A dinner eaten at a decent hour almost sounded too divine to be true.

And to an extent it was.

Had it not been for Jeannie's fervent cooking during her last visit home from college, his freezer would have rivaled Steve's empty fridge.

But instead, a hearty serving of tuna casserole was almost done cooking in his stove, filling the house with the distinct aroma of peace, happiness and caring.

A fresh copy of the San Francisco telegraph was waiting on his dining room table, as was a cold bottle of beer to ward off the throbbing headache coming from his temple.

Sure he could have seen a doctor, but chances were he would have gotten the same advice as his partner. Rest and sleep; something he was planning on doing tonight anyway.

Off in the corner, the TV was turned on with the volume down low, going through a news segment about the upcoming city council elections, as if the miles upon miles of signs plastered all over town weren't enough bombardment to everyone's minds.

Mike was heading over to the cabinet to grab himself a plate of food when the phone rang, bringing him back to the commode desk in the living room.

Even though he picked it up on the second ring, he could hear the caller sigh in obvious impatience.

"Mike, it's Rudy. You ehm…you got a minute?"

"Sure Rudy. What's up?"

Knowing right away that this wasn't a courtesy call, Mike glanced over at the clock on the wall, reading 6:30pm.

"You see, Mike, I ehm…I had one of the patrol guys come up with a report on that incident with Keller?"

And here they went. If it wasn't exactly what he had seen a mile coming, Mike mused, prepared for the onslaught that was undoubtedly awaiting him.

"Sure, what about it?", he replied innocently, causing Rudy to scoff in frustration.

"Well, you see, that's exactly what I was talking about. This…this Joplin case shouldn't even be on your desk. Here, I thought Keller had gotten hurt in your tumble with Dancy but instead, he was hanging around with Joplin when this…this accident happened. I thought I was very clear when I told you to back off and you said you'd understood."

"Rudy, to his defense, I'd just come from my meeting with you when it happened. There was no time to tell Steve."

"Be that as it may, I am telling you once more that you are done working this case. It's going to get reassigned. I can't have homicide running favors off on the side; you and I both know that something like that can snowball if it gets into the wrong hands."

"Underst-"

"No, I am serious, Mike.", Olsen reiterated, not the least bit pleased, "I don't want you wasting any more time on this. There is plenty of work that needs to get done in our own department. See to it that Keller gets the message too. The Chief is already onto us for some of these unsolved cases that are still floating around out there. He's going to freak out if he hears about this latest…debacle. And he will, considering I have the report on my desk already. Michael, I know we've been through quite a few scrapes together over the years, and I don't think I need to remind you that under the wrong circumstances, that's going to lead to disciplinary action. For all of us; but especially for the two of you."

"Yes, Sir.", Mike replied, keeping his voice cautiously neutral as to not add fuel to the fire.

"Very well. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Enjoy the rest of the evening."

"You t-", Mike began, only to realize that his superior had already hung up the phone, the beeping on the other line as deafening as the blow he'd been served.

Hanging up the receiver, he slowly strolled back into the kitchen, his relaxing night suddenly a lot less peaceful.