by Sue Meyer

Part Twelve

Kermit's fingers flew over his computer keyboard. He hit a final 'enter' with a particularly vicious jab before slumping back wearily into his chair. He slid his sunglasses up to the top of his head and pinched the bridge of his nose against the pressure of a tension headache. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he cursed softly and slid the glasses back into place as he stared at his monitor.

A soft knock at the door only served to pique his temper. "Unless you're going to tell me there's a bomb about to go off in the building, get lost!" he snarled.

"How about a human time bomb ready to blow?"

Kermit grinned in spite of himself and called over his shoulder, "Come in, Peter."

Peter entered the office and closed the door behind him before pacing restlessly around the room, raking a hand through his hair. "Kermit, I'm gonna go nuts if I have to sit at that desk for one more day," he warned morosely.

"Cabin fever getting to you?"

"Cabin fever, hell. This is worse than being laid up in the hospital with tubes stuck in every body opening I have!" Peter exploded. "At least there, I was so drugged up I didn't know what was going on half the time."

"How much longer?" Kermit watched his younger friend and continued blandly. "And would you please sit down before you wear out my carpet?"

Peter dropped unceremoniously into the nearest chair, shoulders sagging despondently. "I don't know how much longer. I've talked with IA four times in the past five days, and I can't tell if I'm getting anywhere." Jumping to his feet, he renewed his restless pacing. "If there was just some lead on who killed Fischer, maybe that Wright woman would get off my back." He paused abruptly and stared at Kermit. "When you found Kacie, are you SURE you didn't see anyone?"

Kermit shook his head grimly. "I might have seen shadows, but nothing solid, Peter. I almost wish now I'd have gone looking for someone rather than check on Kacie."

Peter's head shot up and he gestured angrily at the bespectacled detective. "Don't you ever say that! The only reason I can handle all this crap coming down is because my wife is happy and healthy and I can see our baby growing bigger inside her every day!" His mouth snapped shut and he closed his eyes. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and exhaled in an explosive sigh. When he next looked at Kermit, his hazel eyes were begging forgiveness. "I'm sorry, Kermit. You've been working your ass off trying to find ways to help me. I was way out of line and..."

"Forget it, Kid," Kermit answered gruffly. "We're all on edge. How's Kacie dealing with it?"

Peter flushed guiltily. "She-she doesn't know."

Kermit stared over the top of his sunglasses in open-mouthed astonishment. "You haven't told her? Just how the hell have you managed to keep it from her?"

Squirming in his seat, Peter muttered, "I just tell her I've got a big backlog of work and that I can't talk about the cases. Comes in handy being married to a policeman's daughter; she figures it's a confidentiality thing and she doesn't push."

"Tell her."

"I'm not going to risk getting her all upset."

"Peter, she's going to find out sooner or later. Somebody's going to let something slip, and she'll figure out you've been keeping things from her again. Didn't you get into enough trouble with her the last time you tried to hide something? Tell her."

Peter's jaw set stubbornly. "I'll handle things my way, Kermit."

Kermit raised both hands in the air in surrender. "All right, all right. You do that." He rested his elbows on his desktop. "Jody or Mary Margaret turning anything yet?"

Peter's mouth twisted bitterly. "You mean other than finding out from Roger Chin that I'm supposed to be in Wong's pocket?"

"You care to elaborate on that for me?"

"Chin says Jack Wong is bragging all around Chinatown that he's got a cop who 'owes' him, and that he's just waiting his chance to collect on the debt."

Kermit emitted a low whistle. "That's not exactly the kind of talk we need right now, is it?"

"Kermit, there's no way that I owe that guy anything, and if I weren't trapped behind my desk, I'd go find the little weasel and settle things with him."

"What if he or someone from the Wong crime family did save Kacie's life? Would you feel you owed him something then?"

Peter stared at the tips of his boots thoughtfully before speaking slowly. "I'm grateful to whoever it was, and I'd like to thank them for what they did. Not-not for killing Fischer, but for seeing to it that Kace got the help she needed when she needed it." His eyes met Kermit's. "Would I be grateful enough to look the other way where a criminal was concerned? No."

Kermit stretched in his chair before standing up and stretching again. "Come on, Kid. Let me buy you a cup of coffee."

"Hasn't my day been lousy enough the way it is?" Peter joked as he followed Kermit out the door.

The pair had just filled their coffee cups when a familiar voice called out, "Hey, is there a husband around here who'd like to take his wife to lunch?"

Peter threw a warning glance in Kermit's direction before turning his attention to his wife. Setting down his coffee cup, he opened his arms and Kacie walked into his embrace. He hugged her tightly and then kissed her cheek.

She pulled back frowning and pointed to her mouth. "You missed."

"Oh, sorry. My aim is off today."

She slid her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to meet hers. "There. That's better."

He looped his arms around her waist and grinned crookedly at her. "What happened to the woman I married, who hated public displays of affection?"

"You got her pregnant, and now she doesn't care what people think."

Before he could respond to her saucy reply, they were interrupted by a new voice with words dripping icicles. "My, my, my. Isn't this a cozy scene? No wonder you people aren't finding my brother's murderer."

Startled, Kacie turned to look at the newcomer, then gasped, "Who are you?" She instinctively shrank against Peter's solid bulk as she stared into the glittering onyx eyes of her former captor. She shuddered as surrealistic images of Jason Fischer flashed in her mind's eye.

Tammy Wright's lip curled in distaste at the sight of Peter Caine and his wife. "So you're the one."

Peter felt Kacie's trembling and closed his arms around her protectively, half-turning to shield her from the angry Ms. Wright. "Your beef is with me. Leave my wife alone."

Kermit stepped in front of the couple and gestured to the front desk. "Let me show you the way out, Ms. Wright. Perhaps you didn't realize this was a break area."

"What I realize is that 'break' is the only thing that gets done well around here," she sneered. "Maybe your internal affairs department needs to investigate the amount of time spent on breaks as well as their delving into Detective Caine's misdeeds."

"Internal Affairs?" Kacie pulled out of Peter's arms and stared at him white-faced and wide-eyed. "You're being investigated by Internal Affairs?"

Wright snorted and laughed humorlessly. "So you're not even honest in dealing with your wife. Why am I not surprised?"

Kermit took the woman's arm to assist her from the premises, and she yanked out of his grip. "Take your hands off me. I know the way out." She hissed at Peter. "Enjoy your last few days in law enforcement, Caine. I intend to see you ruined. You won't be able to get a job in animal control when I'm finished with you."

Kermit cleared his throat meaningfully, and Wright turned on him. "I'm going, you reject from the Blues Brothers!" Spinning on her heel, she stalked away.

"Peter, who was that?" Kacie demanded.

Rubbing her back soothingly as he held her, Peter murmured, "Jason Fischer was her brother."

"Her eyes were...oh, God...her eyes! They were like his. Cold...and black...and...dead. Like a shark's eyes." Pushing away from his chest, she clutched at his shirt front as her blue eyes bored into his. "What did she mean about Internal Affairs?"

He reached for her. "Sweetheart, I don't want you getting upset..."

"Well, you're too late. I am upset!" She batted his hands away and retreated from him until she backed into the side of his desk. She gripped the piece of furniture with both hands to steady herself as her words rose shrilly in accusation. "You've been hiding things from me, haven't you?"

Dropping his eyes in the face of her anger, he swallowed hard and spoke hoarsely. "I-I can explain."

"My office is available for a conference," Kermit offered. "I just remembered something urgent I need to take care of." As he made his escape, he tossed over his shoulder, "Later, children."

Kacie brushed past Peter to storm into Kermit's office. He quickly followed after her and closed the door for added privacy. She stood staring out the window with her back turned to him, arms folded across her chest and one leg jiggling in agitation.

"Sweetheart, why don't you sit down?"

"I don't want to sit down. I'm too mad to sit down." She whirled around and gritted out between clenched teeth, sparks shooting from angry eyes, "How could you keep something like this from me?"

"Kacie, I didn't want you getting all upset; it's not good for you or the baby." He shrugged helplessly. "You've been through so much these past few weeks, I-I-I didn't want you worrying about me and whatever might be going on here at the precinct. It doesn't have anything to do with you."

"It has EVERYTHING to do with me!" She briefly caught her lip between her teeth. "Whatever affects you, affects me, Peter. Why didn't you tell me about this? I've known for days that something was eating at you. And what do you say?" She raised her voice and mocked his words. "'It's just work stuff, Honey, nothing for you to worry about.'"

"Kacie, I --"

"I'm not finished!" she snapped. "When you hide things from me like this, it makes me think that either you don't love me enough or you don't trust me enough to be honest with me. And if we can't have a relationship built on trust, we have nothing."

"Don't." Peter drew a ragged breath and shook his head as his eyes closed in a grimace of pain. "I take anything...from anyone else..." A strangled moan came from deep in his throat. "But I can't handle it if you doubt me...or my love for you." He opened his eyes again; the hazel depths revealed a swirling kaleidoscope of emotions as husband and wife stared at one another wordlessly for several seconds. Swallowing hard, he gulped a bite of air. "You're right. I should have been straight with you. But could you be mad at me later? Because I really need you right now."

The naked vulnerability on his face caught at her, but she stubbornly kept her distance.

"Please?" His voice was no more than a hoarse whisper as he reached out his hands, palms open.

Unable to withstand the pleading look on the repentant face before her, Kacie launched herself into his waiting arms. "You're lucky I love you so much, you stupid jerk." Tightening her grip around his neck and hugging him fiercely, her voice caught in her throat. "I'm still mad at you."

He held her tightly. "You can be as mad at me for as long as you want, and I promise to come clean, but give me a minute, wouldja?" He sighed deeply, burying his face in her hair. "Make that two minutes."

To Part 13

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