Reading Time: 110 Minutes

Title: All My Time Is Yours
Series: Like Stars Aligned
Series Order: 1
Author: Bythia
Fandom: 9-1-1
Genre: Contemporary, Established Relationship, Family, Femslash, Romance
Relationship(s): Hen Wilson/Karen Wilson
Content Rating: PG-13
Warnings: *No Mandatory Warnings Apply. Minor character death, discussion of canon content: addiction (Bobby and Eva), suicidal ideation (Bobby), sexual assault (Dr. Wells)
Author Note: This series has been a little different from what I did in the past. In some places, the two stories are running parallel, with scenes referred to in one story that are happening in the other story. But I think with the help of the wonderful starlitenite I managed to create two stories that can be read separately or even just as a stand-alone if one or the other isn’t your cup of tea.
Beta: starlitenite
Alpha: FaerlyGraceful
Word Count: 57,092
Summary: When Bobby asks for help after his relapse, Hen gains a new perspective about her past journey with Eva. It pushes her to finally face Eva’s attempt to push herself back in Hen’s life. Hen and Karen have spent nearly a decade now building their family, they won’t let Eva threaten that life they’ve built.
Artist: penumbria
Artist Appreciation: I love the art you created for my stories. I have gone back to look at it pretty often over the past couple of weeks, just to feel a little bit better about life.

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Chapter 07

Hen watched Denny and Harry climb around on the jungle gym, laughing and shouting as they chased each other or invisible foes. Watching them made part of her miss that time when she had been as carefree, even though she barely remembered being like that. Being happy and carefree for as long as possible, feeling loved and sheltered without being dragged down by any worries was what she wished for her son, what she tried to provide for him above all else.

The two boys had no worries, not even with the uproar in Harry’s life between his parents heading for a divorce and his older sister’s suicide attempt. It was a mindset Hen very much missed, especially in times like this when everything seemed to be a struggle. She didn’t remember when she had lost that blind faith in her parents to take care of everything that Denny and Harry still possessed, but she suspected it had been long before her father had left. She might have been hurt by him leaving, but she hadn’t been surprised at all.

“It’s good to see that Harry is so carefree,” Karen said beside her as if reading Hen’s thoughts.

“There is something to it when people say kids are resilient, I guess,” Hen murmured.

It made her hopeful that whatever might come their way once Evelyn and Mark found Denny’s biological father that Denny would get through it somehow, that while it might leave scars on her and Karen it wouldn’t be like that for Denny. They just needed to make sure that he always remembered that they loved him and that they would protect and shelter him for as long as he let them.

“May seems to be doing well, too.” Karen sighed. “I’m still so shocked by it, though. Especially that she didn’t feel like she could talk to her parents or maybe even us about the bullying. I feel like we failed her, too, you know?”

Hen took Karen’s hand and interlaced their fingers, pressing their shoulders together. “We’ll do better by her and those two boys in the future. It’s a lesson we won’t forget.” Hen was convinced it was a lesson no one in May’s life would forget any time soon.

“Athena would tell us if there was anything more we could do to support them, right?” Karen asked, sounding more worried than Hen had expected.

Hen turned to her wife with a frown. “I’m sure she would. Do you think she wouldn’t?”

“Don’t you feel she has been a little standoffish since the whole situation with Michael started?” Karen sighed and shook her head. “And now every time I’ve talked with her it’s always only been about May. Which is fair in a way, I guess, but I worry she is hiding in May’s problems so she doesn’t have to deal with the impending end of her marriage.”

“She wasn’t dealing with that even before May,” Hen said. “She doesn’t want to see that this is where they’re headed. I think Michael has been pretty clear about it since he came out to her, at least from everything she has told me and the little he said about it to me.”

“Exactly. But now she has a reason, at least in her mind, to ignore the elephant in the room,” Karen murmured. “And that will eventually blow up in her face. I just want to help my friend, but I have no idea how.”

“She’s been avoiding us, too,” Hen said. “Maybe the first step is to get her to stop doing that. We should talk with Michael and arrange something so we can take Athena out on a girl’s night or something. Denny will be over the moon if he gets to have a sleepover with Harry.”

Karen chuckled. “He will!”

Hen nodded. “Then one of us has to get Michael away for a conversation later once they’re back from May’s appointment and join us for the picnic.”

“I’ll do that,” Karen agreed.

Hen grinned and leaned in for a quick kiss. Karen was someone who thrived on taking care of the people around her. Athena often resisted that, especially over the last couple of months, but that didn’t deter Karen. Her taking Buck under her wing after the whole thing with Dr. Wells had come to light wasn’t enough to distract her either, and Hen thought Karen had just about reached her limit with Athena avoiding her problems.

Hen froze when she turned back to the jungle gym and didn’t spot Harry and Denny right away. She scanned the playground and all the other children running around until she finally spotted the boys on the other side of the jungle gym, partially hidden by the structure. Harry was crouched next to a small dog and petting him, while in front of them stood a woman who Hen recognized immediately even after all those years.

Hen was out of her seat in an instant, hollering “BOYS!” over the playground. The instinct not to use their names was one she would have to think about later. Eva didn’t know Denny’s name and something in Hen recoiled at the thought that she might learn it.

Several children turned around and Hen noticed that a number of parents perked up as well. Denny and Harry turned with smiles on their faces that fell away as soon as they met Hen’s gaze. They abandoned the dog and ignored whatever Eva said to them, running up to Hen who was hurrying over the playground.

“Mama?” Denny asked, worry lacing his tone.

Hen crouched down in front of them. “Are you alright?”

Harry frowned. “We were just petting the dog! He had slipped his leash and run away from his owner.”

“Did she approach you to find the dog?” Hen asked darkly.

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head. “We wouldn’t fall for that trick, Aunt Hen! The dog ran onto the playground, and I started petting him and looking around for his person!”

Hen exhaled slowly. “Okay, good.” She ran her hands over both boys’ hair, which earned her nearly identical scowls. “Go to Karen and stay with her until I’m back, okay?”

Denny nodded while biting his lip and then grabbed Harry’s arm to drag his friend with him. Hen closed her eyes for a moment before she stood and walked over to Eva, who stood patiently waiting where the boys had left her. Hen wondered if Eva was as aware of the other parents watching them as she was.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Hen hissed.

“I just wanted to see my son,” Eva said, chin raised. Then she added with a smile Hen remembered sweeping her off her feet once upon a time, “And you, of course.”

“You are so far out of bounds!” Hen said. “Leave! And don’t you dare come near my son again.”

“He’s my son, too. I have every right to see him.”

“You have no rights at all,” Hen said through gritted teeth. “You gave up all those rights when you asked me to adopt him.”

Eva glared. “As if I had a choice!”

Hen looked down at the dog. She didn’t recognize the breed, but he barely reached her knees. “Did you steal that dog to sneak up on the children?”

“Walking dogs is one of my two part-time jobs,” Eva said. “I’ve only been out of prison for a week. I’ll need some time to get back on my feet completely, but I’m doing the work for us, Hen.”

“There is no us,” Hen said. “There never will be an us again.”

Eva crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to contest the adoption, Hen. I never allowed your … fling to adopt Diesel, too.”

“Karen’s my wife,” Hen said. “And we both know you don’t have a chance of contesting the adoption.”

“I was forced into it!” Eva said loudly. “I never wanted to give him up!”

“Should’ve thought about that before you started dealing drugs. You made your bed here, Eva, and now you have to lie in it.”

Eva huffed. “You have no idea what it was like…”

“And I have no interest in hearing your sob story about it,” Hen said. “Karen and I will get a restraining order against you. You showing up at a playground and sneaking up on two kids behind our backs won’t look good for you with your parole officer.”

Eva laughed softly. “Come on, Hen. We both know you won’t be able to stay away for long now that I’m free again.” She took a step towards Hen and tried to put a hand on her arm, but Hen moved away. “You’ll come crawling back to me in no time at all.”

“It’s been a long time since you knew anything about me,” Hen said. “And even then, you didn’t know me as well as you think you did. I didn’t know you as well as I thought I did either. This is the only warning you’ll get, Eva. Next time I see you anywhere near me or my family, I’m calling the cops right away.”

“I’m your family!” Eva yelled.

Hen swallowed. “I’ve learned to see that you were never family, even if you tried to pretend. Go away before one of the other parents calls the cops and you have to explain to your parole officer why you were arrested less than a week after you got out.”

Eva huffed. “We aren’t done!” But she finally turned around and stormed off, dragging the poor dog with her when he didn’t follow quickly enough.

Hen winced a little and hoped Eva lost that part-time job soon. Eva wasn’t suited to care for any living creature, and any dog she might be trusted with didn’t deserve Eva’s impatience or anger.

When Hen returned to the bench from where Karen and she had watched the boys earlier, Denny and Harry were sitting with Karen between them and talking quietly. They fell silent before Hen was near enough to hear what they were saying and Denny jumped off his seat to hug her.

“I’m sorry we talked to a stranger!” Denny murmured with his face pressed against Hen’s belly.

Hen carded her fingers through his hair and sighed. “We’ve talked about these kinds of situations before at length.”

“Mom already lectured us,” Denny whispered.

Hen chuckled and shared a look with Karen.

“You knew her, though,” Denny said and looked up at her.

Hen sighed and pulled Denny to the bench. She sat down and lifted Denny into her lap. “I do know her. But we have also talked in the past about going with people who you know or who Mom and I know if we haven’t talked about them picking you up beforehand, right?”

Denny nodded and Harry looked down at his hands folded in his lap.

“The woman said she’s your friend,” Denny said after a moment of silence.

Hen exhaled slowly and shared another look with Karen. They had tried to plan out how to talk to Denny about any of this, but none of those plans seemed to be helpful now. It was clear from the way Karen looked at her that, for now, it was Hen’s problem to handle.

“She was my friend a long time ago,” Hen said slowly. “Long before either of two you were even born. But sometimes friends do things we can’t really accept, that we can’t forgive no matter how much we care about them.”

Denny frowned, but Harry nodded as if he understood exactly what Hen was talking about. Just for a moment, Hen wondered if he was thinking about one of his own friends or about his sister’s friends who had abandoned her.

“Is she a bad person?” Denny asked.

Hen inhaled sharply, completely thrown by the question.

“You were pretty angry that we talked to her,” Harry added hesitantly.

“She’s … a complicated person,” Hen said after a moment. “If she were really a bad person at her core, I wouldn’t have been friends with her. I think I have better judgment than that.”

Karen huffed, barely concealing a laugh.

“Sometimes people change, though,” Harry said solemnly, and this time Hen was sure he was thinking about May’s friends who had turned out not to be very good friends over the past months.

Hen sighed. “Sometimes they do. And sometimes things happen to them that make them change without them having much of a choice. And then at other times, it is very much their own choices that make them change. I think with her it was a mixture of all of those things. One day, I realized she had changed so much that I suddenly wondered if I even knew the person she had become at all.”

“Did she come here to talk to you?” Denny asked.

“She did,” Hen said. “I’m not sure if it was just chance she saw us, or if she somehow knew we were here. I didn’t ask her. I just told her that I don’t want to see her again. Our friendship ended many years ago, and even if there might be some small chance that she had changed again and is maybe more the kind of person who was once my friend, I don’t have any interest in renewing that friendship.”

Karen made a face, but any kind of conversation had to wait until they didn’t have little ears around to hear things they weren’t supposed.

“I told her again I don’t want to be her friend anymore,” Hen said. “And if she doesn’t respect that boundary I’ve set, we’ll involve other people to make sure she understands. But that’s nothing either of you need to worry about, okay?”

“So, if we see her again we should tell someone right away,” Harry said.

“Exactly,” Karen said. “Don’t talk to her and tell whoever you’re with at the moment that you’ve seen her.”

“Okay!” Harry nodded, a very serious look on his face.

“Denny?” Hen asked.

“I’ll remember,” Denny promised.

“Good. Then there is nothing keeping you from going back to your games,” Hen said and hugged Denny tightly. “It will probably be sometime before May, Athena, and Michael join us and we can have our picnic.”

Denny hesitated, but Harry jumped up and shouted, “The slides!” He didn’t wait for Denny before he ran in the direction of the wooden tower with four different slides attached to it.

Denny giggled and followed Harry without hesitating further.

Hen followed them with her gaze, then she buried her face in her hands with a groan. “What the fuck was that? How did she know we were here today?”

Karen rubbed a hand over Hen’s back. “I recorded her for a while. I caught the boys running away and then the first part of you talking to her. I’ve already sent it to Mark, so we should have a restraining order in no time.”

“She won’t care about that,” Hen whispered.

Karen huffed. “Good. I’ll feel much more comfortable with her back in prison. She can spend the next four or five years she still has on her sentence there, and then maybe she’ll have learned her lesson by the time she’s out again.”

Hen sighed, grateful when Karen pulled her into a hug and just held her. She wished Eva would’ve never been released on parole and they’d had a couple more years before they needed to deal with her. She hadn’t been ready to see Eva again, hadn’t been ready for how utterly detached she was by now from anything that had once connected her to Eva.

Hen knew Eva wouldn’t just give up, and she also knew that it would probably destroy whatever good memories of their relationship Hen still had. Hen had mourned her relationship with Eva once before and seeing her again somehow brought all that pain up anew.

***

“Did I mention that I hate PT?” Chimney pouted as he shoved another bite of steak into his mouth.

The hand holding his fork was shaking a little more than it had earlier when Hen dropped him off at the therapist’s office, but that was to be expected and it was still so much better than when Chimney had been in the hospital. An hour of PT was exhausting, mentally and physically, and for the moment it caused the tremor in Chimney’s hands to get worse for a couple of hours. But Hen knew Chimney’s overall physical condition had improved considerably and that he was aware of that as well.

“You survived another day of it,” Hen said with raised brows.

She had decided to invite Chimney out to lunch after his appointment. They had several hours left before they could pick Denny up from school and Chimney could spend the afternoon being carefully cared for by Denny while at the same time helping him with his homework. Getting Chimney out of his head was important and Denny always appreciated spending time with him.

“I don’t know how many more days of teaching or PT I’ll survive,” Chimney muttered around his food. “It’s boring! And I fear for the safety and well-being of everyone who calls 9-1-1 in LA in the future with those idiots in my class!”

Hen laughed. “It’s your job to make sure they won’t be idiots after they get their certificate. You managed that with me.”

“You weren’t a lost cause from the start,” Chimney said. “You were exactly the opposite of that! You were dedicated and concentrated on the important things. These morons are anything but that!”

“I have faith that you’ll manage to kick them into shape,” Hen said.

Chimney rolled his eyes. Then he started to grin. “So, how much are you looking forward to tomorrow’s shift?”

Hen groaned and sank down in her chair, her own food forgotten. “Don’t remind me! It will be horrible! And I’ll have to deal with another floater yet again because you are taking your sweet time coming back.”

“I’m on the fence whether I’m happy to miss a full moon or if I’m already outrageously jealous that I’ll miss all the strange calls you’ll get!” Chimney grinned. “Ah, no. The jealousy clearly is bigger than the relief!”

“I hate you,” Hen muttered and glared at her friend.

Chimney shook his head, still wearing that shit-eating grin. “Nah, I’m your favorite. And I can’t wait for you to share all those calls with me! Nothing much exciting seems to have happened lately, so that just means you’ll catch up with all the excitement tomorrow night.”

“And how do you know there hasn’t been anything exciting happening?” Hen asked.

“You’d have told me,” Chimney said. “Speaking of, what bug had crawled up your ass earlier when you picked me up?”

Hen sighed and pushed her plate away. She would have to get a doggy bag to take it home because she probably wouldn’t eat any of it now. “I got a call from Mark on my way to you.”

Chimney frowned. “Should I know who Mark is?”

Hen shook her head, chuckling. “Probably not. He’s Karen’s and my family lawyer. We had to talk because Eva is out of prison, and it didn’t take her a week to show up and make a nuisance of herself.”

“Really?” Chimney stared at her dumbfounded. “I thought she’d have been out for years by this point.”

“She got a longer sentence than she led me to believe she was looking at,” Hen said. “Lied about what she was being charged with, too. Anyway, she is out on parole and wrote me a letter before that. Asking to see me.”

Chimney raised his brows and leaned over the table. “Did you go see her?” he asked with the kind of glee in his eyes that told Hen he was expecting some exciting gossip.

Hen rolled her eyes. “Of course not. There was no reason for me to see her. Karen and I talked about it and decided whatever Eva planned wasn’t important enough to give her that visit she wanted.”

“So instead, she came looking for you once she was out?” Chimney asked.

“Showed up at the playground while we had Harry with us, too,” Hen said darkly. “She managed to sneak up on us and lured in the boys with a dog she was supposedly walking as part of her job.”

Chimney frowned. “Doesn’t sound like something she’d do from what I remember you telling me.”

“Exactly!” Hen said and threw her hands in the air. “So I have to assume she took that job because she knew it would help her get near Denny, right? Except, we both know she doesn’t really have any interest in Denny.”

“She wants you,” Chimney said.

“I chased her away,” Hen said. “Probably just in time before any of the other parents there called the cops. That was Sunday. Mark had already prepared all the paperwork for a restraining order, and Karen took a video of the whole thing. So, first thing Monday morning, Mark took that whole thing to the court. The restraining order was granted and has already been delivered to Eva.”

Chimney cocked his head and hummed. “How’d she react?”

Hen rolled her eyes. “Who knows! She’ll probably laugh it off. Karen thinks Eva ignoring the restraining order will put her back in prison soon enough.”

“So you really have no interest in going and seeing her?” Chimney asked curiously.

Hen frowned. “Why should I?”

“You were pretty hung up on her for a long time,” Chimney said.

“I was terribly hurt by her behavior,” Hen said darkly. “I wouldn’t call that hung up. And you fixed that by setting me up on a blind date with the woman who is now my wife.”

“Which you nearly fucked up because of Eva,” Chimney said slowly. “If you wanted to see her, I’d support you.”

Hen blinked. “What?”

“If you have anything left to say to Eva and don’t want to discuss it with Karen, I’d help you get that done,” Chimney said quietly. “Sometimes we need to get things off our chest, right? I think there is a lot you never got off your chest.”

Hen glared at him. “I’d never betray Karen like that! How can you think that of me?”

Chimney rolled his eyes. “I’m not saying I’d support you fucking her. Talking to Eva doesn’t mean you’d betray Karen. But we both know Karen wouldn’t understand that, so I’m offering whatever support you need. That’s all I’m saying.”

“That’s not the kind of support I need!” Hen hissed. “I can’t believe you’d even think that about me! Of course it would be a betrayal of my wife to even just talk to Eva behind Karen’s back! I’d never disrespect her like that! Karen deserves much better from me!”

Chimney shook his head and rolled his eyes again. “Okay! Calm down. It was just an offer. No harm done, right?”

Hen huffed and fisted her hands. “I’m not so sure about that!”

“I’m your best friend, aren’t I?” Chimney asked. “I’ve got your back, no matter what you want to do. I don’t know why you’re getting so angry about it.”

“Because you didn’t offer to have my back,” Hen said through gritted teeth. “Clearly we have two very different ideas about what betraying your partner would look like.”

Chimney shrugged. “You’ve clearly become super sensitive to the topic. So, let’s just forget we ever brought her up, okay?”

Hen exhaled slowly. She was so angry at Chimney at the moment that letting go of it wasn’t easy. But she didn’t want to fight with him, and she wouldn’t disappoint Denny by canceling the plans with Chimney for the afternoon.

***

“Hey,” Karen murmured when she crawled under the blanket. She scooted to the middle of the bed until she could wrap her arm around Hen’s waist and pull her into a hug. “Everything okay?”

Hen sighed and shrugged.

“You’ve been off the whole afternoon,” Karen murmured. “Chimney noticed, too.”

Hen bit her lip. “Did Denny notice?”

“I don’t think so,” Karen said. “He was too distracted by having Chimney over again. He’s missed him. And I think it was good for Chimney, too, spending time with Denny. He seemed less depressed when he went home than I’ve seen him since the accident.”

“He is so frustrated about being on sick leave,” Hen murmured. “I’m glad you and Tommy pushed him into taking that teaching job. Chimney would go crazy if PT and doctor’s appointments were the only things he had to fill his schedule with.”

Karen chuckled. “I shoved that part all in Tommy’s lap. Most of the time I don’t have the patience needed to convince Chimney of anything.”

She had only talked once with Chimney about teaching because she hadn’t wanted to argue with him while he had been in the hospital. And it would have been an argument — she had known that even without Tommy complaining to her about what a fight it had been to convince Chimney that teaching for a while didn’t mean he was giving up on returning to the 118.

“Chimney claims he hates the teaching,” Hen said. “But I think that’s mostly a front.”

Karen chuckled. She felt the same and it would be just like Chimney to keep complaining about his teaching job just to remind everyone that he really hadn’t wanted to do it. Especially if he enjoyed it now. It was a character trait of Chimney’s that had annoyed Karen in the beginning, but she had learned how to deal with it and mostly found it amusing now.

“So, you don’t want to tell me what was bothering you earlier?” Karen asked. She had worried most of the afternoon about Hen because it was so unusual for Hen to stay in any kind of sour mood for so long.

Hen rolled her eyes. “I just hate to be confronted with the fact that Chimney and I don’t agree on some things. I was frustrated by him and could’ve used a little break, but I didn’t want to disappoint Denny.”

Karen hummed. She wanted to poke more, wanted to know what they had disagreed about, but she knew Hen’s tone. There were aspects to that friendship she wasn’t included in and that was perfectly okay. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t allowed to worry about it or couldn’t offer an open ear in case Hen did want to share anything.

“Denny was very happy about the afternoon,” Karen said.

Hen grinned. “Yeah, I know. So, when are we saddling Chim with babysitting duty so we can go out on a date? We did threaten him with it when we brought him home from the hospital, but somehow it hasn’t happened yet! Which really is a shame!”

Karen pressed a kiss against Hen’s shoulder. “Tuesday. I don’t have anything important at work and you’re off.”

Hen laughed. “You trust Chimney to get Denny to school on time?”

Karen huffed. “He better, if he wants to escape the lecture of his life! And Chimney knows that!”

“Tuesday sounds good,” Hen murmured. “We really need a little time for ourselves without worrying about anything or anyone. I feel all our friends are dealing with some kind of crisis right now!”

“Tommy isn’t,” Karen said. “None of our friends we made through my work are. You know, I think this is the curse of the 118 striking once again.”

Hen huffed. “Athena isn’t part of the 118.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Karen said. “Doesn’t she come by your station for lunch pretty regularly?”

“No one can escape the lure of Bobby’s cooking,” Hen said. “You can hardly fault her for that.”

Karen grinned. Sometimes she wondered if it was really the lure of Bobby’s food or something else about Bobby that was drawing Athena in. But she knew better than to bring that up because Athena was far, far away from accepting that maybe Michael wasn’t the only one who was looking for a connection outside of their marriage. With everything going on in Bobby’s life, he wasn’t the right kind of distraction for Athena anyway.

“I still say it’s the curse of the 118,” Karen said with raised brows. “Tommy’s just lucky to have been away long enough to escape it now. You should probably ask around the rest of the shift to see who else is dealing with major upheaval in their lives right now.”

“I will do no such thing!” Hen protested. “They’ll think I’m crazy!”

Karen laughed.

“And they’ll get nosy!” Hen continued. “They don’t need to know about Eva. Also, there is no curse of the 118.”

Still chuckling, Karen cupped Hen’s cheek with a hand and turned her head to kiss her hungrily. Maybe they had talked enough for the day. There were much more enjoyable ways to end it.

But Hen pulled away after a moment and shook her head. “Not today. I’m too tired and tomorrow will be a horribly exhausting shift.”

Karen bit her lip and battled with her disappointment for a moment. “Full moon, huh?”

Hen groaned and rolled over to lean her head against Karen’s shoulder. “I already hate it. Why does it need to be an A-shift day again? I feel like it’s mostly been us for the past couple of months.”

Karen chuckled. “I promise you, that’s not true.” She kissed the top of Hen’s head. “Go to sleep, love, so you’ll be well rested for all the craziness of a LA full moon.”

Chapter 08

Karen watched Buck with a grin as he walked around the apartment with a look of deep contemplation and concentration. She probably shouldn’t be quite as amused as she was about his approach to inspecting each of the apartments they were looking at, but she couldn’t help herself.

She had invited Buck out for coffee a week ago because she wanted to work on becoming his friend. He had been skeptical at first, and so very insecure. Eventually Karen would discover where that insecurity came from, but for now, she would just work on breaking through it. Helping him find an apartment for himself was just the first step in earning his trust.

When they had met for coffee the previous week, Buck had opened up about his living situation not being the best since his roommates weren’t very considerate of Buck’s shift work. But he had also admitted that he had never had an apartment of his own before and didn’t even know where to start looking, so Karen had given him some directions and offered that she could accompany him to any viewings.

The situation with his roommates had to be even more unbearable than Karen had understood from what Buck had told her. Otherwise, she couldn’t explain why Buck had texted her so soon asking when she’d have time to come with him to look at some apartments.

Buck had claimed to have no idea about what to look for while hunting for a new apartment, and their previous conversation about that had proved it, too. He had been utterly lost about even the most basic things, from the size of the apartment to what his minimum requirements were for the bathroom and kitchen. But between that first conversation and now, he had clearly done a lot of research. Not that all of that research would be necessarily helpful. Karen would let him learn that lesson by himself for her own amusement.

“I don’t think the layout here works for me,” Buck said after making a third round through the small apartment. “It’s just all so … narrow. I’d run into my furniture constantly just by turning around in here!”

Karen nodded. She thought the clearly too old pipes in the bathroom were the bigger problem with this place, but Buck wasn’t wrong about how narrow everything was. There was a lot wrong with this apartment, and Karen had seen that already just from the information in the listing Buck had forwarded her.

“So, on to the next one?” Karen asked.

Buck nodded with a sigh. “I thought this would be easier!”

“You have the luxury of not needing a new apartment right this very moment and that you have a good budget,” Karen said. “When I went to grad school and looked for an apartment, I took the first hole in the wall I could afford. Pretty similar to this apartment actually, but half the size.”

Buck made a face. “Most of the time I just stayed in my Jeep or tents if the weather would allow it. Sometimes my jobs would provide me with a room. I worked on a ranch in Montana for a while, that was the best room I ever had, even though I had to share with two other ranch hands. And we had dinner provided every evening by Old Grandma Rose.”

“When was that?” Karen asked.

“Winter of 2013/14,” Buck said. “Winter in Montana is horrible, but it was good work and a warm room.”

“And good food, probably.”

Buck grinned. “Yeah, that too. I’m pretty sure Old Grandma Rose wasn’t actually related to anyone on that ranch. She was just there making sure everyone was well-fed, including the family who owned the ranch. If you wanted to help her in the kitchen you had to earn it. I never could. She was a much harder taskmaster than Bobby.”

“You should tell Hen about Old Grandma Rose,” Karen said. “Because Hen seems to believe Bobby is utterly unreasonable about his rules in the kitchen. And I wouldn’t mind if Hen took some lessons from him about cooking.”

“Didn’t he offer you lessons?” Buck asked with raised brows.

“And maybe I’ll take him up on that,” Karen nodded. “But Hen can get those lessons while you’re on shift, same as you. You don’t have to find extra time for Bobby to teach you, he’ll just do it because he is cooking for all of you anyway. I hear he has practically banned takeout for the station except when the shift is really, really busy.”

“We had takeout at the 133 when I was subbing there!” Buck shook his head. “I’m very grateful Bobby makes our food for us. Even Tommy said that’s a reason he regretted leaving the 118 no matter how happy he is at his new station.”

Karen chuckled. She had been pleasantly surprised to learn that when Buck had taken on that extra shift, Tommy had been there covering, too. Apparently, Buck had gravitated towards Tommy as the only familiar face, which had led to them spending some time together off shift, too.

Bobby’s cooking was something Tommy had mentioned as his only regret more than once since his move to the new station. Karen hadn’t really understood that until she had tried Bobby’s food for the first time. She could very well see that it could be something in the future that would lure people in to join their crew once word spread about it.

Karen said, “Just one more reason for you to learn everything Bobby can teach you in the kitchen in case you ever move stations.”

Buck made a face as they left the apartment. “That’s not something I ever plan to do at the moment.”

“At some point it might be the best for your career. Or just for your personal life,” Karen pointed out. “I know it was an important step for Tommy, and he was reluctant about taking it for a long time, too.”

“Definitely not for a few years, as long as I don’t annoy Bobby enough to throw me out again,” Buck said. “Especially after I got a look at another station now. I think I’ve been really lucky with the 118.”

“They’ve been lucky, too,” Karen said.

Buck shrugged as if he didn’t really believe that.

“So, where is the next apartment?”

Buck pulled out his phone and opened the map. “A ten-minute walk from here. Probably easier to just walk instead of having to find parking again.”

“Definitely!” Karen agreed. “The parking situation might be an immediate disqualification for all the places around here.”

“The next place has an underground parking garage,” Buck said. “Each apartment comes with one parking space.”

Karen hummed. “That’s good. So, lead the way.”

Buck sighed. “The DA’s office called me this morning.”

“Oh.” Karen watched Buck carefully. His face was purposefully blank in a way she hadn’t seen before. Usually, he wore his emotions on his sleeve without any attempt to hide them.

“They want me to come in because they have some more questions. And they want a record of Dr. Wells’ friend request on Facebook and the email she sent me.”

Karen hummed. “So, they’re going to charge her with something?”

Buck shrugged. “They didn’t tell me any details. Just asked when a good time would be for me to come into their office. I have an appointment the day after tomorrow.”

“How do you feel about that?” Karen asked softly.

Buck exhaled slowly. “It’s … strangely validating.”

“Validating?”

“I don’t know. I expected this to go nowhere. The things Turner said have stuck with me, I guess. I still think most people would agree with him. Bobby agreed with you and Hen eventually, but he was about to reprimand me about that whole situation initially, right?”

“He wasn’t,” Karen said and grabbed Buck’s elbow to make him stop and look at her. “I know that’s how you interpreted it based on some kind of lecture he gave you before, but he was as shocked and worried about you as Hen and I were.”

Buck shook his head. “That’s not how he looked at me. And he’s very pointedly avoided that topic with me since then.”

“Has he avoided it, or have you avoided it?” Karen asked. “I can’t imagine Bobby would bring it up unless you indicate you want to talk about it with him.”

“I don’t want to talk about it with him,” Buck said darkly.

Karen sighed. “But maybe you need to. Especially if you somehow believe he blames you in any way.”

Karen knew that maybe in the very first moment after Buck had revealed what had happened with Dr. Wells that Bobby might have blurted out something that could have contradicted her words, but thankfully Buck had left the kitchen before Bobby had had a chance to say anything. Hen had shared with Karen how her conversation with Bobby had gone, but Karen also knew that Bobby had come around soon enough. Any conversation Buck would have with Bobby now would dispel his worries.

Buck frowned and turned his head away. “You really think so?”

“I know it will be uncomfortable, but yeah, I think so,” Karen said. “Talking about what’s on your mind and about how you feel isn’t the end of the world, you know? It’s often actually very helpful.”

Buck rolled his eyes. “You’ve said the same about therapy.”

“Because it’s true.”

“I’ve looked into therapists who offer sessions through video calls since Tommy mentioned that might be easier for me.”

Karen smiled and looped her arm through Buck’s, pulling him along the sidewalk until he started to walk on his own. She’d need to thank Tommy for suggesting that when the three of them had gone out for a coffee right after Buck’s first appointment at LAFD headquarters. She wouldn’t have ever thought it was even a possibility. “That’s good.”

“I haven’t contacted anyone yet,” Buck murmured.

“But you have looked and that’s the first step,” Karen said. “You don’t need to do everything all at once.”

Buck huffed.

“Would it be helpful if I asked about your progress again in a little while?” Karen asked. “To prod you to do the next step if you start to procrastinate?”

Buck’s short laugh sounded reluctant. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”

Karen nodded. “Then that’s what I’m going to do.”

“This feels a little one-sided, you know?” Buck whispered. “Me unloading all this crap on you and you helping me navigate things I feel I should be able to do on my own.”

“It will even out over time,” Karen promised.

“What’s on your mind right now when you aren’t helping me out?” Buck asked. “Because I’ve noticed you staring off into space sometimes. And it always looks as if you’re worried about something when that happens.”

Karen sighed deeply. “I try not to worry about it but it’s difficult. Hen’s ex is making a nuisance of herself. And I knew that would happen eventually, but somehow I always thought it was far in the future.”

Buck shook his head. “Exes who can’t let go are the worst. But you’ve been married for a long time, haven’t you? Why is she showing up now?”

“Because she was in prison all this time,” Karen said. “Also, we haven’t been married that long because it hasn’t actually been legal for us to marry for all that long yet. October will be our five-year anniversary. Chimney set us up on our first date nine years ago. Or, it will be nine years soon.”

Buck grinned. “Chimney set you up?”

“He hasn’t told you that story yet?” Karen asked, surprised. “He likes to brag about it!”

“No, he hasn’t mentioned anything! And now I feel deprived of that knowledge!”

“Chimney was my neighbor. We were friendly enough, so we talked sometimes when we crossed paths in the hall. One day he suggested that he knew a single woman who needed to get out again and start dating. I didn’t think I was interested in dating because I wanted to focus on my job, but Chimney blackmailed me into going on the date.”

“How did he blackmail you?” Buck asked

Karen huffed and glared at Buck threateningly. “That is between Chimney and me! And he knows the price he’d pay if he tattled! You need to have leverage if you want Chimney to keep a secret.”

Buck laughed. “Okay.”

“Hen didn’t even know we were on a blind date,” Karen continued. “She thought she was waiting for Chimney and assumed he’d forgotten about her. Eva had hurt her pretty badly and Hen had no interest in dating at all.”

“But then she met you and changed her mind,” Buck said. “And you changed your mind, too, about concentrating on work instead of dating.”

“We did,” Karen agreed softly. “And at first I wasn’t sure if I could deal with all the baggage Hen was carrying around with her. But I couldn’t get her out of my mind. It wasn’t love at first sight, but … I don’t know. I still knew right away I had met my person.”

“That sounds great,” Buck whispered.

Karen nudged her shoulder against him. “You’ll find your person.”

“If there is a person for me out there.”

“Of course there is,” Karen said.

“So, Eva is the ex that’s bothering you now?” Buck asked.

Karen nodded. “Yeah. She was in prison for dealing drugs. She’s been out for a couple of weeks now. And started bothering Hen shortly before she got out. She seems convinced Hen has been waiting for her all these years.”

“Sure, that’s why she married another woman and adopted a child with her,” Buck scoffed. “Because she was waiting for Eva.”

“Eva is Denny’s biological mother,” Karen whispered. “And I knew Eva would come back to haunt us about it. But I refuse to give up either my wife or my son, especially to someone I know wouldn’t appreciate them or love them the way they deserve.”

“Oh.” Buck blew out a breath. “That’s … But Denny is seven, right? You were already dating Hen when Denny came along. How did you end up adopting Hen’s ex’s son?”

“Because Eva reached out to Hen and Hen was still hung up on her for a long time even after we started dating,” Karen said. “It’s the reason we went to therapy together. Because I needed Hen to work through that, and I needed to work through some things, too.”

“And therapy really helped?” Buck asked quietly.

“Yes. It put us in a place where nothing about Eva is a secret between us,” Karen murmured. “No matter how painful it is for either of us, we’re able to freely talk about it. Sometimes still only with the help of our therapist, but we’re also aware of when we need that help. Adopting Denny wasn’t an easy decision, but at the same time there was never really a question about it once I had gotten over my first shock of Hen agreeing to talk to Eva.”

“You and Hen are great parents.”

Karen sighed deeply. There was as much envy as awe in his tone and it made her heart break a little. “That’s always been our goal. And another reason for therapy. I never want Denny to have to deal with my reactions to anything concerning Hen’s past or … whatever else.”

Karen still struggled a lot with the fact that there was no biological connection between Denny and either her or Hen. It was an insecurity that was raising its ugly head once again now that they had to deal with Eva and probably also Denny’s biological father.

At first, it had all been about the legal insecurity those circumstances created — like Mark had said, despite raising Denny for seven years now, some judges might still decide that the biological connection meant more in the end than the bonds Karen and Hen had built with Denny. Over time, when the reality of being a mother had shown her that maybe motherhood had been a dream she had just never allowed herself to have for so long, other reasons had added on to those insecurities. Because now Karen kept wondering what it would be like to be pregnant, to have another child. Worrying at the same time about the inevitable differences and thus never following through on those thoughts or even bringing them up with Hen.

Buck pulled his arm free from Karen’s hand to wrap it around her shoulders and hug her. “If you ever need anything — someone to distract Denny or anything else — tell me, okay?”

Karen laughed and returned the hug, ignoring the tears gathering in her eyes. “I will. You did promise to take Denny to the Santa Monica Pier one day.”

Buck laughed. “There is also the zoo and a couple of aquariums and museums around here that I might need the excuse of taking Denny to feel better about going myself.”

***

Athena laughed in such a light-hearted and carefree way like Hen hadn’t seen on her in months. Karen had been right when she suggested that they needed to get Athena a couple of hours of peace, distracting her from all the worries keeping her thoughts occupied at the moment.

“You two know that I know what you’re doing here, right?” Athena asked after she had emptied her third glass of wine. “And I think I need to switch to tea even with Karen’s promise to drive me home later and my day off tomorrow. I’m too old to drink a whole bottle of wine all by myself.”

“I’ll get you a cup and share my tea,” Karen said, practically fleeing the room to leave Hen alone with Athena calling them out on their plot.

“You needed an intervention,” Hen said unapologetically. “Don’t even try to deny that. You’re in over your head with everything going on and you deserved a couple of hours not thinking about any of that.”

Athena stared at her for a long moment, then she nodded. “And I’m grateful, really. It is what I needed.”

“Even if you never would’ve admitted it.”

“Even if I didn’t know until you provided it,” Athena corrected, averting her gaze.

Hen hummed. “So, you admit you aren’t all-knowing and you don’t have the answer to everything.”

Athena huffed. “I said no such thing.”

“You’re among friends, ‘Thena,” Karen said softly as she returned and placed a mug in front of Athena which she filled from the teapot already on the table. Karen hadn’t had any wine this night because of her plans to drive Athena home later.

“That sounds like there is another intervention coming,” Athena muttered and sent Karen a dark look. “One that will be much less enjoyable than an evening of wine and gossip.”

“Maybe,” Karen agreed.

She shared a look with Hen, who leaned back, content to let Karen be the one to lead this conversation. Hen had tried to make Athena see some sense in the past, and it had never seemed to go anywhere.

Athena rolled her eyes and leaned back, crossing her legs at the knee. “So, bring it on.”

“You aren’t doing yourself any favors trying to hold onto your marriage,” Karen said bluntly and Athena flinched. “At this point, your insistence on doing so is torturing yourself and everyone in your family. And I think you’ve been using May’s situation to hide from dealing with the end of your marriage.”

“Michael and I don’t plan to divorce,” Athena said through gritted teeth.

“Does Michael know that?” Hen asked softly. “Has he ever explicitly told you that all he wanted was to come out not only to you but also us and now your children just to get it off his chest?”

Athena lowered her gaze and glared at Hen. “Michael and I were in agreement over this. Until he went and couldn’t stay faithful.”

Karen sighed. “‘Thena, I love you, but right now you have your head stuck up your ass. Everything Michael has done over the past … what has it been now, eight or nine months? Coming out to you, the therapy you’re attending together, preparing to come out to your children, none of that points to him wanting to keep pretending by staying married to you.”

Athena shook her head and flexed her jaw, crossing her arms over her chest. “We had a perfectly fine arrangement until recently. He knows what will happen if we divorce! It will be a horrible mess for everyone.”

“It will give you both a chance to find a relationship that makes you happy,” Hen said. “Because you can’t tell me you have been happy and satisfied with Michael. Content, maybe, but is that enough?”

“It’s at least apparent that Michael clearly hasn’t been happy with you,” Karen said. “And that Michael wants something different for his future. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by ignoring that.”

“He’s made that very clear by starting to date some random guy,” Athena hissed.

“He made that clear the moment he came out to someone other than you,” Karen said. “Because there was no reason to do that if he didn’t intend to explore his sexuality. He came out to Hen and me so he’d have someone to talk to about coming to terms with his sexuality, and he’s done so. I shared a lot with him about my journey there, because my wife is the unicorn over here who never tried to hide.”

“Never saw any sense in it,” Hen mumbled. She understood why others did, why it was the safer option for them, the only option they saw for themselves sometimes. She knew very well that for some people the reality was that hiding was the only way to survive and that stopping hiding once that reality changed was difficult and sometimes impossible. But Hen had never seen hiding as an option at all, no matter the opposition and harassment she had faced over it.

Karen sent her a brief grin and then turned back to Athena. “Why tell your children now if he intended to stay married to you and keep pretending? You had to have known what his end goal was the moment he brought up coming out to May and Harry.”

“I don’t need people talking about me and my family behind my back,” Athena said darkly. “Not about a divorce and especially not about Michael coming out to everyone!”

“Wow,” Karen said and Hen bit her lip so she wouldn’t go off on Athena. “For such a smart person you can be really dumb sometimes.”

“I didn’t come here to get abused by you,” Athena said, but when she tried to stand Karen reached over and pulled her back down.

“You’re going to stay and listen for once,” Karen said firmly. “Because if you don’t, you’ll be the one responsible for destroying any chance your family has to come out of this as a unit instead of utterly shattered. Michael has put in a lot of work over the past year making sure your family stays as intact as possible.”

Athena frowned.

“You need to figure out how to still be parents together,” Karen continued. “And those two kids are the only people you should worry about! Who cares what everyone else says? Let them gossip as much as they want, it doesn’t matter.”

Athena shook her head. “I don’t expect you to understand…”

“Oh, really?” Karen snapped. “You don’t expect your two lesbian friends to know the kind of gossip and disapproval people can leverage at you? Is that what you’re trying to tell me? That Hen or I have never had to deal with people judging us harshly for the way we live our lives because it doesn’t conform to some arbitrary norm society tries to impose on everyone? When Hen’s mother still calls me Hen’s friend or roommate every time she has to introduce me to anyone? When we’re questioned regularly about Denny’s father because two women can’t possibly raise a child together without a male influence, especially not a boy?”

Athena had the decency to look at least a little ashamed.

“You know how this is going to end if you keep clinging to this idea you need to put the expectations of others over the comfort of your family?” Karen continued. “You and Michael won’t talk to each other anymore, your children will end up hating one or even both of you, and who knows where they’ll end up mentally or emotionally after watching their parents destroy each other in that kind of fight.”

Athena flinched and lowered her gaze.

“Michael has been working really hard to ease you into this change,” Hen said softly. “I know he has been utterly honest with you about most of it.”

“That’s why he’s started dating someone behind my back?” Athena asked, but it didn’t have the bite behind it anymore she had displayed earlier.

“Has he been dating, though?” Hen asked. “Or did you just assume he already was when he mentioned meeting someone he is interested in after you brought up holding onto your marriage? I know, because Michael told me, that he was working under the assumption you knew a separation was what the two of you were working towards.”

“He brought him to the hospital when May … after I found May!” Athena snapped.

Hen sighed. “Sure. Then he was dating him. Did you ever ask Michael when his first date with him was?”

Athena huffed.

“I asked him,” Hen said. “After you spent an hour telling me all about how horrible of a person Michael was for cheating on you. The day May overdosed was their first date. Michael promised me that before that he had only spent time with the guy when it was related to their work or when Michael was meeting up with a group of his colleagues in general. And it might have been shitty that the guy came inside the hospital, but him driving Michael over after you called him about May is actually a pretty good sign this guy doesn’t have a problem with your family. Which will be a stumbling block for Michael’s dating life. It will be a stumbling block for your future dating life, too.”

“That’s…”

“You got it into your head that nothing had to change, and you’ve hurt both yourself and Michael with that already,” Karen said. “It hasn’t affected Harry or May yet, but eventually it will.”

Hen reached out and grabbed Athena’s hand. “We’re here to support you, ‘Thena. But right now that means making you see sense so you’ll be able to build at least enough of a friendship with Michael that you can both still be there for your children.”

“Michael and I had plans for the future!” Athena said, sounding miserable.

Hen smiled sadly. It was the first time in all these months that her friend didn’t sound angry about Michael coming out. As much as it hurt to see her friend suffer, it also felt like the kind of progress that Athena should have made months ago.

“And sometimes plans change,” Hen murmured. “You adapt and make new plans.”

“I think the first order of business for you should be to get laid,” Karen said. “That will make you feel better. I know it’s been years for you.”

Athena rolled her eyes, but Hen thought it was a good plan. Maybe the first order of business really should be to convince Athena to go out and get laid so she would lose some of her tension. Athena definitely deserved to have some fun that didn’t come with any kind of expectations or attachment.

Chapter 09

Karen was starting to hate Mark’s office with a passion. In the past, their family had had some really great and meaningful moments here — Hen’s adoption of Denny, Karen adopting him, all the legal matters concerning both their civil partnership and later their marriage. Mark had practically been there for every single important moment in the creation of their family that had been marked by too much legal paperwork.

But now visiting Mark’s office meant talking about the horrible situation Eva had put them in with her selfish desire to push her way back into Hen’s life. They hadn’t heard anything from Eva since the restraining order had been issued, and every day Karen became more nervous about that. She didn’t think Eva was a patient person.

Evelyn was seated at the table again right beside Mark when Karen and Hen entered his office. Seeing Evelyn told Karen all she needed to know about what this meeting was about even though Mark had only asked for a good time to meet without telling them why. She wished Mark had warned them about what was to happen today. Karen felt she needed a couple of days to prepare for possibly coming face to face with the man who might very well have the power to take away her son.

“You found him,” Hen said, her voice subdued. Her hand was shaking when she curled her fingers around Karen’s wrist.

Evelyn nodded slowly. “We did. The confirmation with the paternity test came back yesterday morning. I spent quite a lot of time talking with him yesterday.”

“Had Eva already reached out to him?” Karen asked.

“No,” Evelyn shook her head. “He didn’t know anything about Eva at all other than that she was sent to prison after they were both expelled from the rehab program they were attending for violating the facility’s rules about intimate contact between patients.”

Karen stared at the table, feeling numb. There were so many questions she knew they had to ask, but she just didn’t have the words for any of them. They shouldn’t have to sit here and deal with the possibility of losing Denny, and the unfairness of it all was the only thing Karen could think about at the moment.

“What can you tell us about this guy?” Hen said. “He is an addict, obviously.”

“He had some trouble with alcohol eight years ago,” Evelyn said with a sigh. “He started drinking after his wife died of ovarian cancer. But as far as I can tell, he got himself together after he had to leave the rehab program and start over in a new one. It was court-mandated rehab for him, too, because of several DUIs, but there wasn’t ever the possibility of a prison sentence for him.”

Karen gritted her teeth and looked up at Evelyn, whose smile grated on Karen’s nerves.

“He pulled his life back together. He is a manager at Home Depot now, and counsels at-risk kids on the weekend,” Evelyn said. “He told me that they discovered his wife’s cancer when they had problems getting pregnant. So, he has turned to helping children in need now because he can’t fathom finding a new woman to spend his life with.”

Karen closed her eyes when she felt bile rise in her throat. “So, he has that dream of a child of his own, huh? Great.”

“He had a dream of having a child or three with his wife,” Evelyn said. “And he was excited about the prospect of being a father and angry at Eva for not telling him about it. But!” Evelyn raised her hand when Karen leaned forward and opened her mouth. “But he is a reasonable man. I think you can come to an agreement with him.”

Hen huffed. “An agreement?”

Mark smiled reassuringly. “He is here right now waiting in another room to meet you. At this point, he isn’t planning to take any legal action and has been informed about Eva’s obsession with you, Hen, and how she might use him and Denny to try to hurt you if you don’t give her what she wants.”

“I wish you’d given us some warning about this,” Karen said through gritted teeth.

“And give you time to spiral on all the possible outcomes?” Hen asked. She shook her head and then leaned her forehead against Karen’s. “No, baby. I think not knowing what we had to expect was the much better option for you.”

Karen leaned back and glared at Hen. “Did you know about this?”

“She didn’t,” Mark said. “I’m not in the habit of putting my clients who are in a healthy and happy relationship in a position where they have to keep secrets from each other. But not giving you any time to spiral, Karen, was precisely why I didn’t tell you much about our appointment today. I’ve known the pair of you for eight years now. I’ve learned a little bit about your habits and all that.”

Karen huffed and flexed her jaw.

“What’s his name?” Hen asked.

“Nathaniel Greene. Shall I invite him to join us?” Mark asked.

Karen rolled her eyes and straightened in her chair. “Better to get it over with, right?”

Mark smiled sadly. “I know you’re nervous, but after talking with Mr. Greene I’m positive it won’t be as horrible an experience as you fear, Karen. He is a reasonable man, and I believe he will think about what’s best for Denny first.”

Karen gave a curt nod. That might be true, but what this man thought was best for Denny might still be very different from what truly was best for Denny.

Mark left and the silence in the room was suffocating until he returned with a burly man. Greene looked hesitant as his gaze landed on Karen and Hen, and Karen couldn’t do anything but stare. She couldn’t help but search for traits she’d seen in Denny, and was strangely relieved when she found nothing at all.

“Hi,” Greene said slowly.

Hen stood and held out her hand to greet Greene. He took the hand with a relieved smile. “I’m Hen. My wife is Karen.”

Karen wished she’d introduced them differently, kept up a barrier by using their last names. Karen really didn’t want to get to know this man well enough to feel comfortable with him using their given names.

Greene nodded. “Please call me Nathaniel.”

Hen kicked her ankle with a pointed look down at her and Karen sighed deeply. She stood and shook Nathaniel’s hand. They sat down at the table without anyone saying anything.

Mark sighed. “Okay, we are here to talk. Not to stare at each other silently.”

Nathaniel nodded. “I got a voicemail from Eva this morning. She didn’t say anything specific, just asked to meet me. Told me she was out of prison and had finally found me. That she needed to tell me something.”

Karen huffed. “We were expecting that.”

“Which is why you searched for me,” Nathaniel said.

“Yes.” Hen nodded. “Eva claimed she didn’t know who Denny’s biological father was when she asked me to adopt him. She doesn’t know that’s his name, by the way. She told me to name him Diesel, but Karen and I came to a different decision. I would prefer if she didn’t learn his real name for as long as possible.”

Nathaniel nodded. “I understand. My memories of that time are a little bit … shaky, but I remember Eva as a person who enjoyed manipulating others. I don’t even remember why I ended up having sex with her. She made it extremely clear back then that she was expecting you to wait for her, Hen.”

Hen exhaled loudly. “Wow.”

“I won’t support her in whatever she’ll ask of me,” Nathaniel said. “But I’ve agreed with Mark that I’ll meet with her so I can report back what her plans are.”

“What are your plans?” Karen asked, and wondered if her tone might have been a little too abrasive when Hen winced beside her.

“Denny is seven, right?” Nathaniel asked. “You’re the only family he’s ever known.”

“We are his family,” Karen said. “We are his parents.”

Nathaniel smiled sadly. “I promise, I’m not a threat to you. Has he asked yet about where he comes from?”

Karen flinched and Hen shook her head as she answered, “No. He knows, of course, that he is adopted. We were very open about that with him from the beginning. But he hasn’t asked about his biological parents yet.”

“For the past five years I’ve been working with kids from all kinds of backgrounds,” Nathaniel said. “My wife was a teacher, and she was very active in a youth center. Once I wasn’t drowning in grief anymore, I started volunteering there to honor her memory.”

Karen pursed her lips. She didn’t want to know anything about this man’s life, but she knew it would be rude to just interrupt him.

“That sounds like a good way to remember her,” Hen said softly.

Nathaniel sighed. “I’d like to know my son. But I recognize that at this point he really isn’t my son. And insisting on that role in his life now would only hurt him in the end. I’ve seen that happen with some of the children I work with. That’s not what I want for him.”

Karen exhaled slowly, most of the tension suddenly leaving her. “I don’t think he’d really understand what was going on.”

Nathaniel nodded. “If he ever wants to meet me, I’m here. And maybe when he is older, an adult, then I can reach out to him and see if he wants to meet.”

“That…” Hen cleared her throat. “That sounds like a good plan.”

Nathaniel smiled. “I had some time to think about this. And to talk with other people about the situation. My first impulse was that I wanted to be part of his life. But I’m glad you reached out to me before Eva did. I’m not sure if I would’ve taken the time to think things through, depending on how she twisted her tale.”

“I guess you’ll find out about what tales she’s come up with soon,” Hen said. “I appreciate that you’ll meet with her and keep Mark up to date.”

“I was stupid enough or maybe just drunk enough to sleep with her without protection. I feel the least I owe Denny is to do my part to protect him from her,” Nathaniel said. “I got to know her well enough to realize that any child would need to be protected from her. She is the kind of person who’d use anyone to gain some advantage, including her own child.”

“And if you change your mind down the line?” Karen asked, because she really didn’t trust any promises.

Nathaniel turned to look at Mark for a moment. “I’ll sign any paperwork you need.” He sighed deeply. “I hate that Eva didn’t tell me about her pregnancy or give me a choice eight years ago. But Evelyn has told me a lot about you. I know I wouldn’t have been a good father eight years ago. Or even five years ago. I’m not sure I could be one now. I’m glad Denny has parents who love him and who’ll protect him, even if I wish I’d had a choice or a chance to be that.”

“Thank you!” Hen exhaled.

Karen nodded and took Hen’s hand. “Yes, thank you. This whole situation and the uncertainty have been exhausting. Others might have tried to take our son away just for the sake of it.”

“I promise I won’t interfere with your family,” Nathaniel said. “But if you need anything, I’ll help as much as I can.”

***

Karen sank into Hen’s arms when her wife pulled her into a hug as soon as they came home from the appointment with Mark. The meeting had gone so much better than Karen had feared. None of the nightmares of the past weeks had come true, and now she didn’t know how to deal with the relief.

“He seems to be a good guy,” Hen whispered.

Karen huffed. “We were so fucking lucky.”

“I know,” Hen said and pressed a kiss against Karen’s temple. “But we were lucky, that’s what we need to focus on. By the time Nathaniel leaves Mark’s office, he’ll have signed away all the rights he might have had concerning Denny. And he’ll leave us alone unless we reach out to him.”

“I hate him,” Karen muttered against Hen’s throat.

Hen laughed. “No, you don’t. You hated the threat he might have posed. But he is no threat at all, baby. No one will try to take our son away now. At least, no one who has any chance of success.”

Karen nodded.

“I’m sorry,” Hen whispered.

“It’s not your fault.” Karen shook her head. “We should’ve taken precautions about Eva showing up again years ago. We both knew it would happen. I ignored it because I … was afraid of having to deal with it.”

“I hoped she’d wise up while she was in prison,” Hen said. “And maybe that she’d get the message when I never contacted her. I clearly expected too much from her.”

“Any idea what she’ll do when Nathaniel won’t help her with her plans?” Karen asked. “He’ll meet with her sometime in the next couple of days. So we should probably expect something to happen soon, right?”

“I hope she shows up to bother me again and leaves you and Denny alone,” Hen said. “I’ll report her breaking the restraining order, and that should be considered a violation of her parole and enough to send her back to prison.”

“I hate the waiting.”

Hen chuckled. “Yeah, I very much agree. It’s awful. But there’s really nothing she can do to harm us.”

Karen wasn’t so sure about that. She didn’t trust Eva not to get physical, and there was a lot she could do to harm all of them. It was a deep-seated fear for Karen, but she knew if she brought it up with Hen she’d only be met with denial. There was still this inherent trust that Hen had in Eva even after everything that had happened, and Karen felt too exhausted to have that argument with her wife.

“Let’s pick up Denny from school together and do something fun,” Karen said. “Something just for the three of us where we can forget all this bullshit for a little while.”

“You just don’t want to go grocery shopping with me for the party Saturday,” Hen complained, but she was laughing. “I’ll be stuck doing all of that alone tomorrow while you’re at work and Denny is at school!”

“Call Buck or Bobby. I’m sure one of them will have time to help you. But you’re right, I’d much rather spend the afternoon doing something fun than shopping!”

Hen huffed. “I can’t even argue with that. Denny is still talking about that exhibit his class went to. Maybe we should go there. Denny and you can go crazy with all the experiments he didn’t get the chance to play with enough because his class moved on too fast and I can watch you and relax.”

Karen laughed. “Sounds like a great compromise to share the workload. Let’s do that.”

***

The party was a rousing success. And since the 118 was used to throwing parties like this, Hen didn’t even need to do much even though she and Karen were the ones hosting. Sure, she’d had to deal with the groceries the previous day — and as Karen had suggested she had called both Bobby and Buck about that and would have moved on to others on A-shift if those two hadn’t agreed to come help her — but everything else just seemed to fall into place.

Bobby was the master of the grill, as had been the rule ever since they first managed to convince him to join them in these parties after months of working through his resistance to it. Tanika had been in charge of salads for years, Hen had never been able to figure out who brought the freshly baked bread, and Chimney was mostly keeping track of everyone’s drinks. Though, a new development was that Buck showed off his past as a barkeeper by providing cocktails and mocktails for anyone who asked. That part had made the list for the trip to the grocery store a lot longer than usual.

“We really needed this,” Karen whispered as she kissed Hen’s cheek. “It’s been too long since we had something like this.”

Hen nodded and wrapped her arm around Karen’s waist as she kept watching everyone gathered. Most of A-shift was there and had brought partners or families with them. Then there were several people, like Tommy, who had left the 118 over the past couple of years but still happily spent time with them. Even Athena and her family had joined because she had grown into something of an honorary member of their shift over the past year or so with how often she joined them for lunch or dinner depending on her shift.

The children were playing in the yard, Buck among them and skillfully steering them away from Karen’s flower beds. They were usually careful of them, but accidents nearly always happened. It was interesting to watch how easy it was for Buck to have the children accept him into their group while still managing to keep them on track and out of trouble.

“Not surprising he gets along with the kids so great,” Chimney said as he fell down in the chair beside Hen. “Just proves he’s an overgrown kid himself. Not sure what that means for how your yard will look later!”

Karen rolled her eyes. “If you were paying attention, you’d have noticed he’s keeping things pretty orderly. Being great with kids doesn’t mean he is just a kid himself, Chim.”

Chimney huffed. “Yeah, but you haven’t seen him on shift. And that’s probably better.”

Hen kicked his shin lightly. “You’re just grumpy because you’re still out on sick leave. Don’t take that out on Buck, he really doesn’t deserve it!”

Chimney rolled his eyes, then started to grin widely. “I’m not on medical leave anymore, by the way!” He thrust out both his hands, holding them completely steady and smiling proudly. “All tremors and muscle weaknesses have been gone for two weeks now, so I’ve been officially cleared as of yesterday!”

“So, does that mean I get my partner back next shift?” Hen asked.

Chimney made a face. “I wish. But no. Because of the nature of the injury and everything I have to go through the whole requalification process. And as much as I hate it, I know I need that time. I don’t meet the minimum requirements for our fitness anymore because I couldn’t train for so long. I’ve also been asked to take over another paramedic class, in full this time. So, ten weeks probably, before I’m back. Which made my PT guy happy, because he insists I take it easy and build my stamina and strength back up slowly. But at least I have a timeline now!”

Hen frowned. “Ten weeks is long.”

Somehow, she had expected the whole time that Chimney only needed to get medically cleared, not that he’d need to requalify. His explanation made sense, though, and Hen knew it. The last thing she wanted was for Chimney to injure himself again because he wasn’t where he should be physically.

“Yeah, but with the teaching gig I can’t hit the gym every day,” Chimney said. “And I’ve been told repeatedly I shouldn’t do that anyway.”

“Listening to your doctors and therapists is important,” Karen said. “We want you to get healthy again, Chim, not cause even more damage. I’m so happy to hear you’re in the clear now.”

Chimney’s smile turned a little sour. “I had started fearing it wouldn’t happen. That the fucking tremor would stay, and I’d be stuck teaching at the academy or something.”

“Language!” Hen chided with a laugh, though all the children were too far away to overhear. “But honestly, I feel like you’ve been enjoying the changed schedule for the most part.”

“I’m just enjoying life without any restraints like a steady girlfriend,” Chimney said, chin raised proudly. “I know you two have long forgotten what that kind of life is like, but there is a lot to enjoy about it.”

“Have you heard anything from Tatiana?” Karen asked quietly.

Chimney huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I have no interest in hearing from her. If it weren’t for her, none of this would’ve happened.”

Hen made a face. If Chimney hadn’t let his anger get the better of him, none of this would’ve happened either. “You’ll find the right woman eventually.”

Chimney rolled his eyes. “I think I’m done with looking for that for a while. I took a page out of Buck’s book and will stay with that for now.”

“You didn’t need Buck to show you how to do that,” Hen said, amused.

“No, there is really nothing Buck can teach anyone,” Chimney agreed, and Hen rolled her eyes at the way he twisted her words. “Though, I heard he tried with Sal recently and failed miserably.”

“Where did Buck meet Sal?” Han asked, surprised. “I thought he was still avoiding most everything to do with the 118. Don’t tell me Buck picked up an extra shift at the 122.”

Chimney shook his head. “He worked an extra shift with Tommy. And for some reason, Tommy thought it would be a good idea to invite him to basketball. He couldn’t even tell me where he got that bright idea when I asked.”

“There are people who like Buck, even if you don’t,” Karen said.

“Hey,” Chimney protested. “I like him well enough! I just think he’s got a lot to learn about how to fit in. Anyway. Sal told me Buck pretended he was good at basketball to get on Sal’s team, and after they lost spectacularly because he didn’t even know how to dribble or any of the basic rules, he claimed he wanted to teach Sal a lesson about losing instead of owning up to his lies.”

Hen laughed. “Knowing Sal, I wouldn’t trust his side of the story, Chim. Sal’s the biggest sore loser I’ve ever met. So much so that I always wonder why people involve him in any game once they know how he acts.”

“He is not that bad,” Chimney said. “You just need to know how to handle him when he loses a game. I thought you did, Hen. Sal lost enough bets over the years.”

Hen shrugged. Sal had never been pleasant about that but he had also known better than to bother her with his mood because he knew she’d just stop taking any bets from him. She had still considered doing that several times, but she hadn’t wanted to exclude him from something that had become a key group activity with their shift.

“Sucks that Sal still won’t come around to these parties,” Chimney muttered darkly. “He really should get over his resentment of Bobby and join us.”

“He comes to your game nights, doesn’t he?” Hen asked. “Or have you given up on those?”

“Someone should’ve picked them up while I was in the hospital and then recovering!” Chimney complained. “Tommy told me I need to pick up my slack, too! As if he couldn’t have hosted one himself! Anyway, I’m doing one next week again. And Tommy promised to help with the clean up afterward because supposedly I still get tired easily.” Chimney winked at Hen. “Gonna milk that for however long I can!”

Hen laughed. “Wanna bet how fast Tommy will see right through you?”

“You could just tell Tommy you’d appreciate some help after game nights to tidy up your apartment,” Karen said. “There is no reason to try to trick him.”

“But it’s fun,” Chimney said with raised brows.

“Maybe you need to get your head checked out again,” Hen laughed.

This time it was Chimney who kicked her shin. “Don’t be mean to me! I just survived an injury that really should’ve killed me!” He pointed to the scar on his forehead. “And I’ll bear the mark the rest of my days and for everyone to see.”

“I guess the era of your body being unmarked — which you were so proud of not that long ago — is finally over.”

Chimney raised his chin. “And I’ll wear it proudly. And happily answer anyone who asks about it!”

Karen laughed and Hen shook her head, grinning. There’d be plenty of people asking, and if they didn’t, she already knew Chimney would figure out how to bring up the topic without most people even noticing they hadn’t asked about the scar themselves. The story he told would probably change over time, and Hen was kind of curious about how he’d spin it.

Chimney sighed. “Why has it been five months since the last time we had a party like this?”

“Because life got busy,” Karen said. “Isn’t it always like that? We all need to be more mindful of the time passing. Also, there were a lot of holidays in between and then your accident. But I’ve already talked with Tanika; she’s next in line to host and already made a note in her calendar so she’ll be reminded in six weeks or so that it’s time to find a date for our next party.”

“That’s good,” Hen said. “It’s really been too long since we’ve all just hung out together and had fun. We need to do that more often again.”

“Last time Buck didn’t come,” Karen said.

“I think he still felt insecure about his place at the 118,” Hen murmured and turned to look for Buck.

The children had moved on to grab something to eat, and Buck sat on a blanket on the lawn together with Tanika, her husband Martin, and Tommy. The problem with inviting everyone was that there just weren’t enough seats for everyone, even if they got all the folding chairs, benches, and tables they had out of the shed. The door to the kitchen was open and people were gathered there and in the living room, too, but that still left people sitting on the ground. Thankfully, no one in the group ever complained about that.

“He wasn’t the only one not sure about his place,” Chimney said. “Honestly, back in September and October, I kept wondering how long he’d last. The thing with the roller coaster sucked, but it was definitely a lesson he needed to learn.”

Hen sighed. “I wish he’d learned that lesson a different way. There are less painful ways to learn we can’t save everyone.”

The loss of Devon was one thing, but what had followed for Buck had just compounded the trauma. Buck hadn’t talked much about that with Hen, but it was clearly a lingering wound for him.

A couple of days ago Hen had been on a hike with Bobby and Buck to the lookout point that was situated just above the Hollywood Sign. The whole thing had been part of Buck’s and Bobby’s idea about getting to know the parts of LA where most tourists didn’t look, and they had somehow convinced Hen to join them.

Staring out over the city from up there, Buck had brought up Dr. Wells for the first time since he had blurted it out, at least the first time around Hen. His insecurity about Bobby’s reaction to all of that had been painful, and Hen suspected Buck wouldn’t have trusted her with what had happened with Dr. Wells either. The worst part was that the person Buck had talked to at headquarters of the LAFD had reacted exactly as dismissively and condescendingly as Buck had probably feared the entire time.

“You think someone dying in a car accident or something like that would’ve been easier?” Chimney asked with a frown.

Hen shrugged. “Yeah. I think it would’ve led to less doubt for Buck. It wouldn’t have led to him wondering what other things he could’ve said to Devon to make him grab his hand instead of letting go. Or if Devon had let go earlier, if Buck hadn’t had a chance to talk to him, to really try to save him, I think the doubt about what he could’ve done better would have been less painful, too.”

Chimney made a face. “Yeah, true. Do you know why Buck started covering shifts at other houses?”

“Because Bobby and I told him it would be a good way to get some more experience and more importantly some different perspectives,” Hen said. “I’m glad he took that advice so easily.”

Chimney nodded slowly. “When I was a probie I was told not to take any extra shifts. That was so much bullshit.”

“That was also your captain trying to isolate you and make you quit the job,” Karen said darkly.

“True.” Chimney huffed. “On the other hand, hearing how much better Kevin had it with the 133 had already made me jealous enough of other stations. Seeing it firsthand wouldn’t have helped. But knowing more people could’ve.”

“I took too many extra shifts in the second half of my probie year,” Hen said with a grimace. She had tried to escape the tiny apartment she had found in a hurry after her apartment with Eva had been raided by the police one night. She had felt completely adrift and had tried to hide in the job as much as she could.

“I guess it’s a good sign that Buck has started to put some more effort into the job,” Chimney said. “I was just surprised when Tommy told me he had met him picking up a shift at the 133. I hadn’t expected those two of all people to become friends. I would have thought Buck would be more likely to befriend Sal.”

Hen huffed. She couldn’t see Sal and Buck getting along at all, and whatever brief encounter they’d had clearly supported Hen’s impression there. As to Buck and Tommy, Hen wasn’t so sure if that was heading in the direction of a friendship or maybe something more. She could only hope eventually either Tommy or Buck would confide in her and satisfy her curiosity.

Karen laughed. “Why Sal?”

Chimney shrugged. “They’re just the same kind of white guys with a little bit of an overblown ego who think they should be handed everything in life, don’t you think? At least their egos aren’t overblown enough to make it uncomfortable to work with them or to befriend them.”

Karen shook her head. “I’ll agree with you about Sal. He’s exactly the kind of guy who needs to be reminded that he needs to work for some things in life. But that’s not Buck at all.”

“That only means he knows how to behave when he is a guest somewhere,” Chimney said. “You should see him at work, you’d change your mind real fast.”

Hen rolled her eyes and shook her head at Karen so she wouldn’t start to argue with Chimney. He had formed his own opinion about Buck and that was fine. They didn’t have to be friends to work together.

Chimney huffed and stood. “Okay, enough about Buck. I’ll go find someone who’ll share all the gossip I’ve missed. I feel so completely out of the loop!”

 

Chapter 10

Hen fisted her hands when she turned around after locking her car and saw Eva walking across the parking lot. She had been waiting for Eva to do something, but somehow this had not been one of the scenarios she had expected. Hen had really hoped to keep the whole bullshit that was the situation with Eva away from her place of work this time around.

“I really hope you’re in some kind of medical emergency, Eva,” Hen said darkly. “Because otherwise, you’re violating your restraining order.”

Eva laughed as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “That thing isn’t even worth the paper it was printed on. I know that’s all your so-called wife, but I know you, Hen. You won’t report me.”

Hen crossed her arms over her chest and moved around her car so Eva couldn’t corner her against it. “I already told you the other day when you showed up, the time when you knew me is long gone. I don’t want to have any contact with you.”

Eva smiled fondly and shook her head. “She isn’t here right now to witness what you say. You don’t need to keep up the facade, baby.”

Hen made a face. She couldn’t even tell whether Eva truly believed the things she was insinuating or if she was just trying to play with Hen’s mind. The most unsettling part was that both scenarios were equally possible. “Don’t call me that! You lost that privilege the day you started dealing drugs. I tried to help you to get away from the drugs, but you never really wanted that, did you?”

That realization still stung even weeks after it had hit her. Hen had spent over a decade convinced that she just hadn’t been good enough to help Eva, that she had somehow let Eva down and had played her own role in where Eva had eventually ended up. Hen wasn’t sure how she would’ve reacted to Eva’s return — or even Eva’s request to visit her at the prison — if that guilt had still been weighing her down.

Eva laughed. “I don’t have a big problem with drugs the way everyone makes it out to be! I could stop from one day to the next, couldn’t I? I did it for Diesel, and I did it in prison again when it got in the way of me getting out early.”

“That’s not the bar for ‘not having a problem’,” Hen said darkly. She swallowed and reminded herself that she couldn’t give Eva even an inch, and engaging in any kind of argument was exactly that. “Leave, Eva. Before I have to call the cops on you.”

“Oh, you won’t.” Eva took a step in Hen’s direction, a seductive smile on her face. “It’s been so long since our last time. I have a nice little room, well, nice for a halfway house at least. When your shift is over, you should come by.”

Hen stepped back to avoid Eva crowding her space and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re delusional, Eva.”

Another car pulled into the parking lot behind them, but Hen didn’t dare to turn her back on Eva to see who it was and Eva ignored the car outright.

“You don’t need to play hard to get with me, baby,” Eva whispered. “I’ve been waiting for you all this time, and I know you have, too. I understand why you had to find someone to support you with Diesel while I was gone, but I’m here now.”

Hen shook her head. “I didn’t think of you a single time after I picked up my son from the prison.”

That wasn’t completely true, but Hen had never thought about Eva the way that Eva clearly expected her to. Every time Hen had thought or talked about Eva, it had been to work through some issues either she or Karen had, and more often than not that had happened during therapy.

Eva flinched, her flirty mask slipping away to be replaced by anger. “You can’t lie to me, Hen!”

Hen laughed mirthlessly.

“Is everything okay, Hen?” Buck suddenly asked as he stepped up beside her. He glared at Eva and crossed his arms over his chest. His whole posture broadcasted a quiet aggressiveness she hadn’t ever seen on him before.

“Hi!” Eva said brightly, as if she didn’t notice Buck’s mood at all. “I just wanted to send Hen off to her shift with a sweet goodbye.”

Buck snorted. “Sure. You’re the stalker ex, aren’t you? You’re aware, of course, that this parking lot is under video surveillance, right? I wonder what your parole officer will say when we send them the video of the last couple minutes.”

Hen bit her lip not to laugh. She had no idea how Buck knew all that, but the constipated look on Eva’s face was priceless.

“Hen’s told us all about you,” Buck continued. “So everyone here is aware you were served a restraining order not that long ago. Do you think they’ll give you a fine for violating that, or just put you straight back into prison right away?”

Eva’s face turned red. “I see.” She turned her glare to Hen. “This isn’t over.”

“It’s been over for nine years,” Hen said. “I didn’t adopted my son as a favor to you. That decision was made for his sake alone. We were over the moment you dragged me into your drug-dealing bullshit. Don’t ever show your face around me or my family again, Eva.”

Buck turned to Hen, and the way he turned his back on Eva while putting himself between Hen and Eva nearly made Hen laugh again. Being confronted with Buck’s protective side like this was worth even having to deal with Eva.

“I could call Sergeant Grant to hurry up,” Buck said. “Or do you think it would ruin her breakfast with us if she had to take your stalker back to her station first? I’m not sure I want to deal with her ire if I ruin her breakfast.”

“It wouldn’t be you ruining her breakfast,” Hen played along. “But you’re right, she won’t be happy about it.”

Eva huffed, turned around, and stormed off. Hen managed to keep her grin back until Eva had turned around the corner.

“I’ll tell Athena you used her non-existent breakfast habit to chase Eva away,” Hen said. She grabbed Buck’s arm and squeezed. “Thank you.”

Buck bit his lip, and every bit of confidence and aggressiveness seemed to vanish from one moment to the next as his shoulders sank down. “Did I overstep with this?”

“No.” Hen smiled softly and pulled Buck into a short hug. “She wouldn’t have left just because I told her to, I know that.” She took a step back, but her hands lingered on his shoulders. “Though, I know I haven’t told anyone about Eva!”

Buck grinned and ducked his head. “Yeah. But Karen did. Mentioned worrying about her. And it was pretty clear who that was from the way you were broadcasting how uncomfortable you were.”

Hen sighed. “I had hoped she’d stay away from here.”

“She had the look of someone who thinks that she can just take what she wants, and everyone will bend to her will,” Buck murmured and rubbed a hand over his arm. “I think you really do need to tell everyone here that your ex is stalking you.”

Hen frowned and huffed. “That’s a pretty strong word.”

“An accurate word,” Buck said. “Karen mentioned she showed up at a playground when you were there with Denny and one of his friends. Now she’s showed up here. That’s stalking, Hen. What will she do next? Will she try to befriend someone here either to get information about you or to get near you?”

Hen swallowed and rubbed her fingers over her eyes. “Oh god, I haven’t … thought that far ahead.”

Buck pulled her into a soft hug. “That’s what friends are for. Let’s talk to Bobby about that footage and about Eva in general. We’ll get a picture of her from the video so we can show it to everyone else.”

“It took an age last time for people to stop talking about the police questioning everyone here about if I shared my girlfriend’s drug habit,” Hen said through gritted teeth. “Our use of any kind of medication was monitored especially tightly for years afterward to make sure I wasn’t stealing any of it.”

Buck’s arms around her tightened a little. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. But I don’t think it will be like that again. Everyone here has so much respect for you, Hen. They’ll rally around you and support you. That the people back then didn’t do it is their loss.”

Hen sighed deeply.

“Come on.” Buck turned around but left his arm wrapped around her shoulders to pull her in the direction of the doors. “Let’s find Bobby to take care of this, and then we’ll find something to make you forget about that unpleasant person for a while. Also, you don’t have to tell anyone anything more than that she is your ex and stalking you after spending the last decade or so in prison. That’s all everyone needs to know. Nothing about drugs or Denny needs to be said.”

Hen chuckled and leaned into Buck’s embrace. “Yeah, sounds good.”

She knew he was right, but that didn’t make her feel any better. There had been a time when she had truly, honestly loved Eva and seen a future with her stretching out over their whole lives. Now she wondered how she hadn’t seen how obsessive Eva was back then, why she had just ignored those red flags that could have kept Eva from hounding her now.

***

Karen huffed and closed her laptop out of habit when the doorbell rang and interrupted her workflow. Denny was at school, and he had been old enough for a while now to know not to go into her office or smash the keys on any laptop lying around.

But she still remembered when Denny had been a toddler, barely able to walk but happily trying to climb on anything. Twice Hen and Karen had found him sitting in front of their open laptop, happily smashing his little hands on the keyboard. He had managed to alter a couple of documents both times which had taken Karen hours to fix, so it had become a habit to never ever leave her laptop open anywhere.

The bell rang a second time just as Karen reached the living room, and it lasted much longer than the first, like someone was holding down the button impatiently. She rolled her eyes, trying to remember if they were expecting any deliveries, and opened the door without checking who was there first.

For a moment, Karen just stared at the blond woman on her doorstep. Eventually, she said through gritted teeth, “Eva.”

“Oh.” Eva tried to look surprised, but she failed miserably. “Hen told me she’d be home alone today.”

Karen laughed. “Sure. You really think I’d believe something like that?”

Eva smiled sweetly. “It’s the truth. Hen asked me to come here.”

“Hen is on shift,” Karen said. “As you very well know because you showed up there this morning.”

Eva’s eyes grew wide in shock and Karen couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yes, such a big surprise that my wife and I talk to each other, isn’t it?” Karen asked. “I didn’t think you’d be dumb enough to come here.”

She wished she would’ve thought about it and checked who was in front of the door before opening it. But so far Eva had always only sought direct contact with Hen.

Eva cocked her head. “You know Hen won’t stay with you, right? You’ve always only been a distraction for her while she waited for me.”

Karen crossed her arms over her chest. “This is the second violation of your restraining order today. Do you really miss prison so much? I heard you had to put a lot of work into being released early, you could’ve saved yourself all that hassle, you know?”

Eva rolled her eyes. “Your posturing won’t change anything.”

She looked around and made to take a step forward, but Karen didn’t move back. She wouldn’t let Eva get even a toe inside her house.

“It’s better for you and your health if you just give up quietly,” Eva continued. “Hen will leave you soon enough. She’ll throw you out of this house she bought for the two of us.”

“You’re pathetic,” Karen said. “Leave, Eva. And don’t dare show up here again. Next time I’ll call the cops right away instead of getting all your little threats documented by our doorcam.”

Eva took another step in her direction, which put them nearly nose to nose. “Hen hasn’t been able to stay away from me these last couple of weeks since I’ve been free, you know? Every single day while you’re at work and Diesel is at school, Hen has been eagerly crawling into my bed. How often have you ignored it when she’s moaned my name while fucking you because you couldn’t deal with reality?”

“See, even if I had any reason at all to doubt Hen — and I don’t — that you still think my son’s name is Diesel shows me exactly how little you know about Hen’s and my life,” Karen said. “Your manipulations won’t work. They might have worked on Hen in the past, but she’s grown since then and has found the support she didn’t have in the past.”

“My son’s name is Diesel,” Eva spat. “It always has been. He’ll learn to answer to that name soon enough!”

Karen gritted her teeth and had to fight the urge to slap Eva for her callous disregard for Denny’s well-being and autonomy.

“He was never yours!” Eva continued menacingly. “Your adoption isn’t legal because I never even agreed to it! And the court will negate Hen’s adoption and give him back to me and his biological father before you even know what hit you!”

Karen stared at Eva coldly. Some of the threats stung and hit far too close to some of the fears Karen had been battling for years. Despite that, she somehow managed not to flinch at the threat of anyone successfully contesting their adoption of Denny.

“So, you admit that you lied about not knowing who my son’s biological father is?” Karen asked, forcing herself to remain calm. There were signs about the doorbell camera, and she had verbally warned Eva, too. Karen wouldn’t try to stop her from running headlong into her own demise.

Eva grinned. “You didn’t really think Hen told the truth about that, did you? We both knew I had no choice but to give my son up for adoption with the prison sentence looming ahead of me. They’d have just terminated all my rights if we hadn’t done something about it. So, Hen and I agreed we’d go with the adoption because then I could, now that I’m out again, protest it over being forced into agreeing to it by the prison system.”

Karen huffed and rolled her eyes. “Sure. You’re so full of shit, Eva.”

“Enjoy Hen and Diesel for as long as you still have them,” Eva hissed. “I’ll take everything from you that you hold dear. Hen, Diesel, this house. I’ll make sure you lose your job, too, and that your parents and siblings will never even want to see you ever again. You don’t try to take away what’s mine without suffering for it!”

“Your threats mean nothing,” Karen said with raised brows. “You’ve already lost and it’s sad that you don’t know that.”

Eva fisted her hands at her side and Karen widened her stance a little, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her chin.

“I did warn you about the doorbell cam before,” Karen said. “Go ahead, throw a punch. You’ll be back in prison by evening.”

Eva huffed and for a moment it looked as if she would throw the punch, but then she spun around and stalked off. Karen exhaled softly. She took a step back into the house and grabbed the door tightly.

But she couldn’t help herself.

“Oh, and we already talked to Nathaniel,” Karen called out when Eva was halfway to the street.

Eva swung around abruptly to glare at her.

“Got a test and everything, and he was happy to sign away all his rights,” Karen continued. “That was all done long before you reached out to him. I know for a fact he has already told you to stay the hell away from him, because he is in contact with our lawyer and all of your contact with Nathaniel has been documented, too.”

Eva was seething in anger, but she didn’t seem to have any words.

“Do yourself a favor and build a life for yourself far away from Hen and my family,” Karen said and closed the door.

Karen’s hands shook when she pressed them on the door and leaned her forehead against the cool wood. She waited with bated breath for any shouting to start or for Eva to slam her fists against the door. But everything stayed quiet.

Karen wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she finally moved again and checked the front of the property through the window. Eva was nowhere to be seen and the unknown car that she had noticed parked in front of the house was gone. Karen sighed in relief.

She booted up her personal laptop to save a copy of the footage of the doorbell camera, sending it to Mark right away. But that didn’t feel like enough, not with the threat of Eva remaining free. She had already sought out contact with Denny once before, and Karen didn’t know what to do about the threat of Eva showing up again when Denny was home.

After a moment of consideration, Karen grabbed her phone and called Athena. She usually didn’t use their friendship to ask Athena for favors regarding her job, but this was different. She needed to be sure that someone dealt with Eva violating her restraining order right away.

***

Karen was tired the next morning. She had asked Athena to pick up Denny from school and host an impromptu sleepover for him and Harry. Karen had gone to the Grants’ place for dinner and then had spent most of the night lying awake in bed and listening for any unfamiliar sounds during the night. Nothing had happened, thankfully, but the anxiety was still lingering even now.

She had gotten out of bed way too early and spent those hours working — remote work where possible was the best invention ever because one could just do it whenever they pleased, even at 4 in the morning — and then prepared a lush breakfast for Hen and herself. Karen needed something to spoil herself, and a lazy breakfast with all the food they normally only enjoyed on special occasions and then a couple of hours alone with Hen sounded exactly right.

As soon as Hen came home, Karen walked right into her wife’s arms before she even had a chance to close the door. Hen dropped her bag with a surprised huff, but held tightly onto Karen, kicking the door shut.

“Are you okay?” Hen asked worriedly.

Karen shook her head. “The bitch showed up here yesterday. After she was at the station.”

Hen gasped. “You didn’t call me!”

Karen rolled her eyes even though Hen couldn’t see it with Karen’s forehead resting against her neck. “No. I didn’t want you to be even more distracted by her bullshit. I sent the video from the door cam to Mark and called Athena. She promised to make sure that someone would take care of Eva’s violation of her restraining order right away.” Karen exhaled shakily. “I also asked her to have Denny over for the night. The boys were delighted with a sleepover on a school night. But I couldn’t … I didn’t want to risk her coming back while Denny was home.”

Hen pressed a lingering kiss against Karen’s temple and whispered, “What did she do?”

“Tried to tell me you’d spent all your free time over the past couple of weeks in her bed. And wasn’t happy when I didn’t believe her.”

Hen huffed. “That tracks. She invited me to her place and played at complete disbelief when I told her that wouldn’t happen.”

“She was pretty angry when she left,” Karen said. “I thought for a moment she’d slap me or something. And I know I just provoked her more with the things I said. She expects to just replace me in your life, and Denny’s life, and even this house. She dared to say that everyone would just start calling Denny Diesel.”

“I’m starting to hate that name,” Hen muttered.

“Let’s hope Denny never has a friend named Diesel!” Karen agreed. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to hold back her reaction to that, and it would be completely unfair to that hypothetical boy.

Hen laughed reluctantly. “Yeah. That would be horrible.”

“We really need to keep her away from Denny,” Karen whispered. “I don’t know how because we can’t just hover over him 24/7. But I think we were horribly lucky that she didn’t tell him who she was right away when she talked to him at the playground. It would be so confusing to him if she called him Diesel.”

Hen sighed deeply. “Maybe we need to have another conversation with him about Eva.”

Karen made a face. She wanted to protest, wanted to insist that it was a horrible idea. But no matter what she felt about it, she also knew that preparation was the best defense they had. And in this case, it would be about Denny hearing anything about his biological mother that Hen and Karen didn’t want him to learn without context.

“She violated the restraining order twice,” Karen murmured. “And openly threatened me, even knowing full well she was on camera. I just hope she’ll be back in prison any day now.”

Hen sighed deeply. “We have a little time to think about how to handle talking with Denny.”

Karen huffed, but she didn’t protest Hen patronizing her. Instead, she accepted the offer for more time and pulled Hen in the direction of the kitchen. “I prepared breakfast. I have to leave at 11 to be at work on time.”

“So, you took the morning off to spoil me?” Hen asked with a grin.

Karen laughed softly. She probably shouldn’t tell Hen that she had worked late into the night and from early this morning to distract herself, at least not right now. They’d need to have another much more detailed conversation about Eva and how to deal with her. But for now, Karen just wanted to enjoy the morning with her wife.

Chapter 11

From the living room, Hen watched Bobby with a fond smile as he taught her son very carefully and patiently how to clean the green beans he had brought with all the other groceries. It was becoming a habit for Bobby and Buck to come over for a shared meal, and Bobby insisted on always bringing his own groceries.

“We’re doing good with Bobby, right?” Buck whispered beside her.

Hen nodded. “I think we are.”

“I was really worried at first that he wouldn’t let us help,” Buck murmured. “That he’d just pull back from us the first opportunity he got. Or that he’d tell us to fuck off. I’ve been hiking with him pretty regularly, more or less.”

Hen nodded. They had convinced her to accompany them on one of these hikes up to an overlook right above the Hollywood Sign. It had been worthwhile, she couldn’t deny that, but that didn’t mean she had any interest in joining them again.

“And you have your farmer’s market thing with Bobby,” Buck said.

“Addiction will always be a thing, you know?” Hen said softly. “It won’t just go away for Bobby.”

Buck nodded. “I can’t imagine that the pain of losing his children will ever go away. How could it, right?”

“Even without that, addiction is not something you just overcome, that you can leave behind and don’t have to deal with again,” Hen said. “It’s the kind of illness that stays for the rest of your life.”

“I know,” Buck said quietly. “That book you caught me reading the first time isn’t the only one I’ve read since we found Bobby. And I talked to Wendall some when I ran into him at Bobby’s place. And I’ve talked with Bobby about it.”

“It’s still a long way, but you’re right, we are doing good,” Hen said and bumped her shoulder against his.

Buck grinned and nodded.

A sharp knock on the door made Hen nearly jump out of her seat. They weren’t expecting anyone else, and a deep anxiety had settled in Hen ever since Eva had shown up three days ago, first at the station and then here. They hadn’t heard anything since, neither from Eva nor from Mark who had promised to keep them updated about the enforcement of the restraining order.

Buck looked at her with a frown and curled his fingers around her wrist, titling his head in question.

Hen sighed and shrugged. She left him sitting on the couch to walk to the door and open it. She did check before opening so that she could send Denny to his room or somewhere else in case Eva had returned, but instead, Hen found Athena standing in front of the door, in uniform and looking grim.

“Athena?” Hen asked, worried and confused.

“May I come in?” Athena asked quietly.

Hen frowned and took a step back with a nod.

“Aunt Athena!” Denny shouted from the kitchen before Hen could formulate any question about why she was there.

Denny came barreling out of the kitchen and threw his arms around Athena. Hen winced a little and hoped his hands weren’t too dirty so Athena wouldn’t have to change her uniform in the middle of her shift.

“Are you here to eat with us?” Denny asked excitedly. “Captain Bobby is teaching me how to cook! And Mama always says you love to come by and eat with her shift when Captain Bobby is cooking at the station!”

Athena took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face. “I’d love to stay and eat with you, but I’ll have to go back to my shift soon. I just need to talk with your mothers about something real quick.”

Denny huffed. “You could ask for a break!”

Athena laughed and ruffled his hair. “Maybe next time.” She looked up at Hen. “Is Karen home?” Her gaze flicked down to Denny and then to Buck. “And maybe we could have some privacy.”

Hen inhaled sharply, dread pooling in her gut. Athena was clearly here on official business — and there really wasn’t much that could bring her here for that. Suddenly Hen wished that it had been Eva standing in front of the house and being a pain in the ass.

“You know what, Denny,” Buck said with put-upon cheerfulness. “I think this conversation Sergeant Grant wants to have is way too adult for the two of us.”

Denny giggled. “But you’re an adult, Buck!”

Buck shook his head. “I’ll just pretend I’m not for the time being. Besides, I think there is a ball in the yard waiting to be kicked around.”

“There is!” Denny agreed.

Buck nodded and stood. He turned to Denny, held out a hand to him, and stage-whispered, “I’ll share a secret with you. The most important lesson about growing up is to know that there are moments when it’s best to pretend you aren’t an adult at all!”

Denny laughed so hard he let go of Athena.

“I think you mentioned some kind of trick you learned at soccer practice earlier,” Buck said. “Maybe you could teach it to me!”

“Yes!” Denny crowed. He grabbed Buck’s hand to drag him out to the kitchen and through the door to the backyard.

Buck glanced back as he was dragged through the kitchen and Hen mouthed a silent “Thank you!” at him. Denny was nosy, probably just as much as any other seven-year-old, but with Buck distracting him they wouldn’t have to worry about Denny eavesdropping while Athena shared whatever made her look the way she did.

“Athena?” Karen asked confused as she returned to the living room from the back of the house. “What’s going on?”

Athena sighed and looked at Bobby, who stood in the door to the kitchen with a worried frown. “It’s about Eva. Are you okay with your captain staying?”

Hen swallowed and nodded. She sat down on the nearest surface, which was the armchair, so no one would notice just how much her legs were shaking suddenly. “I have a feeling you wouldn’t be here personally to tell us Eva was back in prison.”

“No,” Athena said.

Karen stepped behind Hen and rested her hands on Hen’s shoulders. Hen leaned into her wife’s comfort and clenched her hands in her lap.

“Just get it over with,” Hen said.

Athena sighed. “Yesterday evening, Eva was found by her parole officer in her apartment after she didn’t show up when summoned to a meeting about her violating your restraining order. Eva overdosed and she was found too late for any help.”

Hen nodded slowly. She felt numb, but also as if a long time of waiting had finally come to an end. There had been a time when Hen had feared nearly every day that she would come home and be the one to find Eva passed out from an overdose, or even worse find her dead. Eva had always laughed away that worry when Hen had brought it up, but it had grown into an anxiety she had carried with her long after the breakup.

Athena held up an envelope Hen hadn’t even noticed she was holding. “Eva left a letter behind.”

Hen gasped and Karen’s hands pressed down hard on her shoulders.

But Athena shook her head. “It’s not a suicide note. I haven’t read it, but some crime scene techs did. It’s addressed to you, though. So they decided to pass it on after Eva’s death was ruled an accidental overdose early this morning.”

Hen shook her head. “Keep it.”

Athena watched Hen with a frown, still holding out the envelope.

“No, really, I don’t want it,” Hen said firmly before Athena could start to argue with her. She didn’t even want to look at, let alone touch, the letter. “I have no interest in knowing what kind of manipulations Eva wanted to burden me with on her way back to prison.”

Athena sighed deeply and dropped her arm to her side. “Alright. Should I hold onto it for a while in case you change your mind?”

“I’ll take it,” Karen said. “Mark should hold onto it as evidence. Just in case anything of Eva’s … Just in case anything comes up and we need it.”

Hen glared at Karen as she took the envelope from Athena, folded it in half, and shoved it into her pocket. She wanted to protest loudly and angrily, but she bit her lip. Karen might be right about needing whatever Eva had left behind as evidence; who knew what kind of things Eva had already put into motion once she understood that Nathaniel wouldn’t be any help to her.

“I’m sorry, Hen,” Athena said softly.

Hen scoffed and shook her head. “It turns out, I’ve been waiting for this day for years. I just forgot that I was.”

She still didn’t feel anything but numb, and maybe a little resigned. The pain would come eventually, and Hen dreaded having to deal with any kind of grief over Eva again. That part should have been left behind a long time ago. If Eva had just turned her attention to someone else, to anything else other than hounding Hen again, maybe they wouldn’t be here now.

“Thank you for being the one to tell us, Athena,” Karen said with a sad smile.

Athena nodded. “Call me if you need anything. My shift ends in four hours. If you need another impromptu sleepover for Denny, Harry would be more than happy to share his room again.”

Karen chuckled. “Yeah, probably not a good idea to make that a habit on school nights. But we’ll keep you in mind, promise. Go back to work. I’ll call you in the evening.”

Athena nodded and sent Hen another sad smile before she turned around and left. Hen watched her and then stared at the closed door. She only noticed that her hands were shaking when Karen kneeled in front of her and clasped her hands around Hen’s.

“I need some space,” Hen blurted out before Karen could offer any condolences. That was the last thing Hen wanted to hear at the moment, especially from her wife.

Karen inhaled sharply and a dark shadow flickered over her face. But she nodded and squeezed Hen’s hands. “Okay. Call Chimney. You aren’t going to be alone.”

Hen huffed but didn’t protest. Chimney sounded like exactly the right person she needed now, even though she still hadn’t quite forgiven him for his suggestion to meet Eva behind Karen’s back.

“Please say goodbye to Denny first?” Karen whispered. “He’ll be worried if you’re just gone.”

“Yes, of course,” Hen whispered. “Thank you for understanding.”

***

Karen stood in the living room, her arms crossed over her chest almost like a hug, and felt utterly useless. She wasn’t surprised by Hen pulling back like she was doing at the moment; they had gone through this before where it concerned Eva, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Karen stared at the door as it closed behind Hen. She had been out to say goodbye to Denny, and Buck had to be some kind of miracle worker because Denny hadn’t clung to Hen despite being worried about her. Instead, he had turned back to Buck, who had continued to kick the soccer ball around very badly. Karen didn’t even think he was doing it on purpose, but rather that he really didn’t know much about soccer.

Bobby’s hand settled on her shoulder and Karen jumped.

“Hey, you doing okay?” Bobby asked quietly.

Karen shook her head. “No.”

Mostly she felt guilty. While she felt sad that Hen had to deal with Eva’s death, Karen was primarily relieved. Eva had proven to be a threat to their family in a way they hadn’t expected, even though they had talked in the past about the possibility that she might try to reinsert herself into Hen’s life at some point. But they hadn’t expected the kind of threats Eva had made when she stood in front of their house a couple of days ago. They hadn’t expected her to be so delusional about still having any kind of relationship with Hen.

Karen had been floundering about how to deal with any of that, and now she didn’t need to find a way. And so, all she felt about learning Eva was dead was relief, without a single ounce of compassion for a woman’s life ending too early.

“Want a hug?” Bobby asked.

Karen nodded and then Bobby’s arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. She leaned against his chest and her hand curled around the envelope in her pocket. The paper barely weighed anything, but it still felt like it was dragging her to the ground ever since she had put it there.

“Will Hen be okay?” Bobby asked.

“I hope so,” Karen whispered. “She … sometimes she needs time before she can talk about things concerning Eva. She’s learned to get there in the end, and I’ve learned to be patient.”

Bobby hummed.

“I hate that woman,” Karen murmured. “She put Hen through so much. And it just never seems to end!”

“It might end now,” Bobby said.

“You know it won’t. I can drag Hen to therapy all I want, but I know that a part of her will always wonder now. There’s nothing she could have done to save that woman, but Hen will still always wonder now because Eva went and threw her life away.”

“Will Hen be able to work tomorrow?” Bobby asked hesitantly.

Karen sighed. “Not my decision. But if she doesn’t call in sick, don’t send her home.”

“Alright,” Bobby agreed. “What do you need?”

Karen tightened her fist around the letter. “I’ll need a moment to myself.” Hen might not have wanted to read the letter, but Karen needed to know what Eva might have planned next, whether she had put something in motion they’d have to deal with even now that she was dead. “And then it would be great if we could continue with the original plans we had for Denny’s sake.”

“We can do that,” Bobby agreed. “And if you need anything else, today, tomorrow, or over the next little while, I’ll be here. And I’m sure Buck will be, too.”

Karen smiled sadly as she took a step back from Bobby. “Yeah, I know. Thank you.”

Bobby nodded and Karen turned around. She started towards the bedroom first but turned around right away. That was the last place she wanted to bring any of the emotions Eva’s death was causing. Instead, she went to her office and fell into the chair at the desk. She dropped the letter on the desk and stared at it for a long time.

Eventually, Karen grabbed it with a huff and ripped the envelope open. She couldn’t not read it, no matter what Hen thought about it. The sooner she got it over with, the sooner she could get on with her day.

My beloved Hen,

Please don’t think I don’t understand the position you were in after Diesel was born when you were all alone with a baby and a demanding job and needed to find help managing all of that while I was gone. I just wish you had found less of a harpy to support you, someone who knew when to gracefully step away when her role in your and our son’s life would be over.

She has now managed to put me back in prison. My parole officer called earlier and didn’t leave any doubt about what would be happening at our next meeting this afternoon. I hate the thought of having to go back, of leaving you alone again when we couldn’t even catch up yet.

I’ll probably have to serve those four years I still have left without another chance of parole. All thanks to that woman you brought into our lives. You need to take care of that problem over the next four years, baby. I don’t know if I can bear getting out and seeing you with her again.

I’m not angry with you, baby. Please don’t think that. All my anger is aimed at that harpy. But I am disappointed that you didn’t have any plans for when I was finally free again. And I know you didn’t have much warning, but I had hoped you’d have a plan in general.

I know you won’t disappoint me again in four years. I also hope you will come to visit me a little more regularly. Maybe you can even bring Diesel. I want him to know me from more than just your stories and he is old enough now to deal with a visit to the prison.

I miss you and I can’t wait to hear from you.

Forever yours,

love,

Eva.

PS: Maybe you were right when we saw each other the last time. Maybe I do have a problem. Knowing I have to go back, I couldn’t pass up the chance when I ran into an old acquaintance. Maybe I should just flush what I brought down the toilet. But I don’t know if I’m strong enough for that. Not without you. I want to do better when I come out again. I don’t think I can do it alone. Please help me, Hen.

Karen crumbled the paper in her hands and threw it across the room. Eva had been delusional and manipulative, and suddenly Karen didn’t feel guilty anymore about being relieved that she was dead. Eva couldn’t endanger her family any longer.

But then, the old anger at Eva overtook Karen again. From everything Hen had ever told her, the manipulations had been there from the very beginning, even if Hen wasn’t able to see them for herself even after years of therapy. It had always made Karen angry on Hen’s behalf because Hen deserved so much more. And now, even in death, Eva continued to drag that manipulation out.

Karen grabbed her phone but then hesitated. She couldn’t call Athena to vent. She was on shift, but also Karen knew herself well enough to be aware she might unfairly project some of her anger on her friend for being the one to bring that letter and inform them about Eva’s death. She couldn’t call Chimney either, even if Hen weren’t sitting in an Uber on her way to his place at the moment. He had always been Hen’s sounding board about anything concerning Eva, not hers.

In the end, Karen dialed Tommy’s number.

“Karen!” Tommy said, laughing. “Don’t tell me you’re going to cancel our wine night. Again.”

“I’m not,” Karen said. That wine night was planned for the day after tomorrow. “At least, I don’t think I am. I don’t know yet.” She sighed deeply. “Eva is dead.”

Tommy was silent for a moment. “Eva as in Hen’s ex?”

“Yeah, exactly that Eva. She overdosed. It was ruled accidental. Athena was just here to tell us and to drop off a letter Eva had written.”

“Not a suicide note if it was ruled an accident,” Tommy said.

“No.” Karen couldn’t help but practically growl that word. “Eva was fully expecting to go back to prison any day now because she didn’t care about the restraining order. The letter’s full of bullshit manipulations and belittling our marriage. She expected Hen to be better prepared next time to get rid of me once she got out of prison again.”

Tommy blew out a breath. “How is Hen?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Karen admitted. “She’s on her way to Chimney. I’m not sure if she’ll even come home again before her shift tomorrow.”

“You sure it’s a good idea for Hen to work tomorrow?”

Karen rolled her eyes. “Like I already told Bobby, that’s Hen’s decision alone to make.”

“Bobby?”

“Buck and Bobby are here. It’s become kind of a habit for Bobby to cook for us occasionally ever since the plane crash,” Karen explained. “But it’s a blessing right now. Buck’s distracting Denny by being horrible at playing soccer.”

Tommy laughed. “So, another sport Evan is utterly failing at? Does he know how to play any ball game?”

“That’s for you to find out, I guess,” Karen said. Tommy’s laughter was soothing the anger raging through her chest. “Maybe he is just pretending to be so bad.”

Tommy huffed. “Denny would notice that.”

Karen chuckled. “Yeah, probably.”

“I’m glad you aren’t alone,” Tommy said. “How are you feeling?”

“I detest Eva more than ever,” Karen admitted. “And I hate the thought that Hen will grieve for her. She never deserved any of Hen’s attention.”

Tommy sighed. “There will be a funeral. And Hen will want to attend.”

Karen groaned. “Oh, fuck me.”

“That’s Hen’s job,” Tommy deadpanned. “And you’re very much not my type.”

“You’re not funny,” Karen muttered darkly. “I draw the line at paying for any of that!”

“That sounds like a good line to draw,” Tommy said softly. “Do you need anything?”

“You’re already giving me what I need,” Karen said. “Someone who won’t judge my anger or outrage. Or frankly, my relief that she’s gone. I hate it for Hen because I know Hen hoped Eva would eventually get her life sorted out. But … after reading that letter, I’m pretty sure we’d eventually have been faced with a violent threat from her. So yes, I’m fucking relieved we’re rid of her and won’t ever have to deal with her again.”

“I’m the last person to judge you for that,” Tommy promised. “I know exactly how I plan to celebrate the day I learn Gerrard is dead.”

“Eva’s not a murderer,” Karen murmured.

Tommy huffed. “No. But I remember the time after their breakup even if Hen and I weren’t friends yet at that point. I remember how devastated Hen was about everything Eva did. And I remember all the trouble she had with the department because Eva started to insinuate Hen was involved in her drug dealing when she understood Hen wouldn’t come back to her.”

Karen made a face. “Yeah.” She had heard stories about that, not just from Hen but also from some other people, some convinced they needed to warn Karen about the kind of person Hen supposedly was.

“You know what?” Tommy said. “I’ll bring something more than wine when I come by in two days. No one but us needs to know it’s a celebration.”

Karen laughed wetly. “That sounds awful, but also perfect.”

“Then it’s decided,” Tommy said.

***

Hen put the empty bottle back on the table with a loud bang. “I need another one!”

Chimney sighed and stood. “You have a shift tomorrow, right? This’s the last beer you get, and after that, it’s at least three glasses of water for you!”

“I didn’t come here for you to try to be my mother, Chim!” Hen said darkly.

“Are you going to call in sick for tomorrow?” Chimney asked unphased. “I’m sure Bobby will understand. But it might be good to give him a couple hours’ notice so he can get a floater he thinks will fit the shift.”

Hen rolled her eyes and fell back against the couch. “I’m not going to take fucking bereavement leave for Eva of all people!”

She was angry at Eva and she wanted to shout that out into the world. But she wouldn’t let Eva disrupt her life. Eva had done enough of that over the years and Hen had allowed it far too often.

Chimney hummed. He didn’t say anything until he came back with another bottle of beer. He held it out for her but pulled it back when she reached for it. “Then this is your last bottle for tonight, Hen. I’m not letting you go on shift tomorrow with a hangover.”

“Buck would look out for me,” Hen said petulantly. Though she suspected Bobby would send her home without hesitation, especially after her ultimatum about the same thing she had given him not all that long ago.

Chimney huffed. “He would. But he is not your partner. That’s some floater whose name you probably wouldn’t be able to remember with the kind of hangover you’re aiming for.”

Hen glared at Chimney, and he just returned that glare with a calm look and raised brows.

Hen rolled her eyes before grabbing the bottle he held out. “Fine, this is my last beer!”

Chimney nodded and returned to the armchair. Hen only noticed now that he hadn’t even gotten a second beer for himself, which just made her glare at him again. She had come here to get wasted, and she didn’t appreciate that her friend was completely ruining that plan.

“You could still call in sick for tomorrow and then I’d be all on board with getting wasted,” Chimney said. “I don’t have classes tomorrow and I guess I could skip one training session if I’m too bad off.”

“I’m not giving Eva that kind of win!” Hen hissed.

Chimney nodded slowly. “Okay.”

“How dare she!” Hen shouted and jumped up, abandoning her beer on the table to pace around Chimney’s living room. “How fucking dare she tell me three days ago that she had no fucking problem and then go and overdose!”

Hen threw her hands in the air. “How dare she go and kill herself? What do you wanna bet she blamed me in that letter for everything that’s gone wrong in her life over the past couple of weeks she’s been out of prison? Weeks, Chimney! She fucking fought for years to get this chance to get out on parole, and then she blows it all up in no time at all for what? Why couldn’t she fucking move on?’”

“Do you want to read the letter?” Chimney asked.

Hen huffed. “No. I’d rather burn it. Pretty sure Karen has read it by now, though.”

She hated the thought, but she also knew she couldn’t have done anything to stop her wife. Karen always felt she needed to know as much as possible even if the information would infuriate her or make her angry. If she had all the information, she could plan and deal with any doubts or questions that came up. So Hen hadn’t even tried to ask her not to read the letter.

“I hate Eva for doing this to us,” Hen whispered and sank down on the couch, all her energy suddenly gone. “She went on and on about Denny, and I never wanted him to meet her. But I wanted to be able to tell him one day when he asks about her that she wasn’t able to take care of him but asked me to do so because she trusted me. And that now she was living a good life.”

“That was your dream for her life,” Chimney said. “Not hers.”

“Yes, of course!” Hen snapped. “Of course I wanted her to be happy! To have a good life! To fucking learn that she could be happy without the drugs! Just because I never wanted to see her again doesn’t mean I didn’t want her to be happy or didn’t want her to have a good life!”

“I’m sorry she let you down.”

Hen huffed, and then out of nowhere tears were running down her face. Without warning all the anger that had driven her over the past hour or so just evaporated and the grief crashed down on her. Eva was gone. And while Hen hadn’t wanted to see her, she had never wanted her to be gone like this.

Chimney wrapped an arm around Hen’s shoulder, making her jump a bit since she hadn’t even noticed him moving from the armchair to sit beside her. She turned and he caught her up in a tight embrace as Hen started to cry in earnest. She was grateful that Chimney didn’t say anything, but just held her and let her break apart.

Chapter 12

The cemetery was practically empty. When they had arrived, Hen had seen a handful of people visiting other graves, but other than that she was alone with Karen and the undertaker. There hadn’t been any kind of ceremony either. Eva was getting an anonymous burial paid for by the city, and the only reason Hen would know later on where she had been buried was that she was watching right now as the urn was lowered into the ground.

Karen stood beside her, silently watching and holding onto Hen’s hand tightly. Hen hadn’t wanted anyone but her wife to be here with her today, although Chimney, Buck, Bobby, and Tommy had all individually offered to come with them. Hen had known there wouldn’t be any family; Eva’s parents were long dead and the more distant family had abandoned Eva decades ago. She had hoped, though, that some of Eva’s friends would be here to say goodbye, but either they didn’t know about Eva’s death yet or they just didn’t care.

Hen felt sad all over again on Eva’s behalf for very different reasons now. When they had been together, they’d had a lot of friends. Most of those friendships had slipped away from Hen after the breakup with Eva, but she had thought at least some of them would’ve kept in contact with Eva given how much grief Hen had gotten from them for abandoning Eva ‘in her time of need’.

When they left the cemetery, Hen honestly couldn’t remember anything that the undertaker had said. Thankfully Karen had taken charge of any conversation that had taken place, because Hen just felt numb and disconnected all over again.

“What do you want to do?” Karen asked softly when Hen stopped at the gate of the cemetery and just stared blankly ahead out over the parking lot.

Hen shrugged. “No idea.” She rubbed her hand over her head. “I don’t … Usually after a funeral you go and spend some time remembering the person you had to say goodbye to, right? I don’t want to do that with Eva.”

“I know there are some good memories that you have of her,” Karen said.

Hen shook her head. “Eva managed to ruin most of those with her behavior. And I know you don’t want to hear much about that anyway.”

“I would not and have never stopped you before from sharing any kind of memories of your time with her,” Karen said softly. She cupped Hen’s cheek with one hand. “I’m not starting today. If you want to remember the good times you once had with Eva, I’ll be happy to listen.”

Hen exhaled slowly and blinked away her tears. “I really don’t want to do that.”

Karen watched her with a sad smile.

“I don’t know what to do!” Hen said, shaking her head. “I don’t even know anymore if it was the right thing to come here today.”

“It was,” Karen said softly. “A funeral isn’t for the dead; it’s always for the living. So they can say goodbye.”

“And no one but me wanted to say goodbye to Eva,” Hen whispered with a frown.

Karen sighed. “I still think Eva didn’t deserve you or any of your love. But your big heart and your dedication and loyalty are part of what drew me to you, what made me fall in love with you. So I can hardly fault you for caring for others, even if those people don’t deserve it. It was Eva’s loss that she couldn’t value what you gave her.”

Hen shrugged.

“Okay.” Karen turned and pulled Hen with her to their car. “I know what we are going to do.”

Hen wasn’t very enthusiastic, but she let Karen push her into the passenger seat of the car and didn’t ask where they were going. The drive was silent, and Hen stared out of the window, lost in thoughts of what Eva’s plans had been for her life once. She had thrown away all those plans years ago because the drugs had been more important in the end, but part of Hen had always hoped Eva would eventually return to and achieve those dreams. It was still difficult for her to believe that they were truly lost now.

When the car stopped Hen was startled out of her thoughts and for a moment she didn’t know where they were. Karen chuckled and walked around the car to drag her out before Hen was fully back in the here and now.

“Ice cream?” Hen asked with raised brows.

Karen raised her brows and gave Hen a look. “Not just any ice cream!”

Hen laughed when Karen grabbed her hand again and dragged her into the café. It was the place with the best ice cream in all of LA by far — at least for Hen and Karen, and they wouldn’t let anyone argue with them about it. But the ice cream wasn’t the reason why this place was special for them.

Karen pulled Hen over to the same table they had shared so many years ago for the first time, the one that they usually avoided when they came here for ice cream. This table was a place that always had been and always would be connected to Eva for both of them. There had been times when they had come here to enjoy the ice cream and this was the only table that had been free, so they had turned around again and left. When Karen pushed Hen down into one of the chairs, Hen thought that this might just be the only place they could be right now, sitting here to deal with Eva one last time.

Hen’s pain and grief over how things with Eva had ended had been a shadow over her relationship with Karen practically from day one. As well-meaning as Chimney’s actions had been when he had set them up originally — and then when he had tricked Karen into reconsidering their breakup — Hen really had not been ready for a new relationship, no matter how well she had clicked with Karen and how fast and deep she had fallen in love with her.

Karen gave Hen a quick kiss after pushing her into the chair. “We’re getting our usual, right?”

Hen laughed, and for the first time since Athena had stood in front of her house so unexpectedly five days ago, it felt like a true and honest emotion.

“Let’s get the usual,” Hen agreed.

‘The usual’ in this case were two outrageously large cups of ice cream with entirely too much chocolate and caramel and whipped cream along with a big vanilla milkshake. It wasn’t anything close to the kind of combination either of them actually liked, but it had been the daily special the first time they had ended up here — a time when their order had been the furthest thing on either of their minds.

The first time they had come here had been after a fight had brought an abrupt end to a date. Hen had been in a bad mood after she had once again been questioned by the police about Eva and hadn’t been treated very well during that. Karen hadn’t understood why Hen had been more depressed than angry about any of it, and it had led to their first serious fight. Which had been startling all on its own, especially because until that day they both had pretended their relationship was much more casual than it truly had been by that point.

The fight had broken out not too far from here, and Hen honestly couldn’t remember how they had ended up at the ice cream parlor, or which of them had decided that they wouldn’t just go their separate ways, but should talk it out right then and there. It had led to the first of many conversations about Eva that felt more like bloodletting, where Hen had shared her pain and grief in all its rawness and Karen had blurted out her insecurities.

The second time they had sat at this table had been after their fight about Eva asking Hen to adopt her child. Hen had still been stuck in the cast with her broken leg after the accident Chimney had used to guilt trip Karen into reconsidering the breakup. Hen had regretted the amount of ice cream she had indulged in that day, but coming here to hash out everything unsaid between them had felt like the only decision they could’ve made.

Karen returned empty-handed after placing their order with the young woman behind the counter. Hen grabbed her hand and pulled her down onto the chair beside her instead of letting her take the one on the other side of the table. She hugged Karen tightly, resting her forehead against Karen’s neck.

“This is the last time we’ll have that special combination of ice cream,” Hen whispered.

Karen chuckled. “I really hope so.”

“Do I want to know what’s in the letter?”

“No,” Karen sighed. “It’s just more of the same manipulations she’s always subjected you to. I gave it to Mark for safekeeping, but there was nothing in it that hinted at any more plans she put into action. I think she wanted to wait on that until she came out of prison again.”

“That’s a relief,” Hen admitted. She pulled back and held both of Karen’s hands. “Thank you. I don’t know … I just … Eva has always been such a hard topic between us. Thank you for coming with me today.”

Karen smiled sadly. “Always. Though, I would’ve drawn the line at paying for any of it.”

Hen made a face. She hadn’t even thought about that. Maybe Eva deserved more than an anonymous grave the city paid for, but Hen didn’t even feel guilty that she hadn’t thought of it until the very moment Karen brought it up.

“I’m happy we agree about that,” Karen said.

Hen sighed. “So far I’ve woken up every day and thought it couldn’t be true, that it was some kind of strange dream.”

“Not a nightmare?” Karen asked softly.

Hen shook her head slowly. “I wouldn’t call it a nightmare.” It still felt like a horrible dream, but it put her family in a much better and safer position so she would never be able to call it a nightmare. “Anyway, it doesn’t feel real. Not even with the funeral now.”

“It’ll sink in eventually,” Karen promised. “And we’ll be okay.”

“Yeah.” Hen pressed a short kiss against Karen’s lips just as the ice cream was dropped off at their table. “I know. I love you.”

***

“Moms! Look!” Denny shouted with a delighted laugh while at the same time pulling a disgusted face. He pointed at one of the chimpanzees facing them while peeing.

Karen sighed. “Yeah. Animals really don’t care where they do that. Or who is watching them.”

Denny was still laughing. “It’s so gross!”

Karen nodded and wondered if she had ever been that excited about seeing something she thought was gross. She was pretty sure that had never been one of her faults. There was a reason she had gone into physics and engineering — which were both very orderly — instead of something like biology or chemistry, which were both teaming with too many gross things in her opinion.

The excursion to the zoo had been long planned and they were supposed to meet the Grants in a little while for a shared lunch. They’d spend the afternoon together after that, but first, the adults had decided they deserved a little bit of family time.

For a while Karen had wondered if they should cancel the day at the zoo, but she hadn’t even brought it up with her wife. Hen was struggling with Eva’s death, but not as much as Karen had expected — and also not in quite the way that Karen had expected.

They stayed with the chimpanzees quite a while longer with Denny happily chatting away about their antics. He had a habit of making up stories about the animal’s thoughts and interactions, and Hen happily played along while Karen watched them with a fond smile.

Then, out of nowhere, Denny said, “I’m glad you aren’t so sad anymore, Mama.”

Hen froze. “What?” Her voice was strangled, and she shared a wide-eyed look with Karen.

Denny shrugged and leaned against Hen while still watching the chimpanzees. “You were sad because of your friend. I didn’t like it.”

Karen trailed her hand through her son’s hair. “How’d you know that?”

Denny rolled his eyes. “Harry heard his parents talking about the woman from the park dying.”

“You mean he eavesdropped,” Hen said hoarsely.

Harry loved to do that, and they all knew it. No matter how careful anyone was, Harry always seemed to find ways to get around their precautions, and he often overheard things he wasn’t supposed to.

Denny shrugged. “Is it true?”

Karen sighed deeply. “Let’s go to that bench over there and sit down, okay?”

Denny bit his lip as he looked up at them with a frown. “I’m sorry?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, baby,” Hen said softly. “It’s just not easy to talk about it when you lose someone.”

“But you said she wasn’t your friend anymore,” Denny said.

Hen nodded and pulled Denny onto her lap once they reached the bench. “That’s true. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still be sad that she died. Especially since she should’ve lived a much longer life.”

Karen put her arm around Hen’s shoulder and decided to let her handle this conversation as long as there wasn’t any indication she was struggling too much with it. This moment would be so much easier if there wasn’t a chance that someday Denny would make the connection that the ‘woman in the park’ he was asking about was the woman who had given birth to him.

Hen and Karen had talked at length about what they would eventually tell Denny while sharing the frankly disgustingly sweet chocolate-caramel-ice cream concoction that had somehow become their go-to coping mechanism when they had to discuss the truly horrible parts of Eva’s role in their lives. But they hadn’t expected to be confronted with it so soon, and especially not in a context where Denny wasn’t even asking about his biological parents but rather just showing worry that Hen was sad.

“How’d she die?” Denny asked.

Hen blew out a breath and kissed Denny’s temple. “She had been sick for a long time. It was something that could have been managed, but she wasn’t very good at trying to manage it.”

Denny frowned. “She didn’t look sick.”

“You can’t always see when people are sick,” Hen whispered. “Or when people struggle. Some people are really good at hiding those things.”

Denny leaned back and looked from Hen to Karen and back. “You wouldn’t hide something like that, right? I’m not a baby anymore!”

Karen chuckled and rubbed a hand over his back. “Of course not. We’ll always be as honest with you as we can be. But you’re still very young. So there are just some topics you really shouldn’t worry about and let us worry about instead.”

Denny lowered his gaze. “I don’t like it when you’re sad and I want to help.”

“You help just by being you,” Hen promised. “You make every day so much brighter and more joyful because you’re our son.”

Denny watched her skeptically for a moment before he started to giggle. “You’re silly, Mama.”

“I’m just telling you the truth,” Hen said with a grin.

“Could you say goodbye to your friend?” Denny asked.

“I did,” Hen said. “And Mom’s been helping me not be so sad anymore.”

Denny nodded. “That’s good. But I want to help, too.”

Hen hummed. “How about you give me a hug every time you think I’m sad? A Denny-hug always makes things so much better.”

“Yes.” Denny nodded very earnestly. “I’ll do that.” He threw his arms around Hen’s neck and hugged her tightly. “I love you, Mama.”

“I love you, too, baby,” Hen whispered into his hair, tears shining in her eyes.

For a while they sat together silently, then Denny wiggled free of Hen’s hug and jumped off her lap. “I want to see the koalas next!”

Karen laughed. “They’re all the way on the other side of the zoo!”

Denny shrugged. “Yeah, I know. But they’re so cute! I think Mama needs to look at something cute! And Harry won’t want to see them. He thinks they’re boring because they never do anything. So we have to see them before lunch!”

Hen grinned and hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. “Sounds great. Let’s go look at the koalas. And after that, we have a lunch date, I believe.”

“Yes!” Denny shouted excitedly.

Karen took Hen’s hand as they followed Denny and laced their fingers together. “You alright?”

Hen smiled. “Do you sometimes wonder how we got so lucky in having such a great kid?”

“Ha!” Karen huffed. “That’s not luck. We are putting a lot of work in to make sure he’ll grow into a good person. No luck involved.”

Hen bumped their shoulders together. “I think there is a little luck involved at least.”

Karen hummed. “I’m grateful every day that he is part of our lives.”

“Yeah,” Hen agreed, and Denny shouted, “Hurry up!”

They followed him, laughing most of the way, to the koalas who were indeed damn cute, and for a change pretty active. Denny demanded they take lots of pictures and videos so that he could prove Harry wrong in his opinion about the koalas.

An hour later, they met up with the Grants at the restaurant near the petting zoo, which was their destination right after lunch. Michael was tasked with herding all three kids through the restaurant to gather their food while Athena, Hen, and Karen guarded the table they had secured for themselves.

“You look good,” Athena said softly, watching Hen carefully.

Hen rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t Earth-shattering news, you know? I started waiting for that kind of call long before I broke up with her.”

Athena nodded slowly. “But that doesn’t make it any less painful.”

“I don’t know, maybe it does,” Hen said.

“We’re hanging in there,” Karen said. “And every day is a little easier, just like always, right?”

Athena sighed. “Yeah. I know how that feels.”

Hen started to grin and leaned over the table. “I think your days have become a lot better lately.”

Athena cleared her throat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Hen laughed. “I hope you’ve memorized my number now!”

Karen frowned. Clearly, she was missing something very important about this sudden change of topic. “What happened?”

Athena pointed a finger at Hen and glared. “Don’t you dare, Henrietta!”

Hen laughed so hard she nearly fell out of her chair if she hadn’t grabbed the edge of the table. “I’m not saying anything, I promise.”

Karen furrowed her brow. “No, really. What happened?”

“I learned a lesson about memorizing my friends’ numbers so I won’t have to utterly embarrass myself,” Athena said darkly. “And that’s all you need to know.”

Hen waved a hand in front of her, still laughing so hard she couldn’t talk.

“I have a feeling you’ll never let me forget this,” Athena muttered under her breath.

“Never ever,” Hen promised, wheezing.

Karen rolled her eyes. “Okay, keep your secrets.”

“On another note,” Athena said with another glare at Hen. “You both were right. And I owe you an apology and a thank you.”

Karen smiled. “Yeah?”

There had been no chance to miss that Michael and Athena were much more at ease with each other again. It had been a long time since she had seen her friends tease each other about anything, so seeing Michael mockingly tell Athena she probably needed the break and to stay at the table had been a startling observation.

Athena nodded. “Thank you for your intervention.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Karen said as Hen’s laughter finally tapered off. “To give sanity checks and hold you together in the tough times. And do whatever you two did recently.” She side-eyed Hen, wondering if there was any chance to get this story out of her wife eventually.

Athena huffed.

“You can’t dangle this carrot in front of me and not expect me to chase it!” Karen said petulantly.

“Please let me tell her,” Hen pleaded.

Athena huffed again and turned around to look at the people around them. Then she leaned over the table and — very quietly — told her story of going home with a guy from a bar and how a little mishap while misusing her handcuffs led to her calling 9-1-1 to get a dispatcher she knew personally to call Hen.

“She didn’t really want the key immediately, by the way,” Hen said at the end. “She just wanted me to drop it somewhere where she could reach it eventually.”

Karen bit her lip to keep her own laughter at bay. Somehow, she had not expected anything less from Athena. “Was it a good night after that at least?”

Athena’s grin was all the answer she needed.

Karen nodded. “Good. And I promise I’ll reign in my incorrigible wife about her teasing.”

“Hey!” Hen protested.

Karen nudged her with the elbow. “We’re going to support our friend enjoying her life. Your teasing won’t help with that!”

Hen huffed but the topic was effectively put to rest by Michael and the children returning. Denny, Harry, and May led the conversation throughout the whole meal — though Karen would have preferred Denny not to share the chimpanzee’s outrageous behavior from earlier in quite so much detail while they were eating — and made detailed plans about what they wanted to see together the rest of the day.

After lunch, they went to the petting zoo and May pretended for all of two minutes to be too old for it before she joined the boys sitting on the ground among the animals crowding around them to get in some pets.

Karen wrapped her arm around Hen’s waist while they watched the children. It was a perfect day to remind all of them that the lives they had were pretty good overall. There was no problem the world could throw at them that they couldn’t get through together.

 

 

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