Rating: PG

Warning: Canon Divergence! Also, death of a minor character be ahead.

Pairings: Jack/Claire and Anita/Lennie

Crossover(s): The Mothership, SVU, L.A. Law, and Barney Miller

Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyright material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual. I only own my original characters.

Author's Note: Well, I'm still working on mastering the characters' voices and trying desperately not to make them sound OOC. But if that happens forgive me. I'm still very new to the show (like 2 months new)! Also, this take place before Ben comes back to the DA's office but he's teaching at Columbia at this point and married to Victoria.

Inside an old yet dignified cathedral, a gloomy crowd-all dressed in black-have gathered together to morn their loss of Laura Raines-Morales. Although they were inside and away from the bustling city noise, the crowd whispered as they addressed each other in a sombre state. Each lamenting on the tragedy that's now before them.

Among those there were, Claire Kincaid, Jack McCoy, Adam Schiff, Lennie Briscoe, Ed Green, Mike Logan, Phil Cerreta, Anita Van Buren, Alexandra Cabot, a few attorneys from the Public Defenders' Office, and Daniel's friends/colleagues from the law firm he works at McKinzie & Brackman.

As Jack looked around, he saw that Laura was a well loved individual. He saw, who he assumed, Laura's parents as they stood with Daniel.

Daniel, who was holding his and Laura's six month old daughter Lucy, looked older than his years. His normally handsome features were drawn and distraught; however, he was trying to stay strong and keep from sobbing even more than he did in the hospital.

But then Jack couldn't dwell on the memory of that early morning because the priest started the service.

As the priest gave the eulogy, Jack discreetly looked to his right to those who sat with him on the long pew. The women, including Claire and Alex, hid their faces behind dark veils but there was no denying their grief. The men, including himself, were barely holding to their tears.

The service, thankfully though, was not long and once it was over and everyone had filed out, Jack thought: It's now or never.

The EADA then found Claire at the door speaking with Lennie, Anita, and Daniel. As he approached them Jack heard Daniel say, "I forgive you Lennie."

"How?" Lennie asked.

"Because I don't want to be bitter. I have to live for my angel, Lucy. She's a living gift from God and Laura to me. So you gotta take care of yourself, hombre. You being alive is also a gift," Daniel explained with a sniffle. But it was patted away by Lucy, still in his arms, as she literally patted his face and made cooing sounds of concern to him. The baby's innocence brought a smile to all their faces.

"Yeah mihja. Papa's going to be okay. We're going to be okay," Daniel said as he gently bounced her on his arms.

After a moment, Lennie answered, "Okay Daniel. I give you my word, I won't waste my second chance."

Daniel nodded and at that moment, Barney Miller of the 1-2 and Olivia Benson of the Special Victims Unit came over to offer their condolences. In that moment, Jack said, "Uh Claire, could I speak with you privately?"

Claire, who was enraptured by Baby Lucy, almost didn't hear her boss but then said quickly, "Wha? Oh yeah sure."

|||DUN|||DUN|||

The two attorneys ended up at a small cafe. After they were seated, Claire had taken off her veil and asked, "So what did you want to tell me Jack?"

Never one to have stumbled with his words, Jack found himself for the first time not knowing how t say what he was feeling. Jack huffed out his frustration with himself and shoved his hand into his salt and pepper hair.

Finally Jack said, "I wanted to make good on a promise I made to Laura."

"A promise? What promise?"

"Well, I promised her that I'd tell you..." Jack trailed off.

And when he didn't pick up his statement after a moment, Claire asked nervously, "Tell me what? Am I fired or something?"

Jack rolled his eyes and said gruffly, "No! Why would you be fired."

Now, really frustrated, Jack mused his hair and thought: Forget it. I never beat around the bush before and I'm not going to start now.

With that thought, Jack said, "Look, Laura was a pretty perceptive woman and she picked up on something I didn't intend for her to notice. She essentially saw that I love you. There I said it: I love you." Then he whispered not quite to himself, "I don't know why I tried to ease into sayin' this anyway."

Claire, not knowing what to say, could only stare wide-eyed at Jack. Why do I always attract older men... but then again, Jack is the best looking of them all. And I can't deny that I've started falling for him... Claire thought. But then her brain brought her memories of Laura and the knowledge of how much of life Laura was now not going to be apart of.

"So, what do think?" asked Jack.

Claire then looked up and met his eyes. "So, I guess there's no use in delaying the inevitable," the young woman began, "I love you too, Jack. Honestly, I don't know specifically when it happened. I certainly wasn't trying to repeat my history with Judge Thayer. But... here we are."

Slowly, a crooked smile grew on Jack's face and he said, "You love me?"

Claire huffed out a laugh as a grin tugged at her lips, as she said coyly, "Yeah, I do."

"So does that mean I can take you out sometime?"

"Depends," Claire said.

"On what?"

"On whether or not you'll take me out on your motorcycle," the ADA said.

Jack looked at her disbelievingly and then said, "I work with that."

At his response, Claire smiled at him. Her smile caused Jack to think, Thank you Laura. You'll be missed everyday. But your memory and advice will live on.

"You're buying right?" asked Claire.

And at her question, Jack couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh. He looked forward to every new day with this woman. Especially now that even he got a second chance.

THE END