John stood in the empty doorway leading into the jail cell that would serve as his home for the next 30 days. The officer who had escorted him to his cell had unlocked the cell and held the door open for John. He was a friendly elderly man, who seemed to be unhappy about putting a teenager into solitary confinement.

"You should be OK in here," said the officer in a gentle voice as John took in his surroundings in the room.

John nodded. "Thank you, Officer," he said.

"Call me Randy."

"Randy, I'm John," said John before he entered his cell with the items he was carrying in a box. He set them down on one of the beds in the cell before turning around and facing Randy.

"Do you have toiletries?" asked Randy.

"Yeah," John said. "My Mom, Stef, is a cop and she told me what I would need to bring with me. I don't know if it will last my whole stay."

Randy nodded. "The second you are getting low on supplies, you let me know and I'll take care of it."

"I appreciate that," said John, smiling, despite the situation he was in.

"I can bring you a book from the library, if you'd like."

"I'm good for a few days," John said, pulling out the book Jude had gotten him for his birthday and gesturing to it. "My brother got me this for my birthday and I haven't had a chance to start it yet."

Randy nodded again. "OK," he said. "You should be OK in here. If you need anything, you let me know."

"I will," said John as Randy closed his cell door and locked it. John sat down on his bed, looked around his cell again and sighed.

"Hey," Randy said. "Don't' worry. The time goes fast if you don't think about it too much. Just keep reading and you'll be out of here in no time. I'll come and visit you as often as I can."

"Thank you," John said before Randy turned and walked away.

30 days later

It was his final day spent in this jail cell. The time hadn't been so bad; true to his word, Randy visited John every day and they chatted for as long as Randy's schedule allowed. John spent the rest of his time reading, eating and sleeping. He was anticipating the day ending so he could get back to his family, whom he loved dearly. He glanced up at a picture they had sent him three days after he had been in jail. The entire family and Connor stood in the photo, smiling and holding a sign that said, "We miss you." John smiled at the photo when he heard the cell lock click and his cell door open. Randy stepped inside.

"Morning, John," he said in his gentle voice. "You've got a visitor."

"Today?" asked John, putting down the book he had been reading. "It's my last day in here. Who could be visiting me?"

"Relax, kiddo," Randy said, chuckling. "Your lawyer is waiting for you and he says you have some people here who want to discuss something with you while you're still in here."

"OK…" John said, still feeling apprehensive. He stood up and stretched.

"We do have to do cuffs," Randy said sadly. "I know it's not right, but I have to follow procedure."

"Don't worry about it," said John, putting his hands behind his back. "I know how this works by now."

"I'm sorry, John," Randy said as he finished cuffing John, who followed him out of the cell and to the visiting area.

"Is Jude still going to be here to pick me up?" John asked.

"Yeah," said Randy as he led John through the hall. "Your Moms arranged a private taxi that will bring him here and then you two will go home. I got off the phone with them just a little bit ago. They're sorry they can't all come and get you as a family, but…"

"With everyone's schedules, it's not easy to schedule something we can all be at?" John asked with a smile on his face. Randy chuckled and nodded.

They arrived in the visiting area, where John was patted down before being uncuffed. Randy led him into a private meeting room, where Alex Kelbert was sitting, waiting for John.

"John," Alex said with a smile as he stood up and shook John's hand. "You look good."

John grinned. "You've said that every time you've come and visited me the last month."

"And I mean it every time," Kelbert said, motioning for John to take seat beside him. John sat down next to Kelbert.

"So, who wants to meet with me?" asked John.

"A producer who works for Atlantis Cable News in New York," Kelbert said. "She's mostly a field producer, but she does produce some feature-type stories from time-to-time. She contacted me last week to see if you would be willing to do a story with them."

"About what?"

"I'm not sure. She wanted me to check with your Moms to make sure they would be all right with her meeting you in here. She wanted to meet with you before you got out of jail for some reason."

"This should be fun," said John.

Kelbert nodded. "I understand if you're nervous. But, she just wants you to hear her out. She's bringing their lawyer with her."

"Why?"

"That's the only way the officers would let them in here, if a lawyer was present for both parties."

At that, the door opposite John and Kelbert opened. A young blonde woman walked in, followed by an older woman dressed conservatively. John and Kelbert stood up to greet them.

"Maggie Jordan," said the young woman as she shook John's hand. "I'm a producer for ACN in New York."

"Rebecca Halliday," said the older woman. "I represent ACN in First Amendment cases. I was asked to come here to be a part of this discussion."

"Alex Kelbert," Kelbert said. "I represent John."

"John Adams Foster," said John after shaking hands with Maggie and Rebecca. "I'm pleased to meet you. I'm a huge fan of News Night."

"Well, thank you," Maggie said with a smile as they all sat down at the table. "I'm a field producer for News Night, so I appreciate a fan."

"So, what can I do for you?" asked John.

"I've read about your story, John," Maggie said. "We've actually covered parts of your story, like your book tour, on some of our ACN broadcasts. When I heard you were arrested, I delved deeper into your past and learned all about your history."

John nodded. "So you want to do a story on me," he said.

"An interview, live on News Night," said Maggie. "Will McAvoy would lead the interview and you would answer his questions. We wouldn't ask too many questions about your sexual assault."

"I appreciate that," John interrupted.

Maggie smiled. "It would be a chance for you to tell your story in your words to the viewers of News Night. What do you think?"

"I don't think he should do it," Kelbert said.

John held up a hand to Kelbert.

"Thank you, Alex, but I've got this one," John said. He turned to Maggie. "I respect your news program and I respect the work all of you do. If I do this, my only request is that I get some time with my family beforehand, since I haven't seen in 30 days."

Maggie nodded quickly. "That's what I told Jim Harper, our executive producer. He said to give you as much time as you need, and when you're ready, you can contact us." She pulled out a business card, which she handed to John. "My contact information is on there."

"I will do this interview," John said. "What all do I need to do?"

"Once you're ready for the interview, all you have to do is get into contact with me. ACN will cover travel and hotel fees for you. We'll also handle your transportation to the station for the interview."

John nodded.

Maggie and Rebecca stood up. John and Kelbert followed suit.

"Thank you so much, John," said Maggie. "This really means a lot to me."

"Of course," John said, shaking her hand. "I'm happy to do it. My story is not an easy one to tell, but I understand how important it can be for others. Besides, I've always thought about a career in news and ACN would be a dream job for me."

Maggie smiled. "Well, maybe we can chat about a job in news after your interview," she said.

Mike and Stef sat together in their patrol car, enjoying a rare coffee break.

"I bet John is ready to come home," Mike said after taking a sip.

"We all are," said Stef. "We've been rearranging the house to make room for a new bed for him."

Mike chuckled. "You could've called me, Stef. I'd have been happy to help you all out."

"Well, with Brandon, Jesus and AJ all in the house, we were able to take care of it ourselves. I tell you, it's nice having three teenage boys in the house at times like that. Any other time sucks."

They laughed as they heard a robbery call come over their squad radio. They heard the robbery was about two miles away from their location and decided to respond.

"This is Adams Foster," Stef said into the radio as Mike fired up in the engine. "We're less than five minutes from the robbery. We'll go in first."

"10-4," responded the dispatcher. "We'll get a few officers there to go in as back up, if needed."

"Copy," said Stef as Mike pulled their car away from its parked spot and headed to the scene of the robbery.

They arrived within five minutes. Once outside the gas station where the robbery was reported, Stef and Mike checked their guns.

"Ready?" Stef said when she was finished.

"Let's roll," said Mike.

They left their car and slowly approached the gas station's entrance. Once in position, Stef nodded at Mike, who pulled open the door. They rushed inside, with their guns drawn. They saw one man with a gun pointed at the clerk behind the counter.

"Police! Don't move!" Stef shouted at the robber.

"OK, OK," said the robber. "I'm the only one here. I'll put my gun down," he said, looking as though he was going to put the gun down. Suddenly, he quickly pointed his gun in the direction of Stef and Mike. Mike fired three shots before the robber could do anything else.

John exited the jailhouse. He was a free man, at last. Before he had left the building, he had changed into the clothes he had arrived in, which had been washed before he arrived to leave the jail.

He looked around the parking lot. On his left, he didn't see anything except officers heading toward their patrol cars. To his right, he spotted him: Jude was standing next to a black SUV, waiting for him. John smiled, though he knew Jude couldn't see it; he was just so happy to see his brother at last.

John walked quickly toward Jude, who started to walk toward him. Finally, they reached each other and wrapped their arms around each other in the tightest hug they had ever given one another. They held onto each other for several seconds; Jude seemed like he wouldn't ever let John go unless he was forced to.

"It's OK," John whispered into Jude's ear. "It's all over."

They kept hugging for a few seconds before Jude pulled back. They held onto one another while the brothers looked into each other's eyes for the first time in a month.

"Mom and Mike were involved in a robbery a few hours ago," Jude said in voice that suggested he had been crying.

John's eyes widened in shock. "What happened?" he asked.

"They're OK," said Jude. "They tried to put an end to it, but the robber decided to go the hard way. He was gonna shoot Mom, but Mike shot him three times before the robber could do anything. The robber died at the scene."

"What's wrong then?" asked John.

"They're questioning Mike at the station," Jude said quietly. "You've seen how it's been with officer-involved shootings lately. This may not end well."