A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! I truly appreciate them. :) See the first chapter for the disclaimer. The title of this chapter is from "Down Poison" by 3 Doors Down. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review. :)

Chapter 14: "Welcome to My World," She Said, Separated World

The sunlight peeked across the morning sky as they passed the border into Rhode Island, with Allie fidgeting nervously in the passenger seat. The night had shaken them both up, knowing that she had barely escaped her apartment with her life. And now… now she was going back to the one place she'd tried so hard to avoid since she'd left.

Her hometown.

Cranston, Rhode Island.

She tried to shake the thought from her head, but found herself unable to. Jamie sensed this, and reached across the shifter to cover her hand with his. "It's gonna be okay," he told her softly.

"Well, while we're down this way, can we at least stop for breakfast?" she asked, ignoring him. "There's this little place down by the beach that's incredible."

"Okay."

The ride was silent, except for Allie's occasional directions to the diner. And after getting their breakfasts, the two sat down on the sidewalk, their feet dangling over the ledge toward the sand below. The sun was slowly rising over the water as they sipped their coffee.

"What's on your mind?" he asked softly.

"I think this trip was a bad idea," she replied, biting into her bagel.

"…because…?"

"Because. You don't understand what it was like, Jamie. And now, we're here, dredging up all these memories that I thought I'd buried, shortly after I lost my home to a fire set by my crazy ex-husband."

Jamie shrugged. "I don't know. I think some things aren't meant to stay buried."

"Like Joe's death?" she asked, looking over at him.

"Murder," he corrected.

"Right. Murdered by the Blue Templar. A story you still haven't told me."

Jamie shifted as they sat along the shore, their breakfast eaten and coffee not yet finished. "I think we should take a walk," he said, pulling his feet up.

"Okay, Master of the Bad Segue," Allie replied, standing. The two walked down the steps to the sand, walking along the ocean's edge. "You want my story, I think I deserve one of yours," she said, taking a drink from her coffee.

Jamie sighed softly. "Back when my grandpa was on the force, the police department had several bad cops. So a group of good cops, they got together and formed the Blue Templar, as a way to police the police."

"Instead of Internal Affairs?"

"More like, in addition to IA. And for a while, they did a good job at cleaning things up. Then, it got to the point where people were just telling stories. Eventually, by the time Danny joined up, they were a group of guys who were drinking, partying, and who knows what else. Which was one step above where they ended up: a group of thieves who ripped off drug dealers. Joe was recruited by the FBI to infiltrate them, but the Templar made him."

"So, they killed him," Allie surmised sadly.

"Yeah," Jamie said, taking a drink from his coffee.

Allie reached over, putting her hand on his arm.

He gave her a small smile in return. "Anyway, we took them down a few years back, without the FBI," he continued. "And that was the end of them."

"Must've been a good feeling, taking out the bastards that killed your brother," she said.

"Your parents are still around?" Jamie asked, changing the subject.

She shrugged. "Who knows? I guess we'll find out a little later, huh?"

"Yeah."

She took another drink as the two of them continued to walk the beach.

"The Providence Airport."

Allie smirked slightly as she put her purse down on the bed. "Yeah, what about it?" she said.

"Why is it called the Providence airport?" Jamie asked, putting his duffel bag down in the chair in the room. "It's not even in Providence."

She tilted her head slightly. "Technically, it's called T.F. Green Airport."

"But, its airport code is PVD."

"Right."

"But, it's not in Providence."

Allie shrugged. "It's close enough."

"It's two cities over," he said.

"It's Rhode Island," she said. "Two cities over is less than ten minutes away."

"This state doesn't make any sense."

"Oh, and New York does?"

"You have a state with 8 cities, 20 something towns, and none of them make sense. Like, how do you have an East Greenwich and a West Greenwich, but no Greenwich? North Kingstown and South Kingstown, but no Kingstown?"

"There is, however, a Kingston," she pointed out.

"And then, there's Providence," he continued, moving toward the bathroom. "There's Providence, North Providence, and East Providence, but no South Providence or West Providence."

"Well, there kinda is a South Providence, but not one you'd find on a map. Or that you'd probably not want to find at all, for that matter."

"Who the hell named these towns?"

She shrugged again. "Probably the same person who named the Big Blue Bug."

Jamie stopped, poking his head out of the bathroom. "I'm sorry, the what?"

"I'll show you on the way to the mall," she said.

"We're going to the mall?" he asked.

"Unless you want me wearing your clothes," she gently reminded him.

"Frankly, I'd prefer…"

She put her finger over his lips before he finished that thought. "Behave."

He nodded, kissing her finger gently. When she pulled her hand away, he said, "shall we go?"

"Yeah," she breathed.

He took her hand and led her out of the room.

After shopping, the pair went back to the hotel room so Allie could change into fresh clothes. She sat down on the bed next to Jamie, who was watching the news. "Good weather today," he mentioned to her. "Should we go for a drive?"

She sighed heavily. "Yeah, let's do this," she told him, standing.

"You can drive," he offered.

She shook her head.

He took his hand in hers as they walked outside to the car. A short time and a few directions later, they found themselves in front of a house. From the outside, it looked perfect: two stories, well-manicured lawn and perfectly painted exterior. And though she hadn't been here in what felt like decades, she had an idea what they'd find on the inside.

Ruin.

Jamie squeezed her hand as they stood on the edge of the sidewalk, just looking at the house. Allie took a deep breath. "I'm not sure they still live here," she said softly.

Jamie nodded, saying nothing.

"Hell, I'm not even sure they're alive at all. I don't think anyone talks to them. I think Alex might've been the last one to hear from them, and I'm willing to bet that was more than 10 years ago."

Jamie nodded again, watching the house before them.

The front door creaked open, and an older woman walked outside. "Excuse me, this is private property," she said. "I think you both need to leave."

Allie flinched slightly. "Theresa," she said to the older woman.

Jamie looked between Allie and Theresa, noting the family resemblance.

Theresa narrowed her eyes. "Catalina?" she asked.

"No," Allie replied.

"Then, you must be Amalia. I almost guessed that first."

"I haven't been Amalia in years," Allie said softly.

"Oh, I know. You changed your name when you decided you were too good to associate with us anymore."

Allie inhaled sharply before sighing.

"You, and Alessandro, and Catalina, and Carmine. All of you changed your names the moment you were taken away from us. And now you want to come back here, and act like we're family?" Theresa stepped forward, pulling the bat out from behind her back and shaking it toward Allie. "Get your ass off my property. And don't you ever come back."

Allie nodded, moving back toward the car. Jamie, however, chose to hold his ground.

"You too," Theresa said, swinging the bat toward him.

"Ma'am, I'm a police officer," he told her.

She scoffed. "Not for Cranston, you're not. And I highly doubt you have any jurisdiction in Rhode Island at all. So, I suggest you take your stupid little ass, and that poor excuse for a supposed child of mine, and go back to whatever hole you crawled out of."

Jamie shook his head. "You have a good day, ma'am."

She spun around, heading back toward the house. "Go to hell."

Jamie got back in the car, driving away with Allie in the passenger seat.

"That place was a prison," Allie told him some time later as they sat on a park bench, eating the takeout they'd gotten. "That's why we all changed our names. We all wanted a fresh start from the hell we'd gone through."

"Aaron never knew you changed your name, did he?" Jamie asked.

Allie shook her head. "If he had, he would've pushed harder for me to do it again."

Jamie scoffed lightly. "Your mother is a piece of work."

"That's one way of putting it."

"So, what was Michelle's birth name?"

"Michelina. And I hate that they were able to stay under her skin."

"Theresa said you all were taken away from her."

Allie pushed a piece of food around with her fork. "Alex, the day he turned 18, made a complaint about my parents to DCYF. They investigated, and pulled us out of the home. I ended up with Alex. Katie and Kevin, they went to one group home while Michelle went to another. But, by then, Michelle… she was too far down that dark path. She never could recover."

Jamie nodded solemnly.

"She was the only one that didn't have another one of us to lean on," Allie continued. "She was alone in her foster home. I mean, I was 15 when they split us up, and pretty much five feet from being emancipated, so that's why they left me with Alex. They weren't going to break up the twins, so Kevin and Katie stayed together. But Michelle… she was 12 and had nowhere else to go. I think my father kept reaching out to her, but I never could prove it."

"Were they not supposed to?" Jamie asked.

"There was a no-contact order for a while," Allie replied. "I think that lapsed after five years."

"Is this the first time you'd reached out to them?"

"Yeah. And I regret even going over there."

"I'm sorry. If I had known…"

"It's okay. Besides, I'd rather see Theresa than Luciano."

"Given all the names, I'm assuming Daniels was not your original last name."

"Dattoli."

Jamie nodded. "Amalia Dattoli."

Allie nodded, taking a bite of her food.

"Guess I was dead-on with Leah then, huh?" Jamie said with a smirk.

Allie smirked lightly, rolling her eyes and playfully shoving Jamie.

Jamie put his arm around her shoulders, kissing her gently on the side of the head. "I love you," he told her. "I'm sorry your childhood was hell, and I'm sorry being with Aaron was hell, but I promise you, as long as I'm around, I will never hurt you."

Allie rested her head against his shoulder. "I know," she replied. "I love you too."

He smiled, pulling her closer as they sat on the bench and watched the people in the park.