Mike was surprised, and slightly irked to see his partner's desk empty by the time he entered the bullpen a few minutes late himself.
The current situation had left him with a distinct lack of motivation when it came to the work he was so utterly passionate about, downright tempting him to stay in bed and forget about all the petty arguments he'd have to live through for the next couple of weeks, until the Brass' social experiment would run its course.
It wasn't fair, no matter how ridiculous of a statement it was.
Kammer's involvement wasn't fair to their murder victim whose killer was still at large, and whose case was in severe danger of getting disrupted by agenda-driven ideas and the thirst for half-hearted police propaganda in lieu of a force that used to pride itself on a reputation built by dedication, integrity and a long history of protecting its citizens.
Heck, it wasn't even fair to Kammers getting thrown into the lion's den like this, no matter how often she claimed that it had been her personal choice.
She was a strong-minded, downright gritty woman, Mike gave her that much. But it was his deep fear that her need for acknowledgment and change would blind her when it came to doing her actual job. And he was certain it wouldn't take long for him to be proven right.
Beside his partner's perturbing absence, Mike noticed that Kammers had set up a work station over by the bulletin board, pulling on one side of the small desk to drag it up against the corner by the file cabinets, but having to fight the uneven ground where conduit-protected wires connected to the nearby outlets.
Completely unaware of her audience, the Staff Sergeant struggled along, the box that sat on her desk slowly sliding off to the side the more the table was jostled around. Eventually, Mike decided to walk up to her, hoping to start the day out on a better note than the previous one had ended.
"Need a hand?", he offered cordially just to see Kammers glare up, her eyes softening when she realized that the question had been posed in earnest.
"No, I am good…I think.", she stammered and pulled on the desk once again, this time jostling it hard enough to cause the box to slide toward the edge, and fall off, had Mike not grabbed it at the last second.
"Could have fooled me.", the Lieutenant countered, deciding not to wait any longer as he reached for the other side of the desk and lifted it enough that it cleared the uneven ground.
With a defeated sigh, Kammers glanced up again, her eyes unreadable as she rested one hand against the defiant piece of furniture.
"I know, Lieutenant, I know. I am failing at trying to do a man's job."
The cheap shot so early in the morning served as another predictor of what the day would bring and Mike shook his head determinedly, before pointing at his office.
"You might be surprised to find out that me helping you has little to do with chauvinism, and a whole lot more with the fact that you are wasting precious time doing a task alone that requires two people to complete properly. That is time you could spend getting set up helping us solve our case, Staff Sergeant."
The stern reprimand seemed to do the job for the time being, when Kammers nodded obediently, then began unpacking her cardboard box without another word.
Relishing the victory, temporary as it may be, Mike returned to the confines of his office in time to see his partner stroll through the glass-walled vestibule, a faint smile on his face that didn't hide the haunted look in his eyes. With his grey suit jacket casually draped over his shoulder, he nodded at a few of the other detectives, before approaching his partner.
"Where have you been? You're late.", Mike barked, only to hear the young man chuckle.
"I see that good nights' sleep has done nothing for your shiny disposition."
"It's twenty after seven.", Mike reiterated, only to watch Steve's gaze drift over to Kammers as she set up her file folders and stored her badge, cuffs and handgun in the small drawer below her desk.
"You couldn't find her a smaller work station?", the young Inspector asked mockingly, earning himself a knowing glare from his partner.
"Cut me some slack, I wasn't in on that request.", the Lieutenant snapped back, then gestured toward his office, "Come on, let's get moving. We have to keep thinking of other avenues for our case."
With a slight nod, Steve headed to his desk to start the day, falling strangely quiet. It was then that Mike realized he never answered the question as to why he was late.