Cruz and Birch had been dating for a month before he told her everything that happened with the gang. She sat and listened. "I understand why you did what you did. I remember when my own brother was in a tough spot, and I understand that you were in the toughest of spots."

"You don't think I'm a murderer?"

"Of course not." He smiled and hugged her tight as they stood by the front door of Cyra's house. The dogs were barking and jumping on the other side of the door. "I'm not sure if you remember, but Jonathan and I have a 13-year-old son. He's with his dad right now, so I am always sneaking off when my phone rings at the station. I'm trying to get sole custody of him."

"I remember you talking about him. Let me know if I can help in any way."

She nodded and obviously wanted to change the subject. "So Hallie's back, and Matt never seems to be home."

Cruz nodded. "Yeah. At the station, he's in like a haze or something. He's made us go to the hospital and that clinic several times while on shift."

"I'm not saying I don't like Hallie, but he's drifting. And that I don't like."

"No one does." Birch nodded at what Joe said, and they entered the house together. The dogs swarmed them as they walked back to the kitchen and grabbed some beers. "Have you even seen him today?" He reached down to pet Axel between his ears.

"No. I haven't. It's just all a little crazy. I don't know if I should say something. For all we know, we could be doing the same thing, but we could be totally oblivious."

"Yeah, but I don't think so." Vince started barking at something up front. "Vince!" The dog kept barking, and almost immediately, Bruno joined in. "What are they barking at?" They entered the front room and saw Jonathan standing by a car and a teenage boy talking to him with a book bag on his back. He had dark hair that covered most of his face, and he seemed to do most of the listening.

The dogs all ran out when Cyra opened the front doors and greeted the teenager. "Hey, Chad. How was your day?"

"It was good. How was your shift?" His face was gentle like his mother's, but his build was like his father's. Cruz stood by the front door and let them talk by the car.

"It was good. Go inside while I talk to your father." He listened. When he reached the door and noticed Cruz, he smiled before brushing past him. "I didn't know you were dropping him off." She glanced up at Jonathan but looked down quickly.

"Take this." Jonathan handed her a folder, and her eyes widened when she looked at the papers.

"Why are you going me full custody? Just yesterday, you wanted full custody."

"I changed my mind. I realized I can't care for him the way he deserves." He turned back toward his car. "I'm sorry about everything that happened."

"It's over now. That fight wasn't your fault." He didn't look convinced.

"That guy your new boyfriend?" She didn't say anything. "He looks like a good person. I hope he makes you happy." With that, he headed down the street, leaving Cyra on the curb, watching him drive off. The dogs went back into the open doors and Cyra followed them. She handed the folder to Cruz with a big smile on her face.

He pulled the papers out and skimmed them. "This is amazing." She said before she laughed and pulled him into a hug. They went inside and saw Chad already raiding the fridge. They watched him from the dining room as they whispered to each other.

"Go talk to him." She said.

Cruz's eyes widened. "What? You aren't going to introduce me to him first?"

"Introduce yourself." She pushed him toward Chad gently. "Go." Cruz entered the kitchen and looked at what Chad was drinking.

"You like ?"

"Yeah. My mom and I are both addicted to it."

"I noticed. I'm Joe Cruz, by the way." Chad nodded and started pulling things out of his backpack. It was a bunch of art supplies: a sketch pad, oils, colored pencils, and various paints. A few papers fell out of the sketchpad. Cruz picked one up. It looked almost like a photograph. It was Cyra in her turn-out gear. "You did this?"

"It came out of my bag, didn't it?"

Joe laughed at the attitude he obviously got from his mother. "This is really amazing."

"Thanks." Axel ran in and struggled to get Chad's attention. Chad was tall for someone his age and very quiet. He sat down and let the dog lick all over his face. Chad then put his head down and hugged the dog. Cruz was about to leave the room when a voice stopped him. "Make sure you keep my mom happy and safe. Please?"

He turned to the kid and smiled. "I promise I will." He went back into the living room to see Birch staring out the window. She flinched when Cruz wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Oh, you scared me. You know I hate that." She didn't seem too upset.

"Sorry." They stood in the quiet. "When are you going to bring him to the station?"

"Well, I'm taking tomorrow off, so I'll swing by with him and the dogs too. Pouch missed them last shift." There was a key in the door being turned. Casey walked in with Hallie.

"Oh hey, guys." He was headed to the kitchen, but the dogs were excited he was home, so naturally, they jumped all over him.

"Wait." He paused. "I need to talk to you about something real quick." He nodded and walked closer to her. "Chad is in there, and he's had a rough day. I know things will be cramped, but please try to make him feel welcome. I'll get another place as soon as I can."

"Don't worry about it. I can make it work. There is no need for you to move out."

She didn't look so sure. "We can talk about that later."

"All right." He went into the kitchen. "Hey there, Chad."

"Hi, Uncle Matt."

"Nice picture. Wow, that's really amazing." He shook his head at the picture. "We should put that up at the station." Chad didn't respond. Instead, he kept drawing. "I'll try to set up your room the day after tomorrow. This place is getting a little crowded, isn't it?" Again he got no response. Only a glance from the sky-blue eyes. "I'll leave you alone to draw."