Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews.

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"He was actually a lot like he is now. Obsessed with conspiracies, wiseass of our building. Nothing ever shut him up once he got started." Sara laughed softly to herself as she thought about their past. "He always helped me out if I needed it… sometimes even if I didn't want it."

----------------------------------------------Flashback-------------------------------------------------

"Mrs. Cohen?" John asked, coming into the apartment. The curtains were closed and there was only one dim light on.

"Hello John, you're mother said that you would be back for the funeral." Linda Cohen was sitting on the sofa in the living room; a newspaper was sitting on the coffee table, opened to the obituaries. "They gave him quite the obituary… mentioned all of his years on the force…"

"I'm very sorry for your loss… Detective Cohen was always good to my family."

"Thank you… uh… Sara is back in her room; I haven't been able to get her to come out. Maybe you could talk to her, you two have always been so close."

"Sure… my mother said that she would be over in a few minutes, she thought that you and Sara would like a casserole." John said, trying not to sound sarcastic. He loved his mother dearly, but it seemed unlikely that a casserole could make up for something like this.

"Oh… that's very nice of her." Linda said, her voice seemed detached and she was gazing down at the newspaper again. John just nodded and made his way down the dark hallway, arriving at Sara's closed door.

"Sara?" He called, knocking on the door. "Sara? Can I come in?" Still nothing. Finally he just decided to open the door and walk in. She was in there, face down on the bed, headsets on and turned up loud.

John closed the door behind him then took a seat on the edge of the bed next to Sara's legs. She felt the dip in the mattress, "I told you I didn't want to talk mom." Her voice sounded hoarse which gave away that she had been crying.

He reached across her and pulled the headphones off. "I have been called many things, but mom is a new one."

"John, what are you doing in here?" Sara asked rolling over onto her back and looking at him confused.

"That's it? No hug?"

"Of course…" Sara sat up and gave him a hug before leaning back down on her comforter. Her eyes were red and rimmed with tears; she was trying so hard to avoid making eye contact with him.

"I haven't been in here since I left for the academy… glad to see the pink walls are gone…" He looked around the room, as he took note of the dark blue walls and the books on the shelves. She wasn't a little girl anymore; she was a college freshman now.

"Well, when I turned 17 I figured that it was time for those to go."

"And now you're 19… how's that treating you?"

"It's not too bad…"

"Your mom said that you haven't been coming out of your room."

"I haven't felt particularly chatty lately."

"Hey, I can understand that. But your mom is starting to get worried about you."

"Can we please talk about something else?"

"Sure… how has school been?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant. After all their years as friends he knew how to get her to open up.

"It's been okay… how's the academy?"

"Pretty good. I graduate in a couple of weeks."

"Then you're out on the streets?"

"Yeah, they give me a gun and send me on my way."

"You with a gun, that makes me feel safe." Sara muttered, still trying to avoid his eyes. "John… why… why did you decide to join the force?"

"Just something I needed to do. It's a chance to protect people… to help for once. Why did you want to know?" He asked as he watched her stand up and cross the room to her window.

"I'm just trying to figure out why the hell my father thought he needed to stay on the force even though he was eligible for retirement… he didn't have to be out there. He didn't have to…" By this point Sara was crying, John couldn't bear to listen to her sobs.

He went to her; she was unable to hold herself up any longer and was sitting on the floor. "Please don't cry… please don't Sara." She just couldn't stop; he pulled her into a hug and held her until she was able to pull herself together somewhat. "It's okay." He tried comforting her, helping her back to her bed where they could sit more comfortably.

"It's not okay! How can it be okay? My father is dead. He's dead! He won't be here for my college graduation or if I ever get married he's not going to be there… all because he thought that he owed it to the city. He thought that is was his duty to go out there and chase that junkie into the basement. And now you're going to go out there and put yourself in the same position."

"Hey, you don't need to worry about me…"

"Yes I do. What if something happens to you? I loose someone else that I love." Sara had started to cry again, John pulled her into another hug.

"You're not going to loose me, okay? I won't let that happen. I'm too stubborn."

"Don't I know that." She managed through her tears. "Sorry I yelled at you."

"Hey, I don't consider it a full day until a woman yells at me. We better go out there before your mom comes looking and finds us getting cozy on your bed."

"She would probably have a heart attack." Sara nodded, rubbing the tears from her eyes.

"Come on, my mother was bringing over a casserole."

"Nothing makes a person feel better then casserole."

"Exactly what I was thinking." The two left the room and went back out to join their mothers. Everything was going to be okay eventually.

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"I don't know how but he always managed to get me to talk when I didn't want to." Sara shook her head, still seeing the memory in her mind.

"That sounds like him." Olivia nodded in agreement. "He is great to have around when you need help."

"Oh yeah. I remember this one time…"

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Reviews please. Next chapter is coming as soon as I can write it.