Okay, so it's been a long time! I'm revising this story and hoping to make it better. When I first started writing it, I was going by where I was in the moment, and the current Diagnosis Murder season we were watching. But now I pretty much know where I want to go with this, mostly.

I don't own any of the original Diagnosis Murder characters or the show, but I love them, as much as I love the Disney Pixar Toy Story characters. Reviews are definitely welcome and would be helpful. I hope someone likes this story despite all of the drama it's going to contain, and I'm excited to be sharing it with you.

Well, read on and I hope you like it.

Today looked like it was going to start out like every other week. Dr. Mark Sloan smiled warmly as he stared outside the window in the doctor's lounge. It was a beautiful spring day out in the middle of May, and he was taking this rare moment of quiet to reflect on his life at the moment.

He was in his late sixties, but still feeling as young and eager as ever, and still enjoyed helping his son solve cases. And, he still managed to sneak his roller skates into the hospital when he had the notion!

He had a wonderful family, and lately it felt like the dark side of life had decided to leave them alone for a while. No revengeful criminals had appeared back for a while, no homicide cases that hit painfully close to home, or any new low-lives had been out to kill them for a couple months. It was so nice for the Sloan family and their friends not be living in shadows right now!

His son, Lt. Steve Sloan, a widowed father to two daughters, and a great cop, was still working as homicide detective for the LAPD. He not only loved but also firmly in his job to serve and protect the helpless, the victimized, and the weak. Mark's son had been through a lot: he carried several injuries over the years under his belt, some very life-threatening; his wife, Julie had died on him from cancer, just like his mom; he'd had to raise two motherless girls by himself-not counting wonderful assistance from Mark, Amanda, and at times, Delores, and Jessie too when he came along-, which hadn't been easy, tougher than Steve had imagined; he'd seen more horrific scenarios on the job than he wanted to count; his loved ones had been threatened with danger many times before in so many different ways, and nearly killed even; he'd nearly slipped into eternity while his dear father was being framed, arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for murders he didn't commit; he, Jessie, Mark, and Amanda had all nearly perished in their own hospital when Katelyn Sweeney had blown it up; he'd lost his little sister to murder; he'd had to arrest his best friend Jessie on the charge of murder. Just to name a few. How Mark vividly remembered those times, and how he'd suffered just as much as Steve, especially watching his son endure it all.

Mark felt incredibly blessed for the indescribable love and friendship he and his family had from beautiful, sweet Dr. Amanda Bentley and ambitious, eager Dr. Jessie Travis. It was hard to put into words what wonderful gems they were, and Mark had earned every bit of it from them through his kindness, compassion, love, and genuine caring spirit.

Mark's two granddaughters, Stacy and 'Kat' Katherine, named after his wife, were very dear to him. They were both special in his eyes with their different personalities, dreams, goals, and gifts, and he felt honored that he'd been able to be instrumental in helping his son bring them up.

Friendly, outgoing, optimistic, blonde-haired and blue-eyed Stacy, who had just celebrated her twenty-second birthday, was now a grown woman and was living her dream of becoming a writer, currently as an investigative reporter for The Los Angeles Times. The two Sloan girls had grown up around crime-solving, and they had inherited their family circle's passion and thrill of stopping the bad guys. Stacy's dream was to write novels someday, but she'd chosen investigative reporter as a career so she could both do what she liked best and at the same time assist Steve her dad in solving cases, which gave her a wonderful feeling of being able to contribute in an important way to society.

Kind, reserved, perceptive, brunette-haired and hazel-eyed Katherine, called 'Kat' by family and close friends, was 19 and pursuing her college degree as a social worker and working part time at a daycare center. Her desire had always been to help people, especially children, and she'd had years' worth of babysitting under her belt. She also wanted to make a donation of her service to the world, and hoped that by becoming a social worker, she could try to make some people's lives better. Many people noticed how Kat resembled Steve, not only with the dark hair, but also in other ways. She was very thoughtful and caring, but as said was reserved and could sometimes appear stern like her dad when she felt she had to be. She was strong-willed, and a very confident person. She was the take charge kind and usually succeeded in her efforts with valid capability. Though a good listener, especially to sad ears, Kat was more of a blunt person and would tell it like it was, without sugar coating or exaggerating. She was very straight forward like Steve, and he couldn't disagree that she was definitely her father's daughter.

Then there was Annie, the lovable, affectionate, pretty black Labrador who had become part of their family ever since the day when Kat was twelve and had brought the dog home to live, much to Steve's shock and protests. They all loved their playful dog, and she'd grown up with the girls during their adolescent years. Steve had at first not been too thrilled about having a strange dog in the house, and had had no trouble trying to discourage even the canine from the idea. But Annie had overlooked his stern manner and eventually found his soft spot. Steve had to admit, it was fun having a dog around, expect when she ran right under his feet, stared up at him eagerly during meal time, and wouldn't stop her anxious greeting him at the door until he's pet her. He usually called her dog, but Annie knew Steve's voice when he'd say it, and she would shake with delight almost anytime he called her that. Annie was loyal and loved her whole family, but for some unexplained reason, Steve had always seemed to be her favorite person in the house. Maybe that was because he'd taken the longest to give into her affections!

Mark chuckled, thinking of his family and friends, how different they all were but appreciating their differences that made them who they were, the people he deeply cared for and loved. Life had been pretty peaceful for the most part of recent, and Mark took in every moment of it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a younger, chipper voice behind him. "Hey, Mark!" Jessie greeted enthusiastically. Mark turned and smiled at the vigorous ER doctor whom had become like his younger son.

"Jessie!" Mark replied, as his colleague gave him a brief but friendly hug. "It's good to see you, son." Mark punched his shoulder. "I'm glad you're back. How was your vacation?"

"Aw, it was fun and restful." Jessie shrugged. "Killed a lot of time out on the water, and actually found some time to take a few rides out in the country. It's really pretty out there, but it's always good to be back. How are you?"

"Great! Great." Mark smiled widely. "Life's been good."

"That's super." Jessie replied, pulling on his white lab coat and placing his stethoscope around his neck. "Hey, how does Stace like the new photo album I gave her for her birthday?"

Mark chuckled. "Already filling it up. The very next day, she rushed to get recent pictures developed and then spent the afternoon inserting them in and labeling them. You made an excellent choice, Jess. And the right color too."

"I seem to remember someone telling me before that purple is her favorite." Jessie nodded. "What's Kat been up to since I've been away?"

"You've only been gone three days. But, she's working really hard to finish up her studies. School ends next week for summer break, and she's really trying to make sure she has everything wrapped up."

"Summer break already? Ooo. I bet she's looking forward to that!"

"Mmm-hmm." Mark nodded. "Unfortunately, the daycare center she's been working at just closed because the woman running it has just been diagnosed with cancer and she can't make a run of it anymore."

"Aww," Jessie cocked his head sympathetically. "Man, that's tough."

"Yeah, but she gave Kat some references and now she's trying to get a job at a different daycare."

"Good for her. Hope she gets one. So, has Steve gotten into any good mischief lately?" Jessie sneered.

"Eh, not much." Mark shook his head. "No more than usual, that is. Of course, you haven't been around to coerce him." Jessie pffted with his lips.

"So, what ya got for me today?" Jessie asked, waiting for his patients' charts.

"You have a full schedule, that's for sure!" Mark declared, handing Jessie the clipboard. "I guess your patients are trying to make up for lost time since you left." He joked.

"A dislocated arm, a sore throat, measles, severe poison ivy...oh, boy." Jessie remarked and cleared his throat. "You weren't kidding. Well, looks like this is starting out just like any other week."

"Yep. Hey, you busy Wednesday night?" Mark asked.

"I'll have to check my shift schedule. Why?"

"I was hoping you and Amanda would come join us for dinner." Mark answered. "It's been a while since we've eaten together with a home-cooked meal."

"Hey! I'd like that!" Jessie's eyes lit up at the prospect of spending time at Mark and Steve's beach house, spending time with his friends, and relishing in their excellent cooking. "You're on! I'll be there! Uh, if I can make it, that is."

"Good!" Mark cheered. "We'll look forward to it."

"Well, gotta go." Jessie shrugged. "It's Monday, and starting out just like any other week."

"Yep." Mark agreed.

"See ya, Mark."

"See ya later, Jess." Mark smiled and after taking another glance out the window, left the lounge to do his own rounds. Yes, today was starting just like any other week. But he had no idea how soon that would drastically change. Their next painful trial was just around the corner!