Episode Summary: Severed Ties

In this new episode, two young girls are kidnapped by a woman with a knife (played by Kelly Rowan). The team reveals an unexpected connection on the way to defusing the situation.

Full summary after the jump!

Winnie tells Greg that 911 received a call from a young girl named Riley Adler. When Greg is connected, he tells Riley that she is brave and asks where she is. She says they're in a drug store. Greg asks if she's okay, but the phone is taken away before she can respond.

Rewind. Greg receives a phone call about his son, Dean, who had an accident on his dirt bike and broke his arm. He found out about the accident on Facebook through his cousin. Dean never confirmed Greg as a "friend," but added Greg's cousin. When discussing it with Ed in the locker room, Ed says that his son didn't confirm him as a friend either. Greg says it's not the same, because Ed's son doesn't live far away. Ed counters that planes go to Dallas. Greg says his ex won't let him through the door. Ed jokes that he should bring a ram.

Cut to a children's playground. A man is taking photos of children at play. A mother disciplines her daughter, giving her a time out. She then chats with some other mothers in the playground. The photographer turns their attention to the girl sitting in time out.

Back at SRU headquarters, Greg notices a printout in Ed's locker and asks if it's an ultrasound. Ed confirms. Greg asks when he's due. Ed jokes that it's the lady who carries the baby. Greg jokes back with mock surprise, saying Ed's boys can still swim. Greg asks how it feels. Ed says he and Sophie are still getting used to it. Greg comments that Clark is almost out of the house, but now they'll be back to changing diapers and 3 a.m. feedings. Ed adds "and a husband who works all the time." Greg says that it's an opportunity to do things differently, that he wishes he had that chance.

Back to the park, a couple of mothers are talking. The little girl who was in time out has disappeared. Her mother starts freaking out because she can't find her.

At SRU headquarters, Winnie says that a five year old girl, Becky Corday, was kidnapped. She notes that an eyewitness mentioned seeing a strange man taking photos. The man is identified as Clarence Fogle, a recently released child molester who lives three blocks from the park. As the team leaves, Ed instructs Winnie to send his photo and address to their PDAs.

The SRU break into Clarence's home and start searching for him. Wordy spots him outside and alerts the team that he's running away. Ed, Sam, and Wordy chase him down. Sam knocks him to the ground and they arrest him. Ed asks if there is any sign of Becky at the house. Spike says she's not there. Winnie sends a picture of Becky to the team. Jules finds a pile of photos on a desk and starts looking through them. Spike asks if Becky is in one of the photos. Jules confirms after looking at her PDA. Greg tells Ed that they found pictures of Becky, that Fogle appears to have been watching her for a while.

Ed, Wordy, and Sam interrogate Clarence. They ask where Becky is. He finally admits that he saw her at the park but never touched her.

Greg, Spike, and Jules check through the photos on the memory card from Fogle's camera. The time stamp confirms that Fogle was at the park after Becky was kidnapped. Clarence asks to be uncuffed, but Ed asks Winnie to send officers to pick up Fogle to take him back to jail for violating his parole.

Jules mentions that Becky has been missing for over an hour. Greg tells Spike to issue an amber alert and send Becky's picture to media outlets and patrol officers within a 100 mile radius.

Jenna says she has lots of pictures of her daughter if the police need them. She mentions that Becky loves playing dress up and changes five times daily. Jules asks what she was wearing today. Jenna lists the clothing and starts crying that she shouldn't have turned her back. Greg comforts her, saying they'll do everything they can to get her back. Jules asks if Jenna knows anyone who might have taken Becky. Jenna doesn't. When asked about her husband, Jenna says he's a lawyer away on business in Montreal. Greg asks if he has any enemies. Jenna says it's possible and agrees to give his contact information to the police. Jules asks if Jenna might have enemies. Jenna says she's a stay at home mom, so she only knows other parents.

The team find a photo on Clarence's memory card of a woman taking Becky away.

Cut to the Ontario Science Centre. The kidnapper and Becky are watching a movie. The other members of the audience are a small class of elementary students with one teacher. As they leave, the kidnapper tries to coerce another girl, Riley, to go with her. When the teacher tries to pull her away, the kidnapper gets agitated. She pulls out a knife and tells the teacher not to come any closer.

The SRU arrive on the scene. Greg briefs the team on the situation. The team discusses their options and how to maintain a perimeter. All weapons must be less lethal because of children present. The team decides to start their search outside the theatre.

Jules and Greg speak with the teacher. She says that she doesn't think Riley knew the kidnapper, that Riley was terrified and didn't want to go. She also says that Riley didn't seem to know the other girl. The teacher didn't recognize the kidnapper.

Greg says they need both sets of parents available, to see if they can find out what the connection is between the girls.

Spike has found the kidnapper visible on cameras pointed at the main entrance. He is able to zoom in enough to clearly see her face. Greg tells him to make copies and see if the parents can make an I.D.

Riley's parents say that the kidnapper looks a lot like Riley's birth mother, Maggie Perrello, but that she's supposed to be in jail. Jenna notes that Becky was adopted too. Jules suspects that the kidnapper was going after her own children.

Greg and Jules ask for more details from the parents. The Adlers say that they got information about her so that they could answer questions from Riley when she's older, but that Riley doesn't know who Maggie is and must be very scared.

Spike pulls up Maggie's record. She was sentenced to eight years for armed robbery. The children were put into foster care because she was a single parent. Maggie got out of jail a few months ago, after serving five years and getting an early parole. Jules said she must want her kids back now that she's out. Greg asks Spike to try to track down Maggie's family and friends, anyone who could provide some insight.

Back at the Science Centre, SRU team members continue their search. Maggie and the girls walk through an exhibit of human bodies. Riley gets upset and Maggie reminds her that she's her mother. She promises to explain later.

A security guard spots Maggie and the girls leaving the exhibit hall and radios the team. They are heading towards the loading dock. Ed says the security guard should be instructed to stand down, the subject is armed and emotionally agitated. The team members are all in pursuit of Maggie.

Maggie hurries the girls along. The security guard tries to stop her, saying he can't let her leave with the kids and that she's scaring them. She pulls out her knife and stabs his leg before hurrying off with the girls. Spike relays the info to the team, noting that she's escalating and that the guard saw her exit the building. Maggie drives away with the girls in a car.

The team has some details about the car and will pass it along to other officers. Greg also says that airport security needs to be notified as a precaution.

Jules and Greg question Maggie's friend, Dana. She tells them that Maggie had wanted Dana to look after the girls while Maggie was in prison but that wasn't practical. There wasn't any family that could look after them either. Maggie's husband died in a car accident. Maggie, seven months pregnant with Becky, and Riley were also in the car. Riley was uninjured, but Maggie needed an emergency C-section as her pelvis was shattered. Maggie's life fell apart after the accident. She lost her husband and the house. She was also in a great deal of physical and emotional pain, to the point she couldn't function without pills. Dana confirms that Maggie robbed a pharmacy after a doctor wouldn't prescribe any more.

Spike notes that the getaway car was a rental and he found an address tied to the credit card used for the rental.

The SRU breaks in to Maggie's home, finding it set up very nicely to welcome the girls. It's clear that Maggie intended to bring them here. Greg notes that Becky and Riley are no longer Maggie's kids.

The team discovers that all of Maggie's clothes are gone, she clearly isn't coming back. They also find a home movie of Maggie with baby Riley. Jules says she seemed really happy. Ed says it's a shame what drugs can do to someone's life. Greg says that isn't an excuse for the choices she made. Jules is a bit surprised, saying she expected him to be more sympathetic. Greg is insulted. Although he was a drunk who lost custody of his kid, he does not run around with a knife trying to take him back by force.

Jules is a bit shaken and goes out to the van to ask Spike to get in touch with Maggie's parole officer. Sam asks if she's okay. She admits that she overstepped with Greg and struck a nerve. She says she should have kept her mouth shut. Sam says he likes that she speaks her mind. Spike gives her the contact information for the parole officer.

Maggie stops the car outside a house, saying it's the house they lived in when Riley was a baby. She asks if Riley remembers (she doesn't). Maggie points out the window for Riley's old room. She says she wants to show them something fun. They go to see a bird feeder in the yard. Maggie says that there was a family of robins that built a nest nearby and had two babies. Riley was worried they wouldn't have enough to eat, so she shared her cereal with them. Maggie and Riley put the feeder up and would sit nearby to watch the mother bird feed her babies.

The girls say they want to go home. Maggie tearfully says that she knows it's very confusing for them. She says that some people took the girls away from her but now that they're together they can be a family again. The girls protest.

Jules and Greg talk to the parole officer. He says that Maggie expected to get her kids back after getting out of prison. A few days ago he had to tell her the truth. The girls were legally adopted while she was in prison. The courts terminated Maggie's parental rights because of the length of her prison term. Maggie was very upset, saying that her girls are all she has and she wants them back.

Jules asks the parole officer for more details about how the courts could terminate the parental rights. He says that the courts decided that they didn't want the children to languish in foster care. Although Maggie had tried to keep in touch with the girls, social services didn't pass on any letters or cards because they assumed it was best to sever all ties.

Maggie tries to bond with Riley and gives her an old plushie dog. She says that one of the legs got cut when a streetcar ran over him but that Riley insisted on keeping him, that she loved him even though he wasn't perfect. Maggie says she kept the dog with her when she went away and that it reminded her of Riley. Riley remembers the nickname for the toy, "Cho" because she couldn't say Charlie. Suddenly Becky starts coughing. Riley and Maggie don't know what's wrong.

Maggie takes the girls into a pharmacy and pleads with a pharmacist to help Becky. The pharmacist asks questions and tries to think of something to help, after Maggie threatens her with a knife and insists that something be done without calling 911.

Riley takes the opportunity to break away and call 911. She tells Greg that Maggie is trying to help Becky because she's very sick. Maggie finds Riley and hangs up the phone. Winnie passes the address on to the SRU.

The team arrives on the scene and starts developing a strategy. They get a camera inside and can see that there are two more hostages and that Becky is hooked up to something that may be oxygen. Greg introduces himself over a megaphone, saying he needs Maggie to pick up the phone when he calls.

She answers. Greg asks her to let Becky out so that an ambulance can take Becky to the hospital. Maggie refuses. Greg then asks if paramedics can enter the building to make sure Becky is okay. Becky takes a turn for the worse and Maggie agrees to let a paramedic in. The paramedic is followed by Greg and Ed.

Becky's parents call, saying that her only medical condition is an allergy to almonds, even trace amounts can make her throat close. Maggie notes that there were almonds in the muffins she gave the girls earlier. The paramedic gives her epinephrine to help. Greg says Becky needs to be taken to the hospital to ensure that she's okay.

Maggie objects, saying she doesn't want her kids to be taken away again. Greg argues with her, saying that the kids are no longer hers because of the choices she made. Maggie says she's a different person now. Greg says she's being selfish and not thinking about what's best for them. Ed calms him down.

Greg says he knows what it's like to lose children as he hasn't been allowed to see his son for ten years. He said the hardest part is to accept the fact that they're doing okay without you. Maggie says it isn't true, that Jenna made Becky cry and just left her sitting alone. Greg says that Jenna only wanted Becky to slow down and be safe. Maggie insists that he's wrong. Greg says that Maggie is convincing herself that she needs to save her children from being mistreated. Greg says her children are with families who love them.

Maggie says she misses them so much, that Greg has no idea what it's like to be so close to her kids and not be able to hold them. She says she wanted to start over. Greg says her understands that she wanted a second chance at being a good mother. He says this is a chance to do what's best for them, show how much she loves them, and let them go.

Riley asks Maggie if she's really her mother. Maggie puts the knife down on the ground. Maggie tells Riley to remember that she loves them so much. She hugs Riley and lets her walk over to Greg. Greg thanks her and walks Riley out, but Maggie sobs, grieving the loss of her children again.

Outside, Becky is wheeled on a stretcher over to an ambulance, Jenna at her side. Riley runs to her parents and drops the toy puppy. Maggie looks on, disappointed, and is ushered into a police car. Greg picks up the toy puppy and returns it to Riley who smiles.

Back at SRU headquarters in the locker room, Greg and Ed discuss the case. Greg says that the Adlers offered to send Maggie updates on Riley including letters and photos. Ed says that's nice of them. Greg also says that when Riley turns 18, the Adlers won't stand in the way if Riley wants to have a relationship with Maggie. Ed says this means Maggie gets a second chance and that it's possible for Greg to get a second chance too.

Greg says it's been ten years of his son growing up that he's missed, waiting for his ex to notice he's not the same person anymore. He says he's hugged a hundred kids in the last ten years but still doesn't know what it's like to hug his own son. Ed suggests Greg take action and do something to change things, maybe get a lawyer.

Sam and Jules have a quick chat as Jules heads out to go home. She thanks him for what he said earlier about speaking her mind. He says people should. Jules tells him to have fun watching his game and leaves. Sam looks like he wants to say more, but he just watches her leave.

The show ends with Ed looking at the sonogram in his locker.