2004
Illinois, U.S.
"Come on," Rita said encouragingly. "Come on, baby." She was kneeling in front of Brendan, who was working hard to pull himself up by the coffee table. Her little son was almost a year old, and he was working hard to walk. He could stand, albeit a bit wobbly, and then would squawk in alarm when he fell on his bottom hard. Rita smiled and held out a hand close to his back to catch him if he toppled, and he slowly made steps with a hand gripping the coffee table to hold him up. Her smile grew wider when Brendan gave a gleeful laugh as he kept going.
"You're doing so good! Oh my goodness!" Rita scooted along after him across the floor, keeping her hand at the ready to catch him if needed. When Brendan got to the corner of the coffee table, he paused, uncertain. He tried to round it, but in the end, he sank down and crawled to the other side before pulling himself up again. Rita moved to lean her arms on the coffee table, her face close to his. His smile was infectious, and she felt some happy tears pushing forward. Then she felt guilty for getting to experience her son's attempts at walking while Luke had no idea. She cleared her throat and sat back, continuing to watch the little boy make his way. The first time he'd taken steps, he'd come at her and then fell head first into her lap. After he got over being startled, he'd giggled and squealed.
A knock sounded at her door, and she went to answer while keeping an eye on Brendan.
"Hi," Amelia said, standing there with a bag of groceries in her arm. "I thought you might need some supplies."
"Thank you." Rita let her in and moved back to be with Brendan. The boy made a happy sound at the sight of Amelia. It made Rita have this pang of sadness that her son would never meet his grandmother and experience that kind of relationship.
"Look at you!" Amelia crowed, crouching by Brendan and reaching to smooth his hair. "Aren't you a champion at walking already!"
"He can't quite go around the ends, so he crawls around them," Rita said with a laugh.
"Clever boy," Amelia said, smiling. She stood up again. "I won't keep you. I just wanted to pop in and say hi and make sure you were still alive."
"I appreciate that." Rita had kept in touch with Amelia after Brendan's birth. She'd called in a panic over some things at times, and Amelia just always had the right thing to say. Rita didn't fully trust people most of the time, but she wasn't going to push away help if she actually did need it. She was working part time again for money, and Brian and Jo had graciously offered to babysit when she was gone and refused to take any payment. She still wondered what their angle was, but she didn't want to be suspicious.
"Get some rest," Amelia said at the door. "You look tired."
Rita didn't argue, but she didn't comment either. She just gave a weary smile, and then Amelia was gone. Rita turned to see Brendan standing and watching her, a grin on his lips. She smiled back, bigger this time, and went back to join him.
...
To my Luke,
Our little boy is walking! He looks so proud of himself, and whenever he tumbles, he looks so upset as if he's failed something massive. I know it sounds awful of me, but his face is just so cute when he's so disgruntled, but I sincerely hope he isn't hard on himself when he's older. Anyway, Amelia dropped by to say hello and drop off some things. I like her, and it feels like I've known her my whole life. I wish I had.
I miss Remi. I hope she isn't pestering you too much. It's funny what an animal does for you, and you never notice until it's gone. I am glad that you took her home with you; brings me comfort that she's okay. If you re-homed her, that's okay too. I hope you made sure they were a good family if you did that.
Brendan says "Mum" an awful lot. It makes me wonder if I did that to Dad. I wonder if he loved hearing it all the time or if he got annoyed at all. I wonder if he felt strange to be the only parent. I have so many things I want to ask him, but I can't. I don't know why it hurts me so much right now to know he's gone forever. I've known that for a while. It feels almost fresh again, but maybe that's just because I can see a bit of him in our son.
Argh, I'm dripping everywhere now. Sorry for the tears on the page. I'm gonna go and try to get some sleep. Good night.
Your love
...
Rosie knew she couldn't do this forever. She walked hunched against the wind towards her shared apartment with Wes. As much as she loved seeing her daughter and grandson, she couldn't do this. It would hurt Rita way too much if she ever found out. Wes was right. She shouldn't have done it this way.
The apartment was empty since Wes was in New York for a few days. Luke was still working with the police department and doing the side jobs that came up. His partner was familiar to Rosie. Something about his face reminded her of someone, but she didn't know who. His name was Alex, and he had an American accent. Surveillance on him did not show very much. He kept to himself, but he did have an interesting night life sometimes. He also spent a lot of extra time with Mayor Danny. Rosie stroked her chin thoughtfully as she rested her fingers on the photographs spread out on the table. Alex was not on her radar currently—he was just in the background for now.
Rosie didn't think she'd ever find out what happened to make Rita leave Luke. She'd hit a dead end, and she was letting it go for now. She wanted to meddle, but Wes had warned her not to. She knew she was already pushing it by being in Rita's life secretly.
She poured herself a drink and pressed her fingers against her temple, massaging lightly. Leaving her daughter behind again would be even more difficult than the first time.
But, eventually, it had to be done.
New York, U.S.
Luke had no idea why he was even here. He sat at the table in the bar and watched Mears make an ass of himself from being pissed out of his mind and thinking he had a shot with the waitress. Their captain, Wolf, was wearing an amused expression while nursing the same glass of whiskey he'd started with. Reddick, Lasky, Kolfax, and Benoit were each getting trashed and being idiots as well. Only Alex appeared to be sober with a glass of water in front of him. Luke had a very slight buzz on, but he was not drunk. He did not like to get completely drunk. He wasn't Johnny. He normally didn't even touch alcohol, but with Rita missing, it helped him numb the pain a bit.
"Give it up, Mears," he said after watching his so-called colleague sneak a grope in on the poor waitress's rear. She was looking a bit frightened behind the eyes while sporting a brave expression. She was almost model-like, complete with the blonde hair and blue eyes and long legs. Nothing irked Luke more than a woman being harassed. His grip on his glass tightened when Mears gave him a sloppy drunk look in return.
"Aw, it'ss fine," he slurred. "Sshe knowss I'm messsssing around."
"Does she?" Luke challenged.
"It's okay," the waitress, whose name tag said "Cheyenne" on it. "Really." She hurriedly snatched the empty bottles and glasses and gave Luke a weak smile.
"It's really not," Luke disagreed.
"Don't start, Luke," Wolf said, sounding almost exasperated. Luke shot him a look.
"We are respected members of society," he said slowly. "Is this the image we really want to give the public? That we're smashed arseholes who can't keep their hands to themselves?"
Alex was smirking behind his glass, appearing eager to see a fight go down. Luke wasn't afraid of any of them. He'd take them all on if he had to.
"Really, I'm fine," Cheyenne insisted harder, resting a hand on Luke's shoulder and gripping it tightly—so tight that her nails dug in through his shirt. He met her eyes. She still looked frightened.
"I'm rrreally a nicce guyy," Mears said sloppily, waving a hand around as if trying to gesture to himself.
"That's debatable," Lasky said with a snort. He was a bit older than the rest of them with Reddick not far behind. They didn't normally hang out with the younger crowd.
"I'm a cop," Mears went on, getting louder. "Who doesn't wanna be with a cop?!"
"Can I get anyone anything else?" Cheyenne asked, ignoring him. When Mears reached for her wrist, that was when Luke snapped.
"AAUGH!" Mears screeched when Luke caught his fingers and bent them right around before slamming his hand down onto the table.
"That's enough!" Wolf ordered, jabbing a finger towards Luke. "Walk it off!"
"With pleasure," Luke said, getting up. Cheyenne was already scurrying back to the safety of behind the bar. Luke caught up with her before she got there.
"Oh!" she yelped when he touched her elbow to stop her. She managed to stop herself from dumping her tray of bottles and glasses just in time.
"Sorry," he said, holding his hands up. "I just wanted to apologize for him."
"If anyone should apologize, it's him," she retorted, her voice a bit hard and angry. Then she took a breath and exhaled. "Sorry. I'm used to that kind of behavior, really. It just rolls off my back now, you know?"
"Tell that to your eyes," Luke pointed out, and she looked taken aback.
"W-What do you mean?"
"You look terrified," he confirmed. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. For a second, it felt like he was looking into Rita's eyes, and he felt a jolt in his stomach.
"So you're my knight in shining armor then?" she asked, lifting a brow.
"No." He shook his head. "Just not an arsehole."
Her lips twitched slightly, fighting a smile. She cleared her throat and tilted her head to the left towards his table. "You better get back before you make him jealous."
Luke looked to see Mears staring at him and looking pissed off.
"Let him stew," Luke reasoned, looking back at her. "I think it's safe to say the lads have had enough tonight."
"You think?" Her tone was slightly sarcastic. He scoffed lightly.
"I know."
"Good luck telling them they've been cut off," Cheyenne said with a smirk now. He chuckled, starting to walk away.
"Won't be a problem. Take care of yourself."
"You too, Sir Lancelot."
It hit him hard, and his feet stopped moving, which caused him to awkwardly twist away only to twist back. He looked at her hard. "Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Call me that."
"Why not? You're my knight after all, right?"
"Just don't," he said, his voice getting a bit rough now. "Don't ever call me that." Cheyenne blinked, looking confused. They were, after all, talking nicely...weren't they?
"I'm...sorry?" she said. He sighed roughly.
"Don't worry about it."
"But..."
Luke was already turning to go, feeling his throat grow tight as he thought about Lance. God, that man loved pretending to be a knight as a joke sometimes. He knew all the King Arthur facts and information. He always smiled so huge whenever he talked about it.
To be called by the same name just made Luke feel that much more awful for failing to save the only really longterm father figure he'd ever had.
"If you got her number, I ssswear to God," Mears started, thrusting a finger towards Luke when he got back to their table. He ignored him and reached for his jacket instead.
"You heading out?" Wolf asked. Luke glanced at Kolfax and Benoit sniggering while trying to draw on Reddick's face while he was passed out, his head leaning against the seat.
"Yea," Luke said, looking back at Wolf. "Happy birthday, sir."
"Woo hoo," Wolf replied sarcastically. "Cheers." He finally finished his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm.
"Good night." Luke saluted lightly and turned to go.
"I'll walk you out," Alex said, joining him. They said nothing to each other as they reached the exit. Luke hailed a cab and crammed his hands into his pockets while he waited.
"So?" Alex asked.
"What?"
"Did you get her number?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Not interested."
"She's quite a gal," Alex said, his lips pulled into that annoying smirk he did.
"Still not interested."
"She remind you of someone?"
The lurch happened again, but it felt a bit more sickening now. Luke stared at Alex. Did he know? How could he know? It wasn't possible. No one knew about Rita.
"Not at all," he lied. Alex nodded slowly, swiping at his cheek with the back of his hand lightly before sniffing hard.
"Alright. See you Monday."
"Yea." Luke opened the cab door that was now in front of him while Alex disappeared inside again. He got in and gave directions to his apartment. He rested his elbow on the door frame, his fingers against his lips. He thought about Cheyenne, and he hoped she was all right in there when the cab jerked to a stop and made him lurch forward and knock his head into the seat in front of him.
"Argh!" he yelped.
"Sorry," the driver said. "She jumped in front of me."
"What?" Luke looked to see a woman keeping a hand on the cab as she hurried to rapidly knock on the passenger window.
"I'm occupied," the driver said to her as she opened the back door.
"Shit," she said, and Luke recognized her in that second.
"Cheyenne?" he asked.
"It's you!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I hate to bother, but I really need a lift! My sister is in labor and all by herself. I need to get to the hospital!"
The driver looked at Luke, who nodded. "Let her in."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Cheyenne practically squealed. She crammed in next to Luke, and he blinked at her scent. It was the same as Rita's. She was also vibrating the same way Rita would when she was excited about something.
"Oh my God, I'm freaking out," she said, her earlier standoffishness long gone. "And I'm not even the one having the baby!"
Luke didn't know what to think or feel right now. He potentially had a child out there who he'd never met, and he'd missed out on this very moment right here—the birth.
"Just take some breaths. You'll be fine," he said finally.
"I really wish her husband was here," Cheyenne went on, missing his words entirely. "He's overseas in Iraq, you see, which has us scared all the time, but he wanted to go help immediately after the towers fell, and who could blame him? If I wasn't so afraid, or could hold a gun, I'd have signed up too. Anyway, he's over there with no contact and I don't know when he'll be in touch. My sister is freaking out, and our parents are stuck in Canada of all places so it's just me here to help her, and I really don't know how much help I'm going to be to her. I'm useless!"
Wow. Luke stared at her. She talked really fast. "Erm, I think it'll be fine."
"What if something happens during the birth?" Cheyenne asked, clutching his arm now. He winced at her nails sinking into his skin. He wished he'd put his jacket on now.
"It'll be fine."
"Is that all you know how to say?!"
He removed her hand, prying it off. "Just breathe."
Cheyenne huffed but then moaned and pressed her hands against her eyes. "I'm gonna screw it up. I just know it."
"Just be there for her and keep your head on," Luke stated, folding his hands in his lap. "You'll be..."
"Do not say fine!" she cut in, glaring at him.
"...great," he finished instead. She held his gaze with a level stare, and he felt a laugh trying to come out, which surprised him.
"Here we are," the driver said, and Cheyenne bolted upright, clawing at the door handle to let herself out. She tried to leave with her seatbelt still on, which made a choking type of gasp come out of her throat, and she unbuckled herself, chucked it aside and nearly taking Luke's eye out with it, and threw herself out of the cab. Luke counted to three before she stuck her head back in.
"Here!" she exclaimed, tossing in some bills. "Thank you!" She ran off, her heels clacking loudly. Luke watched her go, and he wondered if Cheyenne was actually going to be fine.
"Shall we go?" the driver asked. Luke hesitated. He had no idea what he was doing, but he felt compelled to help this annoying, fast talking woman, so he released a sigh and shook his head.
"No. Here." He handed the driver both his and Cheyenne's money. "Have a good night."
"You're seriously going in there?"
"Someone has to help her keep her head on," Luke answered, getting out. He heard the driver laugh as he shut the door behind him. He went inside, realizing he had no idea how to even find Cheyenne when he could hear her talking down the hall. He followed her voice and stopped outside the delivery room door. He was definitely not going in there.
"Excuse me," a nurse said, stopping a moment later. "Who are you?"
"Erm..." he started. Who the hell was he? Why was he even here? He was about to say he was leaving when the door opened.
"Oh my God! You're here!" Cheyenne cried, throwing herself into his arms.
"Oof!" Luke coughed upon impact, keeping his arms outstretched. Satisfied that he was claimed, the nurse left.
"Wait, why are you here?" Cheyenne asked, pulling back and swiping her hair out of her eyes. Her bun was falling down massively now.
"I'm not even sure," he replied honestly. "It just felt like you needed the support."
"SHYYYYYYY!" a woman's voice screeched, which made Cheyenne jump. Luke registered the nickname quietly.
"I'm not good with blood," Cheyenne whimpered, shaking her hands in anxiety.
"Just stay by her head, and you'll be f—" He stopped himself just as she ceased moving and lifted a brow at him.
"You've got a bit of an obsession with that word," she commented.
"So what if I do?" he retorted. He felt strange in this moment. He had no idea what he was doing, and he didn't know why he was even here. He didn't owe this woman anything.
"Fine," she said emphatically. "Wait out here. I'm hoping this will be over soon." She disappeared back into the room before he could speak, and he went to sit in the waiting room.
"What the bloody hell am I doing?" he muttered to himself, dropping his head into his hands. It was gonna be a long night.
...
Simon was curious. He had seen that waitress get into the same cab as Luke, and he wondered if something was going on there. He didn't feel sorry for Mears. That idiot was already dating someone else as of a month ago.
Simon tapped his fingers on his leg as the cab rode along. Where did they go? Luke wasn't at his apartment, so did he go off with her? That was interesting. Maybe he didn't love Rita as much as Simon thought he did if he was able to just move on like that.
Rita. It was starting to bother him that he couldn't find her. He'd made half-hearted attempts, but nothing came up. He wondered where she'd ended up. Maybe she was dead. That thought pleased him, but he hoped she was alive and well and tortured from being separated from the love of her life. He hoped she lived in fear, looking over her shoulder for him and waiting for the day he decided to find her and kill her after all.
"Where to?" the driver asked, sounding annoyed. His voice broke into Simon's thoughts, which aggravated him, but he sighed. They'd been driving a bit aimlessly after all. Perhaps he should drop in on his pal, Danny. He gave the address and then sat back in his seat, his fingers playing with each other on his lap the whole way.
...
Luke was sleeping awkwardly in the chair when someone nudged him. His eyes flew open, and he saw a tired, but excited, looking Cheyenne standing in front of him.
"It's over," she said. "I've got a niece!"
"Congratulations," he answered after clearing his throat. A slight headache was forming in his temple from the recycled air of the hospital. Or maybe it was from the drinks he had. Either or, really...or both.
"You wanna see her?"
Luke suddenly felt this ball of emotion in his stomach, and his throat tightened. For some reason, he was thinking about how he'd missed the birth of his child, if it was his child. No, it had to be his child. It had to be. But was that worse? Oh, God, he couldn't go down that mental rabbit hole again.
"It's okay if you don't," Cheyenne went on, watching him. "I mean, we're strangers. Who invites a stranger to see their new baby niece? Maybe some people do. I don't know. I've never done this before. I think it'll be okay. Why wouldn't it be okay? Or maybe it isn't. Sorry, I'm just really, really tired. I've been awake for, like, 22 hours just about. Maybe longer. I'm so exhausted. Can barely stand up."
"You talk a lot," Luke blurted accidentally-on-purpose. Cheyenne blushed and looked down.
"I'm sorry," she said, meeting his eyes again. "I do that when I'm nervous."
"I see."
"You make me nervous," she said after a moment, still holding his gaze. "But not in a bad way."
What the hell was he doing here? Luke didn't know what to think right now. Cheyenne was pretty, yes, but it was her eyes that pulled him in. If he just focused on them, he could pretend they were Rita's, which was so incredibly stupid. He knew that. Rita was gone.
"I tend to have that affect on people sometimes," he said, "but more in the bad way." Cheyenne burst into giggles and then clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle them.
"Sorry," she said. "I told you I was tired."
"You did."
"Anyway, do you want to see her? My niece?"
"Sure."
"This way." Cheyenne headed down the hall, and Luke stood up stiffly, cracked his neck and back to loosen up from being crammed in that chair, and followed her. They reached a big window, and he stopped next to her when she did by the end of the window.
"There she is," Cheyenne said proudly. "Alicia."
"Pretty name," he murmured.
"She's so lovely," Cheyenne said with a happy sigh, leaning her hip against the sill of the window and crossing her arms. He noticed her shivering.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. I'm just cold. I didn't think to grab my jacket from work before I left." She hugged herself tighter, and Luke found himself taking off his and handing it to her. She looked surprised, but then she took it and put it on. It bagged on her slightly, but she looked warmer after a moment.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I should check on my sister," she said next, running a hand through her hair.
"Sure." He was ready to go home anyway. It was late, and he was tired. She smiled at him, and he nodded back.
"I'll be back," she promised, heading down the hall past him. Luke stood there for a moment when he was alone and wondered what all of this meant and what to do about it. In the end, he left.
Because he knew in his heart he'd never fully love anyone else, and that was not fair to them.
A Few Days Later
Illinois, U.S.
Nice see you. How you? Rita signed, and Brian beamed.
Good, you? he signed back. Nice see you.
Me good. Rita was still getting used to the fact that the little words in between were not needed much in signing. It was very blunt, but she liked it. Straight to the point. Brendan made a squawking noise, and Brian laughed and bent to pick him up.
"Holy moly, you're getting so big!" he exclaimed, holding Brendan up like he was a famous lion cub. Rita smiled to herself as she went to finish getting ready for work. She listened to Brian making ridiculous noises in order to get her son to laugh, which he succeeded after less than ten seconds, and she wondered how she could trust him with her son when she couldn't trust him fully for herself.
"Mum, Mum, Mum, Mum," Brendan chanted, his fingers into his mouth already.
"Yes, that is your Mum," Brian agreed, nodding. "Can you say Briiiaaan?"
"Bree!"
"Ah, close enough," Brian said with a laugh. "Bri it is." He rested Brendan on his hip and watched Rita cram her shoes on. "So, have you thought about it?"
"I don't have time for it," she answered.
"They have night school now, you know."
"I'm really fine with this."
"Don't lie," Brian said with a dramatic sigh. "Rose, you want to be a teacher, so be a teacher. It's not that hard."
"It is in my case."
"It really isn't."
"I'm leaving now," Rita said firmly, opening the door.
"Bye, Mummy," Brian said, waving Brendan's hand for him. Rita resisted the smile because she couldn't let Brian know his being cute was a good thing, and she needed to maintain her distance.
She got to work to find Chuck standing off to the side while Jody was cursing and throwing things around a bit. Rita lifted a brow, and Chuck shrugged.
"No idea," he said. "I'm not even gonna ask."
"Okaay."
"Just help her chill out, please?" Chuck was almost begging, so Rita nodded. He made a face of relief and then disappeared to his office.
"So," Rita said, going around the bar and setting her bag and coat on the chair. She'd take it to the staff room later. "What's going on?"
Jody was breathing hard as she strained to twist off whatever it was she was trying to twist off. She grunted and groaned and then almost fell on her ass when it came free. She stood up with a mixture of triumph and pissed off-ness on her face.
"Jody?" Rita prompted, and Jody slightly crumpled, tears springing to her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"He left," Jody said heavily.
"Who left?"
"My husband."
"Oh..."
"He was banging some other broad," Jody went on, crying now but also trying not to. "He wasn't really working so much. I'm such an idiot."
"Oh, Jody, no," Rita said, moving to rest a hand on her shoulder. "You're not an idiot."
"The signs were there! I'm obviously an idiot."
"No..."
"And you know what's worse?"
"What's that?"
"My daughter would prefer to live with him because he's 'cool' and has no rules."
"Oh no..."
"I don't get it," Jody said, wiping her face with her sleeve almost violently. "I just don't. How could he do this to me? How could my daughter just walk away from me?!"
"I don't have the answers," Rita replied softly. "I wish I did." She watched Jody sink wearily down onto a stool and rest her crossed arms on the bar top and drop her head onto them a moment later.
"This is not how I pictured my life at this stage," she said, her voice muffled.
"I don't think any of us picture ourselves where we are," Rita commented. She certainly didn't. She thought she'd be with Luke forever.
"You know what's hilarious?" Jody went on, lifting her head up. "He kept accusing me of sleeping with Chuck. Chuck! Like come on!"
"Wow," Chuck said, pausing in the doorway. "I picked the wrong time to come back."
"No offense, Chuck, but I'm not into you," Jody said, waving her hand.
"Ditto," he shot back, going to the till. Rita couldn't help but notice his face was a bit red as though he was embarrassed. Did he secretly like Jody? She wondered.
"Ugh, I don't know what to do," Jody finished, sighing roughly.
"You can wipe down the bar and refill the napkins and get the menus ready," Chuck said rather snippily. "Or do you not work here anymore?" He looked over at Jody, who mimed cranking a handle that made her middle finger pop up slowly. He chewed on his cheek.
"I'm gonna let that go just because you're upset," he said. "But just this once."
Jody didn't say anything and went back to work. Rita put her things in the staff room and went to assist. She didn't know what else to offer, so she just listened. Jody talked about it at length for a while until she gassed out. The bar got busy, and Rita became immersed in the work.
For the next few hours, the ache of missing Luke was put in the background.
New York, U.S.
Luke hated paperwork. Despised it. Abhorred it. His chicken scratch handwriting was all over the place, and he doubted anyone could read it anyway. He was hunched over and trying to remember the details of the last call he'd been on when there was a hush in the bull pen and a shadow over his desk a moment later.
"If this is about the damn Twinkie, I said I was sorry," Luke commented, his voice a slight growl.
"Um, not quite."
His head snapped up, and there was Cheyenne right in front of him with his jacket draped over her arm. He dropped his pen, startled.
"Hullo."
"Hi," she said back. Her eyes darted around for a second to the others watching before bringing them back to meet his. "You, uh, left without this. I wanted to return it."
"Thanks."
She set the coat down on his desk, and he sat there frozen. What should he even say? He had no idea. He could feel the burn from Mears's stare across the room.
"Thanks again for being there," she said now. "It meant a lot."
"Uh huh."
"I, um, I'm gonna go now," she said, gesturing over her shoulder. "Bye..." Her eyes darted to his name plate on his desk. "Luke."
"Bye."
She turned and left, and he felt like an idiot. When she was gone, it didn't take long for Mears to charge over to him.
"What the hell was that?!" he hissed. "I was after that tail!"
"Nothing happened," Luke answered, picking his pen back up.
"Oh, yea right..."
"Nothing. Happened," Luke repeated firmly, glaring at Mears.
"Give it a rest, Mears," Wolf said now. "Get back to work." Mears scowled at Luke before returning to his desk. Luke looked at his jacket and wondered why she'd bring it back to him. She obviously remembered the comment about being cops from Mears that night at the bar. She'd assumed he was one too. He hadn't realized that he hadn't told her his name before now.
"Pretty lady," Alex said from his left. He wasn't looking up from his work, though.
"For someone else," Luke retorted, going back to his form. He shook Cheyenne out of his head and carried on. He missed Alex giving him a look before looking away again. He was too immersed in trying to not scream in agony from missing Rita so much.