couldn't do any of that in the middle of a Manhattan street.

"Thank you, Bobby," I murmured.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I'll be as quick as I can."

We'd started using Goren's apartment during the first crucial hours after we caught a case. We'd use it when we needed to grab a couple hours of sleep. It saved a half hour on either end of the drive to my place, which meant an extra hour of sleep. Goren figured out before we became intimate that sleep was very important to me. I was also happy that his place was getting some use. His place was less than fifteen minutes from the scene and I was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I was in such a deep sleep that I hadn't felt Goren slide into bed with me. When I opened my eyes the room was grey. I'd gone to bed at 4:30 so the greyness had me confused about the time, but then I heard the rain against the bedroom window. I wanted to cocoon myself under the covers with Goren, not canvas in the rain.

The clock on Goren's night stand read 9:30. I wished I knew what time he'd come to bed. I wanted him to have at least a few hours sleep. After rolling to my side, I lay there just watching him sleep, wondering if I could snuggle up to him without waking him up. I finally convinced myself that I could be gentle enough that I wouldn't disturb him. It was wishful thinking. As soon as my skin made contact with his, he stirred.

"Mmm," he slid his arm under me right away and pulled me against him.

"Sorry, I was trying not to wake you," I caressed his chest.

"S'okay," he sighed.

"How come you didn't spoon up to me?" I snuggled closer.

"I was trying not to disturb you," he chuckled in his sleep roughened voice.

"I wouldn't have minded," I told him as I drew designs on his chest with my finger.

"Is this how you try not to arouse me?"

"Ya," I slid my hand under the blanket. "How am I doing so far?"

"I'd like to say badly, but I'm enjoying your failure too much," his voice was now rough for a different reason. "What time is it?" he asked before my hand reached its destination.

"9:30," my hand was at his navel.

"I set the alarm for 10," his breathing had sped up.

"That gives us half an hour," I told him as my hand brushed against his cock.

"Half an hour won't make up for our Sunday together." His fingers were caressing my ass.

"I guess we'd better make it count then," I suggested as my hand closed around his shaft. "I love how hard you get," I told him as I began to stroke him.

"All it takes is the suggestion of your touch," he breathed. "I need to kiss you."

Keeping my hand where it was, I shifted my body so I could reach his mouth. His hand moved to my hair. That simple action was enough to make me sigh. Goren had put his hand in my hair the very first time he kissed me and almost every time since. I loved how he brought our mouths together. I could've easily spent the entire half hour just kissing him, but I knew that would end up leaving us both feeling frustrated. While he'd been kissing me, Goren had rolled me onto my back. When his lips left mine and he began to trail kisses down my neck, I knew what his goal was and my breasts began to ache in anticipation of his attention. It wasn't long before he'd moved too far and my hand lost contact with his cock. I wasn't given any time to complain about the loss. As soon as his lips made contact with my nipple, my hips came off the bed. He gave both breasts equal treatment and then started to kiss his way to my navel. I began to squirm again as he kissed my abdomen, expecting to feel his lips next between my legs, but he moved to my inner thighs instead.

"Mmm, roll over," he was already turning me.

I had no idea what his plan was, but I decided to stop trying to guess and just enjoy it. At first he kissed the backs of my knees and the worked his way toward my ass. When we'd first become intimate, it didn't take me long to realize that Goren was neither a breast man nor an ass man. He didn't discriminate; he liked both equally. He did spend more time kissing my breasts, but more time talking about my ass. The time he did spend with my ass was completely different. I wouldn't say he was rough, but he was certainly firm. With my breasts, he would use his teeth to graze my nipples. With my ass, however, he would bite at my flesh. If he'd asked before the first time he'd pressed his teeth into me, I definitely would have said no, but now I couldn't wait for the sensation. Goren did not disappoint. As his teeth tugged at me, he slid his hands along my sides. When he left my ass and began to kiss my back I was past ready for him. I wanted him inside of me.

"Bobby, please," I pressed my ass against him.

His lips were on my ear and his cock was throbbing against my thigh. He was as ready as I was. He slid his arms under mine and then moved his lips to my throat. His knees were on the outside of my legs and I was mildly surprised when he pushed my legs firmly together.

"Lift your ass up against me again," his breath was hot against my ear.

I did as he asked but I wasn't sure what to expect. It never would have occurred to me that this position would have given him access to me, but I quickly discovered how wrong I was. Having my legs closed made Goren feel impossibly big. He must have noticed the difference too because he groaned loudly into my ear.

"Bobby, this feels amazing," I kept my ass tilted toward him.

"You feel amazing, Alex," he breathed. "I'm going to have to take this slow if I'm going to last."

"Do I still get your big finish?" I wanted to make sure. I'd learned that all I really needed to reach orgasm when we were making love were the final few powerful thrusts he took right before he came.

"Promise," he chuckled as he began to move slowly making us both groan at the sensation. "Let me try this," he slipped his hand under me. I shuddered when one of his fingers found my clit. He didn't move it after that, but every time I moved my hips to match his rhythm my clit grazed that finger.

"Oh ya," I gasped. "That's good."

"Mmm," he moved his lips just below my ear. I jerked my hips back against him. Every time his mouth found that spot on my neck it had a similar effect. This time, however, the addition of his strategically placed finger sent me over the edge. Something akin to a growl escaped my throat as my body tightened and began to quake. Even through the haze of my orgasm I worried that I had brought Goren with me. When my tremors stopped he was motionless above me but there was no doubt that he still had his erection.

"Just give me a minute," he breathed.

"Okay," I relaxed my muscles.

"I didn't mean to make you come so fast," he kissed my ear.

"Too much input, Bobby," I explained. "This position makes you feel huge and then your finger and your lips on that spot on my neck."

"Sorry."

"No need to apologize to me," I laughed. "It felt incredible. I was worried that I was going to bring you with me."

"It was very close," I could hear the smile in his voice. "Okay, I'm taking my hand back now," he chuckled as he eased it out from under me.

"Next time we use this position, and I will insist on a next time, leave that until we're almost done," I squeezed his hand. He'd slid both of his hands under my arms so that our hands were joined near the headboard. "Now I know why people want mirrors in their bedrooms," I added out of the blue.

"What?" he laughed. "Why?"

"I can't imagine what we look like. I've never seen this position in a movie." During my time in vice I'd seen enough adult movies to last me a lifetime.

"In pornography, you mean?" he clarified. "That's because it wouldn't make a good visual. Your arms and legs are visible, but other than that it probably looks like I'm having my way with a mattress."

His description made me burst out laughing. "Well, I don't care what it looks like," I told him when I'd stopped. "I love the way it feels."

"Me too," he murmured in my ear as he began to move again. "And your laughing was interesting too."

"Ya?" I squeezed his hands as I moved my hips to meet him.

"Mmm hmm," he hummed against my neck.

Even though he'd moved his finger I could feel another orgasm building.

"Bobby, I'm gonna come," I warned him.

"Me too," his hands clenched around mine and then, as promised, I got my favorite final thrusts.

When the blood stopped pounding in my ears, I could hear the radio playing. It was time to get up. We got ready quickly. I pulled my hair into a pony tail then grabbed my NYPD ball cap and rain coat. I was not looking forward to canvassing on a cold, damp October morning.

While I drove, Goren checked in with Deakins. When he was done he let me know that a second search of the park hadn't turned up anything new; no gasoline and none of our vic's clothing. However, just as Goren had hoped, the arson squad was able to confirm his suspicions about the gasoline container. The perp had set it down exactly where we thought. It was a good thing their detectors were designed to work after a house had been doused with water because this rain must have given the ground a pretty good soaking.

Most of the section of Morningside Drive that Goren had arranged for us to canvas was dominated by Columbia University buildings, but there were several apartment buildings across from the park entrance at 116th Street. After all of the stairs we climbed during our canvas I figured I was safe to eat whatever I wanted for the rest of the day. That was the only thing our canvas accomplished. No one noticed anything unusual the previous night and we heard from several people that we talked to that a guy helping a drunken girl wouldn't have raised anyone's suspicions, anyway.

We made note of the apartments where we got no answer and went back to the car. We stopped at a diner for some hot food and were just finishing when my phone rang. It was Rodgers letting me know she was done with the post.

"We'll be there in 20," I assured her.

Back at 1 PP we opted to leave our rain gear in the car and went straight down to the morgue.

"Detectives," Rodgers smiled when we walked in.

"Hi," I smiled, but Goren was already bent over looking at the body. "Goren says hi, too."

"Sorry," Goren looked up for a second. "Hi."

"Your suspicions were correct, Detective Goren," Rodgers informed him. "She was suffocated."

"Burked," he pointed to two bruises above her breasts.

"Yup," Rodgers nodded as she walked around to the other side of the table. She turned to say something to me, but she stopped short and laughed. "You might want to cover up that love bite before you go upstairs."

My hand flew to my throat. I knew exactly where it must have been; that spot I loved so much.

"Bobby! Why didn't you say something?" I felt my cheeks growing hot.

"I didn't see it," he looked meek. "It wasn't there in the shower."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I couldn't help wondering exactly how much of our sex life Goren was going to let Rodgers be privy to.

"And how many of the people that we talked to this morning saw it," I shook my head.

"I think your rain coat covered it," Goren assured me. "'Cause this is the first time I noticed it."

Knowing how focussed Goren became during a case, his assurances didn't make me feel much better.

"Well, I can't wear my raincoat in the squad room," I held my hands up in frustration. "And I'm not carrying any make up."

"I have some concealer," Rodgers tried to appease me.

"And a mirror?" I asked hopefully.

"Yup," she was rummaging in her purse.

So while Rodgers and Goren discussed the autopsy findings, I covered up my hickey.

"So she was definitely dead before the fire was lit?" Goren confirmed.

"No smoke in her lungs and the burns to her feet didn't swell up," Rodgers watched Goren as he continued to examine the body.

"Anything on the tox report?" he wondered next.

"Her blood alcohol was zero," she informed him.

"How's this?" I interrupted to show them my neck.

"Looks good," Rodgers promised.

"I can't see it anymore," Goren agreed.

"I hope it stays cool," I laughed ruefully, "'Cause I'll be wearing turtlenecks for a while."

"I like they way you look in turtlenecks," Goren grinned at me.

"Um, work," I pointed around the autopsy suite. We'd agreed not to talk about our personal life at work.

"Kinda moot now, isn't it," he shrugged. "Nothing else on the tox report?" he turned back to Rodgers.

"A full tox panel will take up to six weeks," she reminded him. "If there's something specific you want, I can probably have it for you in a couple of days."

"Rohipnol, please," he nodded.

"No problem," she made a note.

"Any luck with an ID?" I refocused.

"I sent her fingerprints out, but there isn't much else we can do except hope that someone misses her."

"What about this?" Goren was pointing to the inside of her ankle.

"A crescent moon tattoo," Rodgers nodded. "Not particularly distinctive. She's got a sun behind her right shoulder too."

"A sun and a moon? An astronomy buff?" I speculated.

"Can you get pictures of those for me, please?" Goren closed his binder. "If her prints aren't in the system and no one reports her missing, this might be the only way we can ID her."

"I can track that earring down tomorrow," I reminded him.

"Right," he nodded. "Let's go upstairs. There isn't much we can add to the file but we might as well do it since we're here."

After we said our goodbyes and thanks to Rodgers, we went upstairs. I called my sister and gave her our regrets. We never would have made it in time. We spent less than an hour in the squad room. It was almost five when I pulled up in front of my place. I was hanging up my coat when Goren came in.

"Hi," he smiled and pulled me into his arms.

"We need to talk, Bobby," I shook my head and backed away.

End chapter 1