Once again, thank you all for the reviews. Short chapter as the story begins to wind down. A few chapters left to go including two vastly different endings. I'm also working on a few bonus chapters that didn't fit into the body of the story.

Testament of Love

"So this is your idea of fun?" Adam asked as they stood at the entrance of the Art Institute."

"You need more culture." Liam replied.

"Oh, I do? Who told you that?"

"You did, when you just asked me if this was my idea of fun. My uncle brings me here. It has a lot of really old stuff. And some cool paintings too. Plus it's like a maze. We always get lost."

"Yeah, that sounds great, being a rat in a maze."

"My dad says that life is sometimes like being a rat in a maze, but I don't understand what he means. I think mazes can be fun. Look, that painting is really famous," Liam said pointing to American Gothic. "Uncle Will said it represented America a long time ago."

"If you leave the city and suburbs there is a lot of farmland out there." Adam said looking at the painting. "Have you—?" Adam looked down to ask Liam a question only to find he wasn't there. "Not again," he said thinking back to the boys disappearing act at the pumpkin glow. "Liam, Liam," he called out.

"Over here," he yelled, waving Adam his direction from several feet away in the next room. "This is my favorite painting," he said as Adam looked up at a massive portrait of Dorian Gray.

"Hey, you have to stay with me, especially if this place is a maze. Okay?"

"Okay. Sorry," Liam replied, looking contrite.

"What the heck is that?" Adam asked as he looked up and noticed the massive painting.

"It represents moral corruption," Liam explained.

"Oh it does, does it?" Adam asked, his eyebrows raised.

"He sold his soul so that he would stay handsome, but he was a jerk and the painting represents all of his evilness. It's like it was brought to the surface. You couldn't see it otherwise, but if you are ugly on the inside you are just as ugly on the outside."

"Wow," Adam said. "You're pretty smart."

"Uncle Will explained it to me. I think it is a good representation of the lack of humility and feelings of entitlement." Liam said, recalling the long conversation he had had with Will concerning the painting.

A woman that was standing nearby looked over at them and smiled. "Your son is adorable."

"Oh, he's—." Adam began.

"Thank you," Liam interrupted. "Let's go this way," he said tugging at Adam's hand.

"You didn't have to say that." Adam said once they had exited the room.

"What? About you being my father? It's okay, I just wanted you to have a moment—that moment. You'll be a great dad one day."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely. Let's go find the impressionists room," Liam said taking off towards the stairs.

"The kid was right, the place is a maze. But it was somewhat entertaining. I'm a bit put off that he seemed to enjoy it more than I did." Adam explained to Jay once they got back.

Jay laughed. "His mother exposed him to a lot and Will tries to do the same thing."

"He's a good kid. I always have a great time with him."

"He didn't disappear this time did he?"

"Just for a second," Adam admitted. "What's that?" He asked looking at the mosaic that was now hanging on the wall underneath the picture of Jay and Liam in their matching shirts that had been taken before Christmas.

"That was our project from yesterday." Jay explained the origin of the plate and how it had gotten broken.

"Genius," Adam said looking at it.

"Our lives were shattered, but we picked up the pieces."

"Hmmm. Guess your kid does get some of his smarts from you," Adam joked.

"Ha," Jay said in mock laughter. "We picked out a picture frame, slapped some kind of cement on there and stuck the pieces of the plate on there. We had to break up the pieces further. Here's a tip—give him a wide berth when he's wielding a hammer."

"Well, it came out great."

"Hey, how are you and Kim?" Jay asked.

"Actually, I'm not sure. I can't seem to get anything right. I know she's going through hell, but no matter what I seem to choose to do or say seems to be wrong.

"What's fatherhood like?" Adam asked.

Jay took a deep breath in before he answered. "Terrifying. I was terrified when I found I was going to be a father. I was terrified when I saw Liam for the first time. I was absolutely terrified when I became a single father. I'm scared I'll lose him, I'm equally as scared that he'll lose me. I'm also scared that despite my best efforts I'm not doing a good enough job."

"Wow, you make it sound so appealing."

"Sorry, it's a rollercoaster ride for sure. I didn't ask for it, or plan on it, but I would never give it up."

"You're doing a great job. He's an awesome kid."

"Yeah, well, I'm just not sure how much of that has to do with me." Jay said with a weak smile.

"Uncle Adam, come help me," Liam called out from his bedroom. "I have to put the tilt windows in and you get to help me because I put most of it together without you," he explained having worked on the Hancock Lego building that Adam had given him months earlier.

"Wow, what a nice job. Have you been to the tilt windows yet?"

"No. Not yet. Maybe soon though," he said as Jay hovered in the doorway.

Jay carried an empty smile with him to watch his friend and his son work on the Lego building. All too often he focused on his failures and the fact that he still hadn't gotten his son to the one thing he had been asking about for a year. He wondered just how far he would have drifted if it had not been for his son's existence. Would the PTSD, the daily grind, and his life in general have worn him down? Or cause him to lose so much of himself that he would have ceased to truly exist. He knew Will had told him once that Liam was his son and not an anchor, but Jay thought that the boy filled both roles quite well.

Two nights later Jay came home after ten and was exhausted. It had been a long and brutal day that had him dealing with two dead innocents and the offender in the wind despite their best efforts and determination to find them.

"Hey there," Ellie whispered as she turned the TV off. "Long day?"

"Yeah," Jay said tossing his keys on the table by the door. He hung his coat up and looked towards Liam's room. "He go down okay?"

"Fine. He left this for you," she said flipping the blanket off of her lap and picking up the bracelet from the coffee table.

Jay sat down next to Ellie and took the bracelet. It was black and blue, woven together much like Kim's bracelet. But instead of beads that held the moon and stars it held the numbers two and one snuggled up together to create twenty-one.

"He worked on it the last three nights. He wanted to get it perfect. He was going to put Dad on it, but then figured that wouldn't be a good idea if you were undercover. He almost put 5021 George." she said speaking of Jay's handle while on duty, "but didn't for the same reason. But he thought twenty-one would be okay. It represents the district and you can always say it's your lucky number. And," she said before hesitating, "he said the two represented you and him, and the one was for Emma."

Jay held the creation in his hand and just looked at it, admiring its craftsmanship and thinking about Ellie had just told him. "He did this all by himself?"

"Every bit of it." Ellie assured.

"It's fantastic."

"It's made from love. Do you want me to help you put it on?"

"Absolutely. And grab the scissors, this isn't coming off any time soon."

"Will do boss, will do." She said as she began to drape it over Jay's wrist.

Jay closed the door behind Ellie as she left to go back to her apartment. He looked down at his wrist that held a very precious gift from his son. His son, who still hadn't given up on him. His son, who used the time that they should have together instead of being separated by Jay's commitment to work, to weave a testament of his love.

He walked over and opened Liam's bedroom door and looked at the sleeping form of his son. He felt like he should do something—something his father would have never done. Wake his son up and do what? Go out clubbing? Run around the apartment? Jump on the bed? Have a movie marathon? Nothing sounded or seemed right, but neither was not seeing your child day after day. And most definitely not receiving a personalized gift from that child when you finally did manage to find your way home. His son had given him something, he needed to return the favor, he just wasn't yet sure how.

Soundtrack: Time in a bottle by Yungblud