Afterward, he wondered when it had begun.

Was it on their first assignment, when they'd discovered just how well their skills had meshed together?

Was it the first time Bodie had saved him, appearing from nowhere to keep a bullet from taking his life?

Was it the first time an op had gone horribly wrong and they'd shared their drunken disappointment at the injustice of the world?

Was it the first time those surprisingly soft, pouting lips had touched his?

Or perhaps it had always been there, from the moment he had first seen proud blue eyes in Cowley's office.

-- THE END --

December 2005