4.02--War at Home---Available!

[cellogal]

February 21, 2004

Suburban house, accompanied by Vanessa Carlton’s “White Houses.” It appears that we’re at a baby shower, because there are gifts and a fabulous-looking spread of food, not to mention a pregnant brunette in the midst of it all. Someone hands her a package, and she smiles and reminds them that she said no gifts. A Barbie doll-looking woman scoffs that no one ever believes that, and another brunette, who looks shockingly like Mariska Hargitay, tells Preggers to open it already. She pulls out a baby dress, to a chorus of “awwwwwws,” and she turns to Faux!Mariska, whose name is actually Dana, and tells her that it’s adorable. “I told you you’d like it,” Dana grins. A blonde girl turns to Dana, calls her Mommy, and asks how they can tell it’s a girl, and Dana replies by tickling her and telling her that when she does this, the baby sounds just like her. The girl squeals and giggles, and general merriment ensues. Dana then tells the girl to give her a hand, gives her a cake server, grabs one of the scrumptious-looking treats, and announces to the guests that it’s time to pack it on. Barbie Woman laments that she’s supposed to be dieting, and Preggers says that one of the few perks of being this huge is that you can eat like a horse, then tells Dana to bring it on.

All the merriment is interrupted by a man coming in asking for Dana. The blonde girl scolds him with a whiny, “Hey, no boys allowed,” and Dana reminds the guy, who seems to be her husband, that it was a girls’ party. He merely holds up a piece of paper and says it’s from the National Guard. A hush falls over the room, and Dana realizes that she’s being deployed. Preggers protests that Dana has a kid, and Barbie Woman volunteers to serve the cake. Dana absently hands it off to her and goes over to her husband, who tells her she leaves in three weeks. Dana wonders who’s going to take care of Lindsey, and her husband says he will. Dana turns back to the crowd and says that she’s a baker, and she’ll probably get stationed in one of Saddam’s old palaces grilling fillets for the generals. This provokes tentative laughter, and Barbie Woman decides to slice the tart. Lindsey plaintively asks Dana if she’s going away. “I’ll be back before you know it,” Dana replies. “No time at all.”

River. The camera takes us for a swim to the bottom, where we see Dana’s body lying, seemingly missing an arm.

At PPD, a flyer with Dana’s picture on it is placed in a box marked “Missing Persons: Oct. 2004-Dec. 2004.”

Present Day

River. PPD boats are out on the water, and Lilly and Kat have been summoned to the scene. As they approach, Lilly asks Kat if that’s Veronica in the car. Kat explains that they were on their way to school, and Veronica’s pouting because Kat won’t let her come with. “Eight-year-old wants to see a crime scene?” Lilly asks. “She’s a weird kid,” Kat replies. Heh. They come up on Stillman then and ask if they’ve got a floater. Not exactly: a Marine unit doing a trawl of the Delaware turned up a prosthetic arm, the serial number of which matches the number of a missing Iraq war veteran. “Guy couldn’t catch a break, huh?” Lilly comments. “Gal,” Stillman corrects, then identifies her as Dana Taylor, who went missing three months after her return from the Middle East. Lilly wonders how long someone with a missing arm could stay lost, and Kat responds by drily asking if she ever saw “The Fugitive.” Stillman, examining the arm, says that these things don’t come cheap: custom-fit, titanium, and Lilly remarks that they’re not something you just toss. “Not on purpose,” Stillman replies. Kat wonders where the rest of Dana went, and Stillman guesses that if the arm was in the river, the rest of her is, too, then notices that the divers are coming out. “Not really a Bring Your Daughter To Work Day,” Lilly remarks to Kat.

Credits.

Evidence Warehouse. Vera comments on their victim being a lady soldier, saying you gotta wonder. “Wonder what?” Lilly asks suspiciously. Vera reminds her of that girl in Iraq that had that guy on a leash, and Lilly’s not following it. Vera finally comes out with the Foot-In-The-Mouth Remark Of The Day: “I just don’t get these chicks that wanna tote guns and take prisoners for a living. No offense.” They’re saved by Jeffries, who’s found Dana’s poster and gives us the skinny: Dana Taylor, 30, served three months in Iraq. Vera reads the file and learns that Dana joined the Guard to pay for cooking school, and was 7-and-a-half years into an 8-year bid. Jeffries guesses that Dana never thought she’d get called up, and Lilly learns that Dana lost her arm in a grenade attack on her truck outside Fallujah. Jeffries adds that Dana was given a Ribbon of Valor for heroism, having pulled another soldier out of the wreckage. Vera asks when she got back, and Lilly says it was June, 2004, and she disappeared in October the same year. Jeffries says the last to see was her husband, Geoff , who says she went for a walk that night and never came back. Vera proclaims this a lame story, and Jeffries says that it’s so lame it could be true. Lilly point out that Dana and Geoff were going through a rough patch, and Vera suggests that Dana took a header into the river on her own. Jeffries theorizes that maybe the husband pulled a Scott Peterson, then asks if Scotty’s upstairs. Lilly says that Scotty’s taking lost time, and didn’t say why.

Suburban neighborhood, where we’re about to see what Scotty’s doing with his lost time. He approaches a house, pauses for a minute, and knocks on the door, which is answered by an absolutely adorable little boy. “Uncle Scotty’s here!” he exclaims, and leaps into Scotty’s arms. Awwwww. Talk about cute! Scotty greets his nephew cheerfully, remarking about how big he’s getting, and they head into the kitchen, where a man and woman greet Scotty in mystification, the man wondering if Scotty ran out of cornflakes or something. “What, I can’t visit my own brother without bein’ abused?” Scotty asks teasingly. Brother? Well, holy generous genetic material, Batman! Scotty’s brother is every bit as fine as Scotty is. My goodness. While I’m busy drooling, Scotty’s greeting his brother, sister-in-law, and baby niece with hugs and kisses, and Emilio’s informing Scotty that the orange juice is sour and they had to throw it out. “No kiddin’,” Scotty remarks, and I am beginning to see that Scotty + kids = pure magic. “Enough with that, Emilio,” Scotty’s sister-in-law scolds gently, and Scotty’s brother, Mike, asks him what’s up. Scotty suggests that the two take a walk. “Oh, Papi…a walk,” the sister-in-law comments, and Scotty promises not to rough up his brother too bad. Well, considering what Scotty’s capable of, I think that’s reassuring, although that sort of thing doesn’t seem to be on Scotty’s agenda at the moment.

They head outside, and Mike asks Scotty if something happened. Scotty asks Mike if he remembers Coach Fitzpatrick, and Mike does, asking if he’s the boxing guy who taught classes at the gym around the way. Scotty tells Mike that Coach got picked up for a lewd act with a minor, then explains that the DA’s really gunning for him and has a long list of witnesses. “Are you serious?” Mike asks. “You’re on the list, Mikey,” Scotty tells him. Mike protests that that doesn’t make sense, and Scotty argues that if they’re going to put Coach away, they’ll need all the ammo they can get. Mike insists that he can’t help. Scotty reluctantly agrees, then says he just told them he’d check with Mike. “Told who?” Mike asks quickly. “The people who got it wrong, I guess,” Scotty replies.

Taylor home. Geoff explains that Dana never took off that arm, saying that she wanted to be as normal as possible, like before. “Before Iraq,” Jeffries finishes. Kat asks him if Dana came home different, and he snaps at her that, if she’d gotten her arm blown off, wouldn’t she? Kat replies that she’s just asking a question, and Geoff backs off, saying that yes, Dana was different. Jeffries sympathizes, telling Geoff that when he came back from Vietnam, he and his wife had some troubles adjusting, and Geoff says he and Dana were working it out, until she walked out the door that night and he became a widower. Jeffries asks if Dana mentioned going near the river that night, and Geoff replies that Dana used to go on long walks alone and never said where she went. Kat asks if Dana had any problems with friends or neighbors, and Geoff says no way, explaining that Fishtown is a military community, and people respected Dana going to Iraq and doing her duty. Jeffries reluctantly asks about the possibility of suicide, and Geoff says that he thought they were finding their way back. Kat suggests that maybe Dana couldn’t make it, and Geoff replies that Dana came back different, and it threw him.

VA hospital, where we hear Dido’s “White Flag.” Geoff and Lindsey approach with flowers as Dana sits and talks with a guy in a wheelchair, who asks her if she knows what he misses the most. “The leg?” Dana suggests jokingly, and they chuckle. “The chow?” she guesses again. “The danger,” the guy replies, then notices Dana’s family. She gets to her feet and hastily covers the stump where her arm used to be, and is thrilled to see her family. Lindsey runs up to Dana, but stops short when she sees the missing arm, and concludes that they couldn’t put Dana’s arm back on. She says they couldn’t, and Geoff tells Lindsey that it’s okay and instructs her to hug Dana, which she does. Dana says that they’re all going to get used to it, and Geoff agrees, sounding less than convinced. Lindsey announces that she doesn’t like it; it’s weird. Geoff starts to scold her, but Dana jumps in, saying that it’s just an arm, and she’s got another one. She tickles Lindsey, who giggles, and the tension seems eased. Dana says she’s glad to be home, and Geoff agrees, then greets the guy, Tommy, saying the neighborhood’s been busy sleeping without Tommy racing around. Tommy says he’s been busy kicking Iraqi ass, and Geoff whoas Tommy, indicating Lindsey’s presence. Tommy apologizes, saying that you forget, and Dana tells him it’s okay. Lindsey asks Dana when she’s coming home, and Dana says it’ll be a week; she’ll have a prosthetic by then, and be 100%. “Well…90%,” she corrects with a smile.

Geoff tells the detectives that he couldn’t look at Dana, and she knew it. Kat suggests that this hurt Dana enough to put her in the river, and Geoff says, with a touch of jealousy, that the person who’d know better than him is Tommy, saying that before, he was just a guy from the neighborhood, but after what they went through, Tommy was Dana’s new best friend. Kat asks if he was in the RPG attack, too, and Geoff says Tommy was the one Dana saved, and that if she had any secrets, Tommy would know them.

Softball field. Tommy proudly says he and Dana fought in Iraq for 93 days and nights, and that it brings you together in a way you can’t understand. Scotty tells Tommy that Dana’s cell phone records show a lot of calls to Tommy, and Lilly adds that this included the night she disappeared. Tommy says that’s because they talked every night, but, in response to Scotty’s skeptical look, he says it’s not what they think: they talked about the war, rehab, and their friend Frank, who died in the attack. Lilly asks what they talked about the night Dana disappeared, and Tommy says it was the usual: night terrors, seeing Frank in their dreams, and all the thanks they got for fighting from people looking at them like they’re freaks. Lilly sympathizes, saying this sounds hard, and Tommy says that nobody else gets it, so they’d tell each other.

Backyard barbeque, where we hear “Chocolate” by Snow Patrol. Dana carries out a tray of muffins and Tommy, who’s held the door for her, tells her he asked the Guard to send him back over. He’s walking good as new, so why not? Dana’s distracted by a sparkler, which immediately sends her into a flashback of driving along a desert road, and, far in the distance, there’s a person standing in the middle of it. Tommy notices and asks Dana if she’s okay, and she shrugs it off, then takes the tray over to a group of women, one of whom is Barbie Woman. She looks at the sloppily decorated muffins and proclaims them precious, and Dana says they’re the best she can do at the moment. “They’re sweet,” Barbie Woman insists, and Dana offers one to the baby shower honoree, who is no longer pregnant, but who is extremely bitter, and refuses the muffin. Barbie Woman takes the muffins, and Dana takes the opportunity to admire the baby, who’s sleeping adorably, saying she sees Frank every time she looks at the baby girl. “Missed you at his memorial,” the other woman says drily, and Dana says she heard it was beautiful. “I guess you had somethin’ better to do,” the woman replies. Dana says she didn’t think the other woman wanted her there, and the woman snaps that she got that right. Dana asks what she should have done, and the other woman orders her to not act like they’re friends, since they’re not, and they never will be again. Tommy protests to the woman, whose name, we finally learn, is Brenda, that she’s had a few, and Brenda says Tommy blew it off, too, and orders him to just save it. Tommy argues that it’s hard on them, too, and Brenda protests that they didn’t lose anyone. “We lost Frank,” Dana retorts. Brenda argues that Dana doesn’t have a baby with no father, and tells Dana that she can’t stand to see her alive when Frank is nothing but ashes at the bottom of the river. She then takes another swig of whatever she’s drinking and storms off, and Dana, in tears, leaves in the opposite direction.

Scotty asks why Brenda was laying this on Dana, and Tommy explains that Dana was driving the truck. Lilly guesses that Brenda blames Dana for Frank’s death, and Tommy says that Brenda wasn’t in her right mind: she was drinking all the time, and half crazy over losing Frank. “Crazy enough to kill someone?” Scotty asks, and Tommy shrugs.

Lilly’s place, where we see a griddle full of burnt pancakes. “Crap,” Lilly says, and takes the pan over to the sink. Hey, her pancakes look like mine! Joseph comes in, cuddling Olivia, and jokingly says that if Lilly was trying to smoke them out, a nudge would have worked. The humor is lost on Lil, who explains peevishly that she was trying to make breakfast. Awww. Joseph says that maybe he’ll take a rain check, and Lilly explains that, in her family, cooked meant whatever was spinning under the heat lamp at 7-11. Joseph guesses that this is it, then, and Lilly jokingly tells him to pack his bags and leave. “It’s been nice knowin’ ya,” Joseph teases. They banter about him leaving for a minute, and then Lilly tells him to cut and run. “Wouldn’t be the first,” she says softly. Joseph’s Counselor Antenna starts to twitch, and he asks Lilly who left her. “My dad,” she replies. “I was six.” Annnd suddenly we understand Lilly a whole lot better. Lilly explains that she always thought he’d come back, saying that at her high school graduation, she was sitting there, looking for him in the bleachers. “Did he show?” Joseph asks unnecessarily. “What do you think?” Lilly retorts. Joseph says he’s sorry. “Like I said,” Lilly replies, “You wouldn’t be the first.” Joseph says that maybe he’ll stay, and see if he can’t be the last. Wait: the last to leave her? That would imply that he’s…planning to leave her. Or something. I just don’t get this relationship. On some levels, it seems like Joseph knows Lilly better than anyone, but on other levels, it seems like he just doesn’t understand her at all. Oh, well.

Squad room. Brenda sits down, and Stillman thanks her for coming in. She asks if they found Dana, and Scotty tells her that they found her arm, and they’re thinking that the rest of her might be dead. “Missed the sensitivity training, did ya?” Brenda remarks. Um, yes. Yes, he did. Mr. Sensitivity continues, saying that at the Fourth of July party in 2004, things got ugly between the two of them. Brenda says she was still reeling over Frank’s death, and a few glasses into the alcohol, and Stillman says that can fuel the fire. Brenda insists she was grieving, not homicidal, and was home with her six-month-old the night Dana went missing. Scotty points out that a six-month-old can’t alibi her, and Brenda demands to know how killing Dana would help her; it wouldn’t bring Frank back. “Murder ain’t logical like that,” Scotty points out. Brenda says she apologized to Dana. “After the hangover,” Stillman remarks, and Brenda says things got back to normal for them. Stillman comments that getting back to normal isn’t that easy, and Brenda agrees, saying that, like a lot of guys coming back, it seemed like part of her was stuck in Iraq.

Car, where Citizen Cope’s “Bullet And A Target” plays. Brenda’s in the passenger seat, Dana’s driving, and Lindsey’s in the backseat wondering why Daddy’s not taking her to gymnastics. Dana says it’s because she’s home now, and this was always their thing. Lindsey brats that Daddy always lets her sit up front, and Dana suggests that Lindsey braid her doll’s hair. Brenda then announces that she’s stopped drinking, citing the way she talked to Dana as a reason. Dana says it was understandable. Brenda continues, saying she’s going to grief counseling to talk about Frank, then asks Dana if she’s thought about counseling. “Me?” Dana asks. “For what?” Hmmm…well, I can think of a couple things. Brenda says that Geoff told her Dana never talks about the attack, and she says she’d like to know what happened. Dana says they were driving, like they are now, and as she flashes back to that scene in the desert, she says the orders were to keep moving and never stop. Brenda asks what Frank was doing, and as Dana looks at some kids playing in the street, she says Frank was looking out, that you always have to look out, because the one thing out of place could be the thing that…and then Dana has a serious attack of road rage, screeching to a halt and screaming at the kids to get out of the street. One of the boys playing calls her a freak and demands to know what she’s doing. Over Brenda’s and Lindsey’s protests, Dana gets out of the car and grabs one of the boys, asking if he’s a complete moron, and the boys run off, leaving Dana in the middle of the street, tearfully apologizing, saying she keeps forgetting she can’t act like that here. Brenda tries to reassure Lindsey, but Lindsey says Dana’s always doing that: making people mad.

Scotty says that Dana going from happy homemaker to road rage case is quite a flip, and I’ll just keep my comments to myself. Stillman recognizes the signs of classic PTSD, and Brenda says she realized that the Dana she knew was gone. Scotty wonders who else Dana went off on, and…again…I’ll refrain from comment. It’s simply too easy. Stillman says that it sounds like this daughter could tell some tales.

[cellogal]

Taylor house. Lilly and Lindsey are sitting on the swings, and my goodness, but that’s a striking resemblance. How come they didn’t get this girl to play Young Lilly at any point? Seriously. Anyway, Lindsey asks Lilly where her mom went, and Lilly tells her that they’re trying to find out. Jeffries asks if Lindsey remembers when Dana came back from the war, and Lindsey does, saying that Dana didn’t have an arm. Lilly says they heard Dana would get upset sometimes and make people mad, and asks Lindsey if she remembers any of those people. She says she doesn’t. Lilly tells her that she won’t get in trouble if she tells them, and, after a pause, she says maybe one man, at her school assembly, who sat behind Dana.

School auditorium, where we hear “Turn Time Around” by n. Lannon. Dana and Tommy, both in uniform, sit as a banner proclaims that they’re honoring their heroes. A teacher’s praising the troops’ accomplishments, and Dana turns to Tommy and asks what’s with him. He says that his petition to go back was rejected, and he got medically discharged. Dana reminds him that it was a long shot, and Tommy says it was also his last shot; he’s got nothing and no one. The teacher’s getting ready to introduce Dana, and she pulls off her Ribbon of Valor and asks Tommy to hold it for her, then gets up to speak. She says she was in Iraq for 3 months and drove a supply truck; she was scared going over, but ready to do her duty. A uniformed man behind where she was sitting nods in agreement, and Dana shows the crowd her arm, saying that happened to her, and now she has confused feelings about the war, so instead of giving a speech, she decides to just take some questions. An African-American boy shoots his hand up, and, when called on, gleefully asks her if she ever wasted anyone. She has a flashback then and there, and the person standing in the road is getting ever closer. She says she never wasted anyone, but watched her good friend get wasted. His name was Frank, she says, and one second he was telling a joke, and the next, his blood and his insides were all over the truck, all over her. She says it’s not like a video game or a movie, it breaks your heart right in half. She then leaves the stage, and as the teacher introduces the next guest, the guy behind her asks her what kind of soldier she is. “The kind that tells the truth,” she retorts. The guy tells her he’s going back for his second tour in a week. “How do you think my kid feels now?” he asks. Dana suggests that she and Lindsey leave, but the guy’s not done. He tells Dana she should have stayed in the kitchen; she’s got no business trying to do a man’s job. She argues that she’s a soldier, same as him. He nods, and then gets up to leave, telling Dana that soon, he’ll teach her a lesson.

Jeffries asks Lindsey who the guy was, and she says it was Penny Kozlowski’s dad. Lilly tells her that that helps a lot, and Lindsey thinks that maybe her mom went away because of her. Awww, Linds. Lilly asks why she’d do that, and Lindsey thinks maybe her mom found out that Lindsey thought her arm was scary. Lilly tells Lindsey that, if she were her girl, she’d be so proud. “You would?” Lindsey asks, brightening. My, but she really could be Lilly’s daughter. The resemblance is uncanny. Lilly observes Lindsey’s bravery, saying that Dana could see that just like she can. Wow. Lilly + Kids = Magic, too! As she and Jeffries leave, Lilly says it sounds like this Kozlowski didn’t like girls fighting his war, and Jeffries suggests that they find out how much.

Kozlowski home. Vera and Kat approach Josh Kozlowski, who’s lifting weights in his garage, and introduce themselves as Philly Homicide, then ask about Dana Taylor. He’s not surprised Homicide is investigating, due to Dana’s mouth. Kat tells him they heard he was a real fan of Dana’s speech at his daughter’s assembly, and Josh derisively dismisses “GI Janes,” saying there are some jobs women just can’t do. Kat looks at him incredulously, and Vera’s not disagreeing, but asks Josh why go after Dana. Josh says it was because she traumatized every kid in the place, and Kat suggests that he retaliated. She holds up a file, and Vera adds that aggravated assault does seem to be Josh’s specialty. Josh says that that Taylor broad needed to be shut up, and if he was the one who did it, he’d tell them. All the same, Vera says, they need to verify his whereabouts. Josh says he keeps great calendars: they tell him the day, he’ll tell them where he was. “Deal,” Vera says, and he and Josh head into the house. Kat, meanwhile, stops to talk to Mrs. Kozlowski, who’s been quietly pruning flowers this whole time, and makes small talk about pruning techniques, saying her grandma was a green thumb. Mrs. Kozlowski proclaims Kat’s advice a good tip, and Kat asks if she’s got any tips for her, since she knows her husband’s temper all too well. The woman glances warily up at the window, then says she knew of Dana: she knew her husband.

Group meeting, where Snow Patrol’s “Grazed Knees” plays in the background. Mrs. Kozlowski asks Barbie Woman, whose name is Paula, who her friend is, and Paula introduces Geoff, whose wife, Dana, is a soldier. “Hi, Jeff,” the group choruses in unison, and Mrs. Kozlowski welcomes him to the support group. Paula urges Geoff to tell them about Dana, and he says Dana’s been his girl since they were fifteen. They’ve got a kid, he says, who’s all he’s got to hang onto right now. He says he’s not even allowed to know where Dana is, just that she’s “over there” someplace, and he worries all the time and feels lost. Mrs. Kozlowski sees that Geoff is near tears and suggests that they take a coffee break, and the group scatters, but Paula stays next to Geoff, saying that it helps to talk. He disagrees, saying he feels like a fool; he’s a man, and sitting around expressing feelings doesn’t seem to be for him. Paula takes his hand. “I know you’re a man,” she says. Wait…back up. This doesn’t seem exactly, 100% innocent all of a sudden. Mrs. Kozlowski is getting the same vibe, it seems.

Kat surmises that Geoff had a side dish, and Mrs. Kozlowski explains that a lot of people had “Jodys,” someone to keep company with till their soldier comes home. Kat concludes that it wasn’t serious, and Mrs. Kozlowski points out that Paula’s husband kept re-upping, so she was alone a lot, and she thinks that Paula wanted something serious with Geoff. “So his wife coming home was a problem,” Kat realizes, and Mrs. Kozlowski adds that when Paula wants something, she’s pretty determined.

Squad room. Scotty asks Paula if her husband’s overseas, and she fixes him with a flirtatious glance and says he’s ass-deep in the Sunni Triangle, which Lilly realizes is not exactly a garden spot. She says that the desert air must appeal to him, since he keeps re-enlisting. Scotty asks about the lonely nights, and Paula says she keeps busy. “Like with Geoff Taylor?” Lilly asks, and Paula admits that she and Geoff might have had a thing. “A thing…like an affair?” Lilly replies. “No,” Paula retorts, “we’d get together and do crosswords.” Heeee. Lilly surmises that Dana being Paula’s friend didn’t count for much, and Paula says that, in wartime, rules change. Scotty paints the picture: she and Geoff are hitting it, Dana comes home, Geoff starts flying right, and Paula’s left out in the cold, and Lilly reminds Paula of the old saying about the woman scorned. “Except I wasn’t,” Paula points out. Lilly realizes that the affair kept going, and Paula says that Geoff was patient, but, a month after Dana came home, she still wouldn’t let him touch her, and Scotty realizes that, pretty soon, he was back in Paula’s arms. “And then it all blew up,” Paula says.

Taylor house. Paula’s primping, and Geoff tells her to button up already, since she has to get out of there. Paula suggests her house tomorrow, and Geoff asks her what they’re doing. “Living,” she replies. She suggests making it permanent, and Geoff admits to getting dark thoughts about changing his life. Suddenly, the door opens, and Dana walks in. Oh, snap. Geoff spins some lame excuse about thinking she was at rehab, and Dana says that Lindsey’s school called, and she has a fever. “So I’ve been bustin’ my ass learnin’ how to brush my teeth again and this is what you’re doin’?” she asks tearfully. Geoff apologizes, and she says she’s sorry too, then offers to make it right by packing up and getting lost so she can leave them to it. Geoff says that’s not going to happen, but Dana continues, saying she’s taking Lindsey with her because she doesn’t want Paula setting an example for her little girl. Good call, Dana. She then looks at Geoff, tells him she can’t believe he threw it all away, and walks out. He runs after her, leaving Paula standing there in the bedroom.

“You probably think I’m some bimbo homewrecker,” Paula tells Scotty. “Pretty much,” he says with a grin. Heeee. You know, sometimes I’m really glad Scotty missed sensitivity training. Paula says she and Geoff were both lonely, and Lilly says that then Dana cleared the way for her. Paula says that once Dana busted them, it was over. Scotty points out that it was over for Dana, too, since she disappeared that night, “leaving Geoff kinda…single.” Paula repeats that it was over, but, no worries, she’s got a new Jody now. Scotty sarcastically congratulates her, and Lilly, looking equally disgusted, tells Paula she can go. After she leaves, Lilly reminds Scotty of Geoff saying his little girl was all he had to hang onto, and they conclude that, if Dana was going to leave and take Lindsey with her, maybe those dark thoughts got the best of him.

Interview room. Scotty angrily tells Geoff that he didn’t tell them about his girlfriend, and when Geoff plays dumb, Scotty reminds him of “the skank, Paula.” Hee. I love snarky Scotty. Geoff concludes that they found out anyway, and Scotty asks him if he didn’t feel like sharing that piece of the puzzle. “Would you?” Geoff asks. “If a murder cop was askin’, yeah, I’d come clean,” Scotty retorts. Heh. Geoff says that, if you’re ashamed enough of something, you do a lot to hide it. Scotty pauses thoughtfully for a minute, then adds that this gives Geoff motive for offing his wife. Geoff insists that he didn’t kill Dana; he loved her. Scotty points out that Geoff loved Lindsey, too, and Dana threatened to take her away. Geoff says that, whatever punishment he had coming his way, he was going to take it, but something good actually came out of all that crap: they finally talked about what happened over there.

Taylor house. Geoff asks Dana, who’s stroking Lindsey’s hair, how she’s doing, and Dana says that the fever’s down, and the hair-stroking helps her sleep, and she always loved it. “Still does,” Geoff comments. Dana sees Geoff’s suitcase and surmises that he’s going, and he kisses Lindsey and walks out. Dana follows, and Geoff asks her what happened. She doesn’t know. He says it’s like he lost her over there. He apologizes again and says he’ll go, if that’s what she wants, but first, he wants her to tell him what happened over there, when she got hurt. Dana gets her Desert Road flashback, and says he doesn’t want to know. He insists he does. Dana says she’ll hate her; he protests that he could never hate her. Dana, near tears, says she doesn’t deserve her Ribbon of Valor, then sinks to the floor, sobbing that what happened to Frank was her fault. Geoff sits down and tells her that’s not possible, and Dana tells the story. They’d just made a delivery, they were on their way back, and Frank was telling a stupid joke when there was something in the road…someone. “Who?” Geoff asks. We see the Desert Road flashback again, and this time we actually see who’s been standing in the road all this time: a little girl. Oh, snap. Dana says that the orders were to run down anyone they saw in the road. “Even a kid?” Geoff asks incredulously, and Dana explains that they used the kids to get the convoys to stop, but she didn’t see a trap, she saw a little girl who could have been Lindsey, so she slowed down, and that’s when they got hit. Dang it. Where are my tissues? “Typical girl soldier, right?” she remarks. Geoff says that wasn’t a girl thing, it was a human thing, and he would have done the same. He reminds her that the RPG killed Frank, not her, and for the first time, she seems to accept this. She and Geoff embrace, and she says she doesn’t want that ribbon, since it’s keeping her in a place she doesn’t want to be. “So get rid of it,” Geoff says, and she agrees, then says they have to say goodbye to Frank. She asks Geoff to stay with Lindsey for a couple hours, and he agrees. She starts to leave, and then he calls after her, reminding her that she’s his girl. She smiles, then walks out.

Geoff says he was praying she’d come home and want to start over, but she never came back. “And you didn’t go with her,” Scotty asks, for clarification, and when Geoff says he didn’t, Scotty wonders what Dana meant by “we.” Geoff says he doesn’t know, that he always assumed Dana went on her walks alone. Behind the glass, Vera and Stillman have figured it out: Tommy didn’t go to Frank’s memorial, either, he had the Ribbon of Valor, and Frank’s ashes were in the river.

Interview room. Lilly tells Tommy that they know why Dana went out that night: to ditch the Ribbon of Valor and put the war behind her. Jeffries asks Tommy if he has any thoughts on how she might have done that. He doesn’t. Lilly’s guess is that Dana threw it in the river, and Jeffries points out that that’s probably where Dana ended up, too. Tommy wonders why they’re telling him, and Lilly says it’s because Dana called him that night, and asked him to meet her at the river. “And bring the ribbon,” Jeffries adds, and Lilly says that Dana knew they both needed to lay Frank to rest. “So what if that’s true?” Tommy asks, and Lilly says it seems like something he’d mention, unless something went real wrong that night. What Jeffries doesn’t get is that Dana saved Tommy by pulling him from that truck, so why would he want to hurt her? Tommy insists that that’s the last thing he’d want. Lilly believes Tommy, because she thinks he wanted more of Dana than he could have. Tommy plays dumb, and Lilly reminds him of Iraq, rehab, all those late-night calls when they got home, and it brings you together in a way other people can’t understand. “Hard not to get attached to someone after all that,” Lilly says. Jeffries points out that Dana was married, and Tommy argues that Geoff was messing around on her: she told him that night. “You saw your opening,” Jeffries says, and Tommy’s silent for a minute, and then says it seemed like she felt the same. He says that he got her, and she got him. “And no one else did,” Lilly concludes. “I thought it was gonna be the start of a new life,” Tommy says. “Instead, it was the end,” Lilly replies.

Bridge overlooking the river. Tommy approaches Dana, who’s leaning on the railing, and jokingly asks her if she’s flirting with danger again. She comments on the beauty of the river, and Tommy agrees. She then asks if he brought the ribbon, and he did. He places it in her hand and asks what they’re going to do with it. “Move on,” Dana says, explaining that the ribbon is about memories, and it’s time to leave them behind. She clutches the ribbon for a moment, then tosses it into the river, saying, “Rest in peace, Frankie.” She then takes Tommy’s hand, and he proclaims it a new chapter, then says, “So how ‘bout you and me?” Dana’s stunned, and Tommy tells her there’s a reason they talk every night, why they never want to hang up. Dana says they went through a lot together, and Tommy says that now it’s part of their lives. Dana protests that she has a family, and Tommy reminds her that Geoff cheated on her. Dana knows this, and says that maybe they’ll never recover from that, but they’re going to try. “While I’m standin’ right here?” he says bitterly. Dana says that they almost died together, and of course, that brought them close. Tommy says he’s got nothing else, and Dana says she has him, as her friend. Tommy argues that that’s not enough; Dana insists it’s special, Tommy proclaims it bull, saying it’s nothing and he can’t hold onto that. Dana says they’re finding their way back, and they’re going ot make it. “You will,” Tommy says, “not me. Not me,” he says again, as he gives her a shove, which sends her toppling over the railing into the water. She screams, and Tommy brokenly calls after her as she hits the water. So, to review: guy and girl are friends, guy wants more, girl says no, guy shoves her off of something tall. This seems…familiar…

Jeffries leads Tommy through the squad room as Lilly looks on and “Little By Little“ by Oasis plays.

Kat and Stillman watch as Dana’s body is pulled from the river, and then one of the divers hands something to Stillman. On a closer look, it’s Dana’s Ribbon of Valor. No way.

In the evidence warehouse, Vera places Dana’s box on the shelf and gives it a respectful punch.

Paula paints her nails as she sits on her sofa and watches Iraq War coverage.

A couple of boys leave a gym, playfully punching each other as they head out…and Scotty’s sitting alone in his car watching them. Oh, Scotty. I get what you’re doing, but if you’re not careful, somebody’s going to see you watching these kids and take you behind a building to teach you a lesson.

At a cemetery, Dana’s finally being laid to rest, and I better go find those Kleenexes again, because military funerals always make me bawl. Soldiers march away as Geoff, Brenda, and Mrs. Kozlowski look on, and as the soldiers pass, we also see Lindsey, Lilly, and Jeffries in attendance. A soldier hands the flag that draped Dana’s coffin to Jeff, and the Ribbon of Valor to Lindsey, who then steps forward and salutes her mother’s casket. Sniffle. Lilly and Jeffries see Dana, in full combat dress, returning her daughter’s salute.

This seems like an appropriate time to thank all the men and women who have served their country in any war, past or present. Your sacrifices are greatly appreciated.