Alison walked into her and Greg's apartment. Greg was sitting at the table, looking over a file.
"How was your day?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. He kissed her cheek.
"It was alright. I saw Jamie today." Alison sat on the stool next to him.
"Really, what did he have to say." Greg looked at her.
"Not much Flack picked up the case, and I think Jamie was just glad that it wasn't Danny." Alison shook her head. "Have you figured out what they're fighting about this time. It's been two weeks. I can't take much more of these Sunday dinners." Greg asked, turning a page in the file.
"No, I asked Dad yesterday, but he said that it best to stay out of it this time." Alison leaned her head back. Greg smiled, handing over his cup of coffee. She took it, taking a sip before making a face. "How can you drink that you left the cream out," Alison asked, handing it back. Greg held his hand to his chest in mock offense.
"I am a coffee purest." Alison shook her head. Getting up and walking to the kitchen.
"More like a coffee snob." She called over her shoulder.
"I don't hear you complain when I make if for you after a long shift," Greg called out. Alison laughed, getting a glass of water.
"Yeah, because I'm desperate at that point."
"How was your day." Alison slipped onto the counter.
"It wasn't that bad. Just a long day. I'm glad that I get to go in 2 hours later." Greg nodded, making a note.
"I'm supposed to be off tomorrow, so I should be able to have breakfast with you." Greg rubbed his forehead. "Unless I get called in."
"If you do, don't wake me." She said, looking at the notepad that they kept on the side of the fridge. "Did you write this." She asked, slipping off the counter. Greg didn't look up.
"write what?" He asked. Alison held up the note.
"It says, "don't forget to lock up." What's this about?" She repeated, looking it over. "is this because I forgot to lock the balcony. That was two weeks ago." She said, walking back over to him. He looked up at her.
"I didn't write it. Maybe it was someone in your family. You know that they have keys. Thanks to Henry," Greg said, looking at the note.
"the handwriting is similar to mine, but I don't loop my "f" like that." He pointed at the word. Alison was looking it over, thinking it looked familiar just as the front door opened.
"Aunt Al Uncle Greg, are you hear" Jack called out to them.
"Over here." Greg hollered, packing up the file and putting it in the safe. Jack walked over, giving Greg a hug and Alison a high-five.
"Thanks for letting me come over," Jack said. Greg smiled, handing him a glass of water.
"Anytime, especially since you want to interview me." Alison smacked her forehead.
"That's right, I forgot." Greg looked at his nephew.
"DO you want to stay in the kitchen or go into the office." Jack looked around the apartment.
"The office." Greg nodded, looking over at Alison.
"If I leave you with dinner…" Alison whipped him with a towel, and he howled out, laughing at her holding up his hands. "Sorry I had to ask." Alison turned back to the kitchen.
"Just for that, I think Jack might need to Interview me since he won't live long enough for him to complete the assignment."
After Jack was finished interviewing Greg, they all had dinner, and Greg took him home. Alison wanted to go, but she had to pull a double tomorrow. Greg and Jack strolled up to the small house.
"You know I can walk from the car by myself," Jack said, Greg patted his shoulder.
"I wanted to talk to your Dad about something," Greg explained as they opened the door.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home," Jack called out, dropping his bag at the door. Linda came to the door.
"Hey Greg, want some coffee." Linda offered, gesturing him into the kitchen. "I know it's not your fancy stuff, but it's hot." Greg smiled.
"Thanks, actually, I wondered if I could talk to Danny for a moment if he's home," Greg asked, sticking his hand in his pocket. Linda smiled, pointing over her shoulder.
"He's outback." Greg nodded and headed outback. Danny was sitting on the picnic table. Greg walked over and sat next to him.
"So what is going on with you and Jamie." Danny looked at him.
"What are you talking about?" Greg shook his head.
"I saw Jamie at a scene today. He looked like he lost his best friend. So what is going on?" Greg asked Alison would kill him if she knew he was asked him this, but Greg wanted to help. He didn't like seeing his brother in law's fighting.
"Jamie dropped the ball with a case last week. He was thinking more like a lawyer than a cop." Greg laughed, looking at Danny.
"that's who he is. He will never think fully like a cop. You don't think like a cop." Danny opened his mouth to argue, but Greg held up his hands. "I think like a CSI, and you think like a marine. It's who we are. We all bring something different. Don't hold that against Jamie." Danny shook his head.
"You almost as nosy as Erin." Greg laughed, shaking his head.
"Sorry I didn't grow up with a family like this." Danny patted him on the arms.
"It's fine. Just remember that this goes both ways."
"Yeah, but you have nothing to metal with." Danny tilted his head.
"You say that, but my wife wants a niece or nephew." Greg shifted slightly, causing Danny to look at his hands.
"Sorry, Greg, I sometimes forget. The way that she is since you came into her life makes me…" Greg smiled.
"Wish for a normal life. To be honest, we have talked about kids it just..." Greg trailed off, not knowing what to say. Danny patted him on the back.
"Don't worry about it. That's what happens with a family like this. We're in everyone's business." Greg thought about the note from earlier.
"Hey, speaking of that, did you stop by the house today." Danny furrowed his brow.
"No, why." Greg waved his hands.
"it's Nothing there was a note leaf on the count neither of us wrote. We assumed it was someone in the family." Danny shook his head.
"It wasn't me can I see it." Greg reached in his back pocket, handing it over.
"Maybe it was Jamie or Erin," Greg said, looking over at Danny. He had grown quiet his face pail. "Danny, what is it." Danny shook his head.
"Nothing, this handwriting looks familiar. I just can't place it." He handed it back to Greg.
"What was that expression when you first saw it," Greg asked, looking at it. "Alison had a similar response to it," Greg said, looking at it.
"I don't know. It looks like a mix between mom and Dad's handwriting."
"I thought it looked similar to mine." Greg shook his head, getting to his feet. "Well, I have work tomorrow."
"Me too. See you Sunday. We can ask the rest of the family then." Danny nodded.
"Good idea, thanks, Danny."
Alison rolled over in bed, burying her head in her pillow just as the alarm went off. She had already been asleep when Greg got home after dropping Jack off. She felt Greg rub her back in small circles. She smiled, keeping her eyes closed. He must not have been called into work.
"Maybe I could call in sick today." She said, not waiting for him to respond. "You're right; Mac would never go for it. I just don't want to work another double. I would rather come home and have dinner with you. Why do you get to pull your doubles on Tuesdays? It's always slower." Alison moaned, rolling over to look at Greg. She opened her eyes and froze.
"Why, hello, Alison, it's been a while." A man that was not Greg said, lying in the bed next to her. He smiled, and her heart stopped. It was him. The man that had taken her was in her bed. He had come for her after all these years.
"Why." Was all that she could say to him. Her heart pounding in her ears. The man brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"Because we made a deal, and your time is up." He breathed in her sent, and she turned to the side of the bed, vomiting. The hand returned, rubbing her back.
"There…there, my dear, it will be alright." Alison reached under the bed, grabbing her gun from its hiding spot, rolling off the bed, pointing it at him. She pulled the trigger, and a blood-chilling click filled the room. He threw his head back, laughing at her.
"You don't think that I would leave your gun loaded. I thought about taking it completely, but I wanted this moment." Alison struggled to breathe, looking at him. His hair had a few more grays since the last time. But his cold green eyes staring at her.
"What moment?" He threw back the covers standing up.
"The moment you realize that I'm going to take you, and there is nothing you can do about it." He lunged for her, and she turned to run for the door. She grabbed the door nob, but it was locked. He wrapped his arms around her, and she screamed, but he covered her mouth.
"Shh…darling, you don't want the neighbors to hear. Oh, right, you don't have any neighbors in this apartment." He grabbed the back of her head, slamming it against the door, sending her into blackness.
Greg was going over reports with Mac. He had been called in about 3 hours before Alison was supposed to get up. They were having an issue with some of their equipment and needed a level 3 to come in to help oversee things. So he and Mac were going over what evidence needed to be moved. There was a knock on the door. They turned to find Danny standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Reagan, what are you doing here," Mac asked, gesturing him into the office.
"I wanted to talk to Greg about something." Greg moved to get up.
"Do you want to head to my office?" Greg asked; Danny shook his head.
"No, it's not like that. I just wanted to know if you figured out who wrote that note. It's been bugging me." Danny said Mac looked between the two of them.
"What are you talking about?" He asked Greg looked over at him.
"Oh, there was a note in our apartment yesterday, and Alison and I are trying to figure out which family member left it," Greg explained to him.
"I wasn't you," Mac asked Danny.
"No, and I talked to Linda and Erin, and they both say no." Danny explained. Mac looked at Greg.
"Did you run the note." He asked. Greg shook his head.
"No to many people handled it to provide anything useful." Greg said, shaking his head.
"May I see is." Greg reached into his pocket, pulling it out, handing it over. Mac unfolded it and closed his eyes.
"What is it?" Greg asked, growing tense. Mac didn't answer. He reached to stack of files on the end of his desk. Greg's heart dropped to his stomach. "No." was all he could say when Mac grabbed the one on the bottom, the oldest cold case in the pile. He opened it looking at the note then something in the file. He shut it, grabbing the phone on his desk.
"Messer is Al in yet," Mac asked, standing up, grabbing his coat. Greg stood up as well. "Call Flack tell him file nine is active again." He said, then hung the phone up.
"Taylor," Danny asked, looking at him. "What is it." Mac walked out of the office with the two close behind.
"I recognized the handwriting; it's one of the only pieces of evidence from Alison's case that came from him." They got in the car.
"How could I have missed this," Greg said, slamming his hand on the dashboard. "With her past, I should have called the police right away."
"Did you read the file?" Danny said from the back of the car.
"No…Alison offered, but I didn't," Greg said, pinching his nose.
"Frank had me leave the note out of the file to lower the chance of copycats. It was mentioned you wouldn't have been able to recognize the handwriting. It was found with his last victim." Mac explained.
"That's why I recognized it," Danny said from the back. "Joe was the one that picked that case up." They pulling up to the building. Greg didn't wait for the car to come to a stop before getting out. He pulled his gun-running up the stairs to the apartment. The adrenaline was pumping through his vanes, evaporating his limp. Mac and Danny close behind him. He opened the door.
"Ally… Ally, where are you." Greg called out but was greeted with silence. He ran upstairs to the bedroom, leaving Danny and Mac to look downstairs. Danny checked the back, then headed up the stairs. Greg stood in the doorway, staring into the room. There on the wall above the bed where a picture of New York usually hung, was a picture of Alison, her eyes filled with terror.
"That's from when she was first taken," Greg said, his voice shallow. Danny looked at him.
"How can you tell apart from that fact there wasn't enough time." Danny asked, looking at the room that had been torn apart.
"Her tattoo is still there," Greg said, Danny looked at him.
"She doesn't have a tattoo," Danny said, causing Greg to clear his throat.
"there on her wrist, you can see it tucking out the bottom of the ropes," Greg said, pointing.
"I've never noticed it," Danny said, looking closely at the small cursive tucking out the bottom of the ropes.
"The scars damaged it," Mac said, walking into the room, followed by Flack.
"I called, and the team is coming down to comb this place over. We will find her." Flack said, patting Greg on the shoulder.
Linda helped Henry bring the groceries into the house. He was cooking Sunday dinner. Since he didn't drive anymore, she offered to help him since this was her day off.
"I thought that I would mark my world-famous Chicken Cameral," Henry said, putting the milk in the fridge.
"But we didn't get anything for you to make that. I thought you wanted to make lasagna." Henry swayed his head side to side.
"I know, but Alison doesn't like lasagna." Linda laughed, shaking her head.
"Alison has given us food poisoning. She doesn't get to be picky. Besides, the rest of the family loves your lasagna." Henry smiled.
"Fine, if my public demands it." Linda's phone went off. Pulling it out, she smiled. It was Danny.
"Hey, I convinced Grampa to make lasagna." She said, smiling. There was a long pause on the other line. Linda turned her back to Henry putting her finger to her ear.
"Danny, what is it?" Linda dropped to the ground, her knees giving out.
"Linda!" Henry called, running over to her. "What is it?" she couldn't speak, her breath coming in gasps. She looked at him, and he pressed his lips together.
"Al." The words held the weight of the world in them. Linda nodded just as she burst into tears. Henry took the phone from Linda.
"What going on, son." There was a long pause.
"He got her out of the apartment this morning. Flack and Mac are on it." Henry took a deep breath looking at Linda. How can this be happening after all this time?
"Keep us posted and keep an eye on Greg." Henry hung the phone up, knowing that Danny and Greg had a lot to do. Linda looked up at him. "It's not fair she was finally getting to live her life." Henry sat in the chair next to where she sat on the floor.
"Don't worry; they're going to find her." Linda grabbed his hand.
"But they didn't find her last time. He let her go."
Erin sat in her office. Jamie was supposed to have lunch with her. She was done with this fight going on between her brothers. She glanced over at the family photo on her desk. She needed an updated one. This was from Alison and Greg's wedding. She and Linda kept holding out for a new addition to the family, but maybe they should just take one. Jack was about a foot taller than he was in this photo. The door to her officer burst open. Erin looked up then relaxed at the sight of Jamie.
"You scared me. Have you heard of knocking? I might have been in a confidential meeting." She turned her computer off, looking at him. His face was pale, and his eyes red.
"What's wrong," Erin asked, hurrying over to him. Jamie shook his head, looking at her.
"He got her." Erin took a step back. Her mind was unable to prosses the information.
"Wait, what. That can't be. I just talked to her last night. This must be a mistake." Jamie grabbed her arm, shaking his head.
"It's no mistake. It just got a call from Danny. He got her." Erin lifted her hand to her mouth. She pushed him in the chest.
"I told you." She hit him again. "I told you." Jamie grabbed her arms.
"Erin." She struggled then collapsed into his arms.
"I told you he was going to get her. She should have been more careful." Jamie patted the back of her head.
"You couldn't have saved her. None of us could."
Frank sat at his desk, looking over the proposal for the upcoming budget meeting. Baker opened the door to his office. He looked up at her, but she didn't say anything. The expression on her face told him everything.
"Who." Was all he could say around the knot in his throat.
"Alison, sir, it looks like he got her." he let out a breath, leaving his lungs. Baker walked over to him.
"Sir, I cleared your schedule." He gave the nod.
"Call the car. I need to go home." Baker grabbed his coat, handing it over to him.
"It's waiting for you downstairs…" She hesitated for a moment. "If you need anything, let me know."
Greg sat at the kitchen table in Frank's house alone. He ran his hand over his knee, holding the ice pack in his other hand. Greg hated this. He and Danny had been blocked out of the case. However, Mac called to let Greg know that they hadn't found any prints apart from the family's in the apartment. He looked at the cup of coffee in front of him. The lights were off; he didn't want to disturb the rest of the house. It had taken him all day, giving his testimony and answering all of Mac's questions. By the time he got to the house, all the lights were off. He let himself in with his key making himself a cup of coffee and grabbing an ice pack. He had left his cane leaning against Mac's desk. They left for the apartment in shut a rush. He forgot about it. He would be lucky if he could walk on it the next day. Henry had an old walking staff around the house somewhere. He might have to use that until he got his one back from the lab. Greg shook his head. It didn't matter. The main light turned on, causing Greg to jump. Looking up, he saw Frank standing in the doorway.
"I didn't hear you come in," Frank said, walking over and sitting across from him.
"I didn't want to disturb you or Henry," Greg said, not looking him in the eyes.
"How are you holding up?" Frank asked, his voice low.
"I should have protected her," Greg said, slamming his hand on the table.
"It was almost ten years ago. None of us thought he was still after her. Not after he let her go the first time." Frank said, looking at his son in law. "We looked for him, but all we could find were his victims. Six years ago, they stopped, and all trails went cold. That was before you even came to New York. He never even gave Alison anything to call him. She always called him the man." Greg looked up at him.
"She has woken up almost every night since we got married from nightmares he caused, and I didn't even bother to read the file," Greg said, his voice full of emotions. "I just went off what she told me."
"I can't speak for anyone else in the family, but I never did." Greg looked up at him.
"Why… I always assumed that you had read it." Greg said, tilting his head.
"Probably the same reason you didn't. I didn't want to see the case when I looked at her. Part of me always wanted to forget that it happened." Frank said, shaking his head. "I was always torn between being glad and sad that Mary wasn't alive when it happened. Glad that she never had to live through this. But sad as she would have known how to help her." Mary had died the year before Alison was take. Alison had even said that she went to MIT because she just couldn't look at this house the same way. Greg spun his ring around his finger, sniffing slightly.
"I can't lose her, Frank." Frank patted his hand.
"Don't worry, Greg, Mac, and Flack will find her." Greg closed his eyes.
"When they do, how do you think she will handle it." Frank shook his head.
"I don't know." Greg closed his eyes.
"I can't live without her." The corner of his mouth turned up. "She always said I was the strong one in a moment of crisis. Wish she could see how much I need her." Frank smiled.
"She knows. She survived last time she will again."
"I pray you're right."