A/N Thank you to Meixel for beta reading my work for me. It is deeply appreciated.

Thank you to Briroch for summary suggestion. It is deeply appreciated.

Disclaimer I make no profit off of anything related to "The Streets Of San Francisco" or its characters. I am not the creator of the series, that is Quinn Martin.

The Long Run

Mike's POV

Jeannie and Steve had not looked like things were kosher between them when she got ready to leave. He, too, was at the house to ride with us to take her to the airport. She had plans to go visit an old college friend of hers for a few days. I had no clue what could be wrong as they did their best to keep their problems private. I knew something was up when Steve sat in the back seat. He and Jeannie didn't really speak on the way. I tried to catch his eye in the rear view mirror but my partner was staring out the window and looked like he wished he was anywhere else but here right now.

Maybe it was a bad idea, asking him to ride with us but I had hoped that whatever was wrong would be resolved between the two on the ride. Jeannie sat like she would break if she said anything at all so answered only the basic questions or comments. I wondered if maybe they were both mad at me or was it each ther they were unhappy with at the moment."

Jeannie's POV:

"What was Mike thinking asking Steve to come along? He is supposed to be my father. Can't he still tell when someone or something has really riled me? It is better when I am riled to just not have that person or thing around me. No, Steve did nothing wrong really but I am still upset with him nevertheless.

Where will our relationship end up? I wish like anything I had not promised Carol I would come for a visit.
Right now I need time to sort this out with Steve. How did our innocent evening out together turn so weird? What was that lady thinking making a pass at my boyfriend right in front of me? She had to be in her late forties at least, if not older.

Steve is too much a gentleman and while I greatly respect that quality in him this time he should have said back off because she came on way strong, beyond indecent even. I guess he saw I was about to deck her myself because he got hold of me and pulled me away from there and we went back to the car.

Now I don't know if things will ever be right between us again or if they will remain weird."

Steve's POV:
Okay, so I did not blast her for her comment. What lessons I learned from what little raising I had from any adults that really cared, was to respect your elders and try to keep a civil tongue in your head when speaking to them.

I wish it had not happened now. Jeannie is hacked off with me and has plans to go visit her friend, so we won't get to sort this out before she goes.

After Mike and I said good bye to her I stood watching and wondered if this is good bye for good. She was very vocal about what I should have done last night or should have let her do. God help that woman if she ever gets in Jeannie Stone's path again. I needed some time away from it all - away from Jeannie, away from Mike and the department and
everything else. I called in and arranged some time off just to get alone time. I guess I should have gone out of town because Mike is like a dog with a bone.

When someone he loves is hurting he does all he can to make things okay or to at least find out what is going on. When the phone call came from Jeannie, I wished more than ever I had gone out of town pronto! I don't even remember putting my fist through the wall. I didn't know it until Mike found me.

Jeannie's POV:

That night when I got to Carol's I called Steve and told him I thought I needed a break. I hoped we could talk later and see how things are for us, but for now I honestly felt it was best if we took a break.

During my time with her though I realized some things. That in all honesty I knew all along, that I love Steve and don't want to be apart from him; another is that phone call to him was a huge mistake! I need to call and tell him I didn't mean it and to just ignore what I said about a break. He wasn't answering and as many times as I had called I was getting a bit worried. Now, I don't know if he is out or he is just ignoring the phone, something he never does or is there something wrong? I pray he is just out working or anything other than something being wrong.

Mike's POV:
I knew Steve needed time alone but the boy was not responding to any calls from anyone at all - not even Jeannie. I felt worried and went back by his place to see if he had shown up. There was still no sign of him. I had an APB put out on him and his car - if need be I would have it issued across the state.

I had found some liquor bottles in his trash can which did not surprise me really although Steve has never been a huge drinker. When he is upset he might have a drink or two to take the edge off. The number of them did worry me because normally he sticks to beer, except for a little wine with dinner when out or harder stuff once in a long long while. I was thankful later on to find out the liquor bottles were not Steve's. He explained to me he had found out about a man who was homeless and sold glass bottles to make a little money. The bottles were ones Steve had collected for the man from neighbors and friends and a couple from Steve's apartment. He didn't want to embarrass the man so he just told him where he had seen bottles in a trash can he could get. When it was explained to me, I did recall Steve asking me for any bottles I had empty. To think I thought all this time my boy was drinking all of what I saw in the trash can. I was so relieved to learn the truth!

Jeannie finally told me what happened their last night together when I told her of the bottles in Steve's trash and then what I had learned about them being there. She asked me to please tell him she didn't want a break from him, and that she loves him. She told me where their special place was that they go to be totally alone. It just so happens that I was about to head there when the APB brought results of that exact location.

They had followed orders and not approached him. Instead, they just alerted me. I sped there as fast as I could without siren or light so as not to attract too much attention. When I arrived and they pointed out where Steve was. I told them I would take it from there. I walked down the path and thought Steve would sense my arrival but he never looked my way.

I wondered how bad the fight was for him to not even notice my arrival. When I got up to him I gently shook his shoulder. "Are you all right?" I asked. I saw the empty bottle lying next to him and a confused expression on his face. He was writing something on a piece of paper and I realized his mind was more on finishing that than on my arrival. Finally he completed his letter and rolled it up and put it inside the empty bottle beside him and tightly put the lid on and tossed it into the ocean. I watched as the bottle bobbed in the surf and wondered if it was a letter to my daughter or was it just one of those letters people write wondering who will find the bottle. His hand was a bit swollen and had some blood but he hadn't even seemed to notice.

Steve finally looked at me and said, "I'm okay,, no problem". I got him to go with me to get coffee because at the time I hadn't learned he hadn't even had a drink and I wanted to get his side of things especially before taking him to get his hand checked out. As we had coffee together I was happy to be informed of my wrong thinking once again, that Steve had not even had a drink, he just was deeply upset about the call he had received from my daughter. That was when he informed me as well about who he had those bottles for.

He talked a little when he found out I knew about the problem from Jeannie. I gave him ideas of how to handle a situation like that if it happened again without him being flat out rude or decking her as Jeannie wanted to do. Yes, I may be older but there were women back in my day that had tried the same thing.

Jeannie's POV:
I came back a day early to get some time with Steve for us to talk about things. My friend Carol had helped me to see that maybe I over reacted about what happened. Steve is a good looking man, and while other women might give their eyeteeth to be with him, he had chosen me.

When I saw his hand in a cast, did I feel bad! I lightly scolded him for breaking his hand, but also made sure I gave him lots of sympathy as well. I will have to teach him how to do alot of things left handed, at least until he gets the use back of his right hand.

I still wish women would not say the things she had said to someone's boyfriend when it is obvious that they are with the woman that is standing right with them. I know, though, hopefully I can learn to laugh off times like that, if it happens anymore. Will I just let others walk all over me when it comes to him? Don't count on it. I will fight for what or who is mine and Steve Keller is mine in all caps. So let them do their little commenting and trying to pick him up but don't think they are going to just walk off with him. Even Countess Elizabeth Bathory would have to go through me. They will learn Jeannie Stone is in this relationship for the long run.