Jordan's temper was already at meltdown as she slid her SAAB into a narrow parking slot, slammed and locked the door, and took the stairs up to Peter's place two at a time, in three inch heels yet! "This is it" she fumed to herself, fringe flying from her short skirt, halter and purse, "This is absolutely it! If he thinks that he can just drop out of sight, and then pull THIS stunt.." The woman drove her fist against his door, cheeks flaming, glaring up at the dark haired man that answered.

Peter was delighted to see her, and missed the fact that she was furious with him. "Jordan, I am so glad to see you!" he ducked in for a hug and she shoved him back, following him into the apartment.

"Oh, are you? Well, then, that just makes up for it, doesn't it?"

"What? I know , I haven't called, things have been crazy, but since I didn't hear from you, I figured you were busy too." This just made her more angry. She paced the room, heels thudding, blonde curls windblown from the drive over. "Do you know why you haven't heard from me, Peter? Because your cell phone has been turned off!!! I would have really appreciated knowing that you were actually cutting yourself off from all normal means of communication. I mean, I suppose I should learn to read minds or send smoke signals or fight ancient demons or something, because as it stands, lover, I cant keep up!"

He struck his forehead in too late remembrance.. "The phone, of course, Jordy, I meant to tell you, it's just that my dad never carried one and it seemed to work for him.."

"Sure it worked!! No one could reach him except in his own good time, including you. Do you remember how that made you FEEL, Pete? Because I feel like that, and have felt like it for weeks now. YOU ARE NOT YOUR FATHER!!!!" She yelled the last few words at him, they came right out of her own fear that she was losing him, her own fear of being abandoned by him, and she watched as they hit him hard. More softly, she continued, "Pete, can' t you be yourself and still be the Caine of Chinatown?" Angry tears sparkled in her heavily mascaraed lashes, impatiently she blinked them away. "I don't know if I'm coming or going with you lately and it's making me crazy. You should have seen me at work yesterday. I lost it."

He held out his arms and she went to him with a sigh, needed his comfort even in her anger. She missed him too much. He wrapped her in his embrace, dropping his face to her hair and holding on tightly. "I'm so sorry, baby, I really am. I didn't mean to leave you out. I want you to be a part of all this, it's so strange and I need you to be here with me, I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but I do." then, softly, "My pop was alone for so long, Jordy, I couldn't do that."

Jordan raised her head and sniffled, then drew his head down fora kiss. "You aren't alone anymore, lover. You've got me, and you've got a lot of friends at the precinct who miss you. I swear, I'm not going..." her gaze shifted and she stared. A young girl wrapped in one of Peter's flannel shirts and his one pair of jeans from highschool had emerged from the bathroom, hair wrapped in a towel. "Peter" she said evenly, turning his face to look. "I know this isn't what it seems. So start explaining, now."

"Jordan, meet Maddie. Maddie, Jordan." Peter offered introductions as he searched for words to explain. Maddie came over, scrubbing at her damp hair with the towel.

"Are you a working girl too? What do you do, Peter, specialize?"the girl asked and Jordan
glanced down at her fringe. She'd worn her working clothes to the apt, too angry to take time and change. The "too" tipped her off.

"You see, my father helped Maddie's friend Amy go home last year, and she told the other girls on the street to ask for Caine if they ever needed help." Peter hastily explained, seeing
understanding beginning to dawn on Jordan's face. "She's been having problems with her
'manager'." It was only then that Jordan noticed Maddie's bruised cheek and black eye.

"He give you that shiner, hon?" she asked, gently touching the younger girl's face, turning it to take a closer, professionally assessing look at the damage.

Self consciously, Maddie stepped back, looked down. "It's not so bad. It doesn't hurt much at all since Peter put that gooky green stuff on it."

"An herb poultice my father always used after the rougher classes in the temple. When I finished my training, I probably used a gallon of it a night, and he finally taught me how to make it for myself." Peter rubbed his ribs in memory of the pounding they had taken and Jordan laughed.

"You shut me out again, Caine, and you'll need to bathe in the stuff." she warned and he grinned down at her, tugged her closer into an embrace and leaned down for a kiss. A kiss that Jordan cut short when she saw how wide-eyed their observer was.

"You're his GIRLFRIEND?" she asked, voice squeaking. "Don't you care what she does? My
mom and dad would never forgive me if they knew." Jordan and Peter exchanged a quick glance and Jordan took it.

"Actually, Maddie, I'm not a hooker. I work at the 101st."

"Yeah, one of Slammer's girls. That's their corner."

Peter smothered a laugh in a cough and Jordan socked him on the arm. "No, hon, I work at the 101st precinct. I'm a detective on the vice squad and before you panic, I'm not here to bust you. I AM Peter's girlfriend and I'm off duty. If he's helping you, then I want to help too, okay?"

"You promise not to arrest me?" the younger girl demanded and Jordan held up her hand.

"Scout's honour."

"You were never a Girl Scout." Peter murmured and she grinned wickedly at him.

"A lot you know, lover. If you're very good, I might pull out the uniform I wore senior year and model it for you sometime." Jordan winked at him and Maddie laughed.

"I'm glad you're not.. you know. You seem really nice." she offered shyly and Jordan impulsively gave her a fast, one armed hug.

"You're pretty nice yourself, Miss Maddie. Ever thought of getting out of the business?" then, stemming the tide of protest, "Let's go in back and find something fancy to do with all that clean hair, ok?"

Charmed, Maddie followed Jordan like a puppy. The older woman turned at the doorway, gave Peter a wink and a grin, then was gone. He sighed in deep relief. The cavalry, in the form of Det. Jordan MacGuire had arrived.

Maddie sat on a bench in the garden and Jordan began carefully brushing out her hair. She'd raided her own purse for as many make up essentials as she carried, and a full scale make over was in progress. Maddie was carefully whipping two egg whites frothy for a facial mask as Jordan brushed, letting the late afternoon sun dry the last moisture from the golden brown strands. "There, now. What do you want to do? Put it up, maybe?"

"Like an old fashioned picture? Yes! That would be great. My mom.." Jordan got to work with her brush and pins, and kept talking, casually.

"Does she have this great hair too?"

"Hers is darker, and she has a little bit of gray in it now, but she can do anything with it. She braids it and pins it up, she even made those long curly things for a 'Gone With the Wind' party one time."

"Wow, those aren't easy. Did she put your hair up too?" she slid a pin in and brushed a loose curl around her fingers. "Not like hers, it was too grown up. Mom always brushed mine though, every night after my bath, and every morning before school. She'd pull a little bit back and put a fancy barrette in, a surprise one she'd have bought just for me." Maddie's voice choked and Jordan patted her shoulder with a warm hand, then kept brushing.

"What about your dad?"

"He used to come in and take pictures of us, he said we were his girls. He travels a lot, but he always sends letters and presents.."

"Do you miss your folks, hon?"

Maddie turned tragic, tear filled eyes to her. "Of course, but it's too late now. If they ever found out that I was a...a..."

"I think they'd be overjoyed to know that you're safe, kiddo. They'll probably be sad, and upset about your life out here, but it sounds like they love you a lot." Jordan smiled, "My folks put up with an awful lot of nonsense from me when I was growing up."

"Were you a whore?" The harsh words were incongruent, coming from the young girl's lips, and Jordan's eyes darkened. Hating that this kid had already seen so much of the dark side of life.

"No, I was more of a screw up. I skipped school, talked too much when I was there, played some really bad pranks on the nuns. I got suspended a few times, and my parents let me have it at home, even worse than school." She shook her head with the memory.

"Did you always want to be a cop?"

"I wanted to be a rock star, actually. The new Madonna, all glitter and trash and pop. But, I
couldn't sing, so that made me look at other options." she grinned at Maddie and Maddie sighed.

"I wanted to be a model. I thought Jimmy could help me, he promised that he could, but then he ran short of money, and he needed my help..and there I was, on Broadway in front of the Hunan Palace."

"You could still model, sweetie. Go back home, finish school, try for work in local ads and
shows. Or you might find something you like even better. I did."

"Do you like being a cop?"

"I love it. I love catching the bad guys, I have a great partner..I even met Pete there at work."

"Are you guys in love?"

Jordan thoughtfully nodded. "I think we are."

"Why were you yelling at him then?"

"That seems to be a part of our relationship, Maddie. He pisses me off, I don't tell him, until I'm so angry I explode, then he apologizes. I think we need to find a better way, what about you?"

"I hate hearing people yell at each other, so yeah. Besides, he's really sweet." Jordan saw a tiny star of hero worship in the younger girl's eyes and smiled. That Caine charm, gets 'em every time.

"Yeah, he is. What say, hon? Should we give your mom a call, at least let her know you're
okay?"

"I don't want to tell her where I am!"

Jordan held up her hands. "No one will make you do anything, Maddie. But call her, okay, let her know that you are alive, so she can worry less."

"Do...do you think she'll talk to me?"

"I think she'll cry a lot and be overjoyed to hear from you." Jordan said solemnly, and prayed to whatever gods might be listening that she was right.

"Well, okay. Can we go tell Peter?"

"You got it, hon." Jordan slipped in the last pin and held her small mirror up for the girl to
admire her hair.

"It looks...Jordan, I look like my mom!" Wide eyed, Maddie stared at herself. "I look just like her, young! Does Peter have a phone here?"

"We'll use my cell phone, Maddie, never fear. Let's go show Pete, okay?" The pair went inside, hand in hand.

The call went well. Maddie dialed her home phone number with suddenly cold fingers, taking a deep breath as it rang and a familiar voice answered. "Mom? Mom, it's me, Maddie." A cry
audible even to Peter and Jordan, and Maddie hastened to say, "Mom, it's okay, I'm okay. No, you don't have to call.. Daddy? Are you on the upstairs extension? Yes, Daddy, it's me.. oh, Mom, don't cry. Daddy, tell her..are you crying too?" She listened, tears spilling down her own cheeks as her parents kept interrupting each other to speak.

Peter and Jordan sat on the couch nearby, his arm tight around her waist as she leaned back against him. She felt her own tears start and looked up to see Peter rubbing at his eyes. "A fine pair of hard bitten cops, and ex cops," she added with a twinkle," we turn out to be."

He smiled, running a gentle hand over her face and wiping the few little droplets away. "All
those reunions with my pop. I wonder if Maddie's parents ever gave up hoping.." he whispered back, and she cuddled closer in sympathy. He HAD been lost to his father, and had given up when Paul and Annie Blaisdell brought new hope into his life.

"Mom, no, you can't come and get me!" Maddie sounded close to panic and the two adults
looked over, concerned. "Trust me, I've...you don't understand, Mommy, I've done terrible
things..you can't come...No, I'm safe now. I'm at a friend's apartment, Peter and his friend Jordan are here, she's a cop even, so I'm really safe.." the teenager listened a minute more, then nodded, forgetting that her parents couldn't see her. "Jordie, can you talk to my mom?"

As the older woman took the phone, Maddie hissed, "You PROMISED not to tell, remember?"

"Yes." Jordan murmured back, then, "Hello? Yes ma'am, Detective MacGuire. No, she's not in the least bit of trouble, she came to a friend of mine for help, he's a priest and I'm sort of lending a hand, unofficially." She mimed intense relief at Peter as she said the word 'priest' and he just shook his head. "Yes, she's had it rough for a while.. I think that's why.." Jordan smiled suddenly, with an inward sigh of relief, "You know, I think Maddie really needs to hear that, so why don't I put her back on, okay?"

She handed the phone back to her young friend, and gave her a thumbs up, with wide grin.
"Mom, it's me again." She was quiet for a long moment, and then she was crying harder than ever, sobbing her location into the phone, and repeating the number to Jordan's cell phone. "I love you too, Mom, Daddy, I'll see you tomorrow, I love you both!"

She clicked it off and blindly turned away, toward the pair on the couch, who made room for her between them. They took turns hugging and soothing her, until the shoulder of Peter's denim work shirt was soaked through and the girl lay quietly against him, drawing one shuddering breath after another. He held her gently as Jordan helped her mop up with several Kleenex, she was limp and worn out with emotion. Finally, she was calm enough to speak, softly. "Mom and Dad are coming to get me tomorrow. Mom said," she snuffled back a few stray tears that threatened, "she said that no matter what I'd done here, she still loved me and wanted me back. Daddy did too, and he was crying again, but he meant it." She looked up at them, wet eyes earnest and scared. "Do you think they'll still think so, when they find out what I am?"

Peter smoothed her rumpled hair, falling loose from the pins, and told her, "What you were is over. What you ARE is a smart, sweet girl who just did a very brave thing. Your parents love you, and you couldn't ever do anything bad enough to make them stop. Trust me on that, I've disappointed my dad a lot over the years." His own eyes were thoughtful, "But he never gives upon me." He kissed her tenderly on the forehead and hugged her tight. "Don't you give up on yourself, Madelyn."

*****

Peter woke early and sighed in contentment. Dawn light was filtering through the reed screens overhead, he was relaxed and ready for the day, and Jordan was sleeping in his arms, her cheek and one hand resting on his bare chest. She'd stayed, for the first time, after helping Maddie get settled for the night on the sofa. Her strawberry shampoo and the faint scent of Shalimar tickled his nose in a familiar way and he gently moved his hand to stroke her tousled pale curls. He had to make a place for her in this new life of his, somehow, because he couldn't lose her again.

Carefully he slid out from beneath the quilts, leaving them tucked around her warm, satiated form, and tiptoed off to the shower. Ten minutes later, Peter was sprinting down the stairs of the old building, finger combing his thick dark hair into damp waves. He jogged along the waking streets to the open air markets, smiling and nodding to yawning shopkeepers sweeping their doorsteps as he went. Spirits high, he charmed the elderly lady selling apples and pears into a fit of the giggles, and caused Chun Wei to shake his head in dignified mirth as he measured out the very small, very sweet bananas he sold. Peter stopped in to share his booty with the Ancient, and to catch him up on the previous day's events over a cup of tea.

Caine the younger had begun to look forward to these daily chats as much as his father had, Lo Si was the best source of information in Chinatown. He also managed to deliver the news with a sly humour that kept Peter in stitches. The Ancient added a special blend of tea for Maddie and her parents, "for courage and strength to stand together" to Peter's packages and the young Shaolin headed for home. Two blocks from the apartment, two young toughs jumped off the wall ahead of him. Peter slowed and a third emerged from a junked car out at the roadside. They were grinning, unpleasant smiles that never reached their eyes, as he approached. Still, Peter offered them the benefit of the doubt. "Good morning, fellas!" he called out, and the fourth man appeared, stereotypically cleaning his fingernails with a knife.

"You got something of mine, priest. You're turning out to be as much of a pain as your old man.' The attitude couldn't hide his pasty, blotched skin, or his skinny, underdeveloped body.

"You must be Jimmy. I don't have anything that belongs to you, man." Peter spread his hands wide, gave an ingratiating grin to hide the anger building to a steam. "Just do something stupid" he mentally begged the street pimp, itching to knock the dark glasses off his face.

"Oh, you know me, and you know my property. Chavez, he saw her talking to you in the park. She never came to see me after her shift, she owes me money and she owes me last night's work. You tell that bitch that if she hands over the money, I won't whup her ass the way she deserves."

"Maddie is on her way home, Jimmy, so forget her name. She's not coming back."

"She's coming back, Caine, and if I have to take it out of your hide, that will teach you to keep your nose out of my business. "

He nodded to his men and they moved forward, as he was surrounded, Peter lashed out, catching the first thug with the bag of fruit. The man went sprawling, and Peter whirled on one foot, bringing the other up and striking the burliest of his opponents square under the chin. The third man struck out with a length of chain, which Peter caught on his arm, jerking his assailant off his feet and punching him in the solar plexus. Then he turned to Jimmy, advancing ,with a menacing smile, on the pimp.

The skinny man backed up, hands in front of him then pulled out his knife. "You stay back,
man! That bitch ain't worth getting cut, and you ain't no cop anymore."

"You're right, I'm not. If I were still a cop, I couldn't do THIS." He cracked Jimmy across the
jaw, and knocked the knife from his hand, "or this!" Wrapping his hands in the man's jacket
collar, he slammed him two fisted into the wall. Scooping up the knife, he held it up, glittering before the scared eyes. "And this would really be out of the question. Now, are you still interested in calling Maddie your property?"

"No..no, man." Jimmy stuttered, eyes fixed on the blade. Then as Peter released him, he
slumped, crawling away like a crab, 'You're crazy, man!! You were bad enough as a cop, but now you're just fuckin' crazy!!"

"Remember that." Peter purred, in a voice he had learned from Kermit, and Jimmy crawled
faster. Peter picked up his bag, sighed over his mangled fruit, and made his way home.

Epilogue

Maddie and her parents left the city without further problems and life settled back into
a comfortable routine. Jordan went back to her work on the streets, taking even more interest in helping the working girls she encountered. Peter entrenched himself even more firmly in the life of the Chinatown community, opening his heart and his mind, and sometimes even his home, to his new extended family.

As for his old one...Jordan and Maia sat in the neon dimness of Delaney's, nodding along with TJ's piano playing and exchanging small talk with the rest of the precinct gang. Mary Margaret laughed a few times, and Jordan noticed, but didn't comment, on the fact that sparkle had returned to her eyes. Wherever Caine was, Mary Margaret Skalany was going on with her life. And if sometimes the sparkle was drenched in a quick blink of tears, she would learn to live with that too. Terry saw him first, and slid a draft down the bar, then pulled a glass of water too. "What are you drinking now, Pete?" he grinned, and Peter held up his glass with an answering smile.

"This'll do for now. How's business?" He took a long drink, foam coating his upper lip, and Jordan was suddenly on him, kissing it away. His friends were right behind her, hugging and clapping him on the back, and even Strenlich was there, wringing his hand. He looked around at the smiling faces and realized, finally, that this family of his would always take him back too. No matter what.

The End

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