It would seem that in the aftermath of news breaking of Jeffrey Donovan's departure, I am in desperate need of writing Frank Cosgrove's POV. So have some of unrepentant Pricegrove ship-teasing (or is it ship-building?) with your fire family fluff. I'll probably make you overdose on Sylvie Brett once Kara Killmer leaves in Season 12.
Three friends finally get the chance to talk to each other after twenty years, and Manhattan's preparation for visitors leads Peter to reach out to a member of another precinct. He just has to pose the question before a coffee war ensues.
***
Elliot had texted that he, as a matter of fact, had found someone with Wallace's contact information, and Owen's head thudded in his throat for the rest of the day. It was later in the afternoon that Peter Stone reached out, and his email contained both Wallace's phone number and e-mail addresses, both work and personal.
My best friend works under Chief Boden, he had written. She sent his information to me after she asked his permission. I have it on good authority that his house is on a 48-hour through tomorrow evening.
That was while his house was on a 24, and if Owen had Bobby's schedule correct, he would be smack in the middle of a 72. If, God willing, none of them had a call at that time . . .
His phone trilled on his bedside table, and Owen flailed around before he managed to snatch it up. He squinted at the glowing Caller ID, and he groaned and answered. "What the hell are you still doing up?"
"Because I can hear your mind going a mile a minute from here," Olivia deadpanned. "And Noah had a pretty bad nightmare, so . . . " A muffled yawn came from the other side, and Owen winced sympathetically. "Makes me glad I have a day off."
"Lucky you," Owen muttered and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"So, did you get the information you needed?"
"I did," Owen nodded. "Thank Peter for me, will you?"
"You wanna do that yourself?"
Owen paused. "Actually, yeah, if you don't mind putting me on – "
"Speaker?" Peter's voice came clear across the line. "Glad you got the email. Though I'll have you know I was spammed the rest of the day asking if I knew about contact being made."
Olivia laughed. "Brett?"
"Oh, yeah. She may be more excited than we are by the possibility of you three reuniting."
Owen smiled faintly. "Who is this?"
"Sylvie Brett," Peter answered. "She's the Paramedic In-Charge for Boden's shift at Firehouse 51. She's sunshine in human form. I don't know how else to describe her." He paused, then amended, "and she has basically everyone wrapped around her finger."
Owen blinked. "Everyone?" he repeated.
"Voight hates it when she gets hurt." An impressed whistle came from Olivia at Peter's words. "And Voight is vicious as hell when he wants to be."
Olivia barked in laughter. "You're telling me."
"So he should never meet Elliot?" Owen quipped dryly.
"Oh, my God," Peter groaned. "Never. If they do, I am not supervising. Liv, I nominate you."
"Thank you for that vote of confidence," Olivia sighed. "They'd either set each other on fire, or they'd set a house on fire. Maybe both."
Owen snorted. "Noted."
"Look, Owen." Peter's voice turned more serious, making Owen's fingers tighten around his phone. "If you're worried, you shouldn't be. I stuck mostly to myself while I was in Chicago, but I hear updates from Sylvie all the time. Whatever Chief Boden was like back on 9/11, he's only gotten better with time. The two of you are like peas in a pod . . . though he is a bit more serious."
"Probably comes with the post," Owen mused.
"That's part of it," Peter allowed. "All I'm saying is . . . whatever you're worried about, you shouldn't be. He's likely going to be relieved he's not going to be coming here alone."
Owen smiled softly. "Thanks, Peter."
"Any time, Owen."
***
Whatever deity usually deemed it necessary to screw with his house seemed to be kind to him this day, for the house had been taken offline to give everyone time to recover from the three-alarm they had just fought. Wallace stood in the doorway of the bunkroom and smiled fondly as he watched exhausted firefighters crash on their mattresses, Violet's damp hair fanned out over her pillow. Herrmann had fallen asleep while writing his report, and he was snoring quietly, his folder draped over his chest. Tuesday had hopped up onto Ritter's bunk and curled up at his feet, her muzzle on her paws as she looked up at the chief. Wallace smiled and scratched her head, and he paused when her tail thumped on the mattress. Ritter didn't stir, however, which told Wallace just how much the call had taken a toll on them.
The blinds to Kelly's quarters were open, but Matt's were shut, and Wallace knew if they were open, he would either see Matt working away while Kelly and Sylvie claimed the bunk, or he would see all three piled onto the same mattress. How the three of them could make that work, Wallace would never know, but the three were always professional when he needed them to be. If they needed the comfort of being in the same room, he wouldn't take that from them.
With everyone resting and recuperating from the call, that meant he wouldn't be disturbed during the call he was about to join. He walked back to his office, stopping by Kylie's desk as he did. "If any calls come in for me, please send them to my voicemail," he told her.
"Sure, Chief," Kylie nodded in agreement.
Wallace patted her shoulder and stepped into his office, closing the door behind him. He took a deep breath and sat at his desk, staring long and hard at his computer monitor. When he had checked his work e-mail that morning and had seen the name of one of the senders, he had stared in surprise for several seconds and hadn't heard Kylie call his name until her fourth attempt. Yes, he had told Sylvie his information could be passed along . . . but he hadn't expected to be contacted so soon. Still, that had sparked something in him, and that had been the first e-mail he replied to when he finally got to work. When the confirmations from both e-mail addresses had returned, Wallace had crossed his fingers that no one would say the dreaded Q-word during shift.
And when he clicked on the Zoom link and saw two faces he recognized even though twenty years had passed waiting for him, he was so glad everything had fallen into place. "Owen," he grinned widely. "Bobby."
"Wallace!" Bobby's smile split his face in two. "We found you!"
"Peter Stone found him, actually." Owen had more silver in his hair than dark, but those emerald eyes were the same as ever, and that congenial smile was one Wallace could never forget. "We never seem to be the ones with the contacts. It's everyone else we know."
"Semantics," Bobby waved that explanation away impatiently. "What rank did Owen say you have now? Deputy Chief?"
"Deputy District Chief," Wallace corrected with a smile. "And thankfully still at Firehouse 51."
"Good for you, Wallace," Owen smiled proudly. "If anyone can prod white shirts into line, it's you."
Wallace laughed, his spirits lifted after the fire they had just tackled. "I do my best. I seem to remember you do an excellent job of that yourself, Strand."
Owen made a face. "I usually just out stubborn them."
Bobby snorted. "You sound like Buck."
"Well, considering how he and TK got along in San Angelo, that's not really surprising."
Wallace smiled, listening to the familiar banter between the two former lieutenants, now captains. "I have to say, neither of you are where you started out," he said. "Los Angeles, Bobby? And Owen . . . Texas?"
Owen laughed. "We had the same reaction to each other!"
"And we said the same thing when we went to explain," Bobby grinned. "It's a long story."
"That'll be one of the first things we catch up on," Wallace decided, interlocking his fingers. "The two of you are going to New York for the anniversary?"
In a flash, both faces turned serious. "Yeah," Owen nodded and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm coming back for it. TK's coming with me, and I think his boyfriend is working to get the time off, too."
"My wife and stepdaughter are coming with me," Bobby said. "Buck wants to come, too. I told him he could."
Wallace smiled. "Three of my officers told me they wanted to come as well. I'm glad we won't be alone."
Owen's expression shifted from solemn to mischievous. "One of them wouldn't happen to be a Sylvie Brett, would it?"
Wallace laughed. "Peter Stone, I take it?"
Owen looked very unapologetic as he nodded. "She gave Peter quite a review of you."
"Oh?" Bobby leaned forward conspiratorially.
"She's the chief paramedic at my house," Bobby explained. "Peter Stone was an Assistant State's Attorney here in Chicago, and he moved up to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office a few years ago. He and Brett were close friends before he moved. Still are, even though they're several states apart. She's been wanting to visit him since he took his job up there, and since she, Casey, and Severide have all decided they need a vacation . . . " He shrugged. "And I wasn't going to say no to company for this trip."
"No," Owen shook his head. "I don't think any of us would."
Bobby shook his head in silent agreement. "Once we get our arrival times determined, we need to figure out when we can get together and catch up, just the three of us and everyone coming with us."
"There's a bar of choice for first responders in New York that I'm sure we can reserve one night," Owen suggested. "And we can visit Central Park for another. My godson's and TK's goddaughters are excellent huggers, and this'll be the first time we've seen them in a while. Brett, at least, will want to meet Stone's . . . uh . . . " He made a face. "Well, son in all but name."
Wallace chuckled. "Oh, she absolutely will. There will also be at least two children coming with us, both teenagers. I think Brett is considering bringing the youngest of the family."
"Stone would love that," Owen grinned. "So would a few others I can think of off the top of my head. We were a big family in New York, and I know they've added on since TK and I moved here. We won't be short of support while we're there."
Bobby sighed in relief. "Suddenly, returning to New York is no longer such a daunting idea."
Wallace smiled. "I know what you mean."
***
Prior to the infamous Nicole Bell trial, only a few members of the New York Police Department were spotted walking the halls of the prosecutors' office spaces, notably from the Special Victims Unit given their camaraderie with Peter Stone outside of work. Now, especially after the Executive Assistant District Attorney stepped up to prosecute Richard Wheatley, none of the prosecutors or clerks batted an eye when one or two detectives from elite units around Manhattan dropped in to visit.
Such was the case as Frank walked through the courthouse, and the ease with which he walked and reviewed the files in his hands showed just how familiar he now was with his trek through the offices. His pale eyes only lifted from his perusal for a second at a time, and he maneuvered around clerks just by using his peripheral vision. He found the office he was looking for with no difficulty whatsoever, and he knocked on the doorframe. "Your evidence files, milady," he held out the files with a playful grin.
"Ah," Sam turned in her chair and returned the grin. "Thank you, milord." She plucked the files from his hand and immediately flipped through the papers. "Finally, a case that looks like it should be open and shut."
"That would be a relief," Frank sighed and leaned against the doorway. "We've had too many cases that hang on by a thread."
"Pretty sure they've been worse than that," Sam muttered, then she dropped the files next to her computer. "I'll get to work on how we'll present this."
Frank frowned and craned his head to peer down the hall. "I thought Nolan was in today?"
"He is," Sam nodded and checked her watch. "But he was complaining about a bad headache this morning. Jack told him if it didn't get better, he should put that couch to good use and try to sleep it off." She frowned when she noticed the time. "Though given we had court all morning and it's way past when we would usually eat lunch . . . "
Frank smirked. "Leave that to me."
Sam giggled. "I don't know how Nolan ever took care of himself until you and Lily started stealing all of his extra time."
Frank barked in laughter and backed away from the door. "What little extra time we both have!"
Sam's gleeful laughter followed him as he made the short trek down the hall to Nolan's office, where the door had been shut but the lights remained lit. He took a quick peek through the blinds and found his best friend sprawled on the couch, and he gingerly tested the doorknob. Thankfully, the door was unlocked, and he quietly opened it and stepped inside. When he shut the door again, however, Nolan flinched and turned his head, already starting to glare at whoever had disturbed him. Frank held up his hands placatingly, and Nolan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who sent you to make sure I didn't kill whoever came in here?" he grumbled.
"A little birdie mentioned you weren't feeling up to par," Frank explained as he sat in one of the chairs by the couch, watching Nolan's stiff posture as he slowly sat upright. "And that you might not have eaten."
Nolan huffed. "If I didn't appreciate her so much, I would tease her for worrying so much."
"She has all our best interests in mind," Frank shrugged. "And she probably doesn't want her boss to drop dead when she's only been your partner for a few months."
Nolan paused in rubbing his forehead to give him a dirty glare. "Has anyone told you recently that you're a bastard?"
"Not recently," Frank smirked unashamedly. "Thought it? Kevin and Lieu probably do that at least once a day."
Nolan groaned and let his head drop onto the back of the couch. "Why the hell am I friends with you?" he complained.
"Probably because I'm one of the few brave enough to banter with you and not back down," Frank answered, a note of pride in his tone. "So. Lunch?"
Nolan checked his watch and grimaced. "Yeah, I could eat," he admitted. "And take some more aspirin, too."
"Do you have any other court appearances today?" Frank asked, watching Nolan move to gather his belongings.
"No," Nolan admitted. "Just a lot of paperwork."
"And how much of it needs to be done today?"
Nolan glowered at Frank as he pulled on his overcoat. "I thought Sam was supposed to be the concerned one."
"Nope," Frank shook his head. "That's actually Lily."
Nolan sighed in resignation. "You play dirty."
"I know exactly what to use to get you to do the sane thing," Frank smirked smugly. "And I will absolutely use my daughter and your favorite person if it works in my favor."
"My favorite person?" Nolan parroted as he walked to join Frank. "Who said Lily's my favorite?"
Frank snorted. "Between me and her? Yeah, I'm pretty sure she wins that round."
Nolan laughed as he shut off the lights and locked the door behind them. "Touché." Sam waved at them as they passed her office, then Nolan looked at Frank. "Are you going to attempt to bribe me into anything else before the end of the day?" he asked sarcastically.
Frank smiled innocently at him. "Lily's staying with me the next two weeks while Julia is down in Florida for a business merger."
Nolan immediately groaned. "You are going to use Lily so many times, aren't you?"
Frank laughed loudly. "Is it using her if she's willing to hang out with you?"
Nolan shoved Frank's shoulder, but his wide grin proved it was more out of playfulness than annoyance. "You really are a bastard, aren't you?"
Frank grinned widely. "However you call it!"
***
A knock on the door made Owen look up from checking airplane ticket prices, and he smiled when he saw Tommy waiting for him to notice her. "Hey!" he beckoned her inside. "Wrapping up reports?"
"I am indeed," Tommy nodded, handing over a folder to him. "For your reading pleasure."
"Thanks," Owen smiled as he looked through the papers. He noticed her glance towards his computer, and he chuckled. "Figuring out the best airline deal."
"Ah," Tommy nodded in understanding. "New York?"
"Yeah," Owen confirmed. "And I just found out that both men I worked with are going to be in attendance, so . . . " He gave Tommy a wry grin. "This suddenly doesn't feel like an impossible mountain to climb."
"It helps when you have the people who walked through that fire with you," Tommy nodded. "May I?"
"Please," Owen gestured to the chair across from him.
Tommy sat across from him and took a deep breath. "Hear me out before you say no?" Owen's eyebrows rose, and he nodded for her to continue. "The girls have been asking me if we would be able to take a vacation . . . and after Charles's death, I think it would be good for us to take one out of Austin. Since TK is going to be off the rotation to go with you to New York, I was thinking about giving Nancy some vacation time so the girls and I can take one ourselves." She paused and cleared her throat. "How highly would you recommend New York as a vacation spot?"
Owen blinked once, twice, then leaned on his elbows. "You're thinking about coming with us?"
"We don't want to impose on you and TK if you don't want us to," Tommy quickly told him. "We can easily make other plans, but I thought . . . " She coughed and shook her head. "Sorry. Forget it."
"No, no!" Owen hastily shook his head, holding up his hand to stop Tommy when she began to stand. "It's OK, Tommy. I just didn't expect that." Tommy slowly sat down again. "I'll have to ask TK, but I certainly wouldn't say no if you wanted to come to New York. That was our old stomping ground, after all. I'm proud of where I served for years, and I'd be happy to show you and the girls around. Izzy and Evie are actually the same age as my godson, Noah, and I bet he would be thrilled to meet them and make some new friends." He cracked a grin and quipped, "and considering his mom will probably have her hands full with TK, Rollins, and Carisi, he'd have new friends to hang out with. One of TK's goddaughters is just a few years younger."
Tommy laughed, looking relieved by his acceptance. "I think the girls would like that, too."
"Excellent," Owen beamed. "I'll factor that in when looking at – " He broke off when his phone rang, and he pulled it out to check the FaceTime notification. "Well, speak of one of the devils," he laughed as he answered the call. "Didn't we just do this at zero dark thirty?"
"We did," Olivia laughed. "But I had a few curious people."
Amanda's head poked over Olivia's shoulder. "Did you reach Chief Boden?" she asked impatiently.
Owen snorted in amusement. "And where's Carisi?"
"Right here!" Sonny chirped happily, appearing on Amanda's other side. "And Stone's over there."
"Some of us are still trying to work!" Peter's voice echoed from Olivia's other side.
Olivia rolled her eyes fondly. "Like you aren't over there trying to text Brett and see if she knows."
Sonny snickered. "He absolutely is."
Owen chuckled. "You actually have really perfect timing," he told them, beckoning for Tommy to join him. "We'll have a few others coming with us that I think Noah and Jesse would like to meet. This is Tommy Vega, TK's paramedic captain. Tommy, meet Captain Olivia Benson, ADA Peter Stone, and Detectives Amanda Rollins and Sonny Carisi. Liv, Tommy and her twin girls, Izzy and Evie, are planning to come up with us. They're the same age as Noah."
"Oh, he would love that!" Olivia grinned widely. "Nice to meet you, Tommy."
"Are you keeping Tyler out of trouble?" Amanda asked conspiratorially.
A surprised laugh came from Tommy's mouth. "Nancy and I try our best."
"Good," Amanda nodded in satisfaction. "If Captain Strand can't watch out for him on a call, it's good to know someone is."
Owen snorted. "You're gonna read him the riot act when we get there, aren't you?"
"I absolutely am," Amanda held her head high with a sniff. "Troublemaker he is."
Peter slid into view with a scoff. "That's the pot calling the kettle black."
"This is the one who he gets into prank alliances with," Amanda retorted, pointing at Sonny over her shoulder.
Sonny laughed. "And between all of us, who's the one who never gets caught?"
"Now we know who should get caught next time," Olivia quipped dryly. "I expect you to help me with that, Owen."
Owen sighed. "I'll watch out for TK, you and Stone watch out for Rollins and Carisi?"
"Maybe recruit Fin instead," Peter suggested. "I'm at the DA's office, and I'm pretty sure I'm getting Chicago duty."
Owen considered. "Good point."
"Oh, thanks, Stone," Amanda rolled her eyes.
"Anyway," Olivia interrupted, but she was smiling. "Captain Vega, your girls are Izzy and Evie, right?"
"Yes, ma'am," Tommy nodded.
"Well, we look forward to meeting them," Olivia beamed. "Let us know when you sort out your flight plans."
Owen grinned. "You got it, Captain."
Olivia laughed. "Have a good rest of your shift, Captains."
Tommy waved as Owen ended the call. "I like them," the paramedic decided.
Owen smiled widely at her declaration. "Just wait until you meet the rest of the family up there."
"What family are we meeting?" TK poked his head into the room.
"Oh!" Owen swiveled around in his chair with a grin. "The Vegas have asked if they can come to New York."
"Really?" TK brightened. "Awesome!"
"You don't mind?" Tommy smiled.
"Of course not!" TK shook his head fervently as he joined them. "It'll be me, Dad, Carlos, you, and the twins. It'll be fun!"
Owen laughed. "And that's not including the people Wallace said are coming from Chicago!"
TK perked up, looking excited. "Who's coming from Chicago?"
***
"See, that's the thing with headaches and migraines," Frank told Nolan as they returned to the courthouse. "Julia had them from time to time. It could be stress, lack of sleep, needing to eat, the weather going absolutely crazy . . . Lily's shown signs of it, too."
"Oh, good," Nolan griped as he sipped his coffee. "I get my own personal migraine consultant."
Frank snorted. "You make that sound like it's a bad thing."
"If I didn't have a hell of a lot of paperwork to stare at now, it'd be different," Nolan sighed.
"I'll ask the same thing I did before we left. How much of that needs to get done today?"
Nolan scowled at him. "I will throw the rest of this coffee in your face."
"You, wasting perfectly good coffee?" Frank raised an eyebrow, then he glanced at the label on his cup. "Well . . . perfectly good coffee to you." He snorted and sipped his own coffee as they reached the prosecutors' offices. "Hazelnut? Really?"
Nolan sighed in exasperation, not rising to the bait. "Some of us don't like our coffee as black as your soul, Frank."
Frank raised his cup in a mock toast. "Suit yourself."
"I will, thank you very much," Nolan rolled his eyes, then he paused when he saw the pair waiting outside his office. "Benson, Stone."
Frank blinked when he saw Olivia and Peter turn to watch their approach. "I thought you said all you had left was paperwork."
"I may play hooky at this rate," Nolan muttered under his breath before clearing his throat. "Everything OK?"
"Better than we thought," Peter grinned in delight. The last time Frank had seen that look on the prosecutor's face was when Jack confirmed the threat of Richard Wheatley had ended. "Chief Boden isn't coming to New York alone."
Nolan smiled. "And by your obvious glee, I take it Brett is coming with him?"
"She is," Peter confirmed as Nolan unlocked his office. "Casey and Severide are coming, too."
Frank frowned. "Doesn't that only leave the house with one officer?"
"Actually, no," Peter shook his head. "Those three already called around. They have officers lined up to substitute for them while they're here. Apparently, the pair going to run truck and squad are as close to working together as Chicago can get to Casey and Severide, and that's not an easy feat."
Nolan gave an impressed whistle as he hung up his coat. "They sound like the firefighter versions of Benson and Stabler."
Olivia looked at Peter in surprise, and the prosecutor snorted. "You have no idea how accurate you are. Add Sylvie to them, and you basically have the Three Musketeers."
Olivia frowned at the words. "That's me, Owen, and Elliot."
Peter laughed. "I look forward to watching you challenge them for the title."
"And I look forward to having a front row seat to that," Frank grinned.
"You would," Nolan smirked at him, to which Frank rolled his eyes. "Is that all?"
"Uh, no," Peter shook his head. "Sam said you and Frank would probably come back, and this is actually directed at him."
Frank quickly swallowed his sip of coffee at the address. "Me?" he repeated, pointing at himself.
"Yeah," Peter nodded. "I know this is mainly going to have the adults gathered together, but there's at least four kids that are coming, potentially two more. TK's captain is coming with her girls, and they're Noah's age. Casey's two wards, Griffin and Ben, are about Lily's age, and they're coming, too."
Frank read between the lines. "You're asking if she might be interested in meeting them while they're here."
Peter nodded in agreement. "I haven't met the Dardens in person yet, but Sylvie's told me all about them. I think the three of them would get along well with each other. Part of the reason they're in Casey's care is because their father was killed in action ten years ago, so . . . they don't really know how they may react to some of the things that'll happen around the city."
"If they're in Casey's care, I'm guessing their father was a firefighter?" Nolan asked.
Peter grimaced as he nodded. "He rode under Casey's command. Squad didn't vent the house before he entered the house, and the resulting fireball killed him instantly."
Frank cringed at the mental image. "Damn."
"That's one word for it," Peter agreed. "The way Casey and Severide tell it, that nearly drove them apart forever. He was their best friend, and they went through the academy together."
Olivia sighed. "Poor boys."
"And the mother?" Frank asked in concern.
This time, Peter scoffed. "Got a DUI once in Chicago, and the boys were temporarily in Casey's care then. When she was let out, she moved the boys all around the country. When they were finally in Portland, she was arrested for her fourth DUI. She's still serving time, and Casey flew up to Oregon to fight for custody. It was a hard-fought battle, but he was able to bring them back to Chicago. From everything I've seen and heard, Griffin and Ben are in their first stable home since when Casey took care of them the first time."
"Thank God for that," Nolan sighed.
Frank nodded in agreement. "I'll talk to Lily," he told Peter. "She'll probably say yes before I finish asking the question. She's a social butterfly when she wants to be."
Nolan's eyes flashed with mirth. "I wonder who she got that from."
Frank narrowed his eyes to slits. "This coffee will go in your face," he threatened.
"Then this one's going in yours like I said," Nolan warned.
"And that's our cue to leave," Olivia held up her hands with a wry grin. "No coffee throwing in my direction, please."
Peter laughed as he followed Olivia out of the office. "Thanks, Cosgrove!"
"No problem!" Frank waved in acknowledgement.
When the pair was out of sight, Nolan sighed and looked mournfully down at his desk. "I really should probably take a chunk of this out of my workload for tomorrow."
Frank hummed and leaned against the desk. "Maybe you should . . . . do you want to?"
Nolan considered. "No."
Frank grinned. "Lily gets out of Cromwell in half an hour."
He knew he had Nolan when the younger man groaned and shook his head. "I am so telling her that she's your bribe to get me to play hooky," he warned, even as he started packing up his belongings to leave for the day.
Frank grinned victoriously. "She'll let me."
"Yeah," Nolan sighed in defeat, but he was smiling as he closed his briefcase. "I know she will."
"Besides," Frank clapped Nolan on the shoulder as they headed for the door. "The wheel of justice isn't going to stop spinning if you take the rest of the day off. That's what you have Sam for."
"What does he have me for?" Sam peered out of her office.
"To do his work while I steal him until tomorrow," Frank smirked at her.
Sam blinked in surprise, and Nolan shrugged sheepishly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sam."
Sam silently waved, seemingly unable to speak, and Frank grinned, putting swagger in his stride as he and Nolan headed out of the offices. He meant what he said: the wheel of justice wasn't going to stop just because Nolan took a much-needed break when his head told him to take one.
And if that meant Frank got to spend the rest of the day with his two favorite people? That was just the icing on the cake.
***
I have been a sucker for Frank and Nolan since their argument in their first episode, and I will write the hell out of them until I'm sick of it. I don't think that'll happen any time soon.
Next time should wrap things up in Austin, Los Angeles, and Chicago . . . and soon it'll be all the spotlight on New York!
graphic by marvelity