Parental Affection
***Chris and David's Apartment***
It is a beautiful September morning in New York City. Christine has just completed her workout, and is climbing out the shower. She doesn't want to go to work today, she would much rather prefer to stay home with David. It seems they haven't had a moment to themselves in ages, with David working a big, heavy case for trial, and them trying to spend time with his daughter Miranda. Chris has been the one trying to get the renovations started on their apartment and the apartment next door. She and David were finally able to draw up plans that they both agreed on that wouldn't break the bank. They were going to knock out the wall on the back of the dining room, and expand the kitchen. Miranda would have her own bedroom and bathroom, and they were going to add another wall to make Chris a workout room. She had already picked the machines she wanted to get for it.
She got dressed, and woke up David so he could shower. Then she went to make them breakfast.
He came out of the bedroom just as she was finishing up their breakfast.
"Babe, are you going with me tonight to Miranda's soccer game? It starts at 6, we will need to leave by 5".
"Sounds great, I will see if Bridgit wants to accompany us. Miranda loves her".
"Ok. Tell her to meet us here at 5, and we will leave then".
Chris grabbed her phone to send Bridgit a text.
They cleaned up the breakfast dishes together and Chris packed herself a lunch.
Bridgit responded back, saying yes she would love to come.
"See you here at 5!"
David and Chris walked to the car together and he promised to call the contractor to see when they could meet about the renovations. He helped her with her stuff at the car, and then kissed her goodbye.
***Chris and Mary Beth's office***
Chris and Mary Beth were working a case of a dad who allegedly abducted his children. There was no proof that he had abducted them, but there wasn't any proof that he hadn't either. He had picked them up at their mother's house for a weekend visit, and never returned them. When she went to see where they were, 2 hours after they didn't come home, the door was left unlocked and his house had been ransacked.
The police weren't able to figure out if he and the kids had even come home at all Friday night. Now it had been a week since they had been seen. His family hadn't heard from him either, and that was unusual.
Chris was watching surveillance videos of the airport to see if they had flown anywhere. Mary Beth was looking at surveillance videos of the bus station for the same reason. They were going to do the ports where the cruises take off next, and Chris had already subpoenaed his bank records and the activity on his Social Security number.
Chris looked at the videos for about 3 or 4 hours… she had a few times where she thought she might have seen them, so she marked down the times of the video and decided to send it to the lab for further analysis. Mary Beth found nothing on the tapes from the bus station, so she started on the tapes from the cruise ports.
Chris sent a late afternoon subpoena for his cell phone records.
She was able to leave work by 4:15, in order to meet David. She had told Feldberg she was going to go by his bank and see if there had been any further activity.
She decided to call them instead and just head home to David.
***Chris and David's apartment***
Chris got home and headed to change clothes. David should be there any minute and then all they had to do was wait for Bridgit to get there.
She decided to wear a pair of Capri jeans that were destructed, and a bright green ¾ length shirt, and some black flip flop wedges.
She grabbed a can of bug spray and threw it in her purse. She packed them a shoulder bag of water bottles and snacks, like sliced veggies and sunflower seeds.
David arrived home about 10 minutes after Christine.
"Hey babe, you look hot!". He kissed her and went to change.
Bridgit got there at 4:55, and she looked adorable in some jean shorts, a tank top and flip flops.
"Hi Aunt Chris!" she ran to Christine and gave her a big hug.
"Hi Bridgie! Miranda is going to be so excited to see you- we didn't tell her you were coming".
"Oh I love surprises! I can't wait to meet her mom, too!"
Miranda and Bridgit hadn't seen each other since they initially met, but Chris and David had spent 4 days with Miranda since then, and 2 weekends and she talked about Bridgit each time.
They got in the car and headed north. They made it to the soccer fields just before Miranda and Stephanie, her mother, got there.
There was a car parked in the parking lot that Chris was eying. It was parked over off the to the side, and it looked to be full of people. It was a truck with a camper on the back, and there were chairs set up in a circle next to it.
Chris fought her instincts to run the plate numbers, but decided to try and keep an eye on it.
Miranda and Stephanie got there and Miranda was so happy to see Bridgit.
"Bridgit! I knew you would come! I just knew it!". She gave Bridgit a huge hug.
"Hey little bit! I am excited to see you too!"
Bridgit extended her hand to Stephanie. "Hi, I am Bridgit, Chris' niece".
"Hi Bridgit, it's nice to meet you. Miranda hasn't stopped talking about you since ya'll met".
Miranda ran to where her team was and they all took their seats. Chris kept an eye on the truck in the parking lot.
She sent Mary Beth a text. "I am in Newport for Miranda's soccer game. Are the kids we are looking for 3 girls or 2 girls and a boy? Can you look at the case file and see if maybe he had kids from a previous relationship? There is a car here that is very suspicious and I am counting 4 or 5 people in it."
Mary Beth replied right away, and said that the missing children were 3 girls, and he had a son with him from a previous relationship. she also replied that his car that was missing was a 2007 Ford Explorer, blue, and the tag number was xzp-7485.
Chris decided to go to the bathroom, and coincidentally, she would have to pass the truck to get there. She started walking towards the bathroom, and got her phone ready. She flipped the sound to vibrate and then when she was close to it she snapped a few pics of the license plate.
She headed to the bathroom, and looked at her phone pictures. Not the same plates. Oh well. Something was weird about the truck though, and she was hoping she would have time to figure out what it was before Miranda's game ended.
***Parking lot, after the game***
Miranda's team won 5-3. David said he was taking everyone for ice cream afterwards to celebrate.
They were trying to figure out where to go, when one of Miranda's teammates came over and gave her a hug.
"Bye Miranda, see you at school tomorrow!"
"Bye Tierney, I am glad you are in my class now".
They headed to get ice cream. They were all sitting at the table in the ice cream shop, and Miranda asked her mom if Tierney could spend the night that weekend. "Yes, but not on Friday, because you will be going to your dad and Christine's".
"Ok mommy".
They finished up their ice cream, and Miranda gave each of them a hug and thanked them for coming. Stephanie took Miranda home, and Bridgit, Chris and David headed back to the city.
***Chris and David's apartment***
Chris and David walked into the house and set their things down.
"Did you call the contractor, honey?"
"Yes, he can be here tomorrow at 5."
"Can you be here to meet him? I may not be able to be here till 5:30".
"I can try. I will text you if I can't."
Chris headed to take a bath, and she decided to take her case files with her.
***Chris and David's bathroom***
Chris was enjoying a luxurious soak, and some sparkling water. She had the TV on to the news, and they were reporting about the missing kids that she and Mary Beth were investigating.
"Still no word almost two weeks later about the whereabouts of 38-year old Michael Watson, and his children, 11-year old Elisabeth, 8-year old Haileigh, and 7-year old Savannah. Michael's son from his first marriage, 14-year old Zachary might also be with them. They were last seen in a 2007 Ford Explorer that is Blue with tinted windows. If you see them, please call your local NYPD."
They showed a picture of the kids, and Chris would swear that 11-year old Elisabeth was Tierney from Miranda's soccer team. She grabbed her cell phone and called Stephanie. She asked Stephanie if she could help her out by having Miranda and Tierney spend the weekend with them this weekend. Stephanie agreed and thanked her profusely.
She was going to try and question Tierney further and see what she could find out.
***Chris and Mary Beth's office***
Chris had printed off the pictures from the soccer game and eating ice cream with Miranda the night before. She had blown them up in the development lab downstairs and brought them to her office. She was trying to compare them with photos from the case file.
There were stark differences. The photo from the case file showed Tierney with dark brown hair, and the photos from last night were bright auburn. Case file photo showed a mole on her face to the left of her nose; soccer game photo showed no mole. The skin color seemed to be the same, although in the case file pic she was a slight bit darker. The hair length couldn't be determined if it was the same or not, because she had her hair in a bun at soccer last night.
When Mary Beth came in, Chris asked her to compare the photos and see if she thought it was the same child.
After careful thought and review, Mary Beth said no.
They had different eyes, and a different shaped face and mouth. They resembled each other, but that was it.
So Christine decided to wait and see what happened, and they continued looking for Elisabeth and her siblings.
***After lunch***
David texted Chris telling her he would be able to make it home for the contractor.
"Sounds great. Date night tonight?"
"Great idea. I have missed our date nights".
"Me too. What do you want to do?"
"You. "
She sent David a smiley face back and told him he could pick what they did, she just wanted to spend time with him.
She and Mary Beth followed up a lead on a car that had been found abandoned in an alley. They headed there and it was a 2007 Green Ford Explorer, but the plates matched. So they were examining the vehicle trying to determine whether he had stolen a green explorer and switched the plates, or if he had stashed his blue explorer and then someone else had stolen the plates for the green ones by coincidence.
Chris was examining the tail lights, and leaned down to take a close picture of the tire treads, when she realized that the underside of the car was still blue.
"Paydirt, Mary Beth! This is the same car he had stashed".
"I will call dispatch and have them come impound it". Mary Beth got on the radio, and called for backup to come fingerprint the vehicle and impound it.
Chris and Mary Beth decided to call it a day, pending the results of the tests on the vehicle.
***Chris and David's apartment***
Chris got home while David was still talking to the contractor. He was planning to get started tomorrow. He gave them a tour of the 1-bedroom apartment and told them that they would need to pick out some new furnishings, and some new faucets, because the old ones were pretty bad. He told them that knocking down the wall was going to be the easy part, and that it would add about 850 square feet to what they already had. He said it wouldn't take more than a week or two, tops.
David wrote him a deposit check and told him they would go pick out the faucets and things that night.
After the contractor left, Christine went to change into some yoga pants and a comfy sweatshirt.
"What do you want for dinner, honey?"
"Why don't we go out? We have lots of gift cards and you have cooked a lot lately."
"Ok. Let me change one more time".
She went and changed into some skinny jeans, black flats and a long sleeved bright blue top. She spritzed on some of David's favorite perfume, and then they left.
Chris and David got into the car in the parking garage, and headed to Sakura, one of Chris' favorite hibachi places. She loved this place because it felt like a spa. They bring you a hot towel for your neck and wash your hands for you. The food was outstanding and she even knew some of the chef's by name. Chris was excited for this.
Chris and David were seated right away, and they brought the hot towels. The waitress came and took their order. Chris ordered her standard- steak and lobster, while David ordered the Steak and Scallops.
They enjoyed a nice meal, and then headed to Lowe's to pick out faucets and furnishings. Chris and David had already decided to have two refrigerators, one at each end of the kitchen. They were going to completely redo their kitchen, to mold it with the other one.
The stoves were going to be side by side, kind of like a sideways double oven. There was also going to be a curved island in the middle, and a desk area at one end. They were also going to tear down the walls and make ½ walls, so that it was more like an alcove and not so closed off. She decided to look at bigger fridges at the store tonight, and maybe they could just get a huge one instead of having two, and they could get an island fridge for water bottles and stuff.
"How do you think Miranda will want to decorate her room? Do you know what colors she likes?"
David shook his head. "We should probably let her pick it out so that she feels more at home with us".
Chris agreed. They pulled into Lowe's and got out, and held hands as they walked in.
They headed first to the section where the faucets are. According to the contractor, they needed a new sink faucet, as well as a new bathroom faucet for the sink and the tub, and new drawer pulls for the cabinets in the bathroom, plus ones to match for the rest of the kitchen drawers.
She and David picked out a curved faucet that had 2 spray options, and some polished steel drawer pulls. She had decided that she was going to ask the contractor to put in extra outlets all throughout the kitchen as well, and maybe a couple extra in Miranda's room. Kids come with a lot of electronics.
They picked out the tub faucets and the drawer pulls for the bathroom cabinets.
Then they headed to the kitchen section to look at the refrigerators.
Chris and David were looking at a stainless steel fridge with French doors, when Chris saw it. It was over to the left, at the back of the section. It was a replica of a walk in fridge with lots of shelving. She fell in love with it, but in the end she wasn't able to convince David to spend the extra money. She and David finally settled on the next biggest fridge, stainless steel with a clear window, French doors and 2 freezer drawers on each side. Water and Ice in the door, and extra wide shelves in the doors. It wasn't the heaven that she would have gotten with the walk-in fridge, but it was close. They picked out the mini-fridge that was going to go under the island, and they went to look at paint colors to decide which colors to paint Miranda's room. They grabbed several paint chip cards and then headed out. The new fridge was going to be delivered in 2 weeks. The faucet they were able to bring home with them. All that was left was to decide for sure on what kinds of stoves and ovens they wanted.
They headed home, and Chris headed to take a bath. David decided to join her in their tub. They added bubbles and relax bath salts, and turned the tv to the soft jazz music channel, and David lit them some candles. It had been several days since they had a romantic evening, and with Miranda staying both nights this weekend, it would be a bit longer.
David gave her a back rub while they were in the tub, and she kissed him and told him she had missed him. She loved it when they spent nights in the tub, looking at the skyline. The big picture window over the bathtub was one of her favorites in their place.
They soaked for a long while, and then he got out, and helped her out. After they dried off, they headed to bed and he turned on the news for them to watch. She didn't last 10 minutes.
He turned the news off after the sports, and then he got up and made sure the doors were locked and the alarm was set.
He got back in bed, and cuddled her again, and they fell asleep.
No place he'd rather be.
***The next day***
Chris and Mary Beth worked on the missing kids case, but pulled up no new leads. They were still unable to determine whether he had run off with them, or whether they had all been taken. They were able to locate his son's mother, and she wasn't able to provide any new information, since her son spent most of his time at his Dad's anyways. She was beside herself to think she might not see him again.
Chris was home by 4, which was really early, but happened when she was out in the field and got done. Sometimes she would choose to go home instead of going back to the office.
David got home by 4:30, and they left to go pick up Miranda and her friend, Tierney.
They arrived at Stephanie and Miranda's shortly after 5:15. The girls were ready to go, and Christine told Stephanie they would be in touch.
They took the girls out for pizza then, and David was going to take them to a roller rink. Miranda had requested that Bridgit come over the next day, so Chris texted and relayed the request. She and Jason had plans during the day, but she said she would come after that.
Chris sat and watched them at the skating rink, and after their hour was up, they all went home. She had set the double bed up in the guest room for Miranda, and they had a roll away cot for Tierney. It was tight, but the girls thought it was awesome. Chris made them tons of snacks, and told them they could stay up as late as they wanted to, as long as they stayed in their room.
She and David went to bed after that and were watching a movie on Netflix. David leaned over and kissed her, and she kissed him back. He started rubbing her chest and she whispered in his ear "we have to be quiet…they might hear us".
He chuckled and nodded. "That isn't a conversation we are ready to have with her, is it?"
Chris shook her head. "Nope, not all".
"Quiet it is then", as he kissed her neck.
They made love ever so quietly, and it actually excited them even more. They fell asleep, and Chris hoped they didn't wake up early in the morning.
***The next morning***
Chris woke up at 8:30, and David was still sleeping. She got her workout in, and then decided to shower and change and wait on making breakfast for Miranda and Tierney.
David had agreed to take the girls somewhere that night, but they didn't know where yet. They were going to decide that over breakfast.
Chris made herself some yogurt and fruit, and they waited for the girls to wake up. It finally happened around 10:30.
She made them pigs in a blanket and a fruit salad. She showed Miranda the paint chips and asked her which one she wanted for her room.
"You mean I really get to pick it all out?" Chris nodded. "Well of course you do, why wouldn't you get to pick it?"
"I just figured you would pick it since I am not here all the time".
"Well you get to pick". She looked at them for a long time, and then picked purple. It was number 874, and it was called "Purple Passion".
Miranda turned to Chris. "Can I have a glitter wall?"
Chris looked at her. "What's a glitter wall?"
"They make this glitter and you get a big bottle of it and you mix it in with the paint. When you paint the wall, it has a sparkle to it".
"I think that could be arranged". Chris smiled at Miranda.
Miranda was so happy. She told Chris and David she would pick her stuff out of the Pottery Barn outlet catalog.
David went to the store and got stuff for tacos for lunch. Chris and Miranda and Tierney were looking at the Pottery Barn Catalog, and picking stuff out, when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Chris yelled out.
Bridgit opened the door. "Who wants to have a great time tonight?"
Miranda ran to Bridgit's side and gave her a huge hug.
Bridgit knelt down and hugged Miranda and asked her if she wanted to have fun tonight. "Yes!"
"Do you like Taylor Swift?"
"Well, how would you like to see her tonight? I was just given 5 tickets to her concert at Madison Square Gardens for tonight".
Miranda started jumping up and down. She turned to Chris.
"Can we go, please? Can we? Can we?"
"I don't see why not. Did you bring any nice clothes to wear?" Miranda shook her head.
"Well, then I guess we are going to have to go shopping! You too, Tierney. My treat!"
Tierney texted her mom to see what her sizes are, and she insisted on coming along so that Chris wouldn't have to pay for everything. So they agreed to meet at Bloomingdales, and Bridgit went along to help them select items.
Chris called David and told him plans had changed.
"Tonight is your lucky night honey. You get to go to Taylor Swift at Madison Square Gardens. Bridgit got all of us tickets from a friend".
"Anywhere I get to go with you, babe, makes me lucky". He said he would meet them at Bloomingdales as well.
***Bloomingdales***
Chris, Bridgit, Miranda and Tierney walked into Bloomingdales. Tierney ran to her mom, and Chris walked over to say hi and introduce herself.
"Hi, I am Christine, nice to meet you".
"Hello, I'm Michelle. Nice to meet you and thanks so much for letting her stay with you guys last night and tonight".
"She has been a joy to have, and my step-daughter has had a blast with her. This is my niece Bridgit, she is a personal shopper, so she can help us pick out things".
"Great, let's get started". Chris texted David and told him they were going to be on the 3rd floor to the right, in the kid's section.
The kids section was right next to the women's section, so Bridgit was finding them pieces and bringing them to Chris in the kid's section.
Miranda had picked out a sparkly tank top and some black jeggings and some sparkly black flats. Bridgit found her a sequined scarf that would look wonderful and rock-star ish.
For Christine, she found a v-neck blouse that was green and really showed off her eyes. It had a scalloped edge and was very sexy. She could wear it with black capris and black sandals.
Christine had found a lacy black high necked shirt that was sleeveless that she thought would look amazing with her teal capris and black sandals. She decided to get both. Bridgit found a really pretty hot pink halter top with fringe, and a black mini skirt. She was going to wear her black wedges with them.
David met them then, and the girls started picking on him wanting to know what he was going to wear. So he agreed to let Bridgit help him.
She ended up selecting a pair of black straight legged baggy jeans and a crisp silver-blue pinstriped shirt. He tried it on and asked Chris what she thought.
"You have never looked sexier…you have to get it but you don't have to wear it tonight". He kissed her and went and took it off.
After they paid, Tierney's mom gave Chris some cash in case she wanted anything, and hugged her goodbye and they headed back to the apartment. It was going to be a long, but fun night.
***Dinner***
Christine texted Mary Beth and told her they were going to Taylor Swift.
Mary Beth replied that Alice was going with a friend, and Mary Beth wouldn't have it any other way.
Christine made everyone tacos and Spanish rice, and they all went and got dressed for the concert.
Christine went and showered and when David came in, she asked him to pick the blouse he liked best and that would determine the rest of what she wore. He picked the green blouse, so she wore that with black capris and black flip flops. She spritzed on some Ralph Lauren Romance, and curled her hair with the flat iron. She put on jewelry that David gave her when they were dating and the diamond studs she had gotten from her dad. It was date night, even if they had 2 kids and a niece along for the ride.
"Looking hot babe", David said as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. She turned around and kissed him. "You gotta wear that outfit that Bridgit picked out, it really shows off your tush".
"Right away, Mrs. Keeler." He kissed her again, and she went to check on the girls while he got dressed.
They were all sitting with Bridgit on the couch, watching Youtube videos on her Ipad. She loved having a cousin as much as Miranda loved being with Bridgit.
Miranda saw Chris come out of her room and looked up.
"Christine, you look so pretty!".
"Thank you sweetheart!". She took a picture of the girls with Bridgit then, and when David came out, she had him take a picture of the two of them with Miranda.
Chris switched purses to a black cross body bag, and they headed out for a fun evening.
***Madison Square Garden***
Chris and David stood in line with the girls to buy t-shirts. David went a little overboard and bought Miranda and Tierney a poster and a light up wand thing, and he bought Miranda a shirt. Tierney bought a shirt too, and Bridgit got herself and Chris a couple glow necklaces.
They found their seats and then David went to get a beer and got Chris a club soda with lime. They were in their seats when the lights went out and the place went crazy.
The opening act was a sister duo, Teagan+Sara. They were really good.
When the lights went out for Taylor, everyone jumped up and was screaming. It was very loud, but very fun.
Chris took a video of the screaming on her phone. She couldn't wait to share it with Mary Beth.
Several songs into it, Taylor played a slow song and people started dancing. Everyone was standing up and Chris and David started swaying back and forth all wrapped up. Chris turned around to kiss him and someone a section over out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She pulled out her cellphone, and took several pictures. She sent one to Mary Beth that said "What do you think?"
Mary Beth responded very quickly with "I think that's one of our missing children".
She was right, it was Elisabeth.
Chris broke away from David and said she would be right back. She left the section and went up to the concourse and found the security guard. She explained the situation, showed him her badge and he called the cops and asked them to come to section 108.
She stood there with him, keeping tabs and making sure they didn't go anywhere.
From what Chris could tell, Elisabeth was there with her sisters and their father. No sign of the older son.
The cops arrived rather quickly, and took them all into custody. They were allowed to use a conference room down the concourse to talk.
The girls confirmed they were the missing kids and the father admitted to kidnapping. He said his son was at the hotel they had been staying at. It was just a simple case of a father missing his kids on his off weeks that he had decided to keep them forever. He figured NYC was so big that he would be able to hide them in plain sight.
The girls were so devastated over not getting to see the rest of the concert. They were crying so hard they could hardly talk. The security guard talked to the building manager who gave them all some special backstage passes, and Christine allowed their dad to hug and kiss them goodbye.
She texted David and told him she was coming back and that she had a surprise. She showed up at their seats with the 3 girls that had been missing. Michael Watson was being transported to the New York City jail.
The building manager had given Christine 10 backstage passes, so the plan was they were going to head backstage as soon as the show was over. The girls were scared but excited, and Miranda and Tierney had no idea they were gonna get to go too.
The show ended with a rousing standing ovation for Taylor, and she came out and sang 3 extra songs. It was a great show, and when it was over, Chris led the way and David brought up the rear and they headed for the elevators to go backstage.
In the elevator, Chris explained that these girls were part of the case she was working on, and now that she had found them, she was going to give them a ride home.
"But first…..we are going backstage to meet Taylor Swift!"
The level of screaming in the elevator was as loud as it had been in the stadium. They got off the elevator and got in line to meet Taylor.
She came out and there was about 75 people there to meet her. She sang 3 more songs just for them, and then signed autographs and talked to each person for 10 minutes.
When it was their turn, Christine explained that the kids had been kidnapped and she had found them at her concert and was taking them home. "the building manager gave us the backstage passes to make up for their concert being ruined".
Taylor was so gracious and loving towards the girls and gave them front row tickets to her show in Albany the next weekend, and gave Christine a check for $5000 to give to their mom to help with expenses. She was most generous.
Miranda and Tierney got autographs too and Miranda looked at her and said "I have the best Dad and step mom ever!"
Taylor replied "Your step-mom reunites kids who have been missing with their parents, You are right, she's the best".
She hugged both of them and then it was time for them to go.
David drove everyone back to their apartment, and he and Bridgit and Miranda and Tierney got out. The Watson girls were going with Chris to their home.
"Be back soon. Wait up for me?" David nodded.
"There are snacks for the girls in the pantry and some more drinks in the cabinet by the fridge."
He kissed her and told her to hurry back.
She swung by the hotel where Michael Watson's son was staying, and called a uniform officer to pick him up. She interviewed him briefly, and then the uniform officer took him to his mom's house.
***The girl's house***
Christine pulled up in the driveway of the girls house. It was about 20 minutes east of the city.
She woke the girls up, and they got out of the car. Then they walked to the front door and rang the doorbell.
Their mom came to the door, saw Christine, and let her in. She turned and went back to the den, and Chris and the girls followed in behind her.
The look on her face when she realized that her girls were back and with her, was priceless. The tears came quickly, and she reached out her arms to hold them.
"How did you ever find my girls?"
"Well I would love to say it was good ole' police work, but really it was just luck. I was at a Taylor Swift concert with my niece and husband and stepdaughter, and I looked over and recognized Elisabeth. So I took a bunch of pictures, contacted my partner and she agreed it was her. So we secured the section, had NYPD come and we took them to a conference room. He confessed, said he just misses having them like he used to, so he figured he could take them to the city and hide them in plain sight. That's all it was, and then the building manager gave us backstage passes because he felt bad they were missing the show. So I hope you don't mind, but I let them stay and meet Taylor, and then we came home. Taylor also gave them tickets to her show next weekend in Albany". She handed everything to the girls mom, and they started telling her how they had missed her.
"Well, I am going to go now, I am glad you all had a happy ending. Enjoy the concert". She got up to leave.
The mom followed her to the door.
"I don't know if I can ever thank you enough for what you did. I never thought I would see them again, and you brought them home to me". She hugged Christine then, and said "Good night".
Chris headed home to David and the girls.
***Chris and David's apartment***
Chris walked in and found Bridgit, Miranda, and Tierney eating brownies and ice cream and watching Netflix. David was cleaning up the kitchen. He looked a little frazzled.
"They just got quiet. I am so glad you are back". He wrapped his arms around her.
"Me too. How bad was it?"
"Loud, but not bad. They have been singing Taylor Swift songs at random and just now started a movie".
Christine helped David clean up the kitchen, and then she went to shower and get ready for bed. She and David changed into their pj's and came back out to join the girls. They had asked Bridgit to sleep over and she had said yes. They had moved the blow up mattresses into the den and moved the coffee table over. Bridgit was taking the couch, and the girls were on the air mattresses.
After the movie was over, Chris and David were the only ones who were still awake. Chris woke Bridgit and gave her some pajamas to wear, and a pillow and blanket.
"Thanks for letting me crash, Aunt Chris!"
"Anytime, you know that. Thanks for the tickets to the show tonight".
"we had fun. Miranda is a cool kid, and you are a hot step-mom".
Bridgit bunked on the couch then, and Chris and David went to bed.
He had a surprise for Chris, and he was trying to figure out how to pull it off.
They went into the bedroom and shut the door.
He handed her the green top and told her to put it back on. She did.
He dimmed the lights in their room, and pulled out his phone With a few taps, he purchased the Taylor Swift song that they had danced too, and he went to his dresser and pulled out earbuds.
"What's all this?"
"My favorite part of tonight was dancing with you. But it was cut short, so I want a do-over. I don't want to wake the girls though, so I figured we could dance by headphones".
She smiled and he gave her one earbud and he kept the other one.
They put them in, and started dancing together. He put the song on repeat, and they danced and danced and danced for at least 5 songs worth.
Slowly, he took one strap of her top down at a time, and kissed her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly. He picked her up and took her to bed, and climbed in next to her. He turned out the light and they embraced.
"Thank you for being a good sport and going tonight, I think Miranda really enjoyed it".
"it was fun, being a dad is fun. Being with my hot wife is even better…."
He kissed her again.
"Having a hot husband isn't so bad either".
They quietly made love and once again, it was more exciting than normal. They fell asleep all tangled up and didn't wake up again till morning.
***The next morning***
Chris got up and made waffles and bacon for everyone. Bridgit left right after breakfast but promised Miranda she would see her next time. Miranda and Tierney packed their things, and watched Netflix after they took showers.
Chris and David showered and dressed and decided to take the girls to Coney Island before they went home.
Chris was a little nostalgic about Coney Island, because Charlie had always taken her there, but she still had fun.
On their way out, David bought Chris some Cotton candy, and they walked right past where they had broken up the second time, years ago. He grabbed her and kissed her long and passionately while Miranda and Tierney were in the bathroom.
"What was that for?" asked Chris after they broke the kiss.
"Just wanted to break the spell is all".
She looked around, and looked at him.
"Years ago, I asked you to marry me when we were in bed one day. The next night, I brought you here and you had cotton candy, and we walked right along in here, and then we broke up. Remember?"
She remembered. "Seems so far away".
"Well, now that the spell is broken…." He kissed her again, and Miranda and Tierney joined them.
Chris handed the cotton candy to Miranda.
She looked at David. "Just to be certain".
They headed to Miranda's house.
***Stephanie and Miranda's house***
Chris and David pulled up in the driveway. Miranda and Tierney ran out of the car and headed for the front door.
Chris and David walked in and Stephanie was very glad to see all of them.
Chris and David didn't want to stay long, but Miranda started telling Stephanie about the concert and how they got to go backstage.
Stephanie came over and hugged Christine. "thank you for giving my baby the night of her dreams. You are an awesome step-mom".
"My pleasure".
She and David left then, and Miranda hugged them goodbye.
"Dinner Wednesday night?". Miranda nodded.
"No soccer games this week, but there's a tournament next weekend. I will send you the schedule".
"Thanks. See you Wednesday".
Chris and David left and headed back home.
***Chris and David's apartment***
Chris made David his favorite dinner, chicken Alfredo with salad and garlic bread. Truth be told, anything Chris made was David's favorite. After dinner, they sat down to finalize the house plans.
They decided to one stove and one oven, because adding one person to the house didn't necessitate two. They drew up the plans for how they wanted the island to be, and where they wanted the outlets placed. Chris decided that she also wanted under the cabinet lights. That way if Miranda or them got up at night, they could use those and not wake up everyone. With the current kitchen arrangement they had now, they were going to be able to knock out the wall behind the sink. This kitchen was going to be gorgeous, and it would guarantee that if they ever had to sell, which Chris hoped would never happen, that they would get a very high price for it.
Chris started making a to-do list.
Match floors. Match wall color(Sherwin williams' celery green) throughout. Bahama blue in Miranda's bathroom, and Purple Passion in her bedroom. Glitter wall on one wall. David was going to figure out if he could have the contractor make her a stage type deal for her bed to sit on, so she would be up high like she said she wanted. He was thinking one of those pocket beds, where the mattress dropped down into the frame instead of sitting on it. Chris liked the sound of that, because it would give her more space.
David knew he legally couldn't take the fire escape ladder off of the balcony outside Miranda's room. So instead he decided that they were going to join the balconies and then he was going to move the fire escape ladder down to the other end. He was debating about window locks. Christine liked the bedding that Miranda had picked out and once they decided what kind of bed she was going to have they would order it.
David wanted to mount her a tv on the wall and get her a roku or apple tv or something that she could use for Netflix. He also wanted to get her a new phone, and talk to Stephanie about adding her to his plan, to help ease the burden Stephanie faced.
Chris finished her to-do list, and David drew a sketch of what he was thinking the bed should be like.
He was going to ask the contractor if it was doable, and if he said yes, he was going to ask Miranda if she wanted that.
Christine brought up the subject of changing the sheets, and difficult it would be.
David did some research online on his laptop while Chris was on hers looking up gltter walls.
David finally found a pattern for the pocket bed that opened on the side so that they could slide the mattress in and out rather easily.
He printed off that plan and put it in the file for the contractor.
Chris turned the news on, and first up was a story about the girls being reunited with their mom and their father being arrested.
David turned to Chris.
"Good work, Lieutenant Keeler". He kissed her.
"Thank you Counselor". She kissed him back.
Mary Beth texted right then and said "Good work, my partner".
"Thanks partner!". Chris was eager for another case.
Chris and David turned the news off and headed for bed.
David locked all the doors, and set the alarm, and got Chris a glass of water.
She changed into her pj's and climbed in to bed.
He climbed in beside her and they snuggled up, and fell asleep, content and happy to just be together.