It was a rare occasion for Elena to be at work early on a day when they weren't working a case. Usually, she was always rushing in at the last minute – the perils of being a single mother. But this morning, she actually found herself with some time to spare so she decided to stop by Starbucks before going in to the office.

As she approached the long line, she noticed an unmistakable long mane of blonde hair just two spots from the register. Quickly walking ahead, she tapped Sam on the shoulder.

"Morning, chica," Elena greeted.

"Hey," Sam replied. "This usually isn't your stop in the morning."

"Tell me about it. Sophie spent the night at her cousin's house, so I didn't have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off this morning."

"So you decided to indulge in the good stuff?" Sam said as she motioned to the expansive coffee menu.

"Si!" replied Elena. "Now if you could do me a huge favor and—"

"I got it," Sam replied as she finally made it to the front counter. "An extra dry cappuccino? Right?"

"You're a saint!" Elena said as she stepped out of way and waited for Sam at the barista counter.

After getting their coffees, they decided to take advantage of the warm late spring morning and sit at an outside table. It wasn't 8 a.m. yet and they hadn't been called in for a case, so they decided not to rush upstairs.

"On days like today, it's so hard to go to work," Sam said as she looked up at the blue sky.

"It's especially hard when it always seems to rain on the weekend. Last Saturday, Sophie and I would have killed to have a beach day, but the weather didn't cooperate."

"Maybe this weekend," Sam said as she sipped her mocha latte.

Even though her cappuccino was hitting the spot, Elena couldn't help but stifle a yawn. Between being at Danny's and getting back to her place after 2 a.m., she'd only gotten a few hours sleep.

"Late night?" Sam asked.

Elena nodded with a coy glance. "You could say that."

"You didn't take advantage of Sophie's sleepover to get some rest?"

Smiling, Elena closed her eyes as her mind flashed to the night before – most of which was spent in Danny's arms. "I…uh…no…I didn't get much sleep," she replied sheepishly.

Eyeing her curiously, Sam smiled. "Are you okay?"

Looking down at her coffee, Elena shook her head. She wanted so much to tell someone about what she and Danny had talked about, but she couldn't tell anyone in her family. And she wasn't even sure she trusted telling her friends. But she had to tell someone.

"Can I, um, can I tell you something and then you could just forget it like I never told you? I mean, no one can know…for many reasons…but I just need to get this out," Elena exclaimed, almost surprised by the excitement she felt.

Samantha shrugged. "You can tell me. I won't tell anyone. I promise."

Knowing she could trust Samantha, Elena bit her lip before spilling. "I think, um, I'm pretty sure that Danny asked me to marry him last night."

"Danny?" Samantha replied with a burst of laughter. "Our Danny?"

Elena laughed at Sam's reaction. "Yes. Our Danny."

Sam's eyes narrowed. "I thought you broke up with him?"

"I did, but then we started talking again. And, oh Sam, it's so complicated, but last night, we were talking and he just…kind of…asked me."

"What do you mean 'kind of?" Samantha asked, still shocked.

Sighing heavily, she explained, "I mean, he kind of wrapped it in this hypothetical question because he wasn't sure how I would react to it…and of course, I reacted very cautiously which didn't exactly give him a vote of confidence."

"You said no?"

"I didn't say no. Instead, I listed all the reasons why it was a dangerous idea," Elena replied, shaking her head.

"Do you regret not saying yes?" Sam asked with a sly smile.

Running her hands through her hair, Elena smiled. "I regret not giving him hope, because if circumstances were different? There's probably nothing I'd want more than to marry him."

Elena and Samantha finally made their way into the office, but not before Elena swore Samantha to secrecy. As she entered the bullpen, she was surprised to see that Danny hadn't arrived yet. He was usually always there by 7:30.

Deciding to get one more cup of coffee, Elena made her way to the break room, filled her coffee cup and then started to head back. As she approached the opening elevator, she smiled when she saw Danny make his way out of the crowd.

"Morning," she said as fell in step with him.

Glancing over at her, he responded, "Hey. Morning."

Elena could tell by the tone of his voice that he was distracted, so she placed her hand on his arm to stop him. "You okay?"

He turned towards her and gave her a weak smile. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

Wincing, Elena leaned in to him. "I'm sorry," she said, referring to keeping him up until well after 2 a.m.

Danny shook his head. "Don't apologize. It wasn't a complaint," he replied as he tried to give her a more genuine, knowing smile.

"Good morning," Jack said as he approached them both in the hall.

Slightly startled, they both turned towards him simultaneously. "Morning," they replied in unison and then glanced at each other uneasily.

"You look like hell," Jack said as he gave Danny a once-over.

Elena winced again, while trying to act as if she wasn't overly concerned about Danny.

"Gee thanks, Jack," Danny replied, his tone sarcastic.

"Sorry," Jack said. "I just mean, you look like you haven't slept. You okay?"

Danny rolled his eyes as he looked from Elena to Jack. "I'm fine. Just didn't get much sleep. I'll have another cup of coffee and that will fix me right up," Danny said as he started to move again.

Before he could get very far, Jack said, "After you get that coffee, stop by my office – will ya?"

"Sure," Danny replied as he continued to walk.

Elena smiled slightly at Jack before quickening her pace so she could catch up with Danny at his desk. "That was weird. What do you think he wants?" Elena asked.

Taking off his suit jacket, Danny shrugged. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's not about us. Everything thinks we've broken up, remember?" he said in a clipped, annoyed tone.

"I…I know. I'm…I'm not worried. What's wrong, Danny?"

"Nothing. Like I said, I'm just tired. I'm sure Jack just wants to know how the interview went. That's it."

Elena nodded. "Okay," she replied in a quiet tone. "I guess I'll get to work," she said as she turned.

Danny didn't respond. He just grabbed his coffee mug and headed out of the bullpen. Elena couldn't help but think that maybe he'd regretted putting his heart on the line the night before. He couldn't be patient with her forever.

Two Days Later

"Mommy, can we order pizza?" Sophie asked as they made their way down the hall to their apartment.

"Not tonight, Sophie. Let's just heat up the leftover spaghetti. I promise we'll do pizza this weekend," Elena replied as she tried to hide the frustration in her tone. Taking out her key, she unlocked the door and then let Sophie inside. "Do you have any homework to finish, mamita?"

"No, I finished it at abuela's before you picked me up."

"Okay, you can watch a little television until I finish dinner. After we eat, it's straight to bed tonight."

"Got it," Sophie replied as she went into the living room.

Elena slipped off her shoes and padded into the kitchen. Then she opened the refrigerator, took out the spaghetti, and put it in the microwave. With that done, she took the cork off a bottle of red wine and poured a glass. Just as she sat down at the kitchen table, her cell phone rang. Looking at the display, she smiled.

"Hola, mi amor," she answered in a happy, but weary tone.

"Hey," Danny replied. "How you doing?"

"Mmmmm…I've been better."

"What happened?"

Elena sighed. "Well, I took Sophie to the counselor's office for another session with Carlos and he never showed up. So, once again, I have to explain things to Sophie so that she doesn't think it's because of her."

"Did…did he call, or…or anything?" Danny stammered.

"Nope. The mediator tried to get a hold of him, but he didn't answer. He'll probably come up with an excuse like the counselor told him the wrong day or something brilliant like that," Elena explained in an exasperated tone.

She waited a few beats for Danny to chime in, but there was only silence. "Danny? You still there?"

"Yeah…sorry…I'm here. Um, how's Sophie?"

"She's used to it. The counselor talked to her for a little while. I think she's okay."

"I wish I could be there for you tonight," he said, voice sounding down.

"Me, too. I'm glad that you called, though," Elena said as the microwave dinged. "That's dinner. Listen, I'll call you after I get Sophie to bed."

"Sounds good. I'll be here," Danny replied softly.

"Bye, querido."

The next day – Friday

Completely focused on analyzing some financial records of their latest missing person, Elena was startled to hear her desk phone ring. After marking her place in the records, she reached over to answer her phone.

"Delgado."

"Elena, can you come to my office, please?" Jack asked.

"Sure. I'm almost finished cross-referencing—"

"It's not about our case. It's another matter."

"I'll be right there," Elena said before hanging up the phone and rising from her chair.

As she approached Jack's office, she felt uneasy when she saw the two men that were standing in front of his desk. She recognized them right away.

"Jack?" Elena said as she opened his door and walked in.

Looking up from his desk, Jack motioned to her. "Have a seat?"

"What's going on?" Elena asked, remaining standing with her arms folded as the two men looked at her with suspicious glares.

"You remember Matt Kwon, Carlos's partner?"

Elena nodded as she refused to acknowledge Kwon's glare.

"And this is Sergeant-"

"Feldman," Elena finished in a frustrated tone, recognizing the Vice sergeant that Carlos used to report to. "What are they doing here?"

"We're looking for Carlos," Feldman said as he took a step towards Elena. "Do you know where he is?"

Shaking her head, Elena finally met the two agents' eyes. "I have no idea where he is."

"When is the last time you saw him?"

"Why? What's going on?" Elena asked.

"Detective Kwon went to Carlos's apartment when he hadn't heard from him in several days," Jack explained. "Apparently, it looked like there had been a struggle; his apartment was broken into. And there's no sign of Carlos."

Her eyes widening in surprise, Elena finally sat down. "Um, Tuesday night. Sophie had a session with her counselor and Carlos was a part of the session."

"What time did that wrap up?" Kwon asked in cool tone.

"Around 5:30, I think."

"Where did you go after the session?" Kwon asked.

"I dropped Sophie off at her cousin's, my brother's house, for a sleepover."

"And then what?" Kwon pressed.

Feeling annoyed and not wanting to give out any more personal details, Elena glared at him. "What are you doing, Matt? You think I did something to him? I haven't seen him since that night. He was supposed to show up at another session last night, but he never did. The mediator called, but never got a hold of him. I just figured he'd forgotten."

"He wouldn't forget about something so important, Elena," Kwon responded. "And yes, I have my suspicions that you'd do just about anything to get Carlos out of your life."

Hearing the pointedness in his tone, Elena was sure he was referring to her holding a gun to his head when she'd been looking for Sophie. "I don't want him out of my life…he's Sophie's father. I just don't want him to harass me or the people I care about anymore. That's it."

"What about your boyfriend? I bet he wants Carlos out of your life!" Kwon accused.

"Now wait a minute," Jack interjected. "All you said was that you wanted to get an idea of Carlos's movements. Elena has answered your questions. You have no right to accuse anyone."

"Do you know if Taylor has seen Carlos recently?" Feldman asked.

"Sergeant—"Jack began to warn.

Elena interrupted. "No, its okay, Jack. Danny hasn't seen in Carlos in months. He'd have no reason to see him."

"You sure about that?" Kwon asked sarcastically. "Where did you go after you dropped your daughter off?"

"Screw you, Matt. I don't have to answer to you," Elena spat.

"No you don't. But if we don't get some answers here, then we'll be filing a missing persons report. And rest assured, you guys won't get anywhere near this case – because all the heat will be on you and boyfriend."

"You're out of line, Detective Kwon," Jack warned. "You won't come in here, and—"

"Ask her, Agent Malone. Ask her where she was that night. Ask her if she and Taylor had a run-in with Carlos that night…Tuesday night…the last time anyone saw him."

Jack threw a cautious look at Elena, but all she felt was confusion. "We didn't see him that night. I went to his apartment, but we never saw Carlos," she replied as she looked at Jack.

Jack frowned, clearly confused because he'd thought that they weren't together anymore.

Kwon sighed heavily before stating, "We have a witness, a cab driver, who picked up Carlos right in front of Taylor's building at 6 p.m. Tuesday night. The cabbie says that Carlos was in a heated exchange with a man who sounds an awful lot like Taylor."

Feeling like she'd been blindsided, Elena tried not to let it show on her face. "That must have happened before I got there, if it happened at all."

"Danny didn't say anything?" Jack asked.

Elena shook her head. "No, he didn't mention it."

"How long were you there?" Feldman asked.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Elena shrugged. "I…I—left around 2 a.m."

"Was Taylor in the apartment?" Kwon asked.

With each question that she answered, Elena felt like she was implicating Danny in something. Why hadn't he told her that Carlos had been there? What was going on?

"Elena – where was Taylor when you left that night?" Kwon pressed again.

Completely agitated, Elena finally answered, "He walked me downstairs! I got in a cab and that was it!"

"When is the next time you saw him?"

Elena and Jack shared a glance as they both remembered Danny's weary appearance Wednesday morning. "Here at work the next day…around 8:45."

"We want to talk to Agent Taylor," Kwon said as he turned to Jack.

Jack shook his head. "No. You're not talking to anyone else until you prove that Carlos hasn't just taken off."

"His apartment was to broken into, Agent Malone. That's cause, right there," Sergeant Feldman interjected.

"Great, you have cause. But you won't talk to anyone else here until you have filed a report," Jack said as he rose from his desk. "And if you do talk to Agent Taylor, you will advise him of his rights, first."

The two men exchanged a look as they started to walk toward the door. "We'll be back this afternoon," Feldman said as they walked out.

Elena stood up as she watched them walk out. She had a nauseous feeling in her stomach as she turned to Jack. "It's a mistake, Jack. Danny wouldn't—"

"Have you guys been sneaking around because of you were afraid of what Carlos might do?"

Elena nodded, realizing she needed to come clean. "He, um, he made these thinly veiled threats."

"You have a restraining order. He can't threaten you."

"Not me. It was Danny, or rather Danny's brother. I thought Carlos would try to get to him because he was vulnerable. At first, I tried to keep it from Danny—"

"But he found out?" Jack asked.

Elena nodded.

"Stupid…stupid—"

"Jack, we were being careful!"

"I stopped Danny from putting a bullet in Carlos's head. He wanted to do it. Hell, he was still angry that I hadn't let him do it at the time of Carlos's trial. And now, on top of Danny wanting to protect you and Sophie, he finds out that Carlos is threatening Rafael? Do you realize what Kwon and Feldman will think if they find this out?"

Running her hands through her hair, Elena shook her head. "I—I—"

"He didn't say anything to you on Tuesday night about seeing Carlos?"

"No. Nothing."

"Why the hell would Carlos go to Danny's? To look for you?" Jack asked in a frustrated tone.

Elena shook her head again. "Sophie mentioned how much she missed Danny during the session with Carlos and the counselor. Sophie doesn't know that Danny and I are together. She said it in an innocent way and it made Carlos really angry."

Shaking his head, Jack paced back and forth. "This…this is bad. Really bad. We don't have much time. Where is Danny now?"

"He and Vivian went to our missing person's office building to question somebody. They left about an hour ago."

"Okay, I'm going to get him back here and talk to him. You…you have to steer clear of him, otherwise Kwon and Feldman will think you're trying to get your stories straight. So just stay focused on our missing person, and I'll see what I can do for Danny."

Elena nodded as she took a few steps towards the door. "Jack, Carlos was involved with a lot of bad people. It's likely that—"

"That doesn't matter," Jack cut her off. "At least not right now. All Feldman and Kwon know is that Danny was the last person to see Carlos…and there's a witness who saw them fighting. You've worked missing persons a few years now. Knowing just that, who would your prime suspect be?"

A/N – Ahh, the story has officially shifted into a missing person's case. Now that it has, I may show different POVs other than just Danny and Elena's. Thanks for reading and reviewing.