Epilogue

“Mom? When’s Uncle Phillip getting here?”

Despite the gloomy occasion, a slight smile formed on my face as I looked down at my oldest son. Now that he was nine years old, I didn’t have to lower my head quite so much when I spoke. “He’ll be here in a bit, kiddo,” I answered, ruffling his thick mop of red-brown hair. “You know how your uncle’s never been on time for anything.”

James nodded sagely, and a contemplative expression appeared on his face. He’d always seemed wise beyond his age, even when he’d been a littler kid; I supposed that came from being Derek’s and my firstborn child. “D’you think he’ll bring Holly, too?” he asked hopefully.

“I don’t think so, honey. Holly’s pretty small still, so she probably stayed home with her mom this time.”

He glanced up at me with questioning green eyes. With all the things he’d inherited from his father---including his name---I was glad that James had at least gotten my eyes…along with a few personality traits, too. Such as persistence. “Why?”

It took me a moment to reply, mostly because I wasn’t sure how to explain to James that cemeteries weren’t the ideal environment for a newborn. “She’s not old enough to come see where Grandpa and Grandma are yet, Jay.”

“Oh.” My son sighed in disappointment; he’d been excited at the prospect of seeing his only cousin again. Unfortunately, circumstances being what they were---with Phillip and Amy living in Los Angeles now---it was getting harder for them to find the time for a visit up north. And, conversely, for Derek and I to head that far south, what with our jumbled schedules and the kids.

I couldn’t stand the forlorn look that came upon James’s face then, and so I placed my hands on his shoulders and pulled him close. “Don’t worry, kiddo. We’ll go visit her and Uncle Phillip and Aunt Amy again.” If I can get the time off work, that is, I added silently to myself. Sometimes being a SWAT officer didn’t mesh well with the other aspects of life. But after eight and a half years of doing my dream job, I’d learned to make it work. More or less.

When I’d first found out I was pregnant with James ten years ago, I knew right away that I’d have to temporarily renounce my acceptance to SWAT and postpone the training. Captain Curtis had seemed more shocked than anything else when I’d told her, but she was more supportive than Lieutenant Richards and Sergeant Hayden had been at the news. While the two men had always been like family to me, and still were, they definitely hadn’t enjoyed that surprise when Derek and I had laid it on them. Lucky for me, though, I had already transferred to SWAT by the time our subsequent children came along. The job was certainly a lot tougher, but Curtis had understood my needs as a wife and mother better than my former supervisors had.

As I thought about my other kids, I saw James’s little brother suddenly come running up the hill, with the rest of the family in tow. It seemed that James and I had gotten a little too far ahead of them on our walk.

“Mommy, guess what!” my seven-year-old, Tyler, cried excitedly. “Do you know what me and Daddy saw on the way over here?”

“What’s that, Ty?” I asked as I turned to face him, still holding onto James. James seemed like he’d been sufficiently comforted now, but with Derek and I habitually gone for twelve-, twenty-four-, or forty-eight-hour shifts, spending time with the kids was a precious activity. It always amazed me, just how badly I missed them while I was on-duty. So, on the handful of days I got off after a long shift, I relished every moment I was with them…and I tried not to miss any opportunities to hold my kids.

I hadn’t known what this parenting thing was going to be like before I’d had James. Of course, I’d been much younger back then, susceptible to parental horror stories and the general anxiety that comes with having your very first child. But, as my oldest son had begun to develop inside me, my attitude had gradually changed. Derek and I had both still worried about everything, but our initial excitement and wonder had grown to nearly displace the stress of it all. Then, once James was actually born, our entire world had become different---in both good and challenging ways, but mostly good.

There was something to be said, about the intense bond and attachment and love you experienced when you became a parent. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt before, even though I thought I’d never feel as strongly for anyone as I did for Derek.

Presently, Tyler smiled up at me, his black hair getting slightly tousled from the wind. “We saw a bunch of squirrels, Mom!” He laughed and briefly shut his blue eyes. “One of ‘em had an acorn, but he had to run up the tree fast, ‘cause the other two wanted to take it.”

I smiled back. “Sounds like the walk over here was quite an adventure, honey.”

James chuckled, pulling himself free of my arms all of a sudden. “Yeah, I saw ‘em doing that yesterday, too,” he said to his brother. “I think they’re putting their food away for the winter.”

“Is that what you learned in school, kiddo?” Derek asked as he walked up beside me. He was holding our youngest child, three-year-old Gavin, in his arms. The poor kid looked like he was about to conk out; it was getting close to his nap time, and he had his head buried in Derek’s chest.

“Dad,” James whined, drawing out the word. “I heard it on TV. School’s been out for two weeks for fall break, remember?”

Derek smirked at both James and Tyler. “Two weeks already, huh? You know what that means, right?”

I looked down at our oldest kids. Someone was going to have to be the bad guy and say it, and I knew it wouldn’t be their father. “Jay, Ty…You two are going to have to go back to school again tomorrow,” I reminded them.

Both let out loud groans, and Derek and I exchanged an amused glance.

“Hey, what are you guys upset about?” Derek asked, crouching down to James and Tyler’s level. “You’ve got the whole park to run around in this afternoon, so you don’t have to worry about tomorrow for now. Go ahead and have fun for a few minutes while we wait for Uncle Phillip, ok? Me and Gav’ll be there in a sec.”

The two kids nodded vigorously and grinned. “Ok, Daddy!”

Derek and I watched as both of our children sprinted for the swings, several yards ahead of us; the kids were just far enough away to be out of earshot, but close enough for us to keep a sharp eye on them. In the past decade that we’d continued to work for the police department, neither Derek nor I had failed to make more enemies---and though we hadn’t had any real issues yet, I wouldn’t ever let my guard down when it came to maintaining my family’s safety.

Plus, Phillip’s buddies were still out there, too, waiting for me to make a wrong move and re-enter their territory so I could finally be checked off their “to-kill” list. Not that they hadn’t already tried, of course. When I’d been sent out there five years ago on a SWAT mission, I’d ended up half-dead in the street, bloodied and sporting more than a few broken bones; Derek had had to take care of our then-two small children alone for several weeks while I recovered at the hospital. Even now, my body ached just remembering the incident. If my partner on the SWAT team hadn’t acted fast in defending me, I knew for sure that I would have died that day.

Yeah. No one ever said the life in law enforcement Derek and I had chosen was the easiest, or the best. But ultimately, it was what we did….and neither of us was willing to trade it for anything different.

I was abruptly forced from my thoughts when I felt Derek slip his arm around me; it was a one-armed embrace, seeing as his other was still occupied with cradling our youngest son. Without consciously thinking about it, I leaned into my husband’s side and let out a sigh. When it came to our life, I mused, reminiscing was definitely not for the faint of heart.

“Everything ok, Kara?” Derek inquired softly.

“Yeah,” I answered, then snorted. “Just wondering where the hell that brother of mine went. The kids have been wanting to see him for weeks now, and he was supposed to be here half an hour ago.”

Derek grinned when I glanced over at him. “Well, this kid’s officially down for the count, I think.”

As if to prove his father wrong, however, Gavin stirred slightly. “N-no, Daddy. Tell Mommy…I’m…wake…”

I chuckled and leaned across Derek’s chest to kiss my littlest boy on his cheek. “Gav, don’t fight it. Just sleep, honey.”

He squirmed some more in his father’s grip, but didn’t open his eyes. “No…” Gavin murmured in weak defiance, but it was too late. Less than a minute later, his small body and breathing relaxed, and Derek pulled his arm back to better support our son.

“See, what’d I tell you?” Derek said to me. “Kid’s out like a light.” He smiled for a second, then turned his gaze to the part of the park James and Tyler were playing in. “And I’m willing to bet that once they’ve worn themselves out in a couple hours, they’ll get to sleep pretty fast, too.”

Folding my arms across my chest, I suddenly cocked an eyebrow at Derek. “What are you really trying to say, DJ?”

The mischievous look he gave me matched my own. “What time’s your shift start tonight?”

“Ten,” I answered, trying but failing to keep a straight face.

“Well, if everything goes right, the kids should all be asleep by eight.” His lips were at my ear in an instant, and his voice was incredibly low all of a sudden. “And there’s a lot we can do in two hours, you know…”

My grin widened, and I gave him a playful shove. “Guess it depends on whether or not you play your cards right, mister.”

He winked. “Then I’ll play them very well, baby.”

I felt like giving Derek another shove as I smirked at him, but I didn’t want to bother Gavin. The kid needed his sleep; otherwise, we’d have to deal with a rightfully grumpy toddler the rest of the day---in addition to our other two rowdy boys. And that, in turn, would significantly impact the chances Derek and I had for…enjoying some time alone tonight.

The thought made my expression sober pretty quick. “Derek? Are you sure you’re ok with watching them by yourself while me and Phillip go?” Part of the plan had been for him and the kids to play in the park for a while, but now that Gavin had fallen asleep in his arms, it made it a little harder for Derek to keep a close watch on James and Tyler.

“Yeah, Kare,” Derek replied, without a hint of concern in his voice. “I’m perfectly capable of handling my own kids for a bit.”

“It’s not you I don’t trust, Derek. You know that.”

He nodded. “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll be fine.”

“All right.” I sighed in resignation as I looked over at our older sons. James and Tyler had gotten off the swings now, and had apparently decided to start climbing the monkey bars, jump off the top, and then run back up the steps to go again. When I shot Derek a quick glance to see if he’d noticed their new game, I could tell by the alarm on his face that he had. “I’m uh…going to go make sure they don’t get themselves in a rough spot. Let me know if Phillip shows up,” I said to him. Then, once I was approaching my sons, I shouted, “Boys! Use the monkey bars properly, or you won’t be allowed to use them anymore.”

“Aw, Mom!” Tyler complained from his perch atop the bars. “We’re not gonna fall and get hurt, promise.”

I was about to order him off the bars anyway when James called out.

“Uncle Phillip!” my oldest son cried happily. He leapt off the bars fast and started running for my brother. Tyler followed.

“Hey, little nephs!” Phillip said as he strolled toward the sandbox. My sons met him halfway, wrapping their arms around his waist in fierce hugs. “How’s it going, James? Tyler?”

“Good,” they announced in unison. I could tell how excited they were by the huge grins on their faces, and that made me smile, too.

Although it seemed opposite his nature, I’d found that my brother was actually great with his nephews. I knew kids definitely weren’t his thing, which was why he’d told me Holly would be the only niece I’d ever get, but he kept himself in check pretty well when he was around them. Phillip chatted briefly with James and Tyler, then let them get back to playing and came over to me. I followed him as he went to greet Derek and the still-sleeping Gavin, and then my brother and I started off.

It was a sort of ritual we’d started the year we’d reunited, after our time in foster care: visiting our parents’ grave together on the anniversary of their death. Earlier, I’d thought that now that Phillip and I were thirty-three, living in different cities with families of our own, the tradition wouldn’t survive. But, somehow, it had. And I was glad.

Not that it was ever a happy event to commemorate, of course.

The walk to the cemetery where they were buried wasn’t far, maybe about a fifteen-minute trek through the streets from the park. Still, neither Phillip nor I spoke until we were almost there.

“Haven’t seen you in about a month, sis,” my brother finally said. “Since you guys came down to LA the week Holly was born. How’s everything been around here?”

I shrugged. “You know how it is at home, Phillip. Long hours at work, shitbags on the prowl, and three boys to juggle around from one thing to the next. Seriously, with the schedules Derek and I have been running lately, and with James and Tyler home from school, we’d be up shit’s creek if it weren’t for the Goldersteins.”

Once I’d given birth to James all those years ago, Derek and I had figured out pretty quick that while his apartment had been comfortable for the two of us, it wasn’t nearly enough for the three of us. So, we’d spent a few rather cramped months looking for a new place that would suit our needs as we expanded our family. What we’d ended up finding was a decently priced home in a fairly good neighborhood; something we’d continue paying off for what seemed like the rest of our lives, but which contained an acceptable amount of space for two-plus people to live in. And one of the unexpected perks we’d encountered was the generosity of our new neighbors. The Goldersteins were a retired couple in their early sixties, living in the house directly across the street from ours, and we’d known the lifesavers for years now.

When Derek, James, and I had first moved in, the couple learned that Derek and I were both cops---and that with our chaotic day/night shifts always changing, it was hard to find reliable, trustworthy babysitters for James. I’d taken a few months off work immediately following his birth, to take care of him properly in his earliest days, but I’d eventually wanted to return to the force and finally start SWAT training. Therefore, since both of us had wanted to spend as much time with our son as possible, Derek and I had tried our best to get alternating schedules. That way, I’d be home with James on my days off while Derek was on, and vice versa.

The system was ideal when it worked, but that wasn’t always the case; like before James had entered the picture, sometimes Derek’s and my shifts overlapped. And we also weren’t getting a whole lot of time together that way, either. It was then that the Goldersteins had stepped in, and offered to watch James on those days that Derek and I both happened to be working at the same time. The whole sequence had been repeated with Tyler’s and then Gavin’s birth, as well. Although, truth be told, not even Curtis was happy about me insisting on spending the first few months of my children’s lives at home. I guess it was a good thing I didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

“They still watching the kids for you?” Phillip inquired in response to my statement.

“Yeah. It’s a little easier on all of us, now that James and Tyler’ll be going back to school and Gavin to preschool. But boy, when they were younger and didn’t have school at all…things were always pretty damn hectic.” I smirked at him. “Well, I don’t need to explain it to you anymore. Now you know exactly what I’m talking about, huh?”

Phillip chuckled. “I can’t believe I’ve entered the parent realm. It’s a lot tougher than I gave you credit for, Kare, that’s for sure. I don’t know how you and Derek manage with three of ‘em.” He shook his head, then took out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. “Don’t get me wrong; I love my baby girl more than anything, sis. But she’s plenty for me and Ames.”

Though my brother hadn’t told me explicitly, I got the feeling that Holly had been a surprise to both him and Amy. They’d grown on each other over the years, had moved past their confusing-lust-with-love stage into actual love, and had eventually decided to stick strictly to one another. Neither had ever wanted to officially tie the knot, however, but they lived contentedly that way, even with Holly.

“Well, I gave you my update,” I said after a moment of silence. “So how goes it in SoCal, Phillip? Honestly?”

My twin brother took a drag from the cigarette he’d lit, then blew out the smoke before answering. “Honestly, I’m making bank right now. Amy does good on tips, but I’m---”

Sighing in frustration, I cut him off and asked, “You’re selling weed, aren’t you?”

Phillip didn’t even try to hide his annoyance at my deductive skills…or his anger. His green eyes were dark when he glanced at me. “Why so interested? You a fucking detective now, Kara?”

“Sergeant, actually,” I retorted. “But that doesn’t matter. I’m asking as your sister, because I’m generally concerned for your welfare.” I stopped and turned to face him. “Jesus, Phillip, you’d better be fucking careful. It isn’t Sac Town down there, bro. LA’s a whole new fucking ball game, and you have to be damn sharp to play. I don’t want my niece orphaned like we were, Phillip.”

He twitched at the implication. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I always keep my address and my family off the radar, Kara. I’m not stupid; I know things are different in LA. I’m just…trying to give my kid the life she deserves, and this is the best way I know how to do it. Being a mechanic wasn’t cuttin’ it anymore, Kare. Especially in the big city.”

I swallowed hard, and not just because we were at the iron gates of the cemetery now. We both walked quietly through them, but I suddenly wasn’t immersed in the present any longer. The only thing I could think of at the moment was our dad, how he’d died once he’d gotten in over his head. Once he had a family to protect and wanted out. Dad didn’t have much of a choice with what he got involved in, I thought to myself. But you do, Phillip. And I can’t believe you’re choosing this for yourself, after you’ve seen and experienced first-hand what can happen when you get mixed up in this shit. “Please, Phillip. Think about what I said, at least.”

My brother simply shrugged in reply, but I let it go. He was only going to be in town for a few hours, and I didn’t want to spend that time arguing with him. Besides, I’d said what I wanted to say; it was up to him to decide whether he should do something about it or not.

It didn’t take long after that for Phillip and I to reach the gravestone marked “Reed”. The two of us came to a halt before it and quietly stared for a moment. Above the four stenciled black letters carved into the rock were the names Christian and Julie, on either side. This was where our parents had been buried, following their ruthless murder twenty years ago on this day.

Though I tried not to show it, I still thought about my memories from that day sometimes. When I was a kid, I always thought that the awful images and sounds I’d experienced would eventually fade in time…that I would eventually forget. But as the years continued to go by, I’d found that if I allowed myself to think about it, even now, I could remember everything as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. It just wasn’t one of those life events you could force out of your mind. Not completely, anyway.

And, as always, it was only Phillip and I who really knew, and who really understood.

“Well, at least you and Derek finally got ‘em, eh?” my brother said suddenly. “Those fucking sons o’ bitches that did this to our parents.” He roughly folded his arms across his chest and scowled at the ground. “Hope they’re having fun rotting in their fucking cells right now.”

I snorted before absently kicking a clump of loose dirt with my shoe. “Don’t worry, bro. They are. Maybe it took us a long time to find out who they were, but it sure as hell didn’t take long for us to convict ‘em. Tommy and Miller and Stenson and all the rest of those fuckers’ll still be in prison for a ton of years to come, Phillip.”

The court cases ten years ago had been more of a joke than anything else. With all the evidence I’d managed to rack up during my undercover operation, all the shit they’d done to me personally, and all that they’d confessed to during the questionings, sending the criminals where they belonged hadn’t been a difficult task. The real hard part had been waiting for the trials to begin, and then to testify against the gang members in court---especially Miller’s case, where I’d had to recount every detail of his attempted rape in front of the judge and jury. Phillip had even risked his life to join me and the police in testifying against the bastards, rather than siding with his former street buddies. But, in the end, we had the reward of knowing that everything was finally and truly accomplished.

Realizing that we’d helped bring our parents’ killers to justice was…an interesting feeling, for both my twin brother and for me. The weird thing, though, was that I wasn’t always sure if I meant that in a good way or a bad one.

In any case, contemplating the trials made me think of something that was definitely unpleasant: Tommy Berlino.

As if reading my thoughts, my twin brother chose just that instant to break the steadily growing silence. “Hey, Kara?” he asked in a low voice, not once taking his eyes off the grave marker.

“Yeah?” I questioned in return.

Phillip hesitated before going on slowly. “Do you think it was…really right? What uh…what you told me Tommy said about Mom and Dad?”

I let out a long, exhausted kind of sigh, and didn’t even reply at first. How many times had I wondered the same thing over the last several years? Ever since that day in the interrogation room, when Tommy had revealed the true purpose of the murder? It was hard to admit that, despite the number of years that had gone by since then, I still didn’t have a definite answer to that. I knew what the facts told me, what Tommy had told me, and what my gut told me. But no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able reconcile that portrait of my parents with the memory I had of them. Judging by Phillip’s own preoccupation with the subject, I suspected that he was faced with the same dilemma.

“I…I don’t know, Phillip,” I finally responded. I looked into the green eyes of my father’s picture on the tombstone, the same ones that both my brother and I had inherited. The ones that James and Gavin had received, as well. “If I went with what I remember growing up, I’d have to say a flat-out no…”

He nodded in understanding. “But if you look at the evidence and the circumstances, there’s no real way to pretend it wasn’t.”

Tears sprang into my eyes then, but I kept my emotions in check and didn’t let them spill down my face. My voice was level when I spoke, too. “Yeah. Something like that.”

In an abrupt move that caught me by surprise, Phillip put an arm around me then. “Well, whatever happened, I think we did good, sis. We may not’ve always made the best choices, or the right ones. Probably won’t in the future, either. But we’ve always done the best we could with what we had thrown at us.”

“And we caught the bastards who did this,” I added.

“Yeah.” Phillip squeezed my shoulder. “I think Mom and Dad would be proud of their two kids, Kara.”

A moment’s silence passed before I replied, “Me, too, Phillip.”

Encountering a person dressed in an all-black uniform with heavy dark boots; an equipment belt loaded with a baton, pistol, taser, and other gear; and an outwardly visible bulletproof vest was an intimidating sight---even for most criminals, I’d found. But when I went to pick up James and Tyler from school the next day after my shift, the middle-aged secretary in the office didn’t even bat an eye. She knew Derek and I well, since our oldest kids had been attending the elementary school for a few years now---and seeing us occasionally arrive in our police uniforms wasn’t anything new for her. When she noticed me walk up to sign out my sons, she smiled brightly just as she did with everyone else. It was a nice change from the anxious stares I normally received, both from other parents and their children.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Campbell,” the woman said. She nodded to my outfit indifferently, as if I were only wearing a pair of scrubs, or some other common occupational garb. “Just come from work, I take it?”

A small smile appeared on my face. “You don’t know the half of it,” I said as I filled out the attendance sheet on the clipboard. “Had a twelve-hour night shift, finally got off at ten this morning. And, of course, the minute I get home and fall asleep is when my cell rings.” Handing the clipboard back to her, I shrugged. “SWAT team needed, they said, so I went. It’s a miracle I made it here on time to get the kids, because Derek’s heading to the station in a half-hour himself.”

The woman chuckled. “My, my, you two certainly run around a lot. I’ll remember that whenever I’m upset about my job, Mrs. Campbell.”

I grinned, choosing not to mention the string of days Derek and I would have off together after our shifts. And now that the kids were back in school…well, there’d be time to think about that later. “Thanks, Mrs. Erikson. See you tomorrow.”

“Uh-huh.” Her smile widened. “Buh-bye, dear.”

James and Tyler came running out of their classrooms as soon as they saw me outside the office. I gave them both a big hug when they approached, and I instantly hated my vest for acting as a barrier between me and my kids. Just like always, I’d missed them way too much while I’d been on patrol.

“Hi, Mom!” they greeted me.

“Hey, boys.” I pulled back to get a good look at their faces, and smirked when I noticed their hopeful expressions. Tired as I was, I couldn’t bring myself to say no to them. “All right. You kids can play in the playground for a bit.”

“Yay!” Tyler exclaimed as he and his brother handed me their backpacks.

“Thanks, Mom,” James added before they both took off running.

“Twenty minutes, boys!” I called after them. “Then we have to go home. And watch your brother, Jay.”

“Ok!” my oldest son yelled back, though he was already attacking the slide while he spoke.

Since there were still a lot of other kids and parents around, I made a quick run back to my car to take off my bulletproof vest, then sat down on one of the benches near the edge of the sandbox. Keeping an eye on James and Tyler as I sat in the weak autumn sun, I didn’t realize Derek had arrived until little Gavin threw himself at me; Derek had gone to pick him up from preschool while I got the other kids. Our youngest son gripped the sides of the bench as he attempted to crawl into my lap, but with most of my gear still on, I had to help him up.

“Hi, Mommy,” he said once I was holding him. Then he turned quickly back to his father. “Daddy, Mommy’s here!”

My husband nodded, standing beside us in his own uniform. “I see that, kiddo.” He glanced over at James and Tyler. “Your brothers are in the park, though. Do you want to go play with them so I can talk to Mommy?”

“Yeah!” Gavin tried to wriggle out of my grasp, but I didn’t release him until I’d kissed his hair.

“Be careful, honey, all right?” I cautioned.

But my son was too eager to pay much attention to my warning. He ran off happily without another word.

Chuckling at his enthusiasm, I leaned back against the bench and folded my arms over my chest. “Typical. Stubborn kid won’t even listen to his mother.”

Derek grinned wide as he sat down beside me. “Well, they did get half of their genes from you, Kare. So, technically, it’s not their fault that they don’t always follow the rules.”

I shot him a mock-irritated glare. “DJ, aren’t you supposed to be at work right now? You know Hayden’ll blow a gasket if you’re late.”

“I’ve still got a few minutes,” he replied smugly. He put his arm around my part of the bench and scooted closer. “So uh...how was your shift last night, Kara?”

Considering we had sex twice before I left, very exhausting, I thought to myself with a grin. But it had been so worth it.

“Fine,” was what I eventually answered aloud. I was sure Derek was already well aware of the effect he’d had on me. “Not many calls. Apparently, judging by this morning, the department likes to save the major stuff for when I’m off-duty. Bastards.”

He chuckled. “That’s the way it goes sometimes, honey.” Derek checked his watch, then said, “Ok. Sorry, Kare, but I gotta go now. Don’t want Rich on my ass the rest of the day for this.”

“Hate to say I told you so…” I began as he stood.

Derek took one last look at our sons running through the playground, then leaned down. He gave me a brief but deep kiss. “See you later, Kara. Say bye to the kids for me, will you?”

“’Course, Derek,” I replied, kissing him back. “See you tomorrow night, honey.”

He smiled, and was just beginning to turn to leave when one of the other parents suddenly came up to us.

“Excuse me, but...” She looked from Derek to me and back again uncertainly. “Are you the parents of James and Tyler Campbell?”

“Yeah. And Gavin,” I answered, wondering what this was about. “Is there a problem?”

The woman seemed embarrassed. I’d never seen her before, so I figured she must have been new here, since this was the first day back from break. “Oh, no. I was just…surprised to find you’re both police officers. I hope you don’t mind my asking, but how did you two meet?”

I couldn’t stop the smirk that came upon my face any more than Derek could; we exchanged a momentary glance, one that didn’t even last a single second. But that one look contained the true knowledge we’d kept only to ourselves all these years, whenever anyone else had asked that same question of us.

After all, we couldn’t very well say that we’d actually met drunk in a pub, before fucking in the back of Derek’s car. That was unbecoming of members of law enforcement. And besides, nobody ever expected a one-night stand to make it past that one night---let alone ten years of marriage and three kids. So, our only option left was to make the answer up.

“On the job,” we lied easily.

THE END