"Why were you late?"
Mike's question reverberated through the large glass doorway as the nurse pushed his wheelchair out into the open, a small bag with his belongings resting on his thighs.
Kneading it anxiously, he studied the young Inspector's every move intently, immediately picking up on Steve's flighty antics this morning, the nervous hand running down his azure tie, the calculated steps he took around the Galaxie to open the passenger door, as if he'd counted them out in his head.
Even from a few feet away he could see the glimmer of a haunted expression the young Inspector tried to hide beneath a carefully crafted façade of lightheartedness.
"Good morning to you as well, Lieutenant. Traffic was slow."
Accepting the half-hearted answer for the time being, Mike handed him the overnight bag and then stood up with the nurses' help, grateful that the incessant fussing of the medical professionals was finally coming to an end.
"Let's head home for a couple of minutes so I can change, and then we can go to the office…", he suggested, not surprised when he saw Steve and the nurse share an amused glance and headshake.
"You're the boss…", the young Inspector snickered and reached out a hand to help him into the cab of the Galaxie, causing Mike to scoff at the gesture.
"I am not dead, just remember that."
"It's hard to forget this morning…"
Relishing the sensation of returning to the comforts of the tan sedan, Mike leaned back, nodding gratefully at the nurse as she waved goodbye, then waited for Steve to circle the hood to join him.
"You look like you haven't slept at all.", he finally noted when the young Inspector sat down and reached for the gear shaft, smoothly navigating the large police car from the curb back onto the road.
"I am fine."
Letting the short answer sit out there for a moment, Mike used his injured hand to carefully untuck the collar of his partner's light gray dress coat that was curled under, as if he'd put it on in a rush.
Acknowledging the gesture without an answer, Steve resumed his oath of silence as they passed the dense traffic heading westbound, each man quietly relishing the other's company once again after too many days apart.
Eventually it was Mike who cleared his throat, absent-mindedly staring at his bandaged hand.
"Anything else yet from Bernie on Osorro?"
The slightest of twitches ran through Steve's body when Mike said that, easy to overlook by anybody who didn't know the young Inspector as well as he did.
"Nothing yet. Same goes for our body from the cemetery. I am hoping we'll hear something by the time we get to the office."
"Me too…me too."
As an unusual silence returned to the cab of the Galaxie, Mike leaned deeper into the bench, his thoughts drifting back to the burning warehouse, feeling the heat scorch his back as he curled tighter around his partner to keep him safe.
It was the voice of reason inside his mind that finally urged him to come to peace with the fact that the fire had left wounds in both of them that went far deeper than a couple layers of burnt skin.
