ok so this draft has been sitting on my computer for years and i don't really have the time to write this as a whole story, but enjoy this blurb of my two favorite characters!
jennifer esposito needs to come back now that linda's dead (sorry not sorry).
Sandwiches.
That was the one thing on Jackie's mind.
Her partner Danny was a bottomless pit. How he managed to put all of that food down into his stomach and keep it there was beyond her. One time while the two of them were on tour, Danny had convinced her to try a salami and mozzarella sandwich against her wishes.
Jackie hated salami, always had, but the pleading look on his face was enough for her to forget that and take a bite. She had spit it out right away much to Danny's dismay.
"Jackie! This is the city that never sleeps! You cannot get a salami sandwich like this anywhere else!"
"That must be why New York is known more for pizza than sandwiches!" She retorted at him with a smile. He had smiled back.
She missed that smile.
She loved that smile.
Looking down at the rope wrapped around her hands, feeling the gag shoved between her teeth, she realized she would probably never see that smile again.
Baker, ever blonde and formal, walked into her boss's office. Her boss sat at his desk, looking at something on his computer until he glanced up at her. The look on her face told him this was not something light.
"Sir, one of the names on your watch list got flagged this morning." She put the file in front of him on the desk. "It was Jacqueline Curatola."
"Does Danny know?" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth. He knew that the former officer had meant a lot to Danny. He had been thinking of her in the months after Linda's passing, debating if an old friend would help bring back a little bit of the light to his son's eyes.
"No," Baker responded.
"Call him up here. See if you can get Erin and Jamie up here as well."
"Yes, sir." Baker walked away to his desk, leaving Frank to his thoughts.
How was he supposed to tell Danny that the woman he had considered his best friend had gone missing? Most likely abducted?
Frank knew that Danny had been heartbroken since Linda had died. It had happened three months ago; an airlift had gone wrong. The same old same old story we had heard millions of times before. Danny hadn't made it there in time.
And Frank knew that had broken his heart. He now had two motherless grandchildren and a widower son. His daughter was divorced, his son was dead, and his baby was dating his partner behind closed doors without anyone knowing.
Well, at least he thought no one knew what he was doing.
His grandson Jack was almost of legal age. He was debating what he wanted to do. Linda had made it clear she was afraid of sending him off to the Marines and would not allow it. Danny had been overjoyed when Jack had brought it up. He also knew that it was a serious decision that required a level of contemplation.
When Danny walked in a few minutes later, he was met with the serious Frank face. He had seen that face only a few times in his life. When his grandmother died, when his mother died, when his brother died, and when...
Linda.
Oh, Linda.
He didn't want to ask. He could feel a lump forming in his throat. He didn't want this. He didn't want anyone else to die, at least not for now. He wasn't ready. He couldn't do it again.
"Who?" Was all that came out of his mouth.
"Detective Curatola."
That was not what Danny had been expecting. He had been expecting a Reagan. He hadn't seen Jackie in years. And he missed her every day. Sometimes when he looked up from his desk he expected to see her but was met with the face of Maria. He loved Maria, he did, but she wasn't Jackie. She hadn't come to the funeral because he didn't have it in him to reach out. He had wanted her there, standing next to him. He had needed his best friend when they had lowered the love of his life into the ground.
"What happened?" He continued, clearing his throat.
Frank tried to read his son. He couldn't quite distinguish the expression on his face. "She was abducted. It came up as a red flag. She's been fine all of this time, minding her own business."
Relief flashed through his eyes. "She's not dead?"
"No. Not if we find her first." He pursed his lips, waiting for his son to meet his gaze.
Danny finally looked up from his fixed stare on the disgustingly colored carpet.
"Damn straight we will."
...
God, she hated praying.
She didn't believe in God or Jesus or any of that stuff. She thought it was all ridiculous. There was no God who let sixteen-year-olds die in drive-by shootings or getting hit by drunk drivers. She wanted to slap herself for stooping so low.
They had taken the gag out of her mouth so now seemed like the perfect time to get in a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers.
She wasn't really raised religious, not in the way that Danny was. They believed wholeheartedly in the idea of a god. Jackie really didn't know if she did. Now seemed like the perfect time to figure it out, right?
"Alright god, here's the thing. I know I'm not perfect, I know I am not close to perfect, but I want more time. I want to go back to the NYPD and save more people and solve more crimes..." her whispers faltered, her voice slowly dimming. "And I need to tell Danny that I love him."
And she really did.
