EPILOGUE

Ten years later

The past couple of days had been a whirlwind for Clementine Halstead. Now, at the end of it all, she was returning to her parents' house with news that was going to knock them off their feet. Assuming they were home, of course. Wanting to surprise them, she hadn't let them know that she was coming. It would be the first time she had seen her mom and dad for over four months, and that was the biggest reason of all that she couldn't wait.

When her Uber pulled up on Mill Lane, a couple of houses away from the Halstead house, Clem saw her dad's car on the driveway. Good, at least he was home. Kayla's car was parked out front, so she was home too. It seemed likely that her mom's car was in the garage, so there was likely a full house. Perfect, she thought as her driver retrieved two travel cases from his trunk and put them on the sidewalk for her.

"Thank you. Have a good night," Clem said.

"You too ma'am," the elder gentleman said. He was in his early sixties, she guessed, which was rare for an Uber driver. She quickly left him a five star rating and tip on the app, then it was time to return her attention to the surprise visit home. Although she no longer lived there, 822 Mill Lane would always be considered home.

Going around the back was the best way to enter the house quietly and make the surprise even better. Clem carried her cases, not wanting the noise of the wheels on the driveway to give the game away.

The kitchen light was on, she saw when she got around the back of the house. There was the smell of food being cooked, possibly roast chicken, Clem figured. She was quite good at distinguishing what Kayla, the master chef, was cooking.

Taking a risk of scaring Kayla and having her blow the surprise, Clem stepped in front of the window. Kayla was in the kitchen, but with her back to the window, setting out plates on the island. Clem tapped lightly on the glass.

Kayla turned around, seemingly unsure if she had heard anything. Clem stood with a finger to her lips in the universal 'sshhh' gesture. To her credit, Kayla didn't make a sound in surprise, and her eyes lit up with delight. She hurried quietly over to the back door and opened it.

"Clem! Oh my god!" she said under her breath.

"Kayla!" Clem whispered back, giving her former nanny a peck on the cheek. "Sshhh. Help me get my cases in here."

Kayla did as she asked, quietly bringing one of the cases into the kitchen, with Clem getting the other one.

"They're all in the living room," Kayla whispered as she gently closed the back door.

Clementine could hear a baseball game on the TV in the living room. That probably had Jay and Henry entertained, she imagined, while Erin would likely be working.

She tiptoed over to the living room doorway. The door was standing wide open. Sure enough, Henry and Jay were sitting on one couch, watching the game. Erin was on the other couch, tapping away on the screen of the tablet she used for work.

It never failed to astound Clem how beautiful her mom was, even now that she was pushing fifty. She barely seemed to age, although the reading glasses were a relatively new addition. Then there was her dad. His hair was going a bit salt and pepper, but he too was aging well. Being happy sure worked wonders for people. And last there was Henry. Tall for his age, and looking a lot like his mom, Henry was a good kid and a great brother. He wasn't a bad soccer player either, by all accounts.

On the screen, a pinch hitter stepped forward to bat, only to sky the first pitch into the air for an easy out.

"What was that?" Jay demanded, laughing.

"The Rangers' bullpen sucks this year," Clementine said, startling all three of them with her presence.

"Clem!" all three of them yelled, pretty much in unison. Henry was quickest to get up and rush to her, crashing straight into her stomach as they embraced each other.

"Ooof," she cried theatrically. "Hey, kiddo. I've missed you." Henry had officially inherited Clem's old nickname when she had outgrown it.

"I've missed you more!"

Clementine laughed. "I doubt that." Then Jay came forward for his hug.

"Hey, Clem. Wow, it's so nice to see you, although I'm going to have to have words with Kayla if she was in on this."

"Nothing to do with me," Kayla called through from the kitchen, able to hear the conversation. "I'd be in there with you if I wasn't about to serve up. Smaller portions now, so that Clem can have some."

"I knew it was worth stopping by," Clementine said as she embraced her dad. "Missed you, dad. Love you."

"Love you too, Clem. So much," Jay said, holding her tight for a few moments. Then it was Erin's turn.

"Hey, sweet pea. Wow, this is such a nice surprise. Love you."

"Love you too, mom," Clem said, thoroughly enjoying the hug. "Sorry it's been so long."

"It's fine. We know why you're never in town. Just glad you're here now."

"We might as well sit at the dining table since Kayla is about to serve dinner," Jay said. He led the way there, and sat at the head of the table.

On instinct, Clem took the chair that had always been hers. It made her feel sad to think that it would almost always be empty these days.

There was some idle chatter while they waited for Kayla to serve everyone's dinner. She had made roast chicken, roast potatoes and a selection of vegetables. As always with her meals, it looked and smelled delicious. Clem had picked up everything she knew about cooking from Kayla.

Next came the drinks. Orange juice for Henry, beer for Kayla and Jay, and wine for Erin.

"What would you like, Clem?" Kayla asked.

"I'll share the wine with mom, if that's okay?"

"Sure," Erin said.

Kayla went to the kitchen for a final time, returning with a wine glass. Clem poured for herself as everyone started eating. Now it was time to drop the reason for her surprise visit, not that seeing her family wasn't reason enough.

"I was in New York this morning," she announced.

"New York? Nice," Jay said.

"Yes," Erin agreed. "What brought you there?"

"Actually, it was for a meeting with Daria Berenato. She recently became chairwoman of WWE after the board kicking her old man out for sexual impropriety with staff."

"I saw that," Erin said, as if for a moment the first part of the sentence hadn't registered.

"Wait, you met with WWE?" Jay asked.

"I did. And, uh, I got signed," Clem dropped in casually. She had been making a living as a wrestler for the past three years, starting at the age of twenty. For most of that time, the work had been tough, the travel had been hell, and the pay had been pathetic. But it had all been about getting noticed by one of the major promotions, ideally WWE. For the past year, she had worked for Impact Wrestling, where her reputation had risen fast. Even so, the last thing she had expected was for WWE to want her badly enough to buy out her contract from Impact and put her straight onto their main roster.

"You got signed? To WWE?" Erin cried, a bit of chicken comically falling out of her mouth.

"Yes, mom, I did. They're buying my contract out from Impact and putting me on the main roster. I'm going to make four hundred grand a year." Clem couldn't help smiling. It sounded as ludicrous to her as it likely did to them.

"Clem!" Kayla cried in delight. "This is unbelievable news!"

"You're awesome, Clem," Henry said. The money talk didn't mean much to him of course, but he had always idolised his big sister.

"I'm so proud of you. We all are. Congratulations," Jay said. "Forget the food, give me a hug."

Clementine got up and hugged him. How proud her family were of her made her tear up, and she had to force herself not to cry. All of the hard work was worth it just for this moment.

Following Jay's example, Erin came around the table and gave Clem a hug. "You always told us you would make it to WWE, and you've done it. You're amazing, Clem. I couldn't be prouder."

"Thank you," Clem said seriously. Then she tried to lighten the mood as they all sat back down. "But it's not like I'm the only one, is it? You're killing it, mom."

"I don't know about that," Erin said bashfully.

"You made deputy-superintendent," Clementine said. "And if that wasn't amazing enough, which it is, it probably means you'll be superintendent of Chicago PD one day. You're the one who's awesome."

"Stop it," Erin said, grinning despite herself.

"Tell her, dad," Clem insisted.

"She's right, Er. I'm just as proud of you," Jay said, smiling at his wife.

Clementine could see that her mom was uncomfortable, so she steered away from the subject of the recent promotion. "How's everything at Intelligence, dad? Are Raquel and Z okay?" The two remained close friends of the Halsteads, including Clem.

"Yes, all good. Raquel's still doing a good job. She's an excellent sergeant. Z's still working tech for us of course, and Kim, Purrazzo, Amanda Rose, and David Ross are still on the team. Still miss Ruze, but he's enjoying the sergeant position he took over at the 22nd."

David Ross was someone Clementine didn't know anything about really, other than that he had been on the Intelligence for a couple of years since Adam Ruzek had left.

"It is a shame. Sometimes I miss my original Intelligence crew, and I wish I had never gone for promotion from sergeant," Erin said.

"I hear you," Jay said, feeling the same way.

"I bet Mr Atwater doesn't. He ended up married to the Vice President," Clementine said.

Erin glared for a moment. "We don't mention that woman in this house."

"Sorry, mom. Didn't mean to upset you. So, tomorrow morning I'm going to go see Uncle Hank. I talked to him the other day, but I didn't tell him I would be coming to Chicago. In fact, I didn't know myself at that point. I'm glad he's still doing so well."

Hank was now retired, but his health was holding up. His stroke had probably ended up indirectly putting years on his life by causing him to eat and live a lot more healthily.

"He'll be delighted to see you, and to hear your news," Erin said.

"Not as delighted as I'll be to see him," Clem said, and she meant it. Uncle Hank had a very special place in her heart, as did the other people she needed to visit. "I'm going to call on mom and dad, too. Their grave will need fresh flowers, and I need to tell them my news."

"I can come with you, if you like?" Kayla offered. She was the only one who had done much eating while the conversation had been going on.

"Thanks, Kayla, but no. This is something I need to do for myself. I'm going to let them know that thanks to everyone here, I'm going to get to live out my dream. I'm forever grateful, and I know they are too. You guys have made this happen as much as I have."

Kayla raised her bottle of beer for a toast. "To living the dream."

Everyone joined in, even Henry. The all touched their glasses or bottles together over the middle of the table and said, "To living the dream."

A/N: Okay everyone, that's the end. I can only hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

I'm not sure if I'll write another Chicago PD. It's certainly possible, so maybe I'll see some of you down the road.

Only love.