Danny's head shot up as he heard approaching footsteps. He immediately saw his father's figure walking down the long hospital corridor. Danny stood to greet the older man who looked into his oldest son's eyes, "How is he?"
Danny looked down, "It was bad."
Frank cringed and hesitated before asking the question he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to, "Was he…" Frank couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
Danny's eyes met his father's for a brief moment before looking back at the ground, "God Dad, if we had been a few seconds later we would have walked in on it."
Frank paled at the thought before getting his emotions under control, "Don't let the girls hear that, it wouldn't be good for them or Jamie."
Danny looked up, "They are going to find out eventually. We can't hide it from them."
Frank sighed, "We don't know that anything happened."
Danny looked taken aback, "The bastard had him for three days. What do you…" Danny stopped midsentence and realized his father wasn't being ignorant; the man couldn't bear to think what that monster had done to his youngest. Danny wrapped his arms around his father. Frank was startled by the action and when they pulled apart the surprise must have shown on his face. Danny gave a weak smile, "I get it Dad, it's hard to think that could have happened to Jamie of all people. I don't think I could handle it if that happened to my boys or Nikki, but denying it happened won't help anyone. It especially won't help Jamie."
Frank sat in one of the stiff waiting room chairs and buried his face in his hands and whispered, "I don't know what to do Danny."
Danny sat next to his father, "I think we both know that's part of being a parent."
Frank sat up and looked at Danny, "Thank you for that."
Danny smiled, "I'm only saying what you would be telling yourself if you were thinking straight."
Frank laughed, "I think we had this conversation not too long ago but I think it was the other way around." Danny smiled and nodded.
Both Reagan men turned at the sharp sound of heels and saw Erin, flanked on both sides by Nikki and Henry. As soon as their eyes met, Erin ran to her father's arms, "Any word?" Frank shook his head as Nikki traded places with Erin, who looked over at Danny, "Where's Linda?"
Danny motioned for Erin to sit in the seat he had just been in, "She's dropping the boys off at her parent's. We didn't think it would be a good idea for them to be around at the moment." Erin nodded in understanding.
Nikki turned to Danny, "Is Uncle Jamie going to be alright?"
Henry huffed behind her, "Of course Jamie will be alright. He's probably only a little banged up; he should be good in no time." Danny and Frank shared a worried look over Erin and Nikki's heads. Henry caught the look and wondered what it was that he didn't know.
It was another hour before Linda showed up but was met with the same answer the others had received, no new yet. Five hours into the wait Danny was about ready to go and find the doctor when the man finally showed up. The doctor walked up to the group, "I'm Doctor Saunders, I'm assuming you are family of Jamie Reagan."
The group stood, eager to hear what was going on. The doctor smiled slightly before giving them the news, "Jamie should make a nice recovery. He had a great number of lacerations on his front and back, most have been dealt with and won't scar at all. There are a few that were too deep or jagged and those will unfortunately leave scars, including one on his upper arm. He also has a few cracked ribs and bruising but those should heal quickly along with the mild concussion. We were most concerned about the knife wound to his upper left leg. It was rather deep and damaged a lot of muscle, but with physical therapy, Jamie should regain complete use of the leg without even a limp." Saunders paused a moment before looking at Frank, "Sir, if you would, there is something else I would like to discus with you about your son in private."
Frank nodded and pointed to Danny, "I think I know what you would like to say and I would like for my other son, Danny to join us. He was the one who found Jamie."
Saunders nodded and led the two men to a private room, ignoring the protests from the other Reagans. When the door closed, Saunders face fell, "Commissioner, I'm terribly sorry but there is evidence your son was raped multiple times. We ran a rape kit and you can have it picked up when your detectives are ready. However, we still need to run a few tests to check for any STD's, and I would recommend having your son see a therapist. I can recommend a few if you would prefer to keep it a quiet affair. I'll have a nurse come and direct you to Jamie's room." Frank nodded his thanks quietly as the young doctor gave a small smile and exited the room. Both men stood silently and unmoving, unsure what to do or say now that their fears had been confirmed. Danny placed a hand on his dad's shoulder and led the man back to the large waiting room.
When they got back, they were immediately bombarded with questions from Henry and the girls but Danny simply shook his head. Something on his face must have shown that it wasn't the time for questions, as the group grew silent and worry showed on their faces. Moments later, a nurse appeared and directed the group to a hospital room.
When they approached the door she turned to face the family, "Only two at a time, the rest of you can wait in the family waiting room across the hall."
Danny turned to his wife, "Linda, could you take Nikki in to see Jamie, we need to talk with Pop and Erin." Linda nodded, taking Nikki into the small hospital room as the others went into the private waiting room.
As soon as they entered the room, Henry turned on his son, "Francis, what is going on here? If something is going on with my grandson, I need to know."
Erin nodded in agreement, "And I deserve to know what happened to my brother."
Frank opened his mouth to speak but couldn't get himself to say the words and sent a pleading look to Danny. Danny nodded in acknowledgement, "The guy who took Jamie, we found some cold cases connected to him. His DNA had been found on other bodies." Danny paused as his eyes went back and forth between his sister and grandfather, "They were all tortured and…raped."
Erin's eyes went wide, "My God… did… was Jamie…" Erin broke off into a sob.
Henry looked at Frank and whispered, "Francis?" Frank nodded in answer to the unasked question and Henry's hand flew to his mouth in shock. Before anything could be said, Nikki and Linda returned, allowing Henry and Erin to go see Jamie.
When they left, Linda grabbed her husband's arm and dragged him to the corner of the room, "Danny, why does Jamie's chart say he had blood drawn for testing" What kind of testing? Is that why the doctor talked to you privately?"
Danny nodded, allowing tears to finally come to his eyes as he spoke to his wife, "Linda, they have to test Jamie for STD's." Linda gasped and reached for Danny's hand. He squeezed it gently and led her to a chair.
As Danny sat, Nikki walked up to him, "What's wrong with Uncle Jamie? Everyone is acting like something terrible happened but no one will tell me what."
Danny gave her an apologetic look, "I'm sorry kid but you need to talk with your mom about this one. I'll let her know I think she should tell you but it's up to her and Uncle Jamie." Nikki nodded in understanding, she knew whatever it was, it wasn't Danny's secret to tell.
When Erin and Henry returned, Danny and Frank made their way to the hospital room. Danny froze when he saw Jamie, asleep on the hospital bed, surrounded by machines with wires coming out of him. Frank put a comforting hand on his shoulder and they silently approached the bed. Danny grabbed Jamie's hand and sat in the chair next to the bed. Danny leaned forward resting both forearms on the bed frame and whispered, "I'm so sorry baby brother."
Frank pulled a chair up to sit by Danny, "It wasn't your fault Danny."
Danny looked at his father, "I was with him minutes before he was taken. If I had stayed a few moments longer he wouldn't be in this hospital bed and Jackie and Renzulli wouldn't be guarding a crime scene covered in Jamie's blood."
Frank looked his son in the eyes, "You couldn't have known this would happen and you shouldn't blame yourself."
Danny sighed, "I know, I just feel like I could have done something to stop this from happening."
Frank nodded, looking up to take in his youngest, "Well all we can do no is wait.
x.X. BB .X.x
A/N- So I feel like Frank is a bit OOC in this chapter but I was tired of reading stories where he always hid his emotions when his kids got hurt. Also Danny totally called Jamie 'baby brother' in the last episode and I just had to put it in here because it totally made me go 'awwwwww' when I watched the episode. Up next, Jamie wakes up and Frank visits the crime scene.