The jewelry store was located close by, a quick walk from the precinct; Philadelphia had lots of them of course, but Scotty had used this particular one a couple of times previously too, to buy a birthday present for his mother and also for Elisa back in the day, and both experiences had been good, the service courteous and attentive. Looking for Elisa's engagement ring almost 15 years ago had taken him several days, visits to many, many stores until he'd finally come across a ring that looked like hers and was something he could afford with his quite meager salary, having just started as an officer; now he had a much better budget at his disposal and a feeling of calmness in his heart. This time the ring was for the true love of his life, and while he was prepared to search high and low to find just the right one, he also hoped that maybe, just maybe, the process would now be a little more straightforward.

It turned out that God and every single angel up there were on his side; Scotty walked into the store, took one look at the trays of rings and spotted exactly what he was looking for. It was set a little to the side, separate from the others, as though it had been waiting for him; tears sprung into his eyes instantly, his throat feeling somewhat constricted out of sheer amazement. The older man behind the counter made his way over, offered a warm, understanding smile.

"Good evening. I was going to ask if you needed any assistance, but it doesn't look like you do; did you already find what you were looking for?"

"Yes." Scotty swallowed hard, unable to tear his eyes away from the ring; the price tag next to it was slightly astronomical, but he didn't care the slightest bit. "This one. This one is… it's her. It's perfect."

"Mmm." The man picked the ring up, handed it over for a more thorough inspection; it blinked under the store's lights, even more gorgeous up close. "It is absolutely exquisite, so whoever you are buying it for must be too. You have a very good taste."

Scotty lowered the ring for a moment, pulled out his phone and showed the man a photo of Lilly; he'd taken it last Sunday, in Paul and Celeste's garden, would never get tired of looking at it, her stunning smile and sparkling blue eyes filling his heart with so much love every time he did. The jeweler smiled, nodding slowly.

"I can definitely see what you mean. Her eyes. She is beautiful."

"Yeah." He took a shaky breath, cleared his throat and picked up the ring again; he didn't know Lilly's exact size, just that she had very slender fingers, but somehow the piece of jewelry looked absolutely perfect size-wise too. "Um… would you have anythin'… she can't really wear it on her finger at work yet, there's some things we need to sort out first, so…"

"Of course." The man headed to another display, returned a moment later with a lovely, very narrow golden chain, perfect for a necklace and long enough for the ring to be securely hidden. "This should help to solve the problem."

"It does; thank you so much." Scotty watched the jeweler place the ring into a small, black box and the chain into a slightly larger one; a little while later he was all set, both pieces paid for, the boxes securely in his pocket and to his astonishment, he'd even received a very nice discount for the ring.

"It's rare that I get a customer who is so certain, and that I get to sell a ring that was so clearly made with its future owner in mind. So when I do, I never charge the full price; it just wouldn't feel right," the older man explained, wishing him a good evening with a warm smile. Still amazed, Scotty made his way back to the precinct to check whether the others were still there, as he had truly found the ring a lot faster than he had anticipated; the squad room was empty apart from Lilly, who was just pulling her coat on, a slightly surprised expression crossing her face.

"Hey. I thought you'd left for Joe's already; I was just about to head over."

"Not yet; I wanted to call my mother first, check on her." He raised the phone that he'd pulled out of his pocket in the elevator to go with his carefully constructed false words, in his head muttering a silent apology to both his mother and God for his little white lie. Lilly nodded, grasped her bag, nothing in her behavior suggesting she was doubting his explanation in any way.

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's good." He gave her a smile, forced himself to keep a distance between them; even though the room was currently empty, anyone could walk in at any moment, plus there were security cameras all around. "Ready to go?"

"I guess." She sighed, followed him to the elevators. "I'm not sure how I feel about this, Will's last…"

"I know." Scotty waited until the doors slid shut in front of them before discreetly touching her hand, a little gesture to convey tenderness; she squeezed his fingers briefly in return, pulling her hand away just as some more people joined them one floor lower, and he focused on watching the floor numbers lighting up as the elevator made its way down to the lobby.

They raised a glass for Will at Joe's Tavern, all of them emotional, quite tired after the sad, demanding case; still, there was happiness too, deep gratitude, laughter ringing out as Will told them he would definitely still attend First Thursdays even after retirement. He wrapped his arm around Lilly and sternly reminded her that he expected to see her there regularly too, even if she had to leave and go join the enemy; she chuckled, wiped tears from her face and leaned her head on Will's shoulder for a long moment. Scotty smiled at the sight, happy to be seated on her other side so he could again sneak in a quick, comforting touch of her hand under the table; just like in the elevator, her fingers curled around his for a brief, tight hold before she released him and reached for the menu, announcing she definitely needed some junk food after the week they'd had so far. Kat cheered, extra happy after having won the contest over Will's first drink, giving Nick her infamous glare as he brought up the way she'd pinched most of his onion rings last time.

"A double serving of everything, please, with Miller's insatiable appetite."

"My insatiable appetite? Are you for real?" Kat growled, grabbing the menu from Lilly and slapping Nick on the head with it. "Jeez. So sue me; I happen to love onion rings."

"Oh, I know." He chuckled, getting up and dragging her with him to the counter to order; Scotty heard her furiously mutter something about donuts, and Lilly snorted with laughter next to him. Will grinned, leaning back and taking a big sip out of his beer.

"I'm definitely going to miss seeing her put Vera to his place, every damn time."

Lilly started to yawn after finishing her drink and her share of the huge snack pile, leaning her cheek against her hand and looking like she was struggling to keep her eyes open; Boss chuckled, reminding her sleep still wasn't optional. Scotty grinned, finishing his piece of fried chicken and reaching for a napkin.

"Did you drive in this mornin', Lil?"

She shook her head, her expression remaining perfectly smooth and natural, even though they both obviously knew the answer to that question very well. "Nah, too much traffic. I took the train."

He nodded, downing the last of his beer. "Me too. I'll walk you to the station if you want; I'm feelin' pretty beat myself so my bed's definitely beckonin'."

"Sure, thanks." She stood and Nick snickered, giving him a wink and crossing his arms.

"Are you sure it's the bed that's beckoning, Scotty, and not whatever gorgeous brunette you have warming it right now?"

Kat gave him a swift whack to the back of his head and Scotty laughed, working his way out of the booth. "That, my friend, is for me to know, an' for you to… well, not have a damn clue about. Ever."

Kat chortled, gave him a thumbs-up; Lilly said her goodbyes and hugged Will tightly, clearing her throat as she brushed a couple of tears from underneath her eyes. The older man smiled, gently rubbing her back.

"Come on now, Lil, none of that; I'm not going anywhere yet and hopefully neither are you. Get some sleep; I will see you in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."

She nodded, kissed his cheek and glanced at her partner, arching a teasing eyebrow. "Let's head out then; I would absolutely hate to keep you away from your mystery girl, Valens."

"Yeah, yeah." He chuckled, gave Will a hug too, waving at the others. "Night, guys; see you tomorrow."

He followed her out, making sure to maintain a perfectly acceptable distance, pretending to write a message on his phone so the others might actually think he was indeed texting some girl; personally, he would have been just fine with grasping Lilly's hand, or with wrapping his arm around her as they made their way to the door, but now wasn't the time to reveal their changed relationship. Pushing the phone into his pocket, he made sure the jewelry boxes were still there, smiling to himself as he closed his fingers briefly around the smaller one, before tugging the zipper back up.

They rounded the corner, leaving Joe's Tavern behind and the two of them hidden from any curious eyes of the team; Scotty was finally able to pull her closer, pressed his lips gently onto her temple. "How are you doin', mystery girl? Exhausted?"

"Not too bad, actually." She grinned, slipped her hand into his. "Somehow it looks like I'm… all perked up now. I really don't know what happened."

He glanced at her, met her innocent gaze, all signs of tiredness gone from her face; he burst out laughing, shaking his head. "Nice work, Miss Rush. Very nice work."

"I thought so," she mused, followed him through the ticket gate of the train station. "Don't get me wrong; I love our co-workers, but after this week and especially after this case I just want to be alone with you."

"Same here," he muttered, pulling her into a loving kiss after a quick glance around to make sure there were no familiar faces anywhere in the vicinity. "Same here, bella."

They picked up some Chinese from a place near her house, after Lilly pointed out there was no way the snacks alone were going to keep him full and he'd just start whining for food later anyway; Scotty grinned, had to admit she was definitely right. He took the takeaway bag into the kitchen while she turned on some little lights in the living room and greeted Olivia and Tripod with scratches; she fed the cats and they settled onto the couch with the food, eating mostly in silence but it wasn't an uncomfortable one in any shape or form, just the both of them being reflective after finishing the case.

"It just absolutely kills me still," she said quietly, slowly chewing on a piece of chicken. "Those journals… Jesus Christ. I don't know how he managed to… keep going. That he didn't just... choose to end it all."

He swallowed, looking down, still a bit raw whenever the topic of suicide came up; Lilly glanced at him, grimaced, shaking her head.

"I'm really sorry; I shouldn't have…"

"It's okay." Scotty touched her hand softly. "He had a daughter; I think that's how. She was just one year old when her mother disappeared, an' he mentioned in the journals that he wanted to be around when she was older, so that he could tell her everythin' about her mom."

"Yeah." Lilly sniffled, a lone tear making its way down her cheek. "And that's exactly what he did."

They had interviewed the daughter a couple of times, deeply touched by her grief over both the mother she couldn't remember and the father who had been so sad, so devoid of his spirit for a great part of her life, but still there for her, always.

"He really was the best dad in the world," she'd told them, wiping tears from her face. "Thanks to him, I felt like I had a mother, I felt like I knew her. And when my husband and I named our first daughter Cassandra after my mum, the way he smiled was just beautiful."

"He really did," Scotty echoed quietly, staring at his remaining food; she shifted a little closer, leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when Elisa died. I really can't even imagine how… how awful that was for you."

"Don't say that; you were there, an' you tried to be a lot more but I didn't let you." He buried his face into her silky hair. "But yes, it was awful; I blamed myself for a long time, I kept thinkin' I had to have missed somethin', some sign, an'… an' that it was my fault, even when everyone kept tellin' me I probably couldn't have prevented it, her parents too."

She nodded, drawing random shapes onto the back of his hand with her slender forefinger. "How do you… feel about it now? About her?"

He took a moment to think, to carefully ponder her question, in the process actually realizing something that brought great relief. "It doesn't hurt anymore; I will always miss her, she will always have a space in my heart, but I'm able to… just focus on the good memories now, the ones where she's happy, she's smilin'. I know she's at peace now, an' knowin' that, I'm at peace too."

"Yeah," Lilly choked out, turning her head and pressing a little kiss onto his neck. "I only met her a few times, but I could tell she was incredible, so sweet; she didn't deserve that illness, but I'm so glad she had you. And you stuck by her throughout, supported her, when so many guys would have just freaked out and done a runner… you're the best person I've ever known, Scotty Valens, and I'm so lucky you're letting me be in your life."

"I'm the lucky one, truly, lucky to have you in my life." He was fully tearing up himself now, letting the liquid drop into her hair, securely holding onto her, the woman that was his world, his everything. He knew Elisa had liked her very much, a couple of times mentioning how happy she was that he had such an amazing partner who would always protect him and vice versa; Scotty felt as though he had her full support, like she was watching them from above, smiling, giving her blessing to what he and Lilly were to each other now, for the fact that she would soon become his wife.

"I have somethin' for you, Lil."

She pulled back slightly and he reached for the coat he'd left on the backrest of the couch, pulled out the smaller box; her gaze fell onto it, a tiny whimper leaving her. He cleared his throat, opened the box and she gasped, her eyes rapidly filling with tears.

"Oh my God."

The ring blinked faintly in the living room's low lighting, if possible looking even more beautiful than at the store; it had an absolutely stunning diamond in the middle, just the perfect size, and to both sides of it, the top half of the band was adorned with deep blue sapphires, alternating with smaller diamonds. Lilly was staring, speechless, and he was starting to feel a little nervous now.

"Do you like it?"

"It's gorgeous," she whispered, looking up at him, then back down to the ring. "Jesus Christ, Scotty. It's… it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Some tears escaped her eyes again, making them so intensely blue and he smiled, carefully picked the ring from the box. "The moment I saw it, the sapphires reminded me of your eyes; those eyes are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, an' the first thing I noticed about you seven years ago."

More tears escaped her and she began to tremble; he grasped her hand and with a deep breath slotted the ring into place, instantly knowing it was a perfect fit, not just size-wise but also in the way it seemed to settle onto her finger, her light skin and the intensely blue sapphires creating an absolutely breathtaking match. Like the jeweler had told him at the store, the ring had obviously been made with Lilly Rush in mind, as out-there as the thought perhaps was.

"Looks amazin' on you," he told her quietly, both of them unable to tear their eyes away from the sight; finally she managed, cupping his cheek with her other hand and kissing him deeply, intensely.

"When did you…?"

"Just this evenin'." He smiled against her, gently rubbing her neck and looking down to her hand once more. "After we were done interrogatin' the brother-in-law; I made an excuse about callin' my mum, but I went to get this instead. I just couldn't wait any longer, an' somehow I was lucky enough to find the right one straight away. Also…"

He turned back to his coat again, tugged out the other box. "I know you can't wear it on your finger at work just yet, so I got this too."

"Thank you." Lilly sniffled, the narrow golden chain flowing between her fingers. "I don't know how I can bring myself to take it off, but at least I can always have it with me this way. Just for a little while though; I want to wear your ring where it belongs, all the time."

"Soon," Scotty whispered, really wanting that more than anything too; she settled the chain back into the box and he pulled her closer, holding her securely in the comfortable semi-darkness, the cats dozing opposite them on a lounger chair, a pile of white and orange-brown. The ring glittered faintly on her finger, seeming to brighten up the room and his soul too, chasing away shadows and some bad memories of his time with Elisa that had still remained, leaving behind only good ones, intertwined with happiness and gratitude. He'd had her in his life for so long, and she was deeply ingrained into him, always would be, but after tonight, Scotty felt like he was finally able to move on for good.

Finally there was true peace.