I'm surprised I got this one out in under a month (two days shy but still.) Thanks to everyone who continues to read and like this story. Thanks to decadenceofmysoul, patrickpopp, LucifersAlleyCat, Daisyangel, Zeagles15, and YaleAceBella12 for all your reviews. I'm grateful to everyone who gives this story a try and ends up making it all the way to the end of the posted chapters. It really does mean a lot.

References to 7x7 and 7x13.

Over the next few days after the hurricane, Anna continued to answer phone calls as the rest of cops in the district were mostly hands on, keeping order while clean up went on throughout the city. There were other cities up through the state and into Georgia and the Carolinas that sustained more damage and some of their department had been sent to help out. By Halloween, most of the damage from the storm was cleaned up and everyone was back to their normal patrols. Over the week prior and the one that would follow Halloween, she had gone through several simulations and tests to make sure she was ready to be back on the streets.

It was finally the day she had been waiting for after getting shot two months before. The seventh of November. Her first day back on the job. While she did have a few first day jitters, she knew that being back in the car was where she needed to be. Anna pulled her uniform on after getting into the locker room and could feel some of those nerves settling. The dark blue shirt tucked easily into her pants that flowed down over her shoes. She pulled on her gun belt and twisted her hair up. After grabbing her cap, she took one last look in the mirror, then headed for roll call. After all the important news was doled out, the sergeant glanced at her. "As a last note, I'd like to welcome Officer Reagan back to full duty. She has been cleared by her doctor and will resume patrol with Officer Johansen. Room dismissed," their sergeant said.

Several officers patted her on the back or shoulder before heading to their cars. Her sergeant stopped her outside the door. "Sarge?" she asked.

"Be careful out there. It's your first day back; you don't need to turn in 100 tickets or make 50 arrests, just come back safe."

"Yes, sir." She walked to the desk for the car keys but Mike reached around her and took the keys from the sergeant and signed the log. Anna frowned but silently followed him to the car. Having followed her normal routine of getting her gun before roll call, all that was left was to start their patrol. Mike slid behind the wheel and gave her an expectant look. Without saying a word, she climbed in the passenger seat. While it wasn't the first time he had made her ride shotgun, it was still awkward when she did. He also usually told her the reason why he was driving instead of her. This time, most of the morning was quiet with barely a word passing between the partners. He stopped about mid-day outside a deli.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Ham and American on white with barbeque chips."

"Got it. Stay with the car." He went inside and Anna bit down on her tongue. There was no need for him to say that. She wasn't exactly going anywhere. She saw he had taken the keys as well. Something was going on with her partner. It was just an inkling but there was something there. She couldn't put a word on it but it was something that didn't feel right with her partner. It wasn't until the end of their shift when she could finally put a name to it. They had pulled over a car for speeding down a neighborhood street and not signaling. Once the car was stopped, Mike had her run the plate as he approached the car. Now, normally there would be nothing suspicious or odd about that, but there was something about the way he said it that had an alarm going off in her head. "Run the plate; I'll be back." It was almost like he didn't trust her to be able to do her job. It only took a few moments to run the plates and when they came back clear, it gave her time to think about Mike's treatment of her over the last shift. He turned to come back to the car, probably to run the driver's info, and for a brief moment, it wasn't her partner walking back to her. For the briefest moment, with the October sun setting behind him, he looked just like her dad. That's when she realized it. It wasn't that in the didn't trust her, it was that he was being overprotective. That she knew how to deal with.

"Plates are clear," she said, turning the computer toward him.

He typed in the driver's information. "Driver is too." Mike filled out the ticket and went back to the other car. She didn't say a word about her realizations until they back to the station at the end of their shift. Once she had finished the log for their shift, she found a quiet corner and pushed him into it and made herself as big as she could. "Anna?" Mike asked confused.

"Do you not trust me? I mean I know I've only been on this job for like six months or so but I—"

"Five months as of October 31st. More like three months if you don't include the time you were out on injury," Mike corrected, taking a little bit of wind out of Anna's sails.

"I don't. Anyway, in that time I didn't forget how to do everything I've learned. The Captain and Sarge oversaw every aspect of those sims so they know I'm ready for this. My PT ran a whole bunch of tests before he would even clear me to do anything more than drive. Don't you trust that I'm ok? That I can do, this?"

Mike stared down at her in that appraising way all dads seemed to have for several long seconds. It almost made Anna want to press him again but she knew she had to let him break the silence. Hopefully, he'd explain why he was being so overprotective of her. He let out a slow breath then looked down and away from her. His light brown eyes darted up to meet hers again before looking away. That brief second was all she needed.

"This isn't about you trusting me or those tests, is it?" she pressed. The more he responded to her, the more she could tell he was just being overprotective but she needed to know why.

"You got shot," he said, finally. "I know that in the very least, most partners become friends or acquaintances. In the best cases, partners become family. I know that sometimes, without meaning to, I've crossed the line into treating you too much like family. I am your partner, I supposed to have your six. I should always have your six." His voice caught in his throat. "I—I—"

"Me getting shot was not your fault."

"But if I had been there—"

"Mike," she cut him off. "I was literally 10 feet from more than a dozen cops; one of whom has had my back since the day I was born. You couldn't have done any more than he did."

"You know what they say about guilt."

"The best way to fight it is to find forgiveness." Anna stopped and stared at Mike. How'd he turn this around on her? She couldn't believe she'd just said that. She didn't need to forgive him as he had done nothing wrong. Now she knew what Nicky had meant about not needing to forgive her for what Wilder had done. Briefly she wondered if her dad felt the same way Mike did. At the moment though, she needed to focus on Mike. "Forgiveness? Now I know how Nicky felt," she muttered to herself. "It's not your fault. You've done everything you could to protect me and teach me. I don't blame you for what happened. Things like this do happen and we just have to cope until we can move on." She gently set a hand Mike's shoulder. "The best way to cope is to remind yourself that I'm ok and in no danger."

"It's just hard."

"It ever happen before?"

"All partners bond in different ways. I have lost partners before, friends and acquaintances, and brothers have been injured on duty, but even my closest brother, a guy I was partnered with for six years, never made me feel like this."

"Because I'm a girl?"

"No, yes, but no, but—It's not because you're a girl but it kinda is." Mike looked very uncomfortable.

"I don't get that is all," Anna said.

"You're not my first female partner, not even my fifth. I had this partner 10 years into the job, I was her third partner. We answered a robbery call. Somehow, he got the jump on her. Stabbed her in the side twice. It caused guilt but not this bad. Meet me at the diner in 10 minutes." Mike looked around. Anna instantly realized what he was looking for. They shouldn't be having this conversation in public, especially not in a place where their boss could overhear.

She stopped outside the diner but before she got out of her car, there was a knock on her passenger window. Seeing Mike, she unlocked the door. Mike slid inside and stared at her. "Why is this guilt worse?" Anna asked.

"Because of what I said. It's not about you being female, it's about you being a girl. I thought when they hired you that I could keep it professional or friendly. That I could work with this bright-eyed, fiery, 19-year-old who reminded me of Lacy without getting too attached or overprotective. At first it wasn't a problem, then it hit me right in the face. After you got shot, I should have requested a new partner. Save myself any further guilt, heartbreak, or worry."

Anna nodded. Lacy must have been his middle child. He had spoken of his younger daughter before but Anna couldn't remember him ever saying her name. "But ..." she said slowly as she put the pieces together. "But if you'd have done that, you'd worry whether or not my new partner was good enough."

"Sasha said the same thing." Mike shook his head and leaned back in the seat. "When I got home from New York, I told her what happened and all of this. She told me that she understood why I felt so guilty and knew that every day I saw you would probably make it worse but she also asked how I would feel if you did get a new partner and I didn't know them. How I would feel if I was in the same city and didn't have your back when I could have?"

"So, you wanted a new partner because you felt guilty you couldn't protect me but getting a new partner would make you feel guilty because if I ended up hurt again and you could have been there to protect me but you weren't?"

"Well, yeah."

"And because I remind you of Lacy, you feel the guilt more than you have before?"

"Exactly."

"Mike, I—"

"Look, I'm not asking you to fix it or even help me through it."

"You just want me to be patient, while you figure it out and, maybe, try to understand a little where you're coming from."

"Not completely necessary but appreciated. I know you don't really need my protection, like Lacy, but I—"

"But I appreciate you being there for me, much like I'm certain she does."

"Right. Let's get some dinner." Mike nodded and they headed inside the diner.

At the end of her first week back on the job to celebrate that week, Mike invited her over for dinner. She tried to decline but he managed to convince her.

Mrs. Johansen was a gracious host creating one of the best plates of pasta that Anna had ever had. Mike's son Noah had joined them from Florida University and he had dominated most of the conversation, talking about his first two months of college. Anna tried to focus on the conversation but half her mind was still on the letter she had found in her mailbox that morning.

"Anna," Mike said, cutting off yet another one of Noah's stories, "I am more than happy to let Noah talk the night away but you haven't made a single comment in the last 20 minutes. Tell me what's wrong. Does it have anything to do with that letter you were reading on meal earlier?"

"If you don't want to talk you don't have to. Mike will understand," Sasha said.

"No, it's …" Anna bit her lip.

"I can—" Noah started. He was going to offer to leave but that wasn't necessary.

"It's ok. You remember I told you about Uncle Joe?" Anna asked.

"Your dad's brother. The cop who died when you were 12, right?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, he was three years into a relationship with a woman named Angie. He was so in love with her. Wanted to marry her one day. Then he died line of duty eight—seven years ago. This morning, I found an invitation in my mailbox." Anna paused, trying to figure out how to put it. "She's getting married in New York in January."

"Wait, your dead uncle's ex-girlfriend is getting married and invited you?" Noah asked.

"Noah," Sasha scolded.

"Saying it out loud, I know how it sounds. She probably agonized over whether or not to invite me. I don't blame her. I just don't want it to look like some sort of favoritism or something."

"Why would it look like that?" Sasha asked.

Anna looked at Mike. "My ... My grandpa is the Commissioner of the NYPD. Essentially, the top cop. If I go, someone could spin that."

"Commissioner's granddaughter attends a wedding? How scandalous," Noah said.

"At times like this, I miss my little brothers."

"Because they're not as annoying as I am?"

"They are annoying. That's what makes me miss them. Jack and Sean are annoying as heck but if I need them, they've got my back."

"What else is there, Anna?" Mike asked. "You've got that look again. The one that says just trust me when there's a load of bad news but you don't want to tell me because you think you can handle it."

"Her—" Anna took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Her fiancé is a detective with the Narcotics unit of the NYPD."

"As in the same NYPD your grandfather runs?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah. So, the spin could be—" Anna said slowly.

Noah interrupted. "This cop invited you because you're the granddaughter of the commissioner and if the cop's bosses see photos, they'll think he's got an in with him."

"On the other hand, her fiancé may not know anything about the invite and she sent it because she knows she was a big part of your childhood and you mean a lot to her," Sasha pointed out.

"Exactly. Maybe I'm overthinking it. She could have invited me out of the kindness of her heart and here I am, questioning her motives," Anna said.

"Unfortunately, that's a side effect of a cop life. It's not a bad thing to see both sides. It is a bad thing though if you stop listening to one side in favor of the other. Trust but verify," Mike told her.

"Hard to verify when trying to makes it look like I don't trust her."

"You're smart. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Thanks. Can I say something that's going to make me sound like a horrible person?"

"I doubt anything you say would make you horrible," Sasha said.

"Well, maybe selfish then." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Part of me is upset. I'm glad she's happy but deep down I hate that the detective she's marrying isn't my uncle and that the wedding didn't take place eight years ago."

"They were that serious?" Sasha asked.

"I thought he was. He mentioned it a few times. I just—I don't know."

"You're not horrible for how you feel," Mike said. "He was your uncle. Losing him causes a major shift in all your future plans. It takes some time getting used to."

"But the fact that you can admit you're happy for her, means you're not horrible," Sasha added.

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

"Thank you."

At the end of the night, she thanked them for having her over for dinner and for their advice. Once she got home, she stared at her phone. Finally, she pulled up a contact and pressed the video call button. The fact that he picked up not only shocked her but also meant he was worried.

"Are you busy?" she asked, seeing that he was at his desk.

"No, just handling some paperwork. You ok, kid?" Danny asked.

Anna waffled a bit, toying with the ends of her hair. "Eh, I—Maybe I shouldn't have called."

"Don't do that, Anna. Talk to me."

She tried to speak multiple times but had trouble putting it into the words that he might understand. At least, until she blurted, "I miss you."

"Miss you too, kid. Did something happen?"

"My partner invited me over for dinner with his wife and son. It just reminded me of family dinners and it made me miss you ... and Mom."

"I'm sorry it feels that way, kiddo. I know it's hard to come home when you have a job to do but you're welcome any time."

"I know. Just seeing your face helps. How are my brothers?"

"Sean's good; Jack had us worried a bit there."

"Worried? You mean the whole drinking thing?"

"Yes."

"That was a month ago and I'm sure he's been no trouble."

"Not since."

"Has he decided anything post high school? SAT prep should be coming up."

"Not that he's said on either front."

"Well, I'm sure he'll feel the call soon enough."

"You mean like you did? You know, I never thought you'd be a cop."

"Really?"

"If I had to pick one of you to be a cop, it'd definitely be you but I never would have guessed it."

"And what about you? Any tough cases?"

"None too tough. A few that made me think of you, but none I couldn't handle."

"That's good." She glanced around her living room. "How's Mom?"

"You know your mom."

"I know. Living day to day and trying not to show how much she dreads losing another kid."

"Not losing, just not having him at home."

"But that's still two years off."

"Yes, I suppose it is. Your mom will want to know when you're coming home next."

Anna sighed. "January sometime; see what my boss says. I'm sure he'll have something to say since last time I went home I got shot."

"We'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Thanks, Dad. You know, speaking of getting shot, did you feel guilty about it?"

"Of course I did. No dad ever wants to see his kid hurt. I don't know if anyone mentioned it but when it happened, I was two blocks away."

"Aunt Erin mentioned that."

"I was right there and my kid was nearly killed. How did I let that happen? I asked myself that question for days until I got a visit from that doctor I had to see for anger management. We can't prevent everything bad happening to those we care about. Now I focus on you being ok and not on what could have happened."

"Does it work?"

"Most of the time. Is something going on, kid?"

"I know … and have seen the damage that can be done when a cop gets too close to their partner and something really bad happens. That's why I promised myself that if my partner ever felt like more than an older sibling, I'd ask for a transfer. Mike …" She took a deep breath in and slowly let it out.

"Mike too close? I know he flew clear across the country for you."

"You wouldn't? For Baez?"

"She's not young enough to be my daughter."

"You're right. I know he's crossed a line. He knows he's crossed a line. Maybe I am too close to him. This is not why I called."

"No, you called because you want me to tell you how you can help Mike get over the guilt he feels about not being there for you."

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to tell me it's not possible?"

"Because you're smart. You can't say a single thing that will make him feel better. Not as his partner nor like a daughter. Guilt is something you have to work through on your own. All you can do is live one day at a time and if he hasn't made any progress at all by Thanksgiving, call me back. That could be dangerous."

"Yeah, sure."

"Really, Anna, keep an eye on him."

"I will, thanks, Dad."

"Anytime, Anna."

"Listen, I don't know if I've said it lately but ... I ... " She trailed off. She looked at him. He was watching her carefully. "I love you, Dad."

Danny smiled. "I love you too, kiddo," he answered. "No matter what, I'm always here for you."

"I know, Dad. I should let you get back to your paperwork."

"Paperwork can always wait. It's not every day my daughter calls to tell me how much she misses me." He smirked at her.

"Nope, I take it back. I don't miss you at all," Anna told him. Danny smirked. Anna rolled her eyes. "Bye, Dad!"

"Take care, kid."

Anna dropped back against her couch. She definitely missed her family but didn't want to sacrifice the freedom she had gained. Maybe one day she wouldn't feel so restricted in New York and could go back but she didn't see that happening any time soon.

One day later, after confirming her attendance plus one for Angie's wedding, she got a phone call from her uncle. "Uncle Jamie, hey, what's up?" Anna asked cheerfully.

"Sounds like you had a good day."

"We get called as back up on a domestic. Dad was beating on these two beautiful little girls. We sat with them until Child Services showed up. They had also taken in this amazing, tan, Pitbull and he was just so sweet. Animal Control came to get him but said he looked like a good candidate for adoption. Since it wasn't really their dog, they couldn't keep it."

"What's going to happen to the girls?"

"Their grandparents from Tallahassee are coming down to get the girls. Their dad cut them out of the girls' lives after their mom died in childbirth. Sad story but getting to play with the girls and that puppy was the highlight of my week. What about you; good week?"

"Not really. Still kinda reeling."

"Oh? Tell me what happened."

"There was this guy on the Queensboro bridge about a week ago. You know how it gets, sometimes there are things you can't shake. His fiancée was cheating on him and finally broke things off. He wanted to end it. I must have talked to him for at least an hour. I told him about Sydney and what happened. He finally came down."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"I told him maybe he should just talk to her. Maybe he'd see it wasn't the end of the world. After a trip to the hospital, they released him. Eddie and I responded to a call the next day. He was beating on her with a baseball bat. She didn't make it."

"Oh God," Anna muttered. She took a deep breath. "That's not your fault, Uncle Jamie. You did your job and saved his life. You had no idea he'd go after her. You have to work with what you know. Dad says trying to see all the possible outcomes will drive you crazy and Mike's told me if I ever find a case is too hard to shake to call him. Getting too deep into your head about a case is a bad thing. There's always gonna be someone who is going to pull you back from the edge. In our cop-filled family, someone's going to understand what you're feeling and about what you're going through. It's not a bad thing to talk."

"I know you're right and your dad said something similar after dinner the other night."

"Despite the fact you aren't close, he is still your big brother and he'd do anything to protect you."

"I know and I'm glad to have him."

"Can I ask your advice on something completely unrelated?"

"Of course."

"Someone I've known for a while now is getting married in January. She's not exactly a friend but she's more than an acquaintance. We text and email and the occasional video chat but it's not an every day thing."

"Kinda like a pen pal."

"What's a pen pal?"

"You are not that young, Anna."

"Kinda," Anna agreed, laughing slightly. "You could say Facebook friends too."

"So, what's the problem?"

"She's invited me to her wedding and logistically I could go as long as I don't miss too many days between now and then, but I ... I can't help wonder why she invited me."

"You're clearly important to her."

"Maybe but there's the thing I didn't mention. She's marrying a cop, detective, narcotics."

"And she knows you're the PC's granddaughter, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is she the type to use that to get you to put in a good word for her fiancé?"

"I don't know. I mean I don't think so but I'm not sure."

"What about her fiancé?"

"I've never met him but from what she's said, I don't think so."

"Then maybe she thinks of you as a good friend and wants you there for that reason alone. Either way you won't know unless you ask her."

"But what if I'm wrong? I don't want to make a big deal of it and it turn out that she invited me because I was—am a big part of her life."

"You don't want to make a big deal because you think you'll look foolish or because you don't want to make her mad?"

"Probably more the first than the second but both are concerns."

"And they will be, but a true friend won't judge you for valid concerns."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Uncle Jamie."

"Anytime."

"Sure, and I hope you feel better about what happened." After hanging up with her uncle, Anna flopped back on the couch and didn't even want to even think about dinner.