Interseason fun! Takes place between Season 6 and 7. There is an author's note at the end regarding the purpose of this chapter.

"Don't run!" Abbey sighed and gestured to Brian, "Can you?"

With an obliging smirk Brian paced ahead, plucking Michael up from the edge of the dock, "Come here big guy; don't want you falling in."

Next to her, her father scoffed, "Abigail..."

"What?" She eyed him as he smiled and wrapped his arm tight around her shoulder.

He rocked them side to side, "Just amused at how cautious motherhood has made my little troublemaker."

She huffed, keeping her attention on her recently turned 3 year old squirming in his father's arms to look at the boats, "We go fish Daddy?"

"Not today." Brian shook his head, returning Michael to the ground and redirecting him to the lawn behind the pier.

Abbey felt her dad grimace, "Had I known it would be this nice, I'd have taken the boat out of dry dock."

"Any chance we could pull it out for this afternoon?" Brian squinted out to the water, "It's supposed to only get nicer and it would be fun to bring the munchkin out."

Her father shook his head, "Need to put in the request for the boat crane 24 hours out, minimum. Maybe next weekend." He scooped Michael up with one arm and handed him upside down to Brian who blew a raspberry on the toddler's exposed tummy.

Abbey smiled at the resulting peel of laughter. Taking a deep breath, she let her eyes drift to the horizon past the boats in the harbor. It was an idyllic June morning, the sun providing warmth while a soft breeze played her dress across her knees. She smiled, overhearing Brian's patient indulgence of Michael's barely coherent chatter as he ran around his grandfather.

The thought floated by that, if she could, she would fill all her weekends like this; sun and family with no computers, agendas, secrets, politics or stress.

"You sure? We can wait if it helps."

Abbey's eyes snapped open at a distant, familiar voice. Blinking, she turned up the dock.

Henry Reagan was on the phone in front of one of the marina's sportfishing rental boats. After a quick scan she saw the patriarch wasn't alone; Jamie was tossing a half dozen fishing rods over the boat rail while Danny and Erin were loading multiple coolers into the stern.

"Nicholson isn't coming!" Henry shouted up to the boat.

"What?" An even more familiar voice echoed from the hull before the commissioner appeared from the cabin.

Over the years there had been rare occasions when Abbey encountered her boss dressed down; but today, in a beaten Jets hat, faded yellow Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts and boat shoes, it was an entirely new level and she couldn't help but stare for a beat. Like seeing a hermit crab without a shell it invoked simultaneous curiosity and unease.

"What's up, Babe?" Brian came from behind her, following her gaze and releasing a chuckle, "Of course."

"What's that now?" Her father looked up from a giggling Michael.

Brian shook his head, turning back to them, "Nothing. Just Abbey's boss and his extended clan."

"Reagan?" Her Dad straightened, "Huh. He's taller than I expected."

"You never met?" Brian's eyebrows rose.

"Never had the occasion." Her father shrugged, "Only time would have been the wedding but then those suits absconded him."

"I told you about that, Dad." Abbey spun around to defend the long settled complaint, "There was a credible threat at the Natural History museum. If I wasn't in a wedding dress at the time I probably would have gone with him."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't." Brian kissed her cheek as her father waived it off.

She smiled, leaning back into her husband, "Me too."

"Uh-oh." Brian poked her side and backed away, "I think you're about to be spotted."

True enough, Jamie's gaze almost skipped over her, but he did a visible double take, registering her presence. "Detective?"

At that, his father's head twisted her way, following Jamie's attention. "Baker?" His voice was cautious but his shoulders softened as he took in her casual attire.

She stepped to where the lawn met the wooden dock, "No worries Sir, I'm not here to bring you in." She smiled while pointing to her family, "Complete coincidence. We're just visiting, my folks live up the road."

The Commissioner's eyes flicked past her, "Brian, Mikey. Good morning."

Michael's eyes lit up at the nickname, "FISH!"

What had been a hint of a grin on the PC's face split into a genuine smile.

Henry looked between them, "That's your son, Detective? Smart boy."

"Takes after his mother." Her father spoke up, having appeared over her shoulder.

The Reagans shared quick glances before Henry ventured the guess, "That makes you the proud grandfather?"

"Glenn Baker." Her father stepped forward, extending his hand to Henry.

"Henry Reagan; grandfather to these 3." He thumbed over his shoulder while accepting the shake, "Father to that one." He pointed to Frank climbing out of the boat.

"I figured as much." Glenn chuckled, "Nice to see family sticking together."

"I'm here under duress." Danny waived before Erin flicked his ear.

Their father rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored them, approaching the group on the grass, "Mr. Baker. Long overdue."

"Agreed." Glenn stepped closer, a tight smile.

Abbey watched her father shake hands with her boss trying to ignore the tension in her gut reminiscent of the feeling she used to have prior to every parent teacher conference.

After dropping the shake, Frank's eyebrows bounced and he shoved his hands in his pockets. He tilted his head looking to Abbey, "Baker...How'd you never tell me your father was a Marine?"

Abbey blinked, looking to her father and back to the commissioner, her mouth hanging open. "I...I'm sure I must have."

He returned a slow shake of his head, his mustache twitching above a grin, "Something like that I'm pretty sure I'd remember."

"I must have." She grimaced at her father who was staring steadily back at her. She sighed, looking between the two men who both seemed to be enjoying her discomfort.

With a twitch, Frank gestured to the heavy ring on other man's hand, "Annapolis?"

Glenn fisted his hand, smirking at his class ring, "Class of 67; retired with my full bird five years ago; still doesn't feel right." He pulled on the brim of his hat, looking back to Frank, "I love my wife, my house and my grandson but I tell ya, being put out to pasture isn't all they make it out to be."

"Got that right." Henry agreed solemnly.

Franks eyes had darted to Abbey at Glenns's casual mention of his rank but his jaw tightened and hands disappeared in to his pockets at the description of retirement. "So I've heard."

"Sure you have." Glenn smirked. He tilted his head, "I'm remembering correctly that you served?"

The Commissioner pulled out his hands, "A few years at the tail end of the war." He shrugged, "Did a tour as a lieutenant in the First Battalion. Joined the department when I got home."

"A lot of fellows did." Glenn nodded, "Abigail's godfather ended up as a cop after he got out of the Marines."

"As did my father and one of my sons." Frank added.

Glenn smiled, "Family tradition!" He nudged Abbey, "This one could have gone to Annapolis like her old man, but she was determined for the NYPD."

She bit her tongue. He was smiling now but there had been years of friction between them when she decided not to join the military.

She had spent her childhood moving from base to base or living with relatives. She wanted to serve, she understood the calling, but also desired a lifestyle more stable than the one she had grown up with. It wasn't until after 9/11 that her father had stopped pressing her to enlist and had told her how proud he was of the path she had chosen.

She couldn't help but get the sense that the pride had begun waning again over the last several years; more than once her dad had asked when she was going to get out from behind the desk; be a "real cop".

She wrapped her arms around her middle and gave a tight smile when a thought struck her, "Sir, the marines must have come up when we hosted the Japanese police emissaries. I know for sure I talked about living over there."

"If you did, it was in Japanese." Frank shrugged. For a beat of a second his smile faded, "You had the languages you speak on your resume; I never asked where you learned it." He turned to Glenn, "Okinawa I assume?"

"Twice; Kinser and at Futenma when Abigail was a young sprout." He put a hand on her shoulder, "She was barely 10 when we left and is still fluent while I can barely place an order at a sushi restaurant."

"She's sharp." Frank agreed.

"She is." Glenn accepted the vicarious praise with a puffed chest.

"WE FISH PLEASE ISHER!" Before any of the adults could move to intercept him, Michael had ambled past his grandfather and grasped at the edge of the Commissioner's shorts. "We Fish PLEASE."

Frank's eyebrows arched and he bent to pick up the toddler, "How you've been, Mikey?"

Michael grinned, turning his head away, reaching back for his father.

"Oh, now you get shy?" Abbey rubbed her son's back as he was passed to Brian.

Arms free, Frank looked over his shoulder to Henry, "Did you say Nicholson is out?"

"Something got him caught up at the 3-7." Henry shrugged.

Frank pursed his lips and turned back to the assembled Bakers, "Seems a couple spots have opened up on our charter. Anyone interested in joining? Rumor is that there's a school of blues running pretty deep."

Henry blinked at his son before smiling to Glenn, "Always glad to have another Marine aboard."

Abbey felt her eyebrows jump, barely noticing her father looking at her. After a beat of quiet she realized they were all looking at her; her father, the commissioner, the former commissioner, her husband and even Michael seemed to have picked up the message that she was the one who would dictate how the invitation would be received.

She reeled in her initial surprise, grappling with how to possibly respond.

She had once tried to explain to Garrett the importance of her maintaining boundaries with the Commissioner. After all their years and everything they'd shared it was inevitable for there to be a bond. If pressed, she'd admit that she cared about the man as much as if he were her own family. That didn't change the fact that the NYPD Commissioner needed to have implicit trust that any order given to his primary detective would be followed fully and without question. Any ambiguity in the nature of their relationship, anything too familiar that disrupted that hierarchy threatened to subvert the way things needed to work.

There had been moments in the past where interactions they shared might have fallen into the category of social but it was always in the context of a work function, something where one or both of them were there in an official capacity. This was altogether something new and different. In that threadbare Hawaiian shirt Frank was about as far from "Commissioner Reagan" as he could be and she felt a keen discomfort without the familiarity of their structured roles.

"Mom is waiting for us at the house..." She hedged, avoiding Reagan's eyes.

Brian pointedly drew her attention with a touch to her wrist, confusion evident in his eyes.

Looking up she wasn't surprised to see clear letdown in her father's expression, but she was surprised by the flit of chagrin on the Commissioner's face.

She bit her lip, "But I suppose it would be a blast for Michael."

4 sets of eyes widened in her direction and she smirked her acquiescence, "How about you guys go?" She gestured to her father and husband, "I'll hang back here with Mom."

"Baker?" The commissioner's mustache twitched.

"It's okay." She nodded off the unspoken question, "Really."

"There we go!" Henry gestured widely, grinning, "Let's get to it!" He turned back to the boat, waving them along after him.

With an amused huff Frank turned back to Brian and Michael, "And you two?"

Brian looked to her for one last confirmation. Abbey maintained an encouraging smile. "Michael? Do you want to go fishing on the boat?"

Michael grinned, pushing his hands to his cheeks and kicking out.

"Well, I guess that's a yes." Brian shifted the squirming boy.

"Great." Frank slapped his hands together, "Ask Jamie to dig out one of the kid's life preservers."

With a quick squeeze of her arm, Brian carried Michael down to the boat, lifting him over the rail, assisted by Danny.

For a beat, both her father and her boss remained standing in front of her, matching hesitation in their postures.

"You sure you don't want to come, Guppyfish?" Her father leaned in.

"It's been a while since Mom and I had a day." She encouraged with a kiss to his cheek.

"Baker, I'm.." Frank's eyes were soft as he searched for the words.

"Sir," She emphasized the honorarium, "Have a good time. Really."

"Francis!" Henry called from the bow of the boat, "Are we going fishing or are you just going to stand around and chat all day?"

He glanced to his father before turning back to Abigail, looking her over with one of his gazes that made her feel transparent. After a prolonged moment his lips rolled into a tight smile and he gave her a tight nod. "Copy that, Detective."

The invocation of her rank told her that he understood what she was trying to do but there was a flicker of something akin to regret in his eyes and a hint of doubt crept up the back of her brain.

Before she could say or do anything, the commissioner was leading her father back toward the pier, "Right this way, Colonel."

Her father smirked, following along, "Thank you...Lieutenant."

She blinked as the Commissioner startled and then released a deep belly laugh.

She helped them untie the moorings and shove off then remained on the pier, waving to a beaming Mikey. Even as the boat disappeared in to the distance, she remained reflective, trying to remember the last time she'd heard the Commissioner laugh like that.

Abbey gripped the edge of the bathroom vanity staring at herself in the mirror. Dropping the plastic stick into the sink she forced herself to breath normally.

Glancing out the crack in the door, she sighed. Up until a few weeks ago she'd have said this was a good thing, part of the plan, but recently something had been different with Brian.

Ever since the weekend at her parents the previous month he'd been quieter, reserved, especially whenever she mentioned anything with work. Her imagination had been running overtime, trying to decipher what might have been said on that boat that left her husband withdrawn.

Everything had seemed fine when Danny, Erin and Jamie had dropped Brian and Michael back off at the house with a cooler full of fresh fish. It wasn't until later, when her father ambled home after smelling of good cigars and whiskey and humming The Halls of Montezuma that her husband ceased speaking of their fishing adventure.

For the rest of the weekend her father was practically buoyant in a way she'd rarely seen, but Brian had claimed to be tired. She hadn't questioned it, spending his days chasing a 3 year around a boat and on the beach meant it was fully expected for him to be tired.

But it hadn't changed when they got home, if anything he pulled away more in the following days. Recently she swore he wasn't even making eye contact with her.

"Okay…" She muttered, steeling herself with a final glare in the mirror.

Pushing the door open revealed Brian as he had been most recent nights, neatly tucked on his side of the bed, bathed in the blue glow of his laptop.

"What you looking at?"

He blinked up at her as if surprised by her presence in their bedroom. "Uh, nothing…" He closed the lid with a forced smile.

She crossed her arms, "Brian…"

"I know, I know, we've agreed, no computers or TV in bed." He shrugged, "I just wanted to look something up."

"Every night for the last two weeks?" She didn't move from the doorway, working to keep the accusation from her voice.

He sighed, "Uh…" he shoulders dropped and he pushed himself up to sit straight against the headboard, "Actually yeah." This time there was no mistaking his eye contact, intense and vulnerable. "I've been thinking about something for a while now and there's a time limit to it and I just want to be sure before I talked to you about it."

Abbey didn't move, at a complete loss for what he was preparing to say. "What?"

Brian looked down, his hands pulling at the edge of the quilt, "Can I ask you something first?"

"Of course." She stepped closer to sit on the edge of the bed, "Anything."

"Doesn't it bother you that I've never…" He gestured vaguely in the air in front of him, "Done…anything?"

She straightened, "What are you talking about?"

"Me." He tapped at his chest, "What good have I done in my life? Other than help people with too much money figure out where all their money is."

"Wha…" She choked on the word, completely befuddled. "What good have you done? Brian, where is this coming from? You're a good, good, man." She waited to make sure he was looking at her, "How about that you've made me incredibly happy? Or raised a beautiful child? Been a dutiful son, fantastic son-in-law, and invaluable friend?" She shook her head, "What is this about?"

"You know your Dad invited your boss to join him out on the boat later this month?" He delivered the non-sequitur without a change in tone.

"No…what?" She shook her head. The invitation was news to her, but she was at a complete loss as to what the burgeoning friendship between the senior men in her life had to do with Brian's sudden parade of self-doubt. "Really?"

Brian nodded, "Two weeks. Glenn called to ask if we wanted to come too." He crossed his arms, "Don't worry, I told him no."

Abbey exhaled, thankful for having avoided the situation but not liking how easily she had been read.

"You…could go if you wanted." She offered, "Sounded like everyone had fun last time around."

Brian shook his head, looking into the middle distance.

"You didn't have fun?" She frowned.

His eyes shot to hers, "I had a great time." He looked down. "It was fantastic, sitting back and listening to your Dad and Reagan. All day they were swapping stories from the Marines to the NYPD to being in command and everything in between." He rubbed his palms against the bedcovers, "And you."

Abbey tightened with the same unreasonable dread she had when the two men first shook hands. It wasn't a surprise that she might be a topic of conversation, but she had hoped it wouldn't be anything of substance.

She knew it must have been something of depth because this time when Brian looked at her it wasn't with the familiar gaze of her husband, it was something distant. "The Commissioner told your Dad about how you two first met. That he ran into you while in the chaos of the tower collapse, how you stayed down there, working through it all even after losing your partner. He was really impressed with you and wanted your Dad to know how strong you were."

Abbey wrapped her arms tighter around herself, the invocation of the memory generating goosebumps despite the warm weather. That explained the lingering hug from her father that night. She had never told her parents the full story of that morning. Her mind wandered, wondering exactly how much detail the Commissioner provided and exactly how her father reacted.

"You know what I was doing that Tuesday morning?" Brian continued, oblivious to her distraction, "Sleeping off the night before." When he looked back to her, there was anger in his eyes, "We had a rush event for the frat the night before and I got hammered. Didn't wake up until 11am and stayed hungover on Max's couch until 2." He released a shaky breath, "I didn't even know anything had happened until that evening." He looked away, "You were being a genuine superhero while I was drooling on a fratboy's couch and eating spaghetti-os out of a can."

She released a long, slow exhale, clenching her hands, "Brian, you were still in school. What you were doing that morning doesn't mean anything."

"It means EVERYTHING!" He yelled, catching himself and casting a quick look in the direction of the hall, pausing for any indication he had woken Michael.

After a beat of silence, he leaned in, his volume down to a whisper but his tone no less intense, "That is the whole point!" He repeated, "It's a perfect encapsulation of my life. I was sitting on that boat listening to these Marines and Cops and even a freaking District Attorney swap tales of the things they've done, the things my wife has done, for the good of our society and I'm sitting there with nothing to say."

"Brian…" Abbey sighed.

He shook his head, "You should have seen the way Reagan's kids looked at him when he got relaxed and started getting into it."

"I've seen it." She agreed weakly, able to conjure the look of pride each Reagan had for one another.

"There is nothing I have done in my entire life that would make Michael look at me that way." He looked to her, eyes wider than she'd ever seen, "Nor you."

"Brian…" She climbed across the bed, kneeling next to him, "Honey, I love you. Michael loves you. You don't need to do anything to prove yourself to either of us."

He shook his head, "These are the people who you surround yourself with all day, every day. For your whole life you've been closest to people who would give everything they have to others, people defined by service. How am I supposed to square that with the fact that you choose a plain, boring, self-involved civilian? At what point are your going to resent me for having not even having tried?"

"…Resent…?" She gaped, "Brian. You are anything but self-involved and you're definitely not boring. You have given so much to me, to this family. You could be working for a high powered firm on the top floor somewhere downtown but you've supported my dedication to my job, doing all you can to put this family first, being the primary caregiver for our son." She picked up his hand and kissed it, "I could never resent you."

He didn't pull away but his expression didn't lighten. Taking a deep breath, he looked to the entwined hands, "I want to ask something of you." He swallowed, "The something I was looking up."

"Okay…" Abbey sat back on her heels, waiting, the tension in her stomach having nothing to do with the nausea she felt earlier in the day.

"Before I tell you, you need to know I've been thinking hard about this, seriously, it's not some kid's fantasy." He waited for her to nod her understanding. "I'm asking for your support because I'm going to take the NYPD exam this week."

She stared at him, hearing the words but needing a longer moment to process them.

Taking her silence as an opportunity, he leaned forward, clasping her hand in both of his, "This isn't the first I've thought of it; there have been times over the years, with you, when I've considered what might have been, wondered if I could even…. But now it's real, it has to be. You can't take the test if you're over 35; I've got 14 months before this isn't even an option. I have to do it or regret it forever."

Finally, the connections clicked in her head, "Are you telling me you want to be a cop?" She stared at him, dumbfounded.

For the first time in their conversation, he smiled, "Yeah, yeah I am."

She dropped his hands and scooted back to the edge of the bed, "So, not just take the exam? Actually, do it; the academy, work the streets, all of it?"

He nodded slowly, "Yeah, Babe."

She shook her head, began to pace, "And what about your job? What about the mortgage? What about childcare? Brian…this changes everything…"

"I know, I know…" He held up his hands while shifting on to his knees on the bed, "But I swear, I've thought it through. Yes, I'd have to quit and would take a significant pay cut and as I'm older than most recruits I'd have to work longer before retirement, but I've read that a lot of guys find time to moonlight and I could make a hell of a lot more filing a few tax returns on the side than I could painting fences or bouncing at some night club like other rookies do. And the health insurance is actually better and cheaper with NYPD, the difference could help with what we would need to contribute to childcare for the year before Michael is ready for preschool."

"Brian…" She pinched at the bridge of her nose.

"Look, I'm not going to lie; we'll have to budget tighter here and there. Less going out, vacations will mostly have to be visiting your folks and instead of taking a cruise or flying to San Diego. But it's not outlandish. We will be all set with the house, our retirement, all our major life expenses are covered. We've saved well. We're okay."

She huffed, "And what if something happens?"

"Like what?" He pulled back.

"They don't shoot at accountants!" She snapped, looking again to the hallway towards the room of their sleeping son before dropping her voice to a whisper, "Brian, what happens if you get killed? Or seriously disabled?"

"Oh come on, Abbey." He pulled off the blankets, "You know how rare that actually is."

"I do." She nodded, "But I've also been shot. And seen my partner be shot dead. And had to inform families that they've lost a loved one." She schooled her expression to reflect the intensity each of those memories stirred up. "Rare or not, I know that statistics matter squat to anyone when it happens." She shook her head, dragging her hand down her face, "I can't believe this. The man who was telling me that I shouldn't have any weapons in the home is now telling me he wants to be a cop."

"And I can't believe the woman who devotes most of her waking hours to the NYPD is trying to dissuade me!" He shot back.

"It's not just a job you change into! It's not just a job at all; it's a whole life change!" She shook her head, "One that impacts the whole family." She exhaled, forcing aside the tumult in her brain to focus on what needed to be said. "Brian, you don't really know what it's like."

"I'm not claiming to." He stepped closer. "And I know it's a life change; that's kind of the whole point for me."

She shook her head, "I mean, you don't really know what it's like to be the spouse of a cop." She allowed the bitter smile to cross her face, "I was already working at 1PP when we met. When I walk out the door each day you know where I'm going to be most hours of most days. When I'm not behind a desk I'm traveling with the tightest detail the NYPD has. There is almost never a time when I face even a fraction of the risk that patrol officers take on every tour." She lowered herself back to the edge of the bed, "You're asking me to sit by and watch you walk out the door each day knowing there is a chance you won't make it home."

"That's a risk for everyone every day." He shrugged, "Car crashes, heart attacks, stray bullets…" He tilted his head to catch her eyes, "But all those are senseless. At least this risk comes from being a part of something, contributing something."

She looked at the hopeful smile on his face and her guts twisted, "Brian, I've been around cops sharing the kinds of stories you probably heard on that boat, especially older cops." She sighed, "They talk up the glory days and the great foot races and exciting collars. But they don't talk about all the times in between. The paperwork, the boring details, the foot posts in crappy weather, being spit on by civilians and figuring out what to do with EDPs. Balancing what you need to do for safety versus what the crowd is yelling at you, cellphone cameras recording and twisting your every move." She took a deep breath, "Many days it's not some glorious calling; many days it's just a job. A job with crappy hours and crappy pay."

"I know." He leaned forward, "And yeah, that day on the boat there were some stories of some great arrests, same as there were some remarkable stories of marines on patrol. But that wasn't what it was about." He grimaced, "They all, marine, cop, DA, old, young…they all had a confidence that theirs is a life well spent. That the time your father spent a night in the mud up to his hips was worth it because he was able to bring home two M.I.A.s. That the suspension Jamie got was worth it because of the letter he got from a boy he accompanied to the hospital years ago. That Danny has been having a hard time sleeping but it's worth it because Nicky is home safe and sound. That Henry and Frank hated accepting the job as commissioner; not being in uniform and solving cases, but they did it because it was the best way to help the most people."

He squeezed her hand, "I've never been that selfless."

"Brian…" She sighed again.

"Look, I have an idea of what I'm getting into." He leaned off the bed and pulled up his laptop, "I've been visiting this page on Reddit and talking to officers from the NYPD and other cities. I even found a guy like me, who joined in his 30s as a way to change his life before it was too late." He gestured to the text on the screen, "I watch the news, I listen between the lines of the stories you bring home. I know it won't be easy but I know I have to try." He touched her shoulder, "I want to serve. I want to live up to all the lessons we've been trying to instill in our son. I've thought about this, Abigail, I need to do this or I'm afraid I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life. All I'm asking is for you to support me."

"I'm pregnant."

She stared at him, waiting for his reaction, watching as he incrementally processed what she told him.

He looked down for a long moment. She considered saying something else but bit her tongue, waiting for him to pull his eyes up to hers again, "Okay."

"Okay?" She tilted her head.

"Okay." He nodded, "I love you and I'm happy. We've always talked about having two." He swallowed, "This makes the math a little tighter, but it doesn't change anything for me."

She gaped at him, "It doesn't?" Her jaw clenched, "You talk to a couple guys claiming to be cops on the internet and think you know enough? I, your wife, who has been on the job for 16 years, who has experienced all the highs and the many, many lows, tells you she fears for you, is scared of what it could mean for your safety and for this family. And on top of all of that, I tell you you're going to have a second child to support, and your reaction to all of that is, 'It makes the math a little tighter?'"

She stood up, "It's not just about the freaking money! You are about to have two kids who are going to need their dad in their lives."

"I was really hoping for your support." Brian didn't move.

"And I'm really hoping you'll listen to me." She met his eyes.

They stood a pace apart, neither moving for a long moment.

Brian looked away first, "Okay."

"Okay?" She tightened her arms around her chest, "What does that mean this time?"

"I'll wait." He looked back up at her, "But not for long. I won't take the exam this week, but I will before the end of the summer. And just because I take it doesn't mean that I have to accept an invite to the academy." He tilted his head, "You keep talking during that time and I promise I'll listen."

She swallowed, "But that doesn't mean you won't do it."

"I won't promise you anything more than I'll listen." He nodded, maintaining eye contact.

She closed her eyes, a fierce pressure around her heart.

When she opened her eyes he was still there, biting his lip. She didn't move. Nothing about this felt right or settled.

With a grimace he leaned in, kissing her cheek, "I'm going to sleep in the other room. I love you. Try to get some sleep."

This is laying the groundwork for 2 things –

1) In later seasons Baker takes a lot more liberties, speaks out more and is more often informal. And her relationship with Frank is more directly addressed a couple of times. I love the screen time my favorite side character is getting but I figure more crossovers between her personal and professional life will help that development make sense. (AND gives me more story fodder; got to keep expanding to keep it interesting) It also makes sense to me that if she was raised by a ranking military officer, one who would have had his own commands, that it helped inform her character and her understanding of the Commissioner.

2) When I started writing this story we had no idea Baker was married to a cop and I never dreamed we'd learn anything about him. So that is a storyline I needed to retcon before we get to later seasons. There are plenty of inconsistencies that I can overlook as the show moves on, but this is too big of a character detail to ignore. But again, this also provides some fun drama fodder as she has to grapple with the same thing we've seen some of the other characters deal with on the show. (Frank's memories of his reaction to Jamie joining, Erin and Linda's fears when Niki consider the department and when Jack considered the Marines.)