Backtrack
"Hey, I think we're gonna take off. Chase is getting kind of tired." Cassie said, coming into the kitchen where her parents were.
"It's still early." AJ frowned, "He can nap upstairs." She said.
"I'd rather just take him home." Cassie nodded, "He had a lot of fun, and maybe too much candy." She figured as AJ smiled.
"Do you want me to drive you home?" Punk asked her.
"Theo's coming to pick us up." Cassie said, "He's got a fifteen minute break so-"
"Fifteen minutes? How generous." AJ shook her head, "Do you want to take some of this food out to him? Cause there's tons of it."
"No, he's probably ate already." Cassie said, "But thank you. You guys always go above and beyond for Halloween, it's good to see him having fun." Cassie smiled, looking over at Chase who was waiting at the kitchen door.
"Of course." AJ smiled, "Well you be safe. Don't go outside until Theo is there." She nodded, giving her daughter a hug as Cassie laughed a little.
"Ok, mom." Cassie nodded, turning around and giving her father a hug.
"I give your costume eight out of ten." Punk told her as she laughed a little.
"Only eight?" Cassie pulled back, "Come on, show this hippy some love." She scoffed as Punk smiled.
"Mommy." Chase waited impatiently as Cassie turned around.
"Ok ok. Come say bye." Cassie told him as Chase ran over to AJ and Punk, getting picked up by AJ, getting a double hug from both of them as Cassie smiled.
"Don't eat too much candy when you go home." AJ advised.
"I think we've all had enough candy for the night." Cassie laughed a little.
Chase eventually jumped down from AJ's arms, running over to Cassie who took off to the front door.
"Can you get your shoes on whilst I go say bye?" Cassie asked Chase who nodded, sitting down on the stairs where she passed him his shoes.
She walked into the loud living room, tapping Thea on the shoulder who looked up.
"Hey, are you leaving?" Thea sat up a little.
"Yeah, Chase is getting kinda tired." Cassie nodded as Jude looked over.
"Can't he go for a nap upstairs?" Jude asked, "I've just put Leela down."
"I'd just rather get him home." Cassie said, "I'll speak to you guys tomorrow." She told them as Thea just nodded whilst Jude watched Cassie walk out of the living room.
"Cassie." Jude followed her out.
"Yeah?" Cassie looked at her.
"If you ever want to talk to me, if you ever have questions about… that." She nodded, "I'll always answer them for you. I know you were young at the time. It's nothing I shy away from. Not now." Jude nodded.
"I know that." Cassie smiled, "I just… wanted to check in on you." She nodded.
"I'm ok." Jude assured her, "It's almost been ten years. I… take a lot of comfort in knowing the hardest part is over. It still trips me up sometimes but I know what I got, and I got a good family and friends." She nodded.
"Of course you do." Cassie nodded, "I'll see you again before you go back to New York." She promised as Jude nodded.
"Ok." Jude smiled, wrapping her arms around her tightly as Cassie sighed a little, hugging her back. She'd never felt so torn in her entire life. Protecting her sister meant keeping this from her, but it also meant telling her what she knew.
"You go have more fun." Cassie pulled back from the hug as Jude smiled, wandering back into the living room.
"I'm ready." Chase announced as Cassie turned around.
"Good job, baby." Cassie smiled, taking his hand before opening up the door and leaving the house, walking down the path where Theo was parked outside waiting.
Cassie got Chase into the car, strapping him into his car seat whilst he exclaimed to his father in the front all the fun he'd got up to tonight.
Cassie eventually got into the car in the front, letting out a loud sigh as Theo looked at her.
"How are you?" Theo asked her as she turned to him, shaking her head as he figured she hadn't spoken up yet, "Cass."
"I know." Cassie nodded, "I know, ok?" She said with frustration as Theo sighed.
"Do you mind if we go to the station? There's someone I want you to speak to." Theo said, driving off as Cassie looked at him.
"I believe a congratulations is in order for you." Dan appeared into the kitchen where Thea was helping herself to more food.
"Oh, hey." Thea noticed him, wiping her mouth quickly as he smiled a little.
"So you're my oldest grandchild." Dan said as Thea nodded.
"I am she." Thea smiled.
"Congratulations on the baby." Dan nodded.
"Thank you." Thea said, "Wow, so you're about to have eight great grandchildren. That must be crazy." She folded her arms, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"It's a lot of children." Dan laughed a little.
"Hopefully they'll all grow up and be friends with each other." Thea nodded, "I think that'd be good."
"Oh, of course they will." Dan nodded positively, "Sam always loved Halloween." He thought to himself, looking up at the bats hanging from the ceiling.
"Do you miss her?" Thea asked as Dan nodded.
"Of course I do." Dan said, "I know you two were close."
"Yeah, we were." Thea nodded, "I don't know, I guess I never felt like I was disappointing her. I could just be honest with her and tell her how messed up I felt without feeling judged." Thea shrugged, "Not that I'm saying my parents judged me or anything, but… it was just different with her." She nodded.
"She loved you kids." Dan said, "She always said to me you were the type of girls everyone wished to have as friends." She nodded as Thea smiled to herself, "And I can see why."
"I know it means a lot to my dad that you're here. He's really set on getting to know you." Thea nodded, "He's just a little awkward sometimes. So is Dean."
"Yeah, they probably get that from me." Dan laughed a little, "But still, a little progress is still progress."
"It is." Thea nodded.
"Do you know what you're expecting?" Dan asked her.
"Oh, no. We've not long just found out." Thea said, "Of course, mother's intuition is a thing." She nodded.
"Oh, yeah?" Dan nodded.
"I think it's a boy." Thea nodded.
"Well you'll have to wait and see." Dan said as she nodded.
"Hey, you out here eating some more?" Punk walked into the kitchen, spotting his father talking to Thea.
"Yeah, I may aswell get myself another plate actually." Thea thought to herself, grabbing a Halloween paper plate, loading some more food onto it as Punk smiled, "I'll take some for Dominic." She nodded, only saying it to hide the fact she was piling on a lot of food.
"You don't have to lie, we know you're gonna eat it all yourself." Punk nodded as Thea made a face at him, walking out of the kitchen as Punk just smiled to himself.
"She looks good. Healthy." Dan nodded to Punk.
"Yeah, she does. She is." Punk said, "I'm glad you could make it tonight."
"Me too." Dan nodded to him, "Of course, thank you for inviting me. I didn't really know what to do, I know this is a young thing." He waved his hand.
"A young thing?" Punk laughed a little, "Halloween is for everyone." He assured him as Dan just nodded.
"You always done this? Have a party?" Dan asked him.
"Yeah, since Thea was a little girl. In fact, I think the first time we did it was when we first moved into this place. I guess we said it was for the kids but who were we kidding?" Punk scoffed as Dan chuckled a little and nodded.
Meanwhile in the living room, AJ had sat down beside Dean, smiling up at him as he raised a brow.
"What?" Dean said suspiciously.
"Isn't it exciting? Sarah's having a baby, Thea's having a baby." AJ said as Dean nodded along.
"Oh, yeah. Real exciting." Dean nodded.
"Oh, you men are the worst." AJ shoved him as he chuckled, "Come on, tell me how you really feel. It's me."
"Of course I'm happy." Dean assured her, "If she's happy, I'm happy." Dean smiled, looking over at his youngest daughter Sarah who was sitting with Thea and Jude, "Hope it's a boy." He nodded.
"Yeah?" AJ smiled.
"Yeah, I've been surrounded by too many girls in my lifetime." Dean said as AJ chuckled.
"That's not such a bad thing, you know." AJ said.
"I know." Dean assured her, "Between you and me, I'm kinda worried about Chris." He said.
"Why?" AJ asked him.
"Well… you know how when Jude left for New York and you guys thought it was because of you?" He asked her as she nodded, "Kinda feels similar. She never comes to the house anymore. I mean, we barely see her." Dean shook his head, "And she was always so… present." He said, "I try not say too much in front of Renee, cause I don't want her to panic or worry."
"Have you tried talking to Chrissy?" AJ asked.
"Yeah. I call, she doesn't answer. I text, same thing. I even stop by at the house and she's always got an excuse." Dean shook his head, "Me and Renee tend not to speak about it because… well I guess we're both kinda worried about her, or maybe she's just got her own life and her own shit to deal with."
"Maybe." AJ thought to herself, "Or there's a reason she's avoiding you."
"And what the hell would the reason be? I know I haven't done anything wrong. My daughter's let me know when I've stepped out a line." Dean promised her.
"Maybe you need to ask her bluntly what the hell is wrong and why she's avoiding you." AJ said as Dean sighed, "I'm sure… I'm sure it's nothing." AJ nodded. Now having multiple conversations about what was going on with her niece, she was now starting to question some things too.
"I can't go in looking like this." Cassie rolled her eyes, pulling up to the police station.
"You look fine. Plus, it's Halloween, I think people will understand." Theo assured her as Cassie sighed, turning to look into the back where Chase had fallen asleep with his bag of candy on his lap.
"He's sleeping." Cassie smiled as Theo also turned around.
"Did he have fun?" Theo smiled.
"Yeah, he did." Cassie smiled, "He was getting tired."
"Ok, you go on in and I'll wait here with him." Theo nodded to her.
"Ok." Cassie nodded, getting out of the car, closing the door over and walking on into the station.
She walked into the back, thankful there wasn't a lot of cops floating around to see her hippy attire, walking to her desk where she saw someone sitting.
"Hey." Cassie said.
"Nice costume." Detective Karen Williams smiled, sitting at Cassie's desk looking up at her.