So, three years since I first posted this story. Three years and in the last year I've only posted, including this chapter, 10 chapters. Wow, I need to write more for this story.

Anyway Pharmergirl, ancilla89, karena546, Christopher Joseph Connor, decadenceofmysoul, YaleAceBella12, Daisyangel, and Mercy156 thanks for all the reviews and thanks to most of you for telling me what you liked most about the last chapter and to Pharmergirl for what you liked the least. Also ancilla89, yes there is a tag to 4x13 for this chapter, unfortunately it barely focuses on the episode.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter

Scenes from and references to 4x13.

Over the next week, Anna could feel the tension brewing in her house. She wasn't sure if it had something to do with her dad's case, which she knew had to do with the military somehow, or if Jack's family history project had brought up bad memories. When Jack came home from his talk with Henry who was helping with the project, Anna asked what he had learned. He handed over his notebook and she looked through it. When she spotted something in the notes, she put it down and raced upstairs, coming back with another notebook in her hands. "What's that?" Jack asked.

"I had to do a family tree in the seventh grade tracing our family back as far as I could along with their occupations and when they moved countries. Something Pops told you isn't adding up." Anna ran her finger along the history she found out then back through Jack's notes. "Here," Anna tapped the page, "Great-Great Grandpa Reagan came to the U.S. in 1920 not 1910."

"But that's what Pops said. Shouldn't he know?"

"He should. I bet he also told you that he fought in World War 1, in the Royal Air Force and eventually took a job as a cop because people didn't want to hire the Irish in regular jobs and nobody wanted to be a cop back then."

"Yeah," Jack shrugged.

"I'm not saying that Pops is completely wrong, I'm just saying the date is wrong. The Royal Air Force, UK's version of the Air Force, was formed in April of 1918 almost exactly seven months before the end of World War 1. It came from the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy Air Service. If he fought for the Royal Air Force, it's possible he fought in World War 1 but not exactly possible that he was in the US as a cop in 1910 unless they recalled him back to Ireland for the war, which I don't think they did," Anna explained.

Jack thought it over. "That makes sense. Can I borrow that?" Jack asked, motioning to Anna's notebook.

"Sure, just don't copy word for word, Mom will know." Jack nodded and went about correcting his notes. "You excited about the camp trip?" Anna asked.

"I'll be more excited when this project is done. Will you be there?" Jack said.

"Sure. The trip will give you some time alone with Uncle Jamie and Dad though."

"Maybe, but I think you need that more."

"Uncle Jamie and I spend enough time bonding."

"But not you and Dad."

"What teenage girl wants to spend time bonding with her dad?"

"Daddy's little girl. You and Mom may talk a lot more than you and Dad do, but you will always be his little girl."

"If you say so, Jack."

It was a couple days later before the project was finished and when he presented it to his class, the entire family turned out to see it. Though there was nothing new being said, at least nothing Anna didn't know, she could see the effect it had on her dad. He stood stoically through the entire report, even the last paragraph about Jack seeing him go to work and make a difference every day and how Jack wanted to be just like him, but Anna could tell that made Danny proud. It was the subtle shift in the look in his eyes and the briefest twitch of his lips up into what could have been called a lightning struck smile, that gave him away. She too was proud of her brother and knew he was really growing up by what he had picked up on his own.

Jack stopped in the doorway of Anna's bedroom nearly a week later before he and Danny were set to leave for the camping trip. "You'd tell me if you didn't want me to go, wouldn't you?" he asked nervously.

"Of course I would. This is about you growing up, getting advice, and becoming a man. As jealous as I am that you get to spend three whole days with the men of this family, I know you need it to continue your growth into a kind, compassionate man. The kind of Reagan I know you can be."

"Working on an English essay with that kind of language?" Jack teased.

"History actually." Anna smirked. "Doesn't mean I don't still believe every word."

"Try not to annoy Sean too much while I'm gone, that's my job."

"Somebody's got to do it while you're not here." Both Jack and Anna grinned.

Seeing the bright red B plus at the top of her history research paper at the end of the week put Anna in a great mood but it was partially drowned out by the C minus she received on her latest English project. Then two things happened at the end of the day, the first seemed inconsequential at the moment while the second cheered her up a bit more. As she was walking toward her second to last class, she was stopped by her friend, Sarah, in the hallway.

"Anna, hey," she said. Anna stopped and smiled. "You have Mr. Ray for English right?"

"Since he's subbing for Mrs. Maryland who is out on maternity leave," Anna agreed.

"Will you sign our petition?"

"What's it for?"

"To get Mr. Ray fired."

"I know he's a terrible teacher and he's not really prepping us for college but it's not the Catholic thing to do."

"It's not that. Sure, it's a factor but it's more about him harassing girls and intentionally dropping grades."

"That's true?" Anna asked. "You're certain?"

Sarah nodded. "Heard it from Tara who said it happened to her."

"Got a pen?" Anna asked. Sarah handed one over and Anna quickly scrawled her name on the petition.

"Thanks, Anna."

"Sure, let me know how it goes." One full class period later, on her way to her last class, Anna was stopped by Todd.

"Hey, everything alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, just fine. Did you need something?" she asked.

"I just wanted you to have this." He handed over a red rose.

"Uh ... Thanks, Todd." Anna took it and admired it for its simplify. Todd didn't say anything more and Anna continued to class.

Over the next few weeks, Anna didn't hear anything more about the petition and Mr. Ray continued on being their English sub, so Anna figured the petition had failed and that without proof, the school had decided not to fire the man. Almost two weeks after Todd had given her the rose, he approached her again.

"Listen, Anna, I know what you said last time, but hear me out," Todd said.

"Well, I do like a well-thought out argument, so please continue," Anna answered.

"Last time you said you wouldn't go out with me because it was the middle of baseball season and it would throw off the team dynamics. The season doesn't start for weeks and by the time it does, everyone will be used to us dating so it's really no big deal. So, what do you say? You and me, Friday night? I know this great, little burger joint that would be perfect."

With everything going on in Anna's life at the moment, his reasoning made sense and she could find no energy to say no, plus it was just one date, it's not like something bad could happen. On top of all that, she hadn't been on a proper date since prom which had been almost a year prior, so she said yes.

Later that night, Anna told her mom about the date offer then brought up the other thing she had learned. "So, Mama, I did some research and it turns out the University of Wisconsin doesn't take their spring break until April. I was hoping that the last weekend of February we could go for a visit. Now, I know what you're going to say but it's just a couple of days. Dad and the boys can get along just fine until we come back."

"Let me talk to your dad, we'll see what we can do."

"That means no. Come on, you're the one that said I need to visit colleges to see if I want to go there. I just got a bonus at work. That's got to pay for part of it, right?"

"Anna, drop it. I will talk to your dad."

"Fine, but know it's coming up fast so if it's a yes, I have to tell my boss to get the time off."

"I promise, you'll know before then."

"Thanks, Mom."

One ordinary Friday night after putting to bed a seemingly tricky bank robbery, Danny found himself on his couch, cuddled up with his wife, when he and Linda both heard a disturbance in the front yard. It sounded like arguing and like it was moving closer to their front door. Linda muted the TV that was playing one of her favorite reality competitions and their front screen door opened.

"I don't care what you have to say, Jim," they could hear Anna's voice come through the closed wooden door, "well, that's not true. I do care what you have to say, just not on this."

"But Anna—" Jim answered. The wooden door swung open revealing the squabbling couple to her parents. Both parents shot the other a look wondering where Jim had come from and why they were arguing. The last they had known, Anna was on a date with Todd and Jim was rarely ever angry about anything.

"No, Jim. I appreciate the ride but stay out of my love life," Anna snapped. She stared at him as he stood in the doorway and his shoulders slumped.

"He made you cry," Jim begged.

"That doesn't give you the right to tell me who to date." Anna moved across the room and hung her jacket up in the closet. She shut door and looked back at her so-called best friend. He sighed.

"Anna, I have not met a person alive besides your father who can make you cry with just a couple of words. Don't you dare defend that boy. I told you last year he was a bad idea. Me graduating didn't change that. Todd Michaels will always be a bad idea because he is a controlling jerk who will not hesitate to lay a hand on you because he can. You've never been an airheaded blonde, but fancying yourself in love with that boy is the dumbest idea you've had to date to include threatening a guy who pulled a knife on you. Todd is dangerous. Stay away from him." Jim shifted his weight from one foot to the other then stuffed his hands in his pockets. Neither Danny nor Linda liked how defeated the boy looked or how angry their daughter looked.

"Now you sound like my father." Anna rolled her eyes. "You don't see anyone else lining up to date me, do you? No. And even if that shouldn't matter, I know this isn't serious and I wanted something fun. None of the above however gives you the right to butt in where you shouldn't. I'm going to bed, Jim." Anna sighed heavily. "Just stay out of my life." Anna turned on her heel and stormed up the stairs. It wasn't long before her bedroom door slammed and Jim sighed slumping against the doorframe his eyes still trained on the stairs.

Danny and Linda stared at the heartbroken boy wondering what had happened to push him to the edge. "Jim, sweetie, have a seat. Tell us what's going on," Linda prompted.

Jim dropped gently into an armchair across from the couch and sighed. Linda shut off the TV and they both watched him. "Do you know how many dates she's been on with ... him?" Jim asked.

"Todd? This is the third in a week," Linda answered.

"And what do you know about their relationship?"

"What hasn't she told us?" Danny asked.

Linda ignored her husband's question. "She seems happy around him. Always picks her up and drops her off on time. Never missed a curfew," Linda answered.

"The first time he took her out to burgers and she loves burgers so it impressed her. The other two times, this time and last time, it's been for seafood. We all know how she feels about seafood. Luckily both places served shrimp so it wasn't too bad but just the fact that he didn't put much thought into her not liking seafood stung a little. Then there's when other guys are around. I've heard that he gives her the dirtiest looks when she talking to any guy but him, even the boys on the baseball team. God help her if she laughs at a joke he didn't tell," Jim explained to the Reagans.

"Has he hurt her?" Danny demanded.

"Danny," Linda said touching his arm.

"No physically. Not as far as I can tell or hear. I think he's grabbed her a couple times but nothing shows and he backs off if someone looks at him."

"But when he gets angry?" Linda asked.

"When she turned him down for prom last year he spread it around that she was his and she just needed more convincing. Stopped a few guys from asking her with threats to their reputation. She called tonight ..." Jim stopped and shook his head. "I was playing cards with my brother and his friends when I got her phone call. Even my brother was concerned when he heard her crying."

"Did he hurt her?" Linda asked.

"According to her, he made a comment that made my brother want to hit him and my brother can get pretty crass. Essentially it was that he could have any girl he wanted in that way and she couldn't do anything about it because all their friends would believe him that she was just a jealousy harpy," Jim said softly. "Played it off like he was this big stud and she was lucky to have him."

"She'll never see him again. I'll make sure of that," Danny said.

"You ban her from seeing him, she'll just do it behind your back. It's what I did especially when Jimmy told me not to. The forbidden fruit was always sweeter because it was forbidden," Linda pacified.

"You said she was crying?" Danny asked Jim.

"She wouldn't admit it and her eyes were dry when I picked her up but she did admit that she called me from the bathroom and her make-up was smudged plus her eyes were real red when I did pick her up. He's not dumb enough to physically hurt her. The minute he saw me tonight, he booked it," Jim explained.

"Not dumb enough?" Linda asked.

"I'm not threatening, especially not in front of an NYPD detective but he knows I care and I won't let anything happen to her. He'll make her feel like crap but I think I'm enough of a deterrent to keep him from hurting her," Jim said.

"Thank you for telling us this, Jim," Linda said.

"Of course. She's my best friend and the last thing I want to see is her getting hurt because of something I could have prevented by speaking up," Jim said. Linda nodded and Jim stood. He said goodnight to both of them before heading out the front door. He didn't like how he left things with Anna but knew that if he pushed any harder she'd totally shut him out and he couldn't risk that. It was better just to give her space and let her calm down then see where she stood in a couple of days. On his way home, he called Derrek and asked a favor from him that the other boy was just as willing to provide then he called Jamie. He had gotten the number from Anna a few months earlier just in case something had happened again.

"Reagan," Jamie answered when he picked up the phone.

"Jamie? This is Jim, Jim Miller? We met at Anna's birthday party in September," Jim said.

"Of course, her best friend. Is everything alright?" Jamie asked.

"Yes. Well, not exactly. Anna's got this new boyfriend Todd. He's not all that great. Hearing that from your parents though, most kids see it as a challenge. I don't want that for Anna. Hearing it from me, makes me seem jealous."

"So you think hearing it from me...?" Jamie trailed off.

"Hearing it from you, an uncle she's close to, her favorite uncle, would actually get through; that he really isn't that great of a person."

"So tell me why you think that."

Jim spilled everything and Jamie promised to talk it over with Anna. Which is what he did on Sunday. "What's up, Uncle Jamie?" Anna asked.

"How was the date?" he asked. They were watching TV in the sun room.

"It was fine," Anna shrugged.

Jamie held quiet until a commercial came on then muted the TV and turned Anna to face him. "No matter what happens with you, no matter how embarrassing it might be or how angry it might make me, I will always support you and we can always talk. I'm never going to ban you from something or make fun of you for it. I'm just here to give advice based on everything I've seen or done."

"A bunch of my friends have been pushing me to drink at parties. I keep telling them no and that I don't want to but they push anyway. 'It's just one shot', 'a beer isn't going to hurt you,' and 'what's one drink in the scheme of things'. So I give in. I mean they're right, aren't they?"

"First off, when you're underage alcohol just makes you feel invincible, pair that with teens' already low sense of judgement and it's a recipe for disaster. You understand why it's wrong and your no should be enough. If it's not, you should find better friends because if they won't take no for an answer when it comes to drinking, what else won't they take no as an answer for?" Jamie asked. Anna stared up at her uncle and he smiled. "That hypothetical aside, tell me what's really going on."

"I don't know what you mean," Anna answered. She turned back to the TV and unmuted it. Jamie waited. Anna was probably the bravest of his nieces and nephews but he also knew she was the most considerate and found it the hardest to burden other people with her problems. "How do you know if someone's wrong for you?" she asked almost too softly to be heard.

Luckily, Jamie did hear her. "They don't care about what you think. They act like you're not all that important. Does he offer to pay for dinner when he invites you? Does he get offended when you ask him to? When you look at him, do you think, I'm happy with him and it can't get any better?" Jamie answered.

"And if I don't think that? Or if I think that it's as good as it gets because no one wants to give me or I don't deserve better?"

"Of course you deserve better and someone will give you better, you just have to be patient. Don't ever settle. If he's not in it 100 percent and he makes you feel like crap then get out. At the very least you'll treat yourself better."

"You would never forbid me from seeing someone, would you?"

"Of course not, I already told you that," Jamie answered. "Try to convince you otherwise, maybe. And if I thought he was hurting you, we'd have a sit down of course." Jamie observed her carefully. "Anna, your dad had something right: guys can be grade A jerks. I know that I've been busy, but you can talk to me. Just me and nothing further."

"Even if you think my dad should know?"

Jamie swallowed hard but eventually nodded. "I won't tell him unless I think you are in danger, I promise."

Anna smiled softly. "You know that guy I've been dating, Todd? Jim tried to tell me I can't see him anymore."

"Did Jim tell you why?"

"Yeah. Todd's not a grade A jerk or anything, but maybe he's not the greatest."

"Do you like him?"

"I ..." Anna trailed off and looked down at her hands. "I think so."

"Then why aren't you gushing about him? Don't take this the wrong way but with Kyle you were really defensive when people tried to talk you off him but with Todd, it's like he's just a friend. You don't seem to mind people talking about him."

"I don't know." Anna stared hard at the TV.

"I think you do," Jamie said, but he didn't push her to talk. She would when she was ready.

"What I do know is I don't like Jim telling me who I can and can't go out with," Anna growled.

"He cares and doesn't want his best friend hurt."

"Maybe."

"You think it's something else?'

"I don't know," Anna admitted. "Do you believe in the saying 'no man is worth your tears'?"

Jamie took her hand and sighed. "Eisenhower. He may have had it wrong. You may think he's worth them at the time but when you gain distance from it you'll realize that you shouldn't have cried about it."

"Well, that does make some sense," Anna agreed.

"But it doesn't make you feel better," Jamie said.

"Only time will tell," Anna answered.