Jones 1x5

The shattered fragments of the two-way mirror glinted tauntingly up at Goren as they reflected Eames exiting figure. He briefly caught one last glance at her exposed shoulder blades before she turned the corner and melded into the sea of office chaos that always followed a violent incarceration. Bobby took a few more deep breaths, looking around the now disarmingly calm interrogation room. The glass Talbott punched out would cost the city a pretty penny, he knew, and yet he also knew that wasn't what that unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach was stemming from. Goren found his keen mind trying exceedingly hard to focus only on the glittering remains rather than the swirling thoughts and memories currently surrounding him.

Deciding that staying in the oppressive silence would do more harm than good, he retraced his partner's earlier footsteps. Eyes automatically reaching for her tiny figure, he found her quickly pulling on her charcoal suit jacket, a barely noticeable shudder taking hold of her. Eames was so obviously trying to rid herself of the 'slime' feeling, as she had so eloquently put it. Another wave of guilt, so familiar now, assaulted Goren upon the sight. He had thrust her into a situation she had not felt comfortable in, dangling her as bait for the creep to make a move on. Being the gentleman he was, Goren felt ashamed at the thought of objectifying his partner so. Pursing his lips and giving himself a brief mental pep-talk, he strided over to her desk, taking the handbag she had been about to reach for before she could. Eames blinked up at him in startled surprise, wordlessly asking for a clue as to his next move.

"Come on, let's get an early dinner. Your pick, my treat?" He held out the purse to her, a clear out in case she felt it was too much to cope with. Alex smiled, looking relieved at the semblance of normality. She put her hand, the one that could at that very moment be taking back the handbag indignantly, on her hip instead.

"Why, Detective First Class Goren, could you possibly be asking me to ditch the paperwork and play hooky?" She teased lightly, already opening her desk drawer for the rest of her things. Goren smiled back, though his was more subdued as he continued his attempt to reclaim emotional control.

"There are dozens of perfectly good cops who can handle it for now. Anything we need to do can wait 'til tomorrow. And if Deakins has a fit, he can always blame me. He does anyway." He said offhandedly. Alex glanced back at him as she pulled out her gun and badge from her drawer and stuffed her two best friends into the handbag.

"Oh don't sound so anti-establishment," She snarked, causing Bobby's grin to widen and grow more genuine. Straightening up, she unconsciously pulled at her low v-neck top with her free hand. Goren's eyes flitted down of their own accord before hastily flying back up to her unsuspecting face. Continuing, she said "How about Mulberry's in Little Italy? They make my martinis just like I like them!" Bobby's stomach did a little cartwheel at her inflection as she relished the memory of her favorite vodka martinis. Brushing it aside, they walked out of One PP together, heads held high, and Bobby's hand adding a gentle pressure to the small of her back...

~*~

"I still can't believe some of the things you said in there!" Alex laughed with a shake of her head, unaware of the thrill that her carefree voice had just sent up his spine. The atmosphere was so relaxing, add the martinis and scotch they'd been drinking and you could say the detectives were effectively loosened up after the tense interrogation. But somehow during the course of the conversation, they had ended up right smack-dab in the middle of that very same topic.

Alex was making light of the whole scene, as was her smooth, sarcastic, and totally Eames way, though Bobby couldn't help returning to the more... visceral emotions that had come bubbling to the surface. Watching Eames and Talbott flirting had been too... nauseating to watch, so he had focused his attention on Mrs. Talbott instead, resisting the urge to check out of the corner of his eye on the pair. He didn't like it. It was unethical to use a skilled female detective as cheese on their mousetrap. But it had been necessary. Eames had known it too, she had made some quip about how if it were a woman in there Goren would be 'laying on the charm' to 'catch her in the act'. Everything about their dialogue was fake. But somehow, Goren couldn't successfully convince all the scraps of his consciousness in every dark lonely recess of his mind. And the anger, and the envy, and the need to protect his Eames from that low-life, murdering bastard who had no right, and so he had just pushed, and pushed, and pushed, until he had drove the desperate man to attacking his wife through the mirror, and the triumph, the crash of realization, the bitter victory of having and not having—

"The whole 'size 13 thing'? Now that," Alex said with enough vigor to pull Goren from his deep musings, "Was fantastic!" Bobby gave her a small thankful grin, mentally shaking himself from whatever mood had overtaken him.

"How so?" She gaped exaggeratedly at him, clearly having had one drink too many.

"The great Robert Goren, gentleman, first class, A+ in humility... making sex joke after sex joke and euphemism after euphemism? That is a sight many a woman would pay good money to see." Bobby's cheeks turned a flattering pink as he downed the rest of his scotch.

"Now I know it's time to get you home." Eames (because calling her Alex in this instance would probably be enough to make him lose it) smiled slyly.

"And that's a line they'd kill for." She winked, and pulled out some cash to place on the table, Bobby being temporarily too stunned to protest.

Mulberry Street Bar LLC was a shout out to Dick Wolf, as many Law and Order scenes have been shot there. And as always, nothing you can recognize as canon is mine.

I will finish my Psych fic, but I just needed to let some of my CI love be recognized! God I hope my friends don't see this...