A/N: My first Blue Bloods fix and (I think) the first Frank/Kelly Peterson fic in the fandom. Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated. Special shout out to darth_bexter for researching/betaing/cheerleading/maintaining my sanity.
"What was Nicky thinking?" Frank shifted his weight in bed to face the ensuite bathroom.
Kelly stopped rubbing moisturizer on her face and turned from the mirror to give Frank a perplexed look.
"About what?" she asked.
"Her living options for next year. She wants to move in a house with some friends?" His disapproval oozed through his tone.
Kelly turned back to the mirror. "It's what students do, Frank. They make friends when they're freshmen and find a house together when they're sophomores."
"What's wrong with where she's living now? It's a nice apartment, good neighbourhood..."
"High rent? This city's expensive." Kelly dried her hands with a towel. "Getting more friends to live in a house outside the city has to be cheaper than where she is now."
"But places like these? After dinner, she showed me some of the houses she and her friends were looking at." Frank reached over to his nightstand and grabbed a small stack of papers. "Have you heard of some of these conditions?"
Kelly rolled her eyes. "No, but I have a feeling I'm going to hear all about them now." She shut off the light and went to the bed, climbing in next to Frank.
"This one here's running on electric." He passed a sheet of paper to Kelly.
Raising her eyebrow, she slipped on her glasses scanned the listing. "What's wrong with electric?"
"It's a fire hazard!" He pointed at the sheet. "'Built in 1965.' Most residential fires are caused by old wiring and bad power outlets. How many cables do you think a bunch of college kids'll have?"
"So they plug in fewer things at once. It's not the worst thing in the world." She set the listing on her nightstand.
Undeterred, Frank picked up another sheet. "Okay, how about this one. It doesn't even have double glazed windows. They'll freeze to death!"
Kelly sighed. "I don't think they'll freeze to death. These houses have to pass inspections before anyone can move in, right? If it's that bad, she's smart enough to not move in until it's fixed."
Frank raised his hands in surrender. "I never said she wasn't. But look at the neighbourhood these houses are all in." He grabbed the rest of the papers. "East Harlem!"
"Frank-"
"Kelly, East Harlem is more than a bad neighbourhood. It has high rates of teenage pregnancy, AIDS and drug abuse, not to mention one of the highest violent crime rates in Manhattan!"
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, I get it. Bad idea." She flipped through the other sheets. "Wait a second. This is in Battery Park. That's a decent neighbourhood."
Frowning, he took the listing from her hand. "Ah! It was built in '71. Right when most city construction companies were using asbestos."
She snatched the paper back. "You and I both know that as long as it's not disturbed, living in a home built with asbestos is perfectly safe."
"It's still a structural problem!"
"Asbestosnot a structural problem. The Slanty Shanty on the other hand, that's a structural problem." Kelly set the rest of the listings on the nightstand.
Frank scrunched his eyebrows into a solid line. "Slanty Shanty?"
Kelly took off her glasses and leaned against the headboard. "When I was in college, my friends and I lived in a house where part of the foundation was sinking into the ground. We called it the Slanty Shanty."
Confusion filled his face. "How did you even find a house like that?"
"My old roommate's cousin owned it and was looking for tenants. The rent was low and it was in a decent neighbourhood. Why wouldn't we say no?"
"The foundation sinking would have been my main reason," Frank replied dryly.
She turned her head to face him. "It wasn't all bad. As long as we didn't keep things on shelves or tables, nothing broke. We were fine."
"How long did you live there?"
"About three years-"
Frank's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Three years?! Why the hell were you there for that long?"
"Because it was cheap!" Kelly was defensive. "We were poor students. It was all we could afford."
He sighed and took her hand. "Still, I don't have to like it."
She granted him a small smile. "Look, there's no way in hell Nicky's as stupid now as I was then. She's a smart girl, Frank. Give her a little credit. She's made good choices for herself so far. Maybe you should trust her to make a good decision here."
Frank was silent for a moment. "I don't think there's anything else I can do."
Kelly leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You could try supporting her."
He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "That's not a bad idea."
Kelly pulled away and looked at him with mock surprise. "Did you just agree with me?"
He smiled mischievously. "Tonight. On this matter."
She playfully slapped his chest. "You're awful."
He leaned toward his nightstand and shut off the light.
"But you're still here with me," he said, grateful the darkness hid his cheeky smile.
They both settled in for the night, Kelly burying her face in the crook between his neck and shoulder.
"For tonight," she murmured into his neck.