Chapter Text
”Let’s go, I’m going into the station.”
”You can leave me, I don’t need a babysitter, Angela.”
“No- It’s Lucy; I need you to come with me so I don’t have to worry about you too.”
“Angela?” Prodded Tim. She hadn’t even realized Tim had been talking to her at all. They’d been at a bar, after shift, toasting to a Jackson’s memory. It was the one year anniversary of her rookies death, and they decided to take Lucy out, so she wouldn’t be moping around in her apartment all night long.
Jacksons death, although it had been a year ago, still hit all of them hard. He hadn’t been just a colleague to them, or even before that, “just a rookie.” Although Angela had already finished training Jackson when La Fiera had murdered him, and he was no longer her rookie, she still felt as though it had been under her watch that he had died. But it has always been that way- she’d always felt like a mother figure to the newer round of cops to enter Mid-Wilshire.
And then Lucy. Poor Lucy had just started healing from what Caleb had done to her, what Rosalind had done to all of them. And then she had to grieve her best friend.
Tim, his father. That was all that needed to be said.
Angela shook her head.
“What’s up, Tim? Sorry, I was lost in thought.”
Lucy reached her hand over and put her hand on top of Angela’s, “Tim was asking if you remembered that one time at mine, Nolan and Jackson’s rookie graduation where Jackson kept pulling pranks on John with me, and you and Talia were totally in on it.”
“Yeah- yeah, I remember that- Nolan was furious when he found out.
Nolan nodded silently from the other side of the table with utter defiance, “Yeah, Lucy that was real rude of you two.”
Everyone at the table had shared a laugh at that, eventually fading into a respected silence, as they remembered the memory of their fallen colleague and friend, second family.
Angela had volunteered to be DD that night, so she had taken the giant mom family SUV to the bar, with extra trash bags in case anyone got too insanely drunk.
After dropping off Lucy, she sank into her seat and sighed. She’d been lost in her own thoughts for most of the time at the bar, only tuning into the conversations her friends and colleagues were having in memory of her former rookie. From those who knew him like family, to the couple who only knew him as a passing, she felt others needed that space to remember Jackson properly.
But it had been like since Jackson’s death, she hadn’t really had the time to properly grieve- someone had always needed her in some way, shape or form.
And Angela didn’t mind. She enjoyed being able to be there for her friends; her second family.
When Angela was young, she’d been talkative, which lead to bullying from other four other brothers. While she was the most responsible one out of all of her siblings, her mother had always underestimated her ability to be better than the boys. Not much had changed when she joined the police force. Sure, she got lucky when she joined Mid-Wilshire, but even then, she still had to prove herself and show her place in the ranks.
Nyla hadn’t had an easier time either. IT was one thing to be a woman, but another to be a woman of color.
When Jackson died, she saw how the station had tried to push Lucy, and the rest of them, to move on after a few days. But those had been the people who hadn’t really known Jackson the way that she, Lucy, Nolan, and the others had known him. He’d started making waves in the department, with Doug Stanton, and making a difference in how people of color like her, Lucy, and Nyla’d been treated.
She remembered the night when Lucy had called her, slurring and drunk, just days after her incident at the speed dating event she and Nyla had took Lucy to, a second time, for a second chance. They thought, again, that it would help her cope with the loss of her best friend.
As Lucy began to grieve, and heal from the loss of Jackson, slowly, one by one, did the rest of her friends. Tonight had been a fun night, and she was glad they were keeping Jackson’s memory alive. Hell, she had tried to too, with her own kid. Jack would grow up to hear the stories of whom he was named after. She would make sure to let him know that Jackson had been a great man- but that she’d never expect him to live up to any standards. He’d have his own share of societal problems to deal with.
She snapped out of her thoughts as she realized someone had been knocking on her window. She sighed, her heart hurting, as she wiped away at the dampness that came to her eyes.
It was Wesley- she’d probably missed his calls when she was lost in her headspace. It was time for her to go be mom.
Wesley woke up in the middle of the night to find an empty bed. He’d found Angela in her car, outside of Lucy’s apartment building hours ago, after missing his calls over and over again. He’d known that they’d gone out drinking, and that she’d taken the minivan, but she’d promised to be back by 10 pm. They’d been early night drinking, so Angela had let Wesley know that she wouldn’t be out too late.
When 10 pm came and went, he’d begun to grow worried about Angela. He knew that she could take care of herself if anything happened, but then again, it was the one year anniversary of her rookie’s death. Wesley knew that although she never said it, Angela had taken Jackson’s death pretty hard. That- on top of everything that had happened to their family ever since- his stabbing, Elijah, La Fiera’s kidnapping, his pill overdose (mixed with alcohol); his wife had been through more wars than he could have ever imagined.
So he’d gone out looking for her, finding her in front of Lucy’s apartment.
He’d taken her home, with the promise that he would take her back in the morning to get her car before work.
But now, as Wesley rolled over in bed, he found Angela’s side empty.
They had gone to bed together… barely… 4:00 am…. 3 hours ago. Where’d Angela go?
He got out of bed, and padded slowly to the living room. There, at his normal breakfast place, was a note from Angela.
Dear Wes,
Had to get out to get some air tonight; wasn’t able to sleep. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I’ll be home tomorrow night for date night, and Tim will get my car from Lucy’s apartment tomorrow.
I put some breast milk in the refrigerator for Jack, enough until I come home from my lunch break tomorrow to drop off some. If you can’t take Jack tomorrow, or the nanny is unavailable, bring him to the station or give me a call. I should be able to take care of him.
Tim knows where to find me, if you have an emergency. My phone will be off for the next hour or two, so if you call or text me, I most likely won’t respond until 8:00 am.
Love you very much,
Angela.
She’s just needed time for herself. Everything was ok, Wes was sure. He’d call around 8, check in on Ang. He sent Tim a quick text, letting him know briefly about the note, and spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling.