When Nolan had thought about his new career, he’d imagined himself, Lucy, and Jackson, since they’d graduated together, moving on to the next stage of their careers in law enforcement together, then a few years down the line, maybe making detective. Wasn’t that the ambition of all rookie cops? Well, maybe not Jackson, who had his sights firmly set on S.W.A.T., but surely most rookies looked forward to the day they could move from long sleeves to short sleeves, then from uniform to plain clothes.

Only, things hadn’t quite gone to plan, something Nolan should have been used to by now. He’d had to give up college and get a job when Sarah had gotten pregnant, then less than twenty years later, found himself facing divorce, which was why he’d moved to L.A., to reinvent himself, start over, make the next part of his life count for something.

A couple of costly missteps meant he was being held back for an extra month as a rookie while Lucy and Jackson got to go solo. On top of that, with a letter of reprimand in his file, he could kiss goodbye to any hope of making detective. It was a heavy blow to his ambitions, but Nolan had never been the kind of man to just give up when things got tough. Despite his age being against him, he’d already made it through six months at the academy, and a whole year as a rookie. So he couldn’t look forward to holding the rank of detective? A pity, but hardly the end of the world.

He was a cop, and he loved the job more than he’d ever believed possible. It was dangerous, stressful, sometimes terrifying, but it was what he wanted. He was finally somewhere he could make a difference.

The End