Title: She's Not His Irene Adler
A gift for Squarey in the Law & Order Secret Santa exchange.
Characters: Goren, Nicole Wallace
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: The first quote is from 6.01 Blind Spot, the rest from 5.01 Grow.

She's not his archenemy or his nemesis or anything so removed as that. She's his alter ego, his "could've gone either way" (and maybe both ways are more closely entwined than he could ever admit without taking refuge in a bottle or a line of white powder).

So when he says, "A normal life is not for you," or "You are not safe to be around. Too much damage has been done," or "If you want to save yourself, you have to face up to who you are," he's not trying to snare a dangerous criminal or rescue an innocent little girl. He's speaking to his reflection in the mirror and hoping against hope that one of them will listen.