a/n - I don't own any rights or make any profit off SOSF or any particular movie whose plot line this closely models.


Chapter 1

As the alarm rang at 7am, Steve Keller rolled over and hit the snooze. Rolling back to a prone position under the sheets, he rested his head on folded arms and contemplated the coming day. Suddenly, he began to cough and did so enough that congestion and hoarseness became obvious.

He reached for the phone and made the call to his partner, who he figured was sitting at the breakfast table reading the morning paper and enjoying scrambled eggs and bacon. Jeannie was home for summer break and that development caused Mike to be not as eager to bolt out the door to begin his day as he was when she was away at school. He enjoyed the quiet mornings with her and benefited from eating her cooking instead of his normal dry piece of toast.

"Stone," he answered after Jeannie brought the long corded receiver over to where he sat. She smiled.

"Mike?" Steve asked with a rasp in his voice and a cough for effect.

"Steve, is that you? What's wrong with you?" Mike asked with some concern.

"Did you get sick last night from the pizza? I think I might have had a bad anchovy," Steve inquired.

"No, the pizza was fine. Are you sick?" Mike asked.

"Well, I don't know. I'll be fine," he answered, again with another cough. "Something just seemed off and well, I thought it was what we had at Mama's."

"Mama's was fine," Mike said as he defended his favorite restaurant. "It's you. You must be coming down with something..."

"Yeah, maybe," Steve agreed. "Probably just a bug. I'll be okay. What time are you coming over?"

"To your place? How about tomorrow? I'm not going to expose myself to you if you have the flu or something. You stay home," Mike ordered. Jeannie looked over and raised her eyebrow in curiosity.

"But..." Steve interrupted.

"No buts... That's an order!" Mike snapped.

"Oh, okay. I guess I could use the rest. Are you sure this isn't going to be a problem for you?" Steve asked sweetly.

"No. Actually, the load has been fairly light lately. I was planning to take the afternoon off and run some errands I've been putting off. I'll go in for the full day. Jeannie can help me with what I needed to do this afternoon."

Jeannie froze as she had planned on shopping with some friends and suddenly realized those plans had likely evaporated.

"Oh, okay," Steve said weakly. "I'll see you tomorrow."


Steve hopped out of bed. Walking to his front window, speaking to no one in particular, he announced:

I don't like to lie to Mike. As a matter of fact, I really didn't. We did have pizza at Mama's and I did inadvertently miss picking off an anchovy or two. I've never met an anchovy that wasn't off or tasted good, so the idea of getting sick on the pizza wasn't bull shit. All I have to do is think about an anchovy and my stomach turns.

And yes, I self-inflicted a coughing fit to sound more convincing to Mike. I know that's a little childish, but he often treats me like a child, so I guess it all fits.

He turned and began his trek to the bathroom for a quick shower.

Besides, going into work on a day like today just seems like it would be a crime. I love my job and have responsibility to my partner and coworkers, but I'm also entitled to some time away and this is long overdue. I mean, it's San Francisco. It's summer and there's no place more beautiful under blue skies.

Moments later, he walked out of the bathroom - a towel wrapped around his waist and another around his head - and concluded his monologue.

And besides, I have something very special to do today. A young police officer needs to get his head back on straight after being forced to use his weapon for the first time. I know how hard that is on a cop, but this guy is still having a tough time with it after a couple of weeks. He's questioning whether he has what it takes to do the job and now is on personal leave. It's a real shame. I know he can do it.

Steve checked his watch and figured it was time to call Officer Dan Robbins. He suspected Dan might still be in bed, but no matter. Today was the day that Dan would see some sights and have a heart to heart conversation about his future. And today was also...Steven Keller's Day Off.