The Philocalist 〰 ♡ 〰 Volume One

The Checklist

"Max, please" Elle pleads, trying to get him to leave the apartment they're moving out of.

"she's here!" Max insists, wiggling out of Elle's loose grip and sitting himself down in the living room. 

Elle sighs, turning back to look at the team.

"we'll be right there, thank you" Elle murmurs before entering the empty apartment.

"Max, I know, I just-... with Jake we need more room and Nolan is being so nice to-..." Elle starts.

"no! no! you took mama away! I want mama!" Max exclaims.

"Max" Elle whispers, resisting the urge to not cry.

"bad mommy" Max says, before storming out of the apartment.

Elle bites the inside of her cheek, her eyes drifting to a piece of confetti from only a few weeks prior. They must not have picked it all up after Max had his fill of cake. Elle starts to cry, picking up the piece of confetti. 

"please come back" Elle sobs, curling into a ball. 

[Twelve Hours Later]

"Because you're a rookie, bottom of the food chain. Nothing you think or say matters inside the department. Especially with the Chief of Police, who personally decides Talia's punishment." Jackson reasons with Nolan.

"that's a little harsh" Elle murmurs, leaning into Nolan's side as they walk.

"Harsh as it is, you got to stay focused on yourself right now. We got a six-month exam in the next week, and we got to ace it in order to move on to the next stage of our training." Lucy insists.

"Where we'll still be riding with our T.O.s for, what, another seven months?" Nolan points out.

"Yeah. But we'll get more freedom." Jackson says.

"And no more daily evaluations." Lucy adds.

"Otherwise, it's back to the starting line, and you're the rookie who got held back. Or worse." Jackson warns.

"hey, I saw your light on at like 2 am" Nolan murmurs to Elle while the other two go ahead.

"yeah... I was rewriting my notes" Elle responds.

"El, I've seen your notes, they're perfect" Nolan chuckles.

"they were... Max ripped them up" Elle admits.

"really?" Nolan gasps.

"yeah, he's really struggling" Elle nods. 

"I'm so sorry, Elle" Nolan apologizes.

" 's okay" Elle mutters.

"All right, listen up. Got some bad news for our rookies. Thanks to Detective Jenkins being placed on the Brady List, the department is tightening the rules regarding the Field Training program. Bottom line: every recruit now has to complete the "training and experience" checklist as a primary officer before they'll be allowed to take the six-month exam." Grey says, starting roll call. 

"You got to be kidding. I don't let my rookies be primary until the second month." Tim complains.

"If our recruits experience an event, it shouldn't matter if they were primary. It's not fair to them or us." Angela adds.

"I agree. But this is "cover your ass" time for the department. When the city gets sued, the first thing they look at is the officer training and experience. They've decided that experience can't just be "I was standing there, too."" Grey sighs.

"We can't start this with the next round of recruits?" Bishop requests.

"The LAPD is a bureaucracy, Officer Bishop. The last thing they care about is a bunch of rookies." Grey answers.