The Visit

Chapter 2

Early the next morning, Jillian climbed out of bed just before the six o'clock alarm went off. She reset the alarm for six-thirty and then went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and fix Pete's breakfast of sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toast. If there was one thing that Jillian had learned about her husband in the past four months, it was that he had a very hearty appetite.

Puttering around the kitchen while breakfast was cooking, Jillian took a roast out of the freezer and set it on the counter to begin thawing, figuring that she would make pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage for dinner, along with hot buttered rolls.

She heard the alarm go off in the other room, so she dished up Pete's breakfast, poured him a cup of steaming hot coffee and set both down in his spot at the table, just as he appeared in the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Sunshine" he said as he bent to give her quick kiss. "Smells delicious...looks delicious…probably is delicious!" he quipped, lightheartedly.

"Well, delicious or not, you better sit down and eat while it's hot."

"Your wish is my command." Pete said as he slid into his chair and began to eat his breakfast.

Jillian couldn't help but laugh at him as she sat down across from him, sipping her coffee and nibbling on a piece of dry toast. She loved having this time together before Pete had to leave for work. The easy casualness of it served to give her a small amount of comfort to hold onto each time that she watched him walk out of the apartment.

"Is that all you're having for breakfast?" Pete asked in a concerned voice.

"I'm not all that hungry this morning. Besides, Jean and I are getting together for coffee in a little while so we'll probably just grab an early lunch. I'll be fine."

Smiling slightly and nodding, Pete just sat there and studied her for a second or two before finishing up his breakfast. Something's just not right. I hope she's not upset over our conversation last night. I wish she'd talk to me. She's been kind of tired lately, maybe that's all there is to it.

Having made short work of getting ready for work, Pete was walking toward the door, Jillian right behind him, when he turned and scooped her up unexpectedly in his arms and planted a big kiss on her.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" She asked, surprised by her husbands' sudden display of impulsiveness.

"I don't know, I just felt like kissing my beautiful wife." he replied with love filled eyes. "I love you, Sunshine. You DO know that, don't you?"

Thinking back to last night, and to how insecure she must have sounded when they were talking, Jillian smiled and said, "Yes, I know that. And you know that I love you too, Pete; I'm sorry if I just wasn't myself last night. I've just been kind of tired lately; you know, not sleeping very well."

"Will you promise me that if you don't start sleeping better, and soon, that you'll call the doctor and get checked out; just to make sure everything's okay." She could see the concern and love in his eyes as he talked.

"I promise. Just let me get through the visit with our parents, and if I'm not sleeping any better, I promise I'll go see the doctor before we go on vacation" and then feeling a little ornery "after all, I want to make sure I'm well rested for our 'getaway'!"

Feeling a little on the ornery side himself, Pete came back with "Yeah, you definitely have to be well rested for vacation…after all, the fish start biting just before sun up so we'll need to be out on the lake by at least five a.m. or so."

Looking at him like he'd lost his marbles, Jillian snickered and said "You're hopeless, Pete…go to work."

"I'm going…I love you, Sunshine. I'll see you this afternoon, after I drop Jim off at home." He said as he headed out the door.

"Love you too, Honey. Be safe." he heard as he was leaving.

********

Pete and Jim were in the locker room, changing into their uniforms before heading to roll call. They were going over some items that they needed to follow up on from yesterday's shift, as well as talking about a few areas that they wanted to do a little extra patrol in.

As they were finishing up in the locker room, Jim ventured "Jean said that Jillian's coming over for coffee this morning."

"That's what Jillian said, too."

"Is she okay, Pete?" Jim had wanted to ask Pete that question in the car, on the way to work, but he wasn't sure just how to word it. "She seemed kind of tired at dinner last night."

Knowing that his friend was just concerned, Pete answered "I think she's okay; she just hasn't been sleeping very well lately. I can't pinpoint exactly when it started, but it does have me a little concerned."

"Do you think it has anything to do with your job?"

Giving Jim a perplexed look, he asked "Why would my job be bothering her? I was a police officer way before we even got together, so it's not just something that I sprung on her out of the blue. She seemed fine with my job when we were just friends…and even after we started dating. Heck, I don't think she's ever really given it a second thought."

"It was just a thought. You know, Jean was okay about me becoming a police officer, too, but there are still moments when it bothers her. I can usually tell by her moods if she's in one of her 'mother hen' modes."

Rather skeptically "I just don't picture Jillian as the 'mother hen' type."

"Do you tell her about our calls?"

"Yeah, I do now…most of the time, anyway; especially ever since we had that talk after we got married. Maybe I am telling her too much. You think that could be it?"

"No, Pete, I really don't think you can tell her too much. Maybe in your own way, you're still trying to shelter her from some things and she's picking up on that. I don't think you can do that with Jillian, man, she's gonna see right through you if you do."

"Maybe you're right."

Their conversation was cut short as they entered into the roll call room.

Soon after roll call, the partners were in the squad car and had just cleared the station for their shift.

"One Adam-12, day watch clear." Jim said into the mic as they pulled onto the street.

"One Adam-12, roger; handle a 507 loud music from unknown address in the 200 block West Adams St."

"One Adam-12, roger" hanging up the mic "Loud music at this time of the morning. What are people thinking?"

"Maybe they think since it's daylight and they're up, everybody else should be too" Pete replied.

"Yeah I guess."

The turned into the 200 block of West Adams St. and immediately heard the ear-splitting music coming from number 212.

"One Adam-12 to dispatch, show us code six at 212 West Adams on the 507 loud music call."

"One Adam-12, roger"

Walking up to the front door, Pete reached out and knocked…no answer; knocking again, a little louder this time, the door was opened by an elderly lady, wearing a smile a mile wide, and squinting as if she were having a hard time seeing them.

"Good morning, boys. Won't you come in?" she said and then turned and spryly walked over to the stereo and turned it off."

Entering into the room, Pete said "Ma'am, I'm Officer Malloy and this is my partner, Officer Reed. What's your name, please?"

"I'm Mrs. Jones; Mrs. Edna Jones."

"Well, Mrs. Jones, we received a complaint about your music being turned up too loud."

"Oh, I know it was little loud; I just didn't know how else to get someone out here to help me, you see."

Looking perplexed, Jim asked "Ma'am, what is it that you need help with?"

"My eyeglasses."

"Did you say, your…eyeglasses, ma'am?" asked Pete.

"Yes, young man. You don't have to repeat what I say; I'm not daft, you know. I just can't see without my eyeglasses."

Rolling his tongue around inside his cheek, Pete gave the woman a slight smile and said "Yes, ma'am, I imagine it would be rather difficult to see without them. Not daring to look at Jim, who was trying to hide his amused look at the scolding his partner just took, Pete continued "Uhm, why don't you just put your eyeglasses on?"

"Because they won't stay on."

"Why won't they stay on?" Pete asked in a baffled tone.

"Because the little screw thing fell out of the arm and now the arm won't stay on." she stated, as if it were obvious, as she pulled the glasses and the disconnected arm out of her apron pocket and held it out to the officers for inspection.

Still not sure where this was headed, Pete nodded and said "Well, Mrs. Jones, that still doesn't explain why you had your music up so loud."

Jim, seeing the screw on the carpet, bent to pick it up.

"Well I just figured that if I turned my music up loud, one of my neighbors would call you fellas to come out and then I could get the help that I need." she said, as she watched Jim pick up the screw off of the carpet.

"Ma'am, I believe this is the screw, here. Would you like for me to try and put it back in your glasses?"

"Oh, yes young man." as she handed Jim the glasses and the arm.

Jim quickly took out his pocketknife and while Pete held the arm in place, Jim dropped in the screw and used the tip of his knife to give it a couple of twists to tighten it.

Handing the glasses back to her, he said with a smile, "Here, try them now."

Putting them on gingerly, Mrs. Jones smiled brightly at Jim and said "Oh, thank you officer. You are really too kind; she then looked toward Pete and with a slight scowl said "It's so rare these days to find a nice young man that is helpful."

Jim looked down toward the floor so Pete wouldn't see his grin as Pete said, "Yes ma'am. If that's all you need, we'll be on our way now. Just try and keep the music down to a civil level, okay?"

"Oh, like I told you, officer, it was just so I could get some help."

Jim asked, "I'm just curious, Mrs. Jones, why didn't you just call one of your neighbors to come over and help you?"

"Well, I didn't want to disturb any of them this early in the morning, officer. That wouldn't be the neighborly thing to do, now would it?" she said as she was showing them to the door.

Laughing slightly, Jim replied "No, ma'am, I guess not." and touching the tip of his hat, he said "You have a good day, Mrs. Jones." as he followed Pete out through the door.

As they were getting into the squad car, Pete held out a hand towards Jim and said "Go on, just get it over with."

"What makes you think that I was gonna say anything?"

"I know you, partner; you won't be able to hold it in much past the end of the block, so just spill it."

Snickering, Jim said "You seemed to have lost your charm with the women now that you're an 'ole married man like the rest of us."

"Mmm-huh," was Pete's only response.

Picking up the mic, "One Adam-12, clear" Jim stated.

"One Adam-12, roger."

The partners hadn't been too busy; only pulling over a couple of cars for minor traffic violations before lunch.

After having lunch at Dukes, they continued cruising their assigned area. Their day continued to stay pretty calm until just before the end of shift.

Beep, beep, beep…of the radio…

"One Adam-12, One Adam-12, handle a 415 family dispute; 132 E. Riverton; handle code 2."

Jim picked up the mic and acknowledged the call. "132 E. Riverton, One Adam-12, Roger"

Arriving a few minutes later, the officers could hear the combatants as they drove up next to the curb and quickly exited the squad car.

At the front door, they had barely finished knocking when an angry looking, irate little woman threw open the screen door and yelled at the officers "I want him arrested" as she forcibly pointed toward the man standing in the living room.

He was holding a fireplace poker and making jabbing motions towards the officers and his wife, while yelling "I ain't going nowhere. Get the hell outta here, this ain't none of your business; it's between me and my wife! Get outta here, NOW" as he lunged toward Pete with the poker.

Quickly sidestepping and grabbing the man's arm, forcing him to drop the poker, Pete shouted

"Drop it, mister."

"Ow! You're hurting me!" the man yelled as Pete continued to hold the man's arm behind his back.

Glancing in Jim's direction, he could see that he had the wife across the room, standing near the fireplace. She seemed to have calmed down, and Jim was taking information from her.

"Just settle down and I'll let go, agreed?"

"Yeah, yeah; I'm settled. I ain't leaving my house, though."

Letting go of the man's arm, Pete asked "Now, what's your name?"

"Jerry Brown."

"Mr. Brown, you wanna tell me what this is all about?"

"We just had a disagreement is all; no harm done. I'll apologize…I always do…and everything will be fine." he said as he started to move toward where his wife and Jim were standing.

"Now just hold on…" Pete didn't get to finish his sentence, as all hell broke loose across the room.

The woman screamed "DON'T YOU DARE COME NEAR ME YOU…," she didn't finish her sentence with words, instead, in a lightening move, she grabbed a vase off the fireplace mantel and flung it toward her husband, clearly aiming for his head…but missing by just enough, that Pete, not reacting fast enough, caught the vase full force against the right temple.

Immediately, Jim said "Pete, you okay?" as he could see the stunned look on his partner's face.

Though the force of the blow didn't cause Pete to go down, he did have to shake his head a few times to clear the stars that he was seeing, and his head was already beginning to hurt.

Jim grabbed the woman's arms and pulled them behind her back and cuffed her quickly, all the while not taking his eyes off of his partner, as he read the woman her rights.

Not wanting his wife to be arrested, Mr. Brown started across the room toward Jim, yelling, "Get those cuffs off my wife, you lousy pig" as he lunged toward Jim.

Pete, reacting more out of instinct than anything else at that moment, lunged at the man and tackled him just before he got to Jim, and quickly subdued the man, cuffing him and reading him his rights.

"Thanks, partner," said Jim.

"Don't mention it." replied Pete as they led the two out to the cruiser.

"Reed, call in for another transport car. I don't think these two need to be in the squad together."

Picking up the mic "One Adam-12 to station, requesting another unit for transport at 132 E. Riverton."

"One Adam-12 roger; One Adam-14, back up One Adam-12 for a transport at 132 E. Riverton."

Both officers heard the acknowledgement from Adam-14 as Pete ushered Mr. Brown into the back of the squad car.

A short time later, Adam-14 rolled up and took custody of Mrs. Brown for the transport to the station.

Before climbing into the back of the squad car with Mr. Brown, Jim looked at Pete and offering him his hankie, said "Pete, you're bleeding. I think you need to go to Central Receiving; you may need stitches."

Touching his right temple, and coming away with blood stained fingers, Pete took out his own hankie and held it too his head, reluctantly handing over the keys to Jim and saying "I'll be fine, but you'd better drive us to the station." He then climbed into the back seat with Mr. Brown.

Jim, looking a bit worried at his partners' condition, quickly got into the drivers' seat and headed toward the station. He wouldn't push Pete about going to the hospital just now, figuring that once he got Mac on his side, Pete wouldn't have any choice but to go.

As he drove, Jim couldn't help but glance in the mirror from time to time just to make sure his partner was okay. Pete, seeing the worried expression on his friends face said, "Reed, keep your eyes on the road, huh? I'm fine."

Figuring that he could take this time to continue gathering information for their report, Pete asked, "Mr. Brown, just what were you and your wife fighting about, anyway?"

"Kids," he answered.

Not quite sure he was following along, Pete said "Kids? What about 'em?"

"She wanted them; I didn't. It's as simple as that. She tricked me into having two and now I feel like I'm trapped. She shouldn't have done that. She should've respected my wishes not to have a family."

Jim, having heard what Mr. Brown said, piped in and said "what's wrong with having kids? They're great. They're a real testimony to the love that you and your wife share."

"Man, what fantasy world do you live in? They ruin the whole continuity of a marriage, if you know what I mean. We had it good until the little brats came along; now I gotta work all of the time just keep them clothed and fed. My wife and I got no time for ourselves anymore. We used to do all kinds of stuff together. Fun stuff, like dancing, bowling, fishing, camping…you name it, we did it. We used to sit and talk for hours, just the two of us. Then came the kids. Now they're her whole world and we don't do nothing together anymore." then he put the nail in the coffin "And romance…let me tell you; we used to really get it on, but not no more…not with kids around. Nothing cools a fire quicker than kids being underfoot all of the time…"

"Mr. Brown, I think we've heard enough" Pete snarled at the man.

"Hey, you was the one that asked, man. I was just answering your question."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry I asked." Pete replied quietly, as Jim turned into the station parking lot.

After booking Mr. and Mrs. Brown on assault charges, Pete and Jim finished up all of their paperwork and were heading to the locker room when Mac stopped them in the hall and looked at Pete's temple. Noticing the cut just above the eyebrow and slightly to the right, he asked "Pete, what happened to you?"

"Oh nothing much Mac, just a scratch."


Mac frowned, "I don't like dragging information out of my officers; Reed, what happened?"

Not daring to look in Pete's direction Jim began to explain, "We were on a domestic call questioning a couple when the woman threw a vase at her husband; he ducked, Pete didn't. He didn't go down but he was seeing enough stars to have me drive us in."

"I'm telling you it's not that bad; this is just a scratch. I've had worse."

"Mmm-huh? A scratch? Since when do you let Reed drive, over a scratch? Besides you were on duty and I'll need a doctors report for the case file Malloy, soeither you hit the emergency room on your way home, or I come over and take you myself? What's it gonna be?"

Knowing that he had already lost this argument, Pete shot Jim a dirty look and said "you might want to call Jean and tell her you'll be late getting home…we gotta stop by the hospital. Now, if you two will excuse me, I need to go call Jillian and let her know that I'll be late." Mac and Jim both let out a small chuckle at their friend as he sulked off like a little boy that had just been scolded.

"What's eatin' at him?" Mac asked.

"I don't think he wants Jillian to know that he got clocked upside the head."

"She's not blind; he does know that, doesn't he? She's bound to see the goose-egg, and the cut…not to mention the bruise that he's sporting."

"He just doesn't want her to worry about him. You know how he is."

"Yeah, I know. Aren't we all that way?"

Laughing, Jim said "Yeah, I guess we are. I'd better get moving before he gets into a mood and leaves me stranded here. I rode in with him today."

"I see. Well, have fun with the 'big bad grump'. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya, tomorrow, Mac."

Jim caught up with Pete in the break room. He'd just gotten off the phone with Jillian, telling her that'd he be late, but not letting on why. Jim quickly called Jean, and told her the same thing; that he'd be late, and that he'd tell her more about when he got home. He didn't want her to call Jillian and spill it to her before Pete had a chance to talk to her.

As Pete and Jim were leaving, a couple of fellow officers were just heading in. Seeing Pete's bruised and bleeding goose-egg, the one said "Malloy, if you're gonna get that checked out, you may wanna go over to Rampart; we just came from Central Receiving and they are packed solid in the E.R."

Nodding his thanks, he cast a glance Jim's way and said "Rampart's closer to your house, anyway; want me to drop you off at home before I go over?"

"No, that's okay. I'll just hang out with ya, in case you have to wait awhile; you know, keep you company."

"More like babysit me so I won't leave before I have my head examined." Pete commented in a deadpan voice.

Laughing, Jim retorted "Hey man, you said it, not me."

The scowl from Pete was enough to make Jim change the subject.

********

Hanging up the phone, Jillian closed her eyes, took a deep breath and held it while she counted to 10…then continued on to 15…20…25; while doing this, she was replaying special moments in her mind; moments that she and Pete had shared together since meeting. At least Pete called this time to say he'd be late. She could feel some of the tension seeping out of her.

The breathing technique was one that Jean had suggested Jillian try whenever she was stressed about Pete's job. Jean assured her that it had been working for her ever since Mary McDonald had told her to try it the first time Jim was hurt on the job.

Earlier in the day, Jillian had spent a couple of hours having coffee and making small talk with Jean. She had confided to Jean her many fears regarding Pete's job and her feelings toward the potential dangers that he was exposed to every time he went to work.

Assuring her that her feelings were felt universally among the wives of every police officer that ever walked the beat, Jean had stepped up to the plate as a true friend, just sitting and listening, offering numerous tissues, as Jillian cried and purged her feelings. Her tearful confession to Jean seemed to put her heart at ease, somewhat, and she finally felt like she was ready to sit down and have the same talk with Pete, after dinner.

********

Pulling into the emergency room entrance at Rampart, Jim and Pete could see that they were just about as busy as they were over at Central Receiving.

"Jim why don't you just let me run you over to your house since it's not far from here? From the looks of it, I may be a while."

"Nothing doing, you should've let me drive you over as it is, so I'm sure not going to let you be in a vehicle by yourself."

"Alright, alright mother hen, let's just get this over with. You wouldn't think it would be this busy at 5 o'clock in the afternoon!"

They walked in and found Dixie working the evening shift at the E.R. desk. "Hi Dixie."

"Hi Jim; Pete what happened to you?"

"Well you see Dix, we were on this call and Pete here…"

"Never mind about all of that; Dixie doesn't need ALL the details. Let's just say I should've zigged instead of zagged, and leave it at that."

"Well, whatever happened, you took a pretty good hit. We'll need to get Dr. Brackett to look at it; I don't think you have a fracture or concussion but I do think that you will need stitches." Looking more closely, "Let me see; yeah 5 or 6 of them, maybe more; and you're going to have one grand headache, I hope that you got the guy, to make all of this worth it."

"We got her." Jim assured her, earning him another dirty look from Pete, that didn't go unnoticed by Dixie.

"Her? You know I may need some more details…for my chart, you understand."

"Reed, what are you trying to do to me? Kill my reputation?"

"Your reputation? Don't tell me, Malloy, that you've forgotten that you joined the matrimony brigade, and because of that you no longer HAVE a reputation."

"Jim's right Pete, you're off the market. I should have snatched you up sooner, but that's my loss. So what happened?"

"Okay, you win. Wife and husband were having a fight and she threw a vase at him. It must have happened before, because he knew to duck. She caught me in the head and now here we are…are you happy? Woman's curiosity satisfied?"

"Okay Pete, you've been tortured long enough. Why don't I see about getting you taken care of so that the two of you can get out of here? We've been pretty busy, as you can see, but I think treatment room 3 is clear, so why don't you wait in there and I'll have Dr. Brackett in as soon as I can."

"Okay Dix, thanks."

The guys headed to treatment room 3 and were waiting for Dr. Brackett, when the door swung open and in walked two paramedics that were in the middle of their own conversation.

"Incredible Roy, I'm telling you, the stupidity of that guy, cleaning the fireplace with gasoline after trying to start a fire, is just incredible! How stupid can you…oh sorry, we thought the room was empty."

"That's okay Johnny, Pete here, is just waiting for some stitches."

"What happened?" Roy inquired.

Answering before his partner could jump in with the details, Pete said, "Well you see, it's like this, WE may all be happily married and living in wedded bliss, but not everybody is! We were on a domestic and I got caught in the crossfire."

"I heard that you had gotten married, Congratulations." And with a twinkle in his eye Johnny added, "Now that you and I both are married what are all the nurses here and over at Central going to do?"

"Become old maids, I guess." said Pete, thinking back to his days as the Strawberry Fox.

"Jim, is it just me, or is the air in here getting warmer with all the hot air these two are blowing around?"

"You know what Roy? I think that Pete and Johnny here just saw how happy we were and got jealous. That's what I think."

"Ok, ok we surrender; I do have to say that Jillian is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Well if it is confession time, I have to agree that April and our little boy, are the best things I could have hoped for in my life, too."

"Before this love fest gets out of hand, Johnny and I, and our wives, sure would love to meet Jillian."

"That would be great; I'm sure that she'd love to meet you all, too. She's always asking about the people that I work with, and she hasn't lived in Los Angeles for very long, so she's still building a circle of friends."

"She and my wife, Jean, have hit it off really well, but it would be good for both of them, for us all to get together. Pete, Jillian and we are having a picnic and family day at the park with Jimmy on Saturday. Are you guys working or can you come and bring the kids?"

"No, that's our day off and I'm sure that Leah would love to come."

"I'm sure that April will to, but are you sure that you're ready for us to bring wives and kids? It'll be a handful."

"Oh Jillian will love it; and she's good with kids. She does a lot of photography so she works with kids a lot. They never seem to bother her. Besides, it will give me something more exciting to talk about when I get home so that we don't have to spend the whole time talking about my head. Where is Dr. Brackett, anyway?"

"Hey Partner, we need to get back on the air. We didn't mean to interrupt, we just came in here originally to pick up some of our equipment."

"No interruption, I was running out of things to say trying to keep my partner here until he had his head examined."

"How about I have Leah give Jean a call and they can work out the details?"

"Sounds good Roy, we'll see you Saturday."

Johnny couldn't resist one last jab before he left, "Oh, by the way, Dixie told us what happened Pete, so you'd better sit still before your partner here has to bring your prisoner back with another vase."

Laughter filled the room from everyone but Pete. "Ha, ha, very funny; I'm waiting 5 more minutes and then I'm leaving."

"Who's leaving?" Dr. Brackett asked, as he entered the room.

"Careful Doc, keep an eye on him or you may have a runaway. See you guys. Come on, Junior, let's get back to the squad."

"Right Roy; see you Saturday."

After Roy and Johnny left Dr. Brackett turned his attention to Pete and asked "So Pete, what happened to you?" not expecting rolling eyes from Pete and laughter from Jim as the answer.

********

Bracing himself for Jillian's reaction, Pete opened the door to their apartment and called out "I'm home, Sunshine. Sorry I'm so late."

Jillian, coming into the room from the kitchen, was smiling as she said "Hi Honey, how was your…WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HEAD?" she demanded in a raised voice. Then, just as quickly, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and silently counted to ten, praying that would be far enough, before saying in a much calmer voice, "What I meant is, how was your day?" He could see several emotions playing out in her eyes.

Having seen this technique used by both Mary and Jean, Pete smiled slightly as he took Jillian into his arms and said "Sunshine, I love you, but subtleness isn't one of your strong points, these days."

"No?" she asked in a slight voice.

"No." he replied; and then asked, "How much time do we have before dinner?"

"About twenty minutes or so."

"Let's sit down and talk, Sunshine."

Trying not to lighten the moment, Jillian said "Okay, Babe; lay it on me. What happened?" as they sat down together on the couch.

"It was just an accident; but that's not what we need to talk about right now. We need to talk about you, me and my job."

He then continued "I know it can be hard for the wife of a policeman, to see her husband go off to work everyday, not knowing if she'll ever see him alive again. I'm not going to pretend to know what it's like for you, but I do know that you are having an especially hard time with it. I wish you didn't have to feel that way everyday, Sunshine, but you knew what my job was all about when we got married. You seemed okay with it, before; what's changed?"

Speaking in a very low voice, and looking into Pete's eyes, Jillian could barely hold the tears at bay as she struggled with "I honestly don't know, Pete. I've always worried about your safety…even after we had only first met and we were just friends. Lately it seems like I'm always worried about you…not that I didn't worry before, because I did…it's just that lately I keep having these awful dreams about you getting hurt and…and sometimes, even…worse." Tears were beginning to spill out of Jillian's eyes at that point.

Gathering her into his arms, and looking into her eyes, Pete said "Not too long ago, I struggled with the issue of talking to you about my job. You gave me some really good advice…you said that we don't always know why things happen; we just have to trust that they happen for a reason. I think that's advice that can be applied in this instance, as well."

"We aren't guaranteed a certain amount of time to live life. I could walk out of here tomorrow and never come back; you could drive to the market tomorrow, or run errands, and never come back." and then continuing, "What we do have, is right now; and right now, we have each other. I don't want to spend what time we do have together, walking on eggshells around each other. I want to enjoy the time we have together; I want to make the most of it, and I don't want to live under a shadow of what ifs."

By now, Jillian's tears were falling freely and Pete said "Sunshine, let me help you get through the struggles you're having; I love you and I don't want to lose you; ever."

"I love you too, Pete. I don't want this to drive a wedge between us. I just need to find a way to handle the worries; a way that's not going to put me on edge every time you walk out of that door for work. That's why I went to Jean's today." and then sniffling "I think I owe her a box of tissues, by the way."

They shared a slight chuckle together on that note, before Jillian continued "She said that at some point, every police wife goes through this, even her and Mary. And that at times, they still struggle with it. Jean's found a way to cope; they both have. I hope and pray that I am strong enough to cope, as well."

"Don't worry, Jillian, you are; and I'll be here to help in any way I can. Even if something happens to me, while I'm at work, always hold onto the good memories of all that we've shared together. As long as you have them, you have me…even if I'm not here anymore. But, while I am here, if you need to talk, we'll talk. If you just need me to listen, while you vent, I'll listen. Just, please, don't shut me out."

Wiping away her tears, Pete gave Jillian a tender kiss. Returning his kiss, Jillian gingerly touched the injured area near her husbands' temple and asked "So, are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to ask Mac if I can read the report?"

Still hesitant of the reaction that he might garner from her, Pete carefully told Jillian about the domestic incident, leaving out the part about what started the fight to begin with. He was very adamant about making it clear to her that he was not the intended target of a vase upside the head, only the unfortunate recipient. After he finished telling the tale, he said "So, that's about all there was to it. What d'ya think?"

"I think you should've ducked." she smoothly delivered.

And she didn't even have to count…yeah, we'll be okay, Pete thought.

They continued to sit together in quiet silence for a few minutes until the phone rang and pulled them out of their thoughts.

"You'd better get it, it's probably your mom; I'll go set the table and check the roast." Jillian said as Pete reached over to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Pete, it's Mother; how are you, honey?" She asked in a clipped tone.

"Hi, Mom; I'm fine. You sound good."

"Yes, well, your Dad and I are doing fine. Did Jillian tell you that I called yesterday?"

"She did; she said that you and Dad want to come down for a visit in a couple of weeks."

"That's precisely what we want to do. We thought we arrive on the 1st of May and stay until at least the 8th; that's if you want us to stay that long, that is." Pete's mother prided herself on being a no-nonsense person and it shined through loud and clear, even over the phone.

"Mom, that's only a week. Of course we want you to stay as long as you want." Oh, please…not more than a week!

"Well, we just need to work out a few details. Now the last time we were down was for the wedding, of course, so things were rushed and we stayed with your friends. But I wouldn't feel comfortable staying with them for a week, so do you know what we should do for accommodations while we're there?"

"Uhm, actually, Mom, Jillian's parents are coming out at the same time so we thought we'd just get a couple of hotel rooms for you and them; that way, when the four of you aren't over here, you'll be able to visit with each other in the evenings. They're really looking forward to seeing you and Dad, again." This will either fly or go down like a lead balloon.

Pete's Mothers' voice took on a more lively tone "Oh, Jillian's parents will be there, too?"

"Uhm, yeah. That's not a problem, is it?"

"Oh goodness no; I enjoyed visiting with Angelina, immensely. We talk on the phone a couple of times a month, the way it is."

"You do?" Pete asked incredulously.

"Oh yes. We have a lot in common, you know. I'll give her a call and let her know when we're coming so that they can be there at the same time. You and Jillian get the reservations made for us. Remember, we'll be there on the 1st and we're leaving on the 8th."

"Right, the 1st through the 8th."

"Now, let's get on to other matters, shall we? When are you and Jillian going to make your father and me grandparents? We're not getting any younger, you know."

"Yes, Mother, I know. We just aren't ready to start a family yet…we're still newlyweds."

"Hmph! Back in the day, people didn't choose when they were ready to start a family; they just got married and started one."

"So you've told me, Mom" Every time we've talked on the phone since Jillian and I got married.

"What does Jillian's Mother say about her not being pregnant, yet?"

Jillian had come back into the room and had her ear up next to the phone so she could hear what Claire was saying to Pete. She could tell from Pete's end of the conversation that his mom was grilling him on the subject of babies. She couldn't help but laugh at Pete's exasperated expression as he rolled his eyes and mouthed the word 'help' to Jillian.

Promptly taking the hint, Jillian moved back to the kitchen doorway and hollered, loud enough for Claire to hear, "Pete, honey? Dinner's on the table. Come and eat before it gets cold." She then moved back into the room, and stood next to him.

Wanting to end the conversation as quickly as possible, Pete rushed through "Mom, I gotta go; Jillian has dinner on the table. We'll take care of the reservations. Tell Dad, 'hello' for me. Oh, and Jillian sends her love. Gotta go, now. Bye, love you."

"Oh, well, okay then. Tell Jillian that I'll call her mother. Bye, now."

Letting out a huge sigh, Pete hung up the phone and turned toward Jillian, gave her a quick kiss and said "Thanks, Sunshine; you're a real life saver. I owe you for that one."

Taking his hand in hers and leading him to the kitchen, "Rest assured that I intend to collect…tonight," causing her husband to blush just a bit.

Over dinner, Pete told Jillian about the plans for the picnic on Saturday, which was just a few days away. She was thrilled at the prospect of meeting a couple more of Pete's friends as well as their families.

"I'll need to call Jean so we can collaborate on what everyone is bringing on Saturday."

"I'd hold off until tomorrow, though; Roy's wife, Leah, is going to give her a call to get the plans in action, so she'll know more if you wait until then."

"Oh, okay. I'd better stop by the drugstore tomorrow. Do you need anything?"

"No, I don't think so. What is it that you have to get?"

"Film…for Saturday. If there's going to be kids there, I have to take pictures!"

"Maybe I should have nicknamed you 'My Little Shutterbug' instead of 'Sunshine,'" Pete joked.

"Ha, ha…you are just SO clever!" Jillian countered as she cleared the dishes away.

"Not clever…just madly in love with my beautiful wife," Pete stated, pulling her into his lap and giving her a big bear hug, causing both of them to laugh at his crazy antics.

Sobering up just a bit, Jillian gazed adoringly at her husband "Do you have any idea just how much I love you, Pete?"

"Mmmm? I think I have a fair idea…but it never hurts to remind me from time to time."

Gently touching the bandage on his temple, Jillian was lost in a momentary thought as Pete braced himself for what might come next. He'd figured that she wasn't completely passed overlooking his injury, so he was prepared for much more worse than what actually came when Jillian spoke.

"Does it hurt much?"

"No, not so much. I've got a little bit of a headache, but it's nothing that a couple of aspirin won't take care of."

"Let me go get you a couple and then you can relax a little bit while I clean up the kitchen and then call Daddy and Momma about their visit."

"Sounds, good Sunshine, but Mom did say that she'd call your mom to work out details. By the way, did you know that they talk on the phone a couple of times a month?"

"Yep, I already knew that. I'd be willing to bet that I know what every past, present, and future conversation between the two of them revolves around. Babies, right?"

"Wouldn't surprise me at all. Mom was grilling me when you rescued me."

Chuckling, "Yeah, I know…I was listening, remember?"

Jillian gave Pete a glass of water and two pills then sat down and picked up the phone, dialing her parents' house. Her mom answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi Momma, it's Jillian."

"Oh Sweetie, I just got off of the phone with Claire. I just can't wait to see all of you again. We'll be there on the 1st just like Claire and Stuart. It will be so much fun. Now, she said that we'll be in a hotel. Is that right?"

"Yes, Momma, we don't have…"

"Oh goodness, I wouldn't want to stay with you newlyweds, even if you did have room for us. I don't think that you and Pete would be comfortable having your parents there…after all, you are newlyweds."

Pete was sitting close by and could hear parts of the conversation. He was laughing at Jillian's' expression when she took the receiver away from her ear, rolled her eyes and said to him in a low voice "I swear, 'The Mothers' are in cahoots together! We're in trouble!"

"Yes, Momma, I'm still here….no, Momma, I wasn't ignoring you…I was, uh…Uhm…I was just clearing my throat. Anyway, Momma, I just wanted to check in and let you know that we'll have the reservations all made, and I'll call you the week before to give you the directions to the hotel. I have to go now, Momma…give everyone my love. Pete sends his love…Tell Daddy 'hi' for me….I love you guys, too. Bye."

Hanging up the receiver and looking over at Pete and the amused smile on his face "There's a reason God put three thousand miles between Maine and California…and now that we know that they're in cahoots, we know why he put nearly twelve hundred miles between Seattle and L.A.! We won't stand a chance with both of 'em here at the same time."

"C'mon, let's take a walk down to the ice cream stand. We can plot our defensive strategy over a nice frozen treat."

"Mmm, that'd be nice, but shouldn't you rest a bit? You know, to give the aspirin time to work."

"Nah, I'm fine. Headache's practically gone, now. Besides, I want to have an ice cream cone with my best girl."

"I'd better be your ONLY girl, Peter Joseph Malloy!"

"Ouch…you pulled out the whole name; that can only mean trouble."

"Sweetheart, our parents are converging on us, for an entire week, in just two short weeks…THAT'S trouble."

"You've got a point there. Now, let's go get our ice cream."

Hand in hand they left the apartment and headed down the street to the ice cream parlor.