"Hey, Dad, can me and Sean go over to Clay and Patrick's house Friday night?" Jack asked as the Reagans sat around eating dinner. "Mom said it's ok with her if it's ok with you. Their dad bought tickets to the Jets game Saturday morning."

Danny looked to Linda. "We've got to go to Dad's keynote at the Garden."
"Oh I forgot!" Linda exclaimed.

"You know what, I'll call him after dinner and see if I can get you two a pass."
"What about me?" Millie asked.

"Grandpa would be crushed if you didn't go watch him wear his shiny shoes."
Millie smiled. "So would Mr. Jim."

As promised, Danny called Frank after dinner who happily gave the boys a pass to miss his speech. Jack and Sean couldn't be more excited, and Millie was happy to just hang out with Danny and Linda. The kids made it through the remainder of the week at school with no hiccups. They had a countdown going each morning until Winter break, so they were happy to bound out of bed each morning and mark the day off the calendar.
"When are you going to finalize your Christmas lists?" Linda asked Friday morning as they drove to school.

"This weekend. Promise," Sean smiled.

"I'm done," Jack said. "I just have to give mine to Pop.

"Millie? You haven't written a thing. What do you want?"

"Still thinking."

"Well," Linda said as she pulled up at the school, "try to think a little about your school work today too while you're thinking of your Christmas list."

"Ok."

"Jack, Sean, you're going straight home with Clay and Patrick, right?"
"Right."
"Be good. I'll see you sometime tomorrow after the game. Just tell Ms. Hammerson to call me and I'll come get you."
"Ok. Love you, Mom!"
"And Millie?"
"Yes ma'am?"
"Either me or Uncle Danny will pick you up right after school. Ok?"
"Ok."

Millie was so excited when Danny did arrive to pick her up she was about to bounce out of her skin. "Mr. Uncle Danny! Mr. Uncle Danny!" she yelled as she waved at him in the car line.

"Millicent Reagan, I need you to walk, please," Sister Frederick said with her ever disapproving eye. "And stop shouting. We are not at a football game."

"Yes, Sister," Millie grumbled as she walked quickly to Danny's Jeep and jumped in.

"Hey Mil! Good day?"

"I know what I want for Christmas!" Millie exclaimed.

"Oh. Ok. Buckle up and tell me."

Millie fumbled with her seatbelt as Danny drove off slowly. "A cotton candy machine!" she finally squealed when she finally got the buckle secured.

"A cotton candy machine?"

"We had one at school today. A shiny red one. And we made little cotton candies on a stick and it was AMAZING!" It was at that moment that Danny realized the reason for Millie's wide-open eyes, huge smile, and non-stop chatter. Sugar high. He zoned out for a few minutes while she rattled on and on and only snapped back when he heard, "Mr. Uncle Danny! Mr. Uncle Danny!"

"Yeah? I'm sorry. What, Mil?"
"Do you think Santa will bring me one?"
"I don't know, Mil. He might. Put it on your list for Pop and we'll see."

The following morning, Millie, Danny, and Linda were up and dressed by 9am on their way into the city for Frank's speech. Traffic was a nightmare, so they had plenty of time to revisit the Christmas list situation.

"Have you done any more thinking, Mil?" Linda asked.

"I have. I'm finished." She stretched forward to hand them her list. Linda held it up so she and Danny could both take a look.

"Help me out here," Danny said. "I'm driving. What's it say?"

"I want a cotton candy machine, a big elephant, and a grey boggan."

"A big elephant?"
"I looked on Jack's phone and told him I wanted a elephant and he showed me one that's Millie-sized."

"Of course he did," Linda muttered.

"Mil, don't you already have a grey boggan?"

"Yes sir."
"So you want another color?"

"No. I like grey. It's my favorite."

Danny looked to Linda and shrugged as she chuckled.

"One grey boggan it is. Oh look, we're here! Let's go find Grandpa."

"How about we hit the bathroom before we go find a seat," Linda suggested as they began walking inside.

"Ok. I'm going to go find everybody. I think they are in Section 201."

"We'll be right there," Linda said as she and Millie detoured in the bathroom. Millie went in first and was out before Linda. Instead of waiting inside, as instructed, she walked out and stood outside the door, feeling incredibly grown up.

"Millicent Rose Reagan, I thought I told you to stand inside!" Linda said, with a disapproving look.

"It was crowded. I didn't move. I stood right here the whole time."

"Well, I'm glad you did. Let's go find Daddy."

"And Grandpa."

"And Grandpa," Linda smiled.

They quickly found the Reagan clan and exchanged greetings as they waited to see Frank on the stage. "Hey, there's Pop!" Millie squealed as she saw Henry already sitting on the stage, in full uniform. She took off before Danny could catch her and ran up front. "Hi Pop!"

"Hey, Peanut!" Henry smiled. "Where's everybody else?"

"Back there," Millie said, pointing to the crowd.

"You better go get back there with them," he said. "We're about to get started in about ten more minutes… as soon as your Grandpa gets out here."

"Ok," Millie shrugged.

On her way back through the crowd, a gentleman on the end of the row stopped her.

"Millie Curatola!" Millie stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him. "You're Jackie's daughter, right? I knew her."

"Yes. But my name is Millie Reagan now."

"Where do you go to school, Millie Reagan?"
"St. Mary's."

"Oh. Are you in kindergarten?"

"I am."

"Millie!" Danny yelled from the back, "come on!"

"Gotta go."

Millie ran back to where all of the Reagans were. "Hey, don't run off. Not cool." Danny instructed.

"Mr. Uncle Danny, my name's still Millie Reagan, right?"

"Of course. Why?"

"Cause some guy just called me Millie Curatola."

Danny's blood ran cold. "What?"

"That man up there. He said he knew Mama."

"Who Millie? Show me."
"He's right…" Millie pointed up to the only empty seat on the end of the row in front of them. "He was right there."

"What'd he look like?"
"He was like Simeon's daddy. Only bigger."

"Was he a cop?"

"I don't think so. He wasn't wearing a badge. He did have a little patch on his shirt but I don't know what it said. It was black and white.

"Listen to me," Danny said as he bent down right in front of her, "do NOT run off again. Do you understand? You stay right beside me at all times today. Copy?"

"Copy."

Danny's strict warning lasted a whole two minutes. Millie's eyes once again lit up when she saw Frank walk in with Jim.

"Mr. Jim!" she took off down the side aisle and ran straight to the stage where Jim was standing.

"Millie! What did I just tell that kid?!" Danny grumbled as he stepped around Linda and his sister and headed to retrieve his wayward kid. "Jamie keep eyes on her til I get up there."

"What is that all about?" Erin asked Linda.

"I don't know. But I know that walk."

Danny walked up and grabbed Millie by the arm. "What did I just tell you?"

"But it's Mr. Jim!"

"Let's go," he led her out a side door.

A few minutes later, Danny returned with a sniffling Millie. "Sit," he directed as he sat to the empty seat in between Linda and Erin. Eddie looked over at the poor little girl who was wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her grey knit dress as fast as the tears could come out, and then looked to Jamie with sad eyes. He just shrugged, as confused as everyone else.

"Ok," Linda whispered as the program started. "What is going on? What just happened?"

"She ran off after I told her not to. So, I took her outside and we had… a discussion."

"You did not seriously just spank that child in public."

"I sure did."
"Danny Reagan, the only time you've ever spanked Millie is when she nearly got hit by a car. I don't see any cars here. What in the world is going on?"

"I just told her to stay by me and she took off again."
"It's Jim, Danny. You know she's always going to run to Jim. And she's surrounded by a sea of blue. What are you not telling me?"
"We'll talk about it later."

The Reagans sat, uncomfortably, throughout Frank's speech. Thankfully, he kept it short, as he took one look at the looks on their faces and knew this was not the day to be long-winded. When everything was complete, they congratulated Frank and Henry who definitely had questions. "I'll call you later, Dad," Danny assured him.

"Good job, Frank," Linda smiled. "The speech was amazing." She looked down to Millie who stood beside her, staring at her feet. "Mil, want to give Grandpa and Pop a hug before we leave?"

Millie put an arm around Frank and her other arm around Henry. "Can I go home with you tonight?"

Frank and Henry both chuckled as they looked up to Danny.

"No chance, Missy. You and I need to have a talk. Let's roll," Danny looked to the family as he, Linda, and Millie, turned to leave. "We'll see you guys at church tomorrow."

When the Reagans got home, they all took a seat on the couch.
"Now," Linda said as Millie snuggled beside her. "Would you two like to explain what went on today?"
"Mr. Uncle Danny's mad at me because I went to see Mr. Jim."

"Wrong-o!" Danny exclaimed. "Mil, you didn't get in trouble today because you went to see Mr. Jim. Your weird fascination with Dad's #1 henchman is actually quite cute. You got in trouble because about two seconds after I told you NOT to do something, you went off and did it."
"But it was Grandpa and Mr. Jim."

"But just like last time, I told you. You have to listen to me and Aunt Linda when we tell you something or you could get hurt."

"But how was I going to get hurt? There were no cars in there."

Linda chuckled as she looked to Danny with an "I told you the same thing," look.

"I know there were no cars in there… but there were lots of people that we didn't know, right?"

"Right."
"And any one of those people could've thought you were as cool as me and Aunt Linda and took you to live at their house and then there would be nobody here to take care of Phil and Gus."

"Mr. Uncle Danny…" Millie rolled her eyes.

"It's true. No more running off. Copy?"
"Copy."

"Good. Now, can you go upstairs and change into some play clothes and then bring us down one thing to play with while me and Aunt Linda have a talk real quick?"
"Ok."
Millie skipped off upstairs. "What are you not telling me?" Linda asked.

"Millie said someone stopped her and asked her if she was Millie Curatola."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know. When she went to point him out, he was gone. But she said he was very large, black, and wearing a black and white patch."
"Well surely it wasn't anything bad. I mean, there were a ton of cops there today. It could've just been somebody Jackie worked with."

"Could have."

"But you don't believe that?"

"I just got a bad feeling. I don't want that kid out of our sight for the time being. I think we should keep the public outings with the Commissioner to a minimum."

"Ok."

"Have you talked to Frank?"
"Not yet. I figured I'd catch a minute with him tomorrow after dinner."

The Reagans laid low for the next few weeks. Linda and the kids were excused from public speaking events with the Commissioner. As Jim's birthday neared, Millie begged Linda to take her to the store after school.

"Mom! It's the last day of school! Can we just stay home?" Sean asked.

"Yeah!" Millie agreed. "We can go to the store now and buy Mr. Jim's cupcakes!"

"No way. The three of you are going to school and I'm going to work."

"Can we go after school today? Please? It's very important. Mr. Jim needs a birthday."

"Yes. We'll go as soon as school gets out, then we'll call Det. Baker and see if Mr. Jim is working and you and me will run to 1PP. Sound good?" Millie's eyes lit up as she nodded emphatically. "Did you finish his card?"

"I did. Unless you change your mind and let me use glitter."

"Uh no. I think it's good without the glitter."

Linda made her way back upstairs to finish getting ready as the kids sat down for breakfast. Danny came in shortly after to get some coffee. "Mr. Uncle Danny, can we stay home with you today?"

"What?"
"It's the last day of school before break. We could just break today," Sean smiled. "Come on. We won't be doing anything anyway and we can just have fun here!"

"Hmmm…" Danny pretended to contemplate the suggestion. "I think if I skip work and you guys skip school, we'll all be in a world of trouble."

"Who's in a world of trouble?" Linda asked as she made her way back into the kitchen to rush them along.

"Me and these three if we play hooky today."
Linda crossed her arms and looked at them. "Playing Mom against Dad?"

"No playing," Jack smiled, "just asking. Come on guys, let's go." The kids all chuckled as they got up and grabbed their backpacks and headed out.

"Have a good day," Danny said as he gave each of the boys a high-five. "I'll see you this afternoon."

Millie stopped for a hug. "Love you, Mr. Uncle Danny."
"Love you too. Be good today." Danny had no idea at that time what terror was about to befall the Reagan family.