Drake and Gosalyn are having dinner at Pizza Palace, part of a tradition that Drake had recently started with his children. Every Wednesday night he's been taking one of them out to dinner, not only to serve as spending one on one time with them, but also as an opportunity to privately check in with them. He figures since he and Beth both work full time jobs, it is important to make sure their kids are getting everything they need from them. So far the kids have responded well to this tradition, using him as a soundboard as they spill their guts about their everyday childhood dramas. From Jake, he hears which kids were put in time out and what the current trend is for show and tell. From Gosalyn and Abby, he hears the high school sports stats and the latest gossip about who is dating who. But he also manages to get them to talk about something real, and of course offers advice whenever he can. Tonight will be slightly different, since Drake already has a topic in mind to discuss with Gosalyn.
"I wanna talk to you about Jessie" he says, getting right to the point.
"What about her?" she asks
"I need you to tell me what you think of her?"
"What I think of her?"
"Yes" he says calmly. "I want you to be honest and tell me what you think of her"
"Why?"
"Because I know you don't like her. And I want you to talk to me about it. Please, don't be afraid. Just say what comes to mind. What don't you like about her?"
Gosalyn studies her father's expression and thinks this over for a few seconds. Essentially he is giving her permission to talk about Jessie behind her back. This could be dangerous, not to mention hurtful. But as she continues to look at her father's face she realizes that he is serious about what he wants her to do, she decides to comply.
"Okay, she's needy, she's bratty and completely helpless, she's ungrateful, inconsiderate, did I mention bratty?"
Drake nods "yeah, you did"
"She can't do anything for herself" she continues. "She can't even dress herself or brush her own teeth. Abby always has to help her"
"It's not her fault, you know. Her mother did everything for her, so she never learned how to do things for herself" Drake tries to explain.
"Hey, you asked me to tell you what I think" Gosalyn reminds him. She takes a sip of her water while Drake continues to sit with his arms crossed.
"Yeah, I did. And I'm glad I did. I needed to hear it"
"What's your angle Dad?"
"Some perspective for me, and maybe a little understanding from you" He uncrosses his arms and leans on the table. "She needs our help Gos. She is all of these things because that's all she knows. She doesn't know what it is to be considerate and grateful. She doesn't know how to do things for herself because she was never taught to."
"So what you're saying is we need to teach her how to be a human being"
"Okay, the door to insulting your sister is officially closed" Drake says. "What I'm saying is there is a lot that we need to teach her. We need to be patient with her and encourage her to open up to more of us than just Abby. So, do you think you can go easier on her, maybe, be a little nicer to her?"
Gosalyn softens at her father's request. "Yeah, okay Dad"
/
Abby and Skyler are working on a school project together for their debate class. Abby is noticeably distracted, and Skyler calls her out on it.
"You okay Abs? You seem like you're a million miles away" he asks her
"Huh?"
"The debate, the one that we need to present in less than twenty four hours?"
"Yeah, right" she says as she grabs her head. "Where were we?"
"We were creating a strategy for how to convince the class that condoms should be distributed at school" he says. "But I think you have Tank on the mind"
"Is it that obvious?"
"He treating you okay?"
Abby considers his question. Of course Tank is treating her okay. Although she is troubled about Tank's recent revelation that they should get to know more about each other. She hasn't been able to think about anything else since the day he brought it up. She's known Skye for a few years now, but she's not sure that Skye knows what she's been through. She's also never confided in him about anything, so she's not sure that using him as a soundboard to discuss her troubles with Tank is a good idea. "He's treating me just fine" she says with a fake grin. "Why do you ask?"
"I don't know, I'm just surprised I guess. Tank has never been a one girl kinda guy, so you must've had some effect on him."
Abby starts to feel uncomfortable. Maybe he's right, maybe Tank actually likes her, and maybe that's why he wants to get to know her better. She never expected that to happen. Sure she's attracted to him, but she never expected him to have feelings for her. Feelings only complicate things. Abby starts fidgeting.
"You sure you're okay Abs?" he asks again.
"I'm fine" she says, but she's not very convincing. "What about you and Gosalyn?"
"There isn't a me and Gosalyn" he says. "We broke up, you know that"
"Yeah, I know, but I don't really believe it. I mean you and Gosalyn are perfect for each other"
"I thought we were, but we're not. Not anymore. She made that very clear when she had sex with another guy"
"You don't really believe that do you?" she asks him.
"I have no choice. She told me flat out. She had sex with Javo" he says. This is the first time Skyler is able to verbalize his frustration about what Gosalyn did. He told Tank about it, but Tank did not see it as a big deal. Abby is more sympathetic about the topic. He rubs his head hard and then continues. "We were supposed to wait for each other. We even talked about it, multiple times even"
"So why do you believe that she had sex with him?"
"Because she told me she did. Why would she lie about it?" he asks.
"Think about it. She told you that she wanted to wait. She is fifteen years old, he's nineteen….. an adult. And he's this experienced professional dancer, someone that would be well respected and looked up to, someone that you would want to please, and someone that can easily take advantage of that. Do you honestly believe that she wanted to do it?"
Skyler thinks about Abby's words, and a light bulb starts to blink violently in his head. He starts to feel scared and angry with the thoughts that have just entered his mind. "Are you saying he raped her?"
Abby doesn't verbally respond. She doesn't need to. The look on her face says it all. Gosalyn never admitted to Abby that Javo raped her, but she knew the moment Gosalyn admitted to having sex with him. She recognized the guilt, the shame and the embarrassment in Gosalyn's eyes when she said the words out loud. And now Skyler knows the truth. "What are you going to do?" she asks him, but he doesn't respond.
/
Drake and Gosalyn have finished eating dinner and have ordered dessert, a piece of triple layer chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream to share. While they wait, Gosalyn decides to discuss something else with her father.
"Hey Dad, I've been thinking…"
"About what kiddo?" he asks.
"I wanna stop going to therapy"
Drake looks at his daughter with a surprised expression. "Why, is there something wrong with Dr Santos?"
"No, I just don't think I need to go anymore"
"Gosalyn, you've been through a lot this past year. And from what I can see therapy has been helping. Why would you want to stop now?"
Gosalyn considers her words before she speaks. "I…. just don't see the point anymore. I'm not on drugs, I'm not thinking about drugs or alcohol for that matter. And you and I are doing great. Aren't we?"
"Yeah…. We are. But Sweetheart, something major happened to you not so long ago. Have you been talking to Dr Santos about Javo?"
The sound of his name sends a chill up her spine. She'd like to forget about him, forget what he did to her, forget what he may have done to her the night of the fire. She still cannot remember everything about that night. Some things have been coming back to her in pieces, but not everything. The silence starts to worry Drake.
"Gosalyn?"
Gosalyn looks up at her father. "I've talked to you about it. I don't need to talk to her about it too"
"Gos, that's what she's there for. You mean to tell me you haven't said a word of this to Dr Santos?"
Gosalyn shakes her head and looks down.
"Why not?" he asks her
Gosalyn looks up at her father again. "Because I don't want to remember what he did to me. Talking to a therapist about it would only jog my memory and I'd rather not let that happen. I just want to put it behind me." Drake looks at Gosalyn, not quite sure what to say to her. She feels the need to say something. "I don't want you to worry. I'm fine"
Drake has had his elbows on the table and his hands folded at his beak. He slides his elbows out so that his arms and hands are on the table. "I don't think you're fine. I think…"
The waitress interrupts them by placing the tall slice of cake with vanilla ice cream in the middle of the table. "Will there be anything else?" she asks them.
"Nope that will do it, thank you" Drake says. The waitress walks away, and Drake turns his attention back to Gosalyn and picks up his spoon. "What about Skyler?"
"What about him?" Gosalyn asks as she picks up her spoon and starts to eat some of the dessert.
"You two aren't together" he reminds her as he too starts to eat the dessert.
"I just don't want a boyfriend right now" she lies to him.
"You sure that's all it is?"
"Um hmm" Gosalyn continues to eat the dessert and purposely allows some of the vanilla and chocolate to get on her face as a way to make her father laugh, and it works. He can't help but laugh at her, and she laughs back.
/
Gosalyn and Drake arrive home and walk into the girls' room. Jessie is in her pajamas and ready for bed. It is only seven thirty, but she is used to going to bed early. When she lived in Texas, she went to sleep at seven o'clock every night. She picks up a book and starts to show it to Abby, and Drake elbows Gosalyn. Gosalyn glares up at her father and he gives her a look in return. She walks over to Jessie and tries to play nice.
"Why don't you let me read to you Jessie?" she asks her.
"But Abby always reads to me"
Abby tries to help. "Well, maybe Gosalyn would like to read the book to you tonight"
"I want you to read it to me" Jessie says to Abby.
Gosalyn looks back at Drake and shrugs her shoulders. She walks past him and leaves the room, and Drake just watches as Abby starts to read to Jessie. He lets out a sigh as he watches the girls continue to bond. In a way, he is happy that Jessie has someone that she can talk to. But he longs for the day when that someone will be him.
/
Drake meets up with his partner the next day and they immediately get started on the case. He and Detective Vance are out and about interviewing their missing person's co-workers. While they are walking through the city, she asks him about Jessie.
"First day of school today?"
"Yeah" he says. "I just hope Jessie can fit in and make some friends. She seems to get along with my neighbor's daughter." He is referring to Tinkershay Muddlefoot, Herb and Binky's six year old daughter. "We've been trying to set up a play date for them but they have Tink involved in every activity you can think of, it takes up a lot of her time"
"My son plays soccer, I think that's enough activity for a six year old" Taylor says as they arrive at an apartment building to meet with one of Molly's co-workers.
"Jessie's mother said she enjoys acrobatics, I've gotta start looking into that."
"So no Soccer Dad carpool for you?" she jokes with him.
"She can play soccer if she wants. One step at a time there Detective." Drake is interrupted by his cell phone. He looks at the caller ID and recognizes the number. "Detective Mallard" he says as he starts to remember who the number belongs to. "Principal Farnsworth" he says. His face cringes as he listens to her speak. Drake can remember countless meetings with the Elementary School Principal from when Gosalyn was in trouble. "I know, it's been a while. I don't know if you know this or not but Gosalyn doesn't go to your school anymore… Oh, you're calling about Jessie….. yeah…. yeah I will be there soon. Thank you." Drake ends the call on his cell phone and looks down at it for a few seconds.
Taylor shrugs her shoulders. "The School Principal huh?"
"First day of school and she's already in trouble?" he yells out loud as he squeezes his cell phone. He leaves Taylor to conduct the interview while he walks back to the Station House for his car.
/
Drake walks into the principal's office and sees Jessie sitting in one of the chairs. She is looking down at her hands folded in her lap with a sad expression on her face. Before he can talk to her he is approached by the principal. "Mr Mallard, or should I say, Detective Mallard" she shakes his hand.
"Hello Principal Farnsworth. So, uh, what's going on with my daughter, is she okay?" he asks nervously as he glances over at her.
"Your daughter refuses to remove her hat in class. Her teacher had asked her several times today but she won't budge. I was hoping you could talk to her"
Drake hesitates and looks over at his daughter again. She is still looking down. The principal is referring to the cowboy hat that Jessie always wears. Suddenly it occurs to him that he rarely sees her without the hat. "Listen, um, I know that this school has rules, and believe me I know about rules. But she always wears that hat."
"I understand" she says. "But we make these rules for a reason, and we can't allow her back in class unless she is willing to follow them"
Drake looks back at his daughter again before he continues. "There's no way you could just let her…"
"I'm sorry Detective" she interrupts him. "If we bend the rules for her then we'd have to bend the rules for everyone. Now, you need to take her home for the day, and then bring her back when she's ready to come to class without the hat"
Drake sighs and waits for the principal to get the paperwork for him to sign her out. This is the last thing he needs right now. It is still the middle of the day and he has to get back to work. He is also not sure how to convince Jessie to ditch the hat so she can attend school. He signs his name and leaves the office with his daughter.
/
Drake pulls up in front of the Station House and effortlessly parallel parks his SUV. He gets out of the car and walks around to the back passenger side to help Jessie out. He passively unbuckles her seat belt and lifts her out of the car. His focus isn't really on his daughter right now, but rather on getting back to working on the case. He grabs her back pack and helps her put her arms through the straps. He starts to walk toward the Station House but stops when he notices that Jessie is not walking with him. He turns around and sees her staring up at the tall building with big letters that spell out Saint Canard Police Department.
"What, what's wrong?" he asks her
"I don't wanna go to jail"
Drake's heart melts at the sound of her soft innocent voice, coupled with the look of fear in her eyes. He puts his hand on his chest. "You think I'd put you in jail"
Jessie doesn't answer, but lightly nods her head and looks down. She grips the straps of her backpack which is holding two of her school books and some pencils. Drake slowly approaches her and kneels down to be at her level. "This is where I work. I'm a Police Detective" he says as he shows her his badge. "When people get lost or go missing it's my job to find them and bring them home safely"
Jessie looks at his badge and still shows a sad expression. "Police put bad guys in jail" she says
"Yeah, they do. Bad guys that break the law, not little girls that break rules in school. Kids get after school detention or sent home with their parents when they break the rules"
Jessie looks up at Drake with her bright blue eyes, scared of what he will do since she got in trouble at school. Drake is not sure how to handle this yet and plans to deal with it later. "Daddy has to work right now, so Beth is going to come pick you up soon, she just can't do it right now. So you're going to sit at my desk and do your math homework, okay?"
Jessie nods her head in agreement and walks into the Station House with him.
/
Drake and Jessie approach the detectives on his team, and everyone stops and stares at the shy adorable duckling. Drake takes notice and tries to avoid making a big deal about her being there. He puts his hands on her shoulders and leads her over to his desk. Some of the detectives follow him.
"Is this your daughter Mallard?" one of them asks.
"Uh, yes, this is my daughter Jessie. Honey these are the other detectives on my team" he says. Jessie looks up at them and Drake can see that she is still scared. He sets her up at his desk and puts her homework in front of her. "Here, work on this while I get some work done, okay?"
Drake's Captain joins them and notices Jessie. "Last I checked this was a police station, not a daycare center" he says firmly.
"I'm sorry Captain, I had to pick her up from school early"
"Take it easy Mallard" Captain softens and introduces himself. "Hello young lady, I'm Captain Regs, your Daddy's boss"
Jessie looks up at him and is reluctant, but when she notices his friendly demeanor she shakes his hand.
"Beth's going to pick her up in an hour" Drake says
"Where's Vance, we have to get back to work on finding Molly" Captain says
"Right here Captain, and I have something big" she says as she walks over to them with some paperwork. "Found something in our Landlord's past, could be helpful to our case. A female tenant in a building he managed five years ago went missing, never been found, same age as Molly"
Drake takes a look at the paperwork and is impressed with his partner, but of course he is too proud to show it. "Ah, this is definitely something worth looking into"
"Find out everything you can about this missing woman" Captain orders. "Re-interview friends, co-workers, family members….."
"We'll get right on it Captain" Vance says. She looks over and sees Jessie at Drake's desk, focused on her math work. Drake looks over at her as well and smiles. Jessie seems a lot more relaxed now that the focus is on the case and not on her.
"Um, I need to stick around here for a while, but I can look through the old case file and listen to the old interviews" Drake says.
"Perfect, let's get to work" Vance says.
/
Later that evening Drake and Beth are clearing the dinner table and washing dishes together. The kids are upstairs working on homework and getting ready for bed.
"They sent her home because she refused to take her hat off" Drake says as he roughly places dishes in the sink.
"Honey the school has rules"
"I know, but they could've given her a break. It was her first day of school for heaven's sake"
"Honey, what's really bothering you?" Beth asks. She is positioned behind him and he turns around to face her.
"The look on her face" he says softly. "She thought I was mad at her, she thought I took her to the police station so that I could put her in jail"
"I'm sure she didn't think that"
"Yes she did" Drake insists. He puts his hands on the counter behind him and leans back. "Just… the look on her face, her big sad blue eyes, she looked so frightened. I can't get that image of my head"
Beth gives her husband a hug. "She's okay now. You saw her at the dinner table. She actually ate some of her dinner without us having to press her about it"
"Yeah, but are you sure she didn't do that out of fear of being punished? In her eyes I'm the Big Bad Wolf"
"You are not, stop it" Beth says as she lightly slaps his chest. "Just keep doing what you do and eventually Jessie will see how great you are"
"And now?"
"Now we have to get her to go to school tomorrow without the hat" she says
"Abby's working on it" Drake says. "Jessie listens to Abby, so I figured if anyone could get Jessie to ditch the hat Abby could"
/
An hour later Drake and Beth are sitting in the family room watching the news. They hear someone rummaging outside the front door. Drake cautiously stands up and walks toward the door with Beth a few steps behind him. He reaches for his hand gun in case the intruder attacks him. They are both very quiet. Before he is able to open the door, it opens and reveals a familiar and friendly face. Drake lets out a sigh of relief and tucks his hand gun away.
"Hayley" he says and gives her a hug. She is carrying MacKena. Drake carefully takes the tired toddler out of her arms and holds her. "You're back early"
"Well, couldn't stay in Canada forever. We got things wrapped up early so it was time to come back" she says.
"Why didn't you call me? I could have picked you up at the airport" Drake reaches in his pocket for money and tips the Taxi driver for carrying Hayley's luggage into the house.
"I know you guys are busy. It's a school night for the kids and a work night for you. So we took a cab"
"Welcome back Sweetie" Beth says as she gives Hayley a hug.
"I'm going to put this little one to bed" Drake says of the sleeping toddler in his arms. "Why don't you go say hello to the girls?"
"Is Jessie up there too?" she asks about her niece that she's yet to meet.
"Of course, come on I'll come with you" Beth says.
/
Abby is talking to Jessie about her hat while Gosalyn is focusing on her homework. They are interrupted when Hayley and Beth walk into the room. Gosalyn and Abby run over and give Hayley a hug while Jessie watches from her bed. Hayley is very happy to see the girls. She hugs them back with a big smile on her face. She looks over and sees Jessie.
"And who is this little lady?" She walks over to the bed and sits with Jessie. "What's your name Sweetie?"
"Jessie Joy Conrad" she says with her soft voice.
Hayley smiles at her. She is too cute for words. "You are way too cute to be my brother's child" she says. The girls laugh, and Jessie starts to feel more comfortable. Hayley notices her hat on the bed and picks it up. "Is this your hat?"
"We're trying to get her to see that she doesn't need to wear it all the time" Abby says.
"It's a very nice hat" Hayley says. "But Abby's right you know, you're beautiful without the hat"
"But I like the hat" Jessie says. She reaches over and takes the hat from Hayley.
"I know you do, but it's less exciting if you get to wear it all the time, don't you think? So I'm presenting a challenge Miss Conrad. I challenge you to go a whole day, starting now, without wearing the hat"
Jessie looks up at Abby, and Abby nods at her.
"What do you say?" Hayley asks.
"Okay" Jessie says. She gives the hat to Hayley. Drake listens from outside the room and can't help but smile.
/
The next day Drake and Beth watch the girls leave the house for school. Jessie is following through with the challenge by not wearing her hat. Drake is pleased, even though he had nothing to do with it.
"Thanks for helping with Jessie last night" he says to Hayley.
"No problem. I'm glad it's working. I guess we'll need to think of a reward for her"
"If Jessie goes the full day without the hat, I'm taking everyone out for ice cream tomorrow" Drake says proudly.
"Sounds fair" Beth says. She kisses Drake goodbye and watches him leave for work.
/
Drake and Vance are outside of Molly's apartment building. They are following up on a tip they received that she may be in the building somewhere. After reviewing the other missing woman's case file they are convinced that the landlord is responsible for Molly's disappearance. They have backup officers with them.
Drake nods to Vance once he sees that they are clear to enter the building. They have their guns drawn. Vance searches the first floor while Drake checks the basement. He can hear Molly moaning, so he slowly moves closer and closer toward the sound. There are several walls and several small rooms in the basement. He checks each one and doesn't find Molly. He is about to search each room again but is interrupted when the landlord speaks.
"Something I can help you with Detective?"
Drake slowly turns around and sees the landlord holding a gun. "Where's Molly?" he asks.
"Why do you men and blue always have to interfere? What did I ever do to you?"
"You kidnapped a woman, and you are holding her against her will. Last I heard that's against the law" Drake says as he holds his gun on him.
"Put your gun away Detective. You know you aren't going to shoot me"
"Where's Molly?" Drake repeats himself. He is still holding is gun on the landlord.
The landlord opens two doors to a room and reveals Molly tied to a chair. She has a gag in her mouth, which is why she's only been able to moan. Her face is soaked with tears and her hair is a mess. She looks weak, like she hasn't eaten in days.
"Let her go" Drake orders, but the landlord just laughs at him.
"Now why would I do a thing like that" he walks over and stands next to Molly. "If I let her go she'll run away from me, and we can't have that can we?" He pinches Molly's cheek which makes her cringe. He takes a few steps away from Molly and waves his gun around. "If you think about it Detective, I'm not hurting anyone by keeping her here with me. She has no family, no friends, she's just another pretty face. Well, not at the moment, but you know what I mean"
"She has a boyfriend, he really cares about her. He misses her and he wants her back safely" Drake says softly. He still has his gun aimed at him.
"Don't be a moron Detective. She's a stripper, nobody cares about strippers. They are just playthings that you rent for an hour and then send them on their merry little way with a few hundred dollars. She takes her clothes off for a living. Where's the respect? Where's the dignity?"
"You think you're helping her by keeping her tied up down here?"
"Who says I'm helping her? I'm punishing her. She needs to learn that what she is doing is very bad."
"And who appointed you her guardian?" Drake asks.
"Me, since no one else is going to step up and interfere with the stripper population, I guess it has to be me" the landlord says. He is still waving his gun around, but Drake's training is helping him stay cool and focused.
"So you admit there were others. Like Denise Latham"
The landlord's facial expression changes at the sound of her name
Drake continues. "She was a stripper. You kidnapped her too didn't you? You kept her locked in the basement with no food, no water, no sunlight. You let her die"
"I didn't mean for her to die" the landlord says softly. "That wasn't supposed to happen"
"But you let it happen. And if you continue to torture Molly like this, she's going to die too."
"Stop it"
"You have to let her go, she needs medical attention" Drake says.
"I can take care of her" the landlord says, he's getting sloppy since Drake is messing with his emotions.
"I've had enough of this" Drake says. He walks over to Molly and starts to untie her. The landlord holds his gun on Drake and threatens to shoot, but Drake continues to remove the ropes that are keeping Molly confined. As Drake stars to until the last of the ropes a gunshot is heard.
The backup officers proceed to rush into the building. One of the officers talks into his communicator. "Call a bus, someone has been shot"