****Hi all! For this part, I've decided to do something different. Half of this part will take place in New York and the other part will take part in Baltimore. Let me know what you think of the new format. Also, somebody else makes a surprise appearance. Any guesses? Well, happy reading and here we go!****

Part Eight: Plans.

A few days had passed since the night that Alice and Olga phoned 
K.C. and Mare. The plan was to have everybody get together in Baltimore. 
The two Mikes were very curious about one another and they wanted to meet 
each other, very much. Both Mare and Olga wondered how this trip to 
Baltimore would impact their growing relationships with their respective 
Mikes. K.C. and Ben were looking forward to getting back to Baltimore 
because K.C. missed her friends there and Ben had a lot of cases piling up 
in the office he shared with Paul. Alice and Tim were just worried where 
they were going to put everybody. 

On this particular day, Mare was at home with K.C. and Michael. 
Ben was at the DAs office visiting with Adam Schiff. Mike was at work. 
Over the last few days, while Mike's schedule may not have allowed him 
all the time he wanted to spend with Mare, he always made sure to phone 
her every night and to drop by to see her whenever he had a spare moment. 

At the 27th Precinct, Mike and his partner, Lennie Briscoe were 
pouring over case files. They had been slipping a bit in their paperwork 
and their boss, Lieutenant Anita Van Buren had been on their cases all 
during the week to get caught up. Mike was finding it very hard to 
concentrate because all he kept doing was thinking of Mare and about the 
trip to Baltimore. Lennie sensed that Mike just wasn't with it today and 
decided to take him out to lunch. 

They made their way to a coffee shop near the precinct that served 
the best turkey on rye sandwiches that Lennie had ever tasted (did I 
mention that Lennie loves his food?). Once they had placed their orders 
and were sipping their coffee, they both leant back against the seats of 
the booth they were sitting at and began to talk. 

"So, Mikey, your head's been in the clouds all day. Want to tell 
me about it?", Lennie asked. "Would it do any good if I said no?", Mike 
asked. "No, and don't even think about it. Spill it!", Lennie ordered. 
"Okay, okay. See, there's this woman that I've been seeing over the last 
few days.", Mike started to explain. "Aha, I should have guessed. Does 
this woman have a name?", Lennie asked. "Yeah, her name is Mary Ruth Ella 
Morris but I just call her Mare or 'my lady'.", Mike replied. "You're 
such a sweetheart, you know that. Now, if I was a woman...", Lennie 
teased. "Hey, Lennie, come on, let's get serious here.", Mike warned. 
"Alright, go on.", Lennie said. 

Mike went on to explain what it was about Mare that made her so 
special to him. He then went on to explain how he felt about her. 
"Lennie, man, I think I'm in love with her and I want to spend the rest of 
my life with her showing her that.", Mike explained. "Oh man, this is 
serious. However, Mike, you used to have a certain reputation with the 
ladies, you know.", Lennie explained. "Yeah, I know but I think, no, I 
know, that is the woman who will cure me of my evil ways.", Mike said with 
a devilish grin. "Well, Mikey, you know that I want, more than anything, 
to see you happy. So, if this woman is the one for you, then I say go for 
it. By the way, please do not screw this up like I did with my last two 
wives. Believe me, you don't want to go down that road.", Lennie said. 
"Thanks, Lennie. I always knew I could on you.", Mike replied. "Hey, 
what are friends for? Now, will you pass me the mustard?", Lennie asked. 
Mike laughed at the thought that some things never changed with Lennie but 
he was also very happy that he knew what he wanted, concerning Mare. 

Meanwhile, Mare was looking after Michael while K.C. was getting 
caught up on her e-mail, via her laptop computer that Ben had bought her 
for Christmas. 
Mare was having so much fun watching Michael reach for his favorite plush 
bunny and his fuzzy balls. Every so often, he would inadvertently toss the 
balls towards Mare. Mare was more than happy to toss them back to him and 
tickle him at the same time. That produced a great big smile on Michael's 
face that Mare loved to see so much. Gosh, how he looked like his dad. 
Playing with Michael made Mare wonder what it would be like to have kids 
with Mike. She knew that when she held Michael the other night, Mike was 
admiring how well she was taking care of Michael. Somehow, she knew that 
Mike adored kids and that any kids she had with him would be very lucky, 
indeed. Her train of thought was interrupted by K.C.'s little gasp of 
surprise at the computer screen. After putting Michael playpen and making 
sure that he had his toys in there with him, Mare went over and sat down 
beside K.C. 

"What's the matter, K.C.?", Mare asked. "It's an e-mail from 
Anna, in Ohio.", K.C. replied. "So, what's so unusual about that? We 
e-mail her all the time.", Mare said. "I know that but it's the content 
of her message that's so surprising.", K.C. further explained. "Well, let 
me take a look at it.", Mare said. K.C. handed the computer over to Mare. 
As Mare was reading, she, too, could not believe her eyes. 

"Wow! So, they are divorced now and she's coming to Baltimore 
with the kids.", Mare said. "Yeah, it is something. I'm going to e-mail 
her right back and then e-mail Alice and Olga about this.", K.C. 
explained. "Okay, that sounds like a plan.", Mare agreed. 

Anna was an e-mail friend of Mare's, K.C.'s, Alice's, and Olga's. 
She (Anna) had been married to a man named Brett, who used to work at the 
radio station in Lima (their hometown). For years now, Anna and Brett had 
been drifting apart and an indiscretion on Anna's part had been the final 
nail in the coffin. Brett and Anna decided to get a divorce and they also 
decided to share custody of their two little boys, Taylor and Robert. 
Fortunately, Anna and Brett had remained friends after the divorce. Now, 
Anna decided that she needed to distance herself from her past in Lima and 
start afresh in Baltimore. 

K.C. put the finishing touches on her e-mail to Anna. She told 
Anna that everyone would be getting together in Baltimore before Mare and 
Olga had to take off. K.C. suggested that Anna join them in order to get 
her mind off her troubles and so that they could talk about what was going 
on in her life. Then she e-mailed Alice to tell her about Anna's 
situation. 

"Well, I guess that's all we can do now.", Mare said. "How about 
if we were to make some lunch and then take Michael out for a walk?", Mare 
further asked. "Sounds good to me. I guess you want to see what it is 
like to handle an infant before you and Mikey start practicing, huh?", 
K.C. teased. Mare's face turned absolutely crimson and she admonished, 
"K.C., how could you think such a thing and more importantly, how ever did 
you guess?". Mare's crimson face then turned into a great big, happy 
smile. "Women just know these things. Okay, let's get lunch ready, 
then.", K.C. said. And with that, the two women were off to the kitchen. 

b)Baltimore- 

After a few days had passed, Olga and Mike were just about 
inseparable. Seeing that he had a lot of time on his hands due to his 
suspension, he was making the most of it by being with Olga. Every so 
often, he and Olga would talk about how Mike felt about the situation. 
One day, at the Waterfront, they had a conversation about that. 

Looking at Mike's face when he looked at his partner Meldrick 
Lewis and a fellow colleague, John Munch, who were talking about a 
particular shooting case involving the resident druglord, Luther Mahoney, 
Olga felt so badly for Mike. She wish she could do something to ease 
Mike's pain but knew that only the Grand Jury would be the ultimate 
decider of Mike's fate. 

Mike was picking at his food and Olga thought it would be the best 
time to break into conversation about this topic. "Uh, Mike, are you all 
right? I'm sorry to have suggested the Waterfront for lunch. I should 
have realized that it would probably make you uncomfortable with all the 
other detectives hanging around. I'm really sorry.", Olga apologized. 
Mike looked at Olga and he could pain in her eyes. She felt just as badly 
about this as he did and she was trying so hard to be brave for the both 
of them. Realizing what a wonder he had sitting across from him, Mike 
took Olga's hand in his and said, "Honey, don't be sorry. This is a bad 
situation I'm in but I will, well, we will fight it together. I know the 
truth and it will definitely set me free. Thank you for being so 
supportive and understanding. Did I ever tell you that that's one of the 
things I like about you?" "Yes, Mike but you know, I never tire of 
hearing it.", Olga joked. "That's my girl.", Mike said as he squeezed her 
hand for reassurance. 

The phone rang behind the bar and Munch went to pick it up. 
After a few seconds, he took the phone away from his ear and looked over 
in the direction of Mike and Olga. He then said, "Hey, Mike, G's on the 
phone. He wants to talk to you." "Okay, Munch, I'll be right there.", 
Mike answered. As Mike got up and started to walk towards the phone, he 
stopped for a moment and kissed the top of Olga's head. Olga looked with 
tears and love in her eyes. "I'll be right back.", Mike promised with a 
beautiful smile in both his eyes and on his lips. 

While Mike was on the phone, Lewis came over to chat a little 
while with Olga. "How's it going, Olga?", he asked. "It's okay but I 
just wish there was more I could do for Mike. He seems so lost without 
working on the streets.", Olga replied. "Hey, Mikey knows that you are 
there for him and that you care. That's more than enough. I only wish I 
had that kind of thing going with Barbara (Lewis' wife).", Lewis sadly 
expressed. "Oh, Lewis, I'm so sorry to hear about that. Are things that 
bad between the two of you?", Olga asked with great concern for her 
friend. "Well, this is the third day in a row that Barbara has stayed 
with her sister. Frankly, I don't know what I am supposed to do.", Lewis 
replied. "Well, give her some space. Maybe she just needs some time to 
think and I'm sure that in no time, she will be back. Who could resist a 
wonderful guy like you?", Olga asked. That got a grin on Lewis’ face. 
"No wonder Mikey's crazy about you.", Lewis teased and then he asked Olga 
if she wanted a refill on her coffee. "That's okay, but not thanks.", 
Olga answered. "Alright, gotta rumble back to the station house soon. 
Take care and thanks for listening.", Lewis said. "Anytime.", Olga 
replied. 

Mike came back to the table with a troubled look on his face. 
"What's the matter, sweetie?", Olga asked. "G and my lawyer want to see 
me in G's office to go over my testimony for the Grand Jury. I don't like 
the sound of this.", Mike explained. "Well, do you want me along for 
moral support?", Olga asked. "Thanks but G said it was just who was to 
show up but I promise to give you the details when we get together later 
on tonight. I'm going back with Lewis. What will you do?", Mike asked. 
"I think I'll head back to Alice and Tim's place and see if I can help out 
in anyway.", Olga answered. "How are you going to get home?", Mike asked. 
Just at that moment, Sergeant Kay Howard walked through the door. "I can 
take her home, Mike. Don't worry about it. You better head on over to 
the station house because G is in one of his moods.", Kay said. "Oh, 
brother.", Mike exclaimed while rolling his eyes in the air. 

Mike asked Kay to make sure that he got Olga home safely. Kay 
assured him he would. Then Mike crouched down and kissed Olga tenderly on 
the lips. "I'll try to get finished as soon as I can. You take care of 
yourself, honey.", Mike said. "Will do. Now will you get out of here.", 
Olga ordered. Lewis was waiting at the door and said, "Will you listen to 
the woman? She makes a hell of a lot of sense." "Okay, I'm going.", Mike 
said and with that he was out the door with Lewis while blowing a kiss to 
Olga. 

Soon after, Alice came in. "Alice, I was just going to go back to 
see if you needed any help.", Olga said. "Well, I decided that I needed 
some air. We pregnant women can't let our figures go too much.", Alice 
joked. "Well, sit down here with us and tell us what's going on. Watch 
yourself.", Kay gently ordered. Alice and Kay ordered themselves lunch 
while Olga gave in and had some more coffee. 

They talked about the situation concerning Mike and about Alice's 
pregnancy. Soon after Kay finished her lunch, her beeper went off. 
"Damn! I never get to actually relax after my lunch. Guess it's off to 
the call of duty again. You two take care and I'll talk to you later.", 
Kay said. "Okay. See ya later Kay.", Olga said. "Yeah, bye Kay.", Alice 
said. Kay was out the door in a flash. 

"Now onto the big news.", Alice hinted. "And what would that 
be?", Olga asked. "Anna is coming to live in Baltimore with her little 
boys.", Alice revealed. "What? How did this happen?", Olga asked. Alice 
went on to explain about Brett and Anna's divorce and how Anna realized 
she needed to start over fresh. "She's coming to be coming here in a day 
or two and I think she should get together with us and the gang from New 
York. What do you think?", Alice asked. " I think it's a great idea. 
She needs to be around her friends.", Olga said. "Did I hear you guys 
talking about divorce? Well, let me tell you a few stories about it?", 
Munch said as he walked over to their table. "No wonder you are such a 
good detective, Munch.", Alice teased. "And why would that be?", Munch 
asked. "It's because you *hear* so much!", Alice jokingly replied. "Hey, 
Alice, let the man have his say.", Olga said. "My god, you are a glutton 
for punishment. Anyway, don't say I didn't warn you.", Alice instructed. 
Needing no more introduction than that, Munch launched into his *many* 
tales about divorce. 

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Author's Notes
Whew! Think I've outdone myself on this one. Well, let me know what you think.
BTW, I dedicate this chapter to Anna. You deserve it, honey! 

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Go forward to part 9.

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