Chapter Text
Prologue
Gil squinted at the paperwork in front of him, but the words and letters all seemed to jumble together into gibberish. He pulled off his reading glasses and rubbed his hand across his forehead, then pressed his palms into his eyes until it was almost painful.
Jessica had been right, he shouldn’t have come in today. But he also couldn’t sit around at home. He loved her, but sometimes he wished he had never agreed to move in. At times it was as if he was living in a haunted house. He couldn’t turn a corner without something reminding him of the kid. He thought he would have gotten used to it after all this time, but it was still a jolt to his heart to walk by his old room, to see his picture on the wall or the vase with the visible cracks that he and Ainsley had tried so hard to superglue back together when they were kids.
He envied Jessica sometimes. To her all of the reminders were a comfort, her memories untainted with guilt. He wished he could reflect on the good times, but all he could see when he saw those blue eyes was the vacant look that had overtaken them as he had slipped away. And he couldn’t think of those blue eyes without seeing her big brown ones as well. They had been closed at the end, but he could still imagine the way they would glimmer when she made a snarky comment at his expense. He would always scoff or give her a look. He never told her how much he secretly enjoyed her witty comments. He hopes she knew.
For a moment Gil stared at his top drawer, and thought about pulling out the picture frame he had stowed inside. He knew it would be healthy to take it out and look at it once in a while. But he couldn’t bring himself to try.
Gil shook his head to clear his thoughts, and pushed back his chair swiftly. His paperwork could wait until tomorrow, they had solved the case already after all. Another win to add to a pile that could never grow high enough to make up for his greatest failure.
He threw back the last dregs of his now cold bitter station coffee and tossed the paper cup into the trash as he grabbed his keys. His thoughts were on the bottle of whiskey waiting for him at home. Noon wasn’t too early to start drinking on a day like today was it? But as he turned towards the doorway and saw the figure standing there all coherent thoughts flew out of his brain.
At first he thought she was a hallucination, the little girl. The ghost of a future that never came to pass. She was staring up at him with familiar bright blue eyes and dark curly hair. Even the determined look on her face was so familiar that Gil was certain someone had slipped something strange into his coffee.
The illusion was shattered when a uniformed officer skidded into view. His eyes grew wide as he realized Gil was there.
“I am so sorry sir, she got away from me. She may be little but she is quick,” he sputtered, grabbing the little girls hand with a nervous smile.
Gil quickly shook his head to clear away his thoughts, his cheeks slightly flushed. Of course it was just an officer’s daughter visiting. He was starting to see them everywhere, even in the features of a random child. That whiskey was sounding better and better by the second. With any luck he would pass out after a few glasses and this day would be over.
After a moment he realized it was his turn to speak, and the silence had turned uncomfortable. The uniformed officer was practically vibrating with nerves. He wondered if he was really that scary. He didn’t used to be.
“It’s no problem at all,” he said quickly to the officer in what he hoped was a kind tone. He then bent down so he was more on the girl's level. “And hello young lady. It’s very nice to meet you.”
The little girl looked him up and down curiously. “Are you Gil?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
Gil couldn’t help but chuckle at her demanding tone.
“I am, I guess your father has told you about me,” he glanced up at the young officer again, who now had a strange look on his face. Gil had seen him around, but could not for the life of him recall his name.
“Yes, he did,” the girl answered, at the same time the officer said, “Oh, I’m not her father.”
Gil glanced between them. The girl seemed content to just stand there, looking up at the both of them, unaware of the confusion she had just caused.
The officer quickly jumped in with an explanation. “I was coming back into the station after grabbing some food when I saw her walk in all by herself. I asked her where her parents were and she said she didn’t know. I walked her inside so I could get some more information, and then she just made a beeline for your office. I didn’t even give her your name.”
Now Gil was really confused. The little girl just continued watching them, her gaze much more intense than he was used to seeing in such a small child. Gil thought longingly of his whiskey. He hoped this wouldn’t take too long to sort out. He turned to the girl and forced a smile.
“Okay, first things first, what’s your name?”
“Cassie,” the girl answered quietly, her hands reaching up to grasp the pink straps of the small backpack she was wearing.
“Hi Cassie, I’m Gil. But you already knew that didn’t you?”
She just nodded in response.
“Cassie why don’t you take a seat,” he gestured towards the chair in front of his desk, “and Officer…”
“Evans,” the man filled in, a little glumly.
“And Officer Evans can go find you some crayons, and maybe some juice?”
Officer Evans stood up straighter at the request and nodded as he rushed out of the room, obviously eager to do something useful. Gil felt a stab of guilt. He hoped the officer hadn’t been working here too long. He made a mental note to make more of an effort to learn the rookie’s names.
Cassie had climbed up on the chair rather easily. She then carefully removed her little pink backpack and hugged it to her chest. Gil took a moment to study her. Her hair was a little messy but otherwise she looked well cared for. This didn’t seem like a case of neglect. But she appeared to be about four at the oldest, much too young to be wandering around by herself. Where were her parents?
Gil tried to wipe the frown off his face as he sat in the chair next to her and scooted closer.
“So Cassie, can you tell me how you knew my name?” he asked in a calm tone.
She looked up at him and he almost flinched at how familiar her eyes were. What were the chances that a child with that exact eye color would show up today of all days? He willed himself to concentrate. This wasn’t about him, this was about a lost child. He needed to pull it together.
“My mommy and daddy told me about you,” she said simply. He realized she had very clear diction for such a young child. It was a little unnerving.
“Your mommy and daddy know me?" he asked, trying and failing to keep the surprise out of his voice.
“Mhmmm. They used to work here,” she said softly.
“Here? In this police station?”
Cassie nodded. Well at least that narrowed down the suspect pool. But he still couldn’t for the life of him think of anyone he used to work with that had a young daughter. Maybe an old acquaintance he had lost touch with.
“Do you know your last name?” Cassie tilted her head. She looked confused, so he changed tactics.
“Do you know your parents names? The names they call each other?” He knew it was probably a lost cause. Most kids her age knew their parents as mom and dad, not by their first names, but Cassie seemed observant.
She paused for a moment. “Sometimes they call each other honey. But that’s not a name,” Cassie said slowly. Her face was scrunched in thought. “I think… Danny?”
Gil’s heart seized for a split second, even though he knew logically she was talking about her father.
“That’s really helpful, thank you.”
It wasn’t helpful as he couldn’t remember any coworkers named Daniel or Danny, but she didn’t need to know that.
At this point Officer Evans had returned with crayons, paper, and what looked like four cartons of juice. Gil waved him in and he set the selection in front of Cassie, asking which one she wanted. She deliberated carefully before choosing the grape juice. Gil was chuckling at the seriousness with which she made her selection when he was struck with a sudden idea. He turned to Officer Evans.
“Can you see if Sergeant Tarmel is available?”
Officer Evans nodded vigorously and headed out of the room again. Maybe JT would remember her parents better than him.
Gil waited until Cassie was situated with her crayons before continuing his questioning.
“So can you tell me what happened today? How did you get here?”
“A man drove me in a car. I can’t remember his name,” she said as she carefully picked up a green crayon.
“Did you know the man?” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual. This line of questioning was setting off warning bells in his mind.
“No,” she answered nonchalantly, her eyes very concentrated on the drawing in front of her. Gil felt his stomach drop somewhere near his feet. This might turn out to be a case of kidnapping, or something far worse.
“But my parents know him,” Cassie continued. “I don’t think they like him. But my daddy said to be nice to him,” she said with a shrug, trading in her green crayon for a brown one. Gil let out a small sigh of relief.
“So your dad knew you were getting in the car with him?”
“Yes, Daddy said he was bringing me to you, and to my grandma, and to be nice to him on the way.”
Now Gil was completely baffled. Had her father just put her in a car with a man he didn’t trust and sent her here with no supervision? And even if they used to know each other, why send Cassie to him when she had never met him?
“Do you know your grandma’s name?” he asked, already anticipating the answer.
Cassie shook her head. He knew that one had been a long shot. He thought about asking for addresses or phone numbers, but doubted a girl this young would know that information. He debated asking her anyway when she shifted, rearranging the backpack in her lap. It gave him an idea.
“Cassie, can I see your backpack?” he asked carefully.
She held it protectively towards her body. “Why?”
“I think maybe something in your backpack could tell me more about your parents and how to reach them.”
Cassie looked at the bag in her arms carefully for a moment. “I have a picture of them,” she said quietly.
Gil smiled. “That would be helpful. Can I see it?”
Cassie nodded and started rummaging through the backpack. He longed to look inside. Maybe there would be some kind of ID or even just her last name written on the tag. But she seemed attached to the backpack and he didn’t want to push if he didn’t have to. She trusted him at the moment.
There was a knock on the door as JT appeared, Officer Evans hovering nervously behind him.
“Hey boss, you wanted to see me?” he asked with a curious look towards Cassie, who was still rummaging away. He seemed to sense Officer Evans presence behind him and turned with a raised eyebrow. The rookie quickly scurried away.
“That dude is way too skittish,” JT mumbled. Cassie found what she was looking for and delicately picked up a photograph, reaching out to hand it to him. Gil made sure to take it lightly, it seemed to mean a lot to her.
“Thank you. Cassie this is my friend JT. JT, this is Cassie.”
“My parents told me about you too,” Cassie said quickly, her eyes wide and excited.
JT raised his eyebrows. “Who are your parents?” Obviously he didn’t recognize her either.
“That is what we are trying to figure out,” Gil sighed. He really thought JT may remember something. He looked to the photograph in his hands, which Cassie had handed to him upside down. Hopefully it would give him some clues at least.
He turned it over, and suddenly all the sounds in the room vanished, replaced by a rushing sound that filled his ears then seemed to spread to the rest of his body.
In the photograph the family was sitting on a slightly beat-up beige couch. Cassie was splayed across her parent’s laps, appearing about the same age she was now. Her father had her upper half in a bear hug and she looked to be in the middle of a peal of laughter. Cassie’s legs were across her mother, who was laying her own head on the father’s shoulder. The mothers left arm was half out of frame, seemingly indicating that she was the one holding the camera. All three of them were sporting wide, unrestrained smiles. To most people they would look like a normal, happy family. But there was nothing normal about this photo to Gil.
He turned the photo over again, as if the back could offer some clue, but there was nothing. When he turned it back over the image hadn’t changed. He searched for a sign that it was fake, some sort of trick with Photoshop. But it looked authentic, and why would this little girl have a doctored photo?
The photo had to be real, but it also couldn’t be. It didn’t make any sense.
It was a photograph of ghosts. It was a vision of a less cruel future for two lives that ended much too soon. A future he could have only imagined for them. Because they were dead. Six years to this day exactly.
Yet here they were in a photo that could not have been more than a few months old.
He could hear JT talking to him from what sounded like far away, but he couldn’t make out the words. He sounded concerned.
Gil spent another few moments searching for an alternative explanation, because the one he had was too fantastic to believe, and would be devastating if it was wrong. But there was no mistaking those smiling eyes staring out at him through the photo, one pair piercing blue, the other mischievous brown, arms around a laughing child who was so obviously a mixture of the two of them. There was only one explanation, even if it made no sense.
Malcolm and Dani were alive. They had been alive this whole time. And Cassie was their daughter.