Changes With a Little Paranoia on the Side

by TXMedic

Bryn comes back from vacation to see a new member has joined the SIU. Is she on her way out?

~This is an Alternate Universe story. For this story, Bryn never left the SIU, so it will be deviating
from the canon timeline. I got the idea for this story from a story starter I'd written for a
possible MelKat production, and a short challenge story I wrote for Hyde Street Station. I just
dropped the challenge story in the middle, and made a few changes to make it fit. The
characters of "Nash Bridges" are the property of CBS and Paramount Television.~

Changes (With A Little Paranoia on the Side)

____________________________________________________________________

Walking up the ramp with a spring in her step, Bryn smiled and greeted the familiar faces as she
made her way back to the office. The "office" was a ferry, but that just made it more interesting.
She was tanned and rested after two weeks on Catalina Island, and ready for work.

The familiar noise and bustle met her at the door and Bryn paused a moment to take in the
organized chaos. Her eyes narrowed when she caught someone else sitting at her desk. A young
undercover officer sat at Bryn's desk, talking to someone on the phone, gesturing with quick,
sharp movements of her free hand. The stranger's long, dark hair swung down to obscure her
face as she bent to look at a file.

Dodging the officers scurrying back and forth, Bryn made her way over to the newcomer and
leaned against the railing. Smiling when the young woman hung up the phone and looked up,
Bryn held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Bryn Carson. You must be new."

"Oh, hi. I'm Michelle Chan." Michelle shook the offered hand with relief. It would be good to
have another woman on the team. There was only so much testosterone she could stand. "I've
heard a lot about you from Nash and the guys. How was your vacation?"

"I had a great time. Lots of sun, some kayaking, horseback riding…the usual." Bryn wasn't sure
how to broach the subject of the desks without causing embarrassment. "Um, is this the desk
you were assigned to?"

Puzzlement at the question quickly turned into understanding. "Oh! This was your desk, wasn't
it? I'm sorry, Nash had yours moved over behind Harvey. I guess since I'm the new kid on the
block, I get stuck over here on the fringe."

That made a sort of logical sense. At least the move would put her closer to the action. Bryn
had often felt left out with her desk set apart from the guys. Sharing a laugh at Michelle's joke,
Bryn once again welcomed the new member to the SIU team then headed over to her new place.

Walking past Harvey, Bryn smiled, expecting his usual greeting. His nose buried in a file as he
headed for his desk with a cup of coffee, however, Harvey was oblivious. Shaking her head in
amusement, Bryn turned back to her new desk. She couldn't believe it. She was gone two weeks
and not only had they hired a new Inspector and moved her desk, but Harvey had covered every
square inch of it with electronic equipment. She had a brief moment of paranoid panic. Was she
being fazed out?

Whirling around, she stopped behind Harvey, who had remained totally unaware of her return.
He chuckled at something he read in the file he still held in his hand, and brought his coffee cup
to his lips to take a sip.

"Harvey!"

Starting at the sudden bellow in his ear, Harvey dumped half his coffee down the front of his
shirt. Jumping up with a yelp, he pulled the shirt away from his chest and shook it in an effort to
fan some cool air. Pulling at the neck of the t-shirt, Harvey tried to assess the damage.
"Dammit, Bryn, you scared the hell out of me!"

He couldn't really tell in the dim light on the ferry, but he thought his chest looked red where the
coffee had landed. ~Man, that hurt.~ He continued to flap the t-shirt, since it seemed to help cool
the burning. Looking up, he shot Bryn a puzzled frown. "When did you get back, anyway?"

Rolling her eyes, Bryn gestured to her new desk. "I'm so glad I was missed while I was gone.
Would you like to get all this stuff off my desk, Harv? Just because I've been suddenly moved
during my absence is no excuse for taking over the space."

"Come on, Bryn. You know I always use that desk when I'm working with the recording
equipment."

"Well, now you'll have to find somewhere else, won't you? Move it or lose it, Leek."

"Okay, geez. First day back and you're already causing trouble, Carson." Harvey smiled, letting
her know he was joking. He hissed and pulled back the neck of his shirt again. "Man, I think
you burned off all the hair on my chest."

Laughing, Bryn arched an eyebrow. "As if you had any to begin with."

Shooting her a look of indignation, Harvey frowned. "How would you know?" Bryn just smiled
mysteriously and walked away to find Nash. "Bryn? Bryn!"

Returning to his desk with a stack of files, Evan suddenly stopped when he looked up and saw
his partner. Harvey was staring off into space and flapping his t-shirt. "You trying to achieve
lift-off, Harv?"

A smile turned up the corners of Evan's mouth when he didn't get a response. "Harvey, what are
you doing?"

Finally taking notice of his partner's presence, Harvey shrugged. "Bryn's back."

Smiling crookedly, Evan pointed at the coffee stained t-shirt that his partner continued to pull at.
"And what? Just her mere presence has you all hot and bothered?"

Suddenly realizing what he was doing, Harvey let go of his shirt and made a half-hearted attempt
to smooth it out. "Don't be ridiculous, Ev. She yelled at me and made me spill my coffee."

"That doesn't sound like Bryn. What'd she yell at you for?"

Shrugging, Harvey buttoned his Hawaiian shirt to cover up the coffee stains. "I forgot she was
supposed to be back this morning, and didn't move the recording equipment. Want to help me
carry this stuff out to the surveillance van?"

"Ah, I'd love to help you, Harv, but I've got to get these files to Nash. He said he was in a
hurry." The smile Evan was attempting to hide didn't get past his partner.

"Yeah, sure. I'll remember this next time you land in the doghouse with Michelle." Harvey
didn't really mind; he'd get Ronnie or Charlie to give him a hand. It just went to prove that Evan
wasn't stupid.


Bryn found Nash out on the fantail, talking to Joe. She leaned against the railing next to her boss
and smiled, closing her eyes briefly against the breeze. She loved working on the ferry.

"Bryn, welcome back. How was Catalina?" Joe thought she looked a lot better than she had two
weeks ago. They'd come off a long, difficult case and Bryn had borne the brunt of it.

"Catalina was beautiful, Joe. Even the long drive home was relaxing, believe it or not."

"Hey, that's great. Listen, I'll see you guys inside; I need some coffee in the worst way. Inger
was in one of her moods this morning."

Watching him go, Nash shook his head at the trials and tribulations of Joe's marriage. Turning
to Bryn, he leaned in to give her a quick welcoming hug. "It's good to have you back, Bryn. We
need somebody to keep Evan in check."

Laughing, Bryn braced her elbows on the railing. "I thought that was Harvey's job."

"Uh-uh. I'm afraid Harv's a little too soft-hearted for his own good, sometimes." Nash glanced
back toward the bow and rubbed a finger over his lip. "So, have you met the new Inspector?"

"Yeah, I met her when I came in. It was a bit of a surprise."

"No doubt." Resting his hip against the railing, Nash crossed his arms and sighed. "With AJ
and Eve gone, we've been shorthanded. I had a chance to sign Michelle onto the team, had to act
fast, so I jumped on it. Then I sort of…forgot about it." At Bryn's surprised look, Nash smiled
wryly. "Long story. I guess you could say it caught everyone by surprise. She seems to be
fitting in okay. I think it'll work out really well, having another woman on the team. You've
been a little out-numbered."

"That's an understatement. I could definitely use some help keeping you clowns in line."

"Hey, I resemble that remark."

They both looked up when Evan joined them. Handing Nash the file he was holding, Evan
smiled warmly at Bryn. "Good to have you back, Bryn. Your vacation must've been fun…you
look happy."

"It was, thanks." Bryn realized she'd received warmer welcomes from her SIU family, than she
had from her real family. As much as she had enjoyed her two weeks off, she'd missed the guys.

Handing the file back to Evan, Nash ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. You, Harv and Bryn
will take this one. Michelle's going to be working with Joe and I on the Pastorelli deal."

Watching Nash head back inside, Evan shook his head and frowned. "One week at the SIU, and
she already gets the gig with Nash and Joe. It should be one of us."

Thinking that it should be she or Harvey, having seniority, Bryn nevertheless kept that to herself.
"I'm sure Nash has a reason for choosing Michelle. Maybe he wants to observe her…to see how
she's doing."

Evan was skeptical. Just when he thought he was no longer the low man on the totem pole…he
shook his head. "Well, welcome back anyway. Come on and I'll show you what Harv and I are
working on."

"Back to the daily grind."

Shooting Bryn a knowing look, Evan smiled. "Missed it, didn't you?"

"Maybe." Sharing his smile, Bryn gave him a small shove. "If you tell anyone, I'll shoot you."

================================================================

The noise of ringing phones, beeping pagers, yelling suspects and hungry seagulls were
combining to make it difficult to concentrate. Feeling the familiar rumble in the general vicinity
of her stomach, Michelle tore her eyes away from her computer screen. She cast a quick look
around, but the guys were all gone. Nash and Joe had taken off on some errand, while Evan and
Harvey had gone to check out a CI's story.

Watching Bryn for a moment, Michelle chewed on her lip in indecision. Making up her mind,
she quickly saved what she'd been doing and closed out the file. She grabbed her cell phone and
walked over to sit on the edge of Bryn's desk.

"Hey, Bryn, feel like grabbing some lunch? I'm starving."

Looking up from a stack of papers, Bryn smiled warmly. Pushing back from the desk, she
grabbed her keys from the top drawer. "Sure, I could eat. How's Italian sound?"

"Sounds great. You know a good place around here?"

"Yeah, and they know us all by name, we've been there so often. Might as well start introducing
you to our favorite watering holes."

The drive to the little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant was fairly quiet. Neither seemed to
know just what to say. Bryn felt sort of strange, since she'd missed the first week Michelle had
been at the SIU and knew she was a little out of step. Michelle felt the same sort of odd feeling,
but for the opposite reason. All week, she'd heard how great Bryn was from Evan and Harvey.
Well, now that she thought about it, mostly Harvey, but still…she felt she had a lot to live up to.

Both women breathed an inward sigh of relief when they pulled to a stop outside the restaurant.
Michelle didn't think it looked like much, but if the others liked it, she might as well get used to
it. The waiter's face lit up when he caught sight of Bryn and hurried over to give her a quick
hug. He looked to be about 65 years old, thin and stooped. He grinned from ear to ear and
greeted the Inspector like a long lost daughter.

"Ah, Inspector Carson, so good to see you again. Where are the guys?" Turning to give
Michelle the full benefit of his smile, he raised an eyebrow. "And who is this lovely young
lady?"

"The guys are out doing their thing. This is Inspector Chan. She joined the team about a week
ago. Michelle, this is Peter Taglioni. He and his wife own this place."

Michelle received the same warm welcome he'd given Bryn, then the two were seated at a small
table in the back, where they could sit facing the door. They placed their order, Mr. Taglioni
brought them coffee then bustled off to greet new customers.

Idly stirring her coffee, watching him leave, Bryn shifted in her seat. The silence was stretching
to an uncomfortable level. She decided she might as well be the one to break the ice. "So, what
do you think of the guys?"

"All of them, or any one in particular?"

"All of them, I guess."

Michelle smiled, appreciating the effort Bryn was making to try to ease the tension. "Well, Nash
is hard to figure. He seems like he's tough but fair. I think he'll be okay to work for. Joe strikes
me as the team prankster. I keep waiting to see if he pulls something on me."

Laughing, Bryn nodded at Michelle's shrewd assessment of Joe Dominguez. "Yeah, I guess you
could say Joe is the class clown. Don't be surprised if he does pull some sort of prank. You
wouldn't believe what he and Harvey did to Rick Bettina."

"Oh, yeah?" Michelle was curious about what she should expect.

"The first week we were in the rotunda, Joe had Harvey fix the screws on Bettina's chair so
when he sat down, it would collapse. I've never seen a man's face turn so red. Rick claimed it
was termites."

"You're kidding?" Like most Inspectors, Michelle had heard about the infamous exploits of
Rick Bettina. The man definitely wasn't the brightest bulb in the box.

"Seriously. Another time, Joe and Harvey disappeared for about an hour and came back with
these looks on their faces. Well, we knew they'd done something. We didn't have to wait long
to find out what it was." Bryn smiled at the memory. They'd had a glorious three days of
laughter at Bettina's expense.

"Joe had conned Harvey into messing with the computer and wiring on Rick's new car. Every
time Rick would lock the doors, they'd unlock themselves five seconds later. You should have
seen him standing there for half an hour, trying to get his doors to stay locked. That wasn't even
the best part. Harvey had rigged the car so that the windows would roll themselves up or down
at whim. Rick was paranoid it would rain and flood the car."

Holding her stomach, Michelle stopped laughing long enough to catch her breath. "How long
did that go on before he figured it out?"

"Three days. He finally took it to the shop. Joe had meant for Harvey to put the car back to
normal that day, but they'd both been called out on a murder. I thought Bettina was going to
blow a blood vessel when he came storming into the bank. Of course, he knew Harvey had to
have been the one to rig the car."

Wiping her eyes with a napkin, Michelle shook her head. "What happened?"

"Oh, he yelled and screamed at Harvey for about twenty minutes before Nash finally dragged
him off. Harvey just sitting there with this benign look of innocence didn't help Rick's
disposition. He gave Harv the bill for the car, and Joe paid for it. Rick never did find out it was
all Joe's idea."

When the two women had regained their composure, Bryn smiled over the rim of her coffee cup.
"Joe tried to rope Evan in on a practical joke on Ronnie, but something went wrong and Nash set
it off. Joe hasn't chosen Evan as his partner in crime since."

"Oh, don't worry…I've got Evan's number."

Her curiosity getting the better of her at the sight of Michelle's smug grin, Bryn had to ask. "Oh,
do tell. What did he do this time?"

"My first day at the SIU, I caught him and Harvey looking at my electronic equipment. It was
probably professional curiosity on Harvey's part, but Evan apparently had been fooling with my
data recorder. He recorded their whole conversation, and Evan's curiosity definitely wasn't
professional."

"I can guess, but enlighten me."

"Well, let's just say that Evan was wanting something to happen between us that won't happen
in this lifetime."

"Figures. Go on." Bryn couldn't wait to hear this one.

"I heard the tape when I went home. Evan must've realized what happened and talked Harvey
into helping him. Oh, you should've seen it." Michelle couldn't help the laughter when she
remembered what had happened. "They showed up at my place, with a bundt cake if you can
believe it, to 'officially welcome' me to the SIU. Curious to see what they were up to, I let them
in. Harvey's not very good at lying…he pretended to want a tour, but I think anyone would've
been able to see through that. While we were gone, Evan switched the tapes in my recorder."

They were both rolling with laughter by the end of the tale, and Bryn shook her head. "Oh,
you've got to be kidding. Evan gets those two into more trouble…I don't know why Harvey
keeps letting himself get talked into these things. I guess it's the same reason Nash keeps getting
swept up in Joe's hair-brained schemes."

Pushing her empty cup to the side, Michelle smiled at the fondness she heard in Bryn's voice.
"Good guys, huh?"

"The best." Annoying as hell sometimes, but Bryn couldn't imagine working with anyone else.

=================================================================

Tilting his head to hold the phone with his ear and shoulder, Evan's eyes flicked up to catch
Bryn and Michelle returning from lunch. Both ladies were laughing at some shared joke and
Michelle leaned over to whisper something in Bryn's ear. When they both looked in his
direction and began to laugh again, Evan had a feeling he was the subject of the joke.

He watched them, a flush rising to his neck and ears, as they smiled and headed back toward the
fantail. When he tore his eyes away from the two, he noticed his partner staring back at him
from across the aisle with raised eyebrows.

"Why do I suddenly get the feeling that we've more than met our match with those two?"

Evan didn't want to know. He still hadn't recovered from his embarrassment concerning
Michelle's recorder. The thought of Bryn and Michelle conspiring against him sent a shudder
down his spine. "I'm in so much trouble, Harv."

"You said it, brother."

================================================================

The next three weeks dragged by, reflecting the energy level of the people inhabiting the old
ferry moored at Hyde Street Pier. An unusual heat wave had hit the San Francisco area, making
tempers short and the days long.

Nash, Joe and Michelle were still undercover on the Pastorelli case. In the mean time, the other
three team members were not only working on their own joint case, but were fielding the other
minor cases as they came in. What should have taken them a week, was now in its third with no
leads to their prey.

While Bryn had welcomed Michelle to the team, as the weeks stretched and the pile of folders on
her desk grew, so did her resentment that it was Michelle on the major case while the others
cleaned up the rest. Bryn knew it wasn't fair to Michelle; after all, it had been Nash who
assigned the cases. Still, when Michelle made an appearance on the ferry to fill out paperwork
or to use the computer, chattering away about what a wonderful case it was, Bryn had to force a
smile and push away the nagging feeling that she was being replaced. Replaced by someone
younger, with more technical knowledge.

Glancing over at Harvey, eyes glued to his computer, Bryn felt a pang of guilt. She'd been
pretty snappy the last few days, taking her anger and doubts out on Harvey and Evan. Speaking
of Evan, he was late again. Probably overslept. With a small sigh, Bryn dragged her thoughts
back to the case in front of her. If they could just find that damn fence, Littlejohn.

================================================================

~She was beautiful. Her blonde hair practically glowed in the soft light of the sunset. The waves
washed towards her as she stood at the tide line. Her black bathing suit accented her body in a
way a two-piece never would have. Her smile was ethereal. Her laugh, musical. She turned to
him and smiled, holding out her hand. Her badge flashed in the dying light.~

Waking with a start, he wiped at the sweat beading his brow. A dream. It was only a dream. "Oh,
man. Not another one."

================================================================

A wind had blown in, gusty and hot. The not-so-gentle pitch and yaw of the ferry was making
more than one unfortunate suspect a little green around the gills. The heat outside was
oppressive and muggy. The atmosphere inside wasn't much better.

Wiping at the bead of perspiration tickling at her brow, Bryn looked up from her paperwork and
let her eyes rove aimlessly over the hustle and bustle. She caught a quick movement out of the
corner of her eye and wrinkled her brow in puzzlement. It looked like Harvey had been staring at
her again.

She couldn't quite figure out what had gotten into Harvey, but she'd caught him staring at her
several times over the last few days. They had spent several long hours on surveillance the day
before, and she'd never seen Harvey so restless as he'd been that day. It was as if he had been
trying to avoid looking at her. Hopefully, it wasn't because of her snappish behavior. Or worse,
he knew something that he was afraid to tell her. Like maybe she was on her way out.

Shaking her head, Bryn went back to her paperwork. Whatever it was, she'd find out soon
enough. When Harvey got wound up tight enough, she'd start probing for answers. He'd crack.

Berating himself for nearly getting caught staring again, Harvey tried to concentrate on his work.
It wasn't easy. Lately, his eyes seemed to be drawn to her without conscious thought. It didn't
help that her desk was right next to his. He couldn't seem to get her out of his mind. He'd be
thinking about something, and the next thing he knew…he was looking at her again.

With a start, he realized his eyes were already drifting to her desk. Pulling his thoughts back to
the file on his monitor, Harvey sighed. Until a few days ago, he'd never looked at Bryn in quite
that way. He'd been married, for one thing. But, now…now he was seeing her a little differently.
He didn't know what to do about it.

Although, if he was honest with himself, he'd missed her while she was on vacation. More than
he thought he should have. The relief at her return was more than that of just being happy the
team was finally back together. He'd just never stopped to analyze his feelings before now.

What would someone like Bryn see in a guy like him, anyway? She was smart, witty,
beautiful…and a damn good cop. Harvey would talk to Evan, but Evan had his own problems.
Looking over his shoulder at his younger partner, who'd finally shown up for work, Harvey
couldn't miss the dark smudges under Evan's eyes. Evan glanced up and the two locked eyes for
a second, before looking away again.

It was going to be a long day.

After searching all afternoon for Littlejohn, handling two burglaries, one gang hit and another
daylight robbery, Bryn, Harvey and Evan called it quits. They gathered up their belongings, bid
each other good night and trudged lethargically out to the parking lot. Three weeks and two
days…and they were no closer to solving their case. It was looking more and more like a needle
in a haystack.

==================================================================

~The breeze blew her hair back from her face as she leaned against the railing. The lights
winked at them from the city below. The full moon's beauty couldn't compare to the woman
standing next to him on the balcony. Wait a minute. Was that…is that Nash's balcony? What
were they doing at Nash's place? What if Nash showed up? How would he explain…?~

Breathing like he'd just chased a suspect several blocks, he rubbed a hand over his face. "Bryn?
Again? Aaahh!" Covering his head with a pillow, he flopped back on the bed. This was getting
out of hand.

===================================================================

The next day dawned at hot as the day before. Bryn was up to her elbows in case files, Harvey
was doing his best to avoid looking at her, and Evan had been late. Again. The whole day
seemed like a horrible case of déjà vu.

Six hours later, they seemed to be no closer to finding their fence. The needle in the haystack
was looking more like the search for the Holy Grail. Evan was out on a missing persons call,
leaving Bryn and Harvey to look for Littlejohn.

Hanging up the phone after yet another fruitless call, Bryn stood and stretched. She'd been
chained to her desk for three hours and needed to work the kinks out. Her wandering gaze
settled on Harvey's hunched form, and she decided to see if he'd found anything.

Staring at his computer screen, Harvey's mind wasn't on what he was seeing. He couldn't seem
to stop thinking about Bryn. It was crazy. He had enough to do without dreaming the day away.
He struggled to pull his thoughts back to Littlejohn. He thought he smelled Bryn's perfume, and
shook his head. He really needed to concentrate on his job.

"Got anything, yet, Harvey?"

Bryn couldn't help laughing when Harvey nearly jumped out of his skin at her question. "You
know, Harv, you really need to cut down on the caffeine."

Holding his hand over his heart, as if to keep it in his chest where it belonged, Harvey reached
over to grab the phone when it rang. Talk about being saved by the bell. "Inspector Leek."

Bryn watched as Harvey's face changed from a look of concentration, to one of amazement and
finally to triumph. Smiling, he scribbled something down on a scrap of paper and handed it over.
"We've got him. Well, maybe. That was Tony B. He seems to think Littlejohn's renting that
apartment under the name of Troy Jacobs. If we stake that place out, we should have the guy in
a few days."

"Good work, Harv." Maybe they could finally, finally wrap this case up. "I'll make a few
phone calls to set it up, if you'll requisition the surveillance equipment."

"Deal." Harvey picked up the phone to put in the needed requests. Nash and Joe had most of the
on-hand equipment for their case. "I'll let Evan know what's going on."

Heading back to her own desk, Bryn had a little more bounce in her step. They were seeing the
light at the end of the tunnel on this case. Now, if only the stupid heat wave would end.

==================================================================

When they pulled up to the building, Evan groaned in dismay. It was a dump. Why could they
never pull surveillance in a penthouse? Grumbling about their accommodations, he slid from his
truck and headed to the back to help Harvey unload their equipment.

Grabbing the telescope case and wireless microphone, Harvey shook his head at his partner's
mumbling. Bryn lifted the recorder and shot Evan a look of annoyance. "Look, Cortez, we're
just here for surveillance. It's not like we have to live here."

"Yeah? Well, we WILL be for as long as it takes to catch this guy. When we do, I'm gonna kill
him."

"Not if I kill you first, Evan."

Glaring at his partner when Harvey dared to laugh at Bryn's threat, Evan turned his back on both
of them and headed inside. The others followed slowly behind, giving him time to get over his
indignation.

Smiling to herself, Bryn looked around the rundown apartment. It was pretty dingy, but they had
a clear view of the apartment across the street. Remembering what had happened the last time
she'd been on surveillance with Evan in a place like this, Bryn laughed quietly. At least she'd
gotten a date out of it.

She could hear Evan whispering something to Harvey as the two set up the equipment, and felt a
twinge of annoyance. They'd been doing that a lot the last few days and it was getting on her
nerves. It was as if the two knew something she didn't, and were afraid to tell her. Again, a
twinge of paranoia made her wonder about her position on the team. Bryn caught Harvey's eye
and she could swear his face suddenly flushed. Guilt, no doubt.

They got the rest of the equipment set up and Harvey planted himself by the tape recorder,
earphones in place, blocking out his partners. Bryn settled into the chair by the telescope and got
a good view of the apartment across the street. Evan decided to make use of the threadbare couch
in the corner. They could feel the tension in the room.

Bryn looked up as Evan pulled a few magazines from his bag, and laughed. "Playboy? Evan,
you're so immature."

"What? My Dad reads Playboy." Thumbing through the first few pages, Evan stopped at the
tanned centerfold.

"Evan, nobody READS Playboy."

"What do you mean, nobody reads Playboy? They've got great-"

"Articles. Yeah, so I've heard." Rolling her eyes, Bryn went back to the telescope and ignored
Evan's half-hearted protests. She could already tell this wasn't going to be fun.

===================================================================

~The camera flashed over and over, as she posed. She lifted her arms over her head, sweeping
back her hair, and smiled for the camera. His heart fluttered when she turned her head to
look at him. In a few months, he'd open that magazine and see her there. She waved her
hand at him, wanting him to join her. Wait…he couldn't pose for that kind of picture. What
would everyone think?~

Sitting up suddenly, he wiped a hand over his eyes, trying to erase the dream. He looked up to
see Bryn staring back in concern. Oh, no! What if he'd said something in his sleep?

"You okay?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, feeling his racing heart settling down, he nodded with a wan
smile. "Yeah. Yeah, just a dream. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it was just a dream."

"Okay. Must've been some dream." When she didn't receive an answer, Bryn just shrugged and
grabbed her jacket. "I'm going out to get us some coffee and breakfast. You two keep an eye on
things."

"No problem. See you later."

As soon as the door shut, he jumped from the couch and headed for his partner. He had to tell
him about this latest dream.

Holding up his hand, Harvey shook his head. "No, man. I don't even want to hear it."

"But, Harv, this one was weird. You've gotta hear about this one."

"No! I don't want to know. Just…keep it to yourself and leave me alone." Harvey slipped on the
earphones in an attempt to get Evan to go away. It didn't work.

Moving the earpiece so Harvey could hear, Evan tried again. "You don't understand, Harv. I was
reading those magazines earlier, see, and-"

"Evan, stop! I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. It." Punctuating each word with sharp little hand gestures,
Harvey tried to make his point.

Evan couldn't understand why Harvey was being so stubborn. He'd listened to all the other
dreams. Why not this one? "C'mon, Harv. You've gotta help me with this. Why am I having
these dreams about Bryn?"

"I don't know, brother, but I don't want to hear about them anymore. Ever since you started
telling me about these dreams, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. It's driving me
nuts."

"You're kidding?" Although he'd been having the dreams about Bryn for about a week, Evan
didn't feel a thing for his co-worker during his waking hours. Other than a working relationship,
anyway.

"No, man. I'm serious."

"Well, why don't you say something to her?"

"Like what? Hey, Bryn, my partner's been having erotic dreams about you and now I can't get
you off my mind? Get serious."

"Well, of course you can't say that. She'll kill me." Evan chuckled at Harvey's dark glare. "Okay,
okay. Just ask her out to a movie or something."

"Evan, she's not going to want to go out on a date with me."

"Why not? You sell yourself too short, Harvey. I bet you and Bryn would be great together."

"I don't know, Ev. I think I'll just leave well enough alone. No sense in rocking the boat, you
know?"

"Whatever you say. I think you're making a mistake, though."

"Maybe." Settling the earphones back on his ears, Harvey turned back to the recorder, effectively
cutting the conversation short.

Taking the hint, Evan just shrugged and took his place by the telescope. He knew he was right,
though. Bryn would be good for Harvey.

================================================================

Kicking the door with her foot, her hands full, Bryn waited impatiently for someone to open it.
When Harvey answered her knock, she thrust a large paper bag in to his arms. "Here, help me
with this. You wouldn't believe how many people were getting coffee at this hour of the
morning."

The three gathered around the rickety table in the center of the room, and Bryn sorted out their
breakfast. She still couldn't figure out what had gotten into Harvey and Evan lately. Every time
she looked at either of them as she handed out their food and drinks, they'd blush and look away
like a couple of schoolboys.

They settled down to eat their breakfast and Bryn tried to get them to loosen up. "You guys will
never believe the dream I had last night."

Reaching for a napkin to wipe off the coffee Evan had just sprayed on her, Bryn frowned in
disgust. She watched Harvey in concern as he choked and coughed from his own poorly
swallowed coffee. She caught the guilty look the two shared, and decided she didn't even want
to know. She didn't know why the mention of a dream would get that kind reaction, but knew
enough not to ask. She had a feeling that some questions were better left unanswered.

After they'd eaten, they took turns on the telescope, recorder and running back and forth to take
care of other cases coming in from the SIU. Several hours later, Evan was out on another
robbery investigation, leaving Bryn and Harvey to take care of the surveillance.

Not quite sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing, Bryn sat back and blinked a
moment. Leaning forward, she pressed her eye to the telescope lens and shouted in triumph.
They'd found him.

"Harvey, he just went into his apartment. Littlejohn is ours for the taking."

An evil smile on his face, Harvey pulled the earphones off and headed for the door. "Let's go
welcome him, shall we?"

"Oh, lets. And if he resists, let's make it hurt a little." After more than three weeks of searching,
Bryn was more than ready to make the creep pay for their frustration.

The two inspectors hurried across the street and up the stairs, bursting into Littlejohn's apartment
after identifying themselves as police officers. The fence had been caught by surprise, but put up
a short fight, allowing Bryn to get her wish.

After handing Littlejohn over to Ronnie for booking, Harvey looked over at Bryn. She was
massaging her knuckles and smiling. Knocking Littlejohn onto his ass had apparently given her
immense satisfaction. Harvey figured the bloody nose he got from Littlejohn's well aimed throw
had been worth it. Though, he had to admit the glass paperweight had hurt.

Catching his look, Bryn pointed to Harvey's face. "Nose okay?"

"Yeah, nothing broken. Just sore."

"You should learn to duck faster." Bryn smiled, knowing he'd realize she was teasing.

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't have had the pleasure of clocking him."

"True. It sure felt good."

"Then the pain was worth it." Chuckling, Harvey sat down at his desk and flicked on his
computer monitor. "Let's get this paperwork done so we can all go home. It's been a long day."

"It's been a long three weeks." Sitting down at her own desk, she smiled at Harvey, her eyes
sparkling with mischief. "Think we should call Evan and let him know the surveillance is over,
or let him figure it out on his own when he goes back to the apartment?"

Pretending to think it over, Harvey frowned. "I guess the right thing to do would be to tell him."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be as much fun."

=================================================================

~They were dancing. The room was dim, lit only by the flickering candles. She was resting her
head against his shoulder and he pulled her closer. She smelled so good, and her skin was so
soft. It felt so perfect for the two to be standing that way. He smiled at her, then closed his
eyes.~

Opening his eyes with a start, Harvey blinked a few times then groaned. He was home. Alone.
Their surveillance had ended that afternoon and he'd come home to get some sleep. He'd had a
dream. "Evan! I'm going to kill you."

====================================================================

"C'mon, Harvey. You have to talk to her, man. This is getting serious."

"Well, it wouldn't be, if you'd just kept your damn dreams to yourself." Bracing his elbows on
his desk, Harvey dropped his head and ran a hand over his face. Evan was right about one thing,
this was getting out of hand.

Knowing when to push Harvey and when to back off, Evan just gave his partner's shoulder a
squeeze. "Listen, brother, if you need to talk about it later, I'll be at my desk."

"Thanks, Ev. I appreciate it."

There were so many reasons why telling Bryn how he felt, about the feelings that were growing
every day, was a bad idea. First, there was the whole dating-in-the-workplace thing. Almost
always a disaster. Second, was Harvey's belief that he honestly wasn't good enough for her.
Though, if he were truthful with himself, he'd realize that he was scared. Just plain scared.

He had been hurt, and hurt badly, by the last person he'd loved. He'd given it everything he had,
bending over backwards to please her, but still she'd left. Bonnie had left without a word. Just a
card on Christmas Eve, saying she was going to stay with her mother. Breaking his heart had
been that easy for her. Was he willing to risk that kind of pain again?

Nope. Uh-uh. No way.

The object of his thoughts walked by yet again, as Bryn made her way back to her desk. Harvey
mustered a smile when she casually reached out to pat him on the back as she passed by. When
she'd gone, it suddenly registered that Bryn had been doing that a lot lately. It seemed whenever
they were together, she was always touching his arm, patting his back or leaning against him.
Harvey wondered if she'd been doing that with everyone. ~Great. As if I need another reason to
be watching her all the time.~

Part of him craved those brief physical contacts. The other wished she'd stop, since it made it
that much harder to keep his growing feelings to himself. He sighed and tried to get back to his
work.

From his own desk, Nash chuckled quietly. He didn't know what was bothering Harvey, but the
sighs were getting more frequent. He didn't know what had gone on the three weeks he was
away on a case, but the resulting tension was starting to concern him.

Nash had seriously begun to worry about Evan, shortly after closing the Pastorelli deal. The
young man had come in late nearly every morning, looked like he wasn't getting much sleep, and
was getting pretty jumpy. Then inexplicably, two weeks later, he suddenly showed up for work as
if nothing had ever bothered him.

There didn't seem to be any difference in the way Harvey, Evan or Bryn worked together, so
Nash was content to let things play out. For now. He just wished he knew what had happened
while he was gone. He hated the feeling of being in the dark.

Hearing yet another quiet sigh from Harvey, Nash shook his head and decided to give the man
something to distract him. Standing, Nash waved his arm for everyone. "Let's discuss this
week's cases boys and girls."

Leading the others out to the fan tale, he watched silently as they settled themselves for their
morning meeting. Joe went to lean against the railing, Bryn sat on the bench nearest Joe, while
Evan and Michelle took the one opposite. Harvey hovered indecisively for a few seconds then
settled for sitting on the back of Bryn's bench, feet propped on the seat. Nash wondered what
Freud would make of the arrangement. Joe had detached himself from the others, the youngest
members had chosen to share one bench, while the two more experienced cops had chosen the
other...Harvey somewhat reluctantly. There was definitely something going on under the
surface.

Shaking away those thoughts, Nash got down to business. "Okay, here's one for Bryn and
Michelle. Someone is preying on the prostitutes over near Filbert. You two ladies will go under
and see if you can catch the bastard."

Handing Bryn a folder, Nash flipped open the cover. "Here's the profile. I know this is probably
your least favorite undercover assignment, but I doubt Evan and Harvey would be what our perp
is looking for."

Laughing at Evan's faked expression of wounded pride, Michelle gave his shoulder a shove.
"Nash is right. You definitely aren't what the guy is looking for."

"Hey, and I'm profoundly grateful."

"Oh, don't worry. They have a dirty job of their own." Nash smiled at the sudden wariness that
crept over both Harvey and Evan. "That's right, boys. Court."

Rolling his eyes, Evan groaned. "Oh, man. I hate going to court."

"Then you're in the wrong profession, bubba." Nash handed Harvey the file in question. "You
two made the bust, you get to testify. It actually shouldn't take too long. By tomorrow
afternoon, your testimonies should be complete and you'll be back on the street. Oh, and don't
forget...don't eat the-"

"Meatloaf. Yeah, we know." Smiling ruefully, Harvey put a hand on his stomach. They'd all
learned not to eat the meatloaf at the courthouse cafe.

Chuckling, Nash remembered his own discomfort the last time he'd eaten there. Thank goodness
for Rolaids. "Joe, you and I have the privilege of going over about twenty old cases today and
tomorrow."

Dropping his head in hands, Joe gave serious thought to going over the rail into the bay.
"Somebody just shoot me now."

"And leave me with all this paperwork? I don't think so, bubba. Bryn, why don't you and
Michelle run over to Filbert and check it out. See how you want to set up. Harvey-"

"Set up the surveillance van for 'em. I got it, boss."

Nash just smiled. "I love it when my guys are so good, they can read my mind. Okay, let's get
to it."

They trickled back to their desks and Bryn grabbed her keys. As she and Michelle walked down
the ramp to the parking lot, they caught sight of Rick Bettina getting out of his sports car. For a
brief moment, Bryn hesitated. Sort of like slowing down at the scene of an accident. You don't
really want to look, but morbid curiosity tugs at you. Shaking her head, Bryn continued
resolutely to her car.

Puzzled, Michelle looked back toward the ferry. "Wasn't that-?"

"Yep. And I don't even want to be there for whatever it is he's here for. We can get the scoop
from the guys later." Why do I suddenly get the feeling something bad is about to happen?
Shaking off such thoughts, Bryn slid into the driver's seat of her sedan and shut the door.
They'd find out what Rick was up to, but later.

====================================================================

When Bryn and Michelle returned to the ferry, they couldn't believe their eyes. Rick had taken
up residence in the desk behind Michelle's, and Nash was nowhere to be found. Shrugging in
answer to Michelle's unasked question, Bryn tried to catch Harvey's eye. When he finally
looked up, she raised an eyebrow.

Casting a quick glance at Bettina, Harvey got up from his desk and walked over to join the
women. Before he could open his mouth to explain, Bettina cleared his throat and held up his
hands. "Don't you have work to do, Leek?"

Stifling the nearly overwhelming urge to say the words running through his mind, Harvey
plastered an innocent look on his face. "I need Bryn to give me a hand in the surveillance truck."

"Well, hurry up, then."

Stifling his anger, Harvey simply gave Rick a quick nod and practically dragged Bryn out to the
parking lot. When they'd both crawled inside the surveillance truck and shut the door, Harvey
pushed back his beret and sighed with frustration. "Bettina forced Nash to go on vacation."

"Vacation?" Well, that didn't sound so bad. "For how long?"

"Ten months."

"Ten months?!"

Rubbing a hand over his face, Harvey nodded. "Ten months."

"Oh, wow. What is Nash going to do?"

"I think the more immediate question is: What are we going to do?" Ten months with Bettina in
charge. A saint couldn't put up with Rick Bettina that long. "Nash said he'd check into it and
get back to us."

"Heaven help us. If Nash can't get someone to overrule Bettina, we're doomed." Bryn knew
there was no way they could go that long without Bettina screwing up something and causing the
unit to get shut down.

"I guess we'll just have to have faith."

Bryn couldn't help but smile fondly. "Harvey…the eternal optimist. Let's hope you're right."

The smile lit up her face, Harvey suddenly realized how close they were and wondered if it was
getting warmer, or if it was his imagination. He needed to put some space between them. "We
better get back before Bettina decides to dock us the time."

Jumping down behind Bryn, Harvey swung the door shut and took a deep breath. As if life
hadn't become complicated enough, lately. Rick Bettina.

==================================================================

"You know, I think this is the first time I've actually been happy to get an assignment like this."
Giving a tug at her skirt, Bryn sighed. She hated dressing like a prostitute. Through her
earpiece, she heard Michelle's quiet chuckle.

~No kidding. At least we're here and not at the ferry with Bettina. I talked to Nash this
afternoon to keep him up to date with what we're doing, and I think he's about to lose his
mind from boredom.~

"Yeah, well I think the guys are about to chip in to hire someone to kill Bettina. I can't believe
he forced Nash to take that much time off. It's crazy." Bryn eyed the sedan slowing as it
approached the corner she where she stood, but it sped up and continued on.

~Which do you think will finally break down and knock Bettina's head off?~

Laughing out loud at the image that popped in her head, Bryn glanced across the street where
Michelle sat in the surveillance truck. "I don't know, but I heard that Harvey attacked the new
coffee machine the other day."

More laughter filtered through the earpiece. ~You're kidding? I would've figured Evan to be the
first to crack.~

"Well, according to Evan, the machine took Harvey's money for the third time and he just lost it.
Evan said he was afraid Harv was going to break his foot. I think something else was already
bothering Harvey before the Bettina thing."

~I think Bettina's days are numbered. Nash said he had Harvey "working on something", but
wouldn't tell me what it was. I get the feeling that whatever it is, it's slightly illegal. He also
said that Joe was switching Rick's shoes down a couple of sizes.~

"That explains why he was limping around the SUI this morning. You gotta hand it to Joe…he's
a devious little bugger."

~I sure hope Nash can talk them into overruling Bettina.~

"You and me, both. Evan said Joe and Harvey are thinking about retiring if Nash doesn't come
back soon. Can you imagine what the SIU would be like with just us, Evan…and Rick Bettina in
charge?" Bryn shuddered at the mere thought of that horrible scenario. She felt certain that
Michelle was having the same reaction.

~Don't even go there. I'll go back to Auto before I work for Rick Bettina on a permanent basis.~

"I'll transfer to Homicide. There's no way I'll be able to work for Bettina without killing him."
Her aching feet suddenly reminded Bryn to check her watch. "Hey, isn't it about time for us to
switch?"

~Those heels getting to you?~

"Yeah, I think I'm going to need back surgery when this is over with."

~Well, I was hoping you'd lose track of time. Head around the corner and I'll meet you there
for the switch. I'll be glad when this job is over with.~

"I don't know. I'm not sure which is worse: pretending to be a prostitute and wearing these
damn shoes, or working with Rick."

~You have a point, Bryn. Maybe we should be counting our blessings.~ A sudden thought made
Michelle smile. ~Hey, wanna start a pool on when Nash gets rid of Rick?~

"You've got a devious mind, Michelle. Yeah, I'm in. We'll have to make sure we get the guys
in on this, too. That may be the only way I'll get the twenty bucks back that Evan owes me."

~I bet Evan would pay you twenty dollars to keep Nash from hearing that tape I have.~

"Michelle…I like the way you think." Oh, yeah. Bryn was really starting to like the new
addition to their team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking at the two men at the end of the bar, Bryn didn't think she'd ever seen a more
depressed-looking pair than those two. Nudging Michelle, she pointed to the bar and led the way
through the crowd of customers. Most of the patrons were cops or firefighters, and she nodded
to several familiar faces.

Sitting on the stool next to Harvey, Bryn almost laughed at the forlorn look on his face. Things
must really be getting bad. "C'mon, sailor, I'll buy you a drink."

"Hey, Bryn." Harvey tried to dredge up a smile, but failed. "Sorry, it's just been the day from
hell. I don't know how much longer I can take it."

Looking over at Michelle, who'd taken the seat next to Evan, Bryn frowned. Things were worse
than they thought. "What happened today?"

Evan snorted in disgust and looked up from his beer. "Rick's an ass."

Smiling, Michelle got the bartender's attention and ordered another round. "Tell us something
we don't know, Evan."

"Well, he can't seem to remember our names and he accused us of stealing his pen."

"I know where I'd like to stick that pen." Grumbling to himself, Harvey ran a finger through the
water ring left by his now-empty beer bottle.

Chuckling softly, Evan grinned at Bryn and Michelle. "Rick told Harv he has to wear a suit from
now on. Apparently, Rick's mother complained about Harvey's…uh…wardrobe."

Bryn was slightly stunned. They were undercover inspectors and were supposed to dress to
blend in with the general population. Though she'd be the first to admit Harvey looked good in a
suit, okay…great in a suit, if she were to be honest, but it just wasn't him. "You're kidding?"

Heaving a sigh, Harvey shook his head angrily. "No, he's serious. That momma's boy has GOT
to go. If I hear Leeks or Cordova again, I'm going to knock him on his-"

"We get the idea, Harvey." Michelle hadn't realized things were quite so bad. "How's the new
guy doing?"

Evan shrugged. "Joe's the one that's been working with him, really. He says Birdsong's a great
cop, but not exactly a conversationalist."

"How's it going with the shoes?"

That actually brought a slight smile to Harvey's lips. "Joe's got him down to a size 9. Rick's
hobbling around like he has tacks in his shoes."

"Yeah, it's a beautiful sight." Evan's smile was slightly evil.

"Keep the faith, guys. Nash'll think of something."

Hearing the echo of his earlier words to Bryn, Harvey smiled. "Well, hopefully what I gave him
today will help."

Intrigued, the others waited for him to elaborate. Seeing the others staring at him, Harvey
shrugged apologetically. "Sorry guys, trade secret. I can't tell anyone or Nash and I might get
into hot water."

Determined to find out what they'd been up to, Bryn leaned against Harvey, laying her head on
his shoulder. Smiling, she gave him a pleading look. "Please tell us, Harvey. We need a little
hope right now. Please?"

The look that passed over Harvey's expressive face had Michelle almost laughing. It was a cross
between panic and tenderness. Now she realized what had Harvey behaving so strangely the last
couple of weeks. Exchanging a look with Evan, she realized he'd known all along. She couldn't
wait to talk to Bryn.

Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, Harvey couldn't decided whether to put some space
between himself and Bryn, or hold her closer. He finally just settled for slipping his hands into
his pockets. "Okay, but you have to promise to keep it to yourselves."

Bryn smiled in triumph. "We promise. Spill it."

"I hacked into personnel and got a copy of Rick's file. Nash is hoping to find something there
that he can…uh…use. I also got him a copy of the regs book. I guess turnabout's fair play."

"Oh, let's hope so." Bryn couldn't wait for things to get back to normal.

Standing a little straighter at the news, Evan laughed. "Hey, wanna start a pool on when Nash
gets rid of Bettina?"

==================================================================

Shivering slightly in her skimpy outfit, Michelle let her eyes scan the street. "It's cooling off
tonight."

~Yeah, I wish we'd thought to bring jackets or something. Oh, well, hindsight's 20/20.~

Remembering what had happened at the bar the night before, Michelle laughed softly. "Hey,
Bryn, I've been meaning to ask you something."

~Oh, yeah?~ Bryn's voice sounded slightly wary.

"What do you think of Harvey?"

~Harvey? Why?~

"Just curious. Come on, what do you think of him?"

~Well, he's smart, eccentric, sweet. Why?~

Shaking her head, Michelle marveled at how two highly intelligent people could be so clueless.
"Okay, let me rephrase the question. How do you feel about him?"

~Why do you want to know?~ Bryn was definitely more than a little curious about the direction
this conversation was going.

Michelle sighed in frustration. "You're not going to answer my question, are you? Okay. I
think I know what's been bothering Harvey for the last few weeks."

~What?~

"I think he's in love with you."

~Come on; be serious.~

"I am being serious. You should've seen his face last night. I think Evan knows how Harvey
feels about you, too."

Stunned, Bryn had to concede that it did make a certain sense, and explained the two men's
behaviors. ~Wow. I can't believe it.~

"Why is it so hard to believe? You're both intelligent, attractive people and you at least have
your job in common. The question is: how do you feel about Harvey?"

When she contemplated the possibility, Bryn realized she liked the thought. Harvey was just the
kind of guy she was looking for. He was intelligent, funny, and the sweetest guy you'd ever
meet. She'd been attracted to him the first day they started working together at the SIU, but he'd
been married then. With a start, she realized she'd never really completely pushed away those
feelings.

"Bryn?"

~I wonder why he never said anything to me?~

"He's probably afraid you won't feel the same way. Do you?"

~Yeah. Yes, I think I do.~

"So, what do you do now?"

~I think I'll wait a little while and see what he does. Maybe he'll break down and make the first
move.~

Although she hadn't spent much time with Harvey, Michelle was fairly certain he wouldn't.
"Hey, want to take a bet on when he cracks?"

Laughter filtered through her earpiece. ~You're just one of the gang, now, aren't you? Yeah. I
say he says something in ten days.~

"You're on."

=================================================================

When Bryn and Michelle reported for the beginning of their shift the next afternoon, they
couldn't believe it. As soon as they stepped onto the ferry, it was like walking into a party.
Music was playing while everyone danced around, laughing. Once she'd recovered from her
initial shock, Bryn finally realized what was missing. Bettina.

Rick was gone, the time clock was smashed and hanging by a few wires and the coffee maker
was back. Seeing the guys huddled around it, Bryn hurried over, Michelle right behind her.
"Nash, is he really gone?"

Flashing a 100 watt smile, Nash laughed. "Oh, yeah. Bettina is back at the Hall of Justice,
where he belongs. I'm here to stay."

"Oh, thank goodness." Bryn wondered what favors Nash had to cash. "How'd you do it?"

"Well, thanks to a hacker…who shall remain nameless…and a book of regulations, I discovered
that Rick owed the department quite a few years worth of holidays. I guess you could call it
blackmail, but I call it justified."

Knowing exactly who the hacker was, Bryn and Michelle both reached over to slap Harvey on
the back. Nash raised an eyebrow then chuckled at Harvey's expression of guilt. "Don't worry,
bubba, they would've figured it out."

Waving his arm, Nash gestured for the team to follow him outside, where it was quieter. "Okay,
I've been through Bettina's desk and all I can say is we got rid of him in the nick of time. There
were several cases buried under paperwork that need immediate attention."

Nobody was surprised that this discovery, evidenced by the rolling of eyes from all of them.
Smiling, Nash just nodded his silent agreement. "A couple called two days ago about being
approached over internet by a man offering them a baby. They have been trying to adopt for
three years, and the man said he had a child they could adopt right away…for a fee. The meeting
is supposed to take place tonight, and we need to substitute our own couple."

Seeing the glance exchanged between Harvey and Bryn, Nash raised his hand. "Sorry, guys, but
I need Evan and Michelle for this one. The Parkers are…younger. Harvey, you'll cover Bryn on
the Filbert stakeout. Sorry, Bryn. It's just for this one night."

Neither protested, but Nash could tell Harvey and Bryn were less than thrilled by the news. It
would be a long night for them both, but it couldn't be helped. "Joe, you and I will be with Evan
and Michelle. I can't believe Bettina dead-lettered this case."

"I can." Joe had ceased to be surprised by anything Rick Bettina did.

"Well, he shouldn't be a problem for us, anymore. I hope. Let's get rolling, guys."

Watching the others head back inside, Harvey and Bryn hesitated. That was twice Michelle had
been given the better assignment, and Bryn couldn't help but feel another twinge of paranoia.
She shot Harvey an annoyed frown and he simply shrugged. Obviously, she wasn't the only one
bothered by the situation.

===================================================================

"Harvey, you think I'm being replaced?"

~What? Why would you think that?~

Bryn was slightly reassured by the incredulity she heard in Harvey's voice. She shifted her
weight to her other foot, once again cursing the spiked heels she was forced to wear while
walking up and down the street. "I don't know. I guess it's just because Michelle's been getting
the plum assignments, and I'm stuck walking the street."

~Bryn, no way could Michelle ever take your place. Trust me.~

"That's sweet, Harv, but-"

~But me no buts. Michelle's good, but she's not half the cop you are.~

"Yeah, but she's a lot more techno-savvy than I am, and she's younger."

~Being younger just means she has less experience, and being techno-savvy didn't do me any
good tonight, did it?~

"You got me there, Harvey. Hey, this one looks like he fits our profile." A dark blue van pulled
up to the curb and the driver leaned across to roll down the passenger side window. Bryn
sashayed over and leaned against the door. "You looking for a date?"

Before she could react, the side door slid open and a pair of hands reached out and pulled her
inside. The door slammed shut and the van took off. Bryn only prayed Harvey was right behind
them.

Having heard the whole thing, Harvey scrambled into the driver's seat, pulled out and followed
when the van took off around the corner. He could still hear everything being said.

~Just be still or I'll cut your throat. It'll all be over soon. For you, anyway.~

Harvey's knuckles turned white from squeezing the steering wheel so hard. His heart pounded
with the fear that he'd lose the van and something would happen to Bryn. He vowed that he
would talk to Bryn about how he'd been feeling, if he could just get her out of that mess alive
and unharmed.

Thankfully, the only sounds he heard over Bryn's wire were the occasional lewd comments from
her abductors. Apparently they planned to wait until they got to wherever they were going
before assaulting her. Harvey had called in for backup, and kept a running commentary on their
route. When they ended up in a narrow alley behind a condemned hotel building and he heard
Bryn comment about the van stopping, Harvey passed the alley and pulled the surveillance truck
to a crooked stop.

Pausing only long enough to give dispatch his location, Harvey jumped from the truck and ran to
the corner of he building, drawing his gun. Peeking around the corner, he could just see the
shadowy outlines of the three people going inside. As soon as they disappeared into the hotel,
Harvey bolted for the door.

He pushed the door open enough to peer inside, then stepped through. He could hear the echoing
footsteps and followed the sound. He stepped into a large room stacked here and there with old,
broken furniture. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Harvey darted behind a pile
of desks and headboards. Everything happened at once.

Due to Bryn's wire, he heard everything from the earpiece and as it actually happened. There
was a thud of flesh hitting flesh then a yelp of pain and surprise. A bellowed shout and a
gunshot followed. Harvey stood up, yelled for them to freeze and took a step.

Immediately after hitting the guy holding her with her elbow, Bryn dodged behind a large pillar
and tried to find cover. A bullet ricocheted too close to her for comfort. She heard Harvey's
shout and peered around the pillar to see where he was. She'd known Harvey would be there to
back her up.

The man she'd hit was on the ground, holding his hands to his bleeding and broken nose, but the
second assailant was quick. As soon as he heard Harvey's shout, he whipped around, spotted the
cop and fired off a shot. Bryn watched as Harvey lurched and fell behind a stack of furniture.

"Harvey!" Numb, Bryn grabbed the small backup gun from its holster on her thigh. "S.F.P.D!
You take one more step and I drop you right here. I just might do that anyway, so do yourself a
favor. Drop the gun, get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head."

For a moment, it looked like the guy wasn't going to listen to her, but he finally dropped the gun
and did as she said. Carefully, weapon still ready, Bryn came up behind him. She reached into a
pocket for a couple of plastic ties and quickly bound the two men. Taking a steadying breath,
Bryn hurried over to where she'd seen Harvey fall.

As she came around the pile of broken wood, Bryn was afraid of what she'd find. Her breath
caught in her throat at the sight of Harvey's still form. She dropped down beside him and
searched frantically for the bullet wound.

Moaning softly, Harvey raised a hand to his head and blinked open his eyes. Seeing the worried
face of Bryn hovering over him, he managed a shaky smile. "You okay?"

"Am I okay? It's you I'm worried about. Where'd he hit you?"

The smile dropped from his face, replaced by an angry frown. Sitting up slowly, Harvey reached
behind him and picked up a broken chair leg. Giving it a disgusted look, he hurled it a few feet
away. "That moron missed me by a mile. I stepped on that damn chair leg and fell. Must've hit
my head on something; it sure hurts. I can't believe I did something that stupid."

When he glanced back up at Bryn, he couldn't quite read her expression. "Bryn? Bryn, are you
okay? Those guys didn't hurt you, did they? Man, I'm so sorry. It was a stupid thing to do."

He was completely unprepared when Bryn suddenly leaned forward to hug him like her life
depended on it. This time, sensing she was upset, he wrapped his arms around her and returned
the embrace.



Twenty minutes later, Harvey slipped his notebook back in his pocket and watched as the patrol
car carrying the two suspects pulled out of the alley. Slipping off his jacket, he walked over and
draped it over Bryn's bare shoulders. It was getting cooler, and the tank top she wore wasn't
going to do much to keep out he chill.

The jacket was warm from Harvey's body heat, and Bryn smiled her thanks. Looking up into his
concerned face, she gave in to a sudden impulse and reached out to touch the white streak at
Harvey's forehead.

Remembering his vow, encouraged by Bryn's touch, Harvey gathered up his nerve. "Bryn,
would you…maybe…I mean, you don't have to if you don't want, but…sometime…maybe like
to have dinner or something?"

The words stumbled and stuttered before coming out in a rush and Harvey waited nervously for
her response. He hoped he hadn't just ruined a perfectly good friendship.

Wrapping the white curl around her finger, Bryn smiled into his worried blue eyes. "I'd love to,
Harvey."

Letting out a relieved sigh, Harvey returned her smile. "We have a lot to talk about."

"Yes, we do. It sure took you long enough to say something." Suddenly remembering her bet
with Michelle, Bryn laughed. "Actually, you didn't wait long enough. I lost the bet."

Narrowing his eyes, Harvey looked at her with suspicion. "What bet?"

"It's a long story, Harvey. How 'bout I explain it to you over coffee?"

As they walked back to the surveillance truck, eagerly anticipating the hot coffee waiting for
them back at the SIU, Harvey was struck by a sudden thought. "Hey, Bryn? Uh, what do you
think of the Grateful Dead?"

Her laughter echoed down the empty street, joined shortly by Harvey's rueful chuckle.

END

==========================================================

~Author's note: That thing with Bettina's car…those things actually happened to our family
minivan when I was in high school. Except it wasn't done on purpose.G You'd lock the
doors, take a couple of steps and hear them unlock. The windows were funky, too. You never
knew when they were going to roll up or down. That van was so full of gremlins, we finally got
rid of it.(LOL)~