A/N: This one is for CARAGH who requested it way back in Chapter 1. Thanks for your marvellous support xx Hope it is worth the wait =)

GUEST: There will be more information on the sequel at the end of this story.

"Where's Pop?"

"Out. Coffee?"

"Beer?"

"Not on the menu."

"Coffee it is then."

Frank turned to make the coffee. After an uncomfortable pause, Danny wandered into the lounge and sat down. Frank followed him shortly thereafter. He passed Danny his drink and sat down.

"What's up?"

"Jamie. I tried calling his landline and mobile, and texting him, this morning. I wanted to talk to him, clear the air. No dice. That's when I went to the precinct. But, like I said, he ignored me. He was so unprofessional, bringing his personal grudge to work. I could have been there for any reason." Danny exasperatedly repeated his earlier assertion.

"But you weren't, were you? Let me get this straight - a senior NYPD detective with over a decade's experience used company time, a company car, and company gas, to drive across town to visit a fellow officer in another precinct for a personal conversation. Then when that officer is unavailable because he is doing his job, the aforementioned detective throws a tantrum. Tell me, who is acting unprofessionally?"

"He –"

"Answer the question!" Frank's tone was sharp.

"I am." Danny voice was quiet. Frank had to work hard to hide a smile. Danny sounded exactly like he did at age six when he was asked who was being disobedient for eating a cookie before dinner.

"Let's pretend for a moment that I believe your "Jamie needs a holiday" excuse." Frank held up his hand to pre-empt his son's interruption. "Do you really think that the best way to get Jamie to take a holiday with you is to document his personal struggles and the events behind them, so his every weakness can become public knowledge? Because that is exactly what you've done!" Frank had to stop just so he wouldn't pass out, so fierce was his anger. "For that, he's supposed to say "Thank you, Danny, I'd like nothing more than to go on holiday with you now that you have made it possible for everybody to research the intimate details of my private life!" Well?"

Danny was silent.

Frank contemplated leaving the subject there. He could think of a hundred reasons to abort the conversation and send his oldest son home. Then he remembered his youngest son. He remembered the shattered man he spent hours helping rebuild the night before.

"I asked you a question." To a stranger, it was a statement. To Danny, it was as close to a threat as his father ever came.

"No," Danny whispered.

"No, what?" Frank demanded.

"No, it wasn't the best way to get him to take a family holiday."

"Why?"

"Because it upset him."

Upset! Frank would show Danny 'upset'!

"You humiliated him!" Frank uttered through clenched teeth.

"Oh, the poor baby." The mocking dismissal was out before Danny could stop it.

There was a moment of stunned silence that gave Frank a chance to calm down, if only ever so slightly.

"Do you even know why he is upset?"

Danny raised disbelieving eyes to his father's. "He might lose his job." The "duh" stayed unspoken.

"You could not be more wrong. It is definitely not his job he is afraid of losing."

"Me?" Danny scoffed. "Why would he think he's losing me?"

"What would you think if you were in his shoes?"

Danny finally had the grace to look ashamed.

"You should have talked to Jamie, to me, to any of us, about your concerns. But I don't think you wanted to. In fact, I think "Jamie needs a holiday" is simply a convenient excuse to rationalise your behaviour. What I think is that Linda has put a lot of time, effort, and love into organising this holiday, and you'll be damned if your little brother is going to throw it back in her face by not attending. Your ego wants Linda to go down in Reagan family history as having arranged the most perfect vacation ever, and you'd do anything to make that happen." Frank could see he'd hit the nail on the head by the way Danny reacted. Gone was the smug, self-important, I-did-the-boy-a-favour air. It was replaced by an apprehensive, guilty, don't-tell-my-wife frown. "I think you wanted this handled outside of family channels so Linda wouldn't find out, because Linda would never force anyone to come on this holiday. You thought that since it was going to go through the PC's office I couldn't and wouldn't say anything. And you thought that you could sweet-talk Jamie into keeping quiet. But you were wrong. Yes, Jamie needs a holiday. I'll tell you what he doesn't need. He's already lost one brother. He's doesn't need the other one proclaiming him worthless and incompetent!" Frank's voice had risen again.

"I'll see myself out." Danny left the house, with Frank still sitting there, clenching his fists so he wouldn't do anything he would later regret.

A/N: So not really a "cliffhanger" more of a twist. But, hey, I need some fun in amongst all this disharmony. Talking of fun . . .