Flashpoint – Conviction

A/N: I really hope people don't mind the sub-plot. I thought it would be good to add it in, just because it seems "normal", before things drastically change for Spike (and Winnie) here. I also decided to split this chapter up, and start the beginning of the next chapter with that dinner I mentioned earlier. Anyway, I'm back, and just in case you didn't read my additional note at the beginning of the prologue, I did decide (after a friend's suggestion) to increase the time between when Winnie is taken and when Spike decides to find her himself. 6-7 months sounds more reasonable than a few months. Which, as I said, is better now since I can add in an idea I had to the story, and not feel so...rushed. Also, I'm extremely sorry for the lateness, but I was feeling ill at the start of June for a while. I think I'm okay now, so here's hoping I can write these chapters a lot quicker without any problems. But hey...can't help it. In any case, if it happens again or something else comes up, know this: I won't stop writing this story because I'm really enjoying working on it. Ta-ta, for now, and thank you for the two reviews "guests". Not sure if you're the same guest or not, but thank you regardless. :) More feedback would be appreciated, of course.

Chapter Two: Questionable Visit

James Strath Elementary School

10:45am

Minus his helmet and MP5, but dressed in his SRU uniform and gear, Scarlatti was driving Babycakes up the sidewalk toward the school; passing several parents who were either making their way into the school, or out. They gave him curious and questioning looks, but figured he was here like most of them were for today. By the time he approached the double doors of the front entrance, a petite, well-dressed, middle-aged woman with graying hair, a stern look and caring blue eyes greeted him when she opened one of the doors to hold it for him.

"Thanks," He said to her for keeping the door open. He drove the robot passed the doorway, and once it was inside, he stopped to turn to her.

"I'm Officer Mike Scarlatti," He introduced himself to her. "I'm taking care of my neighbor's kid, Max Greene, for a few days. His parents are gone on a business trip, and he invited me to take their place and talk to his class about my career choice."

She nodded at that. "I believe his teacher, Mrs. Baliant mentioned that yesterday during lunch," she said, "He seemed very excited that someone he knew was able to make it. It's good that you were available to come in and talk to his class."

"And you are?" He extended his free hand while he held the remote-controller that moved the robot around in his other hand.

"I'm Principal Abigail Reyes," She answered, smiling back, taking his hand in hers in a firm handshake. "Oh, you have a good, strong grip, sir." She complimented, impressed.

"Eh, I have to in my line of work, ma'am," Scarlatti replied, "Dealing with defusing bombs isn't for weak hands."

"I see," She nodded. "Working with them must be very scary, too. You're a very brave, young man."

"It is," he admitted, "I make due though."

Principal Reyes stared at him for about a minute, looking as if she was trying to figure out if she's seen him before. She soon asked, "Didn't I see you on the news a while back during the terrorist attack in the city? With all of those bombs?"

He smiled, or at least tried to, and nodded. "Yeah."

Was all he could say, seeing as even the mere mentioning of that day was still a bit difficult to talk about with people, other than his own team. At least, she took the cue that he didn't want to talk to her about it, and motioned for him to walk with her.

He drove the anti-explosives robot into the school with her walking next to him to usher him over to the main office so he could sign in at the front desk. She waited outside with Babycakes, while he went into the office to sign his name on the visitor's form, and a brief reason why he was there. Once he was done signing in, he continued to walk with her through the halls, passing by some quiet classes where the students were working and loud classes of third and graders enjoying group projects, or passing by curious children walking down the hallways. He answered some of their questions if they stopped to ask him about it, which he was very happy to do so.

She glanced down at the robot curiously for a moment, and then initiated a conversation with the SRU officer.

"Thank you for coming, Officer Scarlatti," She smiled, "Even though it's Career Day, I thought it was best to let the school know that you were going to be here only for what today is about, and nothing else – fortunately. I didn't want anyone becoming nervous or scared when they see you with your neat little robot you have there."

He laughed lightly at how she mentioned his neat little robot he had with him. "Well, thank you, Principal Reyes and it's understandable." He gave her a nod as he smiled in return. "It's nice to visit a school under these circumstances for once, and not during an emergency."

God knows what he would do if Team One had to deal with an active shooter in an elementary school. He hoped he would never have to deal with it, especially once his child is born and old enough to attend grade school. Taking care of Max, even for the short amount of days, was a plus in seeing how he and Winnie could handle parenthood once their own son is born, but dealing with certain situations some day will probably be hard; though, Ed, Greg, and Wordy all said he could run to them if he needed help with anything – just like how they told Sam to do the same when Sadie was born. Being a soon-to-be father was both equally amazing and terrifying at the same time. Unlike him though, Winnie seemed to be taking the whole parenthood and mother thing pretty well, but that wasn't surprising to him at the slightest. That's my Winnie, he thought with a warm smile.

Scarlatti smiled thoughtfully for a few moments, walking beside Mrs. Reyes, while she led him to the corridor where the second grade classes were, which was where Max's classroom was located. The two waited outside while another parent was speaking to the class. He glanced inside the room from the hallway, and noticed Max right off the bat, who was suddenly looking back at him from his seat across from the classroom door. The boy's bored expression changed, and he waved frantically at the officer, while whispering his nickname a few times. His teacher quieted him, but the boy didn't stop grinning happily when the man finally acknowledged him as he waved back.

While Scarlatti was quietly talking to the Principal, some of the other students were looking at him curiously, and a couple of them asked Max about Spike, but were shushed by Mrs. Baliant since someone was still speaking to them. Smiling a little, Mrs. Reyes gently grabbed the man's arm and pulled him away from the children's view so their attention wasn't on him.

"Sorry," he chuckled.

"It's okay," she said, "You and your robot seemed to have perked them out from falling asleep."

He laughed quietly, nodding in agreement. "You seem pretty interested in Babycakes as much as the students."

"I can't help it," She chuckled. "My father was a mechanical engineer, and he used to bring his small robots home to work on them. He also fancied giving each of them names, too. I would have wanted to follow in his footsteps, but becoming a teacher and a principal was something I truly wanted to do, like my mother." She smiled, adding, "I honestly think those kids are going to love you the most out of all of the other parents, especially since you brought your robot with you."

He nodded quietly. "I'm sure I'll get the same reaction I always get during the summertime when the children are out of school. When we stop by a fast-food place or a diner for a quick bite to eat, and there's little kids inside, they always flock over to us if we're sitting inside."

He smiled happily, folding his arms in front of his chest while he explained to her how much he enjoyed seeing children come up to him and whoever he was partnered up with, and ask them what seemed like a million questions, and how they want to give their gear a closer inspection. In which they explained what everything was when a child pointed at it; minus their firearm in their thigh holster.

He then shrugged. "We don't mind it, but their parents sometimes did, and would have to practically carry them away from us after apologizing repeatedly because they thought their kids were bothering us while we ate."

While they continued to wait quietly out in the hall, she decided to tell him about the class, and how well-behaved everyone was for the most part.

Scarlatti then decided to ask her about Max. "Speaking of behavior," He leaned back against the wall, looking down at her as he quietly asked, "How well is Max's scholastic performance and how is his behavior in school?"

"Hmm," She looked back at him for a long moment, eyebrows slightly furrowed, jaw set. If she was bald, she would remind him of Ed Lane. "Max is an above-average student, but lately, he has been slipping somewhat. Very smart, and Mrs. Baliant seems to have to keep pushing him to work since he day dreams. He's also very shy. He has...been dealing with bullying lately, but he did lash out at one of his teachers back in January of last year."

"Did you find out why?"

"He pushed another boy on the playground during recess, and when Mr. Johnston – the gym teacher - saw it, he went over to talk to him, and ask him to apologize to the other boy he pushed. When he didn't get a response, he touched his arm to get his attention, and Max suddenly went nearly berserk on him."

"Then what happened?"

"I punished Max, of course," she explained further, "I gave him a week of in-school detention during lunch. He sat in the office with me, ate, and did his work. I also sent a letter to his parents, telling them what happened, and suggested them to get Max into some kind of counseling. I guess they did since I haven't seen him in my office for getting into trouble since that incident." She continued, "He doesn't seem aggressive at all...no lashing out, even if he's teased or pushed around by other students. We try our best at keeping the school bully-free by punishing them and teach them why it's wrong, but it doesn't always work."

"Doesn't always work isn't comforting to me," he said, "Same with punishing them. Bullies are either bullied themselves or are trying to reach out for help. It would be better if they were helped, as well as the victims, and not be punished."

He was getting a better understanding about what was going on with Max. For him this morning, Max didn't lash out, he backed away in fear. Maybe the seven-year-old went to counseling for a while, but he could have also been threatened to never lash out – never defend himself again, and that worried him.

"If you're also suggesting the boy is being abused at home, we informed children services about what happened," she went on, "They investigated his parents, and found no evidence of any form of abuse; no visible markings, nothing, and when they questioned Max, he said he was just being bullied by some students."

He quietly nodded again, peering into the room just when the speaker was starting to finish up with his presentation.

"Do you have any children of your own, Officer Scarlatti?"

He glanced back at her, and shook his head, and thought, Besides Babycakes and 8-Bit?

He grinned, answering her, "No, not yet. Sometime next month though, my wife and I will have our first child."

"Oh," She smiled warmly. "Congratulations, then. Will it be a boy or a girl?"

"A boy," He replied. "Winnie and I have already chosen a name for him. After Lewis...Lou was a beloved friend of ours."

When he said was, she nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry for your loss."

He spoke quietly, "He was an SRU officer like me...risked his life." He gave her a nod, lightly chewing on his lip to keep it from quivering. It was still a hard topic to talk about to anyone; more so than than any other incident, as he was still not over it. He honestly didn't think he ever will be over losing his friend like that.

Not wanting to push on the sensitive topic, she nodded again in understanding. She patted him lightly on the arm, and then she looked in when she heard the class applaud once the speaker was finished. She watched as Mrs. Baliant stood up and began talking to the class for a moment while the other parent went to sit down in the back of the class where ten other parents were, and then Mrs. Reyes looked back at Scarlatti.

"I believe it's your turn to speak to the children now," She smiled. "I must return to my duties in the office. Nice to meet you, Officer Scarlatti."

"Likewise," He shook her hand one more time, and watched her walk away toward the office.

He returned his attention to the classroom, and waited for the teacher to finish speaking. Smiling, he nodded when Mrs. Baliant waved him inside, and he raised a finger up to signal for her to give him a moment, and disappeared from the door. Next, he followed Babycakes in, which practically caused the whole class of second graders to be excited as they stared at the machine in awe.

"Hi, nice to meet you." He shook the teacher's hand, after parking Babycakes in front of the desk, and stood beside the robot. They talked quietly for a moment, discussing briefly on how much time he had, and then he started when she told him he could begin whenever he was ready. She went to sit down in the back of the class so she was able to see all twenty-six of her students.

He laid the controller down on the desk behind him and clasped his hands briefly together.

He started, "I'm Mike Scarlatti, an officer with the Strategic Response Unit. My team calls me Spike, and..." A little girl raised her hand, and he pointed at her as he smiled, figuring out what she was going to ask him. "Go ahead, sweetheart."

"Why is your name Spike?"

"Because I had my hair spiked up when I became a police officer, and the name stuck with me ever since." He explained to her with a smile.

"Oh, cool."

Scarlatti chuckled. "Copy that," He continued, pointing his hand at Max as he said, "I'm actually here on his parents' behalf since they couldn't make it today." He explained, "Max asked me yesterday if I could come in and talk to your class, and I happily obliged." He had the whole class's full attention on him as he spoke about his work. "I joined the SRU back in two thousand and five..."

Scarlatti spoke to the eager seven-year-old students for fifteen minutes, answering questions here and there, and then moved on to talking to them about Babycakes since he was the last one to talk to the class, and he could continue until the bell rings. They were really excited to learn about the anti-explosives robot the most, and he did as best as he could to explain to them about what every part did without confusing them too much with the technical terms, and what types of explosives he defused, and the dangers of them. He then finished off his presentation with why he defused bombs.

There was five minutes left, and the teacher decided to tell all the kids and their parents to go out to the playground, and sit at the picnic tables so they could have the pizza party out there since it was a warm day out. All of the children said their "thank yous" to him and the other parents who took time to come out and talk to them about their careers, and then their teacher dismissed everyone.

"Officer Scarlatti?" Mrs Baliant approached him while everyone was following her aid out of the room for the party.

"Yeah?" He glanced over where Max was still sitting at, wondering if the boy was waiting for him since he didn't get up out of his seat like the rest of the class did.

"I was wondering if you can stay for the party, too, or are you...?"

"Oh, I'm off today, but I can only stay for another hour."

The teacher nodded, thanking him for coming in to speak with the class, and told him how she learned about his work as much as the students did.

"It was my pleasure," They shook hands, and then she excused herself. "I hate to cut this short, but I need to help the other parents set things up outside while we wait for the pizza to arrive."

Nodding, he watched her leave for a moment, and then looked back at Max. Sighing a little, he walked down the isle before stopping in front of him. He leaned over, placing his hands over his knees. "What's up, buddy? You okay?"

"I'm okay..." Max managed to speak.

Scarlatti pulled out the chair from the desk that was in front of the child, and sat, facing him, with his arms folded over the back of the chair. He kept his eyes on him while he finally responded. "You don't sound like you're okay." He gradually exhaled, tilted his head slightly, and soon asked, "I didn't embarrass you somehow, did I?" He grinned when Max shook his head. "Good. Now you can tell everyone you know that I'll be the cool dad who doesn't crack stupid, embarrassing jokes."

Max managed to laugh at that, which the bomb tech was happy to hear.

Glancing around the room to see if everyone was gone, and then up at the clock, he returned his attention onto Max.

"Listen, Max..." He said, "Sorry about what happened earlier this morning before I took you to school. I didn't mean to scare you."

Max avoided eye contact again, shrugging his shoulders a little. "It's okay, Spike."

Scarlatti shook his head. "It's not okay, Max," He spoke to him quietly. "I meant what I said. If anyone is hurting you, it's okay to tell another adult about it so we can stop whoever is causing you pain. You can tell me, another police officer, a teacher, and even your school's counselor about it. You don't need to keep it a secret because nothing bad will happen to you."

He was about to continue when he heard a light knock behind him, and looked over his shoulder to see Max's teacher standing there.

Mrs Baliant smiled a little. "Oh, sorry for interrupting," she stepped inside the room. "I was looking for Max since he wasn't outside with the others yet."

"It's okay, Mrs. Baliant," He smiled back and stood. "I was just having a little talk with him to see if he wanted to head out with me to return my robot to the SUV, or wait for me with the others out at the picnic tables." He glanced down at Max, who shrugged his shoulders.

Max slipped out of his seat, and headed over to the robot, looked at it for a long moment before looking back at his neighbor. "I'll walk with you, Spike."

"Is that okay with you?" Scarlatti asked her as he headed up the isle to collect the controller from her desk. "It won't take long."

"Oh, it's fine," Mrs. Baliant waved her hand a little. "The pizza won't be here for another five minutes or so anyway. When you're done, you can just walk around the school, and head out to the back. You'll find the rest of the class at the picnic tables underneath the shelter there."

"Okay, thanks," He said, and once the teacher left, he looked down at Max. "We'll talk later tonight if you want to."

Max quietly nodded, and the two walked beside each other as the Italian went to take Babycakes to place it in the back of the van, while Max quietly looked on in silence. While Scarlatti was strapping the robot down to secure it, he looked back at the boy.

"I'm inviting a couple of my friends over for dinner tonight, and we're going to have steak cooked on the grill," He asked, "Do you like steak? Because if you don't, I can make you something else if you'd like. There will also be baked potatoes and mixed veggies, too."

"No, I don't mind," Max replied, "I like steak."

"How about a baked potato?"

Max hummed a little, frowning at the mention of a baked potato.

"You don't like baked potatoes?" Scarlatti raised an eyebrow. "How about potato wedges? They're pretty much like fries."

"I know what they are," Max rolled his eyes. "I'll have those."

"I'm guessing you like veggies..."

"Well, duh." Max grinned, and the man smirked.

Finished with securing Babycakes, Scarlatti climbed out of the back, and then began to unzip his tactical vest, and took it off but kept his other gear on. He'll bother with the rest when he's ready to leave after having some pizza with Max's class. He looked down curiously when he felt Max tug at his shirt.

"What's up?"

"Is that vest real heavy?"

"It is until you get used to it," he answered, "Once you train in it and wear it every day, sometimes you don't even notice that you have it on."

"Can I try it on?"

Scarlatti looked at him for a moment, still holding the vest in both hands, and then slowly nodded. "Sure thing, buddy."

He carefully put it on him, and then laughed quietly when Max commented about how heavy it was. "Gosh, you're really strong," The seven-year-old looked up at him with a new-found perspective on the SRU officer.

"Ah..." Scarlatti admitted, "Well, I don't know about that, but...thanks." He took off the vest, and then placed it in the back next to his robot.

Max raised his arms up and jumped a little. "I bet you can do anything!"

"Hmm..." Closing the back hatch of the SUV, he moved down to be at eye-level. "Well, I have yet to slay any dragons." He paused when Max laughed, and then he watched as a car with the name of the local pizza drove by to park somewhere in the parking lot. "Or pizza. Pizza will be easier." He raised both eyebrows, and grinned at him.

"Pizza's here?"

"Yeah," Scarlatti pointed as the delivery man was taking out a couple of bags that kept the pizza hot from the backseat of his car. Grinning, he glanced down at Max. "Want to race to the picnic tables?"

"I'll win."

"Oh, you think so, huh?"

"Yeah, you're kinda old, and old people are slow."

Scarlatti laughed. "Yeah, sure, Captain Shorty. Whatever you say." He rested his hands on his hips, and said, "We'll race all the way there, and if you can touch one of the tables first, you'll win."

"Okay."

The two readied themselves, and the man started counting down from three, but once he got to two, Max rushed off.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Scarlatti called out to him, but grinned as he raced off after him around the school.

He caught up with him easily, running passed him. "Too slow!"

"Am not!" Max ran as fast as he could, managed to pass Scarlatti, but didn't seem to realize that the SRU officer only slowed down some as they ran across the back parking lot the school buses would park behind the school toward the outdoor shelter, where the rest of the students and parents were gathered.

When Max skidded to a stop and touched one of the picnic tables, he whirled around, arms in the air. "I win! I win!" He shouted in victory as he skipped around until Mrs. Baliant told him to stop before he hurts someone or himself.

Scarlatti slowed to a stop, smiling and laughing when he finally arrived a few seconds after Max did. Panting and sweating a little from the sudden run and from today's heat, he ambled over to the two ice chests that was on the cement floor by one of the tables, and grabbed a couple of bottled waters. He briefly conversed with the other parents as he made his way over to Max, who was sitting at one of the tables with several other students, but facing the other way to avoid talking to anyone. He sat down, facing the parking lot like Max was, and handed him one of the bottles he opened for the kid.

Leaning back, he said after catching his breath, "Nice little race," He drank down a bit of the cold water. "We should have a run around the neighborhood or the park some time." He glanced at him, while the boy was quietly drinking the water. "I see...the winner of the race doesn't want to talk to the loser. That hurts my feelings, you know?" He pouted but grinned, looking out toward the parking lot and the back of the school.

Max lightly patted him on the arm to get his attention, and when Scarlatti gazed down at him, he was met with a smirk. "Don't worry, Spike," he responded, "I'll still talk to you."

"Well, that certainly makes me feel better to know you care." He said with a light chuckle.

"I think you slowed down to let me win though."

He glanced down at him again, slowly smiling. "Nothing gets by you either."

Max shrugged, smiling back.

They looked up when some of the children happily announced, "Pizza!" once they saw the pizza deliverer finally making his way toward them. Mrs. Baliant waved her hand at the young, college-aged man after she took her money out of her purse to pay for the lunch and for the tip. She respectively declined offers to help pay for it, and told the adults that this was also her way of saying thank you to the parents, and for Officer Scarlatti, for coming to speak to her class. After everything was set up with the pizza boxes opened, the children went first, each being allowed up to two slices, and then the adults went to take their two slices, or one, and all of them enjoyed other goodies some of the parents brought with them, like ice cream afterward.

1:25pm

Winnie was sleeping when he went home to check on her first before going back to the Barn to return everything he took with him to the school. After enjoying the lunch and saying goodbye's to the children, Mrs. Baliant, and the other parents, he realized a couple of things when he left. He didn't like saying goodbye to Max, and he was actually missing the kid already, even though he'll pick him up around three when the school ended for the day.

Standing in front of the stove in their kitchen, he smiled thoughtfully. So, this is how it feels...I'm missing some kid who isn't even my own. He thought as he waited for the tea kettle to finish heating up the water.

Once it was finished, he grabbed a nice sized cup from the cupboard above him, and fished out a tea bag from the container they used to store the variety of different flavored tea bags. He grabbed a tea spoon out of the silverware drawers, and made the hot tea. He breathed in deeply the aroma the peppermint tea made, and placed a couple of ice cubes to help cool it down some.

After he was finished in the kitchen, he made his way upstairs, and quietly headed inside their bedroom where he found her when he first returned home before deciding to make her the herbal tea. His wife was laying down on her left side with a quilt his mother made wrapped around her waist. He quietly approached her side of the bed, where he set the hot cup of tea down on her night stand, and then, as carefully as he could, brought the quilt up to cover her shoulder. Smiling softly, he carefully sat down beside her to gently run his fingers through her hair as he watched her sleep for a few minutes.

When he leaned closer to give her a kiss on the cheek, she groaned lightly in her sleep before parting her eyes to see him looking down at her. She gazed up at him sleepily, but managed to smile at her husband. "Hey..." she murmured.

Scarlatti smiled back, leaning down again and kissed her softly on the lips. "Hey," he whispered, "Were you able to catch up on your beauty sleep?" When she nodded, he then asked, "I didn't wake you, did I?"

Winnie thought about it, and then slowly nodded as she grinned. "Maybe." She yawned, reaching a hand out to caress his cheek. "What time is it?"

"Thirty-five til two in the afternoon," He told her, taking her hand into both of his, and kissed her fingers lightly for a moment. "I decided to check up on you before I go back to the Barn to return everything I took for Max's Career Day thing he had in his class."

"Oh, Mike," she said, "You know you don't have to check up on me all the time."

"I know," He responded as he leaned over again to kiss her on the lips. "But I want to because I love you."

She smiled, kissing him back, and then stared into his eyes she always seemed to get lost in for a while. "Is that peppermint hot tea I smell?" When he responded by flashing her his smile and nodded, she leaned up and gave him a few kisses, and then whispered, "Have you ever been this perfect your entire life, or..."

He lightly chuckled, reaching a hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear, and then cupped the side of her face.

While he stared back at her, he answered humbly, "Well, I'm not sure about being perfect all of my life, but..." Grinning, he continued, "I think you married me because of the uniform and Kevlar, and not just because of me being insanely smart and good looking, and making you laugh all the time, and then being able to cook you real Italian food instead of you using that in-store crap you were cooking with before we got together."

In which what he mentioned to her, was what she said to everyone during their wedding reception last year.

"Mmm," Smiling, Winnie thought about wanting to have some for tomorrow night, but mentioned, "I do like your Italian sausage."

That was it. The line he whispered into her ear back at the reception that sent the two in a giggling fit. 'You like me because of my Italian sausage.' The two laughed like a couple of teenagers throughout the rest of the night. Now, the two were snickering about it again.

"And you pester me about when my mind is in the gutter, Winnie," Scarlatti stated. "That's not fair."

"You laughed first!"

"No, I think you started laughing first," She playfully slapped him lightly in the arm. "Well, look at it this way. At least you aren't drinking anything right now...not like last time." Winnie grinned, shaking her head at him as he went on, "The next thing I know, everyone was looking at you, wondering what the hell just happened, and probably wondering if you and I had too much to drink."

"Oh, God, Mike," She chuckled. "I nearly choked though!"

"You didn't because you spat out all of that delicious, homemade sweet wine made by my cousins." He tried looking upset, but was failing miserably with both eyebrows raised, eyes wide, and giving her that dimpled smile she loved so much, while continuing to laugh with her.

She grinned, replying, "Your fault, Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti." She slapped him in the chest, this time, a little bit harder than she intended. "It's not like I wasted all of it."

"Ow, geez," Pouting, he rubbed where she slapped him."So violent. That's domestic violence right there, you know? Oh, and to top it all off, assault on a police officer." She snaked her hand behind the back of his neck and slowly started bringing his face closer to hers. "I think...I'm going to have to..." He gradually trailed off as she drew him closer to her.

"Shut up, Officer Scarlatti," She whispered seductively, gazing at his lips. "You know you like it."

Grinning back, he pressed his lips against hers finally, and moaned a little as they kissed lovingly. A minute passed, and they parted for air; gazing at each other as they smiled.

"You know me too well," He whispered, caressing her cheek tenderly before turning around to check on the hot tea's temperature. "The tea's not scalding hot anymore. You want it now?" He glanced back at her, and she nodded at him.

"Sure," Winnie then asked, "Did you have fun talking to Max's class, by the way?" She struggled to sit up in the bed, and quietly appreciated it when he stood up to help her by propping the three pillows of hers behind her, so she could sit comfortably in bed to drink the hot tea.

Once she was situated, he carefully handed her the cup of tea, and she took it in both hands as he returned to sit down beside her. Smiling, he replied, "I did," Adding, "It was great talking to all of them. I held all of their attention, and they were so curious...so many questions coming from them, that I didn't think I was going to be able to finish before the bell rang."

"Good," She smiled back after taking a sip of the peppermint tea. "I'm glad you had fun today with those kids."

He chuckled lightly, thinking about today's event at the school. "But, uh, I think they were more interested in Babycakes. Not that I don't mind. Kids know an awesome robot when they see one."

His phone buzzed, and he took it out of the pocket of his pants to see who was contacting him. It was Tyler, sending him a text message. He viewed it, and glanced up when he heard Winnie asking who was it.

"Tyler," he said, "I asked him to run a background check on our neighbors." He looked back down at his phone while he started to type in his reply. "He said he'll have some free time in a couple of hours from now, and he'll start running the background checks on Max's parents."

Winnie sighed at that, and he gazed back up at her when he was finished responding to Tyler's text, and then raised an eyebrow at her. He wasn't sure if she approved of it or not.

"Oh, no," Scarlatti sighed, "You think I shouldn't have?"

"No," Winnie gazed back at him, and then smiled grimly. "Well, maybe. They're going to know, but I'm just hoping..."

"Me, too," he replied, "But...the way Max has been hinting it...it just seems like he is being abused at home. Or someone is."

"Maybe it's why they've been asking us to watch over him these past several months when they go on their business trips."

"Instead of..." He slowly nodded, realizing that she could be right. "Yeah."

The Paul and Jennifer Greene were a somewhat private couple, kept to themselves most of the time, but were friendly to them when they moved in. He figured they trusted him after finding out he was a police officer, and knew he would keep Max safe. Though, the question still remained as to why they didn't want to tell him anything concerning Max if someone else was abusing the boy. Now he was beginning to doubt that the parents were the abusers, and it was someone else who they didn't want around them anymore. The background check would answer it when Tyler can finally get to it.

Winnie grabbed his hand with her free hand to get his attention, and wondered, "Were you able to speak to him?"

"Not really," Scarlatti said. He opened his mouth to continue, but 8-Bit started to bark his head off outside. He breathed in a deep breath and exhaled.

Chuckling, he grinned as he went to get up. "I'll bring him inside. Probably barking at some squirrel or some cat." He stood up, giving her a quick kiss.

Winnie returned the kiss, grinning back. "Okay," They hugged after he helped her set the cup of tea back on the nightstand, and then she watched him head to the doorway. "Maybe we can talk to him later."

Scarlatti stopped, turned around and pressed his hand against the door frame to support himself when he leaned slightly to the side. "We'll see," he shrugged, "I would like to talk to Greg about this when he and Marina arrive for dinner tonight." When she nodded, he smiled and waved before walking down to the kitchen to see what was the German Shepard barking at.

He stood by the sliding glass door for a few moments, peering out to see 8-Bit barking at a man in a white shirt and blue jeans walking around the side of the Greene's house. He unlocked the glass and then the screen door, and slid the two doors open to step out.

"Hey," He called out to the man as he carefully approached him, "Can I help you?" 8-Bit stopped barking for a moment, looking back at his master, whined, and then continued barking.

The man quickly turned around, startled, and stared back at Scarlatti before smiling innocently, and heading toward the front when he noticed the Italian's SRU uniform.

"Oh, I was just looking," muttered the man, and trying to avoid conversation.

"Looking...?" Scarlatti rolled his eyes, thinking, Just looking, my ass.

He went over to grab 8-Bit by the collar to bring him back inside. The dog always barked at everyone, but it was rare to hear him growl at someone, and when he noticed the fur standing up on end, he knew something was up with this man. He didn't like it, and neither did 8-Bit.

Once he closed and secured both of the doors again, he released his hold around the dog's collar.

8-Bit rushed into the living room, jumped on the couch that was located beneath the picture window, and started to bark again.

"Be quiet, 8-Bit..." Scarlatti sighed, slightly annoyed, but he wouldn't blow off the dog's intuition. "I know, buddy. I know."

He walked out the front door, glad he was able to catch up to the man who was almost at the end of his neighbor's driveway.

"Hey, buddy," Scarlatti repeated, "Can I help you?"

The guy was plainly nervous around him, and when he tried to act normal, it wouldn't take a behavioral expert to see how poorly the man was acting.

"Oh, nah," he said, "I'm just...looking to see if anyone was home."

"Is that so?" He smiled a little, not impressed with the man's answer. He could be intimidating if he wanted to, and right now, it was one of those times. Though, it might have been because his hand was resting on the handle of his handgun still strapped inside his thigh holster, when the officer noticed two people sitting inside a beat-up truck parked across the street.

"Yep," The man smiled innocently, while nodding. "My wife, kid, and I thought we should come over and talk to the Greene's."

"About what?"

The more the two men talked, the more Scarlatti learned that the man was Jennifer's brother and Max's uncle. The man introduced himself as Gideon McFarland, and he just arrived from upper Ontario to talk to his sister and husband about taking Max for some camping over the weekend, but didn't realize they were away on a business trip.

Scarlatti then told him, "His parents told me that they didn't want their son to go anywhere with anyone, other than with my wife and I."

"Seriously?"

"Sorry, but..."

"So, they let their neighbors watch him and not his own uncle and aunt?"

"Look," Scarlatti took a step back from him. "I'm sorry, but I'm only respecting their wishes, and they never said anyone was picking him up to go camping for the weekend."

McFarland scoffed, "What did they say about me this time?" He demanded, "What other bullshit have they came up with to cause me to not to be allowed near my nephew?"

He sighed, and tried to defuse the situation before Gideon became even more upset. "Mister McFarland -"

The man interrupted him, "Listen to me, Officer Scarlatti. You tell my sister and her husband that they need to stop it with the lies, or I'm going to sue them for slander. Do you understand?"

Things just keep getting interesting for me today...Thought the Italian, nodding. "I'll make sure to tell them that, sir."

McFarland huffed, shaking his head as he stared at him suspiciously. "I'll hold you to that." He said before turning around to head back to the awaiting truck to leave.

Scarlatti watched him get into the passenger seat, and said something to the woman who was apparently the man's wife, and then she pushed down on the accelerator and left; glancing back at him as they drove passed his house. When they turned the corner and disappeared, he sighed, taking his notepad and pen out to write down their license plate, make, and year of the truck before he climbed inside the SUV to return to the SRU.