Edmund walked inside the living room, meeting his sister on the couch and smiled walking over and sitting down beside her.
"So. Rooney"
Eve turned to him and narrowed her eyes.
"Rooney", she repeated and Edmund raised an eyebrows while smirking, and Eve rolled her eyes groaning.
"Ed, don't"
"I didn't say anything", he said smiling and Eve rolled her eyes again.
"You didn't have to", she said standing from the couch and Edmund followed her.
"Come on sis, you like her! I can see it miles away!", he said and Eve turned to him.
"Edmund stop. She's my student"
"What if she wasn't?", he asked and Eve shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. She's my student and nothing will ever happen"
"But what if she wasn't? Eve. I know you. I remember the look you had in your eyes when you were with Annalise. You were so in love"
"So?", she said crossing her arms, and Edmund sighed.
"I see that look now sis. You get that look when you look at her"
Eve sighed and looked down.
"I've known Rooney since she was a baby. I watched her grow up. Her mothers are two of my best friends. Me and Rooney will not work out. It will never happen", she said before walking out of the room, towards Rooney's room. The door was squeezed open and Eve could see right into the room and watch as Rooney looked herself in the mirror. Eve's mouth fell open when she saw Rooney's clothes. Black skirt with a black top.
Stop it Rothlo!
She cleared her throat and knocked on the door making Rooney turn to the woman and smile.
"Eve. I'm almost done", she said and Eve smiled and nodded.
"Good. I like your skirt", she said and Rooney smiled and looked down at her skirt with a blush.
"Thanks. My mom picked it for me", she said and Eve smiled.
"Of course she did"
"Wow, girl you look on point!", Edmund said as he came into view standing behind Eve and said sister rolled her eyes at her brother.
"Thanks", Rooney said and Edmund smiled.
"Alright, we have to go", Eve said and walked out of the room, leaving Edmund and Rooney alone.
"Is she okay?", Rooney asked and Edmund turned to her and smiled nodding.
"She's fine. Don't worry"
Rooney saw behind the lie, but let it slide once again. She didn't want to invade their privacy. A couple of minutes later Eve and Rooney were on their way to Annalise's house. Eve could practically feel Rooney's body shaking.
"Relax. It's gonna be fine", she assured the girl and Rooney turned to her and forced a smile, when she really wanted to throw up. She felt a hand in her own and looked up at the woman a huge blush on her face.
"It's gonna be fine Rooney. Trust me"
Rooney nodded and felt a squeeze in her hand before the hand was gone completely. They drove for another few minutes, before Eve stopped in front of a big light blue house.
"Wow", Rooney couldn't help but say and Eve chuckled.
"Yeah, most people say that when they see her house. Or anything about Annalise really"
Rooney smiled and got out of the car. They walked up to the front door and Eve knocked, before turning to Rooney giving her an assuring smile. A few seconds later the door opened and a small woman with blonde short hair greeted them.
"Eve. Nice to see you again", she said and Eve smiled and walked forward hugging the woman.
"Nice to see you too Bonnie"
Bonnie smiled and turned to Rooney who smiled back at her.
"Rooney, right?"
The girl smiled and nodded, extending her hand.
"Rooney Swan-Mills"
"Nice meeting you", Bonnie greeted her, shaking her hand before walking inside. Eve smiled and followed the woman, Rooney following as last, closing the door behind her.
"The others are unfortunately all in today, something happened with the case, that required a full strike team", Bonnie explained and Eve nodded in understanding while Rooney furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
Others?
They walked along the hallway and the room opened up to a living room to their left.
"Hey guys", Eve greeted them all with a smile and the five students smiled at her before turning to the girl who stood beside the lawyer.
"Who's this?", one of the girl's asked and Rooney felt a lump in her throat. She was not ready for this.
"Uhm... I uh..."
"This is Rooney. She's my student", Eve answered, when she noticed Rooney stuttering.
The girl smiled and walked up to her smiling at her.
"I'm Michaela. Nice meeting you", the girl said extending her hand and Rooney smiled and looked down at the girl with a smile before shaking the hand.
"Like wise"
Michaela smiled and turned to the others giving them a look. A boy walked up to her and smiled at her.
"Asher"
Rooney smiled and turned to the other girl who were sitting in one of the couches.
"I'm Laurel"
Rooney smiled and turned to a guy a little shorter than she was.
"Connor"
Gay, Rooney thought the moment she laid eyes on him. She could feel her gaydar rising to the sky. She turned to one last guy who stood and smiled at her.
"I'm Wes", he said and Rooney smiled at him before turning to Eve who smiled back at her.
"Is Annalise in?", Eve asked turning to the students and they all nodded towards the door to the woman's office. Not even a second later the woman herself walked out and smiled when she saw her friend.
"Eve!"
The woman smiled and walked over to the woman, hugging her tight.
"Annalise"
The woman smiled and turned to the girl, her friend had brought along with her.
"And you must be Rooney"
The girl smiled and extended her hand.
"It's an honor to meet you", she said and Annalise smiled at her.
"The honor is mine. Eve has spoken very highly of you", Annalise said and Rooney blushed heavily making Connor eye her with a knowing look. He turned to Michaela who gave him the same look and smirked before turning back to the newcomer.
"Eve may I have a word?", Annalise said and Eve nodded before turning to Rooney.
"It'll only take a minute. We'll call you in after", she said and took Rooney's hand squeezing it gently before following Annalise inside. The silence was thick and Rooney felt like a mouse surrounded by mousetraps. But after a second Michaela walked forward.
"So. Tell us about yourself", she said and Rooney stood awkwardly looking at short girl in front of her.
"Uhm, well I'm from Storybrooke", she said and they all furrowed their eyebrows.
"Storybrooke? Where's that?", Laurel asked and Rooney turned to her and swallowed a lump.
"Uh, Maine"
"That's far from here", Asher said and Rooney nodded and smiled.
"Come and sit", Laurel said and Rooney smiled in gratitude and awkwardly walked over and sat down in the couch looking around.
"So. You might be working here with us?", Laurel asked and Rooney smiled at her.
"Maybe. But it's not sure yet. I'm sure many people are giving their applications for this job", she said and the five students shared looks before turning back to the girl.
"You're the only one", Connor said and Rooney furrowed her eyebrows.
"I understand, when you told me she's special, but I think you underestimated her", Annalise said once they were inside the office and Eve furrowed her eyebrows.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean she's tall, gorgeous, beautiful—"
"And she's also sixteen", Eve interrupted her and Annalise sighed and walked over to her desk sitting down.
"Do you have her grades?", she asked and Eve nodded as she wat down and pulled them out of her bag giving them to Annalise. The lawyer looked over to the grades and an impressive look took over.
"Very impressive. Sixteen huh?"
Eve smiled in pride and nodded.
"You should be proud of yourself Eve. Rooney has higher grades than any of my students", Annalise said and Eve widened her eyes.
"Really? Wow, thank you"
"Are you gay?", Connor asked after a moment of silence and Michaela and Laurel widened their eyes in shock turning to the guy.
"Connor!"
"No no, it's fine. I guess it's the gaydar, right?", Rooney quickly said looking at Connor and the boy smiled at her. "But yes I am"
"Ah! You can join Connor and Oliver in the club then!", Asher said grinning at Connor who simply rolled his eyes.
"Who's Oliver?", Rooney asked and Connor turned to her.
"He's my boyfriend"
Rooney couldn't help but smile and nod in pride. It was good to see others be open about their sexuality and themselves in general.
"Rooney. Annalise is calling for you", Bonnie said and they all turned to the blonde before turning to Rooney who stood from the couch.
"Good luck", she heard from behind and turned to Wes who stood behind the couch and smiled at him.
"Thank you", she said before walking over to the door and inside, meeting Eve and Annalise.
"Hey"
Eve smiled and patted the seat beside her and Rooney smiled and walked over sitting down.
"So Rooney. I have seen your grades and resume, and I have to say I am very impressed", Annalise started out and Rooney smiled and turned to see Eve smiling in pride at her.
"Thank you", she answered turning back to Annalise and the woman eyed Eve with a knowing look.
"And because of how impressed I am, I want to offer you the job"
Rooney widened her eyes, a huge smile forming on her lips.
"Really?"
Annalise smiled and nodded, making Rooney want to jump up in happiness, but contained herself.
"Now I understand that you want to continue your last year with Eve", Annalise said and Rooney nodded and smiled at her teacher.
"Yeah, that would be great if I could do that", she said and Annalise nodded in understanding.
"Of course. And I will make sure that your working hours here, will be in consideration of your classes", she assured her and Rooney nodded in gratitude.
"I have an idea, for how your schedu—"
"Annalise", Bonnie interrupted them opening the door, and they all turned to the small blonde.
"What is it?", Annalise asked and Bonnie nodded towards the living room. Annalise sighed and turned to Eve and Rooney.
"Excuse me", she said and stood from the chair walking out of the office.
"Can I help?", Eve asked and Annalise turned to her former lover and the girl.
"Maybe this is your time to show what you are capable of miss Swan-Mills", Annalise said before walking out of the office completely and Eve and Rooney stood from their seats, following the woman.
"What is it?", Annalise asked walking towards her students and said students turned to her.
"We found something you might want to see", Laurel said and stood from the couch with her computer and showed it to Annalise.
"It's him. He was there", she said and Annalise furrowed her eyebrows.
"What do you mean he was there, we have proof he was in Indonesia at the time of the murder", Annalise said walking forward getting a better look at computer screen and Laurel shook her head.
"Exactly. You can't be at two places at once"
"Then who is the man on the camera footage?", Asher asked and they all looked at each other, even some of them at Rooney who looked at Eve for assurance, but the woman nodded and Rooney nodded back.
"What is your case about?", Rooney asked stepping forward and they all turned to her with surprised eyes except for Annalise who looked at the tall girl impressed.
"Mr. Frederik Jacobs. He is accused of killing his wife and son in the middle of the night. According to the doctors report, he cut their throats open with their kitchen knife.
"And the accused? What does he say?", Rooney asked taking a file, Bonnie gave to her.
"Not guilty", Laurel answered and Rooney nodded.
"The file says his fingerprint's were on the murder weapon", she said reading it through. "Who are you defending?", she asked looking up at Annalise and the woman nodded towards the file.
"Him"
Rooney nodded and looked down at the file once more, deep in thought.
"What are you thinking Rooney?", Eve asked looking at the file as well and Rooney pointed at the two DNA tests.
"Look. The fingerprints", she said and Annalise nodded.
"It's a match", the woman said, but Rooney shook her head.
"No it isn't", she said and the lawyer furrowed her eyebrows walking over to the girl looking down at the file.
"They look the same to me"
Rooney sighed and nodded.
"It's because they want you to think that", Rooney said before giving the file to Eve and stepping forward. "It's called swap-DNA. You said mr. Jacobs was in Indonesia at the time of the murder. That he was no where near able to kill his wife and son?", she asked turning to Laurel and the girl nodded in agreement.
"A couple of years ago, a man named Karl Montgomery was accused of killing his colleague, but he pleaded not guilty because he wasn't at the crime scene at the time of the murder. Apparently someone had stolen his DNA and used it to kill his colleague in order to set up him"
"So you're saying that the DNA from the knife and mr. Jacobs own DNA aren't from the same person?", Michaela asked walking over and looking at the file with Eve. Rooney nodded and turned to Laurel.
"If someone used mr. Jacobs DNA to set him up, it means that whoever the man on the footage, is a fraud. You guys need to go and talk to the man's close friends and family. Find someone who's close to mr. Jacobs. Someone who could get close enough to steal his DNA"
Laurel nodded and sat back down in the couch and began typing on the computer.
"Well well miss Swan-Mills. You've just earned first chair on your first case", Annalise said and they all turned to the woman in disbelief.
11 Years Ago
Eve walked towards the door of the mansion and knocked gently, waiting patiently. After a few seconds, the door opened, but she furrowed her eyebrows when no one was there. She furrowed her eyebrows even more as she looked around and at last looked down to see Crevan smiling up at her.
"Ev!"
Eve smiled squatting down, hugging the child.
"You back!", Crevan yelled and the woman smiled and nodded.
"I am. Are your mothers home?", she asked and Crevan nodded excitedly and took Eve's hand walking inside.
"Momma!", he yelled out and Emma walked out of the kitchen meeting Eve's eyes.
"Eve!", she smiled wide and walked over to her friend hugging her tight.
"You're back early", she said and Eve smiled wide and nodded.
"I am. We solved the case little earlier than I believed we would, so I thought I would come back a little earlier", she answered and Emma smiled and squeezed the woman's hand before walking inside the kitchen meeting Regina by the counter.
"Gina, look who's home early", Emma said and Regina turned meeting her friend's eyes. Eve widened her eyes as she saw the brunette's stomach and smiled wide.
"Are you pregnant?!"
"Six months ahead", Regina answered and Eve smiled wide and walked over to her friend hugging her tight.
"Oh my god, congratulations you guys!", she said and the couple smiled wide.
"I'm so happy for you two! Do you know the gender?", she asked sitting down by the table and Emma smiled sitting down as well.
"It's a boy", she said and Eve smiled.
"Oh my god, this is so amazing guys. I'm so happy for you"
The couple smiled and shared looks before turning back to their friend.
"So how was New York? You have been gone for seven months after all. You have a lot to tell us!", Emma said and Eve smiled at her friend.
"Yeah, well... Not much to tell really. I was just working on my case, figuring out how to get that disgusting man behind bars", she said and Emma nodded in understanding.
"What was the case about?"
"A boy raped and killed a sixteen year old girl at a party", she said and Regina unconsciously brought her hand to her belly, caressing it gently, while Emma sighed and turned to her wife watching the action.
"Did the girl and her family get justice?", she asked turning to Eve and the woman smiled and nodded.
"Twenty years should do", she said and Emma smiled at her.
"Congratulations"
Eve smiled and nodded before looking down.
Present Time
"Alright, we are here. Now please, no fighting, got it?", Emma said turning to the three children in the backseat and they all nodded, not wanting to make their mother upset.
"Great. Let's go", Emma said and got out of the car, Regina and the three others following. They walked inside the building and up the stairs before knocking on the door. A few seconds later the door opened and Neal smiled at the family.
"Hey sis!", he greeted his sister hugging her tight, before turning to the rest. "Come on in folks", he said and let the family walk in. He smiled and walked over to Regina, hugging her tight, receiving a kiss on his cheek. He smiled before turning to his nephews and niece smiling at them.
"Where's Rooney?", he asked when he noticed the oldest triplet's absence.
"She's in New York with Eve", Emma answered and Neal nodded shrugging.
"Hello my sweet babies", Snow said walking over to the three Swan-Mills children and they all smiled at their grandmother but the moment she walked over and kissed their cheeks, they all groaned.
"Grandma, please", Crevan said and Snow smiled at her grandchildren.
"You guys has done such a great job", she said turning to Emma and Regina who stood by the little bar and smiled at each other.
"We know mom", Emma said and Regina nodded in agreement turning to her children who all walked over to the couches with Neal.
"So how is Rooney? Have you heard from her?", Snow asked once she walked to the kitchen and Emma smiled at her.
"She's great. She texted us right before she and Eve left to meet the lawyer", Emma said and Snow nodded in acceptance. A few minutes later, David walked through the front door, and Snow smile spread wide at the sight of her husband. Emma could never be tired of seeing her parents so in love. David walked over to the kitchen and hugged his daughter and daughter in law before walking over to his wife and kissing her gently on the lips.
"How is everybody doing?", he asked and all the kids turned to him and smiled.
"They are all doing great. We just miss Rooney very much", Regina said and they all nodded in agreement.
"Brunch is ready", Snow said and they all walked over to the table and sat down beginning to eat.
"Hey are you guys going to Jason's party later?", Neal suddenly asked and Crevan and Violet turned to Neal furrowing their eyebrows.
"How are you invited?", Violet asked confused and Neal smirked at her.
"I helped Jason last year with his exam. Because of me, he got an A in chemistry. So he owes me", Neal said and Crevan chuckled and shook his head.
"Well, Violet is, I'm staying home. I'm grounded", he said turning to his brunette mother who smiled at him.
"You can go. Emmett is having a sleepover with the boys from his class and it would be a pity if you had to stay home alone with your mother and I", she said smirking at Emma who smirked back and the three Swan-Mills children let out groans and disgusted faces.
"Ugh, moms come on!", Violet groaned out and the wives laughed.
The ride back to Eve was silent. Rooney was looking out of the window, not knowing what to think and Eve drove while looking at Rooney a few times, not knowing what to say. Annalise wanted Rooney in first chair. And while Eve trusted Annalise more than anything, she knew Rooney wasn't ready for that. She was sixteen for christ sake. She couldn't stand in a courtroom ruling a case, let alone winning one.
"Rooney—"
"I know", Rooney interrupted the woman and Eve turned to her and sighed before turning back to the road. "I can't take the case. I'm not ready, I get it", Rooney continued and Eve nodded. After a few minutes of silence, they were finally at the house and Rooney got out of the car and walked inside, without another word. Eve sighed still sitting in the car and leaned her head back taking a deep breath.
Relax Rothlo. Take a deep breath and Relax
She got out of the car and walked inside I her house meeting Edmund in the couch.
"Hey. How did it go?", he asked and Eve smiled at him and walked over to the couch sitting down beside him, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Annalise wants Rooney on a case", she said after a few minutes and Edmund widened his eyes.
"Already? She was that good?"
Eve smiled and nodded looking at the tv.
"I guess that's why she walked in, anger and sadness written all over her face?", he asked and Eve nodded before looking down.
"It's okay. She understands it"
Eve nodded once more and turned to the beginning of the hallway before turning back to the tv.
"I'm conflicted", she whispered and Edmund turned and looked at her for a moment before looking at the hallway, making sure Rooney wasn't there.
"Conflicted how?", he asked turning back to his sister and said sister shrugged.
"I don't know what to feel anymore"
Edmund nodded, letting her continue and Eve thanked her brother for being so great at listening.
"I don't know what to feel about anything"
Edmund brought his arm around his sister and hugged her tight.
"Why don't you tell her?", he whispered and Eve shook her head.
"I can't. Not now or ever. She's sixteen Edmund. I'm almost forty five", she said and Edmund nodded.
"I know. But remember what mom always said. Love doesn't have any age"
Eve sighed and closed her eyes looking down.
"It's okay to fall in love with someone who's much younger than you are. There's nothing wrong with that", he said and Eve turned to him.
"Ed, I could go to jail, if we were together sexually", she said and Edmund sighed and smiled at her.
"If it helps anything. I think she likes you too"
Eve sighed and nodded.
"I know"
"What? You know?", he asked in surprise and Eve chuckled turning to him.
"Of course I do. I'm not one of those type of girls who's blind to anything. I've noticed the blushes and looks", she said and Edmund looked at her confused.
"Then why haven't you done anything?! You two could be happy right now!", he argued and Eve sighed and leaned her head back against the couch.
"I already told you Edmund. She's my student. She's under eighteen. She's...", she trailed off and Edmund gave her a knowing small.
"She's so beautiful", Eve finally admitted in a whisper, tears threatening in her eyes. "God she's beautiful. She's so pure and happy. She's funny and smart and so absolutely amazing", she said at last and Edmund smiled and looked up, meeting Rooney's watery eyes.