13 PARTNERS

The tires screeched as I sped off into the night. Behind me was another vehicle trying to catch up.

I made it to a secure location, hid the car, and turned off all of the lights. The suspect slowed down in search of my car. He finally stepped out of his car and I was stunned. I stepped out to meet him.

"Do you always drive like that?" he asked.

"Jeremy what are you doing here? I specifically asked you to keep an eye on Max."

He stared at me for a short minute, shook his head, and sat on top of the hood.

"I feel like I'm owed something, don't you think?" He pointed out.

"I mean I did just save your life back there", he added.

I felt winded and the adrenaline was beginning to lose its effects. I grabbed my arm in pain and let out a small grunting noise.

"Shit Zena, are you hit?" He exclaimed and ran towards me.

"Relax, it's probably just a graze", I reassured.

Jeremy was still panicking when he grabbed my hand and attempted to lift it up for a better view.

"Oww"

He apologetically nodded and gave me a sheepish grin. "So can I ask you what have you been up to lately?"

"No comment", I responded.

"As usual", he shook his head disappointingly.

"Get in, I'll drive you to my place...I have an emergency medical kit over there", He told me.

I picked up my belongings, placed them in his car; I settled in. "Where's Max and how did you know where I was?"

"He's with my partner".

I glared at him and he explained that she was qualified; he trusted her enough to leave our child with her.

"Must be nice", I sassed. The ride back to his place was disturbingly quiet. He slowly became agitated that I was ignoring him.

"You know what...fuck your attitude right now, some guy convinced me that you were in some kind of trouble. She was the only one in the station I could trust because she's had my back since I started working at the precinct. So I'm so fuckin sorry that I somehow hurt your feelings by having her over there with Max. It's not like your life was in danger or whatever", He defended.

I clenched my teeth and ignored his comments until I whispered, "I mean it's fine it's not like we're married or whatever. I don't owe you answers to any other aspect of my life. We are your dirty little secret afterall. " While I looked out of the passenger window, I could feel the cool breeze flow in the car.

He glared at me and slowly increased his speed.

Once we made it back, I had drifted off to sleep and was fighting to keep my eyes open. I stepped out of the car feeling weak and dizzy.

"Mom?" Max ran out of the house to greet me.

"Hey sweetheart...I'm home", I answered feeling delirious.

My body became weightless, I passed out, almost hitting the ground. I could faintly hear Jeremy and Max panicking to get me inside.

A few hours later, I struggled out of the bed and saw that my wound was bandaged up. I felt extremely dehydrated and decided to go downstairs for some water.

"You finally up, I thought you could use the shut eye as I worked on this case". Jeremy sat in between the sofa and the small table, working diligently on his laptop. Once he was finished with his search, he looked up at me and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine...I need to get outta here. The main point of me leaving Max with you is because no one knows about us or this place."

He stood up and came closer to me. He took my hands in his and proceeded to lay a soft kiss on my lips. "Don't you miss me?"

"More than anything; however, I do have some work to do tonight." I separated myself from him and continued moving towards the kitchen. I looked down at my stomach thinking about the life I should be living for him or her.

"We should really get you to a doctor to check my baby girl", Jeremy mumbled as he entered the kitchen.

"Girl...how do you know it's a girl?" I asked, shaking my head.

I reached for some snacks on the top shelf and felt his arms around my waist; his hands rubbed my stomach. "I've got a hunch", he replied kissing me on my shoulder.

After grabbing my snack and a drink, I moved back to the living room.

"So who's Nolan anyway?"

The room felt much more tense than it was before, something was going on his mind and I could tell that he was trying to read me.

"Well who is this 'partner' of yours and where is she by the way?...I wanted to meet her", I deflected.

"She's a top notch detective in my unit, and she is at home with her husband", he clarified with an emphasis on HUSBAND.

"I bet she is, so that's what you two have in common...you're both married", I teased.

Jeremy was visibly annoyed with my dry humour. Feeling a bit guilty, I answered his previous question by saying, "He's my partner...we've been working together for a while".

"Did he ever try anything with you...I mean did you guys ever...?" he referred to Nolan with a bite of Jalousie.

"No not even once...he does flirt with me on occasion", I responded, smirking.

Jeremy gave me a look and then scoffed, "Whatever".