Kaitlin Reinhardt had been living in her youngest sons apartment for most of the weekend now. Michael had given up his bedroom for her and the night he DID spend, he slept on his couch. She was just beginning to get comfortable and Michael had promised her that if she wanted, she could simply live here. In her turn she promised him freedom of movement. He could have the whole apartment to himself, if he and Stephanie needed a night alone.
Soon she knew that she would meet this young Tristan, but she wanted to give Michael a chance to get settled into Stephanie's family. That time would come soon enough.
A few days of cleaning ... and cleaning again and Kaitlin was forced to admit that she was actually bored. That it was time for her to leave Michael's apartment ... her apartment ... and get to know the town of Cedar Point.
While she got herself ready, she considered the places she would like to visit. Of course, Michael's partner, his girlfriend and their new baby lived only across the hallway, but she knew how hectic life with a new baby could be. That introduction could wait.
But she wanted to see where Michael worked. And she wanted to visit Sakura Sushi ... but that visit might wait until she was with Michael. After all, that was Stephanie's family an she did not want to impose in her sons lives. Perhaps that fish shack would be a good place for a light meal, even in the January cold. Cold weather never bothered her.
Slipping into her coat, she carefully left the apartment then closed and locked the door behind her. Michael had even given her a set of keys! At the head of the stairs, she heard the new baby crying and a very pretty voice singing to comfort. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, the baby was quiet. So a good mother, Kaitlin was pleased to hear.
Moving around the gas station, she approached the Cedar Point Police Department, pushed open the door and walked inside.
Angie is on the phone at the front and sees the small older woman come in. She gives her a smile and a nod to let her know she's seen her and will be with her soon. In the meantime she replies to the called "Mmmhmm. You're gonna have to fill out a form for that Sir.......you can do it on the website......Well it's 3-5 business days but if you don't want to wait you can come down in person." She inhales as her caller seems to refute the idea and her nostrils flare. "That IS the PROCEDURE Sir." She taps her pen on the edge of her keyboard and looks like she's really working to be patient "Alright, you think about it. Have a good day now." She hangs up the phone and forces a smile at Kaitlin, like she's the next citizen to serve "Hello. What can we do for you today Ma'am?"
Ryan is quietly typing in the cubical he and Micheal share and is vaguely away of the conversation outside of his box. He keeps looking at a picture on his phone is India and Jayla, positively pining over being away from them so soon. As a result, his work is slow and distracted, not to mention the broken sleep of a new baby.
Nick is in the holding cell area berating Cody who's complaining about being on clean up duty again. The door to the holding cell area is open so the conversation can be heard in the main room of the station.
"Don't we have a service that comes in every week?" Cody whines.
Nick snarls at him "Yeah but if some wackjob takes a piss on the floor in between we can't just let it fester. When you miss the bowl at home, do you just leave it Nault?"
Cody looks defensive and answer too slowly "Uh......no."
"Jesus fucking Christ, I'm sorry I asked. Mop.....I'll be in my office." He shakes his head and walks away, his office door closing.
Tamela is at the photocopy machine and trying not to laugh as she prints of a series of fliers for one of her outreach programs. She glances over at the short woman Angie is about to help and smiles at her awkwardly. What a conversation to be overheard.
Kaitlin smiles her sweet smile. "Hello, dear." she says to the dark woman at the phones when she is free. "I would like to meet the people my son works with. Even his boss, if that is at all possible."
Michael is beside Ryan, sort of covering for him since he seems to be in some kind of new father Twilight Zone. He hears the voice and murmurs. "Oh shit." and stands just as his mother is starting to ask to meet Nick Callahan himself. "Mom!" he calls over and moves to stand beside Angie. "Um ..." he blushes a little bit. "Ange ... this is my mother. Kaitlin Reinhardt." he looks at his mother. "I'm not sure now's a good time, mom." he looks a little like a 7 year old whose mother has come in demanding to see the principal.
Kaitlin looks mildly at her son. "I wanted to meet the people that work with you, Michael. And I thought getting arrested might not be the best way to do that. But I can come back." she suddenly puts a hand to her chest and gasps. "I didn't bring anything. I should have brought cookies, at least."
Angie looks delighted by all this and reaches to shake Kaitlin's hand "Now's a great time! Don't worry about the cookies. I already overfeed this crew. Mrs. Reinhardt, it's wonderful to meet you." She takes in Kaitlin's size and looks back at Michael "They always come out bigger than us eh? My two boys are like giants to me now."
Ryan hears Mike's reaction and notes his fast exit from the cubicle. He listens in and then stands up, grinning and walks around "Hi Mike's Mom! I'm Ryan."
Tamela was about to walk back to her desk and turns back around "No way! I thought Reinhardt was hatched from some sort of mutant pod in an Irish bog. Nice to meet you Ma'am. I'm Tamela. I'll go get Nick....don't take her near the cell blocks Reinhardt, it still stinks pretty bad in there."
Cody peers out the door "No, I cleaned it. Duh....Hi Mrs. Reinhardt. I'm Cody, Cody Nault. Constable Nault actually."
Tamela pushes past him in the doorway with a bump "Code Nault..." she mutters at him, causing him to tense up before she knocks on Nick's door.
Kaitlin looks delighted at them all. She shakes Angie's hand. "Yes they do. To look at them when they grow up, you are glad they start out small." she looks delighted. "Oh, you have two boys too. Congratulations and condolences." she beams at Ryan. "You are the partner." she tells him, as if he might not know. "I heard your wee one as I was leaving. And the mother singing. Oh my she has a wonderful voice .. well they BOTH do." she looks at Tamela as she passes by. "No, no pods. It is hard to say where he gets his size. I like to think it was my brother more than his father." she is distracted by Cody. "Well hello, Constable Nault Actually. What an odd name." but her eyes, just like her sons, twinkle with mischief.
Michael stands back and watches his co-workers, but especially his mother. He's not seen her in a social situation before. She had this freedom now and he hopes this is her real personality .. happy and outgoing.
Angie chuckles and steps back from the shake, going back behind the counter "Mmmhmm." She gives Michael a look to suggest she thinks his mom is as sweet as pie.
Ryan looks wistfully at Kaitlin as she reports that she heard Jayla and India singing to Jayla and admits "It's REALLY hard to leave them and come here...." He sighs "They're both my world."
Tamela can be heard speaking quietly to Nick as the door opens to his office but neither of their words are loud enough to be clear until Nick says "Reinhardt's mother? Excellent.....I'll go out the other door and meet her." Tamela returns and grins at Kaitlin, coming to stand beside Angie.
Cody looks like he doesn't quite get the joke "No it's not actually...i mean not part of my name...actually isn't" He looks like he really need to correct this small lady and be right.
Angie and Tamela turn int towards each other and start giggling. Ryan face palms.
The other door to Nick's office opens and he walks out with a big grin "Mrs. Reinhardt. It's my absolute pleasure you meet you." He approaches with a hand out for a shake but gently places his other hand on her nearby shoulder. He towers over her and his blue eyes twinkle.
Kaitlin smiles at Angie and then looks at Ryan, curiously. "Oh, that's so sweet." she sounds a little wistful. "But your only here. If she needs you she can almost open the window and call you." she moves to him and pats his arm. Then she looks at Cody. "Oh aren't you a pudding." she says in a perfectly darling voice. Then she turns towards the Chief and she takes his hand as he takes hers. "Oh, it is so good to meet you." she cranes her neck, but she is used to that. "I've been so interested in meeting you. But I ... well .. I couldn't come to see Michael's life in this town. We .. couldn't be as close as I wanted after he grew up." she is still smiling. She pats Nick's hand. "I promise not to be a bother." she announces. "I am very law abiding."
Michael grins at Angie. He feels the same way about his mother More so now. He coughs when she calls Cody a pudding ... an idiot. She didn't like him on sight. So his mother was smart, as he'd always suspected. He can only choke his laugh into a cough. Then his mother speaks to his boss ... the Chief. "Well, things are different now, Mom." his voice is a little rough. "She's only just checking up on me." he chuckles at her comment about being law abiding. To a fault.
As decent caring cops, invested in the well being of people and families, most of the station was picking up on what both Kaitlin and Michael were saying, by their not saying it. Angie pursed her lips and closed her eyes for a second and then looked compassionately between Michael and his mother and gave an encouraging smile before the phone rang and she answered it, turning her head with it so she was not speaking into the ongoing conversation "Cedar Point Police......ok... Miss......just stay where you are......no no...stay on the line please....but give me your address...." She grabbed a pen and madly wrote and then held the phone to her chest and thrust it at Tamela, who was closest "Home invasion in progress.....there's a woman on the second floor bathroom....she thinks it's two assailants...." She gestures to the phone.
Tamela had been looking sadly between Micheal and his mother two but snapped into gear immediately "Nault, with me. I'm driving."
Cody hadn't picked up on what was unspoken and had been grinning stupidly about being called pudding. He frowns at Tamela "Why can't I drive?"
"Because I said so Pudding. Come on!" And they were off.
Angie looked behind her and caught the eye of two more officers who had been listening in from a far and pointed between them and at the back door to the cars. They followed on the heels of Douglas and Nault as the sirens of two squad cars blared and hit the streets.
Ryan looked edgy "Do you think they need backup?" He had some clue about Michael's past but having heard hints from Kaitlin too he processed the confirmation.
Angie was still on the phone speaking soothingly to a frightened woman trapped in her home "Just stay quiet and breathe honey. Listen to my voice. Two officers are on their way.....just stay where you are. You're safe. Help is coming." She multitasks and keys in the address in the computer as she talks.
Callahan had caught the hints too but didn't make it look like he was dwelling. He was laughing about the fact that Kaitlin was assuring him she was law abiding when the call came in and his focus sharpened on the situation. He pats Kaitlin on the shoulder and lets go of her hand, looking at the computer and shaking his head, coming back "It's close by. I'll stay ready to go in but Douglas can handle it." Oddly he doesn't mention Cody at all. He looks between the three still standing there and smiles "Reinhardt, Yamada, go for lunch. We're ok here. Yamada....go home and kiss that baby of yours for me, and give my best to the mama. Reinhardt, take your beautiful clever mother out to lunch will ya? Go see Yuki. He just picked up halibut this morning. Dismissed."
There were of course still a few other cops who worked in the building who had smiled and watched the whole interaction with Officer Reinhardt, his mother, their chief and the officers closest to Michael so it wasn't like Callahan wouldn't have anyone else to call in to assist on the home invasion.
Katilin is looking at her son, softly when things start hopping. She backs up, almost skipping a little. "I'm in the way, I'm in the way." she murmurs to herself.
Michael stiffens very slightly, but relaxes as the job is doled out. He moves towards his mother. "You're fine, Mom. Trust me." he looks at Nick and nods. "Yes, sir." he pats his mom on the shoulder. "You'll love the fish, Mom. Let me take you out to lunch."
Kaitlin watches with wide eyes. "You're sure I'm not in the way?" she sounds concerned, as if she's walked into a shoot out in progress in the building. Then she nods and smiles at Chief Callahan. "Thank you, Chief. And the rest of you." she raises her voice to whoever in in range of her hearing. "Alright, Michael. Not no too long. You still have a job to do, honey."
Michael chuckles and leads her out of the door. "Hey, Ryan. Kiss India and Jayla for me, too. And if you have time, we'll be over having lunch." and he leads Kaitlin away.
Yuki Tanaka is whistling to himself as he washes some more halibut and preps it in the batter mix before dropping it into a fry basket for a couple of cannery workers on their break. In the other fryer he drops in the chips to go with it. The cannery employees are are settled into a table outside, knowing the tasty lunch is in the works. He washes his hands at the sink with his back to the order window. There's a little ring for service bell at the window.
Kaitlin watches the excitement, but also watches Ryan jogging to the apartment building. "Oh, look at him." she all but croons. "Such a loving father. Was he there when the baby was born?"
Michael walks with her towards the fish shack. "Yup. They woke up at three and had the baby at home." he tells her.
Kaitlin's eyes widen. "They didn't make it to the hospital in time?" she looks belatedly worried.
"No, mom, they planned it that way." Michael explains.
"Goodness ... and he wanted to be there?" she sighs as she is guided around a corner. "That is so sweet."
Michael chuckles and rings the bell, seeing a small crowd from the cannery's lunch hour. "I guess some fathers want that."
Yuki calls back "Be right with you!" as he rinses his hands and reaches for a paper towel. He's still drying as he walks up and then tosses it in the bin by the front as he looks through the window and beams at Michael "Crash! You can't fit through my windows!" He exclaims and then looks at the woman beside him who's very close to his height. "Who's your date?" He says with a charming but impish grin.
Michael laughs and groans. "I paid for that window!" he mock protests. He looks at his mother. "Not my date. You know I'm taken. No blackmail material for you." he rests his hand on his mother's shoulder. "This is my mother. Kaitlin Reinhardt. She's living in my place for a bit. Hoping she'll take it over from me."
Kaitlin arches a brow at the odd nickname and then looks enlightened. "You got drunk and fell through another window, didn't you." she giggles a little and looks at the man in the little shack. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yuki."
Yuki wiggles his eyebrows at Micheal and laughs and then sticks out a hand to Kaitlin to shake. His hands are compact like he is with stubby little fingers "You don't look old enough to be his mother. And how many windows are we talking here? Geez...and it's just Yuki." He looks dramatic "Like Cher.....or Sting.....but shorter..." he laughs at himself and then asks Michael "So you want some fish then?"
Michael snorts a laugh. "Only a ... couple ... I mean .. this year only the one .. and it was my birthday." he makes excuse. Then he looks a little sarcastic. "At the fish shack? No, man I was thinking steak and eggs? Maybe a burger?"
Kaitlin blushes a little. "Oh, I am." she accepts the compliment and then looks at Michael again. "Please tell me you didn't sing like Ulick does." she pffts. "Oh, just Yuki. Like Mako, even?" she offers. "I remember him from television.." then she playfully hits Michael in the arm. "Hush." and looks back at Yuki. "Two fish and chips, please. The halibut is very good, Chief Callahan told me you just got some in."
Yuki laughs at Michael and then throws up his hands about the steak and eggs before redirecting the hands to gesture at Kaitlin "Listen to your mother Crash." He drops one hand to his side and puts a hand over his heart "Mako. He was one of the greats." He puts a finger to his nose and then points at Kaitlin "Halibut is always the right choice. Nick sent you. Good boy...grab a table you two. There's one ahead of you. Drinks? I'll bring it all out, pay after."
Michael smirks. "I look stupid enough not to listen to my Mom?" he asks and then holds up a hand. "Never mind. Forget I asked." he takes Kaitlin's hand. "You warm enough? Maybe you need my coat ... and coffee?"
Kaitlin smiles. "Oh, he was ...." she says about Mako and looks at Michael and giggles. "And get you sick again?" she snorts. "I'm fine with my red hair to keep me warm and fish and chips too. But the coffee sounds wonderful or .. if you have ginger, two ginger teas?" she asks.
Yuki looks wryly at Micheal but then grins at Kaitlin "I don't carry ginger tea, but I have some in the kitchen so I can make that. No charge...cause it's not on the menu." He gives them a nod and turns around to deal with pulling the fry baskets up for the other order ahead of them.
Michael smiles. "Thanks, man." he tugs at Kaitlin's arm and leads her to a table .. the empty places near the door and a little out of the wind.
Kaitlin smiles brightly. "Oh ... yes ..." she breathes. She moves with Michael. "That's how I make MY ginger tea. Remember?"
Michael nods. "Yea. I remember. Sipping ginger tea when I was sick or really cold and chewing on the pieces." he smiles to himself. "Some of my best winter memories."
Yuki arranges the other order into baskets and brings it out to the cannery workers table with some banter and chuckling all around. The words can't be made out since they're slightly farther away but you can see Yuki hamming it up and talking with his hands before sauntering back in the side door and peeling some ginger to set to boil while he makes Michael and Kaitlin's order. While it cooks a few more customers walk up to the window and place orders too and the place is just cheerful and hopping. The rush doesn't seem to phase Yuki at all and he's clearly totally on top of his game. He pops back out with the tea and sets a cup in front of each of them "The rest is coming in a jiffy." He promises and disappears again.
Kaitlin smiles at her sons words and, when their tea is brought out looks into the cup and almost squeals in delight. "Ginger pieces!" she watches the stem rise in the cold and sighs deeply in bliss.
Michael looks into his own cup with a smile. "Yuki's the best." he tells her and watches his mother through the steam. "Are you sure you don't want my jacket?"
Kaitlin giggles. "Michael Nioclas Reinhardt." she chides. "I am NOT 6 years old. I'll be fine. Drink your tea."
Yuki heard the chiding of a mother to a son when he was almost back in the door and laughed. It was always that middle name thing. He dropped two more baskets down to fry and then picked up the food in take out baskets for the Reinhardt's. There was already ketchup and malt vinegar on the table. He set Kaitlin's in front of her first "For the lovely lady..." He said with a wink at her. It wasn't a lecherous wink but a cute little man wink. When he set Michael's down he teased him "Michael Nicholas Reinhardt AKA Crash.....does Nick know your middle name?"
Michael smiles as food is given to his mom first and then groans. "OK, first of all." he holds up one finger. "It's Nioclas. N-i-o-c-l-a-s. The Irish variant. And TWO." he levels a second finger. "Probably, but we do not speak of it." he chuckles and looks a little embarrassed.
Kaitlin goggles a little at the wink. She's never seen such a thing and is flattered. Then the whole middle name comes up and she laughs. "Michael is my Christmas Angel." She tells Yuki. "His father wanted the boys to have German middle names, but I ... well he wasn't around to correct their birth certificates and so .... I did what I wanted." she says boldly and then blushes and looks at the steaming food, a little embarrassed herself.
Michael groans as he hears 'Christmas Angel'. He wouldn't live this down in three lifetimes!
Yuki looks like a cat who's swallowed a canary at the revelation of Christmas angel and puts his hands in prayer position "So angelic he can fly...through glass...and land....on his ass..." He slaps his leg laughing now and it ends it a snort "Oh let me know if you need anything else. I gotta tell Hiro and Sakura that one though Crash. Thank you Kaitlin" Clearly, drinking once with Yuki makes you an instant friend.
Kaitlin giggles and reaches over to tousle her sons hair as if he were 6. "I will. Thank you so much, Yuki." she takes her hand back and sips her tea. "You know so many nice people, Michael." she takes the vinegar and gently drizzles it on the fish and chips, taking a bite. "Mmm .. and he is a good cook."
Michael lifts his head after his hair is tousled. "You do understand, Mom." he intones, reaching for the vinegar in his turn. "That I may well be ruined in this town." he huffs and eats a bite. "My only saving grace is I told Stephanie that story. In PRIVATE. So I could stand the giggling." he rolls his eyes.
Yuki hears Kaitlin's compliment and his cheeks go a little pink "Oh gee thanks. I just slap it all in batter and fry it up..." He says chuckling. He gives Michael a little point as he walks away "Try not to fly off eh." He slips back in through the side door and works his fish fray magic some more. Happy customers walks away with beautiful food and laughter can be overheard as they interact with Yuki.
Kaitlin giggles again as she eats. Sipping her tea, she looks at Michael doing the same. "Michael." she pauses a moment between filets. "I am ... happy." she confesses. "This place .. it is healing."
Michael pauses after his first filet. "Yea, Mom. It is a healing place." he looks around a little bit but his eyes go back to his mother. "You're gonna heal. John will too and so will I ... and we had a head start on healing long before you did. Now ..." he shrugs and picks up another filet. "We can all heal together." he grins.
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