"We're trusting the four of them to make Sunday dinner?" Danny asked as the adult Reagans sat around the dinner table, anxiously awaiting news from the other side of the swinging kitchen door.
"They begged Frances for a chance to impress us with their culinary skills," Henry explained.
"But… have they ever cooked?" Jamie looked around, extremely concerned.
Erin shared the same look of concern. "I know they can read and follow instructions… but aren't we at all concerned that they may kill us? There are a lot of food borne illnesses…"
"They wanted to do it," Frank said. "And we're all going to enjoy it… even if it kills us. Copy?"
"Copy that," his children all muttered as Linda and Henry chuckled.
Millie stuck her head out the door. "We're almost ready," she announced, bubbling with excitement.
"Paint a smile on your face," Frank instructed. "I mean it."
Jack came out first, carrying meatballs and sauce. Nicki was next with a giant Caesar salad. Sean followed with noodles, and Millie trailed behind with garlic bread.
"Ooooh that smells good!" Linda smiled.
"Well this looks delicious," Frank added.
"Yeah," Jamie agreed. "Can't wait to dig in."
Surprisingly, dinner was actually really good. Of course, they all waited on Frank to try a bite of the meatballs before they dug in, but once he did and survived, they all relaxed and enjoyed the meal.
"I've got to admit," Danny said. "That was pretty good. What's for dessert?"
"Uncle Danny, we've been cooking for hours!" Nicki exclaimed dramatically.
"Yeah!" Jack and Sean agreed. "You really think we had time to make dessert too?"
"I handled it," Millie grinned.
"What? Huh? You did?" They all looked at the littlest Reagan as she jumped up and ran back into the kitchen.
Millie walked back out carrying two big bags. "Me and Pop handled it." She placed the bags on the table as Danny pulled out the boxes inside.
"Juniors Cheesecake?"
"Only the best," Henry smiled.
The following week Sean had an art exhibit at school. It hadn't crossed neither Danny nor Linda's mind that Millie hadn't been back to that school since her abduction. It hadn't really crossed Millie's mind until they all entered the front door and the ever familiar scent hit her like a ton of bricks. She stopped dead in her tracks and took a few deep breaths, trying to self-regulate as she'd been taught.
"What's wrong?" Danny asked when he noticed he was moving but the child holding his hand was not. "You ok?"
"It smells the same," Millie muttered as she steadied herself and continued on.
They made their way up and down the hall, looking at the self portraits of all the students before going into the cafeteria for some refreshments.
"Peanut butter and jelly?" one of the teachers offered to Millie.
"No thank you," she and Danny answered at the same time. The child had not touched a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in over a year.
"Let's go over here, Mil. I see cupcakes," Danny winked.
They made their way over to the cupcake display where Jack and Sean had already dug into their own sugary goodness.
"So what's after this?" Danny asked.
"We've got some more stuff in the classroom… our pottery and stuff. Sister Flannagan said we were supposed to come and talk about our pieces, but I'm fine if we skip that."
"You're not getting me in trouble with a nun. Let's go."
The Reagans made their way into Sister Flannagan's art room. "Sean, this is beautiful!" Linda gushed.
"Yeah. Looks great," Danny agreed.
Jack looked on skeptically. "What is it?"
"It's a tea pot." he leaned his head slightly to the left. "Look at it like this."
Jack and MIllie followed suit. "Oooohhh…"
Sister Flannagan got up and greeted the crowd and then introduced a few of her students to speak on their artwork. About halfway through the lights went off and everything went dark. There were a few screams, including a very scared Millie, and a slight moment of panic for the entire room before power was restored.
"Mil!" Danny reached for her hand as she flew into his arms.
"Can we leave please?"
"You're ok," he said as he picked her up.
"Can we leave please? Now?"
He could tell she was about to have a full on panic attack. "We're going to walk on out," he told Linda. "You guys take your time."
"Everything ok?" LInda asked. He shrugged as he hurried out the door and made his way to the benches out in front of the school.
"Hey, look at me. Take a deep breath."
Millie was wringing her hands. "Can we go home please? Or to Grandpa's house?" she gasped.
"As soon as Mama and the boys get done we'll go home," he said softly as he clasped his hands over hers. "Deep breath."
Linda and the boys hurried out as soon as the presentations were over. By the time they got outside, Danny had gotten Millie somewhat calmed down.
"Everything ok?" Linda asked.
"Yeah… we're ok," Danny said, very unbelievably, as they made their way to the Jeep. It didn't take long for them to get home. By the time they got there, Millie had tears streaming down her face.
"Boys, go get ready for bed," Linda directed as Danny led Millie into the livingroom and they took a seat in his recliner.
"What is going on?" he asked as she clung to him and sobbed. "We're home. You're safe."
He wasn't quite sure if she couldn't talk or wouldn't talk, but either way, Millie wasn't saying a word.
"Mil, you want to come upstairs with me and put on your jammies?" Linda asked.
She didn't budge. If anything, her grip around Danny got tighter.
"Ok," he soothed as he patted her back. "It's ok. We'll just sit for a little while."
Danny flashed back to the unfortunate night that he and Frank had to tell her that Jackie was dead. He had hoped to block that memory out of his mind just as Millie had wanted to block that and the kidnapping out of her own.
After about twenty minutes, she finally wore herself out and drifted off to sleep.
"What in the world was that?" LInda whispered.
"I'm not sure, but I have an idea. Let's go put her in bed."
Danny carefully got up and carried her upstairs and placed her on the bed. Linda took off her socks and shoes and replaced her skirt with a pair of pajama bottoms. They decided to just leave her t-shirt on in place of her pajama top, fearing that it may wake her up and the meltdown may start all over again. They gently tucked her, put her cats right beside her, turned on the nightlight, and tiptoed out.
"Danny, what happened?" Linda asked as they made their way into their bedroom.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I'd say for the foreseeable future, St. Mary's is off limits for Mil."
"No kidding. But I mean… what gives? What triggered that?"
" I think it was a number of things… not just one thing. She froze when we walked in because it smelled the same."
"Sense of smell can trigger certain memories for sure…"
"Exactly. That was strike one. Then when we went to get snacks, they offered pb&j."
"Oh no."
"Yeah. Strike two. She was on pins and needles and then the lights going out just did it."
"We're probably not going to be sleeping much tonight are we?"
"I'm guessing not. Poor kid. I just hope we can get her to school tomorrow."
"Well, if we can get her there, I'll ask Grace if she will check in on her… and see if she has any suggestions."
Much to Danny and Linda's surprise, MIllie made it through the night in her own room, even though there was a thunderstorm overhead.
"Silly Mil, ready to get up?" Danny asked as he took a seat beside her on her bed and patted her back. "You and me are stopping for doughnuts. Don't tell Aunt Linda."
Millie stretched as she rolled over and smiled up at him, "Can we get one with sprinkles?"
"Absolutely. I was thinking we'd get a big box of different kinds so I can take some to Detective Baez. And maybe you can pick out one to take to Mrs. Patton."
"Ok."
"Good deal. Hop up and get dressed." Millie got up as Danny walked over to the closet and got out her blue polo and khaki skirt and laid them on the bed. "I'm going to get your brothers up. Get your knee socks and shoes and don't forget to brush your teeth."
MIllie yawned as she nodded her head.
"Mr. Uncle Danny…"
"Yeah?" Danny asked as he turned back around.
"I love you." She got up and gave him a hug.
"Love you bigger," he grinned. "Get dressed. I'll see you downstairs."
"How'd it go?" LInda asked as he made his way downstairs and grabbed a cup of coffee.
"It actually went ok. I'm taking her for doughnuts and I told her she could take one to Grace so if you want to give Grace a heads up…"
"You never cease to amaze me, Danny Reagan," LInda said as she walked over to him and rested her forearms on his shoulders as she leaned in for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, clasping his hands along her lower back.
"A-hem!" the kids all cleared their throat as they stood behind Danny and Linda with arms crossed and a look of disgust on their faces.
"Good morning."
"No making out at breakfast," Sean grumbled. "Gross."
Danny kissed Linda once more just for spite as she chuckled and walked over to Millie. "How do we want to fix this hair this morning?" she asked as she wrapped Millie in a hug. Millie shrugged.
"Whatever it is, make it quick. Mil and I need to get going… we have a stop to make," Danny winked at Millie as if their doughnuts were still a secret.
A few minutes later, Danny and Millie were on their way. Linda excused herself and walked into the livingroom to call Grace.
"This is Grace Patton. How may I help you?"
"Hey Grace. This is Linda Reagan. How are you?"
"I'm doing good, LInda. How are you?"
"Good. I need a favor."
"Sure," Grace agreed as she sat her coffee down and turned on her computer. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, Sean had an art show and so we took Millie back to St. Mary's for the first time last night and things didn't go well."
"Oh no. What happened?"
"We think it was a series of memory triggers… One thing led to another and Danny ended up having to take her out of there to prevent a full on panic attack. He thought he'd gotten her calmed down, but when we got home, she was hysterical. She cried herself to sleep."
"Sorry you guys had such a rough night. How was she this morning?"
"She seemed ok when they left. We didn't mention it and neither did she."
'Well I will definitely check in with her today."
"Thanks. Danny took her for doughnuts and I believe they are picking one out special for you so that she has a reason to visit your office."
"I'll take care of her, Linda."
"Thanks, Grace."
While Linda was finishing her phonecall, Danny and Millie pulled up at the doughnut shop.
"Let's go in," he said. "That way we can look at all of them." They walked inside and looked over every single doughnut in the display case. "Which one you want, Mil?"
"Can I have that one with sprinkles, please?"
"Absolutely." Danny looked up at the worker on the other side of the counter. "Can Millie here get the chocolate with sprinkles? And I'll take the chocolate with peanuts on top. And another dozen glazed." He looked back to Millie. "Which one for Mrs. Patton?"
"Sprinkles."
"And another sprinkle," he smiled. They made their way over to the counter to pay. "Hey what do you want to drink? Milk?"
Millie scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Just water."
"Can I get one water and one iced caramel coffee?"
"Sure thing."
"My dad used to take me for doughnuts before school," a lady in line said as she looked down at Millie. "You're a very lucky little girl. Don't forget it."
Millie inched closer to Danny and grabbed his hand. "Yes ma'am."
"She's a good daughter," Danny smiled as the cashier handed them their stuff. "Have a nice day."
They made their way back to the car and enjoyed their sugary confections on the way to school.
"Alright," Danny said as they pulled into the carline, "time to unbuckle. Mom will pick you up after school." Millie wiggled out of her seatbelt and put on her backpack. "Don't forget Mrs. Patton's doughnut." He reached back to hand her the to-go carton that contained the sprinkle doughnut.
"Bye Mr. Uncle Danny," Millie smiled as she grabbed the container and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"Love you big."
"Love you bigger."
He watched as she hopped out and went inside with Grace. He dialed Linda as soon as he drove off.
"Hello?"
"Hey Babe. I just dropped Mil. Did you talk to Grace?"
"Yeah. She said she would talk to her."
"Good."
"Have you dropped the boys?"
"We're headed to school now."
"Ok. Text me if you hear anything."
Danny and Baez caught a case that ended up taking them to St. Vic's to interview a potential witness. "Give me two seconds," Danny said as he walked up behind Linda at the nurse's desk. "Hey," he grinned as he grabbed her hips from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" she giggled.
"Caught a case… thought I'd see if I could make out with a nurse while I was here."
"If you brought me some chicken fajitas you might get lucky."
"Ughhhh….." he groaned with a twinkle in his eyes. "We didn't have time to stop on the way over."
"Too bad. No fun for you. But, I do have good news."
"What's that?"
"Your daughter is having a good day."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Grace said they talked and she's doing great."
"Good."
"Don't forget Jack has a game this afternoon."
"I'll be there by 5pm."
True to his word, Danny showed up just as the game was about to begin. The Reagans all had their place in the stands, ready to cheer Jack to victory.
"There he is," Sean pointed to Danny as he poked Millie. "Go ask him."
Millie left her spot by Linda and took a seat in Danny's lap the minute he sat down.
"Hey," he smiled as he kissed her head. "Did you have a good day?"
"I have a preposition for you?"
"A preposition?"
"Yeah. You know… an idea to do something but I need your help."
Danny chuckled. "Oh. I think you mean a proposition."
"Whatever." Millie shrugged.
"What is it?"
"Can we go watch The Boston Bros? They're playing here next weekend and we really want to go. Seany said they'll be in some garden. I don't know why they're playing in a garden but I LOVE their music. And you do too."
"The Boston Bros are playing at Madison Square Garden?"
Millie's eyes lit up as she nodded her head excitedly. "Please will you take me? And Jack and Seany? They are THE BEST and I've never been to a concert before but I know all the words to all the songs and I really really really want to go!"
"I do love a boyband," he grinned. "Let me see if I can get off and get us some tickets. OK?"
"YES!"
"Hey, it's not a yes yet. It's a we'll see."
"Thank you, Mr. Uncle Danny!" MIllie smiled as she threw her arms around him. "Seany, it's a maybe!"
Linda was very anxious to know what exactly was a maybe when they got home from the game.
"Mil wants me to take her and the boys to see The Boston Bros. It looks like they're playing at the Garden next weekend."
"How much are tickets?"
"It's not sold out yet, so we can still get pretty good seats for not too much."
"Uh huh. Don't they sing that Beats of the Streets song that you like so much?"
"Guilty. You know I love a boy band. I need to see if Dad has any connections for his grandkids. He may be able to get us some even better tickets."
LInda rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."
"Come on," Danny grinned as he started doing some of the boyband dance moves. "Don't you want to go hear, "Hey girl, hey girl, I want you right now. That short skirt that you're wearing on those Boston nights really does, really does make you look just right…I don't want nothing but your loooooove…"
"As long as you explain to your daughter that she's not wearing one of those short skirts."
Danny frowned as his fun was brought to a screeching halt. "And she never will."