AN: So, I have to start this chapter off with an apology... I was on vacation for most of May, and did not bring my computer! So I did absolutely no writing... Sorry! I've just now been able to get back in the swing of my writing, and this chapter is the product of that, so, enjoy!

"She's pretty," Henry said as soon as Allie was out the door.

"Pops," Jamie groaned, throwing his head back on the couch.

"I'm just sayin," he shrugged, smiling at his grandson.

"How about we just play a game of chess?" Jamie propositioned hopefully, gesturing to the set in front of him.

"Come on, tell me something," Henry plead as he sat down on the other side of the board. "Francis has been very tight lipped about her, just saying you were staying with her."

"Good, it's not his job to tell people," Jamie mumbled, making his first move and starting the game.

"No, it's your job to introduce her to the family," Henry stated firmly.

"I know, I know," Jamie sighed.

"Then tell me a little bit, just what you feel like sharing," Henry prompted.

And so, as the game went on, and one turned into two, and then a third, Jamie told his Grandfather about the woman in his life. He told him what he had told his father about her, but not many facts on her or them as a couple, instead, he talked about how he felt about her, about how they visited Alfie's cart at least once a week, about how her laugh could bring a smile to his face after a long shift. The whole time, his grandpa listened, throwing in paralleling stories of his Betty, and the two wasted the morning away talking like school boys with their first crushes.

After a few games of chess, the two men were interrupted by the front door opening loudly.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Danny's voice rang through the house.

"In the living room," Henry called out to him.

"The prodigal son has returned!" Danny teased his younger brother when he made his way into the room and saw Jamie on the couch.

"Ha ha Danny," Jamie said sarcastically, standing to give his brother a hug.

"Good to see you kid," Danny said, giving his brother a once over, "How you holding up?"

"I'm fine Danny, ready to get back to the job," Jamie told him, earning a disbelieving look as he sat back in the couch.

"Yeah, sure. I brought you house wives some lunch," Danny said, lifting up a bag with the logo of a sandwich shop not far from the house.

"Thank you Daniel," Henry said, quickly grabbing the bag and taking it to the kitchen.

"Don't run off with that Pops, we need to eat too!" Danny yelled after him, observing Jamie to make sure he was okay walking to the kitchen all right.

"So, you trying to act all tough, staying at your apartment instead of here?" Danny asked Jamie once they were in the kitchen, pulling out their sandwiches.

"Daniel," Henry berated him, digging in to his own sandwich.

"It's not like that Danny," Jamie said, playing along with the story his father must have spun.

"Really? Cause dad said we weren't allowed to bother you at your place," Danny informed him. "But this isn't your place, so I can bug you all I want," he continued, smiling around his sandwich.

"Just didn't want anyone making a fuss," Jamie grumbled.

"We're family kid, it's our job to make a fuss," Danny told him.

Allie could hardly focus on her work throughout the day. Her thoughts kept wandering to her coffee meeting with her boyfriend's father. After 10 months of dating Jamie, she had heard a lot about Frank, as a Father, as a police Commissioner, and as a person in general. Frank was an important part of Jamie's life, more so than many fathers are in their adult children's lives, especially in this day and age. Allie wanted nothing more than to get Frank's approval, but after keeping their relationship private for so long, she was scared that there was already a mark against her.

As 5:00 neared, Allie grew more and more nervous. She was constantly fidgeting with her outfit, one she spent over an hour on deciding the night before, a turquoise pencil skirt with a floral top. She was hoping the vibrant colors would both give her the confidence she needed, as well as show Frank that she was not the too serious type like Jamie's past failed relationship that Frank was not keen on.

At exactly 4:55, Allie was waiting nervously, ready to go physically, and preparing herself mentally, when her phones ringtone made her jump. She scrambled for the phone, seeing it was Frank, before picking up.

"Hello?" she answered, hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she really was.

"Allie, I've just arrived and am out front if you're ready to go? If not, I can come up to wait," Frank's calm voice answered from the other end.

She took a deep breath, "That's okay, I'm all done. I'll be right down."

Making her way through the lobby, it took all of Allie's will power not to run and hide as she saw Frank standing in front of a black town car through the glass doors.

When she stepped out the doors and Frank saw her, he gave her a kind smile, opening the back door of the car for her.

"It's so wonderful to see you again," he said as she made her way to him.

"As well as you Frank," Allie replied, sliding into the car, Frank following right after her.

"There is a coffee shop not far from here that has a delicious coffee cake if you would like to try a slice" Frank said while the car took off, the driver already having his instructions.

"That sounds perfect," Allie replied.

"I heard that Jamie was at the house for the day," Frank said nonchalantly, surprising Allie.

"Oh, yes. He's, uh, been getting a little bored during the day, I thought it would be nice for him to spend the day with his grandpa," Allie told him nervously.

"I'm sure that both of them will enjoy the company," Frank said, "Ah, we're here."

As soon as the car stopped, Frank was stepping out of the car, holding the door open for Allie, who rushed to follow. Frank then confidently led her inside and to a both in the back of the shop, it was obvious to her that this was a spot that he visited often. Moments after they sat down, a waiter hurried over to take their order.

"Hello Commissioner," the waiter addressed Frank, "What can I get for you today?"

"A cup of decaf Jonathan," Frank ordered, then both men turned to Allie.

"Earl Gray with lemon?" Allie asked, hoping the tea would calm her nerves.

"And two slices of coffee cake as well," Frank added.

"I'll get that right out to you," Jonathan said, hurrying off to fill out the order.

Left alone, Frank turned his attention fully to Allie.

"Allie, you are a big part of my youngest son's life, and I believe that the two of us should be completely honest with one another."

"Of course, I would never be anything less than honest with you," Allie replied to Frank, nervous at where the conversation was already heading.

"Wonderful," Frank said with a smile. "Ah, and here are our drinks. Thank you Jonathan," Frank said, turning to the waiter as he set down the coffee and tea.

"Your welcome sir. If you need anything else, I'll be more than happy help," leaving the two with a single look as he left.

Allie raised her tea to take a sip, and as she was lowering it down to its saucer, Frank spoke.

"I ran a background check on you, after we met on Monday," Frank informed her.

At his words, Allie paused her movement, before allowing her shaky hands to place her cup down.

"You underestimate Jamie," Allie told him, more calm than she had been since getting out of work. "He ran a background check not to long after we started dating, and found the same thing you did, nothing."

"I'm sure you can understand the position I am in," Frank told her. "My family is very important to me, and I try to do everything I can to ensure their safety, both physically and mentally."

"And I respect that," she replied.

"I'm glad we're on the same page then," Frank said, taking a sip of his coffee. "If you don't mind me asking, why is it that you two have been so closed off about your relationship?"

"Are you asking me because you know Jamie won't answer?" Allie asked.

"He told me his reasons," he replied evenly.

"I guess you could say that we've both been burned in the past," Allie answered, her tone implying that that was all to be said on the subject.

As September turned to October, the leaves began to change to vibrant yellows and oranges and the temperature went from a comfortable cool to an uncomfortable chill. People were breaking out their heavier coats and wool scarves in preparation for the upcoming winter. Despite the weather changes, Allie and Jamie's coffee outings were growing more and more frequent.

"Ah! My favorite customers!" Alfie exclaimed, seeing the pair approaching his cart, something they did often when Jamie's shift would end when Allie wasn't working, and neither had any other obligations. The habit they had picked up in the past few weeks was meant to be something they did once a week, but had quickly grown to be every couple of days. The two would walk around the city, sharing stories of their childhood, talking about their families, giving their thoughts on any topic they could think of.

"Hey Alfie," Jamie greeted the boisterous man with a big smile, Allie too giving a smile and a small wave as they approached. Reaching the cart, they saw that Alfie was already making their order.

"My wife made some delicious vanilla cake yesterday, as if she thinks I do not eat enough!" He told them, handing them their drinks and patting his belly. "I brought some for you both," Alfie continued, bringing a container from under his cart, which Jamie eagerly took, popping the top to take a peek.

"This looks delicious Alfie!" Jamie exclaimed, grabbing some forks from the cart, ready to dig in.

"You'll have to thank your wife for us Alfie," Allie told the man.

"Yes, yes, I will. Now you two go off and enjoy your time together, leave this old man be," Alfie said, waving the pair off.

As the two walked around the city, Jamie put his arm around Allie's shoulders, sipping their coffee as they went. After a while, Jamie broke their silence.

"Would you be willing to move our coffee dates to maybe a dinner date?" Jamie said, broaching the topic.

"I don't know Jamie," Allie sighed.

"You've been hesitating ever since we met," Jamie accused.

"I'm sorry for that," she apologized. "You knew going in to this that I was guarded."

"I know, and its fine, you don't have to apologize," Jamie assured her. "I'm just wondering if you would be willing to tell me why, if you're comfortable with it."

"I moved to the city right after I graduated college," Allie started her story. "I was so optimistic about what my life would be like here, but I was also naïve," she paused, looking at Jamie, who gave her a reassuring smile, prompting her to continue. "After almost a year of living here, I met Dale. He was older, charming, a successful man on Wall Street, and I couldn't help but fall for him. We dated for two years, and I thought it was perfect, I thought he was the one, you know?"

"What happened?" Jamie asked quietly.

"He left his phone at my apartment," Allie told him with a humorless laugh. "It kept beeping, turns out his wife was trying to get a hold of him."

"Oh my gosh," Jamie breathed out.

"I haven't really dated anyone since," Allie admitted.

"Well I can assure you that I've never been married," Jamie assured her with a smile, giving her shoulders a squeeze. "But I was engaged once," he continued more solemnly.

"Really?" Allie said, turning to look him in the eyes.

"It was a few years ago, we met at Harvard, and I proposed at graduation," Jamie said, sharing his own past. "Then Joe died on the job," Jamie continued, this time Allie was the one offering her comfort, knowing how hard the topic that he had shared with her the previous week was for him.

"When I joined the force, she couldn't handle it, she didn't sign up for being a cop's wife, I was a different person after joining. We didn't fit each other's lives anymore. She got married to an associate at her firm a couple years ago, and I'm happy for them," Jamie ended with a small smile.

"Aren't we a broken pair," Allie joked, both smiling at the other.

As the evening crept on, and coffee came to an end, Frank felt that he did know Jamie's girlfriend better, but much of her was still a mystery, as if she was holding back on her and Jamie.

"I'm under the impression that Jamie has been spending the day with my pops," Frank said to Allie, as they stood to leave.

"Yes, he has. He's been antsy, having nothing to do," she replied, putting on her sweater.

"Well then, since we are both headed to the same place, how would you like a ride?" he offered her.

"That would be wonderful," she smiled, following him out to where his car was waiting, and climbing in after him.

After a quite ride that bordered on awkward to Allie, the car stopped in front of the Raegan house. Before Allie could get out of the car, Frank stopped her.

"How would you like to join the family on Sunday for lunch?" He asked the stunned girl.

"This, this Sunday?" Allie clarified and confirmed with a small nod from Frank. "Um, if Jamie is okay with it," she continued, unease seeping into her words.

"I'm sure he will be," Frank said, sounding almost as if Jamie would not have a voice in the decision.

The pair then climbed out of the car and headed into the house.

Jamie was in the living room, a forgotten game of chess between him and his grandfather, when they heard the door open, and his father called out to them. As the two stood to greet him, they were surprised to find Frank and a nervous Allie in the entry.

"Hey dad," Jamie said to Frank, before going over to Allie and giving her a questioning look, that she responded to with a small smile.

Henry, picking up on the tension in the room, went and grabbed Jamie's bag.

"Allie, if Jamie is bugging you, don't hesitate about dropping him off for a few hours, we had a great time," he told her, giving her a small wink, and earning a smile in return.

"Thanks Pops," Jamie said, "We should really get going though, it's getting late. I'll see you later Pops, Dad," he continued giving each men a smile goodbye.

"It was wonderful meeting you Henry, and thank you for the coffee Frank," giving them her goodbye, before helping Jamie out the door.