"So, how long are you gonna stay in Wyoming?" asked Ponch. He was leaning up against the door frame to the reports room and watching Jon, who'd come in to Central on his way to the airport, fill out the requisite paperwork for time off.
"Uh...I'm not sure, Ponch," said Jon somewhat distractedly. "Probably just a couple of days."
"Seems like a long trip just for a couple of days."
Jon looked at Ponch and grinned. "You trying to get rid of me?"
"'Course not," said Ponch, grinning back. "You just don't seem to get home much, that's all. I thought you'd want to stay longer."
Jon shrugged. "It's a small place...I...get bored after a while when I'm home."
Jon glanced up at Ponch, who said nothing, but was giving him an "I'm not falling for that" smirk.
"What?" asked Jon, defensively.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with your relationship with your father, would it?"
Jon stopped writing; he could feel his face becoming flushed.
"It's complicated, Ponch..."
"Sure it is," said Ponch. "But your mom called this morning to say he's awake and responsive right? Now might be a perfect opportunity to un-complicate things and straighten out your relationship with your dad. And maybe he'll be cool with it; you know sometimes things like this make people have changes of heart. Remember that cranky pants Officer Hess? After he had that near fatal accident last year he became almost a different person."
"Look Ponch, you don't know my dad, okay?" Jon replied tersely; he could feel himself getting annoyed with Ponch for sticking his nose where it didn't belong.
"Well I feel like I do, with the way you talk about him. And you obviously inherited his stubbornness."
Jon started to protest again but Ponch cut him off. "Look, all I know is that if my dad was sick and I didn't know how much longer he might be around, I'd want to say my piece. Otherwise I might regret it."