The switch.

It had been the one thing over the course of the past few years that had been harder and harder to do.

Switch from police officer to husband and father again in a matter of the half hour it took him to get home.

Ryan sighed, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders that evening, making the tense muscles below ache in agony.

Jenny and their unborn baby were constant worries that had clouded his mind the closer it came to her due date. Monetary woes aside, the health of mom and child along with an uneventful, safe delivery in a hospital room full of medical professionals were his utmost priority, his strained mind going through a plethora of worrisome what-if scenarios, trying to come up with an action plan before said event could occur.

What if her labor would be different this time around than it was with Sara Grace? What if they didn't make it to the hospital? Who could he call in case he needed to get amniotic fluid out of the seat fabric of his squad car? How many people fit into the back of a Prius taxi in case they were to deliver right on the busy streets of New York?

The sheer endless worst-case-scenarios his creative mind had produced had exhausted him, no doubt, but at least he wasn't the one carrying around an unborn baby for nine months.

His involvement in the matter had been rather short-lived, albeit draining.

So Kevin had chosen to put on a brave face when he was around Jenny who was growing increasingly tired and agitated as her pregnancy came to an end, undoubtedly in pain from all the changes going on in her body. That in turn had rubbed off on SG who was doing a fine job channeling her mother's fiery temper at the slightest inconvenience.

Yesterday it was a rogue pea that had snuck its way into her mashed potatoes; this morning he'd grabbed the princess shirt instead of the unicorn one, resulting in a half hour screaming tantrum.

Tonight would be pizza night, so there was hope for a quiet evening at last.

A cold wind chilled him to the bone as he approached the apartment building, consciously forcing anything work-related out of his mind to spend time with his family- including the situation with Javi.

There would always be more time tomorrow to chip away at that mountain of repressed pain and defense mechanisms. But now, he had to be there for his family.

Feeling the burdens of his professional life slowly slip away, Kevin reached for the knob to the main door of the apartment complex, then hesitated for a beat, his grasp loosening.

Somebody was watching him.

He could feel the set of eyes on his back, curious and intense eyes, the kind that came with a mind full of questionable intentions.

Drawing in a deep breath, he lowered his head, hoping to use his peripheral vision to see if anybody was nearby but failing.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, he turned around to face the walls upon walls of tall buildings to his left and right, some of them apartments, lofts, businesses; all of them full of windows and corners and dark alleys that could provide an attractive hiding spot.

The gaze intensified, like a predator ready to strike its prey.

In return, Kevin narrowed his eyes, trying to detect anything unusual in the twilight that was enveloping the city as evening approached.

There were busy people pushing their way down crowded sidewalks, an assortment of parked cabs, the occasional frustrated commuter honking his horn…but he couldn't see his follower no matter how long he stared off into the distance.

For whatever reason, it seemed that he had inadvertently ended up in the crosshairs of somebody, and no matter how often Kevin told himself that he was armed and more than capable of putting up a good fight, it didn't take away that eerie feeling of danger and intrusion that so suddenly filled the air around him.

Had their serial killer caught up with them, possibly choosing his next target from the very people investigating his crimes? Or was it another one of the plentiful assortment of lonesome souls that called New York their home, the occasional opportunity-criminals that only struck when money got too tight? Or was it his overtaxed mind playing tricks on him, allowing that natural police paranoia to take over?

Dissatisfied with his lack of options, Kevin decided to enter the building, content on spending the next ten minutes right inside the front door in case somebody had followed him.