"Well, I am," Jenna was laughing. "You kept me busy, taking all those fish off your hook."

"I could have done it myself." Nicky sounded highly amused. "I'm good at that part."

"Well, now you tell me. Are you sure you want to sleep on that hard floor? It doesn't look very comfortable." There was a long pause and Steven met Helen's eyes and realized they were both praying for a minor miracle-for Nicky to sleep in his own bed for the first time in six months. "Well, suit yourself," Jenna said and Steven let out the breath he'd been holding. Rome wasn't built in a day, he thought. They'd get there with Nicky. They would. "Can I at least cover you up?" Jenna asked. There was quiet and then Nicky's voice.

"Could you sing?"

"Me?" Jenna's horrified response made them all smile. "You want me to sing to you?"

"You don't hafta." Steven looked at Helen who smiled at Nicky's dramatically mournful tone.

"Well, since I don't hafta, I won't," Jenna replied and Matt snickered softly. "Besides," she added, "we weren't much for lullabies in my house. My dad had an old drinking song he would sing when my mother wasn't around, but I suspect your dad might have a problem with that."

"Yeah, he prob'ly would," Nicky agreed thoughtfully. "But he's not here right now," he added in a bright voice and Steven choked back a laugh.

"Good night, Nicky," Jenna said firmly.

"Will you be here when I wake up tomorrow?" Nicky asked, so softly they all had to strain to hear him and Steven swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump that had formed in his throat.

"No, sweetheart, I have to go home. I have school tomorrow and Jean-Luc will be missing Jim. I think I'll see you in a few days. Now, go to sleep."

Jenna appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in a pair of Steven's old sweats, her feet bare and her wet hair hanging down her back in a single braid. Steven felt his soul settle at the sight of her, even as she started in surprise. "I didn't know I had an audience," she said in a low voice when she got to the bottom where they waited. "Now I'm doubly glad I didn't sing."

"So are we," Matt said with a grin and she swatted him.

"Go get a shower, Matt. You're still covered in yck."

Steven took a look at his middle boy whose grin had become a scowl. Matt's jeans were covered in black slime up to his mid-calf. "Yes, you are. What'd you fall into, Matthew?"

"You don't want to know." Jenna answered for him and it was Brad's turn to snicker as Matt skulked up the stairs. "Don't you start," she said, turning to Brad. "Besides, I understand that you have some homework to catch up on." She looked his oldest in the eye, silently issuing a challenge.

Brad met her gaze for a long minute in which everybody held their breaths, then he nodded. "I understand that there's this really nice chemistry teacher who gives after-school tutoring."

Jenna sucked in her cheeks, considering his request. "It'll cost you. Standard tutoring fees."

Brad shrugged. "It's okay. My dad's good for it."

Jenna shook her head quickly. "Uh-uh. Cash comes from you or no deal."

Brad's eyes widened when he realized she was very serious. "Dad!"

Steven held up his hands. "I'm not involved in this negotiation. Plus, I agree with her."

"You would," Brad said in a disgusted tone. "I've got no cash."

Jenna raised her brows. "Then you'd best get a job." She looked at Helen. "Was there any pot roast left from dinner?"

Helen's expression was serene. "I already made you a plate."

Steven looked from one to the other. "Why didn't you eat with the others?"

"You don't want to know!" Matt yelled from up the stairs.

Jenna chuckled. "No, you really don't. Let's just say I hope I left some hot water for Matt after getting all the yck cleaned off of me and Nicky."

"I'm sorry I missed the fun," Steven said, with a pang of regret.

Jenna patted his arm. "Next time you can come. We'll just choose a different fishing hole."

"Brad, come," Helen instructed. "I have work for you to do to pay for those tutoring lessons."

"But-" Brad protested and Helen cut him off with a look. "Okay," he muttered and followed Helen, leaving Steven alone with Jenna in the relative privacy of his open foyer.

"Sounds like you all had an adventure today," he murmured, sliding his hands under the sweatshirt she wore, touching the warm, firm flesh of her back. Wishing they were more alone so he could touch the warm, firm flesh of her front.

"That it was." She linked her hands around his neck. "What about you? Any progress?"

He thought about his four-hour "deposition" with the mon-signor. He thought of Mike's career and wondered once again if he'd ever fully repair the damage they'd done to a great man's name. He thought about the fact that Victor Lutz had finally detected the presence of the unmarked cars on his street and complained to the mayor and how Steven had to tell the mayor they were watching for school vandals because he wasn't supposed to know Rudy Lutz was really William Parker. He thought about how humiliating it had been to be scolded like a schoolboy for misuse of county resources. And how he'd defied orders and extended the patrol surveillance for one more day.

He considered the latest barrage of questions from the press, outraged at his team's inability to solve this crime in their allotted one hour of prime time. And he thought about the mountain of paperwork he'd scaled, knowing it would have grown back to its previous height by tomorrow morning. So had he made any progress? "No, not a whole hell of a lot." he answered.

"Don't do that," she said softly.

"Do what?"

"Click off with me. It's like you go somewhere else and leave me behind."

He stiffened. It was a very Melissa-like comment, but delivered without venom. Today. Who knew where they'd be in five years. Ten? "It's part of the job, Jen. It's part of who I am."

She digested this in silence, not breaking her eye contact. Then finally said, "All right."

"All right? Just all right?"

She smiled and he felt the knot in his gut loosen by slow degrees. "Just all right. I guess the trick on my end will be not getting hurt when you click off." She lifted on her toes and brushed a soft kiss across his mouth. "But the trick on your end will be not to click off that often. Or wait too long to click back on."

It was a proposal of sorts. "I can live with that. If you can."

"I can," she whispered, still a fraction of an inch from his mouth.

But for how long? he wanted to ask. But didn't. He didn't have any right to ask at this point. They'd known each other nearly two weeks. They'd never talked anything more long-term than the next day. Certainly never come close to uttering the word "love."

Yes, you did, Thatcher, his self told him. You told her you could fall in love with her.

Yes, I did. And maybe I have, he thought. Maybe.

"Steven, you look completely exhausted. Go eat dinner and go to bed."

Her words reminded his brain of how tired he really was. "I'm sorry, Jenna. I'm not much company tonight."

She slipped one hand from the back of his neck to put gentle pressure on his mouth. "Get some rest, Steven. Call me tomorrow and we can talk some more. I'm going home now."

Home. To her apartment. His brain kicked back into full throttle. Until they picked up Rudy Lutz and his friends, he didn't want her being alone at night. "Jenna, I've been thinking about that. I'd feel better if you stayed here tonight."

Her lips quirked. "I bet you would, but I don't believe you have it in you, Special Agent Man."

He chuckled, despite his exhaustion. "If that's a challenge, I'll declare you the winner right now. No, I'm talking about Lutz and his friends. Pullman hasn't found anything tying any of them to your car yet and I just want you to be safe. For dumb jocks who can't pass high school these guys have shown an amazing amount of planning and care."