Danny's pov
(A/N: Excuse the hiatus, everyone, please. Life happened and writers block... plus I got obsessed with Smallville and went down the rabbit hole. Hope you enjoy the first chap in an upcoming arc!)
I was back at work, an unsolvable case, one that most consider cold, but I hold out hope for it still, being the main thought on my mind. Then suddenly, I found my mind thinking of none other than Maria Baez, my partner on the job. I shook my head, trying to shake off the thought. Where did it even come from? What was going on... That happened three more times to me before I heard footsteps approaching from behind, the person seemingly coming towards me, but without identifying him or herself. My hand rested in a subtle manner on the top of my holster, and I only relaxed when I heard a familiar voice from the past
"Hey, Reagan!"
I recognized that voice, and I would have done so anywhere. I smiled, turning to hug the person to whom it belonged to
"Jackie! How have you been? What brings you back around these parts?"
She had left the city due to health issues, and I had not seen her since.
She smiled at me, breaking our embrace
"I've been doing well, and decided to move back to the city. Who's your new partner? Or have you burned through more than one in my absence?"
Her voice then softened and lowered eyes meeting mine
"And how are you and your family? I know today is the anniversary of your twin's kidnapping, Danny... I'm sorry. I came out of retirement after recovering, and I came back to see if we could find any new leads... Your partner can help too."
I smiled at her disposition to help, and the way she still cared, still remembered
"Thanks, Jackie. Maria Baez has been my partner, only one, thank you. And... I'll be ok about what today is. Someday. Not today. Same for the others."
She nodded in understanding and comfort, having known that would be my answer. One of us was about to break the silence, even though it had been a comfortable silence, when Maria came up to us, her hair blowing in the wi- Get it together, Reagan! I could not believe the thoughts I was having. Thankfully, Jackie would be a helpful distraction, and also would allow myself to get a better grip on focusing for the day.
Jackie turned to Maria
"Hi, I'm Detective Jackie Curatola, I used to work with Danny."
My current partner shook her hand and spoke, shooting a teasing smile my way
"And you survived?! I see there's more hope for me than I thought. Detective Maria Baez."
They laughed and I spoke up
"Ha ha. Real funny. Sarge said he didn't have any cases for us at the moment, so I asked if we could work on any cold cases. He said yes."
Both women looked at me and spoke in sync
"THE case? You sure?"
I knew they were just worried because I was too close to it, and because by now, there was statistically no hope, statistically there is no hope after 48 hours of disappearance, let alone over two decades... But I could not give up on on Jessilyn. I just could not concede that she was gone. None of us could, but I had refused to accompany her to play in the sandbox while I was on the swings, I was only four. Witness statements say the kidnapper knocked our babysitter unconscious before taking Jess. Mom, Dad, Pops and Grandma had been traveling... I've always held myself responsible, no matter how many times my relatives have tried to tell me otherwise. I shook my head to stop the tears from spilling over, but felt heat radiating off my cheeks as I saw Baez, her eyes shining more with the sunlight... I needed to get a grip. Desperately. Jackie broke me out of my thoughts
"Do we have a status and address for all the witnesses? Do you think recanvassing would be worth our while? Splitting up to cover more ground quicker?"
Glad to focus on something productive, especially as a light breeze danced around Baez's curls, I replied, checking the details
"Yeah, they're all here, alive and well. I have addresses. I think the first person we should visit is Monica Mills. She was our babysitter, and she was the one who got knocked out so the perp could run off wit Jess. She might've heard or seen something."
Maria nodded
"Great idea. I'll go to the crime lab and ask for them to rerun prints and evidence. Maybe with the new technology something will pop up that hadn't before."
I was sad to see her go, but maybe now I could catch up a bit more with my former partner and not get distracted by my... dare I say feelings for my current partner. I smiled at Maria
"That would be perfect. Thank you."
She smiled
"Of course. Meet up at the 5-4?"
Jackie and I nodded, and Maria left. Jackie and I got in the car, and I drove to Monica's house. She was 16 at the time, so she was only 12 years older than Jackie and I.
I knocked on the door
"NYPD! Monica, it's Danny Reagan, Frank's son!"
I said that so that she would know she was not in trouble or anything, guilty or not, everyone freezes up when the cops knock at their door, it's natural. She came out, opening her door and inviting us in, having remembered me. She gave me a light hug, and smiled sadly
"Investigation still going?"
I shook my head
"Officially, it went cold long ago. But we're still looking, and my boss let me dig up a cold of my choice. There's no other cold case I'd rather solve. This is my partner, Detective Jackie Curatola."
They shook hands, and Monica smiled
"Nice to meet you."
Jackie smiled politely
"You as well. What do you remember the day Jessilyn Reilly Reagan was taken, Miss Miller?"
Monica went pale, tearing up at the memory. So was I. She started to speak
"It was a Friday, October 13th. We were at the park. Just Daniel, Jessilyn and I. Jess wanted to play in the sandbox, and Daniel was on the swings, until she needed to use the bathroom. I told Danny to stay where he was, and took her, only to be hit in the head with a metal pipe and black out. When Danny got me to regain consciousness, Jessie and the kidnapper were long gone."
I cleared my throat
"I never got to see him. Or her. Did you hear the person, see something distinctive? Anything new you can remember?"
She closed her eyes in concentration, then spoke, letting one word out at a time, deep in thought
"It was a man, I could tell first by the grip. His hand was rough against my mouth, and I feared for my life, I was only 16. He had a Sempre Fi tattoo on the side of his right hand, on the side of his pinkie."
I froze, in shock and losing hope in humanity and law enforcement and service. My brother killed by crooked cops, and now my sister kidnapped by a Marine?! I could not believe what I was hearing. But it was the only lead we had. She could not give us anything else, she was almost catatonic at the flashbacks plaguing her mind. She blubbered a barely cohesive "I'm so sorry" to me as we were leaving. I hugged her
"This is not your fault."
I decided it was time to leave right about at the same time that Jackie started discreetly tugging at my sleeve signaling it was time to leave. Once we were outside, I turned to my returning partner and asked, seeing her troubled face
"You ok? What happened back there?"
She shook herself off
"I don't know what came over me back there. The place.. I feel like I've seen it before. Or just some place similar to it. And call me crazy, but I caught that woman staring at me the whole time, nonstop, Danny. I know she's your friend, but she sure knows how to be creepy. And that's saying something if she managed to get me on my toes..."
I placed an arm around Jackie, both of us troubled and confused, and pacified
"Let's go meet up with Baez, see what she found with the lab, eat some snacks. Leftover piecakies from Gramps. A cookie baked into a pie baked into a cake. He finally made this dream a reality."
She seemed to be in better spirits, though still a bit spooked as we went in and began to eat.