AN: Just putting this out there, anything I know about medical or legal procedures comes from fictional media, so if I mention something inaccurate, just keep on suspending your disbelief!
Chapter Two
Things with Sara's case wrapped up rather quickly, once Wes's lawyer saw the video of him breaking into the apartment. Wes finally pled guilty to the numerous assault and child endangerment charges, and we even got an attempted homicide and assault with a deadly weapon charge added, since he'd been waving the axe around when he made it to the bathroom. All told, he was sentenced to over thirty years in prison, without the possibility of parole. And Sara got a very nice divorce settlement, enough to enable her and the girls to move back to Kentucky with her parents. Her parents even flew in for support, and I got so many hugs from them all in gratitude. "You are an angel," her mom told me tearfully once we left the courthouse.
"No, I'm too feisty for that," I laughed. "But I will make sure that my clients are taken care of with everything that I have."
Mom and Bobby had their barbeque that night, which meant I got to celebrate my win with the whole 118 family. Once I told them, of course. "How'd the frying pan case go?" Chim asked me cheekily, the moment I walked into the house.
"We settled out of court," I said. I took off my heels, my tallest "I will break you and smile the entire time I do it" ones, and happily accepted the beer Bobby handed me and the kiss he pressed to my cheek. "He's going to prison for probably the rest of his life, and Sara and the girls will be safe from him forever. With a very healthy bank account to see them settled into their new lives."
"That's my baby!" Mom crowed proudly from the kitchen, and I beamed. It never got old, hearing her pride in me.
Chim and Maddie congratulated me, and even little Jee gave me a big smile. "I've gotta say, it's so nice to actually meet you in person," Maddie told me with a huge welcoming grin. "And it's even nicer to have another woman around in the sea of the 118 testosterone."
I choked a little on my beer as I laughed. "Well, I'm only living here for a little while, just until I find a place of my own. Until I have a chance to find a place of my own."
"But you're still going to be coming to family barbeques," Mom inserted firmly, that one eyebrow raised that I knew so well.
"True," I grinned. "I'm going to change, be right back!"
As good as I knew I looked in my work clothes, I was going to be around family; I didn't need to look good. And everyone else would be in casual clothes, so I changed out of my suit and blouse and threw on my jean shorts and one of Mom's old LAPD tees that I'd cut the sleeves off of back in high school. I was determined to soak up whatever rays of sunshine I could before the sun went down. After five years in Seattle, I was more than happy to be back in my sun-soaked hometown again. I desperately wanted my natural olive tone back to my skin.
A few more people had arrived while I was changing, so I got to be introduced to May's boyfriend finally, and Darius enthusiastically promised me that he would treat her well. I had a feeling that he'd heard about the frying pan incident, and I was perfectly fine with using that to my advantage, as long as it meant my baby sister was treated well. We were interrupted when Hen's son, Denny, saw me and came crashing in to give me a hug. Darius was quick to pull May towards the appetizers on the counter.
"I haven't seen you in forever!" Denny cried. "Mom didn't tell me you were back!"
"Surprise!" I laughed, hugging him again. "But you've seriously got to stop growing, dude. I can't believe how tall you are!"
He grinned, but whatever response he was going to give was cut off when the door opened again. "I'm sorry we're late, someone wouldn't get off the phone with his girlfriend so we could leave," Eddie announced exasperatedly.
I was a bit confused, until a boy walked through the door right after him, expertly using his crutch to swing the door closed behind him. "Dad!" he groaned, making everyone else chuckle. He blushed a bit, but I could also see a smile peeking through. I got the feeling he was a bit of a comedian.
Denny was off like a shot, dragging my little brother Harry with him to greet the newcomer. "Hi Eddie!" he called, zooming past the amused man to get to his son. The three boys instantly started talking about some video game they were playing together as they made their way to Harry's room.
"Sorry about that," Hen said lowly to me. "Denny, Harry, and Christopher have been thick as thieves since Eddie joined the 118. And as much as he loves his old babysitter, you just can't compare to his BFFs."
"Especially since they haven't seen each other much since Harry got back from Haiti," Karen, Hen's wife, continued with a knowing grin.
I just laughed and waved them off. "Hey, I'm not so old I don't remember being a teenager. And as much as I love you, I would always have picked being with my friends over adults. I'm just glad I got a hug at all."
Eddie joined us just as Mom and Bobby did, too. She slipped her arm around my waist and gave me a little squeeze. "Did y'all hear? My baby girl won her first big case here in LA."
"Not frying pan guy?" Hen guessed, a huge grin on her face.
"Yep, he settled out of court," I replied proudly.
"Which is always preferred to a trial," Mom reminded, a proud smile lighting up her face.
Eddie just looked confused. "Wait, you're a lawyer?"
With one eyebrow raised (I may have learned from Mom a little too well), I replied, "Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"
He instantly looked sheepish. "No, no, of course not! I think that's- that's awesome! I just don't know how I didn't know about that before now? I don't know how I hadn't heard that before. You were in Seattle before, right?"
"Yeah, I was with the DA's office there since I got out of law school, but I transferred to a private firm here."
His eyebrows shot up. "The DA's office? That's a big deal, isn't it?"
I laughed, but Mom cut me off. "It absolutely is."
"Mom, I was a glorified intern for the first two years."
"And you outshone every other intern in those two years, and blew everyone out of the water for the next three. Otherwise, Cheryl never would have hired you, five years or not. My daughter or not," Mom insisted.
"Athena, the grill's ready, can you grab the burgers? I've got the dogs started for the girls," Bobby called from the patio.
"You are an amazing attorney, and I refuse to hear anything more," Mom said purposefully at me, then turned to grab the platter of patties from the kitchen. "Hen, grab the cheese, would you?"
Hen and Karen followed Mom, leaving me with an amused looking Eddie. "The firm I joined here in LA was started by one of Mom's college friends," I explained exasperatedly. "Cheryl promised me the day I got my acceptance into law school that I had a place in her firm, as long as I proved myself somewhere else first. I had to have five years' experience elsewhere, whereas others she's hired only had to have three."
"She didn't want to be accused of favoritism," Eddie realized. "Smart. So how long after you hit your five year mark did you apply?"
"The very same day," I grinned. "But it wasn't just to- It wasn't just to come home, you know? The firm is split half and half with our clientele. We all do half corporate and inheritance law, bringing in big clients, that sort of thing. The other half is family law, specifically helping disadvantaged people fighting for their families, and a lot of it is pro bono. That's the part I was really excited to get to do, the whole reason I wanted to join the firm was to help where I can."
A soft smile crossed his face. "You are definitely Athena's daughter."
It wasn't often that I blushed, but I definitely warmed a little bit. Thankfully, Buck came in with his boyfriend just then and drew the attention off me. "Sorry, traffic was awful!" he apologized to the group at large.
"And my shift running an hour over made that worse, I'm so sorry," his boyfriend Tommy added.
"We're just putting the burgers on now, kid, you're just fine!" Bobby called from the patio.
Buck gave May a hug as he passed her and a fist bump for Darius, but he headed over to me and Eddie right away. "I heard you won your case, Carmen!" he told me with a giant grin and arms already reaching to hug me.
"I sure did!" My grin maybe matched his, but I was excited! It was my first case with the firm, after all, and I was more than happy to send a scumbag like Wes to prison.
"I'm so proud of you!" he told me, with one last tight squeeze, literally lifting me off my feet. There really wasn't anything like a Buck hug. Then he moved on to Eddie, though that hug was a bit more manly. A tiny bit. There was no lifting off of feet, at least. "Hey, man!"
Eddie and Tommy did that manly head nod thing over Buck's shoulder before Buck pulled away. "Oh, Carmen, this is my boyfriend, Tommy. You guys haven't met yet."
"No, but I've heard a lot about you from this guy," Tommy said, a soft smile on his face and hand out to shake mine. "It's nice to finally meet Buck's step-stepsister."
I laughed at Buck's familiar joke. "And I've heard a lot about you, but he failed to mention how hot you are."
That pulled a startled laugh out of both Tommy and Eddie, and spluttering protests from Buck. "I mean, he said you're hot, no doubt, but not this hot. Seriously, is it a requirement for being LAFD? Being ridiculously attractive?"
All three of them protested a bit, though I could see they also appreciated it. "I'm serious! Like, Hen, for example, could be strutting any catwalk in the world. Bobby's got that hot all-American dad look, and Chim's Mr. April. Then we've got Pretty Boy Buckley, the handsomest golden retriever, Eddie who looks like he could be the star of a telenovela, and Tommy should be an action hero. I mean, come on! Do they only take the pretty applicants or something?"
The three of them spluttered some more, rather adorably, though the rest of the party burst into laughter.
Mom, Hen, Karen, and Maddie were all cackling from the doorway where they'd been all heading inside. Hen and Mom were actually hanging on to each other to keep from falling over. Bobby was laughing hard, too, though carefully since he was flipping the hot dogs. And Chim came in, holding Jee, with a very solemn look on his face. "I'm flattered, Carmen, really, but I am a married man." He managed to say the whole sentence without breaking, though only just barely.
"And don't you forget it!" Maddie added, even around her laughter.
"I'm so glad you're back, Car," Hen gasped out. "I haven't seen Buck speechless like that in ages!"
"Maybe I shouldn't have brought you with me," Buck grumbled a bit to Tommy, but I could see the grin he was failing to hide.
Tommy was recovered from his fluster, if his dramatic gasp of "Are you ashamed of me?" was any indication.
And that just got everyone laughing again. "Never, babe," Buck laughed, then kissed him to prove it.
That just turned the laughs into cheers and catcalls. Man, was it good to be home.