Emily lived on the second floor of a very nice apartment building in Capitol Hill. Standing outside the financial district with its eight floors, limestone structure, and friendly doorman at the front door, it was just pushing the cusp of grandeur. This building had been home for Emily since the return from England. But she had still been considering a change in location even before she'd met Andrew.

In any event, having time away, and spending it with four people she really loved was definitely the fix.

Emily had just begun gathering her clothes together when she heard a squeaking from the front of her apartment. The door had moved. It was open for Will, but she would have heard him call out.

So she went to investigate.

"Hello?"

Of all things, a soft meowing reached Emily's ears.

Before her was a young Bombay kitten. It was black with a coat so sleek that it shone brightly against the overhead hallway light. Its only distinguishable features to keep it from being mistaken for a meowing fluff ball were its bright yellow eyes. These widened when the feline saw Emily. The meowing even increased.

But Emily knew this cat. She belonged to a neighbor across the hall.

"Hey, you little stinker." Emily scooped the cat up. "Did you get out again?"

The cat meowed even louder and started nuzzling her friend's middle as she curled up in her arms.

"Who's this?" came a voice.

Will had finally arrived. He was a little confused. Emily was definitely a magnet for weird things, but Will also knew that she hadn't had any pets at all after her cat. Where had this one come from?

Emily addressed the confusion. "Will, this is Lola."

"She's cute. And so little." Will remarked. "Who does she belong to?"

"The girl who lives with her parents at Number Nine." Emily motioned towards the door directly opposite them. "Wait for it."

Emily's words will still hanging in the air when the other front door opened. A young girl of about ten years old emerged, looking flustered. She changed her tune to a pleasant one when she spotted who had found her beloved pet.

"Oh, Lola ran to you!" she said in relief to Emily.

"She wanted to come for a visit, Amelia. How did she get out?"

"I didn't notice when I took the garbage out just now." Amelia said sheepishly.

There was a garbage chute at the end of the hallway.

"Lola stopped by because she likes me." Emily gave the cat back to her person. "Here you go, kid."

"Thanks!" Amelia hugged Emily with one arm before maintaining her hold on Lola again. "See you!"

Amelia and Lola departed back in to Number Nine.

Will turned to Emily as the door closed.

"I really want a cat." he said wistfully.

Emily laughed. "What's holding you back?"

"JJ. She says no four-legged pets until the kids are older."

"But didn't your wife grow up on a farm?" Emily asked, hands on her hips.

"Yes. I always had dogs growing up in New Orleans, but there were all at one point—and I kid you not—goats, pigs, Pekin ducks, rabbits, chickens, cows, and horses around at East Iron Hill Farm."

"Wow. I never knew that before. That's really amazing."

Will stomped his foot. "And JJ still won't bend the pet rule."

Emily gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." Will stuck his hands in his pockets. "What needs to be done first?"

"The fridge needs emptying, but I promise you that it's nothing traumatic." Emily beckoned for him to follow. "This way."

The refrigerator was at the end of the kitchen. It wasn't very full, but still just full enough to tell that only one person lived in the apartment.

Emily pulled a trash bag out of a nearby cabinet. "Everything has to go, otherwise it'll spoil."

"I got this." Will said. "I'll put all the food in the trash bag, empty any liquids into the sink, and save the Tupperware. Where exactly is that chute you and Amelia were chatting about?"

"At the end of the main hall, all the way to the right."

"Got it."

"Perfect. We can check on the freezer when the fridge is empty." Emily decided. "I'll be over here."

She began unloading her dishwasher and putting its clean contents away. This was a fast process when one lived alone.

After that, Emily began gathering up the belongings that she most wanted while she would be staying at the LaMontagne house. This included her favorite books—a handful of which were in foreign languages—as well as her chess set, and her favorite collections. She even brought her photo albums. Maybe she'd show them to Virginia.

Emily did pause to help Will check the freezer, and to run a mountain of dirty dishes that had stacked up. Thank goodness the dishwasher acted fast.

However, Emily found that her shoes, clothes, and makeup took the longest. This was mostly because she was trying to figure out what to wear for her date.

"Are you alright?" Will was in the doorway of the bedroom.

Emily nodded. "How much do you know about what's happened to me in the past twenty-four hours?"

"JJ said that you're pregnant, but that you broke up with the father, and that he's a man you met on the job."

"That's it in a nutshell, but… uh… I've already met someone else." Emily felt herself turning red. "It's a long story."

Will said wryly, "Did this person ask you out?"

"She did, and I said yes. It's at her place tomorrow night. I'm just not sure of what to wear."

"Get a few nice outfits that you like the best, and pack those, too. JJ will be more than happy to help you out."

Will's advice took a big weight off Emily's shoulders. She hadn't been able to see the forest for the trees—because her brain had been one hundred percent focused on Virginia. Again. Emily had it bad for this woman. She'd fallen for her at first sight.

"Thanks, Will. That's really helpful." she finally told him. "Do you have any sisters?"

"Just you. I grew up without any siblings." Will replied with a little bit of sadness. "I always imagined having a sister, though, and then you fell into my life at the same time as JJ. It was the universe's way of looking out."

He cleared his throat and motioned to the packed luggage on Emily's bed.

"Should I start taking this down to your car with everything else?"

"Yes." Emily tossed him her car keys from her pocket. "Please do that. I shouldn't be too much longer."

And she wasn't.

Will brought all of Emily's new things up to her new bedroom. When that was done, he even showed her where the gun safe was.

"Emily," Will said when their service weapons had been put away. "Are you close with your mom?"

"Yes. She pushes my buttons because she's my mother, but we are definitely close." Emily responded. "Why?"

"Mine dropped out of my life—or something—when I was very small, and I don't remember her at all. I can't even remember her name because my father wouldn't say it. He pretended she didn't exist." Will shuffled his feet. "Katrina took all the records."

"Oh, Will. I'm sorry."

"So am I, but JJ and I just made the decision to find her." he said confidently. "I would love it if you helped us."

Emily's heart jumped. "I'm honored that you want me along on such an important endeavor. Of course I'll help."

"Thanks, Emily." Will gave her a quick hug. "The only other person besides you and JJ who knows these things about my mother is my mother-in-law. She's an amazing secret keeper."

"I've actually been picking up on that, and I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks again. I would also appreciate it if the whole thing about searching for my mother stays between us and JJ."

"I am a vault." Emily said seriously.

"And the best big sister anyone could hope for." Will tacked on.

"I do my best." Emily checked her watch. "What time will the boys get home?"

Will studied his own watch. "Pretty soon, actually."

"Then on that note, I'm going to put on something clean and head over to my parents' place."

"Got it. See you later."

In the spare bedroom, Emily changed out of her work apparel and into something more casual. Then she stopped to assess herself in the mirror on the back of the bedroom door.

"Okay, little jellybean." Emily looked down and lightly rubbed her middle with her knuckles. "We have a roof over our heads, and we're with people who love us. We're going to be okay. I think we're gonna like it here."