Case 30 - Back in LA

LA: <Events before The Rookie S1E12, Modern Family S9E13, SWAT S1E10>

NY: <Events 99 before Brooklyn S5E11, Suits S7E12 & 1.5 years after Castle S8 finale, around the time of Law&Order: SVU S19E12>

"Why don't you ask that Lena girl to help you with that?" Haley asked snarkily as she walked past Ben with her nose pointing up and decidedly not looking at her boyfriend.

"Uh, I didn't ask for help?" Ben unsurely mumbled with a big box in hand as he turned to look at Haley walking back to the pool.

It was moving day back in LA, and Ben was unloading the boxes from a truck that Claire lent him from Pritchett's Closests and Blinds. Haley was there in just a swimsuit and an airy satin robe as she watched over Anna with Zofia, who both played by the pool.

It was technically a little cold for the pool, but Haley was feeling a little vindictive.

Because Ben became national news at the Grammy's. Again.

[Haley Dunphy commentary scene change]

"Ugh."

Haley rolled her eyes after she thought about what she wanted to say for a moment and grunted again.

"There's this German singer. Tall. Beautiful. Killer figure. At least she didn't win anything because she's just meh. Ugh, who am I kidding. She's a gorgeous popstar," Haley complained with a pout.

"She asked something from an event staff but messed up and asked half of it in German instead of English because the little dummy was missing some vocabulary," Haley described and mumbled, "How hard can it be to speak English, duh?" She mocked and continued, "Ben helped her out because my perfect boyfriend was close by and knows, like, a thousand languages. She was so excited to meet someone to talk to because she was nervous on the red carpet... and then she tripped over her stupid, gorgeous dress running over to him... of course, Ben caught her like the two were in a music video, and the two were caught in a picture-perfect moment by like a million photographers. The pictures immediately went viral, of course... because she is just so pretty, and Ben looks like... well, let's just say that tailor definitely deserved to put those ridiculous price tags on his suits."

Haley pouted for a while and said, unconvinced, "He never held me like that..."

[Commentary ended]

"Isn't renting this place gonna be a little pricey, Benny?" Luca asked with a big smile on his lips as he joined the others to help the move along. He had just come from work and wanted to help out now that Ben was back in LA. Ben had enlisted their help when they came to New York - though Hondo was busy and Chris even took a shift off to help from the very start.

"Good thing it is. Made a killing while I was undercover doing just that," Ben quipped as he gave his SWAT friend a big hug.

"So this is where little Benny grew up?" Luca asked with his arm slung around Ben's shoulder as Chris came over and answered, "Sure is. Already found all the embarrassing pictures after Ben here unlocked the attic and made me get all the family things from storage."

"Oooh, show me!" Luca ordered as he left Ben's side and slung his arm over Chris' shoulder. The two were laughing as they waltzed into Ben's new home and left him standing there alone.

"Wait... so I'm alone again?" Ben asked when it was only him with another box in his arms.

Phil was busy... or so he said - but Ben found out he was planning something big for the move.

Claire was at work and didn't come for help either, not that he asked. His girlfriend's mom still apologized for not being able to help anyway.

Mitch and Cam, Haley's uncles, were busy with a party hosted by their friend Pepper. Ben hadn't asked them either, but they also called Haley to apologize.

All his other cop friends were at work... but he didn't have all too much to do anyway. Almost none of the furniture was moving.

"Nope, you do have someone to help you," someone suddenly said from behind him and made Ben flinch in place.

"Why do you move like a cheetah!" Ben complained with a mockingly offended look. He walked over to give the man who came a big hug, "Deac! Why are you here? You should be with Annie!"

[S.W.A.T. S1E10: Annie (Deacon's wife) had a brain bleed while the team was cleaning up a prison riot and couldn't tell Deacon]

"Her mom's staying with us. She more or less chased me out of the house to give Annie a little room. Apparently, I've been smothering her," Deacon laughed away with an awkward smile. "So? Need any help, little prince? Or is your staff coming over later in the day?"

The two marveled at his 'new' giant home for a moment before Ben sighed, "It's safer here. How'd you even get through the gate without calling ahead? Please tell me the guy in the booth didn't let you through by flashing your badge."

"Uh, he did," Deacon answered with an unsure smile. "I'll tell him on the way out it shouldn't have worked."

"Yeah, you do that," Ben nonchalantly said with a shrug. "So how is your wife?"

"All better, thanks to you. Ten more days, and we'll know for sure," Deacon offered as he placed a reassuring hand on Ben's shoulder and moved to the truck to get one of the boxes to take inside.

"Me? I was not the one who knifed around in your beautiful wife's noggin," Ben quipped and walked ahead.

"Yeah, but you got us the doctor with the highest chance to make it all okay. I'll never forget it," Deacon said in an emotional voice.

"Eh? I'm just glad the captain called. And that Sam's friend was in town before she flew back to Seattle. Lucky coincidence," Ben excused with a small smile.

"And Sam's friend somehow insisted to pay for it all herself because she just likes doing brain surgery so much," Deacon quipped with a forced smile at Ben's back.

-----

When it finally turned night, the whole SWAT squad - minus Deacon who went home to his wife - was there to roast Ben for getting 'fired' at the NYPD and his continued and repeated media presence. Oh, and to celebrate him 'moving'. Though, Luca honestly only invited everyone over because it would be fun lounging around by the pool.

Chris and Luca were reenacting the fall and catch of Ben and the German singer - they had been there with him after all. But when Phil arrived, rolling a giant gift to the 'party', the merry mood finally stopped.

"Dad? What is that?" Haley, who was laughing at Chris' overly exaggerated performance of the singer she didn't like because of her jealousy, asked worriedly. Her dad always did over-the-top stuff that embarrassed her, and Haley felt like she was doing rather well with Ben's 'coworkers' and good friends at the moment. She didn't want Phil to ruin that.

"My gift to Ben, of course," Phil explained and looked to Emilia, Zofia, and Anna who were off to the side talking to Tan and Street when he corrected himself, "Oh, and to Anna."

Ben walked over to give Phil a hug and asked, "Want me to open it now?"

"Yes!" Phil excitedly agreed and started saying hello to all the SWAT guys - especially Chris, whom he had met on several occasions.

Ben gingerly opened the big box after sending Haley an unsure smile.

"Uhh... oh!" Ben exclaimed and let the side panels of the box drop after figuring out what it was. "A replica of this house as a doll house for Anna? Phil, this is so cool!"

"Hehe, as a realtor, I can get things like this done like it's no big thang," Phil boasted with his 'patented' 'hip' speech.

"That thing looks like it costs more than my apartment," Street joked but his smile faltered when Hondo shot back, "I'm pretty sure it did," with a lifted eyebrow and Tan snarkily continued, "Looks like it has more square footage than your apartment, too."

As everyone had a good laugh on Street's expense, Ben got his daughter from Emilia's hands and brought her over to the house. Phil hurriedly helped open the house up to show that it actually was a doll house.

"Man, I kinda want to be a young girl again," Chris joked, 'enviously' looking at the house replica from next to Haley.

"I love my dad, but I'm not sure I ever got a gift as thoughtful as this before... I'm not sure if I should be jealous or... miffed," Haley whispered back with a small smile she watched Anna's playful expression.

"I'm sure that's not true. Phil is an amazing gift-giver," Chris argued back in a quiet voice.

Haley pondered the question before she looked at Chris and asked, "Wait, how would you know?"

"Your dad and I met so often at the hospital to look after Anna that he got me a Christmas present."

"What did he get you?" Haley asked curiously, unsure how to feel that she didn't know about that. Maybe she should have visited Anna more often.

"Hmm? Oh, we once talked about fond childhood memories, and I told him about this kid's book my uncle used to read to me when I stayed with them before... anyway. Your dad tracked it down and got me a copy," Chris answered with a fond smile towards Phil.

"That's actually really sweet," Haley commented with a conflicted smile.

"It really is. I wondered why the book was in the house and where it disappeared to," Claire said as she suddenly appeared behind the two young women, wine glass in hand. Both girls were surprised by Haley's mom suddenly appearing without anyone noticing it.

"Mom!" Haley complained in shock. "How did you get here? And where did that glass of wine?"

"Miss Dunphy," Chris greeted with a nod.

"Chris, my eldest daughter," Claire said back with an annoyed look toward Haley. "You're on a first name basis with my husband. Just call me Claire. Also, there's wine in the kitchen."

"No, there isn't," Haley countered. "I would know, Ben didn't have any booze here until Tan over there brought the beer."

"I brought the wine. As a housewarming gift," Claire clarified with an eye-roll.

Chris and Haley both gave Claire a flat stare that Claire promptly ignored as the blonde walked off to mingle with the other guests.

"Ugh, only my mom would bring a housewarming gift and drink it herself," Haley scoffed with a shake of her head.

[Phil and Claire Dunphy commentary scene change]

"Hanging out with Ben in New York was so awesome!" Phil shouted with a wide grin.

"The two actually did build snowmen on the roof..." Claire added with a sigh as she leaned into the close-up shot of Phil.

"Ben did this amazing 5-ball behemoth. It was a magnificent 8 foot man of icy excellence," Phil praised in fond reminiscence.

Claire narrowed her eyes and looked suspiciously at Phil until she asked, "Why are you so... verbose?"

"Ben beat me at Words with Friends so hard, I felt like Luke losing against Alex in Scrabble," Phil mumbled in a low voice.

"So you read a dictionary like it's a novel?"

Phil shook his head and explained, "No, Rick sent me some articles on how to read up and get in the right mindset to write a good book."

"Rick? As in Richard Castle, the famous novelist? He sent you articles on how to beat Ben at Words with Friends?" Claire asked incredulously.

"Sure, why wouldn't he?"

Claire stared at her husband for a moment before she gasped, "Oh my god, did Ben beat him, too?"

"He wouldn't say," Phil answered with a thoughtful expression.

"But he's a famous writer... how is that even possible?" Claire wondered before she whispered, "Oh my god, Ben's even smarter than I feared, isn't he?"

[Commentary ended]

"Are you still mad?" Ben asked as he finally managed to catch Haley alone inside the house. A few of the SWAT guys had already left - Street, for example, managed to rent Ben's old house at a discount after winning a bet. He went home to pack.

Getting hugged from behind in the giant, luxurious kitchen, Haley relaxed into Ben's embrace before she huffed and answered, "Why don't you go and rescue Chris from falling into the pool with an intimate hug? You put up enough cameras to make it go viral when you catch the moment."

"Why stop at Chris? I'll just do it with Emilia and Zofia, too," Ben suggested as he brought Haley closer into the hug. "Got any pretty friends left I could use to get even more famous?"

His girlfriend struggled and giggled into his arms before she aggrievedly countered, "Stop it, you dog! Just let me be a little girly and unreasonable here!"

"Has your mom told you about the surprise yet?" Ben whispered into Haley's ear and had her squirming some more.

"No~ stop itttt~" Haley cooed as she tried to wriggle out of Ben's grasp.

"She managed to keep the secret for a week? Guess she's better than your dad in that department," Ben mumbled and allowed Haley to turn around.

"Give dad some credit. He managed not to say anything about the doll house until he got here," Haley said with a sweet smile on her face.

Ben leaned down with a smile to whisper quietly, "I knew about the surprise before he left New York."

"Really?" Haley asked in surprise when Ben leaned back. She was squirming again, but for a different reason now that she was face to face with Ben.

"Yep."

"So tell me what the surprise is already? The one my mom kept?" Haley asked as she kept a sweet smile on her face.

"Oh, right," Ben realized and brought up one arm to rest it on Haley's shoulder as he put the other in his pants pocket.

He brought out an intricate, expensive-looking key and offered it to his girlfriend.

"Uhh, is this?"

"A key," Ben explained and earned himself a punch on the arm.

"I know what a key is, you butt," Haley aggrievedly remarked as she pouted.

"Yeah, I figured. You're kinda smart like that," Ben quipped with a cheeky expression. "You know Haley. It's a little early for you to move in with me - but I want you to feel welcome here. And... well, this place is gigantic. And I know Zofia is here, and Emilia and Anna moved into that guest house, but I wouldn't mind more people being here. So feel free to drop by whenever you want."

"Are you sure you're not just doing this because you feel super awkward sleeping in my parents' basement when you sleep over?" Haley asked with a smirk.

"I am not a fan of waking up for a run only to see your mom in pajamas fixing a drier load before heading off to work," Ben mumbled with a distant look toward Claire drinking her fifth glass of wine near the pool.

Haley looked a little embarrassed before she looked at the key in her hands with thin lips. She really hoped the tailoring thing would show results soon.

"Hey, B-dog," Phil greeted as he walked inside. "Quick question. Is it okay if Luke and I move in for a few weeks to stake out the neighborhood for you?"

Ben released Haley from the hug as he looked at Phil with an awkward expression. Unsure how to answer, Ben looked searchingly at Haley for a moment, but all she did was put on an innocent expression that had Ben looking back at Phil... who copied his eldest daughter and looked at Ben with the same look.

Before he answered, Ben took one final look outside and saw Claire out there drinking wine with Chris and Emilia. And then it hit him.

"Sure, if your wife is fine with it?" Ben asked just as innocently as Phil and Haley looked.

Phil's bright smile turned a little stiff for a moment before he mumbled, "Right..." and walked off taking out his phone. The last thing Ben heard was Phil furiously whisper into his phone, "Luke, slight snag in our plan. We need to get your mom on board, and I already..."

"That was pretty clever," Haley praised.

"That was pretty ruthless," Ben countered and jokingly moved to take back the key he had handed to her.

"No, that's mine," Haley giggled out and ran away.

With a smile on his face, Ben walked back outside, where Chris innocently asked, "Any chance I can crash here?"

Phil looked at Ben with wide eyes, so the detective quipped, "Sure, if your wife is fine with it?" and earned himself a relieved sigh followed by a laugh from Haley's father.

"I don't follow?" Chris asked with a confused frown.

"Chris, you're allowed to crash whenever. There's like four empty rooms here and unlike my parents I don't have enough hobbies to fill them all," Ben offered as he moved to sit beside Emilia who had a sleeping Anna on the pool furniture next to her.

Emilia gasped and asked, "Anna won't get three rooms of her own?"

"I was thinking she gets her own guest house eventually when she gets old enough for her teenage rebellious phase," Ben joked as he stroked Anna's hair.

"Isn't that a little over the top?" Haley whispered as she leaned closer to her mother.

[Claire Dunphy commentary scene change]

Claire stared ahead with a deadpan for several moments before deeply sighed.

"I... I don't know what to say..."

[Commentary ended]

Ben woke up to Alex rigorously shaking Haley awake the next morning.

"Uh, hi?" Ben asked as Alex stood there like a deer looking into the headlights of a speeding truck when it was Ben who woke up and not her sister.

"You were not supposed to wake up," Alex whispered embarrassedly. But Ben just shook his head.

"Your parents set you up for failure," Ben answered quietly and stretched a little. With a wry smile, Ben sat up and regarded his girlfriend's younger sister. "How come you're here and not in school? Not that I mind having you over."

"It's the weekend. Grandpa picked me up earlier for a fancy brunch? You didn't know?" Alex asked with a thin-lipped smile.

"Why are you in my bedroom?" Haley suddenly asked with her eyes still closed. "Let me sleep..."

"Your bedroom?" Alex and Ben both asked at the same time - though Ben had an amused smile while Alex looked weirded out.

Haley suddenly sat up abruptly when she noticed who she was talking to and what she just said - though Alex suddenly screeched, turned around, and held her hands in front of her face.

"Cover yourself, you whore!" Alex shouted shyly.

"Whore? You're the one who came into my bedroom to look at me and my boyfriend doing it," Haley countered with disdain dripping in her voice.

"It's 10am. I was positive you were not up based on years of experience," Alex countered and turned around. Haley had by now held up the blanket to cover herself. "Mom and dad are waiting for you. Grandpa is getting impatient, too."

"Why?" Haley asked as Ben stood up and put on a shirt. He added the question, "Grandpa Jay is here?"

"Aren't you listening? We're having family brunch," Alex answered with an exasperated sigh.

"At my house?" Ben asked incredulously as he looked at Alex with a small frown.

"Mom said she cleared it with you?"

Ben thought about it for a moment before he turned to Haley and asked, "How much did I have to drink yesterday?"

"You only had apple juice, same as Anna. Mom drank all the wine she brought and Luca and Tan had all the beer that Chris, Street and I didn't manage to get out of their hands," Haley explained immediately.

Just then Claire barged into the room and said to Ben, "Ahh, you're up. So Ben, remember how I asked you about us hosting brunch here today?"

"I... don't," Ben unsurely answered as Alex and Haley both rolled their eyes.

"Eh, tomato-tomahto," Claire waved away and continued, "Anyway. The guy at the gate won't let the caterer through unless you give him the go-ahead. Apparently I'm not trustworthy enough to vouch for him."

"You ordered a caterer?" Haley asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Ben just moved in. I didn't know how stocked the fridge would be. It wouldn't be enough for twenty people, that was for sure," Claire defended dismissively.

"Twenty people?" Haley asked in horror.

"I mean, it's just family... and then there's the little angel Anna, Emilia, Zofia, Chris, Ben..." Claire calmly counted up and Ben was a little overwhelmed.

"Uh, we're still three short?" Ben unsurely asked after he counted up inside his head.

"Ah, Luke brought over two friends and Manny brought a girlfriend... or, well, a girl friend... she hasn't spoken a word with him yet - Manny's a little sore already," Claire explained with a small shrug.

Ben thought about it and decided he was okay with it as he walked past Alex into his bathroom to wash up for the guests. But as he closed the door, Ben heard his girlfriend complain in a furious whisper, "You invite over strangers to Ben's house on the first day he's here? What's wrong with you!?"