A/N: I'm not sure if anyone is reading this, but I'm going to continue to write this because my muse is back in full force! I'm glad for that!

Summary: A call on a slow day makes everything become drastically hectic for the Baltimore Police Department.

Special Thanks: Goes out to Cosmic Castaway yet again for being here to help out when I wasn't sure about things. Thanks so much girlie, I owe you! Also, thanks for your review! (hugs you)

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything on this show, this is for entertainment purposes!

Spoilers: Sometime after "Wu's On First", probably a few months after.

Chapter Two: Coming Undone

"You wanna be the primary on this one?" Meldrick asked as they pulled up on the old dump ground. "The board seems kinda empty under your name lately, you got a lot lighter case load than me."

Kellerman shrugged as they lifted the yellow police tape already strung across the area. He sighed heavily, walking up to the crowd of people. "Gotta love Dundalk, the arm pit of Baltimore."
"I thought that was New Jersey, the arm pit of America."

"Dundalk makes New Jersey look like Paris," Kellerman smirked as he greeted the uniform officer that was first on scene. "What do we got?"

The officer looked down at his note pad at the notes he had taken, flipping through a few of the pages as he paused to take a drag off of his cigarette. "White male found face down. No witnesses."

"Who called it in?"

"Anonymous caller."

Kellerman ran his hands through his hair. "I smell a red ball coming on, aren't those how they usually start? A random caller for a body that no one really gives a shit about?" He knelt down beside the blood stained corpse. "Let's roll him, find out who this guy is."

Cox stood by as they turned him over, revealing the mangled face of the deceased that lay before them. Her stomach dropped at the site of it, knowing instantly that it just impacted the lives of all of them. She quickly averted her eyes to Kellerman who looked to be in a state of confusion.

He couldn't even move. It was like someone just sucked all of his energy away from his body, leaving him there to wither away. Everyone around him seemed to move in slow motion as he stared down at the murder victim inches away from him. Was this real? Was it some nightmare he was having on those restless nights after a long day? He wasn't sure; all he knew was that he couldn't move. There in front of him laid his older brother, Drew Kellerman, a man that was once a criminal, a troublesome man, but it was still Kellerman's family.

He felt a firm grip on his arm as someone tried to lift him up and away from the body. "Mike come on." The voice was soft and low, but held some sort of echo in his mind. He looked to see who it was but everything was still such a blur to him that he had no clue. He jerked away from the grasp, his anger flaring that someone would take him away from his dead brother.

"Leave me alone!" He said, walking back to Drew. "It's not Drew, it just looks like him." He whispered, staring down at him.

Lewis gave Cox a doubtful look along with a shrug as they stood back, allowing time for Kellerman to calm down. For a moment Lewis even doubted that this was real, hoping that he'd soon hear the annoying alarm clock on his nightstand. Kellerman had already had so much crap to deal with after being dragged through the court system, only to be spit back out like nothing had happened and now this, his brother murdered on some cold ground in Dundalk with no trace of who did it.

Kellerman quickly looked up to Lewis, his eyes red. He hadn't cried yet, but it was evident he was on the verge of letting his tears fall. "Let's get moving, I'm going to kill the bastard that did this to him." The look on his face was so different to Lewis, like a part of him was missing.

"I think we better call Gee, Mikey."

"Why would we call Gee? It's a murder, we don't need his help."

Lewis looked at Kellerman as if he had totally lost it, and he wondered if he had. "Mikey get real. It's your brother, you know we gotta call the brass for this. It's not a…." He trailed off, knowing the minute he said it that Kellerman would probably fly off of the handle. "It's not a normal murder and you know it."

"Whatever." Kellerman said as he scanned the area. "You always know best, right?" He walked back to the Cavalier, leaning against the hood of it, not entirely sure what to do next. Deep down he knew that Giardello would probably take him off of the case but he would fight it. He felt he owed Drew this. He had never tried to help him get off of his criminal path so it was almost like he was blaming himself for it.

"Mike.." Juliana slowly walked up to him, not sure what to say. "I truly am sorry."

He nodded; his mind was so jumbled at the moment that he remained silent. It was as if someone was changing the channel in his brain. His thoughts went from his childhood with Drew to Gregg, and then his parents. How would they react to all of this? His dad had pretty much accepted the fact that his sons would never be 'normal' but his mother would take this exceptionally hard.

Gregg was his main concern at the moment. He and Drew were always together; attached at the hip and always into something they shouldn't be into. For as long as Mike could remember it had been that way, and now Drew was dead and Gregg was nowhere near.

"Mike, let's go back to HQ, direct orders from Gee." Lewis said as he approached. "We've done all we can do here anyway."

Mike stood there a few seconds more, staring at the lifeless body of his brother. "I'm not being taken off of this case Meldrick. I won't allow it."

"Oh I know you won't."

"I'm not being taken off of this case, Gee!" That was the first thing out of Kellerman's mouth as they made their way up to the second floor of the police building. "I gotta stay on this case."

"Who said I was taking you off?" He retorted, taking his black framed reading glasses off of his face. "First off I need both of you to tell me exactly what's going on. I get a phone call saying it's a family member and nothing more."

Kellerman sat at his desk, burying his face in his arms, allowing Lewis to speak. He was still so confused, very angry, and tired from the whole fiasco that happened all too quickly for him to even comprehend it. He began to daze off again, not even hearing Lewis tell Giardello about the call.

"That's how it played out Gee." Lewis said, tossing his Fedora Hat in front of him. He took note to how Kellerman was acting and pulled Gee to the side. "I actually want to talk to you in private."

Gee nodded, escorting him to his office and shutting the door behind them. "This isn't a good situation Lewis. What's on your mind?"

"Of course it's about Mikey. I'm not sure how we should go about this case." He ran his index finger and thumb down his goatee, thinking about what words to spit out next to his lieutenant.

"What do you mean? You are afraid he's not able to handle it?"

Lewis shrugged. He wanted to be there for Kellerman but he didn't want him to blow the case either. It was such a tough decision; no matter what he thought it could possibly hurt someone. "I don't want to rule him out on the case right now, but what do you think Barnfather would say?"

"It doesn't matter. I've got to make the initial decision." Gee paused. "Personally I think Kellerman might do okay. If anyone can get determined about finding his brother's killer, it's him. You know how angry he'll get if I pull him off of this case, don't you?"

He definitely knew how his temper would flare. "Yes sir, I know how that goes. I'll keep him in line, we can try this out."

"Call him in here."

Kellerman heard his name be called, but it was almost as if he couldn't pick his head up from the steal of his desk. 'I gotta stop acting like this' he thought. 'They'll surely pull me off of this case if I keep acting like a jackass.' He picked his body up, it felt like dead weight as he dragged himself into Giardello's office.

"Sir?" He tried to act like all was fine, but he knew Gee had a keen sense of detail and no matter how hard he tried to hide it Gee would know he wasn't "ok".

"Have a seat."

Sitting down, his mind raced with what was going on. He had already decided that if Gee took him off that he'd still work it behind closed doors, there was no way they'd keep him away.

"I've decided to keep you on this murder case on one condition." He stood up, moving closer to Kellerman. "If you lose your head ONE time, just once, I will assign another detective, is that clear? This is a favor I'm giving you, Detective Kellerman."

He averted his eyes to Lewis who remained silent. "Thanks Gee." It was almost a whisper. "I'll find this guy."

"On a side note, I suggest you take some time off. Be with your family, cool down some. Lewis will cover the case until you get back."

He quickly shook his head no, standing up. "I'm not taking time off. I'm going to get started while it's still fresh." He didn't allow Giardello to say anything else before he left the office, slamming the door behind him.

Lewis smirked, trying to make the situation light hearted. "Something tells me that you'll be pulling him off of this case sooner than we think."

Kellerman would've stayed late to work the case but had to leave, direct orders from Giardello to go home and get some rest. So bad did he want to stay and work through the night but was threatened to be taken off of the case if he was found anywhere near the building. At least Lewis was getting a jumpstart with all of the physical evidence and forensics before that stuff was nowhere to be found. He wasn't sure what he was going to do though, he knew he wouldn't sleep.

Kellerman probably should've gone to see his parents but facing them at this moment was more than he could handle. He thought he had to be the strong one and seeing his mother so upset would tug at his feelings way too much. The only thing he could think to do at the moment was drown out his emotions with a good bottle of Jim Beam, the only thing he could really turn to right now, or so he thought.

He was going to go to the Waterfront but too many people that he worked with hung out there so he avoided that place like the plague. He stopped by the nearest corner store, purchasing a liter bottle to bury his head in. He made his way down the block to his car, getting in and driving wherever the wheel took him.

He drove down his parent's street, seeing that their lights were all out. They were probably sitting in the dark, silent and miserable. He wondered if anyone had called his sister to tell her the news. She never really got along with Drew but she'd be on the first plane up for the family. He was still very worried about Gregg. He and Drew were so close, and a part of him thought that Gregg might come up murdered somewhere too.

Turning up the block, Kellerman finally decided to go back home to his boat where if he did get totally wasted he would be in the safety of his own home if anything happened. Memories poured in as he walked down the pier, to the dock where his boathouse was located.

"With your old tub we could pull in a grand a week, but with this new one, the sky is the limit!"

Kellerman stood on the edge of the boat as the water rocked it back and forth. Staring at the deck it was as if he didn't want to step on, as if the memories he had of Drew that day he randomly showed up on the boat would erase somehow.

He finally stepped over, instantly opening the lid of the Jim Beam bottle and taking a long gulp, feeling the burn go down to his stomach. He stared at the inner city lights from the harbor with a few faint sirens being heard. They say New York is a city that never sleeps, but lately that's how Baltimore had been feeling to him. The murders keep piling up, names go on the board in red, and people just don't know when to quit.

There was a small fold up chair not far from where he was standing, and he sat down hard, making a loud sound. He didn't care though; his mind was definitely on other things. He took another sip, already feeling a buzz from his whiskey.

"165 dollars."

"I pawned my watch."

"We will pay you back."

"Go to hell."

"You can count on it. I love you man."

No matter how hard he fought it he blamed himself for Drew's death. Here he was, a cop, and he couldn't even help his own brother get on the right road. Even in childhood Drew was always getting into trouble. No matter what he did, Drew never listened because Mike was the baby, the "parent's favorite".

"We couldn't fart without you running to mom and dad. You were born with a badge on your ass!"

He closed his eyes, realizing he had already drunk a half of the bottle. His body could feel the effects from it. The boat was floating on water, but his body was magnifying it. He tried to fight off his exhaustion but his eyelids felt extremely heavy as he dozed off into a drunken sleep, his mind restless from his thoughts and memories of his eldest brother. Tomorrow he would start his quest to allow Drew Kellerman to rest in peace, or he'd at least die trying. He owed him that much.

TBC…. All Feedback is greatly appreciated!