Emily woke up Sunday morning, very aware someone was in her room. She cracked open one eye to see a Barbie sitting directly in front of her, almost staring at her if that was possible. She then realized her hair was being brushed, and someone was humming. She opened both eyes to find a sweet, innocent face staring back at her, early as it may be.

"Hi Meghan," she whispered out trying to wake up, "What are you doing?"

"Brushing your hair. It's messy," Meghan said.

Emily chuckled at that, laughing because it was true and because Meghan was one to talk. She opened both eyes and started to sit up, "Meghan, could you hand me my phone?" Emily figured if the kid was going to wake her up, she could at least retrieve her charging phone.

Meghan retrieved the phone, and Emily saw that she'd missed a few text messages from Wes overnight. He'd sent the last one at 3 AM, stating that the team was at a stopping point for the night, and he was headed home. The text also continued that the team had to be back at work at 10 AM to continue with the case. Emily sighed, it didn't sound like they'd see each other again, which meant that there would be no house hunting today, and even worse, that meant that this whole trip was about to be a bust-as far as seeing Wes was concerned. She'd had a great time with her family, but she had a red-eye back to New York, so her time in Los Angeles was winding down fast.

Emily sat up and noticed that Meghan, while she had messy hair, had on a really pretty dress, "Meghan, your dress is so pretty. Why are you so dressed up?"

Meghan twirled around, "Pops and Gigi got me this dress. They had it hanging in my room here as a surprise. I'm wearing it to Mass. Lauren wanted to go and see Ricky's church here. It's your church, too, right? Pops and Gigi's church too? Rusty's church?"

Emily grinned at the sweet girl, "Yes, it is. I used to go there when I was your age too. The windows inside are so pretty."

"Will you come too?" Meghan asked.

Emily glanced back at her phone, thinking that she had no plans for the day to see Wes now, and then to Meghan again, "Of course, I'll come to Mass with you. I don't have anywhere else to be."

Morning turned into afternoon, which brought Nicole's family over for a pool party of sorts. Meghan had a great time playing with Nicole and Dean's boys. Ricky, Rust, and Gus enjoyed catching up with Dean, and the girls, who had spent all day Saturday together, picked up where they left off, chatting about everything. They were becoming fast friends. The only thing missing were the police officers of the family, still hard at work. Emily thought back to lunchtime; they had all stopped by the station with food for the team after Mass. She'd only gotten a few minutes to spend with Wes.

"You look gorgeous," he had said as he found her in the break room setting up the lunch spread they had bought.

She smiled as he walked over to her, opened her arms, and he kissed her as they embraced, "Oh, I've missed you," she had told him. "This weekend has been such a mess."

The two had made a lot of small talk while Emily was there for lunch. Wes had told her he'd cancelled the realtor for the afternoon, and they'd taken a couple of minutes to sit together and look at the townhomes he liked. It was a bit difficult to see everything in photos, but Emily did agree on her favorite with Wes. It wasn't the same as seeing the townhomes in person, but they were making the best of it.

Now, here in late afternoon, Emily smiled at the kids running around the pool area and shook her head at the thoughts she was having. Someday, she did want kids, but she definitely didn't want to bring kids into a situation where she and Wes couldn't even figure out about where to live. She was pretty sure she did want kids, a family, a husband, but was Wes that guy? Why couldn't life be easier? Why did she have to fall for a guy who lived 3,000 miles from where she did and worked. She'd done a lot of thinking over the last few days, and they were really about at a crossroads; soon they needed to figure things out.

By late afternoon, Ricky, Lauren, and Meghan had packed up and were on their way back to San Francisco. They would all be together soon for Sharon and Andy's wedding. Emily had showered again and was packing up her bag to head home. The bag full of stuff she was planning to leave in Los Angeles was sitting in her room. Wes had told her he'd pick it up after the case, but she was fully prepared for it to be sitting in its exact spot as it was now when she returned for her mom's wedding if things with Wes didn't seem to pan out. A few texts came into her phone all at once, and she picked it up to find, "Case still a mess. We're taking shifts overnight. Captain told me I was off from 6-10 tonight to get some rest. Coincidence? You need a ride to the airport? Be ready at 6:30-taking you to dinner first."

Emily smiled. Wes was really trying, despite some crazy work circumstances. Her mom was trying too. She knew Sharon didn't have to give Wes any time off, especially with her getting ready to head back to New York, but everyone was trying to help. She was almost halfway down the stairs with her bags when she heard the door open and looked to see Andy walk in. He looked tired, very tired.

Andy looked up to see Emily on the stairs, "Hi sweetheart," he smiled warmly. "Here, let me get your bags," and Andy placed them by the front door. "I'm sorry your visit has been such a mess. We've had a couple of crazy cases. Sharon sent me home for now, partially doctor's orders. She doesn't want me to pass out again," he chuckled and shook his head, "and, while I won't admit it to her, I do need to get some rest. I've barely slept in three days."

Emily smiled at him sympathetically, "Oh, I know, Andy. You look beat. I'm sorry I have to leave, but I can't believe when I come back, you'll be getting married. I'm so excited about that."

Andy brightened up at the mention of that, smiling back at her, "Me too, sweetheart. Me too. Listen, I believe Nolan had some time off this evening-"

Emily nodded and cut him off, "Yes, he's picking me up to take me to the airport. At least we'll have dinner together."

Andy gave her a reassuring smile and nod, "It's not easy, the life of a detective."

Emily sighed and nodded, "I know. It's also not easy only seeing each other once a month. I just wonder if I'm making the right choice, you know. Is it worth it?"

Andy put his arm around Emily and walked her to the living room, where he indicated she should sit, "I can't answer that for you, but I can give you some of my own experience. Em, sometimes the best things are worth fighting for, even when it seems hard or impossible. Sometimes those things don't happen overnight; they don't even happen quickly, but sometimes, they can take years. I have first-hand experience with that," he smiled as he chuckled.

Emily nodded, taking in what he was saying, "But everyone saw it-you and Mom are so good together. Everyone saw it. It just took Mom longer to figure it out. We knew she'd come around."

"Did we?" Andy asked, "Em, all I ever wanted was your mom, to be by her side. After we really got to be friends, I just wanted her. There were a couple of years I didn't know if she'd ever figure it out, as you say, that she would ever see it. I fought for it, not in a physical actual fighting way, but I kept being by her side, through the good and the bad-through the Rusty fits, the Jack blowups, the horrible cases, everything. She did the same to me, maybe even more than she imagines. All in all, in the end, we decided we are better together and worth it."

Emily looked into Andy's eyes and saw the love he had for her mom. She nodded, "Thank you. I have a lot to think about."

"Getting to this point with Sharon wasn't easy. She divorced your dad, something no one thought she would do. She had to regain her footing as a single woman. She had to admit that while she didn't need me around, she wanted me around. I had to make peace with my past, my mistakes. I had to make amends-and still continue to do so-with my kids and family. All of it is worth it; I get your mom," Andy smiled warmly.

Andy stood, patted her hand and looked into her eyes, "Know I love you like my own. And, you say everyone saw it between your mother and I. What makes you think the rest of us, the rest of your family, don't see it with you and Wes?" and with that Andy kissed her head and waved to her as he headed to the bedroom.

Emily sat there a few moments, taking in his words. Andy was so much of the father Jack wasn't. Everything he told her was out of love for her. Andy had become a good mentor to Wes; she had seen it. The two had become good friends, even in the wake of the awkward dating-the-stepdaughter relationship that was also there. Wes really respected Andy; he'd told Emily that, and Andy had taken Wes under his wing. Sharon had told Emily awhile ago that Provenza had really taken Rusty under his wing when he came into the team's lives years ago. Andy had done the same with Wes, mainly because he was sort of thrown into the father role with Rusty. Provenza could provide the mentorship; Andy had to provide the parenting. So, with Wes, Andy had found a role as a mentor, much like Provenza was to Rusty. She was glad the two men in her life had become such good friends. It warmed her heart. Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Turning, she saw Wes entering the house, still knocking. Tired, but amazing Wes. Maybe he was worth it.

As Emily sat at the airport waiting for her late-night flight, she smiled thinking back over the last few hours. Funny how a few hours could make up for a somewhat lousy weekend. After Wes had found her on the couch, he came over and sat with her, kissing her, making up for lost time. Soon, the two of them found themselves making out on the couch like teenagers. They laughed when Wes told Emily that he didn't want Andy to walk in on them because he definitely wouldn't live that down at work. Emily agreed, and the two loaded all of Emily's bags for her trip. They'd gotten carried away, and time had slipped away, so any notion of a nice meal was gone. In Emily's opinion, that was fine. Their couch time had been worth it. Instead, the coupe found themselves stopping at a local hamburger joint, a favorite cop hangout. Emily didn't mind at all; in fact, she had a secret craving for junk food that Wes had discovered, so while not fancy, they enjoyed their greasy burgers. It had been a perfect meal, in her opinion.

Emily spent her flight, restless. She was torn between a life with Wes, which also meant a life on two coasts right now, or changing all that. The problem was she didn't know what to change. Did she change the person, in that, did she let go of him? Did she leave New York and keep Wes? Did she expect Wes to leave Los Angeles and move to New York for her? None of the options were good ones. She didn't want to do any of them. Problem was, she felt a future required something to change.

Wes never got any sleep during his "off" shift. After leaving Emily at the airport, he drove around until he found himself at the beach. He ended up walking and sitting in the sand, late at night. It was calming, and after his last few days, he needed that. Leaving Emily at the airport killed him. He wanted her with him all the time. He knew they were doing their best, but they'd always said they would figure it out. When would that be, he started to wonder to himself? He knew Emily had to be struggling with the same thoughts. He couldn't see a life in New York. It seemed silly; all their family was out West, and Emily loved her family. He was hopeful Emily might see a life out West, eventually, but he didn't know how long that would take. One thing he decided-life had to move forward. Living in limbo wasn't helping, and he'd lost so much of his life with his time undercover. So, he made a decision, one that in his heart, he'd already made, but he'd wanted Emily's blessing. He took out his phone and made a call. It was late, but not that late yet, especially for this.

"Jake, it's Wes. Yeah, about those houses. I want the Rosemead one by the beach," he said, listening to the voice on the phone, "No, I don't need to see it again. That's the one."