A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! They've been much appreciated, especially of late. See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this one as well. :)

Chapter Three

Frank preferred to stand by the windows near his son's bed rather than sit on the chair or cot set up in the room. Henry and Erin were camped out in the waiting room with Linda while Nicki continued to watch the boys. Danny was buried amidst the evidence in the case. And though Frank had warned Danny's sergeant to have him pulled from investigating, he knew there was no way Danny would've stayed back.

Better to go with the devil you know.

The door creaked open, and his oldest son made his way in slowly. Frank looked over, finding Danny hesitating just inside the door frame. Initially, neither one spoke as Danny stared at his youngest brother's unconscious form, hooked up to a dozen wires and lines. Danny closed his eyes, sighing softly.

"How's the case?" Frank asked after a moment, distracting Danny from the sight of his battered younger brother.

"Spinnin' our wheels," Danny sighed as he turned to his father. "Tryin' to match trace from the car to trace from…" Danny cut his eyes to his brother before looking back at his father. "Maybe it can give us a hint as to where they kept him."

"More than one?"

Danny nodded sadly. "Bruises in shape of fists came in at least two different sizes, one much smaller than the others. Some of the markings were from long nails."

Frank furrowed his brow. "So, a woman is involved?"

Danny shrugged. "Possibly. Too early to say for sure."

Frank nodded. "And we have no idea where they held him or how they got him."

"How was answered by the car," Danny reminded Frank gently. "They'd hit the car then took him out. Where is a different story. We got nothin' on that. Other than it wasn't where we found the car. We found scratches underneath the car from it being towed."

"So they towed a damaged car through the streets and left it four miles from Jamie's apartment."

"Yeah. And we have no idea why they left it there other than it probably wouldn't have seemed out of place."

Frank nodded again, looking from his oldest son to his youngest. He was trying to think of anyone who would have a motive to hurt his youngest child, but was drawing a blank.

"We're also considerin' that this has less to do with Jamie and more to do with someone else," Danny stated grimly.

"I'd already considered that myself," Frank replied. "Baker's pulling files on my side. Erin's office is doing the same."

"Baez is coverin' mine." Danny shifted his weight to lean against the wall, still a fair distance from Jamie.

Frank noticed Danny's hesitation to come near his brother, but didn't say anything about it.

"We'll find them, Dad," Danny assured him.

Frank nodded again.

Danny sighed, scrubbing his hand down his face. "I'm gonna head out, grab a shower, and get back to it," he said softly. "Sooner we find these guys…"

"It's not going to bring him back faster," Frank reminded him.

"I know that. But at least there's less risk they'll come back after him."

Frank said nothing.

Danny exhaled slowly, finally crossing the room to his brother's bed. He leaned in, stroking Jamie's clean but unkempt hair. "You get better," Danny instructed the younger Reagan softly. "I'm gonna find out who did this to you, and I'll make them pay, but you gotta come back to us."

The ventilator clicked in response.

Danny sniffled slightly, standing up straight. "See ya later, Pop," he said, leaving the room.

Frank simply nodded at his son's retreating form. He turned his attention back to his youngest child, seeing the damaged figure of someone who looked like a man and a child at the same time.

Jamie looked small and fragile in the bed, broken and hidden amongst the sheets, wires, and tubes. His expression was peaceful, despite his features being marred by various injuries. Superficial injuries, as Frank had been told, injuries that would heal.

It was the internal ones that were of most concern.

Head trauma. Chest trauma. Abdominal trauma. Internal bleeding. Swelling. All words that added up to bad outcomes. Broken bones, too, but those were easier to heal than some of the others.

And that didn't even account for the emotional trauma.

Then, of course, there was the question of how much of Jamie was still in there. Assuming there was no lasting damage to Jamie's brain, how much would he remember about what happened? How much damage was done by his captors? Would he be able to cope with what happened? Would he eventually get back to himself?

What would become of him?

Frank sighed, looking away from his son to stare out the window. If anyone could figure out who did this, it was Danny. And if Jamie's captors were to happen to get injured in the process… well… then, they must have resisted.

Frank scratched his chin contemplatively. Despite his fears, he knew that as long as Jamie had the family, he'd be okay. They all loved him, would support him, and would be there for him as long as he needed. Jamie would be okay.

He just had to come back to them.