As the clock counts down to when everyone heads to New York, we get a peek into the minds of a few of the kids.

Enjoy the last chapter before everyone starts to arrive!

***

The shift before the Los Angeles crew flew to New York included Bobby taking the house offline for dinner, and the house's significant others and children gathered for a potluck of sorts. Harry and Denny had beelined for the videogame console immediately while Michael, David, and Karen watched in fond amusement. Maddie sat with Chimney, her smile seemingly pasted on her face as she gently bounced Jee-Yun on her knee. Her smile turned more genuine as Buck plopped next to her and started making funny faces for Jee-Yun's pleasure, and the baby's giggles made color return to her mother's face.

Christopher, meanwhile, sat in a chair close to the kitchen, giving May a toothy smile as they watched Bobby keep a critical eye on Eddie, Athena watching the two firefighters while hiding her grin behind her glass. "I've never been to New York before," he told the young dispatcher excitedly.

"I'm surprised you were able to get pulled from school for this," May admitted.

"I had to promise the school we would be on top of his work," Eddie answered, lifting one of the dishes to carry it to the table. "It helped that I could explain Captain Vega's daughters will be held to the same promise."

"And she has two of them," Athena nodded. "This is Captain Strand's paramedic captain, right?"

"And his son's captain, too," Bobby confirmed as he checked his macaroni and cheese. "According to Owen, TK switched from his ladder crew to Captain Vega's EMS crew a few weeks after the wildfires."

"So does that mean there's an open spot on the ladder?" May wondered.

Bobby shrugged. "If there is, Owen didn't sound too concerned about it."

"Who else is coming?" Christopher asked, tilting his head as he watched Bobby carefully remove his dish from the oven.

"Uh," Bobby frowned in concentration. "Well, it's me, Athena, May, Buck, you, and your dad from here. The Strands, the Vegas, and TK's boyfriend from Austin. I think TK's paramedic partner is coming, too. As for Chicago, it'll be Wallace, his captain, one of his lieutenants, his chief paramedic, and the captain's two wards. Wallace implied there might be another younger child coming, too, but I haven't heard anything since then."

Christopher blinked. "Then who's running his house?"

Eddie snickered into his arm. "Hey, it's a fair question," Bobby lightly chastised.

"Yeah, I know," Eddie laughed. "I'm just trying to picture what a house would look like without its officers."

Bobby chuckled and conceded with a nod. "Wallace has a captain and two lieutenants at his house," he explained. "The engine lieutenant will still be there, so the house will run under his command. They did figure out who would fill in for the missing officers while they're in New York, though."

"Good," Christopher nodded in satisfaction.

"Hey, Buck?"

"Yeah?" Buck's head shot up from where he had been playing with Jee-Yun, Maddie looking up curiously as well.

Ravi appeared at the top of the stairs, a small frown on his face. "Uh, there's someone downstairs asking for you," he said. "He said to ask why he had to hear from his former squad that you're going to be in New York at the same time as him?"

All heads simultaneously turned to Buck, whose jaw dropped. "No way," he breathed, rocketing up from the couch and bolting for the stairs. "Amaro?!"

"Buckley!" a jovial male voice called in return, and Christopher carefully got to his feet and made his way to the railing. "I have a bone to pick with you!"

"With me?!" Buck protested as he scrambled to the bottom of the stairs. "You didn't say anything!"

"I didn't know there was anything to say!" the man with dark hair and a beard laughed as he held out his arms.

Buck hugged him tightly and clapped him on the back. "You're heading up, too?"

"Oh, yeah," Amaro nodded, keeping his arm tight around Buck's shoulders as Buck guided them back to the stairs. "As soon as Rollins texted me that the Strands were flying up there, I was booking my furlough time and a ticket up to Manhattan. Then TK texted who from California was coming, and . . . " He shrugged when they reached the top of the steps. "Well, how many Evan 'Buck' Buckleys are in Los Angeles and are stationed at the 118?"

"Just one!" Buck held out his arms with a proud grin.

"Sergeant Amaro?" Athena asked in surprise, straightening off of the counter.

"Ah, Sergeant Grant!" Amaro smiled and nodded politely. "That's right, your husband is the captain here."

"That's me," Bobby nodded, stepping forward and extending his hand. "Bobby Nash."

"Nick Amaro," the sergeant responded, firmly shaking Bobby's hand. "United States Park Police."

"Nick and I met when I represented the 118 at a first responders conference in San Francisco," Buck explained. "We hit it off while we were there. We exchanged numbers and kept in contact ever since."

"I used to be Captain Benson's partner when she was still a detective," Nick added, and Bobby nodded in understanding. "So I had a front row seat to the Strand and Benson show, and once TK started at the 252, we formed our own little group with Rollins. I left before I really got to know anything about Carisi, but from what I've heard, TK all but shoved them in a closet together."

Buck snorted loudly. "That sounds like TK."

"Oh, it's very TK," Nick agreed. "He takes after his father that way."

"And you're coming to New York, too?" Eddie asked as he walked over, an unreadable expression on his face.

Christopher blinked at the look, but Nick took it in stride. "I am," Nick nodded. "I know what a toll 9/11 took not just on Captain Strand, but also on TK. I'll be there for both of them in any capacity I can be."

Eddie nodded stiffly, a respectful glint in his eye. "Well, the more support, the merrier," Athena broke the silence before it got too uncomfortable.

"Oh," Buck shook himself. "Nick, this is Eddie Diaz, we're partners here at the 118. This is his son, Christopher. They're both going to be coming, too."

"Oh, really?" Nick grinned. "Awesome."

"You're one of Bucky's friends?" Christopher tilted his head.

"Yes, I am," Nick confirmed with a charming smile. "Just ask him, I don't make friends that easily."

Buck snorted. "I'll be asking TK that, too."

Christopher smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise, buddy," Nick winked. "You know, Buck told me about a lot of the fun he's had with you since you and your dad came to Los Angeles."

Christopher brightened and looked up at Buck in delight. "Really?"

Buck coughed uncomfortably, his cheeks starting to turn red. "Well . . . I have to brag about my favorite people to someone, right?"

"Oh, OK," Hen rolled her eyes in exaggeration, giving Chimney a fake wounded look. "I see how it is."

"Don't worry, Hen," Chimney pretended to pat her arm in a consoling manner. "We've known since Buck met Christopher that the Diazes are his favorite people."

It was Eddie's turn to turn suspiciously red, but Christopher giggled and hugged Buck tightly. "He's my favorite, too," he declared.

Buck let out a strained laugh and bent down to hug Christopher in return. "And that's why you're mine, Superman."

***

Children had half of each parent's DNA, but some children resembled one of their parents more than the other. Jesse and Billie, after all, were practically clones of their mother and, from what Detective Rollins said, barely reminded the detective of their fathers. However, they were starting to show signs of Detective Carisi's personality and traits. Noah was adopted, but he looked like he could be Captain Benson's son. As the boy chased ADA Stone around the park, the pair tossing a baseball back and forth, it was easy to see how the prosecutor was rubbing off on him.

Lily was often told how she physically resembled her mother, but her personality and instincts were all from her father. She had a few friends in school but considering all the stories and warnings her father had brought home from some of his cases, especially after the Amanda Larson case, she was far more cautious about personal information than several of her classmates at Cromwell Academy. She was already the black sheep of the school with her full ride and add that she was the daughter of a cop in a school with a ton of kids from well-off families, she was practically the definition of a lone wolf.

That was fine with Lily, though. She was perfectly happy with the friends she had made with the rest of the NYPD's kids. Who cared if Noah, the next oldest, was several years younger than her? Noah knew better than anyone at her school what it was like to be the child of a cop, and that was enough for Lily to like him better than some of the spoiled brats that attended her school. Her sisters might resemble their mother more, but she was her father's daughter, and she was damn proud of it.

Her closeness to her father also meant she got to claim her father's coworkers as family, too. The first time she had said Aunt Sam, she was certain she had seen tears in the prosecutor's eyes before she was engulfed in a bear hug. Kevin was Frank's polar opposite, but maybe their differing point of views was why they worked so well together. Lily knew Kate didn't work in the field like Captain Benson and Sergeant Bell often did, but the lieutenant knew how to command a room with ease. Jack was much the same, but he was the Manhattan District Attorney. If the man didn't know how to command a room with a simple eyebrow raise, Lily would wonder what he was doing at the post.

Lily's favorite of her father's coworkers, however, was without a doubt her father's best friend. While Lily could say with certainty that Detective Stabler was probably the most physically intimidating person in their law and order family, Lily knew Nolan's presence could fill a room if he wanted it to happen. Sticks and stones could break bones, and Nolan's words could sting more than any poison. Put Frank's drive to crack a case and Nolan's web weaving in a courtroom, and Lily knew even Olivia and Peter had their work cut out to best the pair that caught and cooked some of the worst and most dangerous criminals in Manhattan. When Lily had needed someone to shadow for one of her school projects, Nolan had immediately taken her under his wing and walked her through the entirety of one of his less gruesome cases, and he even encouraged her to contact him again if she needed any further material. She had scored the best out of any of her classmates, and the resulting grin from Nolan and pride in her father's eyes was one of the greatest rewards she ever received. If there was one adult Lily trusted the most after her parents, it was Nolan, no questions asked.

So when her father called to her from where he stood with Nolan, Olivia, and Elliot, she immediately pulled away from her game of tag with Jesse, jogging to join the quartet known around Manhattan as the group that had worked together to take down Richard Wheatley. "Yeah, Dad?" she asked, leaning against his side when she reached him.

"Hey," Frank smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "So you've probably heard us talking about the firefighters that are coming to visit for the anniversary of 9/11, right?"
"I have," Lily nodded. "Noah and Jesse seem the most excited. They said their godparents are coming?"

Elliot chuckled. "I'm just now realizing how many titles our family members have."

"A lot," Olivia admitted with a grin. "Yes, their godfathers are two of the firefighters coming. There are a lot more people coming than them, though. Not just adults, either."

Lily tilted her head, her interest piqued. "Are any of them going to be my age?" she asked, a note of hope in her voice.

Frank's smug expression made Nolan snicker. "Your daughter, Frank," he said. "Absolutely your daughter."

"Shut up, Nolan," Frank huffed with no heat in his voice.

Lily giggled at the byplay, and Olivia rolled her eyes fondly. "Yes, there are," she told Lily. "One of the firefighters coming from Chicago has two wards, Griffin and Ben. They've been in Captain Casey's custody before, but that was years ago. They've only been back in Chicago for three months."

Lily frowned in concern. "Can I know what happened?"

Olivia sighed. "Their father was friends with Captain Casey and Lieutenant Severide, and he died while on a firefighting call ten years ago. Their mother . . . has not coped since then."

Judging by the expression Elliot made, it must have been an understatement. Lily frowned at the thought of what Griffin and Ben must have gone through with their mother since their father died, and she nodded determinedly. "I'm looking forward to meeting them."

Frank smiled proudly at her, and Olivia beamed. "You have a good one there, Frank."

"Believe me," Frank chuckled, kissing the top of Lily's head. "I know I do."

"Mom!" Noah's voice came from somewhere on the other side of the park. "Come play with us!"

Olivia laughed. "Duty calls!"

Elliot grinned. "Enjoy chasing your boys around!"

"It's good practice!" Olivia retorted, swatting Elliot on the back of the head as she walked around them. "You should try that when TK gets back here!"

Nolan laughed loudly at Elliot's sputtering while Olivia took off across the grass, beelining for Noah as her son squealed and ran to catch up with Peter. "She has you there, Stabler!"

Elliot sighed. "She isn't wrong, though. From all she's said, we're probably going to be chasing Tyler and Rollins and Carisi all over Manhattan once they meet up again."

"Amaro's coming, too!" Amanda called from her conversation with Jet and Sam.

Elliot groaned. "Great."

"Amaro?" Lily looked up at her father in confusion.

"Benson's former partner?" Nolan guessed.

Elliot nodded. "He moved all the way out to California."

Frank hummed. "Wonder if he met up with the Los Angeles group."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Elliot shrugged. "Everyone seems to have connections everywhere."

"One big family, right?" Lily smiled.

Nolan grinned at her. "I think that's going to be more literal than we thought by the time we're done here."

***

"Aha!" Ben's voice echoed from under Amelia's bed, and Griffin bent down to watch his brother carefully shuffle from underneath and victoriously hold up one of Amelia's first stuffed animals. "Found it!"

"Oh, you'll be her favorite for weeks now," Griffin grinned, checking the teddy bear in a CFD paramedic uniform for any dust. "She's been wondering where this is."

"Well, glad we found it," Ben said as they left Amelia's room and headed for the staircase. "If there's any toy she has that'll keep her calm on the flight, it'll be ParaBear."

Griffin snickered as they headed down the stairs. "ParaBear. Make sure the CFD knows you made that up."

Ben laughed as they arrived back in the living area. "Hey, Mia!" he called. "Look who I found!"

Amelia's blue eyes brightened, and she scurried away from the dark-haired firefighter crouching and distracting her and ran as fast as her little legs could take her. "ParaBear!" she cheered.

"You found him?" Sylvie grinned, stepping away from her suitcase to join them. "Where was he?"

"He must've slipped between her bed and the wall one night," Ben shrugged, passing the bear to Amelia, who immediately clutched it to her chest.

"You know that probably means she'll be attached to your hip until we reach New York, right?" Kelly quipped from where he sat at the dining table.

The dark-haired woman with him snickered, and Ben shrugged. "You make it sound like that's a chore."

That made all three of their visitors burst into laughter, and Matt shook his head fondly. "I love this family."

"You got yourself a good one," the firefighter who had crouched by Amelia stood.

"Thanks for helping us on such short notice, Greg," Sylvie smiled gratefully.

"To all three of you," Matt added. "I know we're taking two of you away from 40."

"Eh," Greg Grainger waved away his gratefulness. "Jason and I are always happy to pitch in when we're needed."

"Gets me further away from Kilbourne, that's for sure," Jason Pelham snorted.

"And that, in turn, stops me from plotting against him," Wendy Seager said cheerfully as she packed away the folders she and Kelly had been looking through. "Which I don't think Hawkins would appreciate."

"Definitely not," Jason snickered. "Unless he and Mikami are working together."

Sylvie frowned suspiciously. "Are you two going to try and play matchmaker with my partner and our chief?"

"Who, us?" Jason batted his eyes innocently.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Greg smirked.

"Send us a video?" Ben asked hopefully.

Kelly sighed. "You're corrupting our wards."

Sylvie and Wendy both burst into laughter, and Griffin smiled as he turned to his brother and the girl who was like their sister. "It's going to be weird not having this while we're in New York."

"I'm glad we're getting out of the city for a while," Ben admitted, watching Amelia inspect her favorite bear. "I know it's not the best occasion . . . and we won't know anyone there."

"Well, Sylvie sounds excited about it," Griffin shrugged, watching the paramedic putter about the house to make sure all of their belongings were ready. "So . . . at least she'll know someone. And Chief Boden's friends will be there, too. What do you think, Mia?" he asked, making Amelia look up at him. "What do you think about visiting New York?"

"Fun!" Amelia declared with a wide grin.

Griffin laughed. "How can we argue with that?"

"We can't," Ben smiled. "Guess we better make the most of it, huh?"

Griffin nodded in agreement, knowing that at that time tomorrow, they would be in Manhattan. "New York, here we come!"

***

Griffin, Ben, and Amelia are such adorable siblings. Lily doesn't have a thing to worry about. Their parents and guardians, on the other hand . . . well, there's a reason a certain trio is dubbed Team Dumbass 2.0 for a reason.

No Austin POV (my mojo kind of declined after Lily's POV), but there will be a big chunk of it next time. Everyone is off to New York!

graphic by marvelity