Miles To Go Before I Sleep
By:Olivia

"When a man's partner is killed he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any
difference what you thought of him. He was your partner, and your supposed to do something
about it."-Dashiell Hammett-"The Maltese Falcon"

"Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,/Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,/Raze out
the written troubles of the brain,/And with some sweet oblivious antidote/Cleanse the fraught
bosom of that perilous stuff/Which weighs upon the heart?"-William Shakespeare-"Macbeth"


"So I heard you went to see Marie today."

Mike glanced at Phil. He was surprised that Phil knew about his trip that morning to see Max's
wife. Today was the one year anniversary of Max's death and he had needed to check up on
Marie and the kids to make certain they were okay as they could be under the circumstances.
Mike felt that Max would have wanted him to keep an eye out for them. Besides, it was what
Mike wanted.

"I didn't know you knew," said Mike as he lifted his binoculars to look at the building they were
surveilling. No activity. No way to change the subject.

"The Captain told me," was all Phil said. He waited for Mike to say something.

"I'm fine, Phil."

Phil looked at Mike questioning his statement.

"Really, I'm fine. I just wanted to check on Marie and the kids."

There was silence as they continued to watch the building. As their Captain would have so
eloquently put it-nada, zip, bupkis.

"Phil, ...I never...with everything that went down a year ago...I never got the chance to thank you
for what you did to help us catch Max's killer."

Phil turned and smiled at Mike. "I wish we could have been partnered under better
circumstances. I wish I could have seen you and Max together. The way the Captain tells it, you
two were quite a pair."

Mike laughed as fond memories of his former partner came flooding back. "Yeah, that we
were."

Silence settled once again.

"Nothing's going to happen to me," said Phil suddenly.

"What?" Mike asked confusedly.

"You've been jittery all day. Nothing's going to happen to me. I'm not going to get shot. I'm
not going to die on you."

Mike turned his head and looked out the car window on his side. The truth was, in the back of
his mind, he did worry about Phil. Max's death shown him just how sudden death could be and
how emotionally devastating. Losing a partner was like losing a body part. It was losing
something you had come to depend on only to have it ripped away from you. Mike just couldn't
bear to lose another partner again. Losing Max had been too many for him.

Mike turned to Phil. He smiled and tried to keep the mood light. "You've gotta promise me that,
big Pappa."

Phil grinned at Mike and nodded his acknowledgment.

And they both turned to continue looking at the warehouse for any sign of criminal activity.