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Adam hesitated as he reached for Morgan's front doorknob, changing it to a knock at the last minute. Guilt was a weight in his chest, no matter what Morgan had said about him not being able to stop her. He should have tried harder. Should have stopped Wagner from pulling her in, even though he wanted her back on the case as much as she wanted to be there.
He'd failed her.
When she opened the door, giving him a confused look, he squared his shoulders. "If you don't want me here tonight, I understand."
She made an exasperated noise, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. "Don't be stupid. Get in here and help me eat this ice cream."
The kids were gone – Adam had helped Ludo pack Chloe's bag for the sleepover that morning – but music was playing and all the makings for ice cream sundaes were spread out across the counter. She turned off the music before positioning him next to her, handing him an ice cream scoop and setting a bowl in front of him before she went back to cutting bananas. "Now, stop saying dumb things and start dishing yourself some ice cream. I want us both deep in the middle of sugar highs in less than an hour."
He could appreciate the attempt at distraction, and a part of him wanted to indulge her in it. But there were some things he needed to say first. "I'm sorry. I know you said it wasn't my fault, but I should have protected you better."
"I told you, the one thing nobody can protect me from is me." Her voice was light, but her eyes were so sad. "I'm just glad I'm the one who took the hit and not you."
"It wouldn't have mattered." He let out a breath. "I'm giving Wagner my resignation tomorrow."
She dropped the knife so fast it nearly fell off the counter. "Why? I told you this wasn't—"
"Morgan." He cut her off gently, turning to look at her. "I told you. I work cases with you. If you're not there, I don't work cases."
She gave him a stubborn look. "And I told you not to keep falling on swords!"
"I'm not." He tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, chest tight. "But if I can't do this job with you, I don't think I want to do it anymore."
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Shit." Her voice was thick as she leaned against him. "After a line like that, I can't even ask you to help with the bills."
"I will, though." He had savings. "Whatever you need." He cradled the back of her head with one hand, pressing his lips against her hair. "We'll find something, Morgan. We—"
He was cut off by the sound of someone knocking on the front door. Adam went still as Morgan immediately straightened, wiping her eyes. "So, what are the odds that some scary secret bad guy would politely knock?"
"It's unlikely." But not impossible, which is why he was already moving toward the door. Except... He stopped, turning around. "It might be Lieutenant Soto."
She made that same exasperated noise, waving him toward the door. "What, you think I'm going to comically hide you in a closet for however long she's here? I don't work for the LAPD anymore, and even if I did us dating wouldn't technically be illegal. I checked."
He had, too, but since it was well before they'd actually gotten together he wasn't comfortable admitting that. "If it is Soto, I'll still get out of the way so you two can talk."
He braced himself for the off chance there was trouble, but he'd been right about Selena being on the other side of the door. Her eyebrows briefly lifted when she saw him, then settled into a thoughtful expression. "I was going to say I was surprised to see you here, but now that I think about it I'm actually not surprised at all." She glanced over his shoulder at Morgan. "You two always made a weird amount of sense."
He let out a breath, feeling the tacit approval settle somewhere deep in his chest. "Thanks for that, but I was just leaving. You and Morgan can have the chance to talk."
"He wasn't actually leaving. The whole noble, self-sacrificing thing just kind of hits him over the head sometimes." That was Morgan, pulling him back inside and opening the door wider to let Selena in. "You are also welcome to come in, especially if you're interested in me making you a banana split. I'm having a pity party, and those are always better with company."
"I'd love a banana split," Selena said, coming inside and shutting the door behind her. She smiled a little as Adam got another bowl, starting to scoop the ice cream he already knew she liked. "I'm not sure about the pity party, though."
"Oh, it's not just for me." Morgan added the bananas. "This guy here is turning in his resignation tomorrow."
Alarm and frustration flooded Selena's expression. "No you are not."
Adam shook his head. "My decision is made. I don't want to do this job without Morgan."
"You don't have to." She turned to Morgan. "No one is having a pity party, because you're not going anywhere. Solomon's had a change of heart."
They both stared at her, eyes wide. Something that felt suspiciously like hope lit in Adam's chest, but Morgan had never heard a vague answer she didn't want to peel back to find the truth. "Really? Why?"
Selena's expression stayed confident, but there was a carefully neutral edge to her voice. "I don't know. Just worked out that way."
He and Morgan glanced at each other. He and Selena had known each other long enough for him to read her tone. She'd had something on Solomon and used it to get Morgan her job back, but didn't want Morgan to know she'd done it. There was no reason for her to worry – Morgan would see it as the gesture of love it was, but it wasn't his place to make decisions like that for Selena.
Morgan, though, hadn't quite gotten that far yet. "Things like this don't just work out that way. Did you do something? You must have done something."
"Morgan, take the win." Now Selena was getting exasperated. "Let it go."
"Morgan." Adam touched her arm. "It's okay."
"Not if she got herself in trouble for me." Worry shone in her eyes as she turned back to Selena. "Please. What did you do?"
Selena must have been almost as helpless against that look as Adam was. Her expression softened as she reached across the counter and covered Morgan's hand with hers. "Nothing that you wouldn't do for me."
Morgan looked like she was about to cry for a moment, then went around the counter to wrap Selena up in a hug. Selena hugged her back, looking at Adam over Morgan's shoulder.
Thank you, he mouthed, hoping she could see the full depth of his gratitude in his eyes.
She smiled a little, saying she understood better than words could have.
Morgan pulled back a moment later, wiping her eyes. "Conveniently for us, banana splits work even better for celebrations than they do pity parties. What toppings do you want?"
Selena settled back into her spot. "Chocolate sauce, all the way."
Morgan grinned. "I knew you had good taste."