A year later:

Alvin walked into Molly's and headed for the bar.

"Hey Hermann, can I have a Scotch"?

"Sure thing".

"Oh and no ice, thanks".

Hermann nodded as he prepared Alvin's drink.

Once Alvin had received his Scotch, he headed over to the table where most of the CPD team was sitting and caught wind of their conversation.

"I mean, how can someone vanish just like that"? said Jay.

"Who are we talking about"? asked Alvin.

Kim looked at him. "Caitlin".

"When you have the experience Caitlin has in going undercover, trust me it's very easy to become someone else and disappear". He said as he took a sip from his glass.

"So, what you're saying is that she took on another identity and that's why we can't find any leads"?

Alvin's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about"?

"I've been trying to find Caitlin for a while now using all our CPD tools", said Jay as he took a sip of his beer. "She doesn't show up on flight manifests, no usage of credit cards, her National Security Number hasn't been used and her phone has been off service ever since she.." he took his two hands and pretended to cite the words. "disappeared".

Adam chipped in. "She didn't even say goodbye or tell anyone where she was going. One days she's here, the next day, there's a sold sign on the house and she's gone"!

"And what about the baby? I know she can raise it on her own but we could've helped".

Alvin let out an ironic laugh. "Help? Like you did when she was at the bottom of the pit when Antonio went missing? Some kind of support system you all were".

Jay stood and got close to Alvin, almost threatening him. "Fuck you Alvin! She was my partner. You think I enjoyed keeping her in the dark, you really think I had much of a choice? That any of us did"?

"She was your partner when it interested you, for your own benefit. And yes! You had a choice, you all did. You just didn't have the balls to make the right one. I did! I was there. I saw her almost every day. I saw her struggle and hurt and feel abandoned by all of those she cared the most about. So, if you aren't man enough to live with the choices you made, that's not my problem, but don't ever tell me again that you didn't have a choice"!

Jay backed up and sat back down. "Well, at least we know she'll be back from wherever she is, in 6 months".

They all nodded. No one needed to speak. They all knew that Wendell's trial was in six months and that Caitlin both on a personal and professional level may need to testify, like most of them were going to need to do.

Alvin looked at Kim. "You don't need to worry about the baby".

"Why"?

"Caitlin miscarried a week after Antonio's funeral. The doctors said it was due to a post-traumatic stress or some sort of physical anomaly. So, I don't think anyone can blame her for skipping town when she has lost not only her friends, her family but also the two people that meant everything to her".

Gabby arrived at their table with a new round of drinks.

"Hey Al, I was wondering if you'd heard from Cat"?

Alvin shook his head. "You know I would tell you if she had contacted me".

Adam frowned as he looked at Alvin. "Wait, are you saying that she's not even in contact with you"?

He shook his head. He was sad about that, but he knew that when the time came, she would. Or at least he hoped so.

"I just wish, I could thank her in person", said Gabby.

"What are you talking about"? asked Jay.

"When Caitlin sold the house, she gave Eva and Diego each, a third of the money that she put in a savings fund to help them pay off their college tuition or first car, whatever they needed".

"We are terrible, terrible people", said Kim. "Not that I didn't think so before you said that, but how could we have been so selfish when after all she's been through, she can be so selfless and altruistic".

She stood from her stool. "I think I'm going to go home now. I'm not so much in the mood anymore to have a night out".

Adam stood. "I'll go with you".

She put a hand on his chest. "No it's fine. Stay around here for a while. I kind of need to feel bad on my own. I'll take a cab and I'll see you when you come home".

He knew her well enough to know that she needed to be alone.

Alvin finished his Scotch in a single gulp. "I'll see you guys tomorrow".

He took his car and drove out 15 minutes to a quaint building on South Clark Street, in Dearborn Village. He parked his car and took out the keys to apartment 25. The apartment was great. It had one bedroom and one bath. A living room, dining room and kitchen. It was more than he'd had in a long time. It sure changed him from having lived in his garage. In the beginning he didn't feel at home or comfortable living there, but over time, the place had grown on him and he had finally felt at home; his home.

When he opened the door, something felt different. Always on his guard, he walked over to the armoire in the hallway and pulled out a Glock 17 from the drawer. He was puzzled. There didn't seem to be any signs of breaking in but something was off. He slowly walked into the main rooms and scanned them quietly. Suddenly, as he neared the bedroom area, he heard the sound of water flowing coming from the bathroom. He walked towards the room and noticed that the door was slightly ajar. He opened it carefully with his foot, ready to take down the perpetrator. He did find it quite odd that someone who had potentially broken into his place was doing nothing more than take a shower.

He could see movement behind the opaque shower curtain as it moved and aimed his gun in its direction as went to grab the curtain with his free hand.

"You can put your gun down. It's only me"!

Instantaneously, he lowered his gun as he recognized the voice. A voice that was a sweet melody to his ears.