On the Attack
"I am not working in the same place as him. I'm not doing it." Cassie shook her head, walking down the street with Theo.
"Well if it comes down to it, Cassie, we're gonna have to." Theo nodded.
"I'll file a complaint." Cassie said, "It's not right. How is Sean ok with this?"
"You heard Mark. Sean obviously isn't ok with this. He's weaselled his way back in because of his parents. You know they've got connections to the board." Theo shook his head.
"He was literally a dirty cop who worked with a drug circle and now he's back in charge of narcotics? What kind of clownery is this?" She asked herself, shaking her head.
"I can speak with Sean and see if there's a way around it. For now, we just gotta focus on our own work. Ok?" He nodded to her. He was furious, but he knew he had to keep calm for her.
"Oh, yeah. Let's calm ourselves down by finding out who murdered a homeless teenage girl." Cassie rolled her eyes.
"If you need to go sit in the car for a half hour, that's fine. I'll carry on." Theo nodded.
"No. No, I'll be fine." Cassie shook her head, "It's just unfair. Jude never mentioned anything to me when we were out for dinner last night so I'm only assuming Sean hasn't told her."
"Probably." Theo nodded.
"And, did I tell you? She got a letter from Vincent. From prison." Cassie told him.
"What?" Theo turned to her, "Saying what?" He asked furiously.
"For her to come visit him. That he wanted a chance to apologise face to face." Cassie shook her head.
"Don't tell me she's considering it." Theo said.
"I think she is." Cassie said, "I can't pretend to know what it's like. To know what she deals with. How she feels with everything that happened to her. But I just… I just don't want to see her hurt or triggered."
"Of course not." Theo agreed, "Is this it?" He asked, pausing outside the restaurant they'd been searching for.
"I think so." Cassie looked up, "Let's go round the back." She nodded.
"Mommy, someone is knocking at the door." Mirren walked into the kitchen where Jude was fixing them dinner.
"Alright, give me a second." Jude nodded, turning the stove down and making her way through the living room.
"Someone is at the door." Leela also told her mother.
"Thank you, Leela." Jude smiled, tickling under her chin whilst walking past her as Leela squirmed and chuckled on the couch.
"I already told her." Mirren jumped onto the couch beside Leela.
"Well I told her again." Leela mumbled, reaching for the TV remote.
"No, you can't have it." Mirren held it away from Leela teasingly.
Meanwhile Jude opened up the door, looking across at her mother-in-law standing with a bunch of flowers and some chocolate bunnies for the girls.
"Oh, hey." Jude smiled pleasantly.
"Hi, Jude." Gail smiled.
"Come in. Come in." Jude nodded, stepping to the side and letting Gail into the house. She had no issues with her in-laws. She didn't see them all that frequently but when they did it was always pleasant and civil enough.
"These are for you. I saw them in town and couldn't resist. Almost kept them for myself." Gail smiled, handing the flowers to Jude.
"They're beautiful. Thank you." Jude nodded, "The bunnies aren't for me and Sean?" She teased.
"No, they're for my beautiful girls. Where are they?" Gail asked, taking her coat and scarf off, "Oh, now I hear them." She smiled, hearing the girls yelling at one another in the living room.
"Yes, the whole of Chicago can often hear them." Jude nodded, making her way through to the living room, "Girls, look who is here." She announced.
"Granny!" Mirren smiled happily, jumping off the couch.
"Is that chocolate for us?" Leela asked immediately.
"Leela." Jude scolded.
"Oh, you're as subtle as your father." Gail chuckled, amused, giving them both a tight squeeze, "Yes, these are for you."
"Thanks." Mirren smiled whilst Jude looked at Leela, raising her brows.
"Oh, thanks." Leela added, "Mommy, will we have this just now?" She turned to Jude.
"Not when you're about to have dinner." Jude shook her head, "After." She nodded.
"Why not now?" Leela asked with irritation.
"Because I said so." Jude said firmly.
"They always taste much better after dinner, anyway." Gail insisted.
"Chocolate tastes the same all of the time." Leela objected, sitting back up on the couch with her chocolate bunny, holding it securely in her hand.
"It's gonna melt if you keep holding it like that." Jude said, "Give them to me. I'll keep them safe in the kitchen." She said, taking the chocolates from them, "Cheeky." She stuck her tongue out at Leela who replicated the gesture back.
"Whatever you're having for dinner smells great." Gail said, making her way to the kitchen with Jude.
"Tuscan chicken. From a recipe book." Jude said.
"And they'll eat that?" Gail asked, impressed.
"They will when their father gets home." Jude smiled triumphantly as Gail chuckled, "Can I get you a drink?"
"Oh, no. I'm fine." Gail said, "I was actually stopping by to pick your brain about something."
"Pick away." Jude nodded.
"Well since you and Sean are back in Chicago now, I'd really like it if you came to our house for Christmas this year." Gail nodded, "I know that you always go to your parents, but I figured it might be nice to host for once."
"That's… yeah, I mean…" Jude swallowed the dry lump in her throat, trying to think of something to say. What she really wanted to say was no.
"We see so little of you both. It really would mean a lot." Gail nodded.
"I'll… well I'll talk to Sean when he gets home." Jude nodded with a polite smile. She didn't have the confidence to tell her mother-in-law that Christmas was the most difficult time of the year for her, and therefore she wouldn't want to be anywhere else other than with her family.
"Good job, you guys." AJ smiled, baking with Sofia and Sam in their kitchen, "These are going to taste so good."
"Can I lick the spoon?" Sam asked, standing up on a chair so she could reach the kitchen counter.
"It's dough. Not cake mix." Sofia scoffed, cutting the cinnamon rolls into circles using the shape cutters.
"Mommy always lets me lick the spoon." Sam nodded to AJ.
"Sofia's right, baby. It's not the kind of baking that you can lick the spoon after." AJ smiled, kissing Sam's head.
"That's not right." Sam sighed.
"You can eat them when they're cooked." Sofia shook her head.
"Nana, when can we eat them?" Sam asked.
"They won't take long, I promise." AJ smiled.
"I think they're ready to go in the oven." Sofia nodded, making sure she'd cut all the dough into the circles and placed in the baking tray.
"They're perfect." AJ smiled, "I think we got a future baker in here." She said as Sofia smiled.
"Only because mom is always making us bake with her." Sofia said modestly.
"Well it looks great. I can't wait to eat them." AJ smiled, kissing Sofia on the head, "Why don't you girls wash your hands and I'll pop them in the oven, yeah?"
"Ok, nana A." Sam nodded, jumping off the chair, pushing it across the floor to the sink whilst Sofia made her way over carefully, feeling her way around the table in the centre, finding her way to the sink from the sound of her sister's voice.
"Can you pass me the soap?" Sofia asked.
"Sofia, I will put the soap in your hands. Put them out." Sam ordered as AJ turned around and watched, smiling to herself as she watched Sam squirt some soap onto Sofia's hands. She was no stranger to watching sisterly love, and it never failed to make her smile and turn her heart to mush.
"Something smells good in here." Punk announced, walking into the kitchen.
"Sofia and Sam made cinnamon rolls." AJ smiled to him.
"You can have one." Sofia told him.
"But only one." Sam added, "Because we're taking some to mommy and daddy. And James." She said.
"There's plenty for everyone." Sofia told Sam as Punk chuckled.
"Hey, you guys want to come see the bird house? And the bird bath?" Punk asked them.
"Yeah. I do! I do!" Sam yelled, "The birdies have their own bath?" She gasped, jumping off the chair and running out into the back yard, her hands still wet as Punk chuckled, following after her.
AJ smiled to herself, putting the cinnamon rolls in the oven, turning around and looking over at Sofia who was still at the sink washing her hands.
"Is the bird house nice?" Sofia asked as AJ looked over, sighing a little. It was still such a huge adjustment for all of them, more so Sofia than anyone else.
"It's great." AJ nodded, walking over to her, "It's red wood, it's got little circled windows and an arch cut out door. The feeders are right beside it. And the bath too." She said as Sofia nodded along.
"Have they been in the bath yet?" Sofia asked.
"They were in it this morning. We could hear them from our bedroom. They sounded really happy." AJ nodded.
"They must love this house." Sofia smiled.
"I hope so." AJ nodded, handing her a kitchen towel to dry her hands, "Hey, why don't you tell me more about your school? And what have you been up to?"
"Where's Chance?" Sofia asked worriedly as the Labrador's head shot up from the corner of the kitchen once he heard his name.
"He's right here." AJ said, watching the dog make it's way to Sofia, "Why don't we take a seat? I'll get you a juice box."
"Ok." Sofia nodded, following Chance to the table and taking a seat whilst AJ brought over a drink for her.
"So, this school. Tell me everything." AJ nodded, taking a seat across from her.
"It's bullshit." Theo nodded, sitting in a conference room with Cassie and Sean.
"I know it is." Sean agreed, "I can't do anything. He's in with the board. I got no say." Sean shook his head.
"Jude doesn't know I assume?" Cassie asked.
"No. Figured she didn't need to know. She's got enough going on." Sean shook his head.
"You mean Vincent? The letter?" Cassie clarified.
"She told you?" Sean asked.
"At dinner." Cassie nodded.
"I'm trying so hard to just… let her decide. Let her do what she feels she needs to do but… the thought of her sitting there, across from him, listening to him apologising for raping her. I mean?" Sean shook his head, running his hand through his hair.
"It will come down to it being her decision, though." Cassie nodded, "So we just gotta put up with Mark? We actually have to work with him and see him every day in here?"
"Unfortunately." Sean nodded, "I've tried everything. When you guys were in Mexico, I was literally trying to get round every loop hole to catch him out and make it so he didn't get to work here but… I came up at dead ends every time."
"We could just kill him." Theo nodded.
"Not a bad idea." Cassie pointed to him and nodded, "One for the homicide detectives, yeah." She put her hand out as Theo gave her a high five.
"You guys are dorks." Sean nodded, "Just do whatever you can to avoid him. It's what I've been doing."
"Yeah you don't have to tell us twice." Theo nodded.
"Briefing tomorrow morning? 9am?" Sean stood up.
"9.15?" Cassie asked, "School run." She nodded, "Traffic is bad."
"Sure. Whatever. I'm getting out of here." He said.
"Yeah, us too." Theo nodded, all three of them leaving the conference room, pausing in the corridor when they saw Dean being escorted towards them in handcuffs.
"Uncle Dean?" Cassie questioned with concern.
"Hey, Cass. You mind helping me out here?" Dean nodded.
"Keep moving." The officer behind him said.
"Wait. That's my uncle. What's going on?" Cassie shook her head.
"Your uncle just assaulted someone with a baseball bat." The officer said, walking Dean down the corridor to the cells, "You ain't doing shit, Brooks!" He called back.
"What the hell?" Sean turned to Cassie and Theo.
"A baseball bat?" Theo raised his eyebrows.
"One of you call my dad." Cassie told them, running down the corridor to the holding cells.