AUTHOR: trista groulx
DISCLAIMER: kim, jimmy, alex (taylor), faith, bosco, carlos, holly, doc, ty, sully, emily, kylie, joey, charlie and anyone else who pops up from the TV series are not mine, they belong to NBC, their creator, and the actors and actresses who portray them. the idea for third watch is so not mine, but anyone who i've created for this story are mine so ask if you want to use them.
RATING: PG-13 for language (could change as the series progresses)
SUMMARY: another look into the next generation, through somewhat familiar eyes, a change up though, we have a cop telling her story, thank you Kylie
AUTHORS NOTES: all righty, this one takes place at about the same time Carter comes out of the closet. The laws about the kids, is really a dream of mine, i would love to see something like that go into effect. hey! it's like twenty plus years into the future it could happen! i can't remember for the life of me if kylie's sister had a name in the series, so instead of putting a wrong name, i avoided it, if someone knows the name pls tell me! i could use it in the future. i have decided to make two parts for each charcter, then a fun epilogue... oh sorry for the delay, my muse ran off when my heart was broken, and she's only now returning, this piece may seems a little forced, but i hope it works!
My name is Kylie Kenny, I know, one more "K" and you've got a bunch of racial supremacists running around in white robes. The kids in school used to remind me of that almost every day. It's not like I chose my name; nor did my parents who gave me my last name, but you know how kids are, and that's why I never want to have any. Strangely though it seems to have focused on protecting kids. My work is my life, and I like it that way. If you care I'm a cop, but I'm also a person with more baggage then one human being should carry.
I guess that anyone who's been adopted has a lot of stuff they carry around with them. I know that all the shrinks I had to see as kid would remind that everyone feels the same way. Thank you so much for making a gal feel special! From what I can figure out I get my bad attitude from my biological father, Carlos, and when I was a teen my parents would remind me of that all the time when they got mad. They apologized for it later, but it still cut.
One of my best friends is my little half brother, Carter, I only met him when he was about fifteen, and he ignored me until he was about eighteen, but after that we became best friends. Mostly because I had been keeping a secret of his safe. My half brother is gay, and he's also a firefighter. Short of going to a Republican convention you'd be hard pressed to find a place less tolerant of that life choice.
I also have a big sister, who was also adopted by the same family, and I love her to death too. Although I know it would have been cool to have been raised by Carlos, I thank him every day that he decided that I deserved a family.
He has explained to me so many times that he wanted nothing more to keep me, but when he realized that the family that was interested in adopting me had extended family he could not compete. He was a scared young man at the time, and wanted to keep hold of what was his, but knew that it would be selfish. So he decided to let go of the one person who could love him unconditionally so that she could have a family. How could you NOT want know a man like that?
He's told me some pretty crazy stories about his past, and how much of an ass he was, but I just can't believe it because of what he did for me. Also it's hard to find someone who is as good to his son as someone who didn't give a shit about anything once. I guess time does change people though.
What bugs me the most is that I have the most love out of anyone I know; I have two fathers that think I'm daddy's little girl; I have a little brother who I didn't have to go through all the gross growing boy stuff with.; I have two parents who are still happily married, and I have a big sister who, though I don't see as much as I like, I am great friends with; but I'm not happy. What more could a girl ask for? What kind of girl would ask for more? This girl however, needs to know the last piece of herself, who her mother was. Is that selfish?
It feels like there is something missing out of my life, because I don't know her. I don't know anything about who she was, nor do I know a thing about her family. I just want to know a little bit about her, and the other half of my medical history. My mother died, shortly after I was born. Her family found Carlos and according to him, told them that I was now his problem. He's probably exaggerating about the extent of their enthusiasm about me being in their lives. I am currently using a service which searches for lost family members, hoping they can find someone with the information that I had.
Unfortunately, because I was obviously an accident, Carlos does not know much about my birth mother. I know her name, and that he thinks she was nuttier then a fruitcake. That's why he didn't really have anything to do with me until I was dumped on his doorstep. He thought that she had only said she was pregnant to try and get more from him then they had.
It's really hard to go through life feeling like you're missing a part of yourself, but I don't really have much of a choice. The few attempts I have made to contact my birth mother's family got me the proverbial door slammed in my face. It bothered me more then I'd like to admit that they didn't even want to know anything about me.
It's not like I was looking for an extended family, I already had more then enough. I just want to know about my heritage, all of it. I like when Carlos tells me about my Latina heritage, even if I've found history texts more knowledgeable, he really does try to explain stuff to me.
Carlos doesn't know his family either, and it kind of makes us kindred spirits, and that's why he really does try to answer any questions I have. But I know it's hard to do when you only have limited knowledge of your own past. But he is always there for me when I run down another possible family member who does not want anything to do with their family's dirty little secret.
He has always been supportive of my finding out everything I can about myself. We have even gone to families we thought were his together, only to find it to be a complete dead end. Every time he hit a snag he would get discouraged, whereas I would make it strength my resolve to get the answers I sought.
My father and I are just so different, and that's probably why I'm so desperate to find out who Vangie really was so that I could understand the side of me that has nothing to with the way I was raised.
There are certain things that my sister and I do that no one else in the family does. We know that those mannerisms have to do with our birth families. That's one of the reasons we are so close. We would both examine the other's differences, and would talk about how much it bugged us that way may never know where those little insignificant mannerisms came from, although they're not so insignificant to us.
My sister also likes to ask me where I got the idea to become a police officer, and I can't even answer her. It was just something I felt I needed to try, and found out I was good at. I actually really like my job, most of the time. I feel like I'm actually helping the world in my own way, and that's one of the most amazing feelings in the world. You'd think a teacher would understand the need to want to help people.
That day while I was on shift I got a call from my baby brother that it seemed that his male co-workers were finally starting to accept his announcement, and were glad to hear that he was not attracted to any of them. I was riding with Matthews that day, he usually rode with Davis, but since it was his day off I got stuck with him.
I've always known that Mathews was bad news, but after the way he dealt with Emily and his daughter had proven to me that he was an ass. I had been almost two years since his daughter was born and I could count on one hand the amount of times he had spent any real time with her.
Riding with him was no different from the other times I had gotten the pleasure to ride with him. He was so self absorbed, he actually got mad at me for talking to my brother on the phone.
"So can you believe her getting all pissed off because I can't remember her kid's birthday?" he asked me as I tuned back into his conversation.
"Who's birthday did you forget this time?" I asked.
"I haven't forgotten it yet! How the hell am I supposed to remember Angela's birthday."
"She's your daughter!"
He shrugged. "I wish people would stop saying that!"
"It's the truth, as much as you don't want to admit it you are her father. Blood tests have proven that more then once!"
"All you chicks are the same!"
"You're an ass you know that?" I snapped. "Tell me again why it is that you and Davis don't have the same day off this week."
"He has an appointment or something, and switched his day off, so I get stuck with you."
"Trust me, this is no picnic for me either."
There was no love lost between the two of us. He tried to pick me up his first day on the job, not realizing I was the person he was going to ride with. Needless to say that day did not go well, nor did any other day we were stuck riding together. There was no love lost between us, but at least we had learned, for the most part to keep it clean when we were out of the car.
"Why are you such a bitch?" he asked.
"Same reason you're such an ass," I replied. "It's one day if we keep our mouths shut it'll probably make life easier for both of us."
He shrugged. "Do you think I should see my kid more?"
"Yeah, whether you wanted her or not she's here."
Just as he was about to respond we got a call for a domestic disturbance. Could this get any worse? Having to bring mister insensitivity to that kind of call. He was a shoot 'em up kind of cop, who liked action. While I pretty much specialized in domestic situations. I couldn't think of too much that could be worse.
When we got the scene we discovered that a neighbour had called after hearing a lot of screaming, and slammed doors from the apartment next to hers. At first no one seemed to be home. Just as we were about to leave a woman with a black eye opened the door.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Your neighbour called us, she is concerned about a possible domestic disturbance," Mathews explained.
"She was wrong."
"Let's go."
I glared at him. "Unfortunately we have to investigate the scene ourselves to ensure that we will not get a similar call later today."
I knew Dylan was rolling his eyes behind me. I just hoped that she didn't see it. I was lying, I didn't have to investigate any further, but I knew that if I didn't we might end up back at this door later. The fact that she looked terrified and she was obviously hurt just proved that something had happened, and she was afraid of the consequence, I had seen it all too often. How did people get like that?
"I can't let you in," she replied.
"Is there someone there who will hurt you if you do?"
"No, but I shouldn't let you."
I shook my head. "I need to at lest ask you some questions. What's your name?" She looked so familiar to me.
"Kirstyn, K-I-R-S-T-Y-N, James," she replied.
"I used to have a friend in school who spelled her name like that."
"Don't try to get me to open up to you officer Ken- Kylie Kenny?"
"That's what my badge says. Kirstyn, what happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
I shrugged. "There are ways that whoever did this to you will never find out."
"Kylie, why are we wasting our time on this. We have other calls," Matthews whined.
"I have not heard anything saying we need to be elsewhere. If you're going to do this, go downstairs, and wait for me in the car. If I hear something urgent over the radio I'll join you."
"I'm not a child."
"If you don't want to do your job properly then I don't need you around."
"I'm going downstairs. If you're not there within five minutes of any call, I'll go alone." He disappeared down the hallway.
Kirstyn let me in. "Your partner is kind of cute."
I shook my head. "I'd rather stick my head in an oven then attempt even friendship with that man." She laughed. "Can you tell me what happened, and then we can figure out the best course of action?"
She shrugged. "If I do anything he'll take my kids."
"I can help make sure that doesn't happen."
"How?"
"There's been a lot of legislation lately because there have been so many child abduction cases, where one parent will take the child out of spite. While we cannot protect them everywhere, we can protect them at school, without the other parent knowing why they cannot be removed from the school environment."
She looked at me, and for the first time since I got there, I saw some hope in her eyes. "How would I do that?"
"All you need to do is sign a waiver saying that, I, or any officer acting on my behalf may intervene if a problem arises with, in this case, the father, on school premises. The document can only be seen by court officials if it turns out that you have lied, and you abduct your children, or by the judge in a custody hearing. If a judge allows your – husband?" She nodded. "If the judge lets your husband see it, he will be disbarred, and it cannot be written into the official log as being one of the deciding factors for awarding custody."
She nodded. "That sounds great!"
"For your safety, and your children's I'm going to suggest that you go to a shelter until their programme helps to relocate you. If you decide to do so I can help you get in." "I don't know."
"It's a hard decision, one which I know I would not want to be face with. But think about your children. Whether you realize it or not, they know that you are in danger. Also, if he hasn't already, it is normally just a matter of time before he does the same to your children. I know you don't want to admit it, and that he loves you, but you need to make this decision for your children." I was trying to stay professional, but it was hard. I just wanted to shake my former friend until she listened to reason.
"What happens when he finds out that I've called the police?"
I shook my head. "You didn't call, your neighbour did. While the system is not foolproof many of the flaws that people read about in the news are exaggerated. You are much safer at shelter, with their guidance and expertise then you are trying to stick it out yourself."
"I can't go to the hospital. He'll know that I went."
I looked at her. "I don't think you need to go the hospital. The shelter will make the final decision, but if they feel you need to see a doctor they will send you to one of theirs. They have therapists on hand to help you and your children cope with the changes, and if anything further happens they will also help with that." "I don't have any money of my own."
"Then you will help out, when you are on your feet they will ask you for donations to support other women like yourself." "I just don't know."
"Do you want to be a punching bag the rest of your life?"
She shrugged. "He could change."
"Then someone else may be able to appreciate that."
"You don't understand!"
"Maybe, I don't, but I have seen many cases like this. I tend to be the person who gets these cases, because apparently I have the knack for them. Generally when someone stays, I end up at their funeral."
"Why would you go?"
I shrugged. "When I have the chance, and I've worked with a someone fairly closely I tend to want some closure. I know that you love him. But love is not supposed to hurt this much. I'm going to give you my card, with my cell phone number on it. You don't have to make his choice right away, but if you change your mind, don't hesitate to call." I stood up to leave.
"Wait!" she cried. "Are you sure my children will be safe?"
"As safe as we can make them legally."
"I'm not sure about a shelter, but I know that I do not him to have access to them at school."
I nodded. "You will have to come down the station house to fill out the proper documents. But I can put the restriction into effect immediately. I'll just need some information from you, and I will answer any questions you may have."
"All right."
"What are their names, and ages?"
"They're twins, they're both six. They have his last name, Russell." She showed me a picture. "That's Melanie, and that's Michael."
"They're adorable." I smiled. "May I have this picture for their file?"
"Of course."
"What school are they currently attending?"
"PS 12."
"All right, perfect."
"Now we are going to get you identification kits when you fill out the paper work. It will provide you with everything you will need so that they can be identified anyway, finger prints, to dental records. In the interim however, we ask for any birth marks, or scars which will make it easy to identify if he tries to change their appearance." She went white. "Oh God!"
"It's just a precaution, if I had children I would have an ID kit even if I had not reason to fear someone taking them. Many of my co-workers have them for their own children. It's just a precaution which we hope will never have to be used. This way if something does happen, then any information we need is right at hand."
She nodded. "Melanie has a heart shaped birthmark on her shoulder blade. It is a discolouration, that looks almost like a tan in that one spot. Michael has a scar on the back of his leg, near the fold of his knee from sitting on a curling iron when he was three."
"Perfect, and I will also need all contact information, for yourself, and a person who you trust enough to tell what you will be doing. This is incase he tries anything we can discreetly call and inform you so you may change any routine to get them home as safely as possible."
"You do all that?" She asked after giving me all the information I needed.
"Yes, it's a fairly new system, but so far we find it is well worth it. As soon as this is called in your children will be safe at school."
"Thank you, Kylie."
I shook my head. "Don't thank me, all you had to do was listen."
"Are people always so difficult?"
"Mostly, yes. The heart is a strange thing that makes us all do even stranger things. I personally may not understand, but I know the cases I have seen, and that's what I like to go on. I have a soft spot for kids, so I like to dedicate as much of my time educating people about new laws which have been put in place to protect them."
My radio went off, and heard that there had been shots fired. Kirstyn's face went pale, and I turned to leave.
"How do you do it, Kylie?" she asked
"It's my job." I told her. "It was nice seeing you again, and hopefully I'll see you at the station when you come in to finish all the paper work."
"Here's hoping."
I left, ran downstairs, and got into the car. I had barely closed the door and Mathews had taken off. I struggled to pull my seatbelt on.
"Took you long enough," he grunted.
"I came as fast as I could," I told him.
When we got to the scene there were already two cars there, and they seemed to have everything under control.
"You made me miss a good call," he growled, as we drove away.
"I know that you don't care about women and children, but it's still a part of your job, you should learn to deal with those situations better."
"Whatever, you should learn to not get so involved."
"Just because I am not risking my life to help save these people does not mean that my work is less then yours."
"I never said that." He grumbled. "Besides I love women, and I have a kid, so I don't know where you think you can get away telling me I'm not sensitive."
I shrugged. 'You love women in your bed, and once they're not there you have no use for them. You even treat me like an inferior, so get off the cross. As for your child, I will believe you are really a father when you spend time with her. Only strengthening my case for you having no need for women outside the bedroom."
"You're a bitch you know that?"
I shrugged, I never let him bother me. "You only hate me cause you can't con me into jumping into bed with you."
"Davis had better be back tomorrow."
"I'd shoot myself to avoid working with you."
"Please do."
That had been the extent of the friendship between he and I. Mostly I had only heard stories about Emily from Carter, but it all seemed very harsh. Most of the time he would come in bragging about what he had done, bagging her again, as he put, which pissed me off even more. He was always telling people about the way he got out of seeing his daughter. It pissed me off so much. Here was a guy who simply could not be bothered to step up to the plate and be a father.
I called in the information for the last call, and not twenty minutes later I got a call saying that the father was at the school looking to take the children out of school early. I could tell that Mathews was pissed that he had to come along on the call. I did these sorts of calls more often then I would have liked.
We pulled up to the school, I had been there a couple of times before. I went right to the office, I heard a man before I saw him.
"If I want to I can take my fucking kids! They are MY kids!" he yelled.
"I'm sorry, Sir, I told you already, we have orders from the police not to allow you to leave with them," the secretary tried to explain.
"It must be a fucking mistake! I've never hurt my kids, and I can take them when I fucking want!"
"Please Sir!"
I could tell he was angry, and he'd be even more angry when he saw me. I took out my badge.
"Excuse me, Sir, if you would like to scream at anyone, please scream at me. I'm Officer Kenny, with the NYPD."
"Tell me why I can't fucking take my children!" he demanded.
"Please, try to calm down."
"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! I need to bring them to an appointment."
"All right, I'll just call your wife to verify."
His eyes fell. "I just want to take them for ice cream, as a surprise."
"That's a wonderful treat, unfortunately, I cannot let you leave this premises with your children."
"Why the fuck not?"
"My partner and I got a call this morning about domestic abuse."
"That bitch!" he thundered.
"A neighbour called in the complaint. When we arrived on the scene, late because of a traffic jam, we got no answer, and assumed no one was home. We talked to the caller, who said that she had heard many fights coming from the apartment. We did research, and decided it would be best if we contacted the school and advised them that the children could not leave without written consent from both parents."
"You have that right?"
I nodded. "Yes, there are many new laws in place to protect children. Our concern is for the children. We did not know who the fights were directed at, and want to make sure that your children are not hurt."
"So my wife would have the same problem taking the kids?"
"Yes, Sir, she would. Unfortunately because of the nature of the complaints, I am going to have to ask you to come with me. Normally I would simply drive you home, but because of the incident this morning, I will have to bring you to the station. You are not being charged with anything, we are only bringing you there to ensure that the children get home safely." I knew that he was angry, but he couldn't really fight me. He knew that if he did then he might incriminate himself. I took him to the car, and made the excuse that I had to go to the washroom, so that I could make the call to Kirstyn, so she would know what was going on.
We ended up having to keep him at the station about an hour. She actually came to pick him up, with the kids. So he would not get suspicious about anything. I just hoped that he had believed my story about the neighbour and would not take his anger out on her that night.
I always found it odd when I ran into people I had known when I was in the field. I always wondered how they had gotten from the point that I had last seen them, to the trouble they then faced. Kirstyn and I had been very close until her parents put her into private school, and we lost track of one another. It was hard not to be attached to the case. While I was only doing what I would have done for anyone else, I could not stop thinking about it.
It was my day off, a few months later. I had gone to the agency that were taking care of my case to find out about my family. I was worried what new development had taken place, but I hoped it would be good news. Normally I would ask someone to go along with me, but that day I decided t go alone. I got there, and hardly had to wait before I was called into one of the offices to talk about the news.
"How are you today?" asked Jon, who had been taking care of my case from the beginning.
"I'm good, yourself?" he replied.
"Pretty good."
"Is it good or bad."
"I'm sorry, I wish I had better news for you."
I nodded. "What now?"
"They asked that we stop harassing them. We are no longer allowed to contact them on your behalf, and you are not allowed to contact them directly."
"They can do that?"
He nodded. "You're a police officer you should know. They consider it harassment, unfortunately, there is nothing we can do. If we keep digging we may get a court order against us, which would be bad for the company."
I nodded, "I understand."
"I'm sorry, Kylie."
I shook his hand, and left the office. I was crushed, not only did I not know anything about that part of my family, as of that day I never could, unless they had a change of heart, and found the need to get to know me. That ball was in their court, and I couldn't do anything to change that fact.
Since it was my day off I decided to meet my sister at the school where she worked. She worked in one of the rougher neighbourhoods in New York, and I was glad that she stuck with it there, instead of running off scared, like most people did. She felt that her time was best spent helping kids who needed it the most. She had been offered jobs at many private schools, but she always turned them down. She would rather help kids who needed it, then to teach kids with silver spoons in their mouths.
I often thought her time would be better spent as the school guidance consoler, but it had always been her dream to become a teacher, so that was what she did. It was hard some days, I knew, but she did a good job with what she had. She may not have had the best resources, and she mostly had over crowded classes, but she always made time for kids who needed a bit of help.
I signed in, and went right to her usual room. As I was going in, a student was leaving. I knocked on the door gently and let myself in. She looked up, then got up to give me a hug.
"You remember I was telling you about that kid Noah?" she asked me.
"The kid who was hoping to get a scholarship to Harvard?" I asked.
"That's the kid, who just left. He came to tell me that he got in!"
"That's wonderful!" I always liked to be reminded that there was good in the world.
" I know, I'm so proud of him, he worked so hard for it." She was smiling from ear to ear. "What bring you here this fine afternoon?"
I smiled. "I had the day off and needed to talk to my big sister."
"Come on Ky, there's more to it then that. Want to go for coffee and we can talk about it?"
I nodded. "That would be nice."
We went to a nearby coffee shop, and were lucky enough to find two cushioned chairs. I sat down, and wasn't sure where to start.
"How's work?" she asked.
"It's been good, glad to have had the day off though."
"I bet! I need more of those."
I laughed. "The life of a public service worker. You help society and all you get is an ulcer!"
She shook her head. "Tell me what's up, please."
"I got a call from the agency today. I went down there, Vangie's family doesn't want anything to do with them, or me. If I try to contact them at all they'll file charges." I began to cry.
She came around the table and hugged me. "That's horrible I know how much you wanted to get to know them."
"I just want to know the other part of myself." I began to sob.
"You don't need them to know who you are."
"I just need to know who she really was."
"Ask Carlos." She reasoned.
I shook my head. "Carlos thinks she was nuttier then a fruitcake! Her family would know the truth, though. I need to know if she had some kind of – something – that I'd have to worry about."
"If something does strike you like that, you have a family who would love and support you through the entire ordeal. You know Mom and Dad would help you."
I shrugged. "I know but-"
"Besides if your job hasn't made you go off the deep end, nothing will. Just keep talking when things get to you, and you should be fine."
My big sister was so smart, that why I thought she'd make a good counselor. But it had been her dream to be a teacher. When we were kids, just after she started school, she would get home and try to teach me all that she had learned that day. She even taught me how to read. She was a great big sister, and helped me all the way through school whenever I struggled. She even helped me through Police Foundations, even when she didn't know a the first thing about it.
"I know you're right, but I really wanted that last piece of the puzzle."
She nodded. "I understand, I would have been crushed not knowing both sides of my family. So there's nothing you can do?"
"No, all I can do is hope that someone may have a change of heart, and try and find me."
We talked for a little while longer before we both had to leave. When I got home I had a message on my machine saying that I'd be working with Mathews the next day. At least they gave me warning about him this time.
I was not looking forward to working with him. Especially after what had happened with Vangie's family. He got under my skin. He would not acknowledge his own child, but if anything ever happened he would never give up his right to her. He had told me as much. He didn't want her, but he didn't want anyone else raising her. I didn't know the inns and outs of the story, I just knew it pissed me off as someone who had been adopted.
Emily was probably an excellent mother, but he had been the one who had asked her to keep her, and now he had nothing to do with either of them.
I knew Emily was ready to put the baby up for adoption because she had sought me out to talk to me about what it had been like to be raised by my adoptive parents, and knowing Carlos. I told her that it was honestly the best thing he had ever done for me, because I got a life he could not have given me. She told me that she was going to put her up for adoption.
A week later I saw them arguing, and Matthews told me that he had begged her to let him help raise the baby. Two years later, he was nowhere to be found, and the child was stuck being raised by her grandmother, while her mother worked her butt off to try and give her everything she needed. When what would have been the best thing for her would have been two loving parents.
I tried to keep my hostility toward him to a minimum, but the circumstances of the last few days would make it the biggest challenge I had faced working with him. Hopefully it would only be for a day. I knew I could handle one day with that idiot.
end
end notes: all right, agian sorry for the delay, the next one should not take so long, i have it written, just needs some editing, and i have half the following one too! next up will be Dylan followed by Tyrone, then we will go back through the list to conclude with a 3rd person POV epilogue! hope you like this one after all the tiem it took to get it out!