Antares stepped into the office with a whine. His ruined hat was resting in his hands. Right before he got it back, Girag had punched a hole in it. "He killed my hat," he mumbled, mentally preparing himself to throw the thing away. "If anything, he should have been put away for murder. I have the body as evidence right here."

The sound of fingers tapping made him realize who was inside the office.

Sirius was holding the rotary phone against his ear, waiting impatiently as the phone in his home rang for the tenth time.

Lyra wasn't picking up.

Maybe she wasn't home yet? He hoped that was just the case. Girag's threat rattled him more than he thought it did.

Suddenly, the phone stopped ringing and the one voice Sirius wanted to hear had answered. "H-Hello. This is the Stone-"

Sirius listened as the phone clattered against the ground. Lyra must have tripped again. Already, Sirius was feeling better.

"This is the Stone residence," Lyra continued on the other end. "Might I ask who's calling?"

When Lyra picked up that phone, she had done so in a hurry. Practically racing to pick up a phone is never a good idea. Snatching the phone while running only made that worse. Like the klutz she was, she hit the dirt, the phone following right behind her. She was grateful it didn't land on her head. No way would Sirius enjoy the thought of her getting a concussion due to clumsiness.

Rubbing her forehead, Lyra pressed the phone against her ear. "This is the Stone residence," she said. "Might I ask who's calling?"

"It's me."

Lyra recognized her husband anywhere. "Sirius?" she asked, taking hold of the mouthpiece. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you like that. Where were you? I didn't think that phone would stop ringing."

Lyra blushed. "N-Nowhere," she said simply.

"Lyra?"

"I'll tell you when you get home," Lyra said. "It's important."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Lyra said with a smile. "So, did you get Girag behind bars then?"

Sirius paused. Lyra didn't like that in the least.
"We arrested him, yeah, but Girag's gonna get out again. He's got a mob lawyer."

Lyra pressed her hand against her face. "Oh, Sirius. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's not your fault." She could hear Sirius shifting position on the other end. "Lyra, I need you to do me a favor and stay home until I get back, okay?"

"Why?"

Sirius didn't answer.

"Did Girag say something to you?"

"He threatened you. And until I get back, I don't want you to risk putting yourself in danger. So stay in the house, okay?"

Lyra suddenly found herself becoming very nervous. One of her sweaty hands gripping the fabric of her plaid skirt. "Okay."

"I'll try and get home as soon as I can."

"I'll be fine until then," Lyra assured him. "After all, I have Guardian."

The white dog whined happily.

It was true. Guardian was the ideal dog for a policeman's wife, seeing as how she was once briefly trained to be a police dog. Unfortunately, she had developed a strong attachment to the Stones and would often be found playing with Lyra after training. That made her fail as a police dog, which was probably a good thing in the long run.

After all, she wasn't a German Shepherd. She was a Siberian Husky.

"Alright," Sirius finally said. "I'll see you tonight then."

"Righty-o."

Just before Lyra put the phone down, Sirius quickly said, "Lyra?"

"Uh, yes?"

Sirius paused. "I love you."

Lyra smiled. "Love you too."

The phone was hung up moments later.

Sirius slid the phone onto the cradle and let out a sigh. Since the day he first met her, Lyra had always possessed the ability to calm him down, regardless of whether or not he was angry, seething, confused, or even upset. She handled his fears well and he was forever grateful.

Antares was right. He definitely picked the right girl.

"So, Sirius," Antares said, "now that you're off the phone, think you can tell me how much it costs for funeral arrangements?"

"First, how would I know something like that?" Sirius asked. "Second, why are you asking me that in the first place?"

Antares held his hat up. "I have to bury this poor guy," he answered.

Sirius sighed. "You're pulling my leg, right?"

"Do I look like I'm pulling your leg? That Girag dude totally murdered Phil the Fedora. Why didn't we throw that torpedo behind bars?"

"Unfortunately, the murder of a fedora is not sufficient evidence to lock him up. Otherwise, I'd toss him in the cell and throw away the key. Then call a professional to open his cell for trial."

Antares' face fell. "His sacrifice was in vain, then," he said, faking a broken voice.

"Apparently," Sirius said. "So bury Phil the Fedora in the wastebasket and get back to your work."

Antares fought off the urge to scowl. "I'll be sure to say the same to you when the fedora Lyra gave you for Christmas last year is cut down in the line of duty."

"Go ahead. If I acted like you in such a situation, I'd have deserved it."

Antares entered the lounge, despite noticing the 'CLOSED' sign on the window. He had been there a few times before and knew that Scarlett was still inside cleaning the tables. Thanks to Girag killing his hat, the information he came for was ignored. No sense in forgetting it now. Especially when they ran the risk of Girag walking again.

"'Scuse me," he said, taking off the Ascot cap he was being forced to wear and messing up his white hair, "is Miss Starling available?"

Scarlett looked up from the table she'd been cleaning and wiped her her hands on her skirt. "Hiya, sweetie," she said. "What do ya need?"

"You said that you had information regarding Girag," Antares said. "We've got him, but we can't take him without evidence. So if you have anything-"

"Is that why you came today?" Scarlett asked.

Antares nodded.

"Then you're just in time. She was about to leave."

"She?"

"The one who called."

Scarlett pointed towards the dressing room.

Epsilon had just come out. She had changed out of her singing gown and was now wearing a long-skirted, light blue dress. Over that was a white vest with a songbird embroidered on the left chest. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, though her teal bangs flowed free.

"Epsilon..."

"I was the one who called, Mr. Antares," she said. "What do ya need?"

Antares felt like he hit the jackpot.

Sirius made it home in time to see Lyra sitting at the couch, biting her thumbnail. "Hey, Lyra," he said, pulling his hat off of his head. "I'm home."

Lyra looked up to her husband. She didn't smile, just got up from her seat and raced into his arms. She was shaking. He could feel it in her shoulders. "Did I scare you today?"

"Don't run out like that again," she said firmly.

Sirius gave his wife a hug. His hand hid itself within her red hair, his nose catching a whiff of her shampoo. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have worried you like that."

"No, you shouldn't have," Lyra said, fighting off tears. "Then you had to call like that and warn me."

"I'm sorry. Girag rattled me a little. That's all."

"A little!?"

Sirius didn't defend himself any further. Just let Lyra cry into his shoulder until she was settled down. Once she had succeeded, she raised her head to her husband and wrapped her arms around him. "Don't scare me like that ever again," she said.

"I won't. I promise."

"Did ya have to include the candlelight?"

Antares chuckled at the sight of the table. "Don't ask me. It was the lady ya work for."

Epsilon cast her boss a hard glare. Scarlett only chuckled at her employee's distress. "She could do to learn a few manners," Epsilon sighed.

"Nah. I think this looks really swell," Antares said, waving his finger over one of the flames. "Anyway, setting the beauty of the décor aside, you claimed to have something on Girag. But if you were trying to get a date with me, I'd be happy to pay for dinner."

"You really are a cake-eater, aren't ya?" she asked.

"Only with girls I hope to go steady with."

"I ain't available."

"Ouch. Not the first time on a date then?"

"No. Anyway, ya said ya needed that info on Girag?"

"Yep. It's important. For the guy in charge of putting him behind bars, if anything else."

"Well, I dunno if it would help ya'll that much, but a few days back, after I finished my set, I heard Girag talkin' with some Bariano capo. He was sittin' next to the stage, so I was eavesdroppin', you might say." She leaned forward against the table. "A cop in ya department, didn't get the name, had been starting to corner Girag. It started to worry 'im. The capo he was talkin' to, he told him that if somethin' happened and he did get cornered, threaten the cop's wife. He'd back right out if he didn't get forced out first."

"The cop's wife?" Antares repeated. He suddenly remembered Sirius' very pale face when he was talking to Lyra.

How could anybody forget?

"I was lucky that was my last set," Epsilon continued. "It shook me up, so I told my boss after closin' time and she called you cops."

"Didja get the name of the dame they were talking about?"

"She's a friend of mine. Lyra Stone."

Lyra nearly fell asleep in Sirius' arms. The day had been a very stressful one to say the least, even with their smiles pulling them through it. Sirius still hadn't fully recovered from the incident with Girag, though he had long since stopped trembling.

Girag.

Suddenly, Sirius remembered what Lyra had told him over the phone. "You mentioned that you would tell me where you went today," he said.

Lyra was wide awake.

"So where'd you go?"

Lyra bit her lip. She hoped for more time to answer that.

Oh well. Go blunt. "To the hospital," she answered. "I had to see a doctor about something."

Sirius looked down at his wife's red hair. "Lyra, are you okay?" he asked, worry suddenly building up once again.

Lyra cast her eyes up towards Sirius. "I'm fine," she said. "Actually, I've never been better."

"Then why did you...?"

Lyra looked to her wedding ring. "You remember wishing that we could become parents, right?"

"Of course, I do. That was part of our promise when we got married."

She looked back up to her husband. "That wish will be coming true."

Antares bit down on one of his toothpicks as he digested the information just given to him. "So Girag was told to threaten Lyra, huh?" he asked.

"That's what I heard," Epsilon said. "Will it help?"

"It'll help us keep an eye on the crook. Might help build up more evidence so we can pinch him the next time." He pulled the toothpick away from his teeth. "You're a very brave girl, Epsilon. I can't think of all that many people who would do that for a friend."

"She has helped me more times than I can count," Epsilon answered. "I don't want to see her hurt because I didn't open my mouth."

"I see. Still, plenty brave in my books." He replaced the toothpick. "Still, one thing really confuses me."

"And what might that be?"

"How did that capo find out about Lyra?"

Sirius couldn't sleep. He figured that out quickly enough. Not because of Lyra's very pleasant news though. Okay, that was part of it, but not the main reason. Once the realization dawned on him that he would be a father, Girag's words shot him in the chest again. He said that he would pay Lyra a visit and nobody, save the doctor and Lyra herself, knew of Lyra's condition yet. What would happen if Girag did find out? Would his threat become all the more real? How did he even know that he was married in the first place? Even when too angered to think straight, Sirius had been careful enough to hide his left hand so Girag wouldn't see his ring. When interrogating crooks, it had been burned into him since he was a kid.

His dad did the same thing, after all. Not his adoptive father.

His real father. His little habits and quirks were all he remembered about him, but that was enough. The fact that he took extra precautions to protect his family; that was his father's greatest strength.

Too bad it didn't save him in the end.

Sirius sighed and pressed his hand against his head. And that was why he didn't think about his dad all the time. Every time, no matter what happy memory he was on, it always ended up on that moment when his father's body was found on the sidewalk. And that left a very sour taste in his mouth.

Getting up in his bed, Sirius then looked over to Lyra.

She was sound asleep. Made sense.

He stroked his hand through her hair as he remembered the promise he had her make when she gave him the news.

She couldn't tell the members in the police force yet.

After Girag's threat passed, the thought that there was a mole in the police force struck Sirius once again.

Was there a mole? Was that how Girag knew Sirius was married? If the mole knew about Lyra, would he inform Girag to push Sirius further?

No. He couldn't take that chance.

The police were not to know yet.

They wouldn't be able to hide it for long, but he didn't want to learn that one of his friends sold him out.

That they sold him out and threatened the safety of his family.

No. He couldn't risk that.

Antares was just going to have to live with the fact that he didn't know a secret.

Again.

(Just a little earlier that day.)

Girag stretched his arms as he breathed in some fresh air. "I was beginnin' to think you'd never get me outta dat place, Dumon," he said.

"Perhaps you should practice caution, Girag," Dumon responded, placing his hat on his head. "That's the fifth time you've run into trouble. Sooner or later, they will actually get something on you. Then shutting your mouth won't be enough."

"It's workin' well enough right now," Girag argued. "Did ya see the way that white-haired cop ran out o' the room with his tail between his legs?"

"He didn't run out. I told him to leave. And all you did was give him a scare he won't be forgetting. If anything, that officer will try to throw you into the slammer because you threatened his wife."

"Vector said it would work."

"Had you gone a step further, it wouldn't have."

"You're talkin' like you know the brat."

"He reminded me of someone," Dumon answered, looking back towards the police headquarters. "Someone very important."

"You talkin' 'bout that kid brother o' yours you lost in that fire again?"

Dumon gave his fedora a tug. "It's in the past."

Without allowing Girag to continue, Dumon pressed forward, heading for his car.

That was when he quickly noticed the police officer who was giving him a parking ticket.

"Um...pardon me," Dumon said, raising his hand slightly.

The police officer looked over to him, eyes hidden beneath his cap.

"You parked in a police parking zone," the officer said. "Sorry, but that makes a ticket."

The officer then tore the ticket off of his notepad and handed it to Dumon.

"The lawyer just got in trouble?" Girag asked. "I didn't think that'd ever happen."

"Thank you," Dumon said simply.

"No sweat," the officer answered, giving a salute while clicking his heels. "Just leave the parking tickets to Yuma Tsukumo!"

Girag had to keep himself from laughing.

That family never stopped giving them trouble, it seems.

D.T.B: So, did I surprise you guys any?