Chapter 32: Take Some Time

Chris' alarm went off at seven, waking her and Amanda. They were up getting dressed when there was a knock on her door. Before she could tell whoever it was that she'd be out in a minute, her door swung open and Jeza bounced into her room. She had her laptop in her hands and a big smile on her face. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Frannie laying in Chris' bed looking at her. She looked over and saw Amanda standing there in just her slacks and bra and then looked at her sister who was also half dressed. She stood there staring between the two of them for another minute before speaking.

"You know just because mami's in the hospital doesn't mean you can parade women through the house" she said turning her nose up at Amanda.

"Get out" Chris said pushing her sister out of her bedroom. It was only seven fifteen and she was already annoyed. They finished getting dressed and Chris walked Amanda and Frannie to the door. She needed to go home, shower and change into fresh clothes before work. Jeza was sitting at the dining room table with a bowl of cereal and her laptop. Chris was surprised to see her up and ready for school so early and without complaints. She walked past her into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee and looked in the frig for something for breakfast. She decided on having a bowl of cereal like her sister and joined her at the table.

"You need to see the stuff I've found for the baby" Jeza said excitedly. "It's all so cute". She got up from her chair and went over to sit next to her sister and sat her laptop between them so she could see what she was looking at. "I like this crib and this bouncer turns into a high chair so we wouldn't need to buy one when the baby starts sitting up". She started clicking on pages she'd bookmarked with designs for baby rooms and baby clothes and the latest baby technology from monitors to bottle warmers. Chris could barely keep up with her. She couldn't believe how excited her sister was about impending parenthood. Chris hated that she had to crush that for her.

"Jezalyn" she said stopping her ranting. "We can't afford any of this stuff". Jeza's smile slowly faded and she closed her laptop.

"Well, we have nine months to save up" she said with a lot less enthusiasm than she had just a few seconds ago. "Well, actually, I've been doing some research and it's really about ten months…."

"Look, Jeza" she said stopping her again, "I can see you're really happy about being pregnant but you're a teenager. This isn't exactly the best thing".

"You always do this" she said angrily getting up from the table.

"I always do what?" Chris asked.

"You always make me feel like everything I do is a mistake, like I can't get anything right". She picked up her bowl and took it to the kitchen before coming back for her laptop. "Every time you see me happy, you always do whatever you can to bring me down".

"Jezalyn, that's not true. You're my sister. I love you. Of course I want you to be happy" she said getting up and following her sister upstairs. "But the things that make you happy are…."she scoffed, "questionable and not making you very successful".

"Maybe I don't want to be like you" she said turning and stopping on the stairs. "Being successful hasn't gotten you anything. You're still single, you have no friends, and you're always at work".

"Ok, I might be single and, yes, I work a lot but I do have friends" she said looking up at her. "And I wouldn't be bragging about my associates if I were you".

"See, you're always putting me down!" she yelled stomping the rest of the way up the stairs. She went in her room and slammed the door. Robbie came out of his room buttoning up his work shirt.

"What's her problem?" he asked fixing his collar.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just ruining her life, same as any other day" she said still standing on the stairs. "I have to get to work. You need to be leaving soon too. Jeza can't be late to school again". She walked down a few stairs before stopping and turning to look back at her brother, "We're gonna need to talk tonight so come right home after work".

"I can't" he said standing at the top of the stairs looking down at her. "I have plans with some of the guys".

"Well you need to cancel them" she said like he had no choice. "It's important, Robbie. I need you to be here".

"Alright, geez, calm down" he said pacifying her motherly tone. "I'll be here". Chris descended the stairs and went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee to take with her to work. She grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Robbie banged on Jeza's door and told her to get a move on. Five minutes later, they were walking out the door. Robbie kept texting Christina all day, asking what they needed to talk about. She told him to come home right after work and he'd find out. They were working a case of an actress who'd brought her daughter in, accusing her ex-husband of molestation. The mother's behavior was suspicious and it was difficult to tell if the girl had been coached. Amanda was on the fence about the accusation. She didn't want another Jackie Walker situation happening on her watch. Chris took phone calls from her father, checking in on her mother in the hospital. Amanda took time out of her day to hit a GA meeting. They didn't avoid each other but they didn't make an effort to talk about the night before either. They tried to be as normal as possible. Murphy was really going easy on Reyes given her current family situation. He got her out of the squad room an hour early despite her insisting that she was fine to keep working with the rest of the squad. He ordered to go home so she took her things and left, dreading the conversation she had to have when she got home.

Chris made tacos for dinner when she got home and set the table. Robbie walked in the door at seven and went right upstairs to get ready for dinner. Chris called Amanda but didn't get an answer. She decided against leaving a message and went back to getting dinner ready. Robbie came downstairs and sat on the couch, flipping through channels to find anything good to watch. Jeza walked in the door with a boy about her age in tow. Robbie sat up from his relaxed position on the couch when he saw his sister walk in the house with a boy. Chris came out to the living room and saw them heading up the stairs.

"Uh, where are you going?" she said stopping them.

"We're gonna go wait up in my room until dinner's ready" she said.

"No, you're not" she said back. "The living room is very comfortable and it's perfect for entertaining guests. Park it" she said pointing to the couch. She went back to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner. She tried calling Amanda again but she still didn't answer. She assumed that she was still at work. Jeza stepped off the stairs and huffed over to the couch, her boyfriend following close behind her. They sat down on the couch still under the scrutinizing eye of Robbie who didn't seem very happy to see this kid with his sister. He looked to be Hispanic, Robbie guessed Mexican. He had shoulder length black hair, wore a short sleeved t-shirt that showed off his copious tattoos and his pants were sagging off his waist.

"Stop staring at him like that" Jeza said noticing how Robbie was glaring at her boyfriend. Robbie ignored her and continued staring until Chris called them to the table to eat. "Where's dad?" Jeza asked taking her seat at the table. Her boyfriend took the seat next to her and Robbie sat across from them. Chris took her seat at the head of the table and started to fill her plate. Jeza and her boyfriend followed her lead but Robbie wasn't in any hurry to eat.

"What's going on, Christina?" he asked angrily. "Who the hell is this guy?"

"You're always so rude!" Jeza yelled.

"Hey, come on" Chris said looking between them. She wasn't in the mood for any arguments. "Robbie, this is Javier. Jeza's boyfriend" she said making the official introduction. "Javier this is Robbie. Jeza's older brother".

"Sup" he said giving him a head nod.

"Sup?" Robbie repeated. "Hey, where'd you find this clown?" he asked looking at Jeza. Chris sighed and shook her head. She knew she couldn't stop the fight that was about to happen between her brother and sister. They argued back and forth about Jeza's choice for a boyfriend and Javier tried to step in, telling Robbie not to yell at his girlfriend. Chris just sat there and enjoyed her tacos while they fought it out. It ended when Jeza got up from the table and stormed out of the house with her boyfriend. Chris went after her and made her come back. She stayed on the porch with her boyfriend for about ten minutes before coming inside and stomping up the stairs to her room, slamming her door shut. Robbie looked satisfied with himself, having run his sister's boyfriend off. He made himself a plate and took it up to his room. Chris sat at the table by herself with her dinner and a glass of wine. She hadn't even gotten to tell Robbie about Jeza being pregnant, which is what the whole dinner was about. She got up from the table, put away the leftovers, cleaned up the dishes and went upstairs to her room. She called Amanda again. She answered this time and they talked about what a train wreck Chris' dinner was. Amanda told Chris about how her program was going and then filled her in on what was happening with the case. They talked for an hour and a half then got off the phone and went to bed.

The next few days went by and they were still working on the celebrity child abuse case. Murphy keened in on Amanda's reluctance to jump on the guilty train and offered her some advice, even though she hadn't asked for it. He had a habit of doing that. Nick had told her about how he sat him down during all the trouble with Olivia after William's death. He wasn't shy at all about letting her know that he didn't like him. Chris didn't know anything about what was going on with Amanda and Nick. Amanda wasn't even sure what was going on with her and Nick. She debated whether she should tell Chris but the timing or topic of conversation never seemed right to mention it. They continued talking about the case and Amanda's change of mind. Any doubt she had vanished when the ex-sister in law disclosed about the abuse she suffered at the hands of their suspect when she was a little girl. Then when he fled the country, they were sure he'd done it. The jury found him guilty but there was nothing they could do to bring him back. He had dual citizenship. That was it. The case was closed.

Chris' mother's condition was steadily declining and Murphy was pushing her to take time off. She said she didn't want or need it. The worse her mother got, the more she worked. She still hadn't told her brother or her father about Jeza being pregnant and if she was being honest, she wasn't in any hurry to do it. Jeza already told her she wouldn't be the one to tell them because she didn't want to deal with their reactions. So as usual, it was up to Chris to handle it and she was fine to avoid handling it for as long as she could. They were working on a case involving a photographer who fantasized about torturing young boys. As hard as they tried, they couldn't find any evidence that he'd done anything illegal and they couldn't prosecute him for thinking, or so they thought. Barba found a way to bring him up on charges and take him to trail. Chris thought it was wrong and Amanda agreed with her but Liv and Nick thought they needed to get this guy any way they could so he wouldn't have the opportunity to hurt a child.

"Come on, Reyes" Fin said from his desk, "You really think we should've let this guy go? You heard what Huang said. He's escalating. It won't be long before he has a boy in that chamber doing everything he writes about online".

"I know that it's wrong, what he thinks about….what he fantasizes about. It's absolutely perverted and disgusting and wrong on every level but fantasizing isn't against the law. He hasn't hurt anyone. We shouldn't be able to put people on trial because we don't like what they think about".

"Raping and torturing young boys" Amaro said jumping into the conversation. "This isn't some harmless daydream. He set up that room, he was discussing buying a boy with Murphy and Fin. That crap he said about role playing, that's bull. He was serious" he said angrily. "And you think we should just let him walk away?"

"He hasn't done anything" she said feeling like a broken record. "If we can put him on trial for his thoughts then I should be on trial too. I mean, I fantasize about doing all kinds of things that are illegal all of the time but I don't do it. I shouldn't face jail time for having a thought". She hated what this guy fantasized about but it was just that, a fantasy. He'd never taken or hurt a child before and she didn't think they should be able to make a preemptive strike. "Look, I know this is more personal for you because you have a son but…."

"Hey, leave my son out of this" Nick said defensively.

"Alright, that's enough" Murphy said from the doorway of his office. "This case has a lot of our emotions on ten and it's hard to know the right things to do. It's not in our hands anymore. It's the DA's baby now to do with what he wants. We've got other cases to focus on so let's do that. Reyes, can I see you in my office please?" he asked even though it wasn't a request. Chris got up and followed him into his office, shutting the door behind her.

"You like picking fights with Amaro, huh?"

"I didn't pick a fight with him" she said sitting down in a chair in front of his desk. "I was having a conversation with Fin about this case and he jumped in".

"You two don't get along much" he said, making an observation.

"We bump heads. We're very different. We think differently; have different styles".

"That's it?"

"Should there be more?"

"You have a problem with assertive men" he said as if he knew he wasn't wrong. "Me, Amaro, your brother" he said remembering an argument she had with her brother at a bar when out with the squad. "Not only that but you like to question authority in general".

"I have a problem with men who think that I should defer to them because they're men. And I only question authority when I think it's wrong". She hoped she wasn't about to get one of Murphy's therapy sessions because she really wasn't in the mood. Murphy could tell that she wasn't open to probing and wouldn't be receptive to any advice from him so he got to the part he'd been waiting for all day.

"I'm ordering you to take time off" he said taking a seat behind his desk.

"What? Why?" Chris said angrily.

"Your mother's dying, your little sister's pregnant….you've got a lot on your plate and I can tell you won't admit to yourself that you need to take some time so I'm gonna make it easy for you" he said letting her know she didn't have a choice in the matter. "Finish your shift and go home. Take a week".

"A week?" she said in disbelief. "I can't take a week off".

"This isn't up for discussion".

"I don't do this because I'm stubborn. I need to work. I have to pay a mortgage, utilities, two car notes, buy groceries, pay cell phone bills, medical expenses. My father isn't working. He's spending all of his time at the hospital with my mother and my brother's hours just got cut on his job. I can't afford to take a week off. I can't afford to take one day off".

"You can't afford not to" Murphy shot back. "Look, Reyes, I understand everything you're up against but you're wearing. yourself. down" he said putting emphasis on each word. "You're running on fumes here and if you keep going the way you've been you're gonna have a hell of a lot more troubles than cash flow. I'm giving you a reprieve. Take it". He could see she was about to argue but he wasn't going to give her a chance. "Finish your shift and go home" he said again. "One week. My decision is final". She took a deep breath to calm her anger then got up and left his office, straining not to slam the door behind her. She sat at her desk fuming, barely able to get any work done. Benson, Amaro, Rollins and Tutuola kept taking glances her way, wondering what Murphy had said to piss her off. When the clock hit seven, she gathered her stuff and headed out. Amanda got up from her desk and followed her to the elevator. She stepped on just as the doors were closing and rode down with her.

"What happened?" she asked. "What'd Murphy say?"

"He's making me take a week off" she said staring straight ahead. Amanda didn't have anything to say. She was glad that she'd been ordered to take time off. She knew she wouldn't do it any other way. They stepped off the elevator and headed out to Chris' car. "You agree with him, don't you?" she asked noticing her silence.

"Yeah, I do" she said honestly. "I know you need the money to take care of your family but what about you?" she asked genuinely concerned. "When are you gonna start taking care of yourself?" They reached Chris' car and she unlocked and opened the door. "You're no good to anyone like this. I don't care how much you say you're fine. You're not".

"Keep me in the loop on the case?" she asked not having the energy to continue arguing with people about her state of body and mind. Amanda nodded silently at her request. Chris got in her car and pulled off the parking lot and Amanda made her way back inside. Instead of going home, she drove to the hospital to see her mother same as she did every day after work. She did it to check in on how her mother was doing but also to check in on her father. He was basically living at the hospital; eating, sleeping and bathing there. She sat with her mother while her father took a break to stretch his legs and get some fresh air. When he came back she offered to go home and get clean clothes and a plate of food for him but he declined. He'd already eaten dinner and he still had a few days before he'd need more clothes. She stayed a while longer, then kissed her parents goodbye and headed home. She took a nice, relaxing bath when she got home then went to bed. She was so exhausted that she was out like a light almost immediately after her head hit the pillow.