Christmas was only five weeks away and I still hadn't gone shopping. I had no clue what to get anybody. Danny and I both had work tomorrow but I only had to do paperwork. The Sarge and Danny still wouldn't let me do much because I got tired rather quick. My strength and stamina still weren't quite back up to par. It only took me two or three hours to finish it all, so I figured I would go shopping tomorrow after I was done with my paperwork. Well, more like once I was done with Danny and Jackie's paperwork. Sarge told me that I would be allowed to go back on the job after New Year's and took a training test to prove that I was back up to speed, so that meant I was still stuck doing paper work. The best days were when I didn't have any paper work to do and Danny and Jackie let me drive them around. Jackie and I always made Danny sit in the back and he always complained that since it was "his" car then he should get to sit up front. That never worked though.
I looked at the clock and sighed. I still had an hour before I could leave. It was Tuesday and Danny was going to be working late tonight, so after my shift I was going to pick up Kyle, the boy who had the leg operation. He had gone through a whole year of physical therapy and could now walk with the help of a cane. I had promised his brother, Mack, that I would bring Kyle to see him once he could walk, and I was following through on my promise. Danny had made Kyle's hit and run case one of his side projects. He was keeping up with it when he wasn't working and sometimes he would bring case files home and we would go over them together. Since I had been off work for quite some time I had had plenty of time to go and visit Kyle. He was doing really well. He had been walking with a cane for almost three weeks now and the doctor said that in a few more months, with the help of more physical therapy, he would be able to walk without the cane. He would have a bit of a limp but that was to be expected.
A cup of coffee was sat down in front of me and I looked up to see Danny. I smiled at him,
"Thanks." He leaned down and kissed my cheek,
"I figured you could use it."
"You figured right." He sat down next to me, "Aren't you supposed to be working right now? Chasing a lead or something?" He chuckled,
"I'm allowed to have a five minute break aren't I?" I shook my head with a smile. "When you take Kyle to see his bother tell Mack that I'm meeting with a lawyer who thinks she can get Kingery on the hit run."
"He'll be happy to hear that." He smirked at me,
"Figured it would brighten up is day."
"Reagan, let's go! We've got a lead!" Danny sighed and I chuckled,
"Your handler's calling." He shoved me a little,
"Jackie is not my handler." I laughed as he leaned down and kissed me once, "Tell Kyle I said hello, and I'll see ya when I get home."
"Will do." After Danny and Jackie left, and my shift was over, I headed over to the neighbors house where Kyle was living. I knocked on the door and after a few minutes the door opened and revealed a grinning Kyle standing all by himself with his cane.
"Hi Kyla!" I leaned down and hugged the boy,
"Hey Kyle, did you walk all the way over just to open the door for me?" He nodded vigorously and Mrs. Pierce just laughed,
"He told us all day that when you got here he wanted to be the one to open the door." I laughed,
"Well I'm very proud of you. You've come a long way." He smiled that sweet smile that only a child can do,
"So have you." He took hold of my hand and swung it a little. He was thirteen years old now but you wouldn't know it. He was small and very shy. It took him two weeks to talk to me without feeling nervous. It took him even longer to talk to Danny. He was still a child at heart. Still a sweet little boy. After I had came out of my coma he and the Pierce's came to visit me and there were a few times where our physical therapy sessions would overlap. He had been a confidence booster just as Danny had. Always telling me that I could do it and that I was getting better every visit. This little shy boy with a big heart was going to do great things. I kissed the top of his head,
"We both have. Oh, Danny wanted me to tell you that he say hello. He has to work a late shift tonight or else he would have come with me." He smiled,
"Could we call him if he isn't too busy?" I chuckled,
"I think we could do that. First though we need to go visit your brother." His smile fell a little and he nodded, "Hey, it's gonna be alright." He merely nodded his head. I looked at Mrs. Pierce who gave me a sad smile and mouthed that he misses him. I nodded before taking hold of his free hand and we headed toward the car. It was a fifteen minute drive to the prison and Kyle hadn't said a word. I thought about calling Danny now, he always made Kyle laugh.
"Do you think… he'll be happy to see me?" I glanced at him and saw that he was looking out the window,
"I know he will be. Kyle, you didn't make him go into that store and try to rob those people. He was desperate and in his mind that was his only option. He doesn't blame you and he loves you dearly." I heard him let out a small sigh,
"Okay…" We pulled up to the prison and parked before heading inside. I showed them my badge and gave them my gun before we were taking to what was normally an interrogation room. I had been given special permission to have a room where the two brothers could be alone, with me in the room of course, and no cuffs or chains. Kyle and I waited in the small room while they went to get Mack. He started to fidget nervously. I took hold of his hand and squeezed it,
"Relax, it's all going to be just fine. You'll see." A few minutes later the door opened and a guard brought Mack in. He looked different from the last time I had seen him. He was much more built now and his hair was buzzed. He also looked older. He didn't look so much like the scared young man that was trying to rob a store to help his brother. For a moment the two just stood there staring at one another. Mack was in shock and it was clear as day on his face. Kyle swallowed hard before he slowly walked over to him. After his third step Mack broke down. He fell to his knees and cried. When Kyle reached him Mack wrapped his arms tightly around his baby brother. Kyle dropped his cane and hugged him back just as tightly. I smiled at the sight, Mack may be tougher now but he is still the same man on the inside. He's still that loveable brother that Kyle needed so desperately.
Eventually they pulled away and Mack asked how he felt, how living with the Pierce's was, if he was doing well in school. Kyle answered all of his questions and in the end Mack looked at me and gave me this tired, but grateful, look. He stood up and took hold of Kyle's hand and made his way toward me. Before I knew it he pulled me into a hug and whispered,
"Thank you." I hugged him back,
"I always keep my promises." When he pulled back he smiled at me,
"You're a good person Kyla. You and Danny both." I chuckled,
"So are you. You're a good brother Mack. Don't doubt that." Kyle grinned up at him and nodded his head,
"You're the best big brother I could ever have." Mack hugged him again,
"And you're the best little brother a guy could ask for." I looked at Mack with a more serious look,
"Danny wanted me to tell you that he's meeting with a lawyer who thinks she can get Kingery on the hit run." I saw an angry look flash in his eyes but in seconds it was quelled with a tired and relieved look,
"Good, then he can't hurt anymore people." He pulled Kyle into another hug and tried not to cry again. I sat down at the table and let the brothers have their moment. For the next twenty minutes they got caught up and talked about what would happen next. Mack still had a lot of time left and probably would be in prison until Kyle got out of high school. Kyle would continue to stay with Pierce's and continue homeschooling for the rest of middle school. By high school he may be able to walk well enough on his own that he could actually go to a high school.
When it was time to go the two brothers had a hard time parting. They cried and Kyle promised to write and visit him as much as possible. Mack was going to do his best to get out early. I reminded him that with good behavior he could get out early and that he needed to stay away from fights and gangs while he was in here. His brother was taken out and I was left with Mack,
"Remember what you're fighting for." He nodded his head,
"Thank you… and tell Danny thanks as well. You've both done so much for us." He glanced at his brother who was being entertained by one of the guards, "He really looks up to you and Danny. I'm his brother but you two… he looks at you like he should've been able to look at our parents." He squeezed his shoulder,
"You'll make it out of here, and when you do you're going to start over. You, Kyle, and the Pierces. I'll give them your address so he can write you." He nodded again and swallowed before hugging me one more time,
"Thanks." And with that Mack was taken back into custody and escorted back to his cell. Kyle and I headed back to the car. There was some sadness to his eyes but I mostly saw happiness. When we got into the car he looked at me,
"You were right Kyla, he was happy to see me." I laughed,
"Of course he was!" I chuckled before I thought of something, "Hey, are you hungry?" He nodded, "How about we stop and get something. What sounds good, pizza or a hamburger?"
"Hamburger!" I laughed,
"Okay, hamburger it is." He grinned at me and his face lit up as something crossed his mind,
"Can we call Danny now?" I chuckled,
"Yes we can call Danny now." I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. I put it on speaker phone when I heard him pick up, "Hey Danny, you got a second?"
"Yeah what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. Someone just wanted to say hi." I handed the phone to Kyle who grinned,
"Hi Danny!" Danny laughed,
"Hey buddy how's it going?"
"Good, I just saw Mack."
"How is Mack?"
"He's good. We got to talk and he gave me a lot of hugs." I knew Danny was grinning on the other end and so was I as I pulled out of the prison.
"That's great! You gonna write to him?"
"Yup! I'm gonna write to him every day." Danny chuckled,
"I'm sure he'll like that. You and Kyla having fun?" I smirked,
"He's with me Danny, of course he's having fun!" Danny and Kyle both laughed,
"Yeah, we're having fun. We're going to get hamburgers!" I heard Danny groan,
"Aw, no fair. I want a hamburger." I laughed and so did Kyle,
"You should come with us!"
"I wish I could buddy but I'm stuck at work still." I cleared my throat a bit,
"How did that lead go?"
"Not good, we didn't get anywhere. We came back to the precinct and are going through some of the suspects priors." Kyle stuck his tongue out,
"That sounds boring." Danny laughed,
"It is boring." I chuckled,
"Well, we'll let you get back to work."
"Bye Danny!"
"Bye Kyle!"
"Love you Danny."
"Love you too baby girl." And with that we hung up. When we pulled up the little burger joint near his house he couldn't have been happier. He sat there happily munching away on french-fries we asked me something that completely caught me off guard,
"Kyla, when you and Danny get married will you have kids?" I choked on my burger and took a big drink of water. I could feel my face heating up and rubbed the back of my neck,
"Uh, we, um…we never really talked about it." He tilted his head to the side a little and frowned,
"Do you want to have kids?"
"Um, I suppose so. I mean, I haven't put a whole lot of thought into it. I guess if kids come our way then okay and if not that's fine too. He already has two kids so I don't know. I'm fine with just the two of them." I was starting to ramble now, "Um, what brought that on?" He shrugged,
"I was just thinking that you and Danny would be good parents. You like kids…" He looked down a little and mumbled, "I wish you were my parents." My heart melted,
"Oh buddy, I wish you and Mack were my kids too. I wish I could take care of every child who didn't have a family to love them and take care of them. Your parents are really missing out. They had two of the best kids and just gave up. It got too tough and so they quit. And I'm sorry but you and Mack got caught in the middle of it." He nodded his head and I could see he was still saddened by the thought of his parents leaving them like they did, "Come on, I'll buy you a milkshake before we head back." He smiled at that and we went to the counter where he ordered a chocolate shake.
When we made it back Mrs. Pierce was waiting at the door. She had a smile on her face as we got out. I walked him to the door and before he went in he turned around and gave me a big hug,
"Thanks Kyla, for everything." I chuckled and hugged him back,
"No problem kid." He pulled away and Mrs. Pierce lead him back inside.
As I drove home I thought more about what Kyle had said. Could I be a mother? Not a stepmother but an actual mother? I had thought about it in passing but not like this. I shook my head, Danny and I weren't even married yet for crying out loud! I chuckled to myself,
"Cross that bridge when you get there Kyla." I went home and curled up on the chair where I quickly fell asleep.
Danny couldn't help but smile to himself when he found Kyla fast asleep on the chair. Kyle probably wore her out. He put his coat on the back of one of the kitchen chairs before moving towards her. Gently he lifted her up off the chair; she curled up into him and snuggled down into his chest. He couldn't stop smiling as he carried her toward their room. He pulled back the covers and tucked her in. He brushed her hair out of her face before leaning down and kissing her forehead. Quietly he shut the door behind him before going back into the kitchen. He grabbed a plate and heated up some leftover spaghetti. When the microwave went off so did his phone. He looked at the caller ID and sighed. It was his dad,
"Yeah dad?"
"Danny, could you come over tomorrow after work I'd like to talk to you." Danny pulled the plate out and headed toward the chair that Kyla had been in,
"Dad, can't you just tell me now? I had planned on going home after work tomorrow since I wasn't working late." The line grew quite and through a mouthful of spaghetti Danny asked, "Pop you there?"
"Danny," His father's voice was grave and it unnerved Danny, "you need to come over tomorrow after work." Danny sat his plate on the table beside him,
"Dad, what is it?" He sighed,
"Son, they want her back." Danny's heart raced,
"Who dad?"
"Arbogast." Danny swallowed the lump in his throat and his voice came out as a harsh whisper,
"No…" Frank let out a heavy sigh,
"He wants her back undercover."