Not Our Problem


"What are you implying?" Jude stood up, folding her arms.

"I'm not implying anything." Sean put his hands up, "I'm just saying if there's anything you need to tell me, now would probably be the time."

"And what would I need to tell you, Sean?" Jude asked as he looked across at her.

"Well if nothing has been taken from the house, and your studio is the only thing that has been… messed up? If I look at that from a cops perspective, I'm thinking it's someone who knows you, who has a problem with you, who… maybe is mad they didn't find you at home." He said.

"And who the hell is that going to be?" Jude asked, "I don't have friends out there. I barely leave the house." She shook her head stressfully, pacing with her hand on her forehead.

"Have you been seeing someone else?" He asked as she paused, turning to look at him.

"And there it is." Jude nodded, having been waiting on it, "No. I haven't-"

"I'm not… I wouldn't be mad. Maybe it'd make more sense actually with you asking for the divorce and-"

"I am not seeing anybody else." Jude made clear as he looked across at her, "I don't know who the hell has broken in and why they had such a problem with my art studio but it's certainly not someone I know and it's certainly not someone I'm fucking either." She spat angrily as Sean nodded.

"Alright, calm down." He said quietly, "What about work?" He asked her, "Or your charity events? You remember bumping into anyone? Having an argument with a colleague?" He asked.

"No. No, I've been off for the holidays and when I go to work I keep to myself. I barely see anyone. I even eat my lunch in my class." She shook her head, "And my charity events are filled with sexual assault victims. No one sticks out to me for wanting to break into my house." She shook her head.

"Ok ok." Sean nodded, noticing her getting frantic, "Hey, it's gonna be fine." He assured her as she looked at him, unconvinced, "Cops are there just now and I'm gonna catch an early flight in the morning to see what's going on. I'll keep you updated."

"You think it's someone who knows me?" She asked him with confusion.

"Look I don't know anything. I'm sorry, I'm… I'm talking to you like a cop."

"You are a cop." Jude pointed out as he nodded, "I'm not hiding anything from you." She made clear.

"I know you're not… I'm just… I'm confused, it's not your typical break in." He said, "If the TV was gone and maybe some of your jewellery I wouldn't be so confused about it."

"What about Rex?" Jude suddenly realised.

"He's fine." Sean nodded.

"Well Jen next door is the only one who has a key to the house for feeding him. Maybe she has a problem with my art." Jude shook her head, sitting back down on the couch as Sean looked over at her, "I should come with you-"

"No, you stay here with the girls. Spend some more time with your family." He nodded, "I'll give you a call when I get there if they have any leads." He said as she nodded.

"Ok." She nodded as he looked over at her, looking back at the door and wondering what he was supposed to do now. He wanted to hug her. Comfort her. Tell her everything would be ok and that he was there for her.

"I'll facetime with the girls tomorrow at some point, maybe before bed. So I can see them." Sean nodded, looking over at Mirren and Leela asleep in the double bed.

"Yeah, of course." Jude nodded tiredly, "Will you let me know if anything is ruined? Any of my stuff?" She asked, "Luckily I don't have any of my students things in there. I left them at class." She nodded thankfully.

"I'll let you know." Sean said, "Hopefully it's not as bad as it sounds. I'll fix it up in no time." He promised as she looked over at him.

"Thank you." She said.

"Listen I know you want this divorce and I'm not gonna… object to it, if it's what you really want." He nodded, "But I'm always gonna be here for you, whether you want me to or not." He made clear, "Always." He said.

"I know." She nodded.

"I'll let you get some sleep." He said, "My flight will be early in the morning so I probably won't see you. But I'll call." He nodded.

"Yeah, ok." Jude stood up, "I just don't get why someone would do that? And who?" She shook her head, walking him to the door.

"We'll find them." He said as she nodded.


"Morning all." Cassie called, walking through the police station the next morning with her coffee, the only reason she had the ability to chirp a good morning to her colleagues who were standing around or busy at their desks.

"Your sister is in your office." One of the cops passing by told her.

"Which one?" Cassie wondered as he looked at her, shrugging, "The one who looks scary or the one who is never here?" She helped him.

"Oh, scary one." He nodded.

"Alright." Cassie said, making her way to her office, walking in where she saw Thea sitting behind the desk with her feet on top, "Feet down." Cassie warned as Thea chuckled putting her feet down.

"You're three minutes late." Thea noticed.

"And you actually shouldn't be in here." Cassie said, looking over at her board behind the desk which had some photographic evidence pinned to it, explicit photographs.

"Yeah that's not pleasant." Thea turned to look at it.

"Is there something you need?" Cassie asked, making her way behind her desk whilst Thea moved out from behind it.

"Believe me, I wouldn't be in this place if I didn't have to be." She shook her head, "Gives me nightmares." She shivered.

"Well what's up?" Cassie asked her, putting her jacket behind her chair, unpacking her bag.

"Is Mark back working here and you just didn't tell anyone?" Thea asked. She figured why tiptoe around the matter.

"What?" Cassie looked up from her bag, "Mark?"

"Yeah. Used to be a cop. Sent Jude those pictures from her case file. Knew about mom's kidnap and didn't give us information about it until you got him a get out of jail free card?" She said, "I also think you slept with him-"

"I know who you're talking about." Cassie assured her with narrowed brows, "And he's not working here. Who told you that?" She asked.

"Me and Jude saw him at a coffee shop yesterday. In uniform." Thea nodded.

"Well it couldn't have been him then." Cassie shrugged.

"It was definitely him." Thea said.

"Well he wouldn't be allowed to be a cop again. So it can't be." Cassie shook her head calmly.

"Cassie, it was him." Thea nodded, "Maybe he's for a different district or something. I figured you could maybe ask. Find out how the little scumbag managed to get his job back after what he did-"

"No, there is no way he managed to. You and Jude must have made a mistake. He can't be a cop again." Cassie shook her head, distressed at the thought. She already carried some guilt around about the fact she essentially set the man free from prison, even if it was in exchange for her mother's life.

"It was definitely him. And Jude had her glasses on." Thea made clear as Cassie shook her head, not believing it, "Don't stress about it or anything." She said as Cassie walked out from behind the desk, "Cassie." Thea said, watching as she walked by her and out of the office.

Cassie made her way through the station, charging for Jake's office where she entered like a gust of wind, taking him by surprise as he sat behind his desk on the phone.

"Are you kidding me?" She screwed her face up, nothing but pure anger spread across it.

"I'll call you back." Jake spoke into the phone, placing it back on the hook as he looked across at her unhappily, "Cassie-"

"No, there is no way you don't know about it." Cassie spat, "There's no way." She paced a little in front of his desk, "How long? How long has he been working again? No… No, don't answer that. How is he working again? Answer that." She nodded.

"You do not get to come in here and speak to me like this and-"

"No, how about you-"

"Detective Brooks I am speaking!" Jake stood up, raising his voice loud enough for everyone outside to hear, including Thea who was getting a coffee by the machine and was just met by Theo and Chase who had come to visit Cassie.

"I have a good relationship with all my workers. I consider you a good friend. Theo, too." Jake said, calming his voice, "But I am in charge of this place and you work for me, do you understand?" He asked as Cassie folded her arms, "You, or anybody else, does not charge into this office and demand anything from me." He looked at her as she stared back.

"Why was I not informed?" Cassie spat quietly, not backing down, "You know who I'm talking about."

"Because he's not our problem." Jake said, sitting back down.

"You know what he did. To my family. To this precinct. Lying to us all. Taking all our hard work and feeding it to those… drug circles. Sending those damn photographs to my sister of her being raped!" Cassie yelled as Jake rubbed his forehead, "Yeah, he may not be a problem to you anymore but he will always be a problem for me… because of what he did." She said, "So not only did he got out of prison but now he gets his life back? Gets to be a cop again? Who the hell would even want to hire him? Who would want to work with him?" She questioned, pacing again as Jake watched her.

"Different district, not our problem." Jake told her again, "And it will stay that way. You keep your head down and you focus on your own work here. That is an order." He made clear, "And I will be making sure I see no trace of you anywhere near him or his district-"

"Oh, what? Are you gonna have people follow me?" Cassie scoffed.

"I will if I have an incline that you're up to no good, which I know you can be." He said, "Now if you don't mind, if I work to be doing, and I'm sure you do too." He told her as she looked at him angrily.

"Yeah, well… thanks for the heads up on it." Cassie nodded, leaving the office, heading back into the main working area of the station where different cops all stood looking at her, some she could see having gathered together no doubt to listen in, "What?!" Cassie yelled as they all turned away from her, noticing Theo standing with her sister, Chase too.

"Mommy!" Chase smiled upon seeing her mother as Cassie eventually made it back to her office.

"Hey." Cassie tried to sound upbeat, crouching down and squeezing him, planting a kiss on his head full of hair, "What are you doing here?" She smiled, looking up at Theo.

"On our way back from swimming lessons." Theo told her, "Thought we'd pop our heads in and say hi." He said hesitantly, "Bad timing, maybe." He whispered as Thea nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Cassie nodded in agreement.

"I got a day off, why don't I take him for some lunch?" Thea asked discretely in regards to Chase who was still curled into a crouched down Cassie.

"If you don't mind." Theo nodded to her.

"Of course not." Thea shook her head, "Hey, you. You've just got yourself a pretty lunch date." She nudged Chase who smiled, looking back at Cassie who nodded.

"Yeah, you go with Aunt Thea." Cassie encouraged, "I'll see you soon." She told him.

Thea eventually took Chase out of the station to get some lunch whilst Cassie stood looking at Theo for a few moments before saying anything.

"I ain't ever heard him mad like that with you." Theo admitted, "So… we're obviously gonna talk about it." He nodded, watching her walk into her office as he braced himself.

Not before he turned around and noticed they still had an audience watching them, "You not got work to do?!" He yelled at them before walking into Cassie's office, closing the door and tilting the blinds.