"What do you mean I'm sleeping on the couch tonight?" Jamie asked JoJo who had been leading the way ever since they left the pet store.

"You couldn't have been more starstruck about the sharpshooter medalist if you tried."

"That doesn't mean I'm sleeping on the couch."

"I may not know a lot about relationships, Uncle Jamie. But if I learned anything from the marriages and middle school drama-filled relationships in my life, Sydney is jealous of her and mad at you," she replied, knowing she'd be on Sydney's bad side if she told Jamie any more than she already had. "As for the reason/s… we already don't get along. I'd rather not put another arrow in her quiver."

This comment stopped Jamie cold in his tracks. He knew his niece and fiancé didn't get along, but in the almost two years he'd had custody of the twelve-year-old, neither one would tell him why.

"I know this isn't how things work between us, but can we just forget I said anything?" she asked.

Jamie looked down. His arm extended as JoJo tried to keep walking only to be pulled back into her uncle's chest. His arms wrapped around her, preventing any attempt to get away.

"You are absolutely right, Bren. This isn't how things work between us. Remember what I told you when I signed the papers?"

Jamie was the only one who seemed to respect the desire to hear her first name on occasion. Unless she heard the last two letters leave her uncle's mouth, she was still in the clear.

"So, when am I returning to Hell?" JoJo liked living with Jamie. But for one reason, and one reason only, she referred to his place as Hell.

"When you answer my question, I'll answer yours," he replied.

"This is different, Uncle Jamie. It's not something I can talk to you about without first clearing the air with Syd… or at least try to."

"Try to? She's joining the family, Bren. And I can't be your buffer forever."

JoJo nodded. "I know. And I will tell you. Just… please don't try to fix it unless I ask for help." Across the road was a familiar brunette stepping into a cab. There wasn't time for JoJo to call her name. "You've taken on the dad role, and you never tried to replace him. But Sydney makes me call her mom. It's like she's saying Angela won't be a part of my life anymore."

Angela was her father's girlfriend and the closest thing she'd had to a mother for eight years. JoJo didn't know her biological mother. All anyone would tell her about the woman was that she had severe post-partum and had decided to leave. She wasn't in the right headspace to be anyone's mom after the delivery and wasn't sure she ever would.

Memories of the three of them on family outings flooded her mind. Both good and bad.

Joe had even gone so far as to legally grant Angela all the rights of a mother. And she signed every document. Every document but the one that would name her mother on the girl's birth certificate. She had every intention of signing it, but she wanted to assure JoJo that she'd be part of the child's life by waiting until after Joe proposed, which had yet to happen.

Because Angela hadn't signed that final document, other arrangements had been made. Every adult knew about the arrangements. The only one truly left in the dark… was JoJo.

"Mojo JoJo…" Jamie waved his hand in front of her face. "Earth to Bren… Come in, Houston." When she still failed to respond, he snapped his fingers in front of her. She blinked rapidly, jumping back a little. A small glare crossed her features, only it didn't last long.

"Sorry, Uncle Bubbles," she said. "Got distracted." One look at him suggested he was confused by the nickname. "What? You started it, closet fan. And how am I the villain?" There was an answer to this other than the words rhymed. Jamie had to save himself, but nothing was coming to mind.

"Well, your grandpa would be the doctor."

"And Uncle Danny would be Buttercup, which leaves Aunt Erin as Blossom. But there were only three. What did that make Dad?"

"Not a bad question, but I don't need my new colleagues knowing I've seen the show. Maybe you and Sydney could try to bond over creating a character that would fit him," Jamie suggested. "And the only reason I'm familiar with the show, in case you have forgotten, is because you had it on every single day Joe was at boot camp or deployed. Dad wouldn't let me change the channel on you unless a Jets game was airing, or you were going to bed." He let her go and they continued walking.

"You can only blame that kind of association on audible proximity, Uncle Jamie. A fan doesn't just listen, they watch… which is exactly what you did. So, how am I the villain, because according to Dad, I'm sugar, spice, and everything nice, even after he met Megs."

"The same Meghan who convinced you to miss an hour of school yesterday? That Meghan?"

JoJo wasn't the first grandchild, but she was one of the golden kids. Danny would poke fun at her like he would Jamie due to her always following the rules, even when they didn't make sense. One could say she slowly walked away from that pedestal when she and Meghan became friends… After all, Meghan was no angel. Laws weren't broken yet, but she was a Caffrey… something she didn't advertise, and JoJo was the only person outside the family to know. And a family of cops could see the wheels turning in that kid's head.

It wasn't until her dad's death that JoJo started taking more risks.

"Because of you, Meghan, and Nicki, I'm way more familiar with the Power Puff Girls than I ever wanted to be. That's how. And your dad was biased… Let's get those bugs home to Cheeto. We'll get your homework done after the bar, so we have the rest of the weekend."

"It's not even Sunday. How did yo… Did Grandpa tell you?"

JoJo sighed. There was a lot more to do than Jamie thought, and it had been building up since the day he entered the academy. Her way of acting out. And with the way things traveled through this family, she wouldn't have been surprised if he knew everything her grandfather did.

With a slight chuckle, Jamie shook his head. "Principal called me. And yeah. I know how far behind you are. That's why we're doing homework after the bar. And it will be done before you go to bed."

~*B*B*~*B*B*~

A cup of ice-cold soda was set in front of JoJo. She looked up from the booth to see Jamie standing beside the table, looking down at her. Her cousins, Aunt Linda, and Great-Grandfather Henry were the only ones left of the group who didn't have to go because a case had just come up. A case that was already being televised by several different news stations.

"Commissioner Reagan!" multiple reporters called out at once. She knew one of them had to be the woman her grandfather was seeing however discretely. No one else in the family knew of the relationship. She only found out after calling Frank and having someone.

He had just gotten behind the podium while all the shouting and demands for unanswered questions had already begun.

"All right, before I take questions...As you all know, the first hours are crucial in a case like this, so I'm asking for the media's help in keeping Teresa's face before the public."

JoJo scraped her thumb nail down the painted markings of her glass. Her attention was no longer on the tv unlike everyone else's. Whatever happened over the course of this investigation, she was sure it would cause a temporary rift among the siblings. Much like the current rift between her and Jamie.

She thought her grandfather had custody of her while Jamie was at the academy. One look at every adult that was still around the table suggested they all knew. Why did everyone insist on keeping her in the dark?

"Our task force will respond to each and every lead, and I assure you the New York City Police Department will not rest till we find this little girl… Miguel."

"Commissioner Reagan, what do you say to blog allegations there's a third fewer police than on the Allie Dintenfass AMBER Alert on the Upper East Side last summer?"

"Miguel, you're a professional journalist. Do you really want to give credence to any amateur blogger with a laptop?"

A voice JoJo recognized from a week ago asked, "Then what is your response to polls that show an endemic lack of faith in police by the Latino community and a slow and steady rise in crime there?"

"I don't respond to polls, Miss Davidson. But since I've been on the job, crime is down across the board."

"So, you're claiming that the mayor's budgetary cutbacks aren't affecting the department's ability to keep all citizens of this city safe?"

"None of us is concerned about cost today. A nine-year-old girl is missing, and the clock is ticking. We need to find Teresa. Just make sure you media people do your job and keep her face before the public. Next question."

A barrage of questions nearly blew up the tv's speakers as each reporter tried to be the one heard by the commissioner.

Jamie hated watching these press conferences. They were a big part of his family background with two PC's, two detectives (one deceased), and an ADA, all of whom stood before the cameras and microphones, telling the public what they were allowed to and saying no comment most of the time as there either was no answer to the question yet or no one wanted the suspect to run.

~*B*B*~*B*B*~

"You still haven't answered my question, Uncle Jamie," JoJo pointed out as they walked through the door of his apartment.

It wasn't a big space. It had two bedrooms, but Sydney seemed to like the idea of having their bed in the living room.

Jamie sighed. He knew what she was expecting, but he needed something from her before bringing her back under his roof. "Give me a couple weeks to adjust to the new job."

"And then, we'll talk about it, again?"

"That's not what I said. Go check out your room. Syd put a lot of work into getting it ready for you while I was away."

"Which door do I go through? And please don't say the one that's a curtain."

"Syd helped me take it down yesterday. Privacy is a privilege, which you lost. Five detentions over a three-week period and six weeks of homework due on Friday ringing any bells?"

"Freaky Friday. You watched the remake, didn't you? I don't slam doors, Uncle Jamie. Couldn't you have found something else to remove?"

JoJo eyed the vacant screw holes. The door that was supposed to be held up by them was in the kitchen, wedged between the refrigerator and wall. The knob was removed to maintain access to the food.

"How long did Grandpa ground you for skipping school?"

"Two months, plus three hours in lock-up. Two weeks left."

Aside from getting caught up and going for a certain period without getting in trouble, she wondered if she could get it back soon.

"Well, when those two weeks are up, we'll revisit this conversation. You might even get your door back and have a more suitable consequence. This was the best I could think of for the time being."