Conflicted

"Mom, you didn't have come out here." Jude said in a sympathetic voice as she let her mother into the house the next afternoon.

"I know but I wanted to see my baby." AJ smiled, wrapping her arms around Jude and hugging her tightly as Jude hugged back, "I see the other two too much." She teased as Jude laughed a little.

"How was your flight?" Jude asked, sitting her mother's case over by the stairs as AJ walked ahead into the living room.

"Oh, it was fine. Weird without your father sitting beside me, nudging me every two minutes." AJ nodded fondly.

"Surprised you never brought him with you." Jude admitted.

"Well he's working and I figured we could spend some time just us girls." AJ shrugged as Jude nodded. She adored her mom and all the comfort that came with her, but she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Mom, I'm ok." Jude nodded to her, "You don't have to come out here and check on me. I got plenty of work to focus on and… the girls. Although, they're staying with Sean again tonight." She realised, figuring it wouldn't be so bad to have company instead of another lonely night.

"I know you're ok, sweetie. I just wanna spend some time with you." AJ said, "And I'd love to see my granddaughters."

"Well they're staying with Sean again tonight. They were with him last night too." Jude said, "I assume they'll be returned to me by tomorrow." She said, making her way into the kitchen as AJ followed, looking over at the bearded dragon in its tank.

"I don't know how you have that thing in your house." AJ shook her head.

"Stop." Jude rolled her eyes, switching the coffee pot on.

"You been busy with work?" AJ asked, looking over at the kitchen table where some of Jude's art projects were sitting, along with some of her student's work she had to mark.

"Yeah." Jude said, "There was a girl murdered in the academy yesterday afternoon. She was found in the elevator." She told her mother who took a seat.

"That's not great." AJ said worriedly.

"I know." Jude said, "Sean actually came to tell me whilst I was between classes. It's his case now." She nodded.

"How is he?" AJ asked, although it felt very painful to do so.

Jude turned to her and stared for a few seconds, wondering if she was being sincere or not. Once realising she was, she said, "I don't speak with him much so… I don't really know."

"Well you must communicate about the girls I'm sure." AJ said. After hearing about her daughter's split with her husband and the reasoning behind it, truthfully she hadn't gotten much more detail from Jude. She wasn't sure where her daughter's head was at.

"Yeah and that's it. We discuss when he comes to pick them up and drop them off. That's it." Jude said, pouring coffee, "Mirren has finally stopped asking why mommy and daddy aren't speaking to each other any more so that's good." Jude sighed sarcastically as AJ frowned.

"Your dad sends his love." AJ told her as Jude nodded.

"Sorry I don't have much more to tell you." Jude said, "Thea keeps asking me if I've spoken with him yet about everything." She said, sitting the coffee down at the table and sitting down across from her mom.

"You haven't?" AJ asked.

"I have. But we don't get very far cause I just start crying and yelling. And then he walks out." Jude nodded, "Kinda feels like a fever dream or some weird hallucination."

"Well when you spend so much time with someone and suddenly they're not there every day like they used to be… it can be surreal." AJ understood, looking across at Jude who sat staring at her coffee swirling around.

It was quiet for a few minutes until Jude spoke up, "I don't know." She said.

"Don't know what?" AJ asked.

"Well you're gonna ask if I'd take him back or if I wanna get a divorce or… whatever… I don't know. I don't know anything." Jude shook her head.

"That's ok." AJ nodded, "I'm not here to pick your brain. But if you do need to talk about it, I am here. I know you must be feeling so… confused and hurt."

"Yeah you do know, I guess." Jude nodded, "What made you forgive dad? When he cheated on you?"

"Not that I ever give your father the benefit of the doubt when it comes to that… but we were in a different situation than you and Sean are. We were kids and we… got ourselves in trouble. And… I'm only saying this because your father isn't here but… I did break up with him." AJ nodded to herself, "You and Sean are married. Happily from what I thought."

"Yeah." Jude nodded to herself, "What I thought too."

"I mean… what was the context around it? I gotta ask that." AJ said.

"A woman from work." Jude shrugged, "From what he told me it was one time. We'd been having some fights here and there but nothing… nothing that I thought would send him to someone else." She rolled her eyes, "Maybe he just got sick of me. He probably did a long time ago."

"Jude." AJ scolded, "You know that's not true."

"It could be." Jude shook her head, "I felt like I couldn't breathe when he told me."

"Well I can imagine." AJ shook her head.

"Any time since then when we've tried to talk about it, I just get so mad, so confused about why he did it. And then he can't answer me because I don't think he even knows, so then we just… don't say anything. Or I cry and he leaves the house." Jude rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry." AJ sighed as Jude just nodded, taking a sip of her coffee.

"What have you been up to?" Jude asked, looking across at her mother with glistening eyes which slowly began to disappear as she regained composure.

"Enjoying part-time work." AJ smiled.

"You look good for it, mom." Jude nodded with a smile.

"I feel good for it." AJ nodded, "I could never fully retire. Not yet anyway." She said.

"How is Cassie? I haven't heard from her in a while which isn't a surprise but I know she had that stuff going on at the fertility clinic." Jude said.

"Yeah she got the results yesterday." AJ nodded as Jude waited, "Not good but not bad either." She summed up.

"What's going on?" Jude asked.

"A condition called endometriosis." AJ said.

"Oh, yeah I've heard of that." Jude nodded, "I think Kirsty has that. I remember when we lived together she would be in a lot of pain on her period." Jude said.

"Yeah well that's what they found. It makes it more difficult to get pregnant." AJ said, "It's obviously worsened since she had Chase. Now she's paranoid that Theo is gonna leave her."

"That's ridiculous." Jude rolled her eyes, "That guy is obsessed with her."

"I know. It's just Cassie being Cassie." AJ shook her head, "But it's… it's a lot for them to think about."

"Isn't there treatment she can get?" Jude asked.

"She can get surgery but she doesn't want it. There's still a chance she can get pregnant but… it's a slim one." AJ said.

"Well that sucks." Jude frowned, "Does anyone have anything good going on in their lives right now?" She sighed a little.

"Thea got a promotion." AJ nodded positively.

"Yeah she told me." Jude smiled, "Good for her. She's a hustler that's for damn sure." She said, "But I just can't imagine her being a nurse in any capacity. She was so heavy handed growing up. By heavy handed I mean she threw me into the Christmas tree one year." She rolled her eyes.

"You know she has the biggest heart." AJ said as Jude nodded.

"Well she must when she listens to me whine over skype every night." Jude nodded, "So how long do I owe the pleasure of catering for you then?" She asked as AJ chuckled.

"Just a few days." AJ said, "I know you hate a fuss but I just wanted to come see you." She said as Jude nodded.

"Maybe we could order in later." Jude suggested. She was secretly gratefully to see her mother show up. It had been a miserable six months and she was just doing her best to stay afloat.

Cassie got into her office the next morning in the police station, taking some folders out of her bag, dumping them on her desk and taking a seat. Last night her and Theo barely spoke to one another besides when they were getting Chase ready for bed. This morning was the same. When they arrived at the station together, he walked off to his office and she walked to hers. She wasn't sure if they just didn't know what to say, or if they were just holding back what they were both thinking.

She took a sip of her coffee, screwing her face up a little at the strength of it, flicking through the current case she was working on, going through the labs which had been sent to her finally when she heard her door open after a knock.

"Hey, I brought you some… coffee." Theo noticed she already had a cup.

"I thought you were going straight out today." Cassie said.

"Change of plan. Witness number two is coming here instead. So I don't get to stretch my legs." He frowned, walking further into her office, letting the door close behind him.

"Well I am… very busy." She nodded, looking back down at her work as Theo looked at her.

"Well we gotta talk at some point." He said.

"Well now isn't the time." Cassie shook her head.

"I feel like we're tiptoeing around each other. It's weird." Theo sighed, watching as she continued to look down at her work, taking a pen from her desk and scribbling some things down, "Cass."

"We can talk later." Cassie looked up at him abruptly, "I really got things to do right now."

"And I don't? I'm running this place." Theo said.

"And you don't forget to tell me." Cassie scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

"Why do you do this?" Theo asked.

"Do what?" Cassie asked.

"You don't only shut yourself off from me when we got stuff going on, but you… you treat me like I'm fucking invisible." He shook his head, "I know it wasn't exactly great news we got at the doctor's office but… it'll be ok. It's not the end of the world." He nodded, trying to reassure her the best she would allow him.

"I have to go meet with the medical examiner." Cassie nodded, standing up from the desk, grabbing her coffee and a sheet of paper as Theo rolled his eyes.

"So we're just… we're just not talking about it then?" Theo assumed, watching her walk to the door.

"Not here. No." Cassie said, "We can talk about it later."

"I really wish I knew what was going on in your head. You know some couples… they can read each other's minds, know what the other is thinking." Theo nodded, "With you… I still have no clue what you're thinking." He shook his head. He wasn't trying to insult her, he just really couldn't figure her out the way he suspected most couples of their tenure could with one another.

"Good. I don't want you to know what I'm thinking." Cassie gave him a smile as he shook his head, "We can talk about it later." She nodded. She knew she'd said it so many times now that it would be inevitable that they had to talk about it later.

"Alright." Theo nodded, "I'm holding you to it." He told her, watching her leave the office as he sat against the desk and sighed.

"Hey, I'm sorry there's an intruder in our coffee date." Thea said, arriving at the coffee shop with Sam, meeting Lucia over at the table they normally sat at whenever they met.

"Oh, I don't mind." Lucia smiled, "Hey, Sam." She waved as the three year old grinned and pressed against her mother's leg.

"Why are you pretending you're shy?" Thea teased, nudging Sam's shoulder a little as the three year old giggled.

"Crazy morning?" Lucia smiled, "I got you the usual but I can go back up and get Sam something."

"Oh, no it's fine. I've got her juice in my bag." Thea nodded, sitting down at the table, helping Sam sit down, fetching the waitress' attention who was kind enough to give Sam some colouring in books they kept for the kids.

"I was worried you were gonna bail on me again like last week." Lucia said.

"I know, sorry about that." Thea shook her head, getting settled and comfortable into the seat, "Work has been crazy, but what's new?" She shrugged as Lucia nodded.

"Promotions help, though. Good for you." Lucia smiled as Thea nodded.

"It's definitely welcomed that's for sure." Thea said.

She had kept in touch with Lucia ever since their paths had strangely crossed a few years ago. She found it hard to make friends and keep in contact with people, so befriending Lucia was a huge step outside her comfort zone, and one which was proving to be very successful.

"How's your parents?" Lucia asked, shaking a sachet of sugar into her coffee.

"Oh, they're fine." Thea nodded, "My mom is in New York with Jude right now."

"How is she doing?" Lucia asked. As best friend, she had been filled in by Thea about everything that had happened in the past six months.

"I don't really know, is the honest answer." Thea admitted, "I kinda struggle sometimes to get through to my sisters. They're really good at getting through to me but… I don't know, maybe they're just a lot deeper than I am." She said.

"I guess it's such a sensitive subject." Lucia nodded.

"Yeah I've been really trying to put myself in her shoes. Trying to imagine what I'd do if Dominic had cheated on me." Thea said, "I really don't know how I'd feel. I can't imagine it." She shook her head.

"She must be really hurting? How long have they been together?" Lucia asked.

"Thirteen years I think." Thea nodded, "It's a lot. And look, I… I can sit here and tell you that, Oh I hate him and he's such a loser and he was never good enough for my sister." Thea said, "But… he always treated her so well and he very clearly loved her." Thea sighed, "I don't know what the hell happened."

"Maybe he's just a guy who made a stupid mistake." Lucia nodded.

"Those kind of mistakes get you kicked out of this family." Thea nodded, "My dad flew to New York when he found out and beat him up in the middle of the police station." She said, "He's so smart." She nodded sarcastically as Lucia smiled a little.

"He's just being a dad." Lucia nodded, "Do you think Jude is going to forgive him? Sean, I mean." Lucia said, splitting the shortcake she'd gotten for them to share with a knife.

"I honestly have no clue. I don't think she does either. I guess he's always gonna be in her life, cause of the girls." Thea nodded, "But she says she still loves him. She doesn't want to but she does." She shrugged.

"Well that's the sad thing when someone cheats. Especially being together for that long. You can't just get over them." Lucia shook her head.

"I think men are just stupid." Thea said, "I mean what… why did he do it? What was so wrong with my sister? Why hurt someone you're supposed to love like that? Especially Jude… she doesn't need to be hurt anymore. And he should know that." She sighed to herself as Lucia nodded.

"At least she's got your mom with her right now." Lucia nodded positively.

"Yeah I'm glad she's out there with her." Thea nodded, watching as Sam began to take the bands from her hair which were keeping her braids braided, "What are you doing?"

"Taking them out." Sam told her, "Don't like them." She said, sitting the bands on the table with disgust as Thea rolled her eyes, turning to Lucia who just chuckled.

"I need some of this." Thea nodded, lifting the piece of shortcake from the plate.