Chapter 31: More Bad News

Robbie woke Christina the next morning. The alarm she'd set on her phone hadn't gone off and she'd overslept. She rushed upstairs to her room to get ready for work. Jeza was bugging her about wanting to stay home from school. She didn't feel like dealing with people and their stares and whispers. It was just one day. Chris was hesitant to let her skip for the day but she didn't have time to argue. She said she didn't have to go to school but she wasn't going to sit at home all day. She'd take her to the hospital and she could stay there with their father. She barely argued at all, just got her stuff and went out to the car. She dropped her off at the hospital and then rushed to work. When she walked into the squad room she could tell that something major was going on. The entire squad room was gathered around the board and screen in their bullet proof vests and Lieutenant Murphy, the new commanding officer of the squad, was giving orders. William Lewis, the man who'd kidnapped and assaulted Benson, had escaped prison and they were sure he was coming after Olivia again. Chris hadn't been there when Olivia had been through her ordeal or for Lewis' trial but from what she could gather he'd undeniably left his mark on the entire precinct. She was now seeing his history of psychopathy and brutality first hand.

Murphy almost sent her home saying he didn't need anyone on this case who wasn't one hundred percent focused. She assured him that she was up for the job and they got right to work trying to track this psycho down. He was really giving them a run for their money and they could all tell that Olivia was getting restless. He'd raped a teenage girl named Lauren and kidnapped her younger sister, Amelia, holding her hostage. Even though she was off the case, she came to the hospital to talk to the victim who insisted on speaking only to Sergeant Benson. He'd given her his demands: a public confession and apology from Benson for the girl's life. She talked to him on the phone but he was playing games same as always. They couldn't wait to catch the bastard and do away with him once and for all. Lewis was leading them on a wild goose chase through the city, leaving blood and bodies in his wake. He was even bold enough to continue making phone calls, taunting Rollins and Benson when they answered. Benson decided to give him what he wanted and, against the advice of Lt Murphy, made a public apology to Lewis. It didn't matter. He wasn't going to let Amelia go. Murphy finally ordered Benson to take her protective detail and go home to get some rest. She managed to slip from underneath their watchful eyes and go meet Lewis on her own in an attempt to save the girl. The squad kicked into overdrive to find her and save before Lewis could do any further harm. A series of events and intel led them to a warehouse where they heard Lewis forcing Benson to play a game of Russian Roulette, broadcasting a play by play over the radio. When they heard the gunshot, they finally knew their position and rushed in to see Benson and Amelia tied up and Lewis dead. They quickly got them both out of there and secured the scene.

An investigation into Olivia's actions was conducted over the next couple of days. Chris was finding out just how much they didn't trust IAB and just how paranoid Amaro could be. When IAB closed its investigation, clearing Benson of any wrong doing, they gathered at her apartment to celebrate only to have the celebration ruined by Murphy bringing bad news. Despite IAB's report, the Brooklyn DA was actually going to try to bring charges against Benson in the death of William Lewis. It was a grueling few days of grand jury testimonies and they were all worried about the outcome. The DA was really going after her. Chris hated to admit it to herself but she was thankful for the distraction. Her mother was in the hospital deteriorating and her family was at home fighting over what to do about it. She'd already accepted the inevitable. For the first time in a couple weeks, the focus of everyone's sympathies weren't on her.

The grand jury finally concluded having refused to return an indictment and they went back to business as usual. Cases were rolling in and they were working like a well-oiled machine under the direction of their new commander. His style was taking some getting used to but Chris liked him. Amanda told her about going undercover with him and how he'd saved her shield. She figured if Amanda trusted him then she should too. He was understanding of her personal situation and gave her flexibility to come and go when something came up with her mother's care. She was sitting at her desk catching up on paperwork that'd been piling up, getting into her own rhythm of getting things done. Amanda, Fin and Olivia were at their desks and Amaro had the day off to go see his daughter. They were talking about breaking for lunch, trying to convince Reyes to come out to get something to eat with them. This would've made the third day in a row that she'd skip the meal if she said no. She was arguing one on one with Amanda when her sister walked into the squad and stood next to her desk.

"I need to talk to you" she said getting her attention. Chris looked over and saw her sister there and immediately got upset because she was supposed to be in school.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you" she repeated.

"This couldn't have waited until I got home tonight?" she asked angrily. "I'm tired of you skipping school Jeza".

"I'm not skipping. It's my lunch period".

"Since when can you leave school for lunch?" she asked knowing that wasn't allowed. "Go back to school".

"But I need to talk to you" she said again.

"We can talk tonight when I come home".

"You mean if you come home" she smart alecked. Chris got up from her desk and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair, putting it on. She knew the only way she could be sure that her sister would go back to school was if she drove her herself.

"I will. Come on" she said grabbing her phone and keys and heading for the door.

"I'm pregnant" Jeza said softly stopping her sister in her tracks. Chris stood there frozen, silently praying that she hadn't just heard what she knew she'd heard leave her sister's mouth. Chris took a deep breath and turned to look at her sister.

"Let's go. You're going back to school" she said as if her sister hadn't just dropped a bombshell on her.

"Did you hear me?" she asked. "I said I'm pregnant".

"I don't care!" she yelled. "God damn it Jezalyn, you are not going to ruin your life. I don't care how hard it is or long it takes, you are graduating high school. Now move it!" She grabbed her by the jacket and forced her towards the door. She turned around to see everyone, including Murphy, staring at her. She felt like she was about to explode. She took another calming breath and made her way out of the squad room to take her sister back to school. Murphy instructed everyone to get back to work and waited to make sure everyone was occupied before returning to his office. They didn't speak about the scene between Reyes and her sister when she returned from lunch. They all just worked quietly at their desks, watching the clock until it was time for them to leave. They invited her out for a drink but she declined saying that she had to get home to deal with her pregnant teenaged sister. Amanda walked her out and told her to call if she needed anything even though she knew she wouldn't.

Later that night, Amanda took Frannie for a walk and when she got back to her apartment, she got right in her truck and drove over to Chris' house. She went up and knocked on the door then patiently waited with Frannie for someone to answer. After a couple minutes, Chris opened the door and let her in. She followed her over to the couch where Chris had five empty beer bottles sitting on the table and a sixth in her hand. Amanda sat down next to her contemplating whether she should take the beer from her or not. She decided against it and just sat there quietly with Chris as she finished the beer and put the bottle on the table with the others.

"How'd it go with your sister?" she asked in a whisper.

"She wants to keep the baby" she leaned forward to pick up her beer bottle only to find it empty and remember she'd just finished it. "As if I need any more bad news" she said softly. She laughed to herself and shook her head, "The girl's never taken care of a damn thing in her life but she wants to take care of a kid".

"Maybe you can change her mind" she said.

"No" she said shaking her head. "She's too much like me". Amanda didn't know what to say. She could understand how Chris must've been feeling. So many things were piling up on her one after the other. "You didn't have to come" she said getting up from the couch. She gathered the beer bottles from the table and taking them to the kitchen. She put them in the trash and went to the refrigerator to get another but there weren't any left. She shut the door and went back to the living room, retaking her seat next to Amanda.

"Murphy offered you time off, Chris" she said putting her hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you should take it".

"No" she said shaking her head. "My father's not working anymore and my brother's not getting a lot of hours. Someone has to bring in a steady paycheck if we're gonna keep up with the medical bills for my mother's care".

"I can lo…."

"No" Chris said knowing that Amanda was about to offer to help her with the payments. "I don't want you to do that. You have your own….stuff to worry about".

"If by "stuff" you mean gambling debts, I don't have any" Amanda said still whispering. She assumed her family was in the house sleeping and she didn't want to be too loud. "I can help you".

"I don't want any help".

"Why are you so stubborn?" she asked not understanding why she refused to let anyone help her. "I already told you that you don't have to do this alone. You have me". Chris reached down and pet Frannie on the head, ignoring what Amanda was saying.

"I'm tired" she said standing up. Amanda grabbed Frannie's leash, stood up from the couch and walked to the door.

"I can stay" she said turning around to face her. "If you want me to" she added. Christina thought for a minute about whether she wanted Amanda to stay or not. She went back and forth in her head, arguing with herself. She wanted the comfort but didn't want to seem weak and vulnerable. She finally made a decision that a couple weeks ago would've been the last thing she'd ever do. She showed some emotion. She blinked back her tears and found the words she was looking for.

"I would…." She cleared her throat, "I would really…love it if you would" she said, her voice breaking slightly. Amanda could tell that Chris was embarrassed by how emotional she was because she couldn't look her in the eyes. She didn't want her to think too much about it so she started up the stairs with Frannie. Chris turned out all the lights before joining her upstairs in her bedroom. Amanda let Frannie off her leash and put it on the dresser. They both undressed and climbed in bed. Frannie jumped up and settled down at the end the same as she did in Amanda's bed. Chris laid there for a minute and stared at the ceiling then, to Amanda's surprise, she turned over and scoot into her, laying her head on her chest. Amanda wrapped her arms around her and held her until they both fell asleep.