"Long time no see" Sully remarked as they walked in to what earlier in the day had been the boardroom.
Faith looked around, somewhat awed. Someone had taken the time to make sure the place was definately in spirit. There were the regular red, green and white streamers. The tables had all been cleared out, and there was a huge tree in the corner, sparkling with icicles and decorations. Underneath was a pile of presents for the special guests. There was one long table, covered with a cloth, that held snacks like cheese and crackers, glasses of eggnog, milk and juice were poured. Quiet Christmas music played in the background, and groups of people, some Faith recognized some not, were standing in groups or milling around. Kids were going at the crackers.
In the corner there was a small group of people, huddled. A mother and three kids. Faith immediately made her way over, without saying much to anyone else, to greet them.
"Merry Christmas" She greeted, the mother looked up, a smile immediately filled her face. She stood up, holding one of her children.
"Officer Yokas" she greeted, "Nice to see you here"
"Nice to see you too, and you can call me Faith, who's this little guy?" she asked, tickling the kid's toes.
"This is Ryan, and this little one is Jeremy, and you already know Emily" she introduced her kids. "I'm Kristine" she added.
Faith smiled, "Hey guys, can't wait to open your presents I bet"
Kristine's face fell, "I.. we didn't have enough money for them"
She smiled even harder, "Kristine, the department put some together for you all, dont' worry about it"
Her look faltered, and her eyes seemed to water, "You.. you all... you bought gifts for my kids?"
Faith simply nodded, and suddenly Kristine was crying, and hugging her. "You guys are unbelievable" she sniffed.
"Least we could do" Faith murmured, patting her on the back, "How about we go and introduce you to some of the people around here"
"Can I hold him" Tatiana immediately asked, looking at Ryan who was comfy in Kristine's arms.
Kristine nodded, passing him off to Tatiana, "Wow, my arms are numb" she laughed, shaking them.
Faith looked across the room, looking for Emily and Charlie, who'd taken off with Kristine's Emily and some of the other children. Sully was standing and staring at Tatiana, looking something between uncomfortable and thoughtful.
It was the same look Bosco had on his face, staring at the child as the woman talked about raising kids.
"You'r lucky Emily hasn't tried pushing her limits quite yet, my Em was pushing as soon as she could talk, Charlie was the same way. Take after me I suppose"
"Emily was a quiet child, a quiet baby too, nothing like Ryan or Jeremy. To be honest, I'm not quite sure where she gets her attitude towards life. She seems so innocent"
Faith laughed, "They stay that way in your own mind, whether they are or not"
Faith glanced at Bosco, who still had the look on his face. She glanced at Sully, same look. Discretely she nodded her head towards the guys, Kristine began to laugh.
"It must be a guy thing" she muttered.
"John, do you want to hold him?" Tatiana asked slowly, looking at Sully.
Sully looked shocked, like a deer in headlights, "Uh no, no it's okay" he replied quickly, "I'm gonna go get a drink" he added, immediately vacating the area.
Bosco stared after him, almost jealously. "I think I'm gonna get something too, you want eggnog Faith?" he asked.
Faith nodded, and no later had they left they began chuckling.
"What's so funny?" a voice asked warmly. They turned to find Ty and his mother standing there, decked out nicely. They hadn't even gotten in a reply when Ty's mom was cooing over Ryan. Ty stood looking awkward.
"You know Ty, I remember when you were this small, none of the other moms could keep their hands off you, you were so adorable. They even laughed when I told them about the one time you were-"
"Mom" Ty interupted.
"What?" she asked.
Ty gave her a pointed look.
"Don't be so embarassed Ty, every kid probably has a picture of them standing-"
"Mom!" Ty exclaimed.
"Nude picture huh?" Faith inquired.
Ty went absolutely red and turned on his heel, joining Sully and Bosco at the snack table.
The women cracked up.
"Hey guys" Ty greeted, grabbing a glass of eggnog.
"Hey" Sully greeted, Bosco nodded in response.
"So what's goin' on?"
"Mm, not much, we're taking a breather" Sully remarked.
"You're taking a breather, I'm here for support" Bosco interjected.
"What happened, they talk about nude pictures with you guys too?"
Bosco stared openly at Ty, Sully began to chuckle.
"I don't want to know how that one started" Bosco finally said, "Tatiana asked Sully to hold Jeremy, that's why we're here"
"So what's the big deal Sul?"
"What, you go around holding other people's kids?"
"No, but it's not a huge deal, just hold the kid, make her happy"
"Easy for you to say, it's not your girlfriend asking you to do it" Bosco remarked.
"Faith didn't even ask you"
"Oh, but it was coming, I could see it" Bosco remarked, grabbing another drink.
"Lemme get this straight, you two are afraid to hold a kid?"
Sully glared, "Not afraid exactly.."
"What, you don't know how to hold it or something?"
Both men turned sheepish, "Course we do, we just don't want to-" Bosco attempted.
"You don't know how to hold a baby?!" Ty began laughing.
"You're pushing your limits Davis" Sully said dryly.
Ty began nodding slowly, smiling.
"What?!" Bosco demanded.
"You should ask the girls how" Ty remarked.
"Are you nuts?"
"No, seriously, they'd love something like that. It could be a bonding moment, really"
Bosco and Sully looked thoughtful for a moment. "Later" They said together.
Ty shook his head. "So when's the food gonna be ready?"
Sully shrugged, "Some year, I'm sure."
"I'm gettin' hungry, all I had was toast this morning" Bosco remarked.
"Toast, on Christmas morning?" Ty asked.
Bosco flushed slightly, "I didn't know how to flip the pancakes" he shrugged it off.
This was the last straw for Davis, who cracked up, even Sully began to chuckle. "How does she put up with you?" Sully asked.
"No worse than Charlie" Faith remarked, overhearing.
The men jumped, "Faith, what's up?"
She looked at Bosco, eyebrows raised, "Well, when you asked if I wanted eggnog, I assumed that you were gonna grab me some but.."
His eyes widened, "sorry" he muttered.
She grinned, "It's alright, you guys planning on hanging out here all night, or you gonna come and keep your women happy?" Doherty asked, approaching the cluster or people.
"What are you doin' here?" were Bosco's first words.
"Relax Boz, Christmas remember. It's a 55 Christmas party, not just for the cops y'know"
"Alex here?" Ty asked immediately.
"With your mom, talking about baby pictures or something" Jimmy shrugged, a silly grin on his face.
Faith laughed at the look on Ty's face. "You guys are priceless" she remarked, turning and leaving.
"You think we should go interupt, before they start pulling out wallets?"
"Think it's too late for that" Jimmy stated, nodding his head.
The women were digging through their purses.
"It'll be the heist of the season" Robbie said, clutching a duffel bag.
"Heist of History" his brother, Peter corrected.
"In their own building, their own ground, this is gonna be great" Mike boasted.
"Hey, now don't go getting full of yourselves, we gotta focus" Peter snapped, turning around.
"We're focussed man, don't sweat it. How're the insiders doing?"
"We should be notified any-" he was interrupted by a pager on his belt going off, he looked up with a smile on his face after checking the code.
"Ready to go" he smiled.
"Everything's cut, no communications to the outside world, radioes are inaccesible as long as we take out the desk sergeant. Now remember, these are cops, they ain't stupid, they probably have their guns on them an all, some might even be in uniform, we get to them first. Remember, strip off the kevlar, take all the purses and radioes, check for guns with the handhelds. Everyone gets lined against the same wall."
"We know this all Peter" Robbie whined.
Peter stopps in his tracks and turned on him, "What. Did. I. Tell. You?"
"Focus"
"Good, so start doing it and we'll get through this"
"Don't you think we could at least ask for somethings while we're in there?" Mike asked.
"No. We're in there to show them they aren't invincible. We're showing the city what kind of people they have protecting them. Incompetant pushy assholes."
"I think yer holding a grudge" Robbie pointed out, "What happened to focus?"
For a moment Peter's hand was raised, but steadily it sank to his side again, "You're right" he finally said. "I am holding a grudge".
"You gonna forget about it?"
"No, it's my focus. Payback's a bitch, isn't it Sullivan"
"Y'know, you killed his partner"
"An' the police killed Ace, my brother, they ended my life when they stuck me behind bars. You on their side or ours?" Peter snapped.
"Ours" Mike replied.
"Good, then lets go crash the party."
Faith looked around, somewhat awed. Someone had taken the time to make sure the place was definately in spirit. There were the regular red, green and white streamers. The tables had all been cleared out, and there was a huge tree in the corner, sparkling with icicles and decorations. Underneath was a pile of presents for the special guests. There was one long table, covered with a cloth, that held snacks like cheese and crackers, glasses of eggnog, milk and juice were poured. Quiet Christmas music played in the background, and groups of people, some Faith recognized some not, were standing in groups or milling around. Kids were going at the crackers.
In the corner there was a small group of people, huddled. A mother and three kids. Faith immediately made her way over, without saying much to anyone else, to greet them.
"Merry Christmas" She greeted, the mother looked up, a smile immediately filled her face. She stood up, holding one of her children.
"Officer Yokas" she greeted, "Nice to see you here"
"Nice to see you too, and you can call me Faith, who's this little guy?" she asked, tickling the kid's toes.
"This is Ryan, and this little one is Jeremy, and you already know Emily" she introduced her kids. "I'm Kristine" she added.
Faith smiled, "Hey guys, can't wait to open your presents I bet"
Kristine's face fell, "I.. we didn't have enough money for them"
She smiled even harder, "Kristine, the department put some together for you all, dont' worry about it"
Her look faltered, and her eyes seemed to water, "You.. you all... you bought gifts for my kids?"
Faith simply nodded, and suddenly Kristine was crying, and hugging her. "You guys are unbelievable" she sniffed.
"Least we could do" Faith murmured, patting her on the back, "How about we go and introduce you to some of the people around here"
"Can I hold him" Tatiana immediately asked, looking at Ryan who was comfy in Kristine's arms.
Kristine nodded, passing him off to Tatiana, "Wow, my arms are numb" she laughed, shaking them.
Faith looked across the room, looking for Emily and Charlie, who'd taken off with Kristine's Emily and some of the other children. Sully was standing and staring at Tatiana, looking something between uncomfortable and thoughtful.
It was the same look Bosco had on his face, staring at the child as the woman talked about raising kids.
"You'r lucky Emily hasn't tried pushing her limits quite yet, my Em was pushing as soon as she could talk, Charlie was the same way. Take after me I suppose"
"Emily was a quiet child, a quiet baby too, nothing like Ryan or Jeremy. To be honest, I'm not quite sure where she gets her attitude towards life. She seems so innocent"
Faith laughed, "They stay that way in your own mind, whether they are or not"
Faith glanced at Bosco, who still had the look on his face. She glanced at Sully, same look. Discretely she nodded her head towards the guys, Kristine began to laugh.
"It must be a guy thing" she muttered.
"John, do you want to hold him?" Tatiana asked slowly, looking at Sully.
Sully looked shocked, like a deer in headlights, "Uh no, no it's okay" he replied quickly, "I'm gonna go get a drink" he added, immediately vacating the area.
Bosco stared after him, almost jealously. "I think I'm gonna get something too, you want eggnog Faith?" he asked.
Faith nodded, and no later had they left they began chuckling.
"What's so funny?" a voice asked warmly. They turned to find Ty and his mother standing there, decked out nicely. They hadn't even gotten in a reply when Ty's mom was cooing over Ryan. Ty stood looking awkward.
"You know Ty, I remember when you were this small, none of the other moms could keep their hands off you, you were so adorable. They even laughed when I told them about the one time you were-"
"Mom" Ty interupted.
"What?" she asked.
Ty gave her a pointed look.
"Don't be so embarassed Ty, every kid probably has a picture of them standing-"
"Mom!" Ty exclaimed.
"Nude picture huh?" Faith inquired.
Ty went absolutely red and turned on his heel, joining Sully and Bosco at the snack table.
The women cracked up.
"Hey guys" Ty greeted, grabbing a glass of eggnog.
"Hey" Sully greeted, Bosco nodded in response.
"So what's goin' on?"
"Mm, not much, we're taking a breather" Sully remarked.
"You're taking a breather, I'm here for support" Bosco interjected.
"What happened, they talk about nude pictures with you guys too?"
Bosco stared openly at Ty, Sully began to chuckle.
"I don't want to know how that one started" Bosco finally said, "Tatiana asked Sully to hold Jeremy, that's why we're here"
"So what's the big deal Sul?"
"What, you go around holding other people's kids?"
"No, but it's not a huge deal, just hold the kid, make her happy"
"Easy for you to say, it's not your girlfriend asking you to do it" Bosco remarked.
"Faith didn't even ask you"
"Oh, but it was coming, I could see it" Bosco remarked, grabbing another drink.
"Lemme get this straight, you two are afraid to hold a kid?"
Sully glared, "Not afraid exactly.."
"What, you don't know how to hold it or something?"
Both men turned sheepish, "Course we do, we just don't want to-" Bosco attempted.
"You don't know how to hold a baby?!" Ty began laughing.
"You're pushing your limits Davis" Sully said dryly.
Ty began nodding slowly, smiling.
"What?!" Bosco demanded.
"You should ask the girls how" Ty remarked.
"Are you nuts?"
"No, seriously, they'd love something like that. It could be a bonding moment, really"
Bosco and Sully looked thoughtful for a moment. "Later" They said together.
Ty shook his head. "So when's the food gonna be ready?"
Sully shrugged, "Some year, I'm sure."
"I'm gettin' hungry, all I had was toast this morning" Bosco remarked.
"Toast, on Christmas morning?" Ty asked.
Bosco flushed slightly, "I didn't know how to flip the pancakes" he shrugged it off.
This was the last straw for Davis, who cracked up, even Sully began to chuckle. "How does she put up with you?" Sully asked.
"No worse than Charlie" Faith remarked, overhearing.
The men jumped, "Faith, what's up?"
She looked at Bosco, eyebrows raised, "Well, when you asked if I wanted eggnog, I assumed that you were gonna grab me some but.."
His eyes widened, "sorry" he muttered.
She grinned, "It's alright, you guys planning on hanging out here all night, or you gonna come and keep your women happy?" Doherty asked, approaching the cluster or people.
"What are you doin' here?" were Bosco's first words.
"Relax Boz, Christmas remember. It's a 55 Christmas party, not just for the cops y'know"
"Alex here?" Ty asked immediately.
"With your mom, talking about baby pictures or something" Jimmy shrugged, a silly grin on his face.
Faith laughed at the look on Ty's face. "You guys are priceless" she remarked, turning and leaving.
"You think we should go interupt, before they start pulling out wallets?"
"Think it's too late for that" Jimmy stated, nodding his head.
The women were digging through their purses.
"It'll be the heist of the season" Robbie said, clutching a duffel bag.
"Heist of History" his brother, Peter corrected.
"In their own building, their own ground, this is gonna be great" Mike boasted.
"Hey, now don't go getting full of yourselves, we gotta focus" Peter snapped, turning around.
"We're focussed man, don't sweat it. How're the insiders doing?"
"We should be notified any-" he was interrupted by a pager on his belt going off, he looked up with a smile on his face after checking the code.
"Ready to go" he smiled.
"Everything's cut, no communications to the outside world, radioes are inaccesible as long as we take out the desk sergeant. Now remember, these are cops, they ain't stupid, they probably have their guns on them an all, some might even be in uniform, we get to them first. Remember, strip off the kevlar, take all the purses and radioes, check for guns with the handhelds. Everyone gets lined against the same wall."
"We know this all Peter" Robbie whined.
Peter stopps in his tracks and turned on him, "What. Did. I. Tell. You?"
"Focus"
"Good, so start doing it and we'll get through this"
"Don't you think we could at least ask for somethings while we're in there?" Mike asked.
"No. We're in there to show them they aren't invincible. We're showing the city what kind of people they have protecting them. Incompetant pushy assholes."
"I think yer holding a grudge" Robbie pointed out, "What happened to focus?"
For a moment Peter's hand was raised, but steadily it sank to his side again, "You're right" he finally said. "I am holding a grudge".
"You gonna forget about it?"
"No, it's my focus. Payback's a bitch, isn't it Sullivan"
"Y'know, you killed his partner"
"An' the police killed Ace, my brother, they ended my life when they stuck me behind bars. You on their side or ours?" Peter snapped.
"Ours" Mike replied.
"Good, then lets go crash the party."