Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hi everybody! I've been wanting to write a CI story for a while, so I finally did it in the midst of my other story (non-L&O). It's a long first chapter, and I don't expect the rest to be quite this long, but you never know. Before you get started, I have a few items I wanted to mention:

1) I did a few days' worth of research on Goren and CI in general, so I'm going to try and do my best to keep him as Goren-like as possible. I'm used to writing mean-guy characters, so please bear with me while I try to settle into getting used to his voice. Hopefully I did an OK job in this chapter, but I'm always up for constructive criticism (and reviews in general, I love them!).

2) Any of Rosaline's cancer experiences/opinions on life are taken from my own. No, she is not a self-insert type character, I just didn't want to try and act like I knew any other cancer/cancer experience better than mine, and I didn't want to risk upsetting someone for incorrectly stating something related to another cancer that I didn't know that well. The type of cancer I had is a bit rare, especially for my age group, but it also helps me make this more authentic, because the experiences she'll explain are either going to be adapted from or exactly the ones I've had - both good and bad! I hope she's still at least a little relatable for those that haven't had cancer and don't share the same opinions she does - I'd be sad if you guys didn't like her (but I hope you will)!

3) Last, this story starts back in the year 2000. I had to do some refresher research on the tech back in the day, since most of it (such as the first iPod) hadn't even been thought of in 2000. MP3 players and PlayStation One's, here we come!

P.S.: Rosaline in this story is pronounced Roz-uh-line (like a straight line); Mansilla is Man-see-ya; Sercio is Sehr-see-oh. :)

It was almost mid-November in New York, and as Rosaline made her way out of one of thousands of yellow taxis in the city, she readjusted her knee-length peacoat and checked her watch, smiling inwardly. She made her way through the crowds of people towards her usual coffeeshop for some breakfast, moving along while keeping a simple smile to herself, almost walking to the beat of the music she was listening to on her MP3 player. Her headphones covered her ears and drowned out the loud noises of the city, allowing her to focus on mentally singing along to her current favorite album. She continued on, sporting her work outfit for the day – a form-fitting white pants suit with a red blouse underneath, and her matching crimson heels were currently stored in their shoe 'case' inside of her messenger bag, which she wouldn't change into until she got to her destination. She liked to stop by this place at least two or three times during her work week, mainly because they had some of the best pastries in town, but also because it saved her time at home from having to cook, although she still did so on the other days she didn't stop by there.

Her white Pumas made virtually no sound on the concrete while she strolled, and as she spotted the usually-busy café a few feet ahead, she shifted her attention and began to dig in her medium-sized purse for her MP3 player, so she could pause the song when she went inside. "Man, it really fell into the black-hole abyss that is my purse today," She thought, pursing her lips to the side as she began to trace and seek the headphone cable the MP3 was attached to, hoping she could yank it out before she got inside. She was so entrenched in her search and rescue mission that she never even thought to look up, startling her completely when she ran into something, or more like someone, gasping in surprise.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" She cried out ruefully, leaning over and crouching a bit to pick up the dark brown zip-up binder that she'd knocked out of the person's hands and to the floor. As she did so, she simultaneously pulled off the headphones from atop her head and placed them around her neck, just before wrapping her hands around the heavy, leather-bound binder. She then rose and straightened back up, almost jumping back when she realized how close she was to the person. Her eyes continued from staring almost straight at their chest and trailed up the dark grey suit to their face, unwittingly getting a deep blush on her tan skin, which – she thanked the stars – was not as noticeable under the light makeup she had on, since she'd put on some blush earlier while still at home. "Well hello, very handsome stranger…" She thought bashfully, trying not to show her embarrassment as she smiled at him and offered him back his binder, feeling the soft smoothness of the material under her thumbs, speculating that it was probably from being used so much. "Sorry about that…"

The man smiled back and took his binder from her, letting out a soft chuckle. "What were you looking for so intently?" He asked, nodding toward her purse; he was curious as to her reaction when their eyes had met, but also as to what had distracted her.

Rosaline's face shifted from embarrassment to surprise when she heard him speak, letting out a nervous laugh as she looked back at her purse. "Oh…this, actually," she replied, reaching over and grabbing the MP3 player that had stumbled its way out of her purse when the two had collided and was now hanging out of her bag, the only thing keeping it from hitting the ground being the headphone cord that had caught under the magnetic latch on her purse. She pressed a button on it and paused the music that she'd faintly heard from her headphones after she'd slipped them off, turning back to him and thanking him when he held the door open for her.

She stepped in, smiling at the hostess who returned the gesture and gave her a small wave. She stepped behind a line of people and began to place her MP3 back into her purse, this time gently tying it around one of the purse straps using the headphone cord, so it would dangle against the side of her purse instead of sinking to the bottom somewhere. "I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier," She scolded herself, feeling someone's gaze watching her intently, and she could only guess it was the guy she'd run into now standing behind her. She shifted a little and switched her weight to her other foot, tucking a strand of hair behind her right ear and then stepping forward once the group in front of her was seated.

"Hi Miss Mansilla. The usual spot?" The hostess asked cheerily, turning to grab a menu and a set of silverware wrapped in a napkin.

"Yes, that would be great! If it's still available," Rosaline responded, glancing around at the packed lunchroom. At first glance, it seemed like there were no tables open at all.

"It is! I tried to keep it open for you for your usual time," the hostess replied, continuing as Rosaline made her way around the podium, "I know to give it away if you haven't called or you're not here after 15. Please follow me!"

Rosaline did so, and as she was led through the dining area she discerned that once she was seated, there really wouldn't be any tables left. She thought about the guy she'd run into and started to feel bad, realizing that if she hadn't run into him, he probably would've been able to get a table and not have to wait at all. As the hostess seated her, she looked back to the entrance and noticed him be greeted by the other hostess who had just returned from seating someone else. She placed her coat on the nearby hook and took off her messenger bag as she moved to sit down, but before the hostess left she saw the man checking his watch, obviously not too pleased about the wait time he'd been quoted. She herself had made the mistake before of coming in just a few minutes too late, and had to wait about half an hour before being seated, which is why she gave herself plenty of time now in case that happened again. If she ended up not needing the extra time, she'd take the long way to work, but also knew that nobody would mind her coming in early.

"Hey," She called out to the hostess, getting her attention just as she had begun to leave the table, "That guy that's at the podium now – tell him that, if he doesn't mind, I'd like to buy him breakfast for running into him. He can sit with me if he doesn't want to wait or go somewhere else."

The hostess looked towards the entrance and saw the man she spoke of, nodding once and trying to hurry back to catch him as he headed to the exit.

Rosaline watched her, smiling when she saw the hostess call out to him just before he reached the exit. She then quickly shifted her gaze to the menu in front of her, pretending not to see him approaching as she took her purse off and placed it atop the messenger bag she'd laid down next to her in the small booth. She had turned toward the wall the booth was up against, so she didn't even realize someone was there until she heard the gentle 'thump' of the thick leather-bound binder being somewhat carefully sat atop the table, causing her to turn suddenly and look to her left, tracing up the now slightly-familiar suit up to its owner.

The man chuckled the same as earlier before asking, "Did I scare you?"

Rosaline laughed in response and shook her head, waving to the seat in front of her in the two-person booth. "No, but maybe surprised me a little," she smiled, watching him sit and look at her curiously, as if he was studying her. "Thanks for taking me up on the offer, it's the least I could do since I crashed into you for being clueless," she added, trying not to blush under his intense gaze. "I'm Rosaline. Rosaline–"

"Mansilla." He replied matter-of-factly, seeing her face giving him a confounded look before it changed to a knowing one.

"Ah, so I guess you heard Alison, the hostess," She laughed, taking her headphones off from around her neck and turning slightly to place them in her purse, "I keep telling her to call me Rosaline but she never does. I guess it might be a job thing," she added, shrugging a little before turning back to face him with a grin.

"Goren—Well, Robert Goren," He replied, holding his hand out for a handshake, and smiling in return.

"Well, nice to meet you, Robert," Rosaline replied, looking down at his hand before taking it in her own, noticing that it was a good size larger than hers. His grip was firm, but not tight or painful, and he came across to her as someone she could trust. How she knew that, she couldn't say, but she also didn't want to decide on anything before getting to know him, if she got to know him, since she'd been wrong before. Albeit, those instances had been many years earlier – she'd become a pretty good judge of character in the last couple of years; nonetheless, she still didn't completely judge someone when she first met them, knowing from experience that they'd show their true colors very quickly as soon as she told them about what she'd been through.

As her mind drifted off she'd kept holding his hand, and when she realized it she laughed and gently released it, using her own to scratch her forehead a little. "Sorry, I guess I got lost in my own thoughts for a second," she apologized, reaching up with both her hands to pull her long hair behind her, so it wouldn't get in the way when she looked down at her menu in a minute.

"More like a minute," Goren joked, earning a laugh followed by 'You got me there.' As she studied her menu he watched her closely, and he could tell she was nervous – one of the giveaways being the fact that she was a regular to the staff, but was still pretending to look over the menu as if she didn't know it already –, but he wasn't entirely sure why. He figured it might be his presence, but he couldn't affirm whether it was nerves from meeting someone new, or for another reason entirely. Her body language was telling him that she might be attracted to him – her blush when she first looked at him, her pupils dilating, holding his hand for a long time…he could go on, but he didn't want to flatter himself into thinking that such a beautiful woman would be reacting in such a fervent way because of him. Not only that, but he didn't want to make any mistakes in judgement just because he was attracted to her. For now, he'd be friendly (she did invite him to breakfast, after all), and share a polite conversation with a woman who he deemed at first glance to be fairly intelligent. Hopefully, intelligent enough to keep up with him.

As she pulled her hair back, Goren noticed the scar on her neck – mostly healed, and definitely made by a scalpel…a scalpel wielded by a very talented surgeon. He was about to ask about it (all while resisting the urge to touch the brilliantly-made incision) when their waiter showed up, and he stopped looking at Rosaline long enough to shift his attention to the server.

"Hi Rosaline. The usual, or do you want some coffee today?" The waiter asked, completely ignoring the fact that there was someone sitting with her.

"Yep, the usual, I had some coffee at home," Rosaline replied, giving him a small smile before turning to look back at Goren. "Glass of water and mug of honey green tea," She whispered to him, as an answer to the inquisitive look he'd just given her. She didn't turn to look back at the waiter, and her gaze lingered on Goren while he ordered his beverage, quickly shifting to look at the menu just before he finished speaking.

"Thank you, Jason," Goren finished, arms crossed over the table as he leaned forward and added the server's name while he stared at it on his nametag. The waiter seemed to walk off disgruntled, probably at the fact that Rosaline had paid no attention to him whatsoever, which amused him to no extent. He'd felt her watching him, but he also turned to his menu and picked out something to order.

After the waiter quickly returned with their drinks, he asked them if they were ready to order. The two looked at each other and nodded, and Jason took their orders, writing them down quickly on a small note pad. As he finished, he placed the note pad in his server apron and looked at Rosaline, waiting for her to look at him before making a slight nod towards Goren. "So, where's your boyfriend?" He asked almost rudely, staring at her and waiting for her answer, not noticing that Goren was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, he's at home," Rosaline replied nonchalantly, reaching over and picking up the small tea mug before looking at Jason, "You know, about 15 pounds, four legs, all fuzzy and cute with a tail…his name's Sercio." She said this with a grin, hiding it briefly behind the mug as she took a sip. She barely heard Jason's "I'll be back with your meal" after she'd shifted her eyes to Goren, giving a small shrug.

"I think he likes you," Goren said casually, taking a sip of the coffee he'd ordered.

Rosaline almost spit out the drink of tea she'd just taken. "What?! Seriously? I don't think so."

"Oh, I undeniably think so. I'm one hundred percent sure he was trying to make me jealous," He replied, laughing a bit as he shook his head.

Rosaline rolled her eyes and took another sip of her tea. "Well, he's definitely out of luck there because I undeniably don't want a guy like that. Not really into the jealous types, at all, but that's probably because I'm not a jealous person myself. Either way, how he acted and his attitude seem pretty immature to me…no thanks."

Goren listened to her, his interest in learning more about her growing with each response. She did seem pretty mature to him, but she looked young, like in her early twenties. "So, you have a dog?"

At this, Rosaline beamed and straightened up in her seat, setting the mug down in front of her, but keeping her hands around it. "I do, and he's the best," She replied, "I adopted him a little over two years ago. He's my constant companion – if I could take him to work with me, I would. I'm still trying to convince my boss…I'm not giving up any time soon, either."

At this, Goren smiled and watched her tuck the same strand of hair that had come loose behind her ear, as she'd done before. He'd been about to ask her where she worked and what she did, but he was distracted from that when he saw her scar again, his curiosity being too much to not satiate. "So, how'd you get that scar?" He asked, pointing to her neck.

Rosaline almost reflexively reached up and touched her neck, a smile gracing her lips as she looked at him. Most people were too afraid or uncomfortable to ask about it, but he wasn't, and she liked that. No, she really liked that.

"I'm a cancer survivor. I got diagnosed shortly after turning 26 a couple years ago," She paused, reaching both hands up to move her hair over to the left side of her neck, so the right side would be exposed. "They did a neck dissection and took out 50 of my lymphnodes. Out of those, two of them were positive for cancer," She continued, shifting her body a bit and turning her head to the left, using her right index finger to trace the scar from the front of her neck all the way through and up to behind her right ear, ending right by her earlobe.

"I have another scar, but I'm not gonna tell you where that one is," She said teasingly, moving her hair back behind her and turning to face him again, grinning.

Goren couldn't help but get a little captivated by her. As far as he could remember, he hadn't met someone her age who had had cancer, and the few people he did meet were always very somber and not forthcoming at all about their experience, which he could completely understand. But her…she was telling him about this and smiling, as if it was just another walk in the park, plus she was so positive, completely honest, and open about what she'd been through, which just made him want to know more.

As a side bonus, he now also knew her age – 28 – which made him note that she looked younger than she really was. But he was 11 years older than her, and somehow he couldn't see her being interested in him even if he was in her; however, that wasn't going to stop him from learning more about her – she was the only woman he'd come across that he thought was actually both interesting and clever, not to mention sensible (besides Eames, of course).

As he'd thought all of this, he'd also easily, using his much-loved power of multitasking, been paying attention to her, and he smiled humorously before continuing. "Hm, let's see if I can figure it out," he responded, noticing the look of intrigue on her face. "Stick out your tongue."

Rosaline's eyes widened and she slowly set the mug she'd been sipping from in front of her. He couldn't really guess not only what type of cancer she'd had, but where her other scar was just from looking in her mouth and at the scar on her neck, could he? Although…he did seem very knowledgeable…so she did so, and stuck out her tongue as far as she could – which wasn't very much, truthfully, because of the surgery she'd had – all while trying not to laugh too hard in the process.

Goren tried not to smirk as he placed his right arm and left elbow on the table, using his left hand to point at her tongue and leaning forward slightly. "You had a skin graft done, didn't you?" He asked as she closed her mouth quickly, her stunned face easily giving him his answer and causing him to laugh triumphantly a bit and lean back, crossing his arms. "I'll bet you had tongue cancer, or what's medically called 'Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue,' most likely Stage 3 or 4," he added matter-of-factly, before uncrossing his arms to grab his coffee and take a sip, "I'll also wager that your other scar is very close to your bikini line, probably from that skin graft," He paused, simply smiling while looking down at the mug she still had cupped between her hands, just before meeting her light brown eyes with his dark ones. "So, how'd I do?"

Rosaline's face had changed expressions from shocked, to stunned, to how-the-hell?, and then back to shocked again. "Well look at you," She almost whispered, her shock dissipating into interest and amusement, almost mirroring his own expression, "Damn, you're observant! You were able to tell all that from just looking at my scar and tongue, huh? That's…downright amazing. Most people don't even notice that I have a scar at all," She added, trying to continue and hide the sudden blush that creeped onto her face when she realized she was oh-so-definitely attracted to him, "I'm very impressed! I'm curious to know how you figured it out…"

Goren's smile widened as he began explaining his methods, "I noticed that you had some difficulty extending your tongue, and when I looked closer, I saw that the surface wasn't completely smooth and even. From that I knew you'd had surgery there and had part of your tongue removed, and since there wasn't a hole where they'd cut the piece out, it was obvious that they'd done a skin graft. And, skin grafts for women are usually taken from their bikini line, so I knew that's where they'd gotten yours from, since you mentioned you wouldn't tell me where your other scar was."

Rosaline listened to him attentively, completely fascinated by the fact that he could tell so much from something so small, from such a tiny piece of information. She'd placed her left elbow on the table and placed her chin on the palm of her left hand, every so often taking sips of her tea, but never breaking eye contact with him, finally looking long enough to notice the dark brown hue of his eyes, which matched perfectly with the seemingly black, or at the very least quite dark brown, shade of his hair.

Neither of them realized that their food had arrived since they were too into their conversation, but when they did, they began to eat their breakfast, continuing to talk as Goren attempted to placate his intrigue by asking her questions. It wasn't long before they finished eating, but neither of them noticed the time passing by since they were having too much fun and fascination getting to know each other. Or maybe more like Goren was learning a lot about Rosaline, and Rosaline liked answering his questions, since he actually had the balls to ask her, unlike most people. She found this very attractive in a man, but she wasn't about to come out and tell him that. She still wasn't entirely sure if he was more interested in her or her story, but she had to admit to herself that she wouldn't mind if it was both. After all, he was a total brainiac and enthralling, with the added bonus of being very handsome, and even though he was probably a foot taller than her, she didn't mind that either. A nice pair of heels could easily help with that.

"Oh god, what am I thinking? I'm already imagining myself spending all this time with this guy, and I've just met him! Although he is really cute…and he seems nice, like he wouldn't drop me just because I'm a cancer survivor, unlike all the other guys I've wasted dates on. As soon as they heard the word 'cancer,' they almost literally ran out the door. But Robert…he wants to know more, he's the complete opposite. I really hope I'm not wrong," She thought, smiling at him just as the waiter dropped off the check. She saw Goren grabbing for his wallet as well as the check, but she quickly reached over and placed her hand over his atop the receipt, curling her fingers and grabbing his hand gently.

"Please let me pay for this. It really is the least I could do after running into you and knocking your binder to the floor," She pleaded apologetically, meeting his gaze and giving him a kind smile.

"Well yes, but…even if you did that, I've been asking you so many questions about a very intimate part of your life," He replied, noticing she hadn't moved her hand from holding his, but not thinking (and maybe even not wanting?) to move his hand, either.

"You have, but you wouldn't have asked me all those questions if I hadn't bumped into you, so it's still my treat!" She insisted, neither of them budging from their decision until Goren finally laughed lightly and smiled at her.

"Okay, fine. But," He paused, seeing the questioning look in her eyes before continuing, "Only if you let me pay next time."

Rosaline's eyes widened before she broke the gaze briefly, laughing sheepishly and nodding, her cheeks flushed when she met his eyes again, "Deal. I'm looking forward to it," She added, slowly removing her hand from atop his, and only breaking their stare to look over and reach into her purse for her long, zippered wallet. She could feel him watching her, and she smiled as she pulled out her card, placing it atop the receipt. "So, Mr. Robert, where do you work?"

Goren never stopped observing her, his first verbal hint that she might be attracted to him being her very recent words, and although he of course had all the physical signs, he didn't want to chance misunderstanding her intentions for true attraction rather than friendship. He knew women were usually too nice to say 'no,' and although deep down he didn't think that was the case here, he had also been turned down after what he thought was a 'date,' which turned out to be no more than 'meeting with a friend.' That had been before he was as wise about these signs as he is now, but he still didn't want to risk it. If and when he knew the time was right, he'd make that move, but for now he needed to get to know her better. In fact, he had to get to know her better – she was much too complex for him to figure out in one sitting, unlike most women, and he both loved and feared that – he didn't want her to turn out to be a complete enigma. Granted, he didn't suspect so, considering how open she'd been with him about her cancer experience, but that never construed not avowed the fact that she'd be as open with everything else about her life. Well, besides her dog, of course.

"I'm a detective," He said simply after his deep thought session, taking a drink of his freshly refilled coffee.

Rosaline's smile grew into a smirk as she imagined him in uniform. She quickly shook off the thought, smiling still as she replied, "Law enforcement, hmm? I can honestly say I'm not surprised, you remind me of Sherlock Holmes," she teased, grinning, "I'm a computer engineer. My workplace isn't too far from One Police Plaza, I think."

Goren smiled and kept a cool demeanor, but inside he was riveted by the fact that she wasn't a complete airhead, to put it lightly. Although he as well could tell that just from looking at her, one of the reasons being that she looked sophisticated in the clothes she wore. "My workplace is in One Police Plaza," he replied, giving her a nod, "I'm in Major Case."

Rosaline's eyes narrowed slightly as she grinned at him, turning her head a bit and looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. "No wonder you're so deductive," she responded, straightening her head back to look at him face-to-face, "I had a feeling since I could feel you watching—no, observing me this entire time. I knew it wasn't because you're the quiet type."

Goren couldn't help but laugh and tilt his head to look down at the table, just before he raised only his eyes and looked at her with a smile. "Now who's deductive?"

Rosaline gave him an amused look before grinning and laughing as well. "Touché monsieur. Muy bien," she gave him a small but playful wink, suddenly glancing at the rest of the restaurant only to notice that most of the morning rush was gone. Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked down at her watch, astonishment lingering as she turned to look at him. "Have we really been here almost two hours?"

Goren watched her, and when she asked him that question, he couldn't help but look at his own watch as well. "…we have. I was supposed to be at One P. P. an hour ago," He responded, chuckling softy at himself – this had never happened to him before, especially because he wasn't the sort of person to lose track of time or be late anywhere. Well, as long as he was in control, at least; he couldn't count the times he had to stay late at MCS because he was working on a case – not that he usually minded, anyway.

"I was supposed to be at work myself an hour ago," Rosaline replied, grabbing some pins from her purse before pulling the opaque shoe bag out from her messenger bag, "I have to run to the restroom, but don't feel like you have to wait for me, especially if you're running late," she beamed him a smile before scooting out of the seat and walking a few feet to the nearby bathroom, hurriedly rushing inside.

Goren watched her walk and stared at the closed bathroom door for a second, trying to decide whether to leave or stay, although deep down he already knew he was going to wait for her. He was curious to find out what was in that bag she took, and quieted his inner workaholic, telling himself he was already running late and he could wait another few minutes; he didn't expect to get yelled at for it, either, especially since he hadn't been late at all since starting at MCS.

Rosaline stood in front of the mirror, placing the bag on the widest edge of the sink before reaching up and sweeping her long hair up into a bun, using the pins she'd grabbed from her purse to keep it up. She then opened the black satin shoe bag and grabbed out her heels, placing them on the floor before pulling off her Pumas and socks one at a time, shoving the sock inside said shoe while placing her foot inside the 3-inch heel and doing the same with the matching pair. She put the Pumas in the bag sole-to-sole and closed it, turning the sink on and washing her hands. Normally, she would've just put the heels on the floor under the booth's table and quickly switched shoes there, but she didn't want to be rude and do that in front of him, especially since she didn't know him that well…yet. She smiled at herself as she grabbed some paper towels and dried her hands off, recalling the fact that she used to be more concerned about doing things like changing her shoes where other people could see her, but after going through cancer and learning to let go of worrying about the little things, she didn't really care as much anymore. "I guess thinking you might die will do that to you," she thought briefly, grabbing her bag and heading to the door, blushing and grinning when she saw that he was waiting for her.

Goren had gotten wrapped up in thoughts about his current case when he swiftly spotted someone coming out of the bathroom out of the corner of his eye, and he turned and saw that it was Rosaline, trying to keep his face stoic as he watched her sashay her way back to the table. She looked just as beautiful as she had before, although the red high heels made her all that more alluring and appealing to him. He smirked inwardly when he saw her long, dark brown hair pulled up and out of her way, showing off the fact that her scar was now even more visible and ever-present, giving him the correct impression that she was not ashamed of it at all, but instead seemed to wear it proudly, like a medal of survivorship. He made his way out of the booth and stood up to meet her beside the table, noticing that she was now a few inches taller.

"Thank you for waiting for me," She quipped with a smile, reaching over to pull her purse and messenger bag towards her, placing the black bag back into where she'd had it. She heard him take a few steps around her and didn't think much of it until she straightened back up and turned to grab her coat off of the hook she'd placed it on, and froze when she saw him holding it on his arm.

"Mind if I help?" Goren asked, trying not to laugh at the surprised look she was giving him, silently concluding that she must not know very many men with manners.

Rosaline's shock melted from her face and dissolved into a deeper blush, giving him a wide smile. "Wow, thank you," she remarked, turning her back to face him and allowing him to help her put her arms into the coat, "What a gentleman!" she teased, letting out a soft laugh before turning to face him and placing her hands on her hips, "No, but really, you are. Thanks," She smiled at him before reaching for her messenger bag, slinging it across her body and then hooking her purse over her shoulder.

Goren watched her, noticing the dark red hue of her cheeks and chuckling inside. He waited patiently for her before motioning to the door with a small smile, "Can I walk you out?"

"Sure, of course," Rosaline replied, leading the way to the exit, and waving goodbye to the hostesses. One of them, Alison, gave her a thumbs-up and a wink when she saw Goren wasn't looking, causing her to chortle back a laugh in embarrassment, placing her hand on her face. She shook her head slightly before pushing the door open, walking out onto the not-as-busy sidewalk.

Goren eyed her curiously, knowing that the hostess must've done something when he'd turned and glanced back at the dining room to ensure nothing had been left behind. He had an idea of what it had probably been due to Rosaline's reaction, but chose not to mention it so she wouldn't feel any more embarrassed than she'd seemed. When the two stepped out onto the cold November air, he saw her shudder a bit and walked with her towards the edge of the sidewalk. "Let me help you hail a cab," He offered, watching her give him a friendly nod and a soft 'Okay.' He did so, and when the cab pulled up to the curb, he opened the door for her.

Rosaline stepped forward, pausing to turn and look at him. "Did you want to share a cab? I think we're both going the same way," she asked, not sure if he had planned on riding or walking the few blocks to his job. She knew she surely wasn't walking – it was way too cold for her taste, and she wasn't about to deal with that and trot in heels to the office.

Goren smiled at her offer; normally he would've walked to One P.P., but he was already late and didn't want to keep Eames waiting for him any more than she already had. He nodded and watched her get inside, waiting for her to scoot over before getting in himself. He listened to her give the cabbie the address and then did the same, realizing that her office was probably less than a block away from MCS.

"So, you guys usually have partners, don't you?" Rosaline spoke up, turning a bit to face him and adjusted her bags to not be completely over him, placing her purse on her lap. The guy was already almost touching the roof of the cab with his head; he needed all the space he could get.

Goren hesitated a moment, remembering all the times the women he'd dated asked him something similar, and ran as soon as they found out his partner was female. He'd learned the hard way that most women were too jealous to be comfortable with the man in their life having another woman in their life, even if it wasn't for romantic reasons. "Alex Eames," He said simply, giving her the answer he always gave everyone else. Most women assumed it was a man by the name, and he was interested in seeing what her guess would be.

Rosaline eyed him inquisitively before letting out a soft laugh, getting a confused look in response. "You know, I bet it's a woman," She remarked, "Because I get the distinct feeling that you have to have a woman's touch to rein you in," she jibed, her lips widening into a grin, "And I bet she's a total badass, too."

Goren stared at her as if she'd just grown two heads, for once in his life unsure of what to say and much less think. He'd expected her to say a lot of things, most of them along the line of asking Eames' gender, but never in his right mind had he even thought she'd say something like that. Yet, at the same time, he could tell that she wasn't being dishonest or trying to make him think something of her that she really wasn't – all his years on the force had given him the superpower of being able to smell out any bullshit. Still, he scrambled for something clever or astute to say, but just as an idea came into his wonderfully-yet-awfully intelligent mind, she interrupted his thought process with her words.

"Oh, here's my stop!" Rosaline said suddenly, already having paid the cabbie while Goren had been deep in his thinking. She stretched her right hand out for a handshake and gave him a cheeky grin. "Nice to meet you, Detective Goren. It was fun talking to you," she added cheerfully while he'd shaken her hand, just before turning and opening the door of the cab, stepping out into the chilly air. She again fixed the purse over her right shoulder and turned to shut the door, giving him a small, friendly wave. "See you around!" She called out, grin never dissipating, before closing the door and heading around the back of the cab towards the skyscraping office building. As she proceeded towards the main entrance, she pulled out her headphones again and pressed the button on her now-within-reach MP3 player, giving a few waves here and there as she returned other employees' greetings to her on her way in.

Goren had given her a quick "Same" to her last two statements, but he was pretty sure she hadn't heard his last one. He followed her with his eyes as best he could, before turning and looking out the taxi's right side window from where he was sitting, watching her put her head phones back on and letting out an amused chuckle upon seeing this. When she finally went inside the building, he ran his eyes upwards to the large letters above the entrance, uttering a quiet 'huh' before saying the word, "Microsoft." As the cab began to flow with traffic again, he turned his face away from the window and wrapped his first three fingers around his chin, his face changing into a pensive one while his mind began to wander. He didn't have much time to think, though, as the cab stopped barely a block away from their last one, and he pulled out his wallet.

The driver looked at him using the rearview mirror, and snickered at him, waving the back of his hand. "Hey buddy, she already paid in case you weren't looking."

Goren glanced up at the rearview mirror before muttering something and putting his wallet away, giving the driver a "Yeah, thanks" on his way out of the cab. He mentally cursed himself for both letting her pay again and being too distracted to notice. He really didn't like when either of those happened, especially the latter since, well, it never happened. He walked inside One P.P. and made his way to MCS, walking inside and ignoring the odd and surprised looks he was given, giving an internal sigh of relief when he spotted Eames sitting at her desk. He threw his coat over the chair and put his heavy binder on the right side of his desk, letting out a tired-yet-happy sigh when he finally took a seat. "Sorry I'm late."

Eames eyed him quizzically, noticing the smile he was trying to hide behind the usual face he gave everyone else. She leaned forward and slightly up so she could see him well, instead of staring at her computer monitor. "Well, isn't this a first? I don't think this has ever happened in all the years we've been partners."

Goren let out a soft chuckle, raising his eyebrows and scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, well…it wasn't planned," he replied casually, pulling his chair forward and trying to avoid eye contact, knowing that she'd see the reason why as soon as their eyes met – she just knew him too well. He could feel her staring and pretended to arrange some papers on his desk, failing miserably considering the papers were already arranged, and when he noticed she hadn't budged he finally heaved a sigh and sunk back in his chair, looking at her and waiting for the barrage of questions.

Eames's face was full of mirth as she watched his unusual behavior, trying not to bust out laughing. She hadn't seen him act this way except when he was exhausted trying to figure out a case that he didn't have all the missing pieces of, but the difference this time was that he seemed both happy and perplexed. Usually when he'd been with or on a date with a woman he'd come in beaming glee and proud of himself or pissed off (depending on how it'd gone), instead of his usual too-serious or seemingly depressed state, the latter of which only she could tell. Her curiosity grew with each second, and she gave him a knowing look when he finally met her eyes. "Please tell me it's not another idiot babe who thinks Detectives spend all their time dumpster diving and that MCS stands for Major Cramp Symptoms."

Goren's lips widened into a large smile at her statement, chortling back an even bigger laugh. He didn't know how, but no matter what he was feeling, good or bad, Eames just knew the right thing to say (or not to say), and seemed to understand him sometimes even better than he did himself. He ran a hand through his slightly wavy, black hair before shaking his head in response. "No, the complete opposite, I think."

"You think?" Eames questioned, sitting back in her chair and rolling it to one side of her desk, so the monitor wouldn't be in the way as she gaped at him. "You mean you haven't figured her out already?"

Goren frowned and placed a thumb over his lips, pensively. "I thought I had, kind of," he replied, before placing his arms on his desk and looking directly at Eames, "Until she said something about you that I really didn't expect."

Eames gave him a startled look before crossing her arms, trying to recall any women that she knew that could give her partner such a hard time, and coming up with positively zero. "What?! Does she know me or something?"

Goren shook his head, grabbing a pen and tracing a small, four-pane window on a pad of sticky notes. "No, not at all, that's the thing," he replied, pausing his tracing to set the pen down on top of the pad and leaning back, seemingly copying Eames' stance and folding his arms as well. "She asked me if I had a partner, so I told her your name, 'Alex Eames.' All the other women I've met always assumed my partner was male and then got mad and left when they found out otherwise," he furrowed his eyebrows, seeing Eames' impatient look of 'Go on' as he continued, "But then she said, "I bet it's a woman, because I get the distinct feeling that you have to have a woman's touch to rein you in. And I bet she's a total badass, too.'" He repeated Rosaline's words perfectly, even copying tone and inflection, giving Eames a frown when she began to crack up.

"This person that you met, she said that?" Eames asked, grinning at him, "Well it sure sounds like she figured you out, Bobby. I would LOVE to meet her," she jested, watching him let out an exasperated sigh before smiling a little himself. "So what's her name?"

Goren looked down at the sticky note he'd drawn on before answering. "Rosaline Mansilla," he uttered quietly so only Eames could hear, raising his face slightly to look up at her.

"Mm, sounds like a Hispanic/Latina name. So, are you going to call her?" She asked, raising her eyebrows when she saw the brief look of panic that switched to disappointment on his face. "Ooooh, that's right…you're used to them giving you their phone number," she recalled, "It sounds like she's not that type. If you see her again, you're gonna have to do the asking," She nudged, placing her arms on her desk and leaning forward slightly. "I can already tell she's different from the others because she left you a little stunned, for once. That's not easy to do," she jested, just before giving him a reassuring smile, "But seriously, you should try to meet up with her again. You already know, as your partner, I have your back – that goes without saying. And as your partner, I'm telling you to try and take a chance and have more than a night in the sack, like an actual relationship," she paused, "Especially since she's probably the type that if you treat her like you only want a night in the sack, you might end up with a black eye."

Goren shifted uncomfortably and went back to tracing as he listened to Eames give him advice. It'd been so long since he'd had a relationship that he'd pretty much forgotten what it entailed, and he had to admit that Eames was absolutely right. He was a difficult person, he knew this even if nobody ever said it to his face, and most women he went on "dates" with simply wanted to skip the meal and dessert and get in bed, even after barely knowing him for 15 minutes. He knew how dangerous that type of thinking was firsthand through his job, but at the same time, because of his job he also hadn't really had the time to have a relationship and much less try to keep one. As he thought this, he remembered that during their conversation (literally) while eating breakfast, Rosaline hadn't once mentioned any friends, and besides her family, always mentioned her constant companion to be her dog. Maybe they were more similar than he'd originally thought, but was it possible that someone like him was compatible with someone like her?

He'd still been paying attention to Eames while pondering himself, considering that type of multitasking to be one of his best traits. Because of this he had to laugh at her mention of Rosaline giving him a black eye, nodding in agreement. "That's a good point," He replied, finally glancing up to see his partner's encouraging look, "We actually shared a cab, she works about a block away from here in those Microsoft offices. She said she's a computer engineer."

Eames raised her eyebrows at this, giving him an impressed look. She spotted Deakins exit his office and begin to head their way, leaning forward and whispering, 'Go for it, Goren!' before smiling at her partner and rolling herself back to be in front of her computer, just in time. "Hey Captain, I was just giving Goren an update on the Romney case."

Captain Deakins nodded at them both before looking over at Goren, "Happy to see you make it in, we were worried something had happened to you."

"Thanks Captain," Goren replied, giving him a nod and watching as he began to walk away and back to his office. He reached for his leather binder and stared at it for a second, re-immersing himself back into his thoughts. "You have no idea…"

A/N: I hope everybody likes it so far - I'm a big GorenxEames lover, but I thought it'd be interesting to introduce someone else and see where it went. Please tell me your thoughts and suggestions in a review, even if it's just one word! :) Hugs to you all!