A/N I'm back! For those of you that don't know, this is the sequel to 'Better This Way', and I would sorta advise reading that one first. And I apologize, as I was hoping to start this sooner, but Things got in the way. So here's the first chapter. It takes place around three months after 'Better This Way'. For the record, I have no about how a police investigation works (except for the other part, the criminal part, but let's not talk about that...) so please ignore any detective-y parts that don't quite make sense.
Disclaimer: Here we go again. It's really hard to think up new ones of these, you know. I might just have to recycle some.
Two children wandered through the double doors, attracting strange looks as they went. The boy, who was the eldest by about three years, hovered protectively behind his sister. The little girl climbed into a chair, her chin length blonde hair swinging into her eyes.
Detectives Rush and Jeffries walked in through the doors. Lilly stopped suddenly, her eyes doing a double take at the children sitting in the Homicide Department.
"Jeffries, there's a child sitting in my chair," she said in a soft voice. Jeffries shrugged, nudging her towards her desk.
"You're the one with ovaries," he replied, earning himself a glare.
Lilly headed over, ignoring the disbelieving looks she received. The little girl's eyes brightened as she saw the female detective walking in her direction.
"Are you lost?" Lilly asked softly.
"No, ma'am. This is the Homicide Department, right?" the boy replied politely.
The detective crouched down in front of them.
"Can I help you?" The little girl blinked, smiling up at Lilly.
"Uh uh. I'm a detective," she said proudly. Lilly smiled.
"Hey, me too."
The boy jabbed his sister with his elbow.
"Be quiet, Cady," he hissed. Lilly raised her eyebrows. The boy glared at her. Being nice obviously doesn't work. So I'll treat him like a criminal. A criminal with size 2 feet.
"There a reason you're sitting in my seat?" she asked challengingly. The girl nodded.
"Uh huh."
The boy sighed.
"Greg says I gotta talk to a detective." Lilly shrugged, sitting down on another seat.
"So talk."
Scotty Valens walked in just in time to see a small child climb into his partner's lap. He removed his coat and walked over, resting a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.
"Somethin' you ain't tellin' me, Rush?"
Lilly breathed a sigh of relief, and looked up.
"Hey." The young boy edged closer to his sister, warily glancing up at Scotty.
"Who ya got here, Lil?" the detective asked, leaning against her desk. The little girl puffed up her chest importantly.
"I'm Cady, and I'm five years old," she announced. Her brother scowled.
"Cady!" he said in frustration. Scotty folded his arms, studying the kid carefully.
"You got a name?" he asked quietly. The boy remained silent. Cady rolled her eyes.
"His name's Adam. He's eight."
"CADY! I told you not to say anything!" Adam said, his voice rising.
Tears appeared in his eyes, and he angrily wiped them away. Cady wriggled further into Lilly's lap. The detective looked up at her partner in concern. Scotty moved to crouch in front of Adam.
"Adam? Who are you afraid of?" The little boy shook his head. Instinctively, Lilly swept his hair back from his face.
"Adam? Hey, look at me." He met her eyes uncertainly. She smiled reassuringly.
"Yeah?"
"Adam, no-one can hurt you here. I promise." The boy hesitated for a moment, before taking a deep breath.
"My dad killed Mom."
Vera, Jeffries, Miller and Stillman stood grouped together in the doorway of the break room. They watched their colleagues, huddling close to the children. Vera frowned pensively.
"Anyone notice how they're actin'…natural?"
Stillman nodded, his eyes bright with admiration.
"It's almost as if they're a real family," he said in a hushed voice. The four detectives froze. They exchanged cunning glances, mischievous smiles spreading from their lips.
Vera spoke first.
"20 bucks says the next three weeks…"
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