(Authors' Note: This story takes place approximately one year prior to the events shown in the first season episode of NYPD Blue.)

SAILING INTO UNCHARTED WATERS

Chapter One

John Kelly was adjusting his tie when two slender arms encircled his waist and a warm body snuggled up against his back. Grinning, he turned in his wife's embrace, enfolding her in his arms.

"Can't get enough of me, huh?" His eyes sparkled and he raised his brows teasingly.

Laura smiled. "Don't let it go to your head," she said, kissing him.

Too soon for his liking, she backed out of his arms. "John, I have an appointment today..."

"Yeah?"

She could see he wasn't really paying attention. His mind had moved on to other things. She watched him position his gun holster, securing it above his waist. She turned away, disquieted by the sight. It wasn't easy being a cop's wife.

"You want to grab a bite after work?" he asked.

She shook her head inwardly. Men!

"Maybe; we'll see."

He nodded, clipping his badge to the pocket of his suit jacket, where it rested against the right side of his chest. "Okay, you ready?"

She hesitated. "I just thought of something I need to take care of – go on ahead; I'll talk to you later."

Tenderly, John caressed her cheek. "Be careful," he said, looking into her eyes before kissing her goodbye.

After he left, Laura stood quietly for several minutes, staring into space.

She hadn't said anything to John – not yet.

She needed to be sure.

She picked up her briefcase and started toward the door, but her thoughts drove her back to the bedroom. Tossing the case on the bed, she studied with a critical eye her reflection in the room's mirror. She could detect no difference in her appearance.

But something had changed. Something that would forever alter her life and John's.

There was a spring in John's step as he entered the precinct building. He had a job he loved and a woman he was crazy about! Life was good.

Again. Finally.

He and Lori had gone through a rough patch the past twelve months. There were times when he wondered if they were going to survive it. She started spending more hours at the office, and he hadn't been in any hurry to get home, either.

It was the baby, of course. The baby that failed to materialize.

During the five years they'd been married, four of them had been devoted to their unsuccessful attempts to conceive. It was something they both wanted, but failed to happen. With each month's failure, he felt Lori slipping further away from him.

Lori was an achiever, smart and competitive. She was so sure of herself, so confident that she could do anything. It was one of the things he liked about her, that keen self-assurance. There was something sexy about a woman who wasn't a fragile flower. He'd seen too many flowers in his line of work, and things never turned out well for them. But Lori was strong, and he never worried about her ability to make good decisions.

Their failure to conceive, however, seemed a personal affront to her, as if she'd discovered something she couldn't do, no matter how much effort she put into it.

A year ago, walking through the park, they'd glimpsed a woman with four boisterous kids trailing after her, and he'd felt Lori's body stiffen. Tears had appeared in her eyes when she said, "Look at that woman, John... it seems so easy. She has a bunch of kids... why not us?"

He didn't know what to say and answered in the only way he knew: physically. He'd pulled her close, and held her tight, tucking her head beneath his chin, trying to reassure both of them that things were going to work out.

They had to.

Yet, as months passed, Lori increasingly withdrew from him. One area they never had any problems with was sex, but he began to sense a reticence on her part. Not that she ever denied him. Never... but there was a subtle turning away. He started to feel his overtures were invasive, something dutifully endured.

But now things were different.

Something had happened during the past several weeks, and he wasn't sure what it was, but the old Lori had returned. Eager again, initiating sex, as hungry for him as he was for her. And something else... a lingering tenderness once the lovemaking was over. She'd cling to him, whispering endearments, her breath warm and tickling against his throat.

He wasn't sure why things had changed, but they had.

And he liked it – a lot.

Andy swallowed the last bite of the powdered sugar donut as John took a seat at his desk.

"Nice you could make the party, John," he said, passing a napkin across his lips, dislodging the fine white particles from his mustache.

"I'm fifteen minutes late," his partner replied. "That happens... oh... what? Never?"

"A little morning delight?"

"Jealous?"

"Nah... I can get a woman anytime I want one." Andy took a drink from his coffee mug, studying the man sitting across from him. Things must be better at home, he thought. He's happy.

He knew the kid had been going through a rocky period with his wife.

Andy had never taken to Lori. She always seemed too damned perfect, like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. What the kid saw in her, he could never figure out. They say 'still waters run deep,' so maybe Lori was a dynamo in bed. Whatever... he just hoped it lasted.

Andy loved John – saw him as a son, almost. Had, ever since the kid first became his partner. Energetic, a hard worker, bright, he had what it took to be a good cop. Andy trusted his instincts, and his instincts had told him John was the real deal.

He hadn't been wrong. The youngest cop ever to make detective, John was going places. Or could be. But Andy sensed something else about John: his heart was in the work. He would never bounce upstairs into administration.

He was like Andy. An old-fashioned gumshoe – and Andy loved him for it.

The abrupt ringing of the phone on Andy's desk interrupted his thoughts. "Sipowicz, 15th Precinct..."

He listened, his shrewd eyes alert. "We're on our way," he said, terminating the call.

John looked at him. "Well?"

"Domestic dispute. Get this: it's a wife beating the crap out of her husband. Now there's a switch."

Laura came out of the lady's room, a damp tissue pressed against her mouth.

Her secretary, Tina, looked up from the brief she was typing. "Hey! You okay? You're pale as a ghost!"

Laura nodded, and then swayed.

"Here, Lori, sit down," said Tina, removing a stack of files from a nearby chair.

Laura sank down onto the wooden chair gratefully. "Something I ate must not have agreed with me..." She wiped her forehead with the cool tissue, and rested the back of her head against the wall. "I'll be okay in a minute. What time is it?"

"It's almost eleven... you look clammy. Maybe you should go home?"

"No, really... I'm feeling better already. Besides, I have an appointment at noon."

"I can reschedule for you..."

"No. I need to keep this one."

"Okay," said Tina, her voice doubtful. "Just promise you're not going to pass out in the street. I'll never hear the end of it from your husband if you do."

Laura smiled. "I promise I am not going to pass out here or in the street, okay? And you don't need to mention to John that I wasn't feeling well, Mama Tina, got it?"

Laura liked Tina, an older woman who took a maternal interest in both she and John. Laura's own mother had never been a warm woman, and it had taken her some time to get used to Tina's affectionate fussing. It surprised her how much she enjoyed Tina's concern. It answered a need inside her that Laura hadn't been aware existed.

Tina watched her. "Tell you what: I'll cut you a deal. You go home after that appointment and rest - and I won't say anything to John the next time he picks you up."

"That's blackmail!"

Tina grinned. "It is, isn't it? Well, take it or leave it!"

Sighing, Laura gave in. "Guess I'll have to take it."

The elevator was slow, and John was getting antsy. "Look, you wait; I'm gonna take the stairs."

"Settle down, John, it's coming. What's with you?" Andy asked.

What was with him is that he had a bad feeling about this case.

It had started as soon as they entered the apartment building. The place was a dump, with light fixtures flickering, and paint cracked and peeling from the walls.

"Look, here's the car," said Andy, as elevator doors slowly opened. They rode up six flights in silence, and then walked out into the darkened hallway. "We're looking for 606."

"Over there," said John, pointing toward the dented, metal door.

They heard nothing coming from inside the apartment, and John's heart began to beat rapidly. "You ready?"

Andy nodded.

John rapped sharply on the door. "NYPD. Open up. Now!"

They heard sounds of faint movement from within, and a man, his face bruised and bloody, cracked open the door. "Yeah?"

"Sir, we received a call concerning a domestic disturbance in this apartment. Can we come in?" asked John.

The man looked at John, his fright apparent. He kept rolling his eyes, trying to indicate someone was standing behind him. "Everything's fine," he said.

John and Andy exchanged glances. Everything was not fine.

"Sir, we need to come inside. Please move away from the door."

The man's terror was unmistakable, and he jerked forward suddenly, as if someone had pushed him from behind. "NO! Everything's fine!"

Andy took out his gun. "I think you're a liar."

Laura decided to walk to her appointment. She had plenty of time, and it was an excuse to enjoy the sunshine. Pausing in front of a small toy store, she smiled at the window display of toys from days gone by – drums, wooden ABC blocks, and an old teddy bear.

A memory surfaced. The bear in the attic... John's mother's house.

Before John's mother began to fail, Laura had loved going to Mary Kelly's house on Friday nights for dinner. She was a wonderful cook and a sweet lady. Recognizing that John intended to marry Laura, she had welcomed her into the family, and had been as loving toward her as she was to John.

When she and John first decided to try for a baby, Laura happily shared the news with her mother-in-law. Later, when she realized conception wasn't going to be as easy as she thought, she wished she hadn't said anything, especially when Mary's eyes began to look at her expectantly.

Mary had been ecstatic at the thought of a baby, and she asked Laura to accompany her up to the attic the night Laura shared the news. While John watched the Mets game on the TV in his mother's living room, loudly cheering his team's seventh homerun against the still-scoreless Yankees, Mary showed Laura the cradle John's father had made for his son. Jack Kelly, once a cop like John, had often used his love of woodworking to escape the cares of police work.

Inside the cradle wrapped in tissue paper was a large, soft teddy bear.

"Johnny used to love this bear when he was a baby... I couldn't part with it," said John's mother, her voice tender, remembering the baby she once held in her arms.

"Maybe you'll use the cradle for your baby when he comes along, Lori."

Laura remembered hugging her mother-in-law. "I would love to use the cradle!" she'd said, her heart warmed by the thought. "And the teddy bear... maybe we could put it on a shelf in the baby's room."

That was several years ago, before John's mother became ill. Now Laura wondered if Mary would even comprehend she had a grandchild when the time came.

Pushing the unhappy thought aside, Laura glanced at her watch and then at her reflection in the window. She saw a woman biting her lower lip, struggling not to get her hopes up.

Here we go, she thought. Here we go...

To be continued.

Authors' Note: This is a continuing story from the writing team of WriterJasmine and Teeheehee1234. It's meant to be a fun attempt at writing a story together based on words that readers provide to us on a weekly basis. For more information about this, please read our profile and please feel free to participate. The 'bolded' words throughout the story are words that some of our reader friends sent our way this week. The words utilized are: critical; invasive; elevator; stairs; teddy bear; and attic.