'I've got doughnuts!' Jesse Travis exclaimed with relish, dropping down onto the couch at the beach house. Propping his feet up on the coffee table, he opened the brown bag he carried, and proudly displayed his spoils.
'Shussh!' Amanda cautioned sternly, gesturing at him to lower the volume and simultaneously giving his feet a smack, indicating the need for the swift removal of them from the table.
'You'll wake Steve' she continued, by way of explanation, to assuage his look of confusion.
'Steve's here?' Jesse said in surprise through a mouthful of doughnut, as he put his feet back on the floor 'It's been what two days? I was sure he'd be back at his desk by now.' Looking at Amanda he rolled his eyes dramatically 'We usually have to restrain him to get him to take a break'.
'I know' she replied, busy dusting off the scuff marks Jesse's sneakers had left 'That's exactly what I said'. She sighed 'I guess the attack shook him up more than we thought'.
'Steve?' Jesse's tone made it clear he didn't consider that a likely possibility 'The guy is made of rock – remember what he was like after he got shot?'
'I know' Amanda agreed 'But Jesse, nobody can be strong all the time'. She took a breath before continuing 'And sometimes it's not just physical pain you have to get through'. She looked at Jesse seriously 'You know it must have been pretty difficult for Steve having to shoot Tanis like that'.
'I guess' Jesse had lost his sunny expression and was starting to look perturbed 'You know I've just never thought of Steve being vulnerable' he said worriedly 'Do you think he's gonna be okay'.
Amanda smiled reassuringly 'Oh honey he's gonna be just fine.' Sitting down next to him on the couch she squeezed Jesse's hand 'and we're gonna be right here to make sure he is.' She paused before crossing her arms and fixing him with a stern look 'Now hand over those doughnuts Travis!'
Jesse grinned and reaching for another doughnut for himself first, he tossed her the bag. They both turned at the sound of footsteps.
'Mark' Jesse beamed as the older doctor ascended the stairs from the apartment below.
'Hey Jess' Mark smiled fondly 'I thought I heard your voice.'
'See' Amanda scolded, nudging him with her elbow 'I told you, you were too loud.'
Jesse pulled a face at her and bit into his second doughnut, as Mark chuckled.
'How's Steve?' Amanda asked gently.
'Would you believe he's sleeping' Mark replied, running a hand through his snow white hair. He sighed 'You know,' he said, a hint of irony in his voice 'usually I'd be begging him to get some rest, but now that he's doing it of his own accord I'm worrying!'
He smiled resignedly at them; shrugging his shoulders 'I guess Steve can't win with me can he!'
Amanda looked at him sympathetically. Placing a hand on Mark's arm she smiled reassuringly 'You know he's gonna be fine'.
'Oh I know he is honey' Mark sighed 'in fact I'm sure it's nothing physical, it's just he's acting so out of character'. He paused, letting out a breath 'You know I think it's something to do with Tanis.'
Amanda shot Jesse a triumphant look, as Mark continued 'I could be wrong, but I'm sure there was something going on between those two at the hospital.'
'Steve and Tanis?' Jesse said with a grin 'Well, well'. He took another bite of his doughnut, spraying crumbs everywhere as he contiued 'He certainly kept that one quiet!'
'Oh I don't think they're together' Mark replied 'at least not yet'. He scratched his head 'I can't put my finger on it, but I'm sure that Tanis has something to do with Steve's behaviour'. He looked at Jesse and Amanda 'You know she called here last night, but Steve said he didn't feel up to talking on the phone'.
Amanda raised her eyebrows 'You're right, that does sound suspicious'. She looked at Mark 'Do you want me to talk to him?'
Mark sighed 'Well you can try, but I don't think it'll do any good. You know what Steve's like'.
Amanda smiled, she knew only too well. Whilst she'd lost count of the number of times Steve had listened to her problems, she'd never once had the chance to reciprocate. Steve kept his feelings firmly to himself – even Mark wasn't privy to the deeper side of his emotions.
'So' Jesse interrupted, abruptly changing the subject 'With Steve laid up what's happening with the case?'
Mark looked at them sheepishly 'Well you know that's actually why I called you round here'.
Amanda rolled her eyes good-naturedly 'We should have guessed'.
Excited, Jesse bounded up from the couch 'So Mark' he asked eagerly 'what exactly are we gonna do?'
Mark smiled 'Well you know, there's a couple of questions I'd sure like to find out the answers to'.
'Like what?' Amanda asked.
'Well' he let out a breath 'I was so sure Natasha was the killer'
'And now you're not?' Amanda asked
'Oh I'm certainly not ruling her out' he replied 'but why would she want to ruin the project? She's an ambitious career woman, the success of the project could have put her on the map for good – why jeopardise that?'
'Because of her husband's affair?' Amanda suggested
'May be' he allowed 'But if it was just about the affair why kill Peterson and Schwenk? Why attack Steve and Tanis?'
'Well' Jesse said thinking hard 'May be she wanted to make it look like it was someone else, you know distract attention from the real killer?'
'Or may be she had to kill them to fulfil the ritual' Amanda added 'you said yourself that the method was important to the killer'.
Mark scratched his head 'I did say that didn't I?' He sighed 'You know this is a tough one'.
'If it was Natasha though' Jesse continued 'how did she manage to show up so quickly in her normal clothes? You said she arrived just as Steve and Tanis were being stretchered into the ambulance'.
'That's right she did' Amanda confirmed.
'I've been thinking about that' Mark replied 'You know she could have had her street clothes on underneath the mummy costume but ..' he frowned 'what did she do with the costume after she'd taken it off?'
Amanda shrugged and Jesse pulled a face. They looked at each other helplessly. 'So what now? Amanda asked 'Should we try and talk to Natasha?'
'Tanis is doing that this afternoon' Mark replied 'that's what she phoned Steve about last night.' He frowned 'You know I think I'd like to go take a look at the crime scene'.
'But Mark' Amanda protested 'The police have already checked it out and there's nothing there'.
He smiled 'But you know it couldn't hurt to take another look'.
***
Downstairs in his apartment Steve heard the front door slam. He knew Amanda and Jesse were with his father, he'd heard their murmured voices. Lying quietly, he'd picked out first the word 'doughnuts' and then later on his own name. Either they were making jokes about his culinary preferences, which was entirely possible, or more likely they'd been puzzling over his recent unusual behaviour.
He sighed. He knew he wasn't behaving at all normally. For anyone else suffering from a concussion, two days in bed would be mandatory, but him? Usually any bed rest he took had to be instigated by force – no wonder his father was worried. And he knew that his father was worried.
It was obvious that his father was hoping he'd talk; that's why he'd been down here again just now. It was also the reason Steve himself had feigned sleep. Sure he felt guilty about leaving his father out in the cold, but this just wasn't something he could talk about.
As he lay back gazing up at the ceiling, he tried to work out just what his feelings were. He wasn't a man much given to introspection. By his own admission he was much more a doer than a thinker. He sighed irritably. What in the hell was wrong with him anyway? He was a grown man and yet here he was acting like a dumb teenager with his first crush. For once he felt vulnerable and out of control and he had no idea what to do about it.
His feelings for Tanis had taken him completely by surprise. Sure they'd always gotten on well, but he'd never thought about her romantically - Tanis Archer was just one of the guys. He smiled ruefully – amazing what a bump on the head could do, he was finally seeing things clearly for the first time. Even now, re-running their almost kiss through his mind, he was shivering in anticipation.
He shook himself suddenly angry. What the hell did it matter what he felt, she'd made it quite clear at the hospital she wasn't interested. In the last few minutes he'd gone through confusion, delight and anger. Embarrassment and despair were just around the corner, he knew - after all it'd been the same cycle of emotions for the past two days. For a man who'd supposedly been sleeping, he certainly wasn't getting much rest.
The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that he'd taken advantage of her when she was at her most vulnerable. He groaned, the woman had almost lost her life. She'd been in shock, needing comfort and what had he done? Jumped her that's what. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks, he was no better than Wyatt and McBride and all the other apes at the precinct. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he couldn't face her, at least not yet.
***
In the office Tanis sighed miserably. She was due at least another day's sick leave, but sitting around at home had been driving her crazy. Much better to get back to the case, get back to normal. 'Normal?' She thought wryly, that was a joke. Things were way beyond normal - that much was obvious in that she was sitting here alone whilst her partner had taken to his bed to avoid her.
What the hell had she been thinking jumping him like that? The poor guy had a concussion for god sake! 'Good going Tanis' she chided herself 'Great move – take advantage of a guy with a head injury'.
She sighed again; it was pretty obvious he was just as embarrassed about the whole thing as she was. If only they could rewind the tape, erase the incident and go back to being partners. 'But you wouldn't really want that would you?' a little voice in her head pointed out accusingly. Just thinking about his hand on hers, their eyes locked, lips close and she was tingling all over.
But it was obvious he didn't feel the same way. What little vestige of hope she'd carried had been well and truly snuffed out when he'd refused to answer her call the previous evening. Sure Mark had said all the right things, even given her a medical run down of Steve's condition, but Tanis was no fool. She knew Steve Sloan and he didn't stay in bed. Part of her was relieved that she didn't have to face him yet, but the more honest part was disappointed.
Pulling herself together she collected up the files on her desk and stacked them neatly. Natasha Summers was due in about an hour and she needed to be prepared. This time she wasn't taking any chances, the interrogation would take place at the station. When she'd spoken to Mark about what she'd found in Natasha's office he'd already known. She rolled her eyes – no surprise there, Mark Sloan was always two steps ahead of the game. And boy it was lucky for her that he was. If he hadn't come running to the Egyptology department that night, well, she shuddered, no point going down that road again.
Funny, Steve had, had the thesis in his hands but he hadn't seen the connection. Too tired, she guessed, but she knew he had to be kicking himself. And suddenly she was back to thinking about Steve again. Briefly she closed her eyes – this was hopeless. Opening her eyes she took a long breath and resolutely opened the files again, forcing herself to focus.
Of course, Tanis reasoned, finding the thesis in Natasha's office didn't exactly prove she did it, but it did prove she knew how. So now they had means. Given Summers' affair with Vicky Harris, which Natasha had discovered, they also had motive – surely proof couldn't be far behind? She knew that Mark had initially been convinced that Natasha was the killer; that's why he'd made a beeline for her office. But from talking to him on the phone last night, she was beginning to suspect that in the cold light of day he wasn't so sure.
She sighed. Mark had questioned Natasha's motive for killing Peterson and Schwenk. He had pointed out that whilst she may have wanted her husband dead, surely she wouldn't want the project to fold. After all, as Mark had explained, her real objection to David's affair had been that it would tarnish her academic reputation. This project would be a jewel in the crown for any academic – why would she jeopardise that?
Tanis could see his logic, but she wasn't ready to give up on Natasha just yet. Firstly, she was their only real lead and secondly, if she was innocent, why exactly had Mrs Summers stood them up the other night? Traffic? Lame excuse! Rubbing her eyes tiredly she wondered how she was gonna handle the interrogation. Good cop, bad cop wasn't an option now she was on her own, but should she try to be friendly, relate to Natasha woman to woman or put the pressure on and go for the brusque, aggressive approach?
She wondered what Steve would suggest. But then thinking of Steve was putting her back on dangerous ground. Annoyed with herself, she slammed the files shut and went to grab some lunch, determining as she did so to go for the aggressive approach with Natasha – maybe it'd help to vent her frustration. And after all the woman was a killer, wasn't she?