Trust Her

Center Mass

*Area Near the River*

Hank and Ana arrived on scene after Vanessa and Kevin's search for a missing person led them straight to his body instead. The two Sergeants walked under a strip of red tape, which was being held up by a nearby patrolman, with their newest Officer.

"So who found the body?" The brunette wondered.

"Construction worker." Vanessa replied and the older man grunted in response. "Lost his keys. Thought he accidentally tossed them into the dumpster. Took a dive he won't forget."

"Hm. Your friend got any idea who might've done it?" Hank inquired, glancing back at a bald man in a suit who was being interviewed by another Officer a few feet away.

"No, but I told him I'd look into it." The newbie shook her head, turning to face the two Sergeants. "I know this isn't the kind of case we normally take-"

"Vanessa, you don't have to apologize or explain." Ana assured with a small chuckle.

"We got a dead body. A dead person. We're taking it." Hank agreed, moving past her and crouching beisde the body. "So what'd the M. E. say?"

"Died from sharp force wounds." Kevin answered as he joined the small group. "Probably a hunting knife or serrated edge. Time of death between 10:00 p. m. and 1:00 a. m. There's no blood present in the dumpster, so he was probably kill somewhere else." The male Officer speculated.

"Does Roberto have any gang affiliations?" Ana wondered as her husband stood back up and moved next her again.

"No. He's an out of work roofer with a big drug problem. I mean, according to Ben, he was doing better." Vanessa sighed.

"All right, so let's pound the pavement. Find a witness, security camera." Hank ordered.

"And let's dig into Roberto." Ana added. "You know, track his movements. Where was he staying? What was he doing?"

"Okay." Kevin nodded, walking off with his partner by his side.

The two Sergeants just shared a look and gazed down at the body once again, however, Hank's eyes instantly shot back up when he heard a small sniffle coming from his wife's direction. The older man turned and, sure enough, she was wiping a few tears away.

"Hey." He called, softly. "You okay?"

"No." She admitted, glancing at him with misty eyes. "I know what you're gonna say but. . . I can't help but feel like what happened to Kim was somehow my fault. I went with her to prevent something like that from happening and-"

"Let me stop you right there. Sure, I'm not happy that you got hurt . . ." Hank interrupted her gently and brought a hand up to the bruised, yet healing, portion of her face. "But if you hadn't been with Burgess when you were, she could've ended up in a coma or, God forbid, worse. . .dead."

"Yeah, I guess." Ana nodded, quietly, and wiped at her eyes again. "I just wish she wasn't forced to go through what we did."

The older man let out a small sigh and wrapped an arm around the brunette, pressing his lips, firmly, to the side of her head.

"Me too, Princess." He murmured. "Me too."

*District 21: Bullpen*

After taking a visit to a homeless shelter with Jay and Vanessa, Hailey was currently looking into a story one of the people living there had told them. She had been typing away at her computer when her head suddenly shot towards Ana's desk.

"Sarge." The blonde gestured for her to come over.

"Henry." The brunette called in return, standing up just as Hank came marching out of his Office.