"Excuse me, Sir. Do you mind if I ask you a question?

Larry was finally trying to put his badge back on; still not quite looking like he believed that Malloy wouldn't end up firing him.

"Sure, what do you want to know." Whatever Pete expected the question to be, it wasn't what Larry asked.

"If you don't mind telling me, did you ever earn your father's respect?

"Eventually, after I moved thirteen hundred miles away and lived my life the way that I wanted to. When I stopped trying to do the impossible." Pete went on to explain that it might have happened sooner, if he had told his parents about the promotions and commendations he received. The important part was that he and his father had managed to overcome the father/son divide. "If anyone asks, I didn't tell you that either.

"Go find Reed and let him know that you both can go back on patrol."

Pete couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Larry's rushing footsteps as he went to find Jim.

O~O~O

"I see that you still have your badge', Jim said, trying to suppress a smile at the now happy Rookie. "Does that mean that I'm still stuck with you?"

"Yes, Sir… at least for now." Larry was determined to take Pete's advice to heart, yet he wasn't sure that he wouldn't mess up again and get booted off the force. "Officer Malloy sent me to tell you that we can go back to Patrol."

"Really? Did he say what he was going to do next?" Surely Pete wouldn't let Larry off without some sort of punishment. However, he didn't say that yet.

"No, Sir. He didn't", Larry hesitated for a second or two "Do you think he will change his mind and have me fired?"

"If he didn't do it already, then he isn't going to do it now, but I'm sure that the Captain will put a reprimand in your jacket and maybe give you days off."

"That's not so bad."

"Come on, you can tell me what he said while we head out to our unit." Jim knew that the best thing for Larry was to get him out on the streets before Pete met with Captain Moore. Jim prodded Larry for the details once they were back in Adam-12.

"Well…", Larry sheepishly replied, "He yelled at me, really loudly and called me "Junior". He yelled some more then slammed the door when he left the room."

"Okay', Jim replied with a slight chuckle. "Was that all?"

"No…I heard Malloy and Sergeant MacDonald laughing about something." The young man looked to his training officer for some sympathy. "Then he left me alone for over twenty minutes!"

This fact didn't surprise Jim at all. Many times, he has seen Pete yell at someone before leaving them alone to stew. His friend was a master at making someone feel like a puppy being swatted with a newspaper for peeing on the floor.

"What happened when he came back? Did he yell at you some more?" It was a rhetorical question, but he wanted to judge Larry's reaction to Pete's tactics.

"Um…He came back, sat down and gave me a bottle of water." Even now, knowing all that went on in that room, he was still confused in Pete's change in demeanor. "Then he talked to me, real friendly like. At first, I couldn't believe it."

"Was this the part where he told you what you were doing wrong?"

"Yes, Sir. He explained it and gave me some advice." Larry paused. "Then he said some other stuff." He wanted to tell Jim everything that Pete had said, however he thought that he shouldn't say anything further.

"What does "other stuff" mean?" Jim was sure that Pete would tell him about his encounter with Larry, still he wanted the rookie's version.

"I can't tell you Sir…"hesitating before finishing his sentence. "He said that he would kick my butt to Timbuktu and back if I said anything else. I believe him Sir!"

"Smart move", Jim replied before laughing out loud.