“That I have no idea. How could I know what that’s like until it happens?”

“Good point. Would you want to find out?”

Scotty’s big brown eyes got even bigger. “Are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know yet. But like you said, there’s a lot of talk. It has me thinking about what ifs.”

“What does Sam say?”

Nick’s laugh was a low rumble. “Mostly she sticks her fingers in her ears and says ‘Lalalala, can’t hear you.’”

Scotty cracked up. “I can so see her doing that. It’s because of her job, right?”

“In part. If anyone would chafe against the restrictions, it’d be her. She’d go nuts being followed around all day. I can’t, for the life of me, picture her living like that.”

“True.”

“And since I can’t live without her...all the talk might be a moot point.”

“What’s a moot point? What does that mean?”

“It means there’s probably no point in talking about it when it can’t really happen without Sam being on board.”

The divider window opened and Eric turned in the passenger seat to face them. “Sorry for the delay, Senator. We’re stuck in traffic.”

“Any word on the game?”

“It’s over. The Feds went down swinging in the bottom of the ninth.”

Scotty let out a tortured groan. “We were so close.”

“They’ll be talking about this one for years to come,” Eric said with a sympathetic smile for Scotty.

“Poor Willie,” Scotty said. “He must be so upset.”

“I’m sure he is,” Nick agreed.

“I’m going to write him a letter. When we get home, I’m going to write to him and tell him I don’t blame him. Accidents happen, even to Major League ballplayers.”

Nick’s heart swelled with love. “I think that’s a brilliant idea, buddy.”

They shared a smile that made him so very grateful for the boy who was now his son. Soon enough the adoption would be official. Nick couldn’t wait for that day.

* * *

Sam arrived at HQ pissed off about being called into work on a night she’d planned to spend with her guys. They got so few free nights together, especially during Nick’s campaign, that she tended to be greedy about every one. She sauntered into the situation room where Chief Farnsworth, Deputy Chief Conklin and Detective Captain Malone were consulting with the lieutenants who ran the Special Response Team and Patrol Division.

She took a seat next to Detectives Dani Carlucci and Giselle “Gigi” Dominguez, the two third-shift officers under her command. “Well, this blows, huh?” Sam said.

“You said it, LT,” Gigi said. “All over a stupid baseball game.”

“Too bad people don’t go nuts over homelessness or something that matters,” Dani added.

“I was just saying that same thing to Christina,” Gonzo said as he took a seat behind them.