Ike smiled as he walked into the precinct, every detective and cop in uniform standing up and applauding. "Come on guys..." he drawled out self consciously, running a hand through his spiky hair. Sam ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck as the captain stepped from his office.

"Greil!" He shouted out, the clapping and whooping immediately falling silent. Ike pulled himself from Samus' death grip and took the slow long strides necessary to stand face to face with the captain. "Welcome back Detective," he said as he held out the still black banded badge and sidearm Ike had missed since they were taken from him. Muscle memory had the badge and weapon on his hip in record time, Ike almost not even feeling his shoulder's protest in his excitement.

"Thank you captain," he inclined his head and turned to his desk, eyes falling on Link's vacant space across from him. Everything was still there, the picture of Zelda and Toon, the stapler Ike had slapped a pinup girl sticker on, and the massive ball of rubber bands they tossed back and forth. Everything was there, as if waiting on Link to come back to work. Ike walked towards the desk, a careful hand picking up the photo frame.

"Guess we should've picked up the desk huh?" Sam's voice at his shoulder made him jump and he gave her a grin to cover it.

"Nah," Ike scooped up the stapler and rubber band ball, setting them on his desk before sitting in his chair. "I kinda like the reminder... Keeps my mind straight you know?" He picked up a case file, opening it slowly. "Did you miss me?" he asked with a glance up at the blonde who was obviously hovering.

"Everyone did," she said as she leaned against his desk, crossing her arms. "You really okay to come back?"

"I can't just sit at home anymore," Ike confessed as his eyes skimmed the file. It was a simple bust for a cocaine dealer downtown, nothing too serious and he stood up. "Let's see how rusty I am," he winked at Sam and walked off, feeling everyone's eyes silently follow him to the elevator.

XxX

Zelda stared at nothing while she waited on the order to be filled, wondering how Ike was doing on his first day back. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss him; knowing she could send him a message and he'd immediately respond was reassuring. Knowing him though, his first day back he'd be right back into the fray, no doubt busting some low level dealer and-

"Order up," the chef called, pulling her from her musings and she nodded as she scooped up the plate. Careful steps brought her to the table, her smiling as she set down the sandwich, trying not to notice the man's flirty smile. The tiny bell tied to the front door jingling and she turned to greet the new customer, her heart speeding up at the sight of Ike walking in. He had his badge on his hip, the black band gone.

"Hey," he said with a wink, "how's your day?"

"It's alright," she said, following him to a table. "You hungry?"

"Where else would I go at lunchtime?" he countered as he sat, eyes running over the small crowd. "Kinda busy today huh?"

"A little... Do you know what you want?" she asked, already guessing he wanted his usual spicy chicken sandwich with the usual barbecue flavored chips.

"Yeah, the spicy-"

"Spicy chicken and barbecue chips with a big glass of tea?" she asked and he winked.

"You know me too well," he said and she walked off towards the kitchen to place his order, feeling his eyes on her the whole way.

XxX

Ike watched Zelda walk away, mind on a thousand different things all at once as she went to put his order in. He knew he was head over heels in love with her, knew that if given the chance he'd do almost anything to make her happy, but her words rang in his ears as he watched the sway of her hips. He was a cop, a damn good one, and he couldn't quit that. With a sigh he finally cast his eyes around the restaurant, noticing he wasn't the only one watching Zelda. It was just some little punk in a business suit, someone he would normally not even care about, but watching the man smile as Zelda walked up to refill his tea... It was a punch in the gut. He would never have her like he wanted. This guy, this boring safely employed man though... he could.

XxX

Another month went by, Zelda struggling to pay bills and keep food on the table. Ike's apartment began to feel more and more like home. He invited them over everyday, even when he was working late and wouldn't be there. His spare key was on her keyring, even his mail key. The idea of moving in with him was sounding better and better, even if he hadn't brought it up to her yet.

"Momma," Toon sat at Ike's table, dipping one of his fries in ketchup slowly, "can I just stay here tonight? I wanna stay with Ike."

"If he's off tomorrow and says yes when he comes in," she said with a sigh as she grabbed a fry from his plate.

"Hey guys," Ike smiled as he walked into the kitchen. "How was school kiddo?"

"Good," Toon beamed at him and Zelda watched Ike move forward and kiss the top of her son's head gently.

"My apartment is due for a lease renewal next month," Ike started casually, pulling out the remaining free chair at the table, eyes making contact with hers as he sat. Zelda knew what was coming. This was it, he was going to ask them to move in. "There's a three bedroom open... if you would be interested I can put my name down for it and we can move in at the first of the month." Toon looked to Zelda, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Momma," he nodded, encouraging her to say yes.

"It's not that I don't think you can do it on your own Zelda," Ike said, reaching across the table and taking her hand, "I just wanna know that you guys are okay." Zelda looked down at his hand, turning her palm up and lacing their fingers.

"Okay," she nodded, glancing at her son quickly. He was beaming, his eyes on their hands. Zelda pulled her hand from Ike's, not wanting her son to get the wrong idea. Ike smiled at her with a little nod.

"Alright, I'll talk to the office in the morning. Do you want to spend the night Toon?"

"Yeah!"

"Do you want to Zelda?" Ike asked carefully, him looking at her curiously. She deliberated for a moment before nodding. "Alright," he smirked and looked to Toon, "finish your dinner, then it's bath time."

"Okay," Toon tucked into his dinner with renewed vigor, Zelda laughing lightly into her hand.

XXX

Thank you to my guest reviewer last chapter (looking at you babe and your goofy reviews). Anyway thank you for reading! Let me know what you think. Much love, Leigh