There was something profoundly calming about Mike's house that always put his senses at ease. Steve wasn't sure if it was the matching furniture surrounded by shelves full of books and personal memorabilia; or the fact that he kept it significantly warmer than his apartment. And maybe, just maybe, it was the man himself turning an otherwise ordinary house into a sanctuary of peace and relaxation.
He'd hung up his beige overcoat before stripping out of his black dresscoat and tie, hanging both neatly over the back of one of the dining room chairs. Unbuttoning his dark blue shirt midway down, he'd slid into the comfortable two-seater couch, resting his stiff neck against the back and closed his eyes to fight off the ever-growing headache.
Mike had excused himself for a quick change of clothes and Steve could hear that he was multitasking from beneath the bedroom door, calling up Ed at the same time.
Over in the kitchen, the percolator he'd started earlier was eagerly brewing away, slowly but surely lulling Steve to sleep.
Quite a while later, a gentle hand nudging his shoulder brought him back to his senses. The distinctive smell of warm pizza and a freshly opened bottle of beer nearby signaled that he'd been asleep a lot longer than expected. Opening his bleary eyes back up, he found himself face to face with his partner and best friend, who sported a mile-wide grin.
"At that rate, I am glad I kept you here. I'd hate for you to fall asleep halfway home."
Steve returned the smile, then stretched his sore shoulders before pointing outside.
"Must have been all that fresh mountain air, eh?…What did Ed say?"
Watching his partner sit down on the recliner across from him and taking a sip of beer, Steve reached for his own bottle, mimicking the gesture.
"The eh…the toxicology results came back on Lew. He said he found traces of dia…oh, what the heck is that called again…diazepam in his system. It's a…"
"…a sedative…", Steve added, enjoying the taste of cold beer after a long day.
"Yes, that's right. He said at that concentration, he was out like a light. It's used quite often, we might have a hard time narrowing down our surgeon based on that. But at least it's another piece of the puzzle. I told him about the blood sample we left in the office when we came back; he will have his guys look at it right away. Oh, and before I called the pizza guys, I called Tanner back to see if he was able to get a hold of Lew's girlfriend after he cross-checked her. That was a dead end. Turns out he was kidnapped before they could meet. She thought he'd stood her up."
Looking at his partner's bright blue eyes in both, awe and deep admiration for his indominable willpower to work this case until he was living and breathing it every second of the day, Steve grinned, before shaking his head.
"What time is it? How long was I out?"
"Oh, only about an hour.", Mike answered facetiously, and took another sip of beer, "It allowed me to get quite a bit done in the meantime. But now that you mention it, I am getting pretty hungry. How about we eat some dinner?"