By the time their weekend sailing trip ended, Jack McCoy and Brooke Malinowski had learned two things. First: When making love on a boat it is best to stick to the queen size bed in the master cabin, instead of attempting to live out 'waterfall fantasies' in a shower the size of a toilet stall at Denny's.Two: When sailing with a woman who is new to the world of sailing, above all else, it's essential to have an ample supply of sea sick medicine.

"Okay, I admit it," Malinowski said as she joined her lover who was all ready soaking in the claw foot tub in their bathroom. "Maybe I should have done a little more research about this boat business, before jumping in with both feet."

McCoy slipped his arm around her as she rested her head against his shoulder. Between the shower incident and her bouts sea sickness, McCoy knew there wasn't a spot on his fiancee's body that didn't ache.

"It was thoughtful and more than generous," he said with sincerity as he began to run his hands over her tender spots. "But, maybe we should forget about living on a boat and plan on staying here, at least until you get you sea legs."

"As much as I wanted you to live your dream, I have to admit, if we went for the boat you'd probably be living that dream by yourself after six months. I had no idea one person could throw up that many times in a forty eight hour time period."

McCoy bit back a laugh. He knew if he started to chuckle, more than likely, his lover would too. Realizing how tender her abdomen had to be, he knew it would be nothing short of cruel for him to encourage her to use those muscles.

"You have no idea how much I appreciate the effort you made. Now Brooke, about this homicide fantasy of yours, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to steer clear of Danielle and Sam until you've had a chance to …"

"To what? To calm down? I can do that," she said sweetly. "I'll call Danielle and tell her I need to reschedule our lunch date for how long? Say after the next couple of decades?"

"You realize you'll be doing good to make it through the commute... not to mention the workday...Monday? Danielle can keep. How did you two end up planning lunch during the week, anyway?"

"She's representing the defendant in that case Renard's taking to trial next week. You know the one. Murder One charge? Spousal abuse is the motive? Danielle's going to go for battered woman's syndrome as a defense."

"The Crawford case," he replied, once again fighting back laughter. This time, laughter that was bringing tears to his eyes.

Malinowski could sense the pure mirth he was holding back and playfully splashed at him, as she carefully looked up at his smiling face.

"Go ahead, laugh. I know you're thrilled Danielle will be in my neck of the woods for weeks with this one.If she's at trial in Islip she won't be darkening the door of one of your ADA's anytime soon."

"Oh, it's not just that. You know how strongly she feels about battered wife syndrome. Renard's going to be drowning in experts and statistical data. Just be glad you this one didn't get dropped on your desk."

"I've seen some of the pre-trial stuff. It looks like Clint has the wife dead to rites on this one. It will be messy through, with the victim's history of violence. To be honest with you Jack, I wouldn't be surprised if my boss didn't hand it off to Clint because he knew I'd have tried to plead it out as Man One, just to avoid a jury verdict."

"Come on Brooke, you know we don't put the victim on trial."

Malinowski rolled her eyes so dramatically at him as she stick her tongue out that, despite his best efforts, this time McCoy burst into laughter.

"This is one of the reasons why I can never work for you, Jack. As right as you are, in the privacy of our home, I have to be able to call a spade a spade. I'm not going to pretend I think this woman deserves a life sentence for this. To be honest, given your family history, I am a little surprised you don't want to give Roberta Crawford a medal for ending that living hell she called a marriage."

McCoy felt himself shudder, more from the surge of memories from his childhood, than the coolness of the bath water.

"Come on, "he said as he eased them both up. "Let's get you back into bed. I'll bring you your cell phone so you can call Danielle before it gets too late."

"Smooth but not smooth enough, "she commented as she let him slip her bathrobe over her."You're trying to dodge the family bullet again, Jack."

McCoy slipped his robe on as she finished tieing the belt of her robe and led her to their bed.

"Let it go, Brooke," he said quietly as he pulled the covers back. "You know how I feel about making a case personal."

"Trust me; you won't have to ask me twice. Actually, when Jake and wrap up our closing next week, I was thinking about asking Michael for a few days of vacation time. That is, if you're still ready to set a wedding date?"

"We can set a date tonight if you're ready," he said thoughtfully, as he reached across the bed to grab the tiny phone on the night table. "Did you want me to schedule some time off as well?"

"Actually, I thought if I felt better in a few days, I could use a sometime to try to get a jump on those cabinet doors I put you off on for so long. Since it looks like we're staying here, it might be nice to get the loft finished up before you move the rest of your stuff over here and decide what you want to do about subletting your old place-"

Before McCoy could respond, the phone in his hand began to ring. McCoy glanced at the caller ID and frowned.

"It's your boss."

"Clint?"

"No, your real boss, Jackowicz."

The puzzled look on Malinowski's faced deepened once she took the phone from McCoy and began speaking to the District Attorney for Suffolk County. McCoy exchanged his robe for a fresh pair of briefs and an tee shirt, as he listened with growing concern to his fiancée's end of the conversation.

"I don't freaking believe this,"she said as she tossed the phone onto the night table.

"Spoke too soon. What happened to Renard?"

"His mother had a stroke," she said futility. "He's gonna be in Vermont until the end of the week. His second chair already called the judge to get a continuance, but it's Judge Eliis and he doesn't like delays. He wants to start jury selection in the morning, so Jake will close for me on the O'Brien case and I'll be taking the lead on Crawford, at least until Clint gets back. So much for finishing those cabinets any time soon.

So much for dodging the bullet, McCoy thought grimly.