A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! You guys rock! :) See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I promise that some things will wrap up within the next few chapters. ;) I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review. :)

Chapter Eight

Frank made his way back into his youngest son's hospital room, finding his daughter sitting on the cot on the phone. He said nothing as he closed the door quietly behind him.

"Right," she said into the phone. "Yes."

Frank walked over to Jamie.

"Thank you, Your Honor. I appreciate it."

Frank looked down at Jamie before glancing toward Erin.

"He's hanging in there."

Frank looked back at Jamie wordlessly.

"I will. Yes. And thank you again, Your Honor."

Frank turned to face Erin.

"I will. You too. Have a good day, sir." She hung up the phone before typing a quick message to someone.

"Good news?" Frank asked his daughter.

"Warrants for medical records on the Jasper siblings," she replied. "Danny and Baez are heading out to canvass clinics near where Jamie was found. The warrants are open to any of their medical records from the past few days at any clinic, doctor's office, or hospital."

"Which judge gave you that blanket?"

Erin smiled slightly. "Hedley. He presided over Andre Jasper's case, and remembered what Andre did to that poor girl. So, he figured if Andre's siblings had anything to do with what Jamie had gone through, then they deserved to be behind bars as much as their brother."

Frank nodded, knowing that was why Erin had picked Hedley in the first place. He sighed quietly before saying, "so, aside from the case, what else did you need to talk to Danny in private about?"

Erin smiled wider, shaking her head. "Hard to get anything by you."

Frank simply arched his eyebrows in response.

"Sydney came to see him at the precinct," Erin told him.

Frank nodded.

"I didn't even realize she was back in New York."

"For the past two years," he said.

"Do you think Jamie knows?" Erin asked, looking at her younger brother.

"I didn't tell him."

She nodded, but said nothing.

"I thought Sydney would have reached out to him at some point."

"I think she's probably worried about our reactions."

Frank shook his head. "She's family," he said.

"That's what Danny said, too," Erin replied.

Frank snorted slightly but nodded.

Erin sighed softly, looking at Jamie. "Even if we are right, it's not going to help him," she said.

Frank shrugged one shoulder. "It would keep him and the rest of you safe," he told her. "He could wake up knowing that the worst is behind him."

"But is it?"

He looked over at her.

"I mean, we don't really know what they did to him. We just know the results. What if they did more than we can see?"

"We won't know until he wakes up."

She nodded solemnly. "The doctors can't even be sure he will wake up." She sighed quietly. "Nicki asked me the other day if he was going to die."

"Sean and Jack have asked Danny and Linda the same question," Frank informed her.

"What did they tell the boys?" she asked.

"That they didn't know."

"That's what I told Nicki." Erin shook her head sadly. "I can't lie to her, but I don't want to hurt her, either. I don't know if he's going to wake up, if he's going to be okay… I just… we just don't know. And I wish I could just tell Nicki everything was going to be okay like I could when I was a kid, but…"

"She's growing up," Frank supplied for her. "She's almost seventeen. Can't keep lying to her or trying to protect her."

"Because if I say things will be fine and, God forbid, Jamie dies… she'd never forgive me."

He nodded. "Danny and Linda said the same thing about the boys. But somehow, I think Nicki would be more understanding and forgiving."

She snorted slightly. "She's still a teenager, and I'm still her mother. I'll believe it when I see it."

Frank chuckled slightly.

Jamie's hand twitched, causing both of them to look over at him. His face was still peaceful, still marred by bruises that were slow to fade away and scabs that were threatening to become scars. Any time Jamie twitched, they wondered if it was more than just the reflex his doctor said it was. But his lungs were healing, and they were weaning him off of the ventilator to where by tomorrow morning, he could come off of it.

Barring any complications, of course.

Frank put his hand on his youngest child's forearm silently. He, like the rest of the family, was praying that Jamie would wake up soon. Once he did, the unanswered questions might be answered. After all, Jamie had been spending a lot of time with Danny lately, and was getting better at hiding things.

Erin stood up, walking over and giving Jamie a kiss on the forehead. "I should get back to Nicki," she said to her father, squeezing his shoulder and kissing his cheek as he returned the kiss. "I'll see you both later."

"Okay, sweetheart," Frank said.

She smiled briefly at him before leaving the room.

He looked back at Jamie, giving his forearm a gentle squeeze. Frank closed his eyes, praying silently that at this time tomorrow, things would be different. That this four-day holding pattern of vigils over an unconscious family member would soon come to an end.

Hopefully in a happy manner.