(A/N: for the next few chapters I will be delaying and messing around with the season 1 arc for a good cause,based on a request from patrickpopp. Teen Connor face claim: Jordan Elsass with dark brown hair. Danny still working with Jackie)
Frank's pov
We had all gathered for another Sunday Dinner, Connor now standing tall at 13 years old. Bringing me out of my thoughts, Sean spoke up
"I have to do this DNA testing family tree project, and I actually got a match."
Eyes scanning the room full of Reagans then landing back on her cousin, Nicky, the eldest grandchild, spoke up
"Well, duh, Sean, look how full this room is."
He shook his head
"Not like that. Like a cousin or something."
The kids eyed Danny, Erin and Jamie with suspicion and surprise, but each in turn shook their heads. Sean spoke again
"So... either Aunt Wendy, Uncle Jimmy... or"
His tone softened, eying his cousin Connor
"Or Uncle Joe had another kid, your half-sibling"
Danny spoke
"I'd bet on your Uncle Jimmy, Sean."
Surprising all of us, Connor spoke up
"I'm thirteen. What exactly happened to my Dad?"
Silence came over us like thieves in the night, none of us knowing how to react. We knew it was time to tell him soon, but this could be considered an ambush. Pop spoke, eyes cast to the floor
"it's time, Francis."
I sighed
"He was working a case and was shot and killed in the line of duty when you were two, not long after your Mom had been shot at the school she taught gang- risk kids."
As expected, Connor looked like he bit off more than he could chew, as he had technically done just that. The rest of the family looked just as shaken, and Jamie, now a Sargent, spoke up
"Some FBI Agent, Lydia Gonsalves, said Joe was working with her to clear out the corruption inside the Blue Templar, the NYPD frat group Pop used to tell me fairy tale stories about. Joe was working with her, and now I'm continuing his work. He mentioned a Malevsky in these recordings...?"
By now, Nicky had taken her three cousins elsewhere, even though they were now old enough to stay, but it was probably best to have them leave. It was police business after all. Danny spoke up
"Wasn't he ion the Warrants Squad with Sonny Malevsky? I was Templar for a while. But soon it became just cops in bars and strip clubs where the bill doesn't show up with your name and all the showgirls know you by name. I got out quick."
I was never much of a joiner, but the Templar had started with Pop's generation of fellow cops. Policing the police was the original goal, but they'd strayed far from it ever since. I sighed
"This investigation stays in house. Danny, is your partner Detective Jackie Curatola solid? In case we need one more person"
He nodded
"Yeah, and she can work from here so we don't tip anyone off."
Everyone nodded, and I called the kids back from the outside porch. I then turned to Danny's youngest son
"Sean, did your research ever tell you a name for this relative?"
He nodded
"Yeah. But it's not O'Shea like Mom's side, or Reagan like Dad's. Joseph Connor Hill."
Connor spoke, deep in thought, but already accepting the dots connected for us
"Your cousin. Presumably not your Mom's side. Not Aunt Erin's,Uncle Jamie's, Uncle Danny's... Who do we have left? I mean, Connor Joseph, Joseph Connor..."
My family was baffled by this possibility. Another piece of our Joe, out there in the world. No, not the world. Here in New York City. Then it clicked for me. Detective Joseph Connor Hill, FIU division, 25 years old, from Warwick, Rhode Island. One of our brightest and most prolific young recruits... And now I have even more reason to meet him. I'll have Baker set up a meeting for tomorrow, I can meet him then. I'll ask Baker to run a DNA test on the water glass so we know for sure. I barely slept a wink that night between the upcoming meeting and the start of our probe into the Blue Templar. For audio help, we had one of Danny's brothers in arms from Fallujah.
Joe's pov
I was in my dress blues, full uniform. I was nervous, because I had been called up to 1PP to talk with the Commissioner. Now, I knew I was his long-lost grandchild, oldest son of his fallen son, but as far as I knew, he did not know that. I guess it has to do with my being new to the NYPD and my particular resume at a younger age than usual. That's gotta be it, it can't be the other thing, there's no way. A little embarrassing thing is that when I'm nervous, I tend to have my throat get so dry that I can clear as much as 8 glasses of water in one go. I was on my second when the Detective who served as the Commissioner's right hand spoke, gathering my first empty glass
"The Commissioner will see you now."
I nodded, getting up
"Thank you."
With one last deep breath, I walked through the door she held open for me and I fell into an easy salute, which Commissioner Reagan readily reciprocated. He then smiled
"Sit, Detective Hill. At ease."
I obeyed, eyes never breaking contact with his, my voice going deeper with alarm
"Did I do something wrong, Sir?"
He shook his head
"I wanted to meet my new recruits, especially one with such a distinguished career as yours at such a young age. Congratulations."
I smiled
"Thank you, Sir. That is quite the compliment coming from you."
Both as Commissioner and my Grandfather, but, even with my best deducing skills, I was not sure if he knew of the other connection just yet. His reputation for a stoic poker face did not lie. He soon broke it, to my surprise. He sighed
"The other reason I wanted to meet you, was that you were matched as a cousin to my grandson, Sean Reagan, in a DNA- Family Tree school project he had to do."
I inwardly sighed in relief. He knew. I just had not known how to spring that on my boss without seeming to have an angle, not that I did. I nodded
"I was aware of our familiar relationship, Sir. I sent out a sample to a genetics testing program when I wanted answers about my father that my Mother would not provide. I only found out a few days ago, but I had already been working in the NYPD for a while when I found out. I don't need any special favors regarding the job, and I want to know I'd never ask for special treatment."
He nodded
"I don't believe you need any special treatment, you've carved a monumental path for yourself without it, and at your young age, no less. But that's on the job. On a more personal level,I wondered if you wanted to meet your relatives. We can tell you about your father."
He seemed to be at a loss about how to disclose that my father was no longer with us, so I made it easy on him, taking pity on the heartbroken father
"I'd love that. I'm so sorry about his passing. I actually saw the news report the day he died. His passing was somehow broadcast in Rhode Island. I just did not know he was my father back then. From what was reported, I also have a younger half-brother, about 13 now?"
Smiling, my grandfather/boss nodded
"Connor Joseph, he's being primarily raised by myself and my father. His mother wanted to honor your father,simply switching out the names."
I nodded
"For all her not telling me about my father, my mother named me after him but with her surname,and gave me this medal, saying he got one."
I showed it to him and he chuckled
"Patron of Lost Causes. Most days in their childhood, that would fit your Uncle Danny than your father. But my wife, your Grandmother, gave the same medal to all four kids. Your Uncle Danny a Detective with the 5-4 squad, your father, your Aunt Erin, an ADA in Manhattan; and your Uncle Jamie, a Sargent out of the 2-9, who started out as a Harvard Law grad then ultimately joined the Force. Connor has the same medal.I'm glad you have it too."
I nodded
"Thank you. So, your father is former PC Henry Reagan, correct?"
he smiled
"You've done some homework."
I grinned
"Both for joining the NYPD and ever since I got the DNA test results."
He nodded
"You are now my oldest grandchild, knocking out Nicky. She's Erin's daughter. Sean has an older brother, Jack."
I nodded,the void from my father starting to fill a bit
"I look forward to meeting them."
The Commissioner smiled
"How about this Sunday? We have family dinners every Sunday at our house in Bay Ridge. Raised all four kids there, now Pop and I live there and are raising Connor there."
I nodded eagerly and accepted the address he gave me. He then spoke, sounding tentative, like walking on eggshells
"C-could I hug you?"
I nodded, and my boss/ Grandfather wrapped his arms around me. And it felt right. Can't say who it felt better for. After a while, I spoke
"Have the people responsible for his death been caught?"
He shook his head
"We ad no leads until recently. It is actually looking like an inside job, but we cannot act until we have every evidence."
Locking eyes with him again, this time expression serious and non-compromising, I rather spoke than requested proper
"I'm going to help you take these people down. Even if we did not know each other, the man they killed is still my Dad. I remember watching the news on TV and saying to my mother 'even if it doesn't involve me, I still feel bad for this man's family.' And she did not even take that moment to tell me he was my Dad, and I had asked her all my life! But now I can do something for him, so, please, just this one favor. Let me help you."
Eyes watery and a small smile on his face, the Commissioner accepted
"Welcome aboard the investigation, Detective. And welcome to the family, Joe."