After another beer apiece, Spencer suggested ordering something a little stronger and neither brother could argue with the idea. After the drama in all of their lives lately, a glass of liquor sounded like a great idea.

When the first glass became empty, Spencer signaled for three more then began to trade stories with Danny.

Jamie took a sip of his drink and shook his head, realizing how similar the two men were in their style of policing. He spoke up a few times to disagree with them about something and threw out some legal terms from his college days, which resulted in them playfully booing him. He couldn't help but laugh at their antics, especially when Spencer tossed a couple of peanut shells over Danny's head at him.

The mood between the three men was relaxed and calm- which were two things they didn't get to experience often in their line of work. The more they laughed and joked, the less Jamie realized he checked his phone. He was still worried about Noelle, of course, but he was starting to have a fun and relaxing night out just like he wanted her to have.

Taking a sip from his glass, Danny finished a story about questioning a suspect by pushing his head in a toilet, which made him realize how badly he needed to use the restroom. Spencer jokingly told him not to shove any heads while he was gone and heard the older man laugh as he walked away.

Spencer let out a laugh of his own, then turned back toward the counter and grabbed his glass to finish it off. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jamie looking down at his drink while lost in thought, causing him to scoot over to the bar stool Danny had been sitting in.

Leaning toward the other man, Spencer barely brushed his shoulder against his. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah." Jamie sighed and picked up his glass to take a sip.

"You know she's gonna be okay, right?" Spencer said, assuming he was worried about Noelle. "I know you all are going to protect her and trust me when I say I will do anything to keep her safe."

"No, I know." Jamie nodded. "I mean, I do still worry about what he's gonna do next, but at the moment, I'm thinking about Baylor and if he is involved; how the hell am I gonna tell her that?"

"I don't have siblings, but I do get dysfunctional families and keeping secrets." Spencer wrapped his hand around his empty glass, wishing it was full. "The best thing you can do is just be as honest as possible with her. It's gonna sting, but it's better than being kept in the dark. At least she'll know what she's up against."

"Yeah," Jamie quietly said, agreeing with him.

She had never been as close to her brother as she was the Reagan siblings, but she always wished they were closer. She had forgiven Baylor more than once through the years- way more than Jamie thought he deserved at times- but she kept giving him chances and hoped one day he would finally get the help he needed and be the big brother she always wanted. But teaming up with her stalker- the man who took her from her loved ones and almost killed her- was something that would be hard to forgive.

"You know what we need?" Spencer's booming voice asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. "We need to do some shots." He hoped a little more liquor would turn the mood around- at least it usually worked for him.

"No. No, no no." Jamie shook his head but was surprised when the bartender placed a couple of shot glasses in front of them and filled it with liquor.

"What?" he breathed out a chuckle in disbelief. He turned to look at Spencer and gestured toward the shot glasses. "Did you signal to him for shots or something?"

"No. Wasn't me." Spencer laughed and held up his hands. "But seems like someone wants us to do shots."

"Yeah, those girls down there." The bartender nodded toward a small group of girls at the end of the bar who began to giggle when the boys looked over at them.

"Thanks, ladies." Spencer shot them a flirty smile and held up the shot glass before tossing the light-colored liquor in his mouth.

"You gonna drink yours?" he questioned Jamie, seeing the full shot glass still sitting in front of him.

"Nope. Not touching that." Jamie laughed and slid the shot glass toward Spencer. After a friendly slap on his shoulder, he added, "That's all yours, buddy."

"Come on! It's guy's night," Spencer pointed out. "We need to let loose."

"We are letting loose." Jamie lifted the glass he had been slowly drinking. "Plus, I have an early tour in the morning."

"Ah, alright," Spencer said with a nod of understanding. "Yeah, you don't need this then. The last thing you wanna do is show up hungover."

"Exactly." Jamie watched him grab the other shot glass to drink. "I can't believe you drank both of those."

"It's one of my rules. Never turn down free booze..." Spencer joked as he slammed the empty shot glass down on the counter, then gave the women down at the bar a little wave. "Especially from a beautiful woman...or in this case, several beautiful women."

With a small shake of his head and a light chuckle, Jamie took a sip from his glass. "I'm surprised you're not going over there. That blonde on the end hasn't stopped looking at you since they came in."

"Not gonna lie, usually I would," Spencer said honestly. "I would go over there, charm the pants off of her and then take her back to her place to charm off other article of clothing, but not this time."

"Why aren't you then? Blondes not your type?"

"Nah, that's not it." Spencer shook his head, then turned it back on him. "You know, I'm not the only one she's been checking out."

"I'm definitely not into blondes." Jamie chuckled. "I'm more into a beautiful brunette with dark brown eyes and a mole on her left cheek. She's a little on the short side, but got a big heart."

"Huh, I think I know someone like that," Spencer joked. "I gotta warn you though, she's stubborn as all hell and can't cook for shit."

Jamie nodded his head and matched his tone, "You know, I think it's possible we're talking about the same girl."

"You know what, I think we are," Spencer said, keeping the joke going before turning serious, "You, my friend, are a lucky man."

"I think so too." Jamie smiled when his thoughts turned to his girlfriend.

The two men were quiet for a moment until Jamie broke the silence to bring up an earlier subject that he just couldn't drop.

"You never did say why you're not chatting up the blonde. We're letting loose, remember?"

Spencer grinned at his words being used against him. "I remember."

"You have someone waiting for you in Florida?"

Blowing out a chuckle at how obvious he was being, Spencer turned his head to look at Jamie and away from the woman sending him suggestive smiles. "Why don't you ask me what you really wanna ask me."

"Which is?" Jamie asked.

"Is it because of Elle."

Jamie looked away and took another sip of his drink, telling himself not to ask the question, but couldn't stop himself. "Is it?"

"Honestly?" Spencer waited for Jamie to look at him, then answered, "In a way- yeah it is because of her."

Turning more to face him with his eyebrows lowered in anger, Jamie opened his mouth to ask him to explain what the hell that meant, but before he could utter a word, Spencer raised his hands. "But not in the way you're thinking."

"You don't know what I'm thinking."

"Actually I do. It's written all over your face. You think I'm here to take your girl, but that couldn't be further from the truth." Seeing the look of disbelief on his face, he added, "Look, you out of anyone knows how easy it is to have feelings for her. She's an amazing woman inside and out, but that's not why I'm here. I respect her, I respect you, I respect your relationship. I swear to you, I am only here to help."

"And that's it? You're just here to help catch Jimmie and protect Nol?" Jamie asked the question that had plagued him since Spencer arrived in his city.

"That's it. There's no ulterior motives." He paused for a moment. "Believe it or not, I don't have many friends. I have coworkers or acquaintances I have a beer with from time to time, I have girls I bed, but not many people I can honestly call a friend...until Elle. She's my friend and I'll protect her with my life."

"Hey, look, I'm sorry." Jamie turned his head to look at Spencer, missing his phone flashing with a new text message. "I know I haven't always been that welcoming toward you."

"Really? I didn't notice," Spencer sarcastically said, a smirk on his lips before he took a sip of his drink. He sat the glass down, then wiped the liquid from his upper lip. "I thought you always started off a friendship by sticking a gun in a person's face."

Jamie chuckled and shook his head, remembering when he walked into his girlfriend's apartment and caught Spencer coming out of the bathroom in only a towel. He didn't hesitate to grab his gun and point it at him.

"Yeah, that wasn't one of my finest moments."

"Hey, I don't blame you. You saw me coming out of your girl's bathroom and had no idea who I was," Spencer said, brushing off the incident. "Hell, if it was me, I probably would have shot first and asked questions later."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." Jamie laughed. After hearing stories about the former detective and then hearing him trade stories with his brother, he could seriously picture him doing just that. Growing serious, he looked over at Spencer and held out a hand for him to shake. "I know I never said it before, but I do appreciate you being here and helping us out."

"There's no place I would rather be." After shaking his hand, a smile appeared on Spencer's face as he joked, "But, if you really want to thank me, you can buy next round."

Jamie let out a chuckle, he should have realized that would be the other man's response.

Picking up the glass in front of him, he turned it up to finish it and raised his other hand to grab the bartender's attention. He saw the bartender nod his head to let him know he saw him, then heard Spencer speaking to Danny as he arrived back from the restrooms. He turned to look at his brother, planning to ask him if he wanted another drink, but the words died on his lips when he saw the serious look on his brother's face.

"What's going on?" Spencer questioned, noticing the worried look on the detective's face.

"Sofie's in the hospital," Danny answered.

"What? What happened?" Jamie turned to his cell phone and saw a missed text message from Noelle.

"I don't know all the details yet," Danny answered. "Linda said she collapsed during the show and now they're rushing her to the hospital."

"Damn, that's rough," Spencer said. "I hope she's okay."

"Thanks." Danny nodded his head at the other man, then turned to look at his brother. "You need a ride to the hospital?"

"Actually, can you drop me off at Nol's office?" Jamie stood and slipped his cell phone into his pocket after reading the message from his girlfriend.

"The ME's office?" Spencer lowered his eyebrows in confusion, then looked at Danny. "I thought your niece was going to be okay?"

"She's not the only one that collapsed," Danny answered. "The other woman wasn't so lucky."

Jamie nodded his head and slipped on his jacket. Noelle's text message had basically said the same thing and now she was meeting the body at the medical examiner's building to do a preliminary examination.

"It can't be a coincidence that two women were affected," Spencer said, his mind slipping into detective mode. "Which begs the question; who was the intended target...your niece or the other woman?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." Danny tossed some money on the counter for the drinks, then turned his attention to Spencer. "Do you need a ride anywhere?"

"No, I got an idea." He shook his head. "You two were right earlier...maybe Jimmie went a different route this time, which means I need to check out more than abandoned buildings and houses. Maybe he's renting something this time; an apartment, hotel...hell, maybe even a storage unit."

"Or maybe his partner is hiding him," Jamie suggested. He knew they discussed earlier that Baylor could be involved, but he was hoping that wasn't true for Noelle's sake.

"That's possible too, but until we know for certain who the partner is it'll be difficult to check that out, but the possibility of him renting is something I can check into," Spencer said.

"I doubt he'll do it in his name," Danny pointed out.

"I was thinking the same thing. I mean, I'll still run his name, but I'm also going to run his brother's too." Spencer paused for a moment. "I was hoping to run another name as well...but, I don't want to stir up anything." Normally he wouldn't hesitate to look into a suspect, but this wasn't a typical investigation and the possible suspect was the brother of the woman he was desperately trying to protect. He knew he needed to tread carefully.

Danny turned his head to look at his brother, both of them knew the other name he wanted to run. They also knew if Spencer found a link between Baylor and Jimmie, there would be no coming back from that.

Looking back at Spencer, the older Reagan simply said, "Run it."

"Danny..." he heard his brother say, grabbing his attention.

"We need to know if he's involved," Danny pointed out. "I hope to God he's not, but if he is-"

"I know," Jamie interrupted him with a sigh. He rested his hands on his hips for a moment and dropped his head, then glanced over at Spencer. "If you find anything linking them together- good or bad- let us know."

"I will," he promised.

"And if you get any promising leads and need help searching any places, give us a call," Danny added.

"I appreciate that, but I can handle it," Spencer stated. "I might have to do some- not so legal- stuff. I don't want to involve you guys with that."

"Were you not listening to the stories from earlier?" Danny asked with a slight chuckle. "We're gonna do what we have to do to catch this guy."

"Does that go for you too, Harvard Law?" Spencer raised his eyebrows and looked over at Jamie.

"It's Nol." Jamie shrugged. "I'll do anything to protect her."

"Alright." Spencer gave them a short nod. "I'll let you know what I find."

Minutes later, after the brothers left, Spencer was alone with his thoughts. He was mentally making a list in his head, listing out the next steps he needed to take in order to track down Jimmie.

The bartender set a drink down in front of him. He lifted his head for a moment to flash the women another smile, then drank half of the glass in one swallow before turning to his phone. He pulled up his contacts and shot a text message to a guy he had gone to the police academy with back in the day- the guy had gone into the FBI a few years later. He hoped the agent could do him a favor and search a few names for him. He was curious if Jimmie, his brother or Baylor had ever gone by an alias.

Standing up, he tossed some money down beside the bills Danny left earlier, then grabbed the glass and tossed it back to finish the drink. He shot the women a wink, then walked to the door with a bit of swagger in his step.

He couldn't explain it, but he felt like he was on the right path, it was a feeling in his gut that he has gotten before on cases when things were about to fall into place. He knew he was close to finding the son of a bitch and send him away for the rest of his life.

He walked down the sidewalk, then paused when he heard his phone beep with a new text message. He pulled the cell phone out and opened the text, then blinked his eyes when his vision blurred. Hearing shuffled steps behind him, he stumbled for a moment, then slowly turned around and saw a figure dressed in black step out of the shadows.

He mumbled a curse word, feeling like the world's dumbest idiot. He should have known better than to assume the women from before had sent that last drink. If his job had taught him anything, he should have known better than to drop his guard for even a minute. He wasn't usually this careless and now he was gonna pay for it.

Tripping on his own feet, he felt someone catch him before he hit the ground. He tried to fight the arms around him but was too weak to do anything as he felt himself being dragged into an alley.

He heard a muffled voice explain that he had too much to drink when a concerned citizen asked if he was okay. He opened his mouth and tried to ask for help, but only incoherent words slipped out, only selling the story that he was just a mumbling drunk being helped by a friend.

He let out a low grunt when he felt the person toss him into a trunk. Even if he was weak and his mind was fuzzy, he wasn't going to give up- he knew the statistics of kidnapped victims and he'll be damned if he would become one. Dropping his phone on the floor, he reached around for a weapon to use and wrapped his hand around a tire iron.

Using the last bit of strength he had left, he pushed himself up and swung toward the blurred figure. He heard a masculine tone curse and knew he had made contact, causing him to swing again. When the figure collapsed to the ground, he inched toward the edge of the trunk and fell with a loud thud on the gravel below.

He breathed out a swear word and pushed himself up to his hands and knees, then began to crawl away, ignoring the sharp rocks cutting into his skin- he would worry about cleaning the sand and stones from his wounds later.

Feeling a little more in control of the situation, he pulled in a deep breath, then pushed himself up to his feet. He patted his pocket for his phone, then let out a groan when he remembered leaving it in the trunk.

He turned and stumbled back a step when he saw the figure standing in front of him. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see who the person was, but the dark baggy clothes made it hard to determine the shape and the dark ball cap was pulled down to low to see facial features.

He raised the tire iron, his arm felt heavy, but that didn't stop him from fighting back. The dark figure easily blocked his slow swing- thanks to the drug he was given earlier- then stepped closer to stick a needle in the former detective's neck. Spencer winced when he felt a pinch, then dropped to his knees before everything went black.

•••

Noelle snapped her eyes open and quickly sat up in bed. She laid a hand on her chest and felt her heart pounding as she glanced around, the soft morning sunlight streaming in and lighting up Jamie's apartment. She couldn't remember what woke her up- it wasn't really a nightmare, but more of a feeling that something was wrong. She pulled in a deep breath and hoped whatever it was the feeling would past and not stick with her all day.

She picked up her cell phone from the bedside table to make sure nothing horrible happened while she slept. She glanced over a few emails from work and read a short text message from Spencer, then set the phone back down when she caught a whiff of bacon frying.

Tossing the comforter aside, she stood and stretched, then followed the smell into the kitchen and softly smiled when she saw her boyfriend glance over his shoulder when the door swung open.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Jamie questioned. "I was going to bring you breakfast in bed."

She gave her dog a loving pet when she trotted over to her, then crossed the room to give Jamie a tender kiss after he slid the bacon into a plate.

"I appreciate that, but I couldn't sleep anyway." She sat on the middle barstool at the small kitchen island and rested her feet on the stool beside her, wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Bad dreams?" He turned back to the stove and began to scramble some eggs.

"No." She shook her head, then pulled in a breath and slowly released it. "Or at least I don't think so. It's more of a feeling, you know? That dread in the pit of your stomach that something's not right."

"Is it about Sofie? Or..." His voice trailed off as he scooped the eggs from the pan onto a plate. He didn't have to speak the name out loud, they both knew he meant Jimmie.

"Maybe...or both...I dunno." She lowered her eyebrows in thought and shrugged.

The two were quiet for a moment until the bread popped up from the toaster. He flashed her an apologetic smile when he saw her slightly jump from the noise, then turned to grab the bread. He hissed in pain when the toast burnt his fingers and fell onto the plate.

Turning to look out the window across the room, she heard him moving around as he finished preparing breakfast while she tried to make more sense of the feeling she's been having since she opened her eyes.

She was worried about Sofie- the last she heard from Linda, the young girl was in a coma and they were still trying to figure out what happened, but the feeling was more than just being concerned for a close friend or family member, it was the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop- that moment when you knew something else was going to happen, you just didn't know what or when.

Jamie set a plate full of food for them to share on the countertop, grabbing her attention. He handed her a fork, then set another one down by the plate. He grabbed a piece of bacon to pop into his mouth before walking back over to the stove where he had two glasses of pulp-free orange juice sitting for them to drink.

Taking a sip from his glass, he set hers down, then nudged her feet to move them and sat down on the stool beside her. Before picking up his fork to eat, he motioned for her to place her legs across his lap.

"You sure you don't want to take this back to bed?" he questioned as he watched her dig into the scrambled eggs from the corner of his eye.

"I would love to, but if I get back into that bed with you, I might not leave."

"That might not be such a bad thing." He smiled.

"True." She returned the smile, then sighed. "Too bad we both have to work this morning."

"I thought it was after noon or close to it when your shift started?"

"It was, but I'm going in a little earlier. I've got a busy morning with paperwork and that autopsy on Milli Skye." Most ME's she knew would never refer to the deceased by name. It was a way to not get personally attached, but she wasn't that type of ME. She did make it personal and the stakes were even higher this time since Linda's niece was involved. "Plus, I wanted to swing by the hospital and check on Sofie."

"Last I spoke to Danny, he was chasing a few leads." He picked up a piece of toast and broke it in half, then handed her the other half before taking a bite.

"Good. I hope he catches the person soon." She set the piece of toast down without taking a bite and shook her head. "I just can't believe someone would hurt Sofie. She's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met."

"Unless she wasn't the intended target," he said, coming to the same conclusion Spencer did the night before. He might be a beat cop and not a detective, but he could still think like one.

"You think it was Milli?"

"It's possible." He reached out to pick up the piece of toast she sat down earlier and handed it to her again. He knew if she was worried or in deep thought, food tended to be the last thing on her mind and he wanted to make sure she didn't push food aside this morning.

"You're right." She absentmindedly took a small bite of the toast, then set it back down. "I overheard a lot of hushed conversations last night about Milli. From the sounds of it, she has a lot of enemies."

"I never got a chance to ask you, but how was it last night? The fashion show?"

"Before all the drama, it was actually kinda fun," she said. "I mean, I was completely out of my element because you know fashion is not my thing, but it was fun being out with the girls and trying something new."

"Good." He smiled. That was exactly what he wanted- he wanted her to have a night where she could put everything out of her mind and not have to constantly look over her shoulders, even if it was for a few hours.

"How was your guys night out?" she questioned.

"Not bad." He nodded. "And believe it or not, I can see why you became friends with Spencer. He's a lot like Danny...well, actually, I would say maybe worse after hearing about that drug bust he did last year."

"He's definitely a jump first and question later kinda cop." She nodded. "I told you he was a good guy though."

"Yeah, you were right."

"Now don't you feel a little silly for being so jealous before?" she teased with raised eyebrows.

"Maybe a little." He held up a hand with two of his fingers barely apart.

She chuckled at his antics, then grew serious, "Hey, speaking of Spencer, did you get a text from him?"

"I don't think so." He picked up his cell phone that he had set down earlier on the counter to double-check. "No, nothing from him. Why?"

"I had one from him when I woke up. He said he was following a lead and not to worry."

"He did mention last night that he had an idea he was going to pursue."

"Which is?" She lowered her eyebrows in concern.

"He's looking for Jimmie's hideout."

"Should that really be something he does on his own?" She sat up straight and removed her legs from his lap, the knot in her stomach getting worse. "Jimmie's been way too close to us all lately. The multiple messages, Spencer's knife attack, your near-death in the basement. I mean, is it really smart for any of us to try to find him when he's probably already out there watching and plotting his next move-"

"Hey, shh...come here," he interrupted her frantic rambling. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently tugged on her until she stood up from the barstool, then led her closer to him to sit in his lap. He kept an arm wrapped around her and used his other hand to lay on the side of her face, turning it toward him to catch her eyes. "He's not going after him alone. He's just looking for his hideout so that maybe we can get one step ahead of him."

"That might be what he said, but I also know Spencer," she pointed out. "Like you said, he's like Danny, but unlike Danny, Spencer has nothing to lose...which is what makes him reckless."

"I'll call him, okay?" He laid his forehead against hers, hoping to give her some comfort. "I'll give him a call later and tell him not to check out any locations without me or Danny as backup."

She gave him a short nod, then whispered, "Thank you."

"But?" He pulled back to look at her, knowing there was more she wasn't saying.

"But..." She pulled in a deep breath, then slowly released it. "But, I can't fight this feeling that Jimmie has already made his move. We shouldn't worry about getting one step ahead of him, we should worry about catching up to him at all because he's already several steps ahead. It's like we're playing checkers and he's playing chess."

"Lucky for us, I'm pretty good at chess," he said, referring to all the times he played with his grandfather.

"Jamie..." she breathed out.

"I know." He nodded, knowing she was being serious. "But, he's outnumbered and we will outsmart him. Evil isn't going to win this time, Nol."

She flashed him a soft smile, hoping he was right, but couldn't shake the feeling that evil had pulled ahead this round.

•••

Pulling into the hospital parking lot, she looked down at her phone at the short text message from Spencer again. The message sounded like him, but also didn't somehow. It was like someone trying to imitate him, using words he would use but was missing the charismatic tone and playful banter that he usually used.

She shook her head and called herself paranoid. He was focused and in detective mode, there wasn't time for fun and games- that had to be the reason he wasn't his usual self with her. She sent him a text back, telling him to be careful, then exited the car.

Walking into the building, she began to walk over to the bank of elevators, then paused when a familiar blonde rushed across the brightly lit lobby in the opposite direction, too distraught to even notice her. Noelle lowered her eyebrows in concern, then turned to walk after her.

"Linda...hey, Linda!" she said, grabbing her attention.

"Hey, Noelle." She turned to face the brunette.

"Hey, is everything okay? Is it Sofie?"

"No, no, she's...there's not much change." Linda blew out a breath and wiped the moisture from her face, then brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, hoping the other woman didn't notice she had been crying. "My sister on the other hand..."

Noelle flashed her a sad smile when her voice trailed off. She laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze, then nodded her head to the side. "Why don't we grab some coffee and talk?"

"I could use a cup," she said, flashing her a smile to thank her.

The two women linked arms and walked further into the building where the cafeteria was located. Noelle waited until they sat down at a table in the corner with two steaming cups of coffee before getting to what had Linda so upset from before.

"So, what happened with you and Wendy?"

"I was just...trying to understand her." Linda wrapped her hands around the warm cup. "But, she took it as judgment and it escalated from there until she kicked me out of the room."

"At least you have a sibling to fight with," Noelle mumbled before taking a sip of her coffee.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Linda sighed, knowing she was right. Things were shaking with her sister at times, but at least they had a semi-decent relationship. From the things she had seen and heard through the years between Noelle and Baylor, saying things were strained would be putting it mildly.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this about my issues with my brother." Noelle shook her head. "And I'm really sorry you and Wendy argued. It can't be easy going through what she's going through right now but that doesn't give her the right to treat you like that."

"I can understand where she's coming from. If that was one of my boys..." Her voice trailed off as she reached up to wipe a tear from her face. "I know she's worried about her daughter. We all are."

"I can't even imagine having to stand there and watch your child go through something like that and not be able to do anything."

"Being a parent..." Linda paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "...is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world, but it constantly tests you and pushes you to your limits."

"I don't see how you do it." Noelle shook her head. "Or how Wendy does it...my parents...any parent really. God, the thought of raising a kid and never really knowing what you're doing. How much you should push or how much you should back off. The constant fear of their safety and trying so hard to protect them, but worried that's never enough."

"None of us know what we're doing. We just do our best to teach them and prepare them for whatever may come." Linda flashed her a smile. "I have no doubt you'll learn in time. You and Jamie both would make great parents one day...at least according to the boys."

"Well they're easy. You and Danny did an amazing job raising them." She returned the smile.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." Linda took a sip of her coffee, then feigned innocence to say, "And, you know, you two are welcomed to borrow them anytime for...practice."

Noelle playfully narrowed her eyes at the other woman. "Wait, do you and Danny also have a bet on when we'll have kids? Your boys have already spilled the beans about the wedding bet."

Linda's mouth dropped open in surprise before she began to laugh. "I didn't know they overheard us. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Noelle waved off the apology. "I gotta say though, the selfish part of me hopes you win the marriage bet."

"Only the marriage bet?" Linda questioned with raised eyebrows.

"I don't think we're ready for kids."

"Is this coming from him or you?"

Noelle shrugged, then blew out a breath. "I don't know, and it's not like we've talked about it or anything. But I...it's not that I don't want to, I mean, I want it all with Jamie- the marriage, the house, the kids, the dog- but how can we have any of that as long as...he's out there."

Linda gave her a short nod in understanding, knowing she meant Jimmie. "You know as well as I know, there's always gonna be some kinda danger out there and I know it's really easy to let that fear consume you, but we have to have faith that everything's going to turn out okay."

"I know you're right, it's just hard to stay positive sometimes, you know?"

"I know," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "When Raymundo Salazar's men took me..."

When her voice trailed off and tears filled her eyes, Noelle reached out to lay on hand on top of hers to comfort her. Linda gave her a short shake of the head to let her know she was okay and laid her other hand on top of hers, giving it a soft pat to thank her before she continued, "When they took me...God, help me, I had a moment or two of doubt, but I knew I had to have faith that Danny would find me."

"I knew he would."

"See, you do have faith."

"I've always had faith in Reagans. You all are some of the strongest people I know."

"You know you're talking about yourself too, right? You've been an honorary Reagan for years. Probably longer than I have," Linda pointed out. "Which is how I know I'll win those bets. I predict sooner rather than later he's gonna make it official."

"You really think so?"

"I do." The blonde nodded. "I've seen the way that boy looks at you...the way he has always looked at you. He's completely in love with you, Noelle."

"So am I," she softly said with a smile, that slowly fell when all the drama with Jimmie crossed her mind. She would rather think about her happy future with Jamie, but she couldn't push the bad feeling she had earlier away.

"What's wrong?" Linda questioned when she saw the look on her face.

"I've just had this feeling all morning...I can't shake it." She blew out a breath. "I dunno, maybe it's because Jimmie has been so quiet lately. It's got me rattled."

"I think we all have a touch of intuition, I know I do with my boys, and I think it's important to listen to that gut feeling." Linda reached out to lay a hand on top of hers to comfort her. "What does your gut say?"

"My gut says there's a reason why he's been so quiet lately...but, now he's about to make a lot of noise."

•••

A/N; I wanna thank all the new people who've recently discovered this story. I guess you're the lucky ones who didn't have to wait long for a new chapter lol.
Also, big thanks to the ones who've been waiting a long time for a new one, I'm really sorry it took so long. I've had some stuff going on that kept me from writing anything at times. Also, for those who don't know, I haven't been a fan of the direction the show has gone in for a while. I haven't even watched the last few seasons, so it's been hard trying to stay inspired for a show I can't handle watching anymore. 
 But, with that being said, I do miss the characters and how they were in the earlier seasons, and I miss my characters and the ideas I have, and most importantly, I miss Noelle and Jamie so much!!I'm just gonna try my best to ignore what the show is doing and keep doing things my way. I don't know how far I will go with this series, but I do know I have ideas for the next few seasons. I'll still kinda follow along with the episodes, but do my own spin on it and I'll still try to keep canon characters in character, but things might change at times to fit my ideas. I hope I haven't lost any of you and you all are still as excited for this story as I am!

Don't forget you can follow me on tumblr. I have a side blog (blue-books-series) on tumblr just for this story/series. You are still welcomed to follow my main blog (missecharlotte), but if you only wanna see edits, videos, and so on for this story, the side blog might be what you want.

Special thanks to anyone adding this story to their list and for the ones who've voted on chapters. If you're still reading and enjoying the story let me know. If you're too shy to say anything or don't know what to say just leave me a smiley face or keep voting!

Happy reading!
xx