Chapter Four

"Beast Chic Barbie has her own jet?" Tess laughed into her phone as she turned off the ignition to her car. "Is it pink?"

"Thankfully, no," Catherine responded. "But it's like a fourteen hour flight! I can barely stand to be in the same room with her for five minutes."

"Look, I may not be her biggest fan, either, but maybe you should cut her some slack. Vincent's choices were his own. You can't blame her."

"I know, you're right," Catherine conceded. "I just don't kow why she's so attatched to him. Sure, he saved her life, but who hasn't he saved? He saved you last night, you aren't obsessed with him."

Tess had to admit that she hadn't been president of the Vincent Keller fan club, but the beast boy had scored major points when he had saved her from having her birth certificate and death certificate stamped with the same date. Still, she wasn't comfortable with the continued hold Vincent had over her best friend. "No, I'm not," she said. "But I think you may still be."

"What? No. I'm-"
"Moving on, yeah yeah, everyone take a shot."

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry, but people that are moving on do not chase their ex to the other side of the world on a jet with said ex's current... whatever she is. Vincent left on his own, he didn't ask for help."

"But he doesn't know he needs it. I told you what Reynolds said. Who knows what kind of trap Vincent might be heading into?"

Tess sighed. "Or that you might be heading into. Please be careful."

"I will." There was some noise on Catherine's end. "Hey, I gotta go. We're about to board. Give Maggie my condolences, please, and tell her I'll come see her soon."
"I will. Bye." Tess hung up and sighed again as she dropped her phone into her purse. She had decided that she couldn't wait to see Maggie until after her shift, so she was using her lunch break to visit the new widow. Besides, it got her away from the precinct and having to hide Cat's whereabouts from Gabe.

She got out of her car, boquet of flowers in hand, and went up the steps of the brownstone the DeMarcos had lived in for thirty years. The door opened just moments after she rang the bell and there was Maggie. A woman that, while getting on in years, was always so full of life. That is, until today; her skin was pale and her gaze was empty and distant. The sight made Tess' heart hurt.

"Oh, Maggie, I'm so sorry."

"Tess." Maggie's eyes lit up slightly, like she had just recognized her. "Oh, my dear, thank you for coming." She wrapped Tess in a hug.

A few minutes later Tess was seated in Maggie's living room with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. The room was small, but felt cozy. Tess had been to the brownstone a few times when the DeMarcos had hosted parties and had always felt so safe and at home in that room. It reminded her of the house she had grown up in. Also familiar were the pictures of policemen that hung on the walls. Like Tess, Freddy came from a long line of family members that had been a part of the force. It was another reason why she had felt so connected to Freddy.

Tess glanced at Freddy's empty armchair, then quickly looked down at the mug of tea in her hands. "I should be the one making you tea," she said.

"Oh, my dear," Maggie chuckled. "We both know you can't make anything. Not even tea."

Tess smiled. It was nice to see there was still some life left in the woman, beneath all the sadness.

"Fred can't cook worth a darn, either." Maggie paused and closed her eyes. "Couldn't, I mean." She took a deep, shuddering breath and Tess' heart broke.

The room got real quiet, with the only sound being the ticking of the clock on the mantle. Tess was never good in situations like this. She wasn't exactly great at expressing her emotions. Her go-to was snark and sarcasm, which was fine when it was her own feelings she was covering up. But when someone else was hurting, she didn't have a clue outside of copious amounts of food and booze. She doubted Maggie would be in the mood for beer and tacos.

"I can't believe he's gone," Maggie whispered, breaking the silence. "And such a senseless death."

"No, Maggie, no," Tess countered. "Let me tell you something. When I was new to the force there was an armed robbery of a bank. We chased the guy back to his apartment, had the place surrounded, we thought we had him. But it turns out he had friends and they had a ton of guns." She closed her eyes as the memory of that night came back to her. It had been cold, her fingers had been numb, and she'd been terrified. Tess grasped her mug tighter.

"Three cops ended up dead that night," she continued. "And I was devestated. I didn't know what the point of it all was. I felt like those cops had died for nothing." Tess opened her eyes and looked at Maggie, who was gripping the arm of her chair, her eyes filled with tears. She wasn't looking at Tess, but at Freddy's vacant armchair.

"Freddy came and found me that night. I was at a diner, alone. He'd been worried about me. Gave me that red checkered handkerchief he always had and let cry my eyes out." She bit her lip, trying to hold off her own tears. "After I'd calmed down a bit he said to me, 'No cop dies for nothing. We're all here to make the world a better place. It's a hard job, but it's worth it.' Then he patted my arm, gave me a cookie that I'm sure you baked, and told me everything would be okay." Tess reached across and took Maggie's hand in her own. "It's going to be okay."

Maggie smiled weakly and squeezed Tess' hand. "Thank you."

The two sat for a few minutes more, quietly sipping their tea. Then the doorbell rang. Maggie started to get up, but Tess stopped her. "No, I'll get it." She went to the door and opened it to find Joe Bishop, her former boss and former lover, standing before her. "Joe," she said, startled.

"Tess. What are you...?"

"I'm here to see Maggie."

"Of course. Me too."

"So you heard-"

"Yes. Are you-?"

"I'm fine."

"Good."

They stood silently awkward for a moment before Tess remembered Joe wasn't there to see her and stepped aside to let him in. "Maggie's in the living room."

Joe nodded and walked past her and into the living room. "Maggie." Joe wrapped the woman in a hug as she stood to greet him. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Freddy was a great man."

"Thank you, Joe."

"I'll let you two be alone," Tess said, picking up her coat. "My lunch hour is just about over."

"Thank you so much for coming, dear," Maggie said, hugging her. "It means so much to me. Will I see you at the funeral?"

"Of course." She pulled away, said a quick goodbye to Joe, and bolted.

Tess was almost to her car when Joe came running after her. "Tess, wait! I think we should talk."

"I have to get back to work," Tess said, keeping her eyes focused on her car keys.

"Meet me for dinner tomorrow. Please? I'd really like to talk to you."

Tess looked back up at Joe to see his pleading gaze. Their break-up, if you could even call it that, had been so sudden. There had been no closure. She had spent months moving on and burying her feelings. But I can't just shut off my heart. Tess sighed internally as she realized she was just like Catherine.

"Fine," she gave in. "But just dinner. If you run off to a desert on the other side of the world, I am not coming after you."

"What?"

"Never mind. Pick me up at seven." She then quickly got in her car and sped away as fast as she could.