Well, that was a better response than I expected. I guess people really like this story. :)

I would like to thank the people who reviewed, particularly Iris (who's feedback really helped), and Shaz1 for their awesome and quick beta work.

Now, as promised, you asked so you shall receive.

Here you go ...


Chapter 2

"You alright there, Hudson?"

He muttered a reply that he himself wasn't even sure if it was positive or not as he stared into the flames. How could everything be gone? His entire life was nothing but a foggy void and it terrified him. Still, something inside told him not to give into the fear; he couldn't show his weakness.

"I'll be fine," he replied after a moment.

And he would be. He would beat this … somehow. With a frustrated sigh, he ran his hand through his hair, which seemed to get the dog's attention. Leaving her master, Sandy padded across the camp and rested her head on his knee. He couldn't help a small smile as he reached down to scratch her ear. Did he have a dog?

"She can probably sense your distress," Riley commented.

"Yeah. Now if she could only sense where I left my wallet. Do you think I have one?"

"Down here, some do and some don't," Riley shrugged.

Nodding in understanding, he absentmindedly pet the dog and tried to force his fuzzy head to come up with something, anything, to tell him who he was. Still nothing. Damn, this was frustrating!

"You sure I'm homeless?"

"These aren't exactly the clothes of someone who works on Wall Street," Wolf answered, pulling said clothes off their makeshift line.

He had to admit, the man had a point. From where he was sitting, he could make out at least three holes in the gray sweater, two crude repair jobs on the pants, and he didn't even want to ask about his socks. Lucky for him, Wolf was about his size and had some extra clothes, which he was currently wearing. They did smell strongly of Sandy, but at least they weren't as bad off as his own.

"Clothes are good, but the shoes are still damp," Wolf announced, handing the bundle over.

"Thanks."

"Any time, Hudson."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"It's better than 'hey you,'" he shrugged.

"It's nothing personal, Wolf has always had a problem remembering names," Riley smiled, stirring a pot of soup. "He does have a point though; everyone should have a name of some sort."

"I have a name," he snapped, a bit more irritably than he probably should have.

"I'm sure you do," the old man replied calmly. "But until we know what that is, what would you like us to call you?"

Going back to staring at the flames, he tried to think of what he could go by. Still, nothing was coming … well, almost nothing.

"Just call me Hudson."

*B*B*

When Frank first heard his phone ringing he let out a deep sigh. A call to the police commissioner at midnight never came with good news, but getting a call from your son's CO at midnight dropped a stone in the pit of your stomach. And pulling up to the scene that might very well have been the place of your child's murder was something that no parent should ever have to go through.

"Commissioner."

"Sergeant," he nodded back.

The Sergeant led the way over toward where Jackie was waiting. Danny's partner seemed calm and focused, but Frank could see the tension in her stance. She was worried, but holding it together. They all were.

"Jackie," he greeted solemnly. "What happened here?"

"Commissioner," she turned to gesture around the scene. "Danny was here, Keller and his men were coming in from there. Just before they were in position, another group came in from that direction. We thought they were civilians, so Danny went to intercept."

"I take it they weren't?"

"No sir. But before he was able to signal the rest of us … someone jumped the gun and that's when everything went to hell."

Frank didn't have to ask who it was that blew their cover, since as soon as Jackie said it one of the junior detectives took a step back. As much as he would love to throttle the guy for putting his son in danger, he would have to leave that to the detective's CO. Right now, his only concern was finding Danny.

"What leads do you have?"

"His gun was found over here," the Sergeant interjected. "And his badge was over there at the edge of the dock."

"We found traces of blood on both the dock and a crowbar," Jackie continued. "We've sent samples to the lab to see how much of it is Danny's and should be hearing back about prints soon."

Frank nodded, stepping over to the edge of the dock. He looked down at the last spot his son was seen, his mind jumping back to the night that he lost Joe. But looking at the blood, he took a some comfort in the small amount of splatter. Whatever injury caused this was not necessarily life threatening. Until they found a body, there was still hope. God, please let Danny be alive.

"Reagan!"

He looked up to see Jamie being forcibly separated from the junior detective by his partner, as well as a handful of other officers. Based on what his youngest was shouting he must have heard what happened, and not from someone with any sense of tact. But he could let Gormley deal with them, right now it looked like both of his sons needed him.

"Jamie."

Hearing his voice, he stopped struggling, dropping his gaze to the ground. As the other officers backed off, Frank led his youngest out of earshot. Though Jamie still wouldn't look him in the eye, he could see the worry and fear that he was trying so hard to hide. Seeing his son like this, Frank wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and take all his pain away. But no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't shield him from this anymore than he could undo what had happened.

"I'm sorry," Jamie muttered, running a hand through his hair. "It's just … he blew their cover. And now Danny is-"

"Missing," Frank cut in firmly, making it clear that he was not searching for a body just yet. "Your brother is missing, but we're gonna find him."

Jamie took a deep breath and nodded, visibly steeling himself for the night ahead.

"Where can I help?"

Now that's a Reagan.

"We need people canvasing the area in all directions. Someone had to have seen something."

"Alright," Jamie nodded, turning to head back to his partner. "I'll get right on it."

"And Jamie."

"Yeah, Dad?" he paused mid-step.

"Be careful out there."

"Yes sir."

Jamie gave him a small smile and hurried back, steering clear of the junior detective that was quickly headed in the other direction. Frank let out a sigh and pulled out his phone to give Erin an update. She and Nicki were over at Danny's keeping Linda company, probably joined by his own father by now. It was going to be a long night for all of them.

*B*B*

Waking up face to furry face of a light brown mutt, it took a minute to get his bearings. Tent … camp … dog … oh yeah. He tried to remember anything before waking up in a pile of blankets, but there was still nothing. Just him, Hudson, the homeless amnesiac.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," Wolf cheerfully called from the fire. "We got pancakes."

"Do I want to know what's in them?" he muttered, rubbing his neck.

"Only if you don't mind rat."

Hudson looked at his new friend, trying to gauge how serious he was. Whoever he was before, he must have been good a reading people, because he could see right through that cocky poker face.

"He's joking," Riley confirmed with a harsh cough, visibly forcing himself into a sitting position. "We may be homeless, but we can still get pancake mix."

"Eggs and bacon are another story," Wolf added, placing a serving of breakfast on a tin plate and handing it to the old man. "So how do you like yours, done or over done?'

"Before you say anything," Riley smiled, "you should know that he can only cook one way."

"Not true! I made fried ham two ways last week."

"It doesn't count when the second is charcoal."

"Oh yeah? Well …"

Smiling at the banter, Hudson couldn't help but wonder if he had someone to argue about breakfast with. If he had someone to argue anything with. There was a flash of a girl with dark hair, but not clear enough that he could see her face.

"Hey Hudson."

And just like that, the memory was gone. Glancing up he saw Wolf giving him a curious look as he handed him a plate.

"You okay? You looked … I don't know … lost or something."

"The man did lose his memory," Riley reminded him, coughing into a blue rag. "But perhaps you didn't lose as much as you thought?"

"No," Hudson shook his head, looking down as his slightly burnt pancake. "Still nothing."

He thought about telling them about the girl, but what would be the point? He didn't remember her name or even her face. It wasn't like he could just ask them to help him track down every dark haired girl in the city.

"So, Riley had an idea," Wolf started, as casually as he could with his mouth full of food. "Why don't you and I take a walk and see if we can find your old stomping grounds."

"Do you even know where to start?"

"I would recommend up river," Riley said thoughtfully. "But after the shooting last night you might not get far."

Sounds of gun fire echoed in his foggy brain as his hand remembered the feel of cold steel. Had he shot someone?

"What shooting?" Hudson questioned, almost dreading the answer.

"Drug related would be my guess," Wolf shrugged.

"You don't seem worried."

"It happens," Wolf replied dismissively. "Best to just avoid it and ignore it, you live longer. Besides, that area has to be crawling with cops by now and, believe me, you don't want to tangle with the NYPD."

Hudson nodded, as another imaged flashed across his mind. This was clearer, of him punching a man in the face and pulling out a gun. Was he a killer? The very thought of it tied a knot in his stomach.

"Well, once you're done eating, we can head out."

Looking back at the black and brown pancake, Hudson realized that he no longer had an appetite. Instead, he set his plate down in front of Sandy and stood up.

"Done, let's go."

Wolf rolled his eyes, muttering something about nobody appreciating him and grabbed his worn out coat. Hudson grabbed his own and jammed his feet into his shoes, cursing at how cold they were.

"Next time, leave them closer to the fire," Wolf advised, before turning to Riley. "Want me to get you some more meds?"

"I should be fine, but tea would be good."

The younger man nodded, patted Sandy on the head, and heading out of the camp. With one last look at Riley, who was once again coughing into his rag, Hudson followed.

"He okay?"

"It's that time of year again," Wolf sighed, suddenly serious. "See, the thing is, Riley has been on the street for almost forty years now and a life like that … it takes a toll on a guy."

Hudson glanced back in time to see Riley lay down; Sandy curled up at his side. The man did look pretty bad. Had he been like that the night before?

"It happens every time the weather get cold," Wolf continued. "He tells me not to worry, but-"

"You can't help it?"

"Do ya blame me?" Wolf snorted. "I mean, the guy has been like a father to me since I got evicted, like, six years ago. And every year … well, it's been getting pretty bad."

""How bad is pretty bad?"

Wolf took a deep breath and opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly froze. Hudson tensed, his hand instinctively going to his hip as he looked around. Why was he touching his hip?

"Come on, Hudson, we better bail."

"Why? What is it?"

Wolf didn't answer as the two ducked behind a dumpster. Hudson held his breath as he saw a shadow approach and fall away. After a minute, Wolf peeked out and signalled that the coast was clear.

"What the hell was that?"

"Cops."

Somewhere inside him, something gnawed at his memory. Something to do with cops, but he wasn't sure what. Was he running from them before falling in the river?

"Just curious, why don't you like cops?"

"Please," Wolf rolled his eyes. "If you met half as many as I have, you would dislike them too."

Maybe he had, and maybe he did, but Hudson would have to worry about that later. Right now, he needed to find where he came from … and who he was.


That's all for now. What do you think of Wolf and Riley?

Oh, and for all those who are wondering, Jamie will start showing up a lot more from here on out. (I can't help it, I love that Reagan. :) )

Anyway, send me you comments/questions/suggestions while I get started on the new chapter.

SIDE NOTE: If I get as good a response as the last one, I'll try and get two chapters to my beta over the weekend instead of just one. In any case, I'll update again Monday.