A/N: So sorry for the delay! Thanks for reading and reviewing.

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Two weeks later…

She woke up on Tuesday and went for a run. She knew she would probably be giving this up soon in exchange for something else. Putting in three miles was becoming tedious even this early on. It wasn't like this with Charlotte, but maybe all the advice she was getting was true: every pregnancy is different.

After she got in from her run, Patrick was up sipping his own cup of tea as she started her decaf coffee while preparing a small snack. She certainly didn't remember wanting as much fruit and yogurt when she was carrying Charlotte.

"Should I meet you at the doctor's office or do you want me to drop you off this morning?"

She started. She forgot to tell him.

"What?"

"We have an appointment this afternoon! Did you forget?"

"Oh no. It's just that I was planning on going alone because…"

"I already called Megan, and she will be here by 10:30 to sit with the girls." Megan was one of two vetted sitters that they, Grace and Wayne, and Madeleine used. "I was thinking we could grab lunch and then go over to the doctor's office."

"I actually have to go to a meeting with the FBI immediately after the appointment, so I was planning to go alone."

He raised his eyebrow. Hopefully, she hadn't been too transparent. "Meeting with the FBI?"

"Yes, for a case we've been collaborating on. I have meetings all morning, and I was going to just grab a quick lunch before the appointment."

His face fell. "Are you sure? I always pick you up and take you. I could just meet you over there…"

"No, it's fine. I've got it! It's just a routine check up."

She kissed him on the cheek, but he stayed rooted in place like a stone. She had considered the option of him meeting her there, but she figured that he would want to linger when she had somewhere to be. She hated lying to him, but it was necessary for now.

After a long morning of meetings with Director Bertram, she was off to her appointment. Realistically, she wished that Patrick were here. They always did this together, as a team.

"Teresa, everything is looking great with the twins. I'm happy with their development."

She rolled her shirt down over her belly as she sat up. "Yeah, just 15 weeks down, and a million more to go!"

"Not necessarily. When we get further in we may want to look at scheduling you for a Caesarian."

She blinked rapidly as she felt a pit form in her stomach. "What? You said everything looks great!"

"With twins, it's not uncommon for them to come around 38 weeks. We'll talk more about it as we progress."

"But…Charlotte was early, and…"

"She was fine. She not only hit an excellent birth weight, but from what you tell me, she continues to hit all of her developmental markers. Teresa, there are no hard and fast rules. Babies come whenever they're ready. Twins seem to get ready faster, and you'll be beyond tired of carrying two of them well before 38 weeks."

"Okay. Is there anything special I should be doing?"

"Nope. You're doing just fine! Just like you did before. You're a pro at this!"

She wet herself last night. She didn't exactly feel like a pro then.

After scheduling her next appointment, she stopped for a tea and pastry before hitting the road. Staring at her pastry, a pang of guilt crept over her again. They always did this together, and then, he took her for ice cream. That was their routine. A lone, sad, cold pastry was not the routine.

Not to mention, she would have to relay all of that to Patrick. Who knows what kinds of questions he'd have about it that she wouldn't be able to answer! The guilt crept in. He should have been there—he would have been there if she hadn't told him not to be here. Now, he would get second messages about his kids, and he probably wouldn't enjoy that.

She steadied herself. Next time. Today, she had to go check something out. After all, it was for a good cause.

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By Friday, she was utterly exhausted. Even though her job kept her at her desk, in meetings and media interviews most days, balancing the personalities in her office could be a lot to handle. Of course, she had a great working relationship with Madeleine and Sam, but some of the other leads were still having a hard time taking direction from her. Her promotion upset some of them and alienated others who felt she'd not earned it–and Director Bertram did nothing to change their perceptions to that end.

Fine. She didn't need hand holding. She told them what to do, and if they didn't there would be consequences. Nothing new, and while she could figure out what their frustrations were, she still couldn't figure out the Director. He was both hot and cold about their working relationship–but he was definitely on edge that the FBI was still in the building.

This morning, she had yet another meeting with Agent Abbott, leaving Director Bertram heated because the FBI was still in his office.

"Agents Lisbon and Hightower, I'm sorry that we've not gathered more information on this case to help in solving the homicide."

She noted how he addressed her and Madeleine as opposed to Bertram. Over the last few weeks, she made several observations about Agent Abbott. As she originally guessed, he was a rather good natured guy. He was quiet and pensive, always speaking thoughtfully and carefully.

"Well, Agent Abbott, it happens. I'm sorry to say that we are also still waiting on lab reports to move along on the homicide. I wish we had something more."

Abbott simply nodded. "It's an ongoing case. We've had it for well over a year now. These guys are good at what they do."

Madeleine grinned as she spoke. "With some of the best minds of both the CBI and FBI, I'm hoping we can be better than they are and catch them."

"I'm sure that your team is quite competent, Agent Hightower."

Abbott looked on attentively with a slight smile as Madeleine returned the compliment. She also noticed his lingering glances on Madeleine. To her knowledge, Madeleine hadn't acknowledged that. Perhaps she was being immature and childish by noting something like that in the workplace so far as it concerned her now subordinate.

Her friend, however, that was a different story. Madeleine could stand to put herself back out there after her tense divorce. While she got custody of the kids (he quickly agreed to that) and a decent settlement, the process itself had been rather rough on her much like when Patrick was going through it. She shuddered at that thought. She hated thinking about that time and that woman. They'd come so far since then.

Madeleine continued. "I am confident that we will solve this case. Let's see what we can do. Is it okay to keep working on this matter, Agent Lisbon?"

Before she could respond, the Director cut in. "Agents Lisbon and Hightower, I'm assuming–well I was assuming–I had the CBI's best working on this matter. Is that not true?"

She went still in her seat. She looked to Madeleine, her friend and her subordinate, knowing exactly which of them was on the hotseat and which of them he wanted an answer from. "Sir, Agent Hightower's team is one of the best teams at the CBI. We could have another team take a look, but…"

"And waste our resources some more?"

Dismissing his rather rude interruption, she continued on. "We could have Agent Bosco's team take an independent review of the case and see if anything shakes out, but I believe Agent Hightower's team is in the best position to work this case."

He plastered a gnarly grin to his face, and she knew what was coming. "It seems you like getting Agent Bosco's independent reviews. He seems to be pretty good at them. I'm amazed he doesn't have your job."

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Agent Abbott shift in his seat as Madeleine looked away and briskly ran her fingers through her hair and up into her bun. It was her tell for when she had something to say but was trying not to speak.

It wasn't Madeleine's job to speak. It was her job to advocate for her people. And she did have her best people on the case.

"Be that as it may, Director Bertram, I think an independent review would be a good idea if you think there's something Agent Hightower's team has missed. However, I've coordinated with her and Agent Abbott. I do not believe anything has been missed. Our resources are not being overly taxed here, and I don't think it's in our office's best interests to cede jurisdiction to the FBI in a triple homicide case. Given the resources that California has already expended and the nature of the CBI, it seems this is a case we can solve."

He leaned back in his chair and glared directly into her eyes. Smug son of a bitch. She knew vanity would be the play with him. He'd hate for the FBI to take jurisdiction and cash in on a triple homicide. But since when did the CBI just hand cases off to the FBI?

He sucked his teeth. "Fine. Let's reassess again in a month. I just hope more bodies don't drop between now and then."

"Thank you, sir."

As Abbott and Hightower got up to leave, he motioned to her. "Lisbon, you stay."

She and Madeleine exchanged a look, and she registered the concern on her face. She nodded, indicating she would be okay. It was a code of sorts that they had worked out long ago.

"Director, if this is about the meeting…"

"It's not. Well, it is."

"Okay?"

"I'm not entirely impressed with Agent Hightower's performance."

She tilted her head, hoping to hide her expression. That was out of left field!

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I pulled her performance evaluations since she's worked at the CBI, and I see nothing here to indicate that she should be in this post. What skills does she have to manage high profile cases?"

"Sir, just because she's held lesser leadership roles doesn't mean she shouldn't be given a chance here. I think she's doing great work. She's…"

"She's late every day, and I don't get the sense that managing Serious Crimes is her top priority."

Well, Madeleine had been late a few times when she was trying to arrange child care on the fly. And no, she couldn't make the late night crime scene one night, but Cho filed in. Everything was fine. It was not a big deal.

"She's doing the best she can, and she's a single mother. I believe…"

"See, there it is. You're friends with her, so you think her personal situation is what matters here when it's the Agency that matters."

"I don't understand where you're going with this. Her close rates are on par with my close rates when I first took over Serious Crimes…"

"Which were not that impressive, if we're being honest. Look, I want us to get out of the business of making nice-looking brochures. I want us to get back to police work."

Surely, he wouldn't like to go on record saying that.

"I believe Agent Hightower is, and has been, in the business of police work. Her close rate is good. She has good rapport with her team."

"Hmm. Well, if this case isn't resolved one way or another in the next month's time, you'll be talking to Agent Hightower about her rapport with her team when she's being sent back to San Francisco."

"Director Bertram, I don't think that's…"

"RESOLVE THE DAMN CASE, LISBON!" She startled a bit as she hadn't expected him to start yelling at her. "Because if I have to get involved and make it go away, then there will be changes!"

"Respectfully, you don't get to raise your voice at me. I don't think that's good for a healthy working relationship."

"I don't care what you think! That's the problem. You're used to dealing with Daddy Minnelli who cared about your thoughts and feelings. I care about results and you doing what I tell you to do. That's how this 'healthy working relationship' works. You do what I tell you to do! And I am telling you that if I don't start seeing results, you will be waving goodbye to your little friend. I don't care what personal issues she has! If you can't handle the hot seat, then hop out of it! You're dismissed!"

Taking every ounce of her being to still herself, she rose quietly and walked out of his office. It wasn't until she reached her own office and secured the door behind her that she finally let out her frustration.

"Fuck!" She slapped her desk. How the hell did he think he could talk to her like that? And resolve the case? How the hell could they resolve the case that easily when two agencies were already working it and they could find nothing?

Noticing it was approaching 5pm, she shook that thought off and got ready to head home. She was tired and ready to see her family. Thankfully, Annie didn't have any arranged play dates, games, or anything else planned for the weekend, so she was looking forward to a weekend at home with her family. Though she was still rather angry at that encounter as she drove home.

"Mama!" A rosy cheeked Charlotte waved her arms and clapped her hands as though she was a welcoming parade of one as she came inside from the garage. She had gotten very good at spotting the cues for when she arrived at home.

She just smiled at her before reaching down and ruffling her hair. "Hi, baby. Did you have a good day?"

She nodded and frowned at the same time. "Good day."

"You know, if we teach her to say that really fast, she might be able to pass as an Australian."

She laughed as Patrick walked up and kissed her cheek. "How about you? How was your day?"

An innocent question that reignited some of the rage that dissipated when she walked into the door. He must've noticed because he just responded with "I see. Well, Charlotte has a new trick to show you."

"Oh yeah?" She looked down at Charlotte.

"Twick, mama!"

Her words were coming, but they were still really working with her piecing together sentences.

"Yeah, she can swim like a little fish."

"Fishie!"

She grinned. "I can't wait to see it."

She doubted Charlotte was doing anything more than a bit of paddling in her pool chair. But Patrick was so good at supporting the girls in even their slightest achievements. She never doubted having a family with him, but in the moments like these where she saw how much he supported their girls, it made her feel whole.

She also felt relief. Dealing with the types of men she had to deal with on a daily basis–like Bertram–the girls would need all of the support and confidence that they could get. Speaking of girls…

"Where's Annie?"

She was awfully quiet, and it was too hot for her to be outside.

"She's upstairs reading."

Her eyes widened. "Reading?"

"We made a deal on Monday. If she reads five books by today, she can stay up until 10pm tonight."

"Five books?" He nodded. "10pm?"

He shrugged. "If she reaches five books, and I am confident that she will because she's latched onto the Babysitter's Club since she started reading yesterday around 1pm, she gets an extra hour–and she will probably be asleep before then. If not, then, she has an extra hour."

"I didn't know we were bartering for reading time."

"It's too hot for her to be outside, and I don't think it's a good idea for her to be on the screen all day."

"Makes sense. I just didn't know we were doing a reading reward program. You know, we used to get pizza for that."

"You make us a delicious pizza once a week, and if I'm not mistaken, that night is tonight. So, Annie might be doubly rewarded."

She grinned. Though, she couldn't shake that sometimes she felt like she was missing out on some of the parenting operations and schemes that Patrick had going. Just last week, he informed her that he had started researching potty training for Charlotte. Of course, she knew they were approaching time to think about it–especially with twins on the way–but it seemed like he was always two steps ahead.

She felt his hand squeeze hers and she met his eyes. "Why don't you go grab a nap? You seem a little tired. I can get the toppings going here in a bit."

"Are you sure? You also look a little exhausted."

He shrugged. "I'm just a little tired. Not a big deal."

"Nap with mama!" Charlotte reached up as she yawned. "Yucky!"

"Are you sleepy, baby?" Charlotte nodded, which was a bit unusual since she usually avoided naps like the plague. She looked to her husband, who looked a bit confused. "Did she have her nap today?"

"She did. I don't know why she would want to nap again." She yawned again as she picked her up.

"Well, if she's tired, I say let's sleep!" Charlotte leaned her head on her shoulder. She was winding down quickly.

By the time she got upstairs, Charlotte was already fast asleep. She laid her on Patrick's side of the bed before going to grab her bear. She always loved sleeping with her Charlie.

Placing the bear into her arms, she swept her hair out of her face. That's when she noticed for the first time how warm she was. She checked her head and her cheeks before placing her hand on her chest.

She ran to the stairs. "Patrick!"

"Uh, yeah? Just about to settle in and watch…"

"She's burning up! Where's the thermometer?"

He came up the stairs. "It's in the bathroom. She's burning up?"

He went into the bedroom, presumably to do his own assessment as she hightailed it to the bathroom for the thermometer. While getting the thermometer, she heard a little screech come from the bedroom.

"Oh shit! It's okay, sweetheart. You're okay."

"What? What happened?"

Well, when she got through the door that question answered itself. "She's throwing up. I think that scared her. Could you get me a wet cloth?"

She handed him the thermometer as she went into their bathroom this time to get a wet cloth. She also chastised herself as she thought that perhaps it was a good thing she hadn't laid down yet.

"Mommy!"

"Yes, Annie?"

Annie was at the door. She also did not look well. At all. "I don't feel so good."

She walked over to her, and she placed her hand onto her forehead. "Okay, you're also warm. Have you been sick?"

"No, but I feel like I might."

Immediately, she started to usher Annie away from her bedroom as Charlotte started to sob. "Okay, let's go to the bathroom…"

"Teresa! Wait!"

"What is it, honey?"

"Step away from Annie. Annie, go to the bathroom if you're going to be sick, okay?"

"What?"

"I think you need to go to a hotel."

"What?"

"The girls both seem to have a fever and are sick. My stomach has been a little off since this morning."

She sighed. She knew he didn't look good downstairs. "So, why do I need to go to a hotel? Patrick, if you're not feeling well, you need to rest. I'll get the sheets changed in a minute. I can look after…"

"No! You don't have the immune system for this right now. If it's some kind of stomach bug, I don't want to risk you getting it. I'm fine. I can handle the girls. I really want you to leave now."

"You can't be serious! I'm their mother. I'm not leaving my kids while they're sick! Or my husband for that matter."

"I'm okay. I've been on a course of Pepto all day. And…"

"I had three brothers! I know what to do in these situations!"

Annie started heaving, and she turned her attention to her.

"Bathroom. Now, Annie!" With that, she was off. And from the sound of it, just in time. "Patrick, I'm not leaving you to care for two sick kids, especially not while you're sick."

He couldn't be serious! Both girls were throwing up now, and he looked like he might go soon as well.

"And I won't have you here risking getting even sicker than we are! We don't know if this is a simple stomach bug or something else, and all of the literature says it could impact you even more."

She bit her bottom lip. "I will be fine!"

"I really want you to leave now. Put it on the card. Think of it as a weekend away."

"I don't want a weekend away! Not like this with all of you sick! Besides, I'm likely exposed already!"

He gave her a stern look. "Go to a hotel until Monday please. For me? I've got it here."

"I'm your wife, and I'm their mother! I'm not just taking off for a weekend when everyone is sick. You're not being reasonable right now!"

"So, you're just going to stand here and yell at a sick man?" He tried to grin, but she could tell a stomach cramp hit him. "I'd really rather you go. You're not doing anything wrong. I promise."

She huffed, wishing he'd Google a little less. Surely, she would be fine. They needed her here. Though, something in his look told her that she was fighting a losing battle. She prepared a bag quickly, and all the while she was fighting back tears. She felt like an awful mother.

What kind of mother leaves her sick kids for the weekend?

"Will you call me if anything changes? Or if you need anything?! I can do a grocery store run for supplies."

"I'm sure we will be fine with what we have, but I'll call you if you need anything else." He gave her a sympathetic look. "Love you."

"I love you, too."

With that said, she drove to the hotel. After getting checked in and ordering dinner to her room, she kicked her shoes off and turned on the tv. She was watching some reality cooking show, unsure of which one it was. Turns out, that didn't matter anyway.

The guy on the cooking show she turned on was making a pizza, and that reminded her that it was pizza night. That was her night. Her night to do something for and with her family. Her family was now at home sick while she was stuck here all alone. She rubbed her belly. She didn't want to be alone right now, even with a house full of sick family members. Her tears started to fall.

Why was she in this damned hotel room all alone while her family was at home? What kind of mother leaves her family like that? How many different ways could she fail at life today?

As she cried, Patrick called her on FaceTime. She sniffled as she tried to clean her face up quickly. It could be an emergency.

"Hey. Is everything okay? Do you need me to come back?"

"No, everything is okay here. Both of the girls are sleeping now."

"How are you?"

"I'm okay. Just drinking some Pedialyte and taking some meds helped me quite a bit. Good thing we bought in bulk last time we were at the store!"

She chuckled, remembering that day. While they agreed that shopping in bulk was a good idea as their family expanded, he was very into it in ways she hadn't foreseen. "We might need to get a pickup truck or a semi to start bringing here," she'd teased him as he loaded up two flatbed carts full of items.

He tapped his chin. "You know, a pickup to haul things…"

"Patrick, no!" He wrapped his arms around her as he started to laugh.

"Well, you mentioned it! Gotta make sure we get our haul home with the family. Very well can't leave you all here alone!"

That brought her down again. She had left them at home all alone.

"Hey, Teresa. Are you okay?" Suddenly, she remembered she was on video. He probably saw that memory and the fallout playing out across her face.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just…"

"You've been crying."

"What? No!"

"Yes, you have. My green eyed girl has been crying. I'm afraid it's true. What's wrong?"

"It's…nothing."

"Teresa, I asked you to leave. You didn't abandon us here. I don't want you to get sick."

"Charlotte was crying out for me. I shouldn't have left. Moms get sick too sometimes. It happens!"

"It does, but I think our goal is to keep you and the little ones healthy right now. I'm okay. The girls are okay. Charlotte took her bottle of Pedialyte and Tylenol and went to sleep. Annie was out not long after. They're feeling gross and exhausted."

"Do you think it's a virus?"

"Could be. We're going to be just fine!"

"I'm sure you will be, but that doesn't make me feel any less like crap having left you and the girls alone."

"If it makes you feel better, just blame me. I'm going to wake Charlotte here in a bit for another bottle. Annie is sound asleep. See."

He tilted the phone down. They were all laying in their bed. She wished she was there with them.

"Okay."

"What did you have for dinner?"

She looked over at her half eaten hamburger. "Definitely not pizza."

He smiled. "There's always next week."

"Of course."

"What are your plans for tonight?"

"Mmm. No plans. Just watching a reality cooking show."

"Which one?"

"I don't know. The one with the guy."

"Oh right. That one. I really like that one too. He's really good."

"Smart ass!"

He grinned. "And you love it!"

"Mama…" Charlotte started to stir in the bed.

"Hey, baby. Daddy's here."

"Mama…phone."

"Okay. Shh. Sister is still sleeping."

He pointed the camera toward Charlotte. "Hi, baby."

"Mama."

"You feel sick?"

"Sick." She yawned. "Yucky."

"Patrick…"

"Yeah, I know. I need to check her temp, and I should go make a bottle for her. I'll let you go."

"Okay. Promise me you'll call if anything changes! I can come home right away!"

"I will. Promise me that you'll try to relax a little and get some rest. You're an excellent mother, and right now, you're just doing that from afar. We'll check in tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you, too. Good night."

"Good night. Tell mama good night, Charlotte."

"Night!"

She waved into the phone as he ended the call. She sat there for a moment longer, still wishing to be at home with her family. On some level, she knew her husband was right. It would do no good for her to get incredibly ill while pregnant. However, she also felt like she could be doing more.

Though, she also realized that this was the first time she was away from home since Charlotte was born. Usually, she was there every night. The days where she'd be called out to some rural California town to solve a homicide were long gone–both for better and for worse. Part of the reason Bertram grated on her so much was that she'd much rather be out at those crime scenes than dealing with his nonsense. They agreed that someone else might be better for this job. Yet, she was the one stuck with the job.

As she flipped through the channels of the tv, she shook that thought off as her thoughts returned to Patrick, Annie, Charlotte, and the two little Janes she brought with her tonight. Perhaps she wasn't alone, she thought as she felt one of them move.