It was close to midnight when Steve finally rolled into the spot at his Union Street apartment, the Porsche making an eerie noise as he pulled up the parking brake. Cringing at the thought of another repair bill in his immediate future, the young Inspector reached across the passenger seat for the file he'd taken home with him, concealed inside a beige envelope.
After dropping Mike off, he'd headed back to the office one last time to grab it, then switch back to his personal car and stop out for a drink to clear his spiraling mind. Despite several offers to join him from other colleagues, Steve insisted on his self-bestowed solitude, hoping to clear the fog names such as Beverly Landau had created.
In the current anxiety-laden turmoil brought on by the departmental decision to bring in Staff Sergeant Kammers; he hadn't had the heart to give Mike the details of his encounter with Beverly beyond the superficial facts.
Things like the warmth of her hands against his chest. And those deep and expressive eyes he cared for a lot more than he should. Or the uneasy feeling she'd left in his gut with her last comment before storming out of the bullpen.
Undoubtedly, they had all changed a lot in three years, Steve more so than most. And while his physical appearance hadn't changed much, the same couldn't be said about his mental state, the days when he grew disillusioned to ideals once held at high regard, when he questioned himself more than anybody else around, even going as far as questioning whether or not he actually did make a difference in the lives of others any longer.
It was those subtle details that were clearly visible to the ones who cared to look deep enough, despite his well-crafted facade of false lightheartedness.
It was the involuntary admission of his troubles to people like Beverly that made him incredibly uneasy.
Steve swallowed the intense feeling of wrongdoing when he looked at the file resting on his passenger seat, knowing his mind was playing tricks on him. He wasn't doing anything wrong, matter of fact, he was following Mike's direct order.
If he were to look into Beverly's assault case, he better be doing it on his own time.
And the promise of a sleepless night spent in blissful solitude would provide the perfect occasion.