"Olivia, hold on!"

Rachel revved the engine. The car sailed from the hill towards the water. Olivia screamed again in the back-seat, and for one terrifying moment it was as if they were flying.

The car hit the water hard, the airbag flying free from its hiding place. Rachel's head smashed forward and back, hitting something hard. Jay's car seemed to bob for a few moments before it took in water and the weight of the engine started to pull them down.

Freezing water seeping at her feet brought Rachel to sudden consciousness. Her head was pounding. Every muscle in her ached. With panicking fingers, she unbuckled her seat-belt and swore frantically when she couldn't find the strength to get out of it straight away.

They weren't dead. They weren't dead.

"Olivia!" Rachel tried to shake the fuzziness from her mind. She eventually heard the familiar click of her seat-belt opening and climbed into the back-seat, where her daughters head lay against the window. Her eyes were closed. "No, no, no, no!"

Olivia's head moved to the side, and her eyes opened slowly. "What… what happened?"

Rachel swore again under her breath. "Oh, thank God," she exclaimed. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

She pushed against the rear door and tried the windows. Neither would budge. She shifted back to the front seat as the water continued to spill into the vehicle. Alas, the front windows were stuck as well.

Fucking brilliant. She wanted to panic, but she couldn't. Because that would make Olivia panic more.

"They won't open. They won't open!" Olivia screamed.

Using her foot, Rachel tried to bust against the front windshield, but it wouldn't move.

Dark fuzzy spots in her sight tried to draw her down. Rachel shook her head, blinked and forced herself to stay awake. She was already having trouble thinking and seeing clearly. Everything in front of her was blurry.

"Okay, just relax Livi. Listen to me." Rachel grasped hold of her daughter's shoulders as the ice-cold water reached around their stomach. "Listen. We have to wait for the water to fill the car. Once it does, the pressure will equal out. We can't open the doors right now because there's too much pressure on the outside. Once the car fills, the doors will open."

"No they won't!" Olivia panicked, holding an arm against her chest. "We're going to drown!"

"Listen to me." She stared into her daughter's eyes. "They will. Trust me. Don't panic, Livi."

"I'm scared," Olivia whispered, grabbing hold of Rachel's hand.

"I know," she squeezed on Olivia's grip. "It's okay. We're not going to die in here, you hear me?" Olivia nodded as the car continued to fill. "We're going to make it. Think good thoughts, okay? Think about your Dad and Freddie and whatever you want to do tomorrow. Okay? We can do whatever you want."

Rachel's vision blurred again, and she shook her head to clear it.

She had to stay awake. She had to stay coherent.

When the water level reached around their necks, Olivia's fingers tightened around Rachel's.

"Just a little more," Rachel murmured, lifting her chin. She took one last deep breath, motioned for Olivia to do the same and then tried the door again. When it didn't budge, her heart dropped.

The icy water felt like it was choking her already, fear rising up her entire body.

Don't panic. Try again.

This time, she put her back into it. With a huge thrust of her body, the driver's side of the door opened. She grasped Olivia's hand and pulled her from the sinking vehicle. Light flickered at the surface above. Rachel kicked as hard as she could.

They broke the surface together, gasping for air. Rachel treaded water, gripped Olivia's shoulders and checked her face for signs that she was hurt.

"You're okay," she breathed. "We're okay."

Olivia spat out water and tried to take deep breaths.

"Can you swim?" Rachel asked.

"Duh," Olivia nodded her head shakily. She tried to kick for land, but couldn't find any. Rachel wrapped an arm around her when she realized Olivia was having trouble.

Waves lapped at the shore of the bay. Crashes of water pounded rocks on the other side of the spit. Rachel's energy was rapidly waning as she dragged Olivia out of the water.

Sirens blared in the distance. Very distant, but she could hear them. Rachel dropped to her knees next to Olivia and sucked in a large amount of air. Water dripped all around her, sending shivers up and down her spine, but all she could focus on was her daughter.

Olivia lay on her back, her eyes shut, her chest fighting for air as she still cradled an arm against herself.

Rachel grabbed her other hand. "Stay with me. Hold on, can you hear that? The sirens? They found us."

Relief bubbled through Rachel's veins when voices echoed from the road above them.

Help. They'd made it.

Olivia's hand slipped out of hers.

Rachel glanced don't right away only to realize Oliva wasn't moving anymore.


Hurling bills at the cab driver, Jay sprinted from the yellow taxi. He didn't have the time for the cab to make it to the other side of the building, his legs would take him faster.

The automatic emergency room doors opened and he dashed into the reception area.

A woman holding a sick baby stood in line at the front desk, rocking back and forth. A man with a blood-stained bandage draped over his hands was behind her.

Jay pushed his way to the front of the line.

"You're just going to have to wait your turn." The receptionist sent him a fatal glare.

Fear clenched an icy hand around his heart. "My wife and daughter were in a car accident."

The receptionist's face softened. "Last name?"

"Halstead," he shook his head. "And Wilson."

Time seemed to tick by second after miserable second while the old lady checked her computer. Fucking hurry up he wanted to shout. But that wouldn't make her help him more.

The baby behind him screamed. Jay raked a shaky and frustrated hand through his hand and was almost ready to climb over the desk and look himself when the receptionist finally spoke.

"Room eleven. Go through the double doors-"

Not giving her time to finish, he turned and waited impatiently for her to buzz him through. Pungent institutional cleaners cut through the hallway air. A crash cart was pushed up against one wall. Medical staff chatted around the nurse's station.

Bile rose in his throat as he checked doors, desperately searching for room eleven. When he finally found it, the muscles in his chest tightened and he whipped around, heading for the nurse's station.

A small blond intern leaning against the counter looked up. "Can I help you, sir?

"Room eleven is empty," panic made his voice crack.

The blond girl looked over at a woman with black hair in hospital scrubs, seated behind the counter. "Didn't they take her up to surgery?"

Fuck, surgery? His mind was already in overdrive. No, no, no. Jay caught his breath.

The one with black hair checked a chart. "I think so. Car accident, right?"

"Where?"

"Uhm, hang on. Let me see." She continued to flip papers on the chart.

For God's sake, couldn't they see he was dying here?!

"Wait," the darker haired woman spoke again. "That was the woman in ten. Eleven's in X-ray."

Jesus fucking Christ, did they take classes on how to torture family members here or something?

"Where's that?" He practically screamed.

The blond intern pointed down the hall. "Take the first right, go all the way to the end and turn left. You can't miss it."

He was already sprinting the length of the hall before she'd finished talking.

The air choked in his throat when he rounded the last corner. Rachel was seated on a chair in the hallway, bent at the waist with her head in her hands.

"Oh my God, baby." He dragged her out of the chair and pulled her tight against him. His heart thumped out of control when she slid a hand around the back of him.

Grasping her face with both hands, he pulled back enough to look down. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, her cheeks stained with her tears. A rectangular bandage covered a wound above her eyebrow.

He swallowed, his eyes locking on the bandage. "Are you-"

"I'm okay," she said, taking a grip on his elbows. "It's just a scratch. I hit my head. I'm okay."

Her voice was weak, but her eyes were steady. On a relieved sign, he wrapped his arms around her again and pulled her close. "Thank God."

She wasn't hurt. But, she was alone. Reality set in, followed by a gut wrenching jolt of fear.

"Where's Olivia?"

Tears filled her eyes. "She's in X-ray. Jay, I told her to get in the back seat. I thought she'd be safer there-"

He took a calming breath, panicking was only going to make her panic more. Air filled his lungs. X-rays were no big deal. CAT scans, MRI's… those were things to worry about. "You did the right thing." He ran his fingers down her back. "Tell me what happened."

She took a shaky breath and nodded. "The brakes weren't working. I…I didn't notice until we were on the highway. I wanted to get a few things from the house. I didn't…think…anything would happen."

"It's alright. I'm just thankful you're both okay."

Jay pulled her tight again, drew in a breath of her scent. When the call had reached the District about the accident, his heart had all but stopped. Losing them was not an option.

"Jay, your car," she said into his shoulder.

"You think I'm worried about my goddamn car?! That's the last thing on my mind."

"Oh good," he felt her breathing against him. "Because I think the interior's ruined."

She was cracking fucking jokes. He'd almost had a heart attack at the thought of losing her again, and she was cracking fucking jokes.

He held on tight, rocking her back and forth to comfort her. Tried like hell to steady his racing pulse. Failed. "Keeping you locked in my house is looking more appealing."

She peeled her face from his shoulder. "You don't think this was an accident?" she asked quietly.

Jay didn't want to worry her more than she already was. Swallowing his fear, he pushed back from her and brushed a wet curl from her face. "I think it was a bad car. I never should have let Izzy talk me into getting it."

They stood soundlessly in the corridor for a few moments. Then the door behind then opened, and they both turned as a nurse wheeled Olivia out. .

Jay let go of Rachel and stepped up to the side of the bed.

Olivia's face as bruised, her right arm wrapped in towels and her whole body personified exhaustion. "Dad."

"Hey, Livi." He ran a hand over her hair, fighting back panic at seeing his usually full-of-energy daughter so lethargic.

Her eyes closed. "I have a headache."

"I bet you do," he glanced towards the doctor and held his breath.

"Broken arm," he said, lifting the X-ray. "There are bruised ribs but they're not broken, and she took a good knock on the head. But I think she's going to be fine."

"Thank you," Jay whispered. Relief poured through his insides. With a hand that was still shaking, he ran a hand through his daughter's hair again. "You think this is going to get you out of your chores?"

A sneaky grin twisted her lips. "Dad, I have to get a cast. I don't think I'm allowed to get it wet, or anything."

"That's right," the doctor said behind her. "You're on the injured list, Miss."

Jay rolled his eyes at them teaming up on him. He reached for Olivia's good hand and squeezed it. "I was scared for a second."

"I was scared too," she whispered. "Mom drives a mean car.

The muscles in Jay's chest tightened when he looked into the depths of her hazel eyes, so much like her mother's. Hope sprang to life inside of him at the word she'd used. "She does?"

Olivia nodded. "Where is she?"

"I'm right here," Rachel said from behind where Jay was standing.

He moved to the side, making room at Olivia's bed side. With her hand still clutching her dad's, Olivia reached for Rachel, locking the three of them together.

"You didn't bring my brother?" Olivia's eyes searched the rest of the room. "Damn, Freddie was who I really wanted to see," she said cheekily.

"Hey, language! And he's with your Grandpa. You can see him when we get home."

"Oh, okay."

A puddle of warmth encircled Jay's fingers. He watched emotions flow over his wife as she looked down at Olivia, hands clasped together. This was what he wanted. Just this for the rest of his life. His family.

There was a tightness in his chest, a tightness he'd never felt before.

He needed to tell Rachel what he suspected about her disappearance. If she found out before he had a chance to tell her himself, he wasn't sure what she would say or what she would do.

His eyes slid shut and he tightened his hold on them both.

A few more days. If he didn't hear from his private investigator by then, he was going to tell her regardless.

No matter what though, it was his job to keep his family safe. For reasons he'd never understand, he'd been given a second chance. He wasn't about to blow that now.


"That's so cool!" Freddie exclaimed as he examined his big sister's cast. "I want one!"

Olivia laughed. "No you don't. It hurts so bad sometimes."

"But you look like Batman!" Freddie clapped.

Olivia frowned. "I do not look like Batman!" She humored him. "I'd look like Batman if it was colored in, do you want to do it?"

"Oh, I can? Yay!" Freddie rushed from the room to retrieve his colors.

Rachel smiled, listening to the conversation from the other side of the room. She flipped a page, made a mark with her pen and rested her chin on her hand. Lifting her knees from where she was stretched out on the floor, she proper her elbow on her leg and continued to read.

Olivia shifted from the table and walked over to her. "What are you looking at?"

"An article for work," Rachel answered.

"What's it about?" Olivia's curiosity brought her head up. Her daughter's bruises had faded to yellow, but she was still obviously sore from the accident. Sometimes when she moved, she winced in pain and tried to hide it. At the moment, she was sitting at the table entertaining her little brother- which, Rachel was thankful for because it meant she could focus on what she was doing.

The fact that she even wanted to be in the same room with Rachel brought a smile to Rachel's lips.

"Bio-medic stem cells," Rachel raised her eyebrows. No way would that interest Olivia.

"Uncle Will would probably like that article."

Rachel smiled. "Yeah, he probably would."

Olivia shuffled to the cabinet at the end of the room.

"Do you need something?" Rachel sat up to help her.

"No. I want to show you something."

With a sign, Rachel lifted her papers onto the coffee table. She waited. Olivia had opted to stay home with her today instead of going to a baseball game with Hank, instead of going shopping with Will and Tori. Jay was at the District for a few hours. It was just her, Olivia and Freddie.

That little fact made Rachel shift nervously on the floor. She was probably foolish for getting her hopes up that she and Olivia had finally found common ground. But she wanted to think that fact more than anything.

Olivia came back over to her and handed Rachel a magazine.

"What's this?"

"Page 32. 'Cop Shuts Down Fraud of Bio-Medics'." Moving slowly, Olivia sank into the couch as she waited for her brother. He was taking a while, obviously been distracted by something. She laid her cast across her middle. When Rachel lifted her eyebrows, Olivia shrugged. "I read it."

"You did?"

"The article is about my Mom. See for yourself."

Rachel swallowed as she looked down at the journal in her hand. Page 32, an image of her and captioned: Erin Lindsay.

"Dad always used to talk about it. He used to tell me it was one of the bravest things my Mom did."

"He did?" Tears stung Rachel's eyes. Had she really shut down this kind of fraud? "I wish I remembered."

Olivia was silent behind her. Then she spoke. "I remember quite a lot of things."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Dad helped me remember some. Like how you used to take me to the District and let me play on the computer. Or how you used to drag Dad on long walks. He never liked that."

Rachel laughed and glanced back to the journal. Olivia had saved it all this time. She'd memorized the title of it, even though she probably didn't understand what it meant. Now, she'd shared it. Emotions stirred inside of Rachel.

"Yeah, your Dad is a city boy, huh?"

A smile split Olivia's face. "That's what Uncle Will says too." Her smiled dropped a little. "Maybe we could start doing things together like we used to."

Hope welled inside of Rachel. More than anything, she wanted to bridge the gap between them, but she didn't want to do anything to cause Olivia to pull back. This was a first step. A big step. So, instead of reaching for her daughter and drawing her close like she really wanted to do, she flashed her an over-elaborate grin. "I'd like that very much."

The sound of the doorbell broke their eye contact and Olivia looked up.

"I thought Dad was at the District?"

"He is," Rachel answered, her brow furrowing. "I'll get it."

Two men dressed in suits stood on the other side of the door when Rachel pulled it open.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

The taller of the two men pulled ID from his breast pocket. "Ma'am. I'm Super Intendant Corson. This is Detective Peters. We're out-of-town PD. Are you Mrs Halstead?"

Rachel pushed the door open wider. Out of town Detectives? Did Jay know they were here? Her tingling fingers gripped the door as fear ran the length of her spine. "Actually, the name is Wilson. What's this about?"

The second Detective's eyes narrowed. "I recognize you from the newspaper."

"That's right," the other one said, recognition flickering onto his expression. "The press conference. You're the woman who can't remember her past."

Jeez, weren't police officers supposed to offer empathy? She doubted they were here to chat about her picture in the tabloids. "What can I do for you? Does Jay know you're here?"

Detective Corson flashed a smile. "We have a few questions about your accident the other day." He ignored her second question.

The accident. Silly of her to be on edge so quickly. Stepping back, she gestured inside. "Come in."

Shoes clicked the floor behind her on the hardwood floor as the men followed Rachel into the lounge. Olivia sat up from her spot on the couch.

"Detectives, this is my- Olivia… my daughter." She'd said it so many times to herself, but still struggled to say it in front of other people. "Olivia' these men have a few questions about the accident."

Peters stepped closer to the couch. "That's a cool cast. They didn't have casts like that when I was a kid. You gonna color it in?"

"My little brother is," Olivia said bluntly.

"It'll be off before you know it," The Detective didn't seem to get that Olivia wasn't in the mood to talk with him. More to the point, she was confused as to why Detectives (that weren't her dad, or any of her dad's colleagues) were in her house. "How are you feeling?" he continued.

"Fine."

Detective Corson flipped out a notepad. "Ms Wilson, can you tell us where you went on Thursday?"

"I was here in the morning. We drove into the city. We parked at Jay's work and then Olivia and I walked downtown."

"How long were you away from the vehicle?" he asked, jotting down what she was saying.

"I'm not sure exactly. A few hours, maybe."

"Did Mr Halstead drive the vehicle after you left it at his place of work?"

"I don't think he did, no."

He continued to make notes. "Did Mr Halstead know you were driving his car?"

"Of course he did. He told me to take it instead of my own. He knew I was going to drive us home."

A nod from the police officer. "So he knew you'd be alone in the car?"

"I guess so," her eyes narrowed. She was reluctant to say too much, why hadn't Jay warned them they were gonna be questioned? She gulped; unless he didn't know?

Peters stepped next to Corson. "We're just following up on some conflicting information. Are you living here, Ms Wilson?"

Rachel's adrenaline jumped. "Not exactly. You've obviously read about me in the newspapers. We're taking time as a family to get to know each other again."

"Of course," Peters spoke. "How would you classify your relationship with Mr Halstead?"

"I don't know how to answer that." Nervous tension ran through her. These questions were so vague. "What does this have to do with my accident?"

"Are you aware of Mr Halstead's insurance company, and their complaints for him to repay the money he collected after you supposedly died?" Corson asked.

Her stomach clenched. So this was why she'd been sent out-of-town officers: out of the situation, but not out of the loop. "No. He didn't mention it."

"He probably didn't want to worry you. Do you know how much that claim was for, Ms Wilson?" When she shook her head, he raised his brow. "A million dollars."

Rachel's eyes widened before she could say anything.

"You know, that's a lot of money." She'd lost track of which officer was talking now, and she didn't really care. "Even for a man like Jay Halstead. Especially five years ago."

Rachel felt sick. She knew where this was going and turned towards her daughter. "Olivia, go upstairs with your brother."

Olivia got up slowly from the couch. "Mom-"

She ushered Olivia towards the stairs. "It's okay. I'll be upstairs in a minute." She waited until she heard the familiar creaking of the floorboards on the stairs before she spoke again. "If you're trying to imply that Jay had anything to do with my accident-"

"The brake line on his car was punctured," Peters said.

"What?"

"Four holes. Too evenly spaced to be from a rock or anything. We pulled the vehicle from the water this morning. You lucked out. If you'd gone in anywhere else along that highway, you'd have dropped right into the ocean and drowned before any help got there."

Rachel eased herself onto the arm of the couch. Somebody had tampered with the car.

Somebody had intentionally tried to hurt her. And Olivia in the process.

"It ould have taken a little while for the brake fluid to drip away, which is probably why the brakes didn't go out right away," Corson added. "Whoever punctured the line knew that."

"Ms Wilson, did you drive Mr Halstead's car on Tuesday morning?"

Rachel's brain was a mess of confusing thoughts. "No."

"Did Mr Halstead?"

"Um," Why was she having trouble thinking clearly? Tuesday… she'd spent Monday night here. The following morning, they'd gone to see Katherine Kelly's home. She'd had her CAT scan. They'd gone to her house and had sex. She swallowed. "Yes. He went to his office for an hour that morning, I think."

"Was he alone?"

"I have no idea."

The cops exchanged glances.

"Do you know this woman?" Corson asked, handing her a photograph.

Rachel studied the picture before shaking her head. "No. Should I?"

"Her name is Katherine Kelly. Her body was found yesterday."

Rachel looked up in a flash.

"A black car matching the one we pulled from the bay was spotted in front of her house around the estimated time of death. In the morning, around 9am.

No. That wasn't right. Her and Jay had gotten a late start. They hadn't reached Katherine Kelly's houseboat until the afternoon. She swallowed the constant lump in her throat, unsure what to tell them. She also didn't want to give much away. "You must be wrong," she replied.

Peters handed her another photo. "How about this man? Do you recognize him at all?"

Rachel's eyes grew stalks when she looked at the photograph of Dan. His dark steel-grey eyes stared back at her. Fear trickled down her throat. "Yes. Why?"

"Daniel McMorris was a silent partner in a Canadian pharmaceutical company that the CPD recently got to," he said coldly. "The out of town squad pulled his body from the bay last week."

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