Cameron stared at the dark-haired man in the little room. Mikhail Erosa wasn't talking and it was starting to irritate him. Cameron had a strong suspicion that he had been the shooter or had, at least, put out the hit.

Men like Erosa had others to do their dirty work.

The only problem was that he couldn't prove his suspicion. And now that Erosa's attorney was there, he couldn't even question him. Sighing, Cam turned away and walked back to his desk. He picked up the report again. There had to be something he missed.

"Excuse me, Detective?"

Cam looked up in surprised to see a young Latino woman standing at the corner of his desk. A woman who looked suspiciously like the man in the interrogation room. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I am Anya Erosa. You are keeping my brother here," she replied, apprehensively.

Cameron got to his feet. "Yes. Your brother is in interrogation right now."

"Please Detective, may I see him. Just for a moment. Please," Anya begged. Cameron truthfully believed that she was sincere.

He sighed. "All right, but just for five minutes. No more. His attorney is here." Cameron motioned for her to follow. He walked up to the door and nodded at the police officer standing guard. Opening it, he let the woman inside.

Anya stepped inside, surprised to see how different her brother looked. He looked older, weaker, not like the brother she'd said goodbye to just twenty-four hours before. She stood by the door, waiting until it closed before speaking.

Mikhail raised his head, studied his sister. "What are you doing here? It's not safe, Anya. You can't be here. I don't want you involved." He tried to stand up, but remembered the handcuffs.

She said nothing still, sitting in the metal chair across from him. "Stop. Mikhail. Stop coddling me. You have too much to worry about, more than me. Don't you get it? You could go to jail."

"I'm not admitting to anything. Josef Santiago is here now. He's making a plea deal. I'll be out before you know it," he answered confidently.

She cocked her head, not believing what she was hearing. "Are you delusional? The police have enough motive to make your case stick. Do you want to throw away your life because of revenge?"

"Mama wanted—" he began, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"Mama was delusional. She truly believed that Ric Lansing loved her, that he would come find her. But he didn't and she died of a broken heart. You need to move past it!" Anya stood again, pacing the length of the small room.

Outside, Cameron watched the woman lay into her brother. He had a gut feeling that he could get a confession out of Erosa anyway. He just needed to figure out a way to get around his pesky lawyer.

He turned back to his desk, giving the siblings a moment of privacy before he asked Anya to leave. As he sat down in the chair, the answer to his question strode into the precinct.

"Detective, I hear that we have a lawyer who thinks that injunctions are the way out of the truth," Lila called out, setting her briefcase on his desk. She had a glint in her eye that told him she was looking for some action.

"That we do. Do you have a solution, Counselor?"

She grinned wryly and pulled a stack of papers out of her bag. "I called in a favor and had Santiago's request denied. You are free to question Erosa until the cows come home…or you get a confession—whichever comes first."

"I love you Lila!" He grinned and kissed her hard on the mouth. Just as he was about to hurry back to interrogation, she snagged his hand.

"You owe me better after this case is over."

"You bet I do," he grinned again and raced through the door.

There was nothing like a confession to make a cop's day.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Georgie glanced at the clock as she walked downstairs. She thought of her conversation with Fiona. They'd gone back inside, both having turned over a new leaf. Fiona didn't realize how much she'd helped Georgie come to terms with her life choice.

Dinner had gone off without a hitch. No one said anything about Fiona's actions and after dessert, everyone trailed home. After all, Christmas was only four days away and they'd be back at Mac's for dinner so it wasn't as though they'd miss much.

Dillon had taken her back to Maxie's house, lingering at the door, drawing her into a kiss. Briefly, she considered going home with him, but knew that they needed to take things slow. It was better that way.

But now she had other things on her mind. She knew that Fiona had already talked to her mother and that they were back to the way they'd been before Georgie's homecoming.

And for that, Georgie was grateful.

As happy as she was to be with her family, to end the ruse, she hated knowing that she'd potentially come between Maxie and her daughter. Georgie knew better than anyone how precious and brief a child's love could be.

She turned the corner and walked into the kitchen. Maxie was sitting at the table, under the glow of a single light, nursing a cup of tea. Georgie cleared her throat, causing Maxie to jump slightly.

"Hey." She turned and smiled at her sister. "I thought you'd gone to bed."

"I did, but I couldn't sleep. I-I just wanted to talk to you. I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," she said, sitting across the table.

Maxie frowned. "Sorry? For what?" She stood and walked to the counter, taking down a mug and preparing a cup of tea for Georgie.

Georgie looked down, but took a deep breath, determined to get the words out. "I'm sorry for not seeing what was wrong with Fiona. I'm sorry that my homecoming came between you and your daughter."

Maxie whirled around, splashing some tea out of the cup onto the floor. "What are you talking about? You did nothing wrong. Fiona's been like that for a while. She's being a teenager."

"But she felt that because I am here, you were focusing your attention on me. She saw her relationship with you as different and was angry. I know that it's not my fault. But I just had to say that I'm sorry," Georgie replied as Maxie set the cup in front of her and sat back down.

"You don't have to—" Maxie began.

"I know that I don't have. Maxie, losing my daughter taught me how precious life is. You have these beautiful, wonderful daughters and I just want to make sure that you don't take it for granted," Georgie pressed. She stood, taking her tea with her.

"Georgie?" Maxie asked, stopping her from leaving the room. Georgie turned and looked at her sister. "I too know how precious life is. I lost you, Robin. I live on borrowed time. I understand it more than most people."

"So you do. But when we have children, it's hard to ever think that there could be a time when they're not with us." With a slight smile, Georgie disappeared from view.

Maxie turned back around, drifting again into her thoughts. She considered what Georgie had said. And she knew that she was right. Maxie may know just how brief life was, but she didn't know how it felt to lose a child.

Sure, she'd lost her sisters, her parents, and oddly enough, two ex-boyfriend. She'd nearly died save for a heart transplant from her own cousin. But when it came to her children, she couldn't comprehend how it would feel to lose one of them.

Rising, Maxie carried her cup to the sink. She walked toward the stairs, flipping off the lights as she went. When she reached the top of the stairs, she turned left rather than head straight for her and Spinelli's room.

Jamie's door was half-open, the light from the hallway spilling in. But amazingly, the little girl slept deeply, as only a child could. Her arm was tucked around the stuffed monkey Lulu had given her on the day of her birth. Maxie smiled, remembering how it had been bigger than the child herself. And now, ten years later, she refused to give it up. Spinelli even joked that she'd probably pack it off to college with her.

Tugging the blanket up closer around Jamie's neck, Maxie smoothed back the copper-colored hair she'd inherited from her aunt Georgie. She knew that she was lucky, lucky to have a wonderful marriage and these two gorgeous daughters. And she vowed to remind herself of that from now on.

Satisfied that everything was right with her youngest daughter, Maxie crept back out into the hallway. She walked three steps to the door of her other daughter. Fiona lay crossways on the bed. Her long blond hair was spread out crazily over her pillow. Maxie managed to shift the blanket so that she was covered, despite her awkward position.

"I love you baby girl," Maxie whispered. "I want you to know that you come first with me, no matter what."

Fiona groaned and shifted, her head actually ending at the top of her bed. Maxie grinned, thinking that even before she was born, Fiona had been busy. She was always moving, never slowing until she stopped completely. Leaning down, she dropped a kiss on Fiona's head before walking back out of the room.

She moved to her own room now, crawling into bed beside her husband, who gathered her in his arms. "Hmm…I'm glad you finally decided to come to bed. I've been waiting for you."

She grinned, wriggling until she was on top of him. "Are you tired?"

Spinelli was now wide awake. "No, I think that I'm fine." He leaned up, capturing her mouth with his.

And she knew that while there were a lot of new things in her life, the most important never changed.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Mattie stretched luxuriously, laughing when Morgan caught her, rolling together until he was on top of her.

"You didn't get enough last night?" she joked, as his mouth clamped down on hers. She willingly let herself be pleasured.

"No. You?" He leaned back, studying her flushed cheeks. She'd never looked more beautiful.

Giggling, she pulled him closer. "Never."

And it was all they'd say for a little while longer.

* * * * *

Mattie shifted now. She felt like liquid. Like she weighed nothing. And it was the most wonderful feeling she'd ever experienced. She leaned closer to Morgan, laying her hand over his heart. She was comforted by the feeling of it, of knowing that he was alive, solid, in her arms.

Sometimes people just needed that reminder.

He turned onto his side, so he could stare into her eyes. They were the most beautiful blue he'd ever seen. Clear, bright, just like their future.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you," he whispered, laying his brow on hers.

Her lips curved into a smile. "I believe that it was me who wouldn't let you go."

"But I could have resisted you."

"Now where would that have gotten you?" She asked, cuddling closer.

"Definitely not here," he muttered and she grinned wider. He dropped a kiss lightly on her lips.

"We should get up."

"Yes, we should. But I'm not ready to let you go just yet," he replied, encircling her with his arms.

"No? Just what did you have in mind?" She giggled as they rolled together.

Some things were just too important to give up.

GH*GH*GH*GH*GH

Please, please, please review. I so enjoy hearing constructive criticism about my work. Thanks for reading!