Faith and Justice

Episode: The Faithful

Character: Bobby Goren and Alex Eames

Genre: General

Trigger: "Two days. As a favor. We hold off telling Carver about Melanie Grasso." --Goren

Disclaimer: The usual. Don't own 'em, don't profit from 'em. Just doing this for fun.

Sleepless nights were nothing new to Robert Goren. His sleep was often plagued by the demons of his past, many of his mother's creation and some of his own. He honestly could not remember the last peaceful night's sleep he had gotten on his own, without the help of the bottle in the cabinet over his refrigerator. His mind was eternally busy, and even at night, it would not rest easy. He slept enough to recharge his body, but his mind was in perpetual motion.

Turning in his bed, he looked at the time. Two a.m. Four hours of restless sleep. That was about right. He slid out of bed and showered, but he was restless, so he put on a clean suit and left the apartment.

A strong wind had picked up sometime after sunset, making the February night even colder, but he didn't notice. His mind was occupied, focused on Michael McShale, sitting in a prison cell at Riker's Island on a charge of murder.

He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and continued walking as his mind shifted to Father McShale's motivation and the one day he had left of the two Eames had agreed to give him to figure out how he could protect Melanie Grasso. The secrets of her past would destroy the life she had built in Delawanna. He did not entirely agree with his partner that Mrs. Grasso owned half of what Kevin Donovan had become. Her decision to give her son up must have been a difficult one, one that he imagined continued to cause her guilt and grief, particularly after she found out what had become of him. McShale had taken on the responsibility of seeing that Kevin had a good upbringing, and he was the one who had failed on that count. The priest had spent the last twenty years protecting Melanie Grasso from what he saw as his own failure, his own sin. Love, youth, a crisis of faith...those circumstances conspired to bring Kevin Donovan into the world, and they came full circle when Kevin became a time bomb in his father's life.

Was it all worth tossing that hand grenade into Melanie Grasso's life? There was only one person who could make that decision and that was Michael McShale. As long as McShale paid for his crimes, as long as he did time for the deaths of Morris Abernathy and Kevin Donovan, he didn't think Eames would have a problem leaving Melanie Grasso untouched. Justice had many faces, and he was comfortable leaving Melanie to be judged by her conscience and her God.

That afternoon, after visiting Father McShale at Riker's, Goren returned to the squad room. "Where did you disappear to?" Eames asked.

He rubbed his chin. "I, uh, I went to see Father McShale."

"Do I want to know?"

"Later, Eames."

With a nod, she let the matter drop until the end of the day.

As Goren got ready to leave, Eames sat at her desk and watched him. He was fully aware of her scrutiny and he knew what she was waiting for. Laying his hand on his binder, he leaned over his desk toward her and said, "Let me buy you dinner."

She watched him for a moment longer before she rose from her desk and stepped around it toward him. Grabbing her coat, he held it out to her. As she took it from him, she said, "This is gonna be good."

He chose the restaurant, a little Italian place in the Village. The hostess knew him, and she seated them right away at a small table in a quiet corner, away from the hustle and bustle of the waitstaff. A young man named Georgio, who also knew Goren, took their order and promised to return quickly with their drinks. With a knowing smile, Eames commented, "Come here often?"

The corners of his mouth quirked into a small, self-conscious grin. "Once in awhile."

Once Georgio delivered their drinks, Eames said, "All right, Bobby. Let's have it. What did you do?"

"I talked to Father McShale, that's all." When she continued to stare at him, waiting, he went on, gesturing the way he did when he was making a point or explaining himself to her. Right now, he was doing both. "Eames, he did what he did to protect Melanie Grasso. Face it, McShale could have done a better job in providing a life for his son. What Kevin grew up to become...McShale played a direct hand in that. I just wanted to give him the opportunity to face up to the responsibility he placed on himself. If he really wants to protect Melanie, to keep us from dragging her into this mess he created and opening up the wounds of the past for them both, then he has to make a decision. I put the responsibility on him, where it should be." He leaned forward, his expression earnest. "That satisfies my conscience if we are forced to destroy Mrs. Grasso's life. Either way, McShale goes away for the murders he is responsible for. The choice as to how lies with him."

Before she allowed herself to get angry, Eames studied her partner's open face. Goren had his own sense of right and wrong, his own strict moral code that she was only beginning to decipher. Of one thing, she was certain. His pursuit of justice was his obsession and he would never knowingly allow a criminal to evade the law. He honestly considered Melanie Grasso to be innocent and worth protecting. For Goren's sake, and his alone, she hoped Father McShale agreed to keep her out of it.

Before she could respond to him, their salads arrived. As she mixed in her dressing, she realized Goren was waiting. Looking up at him, she saw that familiar expectant look on his face and she could not fully suppress a smile. "Are you sure you're all right with it, Bobby? If McShale chooses to go to trial, Melanie Grasso will be called to testify."

He shrugged. "I did everything I could, Eames. The chips are going to fall where they will according to the decision he makes. After going to such an extreme to protect her, it would all be in vain if he got selfish now. He's scared, but I think he still cares deeply what happens to her. He would never have killed Kevin if he didn't."

She let out a long sigh. "All right. But when the time comes to face the music with Carver, you're on your own."

He nodded as he poured dressing over his salad. "Fair enough. As long as you're okay with how it turns out."

"As long as he does his time, I'm fine."

He raised his eyes to look at her. "Thank you."

She smiled at the little boy expression on his face. Sometimes, he was able to hit a home run, directly into her heart. "I think you're good for dessert tonight, too."

With a smile, he turned back to his salad.