Alison opened the door to her apartment. She was taking the day off to hang out with Ethan and relax as her due date was getting closer.
"Erin, come on in. Ethan is taking a nap.." She said, stepping back and allowing Erin to enter.
"Thanks. I wanted to talk to you." Alison followed Erin into the kitchen.
"What's going on?" Erin sat at the counter while Alison went back to match a cup of tea.
"Who would you say is my best friend?" Alison looked over at her sister.
"Antony. Why." Erin titled her head.
"No, you." Alison stopped her mug halfway to her mouth.
"Me! Uh yeah, I wasn't counting family." Erin nodded, and Alison relaxed.
"Do you know my friend Lisa?" Alison racked her head, trying to think of who this person was supposed to be. "We went to law school together." Alison nodded. An image of a blond woman popped into her head.
"Right, what did she want?" Erin forced out a laugh.
"It's the craziest thing. She wants to run a background check on me about this whole DA thing. She thinks I might have a shot at it."
"Okay, and I'm still confused about the whole best friend thing that started this conversation." Erin nodded.
"She wanted to know who my friends were so she could talk to them about my personal life. But all I couldn't name anyone apart from Antony outside of the family."
"So you like our family." Erin shook her head.
"I have friends, Al. I don't understand." Alison almost choked on her tea.
"Erin, you don't really do anything outside of work unless it has something to do with the family."
"I do." Alison crossed her arms over her large stomach.
"Really, then tell me the last time you saw this, Lisa friend." Erin looked down at her hands.
"10 years." Alison snapped her fingers.
"See." Alison regretted those works the minute they left her mouth. Erin got to her feet.
"Well, fine, I'm sorry that I wasted your time talking about my lonely existence." Alison closed her eyes.
"Erin, that's not…." It was too late; Erin was already out the door. "And she was confused why I said, Antony."
Greg walked over to Jamie's desk with a stack of papers in his arms. Jamie smiled, standing up.
"Hey, sorry I couldn't bring the stuff to you." Greg waved his hands.
"Adam and I were on our way back from the courthouse. Picking up some evidence, it's that big of an issue." Jamie shook his head.
"Well, thanks. It's been a crazy day." Greg leaned against the desk.
"What's up with you." Jamie lifted his hand.
"you work with your wife." Greg handed over the stack of papers for Jamie to sign.
"Yes, your sister."
"How do you handle that." Greg looked at him.
"The same way you and Eddie do." Jamie shook his head.
"No, it's different. I'm in change of Eddie, so if people have an issue with her, they have to go to me." Greg nodded.
"And this happened today."
"Eddie's new partner wants a new partner. He says Eddie is too chipper for him." Greg laughed.
"Jamie, I remember you saying a very similar thing when you were first paired up with her. If I'm not mistaken, you tried to get transferred out, but your Sargent turned you down. Something about being chipper, not a real reason for requesting a new partner." Jamie nodded.
"Yes, exactly. Unfornulitly he doesn't see it that way. For him, it's me not wanting to hear something bad about my wife."
"Did you let him bring a friend?" Jamie furrowed his brow.
"What?"
"Sometimes it's easier to have this conversation if someone has someone with them because of the power dynamic. That way, it doesn't seem like you're ignoring them. Or you could explain why you think they are a good fit. Or give them a time frame so that it removes the pressure." Greg stood up. "Listen, I never was a street cop. I never had a partner. Who I work with is based on whose at the lab at the time and cleared for fieldwork. Sometimes when I send out level 2, they complain about some of the level threes, but you want the best at the end of the day. If this combination will keep them safe and the people of this city safe, then the rest doesn't really matter." Jamie nodded. "And above all, just be honest and make sure you hear him." Adam walked over to them.
"Boss, we good to go." Jamie handed over the signed paperwork. Greg looked it over.
"Yes, thanks, Adam, for grabbing it for us." He looked at Jamie. "I'll see you Sunday, if not sooner hope everything works out." Jamie nodded.
"Yeah, thanks."
Alison stood in the kitchen cleaning the dishes.
"You shouldn't be doing that," Erin said, walking over to her. Alison smiled.
"I didn't make dinner, so what else am I supposed to do." Erin started drying the dishes.
"You're pregnant. You're supposed to be out on the couch with your feet up. Alison handed her a plate.
"Greg is out there with his feet up and ice on his knee. I would rather do this than in the middle of the night when my water breaks have him trying to grab the bags and his knee giving out."
"Makes scene. I agree with you." Alison tilted her head.
"You what?"
"I talked to a few more people, and you're right; I haven't made friends a priority." Alison handed over a cup.
"Which is fine." Erin shook her head.
"I would not give up the choices that I made. But I think I might try to spend more time with friends." Alison started cleaning another glass. "Oh, did I tell you that I reached out to Tom Felton, that old boyfriend of mine?" The glass in Alison's hand slipped out, dropping into the water. "I think that we might go have dinner sometime."
"Why," Alison said, grabbing the glass started cleaning it again.
"Because I don't even remember why we broke up. He was great." The door to the kitchen opened, and Danny walked in.
"Hey, you two, Gramps is going to show us his bridge moves. The ones that impressed this Mary-Ann." Erin laughed.
"This I got to see." Alison pointed at the sink.
"I'll finish this up and be right in."
"Come on, Jamie can do that later." Erin pulled her into the family room. She sat down next to Greg.
"You alright." He asked, kissing her cheek.
"Yeah, just tired."
Greg lay on the ground next to Ethan moving his racecar around the carpet track.
"I love this." He looked over at the door to Ethan's room, where Alison was standing.
"Come play with us." Ethan called out.
"Definitely." Alison walked over, and Greg held out his hand, helping her down.
"You can be the construction truck." Ethan handed it over. Alison smiled, taking it.
"You alright," Greg asked, eyeing her. Alison forced a smile on her face.
"Yeah, everything is fine. I met Eddie's new partner today." Ethan looked over at her.
"Like Baez is Danny's and Lucy is mine." Alison nodded.
"Exactly."
"I thought they might be changing things up," Greg said.
"They had a change of heart, and I think it will be best for everyone. It's Baez who should be worried, considering how often he's been working with Antony." Greg looked at her.
"I don't think we have anything to worry about that." Alison raised an eyebrow.
"Really. What do you know." Greg glanced at Ethan, who was looking at him.
"Call it a writers intuition."