A/N: I am republishing this story. There have been edits made. The text that has been italicized is a flashback, and the text that has been bolded is from the show. I am merely borrowing characters besides though that are not recognized.
'Why did I volunteer to help with this case?' Luke asks himself as he drags himself into the apartment. It was past eight in the morning. They had finished digging up the basement of the rec center. They had found the remains of four young girls.
"Hey," Kathleen says as he enters the apartment. She is holding Faylinn, who smiles at the sight of him. "Do you want to hold her first or shower and change?"
Luke smiles as he steps towards them and wraps them both in a hug. He takes a deep relaxing breath as he feels Kathleen and Faylinn rest their heads against his shoulder.
"How about this?" Kathleen says after a few minutes. "You go, shower and get changed and we'll meet you in bed for some cuddle time. We'll ignore the world for a few hours."
"Sounds perfect," he says as he releases his hold. He first kisses Faylinn's forehead. He leans in and kisses Kathleen, who smiles into his kiss.
"Go on, get ready before someone falls asleep on you," she says as she readjusts Fay. "She was up early this morning. I know she was looking for you, as you are the one that she first sees these last few weeks."
"Hmm," he says as he walks towards their bedroom.
Kathleen waits a few seconds before hearing the shower start. She makes her way into the bedroom and places Faylinn in the bassinet. She then takes a few steps to the windows and pulls the navy blue curtains close.
After rearranging the pillows, she walks over to the right side of the bed and pulls down the linen sheets. She then turns to look at Faylinn, who has cooed and goo as she moves her hands towards her face and away from her. When her hands touch her face, she giggles.
"That's what makes it all worth it," Luke says from behind her.
She turns around and looks at him. She notices he looks exhausted. Looking at Luke, normally she could feel the strength coming off of him, but now, he seemed defeated. Whatever this case had been, it had hit hard. She will guess that it had something to do with the little girl that was on the other side of their king bed.
She takes a few steps over to him and wraps him in a hug before placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Then whispers, "want to talk about it?" Though she wasn't sure of his answer. She understood that sometimes it made it worse, while other times it made it better.
He lets out a sigh before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. He whispers back, "no. It'll be all over the news in a few hours."
She lets him hold her while she rested her head against his shoulder. It was rare for moments like this, but she relished it when they came. It was a small way that she knew she was offering him support and comfort. The same that she had needed last year.
After a few minutes, he leans down and places a kiss on her lips. He feels her smile against his lips as he moves his hands down to her hips. He continues to kiss her as he feels her hands climb up to his chest.
"WAAAAAA," Faylinn whines as she rubs her face.
The two break the kiss as Kathleen rests her head against his chest. Luke picks his head up, looks into the bassinet, and notices her squirming.
"I know it's past someone's nap time," he says as Kathleen pulls away from him and walks over to the bassinet.
"Someone was up early and didn't sleep well," she says. She reaches the bassinet and scoops up Faylinn and starts swaddling her. "Between the heat, the blackout, and missing daddy. It was not a good evening for her."
Luke only shakes his head as he moves to sit on his side of the bed. He then reaches over and says, "here, let me take her."
"You sure?" she asks as she looks at him. "You've been up for over," she looks at her watch, "nineteen hours."
"Thus why I want my cuddles too," he says as he notices Faylinn yawn.
"Okay," she says as she hands the baby to him. "See if you can get her down. She's been very clingy."
Luke smiles as he positions Faylinn against his chest and rubs her back. "There we go," he whispers as kisses the side of her head. "I know, I know. We haven't had the best day, but it's okay."
Kathleen smiles as she watches Faylinn fall asleep in his arms. She watches as not only Faylinn's but Luke's eyes droop as well. She knows now would be the perfect time to put Faylinn back in the bassinet. At the same time understands the second she takes her from him, she'll wake up and be even more upset than she has been. Once they are both almost asleep, then she'll separate them.
The phone vibrates on her nightstand. She turns to grab it and notices the text message that appears: 'Is Luke okay? I can't imagine what this case has him thinking.' it was from Sam. She turns to look at Luke, who is now asleep, so she takes Faylinn from him. She moves to place her in her bassinet before walking out of the bedroom.
As soon as she exits the bedroom, she turns on her phone and calls Sam.
"I take it, he didn't want to talk about it," Sam answers as she can hear shuffling in the background.
"No, he came back looking defeated," she says as she walks into the living room and takes a seat on the couch. "He said it would be all over the news by this afternoon."
"It will be," he says before letting out a sigh. "McNally and I caught onto a serial case. An employee at the rec center was taking young girls from the Garrison park area. Oliver took a hit to the vest. McNally killed the suspect and Luke found the remains of missing girls from last year."
"Oh my," she says as she now lets out a breath. "Is everyone okay?"
"Oliver is in observation and it shook McNally up."
"What about..., what is his name?"
"Alex Jaspers, yeah, he was working on a case. They broke up after the second date, something about him being too closed off."
"I know that feeling."
"Should I take offence to that?"
"You are not bad at doing that. You act closed off while you process, but then you open up. So, how is she holding up?"
"A mess, that lion's heart of hers. Though I know I had something to do with this whole mess."
"How so?"
"The day before, we were in pursuit and I gave her hell for overthinking after a suspect got the upper hand."
"That's your job. She needs to know how to react because it's not only her life that's at risk. If her instincts aren't spot on, she might not be the only cop hurt or dead."
"Her instincts are there; she doesn't trust them."
"It's going to take time, especially given her family situation."
"Want to explain that one?"
"I am only to say this. She needs time to know that those who have influenced her views on life did not affect her instincts."
"That's helpful."
"I try."
