"Look, Charlie," the Sheriff began. "I know the whole story. I was there, remember? It was the war. You were restless and couldn't be strapped down to a family when you returned. You left them. And then tragedy struck and you've never been able to deal with that. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you should have been there for your son, but you weren't. You failed him and really, it's too late for anything else. The time that he needed you is past."
"Yeah, I know." Charlie dropped his head in resignation. "I could never help it. Quite frankly, I would have never been the proper father for him. Every time I looked at him, I saw myself. I just wanted to destroy whatever good there was."
Now it was Riley and Mike's turn to stand in silence. A precious childhood wasted. What I would have done to have raised a son like Steve, Mike thought to himself. He glanced over to Riley whom he surmised was thinking the same.
"There's more to it, though, isn't there?" Mike asked.
"What do you mean?" Charlie looked at his son's partner.
"The war. The head injury. You need help," Mike began. "Steve told me."
"I'm surprised at that. I didn't think he knew."
"His grandfather told him. Your former father-in-law," Mike clarified.
"Look, I know what you're thinking. The VA could step in and give me assistance," Charlie continued. "They'd give me counseling or brain surgery or a good swift kick in the ass. But that's not for me. I'm not going to sit around a VA hospital the rest of my life and turn into some vegetable. I can't be tied down that way."
"It doesn't have to be that way. There are good men and women in those hospitals who want to make sure that the soldiers who served are made whole."
Charlie stood motionless. He wanted nothing more than to run, but knew that would not happen. It was time to meet his fate once and for all. He misread the expressions on Riley and Mike's faces, thinking they were still angry with him. The reality was he saw their pity. "Let's get it over with," he began. "Throw the book at me." Charlie clasped his hands in front of him.
"Why?" Mike said. "You took what you thought was your reward money and decided to take your son's car for a drive down to visit your family's graves. And then perhaps you thought you'd go visit your son in the hospital."
"Hospital?" Charlie asked. "I talked to him this morning while he was in the holding cell at Mono Lake and he was okay."
"Your goons caught up with him and tried to grab him again. He fought them off, but he ended up rebreaking the wrist from earlier. I took him to the hospital and they're pinning his bones together. He should be out of surgery by now."
Moisture glistened in Stakowski's eyes. The situation had gone too far. "I'm lucky he wasn't killed." He ran his hands through his hair and gave a slight twist to his neck. It was a move that Mike had seen several times before on his much younger partner. "I can't face him."
"Stakowski, look. You owe it to the kid to see him. At the very least, apologize. Talk to him. And if you need to get out of his life for his own safety, at least say good-bye," Riley coaxed.
Charlie turned to Mike. "Am I under arrest?"
"If you give me the money all of it and the keys to Steve's Porsche, I'll call off the APB and talk to my superiors. I can't promise anything, but my captain may feel that the case would be weak for your prosecution."
"So you're not doing this to protect Steve?"
"Steve's a professional. He would have accepted your arrest, but if the prosecution feels like I have a weak case, then I don't want to waste my time. Got me?"
"Yeah, I'd be a waste of your time," Stakowski said with a slight grin. "Look, you two guys have been great allies for Steve. Riley, you were here for him through his teens and now Stone, here, has him. I feel like he's in good hands. If you let me go, I'll be out of Steve's hair and yours. You could even do me the favor of helping me fund a one-way ticket down south."
"Fund? Oh, for heaven's sake," Mike began.
"What do you mean `down south'? Are you still thinking Brazil?" Riley asked.
"Yeah, I still think that's best. But this time, I'll do it with a clear conscience."
"How much does a bus ticket to Brazil cost?" Mike asked.
"A bus ticket? There's no bus that goes to Brazil from here. Plane fare would be around $1000 one way."
"A one way ticket to get Charlie Stakowski out of my town? Sounds like a bargain. Put me in for $500." Riley piped up.
Mike was surprised at Riley's offer, but figured there had to be a much deeper history between the two men than he knew about. He instead thought again of his partner. Could putting some distance between him and the train wreck he had as a father be a good idea? Mike didn't know the answer to that question, but knew that he had to at least try to get them to speak.
"I'll match it, but only if you come and see Steve before you go."
After speaking with Rudy and making off-duty arrangements to have Steve's car returned to San Francisco, Mike could now tell Stakowski that he would not be charged. With the $5000 safe at the Sheriff's office, Mike took Charlie to Modesto General Hospital to see his son.
Steve was settled in to the hospital room for the evening. The surgery to insert pins in his wrist went well enough, leaving the primary priority rehydration and rest. At the moment, he was tired and groggy, but not in any pain. Mike pushed the door open partway to assess his partner's mood.
"Hey, Buddy boy. Just wanted to see how you were doing."
Steve looked over to the door. "I'm okay," he said as he gave a quick and weary smile.
Thinking it was okay to proceed, Mike opened the door the rest of the way. "Good, I, uh, brought you a visitor."
Steve caught a glimpse of his father standing behind his partner and shot daggers at him. While Mike knew the reunion would not be easy, he did think it was for the best.
"Hi, Kiddo." Stakowski said as he walked tentatively passed Mike and near the bed.
Steve hated the nickname that Charlie had given him through the years. "Hey," he greeted with a flat voice and rolled eyes.
"I'll leave you two alone," Mike announced as he started to back out of the room.
"No," they both said in chorus.
"Please, Mike, don't go." Stakowski added: "I'm not going to stay long. After all, I have a flight to catch."
"Oh, leaving town so soon?" Steve asked sarcastically.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. I think it's for the best," Charlie conceded. "I'm going to Rio."
"How nice," Steve said bitterly. "Have a good life." A wall suddenly sprung around Steve as he turned his attention to the window in the room. Mike swallowed hard at the development and felt the urge to slink away.
Charlie took a deep breath and approached his son. With his hat in his hand, he bowed his head. "Steve, I just want to say that I'm sorry. For everything. For your mother and sister's accident, for not being there for you and for all that's happened in the last week. I've been a rotten father."
Steve said nothing. The silence was awkward. Charlie nodded his head, acknowledging that he would get nowhere with his son. He turned toward the door.
Mike glanced over to Stakowski and then back to Steve. The older man had made an attempt and he definitely wished his young partner would at least say something.
Mike must have willed the sentiment to Steve who responded, "Okay. I don't know what else to say. You're sorry. That makes up for, what's it been, 23 years of neglect?" Steve's tone was sharp. "I guess we're even now."
"I can never make up for it and you know that. I have no right to ask, but I want you to forgive me. If you can find it in your heart, of course."
"Forgiveness? You nearly got me killed, and now I've lost everything because of you. I trained for years to be a detective and because of all of your bull shit, my future is gone. Thanks a lot."
Mike frowned at the exchange. How did he get the idea he had lost his job? "Steve," Mike began.
Charlie interrupted. "I know, son. I'm sorry."
Ah, that's how, Mike thought to himself.
"Don't `son' me. Just go. Go to Rio and enjoy the rest of your life. Just as long as you stay the f-"
"Steve, I know you're angry," Mike began before Steve could finish the word.
"Oh, don't you start with me," Steve turned against his partner. "I thought you'd be on my side. But after all that I've been through and you parade this man in front of me?" Steve was furious and then mumbled to himself, "Maybe I can come back here and work at the Sheriff's office. Riley's always been a decent guy."
"Now look, Buddy boy..." Mike hadn't expected Steve to turn on him, but now realized that his young partner was more than fearful about losing his job and the life he had planned for himself.
"Buddy boy!? The name is Steve. Not that it matters now." Steve quickly saw the hurt look in Mike's eyes. He didn't mean to strike out at the man who had been such a good friend and mentor over the past year. Steve took a deep breath and looked down. "Look, I appreciate you going down to Mono Lake to pull my sorry ass out of jail," he began.
"Now that wasn't your fault and you know it," Mike countered.
Steve continued, "And I know that you have done everything you could for me even before all of this happened. I couldn't have asked for more in a partner. I just know that I'm a disappointment in the eyes of the department, to Rudy and to you. I'm sorry this all happened."
"You've done nothing wrong, Steve," Mike answered.
"That doesn't matter. I'm a high risk now, thanks to Charlie or Clark or whatever your alias is."
"If you'd let me get a word in edgewise...where'd you get that idea? I'm taking your father to the airport and then tomorrow morning, I'm coming back here for you. The doc said you'll need a few weeks to heal that arm, but I figure I can put you on desk duty until then."
"You mean, I can come back?" Steve shot a glare toward his father who simply shrugged his shoulders.
"You don't think I'd go through all of this just to let you go," Mike assessed Steve's reaction. It was one of great relief. The young man swallowed back a lump in his throat.
"You're sure?" The stress and tension Steve had felt quickly dissipated.
"Of course," Mike replied.
After a few seconds, Charlie spoke. "Well, this went okay. Perhaps I should take off while the going is good. Maybe, just maybe, I'll send you a post card from time to time. Would that be okay?" Charlie figured he'd take advantage of his son's anger reprieve.
Steve squinted back at the man, shook his head and rolled his eyes again. "You're really something, you know. Well I guess you do have my address, but please don't tell anyone about me. Especially any thugs you might run into. I don't ever want to go through this again."
"You got it. Mike, I'll meet you at the car." Stakowski nodded at his son and headed to the door. "Take care."
Steve was silent as he watched his father leave the room. He redirected his look to Mike.
Mike studied Steve for a quick second. "You're okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." He smiled thoughtfully, "'I survived Charlie Stakowski and all I got was this lousy broken wrist.' Someone should put that on a t-shirt."
Mike chuckled. "Well, I'm going to take your father to the airport."
"He's no longer in trouble, then?"
"No, I think we have everything squared away," Mike said as he shook his head.
"I don't want to know, do I?"
Mike chuckled. "No. There's no point. But I did get to meet your first mentor, Riley. He's a good man."
"He knew my mother. He was good to me after she died. I've been very lucky to have several people in my corner as I grew up."
"I didn't know." He reached down and squeezed the young man's arm. "You take care, Steve" he said as he turned and walked away.
"Mike?" the young man called out.
"What is it?" Mike asked as he turned around. He tried to read the expression in his partner's face.
"It's okay, you know. I'm sorry."
"What's all this about now?" Mike asked.
"You can still call me that, you know, `Buddy boy'. I don't mind. I was just angry."
"You just be ready when I come back to get you." Mike grinned, and then added, "Buddy boy."
"I will be," Steve said as he watched Mike leave the room.
And for the first time in days, Steve could truly relax. He was free from the casino goons, free from the emotional baggage his father carried and at some point the next day, would be free to return to his home and life in San Francisco.