by spookycc
Summary: Eames gets a troubling call from her partner...
Spoilers: Brother's Keeper, Endgame, Untethered
Timeline: This story takes place during Goren's suspension after Untethered. B/A established close friendship (but nothing more!
WARNING: Character death.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in here. The LOCI characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC/USA/ Universal. I'm just taking them for a spin, and I'll return them relatively unharmed. ;-)
THANK YOU to my beta and best friend, my little sister JudyG!
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Now Playing: My Dark Life by Elvis Costello
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No Splash
Alex Eames closed her cell phone and grabbed her car keys. She'd had many strange calls from her partner before, but this one was cryptic and frightening. She raced out the door of her apartment and to her car. She remembered at the last moment to fasten her seatbelt, as she took off for lower Manhattan.
A short drive later she arrived at her destination - one of many skyscrapers in Manhattan. This one was largely unoccupied, and there was no guard at the front desk as she rushed to the elevator.
Eames punched the button R for roof, and waited impatiently as it ascended through the largely unleased building. She opened the door to the rooftop, and stopped dead in her tracks. Fear pounded furiously in her chest.
Her partner Robert Goren was standing perilously near the edge of the roof, his back to her, the wind whipping his coat.
Eames stood still for a moment, afraid to move closer, but more afraid NOT to.
"Bobby?" her voice sounded shaky even to her. She had no idea what had brought him here, but she had to get through to him. She couldn't let him - she shook that thought off.
If her partner heard her, he gave no indication that he had. He didn't move; his arms hung at his sides as though weighted there.
Eames moved slowly closer, her heart racing uncontrollably. "Bobby?" she repeated. "Please come here."
This time he heard her. He turned his head toward her voice, just a bit.
Eames took that as a cue to move forward. She walked to his side, and tentatively reached out to touch his arm. She didn't want to alarm him, but she needed to make contact with him, to bring him back from wherever he was.
Goren didn't flinch when she touched him. He didn't move at all.
"Bobby, come back from the edge, OK?" She put an arm loosely around him. "Come back here with me."
Goren let himself be maneuvered away from the edge of the building, and Eames led him to a nearby heating unit.
When she released him, he slumped to a sitting position, his back resting against the bulky metal unit. He laid his head in his hands, scrubbing at his eyes with his palms.
"Talk to me, Bobby," Eames encouraged, as she knelt beside him.
Goren was silent for a few moments, before he spoke. "No splash."
Eames' eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. "Wh - what did you say?"
"There was no splash, no bridge," Goren spoke as if those words explained everything.
"I'm sorry, Bobby, I don't understand."
"I told him I wouldn't come - but I did."
Eames pulled Goren's cell phone from his pocket, hoping to learn what the hell he was talking about. The last call before he called her was incoming. From Frank.
A light went on in Eames' mind, and the panic that had filled her heart since her partner's call eased a bit. She left Goren sitting with his head in his hands, and went back to the edge of the rooftop. Many stories below, in an alley, she saw a figure lying on the ground, arms and legs at impossible angles. She couldn't have identified who it was from this many floors up, but she knew even without seeing the body more closely who it must be.
Eames came back and sat next to Goren. She put an arm around him, and to her surprise, he leaned into her, not attempting to hide or slow his tears.
"It'll be ok, Bobby," Eames knew the words were useless as soon as she spoke them. "Do you want to talk?"
Bobby shook his head. "I ca- I can't."
"That's ok." Eames ran her fingers slowly through her partner's black-gray hair as he buried his face in her shoulder. It was as though he thought he could hide there and be safe from his demons. She only wished that were true.
They sat together for a short while, until Eames could feel that sobs no longer wracked his body. "Do you want to go home?" she asked.
Goren shook his head. "I have to - I need to call someone about... about..."
"I'll take care of the calls, Bobby," Eames assured him.
Goren heaved a huge sigh, and nodded against her shoulder, in silent thanks. He had always towered above her, yet now he felt small and almost frail to her.
Finally, he leaned back against the heating unit and rested the back of his head against it.
"Eames..."
"I'm here."
"I wish - I'm sorry I dragged you up here."
"It's alright. I want to help." She laid a hand atop one of his, and he put his other hand over hers.
"I told Frank that I - I wouldn't come if he called me." Goren spoke so softly that Eames had to lean in against the wind, to hear him.
"But you did," she added.
Goren nodded. "I tried... I couldn't stop him. He was on - he was strung out."
"You did everything you could have, Bobby. You know he's not responsible when he's using," Eames reassured him.
"Shoulda tried harder. Shoulda seen it coming. Should've-"
"Bobby, please. You can't blame yourself for all the tragedy in your family."
He lifted his head and looked at her, then. "I don't have any family... not anymore..."
"You still have Donny," Eames reminded him. "You'll find him."
Goren shook his head sadly. "It's been two months..."
"We'll find him. I'll help, if you'll let me." Thus far, Goren had not allowed anyone to help in his search. He researched Donny's friends, he travelled to Pennsylvania, he wandered through the busy streets of New York. All to no avail.
Goren looked straight at Eames, then. "I think - I'd like you to help."
Eames smiled, relieved that he was at least communicating, and that he would accept her offer of assistance.
"C'mon, let's go get some coffee. I'll make those calls for you." Eames stood, and Goren followed her lead.
To her surprise, he opened his arms, and she found herself lost in a bear hug. "Thanks," he whispered in the air above her ear.
~~fini~~
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