The doctor's appointment resulted in a hospital visit for a mammogram. It was the first time the twenty-five-year old woman had the test and she was worried. The process was something so relatively new that it wasn't around when her mother was ill. While she knew some women who had gone through the test, none of her close friends had.
Mike accompanied her for the screening and vowed he would be with her every step of the way no matter what the outcome. It was not something he looked forward to, but it was something he knew she and her mother would have wanted.
After the test, Jeannie was sent home to await the results.
Word came two days later via a call to her home in the middle of the afternoon. Upon hearing the nurse advise that she would need to be admitted to the hospital for a biopsy, she softly thanked the caller and hung up the phone. She took a deep breath before taking her next step. After gaining her composure and steady voice, she placed a call to her father who was was in his office working on recent homicide files.
Mike answered the phone, giving a quick glance up to Dan, who had just then walked in to discuss their current case.
"Oh, hello, Sweetheart. How is your day going?" Mike smiled as he spoke. His cheerful voice compensated the anxiety that threatened to flood back. When he learned that Jeannie had further news on her situation, he waved the younger detective out of his office.
Dan shut the door and took his spot at his desk. Pretending to focus on paperwork, he instead looked thoughtfully back at his boss's office and pondered what Mike was discussing with Jeannie. Mike's mood had been so miserable lately that Dan had recently confronted him. It was then that Mike confided what was happening with his daughter. Seeing the smile quickly fade to a look of deep concern, Dan feared the worst.
Minutes later, Mike walked out of his office and whispered to Dan, "She's going into the hospital tonight to have a biopsy done in the morning. I'm going to wrap up here and I'll see you in a couple of days." Dan nodded as his partner walked back in to his office and shut the door.
For the remainder of the day, Dan worked with the other detectives on the squad's caseload but was also consumed with worry about his partner whose only living family was his daughter. Should anything happen to Jeannie, Mike's world would be over - no doubt only an empty shell would remain.
Wanting to help as best he could, Dan's thoughts turned to Steve. While Dan had forged a solid friendship with Mike, the pairing was not as close as Mike and Steve's. Steve was special to Mike, and Dan had always assumed the feeling was mutual. Shortly after Steve left the force, Mike talked non-stop about his former protege': 'Steve did it this way; Steve thought things worked best that way.' Dan felt that everything he did was in comparison to his predecessor, which made him feel discouraged.
That ended mercifully when Mike realized the strain he had placed on Dan. Mike wanted nothing more than success for the new partnership and abruptly made an effort to place his focus on the present.
Still, Steve had been such a huge part of Mike's life - as well as of the department's - that Dan would occasionally inquire about Steve. That action sent a positive signal to Mike, which only enforced their budding friendship. Soon, the trio began meeting for a drink or dinner after work occasionally. Dan picked up on Steve's character at these engagements and soon learned to trust the young man. He eventually sought Steve out for on-the-job advice about how to handle the caseload as well as handling his new partner. The advice was priceless and the two young men began establishing a solid friendship. That was until Steve began giving excuses for no longer meeting.
Dan wondered what was happening. Mike explained what he thought was surrounding the turn of events that lead to Steve's withdrawal from his friends. Dan knew that Steve was still dealing with quite a bit of physical pain and emotional trauma.
But now, if Steve still cared about his former partner's daughter, would he be able to set that all aside? This seemed to be the time for Dan to confront Steve, whether the professor liked it or not. He should know about Jeannie's condition and Mike's anguish.
Dan resolved to pay a visit to his absentee friend that evening.