Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't make a penny from stealing it either.

Judy Hoffs sat at her desk behind a mountain of paperwork. Her last case with Harry had been a tricky one and as Ioki had been less inclined to help out these days she was once again left to deal with the stacks of reports and forms alone. Harry was, in fact, yet to make an appearence this morning.

After his stint in rehab Harry had been withdrawn and distant on all but a handful of occaisions. She had tried so often to get him to open up to her, but with little success. He hadn't even told her about his addiction to painkillers, he had told Penhall and the thought that he felt he couldn't tell her hurt deeply. Every time she tried to talk to him he either became abusive or brushed her aside, and whist she was concerned for her partner, she was also begining to become more and more frustrated. She realised that being promoted to detective meant that she had more responsibilty and more rested on her shoulders, but her partner could at least pretend to pull his weight. She was tired, upset, frustrated and she felt very alone.

Pondering these thoughts and twisting her long dark curly hair around her fingers, she was startled by the sound of Captain Fullers voice booming through the chapel.

"Hoffs" he bellowed, "Hanson and Ioki here yet?"

"Not yet Captain. Hanson was here till pretty late last night. I dont know where Harry is but I'm sure he'll show soon"

"When they do decide to grace us with their presence I want to see them both in my office"

"Sure Captian, I'll let 'em know", she said offering him an apologetic smile.

"I thought Tom wrapped up his case days ago!"came the voice of Doug Penhall as he came bounding across the room in his usual exhuberant fashion. He had been confined to desk duty, and although it was at his own request he still felt a pang of regret at not being able to help out his friend.

"He did, but he was still here when I left last night. Maybe he has as much paperwork as I do" she said gesturing to the pile of papers in front of her.

Taking this as a hint, Doug gave her an apologetic smile and left her to it.

Judy watched Doug walk back to his desk. He had seemed a bit down recently, which she put down to him being bored and lost without Hanson. This got her to thinking of how close they had all been until recently. These past few months they had all seemed to drift apart. After being trapped in that horrific strom in Lincoln things had been different. She knew that things had gotten strained between Doug and Hanson for a while, but their friendship had always been able to survive these kinds of things.

With Doug on desk duty, Hanson had been sent out on his own and didn't usually report back to the Chapel until late in the evening. In fact, apart from a short conversation with him the night before, it had been awhile since she had seen Hanson herself. Then as if summoned by her thoughts Tom came walking slowly up the stairs into the Chapel.

"Morning Hanson" she called out smiling brightly at the sight of her young friend. Her cheerful greeting was not returned however and she saw his face blanche as his eyes fixed on Penhall.

"Hanson?"

"Huh? Sorry Jude."

"Everything ok?" she said a little concerned as she noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes.

"Sure" he said flashing his warmest, brightest smile and signaling towards her desk, "Having fun Detective?"

"Yeah, Hanson, it's a blast! Fuller wants to see you and Harry in his office."

"Yikes! If I offer to do your paperwork will you cover for me!" he said with a wry smile.

She returned his smile, feeling reasured. The clashes between Captain Adam Fuller and Tom Hanson, while usually good natured, had become something of legend at Jump Street Chapel.

"Go face the music Officer Hanson!"

"Why? How many demerits will it cost me Dective Hoffs?"

"Go!" She said, feigning irritation. She smiled warmly after him as he made his way to Fullers door.

Dispite his smiles and seeming good humour, Tom had been badly shaken. As he had entered the chapel he had been confronted with the view of Doug Penhall's turned back, like a flashback in a bad movie. However, as he passed Dougs desk these thoughts were banished by his friend's enthusiastic welcome.

"Hey, man, where you been?" Doug asked as he gave Tom what could only be described as a bear hug.

"Douglas!" Hanson replied genuinely happy to see him. "Chair not stuck perminately to your ass then huh?", he finished as Doug set him back on his feet.

"Not yet. But give it time. Got a pretty good ass groove going though."

"And people say you underachieve!" he said rolling his eyes at Judy who had been watching her friends and had wandered over desperate for some distraction. Looking at them stood together it suddenly struck her as if for the first time that they were complete polar opposites in both appearence and manner. The loud and brash Doug Penhall was tall, built like a bear, and just a little overwieght. His longish usually neatly combed hair was fair, in stark contrast to his almond shaped light brown eyes. But behind his imposing stature the only bear Doug resembled was a teddy bear and was just as incredibly soft hearted and trusting, always ready with a smile and a joke. Stood beside Tom Hanson he stuck out like a sore thumb. Standing a good few inches shorter than his partner with his overgrown dark brown tousled hair, the quiet, intelligent and thoughtful Tom was the perfect foil for his brash partner. Where Doug was heavily built, Tom was slight and fragile in appearence with delicate features highlighted all the more by his huge deep thoughtful brown eyes, which always reminded Judy of Bambi. Yet she had come to realise very shortly after first meeting him that his appearence was very misleading. Behind the fragile figure was a determination and strength the like of which she had never seen before, making up for what he lacked in physical stature with incredible emotional and pshycological strength. He also displayed a fierce loyalty and compassion to all those around him.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the shout that split the air.

"HANSON!"

Tom and Doug spun round to see Fuller stood in the doorway looking somewhat impatient.

"My office now please!"

"Sorry Doug. I'll talk to you later". Then raising his voice for Fullers benefit and smiling slightly at his partner, "Some of us have actual police work to do".

"So sorry to keep you, Officer Hanson" he replied giving his friend a sarcastic salute. "Come over tonight, we can catch up, have a few beers. Clavo keeps asking why Uncle Tommy hasn't been to see him."

Hanson's face lit up at the mention of Dougs young nephew. Since he and Doug had brought the boy back from El Salvador, Tom had adored him as if he was his own nephew. It wasn't hard to love him, after all he was a sweet kid which was surprising after all he'd been through.

"Why do you encourage him to call me that!"he said still smiling.

"Hey it's that or Thomas. Besides, Tom ,you love it. So you comming?"

"Yeah, sure. You're not cooking are you?"

"Why!" Doug said acting offended.

"I'll grab some pizzas on the way"Tom added a little too quickly.

"Hey, I'm a great cook. Ask Clavo!"

"The kid who has dreams about white worms! I'll bring pizza" he replied smirking.

"Yeah ok." Doug said sheepishly. "I could pick 'em up Tom, I finish first anyway" he continued with a little trepidation.

"Doug I can stretch to pizza" Hanson snapped a little too viciously.

"Ok!" Doug replied defensively, "You'd better not keep Fuller waiting."

"You know it's good to see you two together" Judy said as she walked towards Fuller's office at Hanson's side.

"What are we? Married?" The comical look on Hanson's face put Judy's concerns at ease. That look of long suffering indignation that only Tom Hanson was capable of. Both maddening and endearing at the same time because you were always safe in the knowledge that the only people able to draw that look were those he cared for. She looked after Tom fondly as he walked into Fuller's office and Harry finally made an appearance.

"Sorry I didn't realise the time" he said as he approached his long time partner.

"Fuller wants to see you and Hanson in his office" she said stiffly, before walking away to continue her favoutire part of the job.

"Hey coach!"

"Nice of you to honour us with your presence Hanson"

"No problem Capt'n" he replied offering Fuller his most charming smile.

"Sit down Tom"

"Jude said you wanted to see me Captain!" Harry said popping his head round the door.

"Yeah, come in Harry. Are you two familiar with John Adams High?" he asked as Harry took a seat beside Hanson.

"One of those genius academy's isn't it?" Hanson asked a little warily.

"You know that doesn't mean they don't have problems Hanson!" Fuller responded. "Three kids have been hospitalised due to overdoses in the last two weeks"

"That's a new one" Harry said sarcastically.

"You'd think there'd be one school in this city that didn't have a drug problem" Hanson added rolling his eyes and letting his head drop to rest on the back of the chair.

"Thank you fellas." Fuller said somewhat irritated by his young officers lack of enthusiasm. "It looks like someone on campus has been dealing. Most likely suspect is a senior, Mike Powell. Apart from having a well documented habit he has acquired a pretty nice car recently" He handed the file over to Tom.

"Wow nice!" Hanson whistled after reading that this nice car was actually a brand new Mercedes 600SL. "I might be able to afford a Corgi version"

"Exactly Tom!" Fuller replied."I want you two to get in with this guy. See if we can get him to cough up. Hanson, I want you to get as close as you can to him, Ioki you're gonna pose as Hanson's drug connection. Get a buy outta this kid. I also want you to find out how he's getting the stuff in and where he's getting it from"

"Captain" Hanson put in. "Things never go well when I play smart kid. Last couple of times i've nearly been exposed on national television and recuited by the CIA!"

"Third time lucky. Get close to him Tom. In the meantime Harry I want you to keep an eye out, just in case Powell's not our guy" Fuller replied.

"Okey dokey Coach! Ready Iokage?"

"As I'm gonna be" Harry said with a sigh.

Fuller passed a critical eye over his young officers, oldest and youngest respectively. He had seen them grow and mature into what he considered to be pretty special people.Both these young men had been through a lot this past year and he was intesely proud of them. However he had become concerned about them both. Harry had been displaying totally uncharacteristic cynicsism lately. The usually cheerful and dedicated Harry Ioki he had known had been replaced by a listless, disinterseted surly shadow of himself. Fuller assumed he was bored. He had spent much of his time confined to the Chapel, but that was the main reason he was sending Harry in with Tom and not Judy.

As he watched fondly after his officers as they got up to leave the room he noticed the dark circles under Hanson's eyes and how drawn he appeared this morning. Softly spoken and not usually the most expressive and talkative of the group, Tom had seemed unusually quiet even for him lately.

"Tom!" Fuller, called after him.

"Yes Captain?"

"Everything ok? You look a little rough!"

"Can't always be the poster boy, Coach", he said smiling crookedly, then more seriously,"Bad night, that's all"

Fuller eyed him with concern. "Still?"

"Some nights are better than others. Don't worry Coach, no big deal. I'm fine"

"As long as you're sure".

"I'm sure."

"Well, you know my door's always open Tom."

Hanson gave Fuller an understanding nod of thanks and left the room. Fuller watched after him suspiciously as he closed the door behind him. He knew Hanson's tendancy to deal with difficult situations alone. Although he had seemed his usual self after a difficult first few months back at the Chapel, if not a little too cheerful at times, he had noticed on occaision a certain distance, a wall of defense as it were, in Tom Hanson that made him feel a little uneasy. As Tom closed the door Fuller decided he was going to keep a watchful eye on his youngest officer.

"Right, spill it Harry." Tom said as soon as he had caught up with Harry.

"What?"

"There's something up with you. Don't lie to me Harry" he said as Ioki opened his mouth to protest. "You been presumed dead again?" Hanson said with a sly smile on his face. He thought bringing up the time when Harry had been given death benefits by mistake may have lightened the mood. However, the sick feeling in his stomach as the scene from his nightmare flashed through his mind and the look on Harry's face told him he was wrong.

"Sorry man, bad taste." He said

"You think that was even the slightest bit funny after what I've been through?" Harry said with a look that could have burned a hole right through Hanson's forehead.

"Harry, I'm sorry. Come on, talk to me. What is it?"

"Don't you get sick of putting your life at risk for idiot kids who waste their lives and don't even know they're born? I nearly died trying to protect kids who chose to go out and play with automatic guns. Do you think we even make any difference Tom?"

Hanson looked at Harry, trying to hide the sickness he felt at hearing his own questions repeated back to him by one of his closest friends. What was worse is that he had no answers to give Harry. He couldn't even think of anything to say, not even a small white lie. Instead he looked into Harry's eyes and as calmly as he could gave Harry the only answer he'd been able to give himself.

"It's got to Harry, otherwise it's all for nothing."

"That's what I'm afraid of. You know, no matter how many of these kids we bust there's always gonna be like ten more. So why do we risk our lives fiighting a lost cause"

"Someone's gotta catch the bad guys" Tom replied repeating his fathers words shyly.

"Well maybe thats not a good enough reason anymore Hanson" Harry spat." You've always got to play the hero haven't you. Jumping in trying to act the tough guy, then everyone else has to pick up after your mess" he continuted ignoring the shock and hurt on Hanson's face, while Tom stood looking back at him in silence unable to find anything to say. Then, hearing Harry's angry shouts Doug rushed over.

"Hey, back off man" he said calmly to Harry.

"Why? Cos the truth hurts?"

"He went to prison for trying to get justice for you man!" Doug said trying to keep his voice calm.

"Noone asked him to did they" Harry said viciously, glaring at Tom

"Harry" a distressed Hanson said in a barely audiable whisper.

"Don't you dare hold me responsible for you going to prison" he said his dark eyes blazing. "It was bound to happen one day, the shit you try and pull. You're just lucky they got you the one time you just happened to be innocent!" Harry said as he turned his back to Tom.

"Harry!" he called as Ioki walked away. "I'm sorry Harry." he said under his breath.

"Hey, you Ok Tom?" Penhall asked

"Yeah" he said unconvincingly

"Where did all that come from?"

"I don't know."

Tom felt lost as he stood there watching Harry walk away. Having heard his own words echoed back at him by Harry had been a shock. He wanted to help him, but how could he help Harry when he couldn't even deal with this himself. Just like his dream, he thought, Harry needed him and he could do nothing to help. He thought maybe he should let Harry know what he was feeling. That maybe they could help each other. He remembered Harry telling him about a time when he had convinced a local boy to turn in his drug addict parents. The kid had ended up worse off than he could have imagined. Tom had been dealing with this sort of guilt on and off for two years. He thought that if he could talk to Harry about how he was feeling he might be able to keep Harry from suffering like he was. But when he imagined telling his friend everything he had been bottling up inside he realised he just couldn't face it. Hanson was dealing with something different now. He had gone to jail and had lived in constant fear for months on end, but Harry had almost died. He felt ashamed when he thought about comparing his situation to Harry's.

"Hey, no olives ok man!" Doug said clapping Hanson on the shoulder, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Pizza! No olives, they make me puke."

"Ok. Look I gotta go, alright. See you later."

"No olives!"

"Yeah, yeah" Tom said waving him away as he headed out of the chapel towards his Mustang in the parking lot.