Si Cela Est Noël
AnniKay

Sam/Mercedes/Puck

Disclaimer: I own Nothing…Murphy, Falchuk, and Brennen along with Fox and others own this fandom and all the characters there in…Anything you recognize obviously belongs to them

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Thank all of you for being avid readers & reviewers of my stories

Special thanks to Isis Aurora Tomoe who is my current Beta rock star
Summary: Winter Break for the College Sophomores of the Learning French Series.
A time to reconnect with family and friends.

Do You Hear What I Hear

Daniel Harris PoV

From the second I landed in New York on Labor Day, things moved incredibly fast. Within hours, I'd managed to get them scheduled to do 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' and was corralling a ton of different sources to figure the plan of attack to keep them from encountering a career ending backlash for the truths Puck and Sam had spoken at the VMAs. The very next day I was offered a full time position as the official Public Relations Manager for KAMA. After that dinner, I spent an hour on the phone with Riker. "Babe, I've got some serious news."

"Me too…" she said leadingly. But she sounded happy not sad so I went with it and let her go first. "Captain said that he would hate to lose me and Chris, but he got it if he had the choice of the NYPD or the Feds, he'd prefer the Feds too. His first partner is an Assistance Special Agent in Charge at the Seattle Field Office. The Captain had ASAC Mike Giardello meet with him and us over lunch…we're going to go over to the field office and complete the application on-site. Giardello said that will shorten the wait time for some reason. He's willing to take the Captain's rec and big up both of us up his heirachy. All goes well and we will start the main part of the hiring process, which by the way, is majorly involved in three weeks. That's when they give the phase 1 test again here in Seattle."

"Wow, Rike, that is great." I told her with joy in my heart. I definitely loved that this whirlwind of change may make good things happen for Rike and Chris too.

"Yeah…it's great but it's also scary as hell. They do intelligence and knowledge tests first. Then if we pass phase one we have the phase two tests which are another written test plus a panel interview. After that is the most intensive background check in the business. Supposedly the CIA's background checks aren't as bad. If Chris and I make it through those, then there is the fitness test and the medical test."

I could hear trepidation entering in her voice. "Bae, come on Riker. You and I both know that unless the physical test is straight up ridiculous you and Chris will have no problem passing it. You both run half a marathon every freaking morning."

She laughed at my exaggeration…but I wasn't embellishing very much. The partners started every morning they weren't undercover or something with a five mile run. Riker was in amazing shape, and Chris was even more so. "Thanks…I guess you have a point. But anyway, we make it past all that and then we have to do a three-month stint down at FLETC in Georgia before we do five months at Quantico."

"Geeze. So you wouldn't be able to move here full time until next year sometime." I groaned.

"That's just it, it can take about a year just to get through the hiring process. As for living there full time, that's only if I get assigned to New York or Newark." She sighed. "As if couldn't guess from the way you just asked that…what is your news?"

So I told her about the offer from KAMA, "Hundred and twenty grand a year salary, plus bonuses and a fifty-eight thousand a year housing stipend. That's forty grand a year more than I was making at Revolution before you add in the housing allowance."

"Damn, Danny-Boy look at how you done come up."

"Not me…we. Always." I reminded her before laying out the benefits package, which was even better than the one I'd just had. I explained to her how Puck's aunt was going to work with me to find us an apartment and all the other perks from the position. "But it's not just me…they said that I can bring Grant in as my assistant and the general office manager. They told me to offer him sixty-five grand with a twenty-two grand a year housing stipend."

"He is going to be so happy." She smiled to herself. "Look…give me couple of weeks. I've been reading that Newark PD is pretty on point and hiring. If Chris and I can get hired on there without undoing our applications with the Feds, maybe we can head over sooner rather than later."

I loved that idea, "yeah, but will they really hire you when they will be replacing you in a year anyway?"

I could literally hear her shrug. "I don't know…but we are both female detective level cops trained for undercover gang and vice work. It might be a sweet enough pot for them."

I had a thought that I didn't share with her at all because she would kill me for even thinking it. "Alright, go ahead and move on that. I'm scheduled to fly home on the seventeenth. I'll have my severance package from Revolution to use to get an apartment for us here plus the stipend so we won't need push back our dream house more than a year or two."

Riker was very much good with that. After getting the adult conversation out of the way, we moved onto some seriously Adult Conversation so I didn't get a chance to call Grant until the next day. Before we even got off the phone he and Dom were going online to look at apartments in New York. With Dom's blogging bringing in around seven to ten grand every month, she could easily afford Manhattan living. To be honest it was actually as good a move for her as it was for Grant and I. Living in the undisputed fashion capital of the US was not a bad thing for someone who made their money off that world. I made sure to give them Mills and her business partner's contact information. And went back to work on my own projects for KAMA. They were scheduled for two magazine interviews that fall, but I wanted to increase their visibility in main stream media. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be possible before Christmas break, so I decided to get them a few phone or skype interviews with some smaller music mags. The interviews were really quick and they used the pictures that Darcy and I sent them so they were barely a blip on Mercedes, Sam and Puck's radar. Best of all they did a lot to let people know that all three members of KAMA were about the musicianship. They weren't just industry creations or one trick ponies. I was quite proud of how that had worked out.

When I spoke to them next, Grant explained to me that they were looking in the Chelsea area to be near the office and to be nearer the Lincoln Tunnel, which Riker and Chris would take on the daily if they went to work for the Newark Police department. They wanted two apartments fairly near each other. A three bedroom for Dom and Chris, because if Chris made it into the FBI and got assigned to either Newark or New York, they were going to start the adoption process. Grant wanted a large one bedroom or a decent sized two-bedroom apartment. They made Riker and I wonder if we should have been thinking about those things, but we decided to let Mills lead us and hopefully we'd find something awesome. All that mattered to us was sticking close to Chris, Dom and Grant.

When I flew out to Seattle, I had a meeting with my now former bosses at Revolution and we worked out my severance package which was protected by my original contract. The way Revolution handled their severance pay was simple, if an employee left having given notice and without moving to a competing firm, they were eligible to fifteen percent of their yearly salary. So, I got a little over twelve grand in severance. But we also had to bang out a consulting contract because I was going to offer them some boots on the ground support if any of their clients ever needed a PR presence on the east coast. We ultimately agreed on a base fee of a hundred and eighty dollars per billable hour for whenever they needed me. I was able to give them my new card with the information for my new office and it felt good to leave out of there with everything I'd wanted when I'd walked in.

Things at our apartment wasn't quite as happy. We ended up having to pay an extra month of rent to get out of our lease. I was rather unhappy finding that out since the truth was that I was already scoping out places in New York that we could buy and anything that took chunks out of our current income inevitably took bites out of our savings. Besides, the house wasn't the only thing I was saving up for. Riker and I had been together for five years and being around Mercedes and Amanda full time had impressed upon me that if I was expecting her to change her entire life for me I had better put a fucking ring on it. They weren't wrong. I loved her and we were going to be together for life, so it was only right that I made sure that she and the whole world knew it. I'd been looking but hadn't found anything that she could wear when she was on the job. I knew there was nothing she could wear when undercover, but something with a diamond that didn't stick out too much was better for her day to day work life and fit better with who she was.

I had saved the entire signing bonus Mercedes insisted upon. But given how much Sam and Puck had spent on Mercedes' ring and how much Ethan had spent on Amanda's, I wasn't sure that twelve and a half grand was going to be enough. But by the same turn, if I spent too much, Riker might just kill me. It was a catch twenty-two of epic proportions. But that was life sometimes with a woman like Riker McGraw. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. We'd just gotten back to the apartment when Riker got an interesting phone call. "McGraw." She answered in her professional 'I'm a Bad Ass Cop with a Gun' voice. "Yes Sir. That is true, Sir…but we only sent in our resumes last week. No Sir…of course Sir. Sir? Oh, yes Sir, our Captain here has been kept fully abreast of our job hunt. It's not that we don't love our precinct here. Yes Sir, moving to stay together as a family…strange though it may be to others. Yes Sir. She is my partner on the job and my soul-sister off the clock."

I didn't want to be caught eavesdropping, so I went about cleaning up the kitchen. Riker sucked at cleaning the kitchen…the bathroom, laundry…she was great at those…but that poor kitchen floor hadn't been mopped since I left. I'd actually just gotten started on mopping, after cleaning the counters and sweeping when Riker came in looking mystified. "That was Lieutenant Zutic from the criminal investigations bureau of the Newark PD. He called and we basically just had a phone interview. He's calling Chris now and if it all goes well with her; he wants up to come to Newark for an in person interview the last week of the month."

"That works. I need Grant to start by October first at the latest." I replied honestly. "We are in dire need of someone to corral things at the office. The HR guy will be there the thirteenth through seventeenth and they want most everyone to start the first of November. Haja and Ethan want stuff all in place so that they can hit the ground running."

Riker nodded, then gave me a long measuring look. "You wouldn't happen to know how, less than a full week after we submitted our resumes, Chris and I are already getting called for a phone interview, Would you dear?"

I gave a noncommittal shrug. "Nope."

She gave me a disbelieving look. "Right, so Bryant had nothing to do with why it just seemed like as long as Chris and I don't turn out to be crazed serial killers hiding behind our badges, we're pretty much guaranteed jobs in Newark."

"There may have been a slight favor exchange between Dad and his counterpart in District ten. But all he asked was that if you applied, they looked at your resumes and the info from your Captain…no preference, just check you two out and see if they wanted to hire you sooner rather than later." I admitted. I'd known all along that if she asked I'd answer honestly. I just didn't tell her beforehand.

She just rolled her eyes. "I hate you. I just want you to know that. Now I owe Dom twenty bucks."

I shook my head. "Never bet against what all I'm willing to do to keep you in my life, Rike." I returned.

Once I finished cleaning the kitchen, we turned out attention to getting the rest of the apartment into shape. I was still going to have to have a professional cleaning service come in if we wanted our deposit back but we made a good start. Of course, Chris' call had gone just as well as Riker's those chicks were damn good cops and any police department would be blessed to have them. With that information in hand, we got tickets for the four of them to fly New York the Friday after I returned. It was an easy decision to get a few hotel rooms for the five of us and made us an appointment with Mills and Francesca to look at apartments. When I explained to Mills what our plans were, she told me that she was going to show us apartments in areas between Chelsea and Newark so no one would have a ridiculous commute.

That was exactly what the two women did. Riker, Chris, Dom and Grant all arrived in New York on the Friday before Riker and Chris' interviews. I picked them up from LaGuardia around lunch time and we checked in to the Hampton Inn Manhattan-Chelsea which Aunt Dani recommended for us as a great value and close to where we needed to be. 'Ain't Got No Mercy' was in classes and then she was wrapped up on work until Sunday. I really thought that meant that we'd have a quiet day and then just have the running around the next morning. I should have remembered Amanda Walters-Harris was as bad as her niece and sister in law…well almost. As soon as she got off work, she, Uncle Ethan and their truly adorable kids popped up and took all five of us out to dinner. Over dinner, Amanda somehow convinced Chris, Riker was pretty easy but Chris shocked me…to go shopping. Thank God, Uncle Ethan managed to work me and Grant free of their sinister clutches.

Riker didn't make it back to the hotel room until almost ten. "I love Amanda and you know that usually I have no problem spending time with her at all. But, oh My GOD…she just about killed us tonight. We went to Macy's and Nordstrom and Saks and hells bells. One interview suit wasn't enough. At Macy's we got suits for Monday…we got shoes and accessories for Monday. But…you just HAD to tell them about the FBI hiring process didn't you?" I groaned, of course this was my fault. "Well, Amanda…and Danica on the phone totally backed by Dom…decided that the suits that would work for local LEOs interviews wouldn't be good enough for the Feds interviews."

"Didn't you and Chris tell them you weren't that far into the process yet?" I pointed out.

She nodded emphatically. "Of course. But they pointed out that we still needed suits for court and shit. Then Amanda remembered that we were going to go apartment hunting tomorrow and how different we'd need to dress on this coast than we could out in Seattle."

I tried not to laugh. I really did. But Amanda and Dom and Dani all had a really good point. Things were far more laid back out west. "Well, show me what you ended up getting." I offered gently.

She sighed and pulled the Macys bag over to her. First she showed me a sexy as hell, single button metallic, black pantsuit. "Apparently tomorrow when we get done looking at apartments, we have to go to Mercedes' house because her friend Kurt and Puck's grandmother, Ruth, will be tailoring our suits for us." She showed me a scoop neck hammered silk, dark teal camisole with like no back that she was to wear under it and a pair of black patent leather Michael Kors with a small band of gold around the heel that went with that outfit. Dom and Amanda had even fully accessorized her. She now had a cubic zirconia bar necklace with a gold chain, a pair of small bold gold hoop earrings, and a simple, Nine West, gold tone, bracelet watch. All of that was just for Monday.

For Saturday, she had a pair of deep black, high waisted, faux leather trim trousers, a pair of sexy little ankle boots with a silver buckle details on the side. When she showed me the top, my mouth dropped opened. It was an embroidered lace flare sleeved top…LACE. My baby had gotten talked into lace. It was gorgeous, a barely blush lace cropped overlay over a longer black tank that was gorgeous and I knew would look amazing on her…but it was not anything she'd have picked for herself. A pair of silver hoop earrings and a simple silver watch were the only jewelry for that outfit. I told her that I loved it. We kissed for a long moment and it was almost an afterthought that she showed me her FBI interview suit.

That suit was the…holy fuck it was beautiful. A black, sleek, pintucked blazer with a concealed zip front closure. The jacket was paired with a pair of matching sleek trousers, with an elongating flared leg, a simple charcoal gray, cotton, stretch tank, a pair of mixed material sling-backs with an ankle strap for extra umph with a mid-level heel. Amanda and Dom had gone with small hoop earrings again for that suit…in the very on trend rose gold, a matching rose gold tone stainless steel mesh bracelet watch. All in all, they had done right by her in every outfit. They were all gorgeous and would look amazing on her. One of the tops probably pushed her out of her comfort zone, but it was beautiful anyway. Once we got everything put away, I helped Riker in the shower…then she helped me in the bed, where helping was a metaphor for giving massive amounts of orgasms. The next morning, we were up pretty early. We got dressed and Riker looked every bit as beautiful as I knew she would in the chickish but still rockerish top. I threw on some slightly distressed jeans, a simple white long sleeve tee, black blazer and boots and was ready to go.

We had breakfast in the lobby with Mills and her partner Francesca. Amanda had made sure that Riker, Dom and Chris knew what the two women looked like and vice versa, which was good because I kind of knew Mills a bit, but hadn't met Francesca by that point. Despite having decided that we'd just go with the flow and find an apartment that just felt right, there were still plenty of things Mills and Frannie made us decide upon. Then they summarized it all just to make sure. "So the preferences are three separate units in the same building or at least complex. One for Grant by himself. I have a copy of your official employment letter which stipulates your housing stipend and salary as well as a letter of reference from Ethan and another from Haja. We figured it would be best if Daniel didn't do one because it will be easy to see that he is a close, personal friend. Grant would prefer a good size two bedroom but is fine with a larger one bedroom. The second unit is for Chris and Dom. References from Captain Truman and your landlord in Seattle as well as your tax returns showing Dom's income since Chris' local income is contingent upon an offer that hasn't yet been made…though we all know it will. You two hope for a nice large three bedroom with two to three bathrooms. Then Daniel and Riker…Okay, Bryant had the two of his exes who aren't your mother each write you a recommendation letter, plus we have one from Captain for Riker. Daniel's KAMA employment letter should make you two shine like the sun for these people. You are hooked on the 'feeling' rather than the specs but parking must be included because you will be selling your cars out west and buying a new one here. Are we missing anything?" Francesca asked when she finished.

"Credit reports?" Mills pointed out.

Grant reached into his messenger bag and pulled out three colored folders. "Daniel and Riker's." he handed her the red one. "Dom and Chris'." He gave her the purple. "And mine." He gave her the last folder, a green one.

Mills took a second to move things from her portfolio to the appropriate folder before tucking all three back into the very professional case and stuffing that into her black leather tote bag. We handled the check and were on the way. What followed was a seriously ridiculous over complication of what should have been a simple thing. Mills had rented a mini-van from ZipCar for the day. She drove us over through the Lincoln Tunnel into a city called Fort Lee. We looked at apartments in about a hundred and fifty different complexes before we had a latish lunch in Weehawken. Over lunch we went through Grant, Mills and Francesca's notes that detailed everything from paint colors and type of flooring to the flow of the floor plans and each of our reactions to all of those things. Then it was back to the Estuary at Lincoln Harbor to complete the paperwork. Thankfully Mills was able to negotiate things so that we got our deposits back in the, unlikely though it may be, event that Riker and Chris didn't get job offers.

The complex had everything we need and a hell of a lot of shit we just plain wanted. Onsite health and fitness center, Wi-Fi in all the common areas, two pools, a resident's club room…twenty-four hour concierge and maintenance and a covered parking garage. Then the apartments had great amenities too. Full Sized washer and dryer in each unit, alarms for each unit, great hardwood floors and granite countertops. All five of us were ridiculously happy with our choice. Grant did end up with a two bedroom, because none of the one bedroom apartments had two bathrooms and he was okay sharing with Dom and Chris…but not miscellaneous people he may eventually have over. He would have a little under eleven hundred square feet all to himself. I was pretty sure that after as long as he spent in his sisters' pockets, he wanted to dance a damn jig. Dom and Chris ended up across the hall from me and Riker, which was going to make their carpooling ridiculously easy. Our apartments were mirror images of the other, both three bedroom, two bath apartments with fourteen hundred eighty-seven square feet of space. Thankfully, since both Riker and Chris were cops, they got the two three bedrooms at a slightly reduced rate of right under five grand a month in rent. That was officially twice as high as our two-bedroom back in Seattle. Grant's was only a little above three a month. Still, with his housing stipend, he only had to come out of pocket with a little under fifteen hundred bucks every month. He counted that as one hell of a win.

Riker and I had a nice date night that night as did Chris and Dom. Grant said he vegged out in front of the TV in his hotel room and did some looking online for furniture. He had sold all the stuff in his storage unit before coming flying to New York and just brought some of his clothes and shipped the rest of his clothes and his game collection to the office address. He'd actually gotten permission from the place he kept his stuff in storage to hold an auction out of his large unit. He'd made a killing. I'd never have even thought to ask or how to do it. He was starting over, but once we got him in the office to do his paperwork while the Rike and Chris were at their interviews, he'd have a nice little furniture budget. No-Mercy, Sam and Puck all insisted that he and I each get a twenty-thousand-dollar relocation package as part of our contract. Granted we each had to stay with them for five years, but seeing as how they were family, I wasn't going anywhere unless they made me. I doubted that loyal ass Grant would either.

Sunday was a day of rest all the way around. Well other than the four hours we spent at Mercedes' brownstone. I was pretty sure that Santana Lopez was actually Chris and Dom's love child from the future. Watching the two of them interact scared poor Kurt so bad that he poked himself with his straight pins more than once. But when he and Mrs. Ruth were done, one couldn't tell that Riker and Chris had gotten those suits off the rack. Monday morning, while Riker and Chris got dressed, I went and grabbed them a ZipCar for the day. I was on the account that Haja had for the office so it was quick and easy. Riker looked amazing in her striking metallic black suit with her thick wavy hair French braided and her jewelry sparkling at her ears, neck and wrist. Chris looked beautiful and professional in a more sedate, basic Calvin Klein fit solutions, zip-front side-panel jacket, slim-leg trousers and white ruched top. She wore understated silver jewelry which matched the silver wedding set on her left hand. With the height of her Calvin Klein studded platform booties, if Riker's shoes didn't have heels too, they'd have been the same height.

When I got back to the lobby, I was shocked to see Santana walking in carrying a big ass makeup case. "Oh good tall, light and sexy. Take me to Riker. I'm sure Dominique has Chris well in hand, but I just know that Riker slapped on some chap stick and decided that was good enough." She said as her greeting.

I was a grown ass man, and I wasn't ashamed to say I just thanked her and took her upstairs. Riker could fight that battle her damn self. When we got to the room, I went and got a towel to cover Rike's new clothes as Santana had ordered while we were in the elevator and watched the quick battle of wills. "I'm interviewing to be a cop, not a fashion model."

"Yeah, and that whole natural beauty thing you have going for you would be fine if you were still out in the land of grunge rock, coffee shops and apples, but you are in the Big Apple now, interviewing in a cop shop that is totally Big Apple adjacent. You have to go and show them that you are just as fabulous as you are fierce. Because I'm not about to have to hear Cedes bitching and moaning because her hero-cousin is sad that you can't get your sexy ass here until twenty-seventeen." Santana shot back. Then they descended into arguing in Spanglish and I kind of lost the thread of their conversation, but in the end, Santana won her way and Riker was looking totally amazing. Riker had just enough time to admire herself for a moment, thank Santana and get to stepping before she had to meet Chris and Santana had to disappear to make her next class.

Chris came out of her room looking every bit as good as Riker, though with her longer hair, she'd gone for a simple, low, sleek ponytail. They fist bumped, grabbed the keys I was offering them, got kisses for luck…well, hugs from Grant who popped his head out as they were heading to the elevator…and headed for their appointment with destiny. An hour later Dom was ready and she, Grant and I walked the two and a half blocks to the KAMA offices. Once we had everything signed with all the I's dotted and the t's crossed, Grant was officially official…and more worryingly Dominique made friends with Darcy and Darcy completely adopted Grant. I showed Grant to his area and in a mere moment, Darcy had him all set with all the tech he'd ever need as well as his passwords and the silver key and white key card on a simple KAMA key chain that would give him gain entry to the office. An hour after that and he had his desk organized and ready for his first official day that Wednesday.

Then Dominique wanted to go and walk along Broadway and see Times Square. By the time we made it back to the hotel, Riker and Chris had gotten all cleaned up and dressed down in comfortable clothes. But they certainly had news. "We had a job offer before we even left there today. They offered us our choice of homicide or special victims. We'd stay partners. Both options pay better here than what we were making in Washington. Special victims pays a little bit more than homicide…but even the Lieutenant said that the stress was fucking ridiculous and it took a very special kind of person to handle it. If we accept, we'd start November first. The benefits are about the same as back in Seattle, but if we need counseling it has to be with the PD shrinks or we have to pay out of pocket." Chris summarized quickly.

"The thing about it is that Spec Vic division pretty much expects turn over. The burn out rate is two years at best. So, if we take it and get into the FBI in a year…they'd about be expecting to have to replace us then anyway. And if we don't move up to the Feds and just need to walk it back to homicide, or vice…we could." Riker added.

Dom and Grant simply nodded. I was more curious than either of them. Then again I was genetically nosy. "So, what are they offering in compensation? What are the downsides? Do you want to do it?"

I watched in consternation as Riker collected ten bucks from Chris. They freaking loved betting on people's reactions, especially mine. "It's all the same pros and cons when I was deciding on whether or not to take that gang task force job back home. Its hard work, but helping the victims and their families makes it worth it." Riker postulated.

"Yeah, and with SVU, there is a better chance of living victims." Chris pointed out.

Dom shook her head. "Dead ones would be less trouble. Rape victims often choose not to press charges. You know how that pisses you off in an esoteric sense…can you deal with the reality of it?"

We talked everything through but in the end the decision was theirs and theirs alone. They decided to sleep on it. The Lieutenant didn't expect an answer before lunch the next day anyway. So, we had breakfast together and I took them all to the office to meet Haja, Hudson and Darcy. Ethan asked Riker and Chris to let him go over their employment contract to make sure it was all good if they decided to accept the positions. Then somehow that turned into them calling and accepting the positions as detectives in the Newark Police Department's Special Victims Unit. They had the contracts faxed straight to Ethan's IP Fax number and he printed them out and went over them with a fine-tooth comb. He made a few changes that benefited both the PD and Riker and Chris and sent them back to the department's legal team. It took them a couple of hours, but they faxed them back for Riker and Chris to sign. They emailed their current Captain and while he was sad to see them go, he did understand. He had moved to Washington state from Tennessee years earlier because the Seattle PD didn't care that his spouse was another man.

They did have to return to Newark for drug testing on Wednesday, but other than that, they and Dom had a blast sight-seeing while poor Grant and I worked our fingers to the bone. Thankfully, Grant didn't mind researching cleaners and movers that could handle moving his sisters and me and Riker. By the time we met the women in our lives for dinner, he had everything set up and ready. "Okay, the apartments have to be ready for the movers on the twentieth. I went with Mayflower Transit. Your pre-move checklist is in your emails. They are packing for you…but they won't pack clothing. That's on you. But it has to be done by the eighteenth. Pack Day is October the eighteenth, load day is the twentieth. I paid extra for the insurance, on top of your renter's insurance JiC. The truck is supposed to arrive in Weehawken on the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth. They will unload, they will install, they will unpack the living room and office boxes and bins, they will even move furniture…they won't unpack any bedroom, bathroom or kitchen boxes or bins."

He paused and looked down at his iPad. "You're in that SpringHill Suites that's literally in the middle between your complexes, the one on Yale Avenue…you're staying there from Monday to Wednesday the twenty second. I got you one suite with 2 double beds and a sofa bed. It was cheaper." He cut off any of our objections. The movers would be a big chunk of our budget. It made sense to save where we could. "Cleaners from LaDonna's Cleaning Service will come in on the twenty first and clean the apartments top to bottom so that you won't lose your deposits. You guys are to do the walk through with the cleaners when they finish then sign off so they get paid. Then do another walk through with your landlords before you sign off on their paperwork. They will mail you the cleaning deposit based entirely on that paperwork, so make sure you read it over and if you don't like what they say, tell them that you need to have your lawyer read it before you can sign it. Then fax it to Mr. Harris, the elder. I scheduled your appointments with the landlords for those walkthroughs at nine in the morning. You don't have to check out of the hotel until noon…so if you think you'll be good on time, leave your luggage there, if not take it with you. But most of your clothes will be on the truck, so you should be okay."

I wondered why Grant had stopped. That couldn't have been the end of his planning. I knew him too well to think that. I could see Riker's eyes glazing over so I poked her in the side. When she perked up, he continued. "Anyway…I'm almost done. So when you check out, you head to the airport. Your flight is for three so you'll need to be there by one thirty. I know that you have to turn in your badges and side arms…so you shouldn't be carrying anything that will make you have to take FOREVER to get through security." He grumbled. Oh the perils of traveling with a cop. "Anyway…when you get here. I should be all set for Dom and Chris to stay in my guest room and Riker you'll bunk with Daniel at his uncle and aunt's house. You can pick your keys on the twenty-seventh, so you should be good to move in when the truck arrives."

Dom gave him a cheeky grin, "and you've emailed us each a copy of the timeline and added the dates to our calendar. You have such a well-developed frontal lobe." She joked.

"And you have the organizational skills of a three year old. Hence why I make sure to tell you and still give it to you a couple of other ways." He shot back. The rest of dinner dissolved into teasing and taunting that only really happened between siblings and those friends who were closer than. As much as I loved spending time with my blood family and getting to know Nadia and Mercedes' guys better…I had really missed my people.

I spent the month of October living a bi-coastal life for the most part. Whenever I could cull the time, I'd fly out and help Riker with going through everything and deciding what went with us and what stayed. I packed up my own closet and dresser. We decided that we'd sell the Rooms-to-Go furniture in our living room and step up to real wood bookcases in both the living room and the home office. So it was a matter of selling that stuff. We decided to post it on Craigslist and it went amazingly fast. Probably because we put in the ad that we'd be meeting people at Riker's precinct and were accepting cash only so they knew we were on the up and up. Riker and I both had cars, as did Chris. We sold those bad boys to folks at the cop shop, easy peasy. Later model cars, fairly low gas mileage and only one previous owner, with Christmas on the horizon. Three cop kids were going to be merry as hell on December twenty-fifth. I was still there with KAMA whenever they needed me and I was able to go with Mercedes to do the Blush interview since her guys were visiting Puck's eldest daughter.

Oh that had been a fun time in the life of a PR manager. But we'd managed to weather it well. The move went smoothly, which rocked for me because immediately thereafter, Nikki's mother died and Paul Puckerman was murdered in prison. I worked my ass off making sure that the family could have the time they needed without the press getting pissy from not hearing from them while they dealt with their personal dramas. Thankfully, all was quiet on the KAMA front the next few weekends. They went to the civil wedding of April Rhodes to Victor French who would always have a special place in my heart after he sicced his hounds on the NYPD to help KAMA weather the storm that came about after Puck spoke out at the VMAs.

That Friday, KAMA and their entourage headed to LA for the AMAs. I was on call Sunday night but for the most part, I left them in Darcy's very capable hands. In fact, since Riker and Chris were on shift Saturday and Dom and Grant were going to go shopping for more work clothes for him and Dominique wanted to go through some of the major stores she didn't have access to in Seattle before she started filming her next set of beauty vids. Dad and I had been trying to get together, he said he wanted my help with something. So, he and Melliscent met me in Princeton for lunch. "You both like Nadia, right?" he asked as soon as we were seated with our drinks at D'Angelos…my favorite pizza place in the whole city.

"Yeah Daddy." Mellie returned. "At first, I thought she was just a little young…and very yak no…slutty…but she is wicked cool people. She is way smarter than I thought she was and she makes you way happy. Plus, Mom likes her…the way she explained the whole situation with dress codes blew Mom away."

I just smiled. Nadia had a very feministic take on dress codes and how they placed an unfair burden on girls and young women without asking boys and young men for any maturity at all. "Mellie's right, Dad. I like Nadia too. She is witty and funny. She has a great head on her shoulders and I think she may be the only woman on earth you can be even remotely faithful to." I smiled to take any perceived sting out of my words. "I mean, she's pretty much my age so, yeah, I guess that's a little weird, but it doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you." I told him honestly.

"So, you either of you be upset if I asked her to marry me?" he prodded.

I chuckled. "You must be serious about Nadia. This will be the third time you've gotten married in my life time, and this is the first time you've asked me if it was okay." I teased him, but I gave him my support unconditionally. As our pizza arrived, that sentiment was quickly cosigned by Melliscent.

After we served ourselves from the large pepperoni, olive and mushroom pizza, Dad brought us back to the matter on his mind. "So, then, after we leave here…would you two be willing to help me find the perfect engagement ring?"

"When are you going to ask her?" Mellie asked excitedly.

Dad shrugged. "I was thinking about doing it Christmas morning. We'll all be in Lima after Devon and Kevon's graduation so all my siblings should be there. Ellen was nice enough to let me take Mellie with me to the graduation and keep her for Christmas, so both of you, my children, will be there. Mills will be there and she is pretty much Nadia's sister…in most ways." The grin he gave told me a lot more than I hoped it told Mellie. "I thought that would be a nice way to do it."

"That sounds great, Dad." I assured him. "I've been planning to ask Riker on her birthday, but I have had less than no luck finding her something that she'll not only like, but will wear."

"So, we'll look for Riker's ring too. You're less than a month out."

Mellie wanted the details. "What all do you have planned? You can't just do any old thing."

I acknowledged the truth of Dads' statement and answered Mellie's question. "You aren't wrong. I have reservations for us at Keen's Steakhouse. I got her that newest James Patterson crime novel…even if she told the movers that they were all mine because no real cop would read them. I got a new shirt, but I'm saving her favorite of my suits for the night. Every damn thing is ready except the ring."

Melliscent laughed at me then suggested we hurry up and go find our women their damn rings. When she has a good idea, Dad and I liked to encourage her. Let her know that thinking was rewarded in our family. As were her four point oh GPA and award winning tennis and soccer skills. Over the next five hours we hit every jewelry store we could think of that I hadn't tried yet. We even hit a few department stores that had jewelry department stores. Mellie found some cool new boots. Mellie found a great new necklace. Mellie found a top that was just to die for…I recognized it as the red over black version of the one Riker had worn when we went apartment hunting. But I didn't find a ring that my woman would love as much as I loved her. I was near the point of giving up when Dad finally found a perfect ring for Nadia. It was a simple solitaire ring with a slightly wider than usual platinum band and a big ass rock of a diamond.

We were in a store we'd almost walked right past, but Mellie claimed we were being snobs and dragged us inside. The shop was owned and run by a lady who so reminded me of Ruby Dee from 'The Stand'. She was seriously old and seriously, mystically weird. She asked Dad a lot of questions about the things he loved most about Nadia, and the weirdest thing was that whenever he got a little too specific, I couldn't really hear what he was saying even though he wasn't doing his dropping his voice thing. it was weird. She brought out a tray of similar rings with different size diamond and Dad picked one that would look huge on Nadia's small hand but not one that would be completely over powering. Then before he could even say anything she was moving it from the tray into a wine-red velvet ring box. "Now you, you were your father's son, but you found your soul's peace long before he did. Come tell me about her."

What could I do but tell her all about Riker? When the mystical, 'Mother Abigail' lady issues a command, of course I had to follow it. Then she looked at me and smiled. "Not many choices, only two for you." She came back and brought exactly two rings. In fact, it was actually the same ring with one difference. The ring was really, really perfect. The band was nice and thick and held four inset diamonds on either side of the three center stones. It took me a second to realize that there were six progressively smaller diamonds in the top and bottom of the thick band above the four 'shoulder' diamonds. The centermost stone was a one carat diamond that shone like a star. The other two bracketing center stones was where the two rings were different. One had two slightly smaller diamonds and the other had two gorgeously blue, blue topazes. Blue topaz was Riker's birthstone and her favorite gem. I didn't even gesture. Didn't say a single word just thought about how those were her favorites and the woman nodded, pulled out an emerald green velvet ring box and put the ring I'd mentally selected inside. "You're right…the topaz." I heard her mutter. Then she grabbed Mellie and shook her head. "Too much jewelry will make you look cheap." She admonished. "One good, nice piece with each outfit…not too much."

"Yes, Ma'am." My little sister answered sweetly. She would ignore it. Her mother had been telling her the same thing for a while.

The cost of the ring I bought Riker would have paid our rent for three months. So, I knew she could never know how much it cost. Ever. Dad took me to his insurance agent, and it was ensured before I headed back to Weehawken. Best seventeen grand I'd ever spent in my life. I could not wait for the twelfth of December. But that would definitely end up being a long wait. The next morning, things went downhill in a professional sense. With the shooting of a kid in a park in Cleveland, I spent the day fielding calls from different press organizations wanting to know what KAMA's position was on it. Which meant that I had to inform Mercedes, Puck and Sam about the situation for which not much information was available. Fortunately I already knew what they would each have to say about it, so crafting the statement for the press was pretty easy. The hard part was hearing the devastation in Sam's voice when he asked me for the third time the age of the child.

The next hurdles that had to be jumped were far more pleasant. The Grammy nominations came out the same day Mercedes, Sam and Puck hosted us all at Crave Fishbar. I spent the afternoon putting out press releases and statements about both the nominations and the impromptu press conference that had happened at Columbia. But that evening we got to just have fun. The food was amazing and the bonuses and Christmas gifts were even better. I had drawn Cleotha, Uncle Ethan's Legal Secretary's, name in the Secret Santa drawing. Dominique was kind enough to pick out a gift he loved, a pair of headphone earmuffs. She'd met him exactly twice but knew that since he rode the subway to work they were perfect for him. I ended up getting an external phone charger from Brigid who'd drawn my name. It was a perfect gift for anyone who had to be constantly linked in to the world. It was an especially good gift for me…I was always running low on charge.

I was in PR heaven that following week. I was able to leverage KAMA's six noms into interviews with a full dozen magazine. But that wasn't just great PR for KAMA, or for Mercedes, Sam and Puck, it was also damn good publicity for Artie, the dancers, Dave, Cassidy, Justin and Erika. I was hella proud that I had managed to get press for everyone…except the background singers. I tried but there were just no mags or even rags dedicated to their contribution to music. By Friday I had that all in place and updated the shared KAMA calendar and I was able to go back to trying to figure out how to propose to Riker.

Actually, I didn't have as much time as I would have liked I still had to get home and get ready. After making sure that I had got the wine-red velvet ring box from my desk, I left Brantley alone in the office around noon. The rest of the employees were either working from home or had taken Mercedes, Sam and Puck at their word and took the time between our office party and the twenty-seventh off. I made my appointment at Mane Source in Jersey City. Cleotha recommended the place to me. It was where he got his hair cut because his cousin, Mel worked there. Mel did my ass right too. My fade was right and tight when he finished. I tipped him extra for the job he did on the line up alone. I got home and cleaned the whole apartment, which wasn't that bad. We'd finally finished unpacking so it just needed a little tidying. I pulled out my tailored, black, Pal Zileri modern-fit two-button virgin wool suit, made sure my black, Cole Haan, leather wingtip oxfords were shined and took my dark purple, Hugo Boss dress shirt with me into the bathroom so it could steam as I showered. There weren't any real wrinkles in it…but it was a force of habit. After my shower, I lotioned before I brushed my teeth, flossed and gargled. I rolled on some of the Anthony alcohol free, unscented antiperspirant deodorant I had to use unless I wanted a risen under there. That shit had only happened to me once…and I sure as hell I stopped complaining about spending eighteen bucks for deodorant. Then I shaved and used an unscented aftershave and a little of my 'special occasion' scent, Burberry Touch Homme. I only used it on very special occasions because Riker called it my panty dropper cologne.

I strolled naked into the bedroom and made sure that my six pack was right and tight. Working with Sam and Noah and some of their friends was enough to give a man a complex. But I knew I was fit and I kept in good shape so I had to keep reminding myself they were younger than I was. I pulled on a pair of purple short boxer briefs, as well as socks in the same color. A black, cotton, tank tee finished off my underwear. Since I still had some time to kill before I put on my suit, I went in our finally furnished living room and watched some TV. I may have nodded off a little bit. I needed my rest, something told me I wouldn't get any that night. I was awoken by a knock on the door at ten of five, and fortunately it was only Dom. "Shit, Danny-boy…why aren't you dressed? You know if Riker get home and you aren't ready…you two will never make it out of here. Remember last year?"

Riker and I may have been two hours late to her birthday party. Not needing a repeat of that, I'd arranged to have Dom and Chris help Riker get ready while I chilled out with Grant. I was supposed to head down there at four when Riker and Chris got off work. "They had to work late?" I asked as I headed into the master bedroom to don my suit, shirt and shoes.

"Yeah, they had to finish up the paperwork on that rape case they caught two weeks back. They're heading home now." Dom answered. "I wanna see the ring. You've kept it locked in your office and I asked Grant to describe it but all he would say was that words couldn't do it justice."

"Look in my coat pocket on the coat rack." I told her.

I could hear a little bit of rustling…then Dominique came rushing into the room. "What the holy, everlasting, muthafucking hell, Daniel? This isn't two months' salary…it's like five. It's gorgeous and if I liked men at all, I'd be fighting Chris to talk you into taking us in as part of a fucking harem, but you know Riker is going to kill you."

I just shook my head. Dominique was nothing if not a drama queen. "It took me five months of looking to find the damn thing. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a lady's engagement ring with a low profile and with the stones set into the band? When I saw that bad boy, the PERFECT ring for my best friend and the woman I love more than air itself…if the shop owner had demanded that I cut out one of my kidneys right then and there I would." I said honestly.

"Awww…Danny-Boy loves his little Rike-Bike." She teased.

I laughed as I made sure that I had everything I needed for the evening; black wallet, smart, black watch, iPhone and my special android that was linked in to all the important industry news and gossip sites. On the way out I put the ring back into its box and into my coat pocket. I grabbed my keys, the wrapped Patterson novel and a small tin of Altoids. Dominque would tell me later that I'd cut it so close my cologne had been lingering in the elevator when Riker and Chris took it up to our floor. Grant had confirmed the reservations for me when he couldn't reach me earlier to verify that I had. Which was great because I hadn't thought that was needed. Two hours after I got to Grant's, which may have been filled with some Saint's Row…I got the text telling me that I could come and pick up my date. Grant grabbed his keys and the gift bag holding his gift for Riker and went up with me.

When I saw the woman I wanted to make my bride, she took my breath away. She looked amazing and smelled even better. I recognized the scent of her 'special occasion' perfume, Calvin Klein Reveal Eau de Parfum. The way the woodsy undertones of the perfume melded with her natural scent drove me out of my mind with want. Her thick tresses were straight with just a hint of curl to the ends to bump the chin length bob under. If I didn't know Dom so well, I'd have assumed that she wasn't wearing makeup at all, but her skin glowed with health and vitality. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of some pale shimmery something on the lids. Her lips were almost their natural color, just a slightly stronger shade. She didn't wear much jewelry, not that she ever did, just a pair of dangly silver or white gold earrings that were shaped like metal leaves or feathers. Her little black dress covered her from neck to knee and followed every one of her athletic curves. The sleeves of the dress were cut in at the shoulder and went down to over the slim silver watch and small bangle bracelet on her wrists. The sleeves and insets cut at her waist were a dense black lace that gave the barest glimpses of her gorgeous honey colored skin. Her legs were covered in the sheerest of black stockings and her feet shod in sexy as hell, suede pointed toe pumps with mesh insets at the bottom of the toes and around the back of the heels. "God, Rike, Baby, you are breathtakingly beautiful."

She gave me a cheeky smile. "You don't look so bad yourself. And Damn you smell fan-fucking-tastic."

"Well, before you two forget that you have ridiculously hard to get reservations and start fucking…you'd better go." Dom pointed out as she helped Riker into her wine colored, wool, formal wrap coat. Chris handed her a small black shoulder bag purse. Riker quickly checked it for her badge, wallet, cell phone and her off duty side arm, a compact Smith and Wesson M&P 40C. On or off the clock, cops were expected to be able to handle any circumstance. Even though she was a Newark cop, if something went down and she could have stopped it and she didn't, there would have been hell to pay.

I offered her my arm and we made our way from our fifteenth-floor apartment to the parking garage and our new blue Toyota Highlander. We'd pretty much just replaced the twenty-ten Highlander we'd owned in Seattle. I drove into the city and was surprised that traffic was somewhat not that bad. I let the valet handle parking our car and I escorted Riker into the century old steakhouse. At first it had struck me as strange that Riker, a woman, loved steaks so much. But I loved that about her. She was just so damn real. One of the things she'd said she wanted to do when we moved was to eat at the iconic steakhouse. I'd juggled her and postponed it since I knew her birthday was coming up and I wanted to celebrate it here.

We were seated quickly and our waiter was attentive. We started our dinner by sharing a lump crab cocktail then each ordered our own appetizer. Riker ordered a serving of the restaurant's thick cut bacon while I got the Maryland crab cakes. Of course, both were shared between the two of us. For our entrée, we ordered the Chateaubriand steak for two, with three sauces. I was good and got the Keens' sautéed spinach and the pan-roasted broccoli and cauliflower to go with my steak. Riker was true to herself and got the hand-cut French fries and the fine string beans. We let the waiter choose the wine though we only had one glass each and plenty of water. The food was amazing. Our conversation was as spectacular as always. Riker had me laughing at all the cops in her new precinct and how many of them actually acted like the stereotypes of East Coast cops from TV. After our waiter cleared the dishes from our main course, I took the ring out of my pocket and placed it on the table in front of her. "Riker Coahoma McGraw…I've been trying to come up with something beautiful and poetic all day. But you would laugh in my face if I tried to come to you with anything but the pure, unvarnished truth. You are my best friend. You are the other half of my soul, my soul's peace and home. You've been more than a wife to me for the last five years and the last five months for sure. Would you do me the honor of marrying me whenever, however, wherever you deem fit?"

Riker's smile was incandescent. "Call for the check. We'll have dessert at home." She told me as she nodded her answer. I quickly did as bid and took the ring from the box and put it on her finger. It really could have been a Cracker Jack prize ring for how much she looked at it. All that mattered to her was that I'd finally proposed.

When the check arrived, I was shocked to see that there was a zero balance. I looked at Riley our waiter. "Puck said to tell Riker, 'Happy Birthday to the baddest, coolest cop he knows'," the rather androgynous waiter told us with a wicked grin.

All Riker and I could do was laugh. Those three had people every damn where. I hadn't expected them to be able to do anything crazy, they had flown to Lima for Sam's baby brother's birthday. Considering that I was in a hurry to make love to my new fiancée, I decided that I'd worry about that shit later. I tipped the valet heavily since he had the car waiting on us when we walked out the door. We made it home in under twenty minutes and made love until dawn. It was actually the next day when Riker opened her novel from me, the deluxe Choctaw Native 925 turquoise & brother bear necklace from Grant and the Yeti travel mug from Chris until the next morning. Dom had given her the lipstick she'd worn the night before that had come in a pretty glass pot. Riker was kind of shocked that our resident beauty blogger had finally found her a lipstick that she'd use in the future. We spent the day in bed, making love a few more times, then spent the evening hanging out with Chris, Dom and Grant in Grant's apartment because he had the best video games and the biggest TV.

Our days developed a routine, but that was interrupted by Christmas week. Chris and Riker had been on the clock over Thanksgiving, so they both had a whole week off for Christmas. Grant, Chris and Dom went to El Paso to spend Christmas with Dom and Grant's parents while Riker and I went to Ann Arbor then on to Lima. We had a ridiculously cool Christmas, even with all the damn shopping and the drama the day before Christmas eve. Riker loved all her Christmas gifts, even if she wasn't sure she would ever have anywhere to wear the round cut, halo London blue topaz and diamond earrings that Sam's vengeance had secured for her. I let Darcy put the word out about KAMA's gifts to each other, but I used my sources to spread the word about all the sparkle Sam, Puck and Mercedes had gotten for their mothers and grandmothers and aunts and sisters. Their after-Christmas sales spiked forty five percent above expectations when that little tidbit hit TMZ and Entertainment Tonight.

Since Riker was working New Year's Eve, we celebrated the night before. Just for me she wore the lingerie I'd barely paid any attention to the night we got engaged along with her engagement ring and the earrings that matched it amazingly well. That was one hell of a way to ring in a new year. Two thousand and fourteen had been nothing like what I expected. So much so that I wasn't even trying to guess what would happen in Two thousand and fifteen.

Well My Fellow Americans, remember how we all laughed and scoffed at England...how we all felt so superior to their xenophobia and bigotry after Brexit...yeah, in the immortal words of Jessie J...whose laughing now.

We now have a bigoted, misogynistic, xenophobic, lying liar of a sexual predator for our president. For those of you who are old enough to remember those 'Don't Blame Me...I voted for Bush' bumper stickers from back in the day, are you also wondering where we can get the 'Don't Blame Me...I voted for HER' ones.

To the rest of the world...Allow me to go on record as saying that while America is my country...that is NOT my president. I apologize for all the offensive, untrue, vulgar, mean, crass...well you get the point...things that are very much likely to come out of his mouth over the next four years.

PLEASE restore my faith in humanity...Review.

TTFN,
Anni