A/N: So sorry it's been taking me so long to get through this case. I just don't do the procedural well so it's been like pulling teeth to get my muse to cooperate. Hopefully things will get back to normal now. I've got the next 5 chapters planned and I must say that you will all be very pleased with how things go from here on out.

The clock ticked gently on the wall, back and forth, marking the passing of ever increasing seconds. Danny and Lindsay looked at each other for a moment, then back at Mrs. Bridger who was searching through a filing cabinet, looking for the old documents they'd requested. She'd been nothing but helpful to them, making sure they knew that her late husband was innocent, but that she would accept whatever they found as fact. The wound of her husband's death only six months before was still fresh, and going through his things was taking its toll on her. They could feel the anguish and both wished they could tell her that they would be back another day, but they needed this and she was willing.

Lindsay couldn't imagine the pain of being suddenly alone, your husband gone, never to return. It hit her hard and brought on nausea as her imagination took over and she pictured her life without Adam. It would have doubled her over in pain had she not been able to clear it from her head so fast.

"Here they are. He started keeping private case notes pretty early on, but I never looked at them so I don't even know what's in there."

"Thank you," Lindsay said, taking the stack of papers reverently.

"Is there anything else you can remember about that time? Anything at all?"

"I've been thinking about it so much, but it was so long ago, I don't know what's a real memory and what's… just what I want to remember," she said wistfully, sinking down into the desk chair. "He never talked about it. He would send a Christmas card to David's wife and son every year, but other than that, it was as if it never happened. Losing a partner is hard, and he never really got over it."

Lindsay and Danny exchanged a look, knowing exactly how they would deal with losing a partner. Not well, would be the long and short of it.

"How about before all this, maybe the year before. Did he talk about any investigations? Was he happy with his job?"

"Everything was fine. Sometimes he stayed later at work, or he'd go in on his days off, but I figured it was a case. Everything seemed normal."

"Sleeping habits?"

"I really don't remember. Believe, if I knew these things, I would tell you. Ever since this happened… we've been outcasted by everyone. For some reason they all think he had something to do with it and I just don't believe that! I don't."

"Mrs. Bridger," Lindsay started softly. "Did any other cops ever come around the house? Before or after this happened? Maybe someone that made you uneasy?"

"Yes. I can't think of his name… Haskell I think. Dwayne. Yes, Dwayne Haskell. He and Thomas had been in the academy together. He was nice enough but something about him and his partner was just strange. They only came over once. It must have been about a week before David disappeared. I left the room, I figured it was sensitive information, but when they left Thomas was angry. He came in here to the study and closed the door. Didn't come out until morning. I didn't ask, he normally didn't talk about his cases, I just assumed it was a bad verdict or something. Left him alone."

"Have you had any contact with David's wife or son?"

"They came to Thomas's memorial service. We talked for a while. She's still angry that nothing was ever done. She doesn't believe Thomas had anything to do with it either. She says she's sure of what happened but she can't say."

"We're heading over to speak with her next. Do you think she'll be receptive to it?"

"I don't know. She doesn't trust cops, but I guess you're not exactly on the beat, are you?"

"No, not really."

"I don't know. She might be okay. I assume someone's been keeping her updated with the investigation."

"Yes. She's still in shock, we haven't really had a chance to talk to her about things."

"Will you keep me updated? Let me know what you find out?"

"We will."

They bid her goodbye and headed out of the brownstone to their waiting car. Lindsay sighed heavily as she sunk into her seat, closing her eyes against the glaring sun.

"What?"

"I don't know. It's just… I'm worried about what we're going to find. I'm worried about not finding anything."

"Just want it to be over with," he agreed, starting the car. "You get any impressions back there?"

"Not really. I think we're on the right track though. I think it goes a lot deeper than an unfortunate accident."

"Question is, how deep?"

"Talk about meticulous," Lindsay sighed, rolling her neck and stretching. "This guy recorded everything."

"Hopefully that will help," Hawkes added, shuffling through the papers they had laid out on the table. "At least it would help if we could break this code he's using to write people's names."

"I wonder if it's just gibberish. No code at all."

"Maybe we're going to have to find the actual records and compare to figure out who people are."

"Shouldn't there be a computer program for this?" Austin sighed.

"Yes. There should."

"Tell Adam to get right on that."

"I'll tell him but I'm gonna shelter you from what I am certain he'll say."

They all spent several more minutes reading through the old papers and trying to come up with connections. It was obvious that there was corruption in the police force, and it was obvious that Bridger had found out who was involved and how. Of course with all the names coded, there was no way to figure out who those people were. And with Bridger dead of a heart attack, asking him was out of the question. They began to scribble notes, each taking one character and writing down all references to him with dates and times and other information, that they could cross reference with police records at the time. It was the most tedious work they'd had to do in a long time and headaches were coming quickly.

Austin stood up suddenly, dropping the file on the table and walking out of the room without a word.

"What was that?" Hawkes asked, watching confusedly as she punched the elevator buttons.

"Give her ten minutes," Lindsay explained.

"She'll be back."

"You two aren't worried about her?"

"Nah. She'll be fine," Danny shrugged. "She just needs some air. I'll go find her in a bit."

They went back to work as if nothing had happened, finishing up the last little bit Austin had left before trying to put things back into the order they were in originally. They could have just piled everything together, but this case was sensitive and they needed to treat everything in it as if it were sensitive too.

"Montana, you wanna go catch up with Mrs. Cobb now? She said anytime after two."

"Yeah, that's fine. Let me just call home and make sure the kids haven't taken Adam hostage."

"I was teachin' Isa different knots last night."

Lindsay rolled her eyes and shook her head, knowing he was probably telling the truth.

"Is Adam at home with all five kids?" Hawkes asked, trying to picture the situation in his head.

"Yep."

"Wow."

"He loves it. Says it gives him an excuse to play with Legos and watch cartoons all day."

"He does that anyway."

"That's what I said, but it's the least he can do. Danny's returned the favor quite a few times."

"We all have. Takes a village kind of thing."

"Our kids are gonna take more than just one village."

"Isa's gonna take more than one village," Danny corrected.

"She will never be accused of being boring, that's for sure."

"Yeah. You call home, I'm going to go check on Austin and I'll meet you at the car."

She nodded and took the stack of files into their office, locking them in the filing cabinet before collapsing down into the chair. The phone rang four times before Adam answered, out of breath and distracted.

"Hello?"

"Hey. What's going on? You sound like you're in the middle of a war zone."

"We were playing freeze tag. Do you know how fast these little buggers are?"

She chuckled and played with a pencil she found on her desk, spinning it between her fingers and back again.

"Is everyone doing okay? Do you need reinforcements?"

"Nah, we're good. No temper tantrums, everyone ate lunch, Ben and Junior are sleeping. Colton and Isa did tell Sarah she was too little to play with them, which resulted in major crocodile tears, but she got some chocolate milk to make up for it."

"That's good."

"When will you be home?"

"I don't know. I'm on until six, but I have no idea what's going to happen between now and then, so… I'll let you know when I do."

"How's the case?"

"Unsolved. Getting cold."

"I'm sorry."

"We'll figure it out, we just have to find that one little thing."

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tired and frustrated and in need of some Advil."

"You go find some. I gotta go, they found the foam swords."

"Okay. Hey baby?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too sweetie. Be safe."

From the moment they sat down, Katie Cobb could hardly keep her tears under control. It had been a very long time since her husband went missing, and she had had years to make her peace with it. But finding his body was bringing forth some intense emotions for her, and talking about any of it was difficult. Lindsay sat by her side patiently, waiting for the right moment to start asking questions, while Danny kept his distance, standing at the threshold to the room like a sentry. He didn't think about it when he did it, but it did give Katie a sense of calm and safety and made her tears slow.

"I know this is hard," Lindsay said softly. "I know it hurts to go back to those days, but we really need your help."

"I know. It's just such a nightmare."

"I don't know how you feel, but I understand, believe me. We'll do this as quickly as we can, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do you remember anyone on the force that David was having trouble with? Anyone he didn't like, or someone that didn't like him?"

"He used to say 'Haskell is a sleaze.' I don't know why, he never said, but that's the only name that pops into my head. Haskell. I remember it because after David had been missing for a few weeks, Haskell came over here and brought me flowers. His wife had made dinner for me. Gave me his card, said to call if I needed anything. I remember thinking it was weird that he would do that if he was such a sleaze."

"Did you see him after that?"

"At the candlelight vigil for David the next year. And possibly the one after that. I don't know, I don't remember if I ever talked to him again."

"Was there anyone else who came to you afterwards? Anyone who helped you out?"

"David's partner, Thomas Bridger. We don't see him much but he's been around. I think he felt guilty because that night… he and David always walked partway home together. He stayed late to finish something up and David walked alone."

Lindsay looked up at Danny; they had a new piece of information that fit right in with the theory they were all currently subscribing to.

"Was David happy at work? Did he talk to you about it?"

"A little. I was pregnant at the time so we mostly talked about that, plans for the future," she answered, her voice breaking. "Sometimes he would come home frustrated, tell me the system was bad and no matter how hard he worked, the city would never be safe. He said they could do miracles and get all the crooks off the streets, but that would never make it safe for our son."

"Do you remember any other cops coming by the house before David went missing? Showing up unexpectedly?"

"No, never. He didn't know many of the guys, he was the rookie, you know?"

"Did he keep any notes on cases or anything? Maybe he had some files or something?"

"No, I don't know of anything he kept here. You know it's a sensitive line of work, they're really not supposed to talk about things."

Lindsay nodded and looked to Danny, not really sure where to take the questions next. He shook his head a little, knowing that they'd reached another dead end.

"I think we've got a break," Hawkes said, joining them as they stepped off the elevator. "We found bullet fragments in the dirt surrounding the body. I put them back together and I just got the results back. We got a match."

"Are you serious?" Lindsay asked while Danny took the printout from Hawkes.

"It's a match to a gun used in a home invasion ten years ago. An unregistered handgun. The home owner?"

"Dwayne Haskell," Danny finished, letting out a low whistle through his teeth. "What's a cop doin' with an unregistered handgun?"

"Running with the wrong crowd. He should have been thrown in jail, but he only got a slap on the wrist and a desk job."

"Where is he now?" Danny asked excitedly, like a dog on a scent trail. "Let's go pick him up."

"Can't. He's dead. Car accident."

Danny probably would have put his fist through a wall if he had been standing near one.

"This just keeps getting better and better."

"So basically Cobb was murdered twenty five years ago by someone who died and therefore we can't take the case to trial."

"Yeah."

"Well now what?"

"Let's go see what Mac has to say."

They went to Mac's office and gave him a brief overview, watching while he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I think you're going to have to put it to bed for today. Pick it back up tomorrow, see if you can find any connections between Haskell's dealings and anyone he worked with. There were accomplices to this crime, and based on what I know of that time, there were a lot more rats in the woodpile. Write me up a report then go home and get some sleep."

They nodded and left his office for theirs, sitting down at their desks and wordlessly filling out reports for the next hour. Tedious work that only exacerbated the frustration of a dead end case that while solved, would probably never be completely closed.

"Go home, Montana," Danny said after a while.

"But-"

"I'm waitin' for Austin anyway. I'll finish up. Get outta here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We'll be over to pick up the kids in an hour or so. That alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

He shooed her away and she left the room, exiting the building and starting the walk home in a near daze. She was exhausted mentally and physically, and a short glance at her watch told her she'd put in another ten hour day. Breathing deeply, she tried to wake up her senses and get back to normal, at least for a few hours until the boys went to bed and she could decompress.

She entered the apartment and found all five kids sitting on the floor, staring at an episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy while Adam sat on the couch looking half asleep.

"Hey babe."

"Hey," she replied, leaning down to kiss each of the kids on the top of their heads before joining Adam on the couch.

"So?"

"It's gonna be the kind of case that sits on the corner of someone's desk until the DA can figure out how to try it."

He opened his arms to her and she snuggled down against his chest, feeling safe and secure.

"I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie."

She lifted her head up and caught his eyes while her hand pressed against his chest, feeling his heart beating against her palm.

"I don't know what I would do if I lost you," she whispered, trying to fight the tears that had been threatening since this morning with Mrs. Bridger.

"Linds, why are you thinking like that?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry sweets. Just tell me what's going on."

"It's just this case. These women, they lose their husbands and then they have to figure out a way to keep living. How does someone do that? I couldn't. I would miss you too much. I just… I want to be with you forever, even after we die. You got any plans for the afterlife?"

"Just you and me and a hammock in the shade by some water somewhere. Lemonade and iced tea. Birds singing. Haven't really put much more thought into it."

She chuckled and reached up to trace his face gently, sighing when his lips met her wrist and his other arm came more tightly around her.

"Every line. Every word. Everything."

"You are the sappiest man in the world but it just makes me happy."

"Well it's your fault I'm sappy. You've done away with my ability to be an emotional flat line. One look at your eyes baby, and I'm done for."

"Has it always been that way?"

"Well I don't know if I want to admit that you had an effect on me the moment I met you."

"Oh really?"

"You were gorgeous. I mean, you still are, but that was the first thing I thought of when I saw you. And you just had this light about you. I wanted to get close to you, just so I could feel that, you know? I fell hard for you."

"And then you got to know me and backed up to "let's be friends," right?"

"No. Linds, I was never, ever interested in being just friends with you. If that was what you wanted, I would have stayed that way, happy to at least be in your life. But really this life we have now is what I wanted. Maybe not from the first second, but definitely early on."

"I guess it took me a little longer… I was scared I think. Really scared, deep down and I didn't know it. As soon as I started to feel something for you I pushed it away and told myself I wasn't ready. But I was always happy when you were around and sad when you left and I still get butterflies when I look at you."

He smiled and kissed her, feeling that same surge he'd felt the first time they spoke, the first time they touched, the first time her head had rested on his chest, the first time he'd held her while she slept. He felt it every time she was near, and it had only grown in intensity over the years, and he sometimes fleetingly wondered if it was normal.

He didn't really care if it was or wasn't.

They stayed that way for a while, talking softly and getting lost in each other, even as the kids bickered over which PBS show to watch next. Life wrapped warmly around them and they just enjoyed it while it lasted, not worried about when it might end.

"Hey, we've come to collect our offspring," Danny said, coming through the door a while later.

"Okay. You can leave with whichever kids you want. I'm not picky."

Austin snickered and leaned down to kiss each of the kids. She looked better than she had earlier, and Lindsay made a mental note to ask her what exactly had happened.

"I think we'll just take the ones that share our DNA for now, but we might need to make an exchange later."

"Come on little Messers. Let's scoot," Danny said, lifting Sarah off the floor. She giggled and let go of his hands, running over to hop onto the couch and wrap her arms around Adam's neck.

"Thanks for chocolate milk."

"Anytime."

She grinned and leaned over to hug Lindsay before scampering back to her parents.

"Bye Binyin. Bye," Junior said solemnly, patting Ben's shoulder.

"Bye Dunner."

They nodded at each other as if a secret had passed between them, then parted ways.

"Isa, I will see you on Skype later, 'kay? We could finish our story."

"Yeah! Maybe tonight I will learn to write all the letters and spell and then I could write it down so we don't forget it."

"That's a good idea. I will find some cool paper, like the yellow stuff."

"Okay. We gots a plan now."

"Yep. Love you, see you later."

"Love you too."

After a few more hugs the Messers left, and Colton and Ben stood in the middle of the room, looking around and sighing.

"Colton, what's the matter? You look like you're suffering a bout with the higgledy-piggledys."

"Well," he started, knowing she meant he looked confused. "I just don't know what to do now."

"Are your friends the only source of your entertainment?"

"I don't not what that means mama, but I think so."

She chuckled as the boys climbed up onto the couch with them and began to tell her everything they had done that day. She listened as intently as she could, even as the thought of David Cobb rattled around in her head. He thought that the city would never be completely safe for his son. She hated that thought, but understood where it came from, and she was bound and determined to prove him wrong.