Bob stands silently just outside the glass-paneled interrogation room, his eyes fixed on April as she sits across from the suspect, and as he watches her lean forward, voice steady and firm while carefully coaxing answers from someone clearly unwilling to cooperate, he feels a pang of unease ripple through him because this is not the April he thought he knew, the gentle, sometimes uncertain woman whose instincts he had always trusted and quietly admired, but instead he sees a side of her that is sharply analytical, almost ruthless in its precision, a level of focus and detachment that makes him flinch slightly, as if the familiar warmth he once relied on is being eclipsed by a professional armor he no longer recognizes, and as he observes, he recalls the countless times they worked together in past cases when April’s compassion balanced Bob’s own intensity, when her empathy softened tense situations, when her subtle insights revealed truths hidden behind lies without ever tipping the scale into cold calculation, and yet now she asks pointed questions, corners the suspect with methodical patience, and makes notes in a way that feels practiced, rehearsed, and almost alien to the woman he remembers, and the realization settles uncomfortably in Bob’s chest that he is watching someone who has evolved—or hardened—beyond the person he once knew, leaving him to wrestle with a mixture of pride and apprehension, because while he understands the necessity of adaptation in law enforcement, he cannot shake the sadness that comes from feeling disconnected from someone he has long respected and cared for, and as April glances up briefly, her expression calm but intense, Bob notices a fleeting softness in her eyes, a hint of the April he remembers, and it is enough to remind him that the essence of who she is still exists somewhere beneath the sharpened exterior, but the dominant image before him is undeniably one of someone transformed, someone whose experiences, challenges, and perhaps burdens have carved a version of herself that he no longer completely identifies with, leaving him quietly conflicted, a mixture of admiration for her strength and sorrow for the subtle distance now stretching between them, and as he steps back to give her space, he silently vows to pay attention, to learn the rhythms of this new April, and to support her from the edges, understanding that while change is inevitable, the bonds forged over years of trust and shared challenges can still hold, even if the reflection staring back at him in the interrogation room is not exactly the one he once knew, leaving him in a state of thoughtful contemplation as he walks down the hallway, heart heavy yet quietly hopeful that connection and understanding can survive alongside the undeniable evolution he has witnessed.