Nodding happily, the waitress tucked her order pad into the pocket of her apron and picked up the two plasticized menus. "Be right back with your coffees."

As she walked away, Mike leaned back in the booth, his hands in his lap and his eyes on the young man opposite him who was staring at the table, setting out the cutlery and lining up the salt and pepper shakers.

Clearing his throat with an obviousness that couldn't be ignored, the older man leaned forward and put both forearms on the table. Steve glanced up, regretting it the second he did so. The blue eyes pinned him to the seat.

"So how long is this gonna take, do you think?" Mike asked innocently and the younger man frowned in confusion. "For me to get the full story out of you…"

With a resigned sigh, Steve sat back, flopping hard against the seat, wincing slightly. He met the blue eyes with an annoyed glare.

Mike waited, an almost benevolent smile curling his lips. He shifted again, his eyes briefly leaving his partner to glance at the ceiling. "So, am I to take it from your silence that what happened yesterday, and possibly last night, was… how shall I phrase this…? Not exactly by the book?"

Steve bit his upper lip, moving the knife and fork slightly and rearranging the napkin. He inhaled deeply and looked up with a slight shake of his head and a chuckle. He stared at his partner for a few long seconds then leaned over the table. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Well," Mike began genially, "I know about you going to the hospital with me, so how about after that. I know I fell asleep pretty quickly."

"Yes, you did," Steve confirmed with an affectionate snort, then he leaned back. "Bobby showed up," he said quietly, "about, I don't know, 11, maybe closer to 12. He told me they were going to raid Coopers and the bodega around 1, after the bar opened and they were sure everyone was on the premises."

"And he invited you along, did he?"

"Yes, he did… and I went." He looked away. "I, ah, I didn't want both of us on the sidelines when it went down… after all, it was our investigation to begin with, right?" He looked up and met his partner's eyes evenly.

Mike swallowed heavily, suddenly, almost overwhelmingly, grateful and he blinked quickly. "Right. So, ah, so what happened?"

"Well, we waited in the car a few blocks away till we got the word. Bobby and Cole left and I was alone… I had no idea what was going on so I got out of the car and wandered down towards Coopers, to see if I could see what was happening. And that's when I spotted Danny…"

Mike sat back slightly, frowning. "What, he wasn't in the bar?"

"No, he wasn't. He showed up in this incredible cherry red Mustang –"

"Which no doubt caught your attention first?" Mike interjected with a smile.

"Ah, yes, yes it did," he agreed with a low chuckle, shaking his head.

The waitress appeared with their coffees and they sat back to allow her to place them on the table with the small white milk creamer and bowl of sugar packets. They nodded their thanks as she stepped away and Mike's eyes returned to those of his partner. He leaned forward to pour some milk into his cup, stirring slowly.

"So Danny wasn't in the bar?"

"No, he wasn't," Steve confirmed as he picked up the creamer and poured some milk into his own cup. "He got to the corner of Howard and he seemed to know immediately that something was amiss 'cause he got back to his car as soon as he could and got the hell outa there."

"And you followed him," Mike said evenly, cradling his coffee cup in both hands, continuing to stare at the younger man.

"Yeah," Steve said breathlessly, taking a sip of his coffee and avoiding the unsettling gaze.

"Where did he go?"

"Well," Steve breathed, putting the cup back on the saucer, "he didn't run far, that's for sure. He went to a small apartment building over on Palm."

"Did he meet anybody?"

"Not that I saw. But I was kinda stuck, I didn't see what building he went into, and I kinda figured he'd recognize me after what happened at Coopers –"

"So that's when you got the shave…?"

Steve had stopped abruptly when Mike interrupted him and now he looked at his partner with a wry smile. He nodded. "Yeah… yeah, that's when I got the shave…"

Mike smiled with a nod. "Good idea. You were firing on all cylinders, buddy boy, I like that."

"Thank you," Steve retorted with a small smile and a chuckle, shaking his head. Mike mirrored the look.

"So what did you do next?" the older man prompted.

"Well, I couldn't figure out what building he went into so I ran his plates."

"Good thinking," Mike chuckled again with a wider grin. "I like your style. You musta had a good teacher."

Steve smirked, bobbing his head from side to side. "He was okay…" he said noncommittally and Mike raised his right hand as if to smack him. They both chuckled.

"So what did that get you?"

"Well, I found out what building he was in but I couldn't get close, too much foot traffic, if you know what I mean?"

Mike snorted mirthlessly. "Oh yeah, only too well. So what did you do?"

"Well, it didn't take him long to take off, and following that red Mustang was like following a school bus – you couldn't miss it. He went over the bridge –"

"To Sausilito?" Mike interrupted, his brow furrowing.

Steve nodded. "Yep, that's exactly where he went. Right to the pier."

"Sonofabitch," Mike said under his breath, looking down at the table.

The waitress appeared once more with two large plates, which she set down in front of them, extolling them to enjoy their breakfast. Conversation subsided as they set about preparing their meal, placing napkins in laps, readjusting cutlery. Mike cut a piece of his fried egg and put it in his mouth before asking, "What happened at the pier?'

Steve had stabbed the runny yolk of his own egg and cut off a piece of toast, dipping it in the egg yolk before taking a bite himself. "There was a boat moored at the end of the pier, with the other fishing trawlers," he paused to chew and swallow, "and he got on this red and yellow one. I couldn't see anyone else around." He paused and speared another piece of yolk-laden toast, popping it in his mouth and chewing slowly.

Mike could sense a reluctance on the younger man's part to continue the narrative and he paused in his own breakfast consumption. Gesturing with his fork, he asked genially, "And…?"

Steve inhaled heavily, avoiding the penetrating blue eyes, his shoulders slumping. "And that's when Bobby and Cole Harrison caught up with me."

Mike sat back suddenly, smiling broadly and chuckling. "Really?" he asked lightly, trying to keep the laughter from his voice. "What, they were tailing Danny too? You got in the way?"

With a perturbed sigh, Steve stared at the older man, looking peeved and embarrassed that Mike could have figured things out so quickly. "As a matter of fact -"

"As a matter of fact, they were onto you the entire time, weren't they?" Mike chuckled as he looked back at his plate and scooped up another forkful of egg.

The younger man took a deep breath as his own eyes returned to the plate in front of him and he cut off another piece of toast. He took the time to dip it in the egg yolk, chew and swallow then take a sip of coffee before he continued. Mike waited patiently, working his way through his breakfast with a slight smile pasted on his face. He seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of pleasure from all this.

"So, ah, so what happened next," the senior officer asked with a wave of his fork.

Steve stopped chewing and looked up. "You mean you don't know? I thought you had it all figured out by now."

Mike slumped, cocking his head, and the blue eyes turned cold and annoyed. Chuckling, the younger man forked another piece of toast. "Well, we waited in the car. Eventually a Duster showed up, this guy got out and joined Danny on the trawler."

"You recognize him from the bar?"

Steve shook his head. "Nope. Anyway, Bobby and Cole decided it would be a good time to break up their little party before they decided to pull up anchor, or whatever the hell they do, and sail out of town."

"Didn't they _?"

"Alert the Coast Guard?" Steve finished. "Of course they did. Williams and his gang were standing by in case they were needed. Turns out they weren't."

Steve turned his attention back to his breakfast; Mike stared at the top of his head, annoyed. After a couple of tense seconds, the older man almost yelled, "Well, what happened?"

Chuckling quietly, Steve looked up, all innocence; he knew Mike had only so much patience and it was rapidly running out. But when he sat back, the smile disappeared from his face and he put the fork down. He watched as Mike's artificial impatience faded away in response and they both knew that any vestiges of frivolity were now well and truly gone.

"What happened?" Mike repeated quietly.

Steve sighed heavily. "Bobby and Cole made their way towards the boat. They were almost there when this black car charged into the wharf and this big guy got out. I couldn't see his face, he was all dressed in black. But I could see this huge piece he had in his hand – had to have been a .44. He started towards the boat…. I could see him screw a silencer onto it…. I had to do something, Mike," he said quietly, meeting his partners more very concerned eyes.

"He didn't know I was there," Steve continued quietly, "but he heard me coming. I had to get to him before he got to the boat or else… I managed to duck in between two vehicles and roll under a truck… He didn't see where I went and I got the drop on him when he looked under the van beside where I was… I, ah, I managed to shoot him in the leg…"

Mike watched silently as the young man struggled to find the words to describe his actions.

"There, ah, there was gunfire from the boat… I knew Bobby and Cole were in trouble, and I had to get this guy restrained before I could help them…" Steve's voice trailed off and he looked up at his partner from under a lowered brow. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. "I, ah, I hit him with my gun to knock him out so I could tie him up…" he finished softly.

A silence lengthened between them, then Steve heard Mike say quietly, "There was nothing else you could do, buddy boy."

Steve closed his eyes briefly, grateful for the understanding and support, then looked at Mike again. "Cole Harrison was hit in the stomach." He watched as Mike's head snapped back and he gasped lightly. "He's gonna be okay, they got him to the General in time, but it looked pretty bad. They, ah, he and Bobby, they told me to get out of there, after I called it in, they told me to make myself scarce… that I wasn't supposed to be there in the first place…"

Neither man moved or spoke for several long seconds then Mike said gently, "They were right, you know?"

Steve nodded, still looking down. "I know," he breathed.

He waited for the reprimand, but it didn't come. Instead Mike said, "How did that happen?" and he looked up to see the older man gesturing with his chin towards his right hand. Steve raised his hand and flexed his fingers, making a loose fist. He smiled self-consciously.

"Ah, Bobby, ah, Bobby gave me a minute or two with Danny."

"Oh, he did, did he?" Mike asked facetiously with a dry chuckle.

Clearing his throat and trying not to smile, Steve continued, "Yeah, ah, I got the chance to let him know who I really was… and who you really were… and then I got to show him just how much we both appreciated what he did… to you…" He looked up into his partner's bright eyes; Mike swallowed heavily, suddenly unable to smile.