Departure
Act 8, Part 3: It's Good-bye Time
Steve returned to the table where Mike, Irene and the others sat. He tried to put on a brave face after letting Jeannie go. Fate had not been kind to the pair. She was simply too young when they first met. Then, she later became off limits while he was partnered with her father. Now, when they could have started something, she was with someone else and he was headed to the east coast.
Bad timing, the young man lamented silently. Indeed, after all that he'd be through, in the last few minutes, weeks and years, Steve simply wanted to get in his car and drive away. He cherished his coworkers and looked forward to returning to the department in a different capacity, but for the moment, it was time to depart. It would be a sabbatical and a way to refresh his mind and start again. He couldn't wait to begin his new life.
"Irene, let's have one more dance and then I need to go," Steve said to the woman who tried to make his last evening in San Francisco memorable.
She looked at him with a mix of sadness and understanding. "Of course, sweetheart." Mike and the others were engaged in conversations and didn't notice the pair as they returned to the dance floor.
"A nice slow song, that's the ticket," Irene cooed as she snuggled up to her partner. "One of my favorites."
"'Unchained Melody'. I like this one, too." Another song of unrequited love actually fit well with Steve's mood.
"So romantic," Irene teased. "Darling, if I were twenty five years younger…"
"Or if I were ten years older…" Steve grinned and responded with the familiar line.
"Now you're being too kind." Irene adored her dance partner. They had met only a year ago when she and Mike began dating, but they had quickly developed a chemistry of their own. For her, it was not romantic, but instead a mix of platonic and maternal feelings.
"Mike's got himself a winner in you. You are two of my favorite people. I hope you stay together and remain very happy."
"It's not us I'm worried about," Irene led as Steve looked on obliviously. Then it struck him.
"Sure, Dan and Jeannie. They didn't look very happy tonight." There was a sadness in his tone.
I want to hit him, Irene thought. She fought to regain her composure. For such a smart young man, he has no idea.
Conceding, Irene quickly changed the subject. "Darling, I know you want to get home and then leave straight away in the morning."
Steve nodded his agreement.
"I fixed a care package for you to take. Jeannie had a hand it in as well. Some homemade goodies and other things for your trip. I was going to bring it tonight, but I left it at Mike's. Would you be able to swing by tomorrow morning on your way out?"
"Irene, that is so very sweet of you. You don't have to do this."
"But I already did and I don't want the effort to go to waste. Jeannie would be disappointed, too. Please, can you come by in the morning? What time are you leaving?"
"I thought around seven would be good. It will be early, but I'll be going against traffic."
"Okay, swing by then, please?"
"Sure." He drew Irene closer as they finished their dance and returned to their table.
A short time later, the group broke up and went their separate ways. Jeannie and Dan had been the first to leave, saying their goodbyes right after the dance. Steve waited a reasonable amount of time considering he was the guest of honor and then bid adieu to his colleagues. Mike and Irene walked out with him to the parking lot.
"Oh, we've got that package we were going to give him," Mike said quietly to Irene. Steve was noticeably distracted, looking for his keys and juggling an armload of small gifts.
"No, it's back at your place." Irene said firmly and quietly.
"No, it's in the car." Mike's tone was unwitting. He, of course, was correct…but Irene was right.
Irene issued Mike an angry look and gritted, "No, it-is-not-there. Steve is going to need to come by in the morning to pick-it-up."
Mike got the message. "Oh…um, you're right." He looked fearfully at Irene.
"Hey, I've seen that look before," Steve chuckled as he entered belatedly into the conversation. "It's when he's done something to rile Jeannie. She lets him have it. I think you've learned her secret." Steve and Irene grinned at each other, as he kissed her on the cheek. "Michael, I guess I'll see you in the morning."
Mike nodded.
Steve got in his car. "Thanks for everything," he said as he drove away.
The pair remained in the parking lot. "What was that about?" Mike was clueless.
"What, dear?" It wasn't that Irene didn't want to answer. She just hadn't vetted her plan completely. She was stalling for time.
"The care package. You know good and well where that thing is. It's in the back seat of my car." Mike was letting his irritation show.
"She loves him." It was a simple statement that meant the world to Irene.
"Who is 'she' and who is 'him'?' Mike replied in a grammatically awkward fashion.
"'She' is your daughter. And 'him' is that young man who just drove off."
"Oh, yeah." Mike replied quietly.
"You know?"
"She's had a thing for him since the first time I brought him home. She was in high school. He knows she's off limits."
"But why? Why, Mike Stone, is your daughter off limits to that young man? He doesn't work for you anymore."
"What does it matter? She's had a school girl crush on him for six years now. We don't need to throw that both at them. Yes, she's upset…"
"She's devastated." Irene did not want Jeannie's feelings to be trivialized.
"Don't be overly dramatic. She'll get over it." Mike wanted to dismiss the topic quickly.
"But he loves her."
"Who? Steve? He doesn't know his ass from a coat rack when it comes to women." He felt badly speaking ill of the young man, but the fact was that prior to Carolyn, Steve's track record for maintaining a romantic relationship for any length of time was nothing short of disasterous.
"What? All these years. I thought you liked him." She felt betrayed on Steve's behalf.
"Of course I like him," Mike shouted. "But when it comes to women… Irene, in the six years I've known him, there have been sixty women. Probably more. Way more."
"But there's only one love." She cringed at how corny that sounded, but it was true.
"You've been reading too many Harlequin romances, sweetheart." That was unintentionally condescending. He knew he had crossed the line and tried a softer approach. "Look, let him go. Let him get on with his life, and let her be happy with Dan."
"She doesn't love Dan. And Dan knows it. They'll break up soon, just you watch."
"Okay, then she'll find someone else. Or perhaps she'll find no one else and live a happy spinster life. Whichever, we can't interfere."
"He loves her. He told me."
"What? When?"
"Remember at our dinner party when he was talking about his father being from France and how he knew a little French from his time abroad?"
"Yes…"
"He spoke a couple of sentences and then said it translated into how good the roast beef was, but the green beans were a little overcooked. Do you remember?"
Mike chuckled. "I remember Jeannie wanted to belt him for insulting her cooking."
"But that wasn't what he said. I had six years of French, mon cher. He said that her boyfriend was a buffoon…"
"Well, he was right, at least that night…"
"and that he, himself, was jealous. Steve said that she simply took his breath away. It was one of the most romantic things I've ever heard. But he wouldn't admit it publicly. Instead, he's going away like some wounded puppy. He's giving her up because he doesn't think she loves him."
'He knows she has a thing for him," Mike countered matter-of-factly.
"He knew about the schoolgirl crush, but he sees her as an adult now and he thinks she's with Dan."
Mike paused for a moment. He knew he could be guilty of seeing his grown daughter as a teenager. "So what does giving him a care package have to do with anything?" The man was still not fitting the pieces together.
"Steve has to know the truth before he leaves. And so does she. He's coming over tomorrow and we're going to see that it happens. They have to know." Irene was concrete in her statement.
"Irene, I don't like this. We shouldn't interfere."
"If I'm wrong, I'll apologize."
"If you're wrong, we may lose the friendship of one of the finest young men I know."
Morning came quickly and Irene saw the small tan Porsche pull along side the curb. Steve got out of the car and stared at the house. How many times had he come by to pick Mike up for work? How many times had he come over for lunch or dinner, especially when Jeannie was home?
Irene pulled back the curtain. "I'm going to get Jeannie. I hope she's not still asleep. You go answer the door".
"Yes, ma'am." Mike wasn't sure whether to be amused about Irene's focus or concerned about the events which were about to unfold. One thing he knew was that it was best left beyond his control.
After a quick knock on the door, Mike greeted his former colleague. "Hey, Buddy boy. You ready to take off on that long road trip?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Steve was dressed in a comfortable flannel shirt, jeans and a ballcap. He took off his sunglasses and stuffed them in his pocket.
"You're not hung over or anything?" There was an edge of concern in the older man's voice.
"No, I'm fine. The girls worked me so hard on the dance floor that I burned off any buzz I was getting."
The pair's attention turned to the two women descending the stairs. The ladies stood in contrast. For being so early in the morning, Irene was neat and well put together in a nice summery pantsuit.
Jeannie, on the other hand, trudged behind her, still dressed in her pajamas and a robe. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were puffy. The young woman had spent a restless night crying over Steve's leaving and it showed. When she saw the young man, she was embarrassed.
Irene led the girl over to where the two men were standing. No one said a word until Mike spoke to Steve.
"Well, Irene is of the opinion that you two need to talk before you leave town. I don't want to interfere in either of your personal lives, so I'm not saying a word." Mike turned towards the kitchen. "I'm going to make some coffee."
Steve was stunned and confused.
Irene noticed the expression and responded. "J'ai estudie six ans de presence francaise. Je connais la difference entre le boeuf et un bouffon." (translated: "I studied French for six years. I can tell the difference between beef and a buffoon.")
A slow blush fell across Steve's face as he realized her meaning. "Donc, vous savez?" ("So, you knew?")
"Juste liu dire…" ("Just tell her…") Irene said as she grabbed Steve's hand and placed it on Jeannie's. "I'm going to help Mike make the coffee," she called out as she went into the kitchen.
"Steve, what's going on?" Jeannie looked at the hand which held hers.
He looked down, but then interlaced his fingers with hers. "Irene is encouraging me to tell you something." He didn't know quite how to say what he needed to say.
"What is it, Steve?"
"Do you remember about a year and a half ago, you flew home because you thought I had been badly injured on the job?"
"I remember." Jeannie frowned at that thought. She had been worried about Steve and couldn't figure out why her father acted the way he did at the time. Steve was fine and Jeannie would later find out the whole thing had been part of trap her father and Devitt had set to catch a couple of rogue cops.
Steve recalled, "You were so mad when you realized it had been a ploy. When you saw me at the hospital, you called me a 'pig'."
Jeannie giggled at the memory. "I was mad because no one told me anything. As for the 'pig' remark, you deserved it."
"I…," Steve was at a loss for words but knew he needed to take the plunge. "Jeannie, I fell in love with you at that moment. The feeling has never stopped."
Jeannie stood stock still. Steve didn't know if this had upset her or if he had made some mistake by telling her the story. Then she smiled broadly and flung her arms around his neck. "I love you, too!" she whispered into his ear.
"What about Dan?" Steve never understood that relationship and didn't know how it impacted what was happening now. All he knew was that he was indeed relieved that his feelings were shared.
"We broke up last night. It was mutual. We should have called it quits long ago. I really loved you, but I didn't think you had the same feelings for me. And then since you were going away, I didn't know what to do. I was wrong to mislead him like I did."
"I understand. It was similar to what I was doing with Carolyn. I was wrong, too." Steve held tightly onto the pretty blonde. "Babe, we almost blew it, didn't we?"
"Yes. It seems like everyone knew but us. Dan knew it, as well, but thought things would change when you left. Last night was the final straw for him. But I had to end it anyway. No matter what became of you and me, it wasn't fair to him. Hey?"
"Hey, what?"
"Did you really fall in love with me because I called you 'pig'?"
Steve chuckled. "You were teasing, but I could tell you were still mad. No one else would call me that, joking or not. It was kind of sexy. It made me realize that you weren't a kid anymore." Steve ran is fingers through her hair. "Okay? Now, too much talk..."
Steve lifted her chin and let his lips meet hers. He tightened his hold and kissed her gently. He wrapped both arms around her and kissed her again. This time the kiss lasted much longer.
Mike and Irene returned to the living room and found the two still in an embrace.
"Told ya!" Irene whispered and beamed.
"Ahem!" Mike bellowed. "Well, now what?"
The two disentangled quickly.
The pair was a sight. Still looking a shade too thin in his casual clothes, Steve also showed some residual fatigue from the events of the summer. But his appearance was nothing compared to Jeannie. Her puffy and dark-circled eyes under a mess of tangled hair peered back at her father. Mike nearly chuckled at how his daughter's oversized robe drooped sloppily onto the floor.
He looked at the couple. Perhaps it was love.
Slowly, Steve understood Mike's question. He was on his way to Boston for at least two years. Now what?
"I'm sorry." It was all Steve could think to say to the older couple. He had made everything suddenly so complicated.
A look of concern washed over Jeannie's face. What would happen now? While the last five minutes had been the happiest in her life, was she up for a long distance relationship?
Mike broke into a grin. "You know, Buddy boy, I never did like the idea of you making that trip alone. Three thousand miles is a long way and you are still not completely recovered. Look at you! You look like a good puff of wind could blow you over."
Steve was not certain where Mike was going with this line of thought, but finally, Mike said the unimaginable.
"I don't think Jeannie's got any pressing plans. Sweetheart, why don't you help Steve make the drive to Boston? I'll bet by the time you get there, you two will have everything sorted out."
Jeannie looked over to Steve and he nodded enthusiastically. "I don't have much room in the car, so pack light. We'll figure it out as we go."
Jeannie quickly kissed Steve and then threw her arms around her father. "I love you, Daddy." She turned and bounded up the stairs with new life.
Steve turned to his former partner. "Mike, I don't know what to say."
"Just…take care of her." Watery blue eyes gazed at the young man straight on.
a/n: Eek - I guess I'm just a romantic at heart. Epilogue coming next!
"Unchained Melody" was written by Alex North and Hy Zaret, and most famously recorded by the Righteous Brothers. If you ever wanted about the title, the song was written for a prison movie called, "Unchained".
The 'pig' episode was "Endgame" from season 3.
