A\N: My apologizes for longer then usual wait for this chapter I asked my co author to help me write it and we were both super busy with different things. I think though that this chapter is very good and I hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Warinings: None

Spoiler: 20.07 "Boy gone Astray" & 20.09 "For the Defence"

Chapter 6

Connie and Mike arrived in New York at two o'clock in the afternoon. They had gotten the first flight out of LAX at six o'clock in the morning, but the flight was five and a half hours long. As Mike and Connie both worried about what Claire and James could be going through the flight only seemed to be that much longer. They each tried to keep busy though, Mike contacting Peter Stone and Connie reaching out to their old colleagues who were the Detectives on the case. Since they wanted to get to New York as soon as possible they had packed very little, so they didn't have any checked luggage, that made it easier for them to get a taxi and go to the 21st Police Precinct in Manhattan.

As much as Connie and Mike were worried about the twins they were also worried about Maddie. The teenager had hardly talked to anyone and was barley coming out of her room, although she had talked to Mike a little, she still hadn't managed to talk to Connie yet. Connie knew Maddie thought she was angry with her and whished there was some way to assure her step-daughter she didn't blame her at all for what happened.

Jack McCoy had offered to stay with Maddie and Andy while Mike and Connie were in New York. When he showed up at the house the night Mike and Connie were planning on leaving, he saw Andy near tears wanting to go with his parents to New York. He was worried about James and Claire too and he wanted to make sure they were okay. Mike and Connie had told him though, and Jack had agreed that they didn't really know what was going to happen once they got to New York and they didn't want Andy to be in potential danger.

Arriving in the Homicide unit brought chills through Connie's spine and she was glad the Precinct only got assigned the case because they dealt with the Marcus Woll case the first time. She was worried enough about her children she has no idea how she'd be able to go on if they actually needed homicide detectives once they found the twins.

"Mike, Connie," Lt. Van Buren walked out of her office, "I'm so sorry about seeing you again under these circumstances. Please come into my office and I'll tell you what I can," Anita held the door open for the parents and then closed it. She walked to sit behind her desk and then said, "As you know we can't share any information we wouldn't normally share with any family members. We're working as hard as we can to find Claire and James and Bernard and Lupo are out tracking down what we think is a good lead. We're fairly certain your children are here in the city. Now I know you both want to help but we have all your notes on Marcus Woll you provided the LAPD and that's helping us. I'll call you as soon as we know anything, and please let me know if there is anything I can do."

"Thank you," Connie shook Anita's hand and walked back out of the office with Mike. Getting back outside they got another taxi to the DA's office. Getting out of the taxi they saw something that brought a small smile to their faces. Anna Valdez was walking in the direction of the DA's office pushing a stroller.

"Hi Anna, I'm guessing we're going to the same place," She attempted to sound less miserable then she actually was, she knew her friend wasn't to blame. She had only met Anna once before, a few years ago when she and Peter had brought a then six-month-old Benji to Los Angles for a visit. They had however gotten along great almost instantly and they texted and talked on Facetime.

"Connie, Mike," Anna stopped pushing the stroller and turned around, "I'm so sorry," She pulled Connie into a hug, "When Peter told me… I can't imagine anything like that happening to our kids. Peter actually asked me to come by around the time you were coming. You're going to be staying with us so-"

"Oh, no we can't impose like that on such short notice, we were just going to find a hotel room," Connie cut her friend off.

"No," Anna shook her head "We insist. We have a guest bedroom and private bathroom."

"Mama, uh-oh." The voice of Benji suddenly interrupted the adult conversation. He had accidently dropped his soother onto the ground and couldn't reach it.

Mike bent down and picked up the soother, which not to his surprise was attached to a Chicago Cubs clip that could attach onto Benji's clothes, "Here you go little man," Mike cleaned off the soother and handed it back to the young toddler, "I see your father has already tried to influence your team affiliations."

"Oh, this is nothing," Anna laughed and shook her head, "Benji has everything he needs and much more when it comes to baseball and the Cubs. Two of his first words were 'ball' and 'cub' and whenever he sees a baseball or a game, he gets all the talking and yelling practice he needs."

"Sounds like James," Connie said and then began to cry at the mention of her son. Mike pulled her into a gentle hug. It was then that they saw three-month-old Charlotte asleep in the back part of the stroller. "Oh, she's beautiful," Connie whispered, not wanting to wake the baby up.

"She just fell asleep now otherwise I'd say you could hold her." Anna told her friend.

Walking into the D. A's office again felt strange for both Mike and Connie especially when they had to attach visitor badges to their clothing. When they got to the major crimes burau a few ADA's they knew came up to them to express their sympathies for what had happened.

"It feels a little weird coming back here as a visitor," Mike spoke as Anna knocked on the door of Peter's office, Mike's old office.

"Yeah," Connie agreed. Looking around at her old desk she had flashes of memories come back to her. She remembered in detail the time they prosecuted Woll and all of the emotions it brought back for her then. Now she felt all those emotions again only times ten. She couldn't understand how anyone could be so calculated, so psychotic as Marcus Woll was.

"Dada!" Benji shouted happily as Peter's assistant opened the door as Peter stood up from his desk.

Peter grinned and walked over to the stroller and lifted his son up. "Hey champ," He kissed his forehead and settled him on his hip as he gave Anna a quick kiss on the lips before turning his attention to Mike and Connie. "I have a few ideas I'd like to run by you if that's okay. If course I can't provide you with details of the case but…"

"Anything you can give us would be great," Mike interrupted his friend.

"Please sit down," Peter motioned for everyone to sit at the small conference table in his office. As Benji was getting restless he set the toddler on the ground and picked up a file, "Before we get started this is my assistant Alexander Graves," Peter told Connie and Mike. "Before I settled on staying in Illinois I thought long and hard about practicing law in San Francisco. When I got out of law school an old teammate and good friend of mine had been traded to San Francisco took the state bar exam and passed and even had job interviews lined up. However, after thinking about it further I decided to stay in Chicago. I had a condo I loved, and I knew the city. I have however kept up my California law license, that means I can file a motion to extradite the case to Los Angles as that is where the kidnapping happened. I'll still be prosecuting the case only in Los Angles, and since California has the death penalty, I'll- "

"I'm sorry!" Connie stood up and raced out of the room a hand over her mouth. She barely made it to the washroom before throwing up the little she was able to eat for breakfast that day. She had always been morally opposed to the death penalty and she couldn't imagine it being used on someone she was once close to. Even if he did commit unthinkable murders not to mention kidnap her children. She wanted Marcus Woll to spend the rest of his life in jail. He was manipulative and she knew he'd probably find a way out of the death penalty if it was granted. In transporting him back to Los Angles so much could go wrong, and Connie couldn't think of him having a chance to escape again. Needing something to drink Connie walked out of the bathroom not at all surprised to see Mike waiting for her.

"Connie," Mike pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her forehead. He knew this was difficult for both of them and if this was any other case, he'd be fighting for the death penalty. Even though Mike thought Woll deserved to die for solely shooting Maddie he learned a long time ago things weren't that black and white for Connie. She saw the law in different shades of grey and the fact that she had a relationship with Marcus Woll, Mike knew this was extremely difficult for her.

After a few minutes Connie slowly looked up at her husband, "If he goes back to Los Angles he could escape and go after the kids again. I know even if he isn't convicted, he'll jut serve his sentence in a California jail but… I know Maddie learnt her lesson…."

"You know what I want," Mike looked at her, "But Peter won't peruse this unless you're sure as well. If Woll- "

"No!" Connie shakes her head, "No, the kids are okay Mike. I can't think of that right now." She ran a hand over her forehead, "I just want my kids back," She started to cry again. "If what he does warrants the death penalty then I'm okay with that. Right now, I just want to sleep."

"Okay," Mike nodded his head, "Anna said we can leave whenever you're ready," He took her hand and led her back to the room.

As much as Connie and Mike had both wanted to sleep, they hadn't had much luck. They had tried to nap when they first got to Peter and Anna's house but weren't; able to. They then decided to play with Benji and Charlotte so Anna could get some housework done, something Anna said they didn't have to do but was grateful for. Benji was learning how to throw a ball and Mike played with him well Connie held Charlotte. As the afternoon tuned into evening Mike and Connie worried about James and Claire even more. They still had no idea where they were and even if they were okay.

Eventually, though, Charlotte grew restless in Connie's arms and Benji grew tired of playing catch with Mike and just tired in general as his bedtime approached. Anna took Charlotte and shepherded Benji up the stairs, leaving Connie and Mike alone in the family room.

"I think I'm going to go take a shower," Connie told Mike, her voice flat and emotionless. Mike simply nodded, watching her retreat up the stairs, knowing she was heading to the bathroom just across the hall from the guest room Anna had prepared for them. Mike heaved a deep sigh as he sank boundlessly down onto the couch, running his hands through his hair and rubbing his tired eyes. He tried desperately not to let his mind wander to all of the worst-case scenarios, to the grisly crime scene photos from cases he had worked in the past involving children. Best to focus his attention elsewhere. And what better way to temper that fear than by turning it to anger? His thoughts turned to Marcus Woll. He had known of Woll when he worked for the Manhattan DA's office, but it was by reputation only. It was only when he and Connie had crossed paths with him years later, when he was acting as a defense attorney for a group of drug dealers from a Mexican cartel, that Mike was able to really see him in action. The Vella Cartel, who subsequently threatened Connie's life.

It had been still fairly early in Mike and Connie's personal relationship, but he remembered the knife of fear that shot through him as they stood in Jack's office listening to the words of the song. Mike didn't know enough Spanish at that point to decipher anything, but he could tell by the looks on the faces of the other occupants of the room - this was bad. When Connie nervously translated that they were singing about the "dead female lawyer" from New York, finally meeting Mike's eyes as she added, "They're threatening me," he realized exactly how bad. They were told they were to be given protection details and were told not to leave the building until they received confirmation from Van Buren that everything was in place.

This had given them a few moments alone in Mike's office. He wanted to ask her if she was okay, if she was scared, but the moment they were alone behind the closed door, Connie turned to him and voiced her greatest fear.

"We have to make sure Andy and Maddie are safe," she told him. "That's the most important thing Mike. If they're threatening me, they surely already know that we're together. If anything happens…."

Mike cut her off by pulling her into his arms for a hug. Mike just held her, marvelling a bit at the revelation that Connie's first instinct was to put the safety of two children who were not her own above her own safety.

And if he had not known it before that moment, Mike Cutter knew he was in love with her.

Woll reappeared in another case about a month later, and Connie was once again put into danger when she went to the safe house to prep their witness and was almost shot. She showed up at Mike's house that night once the scene had been cleared. The kids were fast asleep. Mike could tell how upset Connie was, though she tried not to show it as she methodically recounted the events for him as they sat at his kitchen table. Mike finally placed one finger under Connie's chin, tilting her head up to meet his eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

It took only a moment before Connie dissolved into tears, leaning her head against Mike's shoulder as he slid an arm around her back, whispering comforting words into her ear. The tears didn't last long, and when they subsided, Connie told Mike the whole, awful story of her past with Marcus Woll. About their relationship as coworkers, and then something more, when she had first joined the DA's office. How he had at first appeared so charming and eloquent, but it quickly became apparent to Connie that he was an egotistical narcissist. Mike didn't like to hear any of this. He had already disliked Marcus Woll, this revelation only added more fuel to that fire.

As the case went on, it took even more twists and turns. When they began to see a pattern in the disappearance and murders of the witnesses in so many of Woll's cases, and one in particular that Connie took especially to heart as she felt somewhat responsible for it, they came to the conclusion that Woll was akin to a serial killer. Connie offered herself up as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case against him. Mike was dreading questioning her on the stand with every fiber of his being. As they prepped for the trial, it was only made worse when Andy innocently mentioned at dinner one night that they had run into a "creepy guy" as Connie was taking them to school that morning. As Mike and Connie discussed the encounter later that night, Mike became agitated, saying that he might just follow through on Connie's threat to have Woll's bail revoked. Connie finally interrupted his ranting.

"You know, maybe someone else should be handling this trial," she told him.

Mike stopped himself short, looking across the table at her. He could tell that she was just as anxious and stressed out by all of this as he was. So much of what was about to happen was out of their control. He needed to be there for her now. Mike quirked a smile at her with a bashful shrug and said, "I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

Connie couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face. "Lucky me," she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him.

Mike's thoughts returned to the present. He looked around the empty family room of his friends' home. They were once again in a similar situation. So much was out of their control, but the stakes were even higher this time. He could stay down here, brooding with his thoughts, or he could go upstairs to his wife.

There really was no choice at all.

Connie dried her hair, running her fingers through it to put it into place after she had hung the towel back on its hook near the shower. She had to admit, the shower had helped, at least a little. She took one last look around the bathroom to ensure that she had not left it a complete disaster, then switched off the light with a sigh, heading across the hall to the guest room. She could see a dim light from Benji's room, could hear Anna's soft voice as she read him a good night story. Connie all but collapsed on the bed, thoughts of the night time routines at their own home running through her head. Thoughts of how James and Claire would request that Mommy read on the night they chose a Skippy John Jones story, because Daddy just couldn't do the little Siamese cat's Spanish accent quite right. This had long been a running joke in their family, starting back to when Andy had first brought one of the picture books home from the school library. She had listened with barely controlled mirth as Mike tried, without a whole lot of success, to plow his way through the text that threw in the occasional phrase in her second language. Finally, with a look of defeat, he handed the book over to Connie, who expertly finished it. Andy checked out a new book in the series the next day at school, and Mike went out that weekend and bought the whole set, just to have the chance to hear Connie reading to his son.

Our son, she thought to herself as she lay above the covers in the darkened room. For she truly did think of Maddie and Andy as her own. She had loved them practically from the moment she had met them. Even Maddie, who initially made it so difficult for Connie. When she and Mike had become engaged and had married, it was so important to Connie that she make sure that Mike's children were secure in the knowledge that she would be there for them. In the aftermath of Maddie's trauma and Melissa's disastrous visit to the hospital, when Maddie and Andy called Connie "mom" for the first time, her heart soared.

Connie thought back on their journey. Their lives became a hectic jumble with the move to Los Angeles, the birth of the twins, and Mike and Connie's wedding. Even just one big life changing event would be one thing, but with three of them back to back, Mike and Connie were exhausted. But also, endlessly happy and thankful for the family that they had. Connie remembered one night in particular. The twins were about five months old. They had been on a fairly regular eating and sleeping schedule for some time, but for whatever reason, that week had been a particularly rough one. Mike and Connie had both been slammed at work. Connie was still getting in the swing of being back at work after her maternity leave, and Mike was deep in trial prep for his latest case. It had not been going well, and Mike had missed dinner at least three nights that week - something he had tried to make sure never happened.

Miracle of miracles, Mike and Connie had both arrived home at the same time and relatively early that Friday night. They wearily entered the house, a car seat holding a sleeping baby in each of their arms. They house was quiet and they both detected a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Exchanging questioning glances, Mike and Connie made their way through the house toward the kitchen. Once there, they were pleasantly surprised to find Tia Elena supervising as Maddie was removing what looked to be a casserole dish with a lasagna inside from the oven. Andy was carefully setting the table in the dining room, where two tall candle sticks sat flickering on the table.

"Oh!" Maddie exclaimed, a slight look of dismay on her face. "You're home early!

"We were going to surprise you!" Andy added.

Maddie went on to explain that they knew it had been kind of a long week, so she and Andy had devised the plan to give their parents a date night at home. Elena assured them that she had been on hand to supervise the dinner preparations and use of the stove, oven, knives, and cutting boards, but the idea came solely from the children. They also refused when Connie invited Maddie and Andy to join them for dinner. Maddie let her know in no uncertain terms that date night was just for the two of them, that they had already eaten, and they would now be on duty entertaining James and Claire if they were to wake up while Mike and Connie enjoyed their meal.

Connie had been so overcome, for a moment she couldn't speak. She was, truthfully, exhausted most days by the time she got home from work. Caring for two infants did not leave a lot of time for anyone or anything else. She felt a sharp pang of guilt anytime Maddie asked for help with her homework or Andy asked her to read a book with him, and she had to send them to their father because one of the babies would begin to cry. Connie looked over at Mike, seeing a proud smile on his face as Maddie and Andy each began bringing dishes and plates to the table. Both kids wore a grin, which only grew as Connie grabbed them and hugged them close before they disappeared back into the kitchen to clean up and then upstairs to Mike's home office where they were going to look after the twins and watch a movie with their aunt.

As Connie watched them go, she felt Mike come up and hold her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "How did we get so lucky?" Connie asked him.

Her thoughts came back to the present as she felt the bed dip when Mike slid in beside her. They turned toward each other. They had experienced so many emotions during this ordeal, and Connie couldn't remember the last time she had really slept. She wordlessly nestled into Mike's arms, and though they both knew it would be fleeting, for just this moment, in the circle of each other's arms, they were able to close their eyes and rest.

TBC

A\N: Please leave a review.