AN: I just wanted to thank "Amanda England," for your kind words in your previous reviews. Your comments are flattering and I'm sure appreciated by all who have been able to share their stories here. I am finally settling into my new place and all the maintenance is completed (phew). RL remains hectic in other ways but writing is my passion so I will continue to try to find some spare moments to update my stories and time to read the many wonderful pieces published by others here.

To all my readers...THANK YOU for reading and those who were able to leave me some feedback, I am very grateful.

Chapter warnings: mild coarse language, adult themes and slight cliffie...

Tanith


Chapter 22

"Oh Whitney, I wasn't expecting you!" Jeannie beamed. She still had a bathrobe on and a towel around her head as she had expected Whitney to be at the office. "Morning, Steve," She added almost half-heartedly. After last night's episode, she wasn't sure if things were okay between them.

"Morning, Jeannie," Steve greeted with a small smile. Just like Jeannie, he too was uncertain with where they stood.

Whitney abandoned the mug of partially drunk coffee, stood up, retrieved the flowers from the sofa beside him and presented it to his fiancé. "Sorry, I wanted to surprise you before I went to work."

Jeannie kissed Whitney on the cheek. "These are beautiful! Let me put them in some water while you finish your coffee. I'm going to head out to the library."

"I'll give you a ride!" Whitney offered.

"Great! I'll just dry my hair and get dressed."

"Take your time," Whitney said, thoroughly enjoying the reaction he noticed Keller was trying to hide. It was clear that the cop was jealous. By the way he looked at Jeannie, Whitney could tell Steve had a thing for his girl but if Keller knew what was good for him, he would do well to keep his distance.

The next fifteen minutes or so was spent in awkward silences in between random topics of conversation that really went nowhere. Steve and Whitney couldn't have less things in common with the exception of their romantic feelings for the same woman. The longer the two young men stayed in the same room together the stronger the tension grew.

Just as Steve was about to bring up the touchy subject of the supposed attack on Wey, Jeannie reappeared dressed in a pretty blouse and bell bottom denims. She left her hair out to cascade around her shoulders. Steve noted that Jeannie had kept her makeup to a minimum which only made her more beautiful.

Whitney rose from where he sat and walked over to his fiancé. "Shall we?" he extended his arm and took Jeannie's hand in his. "Thanks for the coffee, Steven," Whitney threw over his shoulder. He shot the homicide Inspector a glare when he caught his eyes lingering on his fiancée.

"It's Steve," Keller corrected, shifting his gaze. Just as he thought his morning couldn't have gotten any worse, a wave of dizziness washed over him and his stomach churned. He quickly got up and tried to hurry past the couple but failed to make it to the kitchen sink.

Too absorbed by Whitney's presence, Jeannie was slow to react to the sudden movement that Steve made. Out of reflex she caught his arms to steady him, not realizing at first that it would have been better to let him stumble past.

Steve's two cups of coffee, which had been churning around in his otherwise empty stomach, expelled out of him and all over Jeannie's blouse.

"Oh, great!" Whitney huffed irritably.

Jeannie who had not caught her fiancée's comment was, on the other hand, more concerned over the state that Steve was in than the present condition of her clothing. "Oh, Steve! Come on, let's get you to the sink," Jeannie coaxed. She held her arms around Steve's shoulders and led him into the kitchen. "Whitney, can you please stay with Steve while I clean up?"

Rolling his eyes up toward the Heavens, Whitney grinded his teeth together to keep what he really wanted to say to himself. He followed his fiancé into the kitchen, taking care not to step on the pool of vomit on the floor.

Jeannie left Steve under Whitney's watch and cleaned the mess on the floor then hurried upstairs to get changed and to find a clean shirt for her ill friend.

"Way to go, Steve. You really know how to impress a girl, huh?" Whitney commented sarcastically.

Steve gripped the counter edge tightly. His head was still bowed over the sink, not because he was still feeling ill but to keep him from doing something that Mike would disapprove of. The agony from the damaged bones in his injured hand became unbearable and he was forced to finally step away and cradle it. When he looked up, Whitney held out a dish cloth with a smirk on his face. Steve snatched the towel and wiped his face then he rinsed the sink, trying to keep his flaring temper in check. He poured himself some water from a pitcher on the counter and took a couple of gulps.

"Tell you what? Why don't I give you a ride home on the way to the library? You're obviously not in any condition to drive yourself," Whitney suggested in mock concern. Of course the message behind the offer was clear: You don't belong here.

Steve looked up, feeling offended but not wanting to make it obvious. "Actually, that won't be necessary. I'm staying over for the next few days. Didn't Jeannie tell you?"

"Really? No, she didn't say a word. And Mike's okay with it?" Whitney questioned haughtily. "Interesting."

"What do you mean by that?" Steve rested his hands on his hips and locked eyes with Whitney.

"Well, he just strikes me as the prudy type, you know?"

Steve straightened up to full height and gave Whitney a glowering look. "No, I don't know, so why don't you explain it to me?"

"I just thought with his daughter staying over he would've set some ground rules."

"Ground rules? What are we, in kindergarten?" Steve scoffed and raised his eyebrows. He was starting to really dislike Whitney Holden's ways of expressing his opinions. Considering his partner was going to be this guy's father-in-law, he had expected Holden Junior to show more respect. "Look, I don't know what you're trying to say here and frankly I'm not…."

Whitney cut Steve short and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Oh you know damn well what I'm talking about Keller! I've seen the way you look at Jeannie! If I were her father..."

"Now hold on a minute! Let me get something straight here. What exactly do you mean by the way i look at her?" Steve interrupted. His opinion of Whitney had hit rock bottom as it was now crystal clear where the discussion was heading and he did not like it one bit. He stepped closer to Whitney until they were toe to toe. Whitney dropped his arm but remained rooted to the spot.

"Come on, you know exactly what I mean. You've been drooling over her since I first met you," Whitney continued in between clenched teeth. Green embers of jealousy blazed through his ocean blue eyes.

"Look, Holden, I don't know what your problem is but I'm warning you, if you really love Jeannie you better not go down that road!" Steve could not believe this was happening. Hadn't he always been mindful of the way he interacted with Jeannie especially after her engagement? He was certain he had never crossed the lines or behaved inappropriately. Did he have feelings for Jeannie? Yes, feelings he had been suppressing rather unsuccessfully but he was always careful not to let it show. Not so much for Whitney's sake but for Jeannie's.

"You're warning me? Well, I got news for you. I'm warning you to keep your filthy eyes and paws off my fiancé!"

While Whitney stood a good two inches taller than Steve, the latter was not intimidated in the slightest.

"You keep this up and the only person you're gonna hurt is Jeannie, so why don't you just cool it, alright?" Steve warned, trying to diffuse the situation before things got out of hand. Regardless of how Whitney had drawn to this conclusion, he knew he had to do everything in his power to make the guy believe he was wrong. The last thing he wanted was to ruin things for Jeannie even if it meant he wasn't going to make the cut for her happily ever after ending.

"Cool it?" Whitney's hands curled into fists at his side.

"Yeah, you heard me. Now, I'm not interested in your fiancee."

"You could've fooled me! Don't think I haven't seen the two of you alone together with your arms all over each other. As soon as I'm not around you come running into the picture. Real smooth, Keller. Real smooth."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Steve demanded heatedly. He honestly couldn't think of an occasion since the couple had started dating where he and Jeannie had their arms all over each other except at the hospital. And even if they had given each other an innocent hug, it was unlikely Whitney wasn't present. He and Jeannie were practically glued to the hip these days.

"Don't act like you don't know! You're full of shit, Steve!" Whitney raised his hands and gave Steve a hard shove then reached up and loosened his tie and collar.

Adrenaline pumped through Steve's veins but he fought to keep a level head. He drew a deep breath and said evenly, "Knock it off before we both end up doing something we'll regret."

"Oh yeah? What're gonna do? You're gonna put me down, Keller, huh? Is that it? Come on, let's see what you got?" Whitney goaded and gave Steve another hard shove.

Steve backed away, not wanting to engage for obvious reasons. One: He was a cop and was trained to diffuse these situations. Two: Whitney was Jeannie's fiancé, like it or not and three: this was Mike's house. "Come on, man, I said, cool it, alright?"

"So how old are you anyway, Keller? You been lusting after Jeannie since she was in high school? Does Mike know that his partner – someone I'm sure he trusted with his life – is a sick pervert? I wonder how he would feel when he finds out those dirty thoughts you have about his daughter…"

The moment the words left Whitney's lips, the first blow landed.