Notes: FINALLY!! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about this story! This one has literally been in my head forever, and I finally got around to writing it!

This story does have a clear ending so I very much doubt it will be more than 10 chapters in total and hopefully and probably it won't be very long between the updates since parts of it is already written!

So sweet readers! I hope you enjoy this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it so far, and please review!

Chapter 1: Prologue

"You promise you'll be back in three days?" Daniel asked, his sad eyes searching for those of his father for a confirmation of this fact. They were at the airport, saying their goodbyes and Daniel's face failed miserably in trying to disguise the sorrow and disappointment of the thought of not seeing his father for that whole period of time, the corner's of his mouth hanging down to his chin.

He wasn't used to not being around his dad. At the very most he'd spent one or two nights without him, sleeping over at uncle Seth and auntie Summer's, or at grandpa Sandy and grandma Kirsten's house if his dad had had to go on a short business trip out of town. But this was different, this was for three whole days and he'd never gone that long without seeing his dad.

It wasn't just the fact that he wasn't used to not having him around, but it was mostly because the date of his birthday was only four days away and he couldn't imagine not having his dad around for his birthday. The whole Cohen-Atwood-Roberts-Bullitt family would gather to throw him a huge party and lavish him with birthday wishes and gifts that any kid would die for. It was a messed up family tree that Daniel had since long decided to give up on trying to understand, but he loved all of them and viewed the entire clan as his family, and he always looked forward to meeting them.

But what Daniel looked forward to the most about his birthday was never the party or even the presents; it was the part that came after. His dad always took a few days off around the time of his birthday and they always traveled somewhere to do something big and special together just the two of them. Last year they'd been to Disneyland, and the year before that they'd gone on a two-day camping trip around Lake Tahoe, and this year, Daniel had no idea what his dad had planned. He wasn't so worried though because just spending time with his dad, no matter what they did together, was always fun, and as long as he got that part, he was happy.

But for that to happen, he needed his dad to be back before his birthday or everything would be ruined. And this year was a big year for him: for the first time in his life, his age would be made up of two whole numbers and not having his dad around when that happened was just unthinkable.

Ryan stared into the eyes of his son, so similar to his own it was almost like looking into a mirror, his heart breaking at the very thought of leaving him for so long. He really wasn't happy about having to say goodbye to him now to go on some stupid business trip that was scheduled so close to his son's birthday, but his boss had finally convinced him by assuring him that he would be back well in time for the 18th.

Still, he didn't feel good about going away at all. And now he was just about to leave his son in the care of Summer and his brother which was always a bit of an adventure as they were a bit more pro the crazy and irresponsible than himself. He knew he could trust them, that wasn't the real issue. He was just a little overprotective of his son and he was always anxious when he was away from him. And now, saying goodbye to his son on Seth's and Summer's doorstep, knowing that he would be away from him for a longer period of time than he ever had before… well, it was safe to say that he was way more broken up about it than his son ever possibly could be.

"I promise I'll be home for your birthday," Ryan swore gazing deeply into his son's eyes, knowing that that was what worried him the most. "Even if it means I'll have to steal a car to get here in time."

"You can't do that! That's illegal!" Daniel had exclaimed, suddenly his voice raised in panic. This caused Ryan to smile. He was proud that his son was so big on the morals that he wanted to be a lawyer just like his hero; grandpa Sandy. But he also found it quite amusing that his son had yet to come to the age of fully understanding sarcasm. Even after all this time with Seth, he still hadn't quite figured it out.

But even Ryan's smile couldn't stop Daniel's now full-blown panic attack as he continued in a high-pitched voice: "You could end up in prison! It's really, really horrible in there, and there are mob bosses, and they have all these scary tattoos and nicknames and…- "

Ryan raised an eyebrow in astonishment at first, wondering where the hell his son had gotten that information, then the surprise was exchanged with an obviously sour expression as he suddenly realized the answer to his own question.

"SETH!"

His brother had taken a step back to give the father and son some alone time together, but now he stepped forwards to them, fake innocence plastered all over his face. "Yes?"

"Have you let him watch Prison Break reruns again?!" Ryan glared, anger apparent on his face.

"Educational purpose?" Seth tried to excuse himself. "They say learning about prison life is the best tool in crime prevention."

"He is NINE!" Ryan yelled.

"Ten next week," Daniel reminded them both, trying to smooth things over. He was used to their arguments and didn't think too much off it since two minutes later they'd be laughing again, but still he wanted to protect Seth a little, as he'd been cool enough to let him watch Prison Break in the first place, so he continued: "And it was nothing, aunt Summer covered my eyes at all the scary parts."

Summer had finally made her way over to them and Ryan turned to her mostly in bewilderment as he asked her: "Since when do you watch Prison Break?"

"Hey, have you seen that dude who plays Michael Scofield? I mean, he is HOT."

Ryan just shook his head. Summer might be an avid environmentalist these days, but some things obviously never changed. He muttered something under his breath about the meaning of responsible babysitting, and then turned to his son again.

"I was only kidding, I'm not going to steal a car," Ryan assured him, casting a sideways threatening glare at Seth.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Seth snorted, only to receive another scowl from Ryan.

"Hey, I'm just saying!" he defended himself, hands up in mock surrender.

However this only confirmed that Seth's word had been true. Daniel delighted at this new piece of information about his father's life pre the Cohen's. His dad had in no way kept his dark past a secret from his son, but he still didn't like talking about it and had never gone into details with him. And whenever Daniel would ask him about what life in Chino had been like and what he'd done to land himself in juvie, he would just receive an evasive answer. His dad would always bend his head down, muttering something about being young, poor and stupid and doing bad stuff that he'd known was wrong.

Daniel knew that nothing his father could say would ever change the view of him or the way he looked up to him; in fact it would probably just make him admire him more, knowing how responsible his father was these days, and what a long way from that rough life he'd come. But just like any child, he was curious and therefore he'd since long decided that he was going to solve the mystery of his dad's murky teenage life, since everyone he asked seemed to think that he was still too little to actually learn the whole story. Daniel would always roll his eyes at this: he was almost ten after all. But at least Seth's little slip about stealing a car was another clue to the mystery.

Ryan glanced at his watch with a sigh, knowing it was time to wrap things up, but already his heart was aching at the thought of not being able to see his son's face for so long.

"Danny, I really have to go now," he said, a sad smile spreading across his face. "But I promise I'll be back in just three short days."

"It's okay," Daniel said, smiling bravely, "I have school anyways and Seth's promised to take great care of me so you don't have anything to worry about."

"Oh well, that's comforting," Ryan muttered sarcastically. "Just… don't let Seth convince you into doing something too crazy, okay? And if he says anything about yakuza-movies or Matrix or X-men, promise me to put your foot down and just say no. And if he's rambling so much your ears feeling like they're going to fall off, just call him Magnum PI- that always gets him to shut up."

Ryan finished the last sentence with a devilish smile and Summer was cracking up laughing behind them.

"Oh come on, that is so not fair!" Seth protested, apparently not amused at all by Ryan's words. "You can't bring up the pubertal nicknames!"

Ryan laughed at this. "You had it coming."

Daniel's brow was furrowed in confusion, not let in on their inside joke, but still noted the nickname for possible future need.

"And Seth…," Ryan continued in a low voice full of authority. "If I come home to find his arm in a cast like the last time I let you watch him… Let's just say that when Kid Chino has done his part, a lot more than just your arm will be wrapped up in bandages."

"What happened to an eye for an eye? You can't mess with the words of Moses!"

"Hey, Atwood, not to break up your sentimental hate-love moment with my husband…," Summer finally interrupted their bickering, "…but don't you kinda have to go to security now so you don't miss your flight?"

"Yeah, I do," Ryan nodded, well aware of the fact that he would have to run to get there in time, but it was a trade he'd been willing to make in order to get a few more minutes with his son. "And Summer, I trust you to keep an eye on them, 'cause you and I both know how they get when they're together."

"Oh don't worry Atwood, I have it all under control. When things get out of hand, all I have to do is threaten them with my rage blackouts and two seconds later they're sweet like little bunnies," she smiled proudly.

Ryan chuckled at her words, then turned towards his son for a final hug. "See you soon, buddy."

And then Ryan jogged off to the security check, feeling anxious. Not just about leaving his son… but something different. Like change was in the air.

The thought upset him since usually in his life change didn't mean good change. But then he shrugged it off, deciding that he was being ridiculous. It was just a little trip for three short days. 72 hours.

What could possible happen in 72 hours that would turn his life around?

--

"You still waiting?" he asked her without even once looking up from his papers.

"Yeah…," Taylor smothered a sigh. Yes, she was still waiting. Officially, she was waiting for the cab she'd called for over 20 minutes ago, but really, she felt as if she was waiting for something else… Something different.

Her entire life, she'd never once lost sight of what she wanted. She'd made up a plan and then stuck to it. The life list she'd made up her senior year of high school had read something like the following:

1) 3 years at the Sorbonne in France

2) Mastering in English Literature at Columbia University

3) Work as a book editor at a publishing company

4) Meet a nice guy and get married

So far; she'd succeeded on all accounts and fulfilled each aspect of her guide to a perfect life. She'd gotten her perfect college degree, she had the kick-ass job she'd dreamt of at age eleven when she'd for the first time read "The Great Gatsby" and she'd found the guy.

She and Dave had been married for nearly four years and he was everything anyone could wish for. Loyal, intelligent, kind, and ambitious he was a successful lawyer working overtime to be made partner and the definition of a "nice guy"- the type you knew was eternally faithful and would never hurt you in any way. He was by anyone's standard a real catch. That had been Taylor's initial thought when they'd met at Columbia and started dating, and her view of him had never really changed.

So there hadn't been a doubt in her mind when a year after their first date he'd proposed, and then soon afterwards had gotten married. They had remained in New York and had quickly fallen into the routine of a life together and somehow since then, nothing had changed. They lived in the same apartment, had the same jobs, the same group of mutual, married friends, and the exact same routines. Besides a few respective business trips each year, everything was perfectly consistent. And she usually liked routine, so that was good.

Still sometimes, against her better judgment, she would dream of a little passion, like she'd always imagined as a little girl when devouring the collect works of Jane Austen. But all her hopes were in vain since there was never any surprises in their everyday routines: no dates, no real romance; only the habitual sex on Saturday's and the expected I love you's. And so maybe, a little part of her wanted more than that.

But then there was the other part of her, the bigger part, that knew that she was being ridiculous. She had everything she'd ever wanted so she should be more than happy; she should be overjoyed even, and therefore she cursed the doubts that had appeared out of nowhere maybe a few months back and that had lingered in her mind ever since.

Yet… she couldn't help but to feel that what she was waiting for was something she hadn't had in years: change.

A sudden sharp honk from outside awoke her from her daydreaming.

"Guess that's my cue," Taylor said, grabbing her purse and the briefcase that contained all the documents she would need for her super quick trip to the city of Angels.

"How long did you say you were going to be gone?" Dave asked her, still rumbling through some papers.

"Just over the day," she informed him. "I'll take the Red Eye back and I'll be home before 5 am tomorrow."

"Okay," he nodded, now intently comparing two legal documents.

Taylor dithered at the door. Waiting, hoping, for him to get up and kiss her goodbye, for him to do anything unexpected really.

"Love you," she finally said with her hand now on the door handle, but still staring at him, still hoping.

"Love you too," he replied absentmindedly as she left, not once looking up from his papers.

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