Disclaimer: Of course none of this belongs to me.

5-A Skeleton in the Closet

Scotty rubbed his eyes wearily before reaching across his desk to pick up the phone. "Detective Valens speaking."

"Hijo! ¿Qué tal? You no call for weeks—I thought you dead!" screeched a female voice from the other end. Scotty winced and pulled the phone away from his ear as his mother burst into a slew of Spanish explicatives. She was the last person he had expected to hear from. Of course, he couldn't blame her. It had been almost three months now since Scott had talked to his family.

Lilly was passing by with a file in her hands when she noticed Scotty keeping the phone at a distance. She could vaguely make out a hoarse voice screeching in another language. "Ex-lover?" she teased with a twinkle in her eyes.

"My mother. I haven't talked to her for a while…apparently she was worried," answered Scotty wryly.

"I see. By any chance, Scotty, have you even told her that you've knocked up an innocent woman?"

"Don't push it, Lil. My parents are very traditional. The second they find out that you're carrying my child they're going to start planning a wedding."

"Maybe you should wait to tell them about the baby until after it's born," murmured Lilly placing a hand on the small bump beneath her shirt. Scott snickered as he watched Lilly skitter off to the opposite side of the department. Typical Lilly, still afraid of commitment.

"¿Mijito? You there?"

"Yeah, Ma, I'm here," sighed Scotty bringing the phone back to his ear. "I'm sorry I haven't called lately, but I've been busy with work. I'm on a new case."

"Uh-huh. You think I stupid? Mira, hijo, I hear about your last case. Don't think I can no read. Who this partner of yours? Why I no meet her? She carry mi nieto and I no meet her?"

Scotty groaned. "Ma, I don't know if that's such a good idea. Lilly's afraid of people. She has cats for best friends…can't you and Dad wait until after the baby's born?"

Mrs. Valens snorted. "You estupido? I want to meet her. Bring her for dinner tonight. I make good meal. Fatten her up. You don't cook well; she needs to be strong for baby. When is wedding?"

"There is no wedding, Ma. Look, I'll try and bring Lil over for dinner—but don't do anything to scare her, okay? She's a cop too. She might use her gun if you mention marriage to her."

"Fine, I no say anything, but I no speak for your Papá. Okay? Dinner tonight. Te quiero."

"Te quiero." Scotty sighed and hung up the phone. He glanced over to where Lilly was sitting with Jeffries and Vera, discussing the case. Their latest suspect, Calvin, was still AWOL. Scotty got to his feet and went to join his colleagues.

"How was the talk with your mother?" asked Lilly looking up.

Vera chuckled. "Well, well, Valens, you finally tell your folks they're going to be grandparents?"

"They already knew," replied Scotty pulling out a nearby chair and plopping down in it. "My mom likes to read the tabloids too. She wants us over for dinner tonight, Lil."

Lilly made a face. "I thought you said they were traditional."

"They are, so my mom's making a feast in your honor. She wants to fatten you up so the baby will be healthy."

"Does she know that you two are living together?" asked Jeffries.

"She will tonight," murmured Scotty. "Any luck with our boy Calvin?"

"As a matter of fact," started Stillman joining the group, "he's on his way here. An officer pulled him over for a routine traffic stop, saw the warrant out for his arrest and was kind enough to bring him here."

"Great. Scotty and Jeffries can talk to him," said Lilly brightly.

"And what are you going to do?" demanded Vera.

"Eat lunch, what else?"

Vera glanced down at his watch with a frown. "It's only ten in the morning."

"Yeah, well, try telling that to the beanie baby in my stomach. Damn kid doesn't know when to let up. He's kicking now."

"She," interjected Scotty.

"Whatever."

"You sure this kid ain't gonna turn out to be a cross dresser when it grows up? You can't even agree on what it is!" Vera chuckled at the thought.

"As long as he's a Nobel Prize Winner, we'll love him for whatever he thinks he is," replied Lilly casually.

Scotty shook his head. "She better get your looks and not your attitude, Lil, or I'm taking her in for a trade."

"Well, if he looks anything like you, then we might as well lock him up now." With those words Lilly got out of her chair and made her way over to the break room with all three males staring after her incredulously.

Stillman grinned. "Maybe you should record tonight's festivities with your family so we don't miss out. Lilly's in quite a mood today."

"It's only because she decided she doesn't like the bed she got for herself. So now she's taken over mine," stated Scotty.

"You mean you two are actually sharing a bed?" questioned Jeffries with a raised eyebrow.

"It's more along the lines of Lilly's afraid to sleep by herself. The house is too damn big for her. She wakes up in the middle of the night thinking she hears something outside. So she's been using her bed as the excuse. Personally, I think my daughter doesn't like to sleep so far away from me."

"I thought Lilly said it was a boy," pointed out Vera scratching his head thoughtfully.

Scotty rolled his eyes. "Lilly's just the mother, what does she know?"

Before anyone else could reply, an officer appeared in the doorway of the homicide department with a cuffed man.

"Looks like its show time," said Jeffries getting to his feet.

"Lets hope tall and ugly has something to share today," agreed Scotty as they went to meet the officer. Scotty took charge of Calvin and ushered the man inside the questioning room. Calvin rubbed his wrists gingerly the second he was un-cuffed and able to take a seat.

"So, Calvin," started Jeffries taking a seat across from the man, "do you want to tell us why you ran a couple of weeks ago?"

"I don't talk to the five-oh," retorted Calvin darkly.

"Too bad. I guess you don't care if we decide to charge you with Abigail Martin's murder then, do you?" added Scotty from his position by the wall.

Calvin's eyes widened. "You ain't got any proof! I would never kill Abby! She's my best friend! We grew up together!"

"Then you must know all about her drug problem, huh?" interjected Jeffries casually.

"Aw, look man, Abby was smart about everything—she would never stoop so low as to do drugs."

Scotty raised an eyebrow warily. "You're kidding, right? Everyone else has been saying that Abby was on drugs, and that's what got her killed."

"Oh no, Abby was smart she wanted the good life, and she knew where drugs would take her if she ever got hooked," replied Calvin shaking his head.

"How about you? Did you ever do any drugs?" asked Scotty.

"Me? Are you crazy? I grew up watching my brothers do drugs. Now one's in jail and the other is six feet under as a result. I was the only one who tried to make it. I worked full-time and went to school. My senior year in high school I had to drop out…my girlfriend was pregnant and got kicked out of her house. I had to work two jobs to try and support my girl and the baby. And it all paid off. Jamie and I are finally getting married. Our boy's gonna be the ring bearer. I didn't have time for drugs. They only screw you up."

Jeffries grimaced. "Abby's friend "Max" said she had been worried about you around the time of her death. Was it because you had dropped out of high school?"

"Nah. Abby wasn't the one worried about me. Annabelle was. She had had this crush on me since like the third grade or something. She never liked any of my girlfriends, and when Jamie said she was pregnant…well, Annabelle thought it was a hoax, you know? She said the kid probably wasn't mine and that I was making a mistake to drop out and take care of Jamie. But Anna was wrong. Having a son was the best thing that ever happened to me. It made me realize that there is nothing stronger than family. And that's what had Anna so pissed.

"See, her family isn't hunky dory. They don't ever spend time together. Mrs. Martin might say they were close once upon a time, but that isn't true. She barely spent an hour a day with the twins. Jesus, man, I don't know how that woman ever figured out how to tell her daughters apart…I sure as hell couldn't. And I grew up with them. Abby and Anna were total mysteries, you know? They were enigmas."

That Evening:

"Do I look all right?" whispered Lilly as she fidgeted beside Scotty. The two stood on the doorstep of his parents' house, preparing to enter the fray inside.

"You look fine. As long as my mom can see that you're pregnant she isn't going to care how you look. You could have the face of a horse and she wouldn't take a second glance at you. She's always wanted to be a grandmother," replied Scotty giving his blonde partner a warm smile.

"Thanks, Scotty. You always know how to make a woman feel special."

"Hey, I try." Scotty pushed open the front door and ushered Lilly into the hallway. Instantly three women surrounded Lilly, cooing over her small bulge of a stomach in Spanish. Behind the women three men watched cautiously.

"Papa," greeted Scotty with a nod of his head.

The old man with gray hair spoke to his son, all the while studying Lilly. "She as white as snow. She always so white? Maybe she need to eat more…lot more."

"She fine," scolded the older woman giving Lilly a large hug. "She carry mi nieto! Is boy or girl?"

"Boy."

"Girl."

Lilly glared over at Scotty who was glaring right back at her. "We can't agree which one it is," murmured Lilly softly.

"No matter. I love anyway," replied Mrs. Valens waving her hand distractedly. She took Lilly by the shoulders and quickly began the instructions. "This is Scotty sister, Rosa. That over there is her husband Greg. Next to him is Scotty brother David. This here is his wife Gloria. And I am Scotty mama. And that is Scotty papa."

Lilly nodded trying to keep up with the woman's broken Spanish. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Lilly."

"When you marry mi hijo?" demanded Mr. Valens after a moment.

"Uh…um…well…Scotty?"

Scotty blinked in surprise as Lilly turned to him with her blue eyes begging for help. "We haven't settled on a date yet, papa. Lilly wants to wait until after the baby is born—she doesn't want to look fat in her wedding pictures. Remember what Tia Yolanda looked like when she finally got married carrying Robert?"

"Okay. But I pay for wedding. You get poor girl pregnant…I pay for wedding, her family no have to pay," replied the older man smoothly.

"Well…thank-you," said Lilly simply, blinking back unshed tears.

"Good," nodded Mrs. Valens, "now let's eat. You need to fatten up."

Scotty breathed in relief as Lilly allowed his mother to lead her into the small kitchen to seat her. He quickly took a seat beside Lilly and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as his mother, sister, and sister-in-law placed food on the table.

Dinner went by relatively smoothly. Lilly struggled to keep up with the various conversations directed at her. Luckily, Scotty was there to help her out. His family was very vocal. They had a million questions—half of which they didn't care to hear the answers to. They simply adored Lilly without question. It was after dinner that the family was cleaning up that Lilly and Scotty retreated into the living room for a quick breather.

"I really like your family," murmured Lilly sinking into the couch cushion beside Scotty.

"Good, because next they're going to ask for our address…you're gonna see a lot of them during the next few months. My mom's going to want to baby you."

"As long as she and your sisters like painting, I don't mind."

"Painting?" Scotty peered at Lilly quizzically.

"I want to paint the baby's room a spring green."

"Spring green?"

"What? It's a very pretty color. That and it's generic. Boy or girl," protested Lilly good naturedly.

"Alright, I'm sure my mom and dad will come paint. And Rosa will take you shopping for baby stuff, and Gloria will cook enough food to last us a lifetime. Greg and David will probably try and stay as far away from the women as possible."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the first one in my family to have a kid. The girls are gonna want to have babies now too," sighed Scotty.

"You mean I have to be extra careful since I'm carrying your parents' only known grandchild?" Lilly's eyes widened as she contemplated the meaning of this vital piece of information.

Scotty shrugged. "Yeah, something like that. You okay?"

Lilly thought for a moment and then nodded with a small smile on her face. Her hands immediately went to her stomach. "The baby just kicked."

"Really?" Scotty sat forward and placed a gentle hand on Lilly's stomach. After a few seconds he felt a tiny kick within her stomach. His eyes wandered up to Lilly's, whose own eyes were misting in joy. Without thinking he leaned down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss, one in which Lilly responded. They broke away with Scotty gazing down at Lilly in wonder.

"I think I'd like an engagement ring now," she whispered, her eyes sparkling in amusement.

"What, you mean no bet?" returned Scotty holding his breath hopefully.

"I'm tired of betting. I like this…all of this. Being with you, living with you, being with your family. I want this feeling to last forever," answered Lilly.

"Then one engagement ring coming right up," grinned Scotty leaning in for another kiss. Lilly giggled and returned the kiss just as a flash of a camera went off. The couple looked up at the doorway to see Mr. Valens grinning down at them wildly with a camera in his hands. Next to him stood his wife holding a stack of magazines.

"What are those?" questioned Scotty suspiciously. His mother squeezed into the spot between Scotty and Lilly as his father took the spot on Lilly's other side. The two detectives stared in horror as Mrs. Valens placed the magazines on the coffee table. They were bridal magazines.

"Now we plan wedding," announced Mr. Valens triumphantly.

A/N—I know, this one took long too. For some reason I'm having a hard time getting into a flow with this story. But, once I start I can write quite a bit. Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Oh, and just so no one is offended, I intentionally made Scotty's family speak with broken English—my family is Hispanic, so I know for a fact that that is how many Spanish speakers speaker. I'll try my best to get the next chapter out quickly. Finals are only weeks away.