"Tomorrow? But, Mike…" Jeannie sounded startled and confused, "you literally just got out of the hospital, you're in no condition to -"

Raising his right hand to stem the tide of arguments and justifications he knew was coming, he smiled at her wryly. "I know, I know, I know," he soothed with a soft chuckle. "I know everything you're going to say to me, and you're absolutely right."

"Then why do you want me to leave? I want to be here for you, and for Steve, especially now. I can look after you both while you work on clearing Steve's name."

"I know you can, and I appreciate that, I really do… but that's the exact reason I want you to leave."

She frowned and shook her head slightly. "I don't understand."

"Well, if you stay here and look after us, like you want, then all Steve and I have to do is work on his case -"

"Isn't that what you want to do?" she interrupted, starting to get a little frustrated.

"Of course it is," he replied a little more sharply than he intended, feeling his own frustration, then he exhaled loudly and smiled patiently. "Listen, Jeannie, all Steve's been thinking about for the past several days is what's happened to him since Nicole Sanderson forced herself into his life. His life has been destroyed - she's killed his girlfriend, she's gone after me and she framed him so tight we might never be able to prove his innocence." He sighed heavily.

Jeannie, her brow furrowed in worry, laid a hand on her father's forearm. "Do you really think that?"

He looked at her for a long second then shrugged slightly. "I really don't know, one way or the other… but I know I'm not going to give up… ever…"

She smiled sadly. "So, ah, so what's that got to do with me going back to school?"

"Well," he started with a soft snort, "if you stay home, and 'look after us' like you said, then the only thing Steve has to do is think about what he's going through and stew in his own juices, so to speak. And I don't think that'll be good for him… or for any of us." His eyes began to twinkle. "So if he has more to do than just sit around and wallow…" He shrugged slightly.

Her face lit up. "So if he has to look after you, and do all the cooking and laundry and all that…?"

Mike began to nod slowly, a soft confirming smile building.

She slipped her arm behind his back and carefully leaned against him. "You're a pretty smart guy, Mike Stone."

"Why thank you, Jeannie Stone," he chuckled lovingly. Wincing, but knowing she couldn't see, he slipped his arm out from between them and put it around her, pulling her closer. "He needs me, sweetheart… more than ever before. And I need him too." He felt her arm tighten and tried to tilt his head so he could rest his cheek on her hair but the pain was too much and he couldn't stifle the gasp that escaped his lips. She pulled back quickly and looked at him in alarm.

"I really think you should get into bed, don't you?"

His eyes closed, he nodded. "Yeah," he said in a clipped tone, "yeah, I think you're right." When he sensed that she wasn't moving, he opened his eyes. "I can get into my pajamas by myself."

She frowned. "You sure?"

He raised his eyebrows. "If I can't, I'll ask Steve to give me a hand, all right?"

She laughed. "All right. I'll wait in the hall. Let me know when you're done."

He watched her go with a sigh and a shake of his head.

# # # # #

Steve was sitting on the couch, staring into space, when she came down the stairs. She paused on the bottom step and watched him for a few seconds. Mike was right, she thought, he needed something to take his thoughts away from his troubles.

She bounced off the bottom step and into the room. He looked at her, straightening up slightly. "How is he?"

"Well, he's sore and cranky, but that's to be expected. I made him promise not to get out of bed unless he has to go to the bathroom." She glanced at her watch. "Listen, ah, I wasn't expecting Mike to be coming home this soon and we really don't have enough food for the three of us, so I'm going to go out and get some groceries. Can you keep an ear out in case he needs anything? I told him to knock on the bed table if he needs to get your attention 'cause he can't yell, which is a good thing, I guess…" She laughed. It was unexpected and it surprised him and he smiled.

"Uh, I'd love to go with you but…" He gestured vaguely in the direction of the front door.

She smiled sympathetically. "I know…" She continued towards the kitchen. "Don't worry about it, I'm used to doing a grocery run solo. I'm just going to make a list of everything we need."

He sat back on the sofa with a heavy sigh. His world had shrunk so much in the past few days, and the stark reality was it could shrink even more. He took a deep breath, his entire body shaking, his mouth going dry.

# # # # #

"How many more do we need?" he asked from the sink, the peeler in his hand and a large mixing bowl half-full of peeled potatoes on the counter beside him.

She glanced over from her place at the stove where she was deglazing the Dutch oven with beef broth. "That's enough. Good job! Now just cut them into smaller pieces."

"How small?" He put the peeler down, taking a knife out of the wooden block on the counter near the stove then wiping off the cutting board that was sitting nearby.

"Oh, about one inch square." Jeannie went back to work on the pot, keeping an eye on her assistant. She hadn't told him she was leaving yet, she was waiting for the right moment. She took a deep breath; now seemed to be as good a time as any. "So, ah, so how good are you at cooking meals?"

"Meals?" He sounded surprised and curious. "You mean like this, or macaroni and cheese, that kinda thing?"

"Well, I was thinking something in between, like steaks and baked potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, that kinda thing?"

"Not too bad… why?"

She hesitated for a beat. "Well, I'm gonna head back to school tomorrow." She heard what had become the rhythmic chopping of the potatoes stop suddenly.

"You're going back to school?"

"Yeah, I kinda have to," she tried to sound casual, knowing all his training would clue him in pretty quickly that she was not quite lying but manipulating the truth. "If I miss too many more days I could forfeit my semester, and if I forfeit my semester I would lose the year, and that it not a good thing."

"Does Mike know about this?"

"Well, it was kinda his idea…" When Steve didn't respond right away, and the sound of chopping didn't resume, she knew he was onto her.

"It was his idea," Steve repeated flatly.

"Uh, yeah…" She glanced over at him; he was standing perfectly still. "Um, are you almost done over there? I need the potatoes."

"Oh, uh, yeah, almost…" He started chopping again but his attention was elsewhere.

She was expecting him to say something more but he remained quiet so she just waited for him to finish then she picked up the bowl and added the potatoes to the roast, carrots and onions already in the Dutch oven.

He put the knife on the counter then started for the kitchen door. "I'll be right back," he said softly and disappeared into the living room. She heard him climbing the stairs to the second floor and she sighed.

The bedroom door was closed and he opened it slowly without knocking. The room was dark, the blackout curtains closed, but he could see Mike lying on his back. He stood motionless just inside the door, listening to the soft breaths coming from the queen-sized bed.

Mike had been put through so much at Nicole Sanderson's hands, and he had brought Nicole Sanderson into their lives. He would never forgive himself for that, he knew, but if there was something, anything, he could do to begin to make amends, he would do it without hesitation. He sighed quietly. He knew why Mike was sending his daughter away, and he was grateful… and a little apprehensive. Jeannie's presence always acted as a buffer in difficult times, and they didn't get more difficult than this.

He knew it was his guilt that he was afraid of but he was also well aware that if they were going to get through this then they had to do it together.

He listened to the comforting sound of his partner's rhythmic breathing for a long time before he eased the door open and slipped back out into the hallway.

# # # # #

It was just before 10 a.m. when there was a knock on the door and Jeannie got up from the sofa to open it. She had been sitting with Steve in the living room, waiting for either Healey or Haseejian to arrive to take her to the bus station.

They had spent the better part of the morning in Mike's bedroom. He had slept through the night, thankfully, and assured them he was feeling a lot better but promised his daughter that he would follow doctor's orders and remain in bed for the next few days. She'd made Steve swear that he would see that her father kept his promise, even making a pinky swear. It had been a welcome respite from the drama that had been their lives recently.

Kissing her father a worried goodbye, she had finished packing and joined Steve in a final cup of coffee as they waited. She used the time to good-naturedly give the young man some cooking tips.

Haseejian was standing on the stoop with a large, thick manila envelope in his hand. As Jeannie put on her coat, he stepped over the threshold and nodded at Steve, holding the envelope out. "This is for you."

Frowning, Steve got up and moved to the door, accepting the heavy bundle. "What is it?"

"Mike asked us yesterday to put together a package of everything we have so far," the sergeant shrugged. "So there's copies of every report, every lab result, every interview, even a cassette copy of that phony call she made about hearing a shot in the garage, it's all there. And we'll bring you new stuff as we get it."

Steve's frown got even deeper. "Ah, okay… thanks…. Does, ah, does Rudy know about this?"

Haseejian shrugged. "I have no idea. But it's not like you're not allowed, right?"

Jeannie had done up her coat and picked up her suitcase. She smiled at the sergeant then turned to Steve. "Take good care of each other, okay?" She raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

He blushed slightly, casting a quick embarrassed glance in Haseejian's direction. "We will. And you study hard, right?"

She rolled her eyes as she turned to the sergeant. "He sounds like my father. Come on, Norm, we better get out of here before he tells me to be a good girl." Laughing she stepped between the two detectives and out the door.

Steve watched till the car drove away then closed the door. He headed upstairs to the bedroom. Mike was dozing lightly but woke when he heard the door open. Steve held the envelope up as he entered the room. "Norm just dropped this off. He said you asked for it."

Blinking drowsily, Mike stared at him blankly for a couple of seconds. "Ah, yeah… yeah, I did." Then he smiled, his eyes lighting up. "Shall we get to work?"