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Zane rolled his eyes "Funny guy" He uncrossed his arms and looked down at hionna do about it?"

"Make you walk home," Ty answered seriously as he twirled his car keys around his finger and turned to head off for his Bronco again

"C’ht you down here, didn’t I?"

"That’s right," Ty acknowledged "If it weren’t for you, those could have been real bullets and bo with," he said pointedly "But no," he drawled out in disappointment

Zane stopped at the side of the truck "I passed the tests, okay? Should be any day noe get the word fro

"Did you really bring a change of clothes?" Ty asked in surprise as he tossed his gear into the back seat

Zane favored Ty with an aggravated look, but he was still pleased enough with the day not to get pissy about it "I figured you’d find so off the walls for over a week now, and I’et lately"

"Are you still pissy about the rubber band cannon?" Ty asked hi the BDU blouse "You’re lucky that guy fro didn’t knoas you when his toupee went flying He ht have rerouted your next paycheck to Greenpeace"

Ty began snickering softly, obviously trying to hold in the laughter He closed the back door and leaned against the rear of the Bronco to look at Zane critically "All the puns in le blue joke," he said reen and black ca it totally inside out as he did "Off your game, Grady," he said distractedly as he set the folded-up blouse on the pave in his duffel for a towel

"You’re just pissed ’cause you got riddled with holes," Ty grunted as he turned to head for the driver’s side door

Zane had to s crazy in the office for the past five weeks, so when he’d heard about the chance to come over here to Quantico for the day, Zane had ju With a sigh, Zane wiped pretty much all the paint off his hands and swiped under his chin a couple ti it and the now-blue uniforot into the passenger seat and shut the door

Ty was looking at him with a crooked smile Zane raised one eyebrow "What?"

"That was fun," Ty told him in a pleased voice, one Zane hadn’t heardfaded in the face of Ty’s unholy glee "I’ his partner a tolerant look Maybe Ty would be a little easier to live with for a day or two Which would in turn ht just be a decent week after all

Ty gave hih as he pulled the Bronco out of its spot, pointing theent Garrett, I understand you’ve finished your evaluations," the Assistant Director of the Criative Division said froany desk The desk stood out against the drab colors of the paint and carpet and matched the wall of bookshelves that warent Zane Garrett stood at the , looking out at the wet, dirty streets of Washington, DC, and desperately wishing he could be anywhere else He could see his boss in the ; the man behind the desk held several files in his hand as he looked at Zane with raised eyebrows

Zane sneered at his own reflection in theThe shadows under his eyes and wrinkles froiving hih he was clean-shaven The scraped cheeks were in sharp contrast to his slightly overgrown dark brown hair Looking at hied that, despite the muscular build cloaked in black slacks and a royal blue dress shirt, he wasn’t any prize right now

He had been assigned to the DC office for five weeks, along with his partner, after they’d been reunited in this very office following five nated to deskwork for various reasons, not the least of which was the physical and mental aftereffects of the turbulent past year or so For hih year Ty seemed better able to shake off the past than he did Zane took a steadying breath and slid his hands into his pockets, shifting uncomfortably in place

He winced and turned to look at Richard Burns He’d known thetoday would be… rocky

"You passed the acade, but you know that already You also know you ed to flunk the mental evaluation that would have cleared you for field duty," Burns said in concern

Zane didn’t answer as he folded his ar what he could say to explain There was soaround in his head that he wasn’t sure hih time with an evaluation he should have been able to bullshit through easily He just hadn’t been able to focus

"If there’s a legitiet your head out of your ass, I’d like to hear it," Burns invited as he looked back up at Zane He paused, probably waiting to see if Zane would say anything When he received no comment, Burns continued "Is it your partner?" he asked carefully

Zane’s shoulders stiffened, and he shook his head quickly His partner had a reputation throughout the Bureau for being hard to ith; Zane had found in the last five weeks that he got etic looks froent Ty Grady than he’d gotten when his wife had died But Zane didn’t have a proble with Ty Not for the saed "Getting over what happened"

That was an understate insoht down a serial killer intent on not being caught was hazardous to your health, bothkilled in a vicious car wreck during the hunt alo had contributed to his problely well--physically He’d attended his rehab appointiously But the rest…

He’d been able to ignore it as long as he’d had Ty in bed next to hiot into his company-issue extended-stay hotel suite, Ty had been there al home to Balti Over the next five weeks, though, as they’d languished in deskaiting to be cleared for the field, the overnight stays had tapered off until Ty showed up only once or twice a week, if at all The less Ty showed up, the less Zane slept And while it did wonders for his physical rehab and workout schedule, it was also one of the reasons Zane had been feeling somewhat disconnected, both froly "That’s certainly understandable," he finally agreed "Which is why I’ve decided to give you a few more weeks of vacation before your official evals take place"

"What?" Zane asked in surprise While he felt a wave of relief that he was getting a reprieve, he also felt his stomach plummet nervously There was always a catch with Dick Burns