Danny Reagan was having a long night. He had been on a 15 hour tour and was finally getting off. Timecard in hand he was in the action of punching out when he self phone ringing. Mumbling under his breath he answers it.
"Reagan." He says into the phone.
It was the boss sending him out on another case. There had been an attack and the victim was on their way to the hospital.
"I'll be right there." He says into the phone.
Hanging up his phone he and Jackie head out to the hospital. When they get there they are greater by the doctor.
"What have we got, doc?" Danny asks.
"A female in her early 40's was brought in. She had been attacked. She had signs of sexual assault. She was with us when she came in but she wasn't very coherent." The doctor tells them. "She's a little groggy but awake. Her injuries consist of two broken ribs. A broken jaw and some contusions. Oh and detective she said her name was Erin."
Upon hearing her name Danny's stomach dropped. He tried to be logical about it. Erin was a common name. There was a chance it wasn't his Erin. The two detectives walk up to the room. Danny looks in the window and his heart sank. In the bed was his little sister. She had cuts and bruises all over her face. She was curled up in a ball on the bed.
She sees her brother when he walked in. She didn't want to see him and she knew he didn't want to see her. They had been fighting since she told him his ID wasn't enough to convict Officer Collins' killer. He and the rest of the NYPD had turned on her. She didn't even understand why he was there. She turns away from him.
"Hey sis." He said gently.
She didn't respond.
"We'll find who did this to you." He tells her. "I promise."
She picks up a pen and jots down on a notepad.
Why even bother? You think I deserved this.
Danny was hurt by her remake but understood where she was coming from.
"Sis please." He said. "Just tell me what happened."
Sighing she picks up the pen again.
I was on my way to my car tonight after work. I was looking for my keys when I was grabbed from behind. They put a bag over my head and forced me into the stairwell. They threw me into the wall and the ring leader came forward. I couldn't see him but I could hear him. He spoke Spanish. I felt him get on top of me. I tried to fight but he was stronger and his goons were holding me down. She paused for a minute wiping away a tear from her face and then continued. He forced himself on me. Saying the same thing over and over again. He kept talking about getting even and how I shouldn't have done what I did. They did awful things to me Danny. I got the bag from my head and tried to scream. That's when the ringleader broke my jaw.
At that point her hands were shaking. Tears pricked at her eyes. She turns away from Danny. He heard a sniff. He knew she was trying not to cry. He vowed right then and there to find the animals that did this to her.
Erin heard scuffing of feet as Danny and Jackie stood. She felt Danny's hand on her shoulder. She heard them leave the room. A new set of footsteps came in alone. Glancing over her shoulder she saw her father. She heard him sit beside her. She turns to look at him.
He gently pushes her hair behind her ear. He then carefully kissed her head. This made her feel better. She knew that he was being her dad right now not police commissioner. She grabs her pen again.
Did I deserve this?
Frank sat closer to her.
"No sweetheart." He whispers. "You didn't deserve this. I promise. We'll find who did this. Until then you'll have a guard at your door."
Would they even protect me?
"They will. I promise. Have I ever broken a promise?" He asks her.
Erin shakes her head. She begins to write again.
Does Danny think I deserved this?
Frank took her hand. "No. He doesn't."
She writes again.
Dad, they were cops.
That shook Frank to his core. He treated his officers like family and he knew they were upset. He had put a stop to boycotting court. Now they had gone to too far with this vendetta against Erin. They had hurt his baby.
A few hours had gone by since Frank had left. The guard at the door seemed disinterested in his post. He would be changing out soon. Erin was busy sketching out the faces that were burnt into her memory. She watches for a moment as the guard at the door was being replaced. She heard him he say to the other officer that protecting her was a waste of time and that she deserved what they got. The new officer looked horrified at him. Erin could make the woman out as Eddie Janko. She watched the other officer walk away.
Eddie comes in the room. Erin looks at her.
"I talked to Jamie." Eddie starts. "We even had sort of a spat."
Why? Erin writes.
"Before this happened he bad mouthed you. He kept talking about loyalty. I told him to get that stick out his ass and realize while being loyal to the uniform is important that he was also a brother. I reminded him he was a lawyer too and knew you were right." She tells her.
Before she starts her next sentence another voice finished it.
"It was time for me to start being a better brother."
Jamie was standing in the doorway. He steps in the room.
"I'm sorry Erin." He tells her. "I knew you were right. I just didn't want to admit it and I'm really sorry about dinner. Danny just doesn't get it. Neither does Pop. I understand that you aren't asking for a silver platter. You were asking for Danny to just work with you."
She smiles as much as she could muster.
"Danny is working up a storm down at the precinct. He loves you Erin. I know you don't want to hear it right now but he's trying to be a better big brother. Between you and me I think your his favorite sibling. I know he doesn't mean it purposefully but I know you two are pretty close." He tells her as he sits by Eddie.
Can you get something to him?
"Of course." Jamie says.
Erin hands him the page from the sketchbook.
"What's this?" Jamie asks.
The man who raped me. She scribbled down.
Jamie looks at the drawing and his blood ran cold. The drawing was of Collins' old partner. Eddie and Jamie look at each other. Jamie stood up and went down to the precinct to talk to Danny.
Running in the door he went straight to Danny.
"Erin drew her rapist." Jamie said handing Danny the picture. "It's him Danny. Collins' old partner."
"Let's go haul him in." Danny said.
"Wait. We should call Dad." Jamie said.
"We'll call him from the car."
With that the two jumped in the squad car and sped off. Danny stared at the road ahead. Jamie was calling Frank in the passenger's seat. He tells him they found the guy.
"This is my fault." Danny said out. "I was so busy being mad at Erin that I turned everyone on her. I put her in danger. It was never her fault. I should have been a better brother."
The two pulled up to the apartment. Storming up the stairs they bust into his apartment. Instead of finding Rodriguez they found it empty.
"They tipped him off." Danny said. "He's going after Erin!"
Racing to the car Jamie pulls out his phone. He dialed a number praying the other person picked up.
Meanwhile at the hospital Eddie was sitting outside Erin's room. She had dozed off shortly after lunch. Eddie watched the people come and go down the hallway. Her cell phone rings. She picks it up and hears Jamie's voice.
"It's Rodriguez!" Jamie yells. "He's in the hospital!"
Eddie quickly hangs and looks around for him. Shd sees a flash of him at the end of the hall. She took off running after him. Seconds after she had took off a man who was seemingly a doctor went into Erin's room. He walks up to her sleeping figure. In his fingers was a thin scalpel. Placing his other hand over her mouth and nose she quickly woke up.
"I want you awake for this." He says to her stroking her face. "You see Ms. Reagan there was a time where lawyers were lawyers and cops were cops. Cops got the perps. Lawyers put them in jail. That's how it's supposed to work but you see a little lawyer named Erin messed that up. The cops did their job but the lawyer didn't do hers and now a cop killer is still on the streets. That is on you Erin."
She tries to hit but her arms were ceasing to work.
"Nice try Erin but we are in a hospital. Full of medicine. I'm in control here." He says pulling the knife across her cheek making a small cut.
Everyone nerve in her body was shaking. Where was her dad or Danny or Jamie?
"You know why we raped you?" He asks. "We wanted you feel what it was like to have no control. We wanted you to feel what Collins did when she died. Scared, in pain and uncertain."
He picks up a picture of Nicki from Erin's bedside.
"Collins has a daughter. You know." He tells her. "That little girl will now grow up without her mother and so will yours."
He places the scalpel to her throat. He starts to pull the blade across her neck when a gunshot rang out. The man on top of her slumped off and fell to the ground.
Erin could see her father in the doorway with his gun drawn. A wave of relief washes over her when she sees him. She feels his arms wrap around her. Her chest felt tight and she couldn't breathe. Her father kept trying to soothe her.
"I know you're scared sweetheart but you have to stop crying so you can breathe." He whispers to her.
She hadn't even realized she was crying. Once she was able to breathe again. She in a muffled voice asked.
"Where's Danny?"
Danny meanwhile was chasing down Rodriguez. He was hot on his tail and caught him in the stairwell. He threw him to the ground.
"You can't hurt me Danny." Rodriguez taunts. "The law won't let you."
"I'm not a cop right now." Danny growls. "I'm a big brother."
He pulls him to his feet and cuffed him tightly.
"I should kill you right now." Danny said close to his ears. "I wanted the killer as much as you but you crossed a line. You went after my sister. Nobody touches my sister."
While Rodriguez was dragged upstairs Danny went to go see Erin. He carefully entered her room. She looks up at him. This time instead of turning away she reached for him.
He sat down beside her and pulled her into a gently hug holding her close. Erin pulls herself closer to her brother. He knew she had forgiven him.
Jackie pokes her head door.
"You want to be the one to haul him in?" She asks.
"No you go ahead." Danny tells her.
He looks down at Erin and placed a kiss on her head.
"I need to be a big brother right now."