Maike asked, 'What about your father? Huh?'

Franzi answered, 'He listened, he talked about everything. We even had a petty disagreement; like who was the most stable man in my life.'

Maike asked, 'And who was he matched up against?'

Franzi answered, 'Daniel at Mocca.'

Maike asked, 'And who won?'

Franzi said, 'We decided that Daniel was the second most stable.'

Maike said, 'So you cracked and just said your father.'

Franzi knew Maike was just making conversation. She wasn't trying to be rude or insulting. 'No. It really was a tie. I just didn't want him to feel left out. But what have you been up to? The last time I saw you, you were helping with a crappy come out.'

Maike said, 'Yes. You weren't all too thrilled about Paula not being sure about her feelings, or how you felt for her.'

Franzi agreed, 'Yes. So what are you doing? Are you still in the group?'

Maike said, 'Yes. In fact we're setup away from Berlin. I'm only here during the school year. When summer hits, I take a break and go full throttle with Earth Friendly in Munstertal.'

Franzi said, 'That's a good place for that kind of work. There's fresh air and not much bullshit to deal with.'

Maike said, 'Yeah. It's the kind of place one could dream of, wake up to the scenery and think they were still asleep.'

Franzi replied, 'Yeah. My uncle lives there in a cottage. He's been there most of his life and he lets me crash there sometimes.'

Maike said, 'Well, that's very considerate of him.'

Franzi and Maike talked some more about Maike's work. She offered Franzi some support if she wanted to come back anytime soon. Franzi didn't feel any pressure but she declined and Maike understood. Franzi didn't have her wristwatch on so she asked Maike what the time was. It was 14:47 in military time, 2:47pm in standard time. Franzi decided to go home and Maike gave her a kiss on the cheek and a friendly hug.

Maike said, 'You take it easy, okay?'

Franzi replied, 'I'll try.'

Franzi slipped in and out of a daze. She thought about going back to school, taking it easy, getting her job back, and she still managed to make no sense out of it all. Maybe it was just her being tired or maybe she didn't want to do anything. Franzi couldn't even bring herself to think 'What do you want?' When Franzi got up from the bench, she went back to the flatshare for cleaning. She organized the shelves, set the bed and table, did the dishes, anything to keep herself busy. When almost everything was cleaned, Franzi decided to call Paula and see about dinner for tonight.

The dispatch receiver said, 'Hold on a moment, miss. I will transfer you to her mobile unit.' Paula wasn't on foot patrol anymore so she spent the rest of her work shift in a squad car. Her mobile phone was provided by the city so any calls received or sent were logged and deducted from her pay rate.

Paula said, 'This is Officer Rapf. How can I help you?'

Franzi surprised Paula and responded, 'Hi, Paula. It's Franzi. What do you want for dinner tonight?'

Paula offered, 'Why don't you let me take care of dinner tonight? I can fix some spaghetti in very little time.'

Franzi said, 'Sounds like a good idea. How's your day going?'

Paula said, 'It's managing very well. I'm on foot patrol. What about you? How are you holding up?'

Franzi said, 'I'm a little tired so I'm going to take a nap before you get home.'

Paula said, 'Mmm, that sounds like a very good idea. I'll have dinner ready when you wake up.'

Franzi said, 'Thanks. See you later.' Then Paula hung up.

When Franzi made it back to the flatshare, she made a cup of tea to relax herself and sat on the couch.

Daniel asked, 'What is it? What's troubling you?' He could see right through her face and know that there was something she wanted to say. But she was also fighting hard to keep from letting it out. 'What?'

Franzi said, 'Daniel. I want to get out of here and away from everything. Away from the city, school, my job.' Franzi said all this while looking down at the floor in confusion.

Esteban was being more like a big brother than a partner. Paula didn't mind and it made her day a little easier. When the time was 16:40, 4:40pm, Paula punched out after checking in with Capt. Willis. He was satisfied with her performance on her first day back. He suggested that she take each day one at a time. Paula met him with basic police discipline and agreed. Now Paula had a flatshare to go to with a hot bowl of spaghetti to fix.

Willis said, 'Take care, Rapf.'

Paula replied, 'You too, sir.'

At the flatshare, Franzi was confessing the world to Daniel. 'I'm just afraid that everybody's going to look at me and talk about me...'