AN: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed so far. I will respond to individual reviews via PM over the weekend :-D As for my guest reviewers whom I am unable to send a PM:

"Guest" - yes, Jeannie does need to wake up and see who is really the one for her. Thank you for your feedback.

"Amanda England" - Us writers would certainly miss you if you are unable to visit the site. Have you ever thought to become a member so you can subscribe to receive alerts? Although, I have to admit that function is not always successful. Thank you so much for your heartfelt comments. They brought happy tears to my eyes. I was touched by your sincerity. You are quite right. I will hold on to those memories. I am sorry for your losses too.

There are more surprises to follow...hang on to your seats...here is part of what you have been waiting for!

Tanith


Chapter 32

Having had a disrupted morning, Mike's workload was reaching a stressful level. With Steve out of commission and a staffing shortage, Rudy was still hunting for a temporary partner to help the Lieutenant. Now sitting in his office, a mug of coffee at his reach and his glasses resting over the bridge of his nose, Mike studied the files and photographs spread across his desk. A knock on the door barely broke through his concentration. "Come in!" he called out, without even looking up to see who it was.

"Please tell me you're not going to be burning both ends of the candle," Irene said by way of a greeting as she stepped into the office and scanned the desk, before her eyes took in Mike's loosened tie and the extra creases on his forehead.

Mike looked up and gave the Inspector a weary smile. He removed his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes. "Rudy's not having much luck finding me a replacement for Steve while he's recovering," the Lieutenant sighed. He gestured for Irene to take a seat. "Did you drive Jeannie home after she checked in on Whitney or shall I pick her up after work? I've been trying to call her but she hasn't been answering. I thought maybe she stayed a while longer."

"So she hasn't called you?" Irene asked carefully.

"No," Mike shook his head, a little perplexed.

Just as Irene was about to break the news about his daughter's arrangements, the phone rang.

Mike picked up then mouthed, "Jeannie."

Irene nodded and sat back uncomfortably in her seat. She saw Mike's expression change from one of happiness to hear his daughter's voice, to confusion then disappointment. "Sweetheart, yes, I know you're an adult but I really wish you thought about this first. Look, why don't I swing by after work and pick you up? I'll be home late anyway so you'll get to spend all the time you want..." Mike stopped abruptly when Jeannie interrupted. He rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. "Because I'm your father and I care about you! Jeannie?"

Irene flinched when she heard a distinct click on the other end of the line.

Mike fought to control his anger and hung up the phone with a little more force than was necessary. "She hung up on me! I don't believe it!"

"Mike..." Irene began but a glare from Mike and the sight of his accusatory finger pointed right at her stopped her in her tracks.

"How could you let her do this?"

"Excuse me? I didn't let her do anything!" Irene defended.

"Well you sure as hell didn't try very hard to talk her out of it!" Mike fumed.

"Do you think for one moment that Jeannie is not going to find her own way to get to Whitney's if I had driven her home? She's an adult, Michael! She's capable of making her own decisions." Irene crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Yes, but obviously not the right ones! Just like this engagement. The more I think about it, the more I disagree with it!" Mike pushed his chair back and got up.

"Why? What do you have against Whitney?" Irene asked in a curious tone, trying to diffuse Mike's anger by inviting him to open up to her.

"Oh I can think of several good reasons but I'm more concerned that Jeannie is marrying him for the wrong ones."

"And if it were Steve?"

"Irene, I'm still having a hard time digesting my daughter is..." Mike started waving his hands wordlessly.

"Growing up?" Irene finished, half teasing Mike.

"Engaged! In any case, Steve is not in the equation!" Mike huffed, and perched himself on the edge of his desk.

"Speaking of Steve, have you heard back from him yet?" Irene asked, subtly changing the subject. In truth, she was genuinely concerned over the young man and hoped his injuries weren't serious.

"Not yet." Mike sighed heavily. "You know, I still can't work out who was behind his attack."

"I've put the word out on the streets and haven't heard a peep either. The same goes for whoever worked Whitney over," Irene added. She noted that Mike's posture had suddenly changed. He had straightened up giving her his undivided attention.

"What did you say?" Mike asked.

"I haven't heard anything from my informants or the boys on the beat."

"No, no, after that. About Whitney. You said he was worked over?"

"Jeannie never mentioned it to you?" Irene carefully positioned her question. She didn't want to make it appear as if Jeannie had deliberately not told her father. She was certain there was a reasonable explanation which most probably had to do with the slight, yet, present strain in their relationship.

"Jeannie and I haven't exactly been doing a great deal of talking lately." Mike stopped to clear his throat before adding, "But I would've thought she'd still be able to come to me about these things. It's not that I don't appreciate you being there for Jeannie, but I wish she would talk to me. I'm her father and like it or not, it comes with the territory that I worry about her!"

"Oh, Mike, I know that and I also know that she feels awful about you two not being on great speaking terms." Irene stepped forward and placed a hand on Mike's arm then allowed it to slide down to hold his hand in a reassuring manner. "I don't think she had meant to tell me about what had happened to Whitney. It just kind of slipped out. I'm not saying she was trying to hide what happened from us but I think Whitney was more inclined to let it go."

"Let it go? But why would he..." Mike drew a deep breath to reign in further venting when a thought occurred to him. "You know, I hate to say it but it's oddly coincidental with what happened to Steve."

"You think the two attacks could be related or that Whitney was responsible for roughing up Steve?" Irene questioned, although admittedly she had already suspected the same theory when Steve had confided in her over what Whitney had said to him.

Mike studied Irene's face and could see she had already drawn to the same conclusion. "Alright, out with it. What do you know that I don't?"

Irene went ahead and shared what Steve had told her that Whitney had accused him of. While a part of her felt a measure of guilt for betraying Steve's confidence, if Whitney was responsible for putting him in hospital then he needed to answer for his actions.

"It does make sense. Steve did say he got in a couple of good hits but I don't get why he didn't just come right out and tell me what went on this morning? Did he think that I would believe a word Holden was saying?" Mike ranted then realized from the look that Irene was giving him that the answer was obvious. "Unless...he...oh."

"Yes, now you see what I've been trying to tell you all this time!" Irene exclaimed. "Steve would have no trouble confiding in you unless he still has feelings for Jeannie."

"Okay, okay... I still need some time to adjust to these feelings that you think Steve may have but if we're right about Whitney's assault on him, and I think we are, there is no way I'm going to let Jeannie walk down the isle with a vicious criminal! In fact I'm going over there right now! What's the address?"

"Mike, stop!" Irene held her hands up and planted them firmly against Mike's chest. "Wait! You can't just storm your way over there!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't!" Mike demanded.

"For starters, what evidence do we have apart from the argument that broke out at your place and the fact that they were both sporting some bruises? And might I remind you, who threw the first punch in this instance?"

"Irene, my daughter is with this hot headed punk right now! After what he did to Steve, do you expect me to do nothing?"

"Jeannie is not in any immediate danger. You go over there and how do you think she is going to react? Not to mention you'll be putting both yours and Steve's careers on the line if we are wrong. You need to treat this like any other case and more importantly, you need to start trusting your daughter. Whitney's not going anywhere any time soon. If it turns out he is the perp we're after, let him think he's gotten away with it while we build a strong case on him."

Before the discussion could venture any further, Norm appeared at the doorway. "Irene, I've got Hancock on the phone. Says it's urgent."

"Thanks, Norm. I'll take it," Irene said with a smile then to Mike she added, "I'm sorry, I gotta go."

"It's okay. I better tackle my mountain of work too," Mike replied wearily as Irene followed Haseejian out the door before returning to his seat behind his desk. He found it difficult to pick up where he had left off before Irene's arrival. She had given him much to think about and now he was even more concerned over the repercussions of Jeannie's choices with Whitney their primary suspect in a vicious assault case. A case that couldn't get any closer to home.