time to let it through

time to let it through;
This isn't a date—but it kind of is. Luke and Janet are going out to Barmini, because it's a Jose Andres bar, and their last first date was at a Jose Andres restaurant. So even though she's seeing someone else and they've declared repeatedly that this is over, there is a certain intimacy in the air as he holds the door for her. "Five different people were asking me about you," he says with a grin. "Everyone wants to know what a million dollars looks like."

"A lot. It looks like a lot." Janet chuckles. She's had cases with a higher monetary value but seeing stacks of twenty-dollar bills crammed into a duffel bag had certainly made her eyes get wide. That bag was now locked securely up in Newark until they could ask someone in Chicago what the proper dispensation was for it. She settles into the chair across from him and orders a cocktail before she continues, "It feels so strange to be a hero in this case instead of a pariah."

"I can imagine. But at least you can officially put this behind you. It's all out now, and all that matters is you finished it." Luke takes a drink of his own cocktail when it arrives. They both know why he asked her out, even though they probably would've visited here eventually anyway. It's just happening a few days after Janet's return because he's worried about her. "How was your father?" he says, his tone getting soft.

"He was... He was my father," she replies, rubbing at her forehead. "Withheld that he knew where the money was. Almost got shot because of it. But he also came through big—he convinced his former co-defendant to talk, which saved the case." She pauses. "He asked for a meeting and I couldn't do it."

"You didn't have to." He's quick to assure her of that. Luke would be very happy if she never spoke to her father again; he'll have an axe to grind with Jack Ford for probably the rest of his life and he's fine with that. Fine because he can look at Janet even now and see what her father does to her. "I'm sorry I snapped at you before," he adds, feeling like that's important to establish. "You were obviously right to bring him in."

She leans back in her chair after they've ordered. She doesn't blame Luke for being upset; he has the shortest fuse of any of them, and she's well aware of said grudge, especially since the last time he raised his voice to her was telling her—not asking, telling—that she was getting a restraining order. But she knows the moment is about him wanting to apologize, whether or not he actually needs to, and so she just nods. "Thanks," she says. "But really I'm just relieved. Two murders, three states, two cases 18 years apart... It was a mess and I'm glad I had people like you there to help me make sense of it. And Bryan, too, tell him I said hello."

"I will." Luke catches himself twisting the ring Janet bought him on his finger. They certainly got the difficult cases, but it was because they knew what to do with them. And for all of the stress it put on them, he knows they wouldn't want anything less. They both want to do as much good as they can and that means taking on the biggest challenges. "I'm just glad you're okay, Janet," he adds. "I was thinking about you." Something he's actually been doing now that he's more conscious of his own emotions. Therapy has been constructive, not that he's going to admit that either.

Janet smiles a little at that, but she finds herself at a loss as to what to tell him. She's talked about it all to Holden, as she always does after coming home from a consult, with the exception of what Brad told her because she doesn't want him to worry. And she doesn't want to tell that to Luke either given Luke's status as an ex. Plus if he hears what Brad did to her, he will punch the other man the next time they see each other. He doesn't have Michael's restraint or perspective. "I'll be okay in a while," she settles on. "There was some hard shit I had to confront, and I'm not quite over it."

"If you need someone to talk to, you call me, anytime," he says without hesitation. "I know," she replies even though she won't. At least not now. "Maybe we should talk about you for a while."

"Oh, well, I'm not running around with a million dollars," he replies wryly. "But things are good. Nothing too out of hand at work. Bryan and I are still talking about other things, but that's not going to resolve itself anytime soon. I'm just glad he's not mad at me anymore." Despite not regretting keeping secrets from his boss on the Wallace case, he did care about their still being friends and colleagues afterward.

"That's because he cares about you. Even if you're never going to see eye-to-eye, that doesn't change that he wants you to do well," Janet points out. "Your boss and my boss both trust us to follow our instincts. The difference is my boss expects it, and yours accepts it." Anthony Brennan and Bryan Alexander were total opposites in terms of management style, but they each wanted to change the system. The difference was that Bryan believed in change coming from within, while Brennan had burned the whole thing down.

Luke nods, taking Janet's point into consideration. "I've never once wished to just be normal," he admits as the waiter arrives with their main courses. "But I have to admit, sometimes it's nice to take a break and get ready for whatever the next fight is." Because right now he just wants to see her catch her breath. And more nights like these wouldn't hurt him either. "Maybe we should go to Disneyland," he quips to get them off any serious subject, and laughs when she rolls her eyes.