After he got his heart broken, Daniel found himself unable to cope: he felt devoid of joy or peace, and was just so angry all the time. He didn't like the person he had become: rough, harsh and domineering. The change scared not only him, but his family as well and he didn't understand how to go back to being him.

This Daniel didn't commit to anyone but his work, he kept to himself and minded his own business. No one messed with him and he didn't mess with no one. His circle of friends had become very limited and became even more secluded, preferring to spend time on his own and away from everything. His weekdays were spent at work, and his weekends mostly at Caffeinated if not at home and in his study.

Two years ago, he resigned from the Baltimore Police Department and got enrolled in Quantico. Those 5 months he spent diligently dedicated to his training, not bothering with people he knew wouldn't be able to help him in his growth.

The officers were impressed by him and he passed in the top ten percentile of his batch.

Now he worked with the FBI and was posted and living in New York.

He bought a place of his own and lived in a very cozy suburban home not too far away from work. His neighbors were very nice people and the elderly couple next door had given him quite the warm welcome.

Daniel often visited Nathan and Delilah when he had the chance, both of them being just half an hour's drive from him, he would sometimes drop by after dinner to spend time with their 3-month-old baby, Melanie.

But despite that, he often spent his time at work, or in his study upstairs.

Even now, Daniel lay awake staring at the grey walls of his bedroom before he sat up and stretched in bed and going into his washroom to change for his run. Stepping out of his brownstone in running shorts and an upper, he walked over to the house next door, entering the gate before greeting the German Shepherd in the yard.

"You ready to go for a run?" He cooed at the dog as he picked up his leash and wound it around his waist. "Let's go for a run,"

Since the dog's owners were old people, they couldn't take him out for runs a lot of the time and asked Daniel to take him on his morning jog. The Agent had no issue with it, enjoying the company of the canine along with his music.

Fitting his earphones in, he began his jog down the street, the dog trotting beside him.

He returned an hour later and dropped the dog off to his house before making his way to his own home. Unlocking the front door, he walked in, taking off his shoes and putting them against the wall before opening the door that led inside. He had the stairs right in front of him with a hallway leading to his kitchen and the lounge through the arch to his left. Looking into the lounge, he stared at the picture on the mantle before bounding up the stairs.

Washing up, he got changed into a navy blue two-piece suit with a white button up and paired it with a purple tie. Fixing his cufflinks while he made his way into the kitchen, momentarily glancing at the colorful books in the bookshelf installed in the hall, and stopped to look at one of the pictures before entering the kitchen.

His kitchen was white marble with white and gold marble counters and slate blue cabinets. Picking up the coffee pot, he poured himself a cup before fixing himself a bowl of cereal and munching on that while reading the day's paper, looking out to the wall window to his left and gauging the temperature outside.

Grabbing his things, Daniel made his way out the house, locking it after him before settling his BMW and headed towards his headquarters.

The interior was bustling with sound and people chatting all at once as he made his way through the hall and towards his designated space, entering the room and greeting his partner who held out a bar of chocolate.

"Want some?" He asked.

"Thanks," Daniel broke off a bar before sitting down at the table opposite him. "Where are on the investigation?"

"Standstill," He shrugged. "The neighbors saw nothing, the camera's had a blind spot and we have nothing to go on,"

"He has already killed 3 people in one month,"

"And it's only a matter of time until he kills more,"

Daniel shook his head before starting up his laptop and began working.

He hadn't even been in the office for more than an hour when one of his colleagues came up to him.

"Hey, Robertson," He called from the door, Daniel and his partner looking up at him. "The Director is calling you,"

Nodding, he stood up and his partner panicking on his behalf and asking the 'why'.

"The hell I know," He shrugged. "I'm just following orders,"

Daniel followed him out before allowing him to direct him to the office. He knocked on the door before entering.

"You called for me, sir?"

"Yes, close the door," Daniel stepped inside and stood to attention, waiting for further instructions. "Take a seat,"

"I have another task for you and your team," Director Brown told him, putting away the document he had been reading. "And it is a very important task so just know that the stakes are high,"

"Of course sir,"

"A child was kidnapped from her home late last night and the parents don't know what happened,"

"I'm sorry, sir, but isn't that the police's forte?"

"The girl is the president's niece from his wife's side,"

"Don't you suppose you should send a more seasoned officer for this task, sir?" Daniel squirmed, realizing that the life of the president's niece was in his hands.

"I am," He nodded. "I'm sending you,"

Daniel took his team and went over to the crime scene, going over the basic procedure of it all: running fingerprint, going through video feeds, and asking the parents question regarding the night she was kidnapped.

"What'd you get?" He walked out to his partner who had been questioning the neighbors.

"Nothing," He sighed. "They all were asleep at the time of the occurrence, and no one answered the door to that house," He pointed towards the house to their right as Daniel turned and caught sight of the curtain ruffling.

"Did you say that no one was home?"

"Yeah, no one answered, so I'm assuming no one was home,"

"You're wrong," Daniel made his way over to the house and climbed up to the patio steps, straining to listen as he heard shuffling of feet behind the door and knocked on the wooden structure. "Mr. Williams!" He called, having read the surname on the mailbox at the front.

"Mr. Williams this is Daniel Robertson with the FBI!" He knocked on the door again. "We just want to ask a few questions about the kidnapping last night,"

"Go check the back," He murmured to his partner who nodded and made his way around the house. "Mr. Williams, I know you're home, kindly open the door, sir," He turned back to the wooden structure before him.

He waited a minute before raising his fist again to knock, stopping short when the door cracked open, showing a gaunt man in his late forties standing before them with peppering hair and stern facial features.

"What?"

"Your neighbor's daughter was kidnapped last night from her bed, we were hoping to ask you if you had seen anything?" Daniel straightened, noticing a 10-year-old girl standing behind Mr. Williams and frighteningly looking up at the man.

"We haven't," Mr. William stated as Daniel watched the girl held up her little hands, the agent straining to read before realizing what was written.

"She's here," He muttered to himself.

"What?" The man before him barked. "Get off my-"

"-On the floor!" Daniel yelled at the man, taking out his gun and pointing it at the man. "I said on the floor!" He continued, holding the man at gunpoint as the commotion had the rest of his team flock towards them.

"Search the entire premise," He told the team, leaving Mr. Williams in the care of two of his officers as he went and looked for the little girl that tipped him off, finding her hunching beneath the stairs. "Hey, sweetheart," Daniel pushed back the other officers and tucked away his gun.

"Hey," He crouched before her and held up his hands to show her he had nothing on him. "You told me that Abby is here, right? Abby is your friend, isn't she?" He asked her, watching her with gentle eyes as she slowly nodded.

"She's your friend, you don't want her to get hurt, do you?" Daniel inquired as she shook her head. "No we don't, so, baby, why don't you tell me where she is and we can get her back home safe, huh? How does that sound?"

"We won't hurt you," He assured and held out his hand to her, watching her eye him warily, before putting her small palm into his oversized one. Daniel helping her out from beneath the stairs and allowed her to lead him out the back door and to the yard, walking into the garden shed before pointing at the wooden boards. "Here?" He confirmed as she nodded, Daniel looking up to his men who began to pry away the wood to show a ladder going down.

Two men went down with flashlights, shining them around for a minute before calling up.

"Found her!"

Abby had been alright, shaken, but unharmed. Her mother had been beyond relieved and Daniel stood watching the reunion with the little girl holding his hand and peeking from behind his leg, shyly smiling at her friend.

"You want to go to her?" Daniel looked down at the girl who looked up and smiled, nodding in confirmation. "Come on," He said and began to lead her across the yard.

"You bitch!" Mr. Williams voice ricocheted around the grounds as he tore away from the officer that had handcuffed him, grabbing hold of the man's gun as everyone else did the same, Daniel shielding the girl just as his gun went off and the other officers pulled their trigger, killing him.

Daniel looked down at the little girl, hoping she was alright but gasped quietly when he saw the blood blossoming from her sternum.

"Oh," She murmured and stood trembling in Daniel's arms, the agent instantly hoisting her up and rushing her towards the ambulance that stood there.

Daniel waited outside the operation room for hours, hoping the girl was alright. But he knew. He had known that she was too fragile to survive and he received that confirmation just minutes after his director had called to congratulate him on a job well done.

"We're sorry, Agent," The nurse stepped out and told him. "We couldn't save her,"

He nodded numbly and thanked them for trying, supposing it was a blessing for her since she had no one else and would have been forced to go into the system. Who knows, maybe she wouldn't have had it any better there. At least now, she wasn't in any pain.

He was the only one to take her body and bury her alone in a nearby cemetery. The priest from another funeral being kind enough to speak some words over her. 

Once he returned home, Daniel took a shower to get rid of all the blood and grime on him, inhaling deeply as he scrubbed raw at his skin. Stepping out, he grabbed his scotch decanter and glass, pouring himself a drink before walking out of the kitchen's arch and into the dining room before entering the lounge which was set up with a grey couch beneath the window and two chairs opposite it.

Making his way up to his study, he opened the glass doors and entered the immaculate room set up with leather couches and a large wooden table before a bookshelf, a hearth to the tables left as Daniel made is way over to it, picking up the teddy bear resting on the mantle.

Looking down at the brown fur of the bear, a bittersweet smile overcame his lips as he hugged it close to himself, inhaling the faded smell of Tessa which had once lingered on it, and he found himself crying about how much the little girl today reminded him of his bambi.