The picture had a lanky tomboy with baggy jeans and a loose old t-shirt and a girly teen smiling at her side. The first girl has on dirty tennis shoes and black paint on her face. She played hokey with the boys and hated dressing up, especially in a dress! Vicki chuckled at the thought of her behavior in high school and her ways now.

Still no dresses; times really didn't change

The other was a shorter African-American girl dressed in form-fitting blue cotton top and old overalls on, to try and hide the unnoticed protruding belly that would soon develop in the next coming months. The two girls were inseparable in high school, the best of friends.

Vicki stared out the picture so long, she didn't even notice Henry standing in the door way. She heard him come in though, but continued to look down at the picture.

"Lacey was my best friend in high school. She had father-issues herself, so of course - we got along great!" Vicki said sadly.

"Vicki…" Henry asked lowly. When he didn't get a response, he proceeded to sit down in front of her to see her face. He couldn't read her face; it was filled with so many emotions: sadness, pain, joy, and anxiety. He remained attentive and silent, as his partner continued to open up to him.

"This picture was taken in the summer before our junior year. We were inseparable in high school. She understood me and was always there for me. She would always 'tell it like it is'- that's what she used to call it. She'd called me out on everything and held nothing back. That's what I loved about her; her spunk, honest, and a very strong-will. I guess that's where I get my hard-headedness from as you say."

It was the first time she acknowledged his presence in the room, looking up as she said those words. He looked at her and smiled, nodding for her to continue her story. As much as he loved her strong-will, he also loved that she was comfortable enough to be open with him, able to be talk to him and pulling away from her shell.

"That summer, she told me that she met hooked up with this guy at some party she went to with her sister and found out she was pregnant. I mean I was just as shocked but I was happy for her; vowing that I would be with her through it all. I'm not sure why I was so reluctant to help her; I guess I wanted her baby to be happy, not like us with our obvious father and trust issues, and vowing never to fall for a guy's tricks. We graduated and went to the same university, me wanting to be a cop, and her wanting to be a teacher, and a good other to a one year old."

She paused one more, and all the while smiling lightly, as if reliving each memory in her head.

"She had a girl, a healthy eight-pound baby girl with a head full of hair. Her name was Leila Anne Fox, her first name after her grandmother, and 'Anne' after my middle name. I was named her godmother, and promised to always be there for her. I-I didn't want her to grow up thinking her mom had a tough time raising her by herself. Even though her father was not in the picture, I wanted her to feel loved by the people she was surrounded by. My mom agreed to watch Leila while we were in school, until Lacey found a babysitter, and we'd pick her up afterwards. I never imagined myself being the motherly-type, but Leila made me actually want kids. She was so beautiful and smart. Her sweet smile would light up a room anywhere, and her eyes were intriguing. She has the biggest warm grey eyes I'd ever seen. She grew up a happy, loving little girl.

She paused again, but this time she wasn't smiling, only reliving the memories in sadness. Henry felt her heartbeat slow down and speed up. Something told him that the next part of the story wouldn't be so good.

"Vicki, what happened?" He asked, trying to search her soul for the answer. She looked into his eyes; a tear escaped her eyes before she knew it but quickly wiped it away and looked away from the light that came from the desk lamp and into the darkness.

"She…we were juniors by then. I was set on entering the police academy after graduation. Once day, Lacey called. She said someone picked up Leila from daycare and gave my name. I told her I didn't pick her up that day. Over the next few weeks, we went into a frenzy trying to find her. We had the police search every day, but no new news came. We made posters; we called shelters, police stations in other cities, anything and everything to try and find her. Finally after a month, we got the call. A homeless women found a body in a dumpster downtown, said it appeared to be a child, about four year's old. The description she gave us was uncanny, from her outfit to her appearance; it was her. We had the funeral a couple of days later; I've never felt so…empty before. She was the closest thing I had to a child, and she was gone."

Vicki sighed heavily after this. She never thought she'd be this open with Henry before, but she wanted him to know more about her.

"After that, me and Lacey's friendship was never the same. I would blame myself everyday, and on top of that, she would blame me and worst of all, herself for what happened. She would cry herself to sleep, stopped eating, and stopped going to her classes. Lacey moved to Seattle, and I never heard from her again. I went into the academy and became what I always wanted to be: a cop. I put my past behind me and tried to do my job. About three years ago, Lacey's brother Anthony called me to tell me that Lacey died of breast cancer and invited me to the funeral. I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye…or apologize, so I went to her funeral so that I could. After the burial service, Anthony handed me a letter addressed to me. Lacey wrote me a letter, I guess she was going to send it before she…. it said that she didn't blame me for what happened to Leila and blamed herself all these years. She wanted us to try and be friends again and work things out. And that she loved me and would never forget our friendship." Vicki ended her story, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

Having heard her story, Henry felt a sense of sadness inside, and almost wished he hadn't heard it. Vicki's life seemed filled with sadness. First, her father left her, her mother's inattentiveness and now this? He now discovered a part of why she was so determines help and save everyone. It was to find and help the victim, making sure they were found alive and well. She always wanted, needed to help someone, to somehow fill a void deep inside from where she kept the memory of the closet thing she had to a child.

She reached up to grab the couch, and pulled herself up. She took the album back to the box and put at the content of it back; she then walked over to the closet and put the old box back where it belonged. As she did this, she never looked at Henry; she didn't want him to see her teary eyes.

"I'm going to sleep; I've had a long day. I think you should go home, Henry."

He looked at her apologetically and wanted to interject, but she was too fast for him.

The ends of her mouth curled into a small sad smile. She came closer to him, putting her shaky hand to his cheek. He breathed in deeply, escaping in the touch her of skin on his and did not realizes the closeness of Vicki's face. She put her soft lips on his cold ones; Henry was shocked at first, but obliged in her need for his partner's comfort, putting his hand behind her neck to delve further into the kiss.

Finally; I've waited so long for this moment… He thought to himself

It was a tender kiss, a kiss Vicki needed to feel safe, loved, and most of all – accepted for all her flaws. She was glad Henry was here to listen and not judge her for anything. Their lips separated, leaving them in an awkward silence. Vicki was the first to speak up, blushing as she spoke.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, Henry."

"Promise?"

"Promise, besides, you know I can't resist shaking down a suspect. Goodnight, Henry."

He repeated the words, his blue eyes searching into her own, putting his cold hand to her left cheek and laid a soft, gentle kiss on the other cheek, reassuring her that everything will be okay.

As he walked out of her office, she whispered something she knew only he could hear.

"Thank you"

And with that, he smiled and exited the building. He stayed outside her office until he saw that every light shut off, and heard her climb into bed, her aching heartbeat slow down, and her body enter into a deep sleep.

"Goodnight Vicki."