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Josie was anxious. It had been a week since Jules had been killed. A week since Diego had been taken. A week… since she had decided to go back to working in Intelligence. She was getting ready when Antonio reappeared in their bedroom with Grace.
"Hi, Mommy." He said, waving her tiny hand towards Josie.
"Hi, baby." She went and took Grace from Antonio. "Hi." She kissed Grace's chubby cheeks. "You be a good girl for Mimi today?"
Grace just looked up at her mother, cooing and blowing bubbles.
"I think that means she will." Antonio leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You ready?"
Josie sighed. "Honestly… not really… but, the team needs me."
"Jo, if you want more time for Mat leave, Voight'll give it to you."
"I know that, Antonio." She kissed Grace's cheek again. "I know he would. I know he wants to, but we need to both be out there. Both of us can keep our family safe."
"Babe, are you sure you wanna come back?" Antonio handed her Grace. "You sure you don't want to be home with Grace a little longer?"
Josie looked at their infant daughter in her arms. "I do want to, but… Antonio… I don't really trust the others to have your back like Jules did."
"Jay is a great cop… I vouched for him."
"Yeah… well… I would feel better if I was there to watch your back." Josie kissed him.
"I'm not going to win, am I?"
Josie shook her head. "Nope. Come on, let's get the kids to school and Mama should be here soon to watch over this little munchkin."
"I just…" Antonio stopped her from leaving the bedroom. "I'm worried about us both running into the line of fire on the job. I don't want our kids to lose one or both of us. Look at Alec… he's raising those two little ones alone now…"
"Antonio." Josie sighed. "I won't let anything happen to either of us… We both knew the risks of this job a long time ago… when you were the only one who was a cop… when we first found out about Xavier and Zoë."
"Jo…"
"Antonio… it's true. I knew what it meant for you to be a cop 15 years ago… before I even thought about being a cop… I knew the risks. They haven't changed. If anything, they've gotten worse. I can't risk losing you again. Those 15 years were hell… not just for me… not just for the kids… for all of us. We lost each other, not by our own choosing… but I won't let our family go through that again. None of these kids… not one of them, needs to live that ever."
"Okay. Okay. You have a good point." He kissed her. "I love you, Josie Dawson… I always have and I always will."
"As do I… now let's go… or else the kids will be late for school, and I really don't like dealing with the headmaster there." Josie groaned. "That man could give Hitler a run for his money."
"Oh, don't remind me… I really dread having 3 kids there next year."
Antonio let Josie go first. They were just getting into the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Eva ran to get the door. "Mimi!" She exclaimed.
"Right on time." Josie whispered. "Mama! We're in the kitchen."
Antonio was putting Grace in her bouncy chair while Josie worked on getting coffee in their to-go mugs. Dixie came into the kitchen like a whirlwind.
"There you are!" She went straight to Grace. "Oh! You, my chubby little angel, and I are going to have so much fun while Mama and Daddy are at work, aren't we?"
Grace just blew bubbles towards her grandmother. Dixie turned back to face Antonio and Josie. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, Mama." Josie went to hug her mother. "We're fine. Just had a hard time getting ready to go. Uh, we're gonna be late for the kids to get to school if we don't leave right now."
"Go. Go." Dixie made a shooing motion with her hands. "I've got this one. We'll be fine."
Antonio hugged his mother-in-law. "Thanks, again."
Dixie took his arm. "Keep them safe… Josie… and Hank…"
"Always." Antonio nodded. "Hey, everything okay between you two?"
"Yeah… Hank's just been acting a little odd lately." Dixie smiled. "I'm sure it's just the stress of the job."
Antonio kissed her cheek. "Let us know if you need anything."
"Will do." She went to Grace and took her tiny hand. "Bye Mama! Bye Daddy!"
Grace giggled at the motion. Josie and Antonio kissed Grace goodbye and went to join the kids in the car.
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"Josie!?" Erin exclaimed as Antonio and Josie made their way up the stairs into the Intelligence bullpen. She rushed over and hugged Josie. "What are you doing here? Where's Gracie?"
"I'm back on the job, effective today." Josie smiled. "And Grace is at home with my mother."
"You're seriously coming back? After, what… four months?"
"It's been five." Antonio said before Josie could correct her. "Don't try to dissuade her. I've tried. Voight tried. Everyone's tried. We all lost."
"Wow." Erin was in shock. She had always thought that Josie would've taken the full year off. "Well, welcome back."
"Thanks. It… It feels good to be back." Josie grinned. "So, any big cases today?"
"Not yet." Jay answered as he came from the small kitchen. "I hear right? You're back?"
"Yep." Josie said. "But, it would seem, I'll be twiddling my thumbs today."
"Maybe that's a good way to get back into work?" Antonio leaned over and whispered.
Josie just glared at him. "Uh, where's the boss?" She pointed to Hank's office. The light was off and the door was still closed.
Erin and Jay shrugged. "No clue."
Antonio pointed to Josie's bag. "You can put that down, ya know."
Josie went to put it at her desk. Antonio stopped her. "What?"
"Um… if anyone should have Jules' desk… it's you." Antonio whispered. He had snapped at Ruzek when he had tried to take it. "She would've wanted that."
"Antonio." Josie whispered back. "I can still use the other desk. It's fine."
"No." He took her bag and put it down. "This is your desk now." He kissed her. "I'm gonna go find the boss."
Josie settled down in her new desk and logged in to the computer. She needed to see if there was new policy that had been implemented in the time she'd been off. She was busy going through a huge pile of unchecked emails when the other members of Intelligence slowly began to roll in. Al greeted her with a hug and told her how he was happy that she was back. Her father eventually came in. At first, he was pissed off about something, but that was before he saw Josie. He walked over to her desk and pulled her into a tight hug. "Hi, Dad." She smiled.
"Hi." He kissed her cheek. "You, uh… getting settled in okay?"
Josie nodded. "Yeah… so… do I call you Dad… Voight… boss?"
"Whatever you want." He smiled. "Uh, I gotta go through some things in my office… we may still catch a case today."
"That would be nice." Josie laughed. "I don't really want to spend my first day back just going through paperwork."
A younger man came up the stairs and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Josie. "Uh? Who the hell is sitting in Jules' desk?"
"My wife." Antonio came out of the hallway next to where he was standing.
Adam Ruzek jumped. "Uh… am I missing something?"
Olinsky smacked him outside the head. "He said it. That's his wife."
"Yeah… but why?" Adam rubbed his head. "Ow, Al… that hurt."
Josie stood up. "Josie Dawson, Detective… in Intelligence."
Adam, not exactly dropping the subject, asked. "Since when?"
"Since before you were, pip squeak." Josie laughed. "Didn't you guys fill him in?"
Antonio laughed. "Uh, no… we kinda were too busy with Pulpo's bullshit."
"Will anyone fill me in?" Adam was extremely confused.
"Yeah. I will." Hank came out of his office. "Josie is Antonio's wife… a detective in this unit and… my daughter."
Adam's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. "Uh…"
"Call me Jo… and I just got back from Mat leave… been gone 5 months but I've been a detective for close to a decade… who are you?"
"Adam Ruzek… I… Uh…"
"I pulled him from the Academy… to help with Pulpo." Al finished. "Hank, you got a case?"
"Yeah… if everyone's done." Hank leaned against the doorframe of office.
"Yeah… yeah… boss." Adam managed to mutter. He was still wrapping his head around all this new information.
"Okay… so Narcotics has this house down as a drug den. They can't seem to get close enough for them to make a break in the case… so they're calling us in." Hank said. "Al, you and Adam go UC and get an eye on the house. We'll see if we can't make a move."
"Got it." Al grabbed Adam and they headed to the locker room to change.
"The rest of us… we're gonna do surveillance, and check to see what we can find. 'Tonio, you and Jo will be with me."
"Got it, boss." Antonio nodded.
They grabbed their gear and headed out.
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Adam and Al were posing as construction workers. Antonio felt odd having Josie with him in Voight's SUV doing this surveillance. He knew he'd have to get used to it, but for now, it was still foreign territory.
"Anything?" Voight asked over the comms.
"Nothing yet, boss." Adam's voice answered.
"Wait… someone's going up to the house." Erin chimed in.
Antonio lifted the binoculars. "What is this bozo doing?"
"No clue." Al's voice came through. "I… wait… he's got a gun."
"Move!" Hank ordered.
In a matter of seconds there was a sea of bullets flying everywhere. Al and Adam breached the house, with the other right on their heels. One offender had killed the other and Adam had taken the other one out. Antonio called for an ambulance. Once the medics had taken him away, the team set about tearing apart the house to find the drugs Narcotics claimed were here. Erin, Antonio and Jo were in the kitchen. Adam was being talked to by Hank and Al concerning the fact that this was his first shooting as a cop.
"Hey, guys?" Erin called out. "Check this out."
Antonio and Jo walked over to her. Jo looked in her hand. "What is that?"
"Cop killers." Erin said holding up one of the most dangerous bullets out there.
Jo looked in the box. "Jesus Christ. Look at all these!"
Antonio whistled. "There's enough here to wage war on the whole CPD."
By this point, Voight had joined them in the kitchen. "There's no drugs."
"Nope, but look at all these." Erin motioned to the numerous boxes of bullets. "Haven't these been used in multiple shootings recently?"
Hank nodded. "Yeah… but we had no idea where they were coming from."
Jo grabbed a black garbage bag from the floor. "Hey, check this out." She pulled a small white and red box from the bag.
Antonio took it from her. "Insulin? Someone a diabetic?"
Jo dumped the contents of the bag out onto the floor. "I doubt it."
The whole bag had been filled with empty insulin boxes, hundreds of them. There was no way that they were filled with insulin that was being used for one person.
"Is there a black market for this stuff?" Erin asked.
"Not that I know of." Antonio and Jo said in unison.
Antonio looked at the box. He grabbed one of the rounds and held it up next to the box. "But… it would hold a bunch of these." The box was the perfect size to hold about a dozen of the bullets.
Hank patted his shoulder. "Good job." He left the kitchen.
Erin and Jo exchanged glances. "This went from mundane to hell." Erin said.
Jo nodded. "Yep… let's catalogue these and get the hell out of here." She went about collecting all the boxes she'd dropped on the floor.
Antonio and Erin went through the other black trash bags to make sure they didn't miss any. CSU came and catalogued the bullets and guns they'd found. Everyone else piled back into their respective vehicles and headed back to the District. They had a lot of information, but not a clue of what to do with it.
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By the end of the day, they'd come to the conclusion that the bullets were being smuggled in by a Canadian pharmaceutical rep out of Toronto. When they'd tracked him down, well, he was dead. They were no further ahead than this morning. Hank sent everyone home. They needed to clear their heads and come back focused the next day.
Jo was finishing some notes when Hank walked over to her desk. "Hey, Dad." She smiled.
"Hey. How is it… you know, being back?" Hank leaned against the filing cabinet behind her desk.
"Good… a little more action packed than I thought it would be, but it feels good to be back."
"I'm glad you're back." Hank patted her on the shoulder. "Um… can I ask you something?"
"Sure…" Josie put her notepad away. "What's up?" She spun her chair around.
"I… I…" Hank stumbled over his words. He didn't know how to say what he wanted to say.
"Dad… what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong… just…" He sighed. "Do I have your blessing to marry your mother?"
Josie's jaw dropped. "Uh, yeah… but, why are you asking me?"
"Because, she's your mother." Hank ran his hand through his hair. "I… I love her. I never thought that I'd find that love again… you know, after Camille… but I have. I'm happy again, and we've got you… and the kids."
"Hey, Dad." Josie took his hand. "As long as she's happy, I'm happy." She got up and hugged him. "You know, Mama's suspicious. She says that you've been acting weird."
"Well… I've been trying to find her ring size… and find the right moment."
Antonio came back from the locker room. "Find the right moment for what?"
"Asking Mama to marry him." Josie giggled.
For the first time since Antonio met Hank Voight, he saw colour flood Voight's cheeks. "Congrats!" Antonio went to shake his hand. "Welcome… officially… to the craziness that is our family."
"Thanks, 'Tonio." Hank smiled. "Uh… so, I'm gonna be taking her out of town once this case is over… head up to the lake for a bit… just the two of us."
"Hey, however you wanna do it, do it." Antonio laughed. "This is a good thing. Now, let's go home so that we can catch these gunrunners sooner, rather than later."
Hank nodded. "Yeah… good plan… go home to the kids. I'll see you two in the morning."
Antonio and Josie nodded and grabbed the coats. They said their farewells and headed out.
Hank watched as they left. He never realized how blessed he was. He knew that he needed to keep his deal with IA, but he wished there was a way to get out from under Gradishar's thumb. He sighed. He had a ring to go pick up. He turned out the lights and left the bullpen.
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They had all the information they needed. They knew who had the guns, where they had come from and now they had the meet. Al and Antonio were going UC to meet up with the guy who had the guns. They headed out. Jo was riding with Hank. They were around the corner from where the meet was supposed to happen.
"Dad… how dangerous is this?"
"Well, these guns have killed a number of bangers, a couple bystanders and a priest… I'm pretty sure it's up there with one of the more dangerous jobs we've had to do." Hank answered.
"I meant how dangerous is this for Antonio and Al?"
"They're the best UCs the CPD has to offer. They know exactly how to handle themselves."
Josie sighed. She knew this was probably going to be the hardest part of the job. Working with her husband and her father, all of them putting their lives on the line. She knew that sitting, watching and waiting for something to happen would be torture. She leaned back and held the binoculars up. "Hey, there's someone coming."
Hank lifted up his binoculars. "Okay, people. Eyes open."
They watched as Al and Antonio exchanged some words with the suspect. Al asked to see the merchandise.
"You'll have to come with us." He answered.
"No way. We're not going anywhere." Antonio crossed his arms, backing away to the car.
"I'll go." Al said, cheerfully. "Don't worry. He's a cupcake."
Antonio groaned. "Whatever."
Al grabbed the bag that had money in it and got into the car.
"Do we follow him?" Adam asked over the radio.
"No." Voight radioed back. "Olinsky's got it. Just keep us close enough for radio contact."
They took off and listened as Al rambled off directions. They knew he was guiding them, but suddenly his wire went dead.
"What happened?" Hank demanded.
Sheldon Jin was fiddling with some of the equipment. "No clue. I think he turned it off."
"Why would he do that?" Jo asked.
"Because they're getting suspicious." Antonio answered. "It's what I'd do."
They kept driving. Sure enough, Al's voice came back over their speakers. They had a location and moved in. Now they just needed him to give the code word and they'd be able to move in.
"Wow." Al's voice said. "Looks just like Christmas morning."
"Go! Go!" Hank ordered as the code word came through loud and clear.
Antonio burst out of the surveillance van first with Erin and Jo right behind him. They burst into the warehouse and opened fire. It didn't last long, but they had a few close calls with some of the rounds that were flying. They had them. Every last one of them was in cuffs. Josie couldn't help by snicker when Al went over to the ring leader and told him the wire had been in his belt buckle.
Antonio clicked the safety on his gun and went over to Josie. "Well, another bunch of crazies off the street."
"All in a day's work." Josie grinned, holstering her own weapon. "Let's go file our paperwork and go home."
"What's the rush?" Antonio asked.
"Well, turns out… Dad can't wait until this weekend." She motioned to her left hand.
"Oh!" Antonio exclaimed. "Wait… what?"
"Just… let's go." Josie laughed.
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After an hour of filing paper work and making sure all charges were filed, everyone began to file out. Josie headed straight for Voight's office and knocked on the door.
"Hey, kiddo." Hank said looking up from his phone. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah… just… uh… any particular reason as to why you want to move up the proposal?"
Hank sighed. "Uh… your mom's getting really suspicious… for one… and two, I realized that going to the lake to propose isn't what… I… I… have no clue what I'm trying to say anymore."
"Have you talked to Justin… about all this?" Josie closed the door and sat down.
"I have… he was surprised, like you were but he said if we're happy, then that's all that matters."
"See." Josie laughed. "So, what's really going on?"
"I don't want to wait another 3 days to ask. I almost asked her this morning when she was making breakfast."
"Why didn't you?" Josie asked.
"I don't know… I just want it special, with the family."
"So, you're saying you wanna ask Mama to marry you, in front of all of us."
Hank nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess that's what I'm trying to say."
Josie brushed her bangs from her eyes. "Okay… well, maybe we all go out for a nice dinner… and you can ask… or I could cook something with the girls."
Hank thought about it. "I think you guys cooking would be less suspicious."
"Okay." Josie got up and went around his desk to kiss her father on the cheek. "Be at our place around 7?"
"You got it." Hank squeezed her hand. "Thank you, Josie… this… this means a lot."
"Hey… it's not every day my dad proposes to my mom." She laughed. "See you tonight."
She left his office in search of Antonio. It was 5 o'clock already and they had to get a lot of stuff done in a short amount of time. She found him in the locker room.
"Hey, babe." He kissed her. "Where's the fire?"
"Uh, we gotta get home and get supper going." She said.
"Uh, the kids usually have supper going by now."
"Yeah, well… there's going to be two extra people tonight… and, it's kind of a big deal."
"Jo, what the hell are you yammering about?"
"Dad wants to ask Mama to marry him…"
"Yeah, I know that."
"Tonight."
"Oh." Antonio let it sink in. "Oh! Wait… he wants to propose to her… at our house… over dinner!?"
"Yep… so… let's go." She grabbed his hand and half dragged him out of the locker room.
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They had called the kids from the car and rushed home. When they got there, Eva and Zoë had already gotten supper going. Dixie had gone home once the kids arrived home from school, as Josie had told her she wanted them to get some babysitting experience under their belt. The house smelled delicious. Antonio and Josie went to shower and change. When they got back into the kitchen, the table had been set with Josie's nice dishes and the boys were busy setting out the silverware.
"Wow! Guys!" Josie exclaimed. "This looks amazing!"
The kids were beaming. "It's not every day that we get to help our grandpa propose." Xavier laughed.
The whole family joined in.
"That's very true." Antonio put his hand on his eldest son's shoulder. "Now, we've got everything ready?"
"Yeah, I think so." Eva picked up Grace out her bouncy chair. "What do you think Gracie?"
Grace just gurgled and grasped at her big sister's curls.
"Hey!" Eva gasped as Grace gave her hair a tug. "Ouchie."
Josie took Grace. "That is why I always have my hair pulled back… but I guess I also just get used to it." Unlike when the twins were born, Josie hadn't chopped off her long locks. She had let her hair go back to her natural auburn colour since she and Antonio had reconnected. She wanted to go back to normal, and that meant not dyeing her hair every couple weeks. It had also been much safer while she'd been pregnant. She pushed a strand behind her ear. "It takes some getting used to, but one thing I will never wear when she's still in the grabby phase is any earring that dangles… I learned that lesson the hard way with Xavier."
"Sorry, Mom." Xavier said sheepishly. "You haven't let me forget that."
"It's been almost 16 years, but I'm pretty sure my ear still has a scar from where you ripped my earring."
Antonio leaned in and closely inspected her ear. "This tiny thing?" He pointed to a hair-thin scar that went from the piercing to the bottom of the lobe.
"That would be it." Josie laughed. "I made the mistake of wearing some beautiful dangling earring Mama had given me for my 18th birthday… and Xavier grabbed a hold of it and yanked… even as a baby he was strong."
Xavier couldn't help but turn red. "Moooooooom!"
"Well, it's true… just you wait… one day when you bring a girl home…" Josie let the thought trail off.
"Oh, well… uh…" Xavier went to go check if his grandparents had arrived.
"Xavier… is there something you want to tell us?" Antonio questioned, blocking Xavier's escape route.
Xavier's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.
"Oh my God!" Eva exclaimed. "Xavier!"
Zoë was just standing by the stove trying to stifle her laughter.
"Zoë?" Her mother asked in her 'detective' voice, dragging out her name. "Something you want to share with the rest of us?"
Zoë spun around. "Uh, not really."
"Zoë?" Josie asked again.
"I plead the 5th." Zoë tried to get out of this. She had promised Xavier that she wasn't going to tell his secret.
"How on Earth can you incriminate yourself in this?" Diego scratched his head.
"It's an expression." Zoë replied.
DING DONG! DING DONG!
"Thank God!" Xavier exclaimed, taking advantage of his father's surprise to run out of the kitchen to the front door.
"Saved by the bell." Zoë grinned. She went to pull the pot roast from the oven.
"This discussion is so not over." Antonio said.
"Agreed." Josie stared at her daughter. This was the first time that she didn't know what was really going on in the twins' lives. They had always come to her, no matter what. It hurt a little bit. She sighed and went to greet her parents at the door. "Hi Mama, Dad." She kissed each of them on the cheek. "Hope you're hungry."
"Smells delicious." Hank said. "What did you cook that smells so good?"
"Not me… the girls. It was a nice treat to not have to ask for help in the kitchen." Josie smiled. "Grace would love some snuggles with Mimi and Grandpa."
Hank hadn't seen Grace since the memorial for Jules. He instantly reached for her. Grace recognized him and reached for him. He held her and started whispering to her. It was a sight to behold. Antonio never thought he'd see the day that tough guy, Hank Voight, was rendered to a giant teddy bear, but that's how he was around Grace and the other kids.
Dixie smiled. "I was just curious as to why we're having a huge family meal… it's not the weekend…"
"Oh!" Josie exclaimed. "The girls told me they were making your recipe of pot roast and they really wanted you here to see if they'd done it right."
"Oh, those darlings." Dixie laughed. "I'm sure it tastes amazing."
"Come in, Mama, Dad… the foods ready. We wouldn't want it to get cold." Josie gently nudged them towards the kitchen. She motioned for Xavier to follow them.
Antonio stood back. "Think she suspects something?"
"Who the hell knows?" Josie shrugged. "I didn't have family drama for 15 years and now it's all dropping in my lap at once… I just hope she says yes."
"You think she'd say otherwise?"
"Again… who knows." Josie was wishing that her father would've given her a little more notice to help make this perfect.
"You two coming?" Hank's gravelly voice came down the hallway.
"Coming!" Antonio called back. "It's going to be okay." He kissed Josie's cheek.
"It has to be." Josie smiled. "Let's go."
They sat at the table. Xavier and Diego said grace and they began to hand down the dishes of food. Small talk was made about the kids' school and homework or their latest adventures in extracurricular events. Zoë took that time to invite her grandparents to come watch her compete in the school's version of Iron Chef.
"That sounds like a fun experience." Dixie said. "I'd love to come and watch."
"If I can, I'll be there." Hank grinned. "I have to say; this pot roast is pretty tasty."
"We tried to follow Mimi's recipe to the best of our ability." Eva said.
"You girls did great." Dixie patted Eva's hand. "You two definitely have a gift in the kitchen."
"Diego, are you going to be doing soccer again this year?" Hank asked him.
"I'm thinking about it… but it depends on the Science club."
"Got big plans?" Hank wanted to bond with all of his grandchildren.
"Well, after next weekend, we'll know if we made it to the State level of competition."
"That's great news!" Hank exclaimed. "So what are you guys working on?"
"That's where we're stuck." Diego replied. "My team wants to do something no one has ever done at competition before."
"I'm sure you guys will come up with something. You're all so bright." Dixie grinned. "I think we're very blessed to have such bright and talented grandchildren like you guys."
"Thanks, Mimi." They replied.
Everyone was trying to figure out when Hank was going to pop the question. Antonio could see his father-in-law was starting to get a little antsy. He got up and went to get the bottle of wine that he'd been chilling for the last hour. "Wine?" He asked.
"Yes, please." Hank raised his glass for Antonio to pour the wine.
Antonio couldn't help but notice that Hank's hand was shaking a little bit. He then turned to Dixie. "Wine?"
"Why not?" She smiled.
Josie was thankful that Grace had weaned herself from breastmilk at 4 months. She needed wine right now. She was busting at the seams. She just wanted her father to get on with it already. "Me too please."
"What about the breast milk?" Dixie asked.
"Mama, I told you… Grace decided she only wanted formula… I couldn't keep up… we've been doing formula for almost a month now."
"Oh! Right. Sorry, Cherie." Dixie giggled. "A lot has changed."
"Don't I know it." Josie mumbled under her breath. She gratefully took a deep sip of the wine. "Good choice, babe."
"Thanks." Antonio poured himself some wine before putting the wine back in the fridge.
"Uh, Dad… could I talk to you? Alone?" Josie asked.
"Sure, Jo." Hank got up from the table.
Josie needed to talk some sense into her father because this whole thing was causing her to develop an ulcer. Once they were far away from the dining area, she asked. "Please… are you gonna ask her or what?"
Hank rubbed the back of his neck. "I am… I… it's not easy!"
"Dad! It's a question… not rocket science!" Josie exclaimed. "I'm getting anxiety for you… I think Antonio is too."
"Josie…" Hank whispered. "It's been over 30 years since I thought about proposing to a woman."
"Dad… you're living together, you have me… the kids… pretty sure that Justin is okay with it too… especially the last time I talked to him. I asked him what he thought of the two of you. He said as long as everyone's happy, then that's all that matters."
"I know… that's what he told me when I saw him a couple days ago and talked to him about this."
"Then, what's the hold up?"
"What if she says no?"
Josie was very tempted to do a face-palm. "Daaaaaad."
"Josie… I'm serious."
"Mom's been alone for a long as time… I don't think she's ever been happier than she is with you. You brought a light back to her eye that I haven't seen in a very long time."
"You serious?"
"Very." Josie hugged him. "Just… ask her, please?"
"Okay…" Hank took a deep breath. "Let's… let's do this."
Josie headed back to the kitchen to allow her father to get his thoughts together. She sat back down and quickly finished her wine. Antonio squeezed her hand.
"Everything okay, Cherie?" Dixie asked. She was bouncing Grace on her knee.
"Yeah, just had to ask him something about work… complicated… don't worry so much, Mama." Josie answered. "Grace looks happy."
"This is one of the things that I can do for hours with her… or at least until my knees start killing me." Dixie laughed. "You loved this when you were a little girl…"
"I think the twins liked it too." Josie reminisced to when the twins were Grace's age.
"Eva and Diego loved it when I did that for them… I think all babies love that." Antonio smiled. He could see Hank coming back into the dining area from the corner of his eye.
Dixie was distracted by Grace. Hank looked to Antonio, Josie and the kids. They all nodded. He went to Dixie's chair and knelt just out her line of sight. He then tapped on her shoulder.
Dixie swung around. "Hank… what?"
Hank then tried to remember the proposal he'd been rehearsing for over a week. His mind had gone blank. He cleared his throat and went with what came out next. "Evangeline Duplessis… I…" He paused and took a deep breath. "I haven't had so much love and joy in my life as I have these past 10 months… in a long time. You've brought me back to life… and, we have this amazing family together." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.
Dixie gasped. "Hank…"
"I love you. Would you do the great honour… of being my wife?" He popped the box open.
Dixie's jaw dropped. "Oh, Hank…" She could barely breathe. This was not what she'd been thinking of. She quickly looked to the others around the table. She could see all of them wanted to know what she was going to say. She looked to Grace. "Gracie, what do you think?"
Grace gurgled and reached out for her grandfather.
Dixie smiled. "I think she says I should say yes."
"We all do!" Xavier and Diego exclaimed, earning them a shushing from their parents.
"Yes… yes, Henry Voight… I will marry you."
Hank breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God." He took the ring from the box and slid it on her left ring finger. He got up and kissed her. "I love you."
"I love you too." She looked at the ring. It was simple but elegant. An oval cut diamond surround by a tiny halo of smaller emeralds. On either side were three small diamond set in the shape of a triquetra. All of it was set in yellow gold. "It's beautiful."
"It suits you." Hank was grinning like a little kid on Christmas. "I couldn't wait another day to ask you."
"Wait, is this why you've been acting so weird the last few days?" Dixie asked.
"Yeah… I was…"
"He was worried you'd say no." Josie jumped in. "He's had us all on edge… but, we couldn't be happier."
"So, y'all knew?" Dixie looked around the table.
"Uh, yeah." Was the consensus.
"Well, I guess… we have some planning to do."
"Yes… but I think the kids need to head to bed." Hank pointed to Grace who was dozing off in her grandmother's arm.
"It is a little late." Dixie noted the time. "Um, thank you guys… for the supper and for all keeping this a big secret."
"We love you!" The girls smiled.
"I love you, too… okay, well… we're going to head out for the night… we'll see you again Sunday?"
"Always, Mama." Josie took Grace from her mother. "It's tradition."
Hank and Dixie bid their family good night and headed out. Antonio and the kids cleaned the table while Josie took Grace to the nursery. Their family was a little odd, but it was their family and that was all that mattered.
A/N: Well, a new adventure… more to come… in the meantime, check out my latest updates for "The Rose". Also, if anyone's on Tumblr, check out my Brettonio one shots that haven't yet been migrated to here. brettonio-one-chicago is where you can find them. Let me know what you think! Love always, Nicole
