Linda and Danny both kept close watch on Millie the following week. While they did have many fun times as a family, they still had many nights of fears and stomachaches. At the end of the week they still had no clue how they were going to move forward as far as Millie going back to school or just being separated from Danny for an entire day when he did finally return to work. However, the greatest concern came when they were getting dressed for Mass Sunday morning. Linda had laid out one of Millie's favorite old sweaters with a skirt from when she very first moved in with them.

"Millie, do you have that skirt buttoned?" Linda asked as she noticed the little girl holding it up with one hand as she made her way down the stairs and into the livingroom to put on her shoes.

"Yes ma'am."
"Come here," Linda directed as she took a seat and Millie made her way in front of her. Sure enough, the skirt was buttoned and zipped, but still falling off of the small child. Linda looked at the tag. As she had thought, it was a size 4. Millie had lost even more weight. "Mil Mil, we need to go find you a belt. That skirt's going to fall right off. Want to go look and see what we can find or change clothes?"

"Ok," Millie shrugged as she took Linda's hand and followed her upstairs.

"Where you going?" Danny asked as he met them in the hallway.

"Millie's skirt is too big. We've got to find some more clothes."
Danny narrowed his eyes as he noticed a look of concern on Linda's face. "Come here, Mil. Let's see how much you weigh while Aunt Linda finds you something to wear. He led her into the bathroom and pulled out the scales. Millie hopped on top and looked down at the numbers.

"31.8. Is that a lot, Mr. Uncle Danny?"

"That's about six bags of sugar."
"Wow. That is a lot!"
"Not really, Mil. We need you to weigh about nine bags of sugar."

"Oh."

"Let's get your clothes changed and then we'll go eat some breakfast and work on gaining some of that weight. Huh?"
"Ok."

Linda once again went to the plastic tote into which she'd packed away all of Millie's clothes that she had once outgrown. After digging to the bottom, she finally managed to find a 4T dress. Thankfully, it fit and they were soon on their way. It was the first time Millie had been out in public since before the kidnapping. She held tightly to both Danny and Linda's hands as they got out of the Jeep and headed inside. It was very reminiscent of the first week they had her.

"You ok?" Danny asked as he noticed her feet getting very heavy as they walked toward the front door.

"I… I… I'm scared."

"It's ok," Danny smiled as they stopped and he squatted down in front of her. "I'm going to be with you the whole time. So will Pop, Grandpa, and Uncle Jamie. That's four cops for one Millie." He looked to Jack. "Can you go get Grandpa?"

"Sure, Dad."
The boys ran on ahead as Danny, Linda, and Millie took a minute. There was still worry etched all over Millie's face. "If it gets to be too much, we'll get out. Ok?"

"Ok," Millie said as she took a deep breath and they headed up the stairs.

Frank greeted them warmly at the front door. "Hey Granddaughter," he smiled down at Millie.

"Hi Grandpa," she whispered. "Are there bad men here?"

Frank looked at Danny quizzically. "We're a little skiddish this morning."
"Ah." Frank leaned down and whispered in Millie's ear. "Pop's already checkout out the whole place. It's safe. Promise." Visible relief washed over Millie's face as she relaxed a bit. "Let's go inside."

It didn't help Millie's nerves any that there were tons of well wishers that wanted to welcome her home or that shortly after stepping into the sanctuary they were surrounded by a crowd. Sensing her hesitation, Danny picked her up and quickly made his way over to the pew where the rest of the Reagans were seated. She quickly tucked herself in behind his arm with no interest of looking at anyone.

"Hey Cricket," Jamie smiled down from down the pew. When even he couldn't get her to look up, they all knew it was going to be a short morning of church for Millie.

Father O'Reilly formally welcomed Millie home as he introduced his message about Jesus leaving the ninety and nine and finding the one lost sheep. "What once was lost, has now been found," he smiled. "And for that, we give thanks and rejoice. Welcome home, Millie Reagan."

"Can we go now?" Millie whispered to Danny. "I don't like all them looking at me."

"Sure, Mil." Danny leaned up and got Frank's attention. "We're going to sneak out. We'll meet you at the house. Can you bring the boys?" Frank nodded as Danny, Linda, and Millie slid out the back.

"Mil, when we get to Grandpa's house, do you think you can help me with dinner?" Linda asked.

"Ok," Millie agreed as they got into the Jeep and headed to Bay Ridge. She didn't say anymore as they drove the short distance to Frank's house. Danny kept looking in the rearview mirror, trying to get a read on how things were going, but Millie was stoic. She just stared out the window.

"Daddy will help too. We'll put him to work chopping the salad. How does that sound?"
"Ok," Millie sighed.

"What are we eating today?" Danny asked as he pulled into the Commissioner's driveway.

"Pork chops, smashed potatoes, green beans, salad, and rolls."

"Sounds delicious," Danny smiled as he got out and opened Millie's door. She grabbed his hand and held on tightly until they made it inside the house. Once they got inside, Millie locked the door and started to relax.

"How about you go put on some play clothes?" Linda smiled. "I'll get dinner started."

Millie took her backpack from Linda's hand and started into the livingroom. "Mr. Uncle Danny?"
"Yeah, Mil. I'll come check it out. Where you going? Upstairs?"

Millie shook her head as she walked behind the couch. "This is good."
"Ok," he laughed as he walked behind the couch and opened the closet doors, signifying the house was safe. He sat down and turned on the television while Millie carefully pulled out her black leggings and t-shirt that Linda had packed for her as well as Danny's Brooklyn Dodgers sweatshirt that she had smuggled in herself.

"Ready?" Danny asked when she reappeared.

"Ready," Millie smiled as she pulled his sweatshirt over her head.

"Hey, come here for a second," he said as she started to walk to the kitchen. Millie stopped and came back over to where he was sitting in Frank's recliner. "Time for a famous Uncle Danny/ Millie chat. How ya doin, kid?"
"I'm fine."

"You sure? You're awful quiet and serious today. Two things you usually are not."

"Mr. Uncle Danny, do you ever get scared and you can't get unscared?"

"Like, you keep replaying something in your mind?"

"No. Like you just can't turn off your brain from being scared. And your insides are just shaky."

"Yeah, Mil. When Uncle Joe died, I got shaky insides. It took me a while to get them to stop shaking."

"How did you make it stop?"

"Just took it one day at a time… and I had lots of talks with Grandpa and Aunt Linda."

"Oh."

Danny could tell that he really hadn't helped, so he thought he'd press on just a little longer. "You know that movie that Aunt Linda always wants to watch with the nun and the kids that sing?" Millie nodded. "Well, that nun's not completely wrong. When you get scared, you can try thinking of your favorite things. Sometimes that helps me."
"What do you think about?"

"Well, I think of my family a lot… you and Sean and Jack and Aunt Linda. And I think of burgers because I love hamburgers." Millie chuckled. "Sometimes I think about this trip that me and your Uncle Joe took to Boston and we had so much fun that Grandpa still doesn't know about. And sometimes I think about the summers we spent at Coney Island and if I close my eyes, I can almost smell the cotton candy."

"Mr. Uncle Danny, why do people do bad things to other people?"

"I don't know, Mil. I guess because they're bad guys. That's why me and your Grandpa, and Uncle Jamie go to work every day… to catch the bad guys so they won't hurt other people."

"Hey, you two," Linda said as she stuck her head into the livingroom. "You going to give me a hand?"

"We're coming," Danny smiled before turning back to Millie. "Just remember Mil, you can come to me anytime you're scared. I'll protect you. Ok?"

"Ok."

That night, Linda called everyone to the livingroom for a discussion about the upcoming week.

"Do we have to go back to school tomorrow?" Sean groaned.

"Yes. You and Jack will be going back to school first thing in the morning."
"Wh…wh…what about me?" Millie stuttered.

"You and Aunt Linda have to go back to the doctor to get the all clear," Danny smiled.

"I don't want to do that," Millie said as she tried to sink into the couch.

"I know, but we've got to figure out what's going on with your tummy. If you lose any more weight, you're going to blow away next time a big gust of wind comes."

"Then what?"
"Then we will figure out the rest of the week. Aunt Linda doesn't go back to work until Wednesday."
"What about you?" Jack asked.
"I've got to go back tomorrow, so I can keep catching bad guys," Danny answered, with a wink to Millie.

After a few more minutes of discussion, Linda deemed it time to go to bed. The boys got up and raced up the stairs as Millie pulled at Danny's tshirt with big tears in her eyes. "Can I please sleep in the big bed tonight?"

He could tell she was rattled. He looked to Linda. "Sure, sweet girl," Linda smiled. "Go brush your teeth and head to our room. Daddy and I will lock up and we'll be right there."

"What are you thinking?" Danny asked as he headed to the front door to make sure it was locked.

"Let's talk to her about her appointment tomorrow and slowly work our way into a school discussion."

"Ok. What all will they do tomorrow?"

"Probably blood work. They may poke around on her stomach, but nothing as traumatizing as last time."

"Ok. We can prep her for that. I think she'll be fine."

"I'm also going to talk to Dr. Patterson tomorrow morning about her anxiety. I don't want to put her on meds, but an anti-anxiety medicine might not be a bad idea for a little while… just to get her through this rough patch."
"Absolutely not. I don't want her to come back a zombie."
"We're just going to talk about it. Danny, she's scared to death. It's going to be worse when you go back to working long hours, and you know it. Not to mention trying to get her to go back to school…"

"I don't like medicating kids."

"I just want to see what he thinks. I won't fill a prescription until I've talked to you first. Promise." She gave him a kiss as they both headed upstairs, stopping by to see Jack and Sean before making their way into their own room. Millie was already curled up in the middle of the bed, buried beneath the blankets.

"Silly Millie, you aren't asleep, yet are you?" Danny asked as he turned off the light and he slipped out of his slippers and into the right side of the bed while Linda took off her robe and climbed onto the left side of the bed.

"Just waiting on you," Millie whispered.

"Well come here for a minute and let's talk," Danny directed as he pulled back the blankets and opened his arms. Millie was quick to crawl up beside him. He and Linda were sitting up in bed with their backs resting against the backboard as Millie nestled into the crook of Danny's right arm with her knees tucked tightly to her chest. "So about tomorrow. You're going to go with Aunt Linda to the doctor while I go to work…"
"I don't want to go there."
"Why?"
"I can't. He did something bad."
"Who, Mil?"

"That doctor."

"What did he do?" Danny was utterly confused. Millie sat there for a minute wringing her hands. They started to get concerned but finally figured out what she was talking about.

"The last time I was there, he looked at me naked. Mr. Uncle Danny you said nobody is ever supposed to do that. Not never! And you'll put in jail somebody who tries to touch me naked. And he did! And you said that's not ok and that's the rule. Nobody can look at me naked. You said it!"

"You're absolutely right," Danny said. "If anybody ever looks at you naked or touches you, you tell me or Grandpa, or Pop or Uncle Jamie, or Aunt Linda or Aunt Erin right away."

"He did!"
"There's one exception though. Do you know what an exception is?"

"No sir," Millie sniffed as Danny lifted her chin and wiped the tears off her cheek with his thumb.
"It's like if Aunt Linda says, you and me can eat one cookie after dinner, but it's your birthday and I hand you two and you tell me she said you could only eat one. I'd say I'm making an exception because it's a special occasion and let you have two."
"So like a free pass?"
"Yeah. Like that."

"So the exception is this. IF me or Aunt Linda take you to a doctor at the hospital and we are with you, then it's ok… because we know that he is only doing it to make sure that you are healthy and ok. Does that make sense?"
"I guess. It still made me feel bad though."
"That's ok. That's actually a good thing. It's your body's way of telling you something's not right."

"Is he going to do it tomorrow?"
"No. No, I don't think he will."
"What's he going to do?"

"Well," Linda smiled. "He will push on your tummy a little bit so you can tell him where it hurts. And he will probably take some blood out of your arm to test it to see if you have any germs in your body."
Millie sat in quiet contemplation. "Anything else?"

"He might do an x-ray, but I doubt it. I don't think it'll take us too long."
"Then what?"
"Then how about you come meet me for lunch?" Danny smiled.

"Really?"
"Yep. We'll go to Cheesy Bob's and get a grilled cheese."

"Ok."

Linda looked over to Danny, expecting him to head straight into the school discussion. "Are we going to discuss anything else?" she asked with eyebrows raised.

"Nah. I think that's enough for tonight. We'll talk again tomorrow," he smiled with a wink.

"Ok. Ready to say your prayers, Millie?" Linda asked as they all settled down into the bed.

Millie closed her eyes as she put her hands together and brought them in front of her face. "Dear God," she whispered, "please don't let the bad guys come back. Amen."

Neither Linda nor Danny knew what to say. It didn't really matter though. Millie rolled over and threw her arm over her great protector as she drifted off to sleep. Danny kissed the top of her head as he hugged her tightly.

The following morning, Danny got up first and went to wake the boys. They were ever so reluctant to get up and return to school, but they eventually got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Millie," Linda whispered as she brushed the hair out of Millie's face. "You ready to wake up?" Millie cracked open an eye and saw the beautiful smile of Linda looking down at her. "Hey. Good morning. Want to go eat breakfast with Sean and Jack before they go to school?"

"Where's Mr. Uncle Danny?" she asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Downstairs with them." Millie stretched as she sat up and looked at Linda. "Come on. We'll take it slow this morning."

They made their way downstairs in time for some scrambled eggs and toast with the Reagan men.

"Ok," Danny announced once they finished eating, "you guys get your stuff and get in the car. I'm dropping you this morning." Jack and Sean raced off as he looked to Linda and Millie. "You girls going to be ok today?"
"I think we can manage," Linda assured him. "We'll see you for lunch around noon."

"Sounds good." He filled up his thermos with coffee and grabbed his keys before walking over and giving Linda a kiss. "Call me if you need backup."

"Will do."
"Silly Mil, be good for the doctor. Copy?" Danny leaned down and gave her a kiss on the top of the head.
"Copy," Millie said softly as she gave him a sheepish smile.

She did try. She really did. Millie put on a brave face and walked into the doctor's office with Linda. After the usual small talk, the nurse finally convinced Millie to put on a hospital gown and get on the scales so they could get an accurate weight. "31.6 pounds," the nurse smiled at Millie.

"That's down .2," Linda said, with worry still etched all over her face.

"Don't worry, Mama," Nurse Kathy smiled, "Dr. Patterson will get this little princess all fixed up. She'll be eating you out of house and home before you know it."

"Millie Rose," Dr. Patterson smiled as he breezed into the exam room, "how are we feeling today?"

Millie looked at him, extremely distrustful. "I don't want a shot and I don't want to be naked."
He sat and thought for a minute. "Me either." He stuck out his hand. "We'll shake on it. We'll both stay dressed and neither one of us will get a shot today. Deal?"
"Deal," Millie relaxed.

"Now, Mrs. Linda here tells me that you've been having some tummy aches. Can you tell me what hurts? Is it one sharp pain or all over?"

"Like this," Millie said as she squeezed one fist and then the other.

"Ah. I see. Like a cramp." Millie nodded. "Do you feel nauseous? Like you could throw up?" Millie nodded again. After a few more questions, Dr. Patterson was pretty certain he had a diagnosis.

"I think I've got it," Dr. Patterson said. "Intestinal parasite. More specifically giardia."

"What in the world?" Linda asked.

"You said it was pretty dirty where Millie was found, right?"
"Yeah."

"Well, from what you've told me, I'm fairly certain they didn't let her wash her hands before mealtime. I think she picked up a parasite. We'll run a few tests and get her some meds called in to the pharmacy. It may take a couple more weeks, but you should be good as new before too long."

"No shots?" Millie asked.

"I promised, didn't I?" Dr. Patterson smiled.

Millie was feeling much better by the time she got to Cheesy Bob's, as was Linda. With a proper diagnosis and enough medicine to kill an entire pool of bacteria, their minds were at ease and ready for lunch with their favorite Reagan man.

"Hey, there are my girls!" Danny announced as he breezed into the restaurant and up to the booth where Millie and Linda were seated. "How'd it go?" He kissed Linda and took a seat beside Millie.

"Finally have a diagnosis and some meds. Dr. Patterson said she should be better in no time."

"Good!"

"Mr. Uncle Danny," Millie whispered as she tugged on his shirt to lean down so she could whisper in his ear, "did you catch the bad guys today?"

"I haven't caught any today, but the day is young. I'm giving them a head start."

Millie instinctively moved closer to Danny and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she tried her best to fade into the booth. "So," he continued with Linda, "what else did the doctor say?"

"We'll talk about it later."
Danny nodded. "What are you girls going to do the rest of the day?"
"I don't know. Mil, what do you want to do?"

"Are you coming with us?" Millie asked timidly as she looked up at him.

"Not today. I've got a ton of work to do. It's going to be a while before I make it home."
"I just want to go home then, Mrs. Aunt Linda… or to Pop's house. Are the policemen still there?"
"No… I think they are gone."

"Oh. Do you think Mr. Uncle Jamie and Mrs. Officer Eddie could come over?"
"Not today," Danny answered. "Uncle Jamie's on tour. I saw him this morning."

"Oh. Let's just go home then."

Danny shrugged as Linda reached her hand across the table and took Millie's left hand. "Ok. We'll just go home and take it easy for a while."

"You know… It's ok if you want to go to the park or to the mall. You and Aunt Linda will be fine."
"No. I just want to go home."

"Ok." Danny decided not to push. He also decided the return to school discussion would definitely have to wait. Millie wasn't ready. "Sure you guys are good?" he asked when they finished lunch and all got up to leave.

"We'll be fine. We don't get much girl time, so this will be good for both of us."

"Mr. Uncle Danny, will you walk to the car with us?" Millie asked as she looked around carefully.

"I sure will. I have to kiss Mama goodbye," he laughed, with a wink. Millie held tightly to his hand as they exited the restaurant and headed to the car. He helped her get settled in the backseat, making sure she was buckled. "I'll see you in a little while, ok? Have fun with Aunt Linda." Millie reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, not particularly wanting to let go of him. "That's a good hug," he said as he finally was released from her death grip. "Have fun today. I'll see you when I get home."

He closed the door as he made his way up to Linda. "You be careful out there, Danny Reagan," she smiled as he leaned in and kissed her as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I will. You girls going to be ok today?"

"We'll be fine. We'll be hunkered down at home until it's time to get the boys."

"Hey what did Dr. Patterson say about…"
"We didn't discuss it. I knew you weren't too keen on the idea and it didn't much matter because Millie wouldn't let me out of her sight so I could talk to him about it."

"Well… now that I see this… it might not be a completely terrible idea."
"Oh really?"
"Don't go crazy. I'm just saying I'm willing to put it on the table for discussion is all."
"Uh huh," Linda smiled. "Go ahead. Tell me I was right."

"Get out of here," Danny grinned as he shut the door and then kissed her once more through the open window. "I love you."

"Love you more."
"Love you most."