Sgt. Lucy Bates sits across from Dr. Gordon. "I had a choice. I could go to you or I could go see a pastor. And uh, I don't want anybody tellin' me that I sinned or that those two guys are in a better place. 'Cause, I feel selfish and I want them here." She picks out a tissue from the nearby box. "I'm not ready for that. Ya know?" Taking a hard swallow, she continues. "I was with him last night. I had a date… I was supposed to have a date with this guy who turned out to have a girlfriend already. He didn't feel anything for me. Just left me at the table alone. I felt rotten about it. Set myself up for it, as usual. I got a lousy track record with men. I feel awkward around short guys. Stuck with guys taller than me that got the personality of a stick. Anyway, he was there."

"John?"

"Yeah. J.D. I don't know where he came from but he just was at this guy's table, telling him off in front of the girlfriend. I was mortified. Then my car wouldn't start. He found me. Offered to bring me back home. He wasn't trying to flirt or anything. But uh, I uh…invited him up. Cops? Co-workers? Naw. I've been with a string of failures. Art teacher, doctor, plumber, even a commissioner. I had a partner, Joe. He was after me as soon as we were partnered. I never got the chance to do anything about it. He was killed in a store robbery four years ago. Wrong place. Wrong time." She closes her eyes. "Then there was Patrick. He was tall, dark, and handsome. I took a shot and figured, what the hell? Found out he was sleepin' with somebody in the department. Broke my heart. I knew it was wrong to even think of it. Ya know? Him being my partner.

"Sometimes it's good to distance the personal from the professional."

"That it does. Now I can see why. But uh, last night… I don't know what got into me. Maybe it was the convenience or desperation." She shakes her head trying to make sense of it all. "I made the first move. I kissed him. I kissed J.D…John LaRue." Her eyes start to water. "And uh, things just progressed from there. I'm not the type to just be with someone…that way. He was always in trouble at the station. He could charm women in an instant. He was a recovering alcoholic too. Two years ago he was offered a job in Division as a police psychiatrist. He quit the station and being a detective for that. We all missed him, but, hey. That's life. Right? I knew him since I got out of the academy. I'll never forget he looked more like an outlaw than a cop. This was around '71. He was about twenty-four and I was like twenty-one at the time. He was crazy. Got three citations for bravery. Some hairy stuff. Then he took a bullet for his rookie partner. That was in '78. His third. And uh, he wasn't the same after that. Like I said, he was a recovering alcoholic over the past seven years. So, he fell on some hard times but after being demoted for a few months, he cleaned up his act…for good. Besides the things I could find fault with? He cared about all the guys in the station. Sometimes he showed it more than anybody else. He tried to help me after I lost Joe, but I pushed him away. Just like I would with everybody. But, yeah, I kissed him." Her eyes meet the floor. "He had this nickname his partner gave him because of his reputation with the ladies."

"And that was?"

"Lover." She sniffles back, nodding her head. "I thought he was simply full of himself. Ya know, some ego thing? I was wrong." The tears start up again. Her voice drops to a mere whisper. "He was so good." Lucy begins to cry as she says, "Oh God. He really did live up to his name." Her body convulses as she tries to keep the tears at bay, but can't stop the overwhelming emotion aching inside. She bursts out crying.

Later at night, Lucy returns to her apartment. Upon opening the door, she sees Fabian sitting on the couch, watching TV. "Hi, Luc. Did my homework already."

She doesn't respond.

"Something wrong?"

"I uh, I can bring you to school tomorrow if you want. I've got a week off. So, whatever you want to do. Ya know. Go to the movies. Have pizza." She tries to cheer herself up. Anything."

"Luc? Are you okay?" Fabian asks with marked concern.

"Yeah. We'll talk about it in the morning. Just do me a favor, okay Fabe?" She hugs him tight. "Promise me you'll never go away." She gives him a kiss to the forehead, cradling him.

"I won't."

After letting go, she states, "Good." She smiles weakly. "I'm uh, I'm gonna call it a night."

"O..okay." He answers back unsure of what to make of Lucy's demeanor.

Lucy goes inside her room. There she finds everything the way she had left it. Crumpled covers as a reminder she wasn't alone. The previous night's clothes tossed on the floor, proving she didn't have the time to clean up. Then she picks up the blue sequined dress. The reminder of her failed date and more so her unforgettable evening. She carries the heavy garment, plopping down on the bed. Something pokes her from inside pants pocket. She pulls out the item: her extra key. Lucy then looks at the two pillows. Her eyes begin to water at the remembrance. She lies her head against one. Still clutching the key, she curls up in the fetal position, holding it under her chin. Her body again begins to convulse as she pumps out tears.

The small TV set glows with an anchor announcing. "In breaking news, Fletcher P. Daniels resigns as Chief of Police. Details are not known at this point."

"Turn it off." Frank calmly says to Joyce.

"We'll keep you…" The news anchor continues until Joyce turns off the TV.

"It certainly is a newsworthy day, today." She looks over, noticing her husband is in no mood to talk. She clicks her tongue, wondering if she should say anything. "I'm sure you're going to start planning a memorial service and have…"

"Rosa is going to take care of Ray's arrangements. There's little any of us could do since he quit the force." He answers in a nasally tone.

"LaRue?"

"His sister, Peg is handling all of his arrangements. He requested no service." Looking down, Frank takes a deep breath as he unbuttons a cuff. "I keep thinking about something."

"What's that?"

"I keep thinking of how Ray stood up to Daniels when he was offered a job similar to the one he started on his own. He thought getting out from the chief's command, he would be…free. If he had to quit the police force, then so be it. That took a lot of guts when he wanted the position to be captain and things didn't work out the way he wanted to. Instead, he made the best of that disappointment and got his own company going and something as he would put it, that his people could be proud of. In talking to him just this morning, I realized that both he and J.D. had grown quite a bit. But uh, Ray had gained courage." Frank stops to think.

"And, J.D., I always saw what I could have become. On his worst days, I prayed I would never get to that point. I remember when Neal was trying to show his support of J.D. when he was demoted to motor pool. He came in my office and said he was being punished for the same thing I had. I corrected him and said, 'Have. It never leaves you Neal.' I could admit it because that's the way I truly felt. And uh, when I fell off the wagon around our first anniversary, I told you what I had done and why.

"I remember that quite well."

"You told me to go back to the AA meetings after I tried to give you excuses."

"Mmm hmm."

"I went to that meeting and sure enough, J.D. was there. I always checked to make sure he was by asking others. He never missed a meeting in seven years. Every Tuesday." He breathes back uneasily. "When I went up to express that I hadn't had a drink in two days at the time, I saw his expression. I felt guilty and ashamed because I didn't know really why I did it. I don't know when it can happen again, but it can and probably will."

"Frank…" Joyce tries to stop him.

"No. No. Even after I had numerous talks with him and demoted him, I knew he had to focus on his own sobriety. I did worry, wondering when I would hear some of my words out of his mouth." His eyes start to water. "And uh, not once did it ever come up. He knew it and I knew it. He never judged me when he could have." Frank looks up, trying to contain his emotions. "I guess when he wanted to quit the department, a piece of me didn't want to see him go. I wanted to still learn from him. I know it should be the other way around." He puts a hand to his face. "But, I saw something in him that I don't know if I'll ever have…and that's strength. There were a few situations that could easily have made him run back to the bottle. He never did. I did, and that was simply because I was judged by others for being perfect. So, I had to show them all. He grew out of it, and knew he had everything to lose because of before. I've never had that." He undoes the other cuff. "There's a big difference between me and John LaRue."

Joyce listens more intently, helping undo the buttons of his shirt.

"J.D. made his peace a long time ago."

Joyce stops. Her eyes bob up in concern.

"I haven't." Frank says.