Hey, all. Posting this earlier than I was going to. I got fired yesterday, so until I find a new job, I don't have much to do to keep myself occupied... Pretty upset about it, because I really liked what I did and I thought I was doing well, but... anyway, moving on... Here's chapter 2. Enjoy.
Chapter 2: Family Time
With the turning of the fall colors, summer melted away into autumn. Adele continued working at City Hall as an animal control warden and the team responded to a record number of hot calls.
A week before Halloween, the hot call came for the team to respond to a desperate father's cry for help. His young son, Curtis, had been shot by criminals and the father's best friend, a doctor, was doing everything he could to save the little boy. The doctor had enlisted Sam's help to treat Curtis's condition, and the father had ended up taking Sam hostage, alive. They had driven to a vet clinic to complete the treatment. In the end, with the father knowing he was going to go to prison, the best friend had promised to take Curtis in as his own son and be his legal guardian until the father got out of prison.
"Fathers will do anything to protect their children," Spike said, as he finished telling Adele about the day.
"A happy ending," said Adele, smiling.
"Well, sort of," said Spike. "The dad still went to prison."
"But he won't always be," said Adele. "Eventually he'll be back in his son's life and hopefully he'll stay there."
Spike smiled and held his beautiful wife and children close.
The moment Spike saw Stuart straddle that ledge, time seemed to slow down and distort. In his memory, he was transported back to that day Team One responded to the hot call of Adele standing on the other side of the bridge. He could see Jules talking to Adele, using her powers of persuasion to convince Adele to come back to the other side.
And she had. Adele had made the right choice that day. She went on a different medication that, fortunately, worked, and she got back into therapy and a support group for depression.
With Spike's help, Stuart had also chosen to come down. He accepted the consequences for his actions and also met Rebecca for the first time. He was surprised how much Rebecca already knew about him, including his stroke. Spike watched them talk from a distance, glad for the good outcome of that day's hot call.
It also made him realize how close he had come to not having Adele in his life. On their way back to SRU for debrief, Spike thought about Adele. Did she still feel the way she did that day on the bridge? Would she ever consider attempting suicide again?
After debriefing, Spike walked up to Greg. "Boss? Got a second?"
"Of course, Spike, what's up?" Greg asked. They waved goodbye to the rest of the team, then each sat down in a chair to talk.
"With Stuart today, I was thinking..." Spike began hesitantly. "Remember Adele, that day on the bridge?"
Greg nodded. "I do."
"Well... I need some advice."
"Okay."
"Seeing Stuart on the bridge today, it made me wonder... if Adele still feels the same way she did that day," said Spike. "I wonder if she could consider it again."
"Well, Spike, you can probably guess what I'm going to tell you."
"That you're not the person to ask."
"Right. If you're wondering these things, you need to talk to Adele," said Greg. "I'm sure she won't mind."
"I don't want to upset her," said Spike, looking away.
"It may, but not for long," said Greg. "She loves you. Honesty and communication are the keys to any stable, long-lasting relationship."
Spike looked long and hard at Greg. Coming from the Boss, those words held heavy meaning. Spike, at a loss for words, swallowed and nodded.
"Let me know how it goes, okay?" Greg asked.
"Alright," said Spike. "Thanks, Boss."
"Anytime," Greg said, clapping Spike on the shoulder and they walked out of SRU together.
A little while later, Spike walked up to their house to see Lewis walking toward the front door. Spike slowly opened the door, so Lewis couldn't escape, then picked up his son.
"Hi there, baby boy, how are you?" he asked Lewis, kissing the baby's chubby cheek.
Adele rushed into the room, Kanya, wrapped in a towel, on her hip. "Lewis, come—" she began, before seeing Spike. "Oh. Hey, babe."
"Hey," Spike said. "Need some help?"
"Yeah," Adele said wearily. "I was giving Kanya a lavender bath because she is fussy tonight, and Lewis escaped his crib."
"Well, he knew his daddy was coming home to see him. He couldn't wait," Spike said, grinning.
Adele smiled. "Welcome home," she said, kissing him. "How was work?" When Spike didn't answer right away, she began to get concerned. "Spike?"
"Today was my kind of call," Spike said. They went into the bathroom, finished drying Kanya off, and got her pajamas on. They went upstairs and laid the twins down for the night, then laid down on their own bed next door, leaving the door open in case Kanya started fussing again.
"There was a subject named Stuart, who hacked into his tutee's computer via Skype. Her name was Rebecca. She was involved in some illegal activity and Stuart ended up being the leak. He tracked them and sent information to the SRU. That's how we were able to take them down."
Adele nodded, waiting for Spike to go on.
"What she was involved with was illegal, but that didn't make his actions right, either. I used his own malware against him to watch him and find him. He thought he had ruined her life, with what he did. Next thing I know, he's out on his balcony, on the railing. I'm not even the typical negotiator. I'm usually eyes in the truck. I had to remind him what was good about him, good about friendship. It reminded me of Jules talking to you, that day on the bridge."
Spike noticed, upon hearing this, Adele wouldn't quite meet his gaze.
"Adele," Spike said, "can I ask you something?"
Adele looked up at him, then nodded slowly.
"Do you ever think about doing that again? Please be honest with me."
Adele shook her head. "No, Spike. That was my rock bottom, the lowest point in my life. Things could only go up from there. I'm not going anywhere, okay?"
"And I'm not gonna let you go anywhere," Spike promised, kissing her hair.
Adele smiled and snuggled up next to him, uniform and all.
"But if you do start to feel that way again," Spike said, resting his chin on her crown, "promise me you'll tell me, okay?"
"I promise."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Mmm, you are such an amazing guy."
"It's mostly gear... trust me."
Adele smiled and got lost in the sensation of his voice purring from within his strong chest.
The following evening, Adele was making spaghetti for supper, while Spike played with the twins in the living room. She finished making the red sauce and placed a colander in the sink. Then she lifted the pot of cooked noodles over to the sink and poured it in to strain. The steam billowed up around her arms and face, and suddenly, the hot water hit her hands.
"Ouch!" she yelled, dropping the pot. It hit the sink edge, then fell to the floor with a loud clang. Water sluiced over the floor and most of the noodles slipped into the garbage disposal, but she didn't notice, clutching her stinging hands.
Spike came into the room, a twin on each hip.
"Adele, everything OK?" he asked, setting the twins in their high chairs, then quickly going over to her.
"No," Adele said, tears sparkling in her eyes. "I just ruined dinner."
Spike took her shaking hands gently in his and ran cold water over them, then wrapped them in cold washcloths. Adele flinched, then sighed with relief as the cold wetness lessened the stinging pain.
"Hardly ruined," he observed. "The sauce is simmering. It's just noodles. They don't take long."
Adele nodded. Spike wiped away a stray tear.
"Hey... That's why you never cook without an assistant." He kissed her cheek and the top of her head, then got paper towels and mopped up the water. "Go be with the twins. I'll finish up."
"OK," said Adele, ignoring her smarting hands. "Thank God I married an Italian man who loves to cook."
Spike smiled. "I love you," he said, "even if you suck at cooking."
Adele laughed. "Oh! You are so gonna get it later, Scarlatti!" she teased.
"I look forward to it," Spike teased.
"I love you, too," said Adele, before going into the next room.