Johnny pulled into a parking spot at Reggie's apartment complex and shut off the Rover. He'd been over here a few times, and he had genuinely come to like both Reggie and Charlene, but something kept him from getting too close to them.

No, he knew what that something was. If he could lose one partner, what was to say he couldn't lose another? And then he'd be right back where he was, trying to explain to Charlene why he couldn't keep Reggie safe, why he didn't make it home.

He shoved aside the thought as he climbed down and started toward the apartment building, trotting up the steps and knocking on the door.

The door swung open, revealing Charlene. "Johnny, come on in."

"Thanks."

He could hear voices in the kitchen as he followed Charlene. Reggie, for sure, along with another unfamiliar voice. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he found out who the voice belonged to.

A woman was leaning against the counter with a wine glass in her hand, laughing at whatever Reggie was telling her. She spotted Johnny and regarded him with interest, pushing herself off the counter to approach him. "You must be Johnny. Reggie's been telling me all about you."

Johnny was startled by the woman's straightforward approach, but managed what he hoped was a smile. "And you must be Vanessa."

Vanessa responded with a warm smile as she extended her hand. "I am. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, same." Johnny answered, taking the opportunity to check her out. Her dark brown hair brushed her shoulders, her brown eyes almost looked directly into his. Her skin was a shade somewhere in between, the curves of her body obvious even under the simple blouse and jeans she wore.

He had to admit, Vanessa was a fine-looking woman, just as Reggie had said. Maybe one dinner wouldn't be so bad.

"Johnny, can I get you something to drink?" Charlene's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah. That'd be great." Johnny quickly answered.

Charlene made her way around Johnny and Vanessa and opened the refrigerator. "We've already got a bottle of wine open, otherwise we've got some beer."

"Beer's good." Johnny replied, turning his attention back to Vanessa. "Not much of a wine guy. It all tastes the same to me."

Vanessa laughed softly at that. "I won't hold it against you."

"Appreciate that." Johnny murmured, nodding to Charlene when she handed him a beer. "Thanks."

"You can go on and have a seat." Reggie told them. "Think we're just about ready here."

Johnny tried to step aside to allow Vanessa to pass by, but she brushed up against him anyway. She flashed him a quick smile as she took a seat at the table, and Johnny could feel the heat rise to his face as he did the same.

Soon they were all settled in and dished up, making idle conversation as they started eating. "You've done it again, Reg." Charlene told him.

Reggie let out a low chuckle. "It's nothing much. Just something Charlene found in one of her magazines."

"See, this is why I let him cook." Charlene responded. "All I have to do is find the recipe, he takes it the rest of the way."

"I would not mind finding a man who can cook." Vanessa glanced Johnny's way.

"Well…you might be a little disappointed in Johnny here." Reggie told her.

"Aw, come on, Reg." Johnny scoffed. "My cooking's not that bad."

"It's not that good, either." Reggie shot back to a round of laughter.

Johnny huffed before turning his attention to Vanessa. "Listen, believe it or not, I'm perfectly capable in the kitchen. A lot better than I used to be, anyway. The guys at my old station used to give me all kinds of grief for my cooking, but that's been a lot of years."

"Don't feel bad." Vanessa answered, taking another sip of her wine. "When Charlene and I were roommates, she hardly ever let me near the stove."

"That girl would burn water." Charlene broke in.

"I've improved." Vanessa replied firmly, a hint of color flushing her brown skin. "I can't remember the last time I burned something. And I seem to remember you being no great shakes in the kitchen, either. It was a damn good thing you met Reggie."

"You're right, you're right." Charlene placed her hand over Reggie's. "We've got a perfect arrangement. He cooks, I clean up."

"Works out fine for me." Reggie agreed, responding to Charlene's touch with a warm smile. "I hate doing dishes."

"Oh, we know." Johnny blurted out. "Funny how the bay suddenly needs mopping when you have dish duty."

Reggie shook his head as the others burst into laughter, and the two of them fell into a brief back-and-forth, cracking on each other, much to the amusement of Vanessa and Charlene.

Once they had all eaten their fill, Charlene rose from the table. "Well, I suppose I'll get this cleaned up."

"I'll help." Vanessa volunteered.

The two women disappeared into the kitchen, and Johnny could just hear them talking over the running water. Reggie leaned back in his chair. "So? What do you think?"

Johnny considered that for a moment. "She's pretty, like you said."

"I know that." Reggie laughed. "But what do you think of her?"

"I mean…I don't know." Johnny answered. "I guess maybe…I wouldn't mind getting to know her a little. You know, see what happens."

"Good." Reggie nodded. "I think she kind of likes you, too."

Another round of laughter floated out from the kitchen. "Well hey, maybe I'll get her number on the way out."

"If she doesn't ask for yours first."

Johnny wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. He was used to being the pursuer. "I mean, that'd be a little weird, right?"

Reggie shrugged. "Women these days are just different, man."

It wasn't long before both women emerged and they gathered around the table again. This time Reggie found a deck of cards and started shuffling. "Anyone up for a game of Spades?"

Johnny groaned internally. He'd played more than a few times at the station, but hadn't really gotten the hang of the strategy yet, and he wasn't thrilled at the idea of making a fool of himself in front of Vanessa.

Vanessa sat up, obviously interested. "I'm in."

"I'll find a note pad." Charlene rose from the table and soon returned with a pad of paper and a pencil. "Alright, guys against girls?"

"If you insist." Reggie answered with a slight smile.

Reggie dealt the cards, and they were soon off and running. Johnny was doing his best, but it was obvious that Vanessa had played a time or two, and he was simply no match.

Still, between the conversation and the gentle teasing that went on between Reggie and Charlene, he was having a good time. He and Reggie even managed to win a few hands against Vanessa and Charlene, even though the two women won handily.

"Well now, that was fun." Charlene was almost gleeful as she recorded the last score. "Anyone up for another game?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I have an early day tomorrow." Vanessa replied. "Sure was fun beating these guys, though."

"Well, we'll have to do this again." Reggie responded. "I'll have to work with Johnny a little here."

"Hey, come on." Johnny argued. "I was just starting to get the hang of it by the end there."

Reggie appeared skeptical for a moment. "Think that's open for debate."

Johnny huffed in irritation as the two women laughed.

"Well, I for one would love to do this again." Vanessa told them. "I had a wonderful time."

Reggie and Charlene looked at each other before Charlene responded with a wide smile. "Oh, absolutely. We'll get together."

Johnny's window of opportunity was closing. "Hey, uh, Vanessa, why don't I walk you out?"

Vanessa looked slightly surprised but recovered quickly. "If you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all." Johnny answered. "Whenever you're ready."

After saying their good nights to Reggie and Charlene, Johnny let Vanessa go ahead of him as they left and started down the stairs leading out of the building. It was a short walk to Vanessa's car, as she only parked a couple of spaces over from Johnny.

Just as Johnny was getting up the nerve to ask Vanessa for her phone number, Vanessa spoke first. "It was nice to meet you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you, too." Johnny shoved his hands in his pockets.

Vanessa leaned against her car and folded her arms over her chest. "I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when Charlene invited me over. Figured she was trying to set me up with someone."

Johnny couldn't help laughing a little at that. "Yeah, figured Reggie was doing the same thing. But hey, it worked, right?"

"Right." Vanessa dug into her purse and produced a memo pad and a pen, writing something down before tearing off the paper and handing it to Johnny. "You should call me."

Johnny was momentarily stunned but managed to recover. "Hey, yeah, I will. I don't have another weekend off for another couple weeks, you know, because of my schedule. But maybe we can figure something out."

"I do have a day off in the middle of the week." Vanessa offered. "Unless you're busy then."

"Uh…I don't know yet." Johnny answered. "But I'll definitely give you a call."

Vanessa smiled warmly. "Great. Can't wait to hear from you."

With that, she pushed herself off her car and unlocked the door before climbing inside and starting it up. She gave Johnny a brief wave before backing out and driving away.

Johnny stood there for a long moment, staring at the piece of paper in his hand. Vanessa was a nice enough girl, and nice looking to boot. And it seemed that Joanne was moving on with Alan, so, well, maybe he should too.

It was worth a shot, Johnny supposed.

# # #

Johnny pulled into the parking lot at the baseball field and shut off the Rover. Another season was starting. He could hardly believe it.

It wasn't quite as painful this time around, though it was once again different. Instead of all of them coming together, Johnny had arranged to meet Joanne here. Just as well, Johnny supposed.

He wondered if Alan was coming along. It wouldn't be a great surprise if he did, though Johnny still wasn't sure how he felt about the whole situation. Not that he didn't trust Joanne's judgement, but things seemed to be moving awfully quickly between them.

But that was none of his business, not unless it seemed that Joanne and the kids were in danger. So far, that didn't seem to be the case. No, he needed to just step back and let things work themselves out. Besides, if all went well, he might have something going with Vanessa himself.

Eventually, it would all work out, one way or another.

He climbed down from the Rover and started toward the bleachers, finding Joanne and Jenny.

"Uncle Johnny!" Jenny called out as soon as she saw him, waving her hand. "Over here!"

Johnny made his way down the row and gave Jenny a quick hug. "Hey, kiddo. Hey, Jo."

Joanne turned and smiled. "Hi, Johnny. Glad you could make it."

"Are you kidding?" Johnny responded as he took a seat next to Joanne. "Wouldn't miss it."

Jenny soon found one of her friends and hopped down a couple of bleachers to join her, leaving Johnny and Joanne alone. Johnny couldn't help the questions that occupied his mind, even as he knew it was none of his business.

"Kind of surprised, uh, Alan isn't here." Johnny threw out in what he hoped was a casual tone.

Joanne glanced over at him with a puzzled expression before it smoothed out. "He hasn't met the children yet."

"Oh." Johnny paused. "But you guys are still seeing each other."

"Yes, Johnny." Joanne replied patiently. "He's a nice man and I enjoy his company. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, of course not." Johnny found himself backpedaling. "I mean, it's good, right? You know, you're, uh, moving on, and that's good. That's good."

Joanne looked concerned. "Are you sure?"

He wasn't, but he wasn't going to let Joanne know that. "Yeah, Jo. I'm sure. As long as he's good to you, that's all that matters. And the kids, if it ever gets to that point."

Joanne moved closer and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for that. I was so sure you'd be upset."

Johnny responded in kind. "I'm not. I just want you and the kids to be happy, okay?"

"I appreciate that." Joanne told him as she released him. "Really. And you know you'll always be part of our family, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Johnny assured her. "Of course."

The opening notes of the national anthem started, and everyone rose to their feet. Johnny spotted Chris among his teammates, no longer towering above them as he had the previous season, but still a bit taller than most of them. As he got older, he began to resemble Roy more and more.

It was at times like this that he missed Roy the most. If he could see these kids now, see how they'd grown, he'd be so proud of them, Johnny knew that.

But life was somehow going on without him. It still didn't feel right, even if it wasn't as painful as it used to be.

Soon enough he was caught up in the game, cheering and encouraging, his ruminations momentarily forgotten. It was a tight game all the way through, but Chris's team managed to pull it out on the last play.

"That was a good one." Johnny told Joanne as they left the bleachers to meet up with Chris. "They've got a good team this year."

"Chris is in a new age group this year." Joanne replied. "It was quite an adjustment for him."

"Yeah, I can imagine." Johnny agreed. "Looks like he's settled in, though."

Chris was with a group of boys, but he noticed Johnny, Joanne, and Jenny, and he broke away to meet up with them. "Uncle Johnny, you made it."

"No way was I gonna miss your first game." Johnny told him. "You guys played a good game, too. Kept it exciting the whole way."

"Yeah, it was tough." Chris nodded. "Mom, can Uncle Johnny come home with us?"

"Yeah, Mom." Jenny chimed in. "He hasn't been over in forever."

"It's a school night, remember?" Joanne reminded them. "We'll find another time, okay? Now, say good night."

Jenny hugged him tightly. "Good night, Uncle Johnny."

"Good night, kiddo." Johnny responded in kind. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Chris took her place and gave Johnny a quick hug before pulling back. "See you next game."

"I'll be here." Johnny assured him. "You can count on it."

They started toward Joanne's car, and the kids climbed in, leaving Johnny and Joanne outside. Joanne let out a short sigh. "You have no idea what this means to them. Thank you."

"I wouldn't miss any of this." Johnny told her. "I mean, we're family, right? No matter what."

"No matter what." Joanne nodded firmly.

They both fell silent for a long moment before Johnny broke it. "Well, hey, I should go. But I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay." Joanne smiled widely before getting into the car, starting it up and pulling away.

He made his way to the Rover and started it up before heading home. Almost as soon as he got home, he unfolded the piece of paper he had left next to the phone.

He'd been meaning to call Vanessa, he really had, but time had gotten away from him. Hopefully she wasn't the type of woman who got upset easily. He dialed the number and waited while it rang.

"Hello?"

"Vanessa?" Johnny was suddenly nervous for no good reason. "Hey, it's Johnny. You know, we met at Reggie and Charlene's the other night?"

Vanessa laughed softly. "Yes, of course I remember. How are you?"

Johnny's nerves eased almost instantly at the sound of her voice. "Good, good. I'm good. So hey, you said you had a day off in the middle of the week, right?"

"I did." Vanessa replied. "My day's still open. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, there's a new movie playing." Johnny suggested. "We could catch an early show and maybe have lunch afterwards?"

"I like the sound of that."

"Great." Johnny felt a weight ease as they made their arrangements. They talked for a while afterward until neither one of them could contain their yawns anymore.

"I think I'm going to let you go." Vanessa told him. "But I'll see you tomorrow."

"Can't wait." Johnny responded before they finally hung up.

He stared at the phone for a long moment. Maybe this would turn out okay. If nothing else, he'd get to spend some time with a beautiful woman. Not a bad way to spend a day off, not at all.