Title: 5 Robert Gorens who never happened to …
Author:
raz0r.girl
Archive:
just let me know. raz0rdotgirlatyahoodotcom
Summary: Shorts in the "5 things" format. AU Bobby Gorens and the women
who encounter him. A little fluff. A little angst.
Rating:
T, though one chapter will probably be M
Disclaimer:
Dick Wolf, NBC, et.al. own 'em. I just dig 'em. I also have no
money, so a lawsuit would be futile.
A/N:
I love "5 things" fics. I also love "what ifs," so there you
go. The biggest "what if" in all five pieces is Who might Bobby
Goren be if his circumstances were a little different? This is my
first fan fiction since writing ST:TNG parodies when I was in middle
school (a long time ago). I've been enjoying reading CI fics so
much I figured I'd get in on the action. Please R&R if you're
so inclined. Update: fixed a few typos.
1. … Carolyn Barek
Carolyn Barek can't help but smile at the cascade of emotions running through her. She's proud that she's helped solve what turned out to be a convoluted case and relieved that in doing so, she's helped take several dangerous people off the streets and, more importantly, eliminated a business front that turned out to be funding terrorist recruitment efforts. But then there's the disappointment. Closing the case (and finishing the mountain of paperwork attached to it) means that her tenure as a liaison to the NYPD Major Case Squad is over, and that means leaving New York to return to claustrophobic confines of her tiny Bureau office.
Say good-bye to the real world, Carolyn, she thinks to herself as she gathers up files from her temporary desk and begins to pack her briefcase.
She feels him behind her before he says anything, pulling her out of her reverie.
"Barek," Bobby Goren says, "Eames and I are going out for dinner and maybe a drink afterwards. You interested?"
Carolyn turns around and nods at him.
"Hell, yes," she says. "Let me just finish packing up here. I need to say a few good-byes, and then I'll be ready."
"Sounds good. Just stop by our desks when you're ready to go."
"I will," she says.
She watches him walk away and smiles to herself. Since she came to work with the Major Case Squad just over two months ago, she's gone to dinner with Goren and Eames several times, but each time, he still asks almost formally, down to his habit of calling her by her last name – a holdover from his military career, she suspects, and a sign of respect.
After a pleasant dinner, they head to what's become their regular bar for the duration of Carolyn's stay. It's a few blocks from her hotel, the drinks are good, and it's quiet enough that they can actually talk. They spend their last evening together laughing and trading stories from their uniform days.
It's not even 10 when Eames stands up and says she has to go.
"Early morning with my nephew," she says in explanation as she pulls on her leather jacket, "and I need some decent sleep. I swear, if I could bottle and sell his energy, I could retire to some tropical paradise."
"Margaritas every night," Carolyn says.
"Amen, sister," Eames replies with a smile. "Good luck, Carolyn. It was great working with you."
"You too, Alex."
"Let us know if you're ever back in New York."
"I will."
Eames turns to her partner and asks, "Will you be alright getting home?"
"Sure, Eames. Have a good night."
"Don't keep him up too long," Eames says, turning back to Carolyn, "even if he does have the day off tomorrow."
Carolyn's not sure, but she thinks she sees a mischievous glint in the blonde woman's eyes. "I'll be good, I promise," she says.
"Not too good, I hope," Eames says as she walks away from the table.
Carolyn and Bobby order another round of drinks and talk for another hour before she accepts his offer to walk her back to her hotel. She draws a deep breath as they step out of the bar.
"God, I missed New York!" she says, as she closes her eyes for a moment.
"What made you leave?" Bobby asks.
"I was transferred on special assignment after 9/11. It was supposed to be a temporary thing, but four years later, I'm still there."
He nods and says, "It's important work."
"It is, when it's organized and the lines of communication are open enough for us to get anything done."
They walk the rest of the way to her hotel in companionable silence. He comes with her into the lobby where he smiles, and she knows he's about to say his good-byes.
She looks up at him and says, "I have a great bottle of wine I don't plan to take back with me. You're welcome to come up and share it."
She's watched him – heard the rumors – knows enough about him to know that if he accepts her invitation, she'll likely have a night to remember. He agrees to join her, and she does have such a night. Just not in the way she'd thought she would. Instead, she finds herself sitting on her couch with him engaged in the kind of all-night conversation she hasn't had with a man in years – the kind where they talk as if they've known each other for a lifetime. She enjoys it as they share details of their lives and interests and motivations.
It's after 3am when there's a lull in their conversation and she feels something shift in the air between them.
The quiet lingers for a few moments before he says, "I'm … curious to know what you think of me."
Carolyn looks into her glass as she swirls around the last few drops of wine. She sighs, then asks, "Do you want my honest answer?"
"Yes," Bobby says, so softly she barely hears him.
"I'm very attracted to you. You know that. Alex definitely knows it. Hell, it would probably be faster to list who doesn't." She chuckles. "I think you'd be an easy man to fall for, and part of me thinks I already have. But another part knows that you'd be a hard man to get close to. I think you've held people at arm's length for your own protection for so long that you might not know how to let anyone in. And I'd love to try with you, but I know it's a risk. You have long arms, Bobby. Something tells me you'd know how to win a woman's heart and break it at the same time. And a big part of me wants to forget my reservations and take you to bed for what's left of the night. But the biggest part of all thinks that you're too wonderful to waste on a one-night stand."
She looks up to see Bobby nodding, wondering if he's even conscious of the movement. She then looks back into her glass. He tilts his head downward to catch and hold her gaze. She finds she can't let go of his eyes. It amazes her how with such a similar movement, she's seen him intimidate suspects – set them off their guard. The look he gives her is intimidating in another way – it's full of possibilities and just a glimmer of the pain she suspects is part of the foundation of who he is.
"Fair enough," he eventually says. "Would you like to know … what I think of you?"
"Yes," she says. His sometimes halting voice has her full attention.
"I think you're brilliant. Far too intelligent and … driven … to stay in a job you hate. And while you're too professional to say it, I know you can't stand it. There's a … a calm about you that I'm drawn to, and I'm in awe of the way you connect with the world. I could get lost in your eyes forever, and I'm dying to have all the conversations we could have. If you do what I know you want to do and move back to New York … I promise to do my damnedest not to break your heart, Carolyn. Because believe me … I'd want more than one night."
She's tempted to break the tension with a flip comment about the dangers of two profilers exploring the idea of a relationship, but decides it would be sidestepping the real issue – that there's something undeniable between them that might be worth the risks they're both afraid of taking.
Instead, she says, "Be careful, Bobby, because I'll hold you to it."
"I wouldn't expect any less," he says.
She shivers as he takes her glass from her hand and places it behind him on an end table then closes the gap between them to kiss her.
"What time does your flight leave?" he whispers, his lips hovering by her ear.
"1 o'clock," she says.
"Plenty of time," he replies and kisses her again, this time more deeply.
"It doesn't have to be one night," she says when they break the kiss.
He nods and says, "It could just be the first."
"It's morning, anyway," she says, and she leans into him, wanting to be the one to initiate their next embrace.
She kisses him, and feels the corners of his mouth turn up into a smile as he leans back and pulls her on top of him.
He's there when she wakes up, late in the morning. She suspects that he's been up for a while, watching her sleep. She's surprised at how pleased she feels that he hasn't left.
When she's ready to check out, he helps her carry her luggage to the lobby and makes arrangements with the concierge to hold it so he can take her to brunch in the hotel's restaurant. As they talk over their meal, she finds herself smiling at the lovely way she's spent her last hours in New York.
It's when he kisses her good-bye as she gets into a cab to head to the airport that she realizes she will put in a transfer request as soon as she gets back to her office. With or without Bobby Goren, she belongs in New York, and she hopes it will be with him.
A/N: Okay, just a little indulgence of my secret CI 'ship. I just can't resist the idea of two profilers getting together. The "what if" is What if Barek never left the FBI, but one day crossed paths with Bobby?
Next up … Lynn Bishop.