"Hey did I miss anything?" He asked nonchalantly

"No…" She stammered. "Why are you here?"

"Mase is not graduating from middle school twice is she? I wasn't going to miss this Lil, you knew that right?"

"I mean how come you aren't sitting with Mike and your parents for Gabe?"

He shrugged. "I'm at this thing anyway, does it matter where I'm sitting?" Mase texted me saying the fourth row had the best acoustics."

Of course she did. Lilly thought.

"And I thought you might want some company to watch your girl do her speech."

"Thank you." She replied in earnest.

"If you need a Kleenex I stashed some in my pockets." He offered.

"I'm not going to bawl Valens." She rolled her eyes.

"I didn't say they were for you only!" He scoffed.

"I-"

"Shhh it's our girl's turn!" Scotty shushed her in almost absurd giddiness as Masie got up from her chair near the edge of the stage and took to the podium, posing with the Principal for a quick photograph before beginning to adjust the microphone to her height.

Did she get taller since we arrived? She seems older somehow.

"Thank you, Principal James." Masie began, with a poise Lilly had never seen in her before. "I would like to thank all the guests on behalf of my fellow students, today is an important day for us and we are glad to have your support."

"She's doing great!" Scotty gushed.

"Shhh!" Lilly shushed him not wanting to miss out on a single second of the top-secret speech.

"I have been given the not at all daunting honor of speaking before all of you and as you can imagine I spent an exceptionally long time trying to figure out what to say. Because while Junior High might have not been the easiest thing we have even done, it will probably be far from the hardest. School wise we were being prepped for High School, some of us enjoyed learning more than others but not many will consider 7th grade math a formative experience." A section of hoots and hollers erupted briefly from a few rows of fellow students and were promptly shushed by nearby teachers.

"Sorry Ms. Allen your classes were very fun I promise!" Masie ad-libbed jokingly.

"She learned that charm from me-" Scotty joked, earning a swift elbow to the ribs in a discreet effort to silence him.

"Now that we've gotten back on track, what most of us will take from this place, besides some mild PTSD from gym class…" A second milder cacophony of cheers and laughs was heard from an almost completely different group of students.

"I'm kidding Mr. O'Leary!" Masie quickly excused herself. "No, I'm not…" She muttered earning a few more hollers.

"I didn't know she was going to be funny in this!" Scotty exclaimed.

"You think I did? She slept with the flashcards under her pillow!"

"As I was saying…" Masie continued. "What most of us take from this place is the beginning of our adult personalities beginning to poke through, because while puberty may be a mess it does not settle for altering the physical, it changes the mind as well. And what I hope for most of all, is for us to be able to change our minds and open them for the rest of our lives and not just for this time. And once we commit ourselves to an open mind, soon an open heart and the strongest of spirits will follow. The most open mind and heart that I know belongs to my mother."

Lilly's breath caught in her throat. Masie held the same confident posture and proceeded as if she hadn't noticed her mother's sudden mild teariness and her uncle Scotty winking at her in encouragement while patting Lilly on the shoulder teasingly.

"She took me in overnight and while I'm sure it must have felt different to her, I felt like she never lacked the strength to bend her life around me. "

"Almost nobody knew she was adopted." Lilly stammered.

"She probably figured it was about time everyone knew just how lucky she is to have you."

Masie continued her speech, avoiding looking in their direction too much to keep her own feelings in check. "She was never the greatest student in school but once she found her passion, she worked towards it and made her dream happen. I know because of her that any of us can achieve whatever it is we set our minds to and then accomplish some more stuff we didn't even plan on. Be it becoming a scientist that does stand-up on weekends, a kindergarten teacher that runs an animal charity on the side or a homicide detective that goes through files while holding her surprise daughter to her chest."

A memory from several years prior was suddenly unleashed from the recesses of Lilly's mind. "Scotty!"

"I know what she means, I remember it too."

January 26th 2012

The sound of rain had become just white noise in the four hours since they'd arrived at the Precinct. Lilly was going through every single piece of evidence again while a two-and-a-half-year-old Masie was asleep in her lap, still in her pajamas and fluffy robe. Lilly had put Masie to bed earlier but when the photo of another little girl who had been kidnapped and found brutally dismembered was settled on her nightstand the need to find who could have done such a horrid thing became too great to ignore until the next day, she woke up her daughter and the two went back to the office.

"Isn't it past both your bedtimes?" A voice interrupted the white noise of rain and the odd car driving by outside.

"Jesus Scotty you scared me!" Lilly jumped slightly in her chair, her arms instinctively wrapping around her child.

"I couldn't sleep and you weren't answering your phone. Went to check on you and figured you had to be here when I saw your lights were all off."

"It's this case." She rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"I know." He sank down in his chair.

"That little girl went through such cruelty…" Lilly began.

"And she just happened be the same age Mase is right now." Scotty replied.

"That obvious?" She asked, unconsciously clutching Masie tighter to her chest.

"I'm not her parent and I could not not go there, of course it's weighting on you."

"I just want to give her poor father some closure and give her some peace at last."

"We will Lil, we almost always do."

"Am I a terrible mother?" She asked, the parallels between her and the child's mother having been weighting on her mind the whole day.

"You are nothing like Virginia Jackson, Lil." Scotty replied, almost as if he'd read her mind.

"Am I? I'm at the office at 2 A.M, she was at work at 2 AM often." Virginia Jackson had also casually left her child alone on weekends like the Saturday her daughter Rosalinda was taken from their apartment, but that detail had seemingly been buried under Lilly's insecurities as a parent.

"And you are at the office because you love your girl so much you cannot fathom the pain of losing her and are working to bring justice to Rosie and her family." He comforted.

"Mommy?"

Lilly looked down and saw her daughter stirring from sleep and rubbing her eye with her little fist.

"Shhh sweet girl it's just Uncle Scotty you can go back to sleep."

"I like Uncle Scotty." The child sleepily muttered.

"I like you too cielito." He smiled, catching the pink plush kitten he'd given her clutched to her chest.

"I'm getting cold." Masie complained, snuggling closer to Lilly.

"You can have my jacket madam. Anything for your beauty sleep, it's already warmed-up for ya." Scotty took off his damp coat and threw it over the back of his chair, then took off the jacket he had been wearing underneath and draped it over Masie.

"Thank you." Masie said before beginning to drift back to sleep, having already closed her eyes when her favorite Uncle pulled a faded sweater from the gym bag in his desk's bottom drawer and pulled it over his head while walking towards the office kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Lilly asked while she adjusted the borrowed jacket around Masie.

"We either pull an all-nighter or take a nap like Mase and I don't got cozy jackets for everyone. I'll be right back with some coffee." He explained and the two spent another three hours at work until they had their longed-for break in the case. And a stern but not really meant reprimand from Stillman when he found out about their absurd hours which lead them to begin to go through case files at one of their houses in secret from then on.

Before Lilly knew it, Scotty was grasping her hand and a tiny tear was threatening to fall from her left eye. I had no idea she remembered that… she was so little-

"My mother did everything right. I know that that is not something easy to replicate. This last year of school I had the privilege of finally meeting someone that messed up horribly. The greatest mess a human could make without being an orange president kind of mess."

Scotty squeezed her hand. "That mess only you and I really know about in full." He whispered.

Lilly looked in Christina's direction and saw her sister visibly shocked at being included in such a speech and looking absolutely nothing like the low only herself and Scotty had gotten to witness.

July 1st 2013

The cars doors were closed and they sat in silence inside, staring at the hospital they had just left through Scotty's windshield.

"She is safe Lil. She is safe, and healthy and happy and so, so loved." Scotty reminded her.

"What if she hadn't had the mind to leave her up to me?" Lilly asked in anger. She had gotten a call from a hospital in the middle of the night that her MIA sister had been found on a street corner after overdosing by a couple drunk girls. Rationally she knew Christina was a train wreck and that she had never heard from her since signing the adoption papers but the level of irresponsibility the birth mother of her precious daughter exhibited infuriated her to no end and to make matters worse, Christina had asked about Masie just when they were leaving. The woman who had progressed from pills to heroin, needed to be resuscitated by paramedics and was awaiting the results of a blood test to see if she'd picked up anything from sharing needles remembered she had a daughter. And somehow still did every irresponsible thing she could. Lilly's anger was slowly being converted into terror at an alternate timeline, one in which Christina had never given up Masie and kept her during all those screw-ups. Ellen at least gave them a place to live, Christina had been homeless for a month! What would have happened to her niece in those circumstances? Would someone have had the mind to take away custody? Would sweet, intelligent, sensitive Masie have slipped through the cracks of social workers?

"But that doesn't matter because she knew her own shortcomings and did what was best for Mase."

"Abandonment was what was best for a little girl, great!" She angrily replied.

"Haven't you ever wished you'd been put in the care of someone capable of raising you instead of you raising yourself and your sister? Well, that is what Mase has with you, a loving and stable family." Scotty tried to reassure.

"She deserves better still, she deserves better than a workaholic single mom!" Lilly confessed, this time directing some anger to herself as well. Scotty knew she was still insecure in her position as an adoptive parent, even more so as Masie grew up and began to notice most families they knew didn't look like theirs. He tried to tell her several times that when kids ask about that sort of thing it only means they are trying to make sense of the world and not necessarily dissatisfied with it but her doubts were always greater than his words. She believed Masie deserved the world and having become a parent out of need rather than choice, she always feared her best wouldn't do, that Masie's childhood would fare out only marginally nicer than hers, with a Mom who doted on her but only for the few hours of the day she happened to be around. Scotty knew those few hours were a lot more precious to Masie than Lilly gave them credit for, Masie talked about her mother whenever he babysat as if she were a superhero and to be honest, he mostly agreed. Nobody could do more for a little girl than his partner and he figured their current situation was as good a time as any to remind Lilly Rush of that fact.

"You know what I noticed?" He asked. "You never show up late for work but that girl of yours always has those adorable little braids, or pigtails or some sort of ponytail. I don't remember ever seeing Mase with her hair completely down out of the house. You sit her on your kitchen table every morning and do her hair while she gabs away about preschool." He said.

"I do." Lilly replied, fighting a tear off from her right eye.

"And she is the only kid I know that doesn't complain about being forced to wear certain clothes, you never buy her anything without asking her what she thinks about it. That is consideration I never had when I was growing up."

"I almost didn't have any options, so I like to give her some." She whispered.

"And the number of times you come to work with these little bags under your eyes because Masie had a nightmare, so you let her come to your bed and you read to her again until she fell asleep? Very few parents have such patience Lil."

He squeezed her hand and turned her face towards his.

"Do you really think a mom who values her little girl's opinions, tucks her in every night and finds time to do caring yet time consuming gestures like daily French braids despite being a single working parent could ever not be good enough for any child?"

Lilly's last wall of resistance crumbled completely, and she let him hug her as she let some sobs escape her.

"It is alright, you know all the things you missed when you were a kid yourself and you make sure she never knows what is like to not have that. You know all too well what a little girl really needs and wants Lil." He told her as he rubbed calming circles over her back.

"I did a lot of those things for Chris too." She said against his shoulder.

"But you were a child, you couldn't do any better. Now you are an adult with resources, just because you couldn't make sure Christina stayed on the straight and narrow doesn't mean you'll fail Masie ya hear?" He felt her calm down and pull away from his arms, setting back into the passenger seat and wiping a few tears off her face.

"Thank you." She told him.

"I think you could really use some more hugs. Maybe from the little girl you never stop thinking about?"

"I think that is just what I'm needing." She breathed out.

"Let's go home, I'll take you to your daughter." He said as he turned the key in the ignition and they returned to Philly, finding a happy three-year-old eagerly waiting to tell them all the fun stuff she had done that day with Gabe at Scotty's parents' house.

Outside of their memories, Masie continued her speech. "… And after months of getting to know that someone, who went from the lowest of lows to having a fulfilling job, mended relationships, and new friendships I am glad to know that there is always a way of fixing a mistake, no matter how terrible, as long as we are willing to work towards it."

"For all the years we have ahead of us, let's not forget to work on ourselves, not just on our successes but also on all our failures and mistakes. And who knows, some really cool people may come from that. And so, now that I've said a few sappy but heartfelt clichés, I'd like to congratulate my fellow graduates and I promise I'll do a much better speech four years from now. Congrats class of 2023! Thank you for your time!" Masie concluded and returned to her seat, among loud clapping that had even startled her a little.

Lilly rose from her seat to clap the hardest she'd ever clapped at anything in her life, so overcome with joy that she barely noticed the rest of the audience had also stood. She felt an arm slide over her shoulders before realizing it was Scotty giving her a side hug.

"You did great Lil."

"I couldn't have done it without you, and you know it."

"Thank you."

Without you. Those words she had said lingered in the air and seemed to be choking her. Without Scotty. That makes no sense anymore. He is always here. He showed up today for me and Mase and I never really doubted he would because he is Scotty. Sure, I am terrified of the day that doesn't happen, mostly because I know that would mean something terrible has happened to him and he is probably dead or severely ill. I turned him down because I could never handle losing him when that is only half the truth and he probably suspects it too. Him leaving is not a real threat, not a much bigger one than me getting hurt on the job… we are getting older and doing less action things, he has been noticeably more cautious since his shooting I really doubt he'll ever do something that stupid again unless he has no other option, so pretty much the same as me.

He knew the day she was referring to in her speech instantly. He took her to dances and drove her to figure skating competitions and even sat through several dull piano recitals just because she asked him to. He's been here for us for 13 years nearly every day. Both when she needed him and when I needed him. He is already such a huge part of our lives, he is family.

I don't know how to be the girl that is in something for the long run. There was a time I thought I could be her but that was so many years ago… But is it really that great a stretch to be in the long road romantically when if I am to be honest, he was already in the long road as my best friend anyway? It isn't just a relationship. It's Scotty. The person I want by my side the most to keep watching Masie grow up and to turn to on days like these.

"Lil is everything okay?" He asked when Lilly was so deep in though she had forgotten to sit back down, and he had to tug at her arm to get her attention.

"I love you, you stupid fool!" She thought as she looked at his concerned face. "I want you with me for the rest of our lives no matter what they may look like! To hell with not knowing how to be that girl that confuses me, if it's with you then it's enough to be me and I'll figure out the rest somehow!" She sank in her chair and felt Scotty grab her hand and lean forward to have a better look at her face, trying to read her.

"Hey." She said, almost startling him. She squeezed his hand and smiled through a fat tear.

"It's ok Lil, you want a Kleenex?" He asked. She almost groaned at him in frustration.

"I meant hey." Realization dawned on Scotty and he could have kicked himself.

"What do you need?" He asked concerned. Did she need to leave for a little bit? Was she feeling unwell?

"You." She replied confidently. So confident she even grinned at his shocked face.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm on the same page as you now, a bit shaky still but there's no need for you to rewind God knows how many hours and wait until I'm ready to watch the rest of things with you." She told him happily, remembering their conversation over a plate of lasagna and a miniseries neither paid too much attention to.

"Lil are you sure? You are confusing me a little with that metaphor…"

"I'm terrified you fool! That is what I mean!" She exasperated loudly enough for the 4 people nearest to them to give her some serious side-eye. Kids were being called to receive their diplomas and two random people in the audience had decided this was the time and place for such discussions. The stupidity!

"You and me changing the paradigm of our relationship is something I'm scared of because it's too final and I'm not sure how to handle it." Lilly continued in a hushed tone. "But when I look at all that's yet to come the person I want most by my side is you. I want us to watch that girl grow up together, I want to wake up with your almost tight enough to be a chokehold arms around me, I want to bully you for putting easy cheese on a cheese steak, I want to be annoyed with you when you go suffer in a corner instead of taking one single pain med. I love you too Scotty." She admitted.

Without being able to contain his joy he grabbed her face for the most love-filled kiss he had given anyone in his entire life, breaking it far too soon because of the setting and the clearing of four throats around them.

"You know being madly in love with me is a good way to start?" He grinned.

"Did I say anything about being madly in love?" Lilly teased him.

"Maybe that was me, don't worry I'll teach you." He cockily told her as he linked their hands again.

"I'm starting to question my decision…"

"People do crazy things when they are in love Lil!" Scotty told her, with a glee usually reserved for taunting children.

"No matter how much I'm enjoying this whole banter we are having there is something I need to discuss with you first…" She stated as she admired their linked hands on her knee.

"Whatever you want." He replied happily.

"I'm still terrified at how serious we are about this and after years of uncertainty I can't just switch everything overnight. So, what I'm trying to say is, Valens will you go on a date with me?"

"You want a date?" He asked in disbelief she misinterpreted as confusion. He was mostly thinking about how they had done nearly everything two people could do together and how the hell does one plan for a date with someone they were already sort of in a relationship with for years.

"A few, we'll keep it casual, not tell anyone we are seeing each other so we can adjust." She explained. "Then we'll start making it known and can move in together and the whole nine yards. I just want to take this slow, ok?" She asked with a hint of nervousness coloring her voice.

"You were the one that brought up moving in together!" He teased.

"Scotty please."

He pretended to be deep in thought to annoy her slightly before nonchalantly asking. "Are you free next Saturday?"

She smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Not anymore." She replied, just as they heard Masie's name being called and saw their girl get up from her seat on the stage and walk towards the Principal. The two of them stood up to clap madly and Masie turned red once she noticed they were the only two standing up and politely told the Principal with the raised brow to "Please excuse my parents, they can be a little embarrassing at times."

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"We're so proud of you!" Lilly squished Masie in a tight hug once the ceremony was over.

"Thanks Mom, I'd like some oxygen though." She gasped, having to straighten an askew cap when freed.

"You went a bit off script on the speech there, but it went pretty well, good job Miss Rush." Mr. Devlin walked over to them with Christina and extended his hand in a handshake.

"Thank you, Mr. Devlin." Masie gave him a sturdy handshake in mock seriousness.

"You knew what her speech was?" Christina asked in shock. "Not that I didn't love it Mase, I cried behind the camera! Thank you for including me." She quickly added, out of fear of Masie misinterpreting her surprise.

"I'm glad you liked it. I was pretty hard to do you both some justice." Masie admitted.

Mr. Devlin pulled Christina aside just as the extended Valens family was coming over, making their absence barely noticeable. "She asked me to revise it. I left it just as it was." Collin explained.

"Thank you. For everything. With her I mean."

"Could I ask you something? I'll be brief."

"Sure, you need help with the equipment or something?" She asked as Allie pulled out her camera and began taking pictures of Masie and Gabe with their diplomas.

"I don't usually ask relatives of students to help me film these things, I'm a pro at this after all these years. I used to have this huge camcorder in the 90s, good times…"

"I thought you said you would be brief?" She mocked.

"Well, I don't usually ask relatives of my students to help me with these things and I usually don't ask relatives of my students to have coffee with me."

Christina blinked twice. "You are asking me out?"

"Maybe I am."

"On a date?"

"It could be a date if you want it to, it could also be just two adults talking-"

"Do you teach high school?" Christina asked him.

"Haven't in years, why?"

"It's kind of trashy to date your kid's teacher isn't it?" She smirked.

"Is that a yes?"

"You are an English teacher, and you didn't get it was a yes?"

"I hoped it would be." He nearly blushed. "This is my number; my schedule is pretty empty until the new schoolyear starts so maybe if you could let me know when it would be a good time for you and me to get that coffee?"

"I will." She replied.

"I'll see you at a convenient time then."

" !" Masie called out. "Do you want to take a picture with me and my flashcards?"

"Sure." Collin quickly walked over to Masie so that Allie could snap a picture of the two and Lilly took the opportunity to investigate.

"What was that about?" She asked her sister.

"Nothing much…" Christina tried to downplay, thanking the Heavens that she didn't tend to blush easily. "Were you ok at the end of her speech? You seemed frozen for a bit there."

"Just thinking…" Lilly replied.

"Must have been some thoughts!" Christina teased.

"What?" Lilly asked, also thankful for the lack of blushing tendencies.

"Never mind Lilly, we can talk about that later."

"Thank you for giving her to me." Lilly told her in earnest.

"Thank you for raising her better than I could have ever hoped to."

"Oh Chris!" The two women embraced only to hear Masie calling for them.

"Mom! Ma! Picture time come on!"

The three quickly posed for a few pictures in different combinations, Lilly alone with Masie, Christina alone with Masie, Christina and Lilly by themselves with Christina sticking her tongue out at Lilly to recreate a graduation photo from several decades prior, and the three of them together.

"Now one with Uncle Scotty too!" Masie called out for him, requesting a picture with all 3 parental figures and then one alone with her favorite Uncle, being 99% sure that photo would end up on his fridge next to one of himself with his nephews.

"Not wanting to interrupt this lovely moment the PTA is complaining all the volunteers are late for their little party set-up at the gym, Susan is redder than a tomato right now." Mike nudged his wife knowing she was one of the missing volunteers.

"I'm coming right over; I ran out of pictures to take of anyone else anyway."

"I promised Susan I'd help too; I'll go with you Allie." Lilly said.

"You?" Masie asked puzzled.

"I may have ignored her the whole year, I didn't really have a way out of this one…" Lilly shrugged.

"Can I come? Extra hands can't hurt." Christina posited.

"You trying to get Susan to like you more than me?" Lilly teased.

"I don't think that woman likes anyone but herself." Christina replied.

"Mase and Gabe you'll be ok hanging with your friends for half an hour or so?" Allie asked.

"We are not babies Mom!" Gabe rolled his eyes.

"But you'll always be a baby to meee!" Allie sang. "I'm so proud of you sweetie!"

Gabe shot his friend a quick look, he wasn't going to come out to his parents today and she knew that, but they both figured the day might be closer than Gabe thought.

"We'll see you in a bit!" Lilly quickly told them before the three women began a quick walk to the gym. The rest of the Valens family went in search of a nearby bench for the elderly Rosa and Ramiro and Scotty watched Lilly walk away with the most love drunk expression a human could possibly convey. They were together, he still could not believe it! His day couldn't possibly get any better! Or so he thought…

"Uncle Scotty can you come with me real quick?" Masie asked him while tugging at his arm and pulling him away from the rest of the family.

"I guess I can apparently." He muttered mildly confused. "What's up? And why did we have to be so far away from everyone else?"

"Just wanted to talk."

"Talk?"

"Yes."

"About what exactly?"

"Nothin much…" She shrugged. "Just some little things like when will I get to call you dad." Her face broke out in a huge smile, Scotty's froze in terror upon realizing he was being ambushed by a miniature Lilly Rush with the same interrogation skills.

"What do you mean?" He tried to act confused.

"When are you and mom going to tell me you are a couple?"

"We're not a couple!" He lied nervously. Years as a detective and yet all it took was one preteen girl to make him struggle with his acting. "Where did that crazy idea come from?"

"I saw you kiss twice while you were in the audience." She claimed triumphantly. He sighed in defeat; it had been a clear checkmate for him. How had neither of them remembered that Masie could probably see them from her spot of the stage?

"I may or may not have a date with an amazing woman next week." He admitted quietly. His attempt to not be too obvious about it was instantly betrayed by a large grin he could not control.

"And this amazing woman is going to introduce her boyfriend to her kid or what?" Masie nudged him.

"Mase, when she's ready to tell you, we will." He replied, forcing himself to think like an adult and not the excited kid he felt like at the moment.

"Do I act surprised?"

He thought about the question for a few seconds. "Your mom really wants this to start slow so we won't blow it, pretend you don't know for now at least ok?"

"As you wish." She replied happily. So happily, she was doing little skips on the spot.

"I'm not going anywhere Mase, are you ok with this?" He took hold of her shoulders to steady her on the ground and make sure she paid full attention.

Masie grinned at his question. "Like we were ever getting rid of you!"

Scotty grinned at her in return. "You know it." He began to walk back towards his parents with Masie following him, skipping along sideways like at a P.E class.

"I bet you 20 bucks you'll be my stepdad by my high school graduation." She teased.

"That is one bet I'd love you to win." He replied honestly. Masie stopped skipping and stopped in front of him, her face suddenly serious.

"You ok?" He asked.

Masie took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"I love you Dad."

Scotty was floored. He'd been called Dad by her a few times before, but it had always been in a jokey tone. There had been a few other times when she was a baby and insisted on calling him "Dada" and Lilly "Mama" despite neither of them being a legal parent at the time, but both being called Dada by a confused baby and Dad by a sarcastic preteen had warmed his heart at their respective times. Just now had been completely different, she meant it. Those other times there was always a bit of truth in the word but now Masie had pretty much just blatantly admitted to him that not only did he serve that role in her life, but also that she actively wanted and recognized him for that daunting position. She wanted him to be her father. The same girl he sometimes allowed himself to think of as a little bit his own had just told him he could think of her that way for as long as he pleased. And having been caught off guard he was just now realizing she was still waiting for an answer from him.

"I love you too cielito." He told her; his heart somehow even fuller than he had assumed its maximum capacity to be earlier that same day. His eyes burned just a bit indicating to him that he may begin to cry soon but he was too damn happy to care, he had gotten everything he'd ever wanted in just two hours!

Masie heard his special nickname for her and much like her true father, struggled to handle the tidal wave of emotion that hit her. Before she could really think about it, she was launching herself at his arms and being securely wrapped in them by Scotty's quick reflexes. Her head nestled itself over his shoulder and her cap fell off her head upon one of the corners hitting Scotty's forehead, her glasses became askew on her face when she buried that same face into the crook of his neck and began sobbing from shear happiness.

"And I always will." He added while keeping her crushed to his chest and becoming misty-eyed himself. He allowed himself to enjoy their hug for little while longer, wondering if what he was feeling then had also been felt by Lilly when she had signed the adoption papers, and dropped a kiss into her now exposed hair before setting her back down. The two laughed at each other's comically red eyes and quickly wiped their tears, trying to calm down a bit before rejoining the others. Gabe called for them in the distance and Masie yelled they were coming, picking up her cap and carrying it in her left hand, before linking her right arm with Scotty and beginning to walk alongside him, both grinning ear to ear.

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October 29th 2010

"Show me your fingers! How many fingers Mase?" Scotty cooed at the infant in the highchair as he filmed her. The baby held one of her little fingers in the air and Scotty zoomed in on her.

"Good job birthday girl! One whole year old! How does it feel? I don't recall anymore!" He joked.

"I can't believe she's one already." Lilly sighed as she finished the unboxing of a single pink cupcake she had fetched on the way home. Her niece's first birthday and she couldn't even get a whole cake, she felt absolutely hopeless.

"Eating like she does she could pass for 16! Who is going to grow taller than me? You are!"

"You are incapable of not talking like an idiot around her."

"She loooves me! Look! Look here Mase! Yeah right here! How old are you today? Show me your fingers Mase!" Scooty cooed again and was once more rewarded with more footage of a smart baby understanding the concept of the number one.

"Fine, if she likes you so much you can feed her this." She told him, sticking a single candle on top of the cupcake.

"It's more fun if you let her smash her face in the frosting, you get to keep something to make fun of her when she grows up and turns into a moody teenager." He replied, hearing no retort besides the giggling sounds coming from the baby in front of him.

"Lil?" He asked. He turned around and spotted his partner sitting on the same kitchen chair staring at some documents on the edge of the table. He took Masie out of her highchair and moved over to Lilly with the baby on his hip.

"Are those the papers?" He asked. He didn't have to specify which papers, he still remembered Lilly's ghostly white face when she arrived at the office days prior.

"Yes…"

"You've had them for what? 3 days now?" He sat down on the chair nearest to Lilly, making sure to move the lighter away from the baby's reach.

"4." Lilly replied.

"What is stopping you?" Scotty asked, beginning to bounce Masie on his knee to keep her entertained.

"I guess I'd just hoped Chris would somehow not miss this. Or that my signing these turned out not to be necessary." She rubbed her eyes out of exhaustion. She hadn't slept a wink since finding those papers on her doorstep.

"You know nobody could make you sign them."

"If I don't sign these you may try to adopt her yourself." Lilly replied.

"How could I say no to this princesa? Right Cielito?" He cooed to Masie, this time earning back some clapping.

"What kind of mother would I be if I can't even summon the guts to sign a damn paper?" Lilly cried.

"DAM! DAM!" Masie repeated proudly.

Lilly sighed. "And now she picked up on that… I don't stand a chance here Scotty." She confessed.

"But you do want to keep her." He stated rather than asked.

"I do." Lilly replied, not even needing to think about it twice.

"No parent is perfect Lil, even the biological ones."

"It's just so scary."

"And who could be better at keeping scary things away than her auntie Lilly the cop that puts bad guys away?" He asked, half talking to the baby and half talking to his partner. Masie clapped clumsily a second time.

"Is there any place better for her than here with us?" He asked before catching himself slip. "With you?" He corrected.

"Do you have a pen?" She asked him, smiling slightly. Scotty pulled a pen out of his pocket in seconds and handed it to her.

Lilly examined the documents one last time and looked at her niece before finally finding the courage to click the pen. "I think this is it baby."

It took her 3 seconds to scribble her name. It took Masie just one second more to extend her little arms towards Lilly and to call for "Mama".

"There's no need to correct her anymore." Scotty told her as he handed the new mother her baby.

"She's really mine now Scotty." Lilly said in absolute wonder, the magnitude of what she had just done starting to hit, her face breaking into a huge smile and her eyes simultaneously becoming teary.

"Congratulations Lil, you'll be a great mom, I just know it."

"Should we celebrate your birthday now Mase?" Lilly asked her daughter. Scotty placed the cupcake in front of Masie and quickly lit the candle before hitting record on his phone again.

"Anything you want to tell future Masie Lil?" He asked as he focused the camera on her.

"Happy birthday my girl! You don't know it right now, but you've just given me the greatest gift anyone could ever give and it's an honor to be your mom." Lilly said into the camera with watery eyes, punctuating the sentiment with a kiss to the top of her baby's head before beginning to sing happy birthday to her daughter.

It is done! I should be working on reports for school, but I really wanted to finish this chapter before Christmas. The original plot I had for this story is finished with this one, all that is left is a prologue I hope to finish before next semester starts. Thank you for reading this mildly sappy story, it was a joy to write. Love, Sofia.