By the end of the day, we had completed all the in-depths and all the capture plans, had lined up both the ERTs to find the assholes the next day, and I sent the three guys home an hour early. Nick said that he was taking the kids to McDonald's for dinner and he told them when he was picking the children up. Not only did I hear Ethan and Evan and Edie cheer, but my own kids pounded into the kitchen to ask whether they could go as well. I looked in the fridge and saw that Ranger had taken ground beef out of the freezer to defrost, and I sent a note to Ranger asking for cheeseburgers for dinner. He replied that cheeseburgers had been what he was planning. I told the kids.

Tia bounced up and down in excitement. Cheeseburgers were her favorite food. "Fries too?"

I sent the request to Ranger, and he sent a laughing face back and said that he would make the fries from scratch. He said that we had some sweet potatoes. I smiled. Ranger knew how much I loved sweet potato fries.

I sent Tracy and Joe and Eli and Bob home early as well. I figured that they would need the time to get Eli settled in the house. I also figured that Tracy would want to take Eli shopping to buy more clothes for him, and a pair of warm boots. She had also mentioned taking him to the barber to get his hair cut. Joe said he needed to get his hair cut as well, and that made me laugh. Joe had the fastest growing hair that I had ever seen and it seemed as though his hair always needed a cut, even if it had just been cut the day before. I gave them each a hug with another grateful thank you to Tracy as they left. The girls all gave hugs as well, and Alix kissed Eli on the cheek. "Seep wif Bob", she said to him. "Bob snore." She imitated him, and Eli laughed hard. Alix looked proud of herself for making Eli laugh. "He kick in seep and steals piwwow as well."

I laughed. I remembered that from sleeping over at Joe's in the past. When Joe got out of the bed, Bob would get up, stretch out, put his head on your pillow, breathe his doggie breath in your face, and snore loudly. And if that wasn't enough, he was never happy with the amount of real estate that you gave him on the pillow, and he would push you out of the bed in his sleep. It was impossible to kick him out as well. If you told him to go, he would ignore you. If you got out of the bed and yelled at him, snapped your fingers and told him to get out of the bed, he would move over and take your place. He rather reacted like my grandmother did when she invaded Ranger's and my bed with the request to test out her technique on someone who didn't need little blue pills. With Bob, there were times when I had to get out of bed, walk over to Joe's side, and get back into bed. And then Bob would roll over for a cuddle and the whole process would start again.

I let the kids play with their dolls as I sent text messages to my mother. I hadn't been texting her, and she had sent me a message asking me whether I had died. It was a familiar question of my mother's. Every time I hadn't contacted her for a few days she either texted me or phoned me with the question as to whether I had died. "Not dead yet", I texted. "We were just involved in a difficult case. Don't tell Grandma and please keep this confidential, but a police officer went missing and my team and I worked around the clock to try to get him back. He was retrieved and, although he was hurt badly, it is predicted that he will make a full recovery. Tracy has been living here to take care of Nick's and our kids, and another child who is a witness to the case. Joe is guarding him and we are hoping that he and Tracy will be able to adopt him at some point in the future."

"That would be awesome. I've always said that Joe would make a good father."

"I know that he is a wonderful godfather. I never realized that he liked kids that much. However, when he was talking to Eli and Eli said that he'd like to become his son? I thought Joe was going to cry. Eli is a good kid."

"How old is he?"

"We aren't exactly sure. We think about six. He's small for his age, which might be because he hasn't been given good food to eat, we suspect that he has STIs, but his skin is clear and glowing, and he has the most wonderful smile that I have ever seen. Alix has adopted him as her best friend."

"Alix?"

"I know. I was surprised as well. It usually takes her a long time to warm up to people. They've had a lot of fun together over the last two days. She's been teaching him his numbers. He has never gone to school, so Alix has been helping him catch up. He is smart, and I don't think it will be long before he is working at a grade one level."

"What does he look like?"

"He has dark skin, dark eyes, is small for his age, and hair that I suspect is going to get chopped short today. He is a good-looking kid. He's got a wicked sense of humor and he is gentle and caring about others. I don't know him well, but I like him a lot."

"He sounds like a joy. You know that Grandma Bella won't accept him because he isn't Italian, don't you?"

"Oh boy. I didn't think of that. Tracy will not react well if Grandma Bella gives him the Eye." Grandma Bella is Joe's grandmother, and she practiced a sort of Sicilian voodoo called the 'Eye'. She would mutter something in Italian, touch her eye with her finger, and point it at you. It was how she cursed people and, unfortunately, I had found in the past that her curses worked. Everyone I knew, with the exception of Joe and Ranger and Joe's mother, believed in the power of the Eye. Joe and Ranger said that it worked on the power of suggestion. I said they didn't know what they were talking about. "Tracy already has become a mama bear, and I think there is little that she wouldn't do to protect Eli. For that matter, I think there is little Joe wouldn't do either. Eli has quickly worked his way into their hearts."

"I am very happy for them, and I wish them well. I made a pineapple upside-down cake this afternoon. Do you think that they would like it? I would like to do something to welcome him to the neighborhood."

I laughed. "You're just nosy."

"Maybe. =) I would still like to meet the person who could turn Alix's head."

I laughed again. "I'm sure that they would love a cake. Take it after dinner. I think Tracy and Joe were taking Eli out shopping and to get his hair cut. And leave Grandma at home. As much as she likes people, she would want to be first with the story that Eli is black. Knowing Grandma Bella's racism – no one other than Italian will do – Grandma would love the opportunity to stick it to her. She hates the fact that Grandma Bella is more of a character than she is."

"True. Maybe I'll bring the cake to your house tomorrow morning, so that I can leave Grandma at home with Annie. That way I would get hugs from all the kids."

"Good idea. That way I get some pineapple upside-down cake as well. And since it is Tia's favorite food, she will greatly appreciate your visit too."

"LOL. That's what I'll do then. I'd better go. Your grandmother is outside peeing on the bushes again."

"Oh boy."

I clicked into Tracy's text conversation. "Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to warn you that my mother is planning on dropping in tomorrow morning. She wants to meet the person who became instant friends with Alix. She figures that Eli must be a very good person for Alix to become friends with him so quickly. So she has made a cake and was thinking that she'd bring the cake for the kids. She promised to leave Grandma at home."

"Okay. Thanks for the warning. Joe and I were thinking that we'd take Eli to his mother's tonight. With Eli being black and Grandma Bella being very unaccepting of those that are different, we wanted to get this first meeting over with. As Joe said, if she isn't nice we will never have to see her again. I'm a bit worried about it."

"I didn't want to mention it, but I am as well. Which is stupid because Eli is a great kid and will be a good addition to your family. Like you, I don't want to see Eli hurt. However, if Joe's family doesn't accept him, you know that our extended family will – Tank and Amelia and their kids, Hal, Nick and his kids, Dirk and Cindy and his kids, Miguel and Kate, Ranger and me and our kids – we will all love him for the person he is. We will provide the supportive base that he needs. Also, our extended and adopted family has a variety of heritages, and that too will make Eli understand that it is only his character that matters, and that people are people. Every single one of us is a good person, and all of us are good people to be his aunts and uncles."

"Thanks. I was worried, but you are right. Our real family, the one that we have chosen, won't even notice that his skin color is different than theirs, and will love him for being the person that he is."

"That's the way it is supposed to be."

"I've got to go. Eli is finished his hair cut. He looks so handsome!"

"Send me a picture?" A few seconds later, a photo came through of Eli grinning with pride and I smiled. "Tell Eli that he looks like a movie star. He is going to knock the socks off Alix tomorrow." Tracy sent through a smiley face.