History Heartwarming / LawAndOrderCriminalIntent

** Both moments are very brief, but there's Goren comforting Rodgers and then Eames about Ross's murder at the crime scene.

* Goren and Eames confronting the FBI at the scene of Captain Ross's murder in "Loyalty" is equal parts TearJerker, heartwarming, and [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome]], showing that despite their differences with him over the years, they considered him not only to be their respected captain, but also their friend, the latter of which they even state outright.

* In season 9, Alex taking the Captain's job just long enough to ensure Goren is treated kindly in his exit interview before resigning as a police officer, unable to continue on the job without her beloved partner. Cue massive, ''massive'' [[FanPreferredCouple shipping squee]] and one of the most satisfying exits for a pair of characters in television history (until they came back for season 10; thankfully, their ultimate exit was no less satisfying).

* Bobby's brother Frank misunderstands the nature of his relationship with Eames, and tells their mother that Bobby has a girlfriend. She insists on meeting Eames, and it's both hilarious and sweet. Bobby's almost bashful when he tells her, laughing a little, that "My mother wants to meet you."
* Goren rarely calls Eames by her first name, but when they conclude that her husband's supposed murderer was wrongfully convicted, he calls her "Alex" and everyone in the audience squees.
** Earlier in the episode, we see Goren - who is out on bereavement leave following the death of his mother - ignoring his landline phone when he's being called about the current case. We then see him a few minutes later talking on his cell phone with Eames, thanking her for calling him and telling her he's on his way. He wasn't willing to take the regular call, but he will never ignore his partner when she needs him.

** The episode in which Alex is kidnapped is a combination of this and TearJerker. Alex is the one person who really loves and understands Goren, and he is ''destroyed'' by her disappearance. We only see him being himself again when he's back at her side.

* Eames's testimony in "In the Wee Small Hours" where she is forced to read a letter she wrote asking for a new partner. As she explains, the camera cuts between her devastated face and his hurt-yet-sympathetic face. She says he is an "acquired taste"; in the hallway afterwards, he cuts off her apology and agrees that he ''is'' an acquired taste and was lucky she withdrew the letter.

* Eames is out for a few episodes because it's late in her pregnancy, and Goren is assigned a temporary replacement partner. He doesn't dislike the woman; she's just ''not Alex.'' At one point, frustrated at his inability to solve the current crime, he balls up a piece of paper and flings it at her empty desk chair - and suddenly, his own emotions make him realize why the killer has done what he's done. "He misses his partner," he says, and while he's talking about the perp, it's obvious that he's talking about himself too.
** The same episode ends with him joyfully receiving the news that Eames has given birth to a healthy baby boy and is doing very well. His smile says it all.

* After seeing how intense Goren usually is while interrogating suspects, there's something sort of heartwarming about him being calmer and gentler with the eye doctor from "See Me" [[BreakThemByTalking (while still getting a confession} ]] because he realized beforehand that the man has schizophrenia and was [[WellIntentionedExtremist legitimately trying to cure his patients of it]]. This is where we first learn that Goren's mother has schizophrenia as well. At the end of the episode, as the perp is being taken away to be institutionalized, we see Goren talking on the phone with someone. Nothing is stated outright, but it's implied to be his mom he's speaking to.

* After seeing how intense Goren usually is while interrogating suspects, there's something sort of heartwarming about him being calmer and gentler with the eye doctor from "See Me" (while still [[BreakThemByTalking getting a confession]]) because he realized beforehand that the man has schizophrenia and was [[WellIntentionedExtremist legitimately trying to cure his patients of it]]. This is where we first learn that Goren's mother has schizophrenia as well. At the end of the episode, as the perp is being taken away to be institutionalized, we see Goren talking on the phone with someone. Nothing is stated outright, but it's implied to be his mom he's speaking to.

* After seeing how intense Goren usually gets while interrogating suspects, there's something sort of heartwarming about him being calmer and gentler with the eye doctor from "See Me" (while still [[BreakThemByTalking getting a confession]]) because he realized beforehand that the man has schizophrenia and was [[WellIntentionedExtremist legitimately trying to cure his patients of it]]. This is where we first learn that Goren's mother has schizophrenia as well. At the end of the episode, as the perp is being taken away to be institutionalized, we see Goren talking on the phone with someone. Nothing is stated outright, but it's implied to be his mom he's speaking to.

* After seeing how intense Goren usually gets while interrogating suspects, there's something sort of heartwarming about him being calmer and gentler with the eye doctor from "See Me" (while still [[BreakThemByTalking getting a confession]]) because he realized beforehand that the man has schizophrenia and was [[WellIntentionedExtremist legitimately trying to cure his patients of it]]. This is where we first learn that Goren's mother has schizophrenia as well. At the end of the episode, as the perp is being taken away to be institutionalized, we see Goren talking on the phone with someone. Nothing is stated outright, but it's implied to be his mother.

* In a convoluted sort of way, the following: In "Gemini" (Season Two, Episode Two), the bad guy of the episode just melts down while in session with his paranoid schizophrenic brother. He just blows up and starts screaming about how said brother was a hindrance and a burden and useless. The brother looks at him, visibly saddened. As they cart the bad guy out, his brother turns to him and says:
-->"It's okay, Spence. We're still brothers."

-->'''Goren''': You're not weak. You’re strong. You lived through it.

* Goren doing a magic trick with a crayon for a little girl in "Crazy" is [[FriendToAllChildren pretty cute]].

* In one episode, a cop [[spoiler:who has killed his stepdaughter]] is holding both partners at gunpoint in a room in his house. Goren is doing his best to be calm, and he agrees that he will stay and remain the man's hostage - "but you've got to let my partner go." He successfully negotiates for Eames to be allowed to leave. (Granted, [[spoiler:the cop says afterward that he let her go because he doesn't want to kill her]], but that doesn't make Goren's efforts to protect her any less this trope.)

* In "The Prisoner," Goren and Eames begin investigating the case of a prison warden whose wife was held for ransom for over a decade and seemed to have developed Stockholm Syndrome. [[spoiler: It then turned out the warden had actually paid one of his prisoners to kill his wife in exchange for his freedom, but the prisoner simply held her for three days and let her go, only she had nowhere else to go and had no desire to go back to her husband. She was trying to acquire a loan to start a greeting card company, and the warden feared that a credit check would reveal the money he had stolen and placed in an old account under her parents' names. Beyond that, the husband is an emotionally manipulative asshole whose philosophy on women is that there are two kinds, "showdogs and mutts." Goren and Eames trick him into revealing that he is still the condescending asshole he was ten years ago to get the wife to confess that he's been lying, and while they're dragging him away, Goren tells the wife that she's free to leave. She realizes after all those years she really is and quietly thanks the two.]]

* In season 9, Alex [[spoiler:taking the Captain's job just long enough to ensure Goren is treated kindly in his exit interview]] before [[spoiler:resigning as a police officer, unable to continue on the job without her beloved partner]]. Cue massive, ''massive'' [[FanPreferredCouple shipping squee]] and one of the most satisfying exits for a pair of characters in television history (until they came back for season 10; thankfully, their ultimate exit was no less satisfying).
* Goren and Eames confronting the FBI at the scene of [[spoiler: Captain Ross's murder in "Loyalty" is equal parts TearJerker, heartwarming, and [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome]], showing that despite their differences with him over the years, they considered him not only to be their respected captain, but also their friend, the latter of which they even state outright.]]

* Even though it didn't work out, there's something heartwarming about the fact that Donny takes the massive risk of escaping not for the purpose of saving himself (or he would have done it when he first began to fear for his life), but rather to save Goren, an uncle he'd only met a few days earlier. Goren has spent his entire life sacrificing for his family (including in this episode), and now for quite possibly the first time ''in his life'', instead of everyone just taking and taking, someone recognizes the sacrifice and cares enough to do the same for him. (It makes the ending, which indicates Goren will likely not be seeing Donny anytime soon, that much more of a TearJerker though.)

* Even though it didn't work out, there's something heartwarming about the fact that Donny takes the massive risk of escaping not for the purpose of saving himself (or he would have done it when he first began to fear for his life), but rather to save Goren, an uncle he'd only met a few days earlier. Goren has spent his entire life sacrificing for his family (including in this episode), and now for quite possibly the first time ''in his life'', instead of everyone just taking and taking, he has a relative who recognizes the sacrifice and cares enough to do the same for him. (It makes the ending, which indicates Goren will likely not be seeing Donny anytime soon, that much more of a TearJerker though.)

* Even though it didn't work out, there's something heartwarming about the fact that Donny takes the massive risk of escaping not for the purpose of saving himself (or he would have done it when he first began to fear for his life), but rather to save Goren, an uncle he'd only met a few days earlier. Goren has spent his entire life sacrificing for his family (including in this episode), and now for quite possibly the first time ''in his life'', instead of everyone just taking and taking, he has a relative who recognizes the sacrifice and cares enough to do the same for him. (It makes the ending that much more of a TearJerker though, since it makes Goren losing Donny that much more significant.)