Week 13 - UDC 10 - ...and back again to Fort Worth Social Services...

61. Several

It was a sunny day in Fighter Town when the phone rang, and Linda picked up the receiver with one hand while putting their ten-month old in the playpen. The groceries could wait a minute. "Metcalf residence."

"Is this Linda?"

Linda paused, for the uncertain feminine voice on the other end was unfamiliar. "Yes. May I ask who is calling?"

The story that followed, of her husband turning up at Social Services in Fort Worth looking for their friend's child, was a relief to hear. She answered a few questions while rubbing a spot on her belly where the baby had kicked from within, and it was another question that caused her to stare down at her daughter. Why would it matter if they had children who might have colic?

62. Neither

Alan noticed Helen's expression first when she re-entered the conference room, frowning at how unsettled she appeared as she sat down at the table. "Helen?"

"Babies," Helen said simply, gaze locked on Mike. "Was it your intent to take Pete home with you?"

Mike shook his head. "No, it was my original intent to check on them. What about babies?"

"You're about to have one," the woman told him gravely, and then her gaze shifted to Chelsea. "And this is a kid who was removed from a home once due to Colic."

"Oh," Walt said and Mike looked at him oddly. "That does complicate things, doesn't it?"

"Also," Helen continued, her gaze shifting back to him. "The police action is ongoing. You could be deployed again, could you not?"

"Yes," Viper said after a minute.

63. Another

They hadn't even gone near that subject yet, was Alan's thought process as he nodded to Helen in understanding. She'd been right to make that phone call, and right to bring up the subject of deployment, even if there was no way that he'd have been releasing Pete into anyone else's care but the Bradshaws, especially not out of state. The only reason he'd been so inviting in the first place with Metcalf was because of the pictorial evidence. "Thank you, Helen."

"Someone had to think of it," she simply said. "Officer Metcalf, when we're done here, Linda would like a call."

Alan glanced at Chelsea to find her expression flickering between emotional states, which didn't surprise him. The subject of removal for her due to circumstances was still an emotional one. "Comes back to the same thing, doesn't it?"

Chelsea nodded. "It does. He'd be leaving his wife alone with a child that she doesn't know, who doesn't know her, in the kind of situation that caused Harry to pull him in the first place."

"I would?" Three women and four men stared at him collectively until Mike got it, that that would be exactly what he'd be doing. "Oh."

64. Anything

Walt studied the wrinkled service khakis for another minute before sighing. "Did you bring any plain clothes, Mike?"

"Probably. Why?"

"Because..." Walt shifted his gaze to Alan. "What do you think? He should at least see him. Dinner?"

Alan nodded. "I think dinner is a wonderful idea. Mike, did you check into a hotel yet?"

"Wasn't the first thing on my mind."

"Then you're coming home with me and we'll see about a meeting under controlled circumstances." Noah laughed suddenly and Alan rolled his eyes with a chuckle of his own. "Once was enough with meetings in the field, Noah."

"Oh, the grocery store had it's moments," Noah told him with another laugh. "I'd honestly never seen a twelve-year-old that excited over soup before."

Mike frowned at him. Soup? Why would anyone be excited over soup? And why was there a reunion in a grocery store? For that matter, why did it feel like they were speaking in code?

65. Everything

"Momma?"

Sonia looked up to find her youngest, Ellie, looking out the front door with a confused expression. She joined her to find that Alan was leading a man in service khakis up the front walk, and frowned at him from the entryway. "He's a bit old, don't you think?"

Alan chuckled. "Yes. Mike, this is my wife, Sonia, and my youngest, Ellie. Officer Metcalf is in town to check on a family."

"Not ours?"

"No. One of the kids."

A foster, then. Sonia nodded and studied Mike's face intently as he sighed. "One of the kids, huh? Which one?"

"Pete."

"Oh really?" Sonia smiled and put a hand on Mike's arm, leading him inside. "Let's get you a good meal, then, sir." And maybe a solid nap, she thought to herself. "They bringing him by?"

"No," her husband said after a moment of thought. "It's a school night and we are not breaking routine tonight. Tomorrow is another matter."