Mike pulled into the open parking spot in front of his house but remained in the car. Exhaling slowly, he ran a tired hand across his face before leaning against the seat.
Their drive home from JC's had been quiet, as he'd expected. The altercation with Ludwig had shaken them both to the core, and neither detective seemed to be willing to discuss what happened any further- or what could have happened had the drug dealer shown less constraint.
Steve had requested that he'd drop him off at his bachelor pad.
Although Mike complied, he did so unwillingly. After an emotionally charged day like today, having Steve close by felt like a much-needed reprieve.
Selfish as it was, Mike had gotten accustomed to the camaraderie they shared. In the otherwise empty house, the noise of beer bottles clinking, or the young Inspector sleep-talking on his couch brought much-needed peace to his soul. Peace, that was otherwise disturbed by the demons that haunted his sleepless nights.
Looking over at the passenger seat, his mind replayed Steve's troubled features, as the young Inspector got out of the car and grabbed his things; how his voice was drained of all emotion when he asked which time Mike expected him to be ready for pickup.
He'd tried to cheer him up by shifting the usual pickup time from 7:30 to 8am, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Slowly walking up the dark gray wooden steps, Steve looked painfully discouraged.
Mike swallowed hard, blaming himself for the emotional hurricane he had unleashed upon his partner when it came to this case, and yet expecting him to stay unaffected.
As if homosexuality wasn't a sensitive enough topic, he'd thrown his partner at Malcolm's mother, knowing full well what trouble would ensue. Then he proceeded to push the envelope by visiting a gay bar, willfully ignoring the young Inspector's obvious hesitation when it came to the place.
He was the seasoned Lieutenant, the mentor and friend' and yet he hadn't asked Steve what his thoughts were regarding the topic, blaming himself for that oversight now, knowing that an open line of communication may have prevented emotions from running high and situations to escalate.
In the end, he'd been the fool.
His mind wandered back to Glenn and his seemingly decisive trip to a farm up north. It would give them a good start for further research tomorrow morning. But as he had already warned Steve, the likely outcome of their Friday and early weekend would be a road trip.
Strangely enough, Mike actually believed Ludwig.
Albeit thoroughly disgusted with the man's atrocious character, he couldn't shake the fact that he'd stood by his word each time he was tested. Mike also wondered about that peace-of-mind-farm he had talked about.
Northern California was covered in farmland, so their research would prove to be tricky. But at least he had one more piece of the puzzle.
The nearby church bells signaled that midnight had struck. Overlooking the empty streets one last time, Mike slowly excited the Galaxy before walking up the stairs to his house. Taking one slow step at a time, he doubted there'd be any sleep in his immediate future.