Keeping It In


"Why didn't dad wanna come?" Thea asked, walking around the store with her mother late one night after being summoned to help with the party shopping.

"He was watching the hockey game and between you and me, I'd rather he stayed at home. He annoys me when we shop together." AJ shook her head, pushing the cart round the aisles with Thea walking beside.

"That's nice." Thea chuckled.

"No, seriously. In all your life, have you ever saw me and your father go to the store together?" AJ asked her as Thea thought to herself.

"No, actually." Thea laughed a little, "Well I always love shopping for this stuff." She smiled.

"I know you do." AJ nodded, "Here is the list of everything we need to get." She passed her the list as Thea nodded, "Before we start, why haven't you been talking to Jude?" AJ wondered as Thea turned to her.

"What?" Thea scoffed.

"I called her yesterday and she said you… weren't responding to her calls or messages." AJ said, "She said she doesn't know if you're mad at her and if you are she'd like to know for what reason." AJ nodded.

"I'm not mad at her." Thea shrugged, "She just… has a lot to say for someone who doesn't even live here."

"Thea, that's your sister." AJ shook her head.

"Yeah and she had the audacity to grill me and Cassie on being there for dad when he needs someone to talk to or whatever, and she's not even here. If anything it's me and Cassie who pick up all the damn pieces. She ran off a long time ago." Thea shook her head.

"Ok, well you know how your sister worries. Don't act like you don't know her." AJ shook her head, "She probably wasn't meaning it in a bad way. I think she heard that your dad wanted to talk to you both and you blew him off-"

"I was at work." Thea said, "What did he want me to do? Tell all the sick people to wait a minute my dad has some of his own daddy issues he needs me to help him with?" Thea asked her as AJ rolled her eyes.

"Ok, I brought you here with me because I wanted to have fun." AJ reminded her as Thea sighed.

"Sorry but it's true. I'm always here if you guys need to talk about… whatever. And I know that when dad wants to talk about something we shouldn't take it lightly, cause he hardly ever wants to talk about anything personal. But I got a life, so does Cassie, Jude just forgets that cause she doesn't live close anymore. If she was here she'd understand." Thea shook her head.

"She was only worried. She wasn't saying it to get at you. So can you reply to her messages and quit being a baby?" AJ nodded to her.

"I'll reply to her when I want to." Thea made clear as AJ shook her head.

"Life is too short for that sort of behaviour, Thea. And you know it." AJ warned.

"Oh, be quiet." Thea rolled her eyes, grabbing some candy apples and putting them in the cart.

"Just call her, yeah?" AJ shook her head, "I shouldn't have to baby you both at this big age." She scoffed, "You two could both learn from your little sister-"

"Please, she's made of glass." Thea shook her head.

"No, she's just a little more diplomatic than you two." AJ said, "Ok, help me look at these decorations. I want some new ones for inside the house." AJ nodded to herself, looking around.

"Oh, I like the mister and misses skeleton." Thea smiled, "Have you got a costume yet?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm going as a creepy doll, puppet thing, I guess. Found a costume online." AJ nodded.

"Oh, like the ones with the make-up at the jaw?" Thea asked as AJ nodded, "That's a good one. What about dad?"

"He doesn't know yet." AJ shook her head, "What about you?" She asked, putting some plastic pumpkin bowls into the cart.

"I have no idea. James is going as a pirate and Sofia is going as a witch." Thea said, "I'll think of something, I suppose." She nodded.

"Oh, look how cute these napkins are." AJ smiled, picking up the orange napkins with black cats on them.

"How did you manage to keep this tradition going for so long?" Thea wondered.

"It's not tradition. It's just a Halloween party." AJ laughed a little.

"Yeah but not everyone has one every single year." Thea shrugged.

"I don't know. It started when you were a baby, I guess. It was just fun to decorate the place up and dress up, have some friends over." AJ shrugged, "And you guys loved it when you were little. Running around playing with your cousins." She smiled as Thea nodded.

"Yeah, speaking of… I saw Chrissy a couple days ago in hospital." Thea told her as AJ turned to her.

"Why?" AJ shook her head.

"She had a broken eyebrow bone." Thea said, "She was admitted at like 5am, and she was acting sort of weird when I saw her."

"How the hell do you break your eyebrow bone?" AJ scoffed.

"That's what I said." Thea said, "She said she just fell." She shrugged, "You know Chrissy, she's always full of energy and fun. She was just acting out of character. She didn't want me to call Brandon or even Dean or Renee." Thea said.

"Well maybe she just didn't want to worry them." AJ shrugged.

"She had bruises on her arms." Thea said worriedly as AJ looked at her.

"What kind of bruises?" AJ asked.

"Like the kind you get from grabbing someone too hard." Thea nodded to her as AJ looked at her.

"Or the kind you get from having a nasty fall?" AJ wondered.

"Don't think so." Thea said suspiciously, "I know it's… it's not my business, well… screw that, it is. She's my cousin. It was just weird. She was acting weird." Thea nodded. She couldn't get it out of her head for the past few days.

"Well what are you suggesting? Someone hurt her?" AJ asked, throwing some black rose garlands into the cart.

"Well I don't know." Thea said, "I don't wanna speculate or suggest anything, it just seemed odd to me. Why was she even awake at that time?" She thought to herself.

"Maybe she just had a nasty fall, Thea." AJ nodded.

"Is she coming to the party?" Thea asked.

"Of course she is." AJ nodded.

"Maybe I should stop by at her house and just check in with her." Thea nodded to herself, "Me and her were really good friends growing up and… I think when I started drugs and stuff, she got away from me, or… Dean told her to stay away from me." She figured.

"No he did not." AJ scoffed.

"He one thousand percent did." Thea said, "I don't take offence to it. I would have stayed away from me back then too." She nodded, "Still, I'd like to think we're still close." She shrugged.

"Do you want me to talk to Renee about it?" AJ asked her.

"No… no, I don't wanna do that. Not yet anyway. It could be nothing. I realise that we're all very paranoid people for obvious reasons." Thea said, "I'll drop by and see how she is on my own."

"Ok. Well you let me know how it goes." AJ nodded.

"I will." Thea said, "Ok, I'm gonna need to open these chips, they're begging to be opened." She shook her head, grabbing the bag of chips from the cart and ripping into them as AJ watched her with a small smile.

"Big appetite, have we?" AJ smiled to herself, choosing more decorations.

"Yeah, and I've actually already had my dinner." Thea thought to herself.

"Imagine that." AJ mumbled to herself quietly, "What about this for outside the door?" She asked Thea who nodded along.

"Oh, get more of the spider web stuff, too." Thea nodded excitedly as AJ smiled, taking some from the shelf.


"Hey, mama's home." Theo smiled, watching as Cassie came through to the kitchen after getting home from work.

"Hi, mommy." Chase smiled, eating his dinner.

"Oh, hi my gorgeous boys." Cassie smiled, kissing Chase's head, walking over and kissing Theo on the lips.

"How are you?" Theo asked her.

"I'm tired." Cassie nodded, "How'd you get on at the hospital?" She asked him, "Sorry I wanted to call during my lunch break but then I didn't actually get a lunch break so-"

"It's fine." Theo smiled, "I am cleared for work." He nodded to her.

"Yeah?" Cassie smiled.

"Yeah, on the basis that I take it easy of course." Theo shrugged.

"Ok, well you better take it easy. You don't wanna undo all the resting you've whined your way through." She smirked as he nodded with a smile.

"Funny." Theo smiled, "How was work?" He asked her.

"Oh, you know." Cassie waved her hand, taking her jacket off and sitting it over the chair.

"I'm finished." Chase declared as Theo looked over.

"Good job, little man." Theo nodded, putting his hand out as Chase gave him a high five.

"Can I go play?" Chase asked, already sliding down from the chair.

"Yeah, on you go." Theo nodded, collecting the dinner plates and sitting them over by the sink.

"How has he been?" Cassie asked him, sitting down at the table.

"He's fine." Theo said, "I gave Jake a call on my way home from the hospital-"

"That desperate, huh?" Cassie smiled.

"It's felt like a lifetime I've been gone." Theo admitted, "He said I'm back on Monday." He nodded, "He also said I might be working Halloween night." He told her.

"Oh, what?" Cassie frowned, "You'll miss the party, and taking Chase out trick-or-treating." Cassie huffed sadly.

"I know but I feel bad saying no to a shift when I'm just back." Theo said.

"He's a prick. He knows you got a small kid. The older guys should work." Cassie tutted as he smiled.

"Yeah no one wants to work Halloween night." Theo nodded as Cassie rubbed her forehead and sighed, "You good?" He asked her.

"Yeah." Cassie faked a small smile.

"You sure? You've been… a little all over the place the past couple days." Theo nodded.

"It's just work." Cassie nodded, "You know how it can get." She said as Theo nodded.

"They screwing you over and sticking you on the tough cases?" Theo asked.

"Is there such a thing as an easy case?" Cassie wondered.

"Easier." Theo said.

"I'm just kinda tired. Not getting a break doesn't really help either." She assured him.

"Yeah, it doesn't." He said, "I'm back Monday so you can come have your break with me again." He smiled happily.

"Yeah, I missed you." She nodded as he leaned down and kissed her sweetly.

"You want me to run you a bath?" He asked her.

"That'd be nice. Yeah." Cassie smiled as he nodded, leaving the kitchen, her smile slowly fading as she ran her hand through her hair, so much on her mind she couldn't even begin to get out.