Alternative Ending for North Hollywood Division

Patrol Officer Peter J. Malloy opened the door to the locker room and stepped inside. The room was half-full of officers either preparing for or ending their shifts. He nodded to several of them as he made his way to his locker, listening with one ear to the conversations taking place around him.

As he pulled open his locker door and shrugged out of his jacket he heard a voice behind him ask him lightly. "So, how much did you have to pay him?"

Pete turned to look at the owner of the voice, a slightly expectant smile on his freckled face. "How much did I have to pay who?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me, Malloy." The shorter man complained with a slight frown. "What did you do? Write it yourself and get Reed to put his name on it?"

The other officer's expression became confused. "Wells, what are you talking about? Write what?"

Ed Wells blinked a couple of times, trying to decide if Pete really didn't know what he was referring to or if he was pretending to be obtuse. Finally deciding that it was the former he held up a rolled up magazine and pointed to it. "This is what I'm talking about."

"What's that?" Pete asked, frowning slightly at the magazine, a hint of suspicion in his tone.

"The LAPD Beat." Wells told him as he opened the periodical to the article in question. Turning it around so that Pete could see it he added. "Looks like your famous, Malloy."

Pete took the magazine from the other officer and stared at it in deep surprise. "I thought they weren't going to run this." He commented more to himself than to Wells.

"Well, looks like they changed their minds." Ed remarked taking the magazine back and looking at the article. "Do you want to know what it says?"

"I wouldn't mind." Pete huffed slightly annoyed to have the article snatched away from him so quickly.

"Well, don't get in a snit." Wells chastised him lightly. "Let me read it to you." Clearing his throat dramatically he began. "'Highlighting LA's Finest'…'"

"Ed!" Before the blond officer could get into the article itself Jerry Woods' voice quickly interrupted him. When the blond officer looked at him in surprise Jerry continued. "Why don't you let him read the article himself." When the other man opened his mouth to object he continued. "Just give it to him, Ed. Let him read it in peace."

Wells looked from Woods to some of the other guys who were echoing Jerry's words. With a dramatic sigh he finally gave into their urgings and presented the magazine to Pete. "Hope you enjoy it, Malloy. And I expect you to give it back when you're done."

"Come on, Ed." Jerry gave Wells' arm a gentle tug as he encouraged. "I'll buy you a cup of coffee before Roll Call." Then looking at Malloy he added. "We'll see you later, Pete."

"Yeah, thanks Jerry." Pete sat down on the wooden bench before him as the other officers moved off and focused his attention on the article he held in his hands. He had to admit he was intensely curious to see what his partner had written about him. He hadn't been terribly thrilled about the idea of the article when Jim had first told him about it, in fact he'd tried hard to dissuade his friend from writing it. But when Jim had told him that the article had been dropped in favor of pictures and plans of the new police station, he had to admit that he'd been a little disappointed. By then he'd been curious to see how his friend would describe him.

Even though he and Jim had never discussed it in so many words, the two of them were closer than most partners were. Not only did they spend eight hours or more a day together at work, they did a lot of things together off duty as well. Jim and Jean Reed were always inviting him over for supper and Pete tried to make sure that he made it at least once a week. Other times Pete and his latest lady friend would double date with the Reeds, heading downtown for a night out. Pete always enjoyed the times he spent with his partner and his family. Not having family of his own in the area and no siblings at all, he really did appreciate the way that Jim and Jean made him feel a part of their family. And their asking him to be godfather to James A. Reed Jr. seemed to have cemented his position as a permanent fixture of the Reed clan.

So now filled with a renewed filling of curiosity Pete began to read the article that had been dedicated specifically to him. The first thing he noticed when he looked at the two-page article was the collection of small snapshots that dotted the pages. The largest and most prominent picture was one of him in uniform smiling slightly for the camera. He recognized it as the same one that was on his ID and in his file. The other photos were more of a candid nature, showing him in a variety of settings. There was one of him leaning against the black and white, his arms crossed against his chest as he spoke casually with Jerry Woods; another was of him and Reed having a cup of coffee in the break room. Another showed him and Mac standing in the hallway just outside of Mac's office; there was even a picture of him graduating from the Academy. "Almost a decade ago." He said under his breath as he shook his head slightly. "Did I really look that young?"

The picture that really caught his eye and made him start in surprise was one of him and Jimmy Reed that. Pete recognized it as one that sat proudly among the collection of framed photos that the Reeds had in their house. Pete remembered being both surprised and honored when it had made it into the collection. It was a picture that Pete found particularly funny, though he'd never admitted it to his friends. In the picture he was laying on his back in the middle of the Reed's living room floor with Jimmy suspended over him. They were performing what Jim called their 'Acrobatic feat of all time'. Pete would lay flat on the floor with his arms stretched out above his head, palms up. Jimmy would than stand on his hands and Pete would raise his legs, curling them over himself until Jimmy could grab his feet. Pete would then lift the little tyke until his arms were straight up. Jimmy thought it was great fun and would usually squeal and laugh in delight. Jim too thought the trick was amusing and always had an enormous grin on his face whenever he watched the pair perform. Jean, however, wasn't so amused, or at least she pretended not to be. She always fussed that one or both of them were going to get hurt. But it was her that snapped that picture in the end and added it to her collection.

"I always want to remember the two of you like that." She'd said at the time. "Jimmy and his beloved Uncle Pete."

Pete had blushed furiously at the comment, but he'd been secretly pleased. He loved his godson very much and it made him feel great knowing that Jimmy loved him just as much. Very few things melted his hart as thoroughly as little James A. Reed Jr.

Eventually Pete's eyes shifted from the half dozen pictures sprinkled through the article to the actual words that were printed on the page. With keen interest he began to read what his partner had written about him.

Contributed by Officer James A. Reed

In honor of his upcoming ten-year anniversary with the force, I was asked to write a brief article describing one of LAPD's finest officers, Patrol Officer Peter Joseph Malloy. But the problem I'm having is how do you describe in a few short sentences the man who from the day you met him had become your mentor, your partner and your best friend. Not to mention the very beloved godfather to my son, Jimmy. He's saved my life on more than one occasion and been there to help me up when a call has sent me down. He's been there to share the joys of the job as well as the sorrows. And he's taught me how to be the best cop that I can be, which is exactly what he is himself.

Born in Detroit on October 15th, 1935 Pete and his parents moved to Seattle when he was just nine months old. Though he claims that he didn't get into any 'dynamite action until sometime later'. (An example of which was the time he was in High School and he challenged some guy that he could eat 14lbs of bananas in a half-hour. He apparently lost, but he claims with a large grin and a twinkle in his eye that it was "really an interesting half-hour".)

There have been many highlights in Officer Malloy's career during the last ten years. He currently holds the rank of Police Officer III, has the responsibility of being Senior Lead officer for Central Division, as well as Team Training officer. He's also continued to maintain a Distinguished Expert shooting qualification.

Highly regarded by everyone in the Division, Pete is well known for his honesty, his trustworthiness and his willingness to help his fellow man. He's also very well known for his stubbornness, a trait that has served him well in the field. His cunningness when it comes to capturing suspects, mixed with his red hair has earned him the nickname "Strawberry Fox" among his friends and colleagues, a reputation he continues to live up to.

Another thing he's built a reputation for is his unnatural obsession with driving the black and white. I've noticed over the years that we've been partnered together that it takes either an act of God or a twist of fate for him to hand over the steering wheel of our unit to me. This fact has become a running joke in the division. There's nobody who knows Pete Malloy who could honestly say that man doesn't enjoy a good joke. With his dry sense of humor and his penchant for deadpan one-liners he's ready to get you when you least expect it.

To sum up I'd just like to express how deeply grateful I feel that on my first day as a police officer I managed to draw such a wonderful partner. Not only did I get the benefit of his experience by having him as my training officer, but I also have had the honor and privilege of his continuing company both as my partner and my best friend. I hope that we can continue on as such for many more years to come.

Happy 10th anniversary, Strawberry Fox from all your friends at Central Division."

Pete read the article over a second time before tearing his eyes away from it. He brushed suspiciously at his eyes and cleared his throat slightly. He didn't know exactly what he'd been expecting, but that article had been far more than what he thought he'd get. He figured he'd get a couple of paragraphs about his life and another couple about his career, but he never expected to get such a heartfelt commentary on how much he meant to his friends and colleagues. Especially Jim.

Not being the type of person who usually discussed his feelings, Pete had never really told his partner just how much his friendship had come to mean to him. In a sense, Jim had been the one to save Pete's career. He had been all set to pack it in that day he'd been assigned to take Jim under his wing. That night was to have been his last shift. Now here he was a few years later still working his beat with the man who had so quickly become his best friend.

Best friend. The word seemed to linger in his thoughts for a moment. He and Jim had never actually called each other that before. At least not out loud. It was just something that seemed to be understood between them. After all, it made sense that they would be. Who else would be a closer friend to you than the one person that you trusted your life to every day? It was just natural, wasn't it? But as Pete thought about it he realized that he didn't feel near the same closeness with his last partner as he did with Reed. Sure the two of them had gotten along well and did the odd off-duty things together. But Pete was never a big fixture in his previous partner's life. He'd had his family and his main focus was on them. Pete was just his partner at work and a friend he did things with occasionally outside work. But mainly he was an outsider. But with Jim and Jean it was different.

Soon after Pete had taken Jim under his wing, so to speak, Jim had done the same thing to him in regards his family. Pete had very quickly been 'adopted' into the family as the older brother that Jim had never had, a roll that Pete had easily fallen in to. Especially after Jim and Jean had told him that they wanted him to be Jim Jr's godfather. That one small act had meant more to Pete than anything else anyone had ever done for him before.

Though this article was beginning to run a close second. He thought to himself as he once again focused on it. After looking at the pictures and than skimming through the paragraphs again Pete shook his head slightly, a small grin on his face. "You certainly do have a gift for words, partner." A gentle chuckle escaped his lips as he added. "Maybe I should let you write up all the reports after this."

The sound of the locker room door opening caused Pete to jump slightly. "There you are!" The familiar voice of his partner called out with obvious relief as he quickly crossed the locker room to where Pete was still sitting on the bench. "You missed Roll Call. I was getting worried." He watched as Pete glanced sharply at the clock before jumping to his feet and quickly reaching for his uniform. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." The red-haired man quickly assured him as he hurried to get ready. "I just lost track of the time."

Jim glanced at the magazine that Pete had left sitting on the bench when he'd jumped up to get ready. Picking it up he began to flip through it. "I see you found the article about the new police station." He stopped flipping as he added. "I think some of the artist's drawings are quite interesting."

"The new police station, huh?" Pete gave him friend a mildly amused look as he finished buttoning his shirt. "You lied to me partner."

"No I didn't." Jim assured him and turned the magazine to show him the article on the station. "There really is an article about it. Complete with drawings and pictures. Just like I told you."

Sitting down on the bench to put on his shoes Pete looked up at his dark-haired companion and grinned slightly. "You also said that they were doing that article instead of the one about me. That was a lie."

"It wasn't a lie." His friend returned. "It was a deception."

"There's a difference?" Pete questioned, glancing up at him expectantly.

"Yeah." Jim nodded, then added. "Besides, you weren't suppose to even know about the article in the first place, Pete. It was suppose to be a surprise. Now it was."

His partner couldn't help but chuckle at that bit of logic. "Yes, I suppose it was." His expression suddenly turned serious. "Listen, Jim about the article."

"Yeah?" The author gave him an expectant look as he tried to read his partner's thoughts. He had been quite anxious since he'd submitted the piece as to how his friend would feel about it. He knew that Pete was kind of a private person and was always embarrassed when put in the spotlight, but Jim knew he deserved a bit of recognition. Theirs was a very thankless job filled with a rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows. Sometimes all it took was a word of gratitude and appreciation to help but all those emotions into proper balance.

Pete remained silent for a few more moments as he tried hard to put his thoughts and feelings into words. Finally after much debating he settled for something nice and simple. Giving Jim a warm smile he said sincerely. "Thanks, partner."

Jim knew there was much more behind those two words than Pete was able to say. "You're welcome, Pete."

The red-haired man nodded slightly before bending down to finish tying his shoelaces. When he was done he looked up at Jim and suggested. "What do you say you, Jean, Jimmy and I all go to the beach tomorrow afternoon? We're both off and I understand that the weather is suppose to be fantastic."

A broad smile nearly split Jim's handsome face. "That sounds fine, Pete. I'll call Jean later and tell her. Maybe we'll take a lunch and a picnic."

Pete nodded his agreement to the idea and rose to retrieve his equipment belt from his locker. After fastening it around his waist he suggested eagerly. "Why don't you ask her if she can include some of those wonderful chocolate chip cookies that she makes."

Jim laughed lightly as Pete closed his locker door and gathered the rest of his gear. As they walked towards the door of the locker room the dark-haired man looked at his companion and said. "For you partner, anything."

THE END