"Boys! Get upstairs and finish your homework. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes," Linda said as she made her way into the livingroom to answer the knock at the front door. Just as Jack and Sean hit the top stair, she opened the door to find an elderly woman with a very shy five-year-old child peeking out from behind her. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. Mrs. Reagan, I presume?"

"Yes?"
"Hello. I'm Helen Burkada from Child and Family Services. Is your husband home?"

"No. He hasn't made it home from work yet. Can I help you?"
"We have a bit of a situation here that we need to discuss with Detective Reagan. Do you expect him soon?"
"Yeah. Any minute actually. Why don't you come in?" Linda smiled warmly as Helen walked in with the child clinging to her coat, her brown hair spilling out from beneath the knit cap atop her head. "Hi there."

"Hi," the little girl whispered.

"Can I offer the two of you a drink? I was just finishing up supper."

"No. We're ok."

About that time, Danny walked through the door, much to Linda's relief. The awkward silence was killing her. "Hey Babe, who's…"

"Detective Reagan?" Helen asked as she stood to shake his hand.

"Yeah."

"Hi. I'm Helen Burkada from the Department of Child and Family Services out of Washington DC. I need to speak with you."

"Ok. Who's this?" Danny asked.

"The reason for the visit. Detective Reagan, meet Millicent Reagan Curatola. Millie for short."

"Curatola? As in Jackie?"

"Yes," Helen smiled. "Detective Curatola seems to have gone missing while working undercover in Washington DC. You were listed as immediate contact and upon further examination of her apartment, we found papers naming you legal guardian should something ever happen."

"What about her family?"
"Her mother isn't in good health and we don't have any other leads on any other family at this time."

Linda could tell Millie was terrified. She was holding tightly to a stuffed mouse and had yet to look anywhere other than her shoes. "Hey Millie," she smiled as she bent down in front of her, "I'm Linda. These guys are going to talk for a while and I sure could use a hand with dinner. Do you think you could you come and help me?" Millie's big brown eyes looked up and into the kind face of Linda. She slowly nodded as she took Linda's hand and the two made their way into the kitchen.

Danny slowly got up and paced around the room, his hand on his forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm having a little trouble processing all of this. Can you start over?"
Helen rehashed everything she had just said. How in the world could Jackie unintentionally spring a five-year-old on him? He didn't even know that she'd had a baby. And where was she? Even though they hadn't been partners for years, he was still greatly concerned about his old friend. "Look, Detective, here's the thing. Millie's been in CPS custody for two weeks now and we haven't heard a single word on the whereabouts of Detective Curatola. It's in my valued opinion, that she probably isn't coming back. Now we can take Millie if you want to sign over your rights, but she will become a ward of the state and will go into the system."

"What? No. Absolutely not. If Jack left her to me, then that's exactly where she will find her… when she comes home."

"I was hoping you would say that," Helen smiled as she stood to leave. "Millie's stuff is in my car. I'll be right back." Danny walked out to the car and collected the two suitcases out of the trunk. They returned to the kitchen to find Linda and Millie icing a chocolate cake. Linda could tell Danny had a slight look of panic on his face, but she just smiled with a calm reassurance that everything would be fine, no matter what had just transpired. "Millie, I'm going to leave you with the Reagans now. You be a good girl." Helen gave her a quick hug as a huge tear ran down the child's cheek. "You'll be fine. They are good people. I've already checked them out." And with that, Helen was gone and the Reagan household added one more member.

Danny slowly made his way over to where the tiny child stood, with a plastic spatula covered in chocolate icing in her hand, now tears streaming down both cheeks.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm a friend of your mom's. We used to work together."

"Where… is… she…?" Millie hiccupped through her tears.

Danny looked at Linda. He was at a loss. In less than thirty minutes he'd found out that his friend and old partner had had a child, gotten kidnapped, left the kid to him, and was now expected to raise her. Linda made her way over and took the spatula from Millie, tossed it in the sink, and picked up the small child. "There there, it's ok. I know all this is scary, but it's going to be ok. Mrs. Burkada said your middle name is Reagan, right?" Millie nodded. "You know why your mommy named you that? Because Danny used to work with her and our last name is Reagan. It's kind of like he's your uncle." Millie laid her head on Linda's shoulder as Danny walked over and joined them.

"Look, kid. I don't know where your mom is, but I can promise you, I'm going to do whatever I can to find her. Until we do, you think you could hang out here with us? We've got two boys that I'm sure would love to have a little sister." Millie slowly nodded.

"Speaking of boys," Linda said as Jack and Sean walked into the kitchen, utterly confused.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"Join me in the livingroom," Danny said, pushing them through the doorway to the kitchen. He wanted to be able to temper their reactions without Millie present. Surprisingly, they were both ok with the new arrangement as long as they both got to keep their own rooms.

"Millie, I want you to meet our two boys. This is Jack Reagan," Danny said, pushing Jack in front of him.

"Hi," Jack smiled.

"And this is Sean Reagan."

"Hey."

"Ok. Well, let's eat."

And just like that, introductions were over and the Reagan family was complete. After dinner, Danny and Linda took Millie on a tour of the house and deemed the guest room her new official living quarters. "It will definitely need some work," Linda smiled. "This looks like a room fit for a grandma… not a five-year-old." Millie smiled. "Do you think you could help me decorate it?" She nodded as she yawned.

"I think someone is getting tired." Danny looked at his watch. "No wonder. It's 8 o'clock. Time to start getting you ready for bed." He looked to Linda. "You take her, I'll take the boys."

"Ok." Linda turned to Millie. "Do you prefer to take a bath or a shower?"

"Bath."

"Good choice."

Linda helped Millie wash her hair and got her out of the tub just in time. She was nodding off as Linda helped her put on her pajamas. She picked up the tiny girl and tucked her into her new bed before going to check on Danny and the boys, whom she found having a pillow fight in Jack's room.

"This does not look like winding down," she said as she stuck her head in the doorway. "Jack and Sean, in bed please."

"Mooooom!"

"Go on," Danny laughed. "Listen to your mother."

"What in the world are we going to do with a five-year-old?" Danny asked Linda as they climbed into be that night.

"What are we going to do with a five-year-old or what are you going to do with a girl?" she laughed.

"Yeah… that too."
"It's going to be fine," she chuckled. "We will figure it out. I'll take her shopping tomorrow and we'll get some things for her room. You're working, right?"

"Yeah. I've got an early tour. I'm hoping to make a few calls to DC to see what the Hell is going on with Jack's case."

"Well, I'm sure you can get a little help from the PC if you ask nicely. Are you off the entire weekend?"

"I am now. I think it'd probably be a good idea to bond with our newest addition."

"I agree. Just don't turn it into an interrogation."

"Baez!" Danny yelled as he walked down the hall and toward their desks. "We got a case."

"Where's the file?" she asked, kicked back, drinking her first cup of coffee.

"Well…"

"Oh no."

"What?" Danny grinned.

"It's never good when you start with "Well…". It normally means that you are about to go off the reservation and I'm going to be forced to go with you and somebody is going to end up yelling at both of us."

"But won't it be fun?"

"That's debatable. So what's the case?"
"Well, I acquired a five-year-old girl last night."
Baez almost did a spit take "Wh-what?"
"Yeah. CPS showed up at my house with Millicent Reagan Curatola."

"As in the famous Jackie Curatola? You slept with her?"

"What? NO! Apparently she made me godfather to her kid and now she's gone missing after some stupid undercover thing and I'm legal guardian to a five-year-old."

"Wow. So we've got to find Jackie?"

"Exactly."

"Well where was she last?"
"DC."
"Reagan, I don't know if you've noticed, but this is New York. We have no jurisdiction in DC."

"No… but we do have a telephone. No reason we can't call down there and nose around a bit." Baez frowned as she crossed her arms and looked at him. "Come on. She was my partner. I'd do it for you, I sure as heck gotta do it for her."

"Ok. Make the call."

While Danny and Baez were investigating a crime they shouldn't be, Linda took the boys to school and then headed to the store with Millie. The little girl was hesitant at first to pick out anything, but once Linda got her interested, she warmed up to the idea and thoroughly enjoyed herself.

"So I'm going to be living with you, right?"
"Right," Linda said as she picked out a couple of bedside lamps to match the pale purple fuzzy blanket that Millie had chosen as her comforter.

"So… what do I call you?"

"Well, I like to think that your mom was like Danny's sister… which would make you my niece. So how about Aunt Linda?"

"Ok,'' Millie shrugged.

"And Danny can be Uncle Danny. Will that work?" Millie nodded as Linda breathed a sigh of relief. "Dodged another bullet," she thought to herself. "Hey Millie, I noticed you only brought one pair of pajamas. How about we go see if we can pick up another couple of pairs?"

By the end of the shopping spree, Linda had gotten a comforter, pillows, lamps, wall decorations, a small desk, a couple of pairs of pajamas, and a red lightbulb. She wasn't sure why, but Millie was adamant the only thing she truly wanted was a red lightbulb. No toys, no candy, just a red lightbulb. Linda, of course, was happy to oblige.

By the time they got home, it was time for lunch. Millie ate about two bites of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich before disappearing. Linda walked back to the table to find her missing and went on the hunt. She found the little girl curled up on the couch, sound asleep. While she had a break, she thought it the perfect time to call Danny.

"Hey Babe, how's it going?"

"Good. We got everything we need to outfit Millie's room. How is work?"
"It's fine. How's she doing?"

"She was exhausted after shopping. She's down for a nap. I forgot little kids take naps. I'm going to try to get her room set up before she wakes up."

"Ok. It's a pretty light day today. Want me to pick up the boys?"
"Will you? That would be great."
"Will do. I'll see you in a little while. Love you."

"Love you more."
"Love you most."

Linda managed to get everything put in place in Millie's room while she was sleeping. The only thing she didn't complete was putting together the desk, but she figured Danny and Jack could put it together when they got home. "Mrs. Aunt Linda!" Millie screamed when she woke up to an empty room. Linda couldn't help but laugh as she made her way into the livingroom.

"Hey, I'm right here," Linda smiled as she made her way over to the couch where Millie immediately climbed into her lap. "Did you have a good nap?" Millie nodded as she rested her head against Linda's chest. "What do you think the boys will want for supper tonight?"

Millie sat deep in thought for a moment. She had no clue what the boys would want, but she knew good and well what she wanted. "I bet they would love roast and potatoes with those little bitty carrots… and ketchup."

Linda smiled. "Ah. You think so?" Millie nodded emphatically. "I bet you're right. How about we go into the kitchen and see if we can find a recipe? I bet you could even help me peel the potatoes."

Linda gave Millie a potato peeler, a bowl, some potatoes, and plopped her in the corner of the counter so that she could keep an eye on the potato peeling process while she prepared the meat and carrots. Meanwhile, Danny picked up the boys from the front of St. Mary's Catholic School.
"Hey guys! Ready to go?"
"Where's Mommy?" Sean asked.

"She's at home with Millie. I got off early and thought the Reagan men could go out for root beer floats before heading home. You guys in?"

Their eyes lit up like it was Christmas. "Yeah!"

Danny wheeled in at their favorite diner and ordered three root beer floats. "So, what do you guys think about Millie moving in with us?"

Jack and Sean both shrugged. "Is she going to have to go to school?"

"Yeah. Eventually."

"Is she going to live with us forever?"

"I don't know. I'm looking for her mom, but if I can't find her, then yeah."

"Where's her Mom?" Sean asked, ever so innocently.

Jack rolled his eyes. "If he knew, he wouldn't be looking."

Danny frowned in Jack's direction. "I'm not sure, Buddy, but I'm going to keep looking."

They chatted a little more about their day and plans for the weekend before finishing their floats and heading back to the house.

"Take your stuff upstairs and change into some play clothes before you come back down," Danny directed as they walked in the front door. "Hey! Where are my girls?"

"Kitchen!" Linda called.

Danny walked in to find Millie still sitting atop the counter as Linda popped the roast into the oven. "Hey Babe," he smiled as he walked over and gave her a kiss.

"Hey yourself."

"Hi Silly Millie," he smiled as he turned and looked at Millie.

"Hi Mr. Uncle Danny."

"We're still working on the name thing," Linda whispered as they both tried not to die out laughing.

"What'd you two do today?"

"I got a purple fuzzy blanket."

"And some pillows, some pictures, a lamp, some pajamas, and a desk," Linda continued as Millie nodded in agreement. "And one red lightbulb." Danny looked at them both like they'd lost her minds. Linda just shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Mr. Uncle Danny, can you help me down?"

"Sure, Mil." As Danny picked her up and placed her on the floor, his phone rang. "Reagan?"
"Detective Reagan, this is John Horowitz, detective first grade from the DC first district. I'm sorry I missed your call earlier."

"No worries, man. I was just wondering if I could talk to you about a case you caught…" Danny covered the receive as he looked to Linda. "It's the detective from DC. I'm going to take it outside." She nodded as he made his way out to the back yard. "It's regarding one of your fellow detectives, Jackie Curatola."
"Ah yes. I've been expecting your call. I understand you and Jackie used to work together."

"Yeah. We were partnered together for three years. And apparently she left her daughter to me."

"I heard Miss Millie finally got placed with a family. I actually have something I need to send you. When we searched the apartment, I found a letter for you, explaining her decision to leave Millie to you."

"Can you take a picture and send it to me? I'm kinda at a loss here."

"Yeah. Be glad to. And if you come up with any leads, could you let us know? The case has gone cold down here."

"Will do."

Danny waited a few moments before the letter came through on his phone.

Reagan,

If you're reading this, I'm assuming you have also met Millie. Surprise! Now you know why I left. I'm sorry Danny. I should've told you, but I didn't know how. What I did know was that should anything ever happen, the only person I trusted her with was you. You are the best father, husband, and partner I have ever met. I want Millie to have that. Be firm but fair. And know that I'll forever be jealous that she made it to the Reagan Sunday dinner table before me.

Love,

Jackie