Babysitting Detail

by Loreal

A seventh-season fanfic, also featuring the short-lived character of Joanne Molenski. While Hunter and Molenski investigate the homicide of a woman, things become very complicated when the woman's daughter is found and it is learned that she witnessed th

BABY-SITTING DETAIL

BY: LML

Prologue:

The crime scene was buzzing with people milling from one part to another. In the midst of all this, a woman's body lay motionless on the floor. The coroner and his crew were busy preserving what they could from the scene without getting in the way of the police. The room looked as though there'd been a struggle, however, there hadn't been too much damage.

"Have the lab boys bag this and dust it for prints." The tall, well-built man motioned for a nearby technician to take the piece of evidence he'd found. The man stood from where he'd been kneeling and straightened his extremely tall figure. He towered over a good majority of those present, including the woman who approached and stood beside him.

"Looks like we've got a pretty bad homicide here. Why don't you go home and I'll handle the rest for the night. Besides, they're pretty sure O'Bryan disappeared with the kid. We'll comb the house, but I doubt we'll find her anywhere. If I need you I know where to find you."

The woman gave her partner a look of relief and turned to leave. But before she left, she took one last look at the contents of the living room, right off the kitchen. It held the normal furniture, couch, coffee table, stereo, TV, and other things you'd find in someone's living room. She also noticed that it contained a child's toy box and a puzzle, which had yet to be finished.

"Thanks. I appreciate it, Sgt."

Opening Theme/Credits

Part 1

Joanne Molenski sat staring out the windshield of her car. She'd been driving around for the last half hour, trying to figure out what it was that was bothering her. She knew it was something she'd have to face eventually, but did she really want to? No she figured, better to leave it alone. The past week had been a real pain in the ass. After turning Danko over to the District Attorney, she learned that a reporter, who had been nosing around in the case and writing slanderous reports about the police department, had gone through her desk to find the file on the case.

Not only that, but then there was the case of the rape/murder of the oriental girls. That case had brought back several particularly disturbing memories from her childhood, memories she would have been happy to leave buried in the deep hole she'd put them in. The memories of her best friend Marian Delanie were surfacing rapidly due to the nature and horror this case presented to both her and her new partner.

Then to top it all off, Hunter had started out by being less than tolerable. She knew, however, that it wasn't his fault that it was the mixture of emotions from her childhood memories and the emotional toll this case was taking on her. That compounded with the fact that Hunter was still adjusting to the new partnership, wasn't the best ingredient to add to the pot. She knew of his prior partnership to one Sergeant DeeDee McCall only through the reputation the two partners had formed together over the years. However, a reputation was a reputation; and she couldn't walk into this partnership expecting to automatically replace Sgt. McCall.

But was it just that and that alone? Or were there other things, which got to her more than she'd have liked? After Michael's murder and her newest partner's transfer from Homicide to Metro, could she honestly say to herself that there weren't feelings of guilt and resentment in certain areas of her job? Who knew for sure. All she knew was that she just wanted to go home, take a hot bath, and forget this day ever happened. She knew that with time it would get easier, but for now she needed to focus on the present.

Now the two partners had finished their first few cases together, and were now working the O'Bryan case. This one was going to be an even larger pain in the ass than their last few cases. But at least Hunter had been sympathetic enough to send Joanne on her way home while he took care of the rest of the night's work. She wondered if it was his style, or if this was one of those rare occasions, but this case was having a strange effect on everyone. It seemed that a father, desperate to regain the family he lost as a result of alcohol abuse, had murdered his ex-wife and had kidnapped the couple's three-year old daughter. The husband, Paul O'Bryan, had been involved with a rehab program for nearly a month, when everything went downhill. For some reason, known only to O'Bryan at that point in time, he paid his ex-wife Shirley a visit. From what the two partners had been able to piece together, and from statements made by the neighbors, the couple got into a shouting argument, which escalated into verbal assaults and then a physical confrontation. O'Bryan's ex-wife went to grab for the phone, but her husband stopped her. He grabbed her and had apparently tried to twist her arm. At least the coroner and the two detectives at the scene had determined that much. Both Molenski and Hunter had come to the conclusion that since the couple's three-year old daughter Becky was nowhere to be found, either in or around the crime scene, that it was safe to speculate her father had been the one to murder her mother, and ultimately had been the one instrumental in her abduction.

Between the two of them, Molenski and her partner Hunter had determined that Paul O'Bryan had been somewhat abusive towards his ex-wife when they were married. Apparently, Shirley O'Bryan had been seen at one time with bruises and a black eye while still married to her husband. A neighbor had given them a statement to that affect when she'd come over to see what the commotion was all about. When she inquired about the child, she also explained about the divorce and custody of the little girl.

Joanne was tired, and all she wanted was a soak in a hot bath and her bed. She pulled into her driveway, shut off the engine, and entered her house. She turned on the light in the hall as she entered, noticing immediately that something was wrong. At first she thought she was seeing things, however, when she spotted the shadow of a man sitting on her couch, she realized something was definitely wrong. She reached under her jacket and drew her gun while at the same time clicking the safety off.

"Freeze, police!"

"Take it easy, Joanne, it's Hunter." He stepped into the light so she could get a better view. He stepped in close to her and held his hands high in the air. Molenski took a good long look at her partner, and then she relaxed and put her gun away.

"Sorry, Sergeant Hunter. It was an honest mistake. I didn't know it was..."

"I just came by to give you some information we found. It came in after you left the crime scene this evening. Charlie gave it to me when I returned to the station."

"First of all, how did you get in here? Don't you know that breaking and entering is against the law?"

"Yes," Hunter confessed. "But you see, Joanne, technically I didn't break into your house. When I got here your door was unlocked and I saw all the lights in your house on. I looked for your car in the driveway, but when I saw that you hadn't returned yet, I was a little worried. I just felt it was my duty to check things out and see what was what."

"What do you mean my door was unlocked? I always lock my doors if I leave. This is Los Angeles, Sergeant, not Hickville."

"Well, it looks like you forgot to lock the back door this time. Look, I'm sorry I scared you. I really am sorry, but when I saw that all your lights were on in the back, I just got worried that's all."

She could tell that he was trying his best at making amends and decided to let it go. All she wanted to do now was find out what her partner had to say and then go to bed. She just wanted this day to be over and done with.

"What's up?" Joanne's mind was back on the case. "What's the new information? We find O'Bryan or any idea where he might be?"

"No, not yet. There is something though. It seems that there are all sorts of marks in the ground in the back yard. There were several footprints, two sets of them. The lab boys are making casts as we speak. So how are you doing? You seemed a little out of sorts at the crime scene this evening."

Joanne looked at her partner of just a few weeks and slowly raised her eyes to meet his. She didn't want to give him too much information about her. Giving out information about her personal life was something she hadn't done since her engagement to her ex-fiancé had been broken and she had been left to deal with the pain alone. Hunter closed the distance between them and placed a gentle hand underneath her chin. He tilted her head upward.

"Joanne, is everything okay? You just don't seem to be yourself lately. I can understand how the murders of the oriental girls brought back memories of your friend's murder. But something else has been bothering you lately. What is it? Come on, talk to me. We're partners."

After a long silence, Joanne finally spoke. "Isn't today the twenty-first of October?" Hunter nodded and looked somewhat puzzled. Joanne finally broke and told him. "Before Michael and I started seeing one another I was engaged. Three years ago today I was supposed to be married. His name was Jason Roberts. I was at the church waiting for him, but he never showed. I found a note that he dropped on the doorstep of my apartment. He didn't have the decency to come to me and tell me face to face that he didn't want to marry me. I never saw him again after that, but I've heard from various acquaintances that he's now seeing this really good looking model or something."

"Joanne, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Is there anything I can do?"

"You know, Sergeant Hunter, I've thought about trying to find him and arrange an accidental shooting or something, but I figured that dealing with the paperwork wouldn't be so much fun. But I guess I'll be okay. I think that this case with the little girl and the dead mother has something to do with how I'm feeling."

"Tell you what. How about I take you out to dinner?"

Joanne smiled widely and said, "Captain DeVane warned me about you and dinner. Sorry, but I don't eat chilly dogs." Hunter's face lit up and he reached out and spun Joanne towards the door.

"I figured on something like that from our captain. And don't worry. Chilly dogs were not on my mind. Just get in the car and you'll see where we're going."

Twenty minutes later, both Hunter and Molenski were seated at a table near the window in what Molenski could only call a fancy restaurant. When they had pulled up to the restaurant's parking lot, Joanne had objected. She tried to tell Hunter to save his money, but he was persistent and she lost the argument. So here they were, sitting down to dinner at a pretty decent restaurant, enjoying an evening that had started out pretty poorly.

As they ate their meal, the conversation switched from their work to life and then back to work. But when the topic of conversation changed yet again, Molenski was surprised to hear what Hunter had to say.

"Well, with Charlie taking the transfer to Metro, and then with me transferring to Metro, there really are a lot of opportunities for climbing the ladder here on the force. In fact, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see you make either Sergeant or Lieutenant some day very soon."

"I don't know about that. I mean getting into Metro was pretty good for me, but Lieutenant? Ah, who knows where they're going to be someday. So what about you? Why haven't you taken any promotions up the blue ladder?"

"Let's just say that until five years ago, I had a little problem with my captain, or I was happy where I was. But I think someday that I'll make Lieutenant, have the little closet-sized office, and maybe get out of work in enough time to catch a Rams game now and again. But seriously, Joanne, I really hope you get the credit you deserve. I've looked over your record, and you're a pretty impressive cop. But just to warn you, I'm going to be right there when you get that promotion, and with enough videotape to make sure I get the whole thing, start to finish."

Molenski looked shocked. Her face seemed to turn several different shades f red and then some. Finally, after a temporary loss of words, she managed to speak. "You wouldn't be thinking of videotaping something like that, now would you? I can't stand video cameras."

"Oh yes, I fully intend to have a camera there pointed directly at your smiling face." This got a smile out of his partner and she laughed.

"Just don't go showing it off to the whole department afterwards, okay?" Hunter just grinned at his partner and laughed. Joanne smiled and reached across the table to squeeze her partner's hand. "Thank you very much. You know, when this day started I thought it would be a really lousy one. But thanks to a great partner and friend, it's turned into something a lot better."

Hunter looked acrossed the table at his partner. He knew how much she had to be hurting, and naturally he wanted to help her in any way possible. He could almost feel her smile starting to grow as it spread across her very attractive features. Their first few cases together had been rough on Joanne, but she'd stuck with them and toughed it out to the end.

Just then Hunter spotted a uniform heading in their direction. He motioned the younger man over to the table. "Sergeant Hunter, Officer Molenski, Captain DeVane asked me to find you."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

The young patrolman looked at the two partners and drew a blank look. "I don't know, Sergeant. Captain DeVane just requested that I find you."

As the partners followed the young patrolman out of the restaurant Hunter heard him comment, "Do you know how many hotdog stands I've checked tonight?"

"Think of it as a learning experience," commented Hunter as he and Molenski climbed into his car. "At least you'll know where to get the best fastfood around town."

Before heading directly to the precinct, Hunter drove Molenski back to her house to collect her car. Then, the two partners drove their respective vehicles downtown towards Metro. Back at the precinct, the partners entered their captain's office and stood at attention. Charlie looked up from a file he held in his hand and at the two partners. "Hunter, Molenski, I want you two to head back to the O'Bryan house. I want you to check that house from top to bottom until you find any information on the kid. We've got a lead on O'Bryan, and Navarro has it for now. I can't get anyone else to search the house. Hunter, you're good with kids. If you find anything, or even if you find the kid, take her somewhere safe. Keep her in protective custody until we track down her father."

Hunter looked at his captain for a moment and then grinned slightly. "You mean Juvie actually is willing to allow me to take care of a kid? Do you remember how they climbed the walls last year during the case involving the Ressel baby?"

"Yes, Hunter, Juvie's going to let you take care of a kid. That is if you can find her. Juvie isn't at all pleased, but so far she's our only link to this whole thing. If we can't find her, then our case against O'Bryan is shot."

"What do you mean, Captain?" Molenski's eyes were transfixed on Charlie DeVane, who was on the verge of pacing the floor.

"The District Attorney can't charge O'Bryan with the murder rap unless we have more substancial evidence to use against him. The fingerprints in the house aren't enough, and neither is that argument the neighbors heard. O'Bryan's defense lawyer will most likely say that his client went to the house to talk, and a verbal argument ensued, but that's where it ends. O'Bryan didn't use any weapons to kill his wife…"

"Just his bare hands." Hunter finished the sentence. "But Charlie, what about those footprints found in the backyard? Have the lab boys returned any physical evidence to prove that O'Bryan took his daughter?"

"Those casts came back as being O'Bryan's footprints, but the smaller set had been there for a while. So it seems likely that she's not with him. Now get out of here and stop wasting my time."

Once the partners reached the O'Bryan house, they began a careful and methodical search of the premises. Even though the others had searched the place thoroughly earlier that evening, it wouldn't hurt to look again. Molenski began her search down stairs, while Hunter opted for the upper floor. He began to comb every inch of the upstairs, until he at last found the child's bedroom. He knew without having been up here earlier, that the room had been searched thoroughly. But since he'd been ordered to search this house once more, into the bedroom he went.

It was a normal sized room, with colorful wallpaper on the walls, and the normal scattering of toys and other items on the dresser and in one corner of the room. He began his search on the wall to the right of the doorway. Along this wall there was only the occasional toy here or there, until the neadboard of the bed was pushed up against it. He looked under the bed, but there was nothing of interest under there. Not even a stray toy under there. Next he searched between the dresser and the perpendicular wall beyond it's measurements The space created between the dresser's edge and the adjacent wall made something of a cubbyhole where a child could most likely crawl into and hide for quite a long while. But still there was no sign of the child.

"If I were a kid, where would I hide?" Hunter thought to himself as he finished examining the crawlspace between the dresser and the wall. Finally, he came to the closet. This was a portion of the room which was most likely searched by someone earlier, but he wasn't going to leave anything to chance. He opened the closet door, immediately dodging the falling toys and the occasional piece of child's clothing which fell from either a shelf or a hanger. At first glance the closet revealed nothing of great importance, just your average child's closet and its average mess within. Then he saw something which caught his attention. Towards the back of the closet, there was what appeared to be a built-in bench with drawers below it. Then ne noticed the cupboard door which made up the back wall of the closet.

"Now this," Hunter thought to himself, "most certainly had to have been searched." But then again maybe it hadn't. He slowly opened the cupboard door and awaited the fall of more toys and clothing. But it didn't come this time. He checked quickly to be sure that his gun was securely in its holster and that it couldn't be seen by any living thing when covered by his jacket. Then he reached into the cupboard and looked into the darkness. There was just enough light to make out more clothing, but then he saw something small, huddled in the corner on the bottom boards of the cupboard. He slowly reached out and touched this form with a tentative hand. At first nothing happened, but then he felt something move slightly. He heard a soft whimper and at the same time felt the object move once more.

"Becky? Becky, it's okay, honey. I'm a police officer. You can come out now." Hunter waited a minute and then inched forward. He reached in and brought the little girl, still huddled in a ball and wrapped in a blanket, out of the tiny enclosure. She landed in his lap and flinched. He wrapped his arms around the little girl and slowly stood from the kneeling position he'd been in.

"What I want to know is how you got in there, little one." Hunter said softly to the girl in his arms. He just stood there, holding her still wrapped in the oversized blanket.

He exited the bedroom and made his way downstairs. He found Molenski in the kitchen examining something. "Look who I found hiding in her closet." Hunter tried to get the little girl to look at his partner, but she would not.

"Now how do you suppose she got there? Maybe her father or someone else?"

"Or maybe she crawled in there herself. Look, I don't know how she got there, but it's our job to keep her in protective custody like the captain said."

"Okay. I'll go back to the precinct house and see what I can dig up. I'm going to give Navarro a hand tracking down her father, and then I'll meet you at...where?"

"I'm taking her to a beach house I rented for the season. You'll find the address on my desk blotter underneath all the files. I'm taking her there, getting her something to eat, and maybe we'll have a little talk."

Hunter exited the house and headed for his car. He went to place the little girl on the passenger's seat, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and refused to let go. Hunter finally moved the seat back and sat himself behind the wheel with the little girl still glued to his neck.

"Honey, I've got to put you down. I can't drive with you glued to me. I promise I'm not going to leave you." He tried again to put her on the passenger's seat, and this time she let him. He reached over her and grabbed at the seatbelt on the door. He pulled hard on it and fastened the safetybelt around the child's small frame. He drove to the beach house he had rented the year before when McCall had been his partner. He hadn't used it since she'd left. It was kind of a special place for the two of them. He had taken her there when she had come home to find her cleaning lady had been murdered. She'd had nowhere to go and he had only been too happy to offer her a place for the night. In fact, he'd wished she'd stayed here, rather than accepting Alex Turnan's offer of marriage. But if she was happy, then he was happy for her.

Once at the beach house, Hunter picked up the little girl and carried her into the living room. He looked at the tiny face, remembering the last time he'd had a child there at the beach house. It had been during his investigation of a case involving the child's natural mother, who had been murdered, and a blackmailer's desperate attempts to gain possession of the child. The little girl wiggled in his arms and pointed to the open doorway for the kitchen area of the beach house.

"You hungry, Becky? Huh? You want something to eat?"

"Mommy." The child's response was very quiet, but at the same time she seemed to be growing tired and cranky by now. Hunter shifted Becky to his shoulder and entered the kitchen. He swung the refridgerator door open and peered inside. Nothing. No food that a three-year old child would eat. Hell, even a grown man wouldn't eat what was in there.

"Well, Becky, it looks like you and me are going to have to go out to get something to eat tonight. What are you hungry for, huh?"

Becky looked at him with a look of confusion. Then she pointed to a cupboard and looked questioningly at it. "Cookie?" Hunter smiled and laughed. He lightly bounced her up in the air and resettled her back onto his shoulder.

"Sorry, sweety, I don't have any cookies. But what do you say to getting a hamburger and french fries? I'll even stop and get you some cookies." Becky gave him a smile. She nodded and pointed to the front door.

"Where Mommy? Me want Mommy too."

"Mommy's not here, Becky. You're going to stay with me for a while. Now let's go get that hamburger." And with that, he left the beach house with the little girl, heading for the nearest fastfood restaurant.

Meanwhile, back at the station, Molenski sat at her desk going through Paul O'Bryan's file. She had found nothing of great importance at the house, other than the discovery of Becky O'Bryan. Captain DeVane exited his office and approached her desk.

"Molenski, got anything new for me on the O'Bryan case?"

"Well, Cap, the only new thing we have is Becky O'Bryan. Sergeant Hunter's got her with him in protective custody. I came back here to try to dig up anything on O'b ryan. So far I haven't found anything to pinpoint a possible location on him."

"Well, not any more you don't. We just got word of a sighting of him. Apparently, O'Bryan tried to cut through someone's backyard on foot. The guy who owned the property got a good look at him and noticed that his shirt had a few dark stains on it. I'm going to figure on it being blood, since I'm sure his ex-wife fought back."

"Well, that concludes with what the coroner's report shows for Mrs. O'Bryan. APparently there were numerous skin and fiber samples under her fingernails. She must've scratched him pretty good."

"Okay, get on it then. When you're done with the followup on the lead, check and see how your partner is doing with the kid. Until her father is arrested I can't in good conscience place her in Juvie."

Joanne nodded and grabbed her jacket. She left the precinct in search of the illusive Mr. Paul O'Bryan. DeVane watched the newest addition to the precinct leave. "Well," he thought to himself, "at least the little girl is safe with Hunter."

Part 2

Sitting in a booth in the back of the fastfood restaurant, Hunter held the little girl on his lap and attempted to eat his chicken sandwich over the top of her small head. Becky, on the other hand, was happily consuming her hamburger and fries. Hunter picked up one of the napkins on the table and wiped a dribble of catsup from her face. "How's that burger, huh, Becky?"

"Good." She looked at Hunter over her shoulder. He finished his dinner and watched her eat for a second. When he was sure she was finished eating, he scooped her and their trash up and dumped it into the garbage bin.

"Now let's go get those cookies." Becky Just looked straight ahead at the street and the cars as they passed by. Twenty minutes later, Hunter set the little three-year old on his bed and covered her with the blankets. He turned on the bedside lamp and left the door open just incase.

"Well, looks like you're finally gonna let old Hunter get some sleep. See yuh in the morning." He made sure she was tucked in, and left the room. He went down into the kitchen and reached into the refridgerator for a beer. He took his cold drink and went into the living room to make his bed for the night.

Molenski was standing in the living room of the man who had seen Paul O'Bryan trying to cut through his back yard just an hour before. "Mr. Roberts, what did the man look like?"

Mr. Roberts, a man of his late thirties, answered Molenski's question with a definite assurance in his voice. "Officer Molenski, I know who and what Paul O'Bryan is. I've known him for the past three years. I'm absolutely positive that the man I saw was him!"

"Yes, but that doesn't answer my question. What did the man look like, Mr. Roberts?"

"He was about six feet tall, brown hair, dark brown eyes, and he had a t-shirt on. But the t-shirt was the thing that caught my attention the most. It looked like there was blood on it. See, I have a scanner and I listen to most of the calls you guys get, and when I heard about what happened at Shirley's house, well I just knew it had to be Paul."

Molenski thanked him for the information, and then headed in the direction of the man's back yard. Officers Navarro and Dorsey were already there, combing through the yard to see if anything could be found for the forensic crew that was on their way. She approached Navarro and quipped, "So we get anything useful?"

"Not a footprint. If that guy came through here, then he should have at least left some impression of his shoe size. So, either Mr. Roberts in there is feeding us a load of nothing, or Paul O'Bryan grew wings and flew through this guy's back yard."

Just then Dorsey approached the two officers. "Officer Molenski, Brad, I think we've got something." The two stopped their talk and headed over to where Dorsey had pointed. "It looks like the guy tried to walk around the perimeter of the yard, and then attempted to scale the fence at the back of the lot. There's a large stretch of wooded area behind this property. Now unless I miss my guess, we'll probably find something resembling track marks around the fencing of this place."

"Okay. Get more back up, and get the foreinsics boys down here on the double. I want to start combing through these woods tonight. Oh, and Navarro," He looked at Joanne suspiciously.

"What?"

"Looks like Roberts wasn't feeding us any of that load you were talking about, and there were no strange happenings here tonight. Go with Dorsey, and start searching the woods. I'll wait for backup and the foreinsics team."

"Whatever you say." Navarro inclined his head in her direction and went off to do what he'd been told.

Part 3

The next morning, Hunter sat up on the couch. He couldn't remember why he was on his couch, or even why he was in the beach house. But then the details of the previous day's events came rushing back to him. He heard a crying sound coming from the bedroom and got up and headed in that direction. He entered the room and went straight over to the bed where the little girl was tucked in.

"Hey. Look who's finally awake. Sleep well did you?" He lifted Becky from where she lay, noticing the tear tracks on her face. "Hey, Becky, what's wrong? What are those tears for, huh? You wake up scared?"

"Mommy. Me want Mommy now!" Hunter lifted Becky to his shoulder and walked out of the room with her. He kept walking until he reached the kitchen. On the way he tried to explain to her, in the best way one can explain to a three-year old, that Mommy wasn't coming. While he talked, he began pulling things out for the little girl to eat for her breakfast. He couldn't take her out for every meal, it wasn't safe.

Just then there was a knock on his front door. Hunter went to open it, and after peering through the glass, opened the door to a very tired looking Captain DeVane. Charlie took a look at the kid perched on Hunter's shoulder, and said, "So this is Becky O'Bryan. Where'd you find her, Hunter?"

"Found her hiding in her closet. Now to me it looks like one of two things happened. Either someone deliberately put this child in the closet, either to protect her or to keep her hidden from us."

"Or?"

"Or, she heard the commotion and crawled in their herself. But the way I found her doesn't suggest anything. It's entirely possible that Becky here crawled into that cupbord in her closet. Say for arguments sake, that her father comes into her room looking for her. He can't find her so he opens the closet door. All the kid's toys and things fall out. He doesn't see her, so he piles everything back into the closet and shuts the door."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I guess when one of the uniforms was searching the room, he opened the closet door and the same thing happened."

"Yeah, but come on, Charlie. How could anyone have missed the cupboard in that closet? Why didn't the uniform search the whole closet?"

"That I can't answer. Do you need anything for the kid?"

Hunter shook his head. "But I do have to ask, what do you want done with her? Should I take her to Juvie or keep her here with me?"

"She stays with you. I don't know what the circumstances around her being found in the closet are, but she's safe here."

"I know she's safe here. In Juvie there's the possibility of someone from her father's office going in and trying to take her out. I realize they can't without proof of any relationship, but remember, Charlie, this guy used to be a half-way decent attorney at one time."

DeVane looked puzzled. "Well, I still think she's safer with you than anyone else. Juvie may not be too happy, but they'll have to understand that we're doing the best we can for this kid while her father's still out there. So how'd it go last night with her here anyway?"

"Well we went out to get dinner, because I, not knowing I was going to be bringing home a child, forgot to buy some for Becky before hand. Then I put her to bed when we got back and turned in myself." He was playing with Becky's little hand, which had been pointed at the captain. "Say hi to Charlie, Becky." Then to Charlie he asks, "So how'd it go with Molenski? She find anything last night?"

"Well she followed up on a lead, and to the best of my knowledge, between her, Navarro, and Dorsey, they've started combing the woods behind a house about a mile away from where Mr. O'Bryan's ex lived. They've gone home to get some sleep, but there are about half a dozen uniforms out combing through the woods to see what they can find. In the meantime, I want you to stay with the kid. Oh, and I went and found a few things for her to play with." He held up a large brown paper bag. "I didn't know what she likes, but I hope she'll play with something. At least it'll give you a chance to get some of the papertrail covered. Here's the file, and here's my celular number. Call me if you need me to spell you for a while."

"Thanks, Charlie, but I don't think that will be necessary. Becky and I are going to have some breakfast and then I'm going to try to get Becky to talk to me. There's the possibility that she can tell us something. Speaking of breakfast, you look like death warmed over. You wanna stay for breakfast?"

"No thanks. I talked to your ex-partner before she left for England and she told me about you and breakfast. Oh, and Hunter, you can't boil toast! It's just not possible. But in any case, I've got to get down to the precinct."

"When was the last time you slept at all, Charlie?"

"Probably the night before last. I was up all night waiting on word from Molenski and the others. She didn't come in until 2:30a.m., and by that time I had to brief the other team of searchers we'd called in." Charlie started to leave. Becky admired his badge and pointed to it.

"Pretty…Star…Star rhyme."

Hunter gave Charlie an "I have no idea what she's talking about" and watched as his boss and friend left.

"Have fun. Just remember, Hunter, she's a kid. Don't scare her."

Hunter gave Charlie a look which said, "Yuh think?" Charlie turned and left the beach house, after taking one last look at Hunter and the O'Bryan child. Hunter took Becky into the kitchen and continued his earlier task of finding something for Becky to eat.

"Okay, Becky, which do you want for breakfast, eggs and toast, or cereal?"

Becky pointed to the box of Frosted Flakes sitting on the counter and nodded emphatically. Hunter acknowledged the little girl's answer and retrieved a bowl and the milk from their respective places in the kitchen. He sat Becky down at the kitchen table and put her breakfast in front of her. She picked up the spoon and began to feed herself. Hunter sat and watched her feed herself, dribbling the milk down her front and almost getting it in her long hair.

When it looked like Becky wasn't going to eat anymore, Hunter pushed back from the table. He asked if she was finished eating her breakfast, to which she nodded, and he lifted her from the chair. Stepping over to the sink, he retrieved the washcloth which hung over the faucet, and began to clean the milk from her shirt and face.

He set her on the floor and reached down for her hand. "Come on. I need to talk to you for a few minutes."

Becky looked up at the very tall man standing beside her, and then pointed up with both arms. Standing beside Hunter, she only reached his thigh. Hunter bent down and lifted her from the floor. Once in the living room, he sat down on the sofa with her curled up in his lap. He tried to get her to look at him. When she didn't turn her eyes to meet his face, he thought of something else. He took the bag of things that Charlie had brought for her to play with and began pulling things out of it. The first thing he pulled out was a stuffed dog. Hunter watched as the little girl became mezmorized by the stuffed animal, and he was surprised when she reached out and took it without him having to coax her.

"Doggie!"

"That's right, Becky, that's a dog. You think you can tell me something, little one?"

The child looked from Hunter to the dog and then back to Hunter. She slowly nodded and then shook her head.

"Becky, how did you end up in your closet?" No response. "Becky, you've got to talk to me. How did you get in your closet? Did Mommy put you there?" She shook her head. "Did Daddy put you in your closet?" This time the little girl didn't respond.

"Becky," Hunter gently placed a finger under the little girl's chin and turned her head so she could see his face. "Becky, did Daddy put you in your closet?"

Becky began to cry, softly at first, but then her crying grew louder in pitch and intensity. Hunter Stood up and began pacing with her in his arms. It was a trick his mother used to use on him when he was a toddler, and he hoped it worked for this little one.

Molenski had just entered the precinct when she was approached by an extreemly excited Detective Dorsey. He handed her a piece of paper and pointed to the door. "Molenski! We know where O'Bryan is hiding out. Just got a call that he checked into a hotel this morning using the name Jordan Mortan. Captain DeVane wants the two of us to go and pick him up pronto!"

Molenski quickly turned and raced out the door, causing Dorsey to run at a full speed just to keep up with her. They reached the hotel in just under ten minutes. Brad Navarro had been called in as their backup, and DeVane was waiting to hear from his three detectives, on any progress they might have on detaining and questioning Paul O'Bryan. Molenski took up position just outside the door to O'Bryan's room. Dorsey was waiting outside the building, near a fire escape, just in case O'Bryan got any crazy ideas. Navarro was waiting at the elivator, allowing Molenski to make the collar. Molenski readied her police issued piece, drew a beat, and rapped loudly on the hard wood of the door.

"Paul O'Bryan, this is the Los Angeles Metropolitan Police. We have a warrant for your arrest! Come out with your hands up!"

There was a splintering of wood and a shattering of glass as O'Bryan, obviously choosing to make a break for it, broke through the window and began making his way to where Dorsey was patiently awaiting his arrival.

Molenski rammed the door as hard as she could possibly manage, and burst through the splintered frame. She caught sight of O'Bryan as he began heading down the rickedy fire escape. Still holding her gun, she made to follow her suspect.

"Freeze, O'Bryan! You're under arrest!"

O'Bryan turned his head back to look at his female pursuer, and was suddenly launched downward by the momentum of his running. At first it looked like the guy was going to get away, but then Dorcey appeared, tackling O'Bryan and motioning for her to come over to make the collar. Molenski quickly followed and pinned her suspect, finally cuffing his hands behind his back.

"You're under arrest for the murder of your ex-wife, Mr. O'Bryan. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You also have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you so desire and can not afford one, one will be appointed for you by the courts free of charge. Do you understand each of the rights as I have explained them to you?"

Part 4

Back at the precinct, sitting acrossed from O'Bryan in an interogation room, Molenski was growing more and more furious as the time passed. She slammed down the file on the murder of Shirley O'Bryan on the table. She made no attempt to keep the disdain for this man from showing as she leaned in close and glared at the handcuffed man.

"Listen good, O'Bryan. We've got the evidence from your ex-wife's murder which points directly to you. You've had a history with the law. You were abusive to your ex-wife when you were married, and when she left you, you couldn't stand it. You couldn't handle the fact that Shirley was making a life for herself and her child, with...out...you..."

"I have nothing to say to you, lady. You don't know what happened at the house that night. I went there to see Becky. Shirley and I had been discussing visitation arrangements."

Molenski quickly rose to her feet and exited the small room. Captain DeVane was waiting for her in the observation room, watching her slender frame enter the room. As she entered, he turned to face her. He saw the mixture of emotions on her face as she looked through the glass at the man she'd just been questioning.

"You know something, Captain, I feel like I'm two different people. Joanne the person has a a part of her which just wants to rip that guy's heart out for what he did to his ex-wife and daughter. But Joanne the cop figures that causing bodily harm to our prisoner wouldn't be the best way to get Becky O'Bryan the justice she deserves."

"Molenski, I felt the same way when my wife Sarah, God rest her soul, was murdered. I thought of all the things I had left to say to her that I never got the chance to say, and the things we could've done together. I wanted blood for blood, and an eye for an eye. And I'll tell you something, if it hadn't been for your partner Hunter, I don't know if I'd still be here as your captain today. He stopped me from making some very wrong decisions which would really have ruined my life. And out of all that I think I learned something. It isn't that we should go after an eye for an eye, but we can't focus on the past, we need to focus on the present and the future. That little girl is the future. Our main focus should be on her needs and what is best for her in the long run. Her father is going away for quite a while, and I just learned that there aren't any family members who are able to take on the responsibility of a traumatized three-year old child."

"You're right, but what about that guy! He just makes me so incredibly sick. I don't know if I can go back in there and question him any longer."

"Let Navarro handle him for a while. I think your partner might need some help with the kid."

Back in Hunter's beach house, Hunter had just finished reading to Becky from an old storybook his father had read from when Rick was just a small baby. Becky snuggled against the big man's chest and let him read her favorite story, Snow White. She wanted to tell him about what happened the night her father had come into the house, screaming and yelling at her mother. She wanted to tell him how she had seen her father push her mother to the ground and put his hands around her throat until she stopped moving. Her father hadn't seen her of course, but she wanted to tell him everything! She wanted to tell him how she'd ended up in her closet.

Just then, Hunter stood with the girl in his arms and headed for the front door. He opened it and was surprised to see Joanne Molenski standing on the other side. "Hi. So, anything new with the case?"

"We've arrested her father. He's in custody as we speak, and our good friend Sergeant Brad Navarro is currently handling the interogation. So how's she doing?"

As Hunter filled Molenski in on Becky's day, he stepped back and invited her to enter the house. She did, and immediately, Becky stiffened when Molenski reached out to touch her.

"It's okay, Becky, this is Joanne. She's a friend of mine. She's not going to hurt you."

"Daddy did it! He did! Daddy put me in the closet." Most of her language was all jumbled, as is the case with most three-year olds. However, Hunter and Molenski got the basic idea of what she was saying.

"Becky, it's okay. Your dad isn't going to hurt you ever again. I promise." Molenski reached out once more and patted the frightened child's arm.

Over the next hour, Hunter translated the little girl's babblings for Molenski. Most of it was repeating everything over and over, but the rest of the story came out in time. Apparently, O'Bryan showed up at his ex-wife's house to talk about the custody and visitation arrangements. An argument ensued between the two adults, and the child witnessed her father murder her mother. When she went back to her bedroom, she tried to crawl back into her bed. Her father came in and had wrapped her in her blanket and put the whole bundle in the cupboard in the closet. Then, to make it appear as though the child had been taken, he took the girl's favorite doll and threw it into the backyard. Of course some of this was acquired through Brad Navarro's very persuasive techniques of interrogation.

Now Hunter sat in the passenger's seat of his own car, holding Becky O'Bryan on his lap as Molenski drove in the direction of downtown and Juvenile services. He hated having to put Becky in Juvie's hands, but this wasn't his area. His task had been completed. He'd found out what the child knew, and her father was now sitting behind bars awaiting a murder trial.

Once at Juvie, Hunter told Molenski he would be back in a few minutes. Not envying Hunter one little bit, she nodded in silent agreement and watched as her partner exited the car and walked into the building. He made his way toward a fairly young woman, seated at the main desk. He stated his name and who he was.

"Yes, Sergeant Hunter. We've been informed of the situation. However, we must inform you that your captain left some orders for you when you did in fact bring Becky O'Bryan into this office."

"And those orders were?" Hunter questioned nervously. The young woman looked at him and smiled at his obvious discomfort.

"Captain DeVane has expressly ordered you to sign these papers," she reached onto the desk and extracted some papers from a folder, "thereby becoming this child's guardian indefinitely. Sergeant, this child has no family what so ever. And, she's been through a pretty traumatic ordeal. Since she's obviously very attached to you, and the fact that you're in a position to care for the child, it seems only fair that you become this child's emergency foster parent."

Just then Charlie came up behind his detective and spoke up. "Well, that is if you think you're up for the challenge."

"I'll do it. But I want to know how everything was arranged." DeVane looked at Hunter and grinned mischievously. Something told Hunter he wasn't really too sure about wanting to know Charlie's answer, but another part of him was dying with curiosity to know how his captain had managed to get the paperwork in order for him to gain status as a foster parent.

"Let's just say it pays to have friends in our line of work and leave it at that, okay?" Hunter nodded and smiled. "Now, Sgt., I want you to get this child home and keep her happy." DeVane was teasing his detective, and he knew it. But it really was fun to watch the emotions play on Hunter's face.

Two months later

Hunter finished tucking Becky into her own bed, and made his way to answer the persistently ringing doorbell. Since the O'Bryan case had ended, Hunter had taken up permanent residency in the beach house, making it his permanent home. He never went back to his apartment, except to put what he wasn't going to need into storage, and to end the lease agreement.

When he reached the door he was surprised to see both Molenski and Charlie standing there. Smiling, he opened the door and stepped aside to allow the two to enter. Charlie handed Hunter an envelope, and went to sit down. Molenski also made her way to a chair and seated herself in it. Hunter opened the envelope with shaking fingers and extracted the papers from within. He looked at them, and then at Charlie.

"Juvie had those sent over this afternoon. If you choose to do so, these are all the forms necessary for Becky's adoption. You two seemed to have found a fondness for one another. I know how hard it was for before when you learned of Ben's existence, but here is someone who desperately needs your love and attention."

Charlie stood and smiled. He told his detective to think about it, and eventually make the right decision. Then he excused himself, leaving the two partners alone in the beach house.

"Joanne, I've been meaning to talk to you about what happened shortly before we found Becky. I've been a little worried about you since then. You seem very distracted and quiet lately. You're not yourself. What's going on? Does this have something to do with your ex-fiance?"

"Well, to be honest, Sergeant Hunter," He interrupts her quickly.

"Enough of the "Sergeant Hunter" bit. My name is Rick. Just because you're an officer, doesn't mean you can't call your partner by his first name now and again."

Joanne nodded and continued. "Well, Rick, this whole case sort of makes me realize what I'm missing out on in life. I mean I love the job, there's no question there. It's just that I see a large majority of my coworkers who just happen to have families. I guess it bothers me a little that I'm not one of those with a family waiting for me to come home each night."

Hunter grinns at her and then takes her hand. "Joanne, as far as I'm concerned, you're a part of my family, mine and Becky's. The only other family members I will even associate with are those who are not involved with the family business. So you see, you do have a family. And any time you're feeling down about not being able to take care of a kid, just come on over. I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Joanne smiled widely at this and replied, "Good. But don't expect me to babysit while you go out on a date."

THE END.