Halloween Part Two

"What are you doing out here?" Jude asked, walking out into the yard where Cassie was sitting on one of the chairs.

"Just admiring mom and dad's decorations." Cassie nodded, looking at all the pumpkin lanterns in the yard, "And I needed some fresh air. It was getting hot in there." She said as Jude nodded.

"They really are a lot to live up to, aren't they?" Jude nodded, sitting down at the table.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Cassie said, "I loved these parties when I was younger." She shook her head.

"Yeah, we all did." Jude nodded, "Wasn't the same once dad was gone." She shook her head.

"Did mom still do it?" Cassie asked.

"She did but not like this. She didn't go all out." Jude said, "I never understood it before. I never understood why she just stopped visiting him. I never understood how difficult it had to have been for her. I just missed my dad and I was so focused on that." She said, "Now that I've grown up and I've got a husband and kids. I try put myself in her shoes and it…" She shook her head, "I don't know how she did it."

"Like I said." Cassie said, "Lot to live up to." She nodded as Jude smiled.

"How are you? You seem sort of far away." Jude said, "Further away than usual."

"I'm fine." Cassie assured her, "Glad you've been here for the week. Feels like old times when you come back."

"It does." Jude smiled to herself.

"Did you leave because of what happened here? What Jackson did?" Cassie asked curiously.

"No." Jude shook her head, "That whole situation took a lot from me. Ruined a lot of things for me. Never my home or my family." She said as Cassie looked across at her, "It just… seemed like the right thing to do. I can't really explain it."

"Don't you get lonely?" Cassie asked, "If I have a problem I can get in the car and drive ten minutes to mom and dad, or to Thea." She said.

"Please, if you have a problem you don't drive to anyone." Jude laughed a little as Cassie just forced a small smile and looked down, "I have Sean." Jude shrugged.

"Yeah but… surely there's times where you just wanna talk to mom or dad. Or one of us. Isn't it upsetting that we're so far away?" Cassie asked.

"Sure it is. I miss you guys like crazy. But… I've got a life out there. A life I love. Moving there at the time just made sense. Me and Sean always that if it didn't feel right or we didn't like it, we'd come back. But… it feels like our home out there. A place the girls are gonna grow up." Jude nodded.

"I get it." Cassie nodded, "I just thought maybe it was partly to do with Jackson. The memories of this place."

"No. I can't associate what happened to me with Chicago. I can't live my life like that." Jude shook her head, "Would it be painful to… stand outside the house? Where it happened? Of course it would. But this will always be home to me. Regardless." Jude nodded.

"What happened after?" Cassie asked, "How did you get any justice from what happened?" She questioned.

"Well… he's dead, isn't he?" Jude shrugged.

"Is that good enough?" Cassie asked her.

"I don't know." Jude thought to herself, "Sometimes I think about what I'd say if I got the chance to speak to him. If I could look him in the eyes." She nodded to herself, "But for the most part I'm just glad he's… not around." Jude nodded.

"But it obviously meant that nobody was charged, right?" Cassie nodded.

"Right. But who would they charge? He was dead." Jude shrugged as Cassie nodded.

"How was Thea ever in a relationship with him?" Cassie shook her head, "Someone who was capable of that."

"She didn't know that's what he was capable of, I guess." Jude said, "And he was actually kinda nice when he was younger. It's hard to say that but it's true. He had manners. He was respectful to mom. He was… nice to me." Jude shook her head, looking down as Cassie looked over at her.

"What do you think happened?" Cassie asked.

"His dad happened." Jude nodded, "I don't know. He got older and him and Thea would fight all the time. They'd break up every week. I mean it sounded like hell." She said, "I don't know, maybe a switch was just flipped." She shrugged as Cassie nodded, "You probably understand all that stuff way more than me. I mean, you deal with it on a daily basis."

"Sometimes." Cassie nodded, "Do you… still not really remember that night?" She asked.

"Not in full." Jude shook her head, "I'm not mad about that." She assured her as Cassie nodded, "Ok, I know it's Halloween and we're supposed to talk about scary things but… you mind if we change the subject?" She asked.

"No… no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." Jude assured her, "I know you were young at the time and… got kept in the dark for a lot of stuff." She said.

"Yeah, joys of being the youngest." Cassie nodded.

"It's not such a bad thing to be shielded from that kind of stuff." Jude said as Cassie nodded.

"So… what do we think of Thea being knocked up?" Cassie asked her.

"It caught me off guard, I'm not gonna lie." Jude laughed a little, "She seems happy, though. It's nice." She smiled as Cassie nodded.

"Yeah, it is." Cassie agreed, "She's been through hell this year."

"Do you ever feel guilty?" Jude asked.

"About what?" Cassie looked at her worriedly.

"Not noticing." Jude said, "The BPD." She explained.

"Oh." Cassie nodded, "Yeah, sometimes. It's a… complex thing to wrap your head around." She said as Jude nodded.

"I make problems with people so that I can push them away before they leave me because I'm scared of being abandoned and like to have control of the situation." Jude said, "That's what she said to me the first time she was in hospital when she was… eighteen." Jude nodded.

"You were only young. You couldn't have noticed something like that." Cassie shook her head, "The important thing is she's been diagnosed now and she can use that to get better, properly, this time." She nodded, "That's a blessing."

"Yeah, it is." Jude agreed, "You missing Theo?" She asked as Cassie nodded.

"Yeah, but I guess someone has to work." Cassie shrugged, "I just wish he was here to see Chase having fun." She said.

"I'm sure Chase will fill him in." Jude said as Cassie nodded, "Did you make his costume?"

"Yeah. There's no better Halloween costume than a hand made one." Cassie nodded, "I still don't understand how you're dressed up as me." She scoffed as Jude chuckled.

"Well… I'm a cop, I've been drinking beer all night, I've been eyeballing everyone and sitting in the corner wishing I was elsewhere." Jude teased.

"Is that what I've been doing?" Cassie questioned.

"Kinda." Jude nodded, "You got something going on upstairs?" She asked as Cassie looked over at her. She didn't know where to begin or if she even could. If Jude was the right person to be telling first. She just couldn't get it out.

"No, I'm fine." Cassie nodded to her just as Punk came outside.

"There's a domestic going on in the living room." Punk announced as they turned to him, "Mirren and Sofia." He said as Jude rolled her eyes.

"Well… that didn't last long." Mirren shook her head, getting up from the chair and heading inside whilst Punk looked over at Cassie.

"I like the pants." Punk nodded, walking over to the table and taking a seat.

"Me too." Cassie smiled at her floral pants with flares at the bottom, "Wish I could wear them every day." She nodded as Punk smiled.

"What you doing out here?" Punk asked.

"Just getting some fresh air." Cassie told him, "I like the pumpkin lanterns." She nodded.

"Yeah? I picked them." Punk smiled proudly.

"Dad." She said abruptly as he turned to her. He knew it was a tone of concern.

"Yeah?" Punk looked at her.

"Why did you hate cops so much when you were growing up?" Cassie asked him as he looked at her for a few seconds before looking down, thinking of what to say.

"Because… in times I needed help from them, I never got it." Punk shrugged, "Because they would say pretty awful things to your mom. Racist things." He nodded, "It's bad enough to not give someone help when they need it but to purposely not help them because of where they come from, because of their background. I just… I could never understand it. And I never will." He said, "I guess I was just always on the wrong side of them." He said.

"Do you think when… what happened to Jude happened, do you think they did enough?" Cassie asked him.

"Yeah." Punk said, "I think the detective at the time… Karen, I think she did a great job. I know she helped Jude, and she didn't stop piecing it together. And she got the last of Rio's cling ons taken down." He nodded.

"What if she missed something?" Cassie looked at him.

"Like what?" Punk shook his head.

"Phil, can you come help me refill the drinks." AJ called from the kitchen as Punk turned around, turning back to Cassie who was looking down.

"Like what?" Punk asked Cassie again.

"Nothing." Cassie shook her head, "Go help mom. I'm just… being silly." She waved her hand as Punk looked at her, "Seriously, go. Before she comes looking for you." She advised as Punk nodded.

He got up from the chair, heading inside, not before pausing and looking over at Cassie, wondering what on earth she was thinking about.

He headed into the kitchen, helping his wife fill up more bowls of punch, turning around when he saw Chase walking into the kitchen.

"Where's mommy?" Chase asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"She's outside." Punk smiled, watching as Chase headed outside, finding Cassie and running over to her.

"Hey, you." Cassie smiled, lifting him up onto her lap as he curled into her, "You getting sleepy?" She asked him, brushing her hand through his hair, stroking his cheek lovingly as he nodded. It had gotten to the point in the night where he had become tired and just wanted to curl into his mother. It just so happened that Cassie needed him just the same at the same time.