PART ONE:

Chapter Nine

If Leah could pick a superpower, it would be to have the ability to ignore every single problem in her life while knowing that everything would eventually work out in the end. She desired nothing more than not to worry about her destroyed-beyond-repair married and now non-existent relationship with the one she had once called "sister."

She knew she was being unreasonable. Superpowers, supernatural abilities notwithstanding, did not exist. Reality wouldn't allow her to run away from her problems.

But then again, she could try? It was an option, but Leah knew there was no point. She might be many things, but a coward? No. She understood she would eventually have to face the music, face Emily. She knew she would have to handle this distressing situation as an adult, but it was just that –

Well, at least, Leah wouldn't have to make the first move. Emily had reached out to her back during the first week of March, several weeks before the family wedding, if the cousins could "talk."

Leah could've (should've) brushed off Emily's attempt at reconciliation; she could've (should've) told Embry to rot in Hell along with Sam, but Leah wanted to be the grown-up in this fuck-up state of affirms. So, Leah ultimately took Emily's offer to meet up for a Sunday brunch at a Lincoln Square spot. The popular establishment was full of patrons with their smartphones, ready to snap a photo or record a video at the drop of the dime; that very fact was all the incentive needed for Leah not to re-enact a certain infamous table-tipping scene from The Real Housewives franchise.

As Leah tried to suppress all negative thoughts, emotions, and ideations with assistance from a much-needed cup of tea, Emily decided to spark the conversation, "I'm so glad we finally have an opportunity to meet up." She tore off a piece of complimentary break. "It's been a while…" She smiled at Leah as if today was sometime in November 2017 rather than the first Sunday of March 2018. "How are you?"

Leah calmly set her mug on the table, not saying a word as she watched her cousin butter her second piece of bread. She thought about taking one for herself, but instead, crossed her arms and mentally reminded herself that tossing hot tea at Emily's face would get her arrested for assault.

Unfortunately.

Leah picked up the mug and downed most of its contents, ignoring the burning liquid. She should've placed an order for Bottomless Mimosas instead of tea. "Like you give a damn," she simply said, picking up the menu.

Emily paused her buttering and looked up at her cousin, eyes wide. She then dropped her knife and picked up the menu as well. It was a distraction, Leah noted, to mask her nervousness, but Emily's hands were trembling, giving everything away.

Leah was aggravated. She could be home now, enjoying a nice quiet meal by herself. Instead, she was here, witnessing Emily's increasing discomfort that was probably noticeable to even those on the other side of the large restaurant.

Emily placed the menu down. "Of course, I – " She stopped. The small smile she offered didn't reach her eyes. "I hope everything is well with you. Considering."

Considering?

Was this what they were going to do? Tip-toe around the situation? Downplay everything? If so, Emily would be in for a rude awakening for Leah was not in the mood: Thanks to a late shift, Leah was operating on only three hours of sleep. Her husband was fuck-knows-where. She had managed to gain some weight during the past couple of weeks due to her newfound affinity for Chinese fast food, ice cream, and onion rings.

She was supposed to be on a diet, damn it.

To top it off, there was a sadistic murderer on the loose, and Leah had less than 36 hours of freedom before she would have no choice but to play a detective yet again.

Emily Young, this was not the time.

"It is?" Leah replied with a sharp bite. "I just don't understand – " She paused to gather herself. "You could've been with any other man in the world, but you decided to screw around with mine," ending it with a bout of humorless laughter.

Emily's smile dropped. There was a look of fear on her face, mixed with concern, slight frustration, and, perhaps, regret. "Leah, you have to understand it wasn't one-sided – "

"You could've said no," Leah carried on. Frankly, Emily could go to Hell with her excuses. "It's not a hard thing to say, Emily. It only has one syllable, Emily."

Or she could've said: No, are you insane? We can't do this. You're married to my cousin. Practically my sister. My best friend. No, you can't be serious. How could you even suggest a thing? You know what? I'm going to tell your wife about this because she's family, and I'd never do anything to hurt her…

Leah took a long sip of her tea.

"I – " Emily snapped her mouth shut when the waiter finally returned, asking for appetizers. The cousins locked eyes for a split second, conveying conflicting emotions. Emily broke the gaze and gave her order, with Leah following suit. When the water left moments later, Emily spoke up again, "I'm so – "

Leah held up a hand. "If you brought me all the way here to issue an apology, then you're wasting – "

"I am sorry," Emily interrupted loudly enough to capture the attention of some neighboring patrons; she ignored the curious looks. "From the bottom of my heart."

Emily was trying to be sincere; the earnestness was evident on her face and in her voice, but Leah couldn't bring herself to accept the apology.

She wondered if Sam felt the same about being "sorry from the bottom of his heart." He had apologized before, yes, but it was only in passing. He hadn't bothered to specify what he was apologetic about. He had only said, "Sorry."

Sorry. And what was "sorry" going to do? Did "sorry" miraculously possess the ability to travel back in time?

"I'd ask you why you did it, but I guess it doesn't matter at this point, huh?" Leah leaned back against her seat. "So, how long has this… affair been going on?"

"It wasn't an…" Emily's words stalled as she gulped.

Leah couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You do know what I do for a living, right? You do know I know when someone's lying to my face, right?"

"I'm not lying," Emily insisted. "It happened once, and then it didn't stop."

Yeah, that was called having an affair.

"How long?"

"Leah – "

"How long?"

Emily tightly folded her hands over the menu and closed her eyes. She muttered under her breath; Leah hoped it was a prayer. "Since the graduation party," Emily revealed in a meek voice. She opened her eyes but kept them glued to her hands, not daring to look up.

And with good reason, because – Leah pushed aside her tea; she was going to make believe it didn't exist for all she wanted right now to do was hurl its hot contents in the face of the woman across from her.

The graduation party.

Emily's graduation party, which occurred exactly one weekend before Leah and some cousins treated Emily to a trip to Miami to celebrate her newly obtained and long-awaited Bachelor's Degree in Hospitality Management (She wanted to open a bed 'n breakfast. She was so smart, yet so…). That was back in May 2015.

"Almost three years," Leah slowly repeated, taking a moment to rub the pad of a thumb along the back of her pointer finger. She was trying to contain herself, simmer down her anger, her disappointment, and, ultimately, her sadness. "Two years and ten months."

"It was a mistake."

Leah's laughter was sharper than a brand-new serrated knife. "A mistake? No, A mistake is a drunken one-night stand. A mistake is not having a three-year-long affair." She shook her head. "That's not a mistake, Emily Young. A stupid, mean, and selfish move? Yes, but not a mistake."

"Leah – "

She placed the palms of her hands flat against the table; they were safe like this. "Do you want to be with him?"

Emily recoiled, apparently taken aback by the question. She then let out a dry cough. "I don't think this is the – "

"Answer me."

There was a pause.

"He's married to you."

Leah could read between the lines, but she wouldn't relent. She wanted the answer to come from Emily. "Do you love him?" she asked, maintaining a level voice as she reached for her tea.

She wasn't going to throw anything.

She swore she wouldn't.

Emily nibbled on her bottom lip then reached for her glass of water, gulping down most of it. She wanted to get out of the question, but Leah would never allow her to.

"Well?"

"Is it that important?"

In the grand scheme of things, it was not. However, Leah might find some solace in knowing the love was genuinely there. Of course, she would forever be upset about it, but love was love. People, for better or worse, couldn't help whom they fell in love with.

"It's a simple yes or no question."

"He's a good guy."

"That's not an answer," Leah mockingly chimed. "Do you love him or not?"

Emily bit her lip.

"I care for him."

Loss for words, Leah couldn't help but laugh.

"You did all this for a man you don't even love?"

Emily didn't respond.

That was fine.

Leah would be perfectly alright with Emily never saying another word for the rest of her life.

With a shake of her head, Leah finished her tea, hoping her mimosa would appear in the next second. "You are a piece of work, Emily Young." She couldn't make this shit up. "Really, you are."

"You think I'm happy about this situation?"

"I can care less what you think."

The conversation was reduced to silence as the cousins waited for their meal to arrive. For the next several minutes, the two women ate their food, not even acknowledging each other until Emily spoke up, "Leah." She neatly set aside her utensils and leaned forward with her hands folded on the table. "Leah," she repeated. "I didn't bring you here for that." She swallowed; there was fear in her eyes. "I want to, um… I have something else to tell you."

"And what else could you possibly tell me?" Leah asked, picking up a couple of fries she let run cold. Honestly, she couldn't stand cold fries, but for now, she couldn't care less. "What couldn't you tell me on the phone?"

Emily was pregnant.

And it was Sam's.

There was no doubt about the paternity, Emily had said.

He was the only man she had been with, Emily had said.

Leah couldn't –

She just didn't understand.

Leah had always wanted kids. She wasn't particular about the amount but figured more than three would be a bit much. Goodness, she even had the names picked out. But Sam, wonderful Sam… even from the beginning, he hadn't been too keen on the idea. At least, not anytime soon. He'd keep an open mind, but with their jobs and the crazy world, he didn't think it'd be… They needed the right time, during the right conditions.

Sam had all the excuses in the world, and Leah, being the fool, had accepted each and every one of them. Maybe he'd change his month, she thought.

He did end up changing his mind, just with the wrong woman.

After all this time, going through great lengths to ensure his wife didn't bring a child into this world... Emily, Leah sighed as she drove home, Sam had to knock up his mistress.

"Are you… alright?"

Leah barely registered Jacob's question, instead focusing most of her attention on the gray dashboard in front of her. She opened her mouth, fully intending to respond, but almost immediately snapped it closed.

She thought about lying. She thought about making a flippant comment to satisfy her partner's inquiry. She thought about it, claiming that she was "fine." But she wasn't; she hadn't been okay since December, even more so since yesterday's events, and she certainly wasn't okay now as she sat in Jacob's car, parked outside her apartment building.

Jacob could've and would've easily picked up on her lie.

She looked up at her building through the passenger window. Even from her position, she could see the windows of her third-floor apartment. An apartment that carried so many bad memories.

Last night hadn't been Leah's finest hour.

"Oh, come on, Leah," Jacob practically pleaded, tapping on the steering wheel a couple of times. He was too damn persistent for his own good. "What happened?"

She could simply not respond. She could simply brush off Jacob's concerns. She could do many things, but it was well-apparent that avoidance was not the answer. Jacob was going to have to deal with her for the rest of the day. And anyway, she needed an outlet, particularly since Aisha was out for the next couple of days due to the death of a loved one (She didn't need to be inundated with Leah's drama).

"She's having his baby," Leah finally would respond, her quiet voice cracking. "Emily." She swallowed as the tears flooded her eyes. Fuck, she had promised herself that she wouldn't do this. Sam and Emily didn't serve them, but she couldn't… fuck. "She's having Sam's baby, and I pulled a gun on him."

She wanted to forget about the whole thing.

Crazy. That was what Sam called her. Crazy. Insane. Out of her mind. Completely out of line. Told her that she needed to calm down, so they could talk as adults. Get through this together. As husband and wife. Yes, there's now an outside baby involved in the equation... I didn't know… I'm sorry. It may not even be mine… Leah, for heaven's sake.

Jacob drew in a breath, then loudly exhaled. "Fuck."

Leah didn't want to hear any of it – the excuses, the apologies, the pleas – as she held her standard-issued Glock in her hand, pointed finger on the trigger. She wanted to pull it. She wanted to end everything. Make him and his useless words just shut the hell up. But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Deep inside, she knew she couldn't pull the damn trigger. And what made Leah angry the most was that she knew Sam knew that, too.

Leah rubbed her temples. Her migraine which had plagued her all day yesterday was making an unfortunate comeback. She dug into her purse and moments later, popped two Advils into her mouth, though she doubted the painkillers would provide much relief.

"Crazy?" She repeated with an incredulous, almost manic laugh. "You think I'm crazy? Why, because I expect my husband not to cheat on me? Not to have another baby on me? With my goddamn cousin?"

With his hands up, Sam retreated, bumping into the edge of the couch along the way. "Leah," he said as if he was talking to an uncontrolled perp. In a way, he was. "Leah, put the gun down…"

"When?"

"Last night. He was there, and I demanded that we had a talk," Leah said. She emitted a humorless laugh. "I'm surprised I haven't been arrested; people get locked up for less." She dropped her face into her hands. "I wasn't going to shoot him. I wanted to. Goodness, I wanted but... It wouldn't have been worth it. I'd only be another woman scorned, locked away in a prison cell."

"Get out!" Leah demanded. "Go to Emily! Raise a family with her! Isn't that what you want?" She lowered her arm, and thus the gun, and took a couple of steps back. She then carefully placed the loaded gun on the living room table. "I don't even care anymore. Just go!"

Sam's eyes were still on the gun. "Leah…"

"Just," Leah took a deep breath to prevent herself from pulling her hair out or pulling the trigger. She glanced at her gun but didn't move an inch. "Just leave."

And by the grace of every deity under the sun, Sam did.

Jacob swallowed. He seemed somewhat lost for words; Leah hated putting him in such a position. "Wouldn't want that," he eventually said. "So… what happens now?"

Leah closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headrest. "I should apologize," she said. "I might have overreacted. What I did was uncalled for. Imagine what would've happened if the roles were reversed." She shook her head. "No, he wouldn't have." She sat back up in her seat. "It's just that… How am I supposed to react to that? For fuck's sake, she's fucking pregnant. She's having his baby."

She wasn't even mad when Jacob's only response was a shrug.

Following a moment of tense, uncertain silence, Jacob cleared his throat. "Does your mom know?" he asked quietly.

Leah blinked. Her mother was the last person on her mind. "What?"

"Your mom, does she know about Emily and her… state? About her and Sam?" and when Leah informed Jacob that she had not, "You gotta tell her," and before Leah could protest, "Look, I've never dealt with anything like this before, but I do know what happens when one keeps secrets from those who deserve to know: it seldom ends well."

Leah remained silent.

"You have to tell her." Jacob took Leah's left hand into his, squeezing it. "You have to tell your mom, so you can get that weight off your shoulders and have the chance to move the hell on."

Leah looked down at their enjoined hands and sighed. He was right. Damn it, he was so right. She pulled back her hand and replied in an uncharacteristically meek voice, "I don't want to make things…"

"Worse?" Jacob shook his head. "Leah, you haven't done a damn thing wrong. Okay, yes, the gun-thing might've been overkill, but you weren't the one sleeping around. You're not the one having a baby with a spouse's cousin. None of this is your fault."

"But maybe it is," Leah argued. "Maybe I drove him away, right into Emily's welcoming arms."

She might be desperately grasping at the straws, but something must've happened, right?

"What are you – " Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now, how did you manage to reach that conclusion?"

"By doing this." Leah lifted the bottom left side of her jacket, revealing the badge attached to her pants' waistline. "I mean, we didn't get to see each other often with conflicting schedules, and – "

"Now, c'mon," Jacob interrupted heatedly, "You both were at the academy when you first met. He knew you wanted to become a cop. What the hell did he expect? For you to quit? To make him feel better?"

Maybe. Heck, she didn't know – It was probably a yes. The spouses never talked about it, but Leah had always felt that Sam wanted to do this cop-thing alone, wanted to be a detective alone.

Or maybe, she was just trying to find a fault in her actions.

It wouldn't be the first time.

"Leah?"

She snapped out of her thoughts. "The rational side of me says to listen to you and Aisha. To leave him. Find the quickest way to get a divorce, screw counseling, and move on, but I love him, you know? I never thought he'd do this to me. He said he loved me, too..."

The onslaught of tears wasn't planned, and Leah couldn't do a damn thing to stop them, crying even harder when Jacob wrapped an arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. They would stay like this for a good minute, until Leah backed off, feeling badly for putting Jacob in such a situation.

She wiped away some tears with the sleeve of her coat. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled between short breaths, "I'm sorry – I can't – I can't – "

Jacob emitted a sound of utter disbelief. He let Leah go to remove a handful of napkins from between the visor and the car ceiling, handing them to his partner. "The Hell you're apologizing for?"

Leah quietly thanked him then, "I usually don't – I'm not like this." She wiped her face, removing her running eyeliner and mascara. "I'm a fucking mess."

"You're many things, Leah Uley, but a mess? Never. " Jacob reassured his partner with a squeeze on her shoulder. "How much time do you need?"

Leah checked her profile through the visor mirror above the passenger seat. She barely had any makeup, but the damage was enough to make her grimace at the sight. "Give me ten minutes," she said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "I rather not walk into the precinct looking like a complete wreck."

"Take all the time you need."

About thirty minutes later, Leah hung up her winter jacket on the coat rack between her and Jacob's desk and looked up at her partner, who had just returned from the break room with a steaming hot coffee in his hand.

Despite Leah politely declining the offer, Jacob placed the cup on his partner's desk. "I haven't had a sip of it," he said, going to his seat. He dug into a paper bag and pulled out his breakfast. "It's gonna be a little on the sweet side, but I figure you need it more than I do."

Leah glanced at the coffee and then gave Jacob a small, thankful smile. She wasn't going to put up a fight; partly because the man wouldn't accept no for an answer, and partly because she needed some damn caffeine in her system.

"What about you?" she asked before taking an uncertain sip.

Jacob was right; it was way too sweet, but Leah would take it.

"I'm good," Jacob said before taking a large bite out of his breakfast sandwich. He then turned on his computer. "Took enough time?"

Leah took another taste of the coffee. "Yeah, thanks." Yeah, she was going to be fine. She had her cry, and she was ready to ensure that the good citizens of Chicago weren't paying for her salary in vain. She also turned on her computer. "What's on the menu for today?"

Relieved, Jacob handed Leah the case file.

"So," Leah began, using her hand a visor to shield her eyes from the sun that was particularly bright on this Wednesday afternoon. Her attention was on the building that housed the Office of the Medical Examiner. "How bad is it?"

"It's…" Jacob blew out his cheeks. "It's pretty bad."

Leah dropped her hand; she couldn't even say she was too surprised by the unpleasant development. The first half of her day had been too routine. Too quiet. Too uneventful. Of course, shit was bound to hit the fan before the day's end.

An hour earlier, Jacob had received a cryptic voicemail from Bella regarding missing corpses (Heard that? Missing). Although Jacob was initially convinced that Bella was just messing with him, he still wanted to follow up with the medical examiner's claim. Thank goodness, he did, because it was clearly not a joke.

As the story would have it: as of 8:30 this morning, the bodies of Sasha and Vasili Denali were not in their assigned freezer drawers, apparently having been stolen in the middle of the night from a supposedly secured facility with 24/7 security.

Now, why the Office of the Medical Examiner decided to wait until hours after the so-called corpse-napping to contact the authorities was another issue.

"I'm sure they had to make sure bodies were really missing and simply not misplaced," Jacob reasoned, digging his hands into his pockets. He glanced over at the building behind him.

Leah snorted before turning around to grab her bottle of water from the hood of the car; she leaned back against it. "Hours later, though?"

Jacob shrugged.

"Does Sam know about this?"

Jacob lifted an eyebrow. "Does he?"

"We're not on the best of terms, remember?"

Leah hadn't heard a peep from Sam since Sunday night.

"Right," Jacob mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right, sorry."

"No need," Leah said with a dismissive wave; she didn't want Jacob walking on eggshells around her. "I sure hope he knows." She aimlessly looked around the parking lot as if expecting the other detectives to appear. "For his and his case's sake."

"What I don't understand is how the assailants managed to get past security."

"Either they weren't paying attention, or they were in on it."

"Are you suspecting a conspiracy, Detective?" Jacob joked though Leah was sure it had more to do with the absolute absurdity of the situation. "Damn, you've been in this business for far too long."

"Working for CPD certainly changes your perception of life, that's for damn sure." Leah turned her attention to the entrance of the building; it was relatively crowded with employees and visitors; security guards were monitoring both entrances. "So, we're going to question the guards? Check out the security tapes?"

Jacob shook his head. "Don't want to step on any toes," he said. "Particularly, your husband's."

Which was understandable considering Leah and Jacob weren't responsible for the Denali case. Which made Leah wonder why Bella hadn't reached out to Sam first. The medical examiner had his number; she had the numbers of every homicide detective. This was Sam's case; he should be here, and Jacob should stop trying to solve all of Bella's problems.

She told Jacob this, and Jacob maintained that he simply wanted to make sure Bella was okay before she or her colleagues did something stupid.

"Ten minutes," Jacob promised. "Ten minutes, and we're out of here."

"I'm timing you."

Jacob locked the car before walking towards the building. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

The detectives would end up staying at the Office of the Medical Examiner for eleven minutes. One minute more than Jacob had promised, but Leah wasn't going to knock him for it. Usually, he would be there for at least an hour.

And, well –

Leah couldn't believe she was saying this, but the rumors ended up being true: Someone had stolen the bodies of Sasha and Vasili Denali before Bella and Eric could complete their autopsies. Interestingly enough, the body of Demetri Karlov was still in the assigned freezer, so it couldn't have been the work of – Oh, she didn't know.

Her head hurt just thinking about it.

She didn't envy Sam and the shitstorm he was about to endure.

(Though, the petty side of her certainly reveled at the thought.)

She also didn't envy the medical examiners: Eric had appeared to be moments away from a nervous breakdown while Bella had sought refuge in a triple-shot espresso from Starbucks, hoping and praying she wouldn't lose her job. And Banner, the Chief Medical Examiner, was still calling in every favor under the sun, so he and his staff wouldn't get canned.

Once outside, Leah texted her husband, informing him that he should visit the Office of the Medical Examiner as soon as possible.

He said he would be there in fifteen minutes.

She couldn't believe he had responded to her.

"Do you want to stay a bit?" Leah asked Jacob, knowing that he'd love nothing more than to get to the bottom of this new development. For Bella's sake, more than anything. "I don't mind."

Jacob thought for a moment then shook his head. "Nah," he said, heading to the driver's side of his car. He opened the door and stepped inside. "Not our case."

Not their problem.

Yes, Sam knew about the missing bodies.

No, Sam had no clue where to start.

No, Leah still didn't envy Sam, and the tempest he was now found himself weathering.

(Once again, the petty side of her reveled in his turmoil. She hoped he'd never be freed from it.)

"Time is surely dragging," Leah complained to no one in particular as she pushed to finish her work. It was near the end of her shift. Just one more hour and she would be free for the rest of the day. Though to be honest, Leah had been mentally done for the past couple of hours. A lot was on her mind, and most of it had nothing to do with the Dahlia investigation.

Emily.

Sam.

The pregnancy.

The argument.

The gun.

The threat of physical harm.

It had been four days since the infamous incident, and she couldn't believe she was still here, working as if nothing had happened with no warrant for her arrest in sight. Not that she was hoping for one, of course, but for goodness' sake, she had threatened Sam with a deadly weapon.

With a sigh, Leah glimpsed over her computer to check on Jacob, who was quickly typing away while stifling a yawn. Jacob looked up briefly to give a smile, which Leah returned before going back to work.

Despite Leah's inner turmoil, she still had things to do and daily reports to complete. But she would find that her concentration wouldn't last for very long. Three sentences in, she finally decided to give it a rest. It would be fine; nothing was due until mid-morning anyway.

Her attention shifted to her crowded desk. Beyond the mounds of paper, case-related photographs, and an old laptop was a row of framed photos of her loved ones: her mother, her father, Seth, and Emily. There was one that specifically drew in Leah. There was Emily, smiling brightly, arms wrapped tightly around an equally smiling Leah with the beauty that was the Washington wilderness behind him.

Leah and Emily had to have been around ten at the time (they had been born only a few months apart). Practically like twins, their families would say. Neither woman had a sister, but they did have each other. Both promised to look after each other, never to have anything come in between them.

Especially not a man.

She bit her bottom lip, then retrieved her phone from her pants back pocket – She should do this. She should call her. Her mom. It was the right thing to do. It had been more than two months. She deserved to know the whole story.

So, she dialed her mother's number, a decision she regretted the instant she heard the familiar voice on the other line. What was she thinking? She shouldn't have done this. She was at work, for heaven's sake. She had reports to complete. Loose ends to tie. She shouldn't be using her time to make personal –

Before she finished attempting to talk herself of this seemingly ill-advised decision, she found herself telling Sue everything.

It was like a word-vomit. She couldn't stop. She started from the moment she caught Sam in bed with Emily to the moment Emily revealed the news of her pregnancy, to kicking Sam out, to not hearing a word from her husband outside of a couple of work-related text messages...

Leah told her mother everything.

She noticed Jacob's typing coming to a stop; she noticed his eyes on her on her, but she didn't dare to look up. She didn't want to lose her nerve although the man had wanted nothing more than for her to have this conversation with her mom.

And damn it, the bastard was right. He had been right all along. It felt better; not necessarily the situation that would forever feel terrible, but it was nice to spit everything out. She was no longer hiding from her mom, who didn't deserve to be the in dark.

When she finished, Leah was met with a pause, and before she could apologize for dropping a bombshell on her mother, who was just returning from her yoga class, she heard her mom say in a much-appreciated soothing voice, "Come home. To my house, Leah. Not yours."

She finally looked up at Jacob, whose expression was mixed with empathy and relief.

"Mom – "

She didn't want to be a burden, but Sue Clearwater wasn't hearing any of it, "I'd like you to home now. Your shift is ending soon, yes?" She left no room for protest. "And get some sleep. I know you haven't been sleeping… I'm sure you have an extra set of clothes lying around, so you can head straight to work in the morning."

Leah glanced at the clutter of files on her table. The offer was tempting, but she wanted to get this work done. She didn't want to worry about it the following morning.

"But I have to do important… "

Jacob sent her a look of disapproval, which Leah pointedly ignored.

Perhaps, this call should've been taken outside.

"Mom, I – "

Sue didn't allow her daughter to finish. "Evidently not important enough to call me." Leah couldn't come up with a good retort. "You're a strong woman. I know that; I've always known that. And I know how much you like to…" she paused to take in a breath, "but you don't have to do everything on your own."

Leah placed a hand on her forehead, closing her eyes. This again. The speech she had received from her mother since she was nine. It always was done out of love, and Leah had to remind herself of that, even if she didn't want to hear it for the umpteenth time.

"I know," she said quietly, and then with more conviction, "I know."

"Then come home."