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.


Kathleen smiles as she pulls into her designated parking spot. She can see that Luke is already waiting to see how her day had gone. She turns off the ignition as her driver's side opens.

"Hey," he says as she exits the car. "How was the first day back?"

"It wasn't too bad," she says as she places a kiss on his lips. "The hardest part had to be leaving, Fay."

"I hate to say it, but you do kind of get used to it," he says as he kisses her back. "Before long, she won't even notice that you are gone."

Kathleen pouts as she looks at him.

"Come on, Kay. Look at how she was after a week of me being at home and then when I went back to work," Luke says as he kisses her again. "One week all upset. The following week, she was super excited to see me when I get home."

"That is true," Kathleen says as she leaves his arms and moves to grab her bag from the backseat. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No one is saying that you do," Luke says as he waits for her. "Do you think she gave Maggie that much trouble?"

"Likely for the first hour or two," Kathleen says as she grabs her bag and the two walk towards the elevator. "My guess is after her nap, she was fine with it. How was your shift?"

"It wasn't too bad," Luke says as they enter the elevator. "I was following up on a couple of leads, reviewing some old notes. It was a kind of quiet day, which was nice, but we both know it won't last for long."

"Never does," Kathleen says as she pushes their floor. "I was thinking we could do something this weekend."

"That sounds like a good idea," Luke says as they wait. "What are you thinking?"

"Not sure, is all going to depend on the weather," Kathleen says as they exit the elevator. "We could do a trip to the park or my dad's playing in the snow?"

"We could go skating," Luke suggests as they get to their door. "I hear the ice at High Park is frozen enough to skate on."

"We could do a nature walk with coffee and cocoa," Kathleen says as she opens the door to their apartment. "I have heard one too many horror stories of the ice not being thick enough."

"True," Luke says as he walks towards the entrance closet. "We will find something to do."

"We always do," Kathleen says as she takes off her coat and hands it to Luke. "I wonder where our little princess is?"

"Hmm," Luke says as he locks up his gun and hangs their coats. "I think I hear something coming from the living room."

Kathleen pauses and listens as she hears giggling coming from the living room. "Hmm, I wonder what that could be," she says louder than normal as the two wander into the living room.

Sitting in the centre of the living room is Faylinn, playing with a group of soft blocks and giggling. They watch as she squeezes a block, and it makes a sound and then does the same thing with another one.

"She has been doing that for about the last 20 minutes," Maggie says from the kitchen area.

"She loves her sound toys," Kathleen says as they watch Faylinn spot them.

"Da, me, do, la, ha, ha, ma," Faylinn babbles as she drops her toy and crawls over to them.

Kathleen and Luke both look shocked as they turn to Maggie.

"She's been attempting to do that for a few days now," Maggie says as Luke reaches down and picks up the baby.

"Who's Daddy's smart little princess?" Luke says as he holds her close. "You know who else missed you?"

"Ma, bo, ma, go, ma," Faylinn babbles from her father's arm and reaches out.

"Hi Princess Fay," Kathleen says as she holds her close. "Did you have fun with Maggie today?"

Faylinn only smiles and snuggles into her mother's hold.

"We did," Maggie says as she turns to look at them. "The two of us had a whole day of activities. We read some books, we had our meals, and we played. We even ventured outside for a walk."

"Looks like someone had an interesting day," Luke says as he rubs the little girl's back. "Did she give you any trouble?"

"She was fussy before her morning nap, but besides that, no," Maggie says as she watches the young family. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Night, Maggie," Kathleen says as she looks at the little girl. "Hey Fay, want to say bye to Maggie?"

Faylinn looks at her and then at Maggie and pouts.

"I'll see you tomorrow, sweet little girl," Maggie says as she leans and kisses the little girl's forehead.

Faylinn whimpers as she watches Maggie walk away.

"Do you want to play with Bunny?" Kathleen says as she picks up a pink-trimmed blanket with a bunny attached to it. "It's okay."

Faylinn only grabs her blanket and squeezes it tight. She watches Luke reappear in the room.

"Sam's best gift to date," Luke says as he watches her reach out for him. "She loves this thing."

"Do you want to start dinner or should I?" she asks as she watches father and daughter cuddle together.

"I got it, you play," Luke says as he hands the baby back to her. "I am thinking burrito bowls?"

"That works for me," Kathleen says as she takes Faylinn back over to the play area. "What toys do we want to play with?"

Luke only smiles as he goes into their room to change out of his work clothes.


"So how different was it?" Luke asks from the couch. They are cuddled up together after putting Faylinn down for the night.

"Different," Kathleen says as she snuggles into him. "Some of them are so hopeful. They are the ones giving their parents strength to get through these times. They still believe in miracles."

"Some kids are resilient," he says as he pulls her closer. "Was the staff happy to see you?"

"They were," she says as she lays her head on his chest. "There were still a few family members that I recognized. Some were attending grief counselling, while others had become volunteers. It surprised me how much different it felt."

"What do you mean?"

"It was like I was being torn in half. Half of me wanted to be here at home with Fay, and the other half wanted to be at work. I missed interacting with other adults regularly. Then I had the feeling that I should still work in geriatrics with the first responders. Though being with pediatrics gives you a whole new look. I felt so bad for those parents."

"I know how that feels. Every kidnapping or homicide involving a child, it's like a part of my heart breaks. I swear after every case. Sam is telling me. He will never let Oliver's girls or Fay go anywhere without him or the officer with them."

Kathleen laughs as she shakes her head. "Let's hope he and my dad don't decide to join forces."

"Oh, man, can you imagine? I still don't know how you could go about your life without them on your case."

"Sam has been in my life for a little under 9 years, though I will say the first two years of college were interesting. My dad was gone a lot, but Steve back then was the force in my life. I don't know how. Every time some guy would ask me out between 13 and 18, he would have all the details on the guy by dinnertime."

"Are you serious? I've got to ask him. Wait, did you say 13?"

"Eighth Grade dance."

"That makes sense. That is a skill all fathers need to have."

"Doesn't make for a joyful daughter. Let Sam and Steve be the bad guys. They have enough practice with it."

"That is true. They knew how to get under your skin."

"Yours two, do you not remember when they found out about us?"

"Steve wasn't too bad," Luke says as he remembers the day his friend found out about him dating his cousin.

Luke smiled as he walked into his office with a huge smile on his face. He was holding two cups of coffee as he walked over to Steve's desk and placed one on the desk. "What do we have?" he asked as he sipped his beverage.

"Robbery with a side of homicide," Steve replied as he took the coffee. "You're late."

"Took me longer to get into work," Luke said as he drank his coffee. "The coffee makes up for it."

"No," Steve said as he handed him a file. "We got next to nothing, and I could have used you at the scene. It was like three blocks from your apartment."

"I wasn't at home," Luke said as he reviewed the file. "This looks bad. Did forensics have anything?"

"Not as of an hour ago," Steve replied as he drank his coffee. "Who's the girl?"

"What girl?" Luke asked as he looked at the file. "Could be gang-related? Did you reach out to your uncle?"

"What other reason would you not be at your apartment at 7 in the morning? Waiting on forensics to see if anything links. The case could point to any gang or non-gang."

Luke stopped and gave him a look. "I know you are confusing yourself with me. You spend almost every night off with a girl. It is a generic crime; the bullet may have something. Did the canvas give us anything?"

"Nope," Steve said before he paused. He looked at his coffee cup and then back at his partner. "When did you find this coffee shop?"

"A couple of weeks ago," Luke replied as he looked at him. "Why?"

"Because this coffee shop is like two blocks from my cousin's," Steve said as he sniffed Luke's shirt. "You are giving off a very distinct smell of tropics. I know this smell."

"Dude," Luke said as he pushed him away.

"No, no," Steve said as he looked at him. "Tell me, you are not seeing her."

"Seeing who?" Luke asked as he looked at him. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"Tell me, you are not seeing my cousin," Steve asked as he looked at him. "Tell me you are not sleeping with my cousin."

Luke paused before he looked at him. "Do you want me to lie or tell the truth?"

Steve turned red and swung his arm. He connected his fist with Luke's jaw. He caused Luke to stumble back and land on his butt.

"That bruised lasted for over two weeks," Kathleen says as she looks at him. "You both had a fun time explaining that one to my dad."

"True, but in the end, it was worth it and compared to Sam," Luke says as he looks at her. "Sam went off the deep end."

"It's Sam for you," Kathleen says as she looks at him. "How was I supposed to know he was back from an undercover assignment? Usually, he takes up to two weeks to visit his sister."

"He didn't this time," Luke says as shakes his head. "It was not a pretty sight, and I know Steve did not help the situation."

"He never does," Kathleen says as she reflects on that night at The Black Penny.

Kathleen and Luke had walked in after seeing the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. They were having a drink before calling it a night. They stopped and looked around before approaching the bar.

"Evening Luke, Kathleen," Liam said as the two approached the bar. "What can I get you?"

"I'll take a beer," Luke said as he turned and look at Kathleen.

"Cranapple cocktail for the lady?" Liam asked as he put Luke's beer on the bar.

"You know it," Kathleen replied as she looked at him.

"Coming right up," Liam said as he made her drink. "What were you two up to tonight?"

"We came from the newest pirate movie," Luke replied as he sipped his beer. "Sequels never live up to the first."

"That could be said about a lot of things," Kathleen replied as she looked around the bar.

"Oh? An example, please," Luke asked as he watched her.

"Your first rollercoaster ride, your first trip out on a boat," Kathleen began. "Your first solo drive."

"Okay, I get it," Luke said as Liam placed her drink on the bar.

"Thanks," Kathleen said as she took a sip. "Liam, why do you always make the best cocktails?"

"Secrets of the trade," Liam said before going over to serve another customer.

"Well, don't we look dressed up?" Steve said as he appeared beside them. "What were you two up to?"

"Dinner and a movie," Kathleen said as she looked and him. "Don't you have someone else to harass?"

"Nope," Steve said. A grin broke out on his face. "But I see someone I need to talk to."

"That was strange," Luke said as he watched him. "What was that about?"

"I can only imagine," Kathleen replied as she looked at him.

"Hmm," Luke said before he leaned down and kissed her.

Kathleen smiled as she returned the kiss.

"Oh hell no," an outraged Sam said from behind them.

The two broke apart hastily and turned and looked at him. Kathleen bowed her head before she shook it and turned to Sam.

"Didn't know you were home," she said, as she could see the vein on the side of his neck grow.

"Got back a couple of hours ago," Sam said, but he did not take his eyes off of Luke. "Does someone want to explain this to me?"

"Is it any of your business?" Luke replied as he engaged in a staring contest with him.

Kathleen rolled her eyes before she stood between the two of them. "Are we seriously going to do this again Sam," she said as she looked at him. "Why do you let Steve push your buttons?"

"At least he told me," Sam said as he looked at her. "What happened to no cops?"

"I was going to tell you when we did lunch," Kathleen replied as she looked at him. "I'm allowed to change my mind."

"In all seriousness, Swarek, what is your issue?" Luke asked as he looked at him.

"My issue is that she is way too good for a goof like you," Sam replied as he looked at him. "Out all the cops. She could have done so much better."

"Ouch," Kathleen said in a sarcastic.

"Wasn't directed at you," Sam commented.

"Felt like it," Kathleen replied. "Look, why don't we all take a breath and relax? We are all adults here."

"That is questionable," Sam retorted.

Luke simply stared at him as he evaluated his options.

"Why don't we all enjoy our drink and pick this up another time?" Kathleen offered as she looked at both men. "Fighting is going to get you both into trouble."

Sam considered his options before swinging his fist and hitting Luke right in the upper lip.

The next Kathleen knew is she was standing beside Steve as the two brawled it out on the bar floor.

"Should have known something was up," Luke says as he looks at her. "You never could get a read on him for the longest time."

"He is all supportive now," Kathleen says as she leans up and kisses him. "As long as you don't mess up."