Greg sat at the kitchen table; it was about 3:00 A.M. He hadn't slept well, eventually getting up and coming downstairs. His hands hugged the warm cup of coffee, trying to fight back the cold. Alison hadn't slept well either. After about 2 hours, she had slipped out of bed and into the bathroom. Where she had quickly thrown the locks. Greg shook his head. He should have waited until morning to mention anything. Now he had done the very thing that he had been trying to avoid. Greg closed his eyes, bowing his head. How was this possible. His breaths started to pick up. He had to protect his family. The light in the kitchen clicked on, and Greg jumped. Looking up, he found Alison. She pulled the sleeves of her old university hoodie down over her hands. Her eyes were haunted.

"The…" His voice cracked. He cleared his throat. "The potshot if you want a cup." Alison didn't say anything grabbing a cup of hot tea instead. She slowly moved over and sat in the chair next to him. She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her mug on her knees. They sat in silence. Alison's eyes locked on the cup in front of her. "I'm sorry that I said something." Greg shook his head. "I should have waited until morning." Alison closed her eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"Please…" She took a deep breath. "Please, Greg, tell me what going on. The wondering is killing me." Greg looked over at Alison, his eyes locking with hers.

"There were two people that took you." Greg watched as Alison disconnected from the emotions.

"How?" Greg took a deep breath.

"Eddie noticed an inconsistency in your description of the one that died." Alison tilted her head.

"What?"

"The eye color wasn't consistent." Alison sucked in a sharp, deep breath. "in your first report, you said he had blue eyes. But every description after that, you said he had green eyes. The man that was killed had green eyes." Alison took a sip of her tea. "Danny and I looked over the evidence and found the other inconsistencies that Eddie noticed." Greg took a deep breath before continuing. "I need to know if you knew there were two." She snapped her eyes over to him. Alison set her mug of tea down and walked away. Greg slammed his hand on the table. That could have gone better. He should have explained better, maybe waited to ask her. There was a thump on the table. Looking up, he found an old shoebox. Alison ran a shaking hand over it.

"I have prayed every night that there was only one." Her voice was cold and detached. Greg resisted the urge to say anything. Alison's eyes were glossed over, looking over distant memories that had haunted her. She slowly lifted the lid revealing letters. "I have revived one every year on the day I was originally taken." Greg's eyes snapped up at that. "They would always get to me and always before the day was over." Greg shut his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He said through gritted teeth.

"He said not to." Greg looked over at that, opening his mouth then slamming it shut. "He said he would let me go home to my family if I never said a word about it. As long as I get a letter, I know that he is going to leave my family and me alone."

"Is that why it so hard leading up to the day you were taken." Alison nodded.

"One day, I'm not going to get that letter."

"None of them are open." Greg said.

"I stopped reading them after the first two he sent." Alison placed the lid back on the box, sliding it over. "I thought that they would stop when the other was kill. But they didn't." She slid the box over to him. "Do with them what you want." Alison turned walked toward the stairs. She stopped at the bottom step looking back at him. "There is a picture in every letter he followed the pattern of the first. Don't let my family see them."

Alison got back into the car after dropping Ethan off at daycare. Greg didn't say anything giving a quick smile before driving to their parking spot. Alison looked out her window. Her stomach was in knots.

"Do me one favor." She said. It sounded cold and distant, and she hated it.

"Anything." Alison looked over at him. He was clenching his jaw shut. His eyes were glued to the window in front of him.

"When we are at work, can we pretend that we didn't have that conversation?" Greg slammed on the breaks, and Alison lurched forward.

"Sorry," Greg murmured, and he pulled into the parking spot. He was so tense Alison was fired that his mussies would snap. Greg took a deep breath turning at looking at her. Hurt, that's what filled his eyes. "I will do my best, Alison."

Greg walked over to Danny. He hadn't even made it into the elevator before Mac had stopped him and sent him to a scene. The fact that it was one of Danny's cases made his day even better.

"What do we got Sanders." He asked as they walked down the street toward the police tape.

"Miriam Harton, 85 years old, was assaulted and robbed in the vestibule as she entered the building with groceries. Guy came up from behind her, pushed her to the ground, and stomped her."

"Any witnesses?" Danny walked, showing his badge to the officers by the tape.

"Not so far, Adam is checking. She might have broken a hip and a few ribs."

"Adam is seeing if there are any cameras," Baez asked.

"Yeah, they're working on it." Danny nodded, spotting the woman.

"Thanks. Let us know what else you find." Greg nodded, turning back to his work. Hawks handed him his camera back.

"I thought Reagan and Baez only worked homicide." He asked while picking up some paper that was on the ground and putting it in an envelope.

"With the budget cuts, the departments stretched thin. They have to cover cases like the rest of the department." Hawkes shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess it's not that big of a difference." Greg nodded, taking another picture.

"I just hope that we can sort this thing out quick. No old ladies should be afraid to walk into their own building."

"Agreed."

Alison turned the TV in her office off when Greg walked into the room.

"Was that Commissioner's press conference." Alison smiled at the name, and the relaxed tone Greg's voice had.

"Yeah, he was talking about the officers that had water thrown on them. I heard from Eddie that Jamie went and arrested the guy. What about you get anything in your case." Greg sat down at his desk, letting out a deep breath.

"Adam was able to get footage of the attack. I sent it over the Danny, but you cant see the guy's face." Alison tilted her head at the mention of her brother. Had Greg told him about the letter. The fact that Danny hadn't stopped by or called her made her think that Greg hadn't mentioned anything. "Doing a little more digging, Hawkes found that there have been 4 other attacks in the area same MO. He targets an old person who enters their building, pretending to help them. Then he knocks them down and takes all their stuff." Alison added some notes to one of her reports. Doing her best to match his normal tone.

"Any arrests."

"One, but the charges were dropped. Danny and Baez are looking into it. I'm just waiting for them to call me down." Alison nodded. "What about you. I haven't talked to you since..." He cleared his throat, abandoning his sentence.

"I'm looking over an old murder case. Jack and Erin had coffee this morning." She rolled her eyes at the surprised look on Greg's face. Erin and her Ex had coffee on locations. "He asked her to look into a case she tried 5 years ago. The kid was about 20 when he murdered another gang member. His fingerprint and hat were found at the scene, and a witness ID him. According to Jack, the witness had recanted, and he thinks that the kid is innocent. Mac asked me to take a look at it since I didn't originally work the case. He wants fresh eyes to make sure the lab didn't make any mistakes." Greg raised his eyebrow.

"Good luck with that. You have Mac Erin and Jack all over your work." Alison rested her head on her desk.

"I know what I was thinking.

But I couldn't say no."

"Just like Erin and Jack." Alison looked at him, smiling.

"You know if anyone else in this family heard you say that they would kill you." Greg smiled.

"Because it's true." The phone on his desk rang. "Sanders." He stood up. "I'm leaving now." he hung the phone up.

"Danny," Alison asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah, they brought the guy in. Hopefully, we can get the evidence needed to put him away if he's the guy."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, see you later."

Alison sat in the chair across from Erin. She was forcing her mind to focus on the case in front of her.

"So the witness back down but his hat and fingerprints were still at the crime scene. I don't know what to tell you. As far as the lab is concerned, there is nothing else we can do unless you give us a direction to take." Alison explained.

"Right." There was a knock on the door. Alison turned around in her chair, waving at Jack Boyal as he walked over to the seat next to her. "Hi, Jack." Erin smiled. Alison looked between the two of them.

"SO, should I leave?"

She moved to get out of her chair.

"Sit down, Al," Erin said, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't, uh, mean to interrupt." Jack started.

"I just wanted to see if I could help in any way." Alison shrugged her shoulders.

"I spoke with Chantal, who recanted her original testimony. She said that the detective told her that Darnell was the shooter." Jack looked over at Erin.

"See."

"Well, I want to talk to the detective," Erin said, pulling out her planer.

"Oh, don't bother." Jack said. Erin pauses her pen in her hand. Alison shrank into her chair. She should have just left when she got the chance.

"Oh, so now you're gonna tell me how to run my investigation?" Jack leaned forward, meeting Erin's gaze.

"No, I'm suggesting you not interview the detective because he is dead." Erin's eyes shot over to Alison. She held her hands up.

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew it's on the last page of the report I sent you." She threw the words out as fast as she could.

"Oh," Erin said coldly, flipping to the right page.

"I'm not the enemy here. I wish that this hadn't happened as much as you do." Erin leaned back in her chair.

"Well, I'm not convinced it did happen because I haven't uncovered enough to believe beyond reasonable doubt the Darnell is innocent," Erin said.

"Yeah, well, there's one person instantly involved with the case who you haven't spoken to yet." Jack responded. Alison twiddled her thumbs. She felt like she was in the principles office.

"And who's that?" Erin asked.

"Darnell Johnson." Erin took a deep breath looking over at Alison.

"Fine, I'll talk to him."

Greg handed Danny another slice of Key lime pie. It had been a long dinner, but no one had commented on the dark circles under his and Alison's eyes.

"Thanks," Danny said, taking it.

"That's your third piece."

Henry called him out. Alison drank her coffee while watching Ethen asleep on the monitor up in her old room.

"Well, I'm celebrating today, gramps. It's the first time in my life that I'm not taking the flak for being the hothead of the family." Alison glanced over at Jamie.

"I'm not a hothead." He said.

"Said the hothead. But don't get me wrong, I support what you did, 100%."

"Me too." Henry called out. Alison and Greg glanced at each other. They were going their best to keep their heads out of the fight between Jamie and Frank. It seemed that they had been able to make it through dinner but not dessert.

"Cut it out," Frank called out, not looking up from his cup of coffee.

"Right 'cause you wouldn't want to hear from cops at the table how they feel about my collar, would we?" Jamie said, shaking his head.

"You arrest wasn't the issue. The manner of your arrest was."

"Or was it the last name attached to it?" Alison shot out. Greg let out a gust of air next to her, and the table froze.

"Excuse me," Frank said, staring at her. She cleared her throat, looking at him.

"Were you made that Jamie dumped a bucket of water on a man resisting arrest, or are you mad that the headline said Reagan's youngest son?" The tension at the table built.

"Anybody want'a hear what I think about it?" Sean asked.

"Not really."

"Well, it's like your broken window theory." Sean continued ignoring Henry's comment. "you know you see somebody doing damage to a property, okay nobody cares about it, so more people start to do damage to the property. Same thing with cops."

"That's a bit of a stretch," Erin said, tapping her fork on her plate. Eddie shook her finger.

"No, he's got the point. Every day you hear another story about a cop getting harassed for just doing their job, and eventually, it becomes accepted practice to harass cops."

"Exactly right." Jamie agreed with her.

"Not if cops arrest violators when it happens," Frank called out. "Within the confines of the law and without malice. We don't have the luxury of breaking the rules to make a point."

"Right, so just a different set of rules for us. Is that it?" Jamie asked.

"Exactly right." Frank nodded.

"Cops should be held to a higher standard," Erin added.

"What about DAs? Should they be held to a higher standard, too?" Danny called out. Alison could tell he was still mad that Erin pled down his assault turned murder case to possession of stolen goods. She had gotten an ear from Greg when Danny gave him the call the other day.

"Yes," Erin said, walking into Danny's trap.

"So, How come when a cop makes a mistake, they're crucified in the media, they lose their jobs, and there's no room for human error, but when a DA makes a mistake, nothing happens to them." Erin didn't have a response.

"That's right." Eddie nodded. "You see stories all the time about people being locked up for years, and then it turns out that they're innocent." Alison flinched at that one. Knowing Erin was thinking about the case, she had been working all week.

"Yeah, what happens to the DA in those circumstances, sis? They apologize? No, they don't even bother to apologize. They just move on with their lives."

"No one moves on from a wrongful prosecution, Danny, and all we have are the facts, not crystal balls." Erin's voice was thick. Danny looked over to his left.

"You know Sean, the two broken window theory about cops also applies to old people. Did you know that?" Sean kept his mouth shut, shaking his head. "yeah, see if someone thinks a certain group of people is broken, then it makes it seem like no one cares about them, which sends the message that you can violate them without any repercussion." And they had looped all the back around to Danny's case. Erin's glared at him.

"Do you have something you want to say to me?"

"I just said it."

Greg sat at his desk, looking for any evidence that might help Danny's case. Alison slammed her phone on the receiver.

"What's wrong, Ally." She looked over at him.

"The DNA just came back. It belongs to Malcolm Scott known drug dealer and drug user. He's in prison for two other murders. The gun to those murders matched the gun that killed Muhammad Akin. Mean Jack's client is innocent, and Erin convicted an innocent man." Greg shook his head.

"Have you told Erin yet?" Alison pointed to her phone.

"She was out of the office, I told Anthony. He's going to tell her."

"How do you think she's going to take it."

"Well, after what Danny said and the fact that Darnell missed the first 5 year's of his son's life, not well. I set the report over the Jack. I'm hoping he will talk to her." Greg raised his eyebrow.

"Why Ally, you trickster." Alison raised her hands.

"He's the only person I know besides's Dad that can break down her walls. It's just a manner in how he asks the questions." Greg held his finger up, pulling out the case file.

"What."

"That gives me an idea for Danny's case." He tossed the file into his bag. "What if we just get the guy to confess."

"Yeah, why bother collecting evidence when we can just have everyone confess," Alison said, flipping her pen in her fingers.

"No, I mean to get him to confess to a crime that he committed to get out of a crime that he didn't commit." Her pen stopped mid-air.

"It has to be a good story."

"The best."

Greg leaned against the wall next to the viewing window. Danny and Baez were in the interrogation room with their suspect. While Erin stood across from him, Greg listening to the story Danny was spinning.

"He's good," Greg said as the suspect signed his confection. Erin is watched as Danny walked out of the room. He joined them, smiling.

"Nice job Danny. You got him to confess to all the crimes he committed. Little does he know one of those crimes is murder." Danny held up his hands.

"What can I say? Greg had a great idea." Greg pulled out his phone, checking his messages.

"It was all you and Baez. You made it happen." Erin grabbed her coat.

"It was very impressive but did you really have to use your 4th-grade teacher's name for the fake victim." Danny shrugged his shoulders.

"I never like her. She pulled my ear. Well, do you guys want to go out and celebrate?" Erin's expression grew dark.

"I have to be somewhere." Greg and Danny exchanged glances.

"Maybe next time." She turned, walking away. Greg pushed off the wall.

"I'm assuming you heard about her case." He asked.

"Yeah, Jack called me." Greg tilted his head.

"Seriously."

"He wanted me to keep an eye on her."

"Where do you think she's going." Danny stuck his hands in his pockets.

"To talk to an innocent man." He shook his head. "So Sanders, you coming and hanging out with me or heading home." Greg held up his phone.

"Can't I get another case I have to head over to? Maybe next time." Danny nodded, looking at his feet. "But you know who might like to go with you is Henry." He looked up at that. "There is a trivia night that he might like to show off." Danny smiled. "You know, fixing a few broken windows yourself."

"Thanks, Greg. I think I will."

Alison sat at the kitchen table. It was about 2 in the morning. She couldn't sleep, and she didn't want o spend another night alone in the bathroom. The kitchen light turned on, and she smiled at Greg. He yawned, walking over to her. He reached out, and she nodded. He places a nad on her shoulder, rubbing it before kissing the top of her head.

"Couldn't sleep." He said, sitting down next to him. Alison placed a hand on his cheek.

"I could ask you the same thing." Greg smiled. Reached over, taking his hand. She needed to be touching him.

"It's been a week, and you haven't talked to anyone in the family about the letters."

"You noticed." Alison smiled.

"Family dinner was too normal." Greg nodded.

"I know you also haven't said anything to Mac or Flack because my file is not back on his desk." Alison leaned forward. "Why?" Greg met her gaze.

"I need to get through the letters first." Alison jerked back in her chair.

"You're reading them."

"I had to know."

"How many." Greg shook his head.

"One." He looked sick. "I've only been able to read one." She nodded.

"What year?"

"The first." Greg scooted his chair closer. "I can see just from that later why you don't talk about what happened, and you never mentioned him." He pressed his lips together. "I just wished that you trusted me enough to talk to me." Alison looked down at her hands.

"I trust you, Greg. I just could bring this pain to you." Greg reached over, taking her hand in his, rubbing over her scars.

"I never want you to feel like you have to hide your pain from me." He kissed her scars. "It's not easy. We both know that. but the thought of you living through this alone breaks my heart." Alison sniffed, whipping her eyes.

"How did I ever get lucky enough to meet you." Greg smiled.

"I'm the lucky one."