Chapter Text
Gil stood in the foyer of The Whitly Estate, it had been a week since the last time he had been in The Whitly Estate arresting Martin Whitly for murder, this time Gil was there to pick up Martin's 10-year-old son Malcolm to bring him along on a stakeout and to take him off his mother's hands for a few hours. As Gil waited for Malcolm to get ready, he suddenly felt two small arms wrap around his leg and he looked down to see Ainsley, Malcolm's little sister looking up at him with a bright smile as she hugged his leg. Gil smiled back at Ainsley as Malcolm walked into the foyer with his mother behind him. "Ainsley, don't hug Detective Arroyo's leg too tight or you'll make his leg go numb," Jessica said as she picked up her daughter, "thank you, Detective, for taking Malcolm out of the house for a while, I think he could use it." She added as Malcolm grabbed his coat. Gil nodded with a smile, "I'm happy to take him off your hands for you anytime you need, I can even take Ainsley off your hands. I don't mind." He said as Ainsley wiggled in her mother's arms. Jessica smiled as she set Ainsley back on the floor, "Give your brother a hug, and then you and I can have a tea party," Jessica said to Ainsley who ran over to Malcolm and hugged him, "I might take you up on that offer sometime detective. Right now I have a tea party to attend with Ainsley and her dolls." She added with a smile to Gil. Gil nodded and walked towards the front door of The Whitly Estate with Malcolm. "Well you ladies have fun at your tea party, I'll have Malcolm home before bedtime." He said with a smile before opening the front door and leaving with Malcolm.
Once Gil and Malcolm were in Gil's car, a 1966 Pontiac LeMans, Gil looked over at Malcolm. "So we're going to stop at the convenience store and pick up some snacks and drinks for our stakeout. How does that sound?" He asked as Malcolm put on his seatbelt. Malcolm looked up at Gil and nodded, Jessica had told Gil that Malcolm wasn't talking but Gil had hoped that taking Malcolm on this stakeout would help get him talking again. Gil sighed and drove to the nearest convenience store to get stakeout snacks. When Gil parked the car in front of the store, he and Malcolm got out and walked inside together. "Okay Malcolm, why don't you get yourself a slushy and I'll grab us some snacks," Gil said and Malcolm ran to the slushy machine at the back of the store to choose a flavour. Gil walked through the candy aisles and grabbed a large bag of regular Twizzlers as well as a few different chocolate bars before heading over to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of Coca-Cola Classic for himself. When he was done, Gil met Malcolm at the counter and paid for their stakeout snacks. When Gil and Malcolm got back into Gil's car, Gil handed Malcolm the bag of Twizzlers. "At some point tonight I'll order us a pizza because I don't think your mother would appreciate it if I let you eat Twizzlers for dinner," Gil said with a chuckle and Malcolm laughed. Gil smiled as he drove to their stakeout location and parked the car once they got there.
After a few hours of sitting in Gil's car in silence and doing nothing but staring out the front window of Gil's car, and eating snacks, Malcolm finally spoke up. "I'm bored, this is taking too long." He said as he took a slice of pizza from the box that was sitting between them. Gil looked at Malcolm and chuckled, "Police work is patience." He said as he ruffled Malcolm's hair. Malcolm moved his body so his head was out of each of Gil's hand. "What happens if nothing happens before you have to take me home?" He asked curiously before taking a sip of his slushy that was now more liquid than it was slush. "If nothing happens before I take you home, then another police detective will come and take over the stakeout," Gil explained as he went back to looking out the front window of his car. Malcolm sighed and looked out the window, 'Police work is patience' he thought to himself as he reached into the pizza box for another slice of pizza.
A short while later, another police detective arrived to take over the stakeout and Gil drove Malcolm home. When Gil and Malcolm got to the Whitly Estate, Malcolm had fallen asleep in Gil's car so Gil carried him inside. "Someone was tired after your stakeout," Jessica said with a soft chuckle as she took Malcolm from Gil's arms, "I can't thank you enough for doing this. I'm sure Malcolm had fun with you today." She added as a sleepy Ainsley walked into the room. Gil chuckled when he saw Ainsley and picked her up, "Hey Ainsley, did you have a nice tea party with mommy?" He asked and Ainsley nodded before resting her head on Gil's shoulder and closing her eyes. Gil looked at Jessica and smiled, "Would you like me to help you put these kiddos to bed?" He asked and Jessica nodded. "That would be wonderful." She said as she led Gil to Malcolm's room to tuck him in his bed. After Jessica put Malcolm in his bed, she took his shoes off his feet and tucked him into his bed. After tucking Malcolm into his bed, Jessica led Gil to Ainsley's room and they tucked Ainsley into her bed together. "Would you like to stay for coffee?" Jessica asked Gil as they left Ainsley's room and walked towards the living room. Gil nodded, "Sure, I could stay awhile." He said and sat on the couch while Jessica walked into the kitchen to make coffee for the two of them. After a few minutes, Jessica walked into the living room with two coffee mugs and sat on the couch beside Gil. "So Ainsley enjoyed talking about you during our tea party." She said before taking a sip of her coffee. "Oh really? What exactly did she say?" Gil asked intrigued by the fact that Ainsley talked about him even though she barely knows him. Jessica chuckled thinking about what her five-year-old daughter had said about Gil. "Well, first she wanted to know why you were taking her brother for the day. I told her it was because Malcolm didn't want to join our tea party," She said and Gil chuckled, "after I told her that, she asked if you would come to a tea party with her sometime." Gil smiled as he took a sip of his coffee, "Well I will have to check my schedule but I should be able to make it to her next tea party." He said as both of Jessica's half-asleep children walked into the living room and curled up on the couch with their mother and Gil. Jessica sighed as she put her coffee mug on the coffee table and ran her fingers through Malcolm's hair as he laid with his head on her lap. "It has been so long since Malcolm and Ainsley have done something like this," Jessica said to Gil as Ainsley curled up on his lap, "though it's the first time Ainsley has curled up with someone other than Martin or I. She seems to be relaxed with you." She smiled at her daughter asleep on Gil's lap. "Well, it's good to know that both of your children like me and are relaxed with me," Gil said as he gently brushed a strand of hair behind Ainsley's ear with one hand while placing his free arm on the back of the couch, wrapping it behind Jessica who placed her head on his shoulder.