AN: I may not be describing Yankee Stadium correctly, but I think they're planning on building a new one, so we'll just assume my depiction is what it will be like over thirty years from now. :)
And because I would be remiss without saying it one last time: much thanks to my awesome betas, printandpolish and Kerry Blue, without whom my work would not be nearly as good and who often give me that extra nudge I need to get past the bouts of writer's block I tend to have. You're the best!
Around a couple of weeks later…
Kaile looked out over the baseball field on what was turning out to be a perfect night for a ballgame. There was something almost magical about sharing an experience like the All Star game live and in person with tens of thousands of other people. While the luxury box Dominic had gotten their family seats in was really nice, she almost missed sitting down in the regular seats. But she would likely get plenty of chances to do that in the future with all the games she'd be going to.
"Kaile." She turned at the sound of her name.
"Uncle Mac! You made it on time!" She hugged her uncle, then looked around to make sure nobody was listening in before turning back to him. "Did it work out? Is he here?"
Mac smiled. "I met him downstairs myself. He got whisked away pretty quickly for the opening, but then he'll be up here."
Before Kaile could reply, her Uncle Sheldon walked over. "Mac, it's good to see you. I was afraid we'd have to send someone to your office to drag you over here."
"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Mac replied before excusing himself to find something to drink.
"How are you doing?" Sheldon asked his niece. "I'm sorry I haven't talked to you in awhile."
"That's okay, Uncle Sheldon, I know how busy you've been helping to wrap up the Connors case." She had obviously been pulled off the investigation after becoming a victim herself. She hadn't liked it, but she understood why it was necessary. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she caused Connors to get off on a technicality.
Not that Connors was likely to be released for any reason. It was probable that she would be institutionalized for the rest of her life since it was pretty clear to everyone that she was criminally insane. After she had thankfully been apprehended without injury to Jim Munson or anyone else, the evidence against Charity Connors had come in fairly quickly from all over the country, including the various names she had used over the years. But not even Kaile could dispute that the woman was too crazy to stand trial. Connors seemed to have devolved even more since being incarcerated, likely because she could no longer see the object of her obsession.
As long as the woman was behind bars for the rest of her life, Kaile didn't care if it was in a mental institution or a prison. Though she did understand the feelings of the families of the many victims who wanted to see Connors get the death penalty. God knew Kaile had experienced what they were going through. But Kaile was trying to focus on the good in her life these days.
"I'm doing fine," she said in answer to her uncle's question. She grinned. "Did you know that your daughter suggested I get tattoos on my wrists to cover the scars?"
Hawkes rolled his eyes knowing exactly which daughter Kaile referred to. "Carla's been trying to convince us it wouldn't be so bad if she got one and she probably figures that if you have one or more that we'll be more receptive. I'm a little worried about what she's going to do when she goes off to college."
Kaile laughed. "At least I think she has good enough taste to not tattoo a guy's name on her body or anything like that."
"Thank God for small favors," Sheldon responded fervently. He glanced over to where Ell and JD were talking with Ana and Jack. "Ella and JD seem to be getting along again."
"Yeah. I'm glad, I think he's really good for her." She had had a talk with Ella, letting her know that she had resolved her big issues with Scagnetti and so it shouldn't be an obstacle between her and JD any longer. She found out later that Scagnetti had talked to Deveraux and essentially told him the same thing, that he appreciated the loyalty, but to not be an idiot and to talk to Ella. Kaile had been a little worried that they would still be stubborn about things, but Ana had soon been able to gleefully report that Ella wanted JD added to the guest list for Ana and Jack's wedding. Tonight was the first time Kaile had gotten the chance to see Ella and Deveraux together in a social setting since before the Connors case and she was happy to see for herself that they seemed to have worked things out.
"And I hear you and Dominic are doing well," Sheldon commented, not so subtly fishing for information.
Kaile smiled in mild exasperation. Every member of her family had been asking about her and Dominic, but for now she didn't mind too much talking about it. "We're good. It'll be nice to hang out with him tonight after the game and tomorrow before he has to fly back to Chicago." Even with her time off for her injuries, she hadn't managed to fly out to any of Dom's games because she had been needed in New York to testify in grand jury hearings for the Connors case. She was back at work already and glad to be doing the job she loved, but she had already cleared a week in late August to stay in Chicago while Dominic had a long home stand. They talked nearly every day and left messages, texts or e-mails when they couldn't manage to catch each other on the phone, but it would be great to spend some real time with him.
"I'm happy to hear you guys have worked things out." He smirked. "You know your dad is getting a lot of ribbing about you dating a Messer, don't you?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's let me know. He says I owe him for it too." She knew her father's moaning and groaning was just for show. He was happy for her, but he had to put up a token protest that she was dating the son of Danny Messer. It's the principle of the thing, he had told her. She had rolled her eyes then too, but didn't say anything. She knew her Aunt Lindsay and Aunt Tessa were doing their best to keep their husbands from ribbing her dad too much.
Hawkes glanced out at the field. "It looks like they're about ready to get the opening ceremonies started. I should probably head back to the other box and help your aunt schmooze. Will you make sure my children head over there to at least make an appearance at some point?"
Kaile leaned forward to hug her uncle. "Yeah, I'll get them over there eventually if they don't go on their own." She didn't envy Will and Carla at all and she knew Shayna had avoided the game partly because she didn't want to make an appearance as the Councilwoman's daughter. Kaile would choose being the daughter of a Deputy Chief of Detectives over a politician any day.
Her father came to stand next to her as the participating players began to be announced. "Have you heard anything about how he's doing?" he asked as Jim Munson was introduced. Kaile waited to reply until the thunderous applause died down a little which took a couple of minutes. The sport and its fans had rallied around Jim when everything came out and it was clear that he had never known anything about what had happened.
"He's still feeling guilty on several levels, but Dominic says his family and friends are helping him through it." The guilt would likely be something Jim Munson would carry for a long time. He couldn't quite get over how he had never noticed that almost all of the women he had had any kind of romantic relationship with over his entire professional career had been murdered at some point or another. He wasn't exactly a playboy, but he was in a profession where it was often hard to keep track of people once you moved away. Kaile knew he also felt bad about not recognizing Charity Connors at some point since she had been around him in some way, shape or form for so long. She had perfected changing her physical appearance through hair color changes, colored contacts, even light plastic surgery, so no one blamed Jim for not connecting her different personas. But it was a burden she knew he still carried and one that wouldn't go away easily. She just hoped he would work it out somehow eventually because he was a good man and didn't deserve the grief.
But her mind was distracted from ruminating on that further as the public address announcer was instructing the crowd to stand for the color guard and the national anthem. The group carrying the flags consisted of a member from each branch of the armed forces and they walked in perfect precision out of the opening in center field. Kaile grinned as she spotted the Navy representative holding the flag of the United States. She wondered who would notice first. Her money was on—
"Oh my god! Is that Devon?" Kaile heard Ella ask. She had figured the sibling closest to Devon would recognize him first. Weeks ago Kaile had asked Mac if he thought it would be possible to pull some strings and surprise Dominic and the rest of the family by having Devon show up at the All Star game when everyone thought he wasn't going to be able to make it. At first they had thought he would just show up in the luxury box at some point during the game, but then the guy who was supposed to have represented the Navy in the color guard during the national anthem had broken his leg. A few more strings pulled and one close call later when Devon had been put on standby for a mission and here they were with Devon walking onto the outfield.
Kaile heard the whole Messer family exclaiming over Devon's appearance, but she was focused on waiting for Dominic's reaction. She almost laughed because he seemed to be focusing on the flag rather than the man carrying it and completely oblivious to the presence of his younger brother. Finally, the PA announcer introduced the representatives of the various branches as a close up of their appropriately serious faces was shown on the big screen, finishing with "And for the Navy, Petty Officer Devon Messer of the SEALs, younger brother of Chicago Cubs shortstop Dominic Messer!"
She did laugh as she saw Dom's head jerk up to the screen to see Devon's face and then back down across the field to where the color guard had stopped. Even from as far away as she was she could tell Dominic was grinning in happiness at the appearance of his brother. He was also probably figuring out why she had been a little evasive in their phone conversations lately. She just wasn't that good at hiding this kind of secret, but she was proud of herself for keeping the exact nature of the secret under wraps even if she had given away that there was a secret in the first place.
When the anthem ended, the color guard marched off the field. Kaile knew that it had already been arranged for Devon to get into the dugout to say hi to Dominic before coming up to the luxury box. She was about to turn and join her family in the celebration over Devon's unexpected appearance when she noticed Dominic turn and look up towards them. He put his hat on and tipped it in thanks before heading into the dugout and picking up a bat since he was the lead off hitter. She blinked back a couple of tears. That was the secret signal he had designated for her. He tried to do it at least once a game when he thought he would be on camera because he knew that even if she couldn't catch the day's game live she would tape it and watch later.
Smiling, she turned to accept hugs from her Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Danny and cousins who had just been told by Mac about her involvement in getting Devon to the game. Kaile had never been happier than she was in this moment. She had somehow managed to work out so many of the problems in her life and for the first time in a long, long time she was truly optimistic about what the future might hold for her.
AN: Thanks to all who stayed with me till the end! And I only mean the end of this story. Believe me, this AU is not done by a longshot. :) If you have any opinions on where I should go next, feel free to review and let me know. I can't promise I will be able to fulfill every wish, but I can say that other people's ideas do usually end up influencing my work. :)