Jake Reilly found that his rock bottom was different than he'd expected, different than a lot of people expected these days actually. It wasn't wrapping his car around a light pole, jumping off the bridge like George, or even drinking himself to death. It was a dark, dingy jail cell, locked up for a crime he didn't commit. He remembered how George had described it, that, at first, he'd known he didn't do it, that the police would eventually figure it out too and let him go, but it hadn't happened. Unlike his drunk driving arrest a few weeks earlier, Elijah wasn't here to bail him out. His partner in crime wasn't cooling her heels in the cell next to him. He was alone, reeking of smoke, and so desperate that he couldn't think of a way but up, out. He felt like making deals, with who he didn't know. He and God weren't exactly on speaking terms these days.

Della Bradford paced in the hallway, waiting to be allowed to see her client, scowling at the young male cop who was taking his own time logging her in. Her scowl faded and she hugged the cop that met her there: Robbie Ellis, the chief of detectives, Sydney's ex-husband, and an adopted member of the firm family.

"How is she?" His voice was shaky as they walked in the hall together towards the interrogation room.

"She hasn't woken up yet." Della's smile fell. "Elijah's beside himself. None of us want to lose her, but it hasn't even been a year without Carolyn."

Robbie thought of the last time he'd talked to his ex-wife, on Thanksgiving night when she told him there was no chance for a reconciliation, that they were good friends and she wanted to remain that way. He knew the truth though, had seen it earlier that day at dinner; maybe he'd always known. She'd moved on. While he didn't begrudge her happiness, he couldn't pretend that he was happy with her choice, especially when that choice had a habit of falling across his radar these days. He'd been the one to call Elijah when two of his officers had arrested Jake for driving way over the influence. Now this.

"You know he didn't do this, Robbie." Della said when he let her into the room.

"I know a Molotov cocktail was thrown in through the front window of the office, Della. I know that Anthony and Syd were both hurt, Emerson inhaled too much smoke, and the only reason you and Elijah were safe was you had a case. I know the firm was destroyed and I know that his fingerprints were on the bottle that caused it all. That's what I know."

"You also know that there are several bottles that have been thrown out behind the office with my fingerprints on them. Or Syd's. You were the one that threatened to arrest me for spiking my soda." Jake answered, coming in with cuffs on.

"If I were you, I wouldn't mention her name again. Not where I can hear you." Robbie glared at the other man, wondering again what Sydney saw in him.

"Oh, I forgot. The police are always so honest, forthright, in this city. Never arrest innocent people or make horrible assumptions that ruin people's lives." Jake quipped back angrily.

"Stop it. Both of you," Della said in her best mother voice. "Robbie, I want to talk to my client alone before his bail hearing, please." Robbie walked out, leaving Jake's cuffs on, and Della sighed, sitting across from him.

"Della…" Jake started and then stopped, relenting. "I'm sorry. I know it doesn't look good. I was there, they were my fingerprints on the bottle, I was…" As strained as his relationship with the others was these days, surely they still knew he would never hurt them, especially not Sydney.

"Hush now." Della told him gently, her hand over his larger one. "We know you didn't do it, Jake. We're going to prove it."

"How?" It looked, felt, hopeless from where he was sitting.

"First by getting you released in my custody." She sighed. "Emerson's feeling better. He's helping Briana look at surveillance videos from the area and the cameras Elijah installed earlier this year. That should help."

Jake nodded, remembering the anger, impatience, he felt when he found out that someone was stalking Sydney because of that case, how he'd felt helpless, like there was nothing he could do. It wasn't even his case; she'd worked it second chair to Elijah. All Jake had been able to do was try his best to make sure she was never alone. "Della?" His eyes connected with hers. "How is she? Really?"

"If you hadn't gotten her out…" Emerson and Anthony had both been looking for Sydney, but part of the roof had fallen in on Anthony and Emerson had lost consciousness in the smoke. It was Jake who'd carried her to fresh air and safety, just in the nick of time. "She's a fighter. Always has been. I don't have to tell you that." He nodded. It was one of the things he loved most about her, her stubbornness, tenacity. "I don't think she's leaving Elijah anytime soon."

"He'll be glad to hear that." In the rare moments where he wasn't picturing her during or after the fire, motionless, hurt, still, he saw Thanksgiving night all over again. He'd gone to her for comfort after George and he'd kissed her, only to see Robbie was there. Jake had turned and walked away, starting to drink and not coming up for air since. He wanted to be happy for Sydney, if Robbie was really what she wanted, but he couldn't stop loving her, even if it was unrequited.

"When I get you out of here, I'll take you by. Elijah will be glad to see you." Della was hoping that Sydney would be awake by then. Any minute, the doctors kept saying. To Della's way of thinking, she could almost see that Sydney was trying to chose between being with Carolyn or being with Elijah and it scared her to death, like the thought of losing her own child.

He nodded. "Just tell me what to do."

"Don't act like a lawyer. Let me do the talking. We know you didn't do it. You have a history of helping those in trouble and you have family here. We have to make them see that, not the drunk driving arrest or let him see you as a flight risk."

"I'm not going anywhere," Jake said, determined. More than anything, he wanted out of jail, but it wasn't to run back to Boston. Getting his life back on track, whether or not it was at Strait and Associates, was how he could pay tribute to George, not like this.

"If Robbie is there, keep your mouth closed. I don't know what's going on. I don't want to know. I just know it won't do any good you two fighting with each other. That's all the judge will see and he'll call it disrespect for the law." Della had her suspicions it had something to do with Sydney, but she meant what she said. Finding out what had riled the two men against each other to that extent was the lowest thing on her to-do list at the moment.

"Yes, ma'am," the 'ma'am' popped out of his lips and Della smiled.

****

Emerson came to the door of his sister's room, holding a coffee, a Coke, and a brown bag. He had broken for lunch while Briana sent the video to Della, but he wanted to make sure his dad ate as well. "How is she?"

"The same." Elijah saw the worry in his son's eyes and his heart hurt even more. He'd seen a bond between brother and sister grow in the past few months, but it took this to really bring it into the open. Despite their rocky start, they adored each other.

"Jake didn't throw the bottle, Dad. I couldn't tell who did, but it was too short to be Jake. We also saw Jake approach from another camera angle. He was a block away when the fire actually started. Briana took the tape to Della; they were headed over to Jake's hearing."

"Good work, son," Elijah told him gently, meaning it. Elijah and Della had arrived at what was left of the office as Sydney was being loaded into the ambulance. He'd seen the look in Jake's eyes, the guilt that had nothing to do with causing the fire and everything to do with his daughter being hurt.

Elijah took his daughter's hand, caressing it gently, trying to wake her as he did every day. He knew she was in there, knew she could hear them, but was just stuck. Something would change; somehow she'd come back home. Nothing else mattered, not the office, not cases, just his kids, his family. "Da…Dad."

The sight of his daughter opening her eyes and speaking to him was the best one Elijah had ever witnessed in all his years. "I'm here, mi hija," he whispered, kissing her head gently, pressing the button for the nurse. "Em and I, we're both here." She smiled at that and Emerson moved where he could hold her other hand.

"Jake…" Sydney shook her head, coughing, trying to get the words out. "Okay? Anthony?"

"Jake's…Della's bringing Jake. They'll be here soon, honey. I promise." He wasn't quite sure what he would do if he had to break that promise, but for the moment, the last thing she needed to hear was that Jake was in jail. He stroked her hair out of her face as he used to do when she was little and had a nightmare.

"He was here…Did he leave?" It was obvious she was trying to figure it out and Elijah was glad for the distraction of the nurse.

Jake stood in the hall, against the far wall, watching the nurse make sure that Sydney was breathing all right and that she had the pain medicine she needed. She looked so pale and weak, not like Sydney, not at all. Della stopped and looked back at him. "Are you coming?"

Jake shook his head. "I don't belong in there, Della. Not anymore. Maybe I was just fooling myself that I ever really did."

She studied him. "Is that so? Then where do you belong?" She asked pointedly.

"Robbie should be the one in there. How could he leave her when she's like that? So hurt and helpless…" It roused his anger at the other man all over again. Didn't he know what he had?

"Robbie?" Della looked confused. "Maybe you better tell me what happened."

"The night…Thanksgiving night, after…" He paused again, still hard for him to say the words of what had actually happened that night. He blamed himself for George's death just like he did the fire, rather or not he could have actually prevented either. "I went over to Sydney's house. At first it was just because I couldn't go home, but…" His eyes were closed. "I was stupid. I kissed her."

Della smiled. Under other circumstances, she would have thrown a parade at that sentence, but the one before troubled her. "Why was that stupid?"

"Robbie was there, coming down from the bedroom. Syd was in her robe. They'd gotten back together, Del. And just like that, I lost two best friends." He wondered if he would hurt so badly about Sydney if it wasn't the same night as George. Maybe he could have eventually adapted, even been happy for her, but he just…he missed her, their talks on the fire escape, the way she smiled, how deeply she cared… "I lost everyone."

Della didn't get fiery mad about much and, when she was, she covered well. "You did not lose everyone. You have Anthony, Emerson, Briana, Elijah, and myself. You were the one that pulled away from us, Jake, not the other way around. And you have Sydney. I don't know what happened that night, but I know she is NOT back with Robbie." In fact, Sydney had seemed as lonely and heartbroken since that night as she had been after Carolyn's funeral, thrown herself into cases, all but lived at the office. Even Elijah hadn't been able to figure it out and Sydney was not discussing it, even to Briana. "You have a choice, my friend. You can sit out here, keep going the way you've been going, and keep being broken. Or you can fix what you broke, Jake. You can let the family help you and find a way back to the Jake we all know and love. Including the girl in that room. It wasn't Robbie she turned to this year to deal with Carolyn, Elijah, and Emerson. It wasn't Robbie she's been worrying herself sick over. I don't know what's going to happen between the two of you, but you need each other. So which sound like the better thing to do?"

"Elijah, shift change," Della told him in no uncertain terms. "Emerson's going to drive you home where you're going to shower and sleep. I'll stay with our girl."

Elijah hesitated visibly and she gave him a no-nonsense look. "I suppose I could use a shower." He still had the suit on from the trial the day of the fire.

"I'll be okay, Dad," Sydney whispered, kissing his cheek. "I'm just…tired." Emerson got Elijah out and, as soon as Della saw they were out of earshot, she walked into the hall, shutting the door behind them.

"She's pretty obvious, isn't she?" Jake smiled. "Not as bad as Bri, but still."

"You look tired." Sydney studied him. "I thought you were hurt."

Jake shook his head. "No. I wasn't hurt. I…I'm sorry I couldn't be here. I'm sorry about a lot of things, Syd. Including that night. It was…it was stupid." He raised her bed slightly as she started to cough. "We'll talk about it later, all right? When you feel better." He tucked her in gently without even thinking about it. "Please try to rest. Do you need anything?"

She shook her head. "Stay?" It wasn't out of the ordinary. They had sat together so many times on the steps outside the office, talking about anything, everything. He was the only person alive besides Della who knew Elijah wasn't her biological father. He told her everything about his own family. They went over cases, giving advice, offering consolation, and celebration on good days.

"Of course." He couldn't have left her again if he tried. "Need anything else?"

She shook her head, feeling her smaller hand into his larger one securely, feeling safe. "No. You?"

He shook his head. "No." I have everything, he thought to himself.