Crazy, After All

He'd been cleared by Psych Services last Friday and spent Saturday and Sunday "chomping at the bit," more than eager for the weekend to pass so he could get back to work on Monday morning. To him, it was more than just work –it was his life's calling.

He arrived at his desk on Monday morning at 700 a.m., as the night shift detectives wearily straggled out and the day shift stumbled in –yawning and trying to shake off their over-indulgences of the weekend.

As he readied is desk for the workday, he began to think about the last time he'd been there –when the Captain placed him on "sick leave" and told him not to come back until he'd been to Psych Services. He remember telling the Captain a couple of times, "There's nothing wrong with me."

And at the formal interview before the Departmental Hearing, he told the Chief of D's, outright, that he wasn't crazy.

Despite the turmoil of recent life events, he firmly believed it –there was nothing wrong with him. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't a whack job. He knew who he was: A good, dedicated cop with an insatiable need to right wrongs, defend the weak, and find the truth, no matter what the cost.

He remembered back to Tates. He'd been more afraid about what might happen to his newly found nephew, Donnie, than what effects the drugs and torture might have on him. He remembered the feeling as the sodium amytal was pushed through his veins –relaxing him and lowering his defenses and inhibitions. Yet, he was clever enough –his mind and will strong enough to keep his wits about him and stick to his rehearsed script. It wasn't far from the truth. Being a high school history teacher would have suited him well, if Police work hadn't worked out. And his name: "William" for the much-absent man who was married to his mother and did little to raise him and "Brady" for the man who was, in all probability, his biological father. The realization that he was nothing like either man gave him comfort.

In the distance he heard the chime of the elevator; heard the familiar sound of heels clicking against tile floor. He smiled. As he watched her round the corner from the elevator to the main hallway, he realized that he'd been lying to himself. He was crazy, after all.

Crazy about her.

Fin.