Meet the Baby

Final Chapter

20 Years Later 

Dakota walked with a confidence that exceeded her. It was when she passed Church street she finally realized the severity of the walk she was taking. 

Never straying from Chambers street, she kept on her way east. It was nerves that drover her to walk from her apartment on Christopher street, to the West 4th St Station. It would've been quicker to take a bus, but something about the familiar train station pacified her drumming heart. Clearly, it didn't last. 

She got off at Chambers, and now here she is. A block away. The Brooklyn Bridge is occupying most of the evening sky, and as every part of Manhattan usually does, it looks brilliant. 

City Hall is aglow and busy, as usual. She walks in step with some busy looking men. They eventually veer off to jay walk; in perfect sight of a police officer waiting at the corner who looks just as exhausted as the orange and purple sky.

The streets are tricky, but finally she's there. 1 Police Plaza Path. Her english brain salutes the alliteration. 

So four years of NYU, and two years as an over qualified street cop lead her here. Standing outside 1PP with a letter from the Police Commissioner of New York City asking for an interview. She knows exactly what it's about. She's in the running for becoming the youngest Detective in New York's history. And she's a woman. Her grip on the letter tightens. Her smile broadens. Nerves are eating away at her lungs. Her heart is thumping as fast as her city is moving. Her mind is challenging the pace. One small step for women, one great leap for women-kind, she thinks but instantly scolds her own hubris. 

The lobby of the precinct is bustling with people. She maneuvers herself to the front desk where the secretary looks absorbed in his computer screen. 

She coughs into her hand, and he looks up with only his eyes.

"Can I help you?" 

"Hi, I have a meeting with the Commissioner" 

That was enough to make him raise an eyebrow. He looks down at a binder on his desk. After a moment of scrolling through the weathered pages he traces his finger down to a box labeled '5:30'

"What's your name?" He asks without looking up. 

"Dakota Winchester" 

He nods. "Go right through that door there," He points to his left, "The Commissioner's expecting you" 

Dakota sucks in a brave breathe before following his instruction. The long, carpeted hallway is reminiscent of too many years prior. The cubicles to her left side are occupied with detectives running on 98% coffee and 2% willpower. The doors lining her right are labeled with names she's read about in criminal justice text books. 

The Commissioner's door is at the end. Despite being exactly the same as every other door in the damn building, it's intimidating. The hallway seems endless. The ugly carpet is holding on to every step she takes. 

She knocks once. A muffled voice answers; "Come in Ms. Winchester" 

For the first time since getting on the A at W 4 Street, her heart slows to a more humane pace. He's the Commissioner, yes. But he's still a person. And Dakota is a person too. She's got this. 

She opens the door and slips in, instantly standing at attention and offering the Commissioner a salute before taking a seat in one of the leather bound chairs across his desk .

"I see you're trained well" The older man muses. Dakota smiles in return, "We are New York's finest, are we not?" 

He let's out a chuckle. It isn't warm, but it comforts her.