The whistling of his tea kettle finally pulled Steve out of his deep slumber; surprised that he was still on the couch, his swollen knee now stiff from the prolonged lack of movement.
Grunting at the pain appearing from every part of his body, he opened his eyes, his sluggish brain slow to realize that he was hearing voices.
Voices…as in more than just Mike.
Off in the corner by his kitchen counter, he could see his best friend opening up several cabinets, looking for god-knows-what. Next to him stood Janaea, her body language rigid as she followed Mike's search intently, her jaws tense beneath her beautiful copper skin.
As if she sensed that he was watching her, she glanced over at him, her frown turning into a warm smile upon realizing he was awake.
"You're one hard sleeper, Stephen Keller.", she greeted and walked up to him, the golden necklace with a leaf-shaped amulet dangling against her chest.
"And you're becoming quite the regular in this part of town…", he countered mischievously, knowing that Mike was fully aware of their conversation even though he never stopped his search.
With one finger, she traced the length of his outstretched leg before sitting down next to him on the couch, her sweet perfume as intoxicating as her natural beauty.
"Seems like I have to check on you more often. I hear you have an affinity to run into trouble…and traffic."
There was something hiding beneath her careless façade, he could sense it from a mile away. Whatever burdens she carried, they were heavy enough that even her disciplined expression couldn't hold them back them any longer.
As such, he slowly raised his bandaged left hand to brush a lock of black hair from her temple, then used his thumb to caress her cheek, forcing himself not to kiss her.
"That seems to hold true for both of us."
"Indeed, it does.", came Mike's reply from the kitchen as he closed a cabinet door and set down a box of tea leaves next to the steaming kettle.
With heavy steps, he approached them, those blue eyes filled with worry about a situation Steve knew so little of yet. Meeting his partner's glance stoically, he waited until Mike sat down in the armchair across from him, sighing quietly before pointing at Janaea.
"It seems that Miss Dancy over here just helped us solve yesterday morning's case.", the lieutenant explained cryptically, waiting for him to catch up.
"The car that was dumped in the Bay and our missing female murder victim?"
"Mhm hm.", Mike replied and nudged his chin toward Janaea, "You're looking at her."
