Note: I'm so sorry I haven't updated. I'm really going to try to get this finished before the new season starts. Hopefully, someone out there is still interested in how this will end. To recap where we left off: Danny was trying to convince Martin to cover for him for a bit longer while he tries to find out what really happened to Carlos. Elena is feeling betrayed by Danny because he lied to her about seeing Carlos the night he disappeared. Kwon and Feldman are anxious to interrogate Danny about the night he fought with Carlos.

"So….anything?" Jack asked Martin, referring to the alibi check that he'd asked Martin to conduct earlier.

Sitting back in his chair, Martin took a moment to ponder Danny's approach. He knew Jack would be pissed off, but at the very least, he owed Danny a little time. After all, there was a time when Danny had covered for him and had given him time to figure things out. "I'm still working on it. So far, his phone records and financial checks indicate he didn't leave his apartment on Tuesday morning. But I'm still waiting on a few things."

"So what were you guys talking about in here?" Jack asked, skepticism in his tone.

Martin shrugged. "Um, he's taking a pretty hard look at some of Carlos's drug contacts. He just wanted to run some things past me. Danny really seems to think that one of these guys is responsible for Carlos's disappearance. And I really hope he's right."

Nodding, Jack walked to the door. "Me, too," he said as he walked out and headed back to his office.

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While sitting in Jack's office, Danny couldn't control the nervous feeling in his stomach. Looking down, he suddenly realized his knee had been involuntarily bouncing up and down. Even though he knew he hadn't done anything wrong, just the fact that he'd considered doing it made him feel guilty.

Taking a deep breath, Danny tried to calm himself down. Just as he composed himself, his cell phone rang.

"Taylor," he answered.

"Danny? It's Camille. How are you?"

Frowning, Danny resisted the urge to ask who the hell Camille was before actually remembering that it was Martin's friend, Camille, and the attorney who got him the job interview.

"Danny…Danny? You there?" she asked.

"Yeah, yes, I'm here. I'm sorry, Camille. How are you?" he quickly responded in a distracted tone.

"I'm doing well. I have some great news for you. The partners would like to extend an offer to you."

Sighing deeply, Danny sat back in the chair. On one hand he was about to questioned in someone's disappearance, and on the other, he was being offered a dream job at one of the best law firms in Manhattan. Right as he was about to respond, he caught sight of Elena and Sophie walking down the hall. His heart sank as he watched Elena guide Sophie into one of the conference rooms.

"Danny?"

Running a hand over his face, he finally responded. "I'm sorry, Camille. Um, that is…that is amazing news, but you just caught me at a bad time."

"Oh, right, are you in the middle of case?"

"You could say that, yes," Danny answered as he took a short breath.

"Well, tell you what, we're putting the offer together right now. How about if I call you on Monday and we can set up a meeting to discuss it?."

"That's great. Perfect," Danny responded as he watched Jack walk into his office.

"Thanks, Camille." He nodded to Jack as he continued. " Have a good weekend."

"You, too. Bye, Danny."

"Bye."

"You should rethink having a lawyer here," Jack said as he watched Danny put his phone away.

Shaking his head, Danny looked at Jack. "I just want this to be over, so then they can focus on investigating the real reason Carlos is missing."

Nodding, Jack took a seat in his desk chair and then gave Danny a concerned glance. "I noticed that Elena just brought Sophie here."

"Carlos might just be laying low. If he is, then Elena wants to make sure he doesn't have an opportunity to take Sophie again."

"Probably smart," Jack responded quietly and then gently changed the subject. "Martin, uh, filled me in."

Feeling a sense of panic, Danny replied, "Filled you…filled you in on what?"

"That you've found some leads on Carlos's dangerous contacts. After we get through with this interview, I'll do what I can to help you follow up on those."

Swallowing hard, Danny had to fight to keep his composure. If Martin had told Jack what he'd really found out about his alibi, Jack wouldn't be nearly this supportive. "Th…thanks, Jack. I, uh, I think I could be on to something. Carlos has had recent dealings with a Russian crew...the Sergei brothers. They're bad guys and could very well be the reason that Carlos is missing or on the run."

"It would be a crazy kind of irony if by investigating this, we actually help bring Carlos back into Elena's life."

Running a hand over his face in frustration, Danny mumbled, "You have no idea."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Elena took one final look at Sophie before closing the door of the conference room. She'd taken great pains to gently explain to Sophie that everything would be okay, but she felt better about having Sophie at the office with her. So she'd gotten her daughter settled, doing her homework, and now she was going to do what she could to focus on work. The distraction would be welcome since her mind was racing with thoughts of what Danny would have to go through in the interrogation.

Entering the bullpen, Elena approached Sam at her desk. "I'm back. Sophie's here, but I can do some work on the case—"

Turning to face Elena, Sam shook her head. "Not necessary. Viv is on her way to talk our guy's family. Turns out, he's was in major debt to a loan shark in Jersey. He was on the run. It's in the hands of NYPD now."

"Good…I mean, bad for him, but good for us. Do you need me to help with anything? The paperwork?"

"No, I got it. Relax. How's Sophie?" Sam asked, voice full of concern.

Sighing heavily, Elena replied. "She's confused. I didn't want to tell her about Carlos. And I definitely don't want to tell her about Danny."

"Martin says that Danny is pretty sure that he's missing because of his drug connections. I think Martin is doing some background on that right now. Danny will be okay, Elena. He's got nothing to hide."

Realizing that Sam had no idea that Danny had indeed lied to her, Elena decided not to say anything. "Yeah, I just wish that he didn't have to go through any of this, but it's the price he pays for being involved with me and my crazy life."

Rising from her chair, Sam laid her hand on Elena's arm in an attempt to comfort her. "From what I know about Danny, and the changes I've seen in him since you've gotten closer, I think he'd say that he'd pay any price to be a part of your life and Sophie's. This will pass, Elena. And then maybe you can entertain the thought of accepting Danny's roundabout proposal," she said, giving Elena a small smile.

Elena reluctantly returned the smile. She'd completely forgotten that she'd told Samantha about Danny's idea of them moving away and becoming a family. "God, it seems like he and I talked about that ages ago, and it was just a few nights ago. A lot has changed since then, Sam," Elena replied sadly as she thought about Carlos's disappearance and Danny's deception.