Handcuffing a suspect after a long case was one of the best feelings in the world. Colby and David had returned just in time to take the suspect, Danny Carlos into custody. It took all power not to knock his head on the inside of the door while putting him into the black SVU.
They had gotten a call from Don while on the way back to the office, who filled them in on Joe Carlos' plan to kill Charlee while in the custody of Megan. They were both relieved to hear that they were both of them were okay.
Both Megan and Charlee had gone to the hospital to get checked out, but they would be coming by in a few hours, as well as Lucia and the social worker. She was going to be making sure that Charlee was well adjusted and nothing else was going on after being placed in the home.
Don sat down with a sigh, leaning back in his seat. Usually he would get working on the paperwork that had been piling up since they had taken this case, but he just couldn't get his hands to move.
He looked over at Megan's desk, unoccupied and not yet empty. His thoughts consisted of how things had changed so dramatically, at least in the last year.
Megan wouldn't talk about her assignment, but she had kicked some serious butt during and after finding out that Colby was a Chinese spy. There was a reason that she was one of the best that he had worked with.
Colby wouldn't talk a lot about being a spy, but he was a lot more open about his feelings. That right there had been the hardest when he had returned and David wouldn't talk to him. They had been partners and it had taken a long time to bring back the unity.
The thought was quite amusing—although he would never admit it—that he could lock them all up a closet, right about now. The elevator ding brought him out of his thoughts as Colby and David walked across the room.
When they sat down, David was the first to speak. "We were able to connect Danny to the crime indefinitely. We won't be seeing either of them getting out any time soon." Opening up a file, he took a pen from his desk drawer.
Colby raised his brow, leaning back in his chair. "Got to admit, this was quite the case. I could use a beer right about now."
"Same here. You're still coming to dinner tonight?" Inquiring, he nodded over to David and then over to Colby.
"I have no objection over being served dinner. That is something that I would never pass up." David mused, looking up from writing something in the file. "That is, as long as Charlie isn't making pancakes."
"Amen to that." Colby nodded, reaching into his desk for something, but ended up pulling out a picture of the three of them. It got silent as he reflected on the picture; eyes flickering over to Megan's desk, and then he finally placed the frame on his desk.
"You got a secret girlfriend that we don't know about, Granger?" David teased, nodding over for him to toss the frame over.
"No secret girlfriend –" He griped the frame and turned it around so David could see it, then handed it over.
"Ah, now that one I will never forget. David offered, chuckling. You thought it would be funny to nail Megan with a water balloon, but little did you know that she would come back and dunk you in a pile of mud."
"Yeah." Colby shook his head to rid the thought of being dunked. He could still feel her swiping his foot from underneath him and him falling back first into the mud. Needless to say, his whole head had been encrusted with mud for the rest of the game. "If it wasn't embarrassing enough that I had to play the rest of the game, looking like a mud head."
That got a good chuckle, just as the elevator ding echoed throughout the office. But the occupants turned out to agents who were coming back up the office and busily scattering back to their offices to work.
David handed back the frame and Colby the frame, before Don leaded forward in his chair and chimed in. "Maybe that should become your nickname." The elevator doors let out another ding and opened; out stepped Megan and Charlee.
"And if it isn't the woman of the hour." David gestured over to Charlee who was holding tightly onto Megan's hand. Both Colby and Don turned around in their chairs and followed his line of sight.
Don squinted down at his watch, making sure that he was reading the correct time, then looked back to see Charlee running towards them. "They weren't supposed to be here for at least another half an hour."
"Well, they're here now." David offered, smiling as Charlee practically hopped into his lap. She reached into her pocket, talking past the sucker in her mouth. "David, I have something for you."
"Looks like someone is feeling better."
"Uh huh." Charlee nodded, putting the sucker into his hand.
He looked down, quite surprised that she would remember, since she had been half sick at the time. "A sucker? For me?"
"Yep."
"Red." Pulling off the wrapper, he stuck it into his mouth to taste it. "Cherry, my favorite!" That made Charlee grin happily, followed by a giggle.
"Hey Megan, you're here early." Don checked his watch again. Only a few minutes had passed.
"Yeah, the doctor that checked us over was pretty quick and thorough." She gestured over towards Charlee, who was happily chatting with David. "He thinks that Charlee has an infection as well as some kind of bug, and immediately put her on some kind of antibiotic." They both watched her interact with David.
"Looks like it's working." Chiming in, Colby looked over from stacking the files on his desk into two piles.
"She should. We got a ride back to the house to pick up Charlee's things and she slept on the way here. Let's just say that she was pretty excited to give David his sucker."
"I'm surprised that she remembered." David broke through, biting through the sucker and throwing the stick into the garbage.
Charlee tipped her head up to him, touching his cheek with her hand. "That was fast." David smiled down at her. "David?"
"Yeah, Charlee."
She took the sucker out of her mouth, hopped down and turned around. "Megan said that my mommy is coming to see me."Charlee looked contemplative. "Is she nice?"
Megan stepped forward, so she was standing right next to Don. David turned her around, so that she was sitting sideways on his thigh.
David nodded, glancing back up at Megan. "I met your mom, and she loves you very much that her heart was broken when she lost you."
Her little nose scrunched up. "It did?"
"Charlee?" A new voice broke in, eager and hesitant. Megan stepped aside to reveal Lucia and the social worker, standing there behind them. Lucia was dressed in a dark maroon shirt, and black jeans; tears filled her eyes. Hopping down, she held onto David's knee. "Is that my Mommy?"
Lucia had darker skin, black curly hair and nine months pregnant. She nodded, a tear falling down her cheek. "It's really you! I can't believe it's really my little girl." Putting her hand to her mouth in disbelief, she stood there in shock. "You're really alive."
Bravely, Charlee walked over to her and grasped Lucia's hand. "You're really my mommy?"
Lucia nodded. "I am."
"What's your real name?" Charlee inquired curiously, as her hand tightened around Lucia's.
"Lucia."
"That's a pretty name." Looking at her uneasily, Charlee looked over at Megan who flashed her an encouraging smile. "Um."
They all watched the two of them interact for a few minutes, before the social worker introduced herself."I'm Kelsey Manders, from LA Social services." A woman in her mid forties with jet black, curly hair and was neatly placed in a ponytail; high cheek bones and black rimmed glasses that accentuated her green eyes.
She shook Kelsey's hand, while keeping one eye on Charlee. "Megan Reeves. This is Colby Granger, David Sinclair and our boss, Don Eppes." Each of them gave their greeting, and Kelsey turned towards Charlee and Lucia.
"She's quite the little girl, isn't she?"
"More than you know." Colby responded, rubbing his hand underneath his chin. She flashed Colby a gentle smile—that more or less could be deciphered as flirting. Megan looked over at them and gently cleared her throat, a wicked smile on her face.
"Smart that's for sure." Don added, standing up from his chair, relaxing a little, but they could all tell that something was on his mind. "I'm going to get some coffee."
David took that as a cue and stood up as well. "I could use some of that as well. It's been a long day." He followed Don into the break room and as soon as Kelsey went over to talk with Lucia and Charlee.
Megan walked up to him with a water bottle in hand. Tapping his shoulder lightly, she smiled. "Hey Granger, I think she likes you."
"You think? Was it that obvious?"
Shaking her head in disbelief, her tone took on a more teasing manner. "Obvious doesn't even start to cut it." They looked over at Kelsey, who gazed over at him with sparkling green eyes. Megan shot him another wicked smile, patting his shoulder. "Oh, she definitely likes you."
He grinned back, "I don't know, the last time you set me up on a date—it didn't quite work out."
She took another sip. "Who said I was setting you up on a date, Granger?" Megan mused quietly, watching Charlee who kept throwing glances in her direction. Don and David returned with piping hot coffee. Megan took in the smells and walked over to Charlee.
It smelled so good and Megan was definitely feeling like she was going through withdrawals, now that she was pregnant and couldn't have any. Until she and Larry announced it all tonight, it was best to avoid any questions or comments before then.
Charlee's hand slipped into hers, and she felt the little girl relax considerably. Before long, Charlee was tugging on her shirt; trying not to cry, her voice wavered. "Megan?"
Her smile faded, expression filled with concern as she wiped a stray tear from underneath Charlee's eye. She bent down to her level, even though it brought on a slightly nauseous feeling from the pit of her stomach.
She looked scared as Charlee asked the question. "Do I have to leave right now?" Megan gazed over at Lucia and Kelsey, who were apparently having a very deep conversation.
"Not just yet. We're going to talk for a little while, then you have some people that I'm sure will want to see you before you leave."
Looking around, her gaze fell upon the people in the room, before nodding shortly. "How many brothers and sisters do I have?"
"I don't know, Charlee."
"Oh."
"But I know one person who would know the answer—" Megan looked up; Charlee followed her line of sight and perked up.
"My mom." She spoke up quietly, leaning into her. "Will you come with me?" As they were walking over, the elevator door opened and she caught a familiar sight. "Larry!" Charlee said quite loudly, pointing over towards the elevators.
By the looks of it, he was explaining something to Charlie, almost in a rushed manner as they stepped out of the elevator; not to mention that he looked quite anxious.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Charlee asked her when she made no move to go see him. She broke her hand from hers and gave her a little shove.
She walked across the room, meeting them in the middle. "Megan." Charlie offered in greeting, patting her on the shoulder and then excusing himself to go talk to the rest of the team.
"Charles informed me that you had called." Larry stroked her cheek gently. "I should have never left you. I'm afraid that I've almost lost you quite a few times now."
Megan smiled softly. "I don't think I've been so scared in my life. It's one thing to be out in the field, but in my own home—and if you had been there and anything had happened to you, I don't think I would be able to live with myself."
"I know that I couldn't live without you either." Leaning in, she kissed him lightly on the lips, before staring into his eyes. "Your eyes are quite intriguing, like the stars up in the sky." He mused, looking over at everyone else. "It seems that we have an audience."
"I think Charlee would be glad to see you again."
"How is she?"
Shrugging, she locked her arm around his as they walked over. "Scared. Her mom just came with the social worker about ten minutes ago."
"It's only natural that she feel that way. She's probably been through more than an average adult goes through in a lifetime."
She turned around to face him. "Most six years don't even go through something like this, ever."
He nodded, holding her safely in his grasp. "And how are you? Charles said that you were able to go to a nearby neighbor's house."
"Yeah, my neighbor's a nurse. I had to keep reassuring her that I was okay. I told her that I was pregnant, which was cause for looking like death." Megan grinned, and he grinned back.
"I suppose it could have been worse." He shrugged absently. "Shall, we continue?" His gaze fell back on the team. Charlee was now sitting back on David's lap, talking to Don and Colby. Laughing, Megan nodded her response and they moved forward.
"Peter piper, picked a bunch of peppers?" Charlee inquired, scrunching her nose up again.
"Close enough." Don leaned forward and ruffled her hair a little.
"Hey." She scowled, with a smile. "Megan? Is he allowed to do that?"
"Only if you can do it back."
Charlee thought about it for a moment, smiling over at Don who was placing some files in a box. "He's the boss though, right Megan?"
"Right. Well, the boss of this division."
"What's a division?"
"This floor that we're on is one place that he's the boss of."
"Oh, I think I get it. So he only takes care of the people that work here."
"Pretty much, just like that." Agreeing, Don watched as she hopped off David's leg and walked up to Larry, studying him long and hard before deciding what she wanted to say to him. "I wish you could tell me more stories about the stars."
"Ah, but remember, stars will always get their chance to shine."
Silence came between them as she piped up again. Megan could see the wheels turning in her head. "Can we be stars?"
"No, I'm afraid that we can't actually become stars."
Charlee looked confused, pouting slightly. "But you said the stars remind you of Megan." Both Larry and Megan exchanged a glance of admiration. ""
"The stars merely help me think of her whenever we are apart."
"Oh."
Kelsey turned to Lucia, letting out a deep breath. "I guess it's time that we get you off your feet. I'm sure you want to be able to get Charlee settled in as well."
"I think that's probably a good idea. I'm supposed to call my husband—Charlee's father, at work after I picked her up. I have all the kids staying my sister-in-law's house so we can take a little time to get to know her first before introducing her to everyone. Including this little one right here." She rubbed her stomach in circles.
Megan smiled, looking down to see an empty spot where Charlee had been standing, just moments before. "Charlee." Megan warned, looking around; finally David spotted her running towards the elevators.
She caught up to her, just as the elevator doors began to close. "Going somewhere?" Charlee relented and slid to the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest.
"What if I don't want to go with her?"
"You know, sometimes we all have to do things that we don't want to do. And for you, this is one of those times."
"But I don't want to go!" Charlee exclaimed. "I don't want to go anywhere."
"Tell you what." Megan reached into her pocket and pulled out her car keys. "I have my keys, so we could probably go get your belongings—and maybe go take a short ride."
Charlee looked up, tear streaks on her face. "Really?"
Megan smiled back at her, standing and holding out hand. "Really. I'll text Don to let him know where we're at. But Charlee, it's only a short ride."
"Okay." Charlee took her hand and stood up, brushing off her pants. "Can I push the button?" Megan nodded, and Charlee walked over and hesitated. "Wait, which one do I push? There's so many!"
"The very last button." Megan pointed, finishing the text to Don and put the phone back in her pocket. "Taking Charlee for a short ride. It seems as if she got cold feet and tried to escape. Will meet you all downstairs in fifteen."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so after spending at least two days of writing this chapter, I realize that I'm going to have to split this up into two, since this chapter is already almost up to 3,000 words. There are still goodbyes to be had as well as a dinner too.