"Look guys, there's the dreaded and feared angler!"

Hassejian's loud announcement caused every detective in the bullpen to turn toward the glass-walled vestibule, as Mike slowly entered the office, his black overcoat draped over his arm, a haughty smile on his face as he symbolically bowed before his audience.

Below the rim of the gray fedora, Steve watched his keen eyes covertly scan every desk in the bullpen; acting like an overzealous mother hen, as he ensured that each and every one of his men were safely accounted for.

When his eyes settled on his partner, his smile widened noticeably and he proceeded to cross the rows of desks before heading into his office, sighing quietly at the stack of legal paperwork and case files awaiting him after only two days off.

As he continued to dig through the preliminary coroner's report Bernie had dropped off at 6am sharp, Steve couldn't hide a certain sense of relief at the sight of his best friend. Moving a bit slower than usual, the Lieutenant hung up his coat and fedora, before grabbing a cup of coffee, two sugar cubes and what seemed to be an extra helping of cream, before returning to the confines of his desk.

Smiling to himself, he gave Mike several minutes to get caught up, one eye on the report ahead, the other one on his partner, as the Lieutenant scanned through all his paperwork and missed calls, before finally leaning back in his chair.

Understanding the wordless gesture, Steve got up from his desk, grabbed his cup of coffee and strolled toward Mike's office with a broad grin on his face.

"So, how's the feared fisherman of the north doing today? Did you show the trout who's boss? Did you bestow the strong arm of justice upon them? Did you fill your limit in an hour? Is your freezer full with delicious creek-fed goodness?"

Returning the cheery smile, Mike shook his head in obvious amusement, his hands clasped in his lap.

"How long did it take you to practice all those lines, Buddyboy?"

Putting his coffee cup on the corner of Mike's desk and arching his sore back for several long seconds, Steve yawned.

"Had all night to do so."

"I heard you two were busy."

"Lieutenant, Lieutenant! I knew it!", Steve teased and grinned cheekily, "I knew you would come back a day early to check on things!"

Giving him his best innocent expression, Mike put a hand over his heart.

"Such… baseless accusations, Inspector! Why would I be worried leaving the homicide department in the capable hands of both, my oldest and my youngest detective? Nah…there was never a doubt in my mind."

Steve took a sip of coffee before leaning against the nearby file cabinet and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"So, what do you think about the 11th Avenue murder? It has me confused."

Pursing his lips deep in thought, Mike shrugged for a second, his bright blue eyes staring straight ahead.

"My gut says kidnapping or domestic violence. She was severely beaten, possibly ran away and her killer caught up with her. Did you get the full report from Bernie yet?"

"No. Everything is still hung up at the lab. But he called me around 2AM this morning to fill me in on what he had found, which is interesting. So far, we know she was severely beaten. He ended up finding fist marks on both sides of her body; they'd been hidden by the trauma caused by the hit and run on her right. Yes, on the fact that she had intercourse recently, Bernie found traces of semen. I think Scott's crew has been looking for her missing thumb all over but can't find it. There's a chance it may still be stuck under our getaway vehicle."

"Rapists usually don't like to work without protection…", Mike said deep in thought and frowned, "It could also be that our guy kept her thumb as a sort of…souvenir. We might be dealing with a psychotic serial killer in the making. Get with Bernie to find out if the thumb came off before or after she was hit by the car, and also whether it was ripped off or cut off. Did you send her prints down to Missing Persons? Anything yet on her ID?"

"Nothing. They're still bogged down from the holiday. Karen assured me I'd get some answers around noon."

When he noticed his partner's subjugated tone of voice, Mike took a sip of coffee, his eyes scanning the younger man for many long moments.

"You're still sore about that episode with the gapers, aren't you?"

"Now, how did you…?"

Steve couldn't stay mad at the sight of his partner's understanding smile. Instead, he ran a hand through his sandy hair before shaking his head in frustration.

"Just forget about it. It's not worth it."

"If it got you heated up like that, it's worth something, don't you think, Buddyboy?"

Mike's candid comment made him look up insecurely. By now, he was fairly certain that his security leak had been Scott Sorrensen. And while he knew he had nothing to worry about when it came to the personable Sergeant who thought highly of the two homicide detectives; deep inside, Steve had hoped that the embarrassing incident would have gotten swept under the rug.

"Well, what would you have done?", Steve asked in return and nervously ran a hand over his light gray tie, "You've got a busload of people encroaching in on your murder scene like it's…it's some free giveaway event. There were kids even. Laughing, of all things!"

Drawing in a deep breath when the elevated pitch in his voice caused his partner to frown, Steve scratched his two-day stubble, before continuing.

"I get it. We always have gapers. But lately it seems to be getting worse. These kids yesterday…they learned that it's ok to point at a dead body and make fun. That's…that's beyond revolting. Where is society headed? Since when are we becoming complacent, or better yet immune, to human suffering? To death in general?"

"See, now you're starting to sound like my eighty-year old neighbor. He's been forecasting the end of the world and society as we know it for the past two decades.", Mike tried soothingly and got up from his chair, reaching for both, his and Steve's coffee cup to head for a refill.

When he returned, he leaned against his desk, positioning himself in front of his partner.

"Yes, people are becoming more careless. And it's frustrating that you can't do anything to change their mind, not one solitary thing. But put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Think about how little exposure to death there is these days. Most people have never seen a dead body in their lives, unless they've been to war. The way our media is reporting murders has created a comfortable barrier between what we see on TV, and reality, as if they weren't the same thing. People have lost the ability to understand that they are looking at the remains of a human being and not some exciting drama-filled news coverage. Now you throw in an innocent young girl getting beat up and ran down by some faceless killer, and that's downright exhilarating!"

"So you're saying it's ok to disrupt police work to stare at dead bodies? Because…they don't know any better?"

His comment made Mike shake his head vehemently and the Lieutenant reached forward to firmly grasp his elbow.

"No, I am not saying it's okay. I am saying that you fretting over this isn't going to change anything. The only way to change human behavior like that is to lead by example. Give these kids you're all hot about a positive role model to look up to. Change what they perceive as normal and appropriate. Show them a different way of thinking. Keep doing what you are doing without getting into an argument with some…some poorly educated street advocate, when your focus should be on solving a murder case."

When he nodded obediently, Steve felt Mike's hand on his elbow loosen, before he reached up to squeeze his shoulder amicably.

"Come on, let's get out of here for a couple of hours. I want to show you something."

Raising his eyebrows in confusion, Steve glanced back up, only to meet Mike's wily smile.

"W…What do you mean? Don't we have a murder case to solver?"

"We do. And just like you said, we're waiting on the holiday backup to clear. No sense sitting here and staring at all my missed calls when we can catch up over some breakfast. There's a new place in Presidio Heights, my neighbor's grandson just opened it last month. We should check it out. And when we're done, I want to take another look at that murder scene. Ask some questions. See if those neighbors there are as attentive as they claim to be."