A/N: I think I'm hitting a groove with this chapter...there was so much that I couldn't fit in here that it really shouldn't even be all that long until the next update! Enjoy!
"Damn, that woman moves fast," Flack grumbled as he and Danny rushed to keep up with Stella as she made her way down to the bullpen.
"And people wonder why we keep her on our baseball team?" Danny asked with a smirk.
"That's not the – hey!" Don exclaimed in surprise, screeching to an abrupt halt as Stella stopped suddenly just inside the entrance of the bullpen. "Geez, Stel, you gotta give us a little warning next time you gonna put the brakes on like that."
"Stella?" Danny asked in concern, quickly taking in the paralyzed expression of fear and surprise, with perhaps just a bit of joy, that was now plastered on Stella's face as she stood rooted to the spot she had stopped in.
"You alright, Stel?" Flack asked, following her gaze across the room to where a crisply outfitted older woman with a decidedly elegant flair was loudly berating Chief Sinclair in front of a not-so-subtle crowd of detectives and officers.
"That's just our perp's mother," Danny informed her. "Baby boy's probably finishing processing right now."
"Man, she's really handin' it to Sinclair," Flack marveled, catching bits and pieces of the extremely one-sided conversation as the sound carried across the room.
"My God," Stella sighed quietly, her first words since she had sped so unexpectedly out of the locker room just a few short minutes earlier.
"Stella?" Flack asked in confusion. "What's goin' on?"
Before Stella could even think about answering, the older woman across the room finally turned her head just enough to catch a glimpse of Stella standing on the other side of the bullpen. Abruptly stopping mid-sentence, she left a confused but relieved Captain Sinclair standing alone as she quickly began making her way through the sea of detectives' desks toward the spot where Stella, Flack and Danny were watching her.
"That woman better not be comin' to chew me out again," Flack grumbled. "Got enough of that the first time."
"Shut up, Flack," Stella said, her tone quiet but surprisingly forceful, her eyes never drifting from the approaching woman.
"Well, this is quite the unexpected turn," the woman commented, stopping just a few steps in front of Stella. "Stella Bonasera."
"Hi, Nancy," Stella said nervously, unsure what sort of reception she'd be receiving from the woman.
"You look absolutely wonderful, dear," Nancy observed, shaking her head as her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I just can't believe it…in my head, you're practically still a child, but here you are, all grown up. What are you doing here, though? These idiots haven't gotten you in some sort of trouble, have they?"
"Not exactly," Stella said with a little smile, pushing back the edge of her jacket to reveal the badge attached to her waistband. "I joined the idiots, actually. I'm a detective with the crime lab."
"Good Lord," Nancy sighed. "Like I said, you're still that sweet little Columbia student in my head…things certainly have changed since then, haven't they?"
"It's been thirteen years, Nancy," Stella pointed out. "You couldn't expect everything to stay the same forever."
"No, I suppose not," Nancy agreed. "You're happy, though? Healthy?"
"Yes on both," Stella nodded, knowing exactly what sort of 'healthy' Nancy was referring to.
"Good," Nancy smiled, reaching out and pulling Stella into a tight embrace. "I've missed you, my dear; we all have. My James most especially, if it's not too forward of me."
"Nancy…" Stella said cautiously, slowly and reluctantly pulling back from the hug.
"I know, I know, that was supposed to be over years and years ago," Nancy sighed. "Doesn't mean the boy can't miss you, Stella. We've all missed you."
"I've missed you too," Stella admitted.
"Well, now that we've established that, you must join us for dinner," Nancy said.
"Oh, I don't know…" Stella hesitated.
"I won't take 'no' for an answer, dear, and you know that as well as anyone," Nancy insisted. "Everyone will be so delighted to see you…and James is California this week, if that's what you're worried about."
"He won't be there?" Stella asked.
"He won't," Nancy confirmed. "Please, Stella, you have no idea how much it broke our hearts when he let you go. It's just one dinner, dear, just a chance for us all to catch up, to see for ourselves that you're doing alright."
"I suppose one dinner couldn't hurt," Stella agreed.
"Fabulous," Nancy smiled. "Now, I'll have to get your address – we'll send Martin by to pick you up around six, if that's alright."
"Oh, that's really not necessary, Nancy," Stella assured her.
"Nonsense, I insist," Nancy said.
"Well, I'll probably still be here around six," Stella said. "Why don't you just have him come pick up me up at the crime lab?"
"Alright then," Nancy nodded, pausing as she saw the doors to the processing area open and a smartly dressed man in his early thirties stepped into the bullpen. "Ah, there's my idiot son now."
"Holy hell!" the man exclaimed as he quickly made his way to where his mother was standing.
"Edward, watch your mouth," Nancy scolded. "We're in a public place."
"Gotcha, Ma," Edward said, grinning as his mother grimaced again at his forced accent and over-the-top style. "Now, where was I? Oh, right, holy hell, if it isn't my favorite almost-sister of all time!"
Stella laughed as Edward stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Although she'd have denied it had anyone asked, she had missed feeling like a part of this family more than she could ever have expressed to them.
"Still getting yourself into trouble, Eddie?" Stella asked.
"Hey, you know me," Eddie laughed. "Someone else used to join me in my trouble-making ways, you know."
"Some people grow up, Eddie," Stella pointed out.
"Yeah, and you and James sure grew up," Eddie agreed. "Mr. Big Business and now you, a cop? I swear, the wonders never cease."
"You're lucky I like you, Eddie," Stella said. "Anyone else used that attitude with me, I'd deck him."
"You couldn't hit me," Eddie teased.
"Don't tempt me, Eddie," Stella said.
"Children, let's behave ourselves," Nancy scolded. "I swear, it's like you never left, Stella. Now, if you'll excuse us, I have to take my delinquent son home and give him a good talking to. We'll see you tonight?"
"I promise," Stella assured her, accepting the quick kiss on the cheek and small hug that Nancy offered before turning and leading her son out of the precinct.
"What the hell was that?" Danny asked in confusion.
"Did you seriously just agree to have dinner with those clowns?" Flack asked.
"They're my family," Stella said quietly, shaking her head and smiling slightly as she pushed past the two men and exited the bullpen.
"I thought she didn't have family," Flack muttered as he watched her leave.
"She don't," Danny agreed. "She was a foster kid."
"I am so confused," Flack said, shaking his head.
"Join the club, buddy," Danny said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Join the club."
That evening, Samantha stood in Adam's kitchen after dinner, silently and absentmindedly drying the dishes he was handing her, her thoughts preoccupied with what she knew was finally ready to tell him. The only question left in her mind was whether he was ready to hear it, and she knew there was only way to answer that question.
"You're a pretty great guy, Adam," she said suddenly, putting the last dish on the counter and turning to face him. "You know that, right?"
"Oh," Adam said, a hint of sadness in his voice as he pulled the plug in the sink and watched the dirty water slowly swirl down the drain. "This is it?"
"This is what?" Samantha asked in confusion.
"You know…you're, uh, you're breaking up with me," Adam said.
"What?" Samantha asked in surprise, instantly shaking her head vigorously. "God, no, why would you think that?"
"It's, uh, well, not the first time I've had this conversation," Adam shrugged, still focusing his gaze intently on the nearly empty sink in front of him. "It's the same, every time…you're a great guy, Adam, but this just isn't working for me. Or, um, you're a really great guy, Adam, but I just don't think there's a future for us. There's, uh, always a 'but' after a sentence like that and…well, it never ends happily for me."
"Adam, I'm not breaking up with you," Samantha informed him, moving so that she was standing right next to him, her body just brushing against his as he slowly turned his head to meet her gaze.
"You're not?" he asked hesitantly.
"Adam, I'd have to be insane to break up with you. You're the best guy I've met since…well, since ever, really," Samantha said, pausing for a moment as a terrifying thought occurred to her. "Wait, did you want me to be breaking up with you? Do you want to break up?"
"No, no, definitely no," Adam assured her. "I just…I don't know, I thought maybe you'd, well, finally seen things."
"What things?" Samantha asked. "What are you talking about?"
"I, uh, I work twelve hours a day in a lab," Adam explained. "I'm the nerd, Sam, I, uh, I spend my free time playing video games and watching science fiction. I went a Star Trek convention one time. And you…you're funny and smart and tough as nails but really sweet…and gorgeous, completely gorgeous, I should have said that first, probably. Girls like you aren't even supposed to look at guys like me, let alone date them."
Samantha arched an eyebrow and stared at Adam for a moment, contemplating what he had said for a moment. Then, gripping the side of the counter for support, she broke out first in a grin and then in fits of laughter.
"What's so funny?" Adam asked in confusion.
"Nothing…it's just, us," Samantha gasped through her laughter, struggling to bring herself back under control.
"What about us?" Adam asked.
"You really spend a lot of time thinking that I'm going to wake up and dump you one of these days because we're mismatched?" Samantha asked.
"Well…yeah," Adam admitted.
"So do I," Samantha admitted.
"What?" Adam asked in surprise. "You think I'd break up with you?"
"You're smart, Adam," Samantha said. "You've got a master's degree and good job with a big future. You've got friends and a great apartment and this whole wonderful life. Look at me…I'm a high school drop out, Adam. I wait tables at a dive of a diner and I live off my tips in a crappy little run-down building in Brooklyn. I'm an alcoholic with no career, no future plans…I barely make it day to day."
"Just because you don't have a diploma doesn't mean you're not smart," Adam said. "You're amazing, Sam…you're probably the smartest woman I've ever met and that has nothing to do with what you learn in books. I know I don't know everything that's going on, but I know that you're also not the only person with issues that are going to come up in this relationship."
"You always say that," Samantha said.
"Because it's true," Adam said.
"So you really don't care that I'm not all educated like you?" Samantha asked.
"No, I really don't care," Adam said. "And you, uh, you really don't mind…mind that you're probably a 10 and I'm, I don't know, maybe a 7 on a good day? That's sort of a mismatch.
"Oh, I don't think I could date anyone less than a 9," Samantha countered, shaking her head with a laugh.
"What?" Adam choked out.
"Which is why it's a good thing that, to me, you're at least a 10," Samantha continued, wrapping her arms around Adam's neck and smiling as he turned back to her and ran his hand along her cheek.
"I left myself wide open for that one," Adam commented.
"You did," Samantha agreed, smiling as Adam leaned across and softly kissed her lips.