Mac arrived at Jo's apartment building and went inside. He called and told her that he was there and she had the door open when he arrived. "Come in," she said. "I'm cooking something right now." She headed for the kitchen as Mac was coming in.

Mac went in and took off his coat and hung it up. "So, you solved that case," Jo asked as Mac came into the kitchen.

Mac nodded. "Yeah. The drug dealer did it."

Jo put her arms around Mac's neck and kissed him. "Mmm," she said. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, I am," Mac replied.

"Then sit down and prepare to have something better than what we had for lunch today."

Mac smiled as he sat down at the table and rubbed his face and yawned. "You mean you made some pickles?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

Jo narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh you," she said and turned back to the stove.

Soon, Jo had the hamburgers ready. Mac smiled as she set them on the table. "You like hamburgers, don't you?" he asked.

"I do," Jo replied. She sat down across from him and opened the soda. "I want us to have just a good old time tonight."

Mac smiled at her. "Me too."

They started eating. "Mmmm, this is good," Mac commented.

"Thanks," Jo replied. "Are you going to tell me some more of your stories now?"

"Do I have to now?"

"Oh, please. I want to hear more. I enjoy laughing and there's not much to laugh about in our line of work."

Mac chuckled. "I could have laughed today. You should have seen that bar we went to, the Green Light Cavern."

"Tell me about it."

Mac laughed as he chewed another bite of the hamburger. "You have never seen such a place in your life," he said. "We could hear the music outside before we ever got out of the cars and this place looked like it had never been painted. It was one of those plank buildings and it got its name from that traffic light on the outside of the building. That word 'cavern' was a good one because it was so dark in there, you couldn't see anything and it was lit with green lamps on the walls. And that music…" Mac rubbed his ear. "…it was so loud it could knock you down. I thought I would have to leave and you had to yell to talk to anybody."

Jo smiled at Mac's description. "And there were people in this bar?"

"Yes, and they seemed perfectly alright with how it was. The bar looked like…I don't know what it looked like but it wasn't a built bar, it was more like something that had been dragged in there and just set up to look like a bar so everybody would know where to go and get their drinks."

Jo laughed. "You are so funny."

"They had some old dart boards in there and they must have been used for fifty years," Mac continued. "I don't think they would have held a dart if you threw one at them." He shook his head. "I have never seen anything like it, and Don and Danny had been in there before."

"As patrons?"

"No, as cops. They advised me to wear a bulletproof vest and be ready to fight."

"But you didn't have to fight?"

"No, not today, but I did get a bruise or two when I tangled with that other guy."

"So what was the other bar like?"

"Oh, it was the complete opposite of the Green Light but that guy had a bed set up back there surrounded by a sectional sofa and women sitting there like they were waiting their turn. It was disgusting."

"So he was the one who did it."

"Yes. He ran from us and tried to have us mowed down with automatic weapons."

"I'm glad they missed."

When they were done eating, they went into the living room and sat on the couch. Jo turned the TV on and turned the lights off except the lamp. She looked at the bruise on Mac's face. "That's where he hit me with his gun," Mac said.

Jo kissed the bruise. "Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?" she asked.

"It will be alright. It's sore but I've had worse."

Jo stared at him a moment. "You have?"

Mac nodded. "I have. I've been at this a long time, not to mention when I was in the Marines and all that happened there."

Jo lay her head on his shoulder. "Do you think you'll retire early?" she asked.

"You think I need to?" Mac asked.

"I don't know. I just think it would be nice to retire early. Maybe go somewhere and take a less stressful job."

"It would." Mac thought he would love to move away and get a less stressful job maybe as a sheriff or something.

As they were watching the movie, Mac started to get sleepy. He shook his head and tried to keep his eyes open. He thought it was easy to stay awake all night when he was working because of the stress and everything but when he relaxed, he got so sleepy he could hardly stay awake. He finally rested his head on the back of the sofa and let sleep take him over.

Jo realized Mac was asleep when she said something about the movie and he did not reply. She looked at him and smiled. She thought he must feel relaxed and she knew he had been getting more sleep, for one thing, his eyes did not look so tired. She looked at the bruise on his face. She thought it looked painful. She put her arms around him and listened to his heart beating. It sounded so strong. He took a deep breath and shifted slightly but did not wake up.

Soon, Jo realized Mac was twitching in his sleep and his muscles seemed tense. She looked at him and knew he was having a nightmare. "They're in there," Mac whispered. "And they know we're out here."

Jo sat up and watched Mac as he tensed up like he was on the battlefield. He grabbed the arm of the couch. "Mac," Jo whispered.

Mac's whole body trembled. Jo thought she must have startled him. "Wake up," she whispered.

"I'm not asleep," Mac replied. "I don't sleep on duty."

"You're not on duty, Darling. Wake up."

Mac seemed to be confused by that statement. He turned the other way with his back to Jo. She touched his shoulder and he shook as though he had been shot. "Mac, wake up. It's me, Jo."

Mac grabbed the side of the sofa cushion that he was sitting on. "No," he said. "We have to wait for the others."

"No one else is coming," Jo said. "It's just me and you."

Mac shook his head. "We can't handle this alone."

Jo touched Mac's face. "Wake up, Mac," she said gently.

Mac suddenly sat straight up almost falling off the couch. He looked around him and realized he was on the couch. He looked at Jo. "I was having a nightmare, wasn't I?" he asked embarrassed.

"Yes, you were," Jo replied.

"I'm sorry." Mac rubbed his face.

"Don't apologize for that."

Mac looked at her. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

Jo kissed him. "You didn't scare me," she said and kissed him again.

Mac leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Jo moved closer to him and lay her head on his shoulder and rubbed his chest. "I have those nightmares sometimes," Mac said.

"It's okay." Jo hugged him and Mac grimaced and jumped a little. "What is it?"

"Patrick King shot at me," Mac said. "The vest stopped the bullet but it doesn't stop the bruise, you know."

Jo swallowed, thankful that he had been wearing a vest. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," she said.

"Don't worry about it." Mac looked at her. "I hope you can tolerate my nightmares," he said.

"I can," Jo replied.

Mac looked at the ceiling again. "I have them quite often and I have found myself in the floor before," he said. "Most of the time I don't know I've had a nightmare until I wake up wondering where I am or thinking I'm in the middle of a war. And they're not always about the war. I have other dreams too."

"Like what?"

"Sometimes about Claire…everything."

Jo touched his face. "You stop worrying about that," she said. "It will take a lot more than nightmares for you to get rid of me."

Mac ran his fingers through her hair. "I know how disturbing they can be," he said. "I used to scare Claire sometimes."

"Mac, even if I get a little scared, I will be here for you. Russ used to have them too."

"I wish I could stop having them, but there's no way."

Jo stroked his hair. "It's part of your life, so it will be part of mine too."

When the first light of day came through the window, Mac found that he was asleep on Jo's sofa. He sat up and looked out the window and then looked at his watch. It was almost 8:00. He sat up and got his shoes on and just then, Jo came from the kitchen. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?" he asked.

"You were sleeping so well," Jo said.

"I'm supposed to be there at eight."

"Mac, you don't have to be there every minute of the day."

"I don't want to get into anymore trouble."

"I was fixing breakfast for us."

"I'll have to skip it. I have to get to the office and I have to go home first."

Jo walked over to him. "Okay, if you must."

Mac looked at her. "I'm sorry but I have to."

"You could at least let me throw it in something for you."

"Sure, just do it fast."

Jo hurried into the kitchen and got a sandwich bag and put Mac's breakfast into it and went into the living room. "Hope you enjoy it," she said.

"I'm sure I will," Mac replied. He smiled at her. "I would kiss you but I might have morning breath."

Jo smiled. "Kiss me anyway."

Mac kissed her and then went out the door. He had to get home and get changed. He had a shower the evening before. He thought maybe he would just go casual today. He did not have to wear a suit. He went down and got a cab to the office and ate on the way. The breakfast was delicious and she had even included some coffee. He sipped the coffee the rest of the way to the office. He got out and blew out a breath as he looked up at the building. He yawned as he walked toward the door. He hoped he would not fall asleep today or yawn all day. Just as he was about to go in the door, someone yelled, "Detective Taylor!"

Mac looked to see a woman running toward him. He instinctively reached for his side, but as usual, he had left his weapon in the office. The woman came on toward him. "Detective Taylor, I have to talk to you," the woman said.

"Are you in trouble?" Mac asked. "What's wrong?"

The woman clutched Mac's forearm. She stared at him a moment and then gasped. "Someone is going to try to kill you, Detective," she said with a horrified look on her face.

Mac scowled and pulled his arm away from her. "Who are you?" he asked. "How do you know this?"

"I've seen it!"

Mac frowned. "You've seen it? How?"

"I have visions. Someone is going to try to kill you, Detective! I am telling you!"

"Who are you?"

The woman backed away. "I've warned you," she said. "That's all I can do! Beware of lions, Detective!"

"Wait a minute. Come back here," Mac said as the woman turned and ran. He went after her but there were too many people on the street and he lost her. He looked for her but could not find her.

Mac walked back to the precinct and went inside. Don Flack was sitting at his desk. "Morning, Mac," he said.

"Morning," Mac said, still scowling at what he had just been told.

"Something wrong?" Don asked noticing the puzzled look on Mac's face.

"Some woman was out front and she said someone was going to try to kill me."

Don sat up straight. "Kill you? Who?"

"She didn't say. She just said she 'saw' it."

Don leaned back. "Oh, one of those," he said.

"She said beware of lions, whatever that means."

"Maybe you should do that. I wouldn't want to trust a lion."

Mac gave Don a tolerant look. "Talk to you later, Don," he said and went to the elevator.

Mac went up to the office. Danny and Lindsey were in the lab as usual. Mac waved to them as he passed by on the way to his office.

"Just look," Danny said. "He's not even wearing a suit today."

Lindsey giggled at Danny. "You're so funny," she said.

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm observant."

"Observant? You can't stand it because you don't know what Mac and Jo are doing."

"Oh, I think I know what they're doing."

"You don't know anything. Just because he comes in without a suit. Maybe he doesn't want to wear a suit today."

"But he's a little late, and yesterday…well, you know what happened then."

"Forget it."

Soon everyone else started arriving at the lab. Mac's desk phone rang and he answered it, "Taylor."

"Detective Taylor," a female voice said.

"Yes? Who is this?"

"I'm the woman you met outside. You have to listen to me when I tell you that someone is going to try to kill you."

"Who are you? What are you? A psychic?"

"That's what some people call it. My name is Julia. You have to listen to me. When I get these visions, they always come true."

"How often do you get them?"

"Whenever they are necessary I suppose. Just be careful."

"Hey, tell me what you're talking about."

"Just beware of lions, Detective."

Mac heard the phone call end. He hung up the phone and stared at it a moment. He wondered what Jo would have to say about this. He did not put much store in psychics.

Mac looked at the stack of paperwork on his desk. He supposed he needed to be working on that instead of worrying about what Julia said. He figured he was safe from lions in this office. He opened a folder and began looking over the file inside as he yawned again. He did not remember falling asleep again after he had woke up with Jo sitting on the couch, but he certainly felt sleepy this morning.