The Clean Up
"Stay still." Thea said, crouching down outside on the doorstep were Cassie was sitting, using her nursing expertise to clean up her cut face, thanks to Jude's well prepared bag of tissues, first-aid and band-aids.
"It's fine, just leave it." Cassie groaned.
"It's not fine. You're gonna need stitches." Thea nodded, holding her sister's head tilted to the side as she cleaned up the blood, "And you definitely have a concussion. You gotta get checked out at the hospital." Thea nodded to her.
"Yeah, whatever." Cassie said as Thea watched her.
"That was really brave." Thea nodded, "She was probably gonna kill us." She said.
"Well she didn't." Cassie said, "I called Theo. He's sending the cops round and he's getting on a flight to come over."
"That's sweet." Thea smiled a little, "He'll be glad to see you." She nodded.
"He also said Dominic and the kids are fine. And he called Sean, him and Mirren are good to." Cassie said as Thea nodded.
"What happens when the cops get here?" Thea asked, slightly worried, "Mom just put a knife in her. We're not… she's not gonna get in trouble is she?" She asked.
"No, Theo's contacted the police and he told me he'd informed Jake about it all. We were kidnapped. They've been on her ass for a while. Longer than six months." Cassie said, "It was about to come crashing down at some point and we just… kick-started, I guess."
"You were badass." Thea smiled.
"Just doing my job." Cassie nodded.
"You don't gotta be naiive." Thea assured her, "Everyone thought you were crazy to wanna be a cop when you were younger. Think it might have saved us tonight." She nodded, "And if Theo wasn't with Dominic, checking in… God knows what could have happened." She shook her head worriedly.
"I guess it's a useful job to have when you have such a chaotic family." Cassie smiled a little as Thea nodded.
"Yeah, I guess." Thea said, "Your head is getting a little swollen so, I'm gonna go see if there's some ice in the kitchen. I'll be right back." She said as Cassie nodded.
Thea walked back into the house where her parents and Jude were standing.
"She ok?" AJ asked.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna see if there's ice. Her head is a little swollen." Thea said, walking through to the kitchen and opening up the freezer, finding some and putting it in a bag to make up a homemade ice pack.
"I think she's got a concussion." Punk nodded as Thea walked over to them.
"Yeah, she definitely has." Thea said, "She called Theo so he's on his way over here, probably with Jake. The cops here are coming but… we don't got worry, no one's gonna be in trouble." She nodded to her mother who nodded, "And Sean and Mirren are ok, they're good." She assured her sister as Jude nodded.
"Ok." Jude nodded with relief, watching as Thea walked off to go give Cassie some ice.
"How did you guys even get here?" AJ turned to Jude, trying to let it digest that they were all here at the same time.
"Once Cassie saw the note you left, she obviously knew what you guys were doing. She called Thea and… Thea called me. I left for Chicago and we just decided that night. Cass got an address, we didn't know if it was right but it was something. We booked flights and left." Jude nodded.
"We did this so you girls didn't have to be involved." Punk said.
"We're involved anyway, dad. Clearly, considering hit men showed up at our doors." Jude sighed, "We worried about you both coming here on your own. She could have just killed you both right away." She shook her head worriedly.
"She's dead." AJ said, "Everything she was after, she's never gonna get. There's no more beyond her." She nodded to Jude, "It's all over. And I don't mean that half-assed. I mean it's… it's really over." She said as Jude nodded.
"I never blamed you guys." Jude made clear, "And I just… I sat the entire flight here, thinking it had to be my fault that you guys came here. I should never have made you think it was down to you. I should have been clearer. You didn't ask for this. It's unfair on you guys just as much as it is on anyone else. If anything it sucks more because this is… this is your family. Supposed to be your family." Jude shook her head.
"No, this is my family." AJ assured her, "They're just strangers." She rubbed Jude's arm softly, "And we know you don't blame us."
"Yeah, we were all just dealing with this in our own ways." Punk added, "Probably worked to her advantage to a certain extent, to get us all here, but… she's gone now and we don't have to be afraid of anything, or anyone." He said as Jude nodded.
"Yeah." Jude sighed.
"And I'm sorry." Punk nodded, "For… not acting like a parent. I was selfish and I was worried. I didn't want you to leave town, not because I didn't understand or I didn't want you to be happy but… just knowing that if anything did happen, and I couldn't get to you, I'd never be able to live with myself." He said as Jude nodded.
"I'm sorry to." Jude said, "Maybe taking off and leaving like that, in the middle all of this, wasn't the best thing to do. You were all there for me when I needed someone. You're always there. And when you guys needed me, I just took off." She shrugged, disappointed in herself.
"Hey, no…" AJ shook her head, "When we needed you, you came. You're here now, aren't you?" She smiled as Jude nodded.
"I'm just glad she's gone." Jude nodded.
"Me too." AJ said, wrapping her arms around her tightly as Jude smiled. She'd missed hugs from her mother. They made everything feel so much better.
"Can I get one of those?" Punk wondered as Jude smiled, pulling back from her mother and nodding.
"Yeah, ok." Jude smiled, wrapping her arms around him tightly as he smiled, kissing her head. They could get caught up in their worries and doubts, throw fire at each other and say things they didn't mean, but when it mattered, when they were in need of one another, they were always there. It was the true meaning of family.
"We should probably get out of here for the cops coming." AJ said as Jude pulled back from her hug with her father, wiping her tears as she'd just missed it so much.
"Yeah, let's go outside." Punk agreed.
"I gotta call Sean." Jude nodded desperately, leaving the house where Thea and Cassie were standing, "Hey, you doing ok?" She asked Cassie, stepping out of the house.
"Yeah, I'll live." Cassie nodded, holding the ice to her head.
"I'm gonna call Sean." Jude nodded, wandering down the pathway and taking her phone out, calling her husband desperately and waiting for him to pick up, which he did, almost right away.
"Jude?" Sean spoke through the phone, desperate to hear her voice.
"Hey." Jude smiled, placing her hand on her chest, "Are you ok?" Jude asked, taking a deep breath.
"I'm fine. I'm fine. Are you ok?" Sean nodded, pacing the living room whilst some other cops were in the house.
"Yeah, we're all fine." Jude nodded, "The police are on their way and I think Theo and Jake are getting a flight over." She said, "I'll probably not be home until tomorrow but… I just wanted to hear your voice." She said.
"Jude, I was so scared when she cut me off the call." Sean sighed, sitting down on the couch, "I didn't know what to do."
"She wanted to take Mirren. She wanted to take Mirren, James and Sofia." She shook her head, "When I heard you answer the phone, I was so relieved." She said. She couldn't put it into words how grateful she was that she had a husband who fiercely protected their child, no matter what it took.
"Mirren's fine. She's sleeping actually, right in front of me." Sean smiled, looking over at Mirren lying on her little mat in the living room, where she'd fallen asleep whilst playing with her toys, "And guess what?" Sean said.
"What?" Jude said.
"She said her first word." Sean smiled as Jude raised her eyebrows.
"She did?" Jude gasped, "What was it?"
"Rice." Sean chuckled, "Well, it was more like ice to her but, I knew what she meant." He waved his hand as Jude chuckled.
"Rice? Really?" Jude smiled so big.
"Yeah, she said it twice." Sean nodded as Jude smiled, her nerves calming bit by bit as she spoke to her husband, feeling so much at ease hearing that he and their daughter were safe.
"What's going on there?" Jude asked him.
"Well I called some guys out from work and they came and took the body out of the house. Asked me some questions, I was gonna ask them to get in contact with the cops over there but then Theo gave me a call and told me he had it taken care of." Sean said as Jude nodded.
"Yeah, we're just waiting on them right now. I think Cass will probably have to go to hospital for some stitches but we're all good besides that." Jude nodded positively, looking over at her family with relief that they were all ok, carrying on her chat with her husband.
"I'm gonna give Dominic a call." Thea announced, standing over with her parents and Cassie, "You should sit down." She advised her sister.
"I'm fine." Cassie said stubbornly as Thea scoffed, walking off to go call her husband to make sure all was ok and her children were safe and sound. It was hard to imagine what could have happened tonight, so she tried her best not to.
"You in any pain?" AJ asked Cassie.
"No." Cassie said, "I'm fine." She assured them.
"You're brave." Punk nodded proudly, "To think quickly in a situation like this."
"Well, that's what being a cop is." Cassie nodded, slowly sitting down on the front step, "She was gonna kill us otherwise." She said, "And FYI, if you leave me a note telling me you're gonna be gone for a few days, and to not do anything, you may as well just left an invitation instead." She scoffed as Punk and AJ smiled a little, "You think we were gonna let you come out here on your own? And get yourself killed?" She shook her head.
"It's nice to know you had faith in us." Punk smiled.
"I have faith in you. But she's a different kind of evil." Cassie said, "And there's no way she was getting the last laugh."
"Well she didn't." AJ nodded, noticing the cops beginning to pull up outside the house one by one, including an ambulance, "I'll come with you to the hospital." AJ nodded to Cassie.
"Maybe they can just stitch me up here." Cassie nodded, standing up as AJ helped her.
"You're going to the hospital, woman." Punk made clear, helping her down the steps and walking down the pathway where the cops appeared.
Cassie spoke to them, showing her badge to them and explaining everything. She then got taken into the ambulance where AJ joined her whilst Punk checked on Thea and Jude, watching as the cops went to and from the house, taking a deep breath of relief.
