So, ItsJustBecca, I kinda thought about your suspicions, rather wanted to have her in a jail cell as she confronted then killed the guy, but the only part that was a dream was the last paragraph or so, the confrontation. Thanks to you, monkeybaby, decadenceofmysoul, and the guest tennisplayer1, for your reviews and thanks to everyone else for continuing to read.
Contains scenes and references to 3x12, 3x13, 3x14, and 3x15.
Anna wiped her eyes as she sat up, the bed under her and the stark white sheets coming into focus. She stared hard at the sheets trying to figure out whether or not she was reliving the past couple of days. Had she just gotten into a shootout with a man or had she not encountered him at all and just studied through the break in? The sheets felt stiff but weren't telling her anything. Her eyes traveled down to the end of the bed and landed on the wall opposite her. It wasn't stark white, no, instead it was a soft purple. It matched the purple in her bedroom but she had heard that sometimes the hospital would paint kids' room to make their stay better and not so dull or scary. At least it ruled out a jail cell. So if she had shot the man then she wasn't being prosecuted for it. She took a deep breath in. There was no sterile smell. It wasn't overly-clean nor did it have a bleachy smell. In fact it smelled of the Hawaiian deodorizer Linda liked to clean with and a lemon wood floor cleaner.
Her eyes traveled to her hands, pale with barely noticeable blue veins, a light scar on her thumb from a broken vase when she was six but no IV. They moved up her arms which were covered by blue fabric and shoving that up she still found no IV. So if she was in a hospital bed, she didn't need fluids. Anna turned to her right and found a nightstand, lamp, and alarm clock and it sank in that she was indeed in her room. Then she spotted her cell phone. She grabbed it and quickly unlocked it to scroll through her last messages and phone calls. There was no call to her uncle Jack and no messages telling anyone about being locked up so maybe the standoff had been a dream. Anna took a deep breath and found a message to Jim sent a few hours earlier.
'Hey, things got worse, need to talk.' The message read. He responded that she could call if she wanted to but she answered that she'd rather text. The next message from her read 'found out I was home alone when house was broken into. Unharmed as you saw but shaken. I know I am fine and nothing happened but it still scares me to think about it.' There was no reply message from Jim but Anna was sure she remembered seeing a phone call from him about the same time. Then she remembered talking to him and him reminding her that nothing had happened and she was fine.
Slowly, her heart stopped pounding in her chest. Sure, she knew deep down she was being selfish, here she was worrying about herself when she should be worrying about her father but part of her couldn't help it. That part of her also couldn't help but think of what could have happened. What would have happened after her dream ended. The more she thought about it, the more she kept herself up and the more she wondered.
Her mind drifted back to the dream. Logically she knew if the gun had gone off pointed at the man it would hit him somewhere in the chest. That meant his chance of survival was minimal and if he died she would be charged with at least manslaughter unless they could prove it was self-defense. Which, with the 911 tape, shouldn't be too hard. She heard the toilet flush down the hall and took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Since the green glare said four a.m., she knew she needed to get back to sleep, but it wasn't coming. She sat her phone back on the nightstand and wrapped her arms around her legs.
"What are you doing up this early?" a soft voice asked as the mattress dipped beside her.
Anna flinched then looked up. "Hey, Daddy."
"Are you okay?" Danny asked, rubbing her shoulder.
"Nightmare."
"Because of what Jack said?"
"Uncle Jack, yeah," Anna answered. She rested her chin on her knees and Danny couldn't help but sigh. It wasn't angry, it was more disappointed that she had the nightmare and he hadn't protected her.
"Nothing happened. You're okay," Danny said. Anna stared across the room at the wall. She knew what he was saying was true but she couldn't bring herself to let that comfort her. Danny shuffled around until he was facing the same direction she was and sitting next to her. He adjusted her pillow to against the headboard and pulled her back to lean against him as he leaned back. She struggled for a moment then settled down against him. "Sometimes, you have to shut off your brain, Anna. My smart girl, always thinking, using that big brain of hers to get her out of trouble or get the best of someone. That's good but in cases like these it can be really bad too. You can't keep thinking about the what ifs." Danny craned his neck to see his daughter's face. She wasn't absorbing anything he was saying. "Okay, let's just lay here for a little while. Close those eyes for me," he paused to give her time to. She didn't. "Come on, close them. Just for a minute or two." He shifted them a bit to get more comfortable. "Please?" he asked. Anna sighed and closed her eyes as she leaned against him, slipping down a bit to get comfortable. "There we go. Now, how about a story? Once upon a time—"
"Dad, I'm not six." Anna said her eyes shooting open and up to his face.
"Okay, settle down." He slid his hand up and down her arm to help lull her to sleep. He could see how tired she was written across her face. Her eyes were blinking slowly, each blink slower than the last and it wouldn't take long for her to fall asleep. "Did I tell you about the time I met a superstar?"
"You mean an actual superstar and not just some page six bartend?" Anna asked.
"Yes, he was an actor in a movie." Danny smiled. Anna shook her head, snuggling against him. So he told her about it. She was asleep before he even made it halfway into the story. Danny smiled and brushed a hand through her hair as he fell asleep as well.
Sunday afternoon before dinner, Jamie sat beside Anna on the couch in the sun room as they watched some show on TV. "Everything okay, kid?" Jamie asked.
"It's fine, why wouldn't it be?"
"I don't know, maybe because all week you've ignored my calls and texts and you avoided me this morning."
"I wasn't avoiding anything."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yup."
"Come on, Anna. Talk to me."
Anna turned to her uncle, a heated stare on her face. It took everything in him for Jamie not to recoil. "Talk about what? About how when it's you or Aunt Erin or Pops in trouble, Dad and the rest of the family is on the case like a dog on a bone? Your IA cases, Aunt Erin with Uncle Jack, Pops getting hurt, hell even when Grampa was shot, Dad was always there, pushing his way into the case despite how it might look. Now that he needs help, that the entire department is against him, where's this family first motto? I don't care if you're a rookie cop, you could have done something. You figured out just as much or more about the Blue Templar as Uncle Joe did your first year on the job. You've been in hot water with IA because you saw something going down in Chinatown that you knew you had to stop and look what that lead to. Where's all those brains when it comes to this case?"
"Danny wasn't just in hot water with IA or hurt," Jamie answered. "He was arrested and anyone pulling strings for what appears to be a dirty cop from this family—"
"To hell with appearances and reputations. Your brother was in trouble and he needed you. Where the hell were you?"
"Anna," Jamie scolded.
"No." She snapped. "I can't believe your job—"
"Anna!" Danny snapped from the dinning room where he was helping Sean set the table.
"What?" she asked, barely able to mask her irritability.
"Drop it," he ordered.
"Dad, this whole family has always been family first and they all up and disappear when you need them the most. Uncle Joe—"
"Uncle Joe what?" Danny asked, walking over to her. "He would have looking into it? You really think this family didn't? Come on, Anna, you're smarter than that. How do you think Kate figured out who set me up? She's a good detective but even she needed a little help."
"What's your grandfather always telling you about being the PC?" Jamie asked.
"I'm the PC, I know everything. He doesn't though; he has a full staff of people to keep their ear to—Of course. Garret's not a cop. That explains Grampa—" Anna started.
"Your aunt and uncle were there too. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean they aren't there. And, kid, it's not the first time I've been arrested or locked up," Danny told her.
"Let me guess, 'I'm tough, I can take it' applies?" Anna asked. Danny only smirked.
"I'm sorry it didn't look like I was helping, Anna," Jamie said. "I've only been on the force for two years; I didn't want to make it worse for your dad."
Anna sighed not really accepting the apology but not pushing it either. "Kid," Danny prompted. She looked at him and he sighed heavily. It didn't take more than a moment for her to realize what he wanted. She didn't want to but she sighed and accepted it.
"Fine," she agreed, "I don't blame you."
"One more time," Danny said, "this time so we actually believe you. Come now, with feeling."
"I'm sorry, Uncle Jamie. I overreacted and I don't blame you for trying to take a hands-off approach."
"I understand." Jamie pulled her into a hug. Anna rested her chin on her uncle's shoulder so her dad couldn't see her mouth.
"You ever do that to me and I won't be so understanding."
"Got it," Jamie whispered back.
A couple weeks later they were discussing first amendment rights at the dinner table since a loud mouth, openly racist, public-speaker named Swint would be coming to town. Anna had read up on him and tried to listen to a few of his broadcasts but they made her upset so she couldn't get more than a few minutes into them. What she could gather from them was that he hated minorities and that he constantly blasted them on his show. As the family discussed why Swint would be allowed to say what he wanted and no one could stop him, Anna observed her grandfather who looked unhappy about having to protect him.
"Grampa," Anna said, "Are there going to be police at this—" she fished around for the right word, "broadcast?" she finally decided.
"Yes, we're expecting protestors to be blocking streets and things could become heated between them and his supporters. Why?" Frank answered.
"Well, I've heard when he does these broadcasts from out of town, that sometimes he'll broadcast video and it's just too bad that the police have to be outside the theater. I mean if they were allowed inside due to the fact that maybe some of those protestors bought tickets to cause a disruption and the police had to be there to protect them, how hypocritical would it look if his security team was made up of minorities? I wouldn't take any racist seriously if they were being protected by someone they claim to hate."
"Where do you get that kind of idea?" Danny asked.
"TV," Anna answered.
"Couldn't they just spin it to prove their point? I mean you look around at the police force and see all the minorities and it's a glaring picture of whites being outed by minorities," Nicky said.
"True but if they do the job just as well, who cares what the color of their skin is? Shouldn't it be more important how well they do their job?"
"Sometimes you sound years smarter than anyone expects you to be," Danny told her.
"And sometimes I just sound vindictive, right?" Anna asked.
"Underhanded maybe."
"Speak for yourself, I know how smart she is," Jamie said.
"And sometimes being underhanded gets better results," Henry said.
When Anna watched the broadcast Monday afternoon, with the speakers on mute, she found that it had gone off without a hitch and that there had been a police presence inside the theater made up of, from the few glimpses she could get of them, minorities. In fact the officer on the stage was a big, burly, police sergeant though she couldn't read the nameplate to find out who he was. She wasn't sure if she had given Frank the idea or he had already had it and found it a good one. Either way, it didn't really matter since it had no effect on her life.
The following week, one of Henry's friends died. That friend, as it turned out, was the Grand Rabbi of the biggest Jewish sect in New York City. Then the day of his funeral the Rabbi's son whom he had chosen to succeed him had been stabbed to death outside the funeral. Once the case had been solved, the other brother had sent over some fine Jewish food as a thank you. Most of the Reagans had seemed a bit put off by it but they were never ones to let free food go to waste. The week after that Linda brought up Danny's mandatory anger management sessions as the family had dinner and they all seemed slightly confused by why he had to go. Most of them mentioned never seeing Danny lose his temper with his wife or kids. Erin added that it only happened to her and Jamie. Danny replied that she probably deserved it. After a brief pause he added, "you too, buttinsky," towards Jamie causing everyone to laugh. He turned back to his wife to ask her change the subject when he realized his daughter hadn't said anything and he had a feeling she didn't agree with the family. "Hey, peanut gallery," he said, turning to the only other blonde at the table. "Where's your comment on this? You're never one to back down."
Anna's voice was soft when she answered. "I know how to pick my battles and this isn't one of them. Though I've seen you get mad and even lose your temper at me when I've done the same thing you would have done in certain situations, you don't hit, punch, slam me around, or abuse me in any sort of way, so I don't have any right to complain about you losing your temper at me," Anna answered.
The table went silent. Danny narrowed his eyes as he observed her. "You're buttering me up for something. Spit it out. What do you want?"
"Why do I have to want something? Can't I just defend my dad and put it in perspective?"
"Without an ulterior motive? Rare, come on."
"She turns 16 and a half a week from Friday and since she's been taking driver's ed, she's hoping if you're in a really good mood with her, you'll take her to the DMV to get her full driver's license," Jamie answered.
"Thanks, buttinsky," Anna muttered. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Uh, no, not going to happen."
"You really need to talk about this?"
"I meant your license isn't going to happen," Danny told her.
"Come on, Dad, that's not fair, I am more than ready according to my driving instructor. Anyway you haven't been in the car with me behind the wheel since I got my J.D.L. Please?" she begged.
"No."
"Mom?" Anna asked, hoping her mom would agree with her.
"Don't pit me against your father," Linda said. "Not while he's in the same room."
"Okay, but you know I'm a good driver," Anna insisted. "I haven't had a ticket, ever, you let me drive the boys to and from school on occasion, and Nicky will be getting hers in a couple weeks. It's not fair that my cousin who lives in Park Slope with a subway system will be getting her license before a kid who lives in a place with little to no mass transport."
"Life's not fair, kiddo," Henry said.
"Maybe not, but I'm more than ready for this. Plus think of it this way, another driver in the family and with you and Dad working so much, I can do things that you don't really have time for," Anna pleaded with her mom.
"I don't know Anna. I'm not sure you're ready for that responsibility."
"Why not?"
"Because a full driver's license means you can drive to Brooklyn or Manhattan at any time that you want," Jamie said.
"No it doesn't," Anna argued. Danny looked at her in disbelief. "Okay, maybe legally, but not without permission. Plus, I haven't been in trouble in months."
"Since when?" Linda asked.
"Late October when I stormed out."
"Try again?" Linda suggested.
Anna thought over the past handful of months. "A stern talking to, no trouble for that, nothing about that, brothers ... okay so maybe right before Thanksgiving when I got detention for not keeping my mouth shut and arguing with a teacher over something in history class but that's it. Still that was months ago," Anna explained.
"And something you didn't tell us about," Linda told her.
"It was a detention, the first one I've gotten all school year. Certainly not that big of a deal," Anna admitted.
"I'm not sure I can do it on Friday anyway," Danny said.
"Come on, Dad. Certainly your partner can cover for you for an hour, two tops. All you have to do is be there so I can hand over my J.D.L and my driver's ed certificate and get my actual license. You don't even have to take me home. Please?"
"Considering at the moment my partner is Gormley, don't think it'll happen."
"What? What happened to your last partner? What's her name? Uh ... Mac?"
"Transferred back to her old unit," Danny said.
"That's what? Five partners in the last three years? DeMarcus, Jackie, Hotchkiss, Kate, and Mac? What do you keep doing to them?" Anna asked.
"The job is tough, you need the right kind of partner," Jamie defended.
Anna looked down at her plate not sure if she should keep pushing. Nicky changed the subject before she could decide. "Um ... Grandpa, I watched that press conference. I can't believe you didn't say anything."
"The decision is final," Frank answered. There had been a lot of press lately about a young girl seeking asylum to stay in the U.S. The story seemed to be that while she had been touring with an orchestra, she had gone on a date with an American conductor, and presumably slept with him which in her country was illegal and punishable by death. The family went over all that then Nicky asked if it made Frank angry that sometimes he had to put on a show that he agreed with something that was clearly wrong. "Yes, it does," he answered.
"You know if she had a work visa, she wouldn't have to go home and could apply for a green card eventually," Anna mentioned.
"How do you know about that?" Danny asked.
"Civics," Anna smirked.
That night when they got home Danny and Linda had a long talk about whether or not to allow Anna to get her license. One of the biggest reasons for it was that she hadn't really lied to them in close to year, they hadn't had to punish her in the last couple of months, and she had a point about helping them out. On top of that she was being really responsible and controlling her temper. On the flipside though was still the fact that there was still stuff she didn't tell them about like the detention. They went to bed that night without an answer.
It was nearly two weeks later when a blue sedan pulled up on the curb as Anna walked out of school. "Looking forward to it, Pitch. See you later," Derrek told her.
"Yeah, later," Anna answered as she bounced down the front steps. She had just reached the sidewalk when the passenger window on the sedan went down.
"Get in," Danny said from behind the wheel. Anna moved to the car and crouched a bit to look in the window. "I won't tell you again."
"Where are we going?" Anna asked, climbing in.
"You'll see when we get there," Danny said.
"Daddy!" Anna whined.
Danny didn't answer though. About ten minutes later they pulled up in front of a building and once she read the name, she turned to her dad in shock. "Your mom and I agreed last night."