Logan's P.O.V.
It made me sick to my stomach to watch my two best friends work at the beautiful dark cherry wood dining room table. They were looking through pictures...pictures from the mall shooting that happened just two days ago. They were trying to find reason...find an excuse as to why this guy did what he did. But I knew, just like they did, they weren't going to find anything. "Baby..." I glanced to my left seeing James sit down next to me putting a steaming mug of tea in front of me. "Okay boys...what are we looking for?" One hand of his rubbed over my back as he grabbed the folder in front of him, opening it up.
"Well we got a call at the station yesterday." I looked up to Kendall and watched him sit back grabbing a beer bottle. "Someone made a threat. The mall shooting was just the beggining. The suspect had a list of places he was going to hit next. We already went through his phone...he has random numbers he's been texting about what happens after the mall. And in those texts, he told these people about clues he would leave at the first crime scene incase something happened to him." We all went quiet and I reached out grabbing a picture of some bizzare writting on the wall of one of the stores. In someone's blood.
"K...I get all that." I glanced to my husband who was leaning forward, also holding a beer bottle. "But...why are we looking at these pictures in your dinning room? And two of us aren't cops?" Carlos smirked as he sat back and drank from a whiskey glass and Kendall sighed.
"Because regardless of the fact that I'm the captain of a police department and Carlos is my sergent...the FBI was told by the SWAT captain my kid was shot and I was too close to the case. So they put me on paid leave for a month and I can't help." He paused and turned his head a little raising his beer bottle. "Unless i'm here, I guess." I closed my eyes sitting back onto James's hand. "You don't need to help Logan."
"I just don't really feel comfotable with it Kendall. For any of us." Automatically Kendall and Carlos started to laugh thier asses off as they continued to look at all the pictures and files in front of us. "What is so funny you pricks?" Before they could answer, Juliet walked out putting a laundry basket on the ground next to Kendall's chair and kissed his cheek.
"I guess you just met these two but they don't follow the rules. They make the rules. After breaking them." I frowned at her as she pulled down on Kendall's lap and she took a swig of his beer. When she set it down she picked up a peice of paper and shook her head. "This looks like the kind of story you see on Criminal minds or something."
"Hence the FBI taking over." Kendall gave me a dirty look but I ignored him picking up another picture squinting donw at it. "I don't understand...why go through all this? Usually theres a shooting and it's just that. Nothing more until the next one." James's big strong hand gripped the back of my neck and i put the picture down closing my eyes shaking my head. "How do you guys do this every day?"
"Ligour?" I glanced to Carlos but Kendall answered as well.
"Pussy." I frowned but watched Juliet elbow him in the shoulder as she pushed off him, running away from his tickling hands. "It's true. I'd be a mess if i didn't get laid...or at least have a body to come home to." Carlos raised his beer at that and I turned to James. He chcukled before leanign in and kissed my cheek.
"Jessie and Sammy are almost out of school." He nodded to the Grandfather clock in the hallway next to us.
"Yeah but I promised Emily she could come over here after school if she picked the kids up for us. I knew we'd be here with Max which reminds me..." I pushed myself up and grabbed my tea squeezing his hand, looking at Kendall. "Let me check his side and see how he's doing without the pain meds." He nodded and I walked into the living room smiling at the mother and son sitting on the couch, both folding clean laundry. "How ya feeling Max?" He looked to me and smiled big but I shook my head. "Can I check it? That bandage has been on since this morning." He nodded and pushed his blanket off him and scoot up a little on the couch. I crouched donw on my knees ignroing the screaming pain from my joints, and lifted his sweater and shirt. I felt a wave of reliefe seeing no blood on the bandage and looked at his face. "I'm gonna feel around it. Hit me if theres pain." He rolled his eyes dropping his head forward and I gently touched around the bandage. Nothing. I moved my fingers around, pressing here and there, but he didn't flinch once. I stood up quick letting his sweater and shirt fall back down and looked at Juliet. "It looks good. He's not bleeding anymore and it doesn't seem to be irritated anymore. I would seriously think about putting off the pain meds for now." She nodded rubbing his arm and i genlty sat next to him on the couch sighing out, taking a sip from my tea.
"Emily text me." I raised an eyebrow at him and he blushed looking to the TV show him and Juliet have been glued too all day. "She said she's picking up Sammy and then she's gonna get Jessie. But she wants to stay here for a while." I sighed looking over his head at Juliet who swallowed hard still folding clothes.
"I understand you guys are in love..." I cringed hearing it about my 17 year old daughter but bit my tongue looking at the TV. "But she has school. She has homework. She can't be on your side 24/7. She needs her rest just like you do. She can stay for dinner like her parents are, but after that she has to go home. I know you care about her..."
"Okay mom." Max kicked off his blankets once more and slowly stood himself up, mumbling about going to the bathroom. The bathroom door shut kind of roughly making both of us jump and look at each other.
"Why am I always the bad guy?" I luaghed and she sat back chuckling. "I love your daughter...you know that but they literally spend every waking minute together. Don't they get sick of each other?" I laughed and put my head back closing my eyes.
"I know I would." We went quiet and I seriously considered taking a nap since I got a whole four hours of sleep thanks to James and I screwing the night away. But sleep didn't come. I wasn't even able to have my eyes closed for more than a minute before her soft voice crept in my head.
"Have you and James talked to her about sex?" My head snapped up and she sat up raising a hand. "I'm just curious...I found condoms in his room when i cleaned it. Out of a ten pack three were missing." My whole body went still and my head started to swarm. "I'm tempted to ask Kendall if Max has said anything to him but..." She stopped and I sat up getting closer to her.
"Have you guys talked to him about that?" SHe nodded and pointed out to the dinning room. "Kendall did?"
"Yeah...he told him to respect women, no means no and if he acted stupid, he'd kill him." SO in other words, don't be a pig, no forcing, and use protection. I breathed out hard leaning on my knees holding my tea in both hands. "I guess if they are active...at least they're being safe." I groaned quietly just as Max came walking back from the bathroom, sweater off baseball cap on, backwards.
"I can't believe I'm missing football practice right now. Or that I'm gonna miss the rest of the season." I frowned at him as he walked past us and went out to the kitchen. Yes I cared about Max, because I did love him like a family matter, but he really was starting to remind me of a man who I knew when I was younger. A man who was smooth with his words, and could get into anyone's pants just by his looks. And that man was James and if I was able to fall for James the way I did, Emily would surely fall the same way for Max.
Juliet quickly shifted the conversation to something other than our children having sex, and sat and talked for a good 45 minutes, laughing and reminescing. Yes I knew Kendall before Juliet but we were alot closer. She could always make me laugh and I was always wiping away her tears when Kendall was an ass. We got so wrapped up in our conversations I didn't realize the time, until there were soft knocks at the door before it was shoved open and my 8 year old son barged in. i stood up fast and wrapped an arm around his stomach picking him up before he could run out to the kitchen for his after school snack. I looked to Emily who walked in slowly, looking to the couch, probably for Max. "How was school?" She shrugged looking at Juliet who stood up and went to Jessie, offering her a snack and food. "You want a snack Sammy?" He squirmed in my arms and jumped out of them yelling yes, following after Juliet and Jessie. I turned to Emily who was looking up the stairs and I smiled. "He's in the kitchen." SHe sighed out and set her backpack down starting to walk. "Emily..." I put my hands on her arms and made her look in my eyes. "You know...you can tell me anything right?" She frowned, giving me a weird look but before I could say anything more Max was beside us, smiling big at Emily. He handed her a coke can and took her hand turning her. They started to go to the stairs, as another body got beside me, sipping from a beer.
"Door open Max." Kendall's serious voice made me feel comfort as they both looked to us, blushing.
Kendall and I walked back out to the dinning room and I grinned at James who had Sammy on his lap, showing him his work from the day. Thankfully the pictures and reports were put back in folders and put in Kendall's backpack. I walked to my original seat next to James and took a cute pitcure of a drawn pumpkin with a cute little story about it. "And then we got to watch a movie daddy!" I turned to him, eyebrow raised and James laughed pushing hair off Sammy's forehead. "It was a Charlie Brown movie about the great pumpkin!" I smirked turning to my middle child who had headphones in one ear, homework already spread out around her. Juliet walked out a plate of cheese and crackers, and apples and carrots with a ranch dip and a caramel dip. "Thank you Miss Juliet!" She blew him a kiss also setting a water bottle down in front of Jessie who quietly said thank you. I frowned, noticing for the first time how small and shy Jessie was looking. I reached forward while Juliet sat with Kendall and Carlos, and talked, and put my hand on her open math book.
"You okay?" She nodded but it faded fast, as she looked back to her homework munching on an apple slice. "Jess honey...whats the matter?" She shook her head, still down and I turned to James who was giving her a concerned look. "Jules...guys...would you mind giving us a minute?"
"Of course. You want us to take Sam?" I nodded at Juliet who walked to James, taking him, while James handed the snacks to Kendall and Sammy's juice to Carlos. They all cleared out of the room offering to entrain Sammy with another Halloween movie. Once they were gone, James reached forward and pulled an ear bud out of her ear putting a finger under her chin, making her look at us.
"What's going on sweetheart?" Her eyes darted back and forth between James and I and it worried me. I put a hand on his thigh squeezing it, making him hold it, and squeeze my hand in return. "Jess...baby talk to us."
"How come..." She paused and my throat started to swell up. "How come I don't have a mom?" The whole world stopped and I felt the color drain from my face.
Not too long ago, about when Emily was Jessie's age, she asked us a similar question. It shook us to the core as parents...as human beings, and especially a couple. We couldn't give her answer without confusing her, and a few weeks after that she continued to bring it up. James finally broke down and told her we had a women give birth to her, using my genes, mixing with hers. We told Juliet to come to us with questions, and since then, she has been on board and educated. However, I had this horrible pit in my stomach that it wasn't going to be that way with Emily.
"You do have a mom." I turned slowly to James, who was smiling rubbing under her eye with his thumb. "But we are you're parents."
"But...two guys can't make a baby." I frowned leaning forward and put my head in my hand keeping my mouth closed. I feared if I opened it, i'd cry.
"No they can't. But..." He stopped and i squeezed his hand making him look at me.
"Was I adopted?" I closed my eyes and turned away from her, hoping I didnt sob out loud.
Yes, Jessie was adopted. It was a split decision James and I made when she was only 6 months old. Kendall and Carlos worked a case with a sick family who were abusing thier kids. Including thier 6 month old daughter. It was heartbreaking when she came into the hospital, malnourished, tiny bruises on her tiny body. My heart reacted and I called James to my floor I was working. When he got to me, I told him we were adotping this baby and we never looked back. "I know...I was. But I was just wondering...why? How come my mom and dad didn't want me?" I let go of James hand and turned back to see her looking at us.
"How did you find out?" I tensed up as she pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged around them.
"Emily." I sighed out hard making James pat my thigh and rub it. "I was curious to know why I didn't look like her and Sammy, who look like you guys." I forced a smile and I got a tiny one back from her. "She told me you guys rescued me, and so did Uncle Kendall and Carlos." James nodded slowly and she shurgged. "So...how come you guys had to rescue me?"
"Baby...one day I will tell you, but I don't think you're old enough to know yet." SHe deflated a little and i looked to James, who was giving me a sad look. I sighed out and leaned forward a little.
"DO you really want to know?" SHe perked up and James gave me a concerned look. "You have to promise me, that you will tell us if this makes you sad, or angry okay? You have to talk to us about it, and not your sister. Understand?" SHe nodded and James leaned forward fast.
"Loges..." I set a hand on his face and looked past him.
"Your mom and dad...they were bad people. They got in trouble with the police alot. They were selling drugs, and hurting you." Her posture fell and James reached out quick, pulling on her. She got up and quickly climbed on his lap. I reached out and pushed back her jet black hair keeping my hand on her face. "Your mom and dad were not fit to take care of a tiny baby. They couldn't support themselves, let alone you. When Uncle Kendall and Carlos got to you, both your parents were passed away, and you were left alone. Instead of you going to a foster home or another horrible home, daddy and I adopted you." She looked between the two of us again and I felt like throwing up. I did not think i'd ever have to have this conversation with her. Ever. But it happened and I could not take anything back. She sat on James's lap, in silecne and it made me so sad. However, she put one hand on James shoulder and one on mind and smiled small.
"Thanks for saving me daddies."