Injustice
"Who put this in here?" Thea raised a brow, looking at the pumpkin in the shopping cart which wasn't there two minutes ago.
"Not me." Sofia held onto the cart, looking opposite direction of her mother.
"It was her." James rolled his eyes, standing the other side as Sofia glared over at him.
"I told you to shh." Sofia said angrily.
"Baby, you have a pumpkin at home. You carved it last night." Thea said.
"I wanna do another one." Sofia frowned, "Please." She took her mother's arm sweetly as Thea shook her head.
"No, you've both got one at home." Thea laughed, "Put it back." Thea nodded as Sofia huffed.
"Fine." Sofia sighed, reaching into the cart and taking the pumpkin out, walking over to where she found it as Thea just smiled to herself, shaking her head.
"Ok, do you wanna pick what you want for your school lunch?" Thea asked James.
"I've already put it in." James told her as Thea noticed, "Can we go now?"
"We've just got here." Thea laughed, "You were the one who wanted to come." She reminded him as he just shook his head.
"I thought Sofia wasn't coming." James said.
"Oh, be nice." Thea scoffed, "Pretend you like her for just one day. Can you do that?" She nodded, brushing her hand through his hair.
"No, I don't think so." James said.
"Well try. For me." Thea smiled, looking on at what groceries they needed on her list she'd made. Dominic was working which meant she had the pleasure of going to the grocery store with the kids, which wasn't always an easy task.
She picked some things out of the fridge aisle, putting them into the shopping cart, watching as Sofia came back to the cart unhappily.
"Bust out of your mood, babe." Thea nodded to her as Sofia turned away from her unhappily, which only caused Thea to smile at how hilarious and dramatic she was.
"Thea?"
Thea turned around as she heard her name being called, raising her eyebrows as she noticed someone who wasn't an unfamiliar face, "Tyler?" Thea smiled upon seeing her former AA mentor.
"Hey." Tyler smiled, giving her a hug.
"How are you?" Thea asked her.
"I'm doing good." Tyler nodded, pulling back from the hug, "Man, you look amazing." He nodded honestly. Having seen Thea at very low points in her life, he could honestly say this was the best he'd ever seen her look.
"Thanks." Thea smiled.
"How you been doing?" Tyler asked her as Thea just nodded to him, not really sure what to say.
"Uh… yeah, ok." Thea nodded as Tyler looked at her, "I'm ok now." Thea clarified as he nodded.
"Relapse?" Tyler figured as she nodded.
"Yeah, at the beginning of Summer." Thea said, "I was actually in a residency for over a month. That gives you an idea of how bad I was." She nodded to him.
"How come you never stopped by?" Tyler asked her.
"I think I was too far gone. I started using again too." Thea nodded quietly as Tyler frowned sadly.
"You're all good now, though?" Tyler nodded.
"Yeah, all good." Thea nodded. It felt good to say that to people. To be on the other side of the hell she'd been through this year, "I think I got to address a lot more than I have before during this recovery. It's the best I've felt in a very long time." Thea told him truthfully.
"Well it certainly shows." Tyler smiled, looking over at the kids, "They're getting big."
"Yeah, I know." Thea sighed, "Hate it." She laughed a little as Tyler smiled.
"How's Dominic doing?" Tyler asked. He had fondness for Thea and Dominic, and always remembered them as the couple who met through AA.
"He's great. Really great." Thea nodded, "He hasn't relapsed since James was a baby." She said proudly as Tyler smiled.
"Good for him." Tyler nodded happily.
"It was good to see you." Thea smiled.
"Yeah, and you too." Tyler nodded, about to walk off when he stopped for a second, "Thea." He said.
"Yeah?" Thea turned back.
"If you're ever interested, we have volunteers at the AA meetings now. And sessions now are subject to different age groups. Teens. Young adults. Older people." Tyler explained, "If you ever want to… come down and help, even if you're just pouring coffee." He said as Thea looked across at him, "You'd be more than welcomed." He nodded as Thea smiled.
"Thank you." Thea nodded, "I don't know if it'd be a little much for me." She admitted.
"Of course. It works for some people and it doesn't for others." Tyler said, "But you're always welcomed."
"Thank you, Tyler." Thea nodded as he smiled, nodding to her before walking on by.
"Who was that?" Sofia asked curiously, swinging at the end of the shopping cart.
"Just a friend of mommy's." Thea told her, "Ok… vegetable aisle." She cheered to annoy them as Sofia groaned whilst James trailed behind.
"Theo." Jake called Theo into his office after noticing him walking by.
"What's up?" Theo back tracked, walking into the office.
"What's wrong with the old ball and chain?" Jake questioned, sitting down at his desk.
"Excuse me?" Theo raised a brow.
"The wife. What's wrong with her?" Jake asked.
"The wife has a name." Theo nodded to him as Jake rolled his eyes.
"Cassie. What is wrong with Cassie?" Jake corrected.
"What do you mean? Nothing is wrong with her." Theo shook his head.
"She screwed up an undercover case this morning. Supposed to follow a suspect whilst he commuted to work. She got busted." Jake said, "She's been all over the place this week."
"I've not noticed." Theo shook his head, "You sure you're not just being dramatic?"
"I'm sure." Jake said, "So I put her on desk for the rest of the day. Her shift finished an hour ago and she's still here." He said, "I was talking to her earlier and it was like speaking to a brick wall."
"Well I've been out all day, I haven't saw or spoke to her." Theo said.
"Has she gotten spooked by something? Something going on at home?" Jake asked, "She's not her usual annoying self." He said, "And by annoying, you know I mean that with fondness."
"She's been fine." Theo shook his head, "I'm pretty sure I would notice if there was something wrong with my wife." He laughed a little as Jake looked at him.
"Yeah, you'd think." Jake nodded to him, "Just check in on her, yeah?"
"I always check in on her." Theo clarified.
"I know that but just… give her a shove or something." Jake shook his head, "She's been a walking zombie all day."
"I get the point." Theo understood, leaving the office, walking into the back where he saw Cassie sitting at her desk, one of the only people at their desks.
He walked over to her, "Hey." Theo nodded as she looked up.
"Hey." Cassie nodded back as he watched her quickly exit a tab on the computer software.
"What you doing?" Theo asked curiously, pulling up a chair and sitting annoyingly close to her.
"God, do you want to sit on my lap?" Cassie questioned.
"What you looking at?" Theo asked her.
"N-Nothing. Just cases." Cassie shrugged, watching as he quickly leaned over her to grab the mouse, "Theo." She tried pushing him away as he got the tab back up which she was looking at it.
"Why are you looking at this?" Theo asked curiously once he noticed what case file it was.
"It's… it's none of your business." Cassie grabbed his hand off the mouse, quickly exiting the tab again, running her hand over her hair.
"Cassie, you're my wife." Theo looked at her, "Jake just asked me to check up on you. I feel like an idiot for not knowing what's going on with you lately. Can you please just… talk to me." He shook his head as she looked at him.
"Nothing has been going on." Cassie told him, "Work has just been a lot, that's all."
"Are you still worried about Mark being out of prison?" Theo asked her as she groaned a little, running her hand over her face.
"No. I'm not." Cassie said bluntly.
"Then what? Why are you looking up your own case file from when you were fifteen?" Theo asked, "What are you looking for?" He asked her as she just shook her head.
"I'm just looking at it. I can't look at my own damn case file?" Cassie asked him defensively.
"Well I thought it'd be something you'd avoid." Theo said as Cassie just shook her head, looking at the computer screen, "You barely ever talk about it."
"About what?" Cassie questioned.
"Being kidnapped." Theo said, "I figured it'd be quite the traumatic experience for a fifteen year old girl." He said.
"Yeah, it was." Cassie nodded as Theo looked at her, "There's nothing to talk about." She looked at him, sitting close to him.
"Why are you looking at it?" He asked quietly, "What's going on with you?" He whispered as she looked at him closely, "You could be looking at any case. Why yours?" He asked her.
"It's no reason." Cassie nodded as he watched her turn away from him.
"Did something happen to you?" He asked her as she turned to him quickly, "When all that happened… seemed like there was a lot of bad people around you-"
"Nothing happened to me. I was just bait." Cassie assured him, "I just… wanted to see what was written about it all. I've never looked into it that much, believe it or not." She said.
"Do you remember it?" He asked her.
"Of course I do." Cassie nodded, "Both times. First time, I was in my bedroom and my mom was downstairs. I just remember taking my headphones off and hearing my mom screaming." She gulped, "I got off my bed and I ran out of my room, saw a man coming upstairs. I tried to run back to my room but he grabbed my ankles and… dragged me down the stairs." She said as he looked at her, "And my mom got me out of that situation. She gave me time to get out of that apartment." She said, "I understand that now… cause I'd do the same for Chase in a heartbeat." She nodded as he smiled.
"Mother's love, huh?" Theo nodded.
"I knew nothing about Rio. I thought my mom was a business woman and my dad worked at the docks. I guess I sort of knew my dad had been to prison but the conversation hadn't really came." Cassie said.
"They probably just wanted to protect you." Theo nodded.
"I know that." Cassie said, "I understand that now." She assured him, "The second time I was at my aunt and uncles. I was putting the trash out and I was grabbed, thrown into the back of a van. Next thing I know I'm standing with a gun against my head." She shook her head, "My sisters sort of teased me after and said that's why I wanted to become a cop and I always denied it. I don't know why I denied it cause it's true. Cause both times, no one really came to save me. It was my family. It's always them." She nodded, "So sometimes I get their frustration with cops. I get when my dad wants to handle things on his own because… the people in our society that are supposed to help, they never did." Cassie shook her head.
"You know I've always understood that." Theo assured her as she nodded.
"I know." Cassie nodded, "I just wanted to be someone who helped someone like me. Cause I was so scared. So scared." She said, "And I wanted justice for myself. For Jude. For what happened to her." She said, "Between you and me, I don't feel like I'm doing a very good job." She turned to him.
"You're crazy." Theo shook his head, "Ask anyone in this place, you're an amazing cop. Amazing." He emphasised as she shook her head, "Yes. You are. And anyone who tells you different is lying out of their ass. I'd say you're doing fifteen year old Cassie really proud right now." He nodded.
"Don't feel like it." Cassie shook her head, "Not just me but… cops in general. Look what happened with Mark. He did an awful thing and he got away with it. There are so many people out there who we've let go. Who we've let slip under our radar. Who we haven't looked into properly." She shook her head with frustration.
"Like who?" Theo shook his head.
"Just… people." Cassie said, "Things haven't been looked into properly. Things have been brushed aside." She shook her head, "And it's not good enough. And I feel responsible."
"Look, whatever it is you feel responsible for, I'm sure it's not your fault. If you're talking about a case that you slipped up on or… something you couldn't get to the bottom of… it's not your fault. It happens to all of us." Theo said, "And you can't beat yourself up about it."
"It's not me specifically." Cassie shook her head as Theo looked at her.
"Then what?" Theo looked at her, "Cass, talk to me." Theo shook his head, "I'm the person you're allowed to tell things that you're afraid of too. I'm that guy." He smiled as she looked at him, "So whatever it is that's playing on your mind, tell me and we'll talk about it together." He nodded as Cassie looked at him.
"Something Mark told me." Cassie said as Theo looked at her with confusion.
"You've spoken to him? Since he got out?" Theo questioned as she nodded, "What did he say?"
A/N: And on that note… look out for the next story coming tomorrow, which I wholeheartedly promise is the last of this series!
