"So here's Mike in this pretty…skintight outfit, at least all things considered and being football and all…", Nancy explained laughingly and draped a wool blanket over Steve, as he stretched out on an old couch in the deserted cafeteria, "And he had that smile…you know. That famous Mike Stone smile. And all the right answers to any questions you would ask him. I fell for him right then and there."

He'd been getting drowsy from the pain meds for quite some time now, but Nancy's stories about Mike's past kept him awake and wonderfully entertained thus far. As the petite coroner finished wrapping him in a blanket, she sat back down and sipped on her luke-warm coffee, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"He'd always been a looker. Oh, those eyes. All the girls loved him because he was so cordial. Never cocky. Never challenging. Just ever so understanding and caring. Everybody wanted to be Michael Stone's girlfriend. But then he went overseas and disappeared, so to speak."

Feeling the warmth of the blanket lull him into a calmer state of mind, Steve grinned and rested his good hand over his left elbow.

"So how'd you stay in contact? You had to have gone to medical school at one point."

"Oh, I have my ways, Hoss.", she said grinningly and pulled a chair closer to him, "See, Helen was best friends with Miranda, whom I went to medical school with. Believe me, for as big as this city is…it really is a small town, so to speak. I kept up to date on Michael through Miranda. Every once in a while, we'd pass each other in the hallway. He'd smile, and nod, and I would just sulk for the rest of the day."

Leaning his head back against the couch, Steve sighed, then grinned, before clearing his throat.

"You never got married yourself?"

"Oh, I did.", Nancy admitted and rested her feet on the bottom of the couch, "Tried to jump on that whole bandwagon. He was a very, very selfish man though. We lasted about ten years before I couldn't take it anymore. Looking back, I think I spent too much time comparing him to Mike. Nobody could ever reach that high of a pedestal, if you get my drift."

"He's a hell of a guy, that's for sure…"

Steve felt himself starting to slur as he tried to fight off the mind-dulling effects of the pain meds to no avail.

"When you have Mike Stone as a friend, you have a friend for life.", Nancy added, her voice breaking as she glanced toward the coffee dispenser against the back wall.

Steve waited a few seconds, giving her time to regain her composure in the near empty cafeteria. Only a few lonely souls were left to staff the kitchen and feed those who sat here waiting, and praying, for their loved ones to recover.

"With your back story, why did you never ask him out on a date after Helen passed away? He'd been dating other women on and off…"

"I didn't have the nerve, to be perfectly honest.", Nancy admitted and smiled sadly, "And after she passed away, well…there was so much going on in his life, so many distractions…I didn't feel like adding to it."

"Oh, I don't know. I think you two could be a cute couple."

"Maybe so. But each time I was ready to think about making a move, something else was going on in that man's life.", taking another sip of coffee, Nancy looked over at him, before shaking her head dismissively, "Listen to you dishing out life advice, Hoss. You're what? Twenty-five?"

"I am not twenty-five…", Steve argued and rolled his eyes, before turning his head to try to read the nearby clock, "What time is it?"

Leaning over, the doctor squinted her eyes before frowning.

"Ha. 4 AM already. Who'd have thought?"

Smiling, Steve closed his eyes for a second and yawned, before looking back over at Nancy.

"In that case, I am thirty."

"It's your birthday today?"

Steve only nodded, quickly losing the cheerful attitude when his mind brought him back to the exact reason why he was lying on a hospital couch.

"Well, Happy Birthday, Hoss. I will have to give Dan and Norm a call to bring in some cake. They said they'll take over for me around 6am. Just in time so that I can return to the morgue and put together your guys' 500-piece human jigsaw puzzle. I guess I shouldn't have complained so loudly when they brought in that pile of road rash yesterday."

Managing a brief smile, Steve closed his eyes again as his mind drifted back to the ICU. Wondering about Mike's condition and the lack of any updates, the anxiety of the unknown was beginning to drive him insane.

He glanced back up when he felt Nancy's warm hand pat his chest.

"It's time for another round of pain meds for you. Tell you what, I will ask the nurses if we can make it a birthday gift and just have you take them in pill form, rather than intravenously. How does that sound? You're ready to be done getting poked for the day?"

Unable to hide a smile at the kind gesture, he nodded faintly, before clearing his throat.

"That would be wonderful."

As the doctor put her coffee down to get back up, he held her back by reaching for her hand.

"You and Mike should really try to get together."

Nancy hesitated, then sat back down and glanced at the floor, as if to think deeply about a fitting answer. She finally shook her head, as he eyes welled up with tears.

"I love him too much for that, Steve…"

Surprised at the candid answer, he raised his eyebrows.

"I…I guess I don't understand."

"You can't.", Nancy answered cryptically and reached for her coffee to keep her unsteady hands busy, "You only know the side of him you see now. Me…I've known him almost my entire life. I have seen him at his worst right after he returned from oversees and after Helen passed away, and I have seen him at his best, when Jean was born and…and now. See, Steve, watching you two joke back and forth and work together like you do…believe me, it gives him so much joy. It filled such a large void in his life. He needs you and Jean to dote on to be his very best."

"Then why not make him even happier by becoming his girlfriend after all these years?"

"And disturb this wonderful thing you three got going on here? No. I can't do that."

Standing back up to head over to the nurse's station, Nancy turned around one last time, as a tear rolled down her cheek and disappeared below her jawline.

"I don't expect you to understand this, Hoss. But I guess…I guess I love him too much to get in the way of his happiness."