Author's Note: This is a sequel to my story, Broken Trust Broken Hearts. When I originally wrote this story, I wasn't crazy about the case file that I set up around the story. However, I did like the back story for Danny and my original character Anna Ridley. So if you do go back and read Broken Trust Broken Hearts, you may just want to focus on the back story flashbacks (in italics). Basically, Danny dated Anna Ridley in college. They fell in love, but then he left her because his drinking kept hurting her. After he left her, he finally found the strength to go to AA. Anna didn't give him another chance after he got sober because he confessed to her that he cheated on her while he was drunk. A missing person's case brought them together eight years later. They both realized that they still had strong feelings for each other and decided to try dating again. This story picks up right after Broken Trust Broken Hearts. This isn't exactly a case file, but it may involve a cold missing person's case, so all the WAT characters will be present.

(Thanks to Mariel for all your help!)

Last paragraph from Broken Trust Broken Hearts:

A few hours later, as the sun started to rise, Danny woke up. They'd shifted in the night, so now she was curled against him with her head on his chest. Her hand was lying on his stomach underneath his t-shirt. For a few seconds, Danny imagined it was eight years ago. How he wished he could live that time over again. He would've stopped drinking the moment he met her. But that hadn't happened, and they were here now. And she belonged to someone else. Danny felt sick at the thought of someone else holding her like this, but he only had himself to blame.

He was absently playing with her hair, as she slowly woke up. She looked up at him not quite believing he was still there. She pulled herself up on the pillow next to his so she could face him. "Thank you."

Danny looked at her skeptically. "For what?"

"For staying. For being here."

Danny gently caressed her face. "I don't want to be anywhere else."

"I never stopped loving you. Even when I got involved with Michael, I never stopped."

"Me, either," Danny replied. "But I can't ask you to walk away from him for me. I've changed…I promise I have, but it doesn't change the things I did. The lies I told you. I understand that you can never trust me."

Anna looked down as a tear escaped her eye. Those memories of Danny's deceit still haunted her. "That wasn't you, Danny. You were sick, and you got help. I can't keep blaming you for that. I know you suffered so much for so long, and you were just trying to forget," she said as she gently traced her finger along the scar across his stomach.

"So what does this mean?" Danny asked as he looked in her eyes.

"It means that I called Michael yesterday and told him it was over. It means I want to wake up like this with you for the rest of my life."

"Are you sure?"

Instead of answering, Anna leaned in to kiss Danny. Danny pulled her close, and kissed her deeply. He never wanted to let her go ever again.

As Danny kissed her, Anna started to feel overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by her feelings for him…overwhelmed by the way he made her feel. For years, she'd convinced herself that she was over him…that she didn't need him anymore. But being with him again…she realized she needed him like she needed oxygen. The thought of that started to scare her. As she felt his hand slide under her slip, she gently pulled away from him. "Danny…I…I…I…"

Before she could finish, they heard the shrill ring of his cell phone. He sighed and lightly kissed her forehead before rolling away from her to answer it.

"Taylor," he answered in a slightly annoyed tone. "Yes…yes…no…I planned on taking care of it…When is he being arraigned?...Okay…okay…I'll be there. No problem."

Danny looked at the clock on the nightstand as he closed his phone. Then he lay back on the pillow and glanced over at Anna. "That was my boss," he said in a disappointed tone.

Anna nodded, but didn't say anything. She was almost thankful for the interruption.

"Angela's boss is being arraigned this morning. Jack wants to make sure that we can nail him for abusing Angela, so I need to get over to the courthouse to meet with the DA before he is arraigned."

At the mention of Angela, Anna's heart sank. "I still can't believe she's dead. I can't believe that I couldn't help her."

Danny took hold of her hand and kissed it lightly. "It's not your fault. Her boss will pay for hurting her…I can guarantee you that. And you can probably help put him away. The DA will need you to testify to what Angela told you."

"I'll do whatever I can," she said as she pulled up to kiss him one more time before he got up. "Can we get together and talk tonight?"

"Absolutely," he replied as he rose from the bed. "I'll call you later, and we'll make plans."

Anna smiled at the thought of making plans and dating Danny again. Just the thought of spending time with him made her feel happy despite the sadness she still felt about Angela.

After being interrupted by his cell phone call that morning, Danny had spent an extra frustrating day at work completing paperwork on the Angela Simpson case. It had seemed like an eternity until it was time to meet Anna for dinner that night. They'd decided to meet at a quiet, Chinese restaurant, Danny already planning to casually suggest they order their dinners to go so they could talk alone, and eventually continue what they had started that morning.

He breezed into the restaurant to find Anna already there. She took his breath away sitting there sipping hot tea, intently focused on reading the menu. Her dark blonde hair was down, just brushing her shoulders. She was a wearing a light lavender cardigan over a sexy black slip dress that showed off her legs. Barely halfway to the table and Danny was already thinking about getting her out of the dress as soon as possible. "Is it possible that you are more beautiful now than ever before?"

Anna looked up to receive Danny's charming smile. She returned the smile and shook her head. "Please…Danny…I've just learned how to get the most out of what little I have with age. When we were in college, I was hopeless."

He leaned down to kiss her. She'd forgotten how much passion he could muster for just a hello kiss. Danny Taylor hadn't seemed to know the meaning of a quick kiss hello even when they'd dated previously. He held her face and whispered. "You were adorably sexy then, and you're even more adorably sexy now." And then he took a seat adjacent to her.

"I think between the both of us, you are the one who is aging the most gracefully, Agent Taylor."

"I try…but I think it has more to do with the gun and badge. Drives the girls mad…," he said before he really thought about it. As soon as the words came out, he knew it was inappropriate given their history. "Sorry…I…that was a stupid thing to say."

Anna smiled and shook her head. "This seemed much easier this morning, didn't it? Danny…I don't want to look back, and I don't want you to not be who you are because you think I'm holding on to the past. I promise I'm not. I wouldn't be here if I was."

He nodded in silent agreement, and then they locked eyes for a few moments until he finally broke the silence. "Speaking of this morning, I was thinking…we could order to go," he suggested in a seductive, low voice.

His stare and the sexy tone of his voice very nearly made her melt. Her first instinct was to agree and find the first cab back to her place. But she'd had a whole day to think it through, and the hard light of day had brought cold, hard realizations that she couldn't ignore. "There's nothing I want more than to go home with you and just get lost…but I've been thinking…"

He tried to hide the disappointment in his eyes as he sat back in his chair. "Thinking about what?"

"About taking it slow…about not jumping head first into this. I was serious this morning when I said we needed to talk."

"I know. I know you were serious. And I fully intended on talking tonight. I was prepared to talk your ear off, but this morning you said you wanted to wake up with me every morning. Did I do something to change your mind in the last twelve hours?" he asked curiously.

"No. I…I…I do want you. I want to be with you, but this is too much too soon. I feel like I am losing control of everything, and I don't want to make the same mistakes again. I need this to last…because I don't know if I could live through losing you again."

"You can't lose me…I won't let you. I promise," Danny said as he kissed her forehead and caressed her cheek. "But if you need us to take it slow, then that's what we'll do. At the very least, I owe you that." He gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her again.

She returned his kiss and then finally pulled away. "You're the best. You know that?"

"Yeah…I know. I can't really help it. It's like in my DNA or something," he responded jokingly.

They had a wonderful night that night and for several nights after. When they'd dated eight years ago, Anna had always had a nervous feeling in her stomach whenever they went out because Danny always drank and usually got drunk. Out of habit, that nervous feeling returned when they went on dates, but the feeling quickly went away when Danny ordered water or a Coke. She had never experienced Danny when he was sober all the time, and she was falling in love with him even more because of it. It was all she could do not to invite Danny up to her apartment when they kissed goodnight outside her front door after their dates.

While she was no longer insecure about his drinking, she was still a bit bothered when Danny encountered other women. She was sure he didn't he do it intentionally, but it seemed to her like he flirted with every woman he came in contact with. Anna knew she was hyper-sensitive. She knew that Danny was just a naturally charismatic person, but it still bothered her.

One Sunday morning, they met for brunch at a coffee house by his apartment. They'd been dating a little less than a month and were still in the process of taking it slow. The sexual tension between them was almost agonizing. Danny could barely keep his hands and lips off of her.

"You'd think we hadn't seen each other for weeks, Danny," Anna said teasingly as she shivered feeling his lips on her neck.

"Tell me about it. It feels like a week since last night," he whispered in her ear.

"You mean when we attempted to take in a play, and you kept falling asleep," she said with a giggle. "If I didn't know better I would think you did it on purpose…just so we would get kicked out and go back to my place."

"Hey…I tried," he answered finally pulling away from her and taking a sip of coffee. "I worked at least 75 hours last week…and I was trying to be a good boyfriend by going to that play. Is it my fault that it was mind-numbingly boring? Besides, I had a much better time after we got back to your place."

Anna smiled at the thought of them making out like teenagers on her sofa. "The least you could have done was not snore…"

He returned her smile. "Sorry about that."

Anna shook her head. "No…I'm sorry. I should have planned a quiet evening at my place…so you could have gotten some rest."

"Now that sounds like heaven. That's my kind of date."

"I know…," she said as she leaned in to kiss him.

"Oh my gosh…Danny? Danny Taylor? Is that you?" a woman called out from across the café.

Anna and Danny looked up to find a tall red-head approaching them. "Hey…," Danny responded hesitantly.

Anna could tell from the look on his face that he couldn't quite place the red-head, but he was trying to remember.

"Don't you remember? It's me…Kimberly…We met at that club called Quest…it was only a year ago. And as I recall…you didn't even drink…"

Danny nodded his head in recognition. "Of course I remember you. It's just way too early in the morning for me. How are you, Kimberly?" he asked full of charm as he stood up from the table on polite instinct.

As Danny greeted the attractive woman with his disarming smile, Anna felt the nervous feeling return. She couldn't even comprehend what they were saying to each other. All she could think about was whether or not this woman was a former lover. She didn't even hear when he introduced them. "Kim, this is my girlfriend, Anna. Anna…this is Kim."

She was only able to focus when Danny touched her shoulder. She looked up at Kimberly and responded. "I'm sorry. Guess it's a little early for me as well," Anna replied quickly. "Nice to meet you."

"So you're the lucky girl that finally tamed this guy," Kim said playfully. Anna thought she heard a hint of jealousy in her voice. "I never thought it would happen."

Anna just smiled uneasily and glanced at Danny who all of the sudden looked uncomfortable. "It was good to see you, Kim," Danny said trying to conclude the encounter.

"Right," Kim replied. "You, too, Danny…and nice to meet you," she said as she looked Anna up and down and then walked away.

They were silent for a few moments after Kimberly left. Neither one was sure what to say. Danny finally spoke. "I'm sorry…."

Anna shook her head. "It's not…," she started but then bit her lip. "How do you know her?"

Danny sighed. "I…um…I met her at a club…about a year ago."

"So you still go out…I mean…even though you don't drink anymore…you can still go out…and…"

Danny sat back in his chair. "I don't go out very often, and I never drink, but sometimes…with work and…everything…sometimes I go out just to blow off some steam…"

"…and have a one-night stand?" she asked without thinking.

"No…no…that's not it…," he answered shaking his head.

"So you slept with her more than once?" Anna asked trying not to sound hurt or accusatory, but failing miserably.

Danny raked a hand over his face. "Are we really going to do this? Do you really want to know? I thought…I thought we were starting with a clean slate? Are you going to tell me about the men you've been with? Because Anna…honestly…there isn't anyone right now and there hasn't been anyone…even casually…in months. I'm sorry that this happened today, but you have nothing to feel threatened about."

"To be honest, it crossed my mind. I mean I have baggage, too. There is Michael, but he's in Boston and really, I think we both knew it wasn't right even from the start. And as far as other men…I can count them on one hand. I know you can't say the same thing and the thought of encountering them on a regular basis…"

"Look I can't promise that it will never happen again, but I'm with you now. The things that I did when we were together before…I never would have done them if I wasn't drinking. And I'm not drinking now…you know that."

"I know."

Danny nodded and then smirked a little. "I guess it's a good thing we are taking it slow."

Anna nodded. "I want this to work, Danny. I'm doing the best I can."

"I know. You are safe with me…you know. I'm not going to hurt you again," he said as he took her hand in his and interlocked their fingers.

She leaned in and caressed his stubbled cheek with her other hand. "I know I am," she responded.

While they continued to date, they took the time to get to know each other more. When they'd been together in college, Danny had told her very little. He'd tried to protect her from everything. This time, she insisted that he be more open with her. So he'd told her a little about his childhood, his parents and his brother. He'd mentioned that his brother was out of prison, but had also said that they didn't really speak...which was true. Danny hadn't spoken to his brother since he'd got out a few months ago. In turn, Anna had told Danny about her engagement to Michael. She'd told him that they were great friends, and that both had wanted something more to grow from that, but nothing ever really had. She also told him about her mother dying of cancer a little over two years ago. A big reason she'd come back to New York was to be closer to her widowed father, but he had quickly become involved with a younger woman and had married her. Danny had laughed when Anna called her the step-mistress.

They literally spent hours just talking about everything. They would stay up until the wee hours of the morning and fall asleep fully clothed in each other's arms. Danny hadn't been in a relationship that didn't involve sex since he'd met Anna in college. At first, he was more than frustrated, but eventually he found it very comfortable and safe. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was building a relationship and not just passing time until he eventually left.He was surprised by how right it felt. When they'd been together before, in the back of his mind, he'd always known his drinking would drive her away…which was why he had been reluctant to be open with her. This time, every thing was working as it should.

After dating a little over two months, they found themselves kissing passionately on her couch in her loft. This had become their routine after a night out. They made out for at least an hour before finally breaking away from each other. Danny started to move away from her when she grabbed his arm. "This is crazy…" she said breathlessly.

"What's crazy?" he asked as he looked down at her with a confused expression.

"Let's go to bed," she ordered seductively.

Danny smiled as he put his hand on the small of her back and pulled her to him. "I thought we were taking it slow?"

"We are. We were. But I can't anymore. I'm not sure what I'm trying to prove anymore, but I'm pretty sure I am driving us both crazy."

"I'm fine. I don't have a problem with taking it slow," he said in a teasing tone.

"Yeah?" she asked as she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his bottom lip. "So…you don't want to have sex with me?"

Danny kissed her deeply and finally pulled away. "I want it on record that you caved first. This was all your idea and you caved first," he said with a playful smirk.

"Duly noted. Let's go bed," she said pulling him up as they both laughed playfully.

During their months of taking it slow, Anna had often thought of what it would finally be like to be with him again. Of course, she remembered what it was like when they'd dated in college, but she'd forgotten how connected she'd felt when she had sex with Danny. After all the years a part, they were both different. She had definitely changed. When they were first together, it had been her first time. This time, she was more confident and self-assured. He was gentle with her, but full of passion and want. He made her feel things she hadn't felt in a long time. And she made him feel loved and needed.

Just as Anna had anticipated, sleeping together took their relationship to a while new level. She hadn't wanted to spend a minute without him.

A couple of weeks later, Danny was at Anna's loft. They had just spent another blissful evening together. They had had a quiet dinner before retiring to the bedroom. After making love, neither one had wanted to fall asleep right away. They had just talked and laughed about silly things. Even after being together for over two months, they still wanted to savor every moment together.

It had been late before they'd finally fallen asleep in each other's arms, but Danny woke up at 4AM, as was his habit. He had to go to his place before going in to work each morning. As quietly as possible, he rose from the bed, gathered his clothes, and went into the bathroom.

Minutes later, he walked out of the bathroom to find Anna standing in front of the bay window. She was wrapped in a pale green sheet. He quietly walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around waist as he nuzzled her neck. "Sorry, baby. Did I wake you?" he whispered in her ear.

"No. I was awake. I feel it…as soon as you move away from me…I feel it," she said as she turned in his arms to face him. "Don't go yet."

"I have work," he replied but was already fairly certain he would stay.

"Just stay a little while longer," she said right before kissing him and leading him back to her bed.

Danny didn't argue. He figured he could be a little late. After they made love again, Danny was about to roll away from her, but Anna stopped him so that he would stay on top of her. "I don't want you to go."

Danny smiled as he looked down in her eyes. "I don't want to leave, baby…but I have to go to work."

"Move in with me," she pleaded.

Danny looked confused. "You said you wanted to take it slow. Moving in is definitely a fast step."

"I told you that sleeping together would make things different."

Danny smiled. "Sleeping together isn't the same as moving in together."

"It's pretty close as far as I'm concerned. I hate it when you leave. I want to wake up with you…everyday."

"I want that, too, but it is a big step."

"You don't think you're ready?" she asked searching his eyes.

Danny took a deep breath. He knew it wasn't about her. He knew that it was more about being able to completely share his life with someone. "Listen…we can talk about it…okay?

She looked down and sighed in slight disappointment.

He tilted her chin up to meet her eyes. "I love you. Don't doubt that."

She didn't doubt it. She knew he loved her, but part of her felt unsure of his commitment to her. His unwillingness to accept her invitation to move in just added to her little insecurities about their relationship.