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“Be nice to Officer Rookie,” Nick said.

“Thankyou, Nick—”

“I mean, it’s not his fault he has a crush on me.”

“Who has a crush on you?” Cap asked, appearing in the doorway.

Officer Rookie looked as if he were about to die. “No one, sir! It’s absolutely nothing!”

Cap narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Hmm.”

“It’s fine, Cap,” Nick said.

“Is it? Why don’t you let me be the judge of that? Officer Morton, I’ll handle this from here. Make yourself useful elsewhere.”

Officer Rookie nodded and fled.

“Strange guy,” Cap said, staring after him.

“He’s all right,” Nick said, crawling over Jazz to get out from underneath the table. “He’ll make a good cop.”

“Yeah? Seal of approval?”

Nick nodded. “Little wet behind the ears, but he has to start somewhere.”

Cap rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Good to know.” He glanced at Nick. “We okay?”

Nick shrugged and looked down at his shoes.

“Sounds about right.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have run away.”

“Sometimes we have to run away in order to clear our heads and put ourselves together as best we can. The important thing is that we return stronger than when we left.”

It’s easier to stand together than it is to struggle apart.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough,” Nick admitted.

“I think you are,” Cap said.

“Me too,” Gibby said while she helped her girlfriend up.

“The strongest,” Jazz agreed. “And even if you’re not, you’ve got us.”

Nick loved them very much.

Mary Caplan came and fussed over Nick. She was a no-nonsense Black woman who told him in no uncertain terms that he would be staying with them when he tried to tell her he’d be fine on his own. “Don’t even try and come at me with that bull,” she told him. “I won’t hear of it. You will stay with us, and I’m going to feed you like you wouldn’t believe. You’re far too skinny. I made meatloaf and pot roast and bought sixteen frozen pizzas before I came here. You’ll eat all of it, and you will like it.”

“This is going to be great,” Cap whispered to him.

“Oh, don’t believe any of that is foryou,Rodney Caplan,” Mary said, mouth a thin line. “You get kale.”

“But—”

She glared at him.

Cap sighed. “Yes, ma’am.”