Jim shrugged  into his jacket and picked his keys up out of the basket by the loft door. Life was pretty good , he thought . After the furor of the last week, it was beginning to look really good. Naomi and her sage were gone, the press had left them alone for two days now, his senses were functioning just fine (thank you very much), Blair would be going to the academy , and soon he would have him as his permanent partner. Life couldn't get much better.

"I'll be waiting for you in the truck, Chief. Don't make me wait too long."

"I'll be right ..." as he closed the door to the loft he dialed his hearing up just a bit in order to hear the rest of Blair's answer. "...behind you, I'm just gonna grab the folder for Simon."

He smiled to himself as he walked to the (working for now, but who knows for how long) elevator and waved to Mrs. Warner as she stood by her husband  in front of their apartment. A nice lady, he thought. Always asking after Blair if she saw  him in the hallway without his partner. Her husband was also a nice person. In a wheelchair as a result of a wartime disability, he sometimes had trouble getting around. Blair had made it a habit to check in every once in a while to see if they needed anything. His hearing still up as he waited for Blair to join him, he unintentionally listened in on their conversation.

"Mark, you will not say anything to that nice detective about this mess."

"Denise, I have no intention of saying anything. My opinion is my opinion. Unless I am asked, I won't say anything. And I doubt, under the circumstances, if either of them will bring it up.""

"Still, I know how you can be. "

"No, Denise. After 40 years of marriage? Really?"

" Yes, really. And I still want to invite them to the dinner party. I don't believe a word of what they're saying about that young man. He's as honest and sincere as they come."

"I won't say this again, Denise. I will not have Blair Sandburg in my home. You can invite Ellison. You can invite just about anyone you want, but I will not have that man desecrate our son's home."

"Mark, I know you don't mean that."

"I do mean that. If it were only for myself, I could stomach it. God knows I put up with many men to whom I would never have given the time of day  when I was in the service. I will not have a self-proclaimed liar in my home. Our son died in the line of duty before he could ever make his dream of becoming a detective come true, and he died because of a crooked cop. His own partner, and he never knew. He's dead. He won't be coming back. This...man, admits to major academic fraud, doesn't even attend the police academy, and  is offered
a detective's shield. I won't put up with that, Denise. I don't have to."

The door to 307 started to open.

(Don't come out, Chief, wait a moment)

"Hush, Mark. He's coming out."

"Don't hush me, Denise."

"Shh..."

A bright cheerful voice rang out from the doorway of the loft. "Good morning, Mrs. Warner, Mr. Warner. How are you today?"

Blair closed and locked the door behind him, shouldering his backpack. He
missed the elbow Mrs. Warner forced into her husband's ribs as she answered him.

"Just fine, dear. Are you busy today?"

"Just going into the station with Jim. Is there anything I can do for you? Can pick up anything for you?"

"Ah..."

"Sandburg! Get a move on here! We're going to be late!"  Jim punched the button to the elevator and held the door open.

"Just a minute, Jim. This won't take long, what's the hurry?"

"Sandburg..."

"...not today, dear. Thank you." Mrs. Warner smiled as she waved good bye to him.

Blair smiled, waved to the Warners, and stepped into the elevator just as the doors were closing.

"What's up with you, Jim? That didn't take long. They're really nice people. And besides, you don't want to feel bad about being rude when you get an invitation to their dinner party next week, do you?"

Jim leaned against the wall of the elevator, running through his options. "We haven't been invited yet, and I doubt I could make it any way.You probably can't either. I'm pretty sure we'll be busy."

"No we won't ,Jim. And I'm already planning on going. Mrs. Warner told me about the party two weeks ago.  She's really looking forward to having us. Sort of a thank-you for running all those errands for her this winter when her husband was in the hospital."

"Ah, Chief...never mind. "

The elevator came to a halt, the doors opened,  and the two men walked out to the waiting truck.

Jim closed his eyes momentarily. Maybe...life wasn't so good, after all.