Disclaimers: I don't own 'The Rookies' and I never will.
Title: Heat Wave
Summary: Mike gets promoted to detective and is assigned a new partner. His first case involves a dead toddler found in a chest freezer.
A/N: This story is set after the end of the series. Unlike almost all of my other stories, this one doesn't focus primarily on Mike and Jill Danko, but on Willie Gillis and his wife, Jennifer.
This is also the first in a trifecta of stories that introduces Mike's new partner, Lt. Steve Brinker. Lt. Brinker is a man of many quirks.
There will be a reference to Faye Kellerman's 'Decker/Lazarus' series later in this chapter.
Chapter 1 – Oppressive Heat and the New Detective
It was an oppressively hot April afternoon. Jill Danko had tried driving home with the air conditioner running in her vintage 1970 Camaro, but the temperature gauge on the thermostat quickly shot in the red zone, so she shut off the air and rolled down her windows. She wasn't in the mood to overheat in the middle of the 405, especially when she had precious cargo in the car with her.
She glanced in the rearview mirror at her 21-month-old daughter, Mary Kathryn, who was happily singing to the baby doll on her lap. The heat didn't seem to bother Mary Kathryn at all, while her mother felt as if she was going to wilt away. It'd been like this for days now, and there didn't seem to be any relief in sight. Jill cringed at the thought of what August was going to be like if it was already this hot in April.
She relished the thought of a cool shower and a tall glass of iced tea as she exited the freeway and headed for home. She hoped that Mike was home so he could keep an eye on Mary Kathryn for half an hour. Or, she hoped he could take a break from his endless studying.
Mike was studying for the upcoming detective's exam, and to say he was grouchy would be something of an understatement. When he wasn't on duty, he had his books spread out on their dining room table, barking at Jill to please do something with Mary Kate so he could study. He didn't have time for friends anymore, it seemed to Jill. When the guys did come over, which was less and less often of late, all he could do was talk about the upcoming test. Would he pass? What if they asked him something he didn't know? Both Terry and Willie had commented to Jill that they were sick of it. She told them she didn't blame them. After all, she was the one who had to live with him.
Willie Gillis and his wife Jennifer had come back home to Southern California several months before and Willie had teamed up again with his former partner, much to Terry Webster's delight, especially after the departure of his other partner Chris Owens almost a year before. Jill found herself liking Jennifer very much and adored Thomas, Willie and Jen's three-year-old son. The little boy with the mop of dark brown curls was the image of his father and he got along great with Mary Kathryn. Lately Jennifer hadn't been herself and Jill kept meaning to go over and see what was going on. Maybe she could take Mary Kathryn over later and let her grouchy husband study in peace and quiet.
She pulled into the driveway and heaved a sigh of relief as she shut off the engine. It was so good to be home. She loved the house they'd bought shortly after Mary Kathryn's birth and she loved her neighbors. Terry lived across the street while Willie and Jen lived three houses down. It was almost like the apartment. She got up and removed Mary Kathryn from the backseat before closing the car door. It was then that she saw the huge dog come trotting up. She almost groaned aloud as Mary Kathryn hopped up and down with excitement. "Charlie!" She cried out happily as the large black Labrador Retriever began licking her face.
"Sorry about that, Miz Danko," an older man ran into the driveway and grabbed Charlie by his collar. "I tried to stop him, but you know how Charlie loves the kids."
"It's okay, Mr. Simpson," Jill said in a tight voice as she lifted Mary Kathryn into her arms, at the little girl began struggling in protest. "It's just that he's bigger than she is."
"Oh, but he'd never hurt her," the old man assured her. "He'd probably even protect her if it ever came to that. Come on, Charlie. Let's go home."
"Charlie!" Mary Kathryn cried as Jill walked up the walkway to the front door and unlocked it before setting her daughter down on the floor. "Charlie!"
"You can play with Charlie later," Jill told her. "Go see if daddy's home."
Mike was sitting at the dining room table with a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose when Mary Kate came charging into the room. "Daddy!" She called out in glee as he smiled and scooped her into his arms.
"Hi, pumpkin," he planted kisses on her face as Jill walked in, looking wilted from the heat. "Hi, babe," he got up and kissed her.
"Mike, can you please talk to Mr. Simpson again about that dog?" She begged as she walked over to the refrigerator and removed a pitcher of tea. "I'm afraid that he's going to knock her down the way he just charges up to her."
"Jill, Labs are the gentlest dogs there are, especially around kids. Charlie would never hurt her. But, I'll talk to Mr. Simpson," he conceded when he saw the look on her face.
"Thank you. Can you watch Mary Kathryn for 20 minutes or so while I take a shower?"
"Yeah, I need a break, anyway," he decided as he got up. "Come on, Mary Kate. Let's go play on the swings."
Jill went upstairs and into their master bedroom, removing a pair of worn jeans and a t-shirt before going into the bathroom and turning on the shower. She stripped and got under the water, instantly feeling her body temperature lower. Lately, they'd been debating the issue of putting in a pool. The drawbacks were not only Mary Kathryn, but the neighborhood children, as well. The neighborhood was filled with children of all ages and all of them seemed to love Mike. Jill worried about the possibility of lawsuits if one of these children were to get into their backyard and drown in a pool. The very thought gave her nightmares. So, they'd both come to the conclusion that a swing set and a small wading pool would have to suffice for the time being.
When she went out on the back patio almost half an hour later, Mike was pushing Mary Kathryn on one of the swings. The swing set was a work of art, handmade by Eddie Ryker and Mike. It had every conceivable piece of gym equipment that a child could possibly want. Swings, a slide, a trapeze bar and what looked like a fort. Thomas and Mary Kathryn loved it and would play on it happily for hours at a time.
She walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist as he continued to push Mary Kate on the swing. "Thank you," she whispered as she kissed his neck.
"I know I'm an ogre, but it'll be over soon," he smiled as he stopped the swing.
"I'm keeping that in mind. What do you want for dinner?"
"I got some chops out to grill if you want to invite the guys over. I thought I'd throw some corn on the cob and potatoes on, as well. We can eat out here," he suggested as Jill made a face. "Or, we can eat inside."
"I like that idea better. I'll go call the guys," she said as she watched Mike remove Mary Kathryn from the swing. She walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone, dialing Willie's number first. Jen answered on the second ring. "Jen, it's Jill. Mike was going to throw some chops on the barbecue and was wondering if you guys wanted to come over."
"Uh, yeah, sure," Jen replied hesitantly after a few seconds.
"Jen, is something wrong? Did I call at a bad time?"
"No, everything's okay. I guess I'm just tired. We'll be over in 45 minutes or so," Jen said as she ended the call.
Jill didn't have time to think about what was going on with her friend as she dialed Terry's number. Luckily, Terry was agreeable to the idea of a barbecue, as well. "Just do me a favor," he told her. "Tell Mike that if he says one word about that test, I'm going to shove a beer bottle down his throat."
"Okay," Jill laughed as she hung up the phone and relayed Terry's message to Mike.
"My God, am I that bad?" He asked as he looked at his wife.
"Yes," she answered back as she went to the refrigerator to take out vegetables for a salad.
***MJMJMJ***
Over at the Gillis', Jennifer Gillis bit back a wave of nausea as she listened to her young son playing upstairs. While she normally wouldn't mind an evening at Mike and Jill's, right now all she felt like doing was going to bed and sleeping for a week. But, of course she couldn't do that when she had Thomas to look after. She knew what the nausea probably meant and the thought troubled her. She wasn't sure she was ready for another baby.
When William had come back to Ohio in the spring of 1974 to care for his dying father, Jennifer had been busy teaching kindergarten and first graders. She'd known William since they'd been in school together. Her best friend had been his girlfriend since high school, but they had broken up more than a year before William's return and Nancy would never tell her the reason why. Just that it had something to do with William being a police officer. Jennifer had started dating him after running into him at a 4th of July barbecue. Things had moved pretty quickly after that. Marriage hadn't even been in the picture until she'd discovered in late January of 1975 that she was pregnant. They got married in April and Thomas was born in October. Now going on four years old, Jennifer and William loved him dearly, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to go through this again.
Her pregnancy had been a nightmare. She had morning sickness day and night for four months, and then she gained a monstrous amount of weight and finally, the icing on the cake was a labor that lasted more than 40 hours. By the time she finally delivered Thomas, she was screaming for somebody to just kill her. After he was finally born, she'd discovered the reasons for her nightmare labor and delivery. Thomas was huge, weighing almost nine pounds and she learned that his head had been crosswise in the birth canal rather than coming straight down. She told William that she didn't care about the reasons, all she knew was she was never doing that again. The only good thing was at least William's father got to see his namesake grandson before he died. He passed away a month after Thomas' birth.
Since Thomas' birth, Jen had been diligent about birth control, but she knew that nothing was 100 percent. She knew that if she were indeed pregnant, she'd just have to learn to live with it because abortion was out of the question. She could never do that to William.
***MJMJMJ***
Later that evening, everybody sat around Mike and Jill's huge dining room table, laughing and swapping stories. The party began breaking up when the kids started getting whiny and cranky. "I'm going to put her to bed," Jill announced as she picked up Mary Kathryn and left the room.
"I guess we should head home too," Willie said reluctantly as he watched his son clinging to his mother.
"Take him," Jen said as she handed Thomas over to William. "I have to ask Jill about something. I'll be right back."
Jill was changing Mary Kathryn into her pajamas when Jen came into the bedroom. "I was coming right back. I think she can skip story time for one night."
"I need to ask you something," Jen began hesitantly as Jill moved Mary Kathryn over to her crib and lowered her into it. "I haven't been here long enough to get the best doctors, except for Thomas' pediatrician, so I was wondering if you could give me the number of your OB/GYN."
"Yeah, although I had to switch recently. The doctor who delivered Mary Kathryn retired not too long ago. But, my new doctor is wonderful and best of all, it's a woman," Jill smiled. "Can I ask you a question? Do you think . . . ?"
"That I'm pregnant?" Jen asked as Jill nodded. "I don't know, but I'm beginning to think so. Do you and Mike talk about having another baby?"
"Sometimes, but I told him that I want to wait at least until I can get her out of diapers and talking so that we can understand her," she smiled as they walked out of the bedroom and she pulled the door closed behind her. "How do you feel about the possibility?"
"I don't know," Jen admitted honestly. "I know that I should be thrilled, but then I remember everything about being pregnant with Thomas, and . . . " she shuddered at the memory. "Please don't say anything to Mike until I know."
"I won't," Jill promised as they went downstairs and rejoined the men. "I'll get you Dr. Harris' number."
Mike was lying in bed later waiting for Jill to come out of the bathroom. "Babe, I was thinking," he called out when the bathroom door opened.
"About what?"
"Well, Mary Kate's birthday is coming up in a few months, and I was thinking about maybe throwing her a party," he looked toward the door as Jill stuck her head out and glared at him. "What's wrong with giving our kid a birthday party?"
"Do you remember her first birthday party? You have to because I know that you were there. It was courtesy of your parent's. It was a traditional Italian birthday party with every conceivable relative known to your family. There must've been 100 people at that party. I didn't know a third of those people. I'm betting that you didn't know a third of those people. Mary Kathryn was cranky and overwhelmed by all of the attention. No, we're not doing that again," she said as she began to brush her teeth.
"I don't want to do that again, either," he told her. "I was just thinking of us and the guys. We can ask Eddie if we can have it at the cottage. Just a small party with cake, ice cream, and maybe a piñata."
"Hotdogs and hamburgers?" She mumbled with a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Exactly."
"I'll think about it," she rinsed her mouth and came to bed. "You know we're going to have to at least invite your parents."
"My parents only, not the rest of the family," he told her as he kissed her.
"I thought that she was going to need therapy about her first birthday. Hell, I thought that I was going to need therapy after that party," she sighed.
"Hey, at least you didn't get stuck with the cleanup," he smiled as she rolled her eyes.
***MJMJMJ***
Saturday morning, Mike arrived at the police academy at eight o'clock sharp to take the test for detective. He was surprised at how many officers had shown up for the test. He took a deep breath as he took his seat for the eight-hour long test. When he turned in his papers along with everyone else at the end of the day he found himself second guessing many of his answers. 'Oh, well,' he thought to himself. 'There's not anything I can do about it now.'
Back at home, Jill had been fielding phone calls all afternoon from everybody wanting to know if Mike was home yet. She told everybody no, but she'd have him call the moment he arrived. Moments after she'd hung up for the last time, she heard the garage door raising. Mike entered the kitchen moments later. "Hi," she greeted him as she got up and kissed him. "You're very popular today. Everybody and their brother has been calling wanting to know if you've gotten home, yet. So, how was it?"
"Hard," he replied as he walked over and got a beer from the refrigerator. "Where's Mary Kate?"
"Amanda called this morning and offered to take her for the day. I think she said something about taking her and Tori to the water park."
He nodded as he took a long swallow of his beer. "What time is she bringing her back?"
"I don't know. In an hour or so, I guess. She asked me if I'd have a problem with Tori maybe baby-sitting for us when school lets out this summer. I told her that I'd have to talk to you," she said as she walked over and took a soda from the refrigerator and popped it opened.
"I don't know, babe. Tori's only 12 years old. Mary Kate's a lot of kid for an adult. If she were a couple of years older, I'd probably say yes."
"That's exactly what I told Amanda, but I did promise both of them that I'd talk to you. Don't worry about it. The current arrangements are working out fine," she said as she walked over to him and kissed him once again. "Go relax and I'll fix you some dinner. You must be starving."
While Jill fixed dinner, Mike tried to relax in between phone calls. Yes, the test was hard. No, he didn't know when he'd learn how he did. It was the same questions over and over. By the time the doorbell rang at close to seven o'clock, he was happy for the reprieve. He opened the front door to find Jill's sister Amanda standing there with her 12-year-old daughter Tori. "There's my girl!" Mike smiled happily as he took the baby from Amanda and smothered her tiny face with kisses. "Come on in," he beckoned to them as he stepped away from the door.
"We can't stay. I told Paul that I wouldn't be long. Here's her bag and tell Jill that she's already had dinner," Amanda handed the diaper bag to Mike.
"Uncle Mike, did Aunt Jill talk to you about letting me baby-sit this summer?" Tori asked anxiously.
"Tori, if you were just a couple of years older, my answer would probably be yes. But, Mary Kate's a handful even for her mother and me. She's at the age where she's into everything. Maybe next summer we can talk about it again," he told her as Tori cast her eyes down. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry about it. We'll talk to you later, Mike," Amanda smiled as she put a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Tell Jill that I'll call her later."
"Okay," Mike said as they left and he closed the door before looking at his small daughter, who looked a little sunburned, but none the worse for wear after her day at the water park. "Did you go swimming today?"
"Water," the little girl announced as her blue-green eyes opened wide. "Big water, daddy."
"I thought I heard the door," Jill said as she came into the room. "Dinner's going to be ready soon. Amanda said she'd give her dinner before dropping her off, so why don't you take her upstairs and give her a bath and put her to bed. That way we can eat in peace and quiet."
Mary Kate was so exhausted from her day with her aunt and cousin that Mike didn't have to fight to get her out of the tub after bathing her. He wrapped her in a bath towel and carried her into her bedroom, where he dressed her in a diaper and a cotton gown before settling down in the white rocker with her and a storybook. She didn't even make it through two pages before he felt her body sag heavily against him. He picked her up and gently laid her in her crib, covering her with her favorite blanket and placing her favorite baby doll at her side before leaving the room and pulling the door partially closed behind him.
"We should send her out for the day more often," he smiled as he walked into the dining room where Jill was setting the table. "I think she went to sleep in record time."
"You covered her with the right blanket and put the right doll beside her, didn't you?" Jill looked at him as he nodded. "So, when will you find out about the test?"
"I don't know," he said as he sat down at the table. "I don't know if I'll receive the results in the mail or if Older will get them and let me know. The instructor said it'll take four to six weeks. So, we just wait and see."
"If you get the promotion, will there be another ceremony like there was when you were promoted to Sergeant?" She asked as Mike nodded and filled his salad bowl. "If you get the promotion, where will you start?"
"Wherever they need me, I guess. But, let's not put the cart in front of the horse. I have to find out if I passed first," he reminded her as she nodded.
***MJMJMJ***
Over at the Gillis', Jennifer was at her wits end with her small son. It seemed to have been one of those days where Thomas was bouncing off of the walls. Normally, on days like these she'd take him over to the Danko's and let him play with Mary Kate while she visited with Jill. But, Jill had told her that morning that Mary Kate had gone out for the day with her aunt and wasn't due back until that evening. So, while William worked, Jen felt as if she were stuck with Thomas, who seemed to be going out of his way to drive her crazy. The situation didn't improve after William got home from work. Jen had been hoping that he'd take Thomas out in the backyard and burn off some of that energy, but he was hot and grumpy after a long day of patrol. This didn't stop Thomas from climbing all over his father as he tried to relax on the sofa. "Jennifer, would you please do something with him?" William begged as he removed Thomas from his lap for the 20th time.
"Come on, Thomas," Jen urged her son. "Daddy's tired."
"But, I want to play trains," the little boy insisted as he looked at his mother with the same huge brown eyes as his father.
"Maybe daddy will play after dinner," she mollified him as he reluctantly went upstairs to his room. After he was out of earshot, she looked at her husband. "I need to talk to you."
"What'd he do now?" William asked with his eyes closed. "Whatever it is, will you please keep in mind that he's only three years old?"
"It's not about Thomas," she said through clenched teeth. "You know what? Never mind."
She got up off of the sofa and stomped out of the room. William sighed as he opened his eyes. Why did there have to be drama tonight? Didn't she realize that he was hot and tired? Maybe she should be fighting crime in 100+ weather instead of staying home in a nice cool house all day. He remembered asking Mike one day how he made it look so easy when he dealt with Jill. His best friend and his wife never fought. Even after all of these years, Jill was still thrilled when Mike came home from work at night. There were times when he wasn't even sure if Jen even liked him. He pulled his 6'2" frame off of the sofa and went to see what was wrong. Jen was furiously peeling potatoes when he came into the kitchen. "I'm sorry. What did you want to talk about?" He asked as he leaned against the counter.
"William, I need help," she said in a low voice as she continued peeling potatoes. "I don't mind being a full time mom. And, I know that you're tired when you come home from work, but don't you think that you could take Thomas off of my hands for an hour or two so that I can catch my breath?"
"I'm sorry. I know that he's rough and tumble, but so was I. I'm sorry that you've had a rough day with him. I apologize for not helping more," he kissed her on the forehead as she made a face. "Is there more?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm pregnant," she blurted out as she looked at him.
His face lit up in a huge smile as he pulled her close and hugged her. "Sweetie, that's terrific! When are we due?"
"Is this the same collective 'we' that got pregnant with Thomas?" She asked in a fury-choked voice. "I don't think so. William, what if it's a repeat performance of what happened with him?"
"It won't be," he promised her. "Everybody told us that Thomas would take a long time because he was our first baby. Why don't you try talking to Jill? She could tell you more than I can."
"Great! More of the Gospel According to Jill," she sighed as she walked over to the refrigerator.
"What's that supposed to mean? I thought that you and Jill got along great," he pointed out as she walked back over to the counter.
"It doesn't mean anything," she said. "Why don't you go play with Thomas while I finish with dinner?"
As he left the kitchen and headed for the stairs, he thought about being a father for the second time. In his mind, Thomas was a great kid and a brother or sister for him was just icing on the cake. He knew most of Jen's fears stemmed from her mother. Her mother had told the both of them over and over about how she'd nearly died when Jen was born. Jen had heard the stories so often growing up that when she'd learned that she was pregnant with Thomas, she was absolutely petrified with fear. Then, the morning sickness and the huge weight gain had arrived, both of which were perfectly normal, but Jen's mother had her convinced that she was going to die in childbirth. A more than 40-hour labor did little to dispel that notion. William had become so furious that he'd literally kicked his mother-in-law out of Jen's room while she was in labor. All she'd succeeded in doing was to make Jen as hysterical as she was. Maybe it was a good thing that she could give birth to their second and hopefully, subsequent children, here in California. Maybe he could talk to Jill and have her convince Jen that everything was going to be just fine.
***MJMJMJ***
Jill opened her eyes early the next morning when she felt the bed dip under Mike's weight. "Where are you going?" She mumbled sleepily as she reached for him.
"I'm going to go mow the yard while it's still cool," he leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Go back to sleep."
She groaned as she threw the sheet over her head. How was he going to expect her to go back to sleep with the sound of the lawn mower in her head? The grass was barely a couple of inches high, but Mike was meticulous about how the yard was kept. Thus they had one of the nicest yards in the neighborhood, much to the chagrin of some of their neighbors who'd lived on the block for years. But, Mike was well liked by most of them, mainly because by his moving in and later bringing in Terry and later Willie, he'd made the neighborhood a safer place. There hadn't been so much as a broken window since they'd moved into the house more than a year before.
Mike got dressed and went downstairs and into the garage, where he raised the door before rolling out the lawn mower. It was a beautiful cool morning, but he knew that it wouldn't stay cool for long. This weather was perfect for spending time in the mountains. He thought about taking some time off and taking the girls either to Mount Shasta or to Lake Mead for a few days. Anywhere where it was cooler than it was here. He reached down and pulled the cord on the mower as he began to mow the grass. He was halfway through when he spotted Mr. Simpson walking up the street with Charlie by his side. He shut off the mower as the old man entered the yard and Charlie ran up to him. "Good morning, Mr. Simpson," Mike greeted his neighbor as he ruffled the dog's neck.
"It's going to be another hot one," the old man observed as Mike nodded. "I wanted to apologize to your wife. I think Charlie scared her a few days ago when she came home from work."
"I told her not to worry. Charlie's a great dog and the kids all love him."
"That's why I'm here. My female is in season and we're going to breed her to Charlie. I was wondering if you'd be interested in one of the puppies when they're born. I'll even offer you pick of the litter."
"Pick of the litter is very generous," Mike smiled. "But, if it turns out to be as great a dog as Charlie, I don't see how I could refuse. But, let me talk to my wife and see what she says. Can I let you know if in a few days?"
"Oh, there's no rush. We haven't even put them together yet. You know where I am if you want to talk. Come on, Charlie," Mr. Simpson called to the dog as Charlie left Mike's side and ran up to his owner.
Mike had just re-started the lawn mower when Willie came walking up. Once again, Mike turned off the mower. "You're up early," he observed as he looked at his friend. "You're off today?"
"No, we're going in later. Can I talk to you?" Willie asked as Mike nodded. "Out back maybe?"
"Sure. Let me finish up and we'll go to the back," Mike said as he quickly finished mowing the grass and wheeled the mower back into the garage. Willie followed Mike into the house and watched as he cleaned up. "You want some coffee?"
"Yeah, that'd be great."
After fixing them both coffee, Mike unlocked the back door and led Willie out into the backyard where both men took seats at the picnic table. "I don't know how the test went. I won't know until sometime next month. I can tell you that it was a bitch, so if you're going to take it, study. A lot."
"That's not why I'm here. I was just wondering how you do it. How do you balance work, family, and Jill," Willie looked at his old friend as he played with his coffee cup.
"Man, we talked about this before. You need to get it through your head that Jennifer isn't Jill. She's never going to be Jill. And, if you keep trying to make her into something that she's not, you're going to find yourself alone," Mike looked at him pointedly. "Jill and I have a different history than you and Jen do. That history could've broken us apart a lot of times, but it just cemented us together. I can't explain it any better than that."
"Jen's upset because she feels like I don't help enough with Thomas. Do you go through that with Jill?" Willie asked as Mike smiled.
"Yeah," he nodded as he took a drink of his coffee. "But, Jill also works outside of the home. She's not with Mary Kate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Jen taught school before the two of you got married. Why doesn't she get her license here and start teaching again? Even if it's just on a substitute basis. That way she wouldn't feel stifled all of the time."
"We agreed that she'd be a stay at home mom. My dad left me some money when he died. It's not a lot, but it's enough so that she doesn't have to work."
"But, if Thomas is driving her crazy, it's obviously not working, is it? And another thing. I know that it sucks when you come home after working a long shift and your old lady wants you to entertain the kid for a while, but we're fathers now. We just have to suck it up and do it," Mike smiled.
"I'd better get home. I promised Jen last night that I'd cook breakfast. I'll talk to you later," he said as he got up from the table and went back into the house with Mike behind him.
Mike rinsed his coffee cup and put it in the dishwasher before letting Willie out, and then went back upstairs. He took a quick peek at Mary Kate, who was still sound asleep before slipping back into his and Jill's bedroom. He took a quick shower before getting back into bed beside Jill and slipping his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "We don't have time," she mumbled sleepily as she opened one eye and glanced at the clock. "Mary Kathryn's going to be up in about 10 minutes."
"I love you," he whispered as he kissed her neck.
"I love you too, but that isn't going to move the clock back. You should've thought about that before you decided to get up and mow the grass."
"There's trouble in paradise at the Gillis house," he said as he stroked her neck.
"There's always trouble in paradise at the Gillis house. What's wrong now?"
"I'm not sure. I guess Jennifer got upset with Willie because he won't help out more with Thomas. I told him that Jen needs to get out of the house once in a while."
"That's a wonderful idea. I know if I were here 24 hours a day with Mary Kathryn, I'd be ready to give her up for adoption," she said as she heard her daughter at that moment. "Speaking of which . . . "
"I'll go get her and bring her in here," he offered as he got out of bed.
"Please change her first," she begged as she threw her pillow over her head. As much as she loved her daughter, she missed the mornings of being able to stay in bed as a couple, not to mention being able to sleep past eight in the morning.
***MJMJMJ***
The next several weeks passed in a blur. Mike went to work, he came home from work. He took Mary Kate to the park or to his parents house on his days off to give Jill some much needed rest. He cherished the moments spent with his daughter, who seemed to be growing much too fast right before his eyes. At times he envied Willie and Jen, who'd announced that they were expecting their second child sometimes in November. While he and Jill had talked about having another baby, Jill wanted to wait until Mary Kate was out of diapers before the discussion turned serious.
It was a hot June morning when Mike entered the precinct and was told to report to Lt. Older's office immediately. He went to the Watch Commander's office and knocked on the door. It was still hard to get used to Older having Ryker's old office while Mike had Older's old spot, either in the office or out at the front desk. It was a rare day when he was actually out on the street anymore. He entered the office when he heard Older call out. "You wanted to see me, sir?" He entered the office and closed the door.
"Are you doing anything on the 20th at approximately 7:30?" Older asked as he glanced at Mike.
"I'm not sure, sir. Should I make plans for that day and time?" He asked as his heart began to pound in his chest.
"I'd say so," Older glanced up with a grin on his face. "That is, if you want to get your gold shield. Congratulations, Danko. I was told that you received the second highest score on the test. You were beat out by some bozo from Foothill Division by the name of Decker. I'm sure that you'll go farther than he will."
"I hope so, sir," Mike said as he reached across the desk and shook his lieutenant's hand. "Have you decided who'll get my current slot?"
"Probably Gillis. He's the only one of you clowns that's taken the sergeant's exam. Would you please light a fire under Webster? I think it'd please your former lieutenant immensely if all three of you became senior officers."
"We've been lighting, but so far he isn't taking the bait. We'll keep trying, sir."
"Fine. Get out of here," Older dismissed him as he returned to his paperwork.
The night of the ceremony, Mike had reluctantly agreed to allow Tori to babysit for both Mary Kate and Thomas, on the condition that Amanda was there to make sure that everything ran smoothly. Tori was thrilled for the opportunity to finally show that she was growing up, not to mention making some much needed money. Willie and Jen had made arrangements with Amanda that they'd pick up both kids after the ceremony.
Part of the actual ceremony consisted of having to listen to several dull, monotonous speeches. Speeches by the mayor, the chief of police, and several other dignitaries. It was enough to put a person to sleep. But, finally, the actual ceremony began. Jill had never been prouder in her life as she watched Mike accept his new gold shield. Along with the shield, he also received a plaque that would be hung on the wall in his office along with his other commendations.
After the ceremony, it took a while for Mike to find his way to them. When he did, everybody wanted to see the shield to admire and heft the weight in their hands. While they were standing there, Mike pointed out to the guys and Jill the detective who'd received the top score on the exam. "That's okay," Jill consoled him. "When you take the lieutenant's exam, you can pay him back by getting the higher score."
"The lieutenant's exam, huh?" He grinned as she nodded. "I say we get out of here and go celebrate."
The guys, Lt. Ryker, Trap, Jill and Jen went to The Open House where the celebration continued. Ryker and Trap had them laughing about their exploits following cheating husbands. It was after one in the morning when Jill glanced at her watch. "We should get to Amanda's to pick up Mary Kathryn," she told Mike.
"No, Jill," Jen told her. "William and I have already made arrangements with Amanda to pick up both kids. I thought that maybe you and Mike would like to have a free night without having to worry about Mary Kate."
"Oh, that's so sweet," Jill hugged her. "Thank you."
"Does that mean we don't have to stop whatever we're doing before eight in the morning?" Mike looked at his wife with a twinkle in his eye. "We owe you, buddy. Big time."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure that you pay us back."
Meanwhile, in a storage unit on the other side of town, a man was about to make a discovery so shocking and so vile that it'd have everybody believing that evil truly does exist in the world.
