As the afternoon passed by it was soon just after 4pm. Janet left her desk and walked into Chips office with his Jacket and cap.

"Ok Sir time for you to go"

Chip was so absorbed in his report he hadn't noticed the time. "Five more minutes Janet then I promise I will be ready to go" he tried bargaining with her.

"Ok – five minutes!"

Chip kept his promise and at 4:20 he was in his car leaving the institute. Although he didn't like to admit it, he was glad that the Admiral had forced him to leave early. He was exhausted and he finally felt he could show just how much that was true as he drove home. He felt like he had been watched all day but he did appreciate everyone's concern. He finally made it home and he parked the car in the driveway just as the heavens opened. He gathered his gear and ran into the house.

"Lyns! I'm home" he called out as he put his jacket and cap on the hook inside the closet

"Hi honey! I'll be down in just a minute" she called from upstairs. Chip grabbed the pile of mail that was on the hall table and made his way into the kitchen and took a seat at the island. Most of the mail was junk and he discarded most of it into the bin. He made his way over to make himself a drink and loosened his tie as Lynsey finally came downstairs. She made her way over to him and gave him a kiss which was met with a smile.

"That's a nice welcome home" He grinned "How was your day?"

"It was good but it would have been better if you had been here"

"I know – I missed you today"

She rubbed her husband's shoulder and made her way over to the fridge to check out the options for dinner as they chatted about his first day back at work. Lynsey could see he was tired but he still seemed happy to be back.

"What would you like for dinner? Chicken? Ribs?" she asked giving him the options

"Hmm let's go for ribs. I had a chicken salad for lunch. Do we have any of that barbeque sauce?" He asked his mouth almost watering at the thought of it

"I think so yeah. That sounds a good idea" Lynsey said walking over to the cupboard fetching the sauce. She continued to potter around the kitchen getting things ready for dinner whilst Chip went to take a shower. It was thirty minutes later when Lynsey realised he hadn't come back down stairs. She wiped her hands on some paper towels and made her way upstairs to their bedroom. When she got there she found Chip lying on bed asleep. She smiled and decided to let him have a rest before dinner was ready.

CRANE RESIDENCE

Lee was just arriving home from work and needed to get ready for his date with Janet. Although they had only been together for a few weeks Lee was besotted with her. The more time they spent together the more he realised he didn't like to be apart from her. Those five days on the test mission had been the longest of his life and he couldn't wait to get back to port. Janet was spending more and more time at his place and he couldn't be happier. To make things complete Janet was becoming strong friends with Lynsey and that was important to him. Chip was his best friend and he was also very close to Lynsey. He needed his partner to become a part of that as he spent so much time with the Mortons. He took a quick shower and changed before leaving to collect Janet at her apartment.

RESTAURANT

Lee picked up Janet and they arrived at the restaurant. Throughout dinner they had chatted about various things but Lee could tell something was bothering her.

"Janet is everything alright?"

"Yes why?" She said almost laughing at his suggestion of anything being wrong

"You seem a little distracted"

"I'm sorry Lee" She should have known she wouldn't be able to hide this from him

"What's wrong?"

Janet hesitated before she answered "How does Chip seem to you?" Lee was a little thrown by the question.

"A little tired perhaps but it is his first day back. Why do you ask?"

"Oh it's probably nothing. I'm probably over thinking things" She replied. Lee however now had his own alarm bells ringing. He was always of the opinion that if you think something is wrong it usually is.

"What's on your mind?" he asked. Janet went on to explain Chips lack of attention, forgetting things and that she just had a feeling the he wasn't as fine as he pleaded so determinedly to her earlier in the day. Lee sighed and he knew what Janet was meaning. Lee had noticed how clumsy Chip had been as well.

"All we can do is support him over the next few days. Perhaps it is as he is saying first day fatigue. Let's keep an eye on him" he said. Now he was trying to convince himself that everything was alright.

MORTON RESIDENCE

After dinner both Lynsey and Chip were lying on the sofa. Chip sat up watching a football game whilst Lynsey lay her head on his lap reading her latest novel. The rain continued to come down hard outside and they could hear the water run down the street.

Lynsey had gotten up to make herself a cup of tea and got Chip a water at the same time. They spent the rest of the evening watching a movie and chatting about their weekend plans. They had invited Lee and Janet over for dinner on Saturday night. They enjoyed spending time with each other and they were both so happy that they had gotten together.

They made their way upstairs to get ready for bed and Chip was the first to lie down. He was really looking forward to a good night's sleep. He could hear Lynsey moving around in the bathroom and it was clear she was looking for something.

"Lyns you ok?"

"Yeah I'm just wondering where you put the aspirin earlier." She asked. Chip realised that he had completely forgotten to collect some on the way home tonight and he immediately got up out of bed and made his way to Lynsey.

"I'm sorry I forgot to stop by the market tonight" He said apologetically. "What's wrong?"

"Don't worry about it; it's just a little headache. I'm sure some sleep will cure it" She put out the bathroom light and they got into bed.

As Lynsey fell asleep Chip lay holding her in his arms in the darkness. What is wrong with me? He thought. A few weeks earlier he realised that his memory was not great but he had put it down to the medication. When they were in San Francisco he noticed the zoning out when Lynsey was talking and he had had to fumble his way back into the conversation. Then there was the clumsiness; he was dropping things and he felt like he didn't have his own full attention. He needed to know if this was a side effect of everything or was there something else.