Steve sat up in bed after being awoken by the sound of a large truck beeping as it backed up. He looked at the clock on the nightstand seeing it was only 7:42 in the morning. He recalled what day it was, knowing it wasn't garbage day, and besides, they always came later in the afternoon when most of the cars down his narrow street were vacated, making pick up easier.

The annoying sound stopped and he lay back down, rolling over on his side and hugged the other pillow, a habit he'd picked up since Becky's departure almost a month earlier.

Another ritual began as his mind began to explore the case they had just come off of. He sorted out in his head the details of the report he had to complete that day and turn in, having been too exhausted at two o'clock the night before to even attempt. He'd sent everyone home to sleep off the 21 hours straight that they had spent on duty and not to report in the next day until noon.

The serenity of sleep had him almost in the palm of its hand when the annoying beeping returned.

His eyes flew open and he sat up.

"What the hell!" he growled, throwing the covers off and getting out of bed. He stomped down the stairs wearing nothing but a pair of old Navy sweat pants that were cut-off just above the knee.

He went for the front door as the annoying sound continued and then stopped, repeating seconds later. He pulled his door open and saw the moving truck that was causing his headache. They were trying to back it up to the house that had been occupied by the guy that Becky had left him for. Jeff had moved out of the rental almost immediately after the affair had been revealed. Last he heard, he and Becky were living someplace downtown in a high rise. The owners of the house hadn't wasted anytime getting new tenants, and by the look of it, not very bright ones either.

His house was situated on the end of the street, he just had to just drive straight onto his lot, while the other two homes were facing the street dead on which forced them to turn. It wasn't crowded by any means but it was if you were driving a 17-foot moving truck and had no idea what the hell you were doing, he thought angrily.

He came and stood out on the porch and watched with bitter amusement as they attempted the feat over and over to no avail.

"Why did they even rent a truck to this guy?" he mumbled. "He clearly has no clue what he's doing." He contemplated giving them a ticket for noise pollution when they finally gave up and the engine turned off. He couldn't see the driver but heard them get out and close the driver's side door.

"Finally!" he grumbled, going back in the house and slamming the door shut. "I swear that fucking house is cursed."

He stomped back up the stairs and fell back into bed, hugging the pillow again, trying to find a comfortable position and fight off the annoyance that had now engulfed him.

He opened his eyes after a couple of minutes, knowing it was going to be useless. He rolled over to the other side of the bed and looked out the French door windows that led to the lanai. The sky was cloudless from where he lied. It was going to be another unseasonably hot day in paradise. The record breaking heat wave made just about everyone on edge, except for the tourists. His puny few hours of sleep were going to catch up with him later in the day, he just knew it.

He thought about coffee, but was too lazy to get up and start a pot, annoyed with himself now for not preparing it before he went to bed the night before. It was a regular habit but he had been so tired he let it go, telling himself he'd do it in the morning after a good nights sleep. He huffed angrily over that ridiculous logic.

He pushed the blanket off his legs, feeling the heat of another scorching day begin to arise already. He leaned over still lying in the bed and reached out as far as he could, grasping one of the door handles and opened it. A cool ocean breeze hit him before he even had a chance to lie back again.

That made him slightly happy, getting a whiff of the floral and salt water that came from his back yard; that and the sound of the waves gently rolling over on the beach was majestic and peaceful. His eyes became heavy and the last thing he remembered was picturing the annoying dude next door having to unload that enormous truck in this heat, hoping he was sweating his ass off.

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"Steve," Danny said patiently, standing at the foot of his bed.

"Steve!" he said again, gently shaking the metal footboard.

When he didn't get a reaction he shook it harder. "Steve! Damn, are you alive?"

Steve opened his eyes startled over the intrusion and sat up on his elbow looking around as if he had no idea where he was. "What? Where is it?" he mumbled, glancing around and then trying to focus on the person at the end of the bed.

Danny laughed over his demeanor. "Where is what? Get up!"

He flopped back down into his soft pillow, feeling like his body weighed about five hundred pounds. "What time is it?"

"Eleven forty. You told me to pick you up at eleven thirty. I've been sitting outside honking. What's the matter with you?"

He moaned but it came out sounding like an old bear. "New neighbor doesn't know how to back up a fricking truck," he mumbled.

Danny looked at him oddly, "What?"

"Nothing." He finally sat up on the edge of the bed and ran his hands over his face, feeling more tired than he did at two o'clock the night before. "Do me a huge favor. Go start a pot of coffee while I jump in the shower."

"Ok, hurry up."

Ten minutes later he was out the door with a cup of coffee in his hand. He stared at the moving truck as they walked to the car. "That's why I'm late," he huffed.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked.

"They kept trying to back that thing up and had no idea what they were doing. Beep! Beep!" he grumbled. "Drove me crazy."

They heard a woman talking just before she jumped out from the back of the truck. She had on a pair of multi colored running shorts and a dark blue T-shirt that had the display of a movie that was in theatres two years before and was two sizes too big. Her blond hair was wrapped up in a mass on top of her head. Even from where they both stood they cold see she was pretty. She turned around and spoke to someone inside the truck. "Careful Eric, just ease it out slowly and I'll catch it."

Steve assumed it was the challenged driver until they heard the young voice inside.

"I can't hold it," he yelled, "it's slipping!"

"Don't push it!" she yelled at him as the whole leather couch came out the back of the truck on its hind end and slammed on the ground. She tried to hold onto it as it began tip over upside down. "Shit! Shit!" she yelled out, losing the battle.

Steve set his coffee on top of the Camaro as he and Danny both ran over to where she was. They both caught the end just before it hit the ground and landed on top of her.

Danny moved around to her side. "You got that end?" he asked Steve as he lifted it.

"I got it," he said annoyed. Angry that he had to help the same people who had rudely woken him up.

They turned it up right and set it down on the ground.

She looked at both of them, wondering where in the heck they had just appeared from before she finally spoke up. "Thanks," she said dryly to the two of them and then glared up at the boy. "Nice job Eric. I said go slow." She glanced back at Steve for just a spilt second; wanting just another glimpse of him to be sure what she had actually seen the first time around was true. It was. His rugged good looks made her even more anxious. She didn't need this right now, another humiliation.

"I was trying!" Eric snapped back at her. "God! Don't yell at me! You dropped it!"

Steve and Danny looked across at each other over the tone of the young boy's voice. He couldn't have been more than nine or ten but his attitude was more like a teenager. They waited for a scolding from his mother that didn't come. She just glared at him.

"Well, we have to get going," Steve announced uncomfortably. "Welcome to the neighborhood." He rolled his eyes as he turned away. He had a bad feeling about these people. Rude kid, rude mother, he could only imagine what the Dad was like.

They heard another thank you that was about the same generous tone as the last one as they made their way back to the car.

"We should have helped her get it in the house," Danny suggested, looking back over his shoulder as she leaned inside the truck, presumably scolding the boy. "Did she look familiar to you?"

"No." Steve answered the last question and then gave his reasoning for walking away. "I'm too tired. Maybe if they hadn't woken me up at six," he exaggerated. He took the cup of coffee off the top of the car and downed it before he got in on the passenger side. "That fucking house is cursed," he complained.

"Geez," Danny groaned, sliding into the driver's seat, "Are you going to be like this all day?"

"Maybe!" He pointed with his thumb over toward his new neighbors, "Blame them, not me."

Danny looked over his shoulder as he backed the car up past the moving truck unable to turn it around in the confined space.

Steve glanced over as the woman and the boy lifted each end of the couch and began to move it inside, watching them struggle with it. He peered inside the open front door not seeing anyone else, wondering then if there even was a husband or anyone for that matter to help them out. He looked back over at them as the boy dropped the end of the sofa, rubbing his hands together.

"Shit," Steve groaned. "Stop."

Danny stepped on the break, thinking he was about to hit something. "What?" He sat up looking over Steve's shoulder.

He motioned irritably over toward the truck. "Let's help them get that couch inside."

Danny put the car in park and laughed. "There's a sucker born everyday."

"It was your idea to begin with," he fired back.

"I knew if I drove by slow enough your guilt would take the bait." He ignored the snide look he was getting from his partner. "What? They're your new neighbors. So they aren't the most courteous people I've ever met, but have you ever heard of a good moving day? Show some of that 'Aloha Spirit' you're always bragging about."

"Alright," he whined, blowing out a deep breath before getting out. Perhaps he had been a little too abrupt with them, moving did suck.

They came around the truck seeing the boy sitting on the couch, arms crossed, pouting. His blond hair was in need of a cut while the sides of it were plastered to his head from sweating. He looked angry to say the least.

"Eric please," the woman pleaded, "Get up! You're being a spoiled little brat."

"Shut up!" he yelled furiously. "You are!"

Steve stopped; giving Danny the right of way as well as a look telling him this was a bad idea.

"Good morning again," Danny said. "We thought we'd just give you a hand getting that couch inside."

She glanced over at them, noticing for the first time the badges they wore on their hips and quickly shut them down. "No thanks. We can do it."

The boy reached his foot out and kicked her in the chin.

"Ouch!" She bent over, rubbing the spot and giving him a dirty look. "Knock it off," she growled with anger.

"Don't be stupid. Let them help us."

She looked back over at them visibly embarrassed, shaking her head. "Really, it's fine." She had one tone to her voice and it wasn't pleasant. "We can do it."

"You're so dumb," the boy mumbled.

"Eric!" she said through gritted teeth as if she were fed up with him.

"Oh for Christ sake," Steve said in the same tone, bending over and grabbing the bottom of the couch. He looked over at Danny angrily. "Are you going to help me or what?"

He turned away from the woman not able to shake the feeling that he'd seen her someplace before and bent over to pick up his end of the couch. He couldn't help but agree with Steve's thoughts that this was a bad idea.

Steve glared at the boy as he still sat on the sofa, staring at him. "Move!" Steve ordered using in his Navy Commander voice.

Eric's eyes flew open, recognizing the tone of authority that Steve was giving him. It reminded him of his father and he quickly slid off the couch, doing as he was told. He watched as they picked it up easily and moved it inside.

They set it down in the first open spot not offering to move it to it's designated area. They both just wanted out.

"Let's get out of here," Danny whispered to him as they came back outside.

"Gladly," Steve agreed.

They walked right past both of them, neither one speaking but Danny gave a so, so wave.

The boy walked around to the side of the truck and watched them. "Thanks," he yelled out.

Steve never turned but just held up a hand, letting him know they heard him.

Eric turned to the woman, giving her a dirty look. "You should have said thank you to them. I think they were Police Officers."

"I told them we didn't need help," she defended her actions, but knew he was right. She felt foolish now for her actions, knowing it was only because they wore badges.

"Yes we did," he countered as if her statement was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. "They could have helped get the big table out too! How are we going to get that out, wait until Jenny wakes up to help?!" he yelled sarcastically, stomping into the house.

Anna leaned back against the truck and bent over with her hands on her knees. "I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this," she mumbled over and over. "I have no idea what I'm doing." And just when she almost had herself convinced, she heard Jenny. The child screamed out from her room, but the cries weren't from a temper tantrum, they were real cries of pain and suffering, calling out for her absent Mom and Dad.

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Steve drove down his driveway after a long day of paperwork and meetings with the Governor that couldn't be postponed again. They were already over due because of the case they had been working on. He was relieved to see the moving truck gone and in its place was a black Lexus SUV. He thought it odd that a renter would own such a car whose monthly payments were probably half of what the rent was.

He glanced through the front window, not seeing anyone but could see boxes stacked up and the furniture not in any designated area.

He turned his truck off and was gathering up his things when a pounding on his car window startled him. He looked over, seeing a hand and then the boy, Eric, from earlier with a frantic look on his face.

Steve opened the door as the boy stepped back.

"We can't find my little sister!" His expression was borderline frantic. He glanced down at Steve's badge, double-checking from earlier that he was in reality a cop.

Steve squatted down, seeing the terror all over him. "Ok, tell me what happened."

"She," he stuttered, "she was there," he pointed toward the house, "and now we can't find her."

"How long as she been gone?"

He shook his head, trying to recall time. "I don't know, maybe a half hour."

Steve stood up, hearing the woman calling out the name Jenny over and over. "Is that your Mom?"

"She's not my Mom!" he quickly pointed out, even in this critical moment he wanted that to be clear. His voice turned just as quickly back to the concern for his little sister. "Can you help me find her?"

"Of course," he consoled him, putting a hand on his shoulder as he guided him back toward his house. "Has this happened before?"

"Yes. Sometimes she hides, but we can always find her."

"How old is she?"

"Five." The fright in his voice was becoming apparent as his eyes continued to search for her.

They came up to the house just as the woman was approaching from the backyard.

"Did you find her?" Eric asked.

"No." She looked at Steve, cringing at his presence and could only imagine what he must be thinking. "She does this a lot. She hides," Anna tried to explain.

"She never hid from my Mom!" Eric yelled.

Steve could see the hurt on her face over that statement. "We'll find her Eric."

"Jenny!" he screamed out, ignoring her promises, running over to the next-door neighbors house. "Jenny!"

"Is there a chance she was taken?" Steve hated to ask, but wanted to know if he should put out an Amber Alert on her instead of wasting more time.

She put her hands over her mouth but shook her head. "I don't think so. She was inside at the kitchen table eating and I just went upstairs for a minute, when I came back down she was gone."

"Ok, lets split up. You go over that way," he pointed toward the driveway that led out toward the main road, "and I'll go down toward the beach. You're sure you checked the house good?"

"Yes! Yes. Eric and I went over it twice." She turned and started walking backward. "She has blond hair and is wearing a pink shirt."

"I'm pretty sure she's the only five year old wandering around the neighborhood. If I see one, I'm sure it'll be her." He took off in the direction of the beach, taking the path that led between his house and the people directly next door. No sooner did he get around the corner did he see her sitting on one of his beach chairs down by the water. She kicked her legs back and forth and was humming, looking out at the water as if she didn't have a care in the world.

He came up and stood next to her. "Hi."

She looked up and he couldn't help but smile at the cute little face that still had traces of grape jelly at the corners of her mouth. The ponytail that held the bright blond hair had shifted and was barely hanging on.

"Hi," she responded exactly how he expected a five-year old too.

He squatted down next to the chair. "Is your name Jenny?"

The smile faded and she looked at him questionably, and then her expression turned firm. "I'm not supposed to talk to..." she trailed off as if she forgot the word stranger. "I don't know you."

"I'm Steve. I'm a Police Officer and I live here."

She looked over his shoulder at the house. "You do!" She just then saw his badge and gun. "You're a police occifer too?!"

"Yep," he nodded, seeing a slight resemblance of the woman in the beautiful little girl staring at him with wide eyes.

"Eric is looking for you. He's very worried."

"You know Eric?" she asked, wondering if that and being a policeman still made him off limits to talk to.

"Yes." He stood up and held his hand out to her. "Let's go back to your house. Everyone is looking for you."

She took his hand and slid off the chair, looking up at him as they walked, "Do you know my Daddy?"

He looked down as she stared up at him. "No honey I don't think so. Does he live in Hawaii?"

"He lives in heaven now," she blurted out as if not quite understanding what that fully meant.

He felt her grip tighten as she spoke the next words.

"My mommy lives there too with him."

His heart went out to her, beginning to understand also where the anger came from in her brother. He remembered feeling that way too after losing his parents, especially his Mom. "I'm sorry honey." He rubbed his thumb over her little hand. "Why did you run off?"

"I was hot. It feels nice over there." She turned and pointed toward his back yard.

"You shouldn't go near the water. It's dangerous. Can you swim?"

She nodded her head. "My Daddy taught me."

They came around the side of the house and Steve yelled out. "Hey! I found her."

He saw the woman come running from down the street and then Eric come flying past her. He ran up to his little sister and knelt down in front of her, hugging her.

"Don't do that!" he scolded her. "You can't just walk off!"

She scratched her arm as if what he was telling her meant nothing.

He shook her then. "Do you hear me?!"

"Hey," Steve said, "talk to her, don't scream at her. She's five. She doesn't understand what she did unless you explain it to her."

He looked up at him and then back down at his little sister. "Jenny, if you walk away and don't tell me where you're going it makes me really, really scared. I couldn't find you anywhere. If you want to go somewhere just tell me and I'll go with you. Ok?"

She bent over then and scratched a spot on her leg. "Ok. Can I have some ice cream?"

"No!" The woman came running up, "Don't do that anymore, Jenny," she scolded her.

Eric stood up and took her hand. "I already told her that. She knows." He pulled her along with him. "Come on. I'll get you some ice cream." He glared up at the woman as he walked past her.

Steve watched them walk off, seeing a bit of himself in Eric. He was the same way with Mary after their Mother had died. He was so angry at life, taking it out on his Dad and then boldly took the position of caregiver to his little sister, arguing with him constantly over it, up to the day they were sent away. He even wondered for years after that if their move to California wasn't because of him.

The woman shook her head, clearly irritated with both of them. She swiped the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead and then looked over at him as if just noticing he was there. "Sorry to have bothered you."

"It's no bother." He motioned toward the house. "Looks like you got your hands full."

"We're managing," she replied, eyeing him suspiciously, wondering if he were asking as a neighbor or as a cop. She always hated the way Daryl would try that reverse phycology crap on her.

He was beginning to understand why there was so much tension in the house. "I found her down close to the water," he said irritably." She said she knows how to swim but I'd hate for her to feel secure getting in the ocean alone. You should talk to her about that."

His advice didn't go over well. She didn't need another lecture on how bad of a job she was doing, Eric supplied plenty of that, and not to mention her own guilt was always on the brink of panic, frightened that she was failing the kids and just making their life worst during this crisis rather than better. She could never seem to find a common ground with them no matter how hard she tried. "I'll make sure she stays out of your yard, ok?"

"I don't care about that." Her attitude sucked. He was really feeling for those kids now. "If you haven't noticed we live on an island, there's water everywhere."

She took the sleeve of her shirt and wiped her sweaty face off. "Yes, I know that," she growled, not necessarily angry with him, but at yet another situation that she had lost control of. "Is it always so fricking hot here? This heat is a bitch!"

"A ceiling fan and a good attitude can make a world of difference," he scuffed and then turned walking back toward his house.

She stared angrily at his back over that remark as he walked off. "Jerk," she mumbled. 'Typical cop,' she thought bitterly. 'They think they walk on water and everything they say is like the word of God.' She turned and went toward her house, not giving him another thought. It wasn't worth getting herself all worked up over in this heat. She had enough problems than having to please the next door neighbor now too.

"The heat isn't a bitch," Steve mumbled, "you are."

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Steve came out of his house the next morning just about to get in his truck when he heard his name being called by the sweetest little voice he'd ever heard. He leaned back glancing around the cab of the truck seeing Jenny come running over to him with Eric on her heels.

"Hi Steve!" she said happily, holding half a bagel with cream cheese spread over the top in her hand.

"Good Morning Jenny," he grinned.

"Jenny!" Eric said, catching up to her. "Leave him alone." He looked up at Steve, rolling his eyes.

She turned, giving her brother a dirty look. "It's ok, we're friends." She glanced back up at Steve. "Aren't we?"

"Yes. You can say hi to me anytime you want."

"Told you so," she said to Eric. "Where are you going?" she asked him.

"I have to go to work."

"Policeman work?"

"Yep."

She held her breakfast up to him. "Do you want a bite of my bagel?"

He chuckled over the sweet gesture and her adorable innocence. "No thank you." He patted his belly. "I just ate."

"What did you have?" she asked taking a bite of hers, leaving a smudge of the cream cheese on either side of her mouth.

"Stop being so nosy, Jenny," Eric sighed. "He doesn't want to answer all your dumb questions."

"Hey," Steve spoke up; "there's nothing wrong with asking questions. There's no such thing as a dumb question." He watched with wonderment as Eric and Jenny shot each other a look. They stared at each other for a few seconds before they both looked up at him, but it was Jenny that spoke.

"My Mommy said that." She looked at him curiously. "Are you sure you don't know my Mommy and Daddy?"

He wasn't sure what to say. She looked inquisitive, but Eric, he looked heartbroken, almost on the verge of tears. "You know I'm a police officer right?" he spoke to both of them but his attention was on Eric, who nodded. "If you need anything you can come over anytime you want, ok?"

"Can I go in your backyard?" Jenny asked.

Steve squatted down so he was eye level with her. "Not by yourself," he said firmly. "Do you understand me, Jenny?"

Her expression turned almost scared as if he were reprimanding her. She reached over and took her brother's hand. "I won't."

"But," he smiled, "if you want to come over when I'm there and maybe play in the water, well then you can. But only when I'm home, ok?"

Her smiled retuned and she did a tiny leap over her pleasure of the open invitation. "Ok," she replied happily.

He put and hand on her head and stood up. "Ok then. I have to get to work." He looked over and saw the woman standing on the front porch watching them. He made no attempt to wave and neither did she. He wanted to ask the kids who she was to them but thought it inappropriate. It wasn't his business.