A little over two months had passed since Penny announced that she had been forced into the world of stripping for that brief period of her life. Not many things had changed in this time. The homicide cases came and went, and more often than not, were solved by the detectives. Bayliss and Mik had been going out for a while, as had Tara and Logan. Penny and Kellerman where still and item, and save some small disagreements, their relationship was going smoothly.

It was Penny's birthday today, though she didn't mind that no one really knew. Tara and Mik had stuck candles in a bagel for her this morning, and Logan had greeted her with a hug and a pink rose. But none of the other detectives were aware of the significance of the date, at least that's what Penny thought. Unbeknownst to her, Logan had arranged a party for her at The Waterfront later in the evening. They were going to start setting up for it during lunch, so they were going to get her out of the squad room, just to make sure she wouldn't accidentally stumble into their preparations.

It was nearing her lunch break when Mike approached Pen. He had been watching his old friend shift uncomfortably in her chair all morning, and she had been unconsciously rubbing her lower back for the past ten minutes. He knew that the cold weather usually gave her old injury some trouble, and was surprised at the day's low temperature of 25 degrees.

"How's your back, Penny?"

She glared up at Logan and removed her hand from her back. "It's fine."

"It's been bothering you all morning, hasn't it?"

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it." She glanced at her watch and closed the file she was working on. "I'm going for a walk."

This was perfect. Now he didn't have to convince her to leave.

"I'll come," Kellerman said as he passed by. This was even better news since Kellerman knew about the party. He'd keep her away for the entire lunch hour, so they wouldn't have to worry about her coming back early.

Penny bundled up in her navy overcoat and leather gloves while Mike put on his own leather coat and gloves. They left the precinct and headed for Harbor Place, which was only a few blocks down the road.

"Is it always this cold down here?" Penny asked him.

"No...this must be a cold spell or something. Even in the dead of winter it doesn't usually get like this."

"Makes me glad that I'm not in New York right now," she said. "It's probably at least ten degrees colder up there."

"Did you go for walks in the cold there?"

She smiled. "No matter how low the thermometer read on any given month, I'd walk around Central Park at least once a week. I like to feel the cold air in my lungs...it's refreshing."

Mike couldn't argue with that. Walking to work during the winter was invigorating, and he always enjoyed taking deep breaths of the crisp air. As they drew closer to their destination, he noticed that even with all her time down in Baltimore, Penny still walked at a New Yorker's pace. Fast, like she was in a hurry to get somewhere. He'd been to NYC once, and had been amazed that all the people there walked the same. Something told him that no matter how long she stayed away from the Big Apple, she'd always keep the same hurried pace.

It took them about a half hour to reach Harbor Place. Their intention was to grab a bite in one of the many food courts before returning to the precinct. They were halfway through the courtyard, which was practically deserted due to the weather, when Mike stopped to tie his shoe. That's when Penny noticed the two children playing by the edge of the concrete. She was about to tell them to be careful when suddenly one of them disappeared.

"Oh my God," she said, her fingers instinctively reaching down to unbutton her coat as adrenaline was dumped into her system.

Mike didn't like the tone of her voice and immediately stood up. "What?"

She reached for her revolver and handed it to Mike, "Here, hold my piece." She grabbed her badge and proceeded to hand that over too. "Take this." She left Mike holding her gun in one hand and her badge in the other while she ran over to the remaining child. In times of crisis, like this, she'd always heard people describe the situation as 'going in slow motion.' This wasn't true for her. Everything stayed the same speed, but her mind processed information a million times faster.

"Tommy fell, Tommy fell," the girl was crying and pointing down. Penny picked up the little girl and looked over the edge. There was a figure in the water, struggling to stay above the waves. The foot of ice between the wall and the water made it impossible for him to make it to the small crumbled mound of concrete which he could climb onto in order to get out of the water.

"Shhhhh," Penny said to the child. "Listen to me, I'm going to help Tommy, but I need you to help me." The girl immediately quieted...she wanted to help. "What's your name?"

"My name is Mary Elizabeth Hunter."

"I'm Detective Penny. Now, do you know if Tommy can swim?"

She thought about it a moment before responding. "He can doggie paddle and freestyle and backstroke."

Mike approached them, he'd sent off someone to call 911, and shoved the gun in his pants and the badge in his jacket pocket.

"Mary, this is Detective Mike. He's going to take care of you while I help Tommy, ok?"

Mary nodded and allowed herself to be handed over to the new detective. She clung around his neck tightly as Penny took off her coat and gloves.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mike asked, starting to get worried.

"I'm going in there after him," she replied calmly as she kicked off her shoes, debating whether or not she should take off her blazer.

"No you're not," Mike argued. "This isn't our job."

Penny decided to take it off, and stood in the cold air with only her camisole, slacks, and stocking feet. She was cold, and was going to get colder shortly. "I'm not waiting for this to turn into a homicide." She took the pair of handcuffs from the back of her slacks and gave them to Mike, who shoved them in his other jacket pocket.

"But..." his voice trailed off in the quiet air, but his unspoken words were clear. "But this could be a homicide even if you go."

"Think of it this way, Mike, it'll be a dunker for you if it is, ok?" She leaned over the edge once more to survey the situation. She needed a running start in order to miss the concrete wall and the layer of ice surrounding it. Tommy was starting to have trouble, but he was still hanging in there.

A small crowd of concerned citizens was beginning to form on the edge, and Penny had to make a path for herself. She walked away from the edge, wanting a good 20 feet of running space, with Mike tailing behind her. "How deep is it here?"

"I don't know...30, 40 feet maybe. Is that deep enough?"

Penny had no idea. "If it's not, this will be the shortest rescue in history."

"Penny don't go."

It was a plea for her life, coming from her boyfriend. It was more likely than not that she would be dead in a few minutes, but if she did manage to survive, she knew she was going to the hospital. "Call Logan, find out what I'm allergic to before the hospital gives me anything."

"Hospital?" Mike knew what she was doing, and knew that she was right, but he was having a hard time taking it all in.

"I'm going to get Tommy back for you sweetheart," she promised the young girl.

Mary nodded her head and held onto Mike tighter. She was scared.

"Pen..."

Kellerman grabbed her arm. She turned around, she'd gone far enough. She gently removed his hand and squeezed it. "I'm not going to die. Not today. Trust me."

Mike took his hand back and used it to hold Mary close to him. "I trust you."

The crowd had kept a good sized path open for her, and were watching her closely. She went on her tiptoes, about to run, when Kellerman asked her one more question.

"Can you swim?"

"I can fly," she responded before running as fast as she could towards the edge of the concrete, beyond which her destiny lay. With her last step, she pushed away with all her might. During her fall, she thought only two things - Rule Number One: If you don't know how deep the water is, don't dive headfirst...Rule Number Two: If you try to save someone who's drowning, always have something for them to grab onto...otherwise in their struggle, they'll push you under. She was following the first and ignoring the second.

Although she had mentally prepared herself for it, the shock of the cold water against her skin almost caused her to pass out. It was all she could do to not gasp, which would have been deadly considering the fact that she was underwater. She went straight down to the bottom, God knows how many feet, before she pushed up towards the surface. When her head finally rose up out of the water, she took a deep breath and looked for the boy. He was to her right, closer to the concrete wall than she was. She took a deep breath and dove underwater, heading in his direction. The water pulled at her...it was trying to bring her down, but she wouldn't allow it. She came up again, a few feet from the child.

"Tommy," she called over the waves, "I'm coming."

When she was directly behind him, she put her arm around his chest. He tried to fight her off, or maybe just fight to stay above the water, but when he realized that she was trying to help him, he relaxed.

"Tommy, I'm going to get you out of the water. You're going to have to let me hold you, ok?"

Tommy nodded, and Penny began to make her way towards the ice. She no longer felt cold, nor would she have cared if she did, her only intention was to make sure that this kid didn't die. She reached the ice and began smashing it with her fist. The ice brought warmth to her fingers in the form of her own blood. She felt no pain, however, and continued to break a path to the small mound of concrete next to the wall. When Penny reached it, she helped the boy climb onto it, but remained in the water herself. It was too small for the both of them, and she didn't want to risk him falling in again. She instructed him to take off his clothes, and looked up at the faces who were safely standing at the top of the concrete wall.

"Mike," she yelled as loud as she could, trying to find his face in the crowd.

"I'm over here," he yelled back, waving.

"Throw my coat down."

Her voice was barely audible, but he managed to make out what she said. While she had been swimming, the children's mother had appeared. She took Mary, and a group of passers by were keeping her a safe distance from the edge as she moaned about her son's imminent doom. Mike grabbed Penny's coat off the ledge and balled it up so the wind wouldn't be able to blow it off course. Tommy stood on the rock in nothing but his underwear, and when Penny gave the signal, he dropped it.

Penny knew that she had to get the child out of his wet clothes, otherwise he certainly would die. There was a chance that her coat would fall into the water, but with the number of bystanders, she knew that he'd easily be able to get a coat from one of them. Luckily, Tommy caught the coat on the first try. She told him to sit down and wrap it around him, which he did accordingly. Now she had to worry about him going into shock.

"How old are you, Tommy?"

"Eleven."

"Wow...do you know any songs?"

"Sure. I know a lot of songs."

Penny's adrenaline rush had slowed, the cold was beginning to get to her. She held on to the concrete with both hands and tried to keep her legs moving, but she knew that if the Coast Guard didn't get there soon, she was in big trouble. "Why don't you sing me a few while we wait."

He began to sing short campfire-type songs as she shivered in the cold water.

Back in the courtyard, there was nothing Mike could do. The police had been called, the Coast Guard notified, and the mother was present. All he could do was watch the brave woman who he'd become so attached to fight for her life.

"Anybody got a cell phone here?" he asked the crowd.

Immediately a man handed one over to him. His fingers nimbly dialed the precinct, and he waited impatiently for someone to pick up.

"Pembleton, Homicide."

"Frank, is Logan over there?"

Pembleton sighed into the phone. "You know, you two only have five more minutes before you're supposed to be back here. Gee is going to have your heads on a platter, Penny's birthday or not."

In all the commotion, he had forgotten it was her birthday. What a way to celebrate. "Look, I need to talk to Logan now. Is he around?"

"I think he's over at The Waterfront."

Mike didn't have time to play games. "Well go over there and get him! Come on, I have to talk to him now!"

It was rare anyone ever yelled at Frank Pembleton. He didn't like to be yelled at. But the urgency in Kellerman's voice was not lost on him, and he realized that whatever was happening, it was beyond important. "Hold on, Mike, I'll get him." He shoved the phone to Kay, and told her to keep Kellerman talking and try to find out what was going on.

"What's up Mike?"

"I need to talk to Logan."

"I know, but why all the rush. What's going on?"

"It's Penny...some stupid kid fell into the harbor and she went in after him."

Kay's smile faltered. She sat down on Pembleton's desk, letting the information soak in. "The water's gotta be close to freezing."

"Don't you think I know that?! She told me to find out her allergies from Logan so the hospital doesn't accidentally..." his voice trailed off.

"Just stay calm, Mike. Where are you now?"

"Harbor Place."

She closed her eyes, trying to picture the exact location. That's when she remembered the large drop, and realized that Penny must have jumped. She heard rushing footsteps and opened her eyes to see Pembleton approaching, followed closely by Logan. "What's Penny allergic to?"

Logan's brow knit in a line of concern. "What?"

"What is she allergic to?"

"Penicillin."

"Penicillin," Kay repeated to Mike.

"Got it. I'm gonna go, I can't stay on the phone when she's down there....dammit where's the fucking Coast Guard...I mean, she got the kid out, but she's still in the water..."

"Stay calm. They'll probably take both of them to Mercy. We'll meet you there." She paused. "And Kellerman, have faith. She's a strong girl."

Kay hung up and looked at her companions. "Some kid fell into the harbor and Penny took it upon herself to play the hero. The kid is out of the water, but she's been in there for I don't know how long." She headed for the squad leader's office. "I gotta tell Gee about this."

"Where is she?" Logan called after her. He wanted to be there...he wanted to help her.

"There's nothing you can do, Mike. Wait here, and we'll go to Mercy Hospital as soon as I talk to Gee."

Not knowing where to go, Logan went back to his desk and picked up the picture on it. It was Penny in a long sundress, sitting on the branch of an oak tree, her arms full of Geritans and cattails that he'd picked for her from the nearby stream. They had gone on a picnic that day, and she brought a camera with her...so it was only natural that they took pictures. It was the one photo from the event where she wasn't wearing her sunglasses, so you could see her eyes sparkling with the promise of a good time. Mike touched her smiling face, trying to reach her flawless skin through the plastic cover.

While Mike sat at his desk and Kay talked to Gee, Frank rushed back to The Waterfront to inform his friends about the unfortunate accident. And all this time Penny was in the water. She didn't know how long it had been, but it was bordering on too long. Her teeth were actually chattering, and her body was slowly going numb. She had lost feeling in her feet, and her hands were beginning to have trouble holding on to the rock. The waves had picked up, and the undertow was growing stronger...no doubt in her mind that a storm was brewing. One wave hit her too hard, and she lost her grip...Penny struggled to resurface, but when she did, she was already more than a few feet away from the child. She was coughing, but still breathing. Tommy had stopped singing; he was afraid for her.

"It's ok, honey. I'm going to be ok. Just keep going," she said, wondering what was taking the Coast Guard so long. "No matter what happens, I want you to keep singing." Hopefully his singing would distract him enough that he wouldn't have to watch her. "Sing to the crowd," she pointed up, "Sing for them."

The boy did as he was told, and turned his back on her. Penny's mind continued to fight, but her body had just about given up. She used up all of her adrenaline saving Tommy, and was almost out. Her lower legs had lost all feeling, her right hand throbbed from breaking the ice, and her left throbbed from the cold. The pull was too much for her, and she drifted out further. She tried with all her might to stay above water, but her arms and legs simply didn't listen. She was beginning to spend more time under the water than above it, and her lungs were taking in more salt water than air. Her hair floated around her as she sank...down, down, down, where the mermaids roam and the sea horses play. More than anything she wanted to live, but if Tommy's life meant sacrificing her own, she was ready to do that.

"Please, God," she thought as water filled her lungs, "Let me live. I promised I would live. But if I have to die, save the little boy. He's too young to die."

Suddenly she had one burst of energy left. She kicked with all her might and breached the surface of the waves one last time. But there wasn't enough oxygen in her blood to stay conscious. She took one last look at Tommy wrapped up in her coat, and tried to find Mike's face in the crowd, but it was too late. She thought she heard the distant sound of a boat's motor when her world went black, and she sunk back into the depths of the unknown.

Kellerman watched the scene in utter horror, frozen where he was as she clawed the unrelenting ocean. She disappeared once, only to resurface a few seconds later. But the second time the water swallowed her, she didn't come back. The Coast Guard reached the boy a minute later. The people standing with him called down to tell them about the woman...the woman who saved the boy. But the people on the boat ignored their cries, probably believing that they were just relieved. However, the small child began motioning to the water, obviously explaining that the woman who had helped him was underwater. A diver immediately jumped in and began his search. It seemed to take forever, but when he returned to the surface, he had the body of the brave woman detective with him. As soon as Mike saw her, he broke through the crowd and sprinted to the nearest dock, where he assumed they'd be headed.

When the small boat reached the dock, ambulance attendants carried Tommy off. Penny lie on the floor of the boat, her camisole now off, with wires attached to her chest. One medic was pumping oxygen into her mouth. "Clear," one of the men said before placing the large panels on her upper chest. Her lifeless body jerked as the electric current raced through. They started giving her oxygen again. "Still nothing, up the voltage." Once the machine was ready, they did it again. This time they got a pulse. Penny started coughing up water, and they backed off as spasms wracked her body, which was trying to rid itself of the cold liquid. When her lungs were sufficiently clear, she looked up at Kellerman, who was still on the dock. She was in only her bra and slacks, her hair was starting to stiffen from the cold, and her eyes dark. Her skin was tinted light blue, and her lips were even more so. She looked like a corpse.

"Is Tommy ok?"

"Yeah, Tommy's fine."

"Good," she replied, and fell back into the shroud of blackness that encompassed her mind. But she continued to breathe, and her heart kept beating this time. The Coast Guard put her body on a board which the EMTs carried off the boat and into the ambulance.

"She's allergic to Penicillin," Mike told them, afraid that they might give her some not knowing the affect it would have on her. They nodded at his statement and closed the back doors. He jumped into the seat next to the driver, and the siren screamed as they headed towards the hospital.

"Why didn't he stop her?" Logan asked as he sat down for the umpteenth time. "Why did he let her go?"

"Come on, Mike," Munch said, sitting down next to him, "You know her better than anyone else. Once Penny has it in her mind to do something, she does it. No ifs ands or buts. If it had been you and her, she would've still done it."

Logan got up and started pacing in the tiny hospital waiting room. "I know. You're right."

Kay and Gee were sitting next to Munch, waiting for some news, any news, of Penny's condition. She hadn't been brought in yet, and both were concerned for her welfare. Bayliss and Pembleton had stayed back at the precinct, they were in the middle of a case and couldn't just stop, but only at the insistence that as soon as the others knew anything, they'd call them. Lewis stood against the wall, wondering if the girl he jokingly called Champ would be able to live up to the name...hoping that she could.

After about a half hour, a worn out Kellerman appeared. He aged 10 years since they'd seen him last. Those of the group who weren't on their feet already, stood at his approach. He opened his mouth, but no words were forthcoming. Kay sat him down and Lewis got him a cup of water.

"She's in a coma," he explained to the faces surrounding him. "She doesn't have frostbite or anything, her heart is beating and her lungs are functioning on their own. But she's in a coma, and they don't know if she's going to wake up."

"There's nothing we can do sitting around here," Gee said wisely after a slight pause, "I think we should all go back to work."

"No," Kellerman replied with eyes that were as lifeless as Penny's body when they dragged it from the water. "I'm not leaving until she wakes up."

"But Mike," Kay started gently.

"No."

"Let me talk to him, Gee," Logan said. "We'll meet you back at the precinct in a few minutes." Gee gave Logan a knowing look, understanding that only he could convince Kellerman to leave, and walked away. Munch, Howard, and Lewis followed, leaving the two Mikes alone. "We can't just sit here, Mike."

Kellerman looked at the man Penny referred to as her brother. "Maybe you can't, but I can."

"Kellerman, listen to me. I made her a promise. Last time she was in the hospital, I refused to leave until I could see her. My superior officer gave one of my open cases away...to a couple of idiots who botched it up big time. Penny was so mad when she found out," he smiled at the memory of her screaming of him from her hospital bed. "She yelled and yelled...she made me promise that if she was ever in the hospital again, that I wouldn't let anyone wait around for her. She didn't want cases to suffer because she was hurt."

"What if she wakes up and I'm not there?"

"Then she knows you're out fighting crime. That's what she wants. If she wakes up and none of us are there, I'm sure she'll wait for us to come by. We can still come during visiting hours, you know."

What Logan said made sense. It was just like Penny to put others before herself, so it didn't surprise him in the least that she'd want them to go back to work even when she was incapacitated. "Why was she in the hospital last time?"

Logan sat back in his chair. It was four years ago, and he had been so upset by the whole thing that he almost broke one of the waiting room chairs. "She was trying to catch a perp, but one of his buddies was hiding behind a pile of junk. As she was chasing him, his friend jumped out and shot her." He pointed to his lower back. "Right about here. It didn't do much organ damage, just nicked her kidney. But there's a scar, and the tissue around it has a tendency to get sore, especially in cold weather. That's the reason I knew she was allergic to Penicillin...they gave her some then and it almost killed her."

Kellerman didn't want to say what he was about to, but someone had to. "What if she doesn't wake up?"

"She will. I've never seen anyone as feisty as Penny. She'll fight her way back, she always has," Mike stood up. "She gets that from me. She may not be a blood Logan, but deep down, she out-stubberns us all."

Kellerman stood as well. He made a silent promise to visit Penny whenever he could, even if she didn't wake up for the rest of her life. He'd always be there for her, just as she had vowed to always be there for him. The two men left the hospital in silence, leaving their hearts with the woman who'd touched their lives and made them better people than they were before.

A week went by, each day going at a snail's pace, each day no change in Penny's condition. Kellerman visited her twice a day - during his lunch break and after work. Most of the Homicide unit stopped by a few times a week, and her roommates also made sure to come in once a day. Most times, Mike would just sit there and look at her. She looked so peaceful lying there in a deep sleep that she might not awaken from. And as every day passed, everyone lost a little hope, though they'd never admit it.

Tuesday afternoon found Mike and Meldrick at her bedside around lunch time. Mike sat in a chair next to her bed, and Lewis made himself comfortable on the windowsill.

"You know, she was incredible."

"Last week?" Lewis asked. His partner hadn't been very talkative as of late, and was afraid that Penny's prolonged sleep might cause him to do something rash.

"Yeah, last week." Mike paused and looked at his friend. "She jumped right in...I mean, there was no question in her mind, she was going to save the kid if it killed her."

"She's a brave one all right."

"No, Meldrick, she's more than that. I mean, you know how when you're in the middle of some kind of crisis situation and you're not really thinking? Well, you're thinking, but you don't realize what kind of danger you're in 'til it's over?"

"Yeah, kinda like after you push some sorry sucker outta gunfire or something, and only afterwards you think to yourself, 'Man, I could've been killed.'"

"Exactly. And that's good, right? 'Cause otherwise there wouldn't be too many people saving lives." Lewis nodded, and Mike continued. "But not Penny. She knew what she was doing. She knew the consequences, and she still did it. She looked right at me, and I saw it in her eyes...she knew that she could very well die, but she jumped in the freezing cold water anyway. That's incredible."

"Sure is."

"Then why couldn't I do it?"

"Do what? Jump in there after her? What good would that have done?"

"Maybe I could've saved her. Maybe I could've kept her from sinking to the bottom of the harbor. I don't know." Mike got up and walked to the foot of her bed. "Maybe I could've prevented this. Maybe, if I went in after her, I could've kept her heart beating. Maybe she wouldn't be in a coma right now if I had the balls to help."

"And maybe you'd both be dead. Mikey," Meldrick said, standing up, "You did the best possible thing. You helped her all the ways you could. And when she wakes up, she's gonna tell you that, and she's gonna smack those silly ideas right outta that thick skull of yours."

Mike smiled a little at that...he could just see her giving him a good smack. "Why wouldn't that surprise me?"

"Come on, man. We gotta get back to work." Lewis patted his partner's shoulder and walked past him to the door. "You can come back later."

"Later," Kellerman repeated, leaving Penny alone in the room.

After his shift ended, Mike went directly back to the hospital. He continued his bedside vigil alone until Mik came by. She was hit very hard by the news, and had actually passed out upon hearing it. Since then, she had been a mass of nerves, and would cry at the drop of a hat. Her first few visits to the hospital, she was hysterical, but as the days turned into a week, she became quieter, crying softly at her friend's side. She walked in with Bayliss following close behind. Mik gave Mike a quick peck on the cheek before moving to the other side of the bed. It was the first time he'd seen her that her makeup wasn't smeared...yet. She stroked Penny's hair and sang the "Weeping Willows" song that he had heard his girlfriend sing such a long time ago. Mik was very talented, her voice low and wispy so that Mike could almost hear the wind rustle through the trees. When she was done, she began to weep, at which point Tim gently stood her up and held her. When she was sufficiently pacified, he whispered something to her, and she left him alone with Mike.

"How's she doing?" Tim asked, sitting where Mik had been.

"The same."

"The doctor's haven't said anything?"

Mike sighed and looked down at Penny. "Only that each day she's under, the less likely it is that she'll wake up."

Tim reached down and brushed her hair out of her face. "She'll make it, Kellerman. She's just waiting until you least expect it. You know Penny, always doing something to surprise us."

"Yeah."

Tim left, and Logan and Tara came in. Tara was also hit hard by the news, but tried to stay together for Mik's sake. She took on the position of mother when Mik's parents were killed, and knew that if she fell apart now that Mik wouldn't be able take it all. Above and beyond that, she knew from Penny's stories how Logan reacted when one of his friends were hurt, so she felt that she had to be strong for him too. Of course, that plan didn't work as well as she hoped, and she ended up crying on his shoulder a few nights. Mike, on the other hand, was torn up on the inside, but tried his best not to show it on the outside. In addition to that, he actually managed to control himself, for once, and wasn't pacing the hospital hallways at all hours insisting that the doctors do something...he was just unable to sleep at night. The two didn't stay long; neither Mike nor Tara could stand to see Penny like that for extended periods of time. Tara stood behind Mike with her hands on his shoulders as he read from Penny's collection of Edgar Allen Poe works that he had given her the last time she was in the hospital. After being shot, Pen was very weak, so Mike would come in and read to her...he bought her the book because she was always going on and on about the way she always wanted to read Poe, but she never owned a book with any of his works in it. When Logan was finished, Tara read a quick poem, and they left the book next to her bed. Kellerman didn't pay much attention to them until they were leaving.

"You staying with the girls tonight?" Kellerman asked. Since last week, Logan and Bayliss had been taking turns staying over with Mik and Tara just in case they needed anything.

"Yeah. In fact Tim and I might both stay."

"Good. It's good that they won't be alone."

"Hey, Kellerman," Logan said, "You're welcome to come too. You don't have to be alone either."

"Thanks, but I'm ok."

"If you change your mind," Logan offered, "You just stop on by."

The blonde Mike nodded and the dark-haired one left.

Kellerman waited to see if anyone else was going to visit...he waited two hours. Kay and Munch stopped in for a few minutes and Gee came by as well. When he was sure that no one else was coming, he buried his face in his hands and cried.