Title: Two if by Land
Chapter 3 – Never Give Up!

Slattery had already called a contact in Catonsville who confirmed that his wife and daughters hadn't been seen and been told to try a bit further west, Ellicott, which is where they were heading.

'Oh and Mike…bypass the main precinct…I'll send you the coordinates for the new one. Nothing's like we remembered.'

"Everything has changed," Slattery comments quietly as they pass a few buildings with Oliver's face with a large red X through it; a few a few miles later with a check mark of approval stamped across.

"Country has never felt more divided," Garnett adds with a small sour note as she looks at an abandoned building that held the sign of the virus on the outside. "Sometimes…I feel divided."

"Over what?"

Garnett looks over at Slattery with a quizzical look at first and then gently smiles. "Thinking out loud. Can be dangerous. Sometimes I think I should have stayed with them…fought with them and died with them," her voice pauses before a thick coating of emotion threatens to bubble forth. "But then I know he'd have wanted me on the James…fighting to get the cure back to them….no matter what."

"Keep telling myself that also. Christine…she knew the risks when I worked for the PD. She always prepared herself for the moment when my partner or another officer would show up at her door with the news every cop's wife dreaded – killed in the line of duty. And then…when I joined the Navy…she was just as resolute in her support and I…I remember thanking her and cursing myself on the day of my swearing in. Never thought it'd be me getting…well maybe getting the bad news."

"She wouldn't have resented you for not coming back for them. Bill didn't resent me."

"Doesn't make it easier," Slattery admits with a small sigh. "All these dead ends…maybe I shoulda stayed on the ship," he lightly quips.

"Sure. Then when I find Christine and the girls I'll tell them you were busy…redecorating?" Garnett tosses back as Slattery briefly chuckles.

"Oh yeah…that'd go over well with the crew."

"Don't know…a good groovy 70's print wallpaper, disco ball and a few lava lamps might lighten the crew's spirits these days," she continues with an easy smile.

"That just might bring Tom back," Slattery retorts and then stops as his face displays an outward wince.

"We can talk about him," Garnett reminds him in haste. "We can talk about them all."

But instead of talking about Tom's tormented departure, the conversation diverts back to Elmer for a few minutes and then to the trouble and atmosphere in Reisterstown and then finally to Ellicott – their next destination.

"I'll check and see if they still live there…would be a few miles out of town, south," Garnett chatters on as she pulls her phone and tries to find the location of someone she had known about a decade earlier. She didn't think that Slattery's family had shown up there but maybe, if her friend was still alive, then maybe she might know someone local that could help them if Slattery's contact was another dead end.

"Not that ever fancied a small town but they seem to have lost their…small town appeal," Slattery mutters as Garnett smiles and nods in agreement. "Christine was from a small town. She hated them also. Her folks…never left."

"I'm assuming…you checked, with them?"

"They died before …Lucas did," Slattery recalls the tormented memory as Garnett's expression droops. The last thing she wanted was to cause him more pain but it was just something she had to ask. "I've tried to get a hold of her sister. She…she's divorced. One daughter but uh…but I don't remember what the married name is or…if she even got or is still married," Slattery's voice trails on. "Exhausted all the top leads. I just hate…feeling like I've failed them."

"You haven't failed anyone. You're still searching. You haven't given up. That would be failing them. If they are still out there…Christine will know you'll keep looking until you've found them," Garnett reminds him in truth. "If you were back on the ship setting up some Saturday Night Fever theme party then you could label yourself a failure."

"In more ways than one," Slattery retorts in sarcasm as she lightly laughs. "And some days…I don't know what to think."

"That's only natural."

The chatter continues until they enter Ellicott; the Jeep slowing to a normal pace so as not to attract too much attention to themselves. But unlike Reisterstown where they attracted instant attention, the larger size of Ellicott afforded them the advantage of heading for their destination unhindered.

But just to make sure they lost any followers, Slattery purposely took another route to get to the makeshift police precinct.

"Don't see any friendly welcoming committees," Garnett comments as she looks around their destination as they near it.

"Good. Not big on committees," he retorts with a small huff as he stops the Jeep and then both slowly get out and head for the front door.

For a few seconds, both of them hold their breath's as they push the doors to enter, hoping it wouldn't be the same scene as in Reisterstown. It's not and both exhale at the same time.

"Hey there…" the front clerk greets with a friendly smile as they approach. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, is David Wilson here?"

"Sure…hold on a sec."

XXXXXXXX

"Mike Slattery?"

"Hey…yeah," Slattery greets as he shakes the hand of the detective as he stops a few feet before them. "Andrea Garnett."

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he replies with a wide grin as his hand holds onto hers a bit longer than expected and surprisingly for Slattery than he actually liked and would later process why that actually bothered him. "So…how can I help?"

"I don't know how much Todd told you."

"Todd Brown?" David asks as Slattery nods. "He…he only said you were coming for some information on your family but that was it. How is he?"

"He's taking care of things back in Baltimore. Just him and his mother left. They're trying to…to rebuild."

"Get that. Okay so who are you trying to track down?"

"My wife and daughters."

"Oh…sorry."

"No…it's okay. Can I give you their particulars?"

"Course. Nick! Nick is our computer geek," David introduces a younger man with a friendly smile. "He can find just about anyone…that is if the names are listed on any kind of database."

"Hope so…alive or dead…I just need to know."

"Uh sure…come with me."

"I'll wait here," Garnett tells Slattery as he pulls away and follows after the younger man and stops at a small computer terminal.

"And you…are you looking for anyone?" David asks as Slattery turns back and watches the scene with some new feelings of…jealousy? He'd push the thoughts and feelings out of his mind…but they wouldn't go too far and would resurface and be revisited at a later time.

"I already buried mine."

"Sorry."

"Me too," she agrees with a kind smile. "You?"

"Same…my wife and two boys were…they were too late for the cure."

"Sorry."

"Me too," he retorts as they both share a small chuckle. "So…I know Mike works for the Navy. Do you…also?"

"I work on the same ship."

"She's my XO," Slattery pipes up with a somewhat protective tone in his voice. Normally she would have sent back a retort at the 'my' comment but knows right now he's clinging to anything emotionally stable and wasn't about to put that out. But much like him…the possessive term comforts her in familiar ways and it's a feeling that she doesn't want to rebuff just yet.

"Oh smart and…I'm guessing kinda bad ass right? Gotta respect that," David grins as Slattery shakes his head and turns back to the search. "So…"

"Is that…" Nick starts as Slattery's attention turns back to him.

"No that was…my father," Slattery replies to the young computer officer as the search result displays the first with the Slattery parameter.

"Ah…sorry."

"Yeah," Slattery huffs as he turns to see Garnett and David still engaged in friendly conversation. "You like this makeshift precinct?"

"Miss my old gear…was almost NSA grade," the young man boasts with a wide grin but then goes back to his serious search. "Okay so…oh…that's you. Your Baltimore file. Okay lemme cross reference your wife's name and…"

"Come on…come on…" Slattery mutters as he hovers over the younger man's shoulder.

Garnett steps back from David who is now forced to take another call and slowly heads to where Slattery was anxiously waiting news – any kind of news.

"How…is it going?"

"Slow. Nothing yet," Slattery answers in truth. "You?"

"Funny," she retorts dryly as she looks around and then back at her friend and commanding officer. "Everyone has been forced to rebuild. The real precinct was gutted and left in shambles. Law and order for a while right after the cure distribution was chaos."

"Tell me about it," the younger man named Nick adds in sarcasm.

"And your family? Where are they?"

"I live with my brother. My dad…we think he's somewhere in Canada but left us years ago. Mom died from the virus."

"So much loss."

"That's why we need a happy ending," she assures Slattery with a friendly arm pat; a gesture that isn't lost on the man behind them, watching in curiosity.

"Well…I hate to be the bearer of bad news or…"

"They're dead?" Slattery asks in angry haste.

"No…" Nick points to the screen with the final search results. "I have no news…good or bad. I can't find them. Sorry."

"So…what does that mean?" Garnett asks in haste.

"It means…" Nick slowly replies as he turns to face them. "If they are dead…then maybe they died somewhere their bodies haven't been found and reported or catalogued yet. Or…or they are still alive and just don't want to be found."

"That makes no sense!" Slattery angrily retorts as Nick's expression turns remorseful. "Sorry…I'm not mad at you. She'd want to be found. She'd want me to know they were okay. She…she would," Slattery's voice dies out into a sad stammer as he looks at Garnett in distress.

"Is there somewhere else we can search? A bigger database? No offense…" Garnett starts in earnest.

"None taken. Uh…well if you go to the FBI or…or someone else with a database that is nationwide. I can search all the police and hospitals but…but there could be other smaller ones. I can…I can text you a list of places you might try."

"Okay…thank you," Slattery replies with a hint of frustrated resignation in his tone as Garnett offers a sympathetic expression.

"Sorry man," David states as he nears them with his own expression of sympathy. "Wish that you could have gotten some kind of news. Good of course….but even just closure."

"Yeah…me to," Slattery agrees as he clasps David's hand and gives it a firm shake.

"I'll let you know if I find anything," David promises as he looks at Garnett with a bit more of a friendly smile. "And…you know if you ever need…well anything, just…here's my card."

"Thanks for your help," Garnett acknowledges as she takes the card, feeling Slattery's gaze on her a bit stronger than maybe expected or anticipated.

XXXXXXXX

As they pull away from the recovering city, the silence is a bit thicker than it was when they arrived and she knows it's because the news wasn't wanted.

"I'm sorry," Garnett states simply as Slattery looks over and gently purses his lips.

"Me to. I just…I don't know why there is nothing…Christine wouldn't just put herself into hiding if they knew the cure was out there. She'd get the girls the cure and she'd get word to me. Maybe…maybe they went into hiding and all died in a place no one's found them yet. Or maybe…" his voice dies out as it finally breaks into emotional misery.

"I wish I had answers for you. Even the tough ones," Garnett admits with a small huff. "At least it would give you some emotional direction."

"David was helpful…and friendly." This time the tone in his voice is…almost jealous? Not possible she tells herself as she looks over with a quizzical arch of her strawberry blond brows.

"He was friendly. Helpful…in a way," she states slowly as she recalls the business card in her jacket pocket. He looks over at the same time she looks up and both crack a small chuckle. "I'm not going to call him, if you must know."

"Not your type?" Slattery retorts in haste and then curses himself. "Andrea, sorry that was uncalled for…it's too soon to be…" he starts only to have her cut off his words with a surprising gesture – her hand resting on his.

"We're friends right? A friend would ask. It was a natural question. I'm not angry. It's almost…flattering. Been a while since someone has flirted. You know you work around sailors all the time and soon…it's almost easy to feel like one of the guys. Now I'm rambling."

"Guess I'll toss back the friends bit," Slattery smiles as they head back to the airport to head back to St. Louis, back to the James; back home. "Kinda nice to just talk about….stuff again. Missed that."

"Well…anytime you wanna talk about…stuff," she pauses with a small smile. "My door is open."

"Yeah…mine too."

He acknowledges that invitation with a friendly smile of his own and as they near their destination both know that while some things were still uncertain, one thing now was certain – their friendship was about to embark on a new journey and neither seemed to mind.

XXXXXXXX

One week later

She pushes her way onto the top deck of the Nathan James, spies his taut frame leaning over the railing and looking out over the St. Louis harbor and into the city.

She nears and leans over just like him, Slattery looking over with a tender smile. "Did you check the links?"

"Nothing yet," he replies firmly. "I've told myself it's over but I won't give up and I know Tom said he'd try to help also. But after this long and knowing her…I've told myself that but I'm not giving up hope."

"Hope dies last right?" Garnett retorts as he looks at her and nods.

"It does."

"And the next time we have shore leave…we can pick up where we left off…try a few more places," she tells him firmly as his expression gently changes. "If…you want."

"Sounds like a great plan."

THE END!

A/N: So since this started out well mostly canon I wanted to keep it that way so left it open ended but I am very happy surprised it wasn't just me who saw the chemistry between them in the first eppy and thank you for letting me expand upon it. So hope you all liked this and please let me know if you'll support another piece like this for this pairing so please let me know via review and thanks so much!