Face came into the storage room turned gym to find Decker already there. The colonel was peddling one of the bikes furiously, a grim look on his face. He barely acknowledged Face's greeting. Face got on the other bike and started peddling, slipping into a bit of a trance.

They'd hung a picture on the wall in front of the bikes now. Borrowed from the rec room, it was a landscape of a meadow, sprinkled with flowers. A narrow path, that looked like it would be rough to cycle along, ran by an ivy covered cottage. Off in the distance a windmill was outlined against the blue sky. If Face let his eyes go blurry and his mind wander he could almost see the sails of the windmill turning. Usually though his mind wandered over and tried to pick up the girl in the picture. A country lass, in a bonnet, carrying a pail of milk and leading a goat.

Murdock had already made up a whole tale about the girl, he'd told Face. She was promised to the miller's son, but she was eventually going to run away with one of the red-coated soldiers from the picture in the dining room, who sat taking their rest outside a country inn. But after he's killed at Waterloo, she's left pregnant and alone, until a gallant and handsome Captain takes her in. Then Murdock had frowned at the picture for a long time and said.

"I wonder what happens to the goat."

Face just wondered who had decided to decorate the station with a job lot of slightly kitsch Victoriana.

"Did you ever find any coffee?"

Face looked across at Decker, who'd stopped his race with whatever invisible demon was bothering him and was sitting up straight on the bike, panting.

"Huh?" Face said, dragging himself out of the sunshine and back to reality. "Oh, no."

Decker grimaced. "Going to be a long time till spring." He drank from his water bottle. Face looked at him.

"You okay, Decker? You seem kind of ticked." More than normal he added silently.

Decker had been okay earlier, even after the horrible news about the coffee. But then he'd gone the radio room and after that he'd had a face like a baby whose pacifier had just been taken away. Did he get some bad news or something on the radio? Face wondered. Something personal in that case, if it was bad news for all of them he'd have passed it on.

"I'm fine," Decker said, shortly. He clearly wasn't and Face instantly took this as a challenge to find out what was up. Hannibal's orders about finding anything they could use against Decker came to mind, but Face wasn't sure that was really his motive. Curiosity maybe? He put on his best 'confide in me' expression and fired it at Decker.

Decker shook his head, pressed a hand to his forehead for a moment.

"The Mounties passed on a message. My wife is filing for divorce."

Face's left foot slipped and the pedal smacked hard into his shin, making his eyes water.

"Shit! Ow!"

"You all right?"

"Yeah." Face rubbed his shin. "That's gonna bruise." He looked at Decker. "I didn't even know you were married. You don't wear a ring."

"No. I..." He went silent. Face waited. Finally Decker went on. "We separated about a year ago. She thought -" Decker scowled at Face. "She thought I spent more time thinking about chasing you people than I did thinking about her." He sighed. "I guess that was pretty fair actually."

"How long were... have you been married?"

"Seventeen years." Decker started to pedal again, slowly.

"Any kids?" Why don't I know this stuff, Face thought. I'm getting slack, I've been living with this guy for two and a half months now, I should have got all this stuff out of him by Christmas. Information is power.

"No. No kids."

"Well..." Face said. "Well, maybe she'll change her mind. By the time you get home she might have -"

"No." Decker's voice went quiet. "I don't think so. She hates me."

"Hates you?" Face almost laughed. What was he, fifteen? "Come on, Decker, we're all adults. Sometimes things just don't work out. That doesn't mean she hates you."

Decker looked at him. "Captain Baker said she asked that the message was passed on today, specifically today. Do you know what date it is today?"

"I lose track -"

"February Fourteenth." Decker got off the bike and walked to the door. He turned back once. "Happy Valentine's Day, Face."

Face waited until the door was closed before he said the words he'd swallowed down as soon as Decker said 'Fourteenth.'

"What a bitch!"

~~~~

"This is horrible," Hannibal said, sipping a mug of instant coffee. Face, sitting across the kitchen table from Hannibal, swirled a teabag around in a mug of hot water. Hannibal wished he'd joined Face in the afternoon tea.

"Murdock said that stuff was stale."

Hannibal grimaced and put the mug down. He reached for the sugar bowl, hoping to disguise the taste.

"There isn't much sugar left either." Face said.

"Always the good stuff that runs out first," Hannibal muttered, spooning in the sugar.

Face sighed and put his head down on his arms.

"Tired Face?"

Face looked up. "How the heck am I meant to get through a night watch with no coffee?"

"You're on tonight?"

"Mmm."

"Wanna swap?"

"No. I, um, want to talk to Shila."

"Ah yes of course, Valentine's Day." Hannibal grinned.

"Yeah," Face muttered, looking glum. "Valentine's Day. What a great idea that was."

Hannibal looked at him, surprised, Face normally loved Valentine's Day. Of course without a date, or at least a live, in person, date, it wasn't quite the same. Hannibal sipped more of the horrible coffee, grimacing at the excess sweetness.

"How's your exercise program going?" He could see Face had regained his old well toned appearance and looked healthier all around, so Hannibal already knew the answer to that question. It was what Face was finding out during those sessions that Hannibal was interested in.

"Fine," Face said. "I feel good, strong. Though my tan is going to need a serious topping up."

Hannibal smiled, nodded in agreement. Aside from BA they were a pasty looking bunch. But he wasn't getting the answer he expected from Face.

"Spring's coming," Hannibal said. "Hard to believe, with this weather, but remember what the Mounties said, they might even be able to pick us up by mid-March. That's a month away."

"Yeah." Face sipped his tea. "Time flies."

"We need something to use against Decker by then," Hannibal cut to the chase, since subtlety wasn't working. "Has he said anything, anything at -"

"No. No. Nothing useful, nothing we can use as a lever."

Hannibal frowned. "You're sure?"

Face looked steadily back at him, then drank more tea and put the cup down.

"I'm sure."

"Well what the hell do you two talk about?" Hannibal asked, testily, shaking his head.

"Just... You know, the army. The war. Things like that."

Hannibal shrugged. "Well, if we really can't get anything from Decker we need another plan. How likely is your girlfriend to give us information?"

Face scowled. "No."

"No... what?" Hannibal asked feeling like he was starting to founder here.

"Just no." Face pushed his now empty tea cup into the middle of the table. "I'm going to take a nap, so I'll have some chance of staying awake tonight."

Hannibal watched him go, then sighed and picked up Face's cup. Shame he used a bag, not leaves, Hannibal thought. He might have a better chance of divining Face thoughts from tea leaves than from his behaviour.