Carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and a small towel in the other, Mike reentered his living room with a distinctive feeling of helplessness and unease. Steve seemed to share his sentiment, as he leaned his head back against the couch, trying not to look into the large box of medical supplies Nancy had spread out on the coffee table.
"This is so much more interesting with a live one…", she mumbled excitedly and fished for a box of labels and a ballpoint pen.
"You think a blood sample would help narrow down the drugs our hitman used?", Mike asked credulously, before handing the coffee over to the petite doctor.
Smiling in appreciation, Nancy took a couple of sips, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment, before nodding.
"It's a bit more complicated than that. See, I became intrigued when Bill told me that Steve couldn't remember what happened and that the hospital thought your guy had used some anesthesia meds to render him unconscious. There's only a handful of those that could cause the type of amnesia Steve experienced. Now this happened some…what…nine hours ago? Which means the sooner I can get a few blood samples back into my lab, the sooner I can see if I can find enough traces of the drug used before his liver metabolizes them. Most of these meds have been taken off the market and replaced with better synthetic ones quite a while ago, so odds are, whatever he used, it should narrow your search down considerably…"
"Sounds like a plan to me.", Mike said before glancing over at his nervous partner, "Are you okay with this, Buddy Boy?"
Giving him his best pained sigh, Steve grinned, before pulling up the sleeve of his dress shirt.
"What's another poke after today anyways?"
Mike mirrored the grin and watched Nancy dig a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope out of her box.
"I am going to need four vials, so let me make sure you're up for it, Hoss. I'd hate to inadvertently put you back to sleep for a while.", she joked, causing the young Inspector to lose his smile and stare at her appallingly, "Would you relax? Geez, you take things so seriously. Is that what happens when you work with this guy here too long?"
Noting the undertone, Mike stepped closer and sat down on his recliner, where he leaned forward to watch the doctor work away. As both men shared a worried glance, it was Nancy who shook her head chuckling.
"You two are something else, you know that?", she said and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Steve's upper arm before facing the Lieutenant, "Relax Michael, and breathe. I swear I won't hurt him…San Francisco's finest and yet you two freak out at the sight of needles and medical supplies…"
Deciding to keep his comments to himself for the time being, Mike shook his head in mild amusement, as he waited for the doctor to finish her initial exam.
"See, that didn't hurt at all, now did it?", Nancy finally said and removed the cuff before wrapping the stethoscope around her neck, "His blood pressure is up a bit but not too bad. Pulse is good. Go ahead and lay down with your feet on the armrest, and we'll get this over with quickly."
"I have to give you that, nobody has ever turned my living room into a doctor's office…", Mike chuckled and got off the recliner to help hold a small tray of vials, a syringe and some bandaging material while Nancy spread a small towel underneath Steve's elbow.
"Well, you two bring it out of me, I won't lie…", she said and continued to dig in her box, "Here kiddo, squeeze that ball on and off until I tell you to stop…"
She had just put the rubber tourniquet around his partners arm and started to look for the vein, when Nancy stopped in her tracks.
"Is this…is this the arm your killer used?"
"That's the one where his sleeve was rolled up when I found him, yes…", Mike answered worriedly and glanced over at Steve, who followed the action with great interest.
"Well, I will tell you, this guy is good…", leaning in closer to look at the injection site, Nancy used both of her gloved thumbs to manipulate the skin over the vein, shaking her head in awe, "There's hardly any bruising. This isn't your regular off-the-streets hitman who knows how to give a shot. You're dealing with a pro here. I'd say doctor, maybe even a vet. Somebody who is very good at this…"
"Maybe a mob doctor of sorts?", Mike suggested and squirmed, as Nancy disinfected the area and smoothly slid a large needle into the vein, causing the attached syringe to fill with blood instantly.
"It could be. And quite honestly, leaving him alive for us to track his…work still has me puzzled. Not to be cruel, Hoss, but even if he wanted to render you unconscious, he could have just knocked you upside the head. Instead, he resorted to these drugs. He wanted him to forget something, the question is what."
"It could be his face. An accent. His clothing. Something Eddie said before he was shot, that might allow us to figure out who this killer is?", Mike hypothesized and watched Nancy remove the first vial and reached for a second one, before sliding it into the syringe again.
"You still doing good up there?", she asked Steve, who seemed intrigued with the process, before nodding slowly.
"It's nice when you deal with live veins. I'd forgotten how much fun this is…you can actually see the blood pumping right into the vial, it's so cool, I tell you…", Nancy then mumbled before reaching for the third vial, "I swear I haven't heard an actual heartbeat in years since I took over to help Bernie. It's going to be pretty boring once he gets back from vacation and I get to return to my lab…"
"You can always stop by and visit…I can show you where his office is…", Steve nudged before glancing over at his partner with a wily grin. Mike glared down at him like a kid who was caught stealing candy, before shaking his head in flustered denial.
"Listen to you, Buddy Boy…in case you've forgotten, we work homicide, not human relations. We have murderers to catch."
"Oh, I am starting to feel it now…", Steve mumbled and leaned his head deeper into the couch when Nancy inserted the last vial, causing the Doctor to smile and pat him on the cheek.
"You will live, pretty boy. I am sorry it took that much but I wanted to include every possibility. Just stay on the couch for a little bit. Have your boss bring you some ice cream when we're done. Consider it a noble sacrifice for working with the best of the best…"
Mike noticed Nancy glancing up at him briefly, flashing the same cheeky grin he remembered from High School.
"Alright, you are all good to go, Hoss.", she said and carefully pulled the needle back out of Steve's arm, before covering the injection site with a cotton ball, "Here, keep some pressure on this, I am going to grab a bandaid quickly."
"You're doing alright?", Mike asked and rested a hand on Steve's shoulder, only to watch the young Inspector nod slowly and stretch out on the couch.
"Oh yeah. Just loopy. Don't mind me if I take a nap."
"I never do, Buddy Boy…"
Watching as his partner closed his eyes in preparation for a power nap, Mike moved his attention back to Nancy, who'd bandaged his partners elbow before stowing the blood samples in a safe place inside her luggage. Reaching for the tray in his hand with decisive precision, she packed all her supplies away within a minute before getting up again.
"Well, I am going to take these samples downtown and get working on them right away…I'll call you as soon as I have answers…"
"Thank you so much, Nancy. For everything."
Mike helped her close the boxes and watched her head back towards the front door. The doctor smiled at him warmly, her blue eyes transporting him back some four decades, when life was different.
Some days he missed the carelessness and unbridled energy running through every sinew of his body back then. The optimistic youthful outlook had been his pillars up until the day he set foot onto the ship heading into the Pacific.
Looking back, the startling turns his life took were nothing short of amazing. Having to grow up in a matter of a few weeks fighting a ruthless enemy while watching his friends die in battle had changed him. The man returning to the United States was a lot quieter than the young boy who'd left years earlier. In retrospect, the war had turned him inward, making him hold his emotions back when faced with vile human actions.
It also caused him to care a lot more about those closest to him. Knowing that life was fragile and could end in a moment's notice, made him appreciate the relationships he did have. If there was one thing he'd learned during the war, it was to love stronger, care deeper and protect fiercer than ever.
"You can put those on my passenger seat. Michael…", Nancy said smilingly and pointed at the door of her dark green Pinto, as they walked down the steps of the DeHaro house.
Glancing across the deserted road, Mike quickly noted the Uni still parked a few spots down and nodded at Sergeant Ferris in gratitude, before opening Nancy's car door with a deafening creak.
"Don't they pay you enough to buy a newer car?", he asked and loaded the two boxes onto the seat in question, then pulling the seat belt around their precious cargo to hold it in place. If there was one thing he remembered fondly about Nancy Burkall, it was her impressive- albeit sometimes scary driving skills.
"There's nothing wrong with this one, so why buy a new one?", she chuckled and threw her purse in the driver's seat before circling her car to stand next to him.
"Nancy, Nancy…", Mike laughed and leaned against the Galaxy's driver side door, his eyes resting on her pretty face once again.
"You know, I didn't mind what you did the other day…", she whispered and stepped in front of him, her hands squeezing his arms for a moment, before she moved them to his chest, "It brought back some memories. Good ones."
Mike nodded deep in thought and covered her petite hands with his, to shield them from the cold.
"And yet, so much has changed…", he sighed and lowered his glance to the ground, trying to swallow the confusing rush of emotion flooding his mind.
"Not the important things.", Nancy countered and reached for the back of his neck, before pulling him into a passionate kiss.
The warmth of her gesture and her soft lips on his made Mike forget the events of the day for a precious brief moment. It even made him ignore the fact that two patrolmen were watching their every move from the road.
Inhaling her sweet perfume one last time, Mike slowly straightened back out, feeling his cheeks blush more with every heartbeat. Nancy noticed his nervousness and chuckled, before running a gentle hand through his silver hair.
For a second, he saw fear clouding her usually careless features, but then she masked her emotions with a broad smile once again.
Not knowing the right things to say for once, Mike pursed his lips nervously and pointed his chin at his living room.
"I…I better go check on my partner…We ehm…we haven't slept much in days, so…"
"It's ok, Michael…", Nancy said and took a step back, her smile never disappearing, "We can talk some more when this case is over with. Maybe even share a quiet dinner together. But right now, you have to focus on finding this guy."
Nodding in appreciation of her understanding, Mike squeezed Nancy's shoulder one last time, and then glanced over her car to ensure everything was safely packed away and she was ready to go, before walking toward his house again.
As he listened to her footsteps circling the small Pinto, Mike hesitated when he heard her stop in her tracks. Turning around, he found Nancy fighting the tears, as she held onto the driver side door of her car.
"Michael, what I said about your killer is true. He is extremely good at what he is doing. That burn mark on Steve's neck…he knew exactly where to place this…this device he is using in order to disable him without killing him. Just one inch over and Steve would have joined the fate of that bodyguard we found floating in the bay. I am worried about your safety. Please…don't get hurt. I…I can't have you get hurt."