A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! I appreciate them all so much. :) See the first chapter for the disclaimer. This chapter advances the case a little more, as will the next couple of chapters. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review. :)
Chapter Six
Danny was thisclose to solving one part of his brother's abduction: what they were really after. Jamie likely hadn't been the whole story. That much was certain. But what was?
As he poured through the case files with Maria, one case in particular struck him from two years ago. Jamie was the first officer on the scene with Renzulli. Danny and Jackie had taken over when they got there. And Heath Jackson, another ADA from Erin's office, had prosecuted the case with her. He had served as lead attorney up until closing arguments, during which his wife had gone into labor, so Erin had stepped in.
The murderer, Andre Jasper, was sentenced to life.
Andre was the best lead Danny and Maria had for this crime, despite his current incarceration. And as Danny thought about it, he realized that any one of the three Reagan children would have made good targets for revenge plots in this case. The first officer who had detained Andre. The detective who proved the case. The ADA who closed the conviction.
So why Jamie?
"Maybe he was just the easiest target," Maria said in response to the question Danny hadn't even realized he'd uttered out loud.
Danny glowered toward her.
"Think about it," she continued. "He's the only one of you that can be taken down without collateral damage."
She was right, Danny realized. Erin had Nicki, Frank and Henry lived together, and Danny had Linda and the boys. Jamie, however, lived alone, as he had since Sydney had left.
Sydney, who was walking up to him in the precinct with another cop by her side.
"Sydney," Danny said, standing up from his desk.
Maria looked up curiously.
"I'm sorry to just drop in like this, Danny," Sydney said nervously.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Um, can we talk? In private?"
Danny shrugged. "Sure." He led her to a quiet room, leaving Maria watching with a hundred questions running through her mind.
"What can I do for you?" Danny repeated softly as he closed the door behind her.
Sydney swallowed, trying to hold back the tears. "I… I heard about Jamie," she replied quietly.
Danny nodded, but said nothing.
"I-is he… I mean, how is he?" she asked nervously.
"Hangin' on," Danny answered honestly.
Sydney sat down against the table behind her, reeling like she had been punched in the stomach. She closed her eyes, sniffling.
Danny said nothing, just watching the woman who was almost his sister-in-law three years ago crumble before him. Part of him had been angry when she'd left his little brother, but part of him had come to understand her reasons, which was actually Linda's doing, reminding him that being married to someone who was married to their job was incredibly difficult. But he hadn't completely gotten past her crushing his brother's heart when she left.
Though Jamie had never exactly admitted that.
Sydney, herself, wasn't wearing a ring on her left hand at the moment, and her reaction to Jamie's condition indicated to Danny that she'd likely not moved on yet. Or, if she had, part of her was still carrying a torch for Jamie. But he couldn't really think about that at the moment.
"He's improving slowly," Danny told her. "But, he's been through a lot."
Sydney nodded, sniffling again.
Danny moved to stand beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sydney."
She shook her head. "I should be saying that to you," she replied tearfully. "To you and your whole family. We… we were going to get married, but…"
"I know. Trust me, Syd, we all know."
"I just couldn't…"
"We know," he assured her, rubbing her shoulder gently.
She nodded, wiping away her tears with her hand. "You should hate me," she told him.
"None of us do. It's not easy being married to someone who's married to their job."
She smiled slightly. "How many times has Linda told you that?"
Danny smiled back. "More than I can count."
Sydney chuckled lightly before wiping away the last of her tears.
"You doin' okay otherwise?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Can't complain," she replied. "Senior associate, next in line for partner. Firm's been good to me."
"When'd you get back from London?"
"Two years ago. I would've come around sooner, but I wasn't sure how you would take it."
"You were family, Syd. That don't really go away so easy."
She nodded solemnly. "For what it's worth, I really loved Jamie. Part of me still does. He was the best friend I ever had."
Danny nodded.
Sydney straightened up. "I should be going," she said. "My lunch is almost up."
He nodded again, saying nothing.
"Thank you, Danny, for not hating me."
"We don't hate you," he told her. "None of us do. Not even Jamie."
She snorted slightly, rolling her eyes. "He probably blamed himself more than he blamed me when I left. Though, he should've blamed me."
Danny shook his head. "It's the job."
She shrugged. "Either way. Thank you for being honest, too."
"Anytime. And feel free to call or come by. Even at the hospital."
"Really?" she said, surprised.
"I already told you. You were family. That don't go away so easy."
She nodded slightly. "Erin won't kill me?"
Danny scoffed. "Erin was more upset for the scenario, not with any particular person."
Sydney nodded to herself. "Thanks."
"Anytime. I'll walk you out." Danny opened the door for her, chatting with her about the kids and the rest of the family as he walked her out of the precinct. As he made his way back to his desk, Maria looked at him questioningly.
"Jamie's ex-fiancée," he answered before she even spoke.
"Should we be looking at her as a suspect?" Maria asked.
Danny shook his head. "Sydney left him two and a half years ago, headed off to London for some case or something. She still loves him."
"Fine line between love and hate."
"Yeah, but Syd isn't the type to hurt anyone, let alone her ex-fiancée. Our best bet is to look further into Andre Jasper."
Maria nodded. "Well, in that case, I may have something…"