All In the Family (A Law And Order SVU fanfiction)

Prologue

December 8th, 2007.

"Hey, Adam, how was school today?" Carl Jacobs asked as his son walked through the door.

"Uh, it was alright," Adam said, flinging his backpack on the couch. "Well, I got to eat lunch with Callie today."

Carl gave his son a knowing smile. "Callie, huh? That pretty little girl from down the street?"

Adam felt color rise to his cheeks. "Hey, it's not like I like her or anything. Not really."

Carl pat his son on the back. "I'm not saying that you do like her, but if, perhaps, maybe you did, well, I think Callie's a wonderful girl. I say you should go for it!"

Adam had to laugh to himself. His dad was always so straight forward. "Uh...thanks, dad," he said.

"No problem, pal," Carl said. "But will you please stop leaving your dirty old backpack on the new couch? You know your mother hates that."

Adam laughed. "Yeah, she does, doesn't she?" His mom always got mad over the stupidest things.

Carl went over to take Adam's backpack off the couch.

"Jesus Christ, Adam!" Carl exclaimed. "What do you have in here, bricks? This thing's got to weigh about a thousand pounds!"

Adam's eyes lit up in realization. "Oh, dad!" he said. "I've got something to show you."

Carl watched as Adam quickly unzipped his backpack and held out a big, wooden box painted blue.

"Here you go, dad," Adam said, handing him the box. It was lighter than it looked. "I made it in wood shop."

Carl smiled. "Thanks, Adam! I needed a new box to put my papers in."

Adam gave his dad a sly smile. "Oh, this is not a box," he said.

Carl raised his eyebrows. "Have you been smoking again, Addie? because in my humble opinion, this right here is very much a box."

Adam laughed. "This, my friend, is no ordinary box. This is a time capsule," he said, feeling awfully proud of himself.

"A time capsule, huh?" Carl asked, slightly amused.

"Yeah, dad," Adam said. "It's a time capsule. From me to you. You put something special in that box, and someday, in like, 50 years, long after you're gone, I'll dig it up. I don't know what you're gonna put in there, but make it something worth finding."

Carl smiled to himself. "Alright, son," he said. "I don't know what I'm gonna put in there yet, but I promise you, whatever I put in that box will be well worth your while."