Disclaimer: Love the characters; wish I owned them, but I don't. I only borrow them for entertainment purposes and then I put them back for the next writer to use.
Personality Plus
(Chapter 1)
© December 2009
"1 Adam-12, Day watch clear." Jim spoke into the mic as Pete pulled the police cruiser out into the early morning traffic.
"1 Adam-12, Day watch clear." The dispatcher repeated.
"Looks like it's going to be a clear, hot day, partner."
"That it does, junior. Let's just hope that the natives aren't too restless. I just don't think I'm in the mood to do too much running today."
Jim laughed at his partner and friend. "Yeah, like you do any more running than you have to."
"Hey, I run when I have to…you know, when you have more than one…or two…people to chase." Pete retorted with a snicker.
"Yeah, right." Jim chuckled.
The microphone crackled to life. "1 Adam-12, assist L.A. Co. paramedics on the scene, 176 Bethel, unwanted subject interfering with their call; handle code 2."
"176 Bethel; 1 Adam-12 roger."
Pete had already turned the car and was heading toward the address. As with most calls, few words were exchanged during the short drive to the residence. Arriving within mere minutes, the officers pulled up behind the L.A. Co. Rescue Squad and exited their vehicle, donning hats and placing nightsticks into the holders as they did so.
As they approached the residence, they could hear the sounds of people yelling at each other; they ran up onto the porch, and since the door was open and they could see and be seen through the screen door, they went on in without knocking.
The paramedics from Station 36 had their hands full trying to treat a middle-aged man with a severe cut running the length of his forearm. He was busy yelling profanities at a middle-aged woman who was standing about ten-foot away and shooting daggers at him with angry green eyes.
Suddenly, the woman let out a screech that could have awakened the dead and made a running lunge towards the verbally abusive man, knocking both of the unsuspecting paramedics for a loop. Immediately, Pete and Jim pulled the woman off of the man, with Pete grabbing both of her arms, and forcing them behind her back. As he was getting ready to put the cuffs on her, she reared back with her head as hard as she could, catching him in the chin.
Pete lost his grip and staggered backwards. The woman lunged forward again, this time being caught by Jim. Immediately she twisted away from him and turned around, stomped on his foot with all of her two hundred and eighty pounds. She then brought her knee up into his groin, doubling him over in nauseating anguish.
Pete, once more with his bearings in tact, grabbed the woman and managed to get the cuffs on her. He then read her rights.
"You okay, there, Jim?" Pete asked, concerned for his partner, who was still on the floor in a near fetal position, looking as though he was going to toss his cookies at any moment. One of the paramedics was at his side, but unable to offer any assistance at the moment. It was just one of times that had to be worked through individually.
"M'okay." Jim mumbled through clenched teeth as he slowly sat up, wincing with each move. "Just get her away from me!"
Pete escorted the hostile woman out to the police car and placed her in the rear seat. He then called for another unit to transport her to the station so that he could take Jim to Central Receiving to be checked out. The last thing he wanted on his conscious was the fact that Jimmy Reed may have just been guaranteed a future as an only child. He didn't want the wrath of Jean on his conscience, either.
The ambulance and the transport unit both pulled up a few minutes later. Pete made short work of transplanting the vile woman into the other police car and then went back into the house, where, much to his relief, Jim, though still pale, was slowly rising to his feet and insisting to the paramedics that he was fine.
Turning to the senior officer, one of the paramedics addressed Pete, "You probably should have your partner checked out down at Central Receiving." He then reached out towards Pete's chin, careful not to touch the small, broken skinned area on the bottom of his chin, "Looks like you need to get a couple of stitches while your there, too."
"What are you talking about?" Pete started to bring his hand up to his chin, only to have the paramedic chastise him.
"Don't touch your chin. Here, let me put a bandage on it for right now, but get down there and get it checked out. The fatty tissue is bulging out of it…you've got a nice little gash going on there, Officer."
"Is it bleeding pretty bad?" Pete inquired, though he couldn't feel any blood dripping and there was nothing showing on his uniform shirt when he looked down.
"Nope." Answered the paramedic nonchalantly. "That's how you know it's pretty deep and will need stitches…the fatty tissue is bulging through and keeping the blood from coming out. Now hold still while I get this bandage in place."
Several minutes later, Pete, with Jim slowly walking behind him, headed out to the squad car. Getting in and situating themselves, Jim picked up the mic, "1 Adam-12 to dispatch; show us en-route to Central Receiving for follow-up and treatment."
"Roger, 1 Adam-12. Meet with 1 L-20 on Tac 2."
"1 Adam-12, clear." Jim switched the radio knob to Tac 2, "1 Adam-12 to 1 L-20, go ahead."
"What's going on, Reed?" Came Mac's voice.
"We just got ourselves into a little ruckus with this last call, Mac. We have to swing by Central Receiving for some follow-up information…and to get ourselves checked out."
"1 L-20 to 1 Adam-12…I'm sorry I asked. I'll meet you at Central Receiving. 1 L-20, out.
Jim rolled his eyes in Pete's direction, "Dad's gotta check up on us."
Pete laughed heartily, "DAD?…Oh, that's priceless, Jim."
Two hours later, the partners were back on patrol, still slightly bruised and battered, with Pete sporting a small white bandage under his chin. Overall, the two were none the worse for the wear.
Pete happily bounced his six month old godson, Jimmy Reed, on his knee, getting a huge kick out of the true belly laugh elicited from the tyke each time Pete would lift him up and bring him back down. As he often did, he was going to have dinner with the Reeds. He had invited a date to join him, but she wasn't off of work yet, so she was driving over a little later. Jim had gone off to the grocery to get ingredients for the salad and Pete was doing his part by keeping Jimmy occupied so Jean could prepare dinner.
"That might not be such a good idea, Pete." Jean admonished with a smile. "After all, he just ate about a half and hour ago and his tummy is probably still pretty full. You may end up with a nasty mess on your hands…and pants…and shirt…and in…"
Laughing, Pete stopped bouncing the baby and held up a hand to stop her from going any further. "I think I get the picture, Jean. Thanks for the warning, but if I know my little godson, he's just like his daddy and he isn't about to let go of any part of his meal."
As if to prove his Uncle Pete wrong, Jimmy picked that moment to spit up in Pete's lap.
"Oh…yuck." Pete stated, with a grim look on his face as the acrid smell of the spittle reached his nose. The baby on his knee had a bright-eyed smile and was blowing raspberries at Pete and waving his little arms a mile a minute.
"As I was saying, before you cut me off, Pete…and in your lap, too!" Jean laughed as she reached for a happily gurgling Jimmy. "You know where the washcloths are kept. I'll see if Jim has a pair of jeans that you can change into."
"No need, Jean, I'll just wipe it off as best as I can. I'll be fine until I get home. Besides, I don't think Jim has any jeans that will fit me…he's too tall." Pete, the stockier built half of Adam-12, didn't figure that anything in his taller, much trimmer partners' wardrobe would fit him, except for possibly a tee-shirt and sweatpants.
"Suit yourself, but if you change your mind, just let me know." Jean sat Jimmy in his highchair and snapped him in securely before going back to her dinner preparations.
Pete, having wiped himself off as much as possible, came into the kitchen and asked Jean if there was anything that he could help with. She figured that with him being a bachelor, the best thing that he could do was to just stay out of the way. "Nope, everything is under control. Just have a seat and relax. Jim said you two really stayed busy today."
Not knowing whether Jim had told Jean about their trip to the emergency room or not, he shrugged his shoulders, "It wasn't too bad today." Pete pulled out a chair over by Jimmy, and continued to keep the little guy happy, though making sure that he was out of flying spit-up territory. One nasty mess for today was enough.
Almost as if reading his mind, Jean took note of the small bandage on Pete's chin and asked, "What happened to your chin, anyway?"
"Oh…I just bumped it a little hard on something and I didn't want to get blood on my shirt, so I put a bandage on it." Please don't ask what I bumped it on…please don't ask.
"Peter J. Malloy…if my husband isn't afraid to tell me that you two had to go to the hospital and be treated today, then why are you?" Jean admonished.
Pete gave her a sheepish smile before answering. "Ya see, Jean, I don't need a wife to keep me on the straight and narrow; you do a good job of that. Besides, I wasn't afraid to tell you…I just didn't want Jim to get in the doghouse with you if he hadn't said anything."
"Mmm…I see. So that's your story and you're sticking to it, huh?"
Pete let out a laugh and threw his hands in the air, "Yep, that's about the size of it. What more can I say?"
"What time is Angela getting off of work?" Jean asked, laughing at Pete.
Checking his watch, Pete noticed that it was almost ten after five. "She said that she'd be here by five-thirty, so it shouldn't be long now. Just a little word for good measure…she hates being called 'Angela', just call her 'Angie'."
"Oh…okay; well I can't wait to meet her. She sounds terrific for you!" Jean's eyes danced in merriment.
"She is…terrific that is…but we've only gone out a few times, and we enjoy each other's company; that's all there is to it, so don't read into for more than that, Jean."
"You need to seriously start looking for a wife, Pete Malloy! One of these days, you're going to wake up and find yourself old and wrinkled, and terribly alone. Is that what you want out of life?"
Pete rolled his eyes, "No, mother, that's not what I want out of life. Maybe one of these days, I'll find Miss Right and settle down. Right now, it just so happens that I enjoy being single. What's wrong with that?"
Before Jean could answer, the doorbell rang and Pete sprang out of the chair, startling Jimmy into a quick, wide-eyed surprise, followed closely by a pouting lip and then an ear-splitting scream. Pete immediately unhooked the little guy and picked him up, and, holding him close to his chest, he murmured comforting words to him as he walked toward the front door and opened it.
"Oh!" A surprised and slightly taken aback Angie stood there, arms folded and staring at Pete like he had grown an extra set of ears or some other outlandish feature. "What's that?" She asked, pointing towards Jimmy and not bothering to hide her displeasure that Pete was too preoccupied with his godson to give her a proper welcoming. Pete seemed oblivious to her tone of questioning.
"Come in Angie; this little bundle of energy is my godson, Jimmy!" With a pride in his eyes that matched the pride in his voice, Pete turned the baby around so that Angie could get good look at him. Jimmy smiled and cooed at Angie, and Pete didn't seem to notice that Angie's smile didn't reach her eyes as she smiled back at little Jimmy. He had already turned the boy back around and was making funny faces at him, causing him to laugh at his honorary uncle and godfather.
Pete ushered Angie into the kitchen, where he made the necessary introductions between Jean and Angie, just at Jim was coming in the back door. He proceeded to introduce Angie to Jim, as well.
Jim put down the groceries and then reached out to shake Angie's hand. He then kissed Jean, and reached over and took Jimmy from Pete.
Having been relieved of his small burden, Pete slung his arm over Angie's shoulders and smiled down at her. She wrinkled her nose at him, "What is that smell?" she questioned, as she sniffed.
"Oh, it's nothing; Jimmy just spit up a little when I was bouncing him on my knee earlier."
"And don't you think you should have changed your clothes?" It was obvious that Angie was very put off by the lingering pungent smell.
Pete looked at her in disbelief. "Well I wiped it off with a wet washcloth and some soap. It's really not that bad." Angie's only reply was an icy glare that left Pete feeling somewhat uncomfortable and wondering why he'd never seen this side of her before. He quickly decided that she must have had a bad day at work, and shook it off.
Jim and Jean exchanged a look that spoke volumes about Pete's newest love interest. She may have been pretty, but she wasn't leaving a very glamorous impression on the two of them.
"Uhm, Jim, honey, would you mind setting the table while I toss the salad?" Jean asked, hoping that would be enough of a subject change to surpass the uncomfortable moment.
"Sure, babe, let me just put Jimmy in his highchair." Jim started to move toward the highchair when Pete intercepted and took Jimmy from him.
"I'll take him. We'll go out back and swing a little bit. Are you coming with us Angie?"
"Yeah, I guess."
They walked outside and Pete placed Jimmy in the baby swing, gently pushing him as the swing came forward each time. Very few words were being exchanged between Pete and Angie.
From the kitchen window, Jean was watching the scene unfold. "Wow, she's something else, isn't she?"
"Yeah, but what?" Jim questioned. "She's definitely not Pete material, that's for sure. I mean she's pretty enough and all, but even Pete has to look beyond that and see that she's just…different."
"She's not very friendly, that's for sure. And I don't think she likes kids. Did you see the way she looked at Pete when he took Jimmy back from you? Maybe you should talk to Pete about her."
"Honey, you know I can't do that. Pete's an adult and if he likes her, then we have no business getting in between that. Besides, maybe she just needs some time to adjust to being around little ones."
"Well, I'm not so sure I want her around our little one."
Jim had finished setting the table and walked over to put his arms around his wife, "Let's just concentrate of getting through dinner. Who knows, maybe she'll loosen up as the evening goes on."
"Hmph, maybe so…but I doubt it. Something about her just seems…weird."
"Hinky, ya mean?"
"Hinky?" Jean repeated.
"Yeah, hinky…that's how Pete describes things that just don't seem right."
Jean let out a giggle as Jim nuzzled her ear. "Why don't you call Pete and his 'hinky' girlfriend in; I'm getting ready to get the roast out of the oven."
Pete and Jim sat at opposite ends of the table, and the two women sat across from each other. Jimmy sat in his highchair between Jim and Jean, jabbering between bites of baby food. Jean, Jim and Pete laughed at his antics; much to Pete's dismay, Angie made a point of ignoring the youngest member of the Reed family.
"Jean, you outdid yourself on the roast." Pete directed to Jean. "But then that doesn't surprise me in the least, Jean is an excellent cook." Pete supplied for Angie's benefit.
Going through the rituals of etiquette, "Everything was good, Jean. Thank you, both, for allowing Pete to invite me over."
"Oh, hey, it was our pleasure." Jim offered, for lack of a better response.
"Yes, and we hope that you'll feel welcome in our home, anytime." Jean included.
"Yes, well, thank you both again." Angie then turned to Pete, "Pete, would you be a dear and walk me out to my car. I really must turn in early tonight, I have the early shift tomorrow." She was halfway to the front door before she finished talking.
"Oh, uhm, okay. I thought that we were going to make an evening of it, though?" Pete was perplexed by Angie's attitude.
"Not tonight, I'm afraid. I really have to go. Now, will you please walk me out?" Her tone left no room for further discussion.
"Yeah…sure. I'll be right back, Jim." Pete tossed over his shoulder as he ushered Angie out.
"Yeah, sure Pete. Just come on in, it'll be open."
Pete couldn't understand what had gotten in Angie, but chose not to make an issue of it as he walked her out. "Can I call you tomorrow?" He asked, halfway wondering why he wanted to call her, after the way she had acted at meeting his friends.
"You'd better…I'm looking forward to seeing you…just you…soon." She purred into his ear before landing a sensual kiss on his lips.
Now Pete was confused. All of the sudden, Angie had gone from cold and distant to hot to trot. Part of him was tempted to go back inside and bid his farewells for the evening and follow Angie home.
"Good…I'll call you tomorrow then, Angie."
"It's Angela, silly…call me, Angela." She embraced him and pressed her body seductively up against his. Immediately Pete could feel his body reacting and he had just about lost all resolve about staying at the Reeds any longer. Angie suddenly pulled away, flaunted a small wave at him and then got into her little green Volkswagen and drove off, leaving Pete standing there with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Not quite sure what had been her problem during the evening, Pete climbed the steps to the Reeds' front porch and went inside. If nothing else, he felt he needed to apologize to Jim and Jean for Angie's behavior.
Jean was standing in the kitchen, at the sink, washing the last of the dishes when Pete walked back into the house. Jim was sitting in the recliner, holding Jimmy on his lap and giving him his nighttime bottle.
"Everything okay, Pete?" Jim asked, concerned at the look on his friends' face.
"Yeah…I think. I don't know what got into Angie this evening. She's not usually…so standoffish."
"Maybe she was just nervous about meeting us."
"Yeah…maybe. Listen, why don't you let me give Jimmy his bottle. You go in there and take that lovely wife of yours outside and spend a little time together on that porch swing that you put up."
"Now that sounds like a really good idea to me!" Jean agreed as she came into the room after overhearing Pete's offer.
Jim handed Jimmy off to Pete, laying him in Pete's arms, face up, with the bottle clenched tightly in his little fists. He looked up at Pete and gave him a big smile around the bottle nipple. "Hey big guy, you smiling at Uncle Pete, are you? You know you're supposed to be dozing off so your folks can spend some time together?"
Jimmy gurgled and took his bottle out of his mouth, holding it towards Pete's face, making his godfather chuckle at his actions. "Oh no, little buddy, that's your bedtime bottle. Uncle Pete still has drive home, and warm milk would only make me too sleepy for that."
Before long, Jimmy was dozing off, safe and snug in the arms of his uncle. Jim and Jean had come back in and Jean took Jimmy and put him to bed while Jim put on a pot of coffee for the adults.
"So Pete, where did you meet Angie?" Jean asked after coming back from the nursery.
"She's a nurse over at Central Receiving. She just moved here from San Francisco about a month or so ago, and was lucky enough to be hired at the hospital. I met her when we were over there a few weeks ago doing some follow-up on a traffic accident. We've been out a few times. She's a really nice girl. I don't know what was wrong with her tonight. Maybe she had a bad day at work." I really should find out what got into her tonight. I'll ask her when I call her tomorrow. Pete mused to himself.
"Well, I guess we all have bad days once in awhile." Jean agreed.
"Coffee, Pete?" Jim inquired as he walked toward the kitchen.
"Yeah, Jim; I'll have a cup and then I should get going, too. Roll call will be here before you know it." He and Jim had just finished day three of a five-day stretch on the day watch shift, and both were looking forward to the upcoming weekend. They were going to do some work on the Reeds' garage roof, repairing a leak, and then have a relaxing barbecue; Pete wasn't so sure that barbecue would be involving his latest love interest, though.
A short time later, Pete rinsed his coffee cup and bid the Reeds goodnight. It wasn't a long drive home, but it was getting late and he really needed to get to bed and get a good night of sleep.
Pulling into the parking space reserved for him behind his apartment building, Pete didn't notice the little green Volkswagen parked several spaces down from him. As he climbed from his car, a scantily dressed Angela approached him.
"Peter." Her voice sounded low and seductive. He wasn't quite sure why, but his sixth sense, the one he liked to call 'the hinky' sense, tripped into action.
"Angie?" Pete's eyes roved up and down the curvaceous body of the woman standing in front of him, dressed only in a skimpy, see through negligee that hung low in the chest and ran high near the thighs. "Uhm…don't you think you should have a few more clothes on in public?"
Choosing to ignore his slight chastising of her choice of attire, "It's 'Angela,' remember?" She slinked up to Pete and slipped her arms around his waist, pulling him in close to her.
"I, uhm…I thought you were going home." Pete's mind was flying a mile a minute at this surprise visit.
Angela's pretty little mouth puckered up into a pout. "You mean you aren't happy to see me? I've been waiting here for over an hour. I thought you'd be home way before now."
"Angie, you told me that you were going home; that you were tired and have a big day tomorrow. Certainly that didn't change in the last two hours."
"I really do prefer 'Angela', and there's no big day tomorrow. I only said that in hopes that you would take the hint and follow me home. You see, I've been thinking about being with you…all day long. I just didn't want to share you with anyone this evening." Pete bought in to her explanation without question as she continued to press her body into his, causing the desired reaction from Pete.
"Well then, in that case, why don't we head up to the apartment and see where this evening leads us?" His response was thick with anticipation as he pressed his body in closer to hers, allowing her to 'feel' his approval at this pleasantly unexpected turn to the evening.
"Huh-uh…let's go back to my place…your apartment walls are way to thin for the exciting evening that I have planned."
"Well now, I do have to work tomorrow, you know." Pete began to protest, but then seeing the disappointed look on the woman's face, his resolve quickly faded. "Okay, I'll follow you home…but I can't stay all night."
"Oh, don't worry, it won't take all night; after all, like I said, I've been thinking about this all day long."
Pete watched as Angie climbed back into her car and then he got into his as well. The drive to her small, two-bedroom bungalow took about fifteen minutes. The house was situated on an acre of plush green grass, surrounded by several trees and no houses or neighbors for a city block on either side. The area across the street was undeveloped land, just waiting for potential buyers. Angie's bungalow was one of the few structures that had been constructed as of yet, in the new housing development. He noticed that she hadn't even taken the 'for sale' sign out of the yard, yet.
The door of the attached two-car garage was open and Angie pulled her car in. She got out and waited for Pete to pull into the driveway and then waved him into the garage, as well. He pulled his car in next to hers.
Angie had turned on the garage light and after Pete pulled his in she promptly shut the garage door, causing Pete to give her a questioning look as he stated, "You know, Angie, I really can't stay all night. I could have just left my car in the driveway."
Choosing to let it slide that Pete wasn't calling her 'Angela' like she had asked, "No, that wouldn't have been good, Peter. I don't have many neighbors, but the ones that I do have, are quite nosy. I don't want to give them anything to talk about, you know what I mean?" She purred as she hooked her arms around his neck and gave him a teasing nibble on his earlobe, causing him to moan in anticipation of the evening ahead.
"Let's go into the house, Peter."
Had Pete been thinking straight at that moment, the little hairs on the back of his neck would have been raised. Angie didn't normally call him 'Peter', yet she had done so three times in the span of less than a half an hour.
Angie led the way into the house, "Go on in and make yourself comfortable; I'll get us a drink."
"Uhm…okay." Pete smiled and then made his way into the living room and sat down on the couch. He figured that he might as well get comfortable, so he removed his shoes and lounged back against the couch, closing his eyes for a short lived moment.
Angie set the two glasses of beer on the coffee table and then slunk down onto the couch next to Pete, half on and half off of his lap. He moaned and enfolded her into his arms, pulling her fully onto his lap and going in for a kiss, as he caressed her. She stopped him short with a finger to his lips. "No, no, no, Peter…not just yet; let's just sip our drinks and relax a little bit." She leaned forward and picked up the glasses, handing one to Pete.
"Thanks." He took a long pull from his glass before setting it on the end table next to the couch. "So, just what sort of 'relaxing' did you have in mind?"
"Mmmm, I thought we would just hold each other, sip our drinks, and then…well, then we'll just go with the flow of the evening." She reached over with and picked up Pete's drink and handed it to him. He took another long pull from it.
"Are you trying to get me tipsy so that I can't drive home, young lady?" Pete asked playfully.
"Mmmm…maybe. I can think of worse things that could happen to you, though."
Pete gave her a smirky smile, "I guess there are worse things, at that." He drained his glass.
"Here, drink some of mine; I'm not much into beer." Angie handed him her still full glass.
After he'd finished draining her glass as well, Angie began kissing him near his ear and down his neck. Pete knew he should be enjoying her tender ministrations, but his head was feeling really fuzzy. His eyes were blurring and he couldn't seem to focus on anything. Opening his mouth to say something, he found that he couldn't seem to put two words together without tremendous effort. "Ang…gie…some…something's wrong. Home…gotta go…home." Pete's words were coming out slurred and choppy. He couldn't understand how two glasses of beer could be so intoxicating. He could feel himself fading quickly into unconsciousness.
Angie pulled away, "Oh no, Peter, nothing's wrong. As a matter of fact…everything is just perfect. Just like I planned it. You aren't going anywhere...not now, and not later. You see, I've waited a long, long time to get to you, and now that I have you, you are going to pay dearly for what you did to my father five years ago." Her words were lost on Pete as he drifted off in unconsciousness.
Angie extracted herself from his lap, and then made quick work of relieving Pete of his off-duty weapon that he had in a small holster on his belt. She then turned him onto his stomach and bound his wrists together behind his back with a piece of rope. Then she bound his ankles together with a second piece of twine. "Don't go anywhere sleeping beauty; I need to go wash your filthy touch off of my skin."