After the two of them came back down the stairs, Lizzie ran off to find her cousins, not really in the mood for more confrontation with Erin. It was making her kind of sick.

"Jack, Sean, Lizzie, it's time to leave!" Danny shouted later, when Lizzie, Jack, Sean, Pops, and Nicky were all in the middle of an intense game of Monopoly. Pops seemed to have forgotten all aspects of his distress over Lizzie. The three of them rose up from the table and walked over to where Danny and Erin were standing, back to being ready to murder each other.

"...But she's MY daughter..." Erin growled.

"Don't you think she would be better off with me, just for tonight? That why if he really followed her around, we would be able to know. If he tried to attack her, she would be safe and we could get rid of this guy once and for all. Besides, she said she wanted to stay with me and Linda." Danny tried, not really in the mood for a fight with his sister. Lizzie plopped down next to Jamie on the couch, sensing they would not be leaving for a while.

"There will be plenty of opportunities for you to take Lizzie home. Just not the day I get her back." Erin said, beginning to raise her voice. Lizzie jumped at this, and looked at Jamie, sitting next to her. He shrugged.

"Do you really want Jamie and me camping in your apartment?" Danny growled. Her Uncle Danny was protective of her- and she thought it was cute. She also thought it was cute how her mother and Danny fought so much, but loved each other and hugged at the end of the day. Just not today. Maybe tomorrow.

Erin frowned and crossed her arms. This was her daughter that she just got back after eighteen years, and it hadn't even been 24 hours before she was taken away, AGAIN. "I still don't understand why she can't come home with JUST me and Nicky..."

"Both of you stop it." Frank growled, deciding to bud into the feud between the two siblings. "I think she should just stay here for the time being. Baker is coming by in the morning to put in some more protection. She will be safest here."

"I'll stay too." Jamie said, getting up from his spot on the couch. "I work the later shift tomorrow." He said, smiling at Lizzie. "We can watch the Avengers." He said, smiling.

"Is that what you want?" Erin interrogated Lizzie and her face turned red.

"I'll be fine here. Don't worry about me." She said.

That is how Jamie ended up in the armchair in the living room, while Lizzie laid awake, lying on the couch nearby. Jamie's quiet snores bit at the emptiness in the air. The two of them had sat down to watch the Avengers, Jamie had fallen asleep and without him to explain what was going on, she was lost. Watching the different characters fly around the screen was her only source of entertainment.

A gunshot rang out, waking Jamie from his slumber. He jumped up and ran out out the front door ready to attack. Pretty soon the Commissioner and Pops came running down the stairs and dragged me from where I stood frozen watching the door. They forced me into the bathroom and screamed at me to lock the door. I did what they said and slumped down onto the floor against the wall. When I heard screams and more gunshots, I felt my stomach clump into a knot and it got hard to breathe. What if her uncle had gotten himself killed for her? She would never forgive herself.

After what seemed like hours, she heard footsteps coming towards her, and she shrank into herself. Maybe they were all dead and this creep was really coming after her. "Lizzie you can come out now." The Commissioner said from the other side of the door. She shakily walked over and unlocked it, and threw herself at him. He wrapped his arms around her and slightly rocked her.

"Is Jamie okay? Please tell me he's okay."

"Jamie is fine. The gunfire had nothing to do with us. One of our neighbors though was not so lucky. Jamie was able to catch the perp though. Danny and his partner will take care of it."

"Okay." Lizzie said, still tightly clung to the Commissioner.

"Lizzie! Are you okay?" Jamie's voice broke out from across the room. Lizzie looked up and saw him standing there, a gash slashed against his forehead.

"You're hurt." Lizzie said, walking over to him.

"I'm fine. Sorry I scared you. Danny is out there with the perp." Jamie said, more so aimed at the Commissioner than at her. Lizzie wrapped her arms around her uncle, so happy that he was still standing there in front of her.

"I don't think I can sleep now." Frank said, going to make himself a cup of coffee.

Pops, who had previously been standing in the corner, moved to follow him.

"Are you okay? You didn't answer me and changed the subject." Jamie said, sitting down on the couch. He patted the space next to him and Lizzie plopped down.

"That was really scary. I put you guys in danger by being here."

"No you didn't. That had absolutely nothing to do with you."

"But what if that was my father? He would kill all of you to get to me, just like he did with my parents."

"We would do anything to keep you safe. You understand that, no?"

"Even if means killing yourselves?" Lizzie said, raising her voice without intent. The Commissioner and Pops walked into the room, the questioning look on their faces concerned. Lizzie took a deep breath and slumped into the couch.

"No one here is going to die. I promise." Jamie said, rubbing his arm up and down Lizzie's shaking shoulders.

"What about Joe?" Lizzie raised her eyebrows, knowing she had struck a chord, not really to hurt him, but to make a point.

Jamie's face turned solemn. "Joe's death... Never mind. Joe's death had nothing to do with you."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do. Stop talking about this."

Lizzie took a deep breath. "Erin is going to freak out and come rushing over here when she hears about this."

Jamie smiled. "That is why we won't tell her until tomorrow morning."

The next morning, the Commissioner, Pops, Jamie, and Lizzie all were in the kitchen having breakfast together. Pops had made pancakes, and they were probably the best pancakes Lizzie had ever had. They were all talking about some cop injustice thing, and I was trying to follow what they were talking about, but honestly, it's not like I was going to become a cop.

"Back in my day, we could have never gotten away with stuff like this."

"But that's the point Pops. It's not your day anymore." The Commissioner responded.

"What do you think Lizzie?" The Commissioner ripped her away from her thoughts about convincing her Aunt Linda to take her to see a Broadway show before she left New York.

"I'm sorry?" She asked.

"Nicky generally likes to speak her mind about these things..."

"Well, I don't really know. I never paid much attention to what was going on with the cops. I grew up in a small Chicago suburb, not much happened."

The kitchen door opened revealing Erin. She looked exhausted, like she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. The four people in the kitchen exchanged glances. She looked pissed.

"What happened?" Erin growled at Jamie. Jamie shrugged, but Erin's scowl made him rethink that decision.

"We heard gunshots, and I went to go check it out. The Manleys, across the street? Someone shot them. But I caught the guy. Danny took him down to the precinct around three this morning."

"So nothing happened?" Erin's shoulders dropped as she sat down at the counter and rubbed her temples.

"Wait, how did you find out about this?" Jamie asked.

"Danny called me, and then told me not to worry."

"That was a bad move on his part. We didn't want to worry you, so we decided we would tell you when you got here."

"Well clearly Danny missed that memo."

"Hey I'm here!" Danny's voice joined the mix.

"Why did you tell her about the problems this morning? We weren't going to tell her until she got here so she wouldn't worry and not get any sleep."

"I wasn't going to leave her out in the dust! This is her daughter we are talking about here!"

"Alright! Enough!" The Commissioner said. It soon got quiet and Lizzie could feel everyone's eyes turn in on her.

"How are you?" Erin asked.

"I'm okay." She answered automatically. Even if she wasn't okay, she still would say she was. It was a teenager thing. Nicky clearly didn't use it, because they left her alone.

"Here is the file you asked for." Erin handed the folder she had been holding to Danny. Danny scowled.

"C'mon Lizzie, let's go."

"Where?" Both Lizzie and Erin chimed.

"The precinct. I need to hear your account of the murder, and you get to meet Jackie and hang with your cool uncle. If it's okay with Erin."

"That's fine." Erin said without looking up.

Lizzie rose up to follow Danny for the second time in two days. It was kind of daunting walking behind a cop wearing a suit and tie and a gun in his holster. It honestly scared her knowing that her uncle had shot people to death and never looked back. She would never be able to do that.

Also, she feared ever getting in trouble with her uncle, because he was just all around scary.

"So, wanna stop and get a coffee?" Danny asked, when they were on the road and driving.

"I hate coffee." Lizzie declared, twitching her eye in protest.

"Hot chocolate? One of those drinks with the whip cream and crap on top? You wanna a shake? Hamburger? Hot dog?"

"It's nine in the morning, for one, and two, why are you trying to make me fat?"

"I was just trying to be nice."

"So tell me about my mom. Nicky just sees her as the cold overbearing parent, but what was she like before? Was she that one teenager that pretended to be innocent, but was really a troublemaker?"

"She was always serious, always had a cold face to anyone that wasn't on her side. But to the people she knew, she was always a dedicated daughter and sister, when we weren't fighting. But I always knew that she had my back, like I had hers."

"And what about now? She looks awful. I feel like I'm such a burden..."

"I think she's scared. And it hurts to give up your child, so getting you back is probably bringing back all of that pain she tried to get rid of. And you are not a burden, never ever say that again."

"You sound like a social worker."

"This whole family lost people we cared about. First, your great grandmother, then your grandmother, and then your Uncle Joe. And every time we lose someone we care about, the pain gets even worse because we remember the others. But through all of this, the family gained another member. You."

"It's too bad th-" Lizzie bite her tongue when she realized she almost said her plan out loud. Through this whole experience with the Reagans, she kept forgetting where she came from and that she was going back, as soon as she could get her hands on a gun and find enough cash to get herself back to Chicago.

"What's too bad?" Danny asked, having caught that Lizzie was about to say something.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that... it's too bad that I turned down that coffee. Because I could have made you spend five dollars on a fru-fru drink." She laughed, and he looked at her in disbelief but then turned back at the road.

"So how are you Erin?" Frank asked after Danny and Lizzie had left, putting emphasis on the you.

"Dad I'm fine. It's Lizzie I'm worried about."

"No Erin. Lizzie is adjusting, and that's a good thing. God brought her here for a reason, even if that meant killing Melissa and Chad Johnson in the process. God's plan for them must have been something else. But that's not my point. Kids bounce back. You've just had some stuff from the past shoved in your face. You were sexually assaulted. And that resulted in you getting pregnant. And there's a chance that this guy is coming after you. You have a right to be scared." Frank stated calmly.

"This is not the first time that our family has been put in danger. We all stay here in this house with your detail and then it gets cleared... like it does everytime."

"And that is probably what will happen. But we cannot let our guard down. And... I think this is a lot more personal than some tiy getting back at you for putting them behind bars. This is the man who..." Frank stopped, unable to say the words.

"Yeah, he raped me Dad. I know. And that doesn't phase me anymore. Because now I have a child who is angry because I gave her away. I don't care if he gets me. I will not let that man touch my daughter."

"Then you understand my feelings exactly. I will not let that man touch my daughter... which is why you're all going to be staying here until this guy slips up. When he does, we'll catch him." Frank declared, going into his PC mode. He looked at his daughter, his only girl, his favorite girl...

"Erin I am so proud of you. You were so strong to yourself and for Lizzie. You protected her despite what she came from. But now you don't need to be strong. Let me be strong for you."

Erin leaned into her father, letting him wrap his arm around her. She sighed, leaning into the embrace.

They would get through this. They always did.

"I'm Jackie Curatola," Her uncle's partner introduced herself when they had gone back to the precinct. She was really pretty. Maybe she get Jackie to take her to see a Broadway musical.

"Hi. I'm Lizzie... Reagan." She said, raising her eyebrows with a smile. The two shook hands, and Jackie could automatically tell that Lizzie's hands were clammy, and that she probably hadn't gotten any sleep in the last few days apart from drifting into unconsciousness. She knew that feeling.

"Another Reagan in the clan, I swear that family is like a cult." Jackie said, and started leading her to one of the interrogation rooms.

"HEY!" Danny said from across the room. This made both Jackie and Lizzie smile.

"Do you want your Uncle in here? I know he can be pretty scary and I'm a lot nicer."

"HEY!" Danny said from in the hallway, not standing in a place that Lizzie could see him. This room was gray and only had a table. Like she was a prisoner.

"Where were you the day of October 2nd?"

"It was a Tuesday. My best friend's birthday. I drove to school that morning with my parents' Toyota Camry. It was white and it was such an old car. My parents wouldn't get rid of it because they claimed it was the only car they would ever give me. Anyways, I drove it to school and it was like any other day. My friends and I took my best friend out to lunch and we bought her this little cupcake. After school, I went to musical practice. Our musical this year is Funny Girl, I'm Fanny Brice... I've already missed like a week of rehearsal. Anyways, after that I stopped at the store to pick up a pizza for dinner, and I went home. My parents were running late from work, my mom had parent teacher conferences, and my dad was doing something... I can't remember. They both came home around 7 and we ate. After that, we sat down and were watching Full House when someone rang the doorbell."

"If you ask me, Kimmy Gibbler was the greatest of all of the characters." Lizzie's mother argued. "Look at that battery pack and dress! She clearly had more fashion sense than all of the other Tanners!"

"Look, the 90s were a difficult time. Don't act like that hairdo you had wasn't the worst thing you'd ever done."

"My mother said it would make me look thinner, so I-"

Their argument that was quite possibly the most random one ever was cut short when the doorbell rang. Lizzie took another bite out of her pepperoni pizza and watched her father get up to go answer the door. He opened the door, and soon he fell back. Lizzie ran over to see a man standing in her doorway, holding a knife. Another knife laid in the center of her father's chest, her father stunned.

"Dad!" She cried, bending down to him. His face was one of shock and he wasn't moving. She didn't even notice the man move past her into the other room where her mother was until she heard a scream. And by the time she got to the room, the man's other knife had found its way into her mother's chest. Her mother laid lifeless in the middle of their living room floor.

Lizzie was shocked. Her parents were probably both gone, and she was still standing there, looking at the man who had probably killed her parents.

He had a beard, and looked as if he hadn't showered in weeks. When he smiled at her, his remaining teeth were rotting and yellow.

"Baby... It's Me, your dad. Don't ya remember? These people are not your parents... I did you a favor!"

"Sure you did." Lizzie said, not wanting to tick him off. He stood there, walking towards her, and she did the only thing she could think of, punch him in the face.

"You stupid bitch!" He said, slapping her across the face and giving her one smack in the eye. She gave him one kick in the balls and was able to get back up.

Lizzie ran to her car. She drove as fast as she could to the end of the block before calling 911 on her cell phone.

"911 what is your emergency?"

"My parents were stabbed and there is a man in my house now."

"Are you in the house?"

"No, I got out."

"Well stay in a safe place and the ambulance and police will be there soon."

"My parents were both dead on scene. The analysis said that they died instantly and didn't feel any pain. I snuck away before I could get interrogated and took a bus to New York as fast as I could because I didn't know where else to go."

"Listen to me kid, you don't know how lucky you are to be a Reagan." Jackie said, sitting across from her. "You have a family that will always back you up no matter what you do."

"You're very fond of the Reagans aren't you?" Lizzie asked.

"Danny is the best cop I know. I would do anything for him. Anything. I'd walk on nails for him."

Lizzie suddenly had an aha moment.