𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 | 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻

THE SLING WAS FINALLY GONE. Katherine Linetti could freely move her arm about without feeling shooting pain moving through her shoulder. She was still attending physical therapy once a week, but the bullet wound was on the path to fully healing. The stitches were out, she could walk Bear, and she had finally been cleared for field work for her job. It's safe to say that currently Kat is a very happy woman. Maybe this year is going to turn out okay. She just prays to whatever higher power there is that no one shoots her again, because it hurt like a bitch.

Thankfully (for everyone's ears), Charles was also no longer using his mobility scooter. He and Kat would bump into each other every so often and randomly talk about their healing bullet holes, something that most people they knew made a decent effort not to be around to hear.

She, Jake, and Charles walk onto the fourth floor with coffee cups in their hands from the vendor right outside the precinct, and they notice Scully step out of the elevator right as they reach the top of the stairs. "Morning, Scully," Jake greets with a brief yawn. "How was your weekend?"

Scully glances to them with a smile. "Oh, fun," he replies. "Kelly and I hit the park, went for a long walk." Jake looks to Kat with furrowed brows. "Fell asleep watching TV."

"Sounds like a fun weekend with Kelly," Jake calls out as the detective walks off.

Kat dumps her bag onto her desk and meets Amy's eyes who is chatting with Rosa. "Okay, does anyone know who Kelly is?" she questions.

Jake nods. "Is it Scully's wife or dog?" Rosa and Amy look to each other, then out to the rest of the bullpen when they realise that neither of them knows. Jake places a hand on his hip. "No one knows Scully's wife's name?" he retorts in disbelief.

"I think Kelly is his dog," Amy presumes logically. "Went for a long walk." She gestures to Kat. "That's what you do with a dog."

Charles hums. "You can go on a long walk with a people," he reasons. "At sunset. Talking about nothing. And everything."

"Sounds awful," Rosa responds without missing a beat. "Hit the park. That's a dog."

"Agreed," Kat says with a nod. "I've never hit the park with someone other than Bear to go for a long walk."

Terry spins his chair around slightly to face the group of detectives. "Hold on," he interjects. "My wife takes the babies to the park all the time."

Jake sighs. "All right, we're doing this. Let's play 'wife or dog.'" The squad all grin. "Hey, so Scully," the detective in question stops walking, "what do you do at the park with Kelly?"

Scully takes his glasses off and smiles brightly. "Oh, we just walk around. She gets antsy if she doesn't get outside enough. And then it's just yap, yap, yap, all day long."

Kat squints her eyes. "Suddenly this is so much harder than a minute ago," she mutters quietly. Jake, stood beside her, hears her words and grimaces. She's not wrong.

"Hey, what's Kelly's favourite food?" Charles queries, assuming that surely this would be the question to help work out who is who.

"Peanut butter!" Charles's smile drops. The rest of the group stare at Scully as they try to figure out the answer. "She'll eat it right out of the jar."

"How old is Kelly again?"

"Well, she's getting up there, but she's pretty spry for her age. Especially considering she got hit by that car a year ago."

Kat shakes her head and raises a hand up to rub her eyes. It has to be the dog. "Oh, that's awful," Jake sympathises. "Was she chasing something into the street, or..."

Scully smiles again. "No." He glances down to the paper in his hand. "Just getting me the newspaper."

"All right, this is useless," Peralta declares. "Scully, is Kelly your wife or your dog?"

His eyes widen at them. "How can you ask me that?"

Kat blinks as he walks off clearly offended by the question. "I have no clue which it is," she admits.

Jake nods as he glances around the group. "Could be either," he says. "I could not tell you if my life depended on it."

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

Kat's in the breakroom pouring herself a cup of coffee when Gina enters and quickly shuts the door behind her. She smiles at her sister. "Hey, everything okay?" Her face falls when she takes notice of how anxious Gina is. She's trying to hide it, but her eyes are darting around every few seconds and she's picking away at the cuticles of her nails. "What happened?"

Gina plasters on a smile as they sit down at the circular table. "It's not a big deal, but my apartment got broken into last night." Katherine's eyes widen. "It's okay, really, but uh, I was wondering if you could help me out."

"Yeah, of course," she confirms immediately. "But first, are you okay?" Kat places a hand on top of Gina's. "And don't lie, I can see straight through you."

She sighs. "I'm fine, but I mean, the things that were stolen can't say the same."

Kat frowns at how Gina continues to brush off her true feelings. She knows that her sister is more than rattled by what had happened, but she's worried that if she presses Gina to talk about it, it will make things worse. "Okay, well, if you want me on this as an official investigation, I have to let Holt know." Her brows draw together in concern. "Is that okay?"

"Katie, I'm fine," Gina tells her. She pats Kat's hand. "Seriously. And go ahead."

As if he had known that he would soon be needed, Captain Holt walks into the breakroom but falters upon seeing the siblings in the middle of what looks like a serious conversation. "Apologies, I didn't realise the room was occupied," he tells them.

"Actually, Captain, I have a favour to ask," Gina says. She gestures for him to come in and close the door behind him. "So, my apartment was broken into last night."

Holt's eyes widen. "Gina, that's terrible. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I suffered the loss of many treasured items. Such as my grandma's jewellery, some cash, and this very fancy gown with, like, a magic eye print."

Kat gasps. "No, Grandma Rosie's emeralds are gone?" she asks in shock.

Gina nods to her grimly. She turns back to Holt. "Kat's already offered to investigate, but do you have any connections in the FBI or CIA? It would be amazing to have someone fully equipped to handle something like this." She glances to her sister. "You know, as back up for you." Kat rolls her eyes.

"Gina, you work in a police precinct," Holt points out, gesturing a hand to the window overseeing the bullpen. "You can turn to anyone here."

She raises her brows. "No, no. Kat's the only one I can turn to." She briefly looks out the window as she adds, "You seriously think these buffoons can help? They're all buffoons."

Holt tilts his head at her. "They are not buffoons," he states. After Kat reminds him of what Hitchcock and Scully had been doing yesterday, he purses his lips for a second. "Some of them are buffoons," he corrects himself. "But I'll find the non-buffoons to assist Katherine."

"Cheers, Captain," Kat smiles.

He nods to her. "Could one of you ask Scully to return my thumbtacks?"

Gina folds her arms. "I already put 'em in a biohazard bag and tossed 'em in the furnace," she answers.

"Good call," Holt acknowledges.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

With the help of their captain, Kat had managed to find that Amy and Rosa were free later in the afternoon to tag along with her to check out Gina's apartment. She had asked Gina a few more times during the day on how she was feeling, but every time the woman had responded with 'I'm fine.' Of course, Kat doesn't believe her. Instead, she would stay with her sister and keep her company for the rest of the night or for however long she would need to be able to feel comfortable.

Each detective has been allocated various areas of the small apartment to take notes of what had been disturbed or broken, and a member of the forensic team had tagged along to search for fingerprints and DNA. Gina sits on the couch with a blanket over her legs as she watches them. "No signs of forced entry at the door," Holt calls out from the entrance. "But the window was jimmied."

Rosa frowns at Gina. "You don't have locks on your windows," she points out in confusion.

Kat nods from the kitchen. "Yeah, we tried that once. Turned out neither of us are good with tools."

Rosa's brows furrow as she looks between the sisters. "Why wouldn't you ask someone else to do it for you?"

Gina scoffs. "Wow. Way to blame the victim," she retorts. "Sorry I'm not rich like you, Miss one-percent."

Diaz rolls her eyes. "They cost eight dollars and probably free for someone to install." She nods her head up to the second floor where Gina's bed is. "You have a fur bedspread."

"Why do you have so many lycra bodysuits?" Amy asks curiously.

"Dance," Kat replies.

Amy shrugs and looks back to Gina. "Okay, but why do you need eight full drawers of underwear?"

"Because I'm civilised. Less talky-talk, more solvey-solve."

Rosa lifts her head from her notebook. "We need an itemised list of everything that was stolen," she informs the older sister.

Gina points to the blonde looking through the kitchen. "Already gave it to Katie," she says. "Kat! List!"

Kat hums and walks back over to them to start reading through the piece of paper Gina had given to her earlier. "A hundred and sixty in cash, one TV, that super special painting of a naked lady on a lion..." Gina sighs and slaps her leg in frustration. "One set of Joseph Gordon-Levitt nesting dolls."

Amy's eyes widen. "Wow," she mutters.

"Homemade and irreplaceable," Gina declares in disappointment.

"A music box that plays 'She Works Hard For The Money' when opened." Kat kisses her teeth. "I'm not gonna miss that one, sorry."

Gina scoffs. "Unbelievable," she mumbles to herself. "Unbelievable."

"One knockoff designer clutch."

Rosa squints her eyes slightly as she takes her gaze off Kat and over to Gina. "Can't you just buy another knockoff?" she says, her tone of voice pointed.

Gina clasps her hands together. "No, I can't, Silly Sue," she responds with a shake of her head. "'Cause the label no longer makes the original, so the sweatshop no longer makes the knockoff."

Rosa inhales a deep breath. "Okay, can you estimate the value of everything that was taken?"

"Emotionally? Seven-hundred million dollars." Whilst Kat smiles at Gina's answer, Amy and Rosa share an exasperated look with each other.

"All right, that's all we can do for now," Holt announces. He looks to Gina as he asks, "Are you going to be okay?"

Kat smiles as she's dragged down onto the couch by Gina. "I'll take her home with me, sir," she tells the captain.

Gina carefully wraps an arm around Kat's shoulders and kisses her cheek. "See, Captain?" She gestures a hand over to Amy and Rosa who are already on their way out. "Everyone but Kat are buffoons." Holt shakes his head in amusement.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

"You can't just barge in here whenever you want!" Gina yells to the young girl.

Tisha stands in the front door with her arms on her hips as she stares back at her defiantly. "Why are you even here in the first place?" she exclaims. "It isn't your house!"

Gina's eye twitches. "It's not yours either!"

Kat runs a hand down the side of her face as she walks out of her bathroom. "Okay, ladies, it's not even eight in the morning." She looks to her sister in exhaustion. "Wait until I have a coffee, then you can start yelling again."

"Kat, you need to set boundaries," Gina tells her firmly. "Like taking back the key this little twat has!"

Tisha rolls her eyes and walks inside to purposely slam the door behind her. "I need it for her dog," she snarks back. Gina scowls.

Kat groans. "Both of you, shut up!" She points to the teenager. "Seriously though, why are you here? Shouldn't you be signing into school?"

The girl shrugs. "First class doesn't start for another hour," she replies. "Plus, it's on my laptop, so it only takes a minute. And I'm here 'cause I know you have Cinnamon Toast Crunch."

Katherine shakes her head in defeat as Tisha skips past her to rummage through her kitchen cabinets to find the cereal. She grabs onto Gina's arm and takes her into her room where Bear is laying underneath the covers, still fast asleep despite the commotion. "Okay, Nina, you can't do that," she says. Gina narrows her eyes. "No, I'm serious, you can't just go yelling at kids."

Gina groans and sits on the end of Kat's bed, smiling slightly as Bear stirs. "Okay, but Kat, why do you let her inside whenever she wants? Why does she have a key to your apartment?"

"Because she looks after him when I'm at work," Kat answers with a small smile, nodding over to her dog. "She's in online school, so she comes and studies in here to keep him company. Plus, she's sweet."

"That demon is not sweet."

"Gina, she's fifteen years old."

"And?"

Kat sighs and sits next to her older sister. "Okay, look, I think she's got some issues going on with her dad," she tells her quietly. "So I'm trying to make this a safe space for her, you know, where she doesn't have to deal with stress or too much noise. Which is why you can't be yelling."

Gina's eyes widen. She suddenly feels horrible for how she's been acting toward the girl. "Shit, is she... you know?"

"I'm don't know for sure," Kat responds honestly. Their conversation is in whispers as to not attract Tisha's attention. "But I've been hearing a bunch of screaming lately, and whenever I see her, she's pretty much always got another bruise or cut..."

"Is that why she's coming over for breakfast?" Gina asks softly. Kat nods. "Jesus. Hey, I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"It's okay. But you know, if you stop being a bitch to her, she'll most likely stop being a bitch to you in return."

Gina shrugs. "That's good logic," she admits. Kat smiles. Gina jumps off the bed and as she heads out the room, she calls out, "Tisha, you interested in learning some good pranks?" Katherine's eyes widen in alarm and she scrambles out the room to try and stop that conversation from occurring.

As soon as they get to the precinct an hour later, Kat's first task is to get all the results from forensics from last night. She meets Amy and Rosa as the three look over the information together. Gina watches them impatiently as Kat wraps up a call on the phone.

"Yeah, okay, thanks," the blonde says. She places the phone back onto the receiver and looks up to her sister. "Okay, the crime tech report came back. Apparently they found a strand of hair from Mario."

Gina smiles, but Amy and Rosa look to Kat in confusion. "Oh, it's Mario Lopez," Gina explains to them. "I bought a lock of his hair at an auction. That's so cool it's real. Uh, what'd they say about the prints?"

"None of the partials returned any matches," Rosa informs her. "Nobody in your building saw anything. We've hit a wall."

Gina's eyes flick between them. "So, what do we do next?" she questions. "Do I just look for another apartment? Should I buy a handgun? Should I buy a shotgun? Should I buy an Uzi?"

Kat's eyes widen. "Okay, no automatic weapons," she denies quickly. "But, I mean, legally we can't do anything more."

Amy nods. "Yeah, we've done all we can," she adds with an apologetic smile to Gina. "This is how it goes with most B and E's."

"Mm. All right." Gina laughs for a second. "C'est la vie. Let me grab your badge numbers. 'Cause I will be filing an official civilian complaint with the captain."

After staring at her for a few seconds, Amy and Rosa burst into laughter whilst Kat stares at her sister in disbelief. Gina laughs along with them. Of course, none of them take her seriously.

Until they're called into Holt's office ten minutes later.

The captain holds a piece of paper in his hand as he looks between the three stood before him. "Why did I just receive a civilian complaint about you two?" he questions in disbelief, pointing between Amy and Rosa.

"Wait, I didn't get a complaint?" Kat asks him with surprise. Holt shakes his head. Why on Earth would Gina want her badge number then? She doesn't think she wants to know.

"I can answer this," Amy says with a tight smile. "Because your assistant is a goblin." She glances to Kat. "No offence."

"Oh, none taken."

Rosa breathes a short sigh. "Captain, we swept the scene, ran the prints, canvassed the building," she explains impatiently. "We followed procedure."

Sat on the leather couch behind them, Gina joins the tips of her fingers together. "'Procedure' is just a fancy word for proper order to do things!"

"Yes, that is its definition," Holt confirms.

"This is a miscarriage of justice," Gina exclaims. "I'm gonna haunt your dreams." She laughs as she walks out the room.

"What just happened," Kat whispers to herself.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

With a cup of steaming hot coffee in hand, Rosa walks over to Kat who hasn't stopped yawning all day. "Here," she says, placing the mug down in front of her. Rosa takes the seat beside her desk as she stares at Kat for a few seconds, then clears her throat when she looks away.

"Good God, thank you." Katherine takes it gratefully. Rosa's lips quirk upward slightly. Kat sighs in content the second she tastes the bitter liquid.

Amy looks over the top of her computer to her best friend. "Why are you so tired?"

"Gina slept over." That should be all the information they need. "We also spent most of the night going over the case."

"Just kick her out," Rosa suggests as she crosses her arms.

Kat sighs. "I can't just kick her out." Her lips dip into a frown as she places the mug down. "She feels unsafe in her house, I can't just make her go back there."

"Hello, ladies!" The three detectives look over to see Gina walking into the bullpen with an older man behind her. "Since you have allowed crime to win, I've hired a private investigator to solve my case." She smiles and gestures a hand to him. "Say hello to Leo Sporm."

Rosa stands up with a scowl. "A P.I.? These guys are hacks."

"Leo Sporm!" Holt's booming voice causes them all to look over to him. He's stopped in the doorway of his office and is staring at Leo. "How's business?"

Amy's brows raise in surprise. "Wait, you know this guy?" she asks the captain.

"Everyone knows him. The Picasso of Hucksters."

"I like that," Sporm agrees. He takes out his notepad to jot it down.

Rosa leans closer to see what he's writing. "'Look up who Picasso is,'" she reads aloud. She and Kat share a look of amusement.

"Sporm. Out," Holt demands. His tone leaves no room for debate. "Now." Gina groans in frustration as the private investigator follows the order and exits the precinct.

After taking another sip of her coffee, Kat decides to make her visit to Holt. The sooner, the better. She knocks on the doorframe. "Sorry, Captain, do you have a minute?"

He returns to his chair and gestures for her to sit down. Kat shuts the door behind her; this isn't something she wants other people overhearing. "Is there a problem, Detective?" he asks with furrowed brows.

"Well, not really a problem." Kat hesitates for a few moments. "Actually, it is a problem." She rubs her forehead with the heel of her palm. "There's this girl that lives next door to me, and I think- no, I know that there's some abuse going on, but..." She bites onto her lip in frustration. "Rosa and I looked into the father about a month ago, and he's got a clean record."

"Have you got evidence it's happening?"

She nods. "I've seen bruises and injuries, as well as hearing all the yelling and smashing of stuff. And I... I actually applied for a foster licence when I realised what was going on. I was approved the other day."

Holt studies her for a few moments, then he nods. "So you were waiting for the licence to come through before you thought about making the arrest," he concludes.

"Yeah."

"Since you have probable cause to believe that something's going on, you do have the power to make the arrest." Holt meets her eyes. "Let me know if you would like to make it happen, but I will say that for the sake of the girl, I believe the sooner it's done, the better."

She takes a deep breath and stands up. "Thanks, sir, I'll come back to you later if that's okay."

"Not a problem."

She exits the office with a newfound anxiety. Kat's found herself in a major dilemma. She doesn't know what to do. Well, she knows that the right decision for her, as a police officer, would be to arrest Tisha's father right now. But if it pushes the girl away from her? What if Tisha hates her for being the reason her dad would be behind bars.

However, then Kat comes to the realisation that having Tisha hating her would be a million times better than her possibly ending up dead. So, the decision has already been made.

Kat spends the next hour researching further into her fifteen-year-old neighbour's background. Her parents had divorced when she was young, the mother was an addict so the father got sole custody, and she had hopped around different schools until her father decided that moving to studying online would be better for her. But Kat doesn't think he gets the right to say what's best for his daughter when he's the one making her life a living hell.

"Kat," Amy calls out. She frowns when her best friend doesn't answer. She wanders over and taps her arm. "Hey, Holt wants us."

She clears her throat and smiles. "Yeah, be right in." A minute later, she, Amy, and Rosa are seated before Holt. This is no doubt about the matter with Gina.

"Why do you think Gina hired that P.I.?"

"To mock us," Amy responds with a scoff.

"She's scared," Holt says simply.

Amy rolls her eyes. "She's not scared. With all due respect, sir, Gina has no feelings."

Rosa nods in agreement. "She once said the best comedy of all time was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."

"No, she's scared," Kat argues. "You should've seen her last night when you guys left. She's terrified to be in that place alone. She's scared to be in a place where she's meant to feel safe."

Holt nods to her. "If someone broke into your apartment and you weren't cops, wouldn't you be scared?" he proposes to Amy and Rosa.

Amy sighs. "Yes."

Rosa, on the other hand, hesitates. "Depends. How many guns do I still have hidden?" Kat tries to hide her smile.

"None."

"Do I still have my knife? Nun chucks? Axe?"

Holt leans forward in his chair. "It was a hypothetical question," he points out.

Rosa also leans forward. "I know, but I want to play it out. Do I still have my throwing stars?"

Kat doesn't bother to try supressing her grin this time. "Of course you have throwing stars."

Rosa glances to her for a second with her brows drawn together. "Who doesn't?"

"This has taken a strange turn," Amy mutters.

Diaz glances to the two beside her. "Fine," she admits. "I'd be scared."

"We're on it," Amy declares with a nod to Holt.

As they all stand up, Rosa shakes her head with disapproval at her colleagues. "What kind of woman doesn't have an axe?"

"Linetti," Holt calls out. She turns around. "Have you made a decision?"

"Yeah," she confirms. "I'm gonna make the arrest."

He nods at her with a small smile on his face. "Before you leave, I believe that allowing Gina to stay with you is a mistake." Kat frowns at his words in confusion. "She needs to feel comfortable in her own home again, not to be avoiding it entirely."

She sighs. He makes an excellent point. "Will do, sir." Kat walks out of the office and heads straight over to Rosa's desk. Rosa looks up as soon as she spots Kat in her peripheral vision. "Hey, are you free to help me out?"

"Yeah, what'd you need?"

Kat's jaw tightens slightly. "I need to go put a piece of shit in cuffs," she states bluntly. Rosa's eyes widen slightly. "Wanna help?"

She smirks. "Hell yeah."

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

It's six-thirty at night. Kat knows Nathan Alvarez is back from work by now, and since she can hear barking and laughter from her own apartment, she knows that Tisha isn't with her dad. Which is probably a good thing, Kat concludes to herself. She turns around to the team of four uniformed officers behind herself and Rosa. "All right, on my count."

Rosa nods to her determinedly. "You got this," she says encouragingly.

Kat smiles slightly. She and Rosa flank either side of the door. "One, two, three!" Katherine Linetti forcefully kicks down the front door and she and her team storm inside the apartment. Nathan whirls around in shock in his kitchen and his eyes widen at the officers surrounding him with firearms. "Nathan Alvarez, you're under arrest for physical abuse on your daughter."

"You can't do this!" he yells.

A sweet smile adorns Kat's face as Rosa roughly grabs his arms to cuff his wrists. "We have a warrant, so actually, we can," she says calmly. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an att-"

"Kat," Rosa interrupts, her voice tinged with what could be worry . She nods her head over to the door.

Tisha stands with her mouth agape as she watches the scene before her. Kat's eyes widen in alarm and she hurries over to the girl, leaving Rosa to repeat the Miranda Rights. "Hey, Tish, let's go back in here, okay?" She finds herself having to guide the teenager frozen in shock back into her apartment.

Once they're back into the bubble of security that is Kat's home, Tisha whispers, "What's happening?" She looks up to the older woman with tears in her eyes.

Kat swallows. "I know," she says softly. "I know what's been happening. And I didn't want to say anything because I was worried, but then I realised I didn't care what you would say if it meant you were safe, and-"

Tisha interrupts her by pulling her into a tight hug. A sob leaves her mouth as she grips onto Kat like she's her lifeline, because right now, she really is. Katherine Linetti is her saving grace. Kat's eyes close as she lets the girl clutch onto her as she cries. "Thank you," Tisha gets out in between her hiccups.

Kat squeezes her back, not caring the slightest at how her shirt is now soaked with tears. "I got you, kid," she whispers. "I got you."

Half an hour later, after talking to someone from the Child Protective Services, Katherine signs the documents to officially foster Tisha Alvarez. For however long needed, she would do everything in her power to make sure this girl grows up feeling supported, which was something she had never gotten from her birth parents.

⋆。 ﾟ✩。 ⋆。 ﾟ☀︎ ﾟ。 ⋆

Amy opens the door to Gina's apartment and smiles as she lets Kat inside. Her eyes widen slightly at the dark-haired girl that follows closely behind her best friend. "Oh, um, hi?" she greets awkwardly.

Kat gives Amy a small smile as Tisha stands close beside her. "Hey, this is Tisha," she says gently. Tisha nervously waves to the detective. "She's gonna be staying with me for a while."

Amy's eyes widen a fraction as she quickly realises what's happening. She had known about Kat's relationship with the teenager and had been someone that the detective had come to multiple times for advice. "Hey, Tisha," she says with a kind smile. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Amy."

Kat watches Tisha suddenly relax, almost like a literal weight has been lifted off her shoulders. "Yeah, I remember, you're obsessed with files and buttons," she nods. "I think you should be diagnosed with OCD, by the way."

Amy's mouth falls open as Tisha wanders away from them and over to Gina who is watching a movie. "Did she just-"

Kat grins. "Yep. You get used to it."

"So, did you do it all?" she asks quietly.

She breathes out a long sigh and nods. "Yeah, she's legally under my care now." Kat shrugs her jacket off and throws it onto the kitchen counter. "The dad's been arrested. Trial's on Thursday."

"Good riddance, I say." Kat and Amy jump at Rosa's voice that suddenly appears from behind them. Diaz holds up multiple pizza boxes and a bag full of supplies to help secure Gina's apartment. "Hey."

Kat locks eyes with her and they share a small smile. "Hey."

"Oh, my God, is that pizza?" Tisha yells. The adults chuckle as she sprints over and snatches one of the boxes for herself. "Holy shit, this is the best day ever!"

Gina finds her sister's eyes. I'm proud of you, she mouths. As Kat watches the young girl interact with all her friends, she smiles to herself. She's proud of herself for making the decision. But most of all, she's proud of Tisha. No, she's proud of everyone. And she knows that the teen is going to fit in just fine.

"Tisha, get your grubby hands off my fucking blanket! No one touches Wolfie!"

Rosa arches a brow at Gina. "I thought that thing was like five bucks," she points out.

Kat laughs as she grabs a plate and slice of pizza. "Doesn't matter, it's sacred to her."

Gina points to her. "Exactly. Sacred." She turns her head over to Tisha. "Sacred."

𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺. 𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥 😭

𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵