don't own anything just my love for the show writers and cast etc.!

Winter is never the best time to make new starts but sometimes these things are required, no matter the time of year. When fear crosses your path you can either face it or run. Either way, each decision comes with risks and consequences, it's which ones are you prepared to face that will allow you to stand up and make the right choice in life.

"Hey kid!" called Danny as he walked into his father's kitchen one Sunday afternoon, stopping suddenly as he took in the scene. "What happened?"

Jamie turned to face his brother as he heard the call. As he moved, Danny was able to see the bruises forming on his youngest brother's face. Cuts above his eyes bleeding steadily and his lip was in no better condition.

"What?" stammered Danny as he rushed forward.

"Did you find her?" asked Jamie desperately.

"I'm here," stated a calm voice behind Danny. Jamie looked over his brother's shoulder and saw his oldest friend in the doorway.

"Oni! He didn't get you? When did you get back?" exclaimed Jamie as he took a step forward, moving away from his brother. Before she could answer she was in his arms and he was kissing her. Toni wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the emotion.

"Ahem!" coughed Danny as he leaned against the kitchen sink with his arms and legs crossed with a look of bemusement on his face. Jamie and Toni parted sheepishly.

"Like you didn't expect this to happen at some point or another?" grinned Jamie as he looked at his family while never letting Toni out of his arms.

"What happened?" asked Danny, skipping back to his original question.

Jamie shrugged his shoulders at his brother before turning to Toni and taking a deep breath. "Louis. He's out of prison. He was released last week, early. Apparently his lawyer found some new evidence."

"How was that possible?" demanded Danny as he watched uncomfortably as his brother tried to sit at the table.

"There was a witness," whispered Toni as she moved to the sink to wash her hands and prepare to clean Jamie's wounds. Danny looked towards the girl who had been Jamie's oldest friend since the day she was born.

"Joe never mentioned a witness in his report," said Frank as he stood forward into the room.

"Because he was protecting the witness on my request," whispered Toni as she turned to face the Reagan men in the room.

"And are you going to tell us who that was? You know that this could have a negative effect on Joe's arrest record. There could be ramifications from him with holding information in a case.." shouted Danny.

"Danny. Please?" begged Toni as she tried to look at him directly.

"Name!" demanded Danny as he took the first aid supplies from her hands and put them on the table.

"Jamie," she whispered. Danny had to take a double look between her and his brother.

"Jamie?"

"Yes."

"How? Why? What was he doing there?" demanded Danny as anger began to replace his shock.

"She didn't know...Well, not until last week." Explained Jamie as he shuffled at the table. Danny turned to his brother about to snap at him when his father stepped in.

"What d'you mean, son?" asked Frank as he sat next to his son.

"I was on my way to meet Toni at the park, i was running late. When i got close to where we were to meet i heard her screaming. I called Joe and he told me to stay back. I wanted to help..." said Jamie, hoarsely as he tried to keep his composure.

"You would've only ended up in hospital as well," replied Toni as she began to tend to Jamie's wounds.

"You ended up in the ICU. You...You lost..." stammered Jamie as his hands grabbed her waist.

"A lot of blood," finished Toni as she looked into his eyes, pleading with him over to say no more than was necessary.

"Why? Why did Joe keep that from his report?" asked Henry from his vantage point beside the fridge.

"I didn't want Jamie to know what happened. He didn't need to know what Louis did to me. I didn't know at the time he was there and saw everything. Joe told me that it was a young man that had heard my screams but was told to stay back from the scene to protect himself. Due to the cctv footage of the attack, Jamie was never needed to be identified. How Louis found out, i have no idea," sighed Toni as she gently cleaned Jamie's cut face.

"That was January 2002, wasn't it?" asked Henry as he recalled the date.

"What's that got to do with anything?" scoffed Danny.

"Nothing. Just remembering the date, that's all." Shrugged Henry, as he looked to his oldest grandson.

"You've been out of New York for the last year, why come back now?" Sighed Danny as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

"I finished the course i was away for," replied Toni, which was half true. She didn't want to admit that she was homesick for her family, friends and the city. "I still have a job at St Victor's that's waiting for me."

"There's something else you're not telling us," huffed Danny as he watched Toni and Jamie closely.

"Danny, Louis is free. He's going to hurt Toni if we don't stop him," added Jamie, getting annoyed with his brother's interrogation.

"I'm not his first target," offered Toni. Everyone looked at her. She shrugged and carried on, "Jamie is the first target. He knows you were the witness. You know how jealous of our relationship he's been over the years. He'll make you suffer in pain first then target me. Probably killing me to finish you..."

Jamie froze at the cold way Toni was being so forward and open with the situation.

"I'm only saying what is true. The only way Louis will feel like he's won will be to have you in such a way that we suffer at his hands. He doesn't plan on ruining Joe's record. He wants us to suffer," explained Toni as she finished putting a dressing to the cuts on Jamie's face.

"That's why you wanted Toni here?" asked Danny as he looked at his father. "You knew that they would be targets?"

"I had hoped that the precaution wouldn't be warranted but obviously we underestimated the man but Toni here, boy. You really do know how his mind works, don't you?" sighed Frank.

"Not some much how his mind works but what he's capable of. He's capable of anything and it's all fuelled by jealousy," Toni hesitated slightly. Jamie stood gingerly beside her encouraging her to continue. "Louis isn't my cousin...He's my half brother."