Kevin's nausea had settled by the time late afternoon came around.

Even when Jenny called to check on him, he'd managed to bypass the disturbing incident with the pizzas as best as possible, assuaging her that they were still heavily investigating the murders and would hopefully soon have a suspect.

Needless to say, she didn't believe a word of his carefully laid out explanation.

Perlmutter had confirmed that the three fingers they'd found on the pizzas did belong to their first victim, a somber notion that had brought any idea that they were making headway on their investigation to a screeching halt. Not just were they practically chasing a ghost, that same one was now openly taunting them.

And Jenny…what about this terrifying dream? What if it truly were to come true? The killer knew them, knew where they worked. How little would it take to find out where they lived, who their family and friends were?

As bad as this case had started out, it was quickly becoming his worst nightmare.

With a weary sigh, Kevin turned around, checking on his partner who had taken a bathroom break and circled the espresso machine, his movements slow and calculated as usual. To the unsuspecting bystander, nobody would ever know that Javi had seen the same terrifying thing, hiding his feelings under a thick layer of stoic awareness.

It was probably the military, Kevin reassured himself, seeing mangled bodies, having to kill and see others killed on a regular basis, never knowing when it was your turn to come home in a box. It would change people over time, making them accept death in a completely different fashion.

Part of him was in awe of his best friend's ability to cope like that, the other part knew that it came at a high price.

Regardless, Javi's quietness helped ease his strained nerves tremendously, and Kevin found himself jerking awake when his partner finally returned with a steaming cup of coffee in hand, a deep frown on his forehead as he sat down on the corner of his desk, facing him.

"You're looking at me like I got something on my shirt. Is it the powdered sugar from the doughnut?"

Setting his cup down, Javi insecurely brushed both hands across his chest, hoping to remove anything stuck to his dark gray sweater.

"No, you're fine. There's nothing.", Kevin began, hoping to bridge the awkwardness of having been caught staring, "I was just noticing that your shoulder looks much better. You're using it again like nothing ever happened."

There, that would do the job.

In response, Javi circled his right arm, slowing down just a tad before bringing it back down.

"It's the treatment.", he replied smugly, then caught himself mid-sentence, before reaching for his coffee to buy himself a moment to regroup, "I mean…at home."

"At home…", Ryan mocked with a broad smile, "I bet some female hands could do the job in no time at all...at home"

"Whatever…"

With a dismissive wave of the hand, Javi shook his head, then looked around the bullpen for something else to get him out of the conversation. But Ryan wasn't going to give up that easily. Instead, he cleared his throat, fighting the discomfort that came with the words about to be said, and smiled warmly.

"I get that you don't want to talk about it. But over the last couple of days you really seemed more relaxed…focused. Whatever it is you're doing at home, or whoever it is you are spending your time with, it's having a good effect on you. And I'm happy for you. That's all I am saying."

As if the comment had taken an incredible burden off his shoulders, Javi turned back around and exhaled slowly, going as far as extending his hand for a long overdue fist-bump.

"Thanks, bro."