She found him on the roof of the building, staring out at the city. He didn't acknowledge her presence as she came to a stop beside him. "Looks like we're back to square one." she quietly said.

"Yep."

"If you want me to be reassigned, I can ask Boone if-"

"I don't want another partner. I want Boone back. We've been partners forever. Running without him is like running without my right hand."

"I'm sorry. I know how that feels."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do. You wanna know why I came across the entire country to work here?"

He didn't respond.

"My partner died a week after I came home from trying to take care of Rabbit after the accident. We'd been best friends since we were babies. Her name was Rachel."

He looked at her for the first time since she'd come to him, "Oh, wow. Can I…ask what happened?"

"Shot three times in the chest by an idiot who was high on meth. All we were tryin' to do was treat his girlfriend after he'd beaten the crap out of her."

"Where were the cops?"

"Outside smokin'."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Rachel never had a chance. She was dead before she hit the floor." Her voice wavered and she had to stop for a minute, "I couldn't stay after that. I tried, but I was useless. I needed to start over, and California was about as far away as I could run without leaving the lower forty eight."

He shook his head, "Man. And here I am whining about being reassigned. At least Boone's not dead."

Jo shrugged, "Part of it, I guess."

Carefully, he put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry."

"Me, too." She took a breath, "The week after Rachel's funeral, I found out I had cervical cancer. So, in a month's time, I lost my brother, my best friend and partner, and my ability to have children. It was too much. My life was in a million pieces and I couldn't put them back together. I needed to start over. I needed a place where people can start over. California is my start-over place. Do you understand now?"

He did understand. California had been his start-over place, too. "Yeah." Several moments of silence passed before Tyler spoke again, "So, what's the deal with you and Rabbit? I heard you two had a falling out after the accident."

"It was somethin' like that. I dropped everything and came out here as soon as I got the phone call. I tried to help him after he woke up, but I didn't know what to do and…he just wasn't the same. Survivor's guilt and PTSD, I guess. We got into it one night and he told me to pack my bags and leave. So I did. The day I came here was the first time we'd seen or spoken to each other in over a year."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"So…how are you two brother and sister? You don't really look it."

"At one point in time, Rabbit and his dad moved a lot. His dad and my mom hooked up one night while they were living in South Carolina. Nine months later, I came along. Rabbit was four when I was born. Our folks tried to make it work, but it just didn't. I think they were together for five years. My mom refused to list my last name as Palchuck, which I think was part of the problem. After Rabbit's dad died, Rabbit went to live with his grandma. She got sick not too long after that and had to go to a nursing home, so he came to live with us. By then, my mom had remarried and had another child – my nephew Jason's mom, Caroline. Rabbit never bonded with Caroline like he did with me. After he graduated high school and turned eighteen, he moved back out here. I wanted to come with him, but I was only fourteen. We kept in touch, though."

Tyler shook his head, "And I thought my family was messed up."

"Yeah. Don't tell Rabbit I told you any of this, okay? It's kind of raw still. And he doesn't know I had cancer."

"Okay. …I'm sorry I've been such a dick. I'm not usually like this, I promise."

"I know. I remember how you were when we met last year. I'm sorry I've been such a bitch."

"You were only a bitch because I was a dick."

"Not gonna argue with you there."

Tyler laughed.

Jo held out her hand, "Partners?"

Without hesitation, he took it, "Partners."

/

Note: Jason and Caroline are my creations, too.