Closer


"Look at this." Cassie said excitedly, getting home from work the next night, digging into a shopping bag as she stood in front of Theo who sat on the couch.

"What?" He smiled, enjoying how excited she appeared to be, watching as she pulled out a pink baby hat which had a fuzzy bobble attached to it at the top.

"I mean… come on." Cassie swooned as Theo smiled, "And I picked up some paint samples for you."

"Oh, good." Theo sat up, taking the samples from her, "These are all pink shades." He noticed.

"I know. I just… I can't help it." Cassie sighed, "I just think pink is gonna be her colour."

"Weren't you like the biggest tomboy growing up?" Theo asked.

"Yeah but I still liked the colour pink." Cassie rolled her eyes as he chuckled, "I was thinking one of the lighter shades would be good. Nothing too bright. I've been looking at cribs too. I think a white one would be nice." She nodded, sitting down beside him, exhausted.

"Were you doing all this when you were supposed to be working?" Theo chuckled.

"Yeah." Cassie shrugged, "It was a slow day. Plus I'm kinda in between right now. I move to homicide next week so there's no point in taking on any missing persons case." She said.

"Was Sean in?" He asked.

"I never saw him." Cassie shook her head.

"Your dad is right, you know. We can't be mad forever. Even if we have to… agree to disagree on who's in the wrong." He said as she sighed, playing with the pink baby hat, "If anything, you and Jude need to talk it out. She's defending her husband-"

"That isn't an excuse. If you did something that was wrong, I wouldn't defend you just because you're my husband." Cassie made clear.

"Well they're moving here and I know if this was before… you would have been so happy that she was coming to live here again." He said, "We got the baby coming… I wouldn't wanna be saddled with the responsibility of being chief when I've got a new baby at home. I wanna be here for you and for her." He nodded.

"You're just saying that because you didn't get it." Cassie said.

"Maybe but… I can't sit on it forever and be miserable. I didn't get it. I'll do what you told me, I'll go be a cop again and do what I'm good at." Theo nodded, "It's what I really enjoy anyway."

"It kinda feels like we're just letting it slide then." Cassie said, "Like we're letting him off the hook and pretending that what he did was fine. When it was not."

"We don't have to pretend that what he did was fine. But… we do gotta try and move past it. Understand that he was doing what was best for him and his family. And I'm sure he'll know that he didn't go about it the best way. After that… what else can we do?" Theo shrugged.

"It just sucks." Cassie nodded, "And I'm not as nice a person as you are, clearly."

"Yes you are." Theo scoffed, leaning in and kissing her cheek, "You love your sister. You'll talk it through with her and things will be fine." He nodded, "You really wanna be taking home the baby and still be mad at them?" He asked her.

"No, of course not." Cassie said, "I just hate being the bigger person." Cassie shook her head, folding her arms unhappily as Theo chuckled.

"I know, it can be tough." Theo nodded.

"Is Chase ok?" Cassie asked him, taking the paint samples from him and looking at them.

"Uh… yeah." Theo said as Cassie looked up at him, "Well… I don't know."

"What?" Cassie sat up worriedly.

"No, no he's fine." Theo made clear, "Just… he's been acting different with me. Ever since I punched Sean. He definitely saw me do it."

"He's not acting different with you." Cassie scoffed, leaning back down on the sofa.

"He is." Theo said, "I went to play with him today with his toys on the floor and he asked me if he could play by himself." He nodded, "And he asked again tonight if you'd tuck him in." He said.

"Kids go through all kinds of weird phases." Cassie shook her head.

"Yeah but what if he's scared of me?" Theo asked.

"Theo, he is not scared of you." Cassie shook her head at the thought.

"Well it feels like he is." Theo nodded.

"He's not scared of you." Cassie placed her hand on his leg, "You're his favourite person. I took him to soccer a few weeks ago and he asked why you weren't taking him. Doesn't mean he was scared of me." She assured him as he nodded along, hoping she was right, "Don't worry so much." She said, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"This is cute." Theo nodded, taking the tiny pink hat from her as she smiled, "Ok, what colour for the nursery?" He asked her.

"I'm thinking this one." She showed him on the samples.


"It needs a little bit of work but… I really love it." Jude nodded, walking through the new house which she and Sean had closed on, showing her mother who had stopped by with some of her leftover empanadas.

"It's beautiful." AJ nodded, "A little further out than I thought you'd be but… the drive wasn't too bad. Not a lot of traffic on that road."

"Yeah, that doesn't bother us so much. It's what? Half an hour out from you guys? Better than a plan ride." She said as AJ smiled.

"Absolutely." AJ agreed, "I'm so glad you guys are moving back here. It's gonna be great to see more of you. More of the girls." AJ smiled, sitting the box of empanadas on the table, "You wanna do us some coffee to have with these?"

"Already had it on." Jude smiled, making her way into the open kitchen whilst AJ sat down at the table.

"Where is Sean and the girls?" AJ asked.

"He took them to see a movie." Jude said, "They're big into the movies right now."

"You not fancy it?" AJ asked.

"I thought I'd get in here and organise some stuff. You know we're thinking of turning the garage into a studio for me." Jude nodded, pouring the coffee and heading over to the table.

"Oh, that'd be good for you." AJ said, "A huge space."

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea. Sean said he'd take care of it." Jude nodded as AJ smiled.

"You're gonna be happy here, aren't you?" AJ nodded as Jude sat down across from her, looking at her with confusion, "Ever since what happened to you… you've never wanted to be here." AJ said as Jude took a sip of her coffee, "What's changed? Is it just so Sean can take the job?"

"No, of course it's not." Jude said, "New York was great and… it'll always be special to me and important to me, but… this feels like a fresh start for us. I never thought it'd be in Chicago but… nothing about this feels wrong." She said, "And it does mean that the girls get to see you more often, they get to grow up with their cousins… you know that always bothered me, that they never got to see the family as much as I would have liked." She said as AJ nodded.

"You know I only care about if you're happy." AJ said, "You could go anywhere in the world. Just be happy."

"I'll be happy here, mom." Jude assured her.

"What was he thinking, Jude?" AJ sighed as Jude looked at her, reaching for one of the sugar powdered empanadas, "Going for that job like that. So out of the blue."

"I don't know." Jude said truthfully, "I don't know why he went for it. Maybe he wanted a fresh start too and this opportunity gives us that. We've been doing good for a while. He was moved back in and things were going well." She nodded, "I'm mad he never discussed it with me and he knows that but… I'm not gonna stand there and let our whole family tear him down because he went for a job that was open for anyone-"

"It's not the point, though. Is it?" AJ said, "Theo's job before was pretty much him getting trained to do this job that Sean has now. How do you think that makes him feel?" She asked.

"I do feel for him." Jude said, "I'm not completely heartless."

"You need to make amends with your sister, most importantly. To fight over jobs is silly, to fight over men… even sillier." AJ rolled her eyes as Jude smiled a little.

"There's no talking to Cassie once she's mad. You know that." Jude shook her head, "And Theo was the one who punched Sean in front of everyone. They got some making amends to do as well."

"And they will." AJ said, "The four of you need to come to some kind of resolution. Your father said that Theo seemed to be coming round a little, thinking about other job options for himself in the station." She said.

"Everyone just thinks I'm stupid." Jude shook her head as AJ looked at her.

"Who thinks you're stupid?" AJ questioned.

"Cassie. Thea. You and dad probably." She laughed a little.

"None of us think you're stupid." AJ nodded, "Why would we think you're stupid?"

"Because I'm defending my husband who cheated on me. I took him back and now I'm… just following him wherever he goes like a little… 1950s housewife." Jude rolled her eyes, "Sometimes I think I'm stupid."

"You need to stop this. Stop concerning yourself with what other people are thinking about you." AJ nodded seriously. She'd had this conversation with Jude plenty of times, since she was a little girl, "Nobody thinks that."

"I think it." Jude said quietly.

"You're gonna be wrestling with that for a while. Take it from me." AJ said as Jude looked across at her, "When I let your father back in when we were younger, I felt stupid too. I felt weak. Like I'd gave in. Gave in to possibly being hurt again." She said as Jude looked at her, "He never hurt me again and I'm sixty years old." She smiled.

"Oh, there's still time." Jude smiled, sipping her coffee as AJ chuckled.

"Your relationship was tested and… you guys aren't giving up. You shouldn't feel stupid about that. You should feel good that despite everything, you still can't live without him. That's a testament to how much you love him." She nodded.

"I would have preferred if our relationship was tested in a different way than him cheating on me, to be honest." Jude nodded as AJ smiled.

"Yeah well we all would have preferred that." AJ agreed, "But you need to make this right with your sister. I don't sleep right when you're all arguing." She said as Jude rolled her eyes, "I don't."

"I'll talk to her if she's willing to talk to me." Jude nodded.

"All four of you need to talk. Sean needs to recognise this wasn't a good move he made, regardless of him getting the job. And yeah, Theo needs to recognise that punching him in front of everyone wasn't a good move either." AJ said, "And you and your sister need to realise it's best not to defend men… they only go on and mess up again." She shook her head as Jude smiled a little.

"Yeah you're right." Jude nodded, "These are really good." She ate another bite of the empanada.

"Your dad's favourites." AJ smiled.

"I'm really glad you guys can just stop by any time." Jude said, "For the supplies of food but also just to be there." She nodded.

"I'm glad you're here for me to stop by and see too." AJ smiled, "And this house is really beautiful."

"Yeah, I love it." Jude nodded contently.