Chapter Four-Cops

As Captain Hannah entertained his new little fan club, Detective Goren was going through case files. Bobby and Alex were investigating a string of armed robberies in the city and so far they kept running into dead ends. Their first suspect was Paul Young, a thirty year recent parolee, who spent six years in jail for an armed robbery charge, but he had an air tight alibi for week when the robberies started: the afternoon the first robbery took place was when Paul returned home in time to catch his girlfriend cheating on him, so to show his annoyance he shoved the other man's head through the window. Needless to say, he was escorted back to prison for an extended stay.

"Do you have anything?" Bobby asked Alex.

"Maybe," Alex replied, looking up from her files. "it appears that on the day of the robberies, a hot dog stand run by Lenny Rey was always stationed one block over. It just so happens Calvin's Catering was doing business within a block of the robberies as well."

"I am suddenly feeling quite hungry, how about you?" Bobby asked, grabbing his brown notebook as he stood up.

"I'm positively famished. Who doesn't love hotdogs at 11am?"

Bobby cracked a smile and they started walking for the elevators. Bobby pressed the down button and the twosome continued their chat while they waited.

"So how was your night out? Was Stacee's 'downtown with a Park Ave touch' just like the entertainment section described?"

"It was nice. I didn't see the dining rooms, but the first floor was quite...entertaining."

Alex looked intrigued, so Bobby continued. He told her about Mary, their alteration with Mike, and their chat as he walked her home. When Bobby finished, Alex simply stared at him, shaking her head as a wry smile came to her face.

"What?" he asked, looking uncharacteristically baffled.

"My dear sweet Billy met an uptown gal. I guess I just never fancied you the 'silk-stocking' type."

"Whoa, whoa, now hold on a minute, Alex. I didn't 'pick her up'. I didn't 'go home' with her last night, okay? I simply defended her from her estranged cousin-in-law and walked her home to ensure her safety. I was concerned about her safety, that's it."

"Bobby, if this girl was really that concerned about walking home alone, she would have waited for her cousin to get off work, and from what you're telling me, this girl didn't exactly need your assistance. I have a feeling that the only thing you really saved that night was a glass or beer bottle being broken over that jerk's head."

"Mary was quite a pistol," Bobby admitted. "but what happened last night was a one time thing. She was a nice girl, but for Heaven's sake, she's young enough to be my daughter. She's couldn't have been older than twenty-eight, twenty-nine at the very most. Even if I was emotionally ready to handle a...romantic relationship, I wouldn't pursue someone that young."

"My, my, thou doth protest too much," Alex said, raising an eyebrow. "All I did was mention how independant and take charge this woman seems to be: you are the one who brought up romance."

Before Bobby could respond, another elevator opened and Captain Hannah stepped out, along with a group of women and young girls. Alex and Bobby watched as the Captain spoke, looking right in his element as the girls asked him questions. One little girl in particular seemed to have captured his attentions: her dark brown eyes were glimmering with excitment and her little hands moved as fast as her mouth as she spouted off questions and comments. Her lively spirit and ability to become center of attention was very familiar to Bobby and it brought a smile to his face. Alex noticed that smile and rewarded Bobby with raised eyebrows.

Bobby didn't say anything to Alex, focusing instead on their new guests. He was shocked to see one of those guests was none other than Mary Mayfield, his non-distress damsel from the night before. She was holding hands with a blonde and red headed girl and standing behind the bubbly brunette, looking at her with love and pride. Bobby quickly deduced that the girl was Mary's youngest sister, the November sibling. Captain Hannah noticed the detectives and led the group towards them. The dark haired girl looked at them with interest, especially Alex.

"Ladies, I would like to introduce you to two of our best detectives," Captain Hannah said to the girls. "Detective Eames and Detective Goren," he continued, indicating who was who, "are very special officers. They catch the worst of the worst bad guys and keep our city safe."

"Are detectives better than regular police officers?" Jasmine asked.

"All forms of law enforcement are important, Officer Jasmine," Captain Hannah said, iliciting a happy grin from the child. "but detectives are a special type of officer. They had to work long and hard to get here and they are the ones we turn to when we have really, really hard cases. They work for the Major Case Squad, which is the top unit of the police force. You have to be really, really smart to work here."

"Cool..." Jasmine said, looking impressed.

"Officer Jasmine, would you like to come with me and see what a *real* detective's desk looks like?" Alex asked.

Jasmine nodded vigorously and Alex took her hand, leading her to her desk. The other adults and children scattered, leaving Mary alone with Bobby. She smiled shyly at him, having never expected to see him again

"Out of all the precincts in the city I had to walk into yours," Mary said.

"Hello, Mary, it's nice seeing you again," Bobby said, looking as surprised as Mary. "how are you? I trust Mr. Alden hasn't disturbed you again?"

"He hasn't yet, but give him time. He will spend a few weeks trying to persuade Stacee to come back, so he will be slightly less irritating than usual. I'm ready for him, though: I've had eight years of practice."

"Well...if you need anything..."

"I have your card," Mary said, walking towards Eames's and Goren's desk, where Alex was showing Jasmine its contents.

"And what about your cousin and friend? Did they make it home safely?"

"I was asleep when they finally came home, but Beth called me from work and I saw Terra before I left this morning. Chris and David were nice enough, but surprisingly, a one night stand isn't the basis for a life long relationship."

"That isn't always the case. Sex stimulates the release of oxytocin and vasopressin, which are chemicals that make sexual partners have monogamous feelings towards one another," Bobby replied.

"The only true objects of Terra and Beth's long term commitment are their businesses," Mary replied. "they are both work-a-holics and to be perfectly honest, if Beth really desired a long term relationship, she would stop picking up drunken pigs at bars."

"Not every man in a bar is a lecherous cretin with a one track mind."

"Nor are they detectives trying to save the world from said cretins."

Bobby cracked a smile and they rejoined the group. By this point Alex and Jasmine were with them as well and Alex listened patiently as Jasmine continued jabbering. Captain Hannah continued the tour until they ended up in the holding cell, which was surprisingly empty. As everyone gathered around, the captain stood by the door and continued talking.

"Does anyone know what this is?" Captain Hannah asked. Jasmine's hand shot in the air, so he called on her.

"It's a jail cell-that's where you put bad guys!" she said.

"That's right-very good Officer Jasmine," Captain Hannah replied, smiling warmly at her. "now, I know there are no bad guys in this room, but would you like to walk into the cell and look around?"

The girls walked into the cell and looked around, talking amongst themselves as they took in the simple surroundings. Some of the girls were sitting on the bed and others were walking around, touching the bars, looking up at the window, and just getting a sense of what life behind bars would be like.

"I like my room at home better." Sophie commented. "if I ever had to live in jail I would want to bring my Hello Kitty stuff with me."

"I would want to bring my puppy," Lily added.

"Puppies aren't allowed in jail," Jasmine said.

"How do you know?" Lily asked. "you've never lived in jail before!"

"No, but puppies have to go outside to go potty and play and you're not allowed outside if you're in jail," Jasmine asked.

"How do you know so much about jail?" Alex asked.

"I watch "Cops" and "'Police women of Broward County,'" Jasmine replied. "I looooove 'Cops'-the theme song is the best part!"

The adults in the room couldn't help but laugh at Jasmine, finding her precocious nature adorable and entertaining.

"Do you want to be a police officer when you grow up?" Alex asked her.

"Well, I don't know," Jasmine said, as if giving Alex's question careful consideration. "see, I really love dancing and want to be a dancer when I grow up, but this is fun too, so maybe I can be a cop *and* and a dancer."

"That sounds like a good plan to me," said Alex.

"How would you like to watch someone getting arrested?" Captain Hannah asked.

"Ohhh, do we get to go in the police car with you and watch you arrest bad guys?" Jasmine asked, looking thrilled at the prospect.

"No, not exactly," Captain Hannah said with a chuckle. "I was thinking we could arrest someone here-would you like that?"

All of the little girls nodded eagerly and suddenly Jasmine was hit with a stroke of genius. "Arrest my sister!" she shrieked.

The other little girls nodded and squeeled in agreement and suddenly Mary found herself the center of attention, which made her a little uneasy. She felt her cheeks turning rosey as the captain looked at her.

"What do you say, Mary? Would you like to volunteer to be our prisoner?" he asked.

"Say yes, Sissy, say yes!" Jasmine pleaded.

"Oh, alright," Mary replied, unable to resist her sister's big brown eyes.

"Yaay!" Jasmine squeeled, delighted as Mary stepped forward and walked towards Alex, with whom she shared a little smile. Mary turned around and placed her hands behind her back and Alex took her handcuffs out of her pocket. As she gently placed the cuffs on Mary's wrists, Jasmine shook her head vigorously.

"No no no, you're doing it wrong!" she said, stomping her foot to emphasize her point.

Alex and Mary exchanged glances, doing their best to keep from bursting into laughter. As Mary bit her bottom lip, Alex addressed the little girl.

"Well, what is the correct way to arrest a suspect, Officer Jasmine?" she asked.

"You have to pull out your gun and yell 'get on the ground punk!'" Jasmine instructed, her eyes sparkling with pleasure. "and then you have to shove her onto the ground, slap the cuffs on her, and throw her into jail! Well, it's supposed to be your car, but your car isn't here, so you have to throw her in the cell."

"Wow, that was very...detailed," Alex said, raising her eyebrows. "you really do watch 'Cops.'"

"Yup, I *loooooove* that show!"

"I can tell," Alex said. "I don't think Captain Hannah would want me to slam your sister into the ground, so would it be okay if I leaned her against the desk instead?"

"Alright," Jasmine agreed.

The little girl watched as Alex pushed Mary against the desk, making it look as real as possible without actually hurting her. She slapped the cuffs on Mary's delicate wrists and moved her towards the cell, pushing her inside.

"Keep her locked up forever!" Jasmine exclaimed.

"Forever? You want me in jail forever?" Mary said in mock horror. "but what about this weekend? We're celebrating the fourth of July and you can't chase me with sparklers if I'm in jail."

"Oh," Jasmine said, not having thought of that before. "...well in that case you can go free, but only if you make sandcastles with me too!"

"It's a deal, officer," Mary replied.

Jasmine nodded to Alex, who opened the cell and removed the cuffs from Mary's wrists.

"Are you alright, Mary? I hope I wasn't too rough."

"If it was up to my sister I would be eating cement right about now, so you were just fine."

It was a short time later and everyone was gathered in the lunch room, enjoying refreshments. Mary was sitting with Jasmine, who was munching on an oatmeal raisin cookie and drinking pink lemonade. Mary was munching on a cookie as well when Alex approached her, holding two cups of coffee. She handed one to Mary and sat beside her.

"I hope you likes yours with sugar," Alex said.

"Yes, thank you," Mary replied before taking a sip. Truthfully she didn't like coffee very much, but she wanted to be polite and knew Alex was just trying to break the ice with her.

"How does it feel to be back on the outside?" Alex teased.

"Strange, I don't know how I'll ever re adjust to life on the outside ever again," Mary said wryly.

"Hey, Jasmine!" Leah exclaimed, running up to them. "Captain Hannah is going to fingerprint us and take our mugshots! Wanna join us?"

"Sure!" Jasmine exclaimed, shoving the rest of her cookie in her mouth and finishing the rest of her lemonade before she ran off to join her friends.

"Jasmine, slow down and chew!" Mary called after her, but to no avail.

"She is quite the pistol," Alex said as they watched her turn the corner. "do you have any other siblings?"

"I have two more sisters: Allyson, who just turned twenty-two and graduated college, and Diana, who turns sixteen in August."

"Wow, there's quite an age difference between the four of you. How old is Jasmine, seven, eight?"

"She turns eight in November. Diana, Allyson, and I keep teasing Mom about being overdue for the next one, but somehow I don't think that's going to happen."

"I think that's a good guess."

"Do you have any brothers and sisters?"

"I have a brother, Jack, and sister, Elizabeth, and they would both hurt me if I revealed their ages."

Mary laughed and they spoke until it was time for the fieldtrip to end. As the group walked towards the elevator, Mary noticed Bobby, who was hard at work at his desk. He hadn't stayed long during refreshment time, stating he had a ton of work to catch up on. As she walked by, Alex slipped beside Bobby, giving him a smack on the arm.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Well what?" Bobby asked, wondering why his partner was assaulting him.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Mary?"

Bobby looked at his partner and quickly summized it would be easier to acquiese to her demands than challenge them. He rose from his seat and walked towards Mary, who was giving her sister a piggy back ride. Jasmine was tired after her fulled filled day and wanted some time off her feet. Jasmine had her arms wrapped around Mary's shoulder and had a gift bag clutched in her hands. After thanking the girls for coming, Captain Hannah gave each of them a gift bag full of goodies, including holders for their badges, notebooks, pens, and handcuffs.

"Hey Bobby," Mary said.

"Hey," he said, giving Jasmine a smile before turning his attention back to the oldest Mayfield sister. "I hope you had fun today."

"We had the best day *ever*!" Jasmine exclaimed. "I wanna come here everyday! Sissy, get arrested for real so we can come back!"

"I'll see what I can do," Mary said, her eyes shifting back to her sister before she focused again on Bobby.

"I think it's safe to assume a good time was had by all," she said.

"It was good seeing you again," Bobby said, not quite sure what he was supposed to say.

"Yes, I enjoyed seeing you as well, Bobby. This was quite a coincidence."

"Yes, yes it was," Bobby said, not really knowing what to say.

"Did you know the Fouth of July is in three days?" Jasmine said to Bobby.

"Yes I did," he said to her. "what are you doing for the holiday, besides chasing your sister with sparklers?"

"Me and mommy and daddy and sissy and Allyson and Diana and Terra and Beth and Stacee and Brenden and Uncle Mark and Aunt Linda and grandma and Uncle Bill and Aunt Grace and Aunt Sam and Uncle George are going to our vacation house!" she exclaimed, her body twitching with excited anticipation. "it's really pretty and right on the beach!" Suddenly, inspiration hit her. "why don't you come with us?"

Bobby raised his eyebrows and Mary bursts out laughing. "That was very kind of you to invite Detective Goren, but he might already have plans."

"I'm afraid your sister was right, Jasmine, but thank you very much for the kind invite. I appreciate it."

"What *are* you doing for the Fourth of July?" Jasmine asked.

Truthfully Bobby wasn't doing anything for the holidays, but he didn't want to share that bit of information with Jasmine. "I'm staying close to home," he said honestly.

"Are you gonna watch fireworks?" she asked.

"I'm sure I will," he said, since he was able to watch fireworks from his balcony.

"Will Detective Alex come over? I like her!"

"I like her, too. Alex is very nice," Bobby said. "but she's spending the holidays with her family."

"Does she have kids?"

"No, but she does have neices and nephews."

"Well, this has been fun, but we need to get going, Jelly Bean. Our group is ready to leave and I'm sure Detectives Eames and Goren are very busy."

"Oh, okay. Bye! Thank you!"

"Goodbye," Bobby said, giving them a wave as they walked off to rejoin their group and step onto the elevator.

"Oh, Detectives Alex and Bobby!" Jasmine called out.

Bobby and Alex looked up as Jasmine continued to shout across the room. "If you're not busy next week, come to Stacee's party! It's gonna be really, really cool!"

"Okay, Jasmine," Alex said, laughter bubbling from her lips as she waved to the little girl. In fact, everyone had a long, wonderful chuckle as the Mayfield sisters disappeared onto the elevator.