Stolen


"Where are you going?" Theo asked, watching Cassie put on some boots.

"She sat with me the entire day and night and didn't say a damn thing." Cassie shook her head angrily, "They don't even live here." She spat, shaking her head.

"I didn't go for the job. You have no reason to be mad-"

"You were still being considered for it." Cassie turned to him after getting her boots on, "And Sean damn well knows you were." She shook her head, "Neither of them told any of us. Isn't that something you would tell your sister? No?" She questioned frantically.

"You need to calm down before you go over there. I'm serious." Theo nodded.

"As far as yesterday goes, that was your job." Cassie said.

"What?" Theo shook his head.

"Marilyn at reception told me she overhead the boards meeting yesterday morning. You were going to be asked." She nodded, "I didn't say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise for you… when you found out… when they asked you." She shook her head.

"Cassie, I'm not as upset about it as you think I am." Theo nodded.

"Well you should be!" Cassie shouted, "This was your next move. Jake wanted this for you. He always had. That's why you were his second in command." She said, "And it's worse that our own family are taking it from you-"

"He had every right to go for it." Theo shook his head, "I had no guarantees."

"Oh, I'm gonna put Jude's head through a wall." Cassie scoffed as she stormed out of their bedroom.

"What's this got to do with Jude? Don't take it out on your sister." Theo followed her down the stairs.

"She obviously knew. And she sat with me all day today, even asking me about you and if you were going for the job." Cassie shook her head, snatching the car keys at the bottom of the stairs, "They don't even live here!" She yelled angrily.

"You need to calm down before you burst a blood vessel." Theo said with concern, "Seriously."

"Don't tell me you're not even just a little pissed." She shook her head, "I don't need you to always be pragmatic and reasonable." She assured him as he looked at her, running his hand through his hair and sighing, "Tell me." She nodded.

"Alright I'm a little pissed." He admitted.

"All I need to know." Cassie nodded, opening up the front door, leaving in a flash as Theo groaned, sitting down at the bottom of the stairs.


"This is the second time we've done this in your parent's house." Sean laughed a little, pulling his pants up and stumbling back a little whilst Jude lay on the table, out of breath and looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, maybe this is a little disrespectful." Jude admitted. In the moment she hadn't thought about anything other than him, but lying on her parent's kitchen table half naked was now starting to make her skin crawl just a little.

"Not from where I'm looking." Sean smiled, leaning against the counter, watching as she eventually sat up.

"Find me my bra, idiot." Jude shook her head, running her hand through her hair and hopping down from the table as Sean picked up her bra from the floor, passing it to her.

They began putting their clothes back on when they suddenly heard the door open and bang shut.

"Who the hell is that?" Jude squirmed a little, rushing around the table to grab her pants, throwing Sean's t-shirt at him as Cassie stormed through to the kitchen.

"Oh, are we celebrating?" Cassie raised her eyebrows whilst Jude shimmied into her pants.

"Can we help you?" Jude laughed a little, feeling a little better that it was only Cassie.

"You know Thea really gets a bad rep for all her inappropriateness but fucking in mom and dad's kitchen really takes the cake." Cassie nodded as Jude looked over at her, realising her sister was being serious, and was clearly pissed off.

"Uh… yeah, ok." Jude nodded, looking over at Sean who was scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "Cassie, what the hell is up?" She shook her head.

"Don't stand there and act a fool with me. Both of you." She spat as Jude looked at her with confusion, turning to Sean who sighed a little, starting to realise what this was about.

"Ok can you start elaborating on why your face is so damn twisted?" Jude shook her head, "What is going on?"

"Him." Cassie pointed to Sean as Jude folded her arms, "Taking Theo's job." She nodded as Jude turned to Sean.

"Wasn't Theo's job." Sean shook his head.

"Excuse me?" Cassie looked at him.

"The role was up for grabs for anyone with the relevant experience. Wasn't Theo's job." Sean looked at Cassie.

"Jake would have wanted it to be Theo's job." Cassie said angrily, "And you know damn well he would have."

"Yeah well Theo stepped into the role temporarily and ended up fighting on the job and having to take a fucking sabbatical. He's not ready." Sean concluded, "And I don't think he even wants the job, you're the one forcing it on him."

"Ok, I have no idea what you're both talking about!" Jude yelled with frustration as Cassie turned to her, assessing her sister and realising she truly had no clue what was going on.

"Oh, you're kidding." Cassie turned back to Sean who looked down with guilt, "You've not even told her." She realised.

"Told me what?" Jude questioned as Cassie laughed a little.

"Hey babe!" Cassie mocked, "We're moving back to Chicago. Surprise." She put her hands in the air as Jude looked at her, "She fucking hates it here." Cassie spat at Sean, "You didn't need this job. You didn't."

"I don't need you to tell me what I need. I've been doing this longer than you and Theo." Sean shook his head, "I haven't done anything wrong here."

"Sean." Jude shook her head as he turned to her, "You interviewed for chief here?" She questioned as Sean nodded.

"I just… I didn't want to tell you because… because if I didn't get it then nothing would have changed… it wouldn't have mattered." He nodded.

"But you got it?" Jude asked as Sean nodded.

"I got the call just before we got home." Sean said, "I interviewed last night."

"You're an ass." Cassie shook her head.

"Hey I helped you. I sat in this very kitchen and helped you with your academy application. I put in a good word for you. I looked out for you-"

"Oh, saint Sean." Cassie rolled her eyes, "Why the hell would you go for the job before you even told Jude? You're gonna have to move your kids? Jude is going to have to leave her job that she loves-"

"Jude hasn't loved her job in New York for a while now." Sean shook his head, "If you called her and showed some damn interest, you'd know that. You just live in your own fucking bubble." He said as Cassie turned to Jude who wasn't saying anything, just listening to them bickering, trying to take in the information.

"You hate your job in New York?" Cassie questioned as Sean turned to Jude.

"It's not been the same since that girl was murdered." Jude nodded truthfully.

"Which you'd know if you picked up the damn phone." Sean looked at Cassie, "You and Thea."

"Oh, don't make me go and get her. Cause I will." Cassie warned.

"Nobody is getting Thea." Jude made clear.

"You have no right to be pissed at me for going for a job that was open to anyone." Sean shook his head, "I was going to talk to you about it all, I swear." He then turned to Jude, "And if… if you really didn't want to move then I wouldn't have accepted the job." He assured her, "I just thought… I thought maybe it was the right time."

"Is Theo upset?" Jude turned to Cassie.

"He says he isn't but I know he is." Cassie nodded, "This is wrong and you know it." She looked at Sean, "You bailed on Chicago and went to be a fancy cop with the NYPD. Theo has busted his ass for years. This was his job. Everybody damn well knows it." She said.

"If the job was open to anyone…" Jude said, "Sean had every right to go for it just like anyone else." She nodded as Cassie looked across at her, "You were saying today that Theo wasn't even thinking about going back to work yet." She pointed out as Sean sighed a little with relief. It'd been a while since his wife was on his side.

"So you're going to move back here?" Cassie looked at Jude, "The place you hate so much?"

"I don't hate Chicago." Jude rolled her eyes, "I just don't think it's fair that you're so mad at Sean for getting a job that was up for grabs. Theo didn't even go for an interview." She said, "If Theo was so upset about it, he'd be here himself."

She didn't know what it was, she just felt the need to defend her husband, something that she hadn't felt in a long time. But she was doing it because she felt justified. She didn't think Sean had done anything wrong, despite not telling her about going for the interview. It didn't seem fair for Cassie to be so mad.

"I can't believe either of you." Cassie shook her head.

"Theo wasn't entitled to that job just cause he was Jake's favourite." Sean nodded.

"Entitled? Theo?" Cassie raised her eyebrows, "Of course they picked you over him. White guy takes the win every time-"

"Oh, Cassie. Stop." Jude shook her head, "You're being unreasonable with all of this. You're just upset for Theo and that's fine but… is it really such a bad thing that Sean got the job? Considering Mark was being considered too?"

"Yeah well fuck Mark." Cassie said, "And fuck you too." She pointed to Sean who rolled his eyes, "Bunch of god damn assholes." She shook her head, leaving the kitchen, storming out of the house and slamming the door shut behind her.

Sean looked over at Jude who was staring back at him, trying to choose his next words carefully, "Nothing is final unless you want to move back here." He nodded, "I… I honestly didn't really think I'd get it." He admitted.

"You did." Jude nodded, "You did get it." She smiled a little as he nodded.

"I did feel a bit weird knowing that everyone at that station probably expects Theo to get it. Probably wants him to as well." He said, "I just thought I'd give it a shot. And I know you were looking at other jobs recently… maybe if you were willing to look a little further." He shrugged, "We could make it work."

"We could." Jude nodded, "We will."