"You put in one hell of a workout," Tan said as Chris set foot in the SWAT kitchen. All it took him was one look at her, and the coffee mug he'd just filled was headed in her direction.

Chris took Tan's offer in silence, letting the rich smell fill her nostrils, but froze as soon as the ceramic touched her lips. She'd crossed Stevens on his way out of the room, it occurred to her.

"You're safe," Tan assured as he proceeded to pour himself more coffee.

The first careful sip of the comforting blend settled things for Chris, making it quite obvious the sergeant was not the one who brewed this pitch. At last, she relaxed, leaning her hip on the steel-cold table. She relished the feeling, although her muscles still retained some nervous stiffness. Her one-hour workout and the quick cold shower had helped her blow some steam and activate her senses despite the sleepless night, but they weren't miracle remedies. What had got into Luca's mind when he'd texted he had—unspecified—news he wanted to share in person? And where the heck was he if he was the one in a hurry?

As Chris's thoughts started to veer down dangerous paths, the sound of Tan's jaw at work reminded her she was not alone. She eyed him and his sandwich curiously. "Did Bonnie stop feeding you once you tied the knot?"

"She helped me with a different kind of morning workout," Tan smirked. "We didn't have time for breakfast. How are you not hungry after what I just saw put you on the ring?"

"I just need some more liquid fuel," Chris jerked her head to the side and stepped past him to refill her mug with the black nectar.

She was in the moment, focused on the job, ready for the next call. Nothing less than what they all did on an everyday basis. Whatever Luca had to say must not be all that important or urgent.

"What you think Luca has on Street's girlfriend?" Tan asked, steering her concentration back to the topic she was trying to avoid. Had Luca already spoilered something to him, or had Tan come to her same conclusion about this meeting on his own?

Before any hypothesis could be thrown in the air, the door creaked open, catching their attention.

"There you are," Luca said somewhat conspiratorially. "I've got interesting news."

"We know that much," Tan said. "That's why we showed up early as you asked us to."

"Sorry about that, but I owed Stevens one." Luca grimaced. "You know him; he would have never let me hear the end of it if I'd turned him down. Anyway, the news—" he looked uncertain, although his eyes betrayed his impatience to share.

"Shift starts in ten," Chris pressed him. The wait was killing her, and, judging from his expression, Tan was equally eager to know.

"I finally met Street's mysterious girl."

Luca's words confirmed her suspicions, and Chris's stomach dropped. Curiosity, dread, and something she didn't want to name churned inside her as she gingerly laid the mug on the steel table.

"Street officially introduced her to you?" Mimicking Chirs's gesture, Tan put down the half-eaten sandwich next to his mug.

"Don't be jealous." Luca shifted his weight from foot to foot, taking a big gulp of air before plunging on. "He didn't have much choice. I'm sure they didn't plan to stay home long enough for me to come back and intrude on their date. No one could predict my afternoon with Kelly was cut short, and I—"

"Tell me you didn't bust them playing doctor on your couch." Tan's words made Chris's imagination conjure images she wasn't ready to see.

"Far from that. Street and Zee were deep in conversation when I walked in on them. Something that wasn't meant for my ears, but not at all what you're thinking…" Luca trailed off, heading to the fridge to get a water bottle.

There was no more denying that the relationship between Street and Zee was serious. Or—Chris's brain couldn't help insinuating—that Street convinced himself it was serious. Maybe he didn't plan to introduce his girlfriend to Luca that way or on that particular day, but in his subconscious, he must have been ready for the possibility. The once comforting smell of coffee turned sour in Chris's nostrils, and she pushed her mug a little further down the table.

"Are you really leaving us hanging like that after summoning us here to talk about that?" Tan interjected after a few beats of hovering silence. "What's Zee like?"

Luca smiled, his eyes darting up and left as he called the previous evening back to mind. "She's attentive. Compassionate. A real sweetheart." His grin broadened. "But she can also out-mouth Street with her wit and quick thinking when he doesn't behave."

Tan seemed amused by the picture. Chris was not.

"And the fact she looks like she would fit just fine on the cover of one of those fancy magazines Kelly insists practicing her reading skills on doesn't hurt either," Luca casually added after a sip of cool water.

Chris barely refrained from rolling her eyes. Could Zee really be that perfect?

"Let me tell you, guys," Luca continued, "they're simply adorable together. If Street has heart-shaped eyes when he looks at Zee, she has stars in her eyes when she looks at him." A smile lazily curved his lips. "Street deserves someone like that in his life. Someone who keeps his dimples in place all the time. You should have been there. They're like this perfect little family…" his voice trailed off as if he caught himself saying something he shouldn't have.

Chris's ears perked up. Where did that last word come from? And what was hidden in Luca's tone?

"Any more practical detail?" Tan asked.

That eerie expression again as if Luca was holding something back or as if he didn't know how to tell them something controversial. But wasn't that why he wanted to meet them?

After a beat, Luca took a deep breath. "Okay. Zee's full name is Mackenzie Miller. South Carolina born and raised, except a short parenthesis in LA, as we already knew. She works with music but is currently on hold with her job to focus on her—"

"Wait." Recognition dawned on Tan's face. "Zee is the Mackenzie Miller from Charleston?"

"How do you know she's from Charleston?" Luca's surprise interrupted his torrential flow of speech.

"And what do you mean by the?" Chris asked, more frustrated than Luca seemed to be for the interruption on his account.

"No way." Tan shook his head. "I knew I'd already seen her somewhere when I first glimpsed her at that café with Street weeks ago."

Chris felt lightheaded. The woman finally had a name. One with ties to it, apparently.

Luca's confusion showed in his eyes. "So you know her?"

"Not exactly." Tan took out his phone and tapped his fingers with practiced movements. "Mackenzie Miller is a singer and songwriter. She may not be famous by Hollywood standards, but Bonnie is a huge fan of her style. Country with the influence of pop and something I can't really name. Here's her latest song," he said, and music started flowing out of his cell phone.

I'm not ready to move on.
Not yet ready to let go.
There is love, and hurt, and growth,
Both in my past and where I should go.

A wave of emotions swelled Chris's chest at the sound of the melodious voice. It was strong, kind, and feminine all at the same time. But there was something else to it, something that Chris couldn't explain.

Oh, swift river, give me strength,
To go on and never break.
My swift river give me faith,
'Cause both hope and fear hold me straight.

Tan turned the screen for Luca and Chris to see, showing them the official video that accompanied the audio. A woman with a guitar sat at the center of a homely but plain room. It seemed she used her instrument as a shield, but her playing and singing overpowered the fourth wall, reaching the audience's heart all the same. At least, it reached Chris's, deeper and deeper as another few strophes danced in the air.

"She's good," Luca mouthed.

Tan nodded. "Told you Bonnie liked her for a reason."

Swift, sweet river, please soothe my heart.
Teach me how to let go,
And I promise to myself
I'll learn to be ready to move.

As more words flew smoothly, the figure on the screen finally lifted her eyes from the guitar, locking her gaze to the camera. Now she had a face, too; not just vague descriptions, but a real, breathing picture. Luca was spot-on; Zee was indeed model-like beautiful, with emerald green eyes and a smile so bright as to take over the whole screen on Tan's phone. She was gorgeous and shook it off; she couldn't afford to be jealous. She had all the chances to fess up about her true feelings for Street, and she wasted Every. Single. One.

No. Those feelings were no more. She and Street simply couldn't be a thing. Case closed. But that didn't mean she couldn't worry about her friend's well-being. That she couldn't be protective, listening to what her gut was telling her about that woman.

Swift, sweet river,
I'll be water, I'll never stop,
And give everything I've got.

Why? Why was the music so emotional? Why did the words ring so true to Chris? Why did she relate with this woman despite her instincts telling her not to trust her?

I am going with the flow,
But I'll fight to have it all.
I might not have full control,
But till I'm here, I'll give myself whole.

The video gradually faded to black, and silence filled the room, though the song's effects still lingered in the air.

"Wow. Zee's also humble to the bones." Luca shook his head, his eyes showing both disbelief and amusement. "Never once bragged about her success, nor mentioned she was that good."

Chris's heart gave a little hop in her chest. Humble or hiding something?

"She announced she was taking a pause from her career after releasing Swift River," Tan said. "Fans fear she will even retire, but I don't know. Those song lyrics can mean anything really."

"She said she's on hold," Luca offered. "But she wasn't keen on talking about her job, so I dropped the bone." He shook his head. "I have no idea why she was so secretive about her music, I mean... we just heard how talented she is."

Zee's musical talent was something even Chris couldn't deny. She could fully understand why Bonnie loved her as a singer, and why Street could be manipulated so easily by someone who could use words as well as that woman did.

Luca breathed out a half-scoff, and Chris could almost see his wheels turning in his brain. "Zee wasn't keen on talking about anything too personal, actually, but she was so easy going I didn't even notice how she continually diverted attention from herself until now that we're talking about the evening."

Clever and definitely hiding something. Not a good combination. And there always was the tiny detail that the woman was either married, running from someone, or at least in the midst of getting a divorce. But this, Chris was sure, was another thing 'humble Zee' didn't mention to Luca, or he would not be so blinded by her act.

Tan shook his head again, just a faint motion. "A while ago, Bonnie was all upset and grumpy. I whacked my brain for hours to figure out what I could have done to cause all that. It turned out it wasn't something I did—or didn't do—but about this Mackenzie Miller announcing taking a step back from sharing her music. That's how much Bonnie adores her. She won't believe it when I tell her Street's mysterious new girlfriend is none other than her favorite singer."

Chris took a calming breath. Okay, the woman was good at what she did, but the last thing she needed right now was another person close to her fangirling about Street's new, deceptive girlfriend.

"Did Bonnie tell you why Zee paused her musical career? Did she know she was moving to LA?" Maybe to pull some trick on a long-lost boyfriend? Chris added in her mind. However, the image of Street and Zee holding hands while amiably chatting with Luca—perfect for each other, as he'd said—fleshed before her eyes as unsettling as it could be. Why couldn't she just be happy for her best friend—former best friend—finding love?

"If she'd known Mackenzie was moving here, Bonnie wouldn't have been so saddened about the pause." Tan took a moment to consider the other question. "I think the reason was something about stepping back to concentrate on her family." He thumbed on his phone again. "There should be something on her official website."

Concentrate on her family, my ass. Chris contemplated taking off her chest her suspicions about Zee fleeing from her husband, or ex-husband, but she thought better of it. She didn't want to gossip without knowing the facts.

"Well," Luca interjected with a big smile, "focusing her attention on the ball of pure energy that her daughter is seems a good enough reason to pause a career."

"Her what?" got out of Chris's mouth as air deserted her lungs, threatening not to come back in.

"The happy couple and I were not alone at dinner last night," Luca confirmed. "And I'm not talking just about Duke. Zee had a little girl tugging along."

"Man, how did I forget?" Tan shook his head at himself. "Bonnie has half-complained more than once about how Zee is too private a person for being a public figure relying on fans' attention for a living. I mean, she respects her choices and supports her, but she's still curious about the details of the life of a person she looks up to… I think it's pretty normal, right?"

"You were telling us how you forgot Zee had a daughter," Chris prompted. By now, she could hardly repress the alarm bells blaring in the back of her mind, fanned by Luca's expression. Zee came back to LA to focus on her daughter…what does that mean? What does that mean for Street?

"It's not that I knew for sure she had a daughter. Bonnie is her fan, not me. Though I admit I kind of got around liking her music…"

"Tan, shift starts in five!" Chris couldn't refrain from rolling her eyes.

"Right. As I was saying, Mackenzie is a private person and doesn't make open dedications. Although, most of her songs are…" he glanced at the phone still clutched in his hand, buying himself some time. "Emotional, as you just heard," he finished at last. "You can tell most of the time she's singing from personal experience, not just inspired by what happens around her. So, there is this song, which is one of Bonnie's favorites, dedicated to the birth of a little girl. And since the song is even more emotional than others, if you listen to it, you just know this child is not a friend's or a relative's. I should have remembered sooner." Saying so, Tan shook his head again as if to scold himself.

But what does this mean? Chris asked herself. What's the real story behind all this?

"The little girl's name is Jamie. Jamie Lee Miller." Luca observed their reaction carefully. Was he also wondering if Zee could have picked the name after a certain James—a.k.a. Jim Street?

Tan sipped from his coffee, but the taste in Chris's mouth was already too bitter for her to find comfort in the same gesture.

"The three of them are so natural together," Luca went on. "Jamie Lee is the sweetest little thing. Loves dogs, bunnies, music, and all kinds of grilled food. Seeing how petite she is, you wouldn't tell how big her stomach is." He shook his head, a slow smile spreading across his face. "She's also smart and well-behaved and has this mix of confidence and shyness that's just too adorable."

Chris's heart stopped, Luca's voice barely out-running the growing buzz in her ears as he droned on about how little Jamie was the perfect miniature of her mom. She apparently was a carbon copy in manners and physique, aside from the color of her hair and eyes. Colors someone on their team shared.

"And her smile is something from another world," Luca added. "With that tooth gap and… the most endearing dimples I've ever seen in my whole life."

That did it to confirm her hunch. Chris swallowed to prevent her voice from trembling as she asked, "How old is she?"

Luca frowned. "Sorry, not really sure."

Are you serious now? Chris refrained from physically shaking him. That would have been one piece of valuable information, Luca! She would have wanted to yell.

"She's somewhere in between Deacon's kids' ages anyway. Closer to Lila than to Samuel, I guess. I bet the two girls will get along like bacon and eggs when Street finally decides to take Jamie to an official event."

A lump lodged in Chris's throat. Street met Zee while working at LBCPD; he'd told them that much. That would perfectly fit in the time frame for the kid's conception. It must be the reason Zee moved across the country recently and made sure she 'casually' bumped into Street. If she was back into his life to finally let the girl be a part of it, why now? Or was she just luring him into some kind of a trap because she wanted something from him and made her innocent daughter part of her evil plan? But Street wouldn't fall for someone that similar to his own mother, would he? Then it hit Chris; what if the girl needed some medical assistance, too? Street couldn't keep being an organ replacement source for just anyone. He couldn't keep sacrificing himself.

"Okay." Tan let his arms drop to his sides, his voice breaching through Chris's train-wreck of thoughts. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"You should have seen Street with Jamie. And if three clues are not proof…" Luca shrugged. "I accidentally eavesdropped on a private conversation before they noticed I was home. From what I gathered, Zee left Street years ago without telling him about the pregnancy test. She didn't want to force him to choose between her and the baby and his rising career in law enforcement here in LA."

Of course, Street had been oblivious back then, Chris thought.

"Why would he have had to choose?" Tan asked.

"I haven't been there long enough to get that part, but I guess she wanted to raise the kid in her hometown." Luca sighed. "Or maybe when she'd started dating a cop, she'd not considered what it would have meant starting a family with one. It's not for everyone to wait at home, worrying every day if the father of her child would come home from his shift."

Tan nodded, his expression darkening, but Chris barely assessed it since Luca kept on.

"I think I caught Zee also mentioning they were too young for something that big when the test result came."

"But now she's okay with it?" Chris couldn't keep her hostility down at this point.

"It's been years. People change. They mature. Just look at how much Street has grown since he got in the SWAT fam." Luca shrugged. "They told me fate had them back together, making Zee stumble into Street right after one of his checkups for the liver donation. Getting back together wasn't planned. It just happened over a couple of coffee dates, and they are both okay about going with the flow."

Maybe Luca believed this 'bless-the-fate' version, but Chris didn't. Zee had left Street in the dark for years. Rage gushed hot in Chris's veins. How could that woman ever do that to Street? And to their child? Okay, maybe back then Street hadn't been all that mature and balanced—Luca was right, he grew immensely in the last five years since he joined them—but even so, he would have made a hell of a dad all the same. The mere thought he'd been deprived of years being one was beyond cruel. But the idea he could believe he was the father of a kid that wasn't actually his was equally hideous.

Street would definitely make a hell of a dad being given a chance. And boy, did he deserve that chance after the parents and the family experience he had growing up.

"That's all I heard," Luca continued. "Street took Zee and Jamie back to their place after dinner and never came home, so I haven't been able to catch him alone and talk to him yet."

"What do you think we should do with this information? That's a lot on him, you think…" Tan could not bring himself to finish his phrase. "Should we wait until he's ready to share or confront him?"

"No clue. But Zee is a keeper, believe me," Luca came back in a more cheerful tone. "I have no idea what's in their past, but the present seems pretty bright. The three of them seem…" he paused, pondering his words, "to complete each other."

What was that pang hitting Chris's stomach again? Concern? Jealousy? Envy? Maybe a mix of the three and more, but she couldn't feel like that. She shouldn't. She should be thrilled for her friend. Street would make a wonderful father, and he deserved to be happy, even if that happiness didn't include her.

What the heck? Chris couldn't just let this go! That woman came with a huge baggage. She had a husband, or ex-husband, and a daughter. A daughter who was also Street's. How could Zee have kept that from him for so many years?

They could play the perfect family now, but how had that woman dared to deprive Street of all those precious moments? Thanks to her maneuver, Street missed the birth of his first child. He couldn't witness her first cry. He wasn't there for her first scraped knees, for all the times she'd fallen and got up on her own, nor for all the times she would have needed her daddy's help to do so. He missed the wonder of her toddler years, full of discoveries, accomplishments, conquests, and temper tantrums. Street would have deserved to witness all that, be a part of all that.

And the girl would have deserved a father like Street at her side. Chris's uncle Sarzo had been an inspiring figure and the best surrogate parent a girl could wish for, but she well knew what it meant not knowing your real dad.

Wait. Chris's head couldn't stop spinning though she tried to control herself. Where does Zee's husband, or ex, come into all this? When did the man come into the picture? Did he think Jamie was his own? Did he know she wasn't but raised her as she was all the same? Had Zee been already married when she met Street, and the girl was the fruit of adultery? Had the man recently discovered it and kicked Zee and Jamie out, forcing them to come to LA and…

"Street's been dating Zee for a while now. I'm actually surprised he managed to keep that from us this long." Tan brought Chris back from the brink as he gulped down the last of his sandwich. He turned to Luca. "You don't think he uncovered the truth only last night, do you?"

Luca shrugged, palms up. "Not even he could be that oblivious. It just takes a look and—"

Just then, Street poked his head into the room. "Did I miss a meeting memo?"

Chris's head was still spinning. Should they address the elephant in the room?

"What?" Street's sheepish smile showed that he didn't feel comfortable with the scrutiny he was receiving from Tan and Luca. His discomfort grew more tangible as he tried to ignore the hard stare Chris caught herself throwing at him a moment too late.

"Nothing," the guys said in unison.

Street shook his head, his look turning suspicious. He'd realized they were talking about him, about his newly-found family, but apparently chose to ignore it. "Come on, slackers," he said after a moment and beckoned them to follow him. "Hondo and Deac are waiting for us outside for a special training session."

Chris, Luca, and Tan shared a last look. It was not the time or place to round up on their teammate, so the guys followed the disappearing Street out of the kitchen while Chris offered to take over the cleaning duty.

"I'll be there in a sec," Chris called over her shoulder while heading to the sink to rinse her and Tan's mugs, the cold coffee rippling inside the ceramic as she walked. The dark liquid poured down the drain, tap water washing it away. This was a whole new level of complicated.

She knew she should be thrilled for Street. He could finally have the loving family he'd always dreamed of. He had a true, powerful connection at his fingertips, far from the cold, manipulative grip his mother had always offered to him. But she couldn't 'just be happy' for him. She couldn't shake off the feeling something was off with the situation. Something was off with that woman.

Could Street trust Zee? She'd lied to him all those years ago. She'd omitted that they had a daughter together and kept the secret for seven years or more. She'd chosen another man in spite of him once already. What did she really want from him? Why was she back now? How could Street still love her?

Something was utterly wrong. And no, it wasn't just jealousy. It was a strong gut feeling, one of those hunches Chris had learned over the years that was best not to ignore.

-o- -o- -o-