In the Light of Day
Written by Rachel
NOTES: This is for Vali, who had the idea in the first place and Marti,
who always points out my comma splices and other important things like that.
Tim rolled over in his bed and groaned. The last glass of red wine had
seemed like a good idea the night before, but the reality of the morning
after was hitting him squarely between the eyes like a 2x4. He reached
over for the clock, bringing it up so he could see it. 6:43 am. Time to
get up and face the music. He reached for his glasses and slipped them on,
tucking the tips behind his ears. He was too damned old for this.
Crawling out of bed, he made his way over to the shower. The warm water
felt good on his aching body. He must have slept like the dead, barely
moving. It was the only thing that could account for the inordinate amount
of stiffness he felt in his limbs.
Forgoing his usual morning routine of cereal and the morning Sun, he
grabbed an untoasted bagel and headed out the door. Hopefully Munch had
put the coffee on when he got in and Tim wouldn't have to suffer the
assault of caffeine depravation as well.
****
The new color scheme in the squad room did nothing for Tim's spirits.
Quite frankly, he had never gotten used to it. Coming back from his
gunshot wound he had been stunned to discover the transformation.
Everything was different. Frank was gone, Mike was gone, hell--for all
intents and purposes the Box was even gone. How were they supposed to
interrogate a suspect at a prissy little round table? Tim shook the
thought off; he had more important matters to address. Crossing the room,
he hung his coat up and made his way to Gee's office. Tapping the door, he
stuck his head in the office.
"You have a minute?" he asked the lieutenant. Gee looked up over his
glasses and gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. Bayliss
entered the office and sat down. He took a deep breath and feigned a
sudden interest in the backs of his hands.
"I'm presuming you came in here because you have something to say," Gee
stated, looking intently at his detective. Bayliss tipped his head up,
looked at his superior and swallowed.
"Yeah, well--I took the site down, deleted it." Gee nodded. "But, the
thing is, I shouldn't have done it. It wasn't breaking any laws and I
should be allowed to have a private life. I don't see anyone harassing
anybody else in this squad for what they do in their private lives. Why am
I any different?"
Gee looked at Bayliss. He had always been complicated, from the very
beginning, when he caught the Adena Watson case. But, he was a good
detective and Gee sensed that he was reaching his breaking point.
"It's the lifestyle. You know that, don't you, Bayliss? It--it makes
people uncomfortable."
"It's not like I'm hurting anybody. I mean except myself," Bayliss
responded, his voice filled with irony.
"For whatever reason it's the thing they can't accept. The question is, do
you want to continue in the face of this new pressure?"
"Are you telling me to quit?" Bayliss asked.
"I have no problem with your choices, Tim, but I do sense that you are
unhappy. Maybe you came back too soon. Maybe taking some time to get your
head together would be better."
Bayliss shook his head. "I'm not ready to quit and if I leave now I might
as well. Do you feel like I'm not getting the job done?"
"No. I'm just thinking--" Bayliss cut him off by standing up and turning
to leave.
"I just wanted you to know that I'm not giving up here. I'm not planning
the gay rights rally, but I'm not going to go slinking off into the night.
That's never been me and I can't change now."
He walked out of the office and headed for the coffee room. Entering he
heard Lewis and Munch discussing the call they'd gone out on that morning.
A Buddhist murdered? It didn't sound right, but maybe he could help.