With three minutes left on his shift, Esposito could barely contain himself; it was like being a kid again, desperately waiting for the home-bell to ring on a Friday afternoon. As soon as he saw the clock hit six-oh-one he powered off his computer, closed his last file of the day, checked for Meredeth who should have been coming up on the elevator any minute now.

His giddiness did not go unnoticed by his partner, who was still at his desk squeezing the neon-green stress-egg in his left hand while twirling his pen in the other as he tried to concentrate on his final notes of the day.

'Why are you so sparky, bro? Meredeth offer to cook naked or something?'

'Or something.' Esposito shook his head, reached in his inside jacket pocket. 'Check those out.'

Ryan sat up, looked at the tickets. 'Rangers-Blackhawks game?'

'Yeah. I've been wanting to take her to a game, and I finally lined up the tickets for tonight, which also happens to be our five months.'

'You're taking your girlfriend to see a hockey game for your anniversary?' Ryan could only shake her head. 'Whatever happened to jewelery or chocolate or something from La Perla?'

Before Esposito could respond, he saw his lady step off the elevator in jeans and her black-felt pea coat. His heart gave a little bump when she flashed him that smile of hers that melted him like butter. 'Hello Detective, and Detective,' she said, giving Ryan a little salute. 'How's the mama-to-be?'

'Good, she's right on schedule. She really liked that party you had for her last week, too.'

'I'm glad, she seemed like she needed a booster. So,' Meredeth turned to Esposito, 'what is this big surprise you wanted me to meet you down here for?'

'Because I got us these. Happy five months.' The words were barely out of his mouth before he had his arms full of bubbling, ecstatic Meredeth who was literally bouncing up and down.

'Oh, Javi, this is perfect! We haven't gone to a game yet! And look at you, Mister Red Zone, right between the the guest bench and goaltender!' She planted a smacking kiss on his lips, looked at the clock on the wall behind him. 'Come on, we have to move it! Puck drops at seven-thirty! Let's go!'

'Alright, I'ma going! See you tomorrow, bro.'

Ryan could only shake his head in amusement as Esposito put his coat on and was all but goose-stepped out of the bullpen by the enthusiastic Dane. He knew his woman, that was for damn sure.

The ringing phone awoke Meredeth out of sleep with a groggy frustration. She groaned when she saw the bedside clock read four minutes past two in the morning, as she felt Esposito twist away to pick up the phone. 'Can't you set that thing to vibrate on your nights off?'

'It's the house line.'

Meredeth rolled her eyes as she buried her face in her pillow. The game at the Garden had been a can't-miss of the season - a high-strung game of fist-fights and overtime goals with the Blackhawks emerging victorious in the second period of sudden death. For part of their anniversary dinner, he'd bought her beer and a cookie shaped like the Garden logo; they'd even gotten onto the kiss-cam, then came back to Chelsea for pizza and love-making. They'd barely been asleep for two hours when the intrusion had jolted them both awake. She was nearly back asleep when she heard Esposito's voice immediately clear of sleep. 'Lili? What is it? What's wrong?'

A sickness came into Meredeth's gut as her eyes flew open. 'Lili?'

'Lili, I can't understand you. What about Cam?' When his sister's voice came out as a garbled stream of words, he sighed. 'Okay, calm down, I'll be there as soon as I can.'

He climbed out of bed, grabbed his jeans from where he'd slung them over the foot of the bed. 'Something's up with Cameron.'

Meredeth tossed back the covers, and grabbed her own jeans from her side of the closet. 'I'll get the coffee.'

Esposito felt a microbe of relief as Meredeth dressed and left the room. Of course she would come with him for this, and it shamed him that he'd nearly told her to stay in bed. She loved Lili like a sister and more, Meredeth had unfortunately experienced the worst case scenario a person with a family member in the military could live through. If anyone was capable of decipher his motor-mouth sister in distress, it was her.

Twenty minutes later, they were in the West Village and knocking on Lili's apartment door. They waited three seconds before it was answered by a red-eyed Lili, honking into a Kleenex like a foghorn.

'Lili, what's going on.'

'Cam...he...' Lili broke down into sobs and launched herself at her brother. Her damp eyes left little wet spots on the front of his sweater.

'Come on, Lili,' Meredeth said in a soothing voice, unlatching Lili's arms from around Esposito and taking the tiny Latina into her own. 'Javi, why don't you turn on the kettle.

Esposito nodded as Meredeth walked Lili over to the tiny couch in her equally tiny living room. Once the kettle was on the stove, he found the stash of Sauza Gold he knew sister would have in her freezer and three glasses; he brought them over to the two women and sat on the chair opposite them. Lili knocked hers back with a desperate flare while Meredeth left hers untouched.

'Okay, Lili, what's going on?'

Lili's chin wobbled and for a moment, he thought she would break into a fresh round of sobbing. Instead, the words burst out of her like an explosion.

'He's coming home!' she wailed before collapsing into Meredeth's arms.

Esposito blinked slowly. 'What?'

'Cam's coming home?' Meredeth repeated, as Lili nodded. 'But that's good, right?'

'Uh-huh. But...but...'

'It's not permanent?'

Lili nodded, reached for more tissues as she tried to get her sobs under control. 'It is. He was shot.'

'Oh, Lili.' Esposito reached forward, gripped his sister's hand tightly. 'Hermana, I am so sorry.'

'He was on patrol with his unit, and they ran into a sniper's nest. Eight of them were hit, two dropped dead right there, and Cam and another guy were taken back to the field hospital. The attending was a friend of Cam's from back here and he called me a few hours ago.'

'So he's okay?'

'For now.' Lili let out a great shuddering sigh, blew her nose as her heart raced in panicked double time. 'Oh, God. What if something happens to him while he's-'

'Honey, honey.' Meredeth put a hand on Lili's arm as she heard the rising alarm in her voice. 'You can't let it take over, or it will drive you crazy. You won't eat, you certainly won't sleep. Believe me, I know.'

'All due respect, living with a cop and being married to a soldier aren't the same thing.'

'No, but my mom was in the air force nursing corps. She died in the first Gulf War.'

'Oh Mere, I'm sorry, I didn't know.'

'It's okay.' Meredeth pulled her in for another tight hug, gently stroked her hair as Lili laid her head on Meredeth's shoulder. 'Everything will be fine. Javi, the tea?'

Esposito nodded, not at all uncomfortable that Meredeth had taken the reins with his sister. He stood up to attend to the kettle while Meredeth cradled Lili gently as a newborn in her arms, used the same nurturing voice she used on him when he'd had a bad day on the job. He brought back three mugs with strong green tea he knew Lili liked. It wasn't black coffee but it would do; as he drank he watched Meredeth's face, so serene and strong as Lili sobbed her troubled heart out. For such an expressive face, he found it most beautiful when she barely did anything more than breathe, like right now. Her hands were soft-skinned but her grip was firm as iron and he knew Lili would find comfort there, like he did when things didn't come to a nice neat close for the NYPD's latest victim. For a brief moment, Esposito had a flash of Meredeth fifteen years in the future, comforting their daughter after her first broken heart and felt a fresh surge of love for his Meredeth, his Danish angel.

'Javi? The sugar?' she asked him expectantly.

'Hm? Oh yeah, yeah.' He disappeared into the kitchen, brought it back. 'So when is he going to be home, Lili?'

'Next week. He's going from the U.S. field hospital to Rome, then back to the base in Rochester.'

'I'll make sure I'm there. Have you told Mami and Papa yet? Do Cam's parents know?'

'No, I haven't called them yet. I wanted you both here first. I'll call them in the morning, I just needed some time to...to absorb it myself.' Lili stirred three spoons of sugar into her tea. 'I'm sorry I woke you, I-'

'No, don't apologize, Lili, I'd have called you if something happened to Javi.' The thought gave her a nasty bump, but it went away when Lili smiled.

'I'd hope so, though I pray that day never comes.'

Esposito shifted, glanced at his watch. It was almost three, and he was on the roll at seven that morning. 'Lil, not that I'm not here for you, but I have to be at work in less than four hours-'

'Oh I know, I know, the world keeps turning outside of my personal crisis. I understand if you need to go.'

'Javi, can I talk to you a moment?' Meredeth went into the kitchen to refill her tea cup with hot water. 'I'm going to stay here with Lili for the night, okay?'

'Are you sure?'

'Just trust me. She's going to need a friend.'

Esposito kissed her, gave her a quick hug. 'Thank you Mere. You've got your keys?'

'Yeah, they're in my bag.'

'Okay. I'll text you once I'm at the precinct, okay?' He kissed her again. 'Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Meredeth closed the door behind him; when she turned around, she saw Lili was smiling a little smile through her tears. 'What?'

'The way you two look at each other, it's so sweet. Never thought I'd see the day when my big bro would be so stuck on a girl.' Lili tucked her feet up under her butt, swiped at her eyes with her tissues. 'I know today is your five months, I hope I didn't interrupt anything tonight?'

'Just sleep. And if you had, you wouldn't have been the first one,' Meredeth said, telling Lili the story of poor Ryan and his inability to take a hint when Esposito was turning him down because Meredeth was there. As she'd hoped, Lili cracked up, distracted from the reason Meredeth had come there in the first place.

'Oh poor guy! I bet he was red in the face the entire day!' Lili giggle before turning sober, thinking of something Meredeth had said before. 'Oh and by the way, I'm really sorry about your mom.'

'It's okay. I'd just assumed your brother mentioned it to you.'

'No, he only said that you'd lost your mom when you were little.' Lili picked up the tequila Esposito had poured and left untouched, swirled it in the glass while Meredeth took a seat beside her on the couch. 'But I don't want to be maudlin right now. Cam's coming home and that's what's important, right?'

'Exactly. Tell me about him, I don't know that much except what I heard at Christmas.'

'We met in the ER.'

'Shut up, you did not!'

Lili giggled again, relief coming in more and more now. 'No, it's true. I sliced my hand with a letter opener at work and while he stitched me up, he flirted like a hound. After I was discharged, he walked me out of the building since he was off shift and asked me out for a drink. That was almost four years ago, and we're celebrating our one-year anniversary on April fourteenth.'

'Javi and I have our six-months on April fourth.'

'Six months? Wow.' Lili bumped her glass against the side of Meredeth's, which she'd picked up. 'Cheers to that, man. I guess time flies when you're in love.'

'It really does.'

R&R&Enjoy!