When Kevin Atwater got home, for he called Bayley Martinez's house home these days, he found that she was already there. It wasn't much of a surprise because he had been out drinking all afternoon, and into the evening. In the end Stella Kidd had practically forced him into a taxi, after refusing to serve him with any more drinks.
"Where have you been? I called you a few times," Bayley said, getting off the couch and walking over to him. "You've been drinking," she realised, seeing it as much as smelling it on him.
"Lindsay fired me," he announced.
"Oh, Kev," she sympathised, hugging him tightly. "The stupid bitch. You must have told her I had nothing to do with Rodrigo's death? Shit, I'm angrier about it than she is."
"Yes, I told her. Either she didn't believe me or she didn't care. I think she fired me just because she hates you to be honest."
"We did talk about this," she said regretfully as they parted. "Lindsay is a vengeful person, I can tell. Maybe we should have broken things off before she returned from maternity?"
"What? Hell no," Kevin said. "I did nothing wrong, and neither did you. Our relationship never had anything to do with me being a cop and you being previously on the other side of the law. You never asked anything about a single case, and I never told you anything about one. And I told Lindsay that too."
Bayley grunted derisively. "She just couldn't get past her hatred for me. Stupid bitch. That's awful leadership, too. Hey, do you think you can appeal the decision somehow?"
"No," he said dismissively. "If I tried, she'd just bring up me dating you, spinning some bullshit about being unprofessional and possibly compromised. Anyway, I've decided I'm done with the police. I'm going to quit tomorrow."
"You're drunk," Bayley said as she sat down on the couch that they usually occupied together. She sounded dismissive of the decision he claimed to have made.
"No," he said, flopping down next to her. "Well, yes. But I made my mind up on that before I was drunk. I'm quitting tomorrow, and I don't even feel bad about it."
"Good for you," she said supportively, putting a hand on his leg. "After the way you've been treated, I don't blame you at all. Don't worry, we'll talk about what kind of work you'd like to get into, and I'll hook you up with something that pays a lot more than police work."
"Thanks, Bay," he said, giving her a kiss on the lips.
"Of course. Anything for my man."
-----
Putting the firing of Atwater and the rock bottom morale of Intelligence aside wasn't easy, but Jay was trying his best to do that the next morning. He knew that Erin was fighting the same battle, for this morning was supposed to be a wholesome family moment. In fact it would be a wholesome family moment, they just had to be able to enjoy it.
They were taking Clementine to the sports store where they would be able to buy wrestling attire for her, and they had brought Henry out for the trip. So far, Clem only knew that they were going on a shopping trip. She didn't know where to or why. The surprise was going to be the highlight of the morning.
Not knowing what was about to happen, Clementine was busy talking to Erin about players that the Cubs were interested in signing for the coming baseball season. In summary, she wasn't exactly enthusiastic about them.
"Okay, first stop is here today," Jay said, killing the engine and looking out of his window at the sports store.
Clementine was sitting behind him, so she looked out also. "Crawford Sports? What are we going there for?" It was a new store for everyone in the family, and the sign didn't elaborate on what they offered.
"We're going there because we have a surprise for you," Erin said. "Come on, let's go in."
"What surprise?" Clementine asked with some excitement as they all got out of the car. "Mom? Dad?" she cried when neither of them answered her. She had to hurry after them, going into the store right behind them.
The sales counter was near to the entrance, they all discovered. A well-built man with grey hair and a jovial face was working it, currently not serving anyone. Jay led the way over to him.
"Morning. Help you folks?" the man asked.
"Morning. Looking for Brian?" Jay said.
"You found him."
"Ah, great. Michael Acevedo gave me your name. We're looking for wrestling attire for our daughter."
"Ah, Jay and Erin?" Brian asked with a smile, obviously having received the call ahead that Michael had promised to make.
"Wait, what?" Clementine asked at the same time, looking at Jay as if she must have heard him wrong.
Jay turned to look at her, noticing Erin smiling to herself. They had agreed that this would be the best way to drop the surprise, and it had worked perfectly. "I said we're looking for wrestling attire for our daughter. We booked you some wrestling lessons."
Clementine looked suspicious of some kind of prank being played on her. "For real?"
"For real," Erin said happily. "We'll talk about it in more detail when we're done here."
"Oh my god! Mom! Dad!" Clem cried. The delight on her face and in her voice already made the money spent worthwhile. "Thank you! I don't even know what to say!"
Brian laughed, enjoying the moment. "That's awesome."
"You don't need to say anything else for now, kiddo," Jay said.
Ordinarily Clem would likely have objected to being called kiddo in front of another adult, but in that moment she didn't care at all.
"Don't suppose you know what sizes you need?" Brian asked. Another customer had lined up to be served, so it was time to get down to business.
"I have Clem's sizes right here," Erin said. She took a folded up piece of paper out of her coat pocket and handed it to Brian.
"You guys came prepared. What is even happening?" Clem asked in bewilderment.
Jay put an arm around her, not wanting her to get overwhelmed. "We went to a wrestling school and talked to the owner. We did a deal on five lessons, to see if you're suitable for more. Before you can start, you need attire to train in."
"I can get you something basic in a couple days," Brian said. "If you want something custom I'll need at least a week."
"We haven't got a week. The first lesson is Wednesday night," Jay revealed.
"It is?" Clem squealed. "Oh my god, I'm so not ready. But I'm so excited!"
"Okay, on that timescale it'll have to be something quite basic," Brian said. He looked at Clementine. "What colour and style would you like?"
"Something not too revealing," Jay said before she got a chance to speak. He was well aware that there would be teenage boys at the lessons, and he didn't want them getting to see too much of his daughter. He realised that one of the tortures of fatherhood had just begun.
"I could wrestle in pants, I think," Clem said, choosing not to go against what her dad had said.
"And one of those sports bra things," Erin suggested.
"Pants and a sports bra is quite common ring attire," Brian said, helping them out since he could tell that they didn't have much idea what they should buy. "Preferences on colours?"
"Uh, maybe a red outfit and white boots?" Clem said hopefully.
"Not a problem. I can get that done for you in time for Wednesday night."
"Great. Let us know when it's ready and we'll have our nanny come collect it," Jay said.
Brian went on to take some details from them, then gave them his price. He then removed ten per-cent from the total because of the reference from Michael Acevedo. Knowing him was proving to be quite beneficial for Jay and Erin.
"Thanks so much for your help," Erin said after she used her credit card to pay.
"Yes, thank you sir," Clem said. She had always had good manners, and continued to even as a teen.
"You're welcome," Brian said. "I'll call when your order is ready."
With that, they left the store.
"Happy, Clem?" Jay asked when they were outside.
"Happy? This is sick," she cried, giving him a hug. Her cap almost fell off, so she had to grab it.
"That's good," Jay smiled. "Now, a couple of things. We've paid for five lessons. The instructor is going to assess you during those five lessons. If she says you're good enough to continue training, we'll pay for more. But if she says wrestling isn't for you then that will be it, and we don't want any arguments over it. Fair enough?"
"Yes," Clem said seriously.
"And secondly, your lessons are going to be Wednesday and Friday nights. Before you go, all of your homework needs to be completed."
"I'll get it done, dad," she promised.
"Good," Jay said. He whipped her cap off and ruffled her hair, making Erin laugh.
"I'm not even going to complain about that," Clem said, trying to fix her hair before putting the cap back on.
"Okay, let's get home," Erin said. "Glad you liked the surprise, Clem."
"You're the best, mom." Clementine gave Erin a hug. "But do we have to go straight home?"
"I've got work to do, unfortunately," Erin said. "You and your dad can go back out if you choose to though."
"We'll see," Jay said.
They got into the car and he started to drive them home. It wasn't long before Clementine realised that they were on course to drive close by Molly's.
"Can we go to Molly's, please? I want to tell Stella about my wrestling lessons."
"Uh, I guess we can stop by," Jay said. "But I doubt Stella will be working."
'She works a double shift, Friday night and Saturday morning."
Jay smiled, as did Erin. Clem had a remarkable ability to keep seemingly trivial pieces of information that she overheard or read stored in her memory. With that in mind, he was happy to stop by Molly's for one drink. Stella and Clementine liked each other a lot, and he considered Stella to be a very good role model for his daughter, so he was happy to encourage the relationship to develop.
"Molly's it is. But just for one drink because your mom has to get home. That's okay, Er?"
"Yeah, one drink is fine," Erin replied.
Sure enough, when they walked into Molly's it was Stella who was working the bar. She was virtually the only person in the place. Saturday mornings were apparently not busy.
"Hey, Stella! Guess what?" Clementine called out, hurrying over to the bar.
"The Cubs signed Tomasso Ciampa?" Stella guessed, naming one of baseball's current top hitters.
"I wish. No, I'm getting wrestling lessons!"
"Wrestling lessons, huh? How cool is that?" Stella said, excitement written all over her face.
"Bless her," Erin said quietly to Jay, meaning Clem, who was already babbling away about how much fun she was going to have.
"Can I get you guys something to drink?" Stella asked after talking to Clem for a couple of minutes.
"Sure. Three cokes?" Jay asked his family.
"Sounds good," Erin said.
"Coming up."
After Stella served the three drinks, she made eye contact with Erin. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," Erin said openly. They walked down to the far end of the bar, where there was some privacy.
"Kevin was in here last night. Told me he got fired from Intelligence, and he's quitting the police."
Erin raised a hand. "Stella, if this is an attempt to get me to change my mind..."
"Oh, no. Nothing like that," Stella cut back in. "The decision you made is none of my business. What I want to talk to you about is... Well, you know my friend Kylie, right? Used to work at 51."
"Of course. She left to join the police academy, right?"
Stella nodded. "Right, thanks to her boyfriend's encouragement. She actually recently graduated the academy. She's in uniform now. I was just thinking that I know you took Deonna Purrazzo on as a rookie. Wondered if you'd do me a favour and take a look at Kylie? I know you might not want a rookie, but..."
"I'll think about it," Erin said.
"No pressure, seriously. I just figured I'd put a word in and see if I could help her out. But if she's too green or whatever, I understand."
"I said I'll think about it," Erin said with a smile. "I'm promising nothing more than that."
"Okay. I appreciate it. Thanks."
Erin nodded. "You're welcome."
-----
A/N: How do you think Clem will do in her wrestling lessons? Will the coach think she's good enough to stay on for more than five lessons?
Kylie Estevez, formally of Chicago Fire Department, is a possible contender for the vacant Intelligence spot. Would you like to see her get a shot on the team?
As some readers commented last time, Amanda Rose, who previously lost out to Purrazzo, is another option. Would you like to see her given another go?