Kathryn started to review Danny's DCFS case files:

Daniel Michael Alvarez was born in Hialeyah, Florida in 1973. His file with the Florida DCFS begins in 1984 after his parents were killed in a car accident. There are notes in his file that show his mother's sister and sister's husband were supposed to take custody of the 11 year old, and his 17 year old brother Rafael Alvarez. But, six months after they took custody, his aunt and uncle left town one day while Danny was at school. He came home to an empty house. Three months later, he was picked up by the local police. He'd been sleeping on the street. Sometimes his brother would find them a place to stay. But, most of the time, Rafael was no where to be found. He would leave Danny alone to fend for himself. Danny attended school the whole time – pretending that he was still living with his aunt and uncle. He never told anyone that they abandon him.

After the local police dropped him off at DCFS, Danny was put in a group home. He ran away six times from various group and foster homes until he was 13. He also was in and out of trouble with petty crimes. When he was 13, he was picked up for shoplifting by local police. The charges were dropped when he agreed to participate in a local church after school program, and not run away from the group home again. According to his social worker's notes, he stayed out of trouble for about a year. When he was 14, he went to live with his grandmother and brother, Rafael, now 20. Rafael had been in and out of juvenile detention. Danny's social worker noted that under his brother's influence, Danny started running with the wrong crowd. Rafael, a known drug user, got into some trouble with a drug dealer. Danny tried to help his brother by being a courier for the dealer. When his brother still couldn't pay, being the dealer's courier wasn't good enough. The dealer wanted to send a message to Rafael. Danny was found in an alley beaten and stabbed in the stomach and left to die. He spent three weeks in the hospital recovering. According to his social worker, no one came to see him in the hospital. He was listed as abandoned again by DCFS. His grandmother had fallen ill and passed away. The social worker was working to find a foster home to care for the recovering Danny when he disappeared from the hospital.

When he was 15, Danny's name turned up in the Manhattan DCFS database. He was brought to the DCFS when his brother was sent to prison for possession and theft. The new social worker noted that his brother brought Danny to New York City to get away from Rafael's drug ties in Florida. Rafael owed money and couldn't pay. The new social worker found Danny a good foster home with Marshall and Regina Taylor. They were an elderly couple who took in older foster children who were committed to getting their education. The couple had no interest in being parents. They just wanted to provide living quarters for foster children that needed a safe place to stay, and collect the $600/mos stipend. The new social worker noted that Danny was very committed to not turning out like his brother. He had a plan to finish high school, keep a full-time job and go to college. He lived with the Taylors' until he graduated from high school in 1992. They agreed to let him take their name when he was 17 without adopting him. After 1992, there is no further record on file with DCFS.

Tears were falling from Kathryn's eyes as she read about Danny's painful history. She couldn't imagine how abandoned and alone he felt. It was very clear to her now why Danny was so guarded. She thought that she would feel better knowing, but actually, she felt worse because she felt like she had abandon him too. But she couldn't go to him now without telling him what she'd done. And she knew once he found out that she had investigated him, he would never want to see her again. So she just had to let him go. There was nothing else she could do.

Several weeks passed, Kathryn and Danny still hadn't talked. He came to her apartment one day and cleared out his belongings. She returned home that evening to find his key on the kitchen counter.

One day at work, Kathryn was getting off the elevator on her way to her office. She walked passed one of the court rooms, and saw Danny talking to one of her fellow ADAs. She wanted to keep walking, but something kept her feet planted. She watched Danny shake the ADA's hand, and he started walking out towards her. Just as she started to move her feet, their eyes locked.

Danny walked up to her and smiled warmly, "Hey. I was wondering when I would run into you here."

Kathryn was thankful for the smile. She responded, "Me, too. It was inevitable, right?"

"Yeah. I guess. How are you?"

"OK. You?"

"I'm fine. I'm busy with work, as usual."

"Me, too." Kathryn had no idea what to say next. Just as she was about to suggest they get coffee, someone approached them.

"Danny, I just called in to Jack. Now that we have the warrant, he wants us to get over to the Hollins' ASAP," Samantha interrupted and then noticed Danny was talking to Kathryn. "How rude of me. Sorry to interrupt. Hi, Kathryn."

"Samantha. How are you?"

"Well, I'll be better when we find Susan Hollins."

"Well then, you two better go," Kathryn said as she looked at Danny.

"It was good to see you," Danny said as he started walking toward the elevator. "Take care."

"Bye," responded Kathryn quietly. She could see that Samantha was confused by their personal exchange.

Kathryn felt at that moment that it was really over between her and Danny. She needed to focus on moving on because things would never be the same between them.

Two months passed, and Kathryn had trained herself to not think of Danny during the work day. She mostly just thought of him at night now, and first thing in the morning. She remembered waking up next to him and looking into his beautiful sleep-filled eyes and laughing at his out of control bed-head. She saw Danny occasionally. He was always very polite. She suggested once that they get coffee, but he said he was busy. She could tell he was putting distance between them. He knew he couldn't be in a relationship on her terms. He couldn't be honest with her, and she could never tell him that she knows much of what he is keeping secret.

One morning, after she and Danny had been a part for over four months, Kathryn was in a morning ADA meeting. The meeting's purpose was to handout assignments to the attorneys. Kathryn received her assignments and was about to leave when she heard a familiar name.

The ADA in charge of the meeting said, "Williams, you need to take this Alvarez case. Rafael Alvarez was shot to death by an off-duty patrol officer last night during the commission of an armed robbery. Mr. Alvarez was not a solid citizen. He did time for aggravated assault, theft and possession. It looks like a good shoot especially since this Alvarez was strung out at the time, but we need to do a thorough investigation. We don't want any ACLU inquiries into the NYPD."

Kathryn caught up with ADA Williams after the meeting. "Hey, can I look at the Alvarez file?"

"Sure, you want to take it. I don't have time for it, really."

"No, I can't take it. I just want to read it. I'll drop it off in your office in 20 minutes."

"Thanks a lot."

Kathryn sat in the hall and read the file. She saw a mug shot of Rafael Alvarez. It was definitely Danny's brother. He had the same haunting eyes. There was no next of kin listed in the file. Kathryn wondered if Danny knew what happened. She returned the file and immediately headed over the Danny's office.

She went up to Danny's floor and looked through the windows to the bullpen. She didn't see Danny or anyone else in the Missing Persons area. She knew she should have called first. She pulled out her cell phone to call Danny when Jack approached her. "Kathryn. How are you?"

"Hi, Jack. Uh…is Danny around?"

"No, he…uh…he's out in the field working on a case."

"Oh…" And then Kathryn had a thought. Maybe she should tell Jack. He had to already know that Danny had a brother from Danny's personnel record. "Do you have a minute, Jack?"

"Not really, but come in anyway," Jack replied as he ushered her into the office.

"This isn't about a case. It's about Danny."

"OK…what about him?"

"Were you aware that he has or had a brother, Rafael Alvarez?" asked Kathryn.

"How do you know about Danny's brother?" replied Jack.

"This is complicated…um…Danny and I…we dated for a while a few months ago. So I know things about him that maybe he doesn't usually talk about."

"Do you know what happened to Raphael?"

Kathryn looked at Jack with an expectant expression, "Do you know?"

"Yes. An NYPD detective called me this morning. Apparently, Danny got a call from his brother's girlfriend last night. She told him that she heard Rafael was in some trouble at this convenience store. Danny went to check it out and used his FBI credential to gain access to the scene. He saw that it was Rafael and he was dead, and then took off. The detective called me this morning asking me why one of my agents was interested in his crime scene."

"Jack…if you know that Danny just lost his brother, then why is he still working today?"

"I called Danny in here this morning. I told him to go home. I told him to take some time off. He didn't want to. He said he was better here than home alone. I have a feeling he really doesn't have anywhere to go. Danny doesn't have any other family. Rafael's girlfriend and son left town."

Kathryn felt horrible. She felt horrible because she wasn't there for him. But the sad thing is that she wasn't even sure he would tell her about Rafael even if they were together.

"Listen, Jack, if you don't mind. Don't tell him I stopped by. I just wanted to make sure he was OK."

"OK."

"I know that he respects you a lot. So maybe he'll listen to you. Maybe you could get him some help. I think this might affect him more than he says."

"It sounds like you know Danny pretty well. Listening isn't one of his strongest attributes, but I'll do my best."

"Thanks, Jack."

"Bye."

Kathryn left, and went back to work. She thought about Danny all day, and was still thinking about him when she got home. The rain started falling earlier in the day. The day had been dark and gloomy. Kathryn ached to call Danny, but she didn't. She knew he was suffering silently. Kathryn fell asleep on the couch. She was wakened at 1 a.m. by her door buzzer. A disoriented Kathryn went to the intercom and pressed the button, "Yes."

"It's Danny…can I come up?"

"Yeah." Kathryn buzz him in.

She opened the door to her apartment and waited for him to come up the stairs. She had no idea what she should say to him. Maybe Jack told him that she knew. Maybe he was angry. As soon as he turned the corner and started to walk towards her, she knew he wasn't angry. He was soaking wet, and looked completed exhausted and dejected.

He stopped before entering, and looked down at her with those sad downcast eyes. "I…um…can I just come in for a while?"

"Of course."

He came in, and she closed the door. "You're soaked, Danny," she said as she pulled of his leather jacket.

"I'm OK."

She put his coat on a chair to dry. "Can I get you tea or something? You must be freezing."

"No, thanks."

They just stood their looking at each other.

"I know that I have no right to be here. I just don't know where else to go."

Kathryn nodded, "It's OK. Do you want to talk?"

Danny shook his head. "No," he whispered as he walked toward her. He slowly put his hand on her cheek and kissed her lightly. Then he moved his hand to the back of her neck as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I need you."

Kathryn closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. He held her so tight she thought he would never let go. But then he pulled just far enough away to starting kissing her. This was different than all the other times with Danny. Usually, he would start slow and take his time with every kiss and touch. But this time, he kisses were frantic. And Kathryn responded. She pulled him toward the bedroom. As soon as they entered the room, he pressed her up against the wall as if he wanted to get as close to her as possible. He only pulled away long enough to take off his clothes. She blushed as he removed her t-shirt…one of his FBI t-shirts that she took from him long ago.

After they finished, she breathlessly rested against his chest. Danny slowly ran his hand through her hair. "Are you OK?" he asked hesitantly.

Kathryn looked up at him and nodded. "Yes," she replied as she trailed a few kisses down his chest to his stomach and trace her finger across the scar that she now knew the story of.

"I know I owe you an explanation."

"I don't need an explanation. Let's just get some sleep." She then curled herself next to him just like she used to and silently prayed that he stayed until the morning.