"Daniel, I'm leaving," Sharon Raydor calls out, grabbing her car keys, purse and briefcase as her son comes down the stairs. "Do you want poptarts or—"

"Do we have time to run by that place you like?"

Sharon pauses, taking time to really look at her child. Dressed in his usual school wear, full backpack over his shoulder, dark hair neatly combed, Danny gives her a smile. "Uh, sure," she manages, "we can." She stares at him a moment longer.

"Well, let's go then," Danny grabs her briefcase from her and heads to the garage door.

The hot LA sun is unrelenting and as uncaring about the victim sprawled on the pavement, as it is the officers examining the crime scene. Captain Raydor stands just outside the circle the Major Crimes' detectives unwittingly form as they conduct their investigation. She remains well within earshot, moving to stand beside each of the detectives every few minutes, just to remind them that she's still there.

"Detective Sanchez, have those people been questioned?" Brenda Leigh Johnson, decked out in a summer dress with a pink cardigan and her oversized hat and shades, gestures to a group of men and women just behind the yellow crime scene tape.

"Most of them showed up after ma'am. Tao is talking to the two who may have seen something."

"Hey Chief, got a casing here," Flynn calls out from about fifty feet away. He leans down near the curb, using his pen to brush back some blades of grass to get a better view of the gold metal. He looks back toward Johnson, who is standing just right of the body. Behind her, Raydor shifts, distracting him. She's wearing a skirt, nothing fancy, just a plain old gray skirt, but her legs are bare and starting to tan.

"Detective Flynn!" The sharpness of Johnson's words has Flynn blinking and swiftly looking back at her.

"Ma'am?"

"Just one? Looks like he was shot at least four times."

"Uh, I'll look."

"Yeah, I bet you will," Provenza cracks, kicking at the grass near his partner. "Even if it is her, still beats the other view."

Flynn glares at Louie, but can't help taking another look at Raydor. A stickler for rules, she's wearing a jacket, but it's unbuttoned and reveals the dark green v-neck blouse she's wearing under it. She smiles when she catches his eyes, and Flynn thinks he could use some water, his mouth going dry and all.

"I think we've checked that way," Louie points out, ribbing him more.

As Johnson directs her men, Raydor pays close attention, notepad at hand to document any flaw in the procedure. It's tedious work and she'd rather be anywhere else, but she can't prove that to the squad.

"Captain, are you going to get that?"

"What?"

"Isn't that your phone?"

"Oh, sorry, right," Sharon snaps back into the moment, hearing her ringtone. "Hello, this is Captain Raydor."

"Hello Captain, this is Amy Farris from Lincoln West, I'm calling about Daniel."

"Daniel, what's happened? Is everything okay?"

"Daniel wasn't in his 11 o'clock class. I don't believe he was scheduled to be out for any appointments but I wanted to check with you."

"No, he wasn't," Sharon murmurs, her mind racing to pinpoint a reason why her son is not at school. She checks her watch, noting it's past noon. "Why are you just calling now?

"Computers have been frizzing today. We just got in the roll reports."

"No one came by to pick him up?"

"No ma'am, he has not signed out through the office."

"I dropped him off this morning."

"Yes ma'am, he was in his homeroom, but oh, he didn't report to his 9 or 10 o'clock class either."

"Wait, what?"

"The teacher was a sub for that block. I'm sorry Captain Raydor."

"Fine, then," she thinks a second before asking, "What about Matt Tiener, Drew Richards or Tyler Morgan?"

Raydor hears the secretary clicking away at her keyboard before saying, "No reports on them. All those boys are in class."

"Damn," Raydor mumbles, "Okay, Amy, thanks for telling me. I'll call him and straighten this out. Thank you." She hangs up and taps her phone against her palm, contemplative stare fully in place. Flynn stands, giving up on his search for more casings at the sight of Sharon. Johnson, still standing between the two notices Flynn staring her way and turns to see Raydor behind her.

"Captain, anything you'd like to add?"

"What? Oh, no Chief, just standing here," Raydor replies, diverting her gaze back to her phone's number pad. She speed dials Daniel's phone, tapping her foot as it rings then goes to voicemail. "I'm not mad, yet," she says, "but if you don't call me soon with what I know will be a wonderful explanation I will be more than furious. Love you."

Flynn notices from her demeanor that something is up and so he begins to inch closer to Raydor. He catches the tail end of her conversation, but it's only enough to confuse him. Trying to catch her eye, he moves his head in a 'what's up' manner. Sharon shakes her head in reply and works her fingers across her phone's screen. She fires off the text then looks back at their cars parked a few yards away. Flynn sees her mutter a cuss word.

"Chief, I'm going to need to borrow one of your detectives' cars."

"Well, we're not done here yet, Captain, so you'll just have to wait," Johnson says as she bends down to get a closer inspection of the dead teenager with four possible bullet wounds.

Sharon's lips thin as she bites her tongue and thinks about her response. "I would not ask if this were not an emergency."

"That term means different things to different people. I'm sure if you can wait a few more minutes."

"Now is not the time to agitate me, Chief Johnson," Raydor says in a forced calm tone. Flynn sees her stance change and knows this is not going to be good.

"Here," he rushes up, digging the keys to his car from his pocket. "I'll catch a ride with Sanchez."

"Thank you, Detective," Raydor grabs the keys and turns.

"Is everything?" he starts to ask, dropping his voice level and taking a couple of steps after her.

"Fine," she rushes out, picking up the pace toward the car.

"Detective Flynn, I need your focus here," the Chief calls to him, "unless you find the Captain's drama more important that finding the killer of this young man."

"Right, no, sorry, Chief." Flynn gives her a chaste look and heads back to search for casings, his mind still on Raydor and what could have happened to make her leave in such a manner. When he has a moment away from the Chief's questioning glare, Flynn sends Raydor a text message with one word, "Danny?" He pretends to care about the dead body while waiting for a reply, but can't focus. It takes her too long, but finally his phone buzzes and he nearly drops it reaching so fast to grab it from his pant's pocket.

"I'll tell you later," the reply says.

"Like hell you will," he spouts, his face going rigid.

"What's up with you," Provenza bumps his arm, "sun getting to you? Or just the sight of Raydor in a skirt overwhelming?"

"Not now, Louie," Flynn snaps, his attention on his phone as he presses in Sharon's number. She doesn't answer. "Shit."

"Detective Flynn!"

"Yes, Chief, coming Chief," he responds, deciding that two annoying women are two too many.

On the way to her house, Raydor works through every worse case scenario, her cop background making each one ten times worse than the average parent's. By the time she pulls into the drive, she has her phone at the ready to dial Rick's number. Four seconds later, after she gives the downstairs a quick glance and starts up the stairs, she pushes the call button.

"Hello Sharon, thank you for letting me know about Daniel in such a personal manner."

"Is he there, Rick? Have you seen him?" she asks, rounding the corner to see Danny's empty bedroom.

"You've lost our, wait sorry, your son?"

"Don't be an ass, Rick, just answer the question."

"I haven't seen Daniel since," there's a pause as Rick tries to remember the last time he saw any of the children.

"That's all I needed to know," Sharon ends the call and begins to search her phone's address book while heading out back just to make sure he isn't there. "Daniel Atticus Raydor I swear," she seethes, dialing the first of every one of her son's favorite hangouts.

"Lily, hey, what's up?" Danny slouches in the public bus' side seat, keeping his backpack close as he talks on his phone to his sister.

"Not much small fry."

"Did Mom call you?" He asks, drumming his fingers along his leg as he waits for her reply.

"She left a voicemail saying we needed to talk, why what's up?" She glances at her clock, noticing the time and gets suspicious. "Why are you calling me at noon on a school day?"

"Um, lunch."

"Try again," Lily says in a tone eerily similar to their mother's. "Oh my god, are you skipping?"

"Lily."

"You are so dead! You know the school's going to call Mom."

"She's already called me like fifteen times, and I lost count of the texts." Daniel sinks lower in his seat, stretching his foot out to brace on the base of the metal grab pole in front of him.

"Daniel, call her now before she goes homicidal."

"I'm not talking to her."

"Please tell me you are not pouting about that stupid Playstation game. Kate's getting it for you for your birthday you idiot."

"Game, what? No, stupid this is not about a game. Our dad isn't my dad, okay? If you just had that dumped on you would you want to talk to her?" Danny lowers his voice and sits in a tighter huddle once he realizes a couple of the bus passengers are staring at him.

"Woah, back up, say that again?"

"Richard Raydor is not my father. Apparently it's some guy named Andy Flynn," he whispers in the phone.

Sitting in her apartment in Palo Alto, Lily sits up straighter in her chair and checks her phone to make sure the number is right. "Daniel, this is not funny. Do you have me on speaker? I will bust your head."

"I'm not joking, Lily, okay. I'm actually, well I was on my way to see you." At that Lily's stomach drops. Daniel, the quiet one of the three of them, never talked about his feelings so knowing he really was trying to runaway scares her.

"Wait is that why Mom called? I knew she sounded weird."

"She said she was going to tell you and Kate this morning. I got told last night with both of them there," he mumbles as a group of tourists get on the bus. The noise makes it hard for Lily to understand him.

"Daniel, where are you?" she raises her voice a notch, fear for her brother's well-being causing her to grip the phone tighter.

"The bus."

"Which bus?"

"Cop's kid, not getting anymore out of me."

Lily growls, "Fine, then tell me about not being Dad's kid."

Daniel takes a breath and gives Lily the summary of last night's conversation with his mom and Andy Flynn. "So I guess you should start calling me Daniel Flynn now," he quips.

"I'm not going to be calling you anything after Mom kills you. Where are you going? Are you still coming here?"

"No, I don't think so," Danny replies, "I don't know, around I guess."

"Daniel, this is not funny."

"Not laughing."

"Ugh, you idiot! Why are you acting like this?" Lily nearly screams, knowing that her mother is flipping out and wanting to strangle Danny as much as she does. "So Rick's not your dad, big loss. Take this as good news, Danny. Nobody can be as big an ass as him."

"Flynn's an alcoholic."

"What?"

"Google search. He's also one of the cops Mom's having to work with now since that gangster got whacked on Major Crimes' watch. He's a royal ass, Lily."

His sister sighs heavily and is silent for a long while. "You said you went to a game with him, right?"

"Yeah."

"And? Before you knew what he did, what did you think?"

Daniel shrugs, sighing into the phone. "He was okay."

"Give it a chance, Danny. I know it's shocking, but you running off is not cool. Please call Mom."

"Why? You're going to when I hang up."

"Little ass."

"Runs in the family," he snaps, disconnecting the call.

After Lily's call, Sharon starts a grid search of all the buses going anywhere near the route to Palo Alto. Knowing her son has likely abandoned the bus line doesn't deter her search; but simply intensifies it. She jumps every time her phone chimes, thinking Daniel might have sent her a text. And then she frowns at each sight of another message from Andy Flynn. When noon turns to late evening and then to dusk, Sharon finds a parking lot, pulls in and parks. Turning off the car's ignition, she leans her head on the steering wheel and stops fighting the urge to cry.