Thanks to ki4pak, decadenceofmysoul, jlmayer, monkeybaby, ItsJustBecca for reviewing the last chapter. I hate to complain but maybe next time if you have a few extra seconds when reviewing could you tell me what you loved so much about it or why it was a great update? The simple fact that you love it or it was a great update makes me feel good but it leaves me a little confused as to why it was so good.
Anyway thanks to the rest of you for reading and favoriting and following it. Now on to Season 3.
Contains references to and scenes from episode 3x1.
Over the next few weeks, Anna continued to go out on double dates with Kyle and Jamie dropped by about once a week to help her fix her car. "Tell me what's been going on for the past couple of weeks," Jamie said one afternoon.
"Do you remember Nicky mentioning that guy Kyle asked me out?" Anna asked.
Jamie looked up from the engine. "Yeah?"
"I've been out with him a few times over the past couple of weeks. I think I'm starting to fall for him."
"That a good thing?"
"I don't know." Anna shrugged. "He's sweet and cute and seems to be into me."
"But ..."
"I'm not sure I can trust him."
"He done anything to make you suspicious of him?"
"Not really and Jim says he's a good guy but I guess, like Dad, I'm suspicious of everyone."
"Hey, don't worry too much. Trust is earned over time. Take it slow, see where it goes. He may surprise you."
"Am I really getting advice from my uncle about my love life?"
"I may be your uncle but I was still a teenager when you were born. I've always thought that we were closer than just uncle and niece."
Anna stared at her uncle in shock. "Of course I love you, Uncle Jamie."
"You just don't want my advice?"
"I don't know if it's weird or not."
'Does it matter what anyone else thinks?" He stood up from bending over the engine.
"Of course not."
"And I've been there, right?"
"Yeah," Anna grudgingly agreed.
"Then what does it matter if I'm your uncle? Shouldn't it just matter that I know what I'm talking about?" Jamie asked plainly.
"Yeah," Anna sighed.
"If I ever make you uncomfortable, you can tell me to stop." Anna nodded and Jamie got back to work on the engine. "Start her up," Jamie said eventually. "Let's hear her run."
"Him," Anna corrected but got behind the wheel and fired the car up. Jamie watched the engine for a moment as he listened to it run. Then he shut the hood. "We good?" Anna asked.
"Let's take him for a drive, then I'll be comfortable telling you for certain either way," Jamie said, sliding into the passenger seat. Anna raced inside and got her bag, told her mom where she was going then joined her uncle in the car. They drove around Staten Island for a while. Jamie didn't find anything that concerned him so they drove back to the house. "Well, Anna, looks like we're done here. Can't do any body work to it. That's out of my league."
"Can you recommend a body shop?"
"Not in Staten Island. Sorry, kid."
"That's okay, I'll figure it out."
"I'm real sorry," Jamie insisted.
"It's fine, Uncle Jamie. No big deal. I'll find something. Maybe one of my friends knows," Anna told him. When she smiled, he didn't feel so bad.
At school a few days later, Anna was talking to Jim and Derrek and a few of their other friends when the subject of cars came up. They talked about Jim's truck, Todd's Jeep, and Josh's brand new Hyundai before they all looked at her. "You have a car, don't you?" Todd asked.
"It's a Camaro, right?" Derrek asked. "I think I saw it in your drive the other day."
"'95 cherry red Camaro. My mom won't let me drive it to school unless I have to work late. Needs some body work though. Just finished with the engine," Anna answered.
"Where you taking it?" Josh asked.
"Not sure yet. You got a place?" Anna asked.
"You know who you should ask?" Todd said. "Kyle. He's got a cousin or friend or a friend of a friend who owns a body shop. Maybe he could get you a good deal."
"You think?"
"Maybe, but we have to get to class. Headmistress at six o'clock," Derrek said.
Jim shut his locker door and they all headed off. She noticed he hadn't said much other than about his car.
"Anna, are you coming to my soccer game this weekend?" Jack asked after school.
"This weekend?"
"Friday after school? Please Anna?"
"I ..." Anna pulled out her phone and pulled up her work schedule. "I have to work that day until at least eight but I may be able to work in a break to see at least part of your game."
"Promise?" Jack asked.
"I will do my best to make it to part of your game, just not all. And that's a promise."
"Okay."
So after a long afternoon of coffee, soda, a broken dishwasher and lots of orders, Anna drove to the soccer field and plopped down next to Sean on the bench just in time to watch the last 15 minutes of the game. "You made it," Linda said.
"Yeah, lunch break and a broken dishwasher. So between running orders each of us had to hand wash a load of dishes. Hence why I'm all wet. Is my gym bag in the back of the Jeep?" Anna asked.
"I think so." Their attention turned back to the game and in the last few seconds all the Reagans were on their feet when Jack charged down the field with the ball. They cheered with the rest of the crowd as Jack scored the winning goal then he rushed over to his dad. Danny congratulated his son but seemed distracted by something. There was talk of ice cream as they headed to their cars.
"Anna, you in for ice cream?" Erin asked.
"Can't, gotta get back to work," Anna answered. "Mom, keys?"
"Dad has them," Linda told her over the sound of a car backfiring.
Anna rolled her eyes then peaked in the back window of the Jeep to see her black gym bag on the floor right behind the back seat. "Dad!" Anna called, turning to her father. "Dad!" Danny didn't answer and was staring after a car pulling off down the street.
"Danny!" Linda called. Danny finally looked back at his family. "Unlock the Jeep."
When it was, Anna popped the hatch and grabbed her bag leaving the hatch open for Jack who had his soccer stuff and Linda who had a cooler and a camp chair. Then she turned to her brother. "Great game Jack. I'd hug you but I'm dirty so ... high five?" Jack held up a hand and she high fived him. "Want to hear all about it when I get home, okay?" Jack nodded. Anna ruffled Sean's hair then called goodbye to the rest of the family.
"Be careful," Frank answered.
"Always." Anna climbed into her car, tossed the bag in the back, and went back to work.
"How'd the game go?" Lou asked as Anna got back to work washing dishes.
"Got to see him kick the game-winning goal so thank you very much for that."
"I'll send him pie."
"He'll be in bed by the time I get home."
"He can still have it tomorrow, right?"
"What happened to your rule, nobody gets free pie?" Anna asked.
"I'm the owner, I can give away all the pie I like but only I can."
"If you say so," Anna answered. She smiled and tried not to let him see her roll her eyes.
"Get back to work," he said sarcastically. As Anna drove home that night she continued to debate whether or not to ask Kyle about the body shop. On one hand it would get her car all done up and looking new as well as putting an end to worrying about something falling apart. However she wasn't sure where their relationship stood and didn't want to damage it if they weren't anything more than casually dating. She got home and put the pie for Jack on the counter with a note then dumped her dirty work clothes on the pile in the laundry room. As she walked out, she heard her parents talking in the living room. She hadn't even noticed them when she had gone to the kitchen with the pie. She rounded the corner from the laundry room into the living room and noticed they were sitting on the couch, kissing.
"Oh come on, gag me," Anna whined. "Couldn't you just wait until I was upstairs?"
Danny and Linda looked at their daughter. "How was work?" Linda asked.
"Busy," Anna answered. "I've got homework so I'll let you get back to kissing or grilling Dad about why he was distracted at the end of the game. Night."
"Straight to bed kiddo," Danny said.
"Night," Linda added.
Anna went upstairs to Jack and Sean's room. She saw Sean was asleep so she crept over to Jack's bed. "Hey, Bubba," Anna whispered as not to wake Sean. She sat on the edge of his bed.
"Hi," Jack answered.
"My boss wanted to congratulate you on the win so he sent me home with some of our famous apple pie. It's weird. We're an Italian Diner but we're famous for our apple pie."
"Thank you."
"Sorry I couldn't be there for the whole game."
"I understand. It's okay. You were busy." Jack looked at his hands for a moment. "Do you think everything is okay with Mom and Dad?"
Anna swallowed. She knew her mom and dad were concerned about money and that meant her mom was upset he was working so much but her little brother didn't need to worry about any of that. The best move here was to reassure her brother and help him get to sleep. "I know it is. Dad may be distracted by something but he loves Mom. They were kissing before I came up here. Don't worry, family always comes first. Dad knows that. Why do you ask?"
"I don't know, Dad just seems distant."
"Prolly his case. I'm sure it's something he can't shake. When he solves it, he'll be the same Dad we know and love." Jack nodded. "Good, now get some sleep. It's been a long day." She leaned forward and kissed the top of his head and he hugged her. Anna did part of her homework in her room before shutting off her light and trying to get some sleep.
When they woke up the next morning, Danny had already headed off for work and their mom seemed distracted. "Mom, are you okay?" Jack asked.
"Hmmm?" Linda asked.
"He asked if you're okay," Anna said.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about your dad's case. It's a tough one today."
"He's tough he can handle it," Sean said.
"From the mouth of babes," Anna smiled.
"Yeah. Listen, there are going to be a few changes around here," Linda said.
"Changes? What kinda changes?" Jack asked nervously.
"Your father and I have talked and we've decided that I'm going to be picking up a few shifts now and then at St. Victor's hospital. I start in a few days and that means, Anna, you're going to need to babysit for your brothers on occasion and sometimes I won't be able to make it to you boys' practices. Either Dad or I will always try to be here for bed time though."
"What if I have to work?" Anna asked.
"Then we'll call Nicky or Pops or try to get another sitter."
"Jack's almost 13, can't we stay home alone? You let us stay with Anna when she was 13," Sean mentioned.
"When Anna was 13 she didn't flush Army men down my toilet to see if they'd fit. She could also keep her room clean for more than a day. I don't want to think what would happen if I left the two of you home alone."
"Alright," Sean sighed. Neither he nor Jack seemed happy about though.
After breakfast, the kids finished their homework and Linda got a phone call. "Mama? What's wrong?" Anna asked, seeing the look on her mom's face when she hung up.
"That was Dad. His partner has been taken hostage," Linda explained.
"By who? What do they want?"
"They want your dad."
Anna observed her mom as the woman refused to look at her daughter. "And he's going to do exactly what they say to get her back, even if it means walking into a trap." Linda glanced at Anna wondering how she came up with that. "Can we see him before he does?"
She looked at her. "I don't think so. They'll probably be gearing up and we don't want to be in the way."
"But you're going to see him," Anna protested. Linda nodded. "Well, he's an amazing dad and we know that he's going to do his best to come home to us. He always does," Anna said more to her brothers than her mom.
"That's right," Sean agreed.
"Give Dad this." Jack pulled the rabbit's foot from his pocket. "He needs it more than I do now."
"He'll bring it back, I promise," Linda told him. She looked at Anna. "Look after your brothers." She grabbed her bag and keys and was out the door.
"Anna," Sean said.
"Dad's going to be fine." Anna tried to smile convincingly but she wasn't sure how much she believed it so she wasn't sure how convincing it was. Anyone stupid enough to take a cop hostage was dangerous and probably didn't have a plan to get what they wanted. They also probably didn't have an exit strategy, no way to get out of it. The last thing Anna wanted though was to worry her brothers so she shook off her thoughts and put a much more convincing smile on her face and suggested they watch their favorite move. Jack popped it in the player and they all sat down to watch it. Soon their mom was home. "Everything okay?" Anna questioned.
"Not sure yet," Linda answered.
"Would you tell us if it wasn't?"
"Of course I would."
"And now it's don't worry, right? We're not, Dad can handle it."
Just as the movie ended, Linda looked at her phone then left the room. Anna waited for about 20 minutes for her mom to come back in the room but she didn't. Anna suggested the boys play a video game and stood. Jack sighed. "Play a loud, violent game so we don't hear what you and Mom say about what's going on with Dad."
"That's my brother." Anna grinned. She walked into the kitchen and looked at her mom as she leaned against the counter next to the fridge. "Mom, what's going on?"
Linda studied her daughter carefully then looked towards the living room to see a game on the TV. "Anna, do you remember a man named Benjamin Walker?" Linda asked.
Anna's brow furrowed as she tried to gauge why this man was important. She looked worried and that usually meant he wasn't a good man. The more she observed Linda, the more Anna realized just how not good he was. Then she remembered something. "Didn't Dad put him away a while ago? The guy that liked to blow up ... bank vaults right? I think I was Sean's age right?"
"Eight years ago."
"Okay." Anna blinked. It hit her. "He's the one that took Detective Curatola to get Dad. Dad being Dad did exactly that. He traded himself for his partner." Anna swallowed, nodding as she worked it through in her head. "Okay, Dad's smart. One of the best detectives. You said they were gearing up for something, most likely to get her back. So he had snipers and ESU. They should have been able to track this man down and take him out but the look on your face tells me that's not what happened." Linda bit her lip and ran a hand through her hair. "So he traded himself for Jackie, but the ESU team didn't take Walker out so he must have had some kind of leverage to make them stand down. Either a gun on Jackie, but with NYPD trained snipers that wouldn't be that much of a threat, so I'm thinking he had a bomb, he was a demolitions expert. ESU stands down, Dad would have no choice but to do what Walker said most likely go with him and if he did have a bomb he could make sure they weren't followed. Dad would still have his phone and they could track him that way and everything will work out. Don't worry, Mom, he's going to be okay."
"Yeah." Linda's smile didn't reach her eyes though.
"What aren't you telling me? Does he not have his phone?" Anna pulled out hers and Linda put a hand over it.
"He isn't answering, sweetie."
"But you were just on the phone with someone."
"Your aunt Erin. She'll work it out."
"What? Please tell me."
"Don't tell the boys. Your dad texted me a taxi medallion number."
"Last thing I want to do is scare them. Why would he ... unless ... Walker could have made him dump his phone and if he was driving a taxi ... without Dad's GPS enabled phone the only way to track Dad would be through the taxi. Nearly all taxis these days have GPS so the company doesn't get stiffed or the cab can be recovered if stolen or the driver goes rogue. However that doesn't solve the problem completely if Walker switches cars or disables the GPS."
"I'm sure Dad's fine. He's just getting checked over by the EMT's and he'll call when he has a chance," Linda assured her.
"Yeah, okay." Anna tried not to roll her eyes. "I'll go watch Sean kick Jack's butt and you'll get back to me when you have a better idea of where Dad is."
"Just like her dad," Linda muttered as Anna left the kitchen. It was about two hours and several video games later before their mom came back into the living room. "Hey, I got a call from Dad," Linda said. All three kids looked up.
"Is his partner okay?" Jack asked.
"Jackie is fine, so is Dad, and he'll be home in time for dinner."
"And the guy who took Jackie?" Anna asked.
"There was no other choice," Linda said softly.
So by dinner time all three kids were waiting patiently on the couch for their dad to come through the door. When he did, the only difference was his suit was all dirty. Anna was instantly up on her feet and rushed over to hug him. Danny was surprised but accepted the hug none-the-less. After a few moments, he looked at his boys who were still on the couch. He wondered why they didn't seem quite as excited to see him. Then it hit him that maybe she knew more than they did. It really wouldn't surprise him. "What? Aren't you two happy to see me?" Danny asked as Anna pulled back.
"Of course we are." Jack and Sean got up and hugged him too. Danny held them close then pulled Anna back to him wrapping his arms around his three babies. He took a deep breath and his eyes slid shut, all the tension leaving his body. He let the breath out and let his children go. "Boys, go wash up for dinner. Anna, I want to talk to you for a moment."
Jack and Sean made their way upstairs as Danny lead Anna into the kitchen where Linda was. "What's up, Dad?" Anna asked.
"Tell me what you think happened," Danny said.
Anna shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"About today. You either know something or think you do. You only hug me like that when you're scared or relieved so spill it," Danny ordered. Anna swallowed, sighed, and told him the conversation she had with her mother. "You came up with all of that from a taxi medallion number, the name Benjamin Walker, and the fact that he had taken Jackie hostage?"
"I guess I watch too many cop shows and action movies." Anna shrugged.
Danny dismissed her and she went to wash up. Once he was sure they were alone, Danny turned to his wife unsure of how Anna came up with all that. Even with watching crime shows and action movies, there shouldn't have been a way for her to figure it out. "Danny, what aren't you telling me?" Linda asked, seeing the worried look on his face.
"Anna ... she got all that and she's only 16. I'm just glad she didn't figure out that he made me drop my gun too."
"You went with him unarmed?" Linda's eyes grew wide.
"He's a demolitions expert and had a bomb."
"You're home now, you're okay, and you're here for our kids. That's all that matters," Linda told him. Danny nodded, kissed her, and went to wash up.