Thanks to those who reviewed Donnie88, and Pharmergirl. I hope those of you who have reviewed in the past are still reading this. Thanks to all of you who are reading and putting this on your alert and favorite lists.
Contains scenes from 1X18.
Danny really tried to help out Anna over the next couple of weeks but with cases piling up on his desk and a sergeant down his neck about it and the paperwork he kept pushing off, the afternoons that he did have off, she had practice or it was Sunday and they were both too tired from a long week to put in any effort. Anna's first game rolled around and they crushed the Blue Jays 6-1. "No dad?" Derrek asked as they finished packing up their bags after the game.
"No, but my mom and brothers made it. That's always a plus," Anna said. Since Jim had been bumped up to varsity Anna had bonded with her catcher Derrek Jones. Though he didn't know that her dad was a detective, he did know that a lot of her family was in law enforcement.
"Isn't that the police commissioner?" Derrek asked, motioning to Frank who was making his way down out of the stands with the rest of the crowd.
"Yes. If you can keep your trap shut, I'll let you in on a little secret," Anna said, stuffing her batting gloves and bat in her bag. Derrek nodded. "I just call him Grampa," Anna said.
"You—you're—wow. Didn't realize you were that Reagan."
"Yeah, see you at school on Monday."
"Yeah. Later." Derrek walked over to his dad waving goodbye to Anna. Anna waved back and once most of her teammates were gone she walked over to her family.
"Great game, sweetheart," Linda said, hugging her daughter.
"Thanks, Mom," Anna said.
"Your dad's sorry he couldn't be here."
"Yeah, me too."
"You did well," Frank added.
"Thank you. And thanks to all of you for coming," Anna answered. Everyone except her dad had made it.
"Who wants ice cream? If I remember correctly there's one not far from here," Henry said. Nicky and the boys cheered and Anna smiled. As they headed for the cars, Jamie took Anna's bag and tossed his arm around her shoulders.
"I know you're disappointed. You wish your dad could have been here," Jamie said.
"The little girl inside me does, but she still believes in monsters and heroes and unicorns. The teen she grew into doesn't really care anymore."
Jamie pulled his niece to a stop and hugged her tight. "You and I both know that's not true and I'm sorry you think you feel that way."
"Yeah," Anna said, relishing the hug for a moment then shrugging and pulling away. She continued walking and Jamie followed. She didn't mean to be so hard on her dad or have such low expectations but she always felt like the lower her expectations were, the less disappointed she'd get when they weren't fulfilled.
"Alright kids, hit the showers and don't forget, practice tomorrow, right after school. Miss it and you'll sit the bench on Saturday at the game!" their coach called at the end of practice one Wednesday in early April. The teams cheered and headed for the locker rooms. Once they had showered and packed up the team began to disperse. Anna, Jim, and Derrek headed through the school, then down the front steps.
"Make sure you ice that shoulder, pitch," Derrek told her. "Dave is good but you and I are on the same wavelength." Their centerfielder, Dave Mackey, was also a fast pitcher but he didn't have the same connection with Derrek.
Anna had spent all practice that day working on her pitching so her shoulder was a little more sore than usual. She lifted her left hand in a wave as Derrek headed off then turned to Jim who was standing next to her. She smiled as she looked up at him, his brown hair almost glowing red from the light of the late afternoon sun. "So, will I see you at our game?" she asked Jim as they stood at the bottom of the stairs outside the front entrance to the school.
"Unfortunately not. The varsity team's game is at the same time against the same school but on their home field. Wish I could be there to watch you kick butt, but I gotta do the same," Jim said. He and Anna lived in opposite directions of the school. "Isn't that your uncle?" Jim asked. He motioned across the street to the cop car parked on the opposite curb.
"Can't be. My uncle works out of the twelfth precinct near Central Park in Manhattan. What would he be doing here, in Staten Island?" Anna asked.
"Then it's kinda creepy that a cop in full uniform is staring right at us," Jim told her. They both looked around to find that they were the only ones left in the vicinity.
Anna looked back across the street, staring hard at the man and had to admit he did look very similar to her uncle. He was standing on the near side of his car, in full NYPD blue with his hat in his hands. The only way to figure out what he wanted was for Anna to cross the street and find out. "Give me a full minute, if I don't start screaming, you're good to go."
"And if you do?" Jim asked worried.
"Get the license plate on the car and call 911 as you walk away," Anna said, thanking god that today was one of those days where jv and varsity practiced together. Usually varsity was long gone by the time jv got done with their practice. Anna made her way down the sidewalk and stopped at the curb checking both ways before crossing the street to make sure it was clear then stepped out. She had just stepped on the center line when she heard an engine rev down the street. Anna looked both ways, pausing in the middle of the street, but seeing nothing she continued. Car tires squealed and a car tore down the road towards her. Luckily Jamie's instincts and reactions were as sharp as ever and as the car approached, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, pinning her between him and the RMP as the SUV raced past, completely missing them.
"Anna!" Jim called, worriedly.
Anna looked up at her uncle who was looking down on her to make sure she was okay. Anna took a deep breath and slowly let it out then waved to Jim. "Are you okay?" Jamie asked as the front door of the RMP opened. Anna didn't look towards Jamie's partner but did nod to Jamie. He ran his hands down her arms then down her back. "Are you sure?" Jamie asked.
"I'm fine," Anna said. She looked back at Jim and smiled.
"Good, now come on." Jamie led her around the back of the cop car to the passenger side and then opened the back door to the car. He motioned to it and Anna shook her head.
"Not until I know what two patrol officers from the twelfth precinct up near Central Park in Manhattan are doing in full uniform in the 125th precinct in Staten Island with their RMP. I highly doubt your CO is okay with this, especially since it's the middle of the afternoon on Wednesday."
"Your dad asked for a favor and we're on meal. Please, get in the car," Jamie said.
Anna braced her arms on top of the door and looked at Jamie skeptically. "Asked for a favor? More like volunteered you and made you get your partner to agree. Something big is going on. Why else would you give up most of your hour break to drive out here, pick me up, take me home, then drive all the way back to the twelfth? This time of day? Tell me what's going on," Anna demanded.
"Will you get in the car if I promise to tell you on the way?" Jamie asked.
"On the way? I live like ten blocks from here. I could just walk."
"You're not going home. Anna, I have forced guys bigger than you in this car, get in." Anna could tell his patience was wearing thin with her and was impressed. It usually took a lot longer than that. Jamie was often the most patient of the Reagan clan.
"Reagan, just do me a favor and get in the car. The last thing I need is to be dropping off the commissioner's granddaughter at the same time he's getting home. That's more explaining than I want to do in one day." Anna knew that voice. That was the voice of Joe's old partner. A partner she knew better than to argue with. Tony Renzulli. She huffed and got in the car. "Thank you," he said as the back door shut.
"You were talking to me?" Anna asked, placing her bags on the seat next to her. She looked at Renzulli through the screen cage that separated the two seats.
"Yes. Every time I see you, you remind me of Joe and then someone reminds me that you're Danny's kid. I never believe it until you pull something like that." Renzulli motioned to the car door as Jamie opened the passenger door. "You're just like your dad when you get angry."
"Yeah, that's what everyone says," Anna said, buckling her seatbelt as Jamie climbed in the car. Renzulli started the engine and then took off. "So if I'm not going home, where are we headed? Back to Manhattan?"
"Brooklyn. Danny wanted us to take you to Dad's. The case he's testifying in on Friday, the guy has a history of witness intimidation," Jamie told her.
"Be that as it may, I'm not missing anything because of him."
"Are you forgetting you were almost run over?"
"Not forgetting anything, but I won't put my life on hold for someone who can't do the time for their crimes. Besides how does anyone who isn't a cop know I'm Danny's kid? There's nothing connecting me to him online."
"He asked us to take you there; anything else has to be taken up with him." The rest of the ride was silent as Anna contemplated her choices. She could make a big stink and get her dad upset with her or she could just accept it and let go of the inconvenience. She knew her dad would probably prefer the latter.
Jamie and Renzulli dropped her off and she found her brothers and Pops inside. Frank wasn't home yet which was probably helpful, giving Anna time to calm down from the information Jamie had told her. She plopped down in the sunroom with an ice pack on her shoulder as she did her homework. Her brothers were at the dining room table doing theirs too.
When she finished her homework, she watched a little TV, alternating between icing her shoulder and resting it without the ice pack. Frank came in the house around 5:30 and said hi to her before entering the kitchen to speak with his father. She could hear her grandfathers making grilled cheese and chili in the kitchen after a while but didn't bother to get up and check. A little while after that, she was watching a commercial for a local car dealership when out of the corner of her eye, she saw her dad come up the back walk, on to the screened in back porch then the door in the kitchen opened rapidly. That was Anna's first clue that something was wrong. The door closed and Anna heard thundering feet and cries of "daddy!"
She hauled herself up off the couch and made her way into the kitchen. She stood right next to the refrigerator just out of sight of her dad but not of that of Frank and Henry. Both of her grandfathers had poker faces. She moved closer to the wall and could just see around the fridge. When she did, she saw her father hugging her brothers tight. She leaned back against the wall listening to the conversation. When Jack asked about Linda, Danny explained that she was at a spa overnight for an early birthday present. There was something in his voice though, almost like desperation that had Anna's senses on high alert. Jack then asked when she was coming back and Frank sent him and Sean to play video games as Henry watched her. Anna looked away from him and back at her dad to see his body sag as the boys left the room. Suddenly he was back on high alert.
"Anna?" Danny asked. Henry and Frank both looked towards the sunroom. Danny spun to look at her and crossed over to her. Anna looked up at the concerned look on her dad's face and back away from him. He looked terrified. "Anna," he said gently.
"No," Anna answered. The look in his eyes was more than the concern over her almost getting hit by a car. She could tell that was part of it though. This fear in her dad's eyes was something that transcended his normal fear. Something major had just happened. Something that scared her normally unflappable dad. "The worst part of having a detective for an old man is you almost always know when I'm lying to you. The best part of it, and growing up in a family full of detectives, is that you pretty good at learning to read people. You're scared and relieved, but kinda guilty. You lied to my brothers. We can't ... really? A spa?"
"Are you okay? Jamie told me what happened," Danny said.
"I'm fine. Where's Mama?" Anna asked, trying not to cry. Danny moved to her and the second he reached for her she shrank back away from him. "Daddy!" she begged.
"They took her," Danny said gently.
Anna's knees suddenly gave out from under her and she slid down the wall. Her breath came in short gasps as the ice pack slipped from her hand. She looked up at her dad and he saw a scared little girl staring at him. She looked completely at a loss. Danny crouched in front of her as she drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. He gently laid a hand on her knees as her eyes slid shut. When they opened again, Anna's brown eyes looked less afraid. "You're gonna bring my mama home. You're gonna find her and you'll bring her home safe and sound. I need my mama. Please," Anna begged.
"I promise I will," Danny said. He held out a hand and after a moment she took it and he pulled her to her feet and into his arms. "I know that you're about to threaten me but it goes without saying, I will bring your mom home. I won't sleep until she's safe and sound," Danny explained. Anna rested her head against his chest. "Are you okay? And don't lie to me, Anna."
"I'm fine, Daddy. He didn't hit me. Scared maybe but Uncle Jamie saved me. Pulled me out of the way. I'm okay," Anna said. She pulled back and looked up at him. Danny cupped her face brushing away her tears. He nodded and she tried her best to smile. "Just bring Mama home."
"Did your uncle do that to your arm?" Danny asked. She looked up at him confused. "You haven't moved your right arm since I got here."
"Tough practice," she answered. "I'll be okay in a few hours. It had nothing to do with Uncle Jamie."
Danny placed a hand on her shoulder and felt it to make sure it wasn't dislocated. "Well, aside from being really cold, which I assume is from the ice pack," Anna bit her tongue to keep down a sarcastic remark, "it doesn't fell broken or dislocated. Do you have practice tomorrow?"
"And school. I miss practice, I sit out the game. I know that you can't show up to all my games but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be there. I have to play this game on Saturday. I can't miss it. Dad," Anna nearly begged. Danny sighed resting his hand on her left shoulder not to make her other shoulder worse. She looked at him and saw that he looked concerned and sad. Then there was a battle going on behind his brown eyes. Finally he sighed again.
"I don't want you in any danger and knowing that you're out there, unprotected, isn't an option. I'm sorry, but it's one game you'll have to miss. These guys ... they're not corner street drug dealers. They're drug dealers with ties to a Peruvian Drug Cartel. They specialize in smuggling coke into New York. He is very dangerous and he already took your mama. I can't lose you too. Don't make me order you to stay here."
Anna sighed and looked down at the floor. She looked past her dad at Frank. He was giving her what she and Nicky had termed the "all knowing" look. The look that told her that her dad was going to get his way in the end. Ann took several deep breaths to resign herself to that fact and finally spoke again. "Maybe my coach will understand a family emergency," Anna said. She thought it over and decided it wasn't worth the fight. Not when her mom was missing.
"I'm sure he will," Danny agreed.
Anna hugged her dad again. Danny held her tight and discretely checked her for injuries but found nothing. "I'm okay and I'll be better when you bring my mama home."
"Anna, go wash up," Frank said. Anna nodded and walked to the bathroom. Danny picked up the ice pack from the floor and put it in the freezer. "She's not going anywhere alone. We'll let the schools know they're staying here until Monday. Nothing's going to happen to her."
"I know, thanks, Dad," Danny answered. Danny left the house vowing not to return without his wife and Anna was a bit shocked to not see her dad at dinner but was thankful that he was doing everything in his power to make sure Linda came home safe and sound.
All through the following day, Anna spent time with her brothers and Henry playing video games and watching TV as well as crushing all three Reagan men in a couple board games. She could see how much her brothers were enjoying the time together and how far their minds were from worrying about their mom. If pressed, she would grudgingly admit she had missed spending time with her brothers and Pops. Shortly after three that Thursday afternoon, Anna texted Jim to let everyone know everything was fine but she had a family emergency and probably wouldn't see him until Monday. Since she knew her father wasn't testifying until Friday afternoon, thanks to a conversation with Henry, Anna figured she wouldn't be allowed back at school on Monday. So with no practice that day, no school on Friday, and his game at the same time on Saturday, she wouldn't see him until Monday at school. When they hung up she called her coach and told him that due to a family emergency she wouldn't be practice that day and he told her that he had gotten the information from the front office. Fortunately he understood and she wouldn't have to sit out for Saturday's game. When Danny didn't show up that night for dinner, Anna realized just how serious the case and these guys were. Her mom had been missing for more than 24 hours and that meant bad things. These guys weren't messing around.
Henry sent them up to bed shortly after nine when Sean started to fall asleep on Anna's shoulder. After Sean and Jack got their PJ's on and had brushed their teeth, they stopped in Anna's room. "Where's Mom?" Sean asked.
"At the spa, buddy. I know you miss her but sometimes she needs a little Mommy time," Anna answered, pulling Sean to sit next to her. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.
"When is she coming home and when can we go home?"
"You don't like spending time with great-grandpa?" Anna asked gently. She knew that her brothers were really down and she had to do her best to pick them back up. It was the worst part of being the oldest.
"We do," Jack said, "we just miss mama."
"I'm sure she'll be here tomorrow. Why don't we call Dad? See if he has a minute to say goodnight?" Anna suggested. Both Jack and Sean lit up like Christmas trees. They nodded excitedly and Anna smiled. She reached over and grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand and dialed her dad's number.
"Reagan," he answered. He sounded exhausted.
"Hi, Dad," Anna said brightly.
"Hey, Anna," Danny sighed. "I haven't found your mama yet."
"But you're going to. The boys want to say goodnight, if you've got a minute," Anna said as Jack sat down on Anna's other side. She kept one arm wrapped around Sean as her other hand held the phone to her ear.
"Of course," Danny said.
"I'm gonna put you on speaker," Anna pulled the phone from her ear and hit the speaker phone button. "Say hi, boys," Anna said.
"Hi, Daddy," Jack and Sean chorused.
"Hey, boys," Danny answered. He sounded much happier than he had when he picked up the phone.
"Dad, are you coming home tonight?" Sean asked.
"Not tonight, kid, maybe tomorrow. This case is a big one," Danny said.
"Mom?" Jack asked.
"Maybe Dad will go check on her tonight. Sort of a couples retreat," Anna answered.
"Sounds like a good idea, if I finish this case," Danny said. "You kids being good?"
"Yes, sir," the three answered.
"Brushed your teeth, in your PJ's?" Danny continued.
"Yes, sir," they answered again.
"Don't forget to say your prayers."
"Will you say them with us?" Sean asked. Danny sighed. "Please?"
"Okay," Danny agreed. Together they said the bedtime prayer. "Goodnight, Sean. Goodnight, Jack. I love you, both."
"Night, Dad. Love you, too," Jack and Sean answered.
"Anna." When Danny stopped, Anna took him off speaker phone and put the phone back to her ear.
"Yeah, Dad?"
"Can your brothers hear me?"
"No."
"I'm trying, Anna. I promise."
"I know. I love you, Dad." Anna said quietly.
"Love you too. Take care of your brothers and listen to your grandfather."
"Of course." Anna pulled the phone from her ear and hit the speakerphone button. "Bye Dad."
"Bye Anna."
"Bye Dad," the boys called.
"Bye kids, sleep tight," Danny answered.
Anna hung up and wrapped her other arm around Jack now. "Alright, boys. You heard Dad, bed time," Anna said. Both boys protested but Anna's unrelenting look quieted them. They reluctantly agreed and went to bed. They both turned towards her and hugged her and Anna held them close for a few moments longer than necessary. She let them go then they went to bed. While Anna had chosen Joe's old room like she usually did when they spent the night, the boys had picked their dad's old room. Anna curled up on the bed hoping that the case would be closed soon and they would have their mom back, no worse for wear.