He’s a brother, Fin, Olivia replied, her voice steady but thin. If he’s gone deep enough to lose himself, we’re the only ones who can pull him back.
Liv? he whispered, the name sounding like a prayer he’d forgotten how to say. [S19E16] Who's Brian Now?
Liv, you shouldn’t be on this, Fin said, his voice a low rumble as he leaned against her desk. Conflict of interest is all over this like a bad suit. He’s a brother, Fin, Olivia replied, her voice
He wasn’t the Brian who had clumsily tried to navigate a relationship with her years ago. He wasn’t the Brian who had barely survived his stint in Internal Affairs. This Brian wore the skin of a man who had seen too much and done too much to ever really come home. he whispered, the name sounding like a prayer
I don't know where the lie ends anymore, he muttered, his head dropping. I did things. I stayed silent when I should have moved. I looked at the mirror this morning and didn’t see a shield. I just saw him.
I’m here, Brian, she said, holstering her weapon and moving toward him, signaling the others to hold back.
As they walked out into the cold Brooklyn air, the sirens fading into the distance, Brian looked at the city skyline—a place he had protected, a place that had broken him. He wasn't the Brian of ten years ago, and he never would be again. But as Olivia opened the car door for him, he realized that being lost didn't mean he had to stay gone.