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"Alright, Collette. Let's just calm down," Patrick said putting his hands up to show her that he surrendered.

"Don't you tell me to calm down, not at a time like this!" she said pointing a finger in his face.

Patrick showed fear in his face, but it turned to annoyance. He didn't do anything wrong, there was no need to overreact.

"Why don't we just go back to the condo and talk about this," he said still not noticing the magazine that was laying on the desk.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," she said sounding shocked that he would ever suggest such a thing.

"What has gotten into you?" he asked confused and hurt.

She was being completely irrational.

"This!" she said picking up the magazine and pointing to their picture.

Patrick took in his hands with a confused expression on his face and examined the picture.

"This is what has gotten you so upset?" he asked pointing to the magazine.

"Yes it is! Patrick, we've got a huge problem," Collette said flailing her arms.

"Well, it happens all the time. I get followed by paparazzi, I can't help that," Patrick said not understanding why Collette had flown off the deep end.

"Well, if you aren't going to take this seriously, then I guess we can't be around each other anymore," she said quietly and reached for her purse.

"You're kidding right?" he asked with a slight laugh.

Collette stopped walking and looked at Patrick with a sad gaze.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and walked out the door past Pete who was walking down the hallway with a bottle of water in his hands.

"Collette, damn it! Don't you dare walk out and not tell me what is going on because I sure as hell know this isn't due to some stupid picture in a magazine," Patrick said chasing her down the hall.

Pete stopped dead in his tracks and watched the scene play out before him. He felt that if he didn't move, maybe they wouldn't see him.

Collette stopped walking, but didn't turn around. She just put her head down and started crying. That was when Patrick knew there was something deeper to her anger. He rushed up to her and put his hand on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. Collette wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her head in his chest.

"I'm so scared," she cried.

Patrick wasn't sure if he heard her correctly due to her complete breakdown. He just kept his arms wrapped around her tightly and looked up to see Pete staring at him wide-eyed. Patrick had a feeling things were going to be much different from here on out.

-----

Collette sat at her kitchen table with a steaming cup of tea in between her hands. She just stared into the cup wishing it would give her the answers to Patrick's questions. She smiled slightly when she heard both Pete and Jackson laugh out loud at some cartoon they were watching.

"Collette, you have to tell me what is going on here," Patrick said from across the table.

Collette cringed slightly. She didn't want to relive the past, but after the way she acted this afternoon, it was inevitable.

Collette didn't look up from her mug. She just contemplated how she was going to tell Patrick everything. She heard Patrick sigh. He sounded defeated.

"After my sister died and she left Jackson with me, there was a terrible custody hearing," Collette started.

Patrick sat up in hopes that she would continue.

"Kiefer was outraged that Morgan would go behind his back and give me parental rights, so he fought it. Some things came out about his past, and the court forced him to give up his parental rights to me," she said and took a deep breath.

Collette still did not look at Patrick. She stared intently into the mug that held her tea. Patrick was silently listening to each and every word that came out of her mouth. He wanted to know why she held so many secrets.

"The court granted Morgan's wish and I took over guardianship for Jackson. Kiefer was enraged. He threatened to kill me and everyone who got in the way of him being with his son," Collette said as her voice threatened to break.

"You believed him?" Patrick asked.

Collette's eyes shot up and looked directly into Patrick's. He got chills from the fear and sadness that were found in them.

"I took his threats very seriously. This man doesn't joke around. I told you before, he's evil," she said showing nothing but fear.

Collette had started shaking and Patrick wanted nothing more than to tell her everything was going to be ok, but he wasn't so sure.

"What happened after the hearing?" he asked in almost a whisper.

"I packed my stuff, said goodbye to my family and friends, and I left," Collette said simply.

"Just like that? You let him control your life like that?" he asked.

Patrick couldn't understand what was so powerful about this man.

"Patrick, I had to leave in order for Jackson, my family and friends, and myself to survive," she said trying to explain.

"Why? What is so special about this guy that he holds so much power over everybody?" Patrick asked getting frustrated.

"Kiefer was involved in a lot of "underground" activity," Collette said shifting in her chair.

"Meaning?" he asked.

"He was involved with drugs and gangs; very powerful gangs," she said trying to have Patrick get the point. By the look in his face, she knew he didn't understand.

"Kiefer's family is deeply affiliated with a gang in New York. They have connections everywhere. That's why I couldn't go to the police, FBI, or the witness protection program. He has connections in all those places. He would find me and take Jackson away from me. That is why I had to leave my home without telling anyone where I was going and that I would see them again because them not knowing where we were was the safest thing for them. I came to the only place where I knew we could blend in and become invisible. Do you understand Patrick? I need to stay invisible," she emphasized the last part.

"So you are saying that Jackson's father is in the mob?" Patrick asked sounding doubtful.

"Something like that," Collette mumbled.

"And this is why you are all upset about your picture being on a magazine cover?" he asked trying to make sure he got it all correct.

"Yes," she said sighing deeply.

"Jesus, Collette. Are you sure about this? It sounds so unreal," Patrick said shaking his head.

"Patrick, I don't want to lose him," she said breaking down into tears.

Patrick's heart broke. He knew she was telling the truth and he understood where all this underlying fear was coming from. Patrick stood up and walked over to Collette who sat at the table with her head in her hands. He kneeled down by her and grabbed one of her arms. She looked at him as tears continued to flow down her face. Patrick didn't say anything to her; he simply reached up and wiped a tear off of her cheek. Collette's heart melted and she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"If you don't want to hang around me anymore, I'll understand," she said as her voice was muffled into his shoulder.

Patrick pulled away from her slightly in shock.

"Why would I not want to hang out with you?" he asked looking into her watery eyes.

"Because this is a lot of baggage to carry, and you don't need any of the extra weight," she said as her voice quivered.

"Collette, I think it is going to take more than this to push me away," he said rocking her slightly.

"What are we going to do about the pictures?" she asked.

"Well, first of all, the picture is fuzzy, so you could be anyone. As for the future, I guess we will just have to be more careful," he said sighing as he felt her shoulders relax slightly.

Collette looked into Patrick's eyes and saw nothing but concern and adoration. She smiled down at him and put her lips against his.

"Thank you for being so understanding," she said quietly.

"Thank you for telling me the truth," he said back.

Collette smiled but didn't allow it to reach her eyes. She felt guilty, but she couldn't tell Patrick the whole truth about what happened. It would scare him off, and at that moment, it was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to hold on to him for just a little while longer. He made her feel normal again.

-----

"So is everything ok?" Pete asked walking into Patrick's room.

"I guess," he said throwing the pencil he had in his hand down on the desk.

Patrick was frustrated with the fact that he hadn't been able to get his mind off of worrying about Collette and Jackson, since she told him the story of their past.

"I admire you," Pete said out of the blue.

Patrick made a confused face and looked Pete in the eyes.

"Why?" he questioned.

"Because if I were you, I would have bailed long ago," Pete said standing with his hands in his back pockets.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Patrick sighed leaning forward.

"Are you considering bailing?" Pete asked shocked.

"That's not even a question. I can't, and I don't know why, but the thought of not being with her hurts more than the thought of being with her and all the drama," Patrick said looking up at Pete.

Pete just grinned widely.

"What now?" he asked irritated.

"You're falling for her," Pete stated.

"I am not. Shut up," Patrick said now sitting back in his chair.

"Nope, you are," Pete said and walked out of Patrick's room shutting the door just in time to have it block the pencil that Patrick threw at him.

"I am not," Patrick muttered to himself.

-----

"CoCo?" Jackson asked from the door of her bedroom with Rooger close on his heels.

"Jackson, what are you doing up?" she asked setting her photo album to the side.

Since the whole incident with telling Patrick about her past she couldn't put down her memories from home.

"Why are you so sad?" he asked holding onto a stuffed dog that he had gotten when he was a baby.

"I'm not sad," she said shocked.

She knew better. She knew that children were very perceptive and in tune with people's feelings.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked not believing what she had stated before.

Collette's heart broke. Not only was this child concerned for her, but now he thought that it was maybe something he did.

"Come here," she said patting on her bed.

Jackson walked slowly over to the bed and climbed up. Collette wrapped him up in the covers as he leaned against her chest.

"You did absolutely nothing wrong. There is nothing you can do that will make me sad," she said kissing the top of his head.

"Did Patrick make you sad?" he asked playing with his stuffed animal's ears.

"No, Patrick didn't do anything either. Sometime, adult things come up that make adults sad, and it is no one's fault," she said trying to explain.

"Ok. Because I like Patrick," he said sighing and leaning against her more.

"You do, huh?" she asked looking down at him.

"Yeah. He makes you smile," Jackson said simply.

This was just another case and point at how in tune children were to people's feelings.

"He does," Collette said simply staring off into space.

-----

"Hello?" Collette answered the phone.

"CoCo," she heard on the other side of the line.

"Morgan!?" Collette asked in shock.

"Hey there girly," she said happily.

"Oh my God. Morgan, it's been so long. How are you?" Collette asked in a pleading way.

"You know what I think your best feature is?" Morgan asked not answering Collette's questions.

"What?" Collette asked in more of a question to the randomness of the question she had asked and not the question itself.

"Your laugh. Your laugh is so genuine and you always look so happy. I like to see you smile, CoCo. Keep smiling," Morgan said in a cheery way.

It was the happiest Collette had heard her sister in a long time.

"Morgan, what are you talking about?" Collette asked confused.

Her question would go unanswered, however, because the line went dead.

Collette opened her eyes very confused. That had to of been one of the oddest dreams she had of her sister to date. Collette always had dreams of something that had happened before. She searched her memory bank and couldn't recall a phone conversation like that with her sister before.

AN: Sorry this update is a little short, but I'm exhausted and seeing double, and I want to give you all nothing but the best. I will try to update soon. And a shout out to my DOJ Girls! SMOOCHES to all of you!!