"You're still brooding about that body, aren't you?"
Steve's voice was full of concern by the time they headed back downtown, calling it a night for a few precious hours. The young Inspector's eyes were on the road ahead, yet, his mind was focused entirely on his partner.
"Yeah."
Sighing, Mike took another sip of the now cold coffee, hoping it would invigorate his tired senses to no avail. As the streetlights passed by, his mind couldn't stop reliving the images of their latest floater.
"I am just thinking that…no matter how this is going to pan out, Steve, whether our body was mutilated after his death or this is some twisted killer…there's somebody out there who cared for him. And that person will find out about his death during the holidays…of all times."
Next to him, Steve grunted, seemingly struggling to find the right words as they sped down Geary with hardly any other traffic in sight.
"Are you sure you are alright?", the young Inspector finally asked softly and glanced over at Mike, his bright green eyes filled with worry, before returning his attention back to the road, "I mean…this whole holiday thing…you're never this melancholy about any case. I know Jeanie not being here is somewhat difficult to deal with, so if you want me to hang around so that you're not alone, I can…"
Mike didn't wait for his partner to finish talking before grasping the nape of his neck and shaking him affectionately.
"I know you would, Buddyboy, I know you would."
Squeezing Steve's neck tightly one last time, before pulling his arm back again, Mike couldn't help but smile in appreciation of the loving gesture.
"We both need to get a few hours of rest, and I am certain you can sleep a lot better without me snoring in the bedroom next door …", Mike said grinningly and tapped his partner's shoulder, as they came up on VanNess, "Here, why don't I drop you off, I've got some more running to do. I'll pick you up at noon, what do you say?"
Steve frowned, obediently turning the Galaxy north on VanNess, but unable to shake off the growing concern.
"Mike, it's Christmas Day. What kind of errands are you going to run? No stores are open."
"I know that, Smarty."
Trying to keep his voice calm, Mike leaned back as he watched Steve turn onto Union Street, the headlights of the Galaxy running across a few more or less inebriated individuals jaywalking along the street ahead.
Both detectives fell silent as they continued on with their travel, crossing an equally deserted Columbus Avenue, before finally reaching the Union Street dead end, parked all the way up the hill with cars full of out of state plates.
"Looks like everybody has their family in town over the holidays…", Mike noted and pointed his chin at the cars on either end of Steve's silver Porsche, leaving barely three inches for the young Inspector to maneuver the car out of its tight parking spot.
"Yeah, see, I take your snoring over hearing the bass guitar play in the middle of the night two doors down…or my Turkish neighbor upstairs teaching his underage niece profanity all afternoon long. Sometimes I swear these walls are paper thin."
Lowering his eyes in defeat as he double-parked the Galaxy next to the Porsche, Steve paused before looking over at his partner once again, his expression still somber.
"You sure you're alright? I don't mind sleeping on your couch if it makes you feel a little less lonely over Christmas. It's not a big deal to me. I am serious."
Patting his partner's thigh reassuringly, Mike gave him his best fake smile, before nodding.
"I know you are. And I will be fine, don't you worry. Try to get some rest."
Steve clenched his strong jaws, not satisfied with the answer, but too tired to argue that early in the morning. Reaching forward, he grasped Mike's forearm tightly, before unlocking the door handle with the other hand.
"Merry Christmas, Michael."
The statement coming from the man who, no eight hours earlier called Christmas "a capitalistic man-made holiday causing nothing but heartache and misery and bringing people together who don't really want to be together", hit Mike harder than expected that morning.
Knowing that the young Inspector had wished him a merry Christmas because he understood that Christmas was a very personal and favorite holiday for him, made the loving gesture even more meaningful.
Covering Steve's cold hand with his own, he swallowed hard and blinked away the tears, trying to contain his emotions.
"Merry Christmas, Buddyboy. Get some sleep. You deserve it."
Steve cocked his head slightly; the exhaustion dulling his otherwise cued senses, much to Mike's relief.
Without another word, he got out of the driver's side door, making room for the Lieutenant to scoot over, and disappeared behind the stairwell leading up to his apartment.
A few seconds later, Mike was on his way to Woodland Cemetery, where he would spend a very long time kneeling on the dewy lawn next to a well-maintained headstone, weeping over the loss of his beloved wife.