21 Jump Street (Tom Hanson)

Family Ties

My hysterical laughter turned to crying. I put the crook of my elbow up to my mouth to try to conceal myself. I felt completely heartbroken and helpless. Why did I feel so strongly about a woman who I never even knew?

Tom stepped into the rain and put his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. My hands were shaky as I tried so hard to fight this feeling that I had, but I finally gave in. I cried into Tom, and he stood there—like a champ—rubbing my back and just let me be sad.

When I finally felt like I had soaked in all the terrible news, I pulled away and Tom guided me toward the door where there was the tiniest bit of coverage from the rain. He handed me a handkerchief he had in his pocket, so I dabbed my eyes and wiped as much of the rain off my face as I could. I could feel how hot my face was, and I didn't want to look like a total wreck when I walked back inside.

"I'm fine, I'm okay," I said with a sniff.

"It's okay not to be okay," Tom said. Then he mumbled, "it hurts me to see you like this."

I sniffed. "I'm sorry."

"No, no. Don't be. Do you want me to take you home?" Tom asked with a soft voice. "I'm sure Fuller will understand."

Going home sounded like a great idea, until my mind became fixated on figuring out what happened to my mom. It was a question I've been asking myself all my life, so I deserved to find out. I looked up at him and said, "I need to know what happened to her."

Tom looked down at me and a small smile tugged his lips. He brushed my hair back with his hand and he gave me a loving kiss on my forehead. "All right." He has got to be the most supportive person in my life.

Tom opened the door and we walked back into the chapel together. He went off to try to find towels that we could use to dry ourselves off while I was being caught up on what I missed while I was having my breakdown. Fuller had come out to the squad room and was informed about what the rest of us found out this morning.

Tom came back with old washcloths, but it was better than nothing. I used the fabric to try to squeeze the water out of my hair and clothes. When I had my hair bunched in my hand while squeezing the washcloth, I walked right up to Fuller and said, "I am going to go to Twin Peaks."

Fuller knew exactly why I wanted to go to Twin Peaks, a city three hours away. He shook his head and said, "no, you ain't."

"Yes, I am."

"You are too close to that case."

"No, I'm not," I told him. "I was just caught off guard. I'm good now, I promise."

"And, it is not our jurisdiction," he added.

"We can help. Most of us are done with our assignments anyways," Doug spoke up.

"Yeah, I've been itching for a new one," Booker stated. Hearing them stand up for me made me smile. Booker looked over at me and gave me a supportive little head nod.

I did not even notice Booker when I came in earlier. Sometimes, he welcomes himself back into the team once in a blue moon and goes back to his real job. Tom hates it, but I think it's fun when Booker visits. We have a weird platonic connection where we get along really well.

Fuller sighed and looked at all of us. He saw the determined faces of his six eager—and stubborn—officers and he finally gave up and said, "fine, I'll make the call."

Fuller retreated into his office and shut the door. Ioki mentioned that he was still stuck on a case at a nearby university, so Judy offered to jump on and help him finish quicker. I want to have this case solved as quickly as possible, so I hoped they could join us before noon.