mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 6, 2007 22:04:41 GMT -5
Chapter Thirteen: Anything & Everything for Family “When are you going to be home, Dad?” Jessilyn asks through the phone as she crawls up on a stool at the island counter in the kitchen. “In a few days, honey,” Lucas replies on his cell phone while sitting in the passenger seat of Rob’s car. “Rob and I have a few things we need to do to help us find mommy, and then we’ll be home as soon as we can.” “Promise?” “I promise, Jess. You just be my big girl and take care of your sisters while I’m gone. And make sure they behave for grandma, grandpa and Kelsey okay?” “Okay, I’ll be in charge of them. I’ll help nana. I love you, Dad.” “I love you too, princess.” Lucas waits to hear the dial tone before clicking off his cell phone. “Missing you already, huh?” Rob says while still in control of the car. “Yeah,” Lucas says with a sigh. “And I miss them too. But, the sooner we get to Georgia and figure all this out, the sooner I can get back home and be with them.” “Yes,” Rob says. “Hopefully, this trip will answer a lot of questions for us and speed up this investigation.” “I hope so too,” Lucas says. “The sooner we find them, the better.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “You said she hasn’t been eating or talking since what happened?” Doctor Caller asks as she sits across from Nathan at a table in her office. “No, not really.” Nathan replies as Chloe sits on his lap, leaning into his chest with her whole body. “I mean, I’ve gotten her to start eating some fruit and like chicken noodle soup, but she needs more than that.” Doctor Caller nods her head as she records on paper everything Nathan tells her. “Well,” she says when she looks back up at him. “Not talking and a loss of appetite are typical responses of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, especially for a child as young as Chloe.” “Is there anything you can do for her?” “I’m not sure,” Doctor Caller replies honestly. “That really depends on Chloe. I can do my best to work with her and talk to her and hopefully get to the basis of what is keeping her from talking and eating like she used to. And once we get there, we can keep on working with her and hopefully get her to open up and finally deal with what happened.” “Well, isn’t that what she’s doing now…dealing?” “Well, actually, right now, Chloe is in sort of a state of shock, which is what Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is. Her problem is she doesn’t know how to deal with whatever it was that put her in the state she’s in, so we will work with her and engage her in activities that will help her work through what is making her feel so scared, alone and abandoned, as she is probably feeling.” Nathan nods and looks down at Chloe again. Then, he looks back up and doctor Caller and says, “Okay…then I want you to do whatever you can to help her.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Can you believe he’s a week old already?” Brooke asks Haley as they stare down at the baby boy asleep in the playpen, which Dan had brought back to the house when he returned. He also brought inside the boxes from the truck. Inside the boxes, were food and clothing, which Dan claimed he bought from places like Good Will, but of course no one believed him. Still…at least he wasn’t planning on starving them, although it made Brooke, Haley and Cooper wonder why exactly he’s keeping them hostage. Haley shakes her head and replies, “Nope. And it’s one whole week of his life Nathan will never have with him.” She turns around and walks back to sit on the bigger bed in the room. In the small house where Dan is keeping them, there are only three bedrooms, two small ones up stairs and one big one downstairs. The downstairs bedroom is the room Haley, Brooke, Cooper and the baby are sharing, although Cooper has been sleeping on the couch in the living room so he can still protect his family…the way his father would. Brooke follows Haley to the bed and sits down next to her and says, “You’re right, but there are some things we can do to make up for that. I have a disposable camera in my purse that I bought…well, a few days before we ended up in this situation. I was going to use it when the girls start preschool in a couple weeks, but…it looks like I’m going to miss that, so I want you to have it. You can take pictures of Henry and maybe put together a little baby book you can give to Nathan when we see him again.” Haley smiles and says, “Thank you, Brooke. I appreciate that.” Brooke smiles back with a glisten in her eyes and says, “Anything and everything for family.” She wipes away tears before more can form. “So,” Haley says, changing the subject. “How are you feeling today?” “Well, with the exception of nausea here and there and missing my husband and children terribly…I feel fine.” She stands up and puts a hand on her stomach. She turns around, facing Haley again and she says, “You know, this might be really horrible to say, but I don’t really feel like I’m pregnant. I know I’m only eight weeks and some people don’t even feel it then, but I did…with Jessilyn and the twins. I remember feeling pregnant at eight weeks with them, but I don’t with this one and I think it’s because—“ “You can’t celebrate it with Lucas?” Haley finishes. Brooke nods and in almost a whisper she says, “He really wants this baby.” “What about you?” Haley asks after a minute. “Do you want this baby?” Brooke is quiet a moment, thinking…not about whether or not she wanted the baby, but about how to get her words out without breaking down into tears again. She nods and she whispers again, “Yeah, I do, but not without Lucas. I’ve never done the whole pregnancy thing without him right here next to me before. And I don’t know how to—no, I don’t want to do it without him, especially in this situation. I need him.” Haley stands up and hugs her sister-in-law, slash best friend. “Well, you’ve got me for now,” she says. “And I’ll do whatever I can to help you through this as long as you promise to help me through too.” They pull out of the hug and Brooke says, “I promise. We’ll stick together.” “That’s right,” Haley says. She smiles and says, “Anything and everything for family.”
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 6, 2007 22:11:28 GMT -5
Chapter Fourteen: Finding Out the Truth Lucas and Rob arrived in Atlanta, Georgia after about only ten hours of driving, allowing one stop for rest. Now, about forty-five minutes after arriving in Georgia, they have arrived at St. George Memorial Hospital. “Thanks for meeting us, Mike, “Rob says, shaking the hand of his Atlanta detective friend in the hospital parking lot. “Certainly,” Mike replies. “I’m as interested as you to find out what happened here back then, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you.” “Well, we certainly can use all the help we can get,” Rob says. He looks at Lucas and says, “Mike, this is Nathan’s brother, Lucas Scott. His wife, Brooke was taken too.” “I’m sorry about that,” Mike says, holding out his hand. “Thanks, me too.” Lucas says, shaking his hand. “Hopefully, we’ll find them soon though.” “Well, that’s what we’re going to do.” Rob says. “So let’s head inside and see what we can find out.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So what’s he got on you?” Cooper asks Matt, interrupting the almost silence of the living room where he, the doctor, Haley and Brooke are sitting around a small television…another item from Dan to “keep them entertained” as he put it. He brought the television back after his second trip away from the house. Where he goes when he leaves, not one of them knows. But when he does go away, he disappears for days, and they have peace when he’s not there; although, of them desperately wish to be home with their families. When Cooper speaks to Matt, Haley and Brooke, who are sitting next to each other on the couch, Haley with baby Henry in her arms as she breastfeeds him, both look over at them. “What do you mean?” Matt replies, though already knowing exactly what Cooper is getting at. “Come on,” Cooper says. “I know you’re not a bad guy like Dan is, otherwise you wouldn’t have helped my mom. So why are you helping him keep us here?” “That’s an interesting question,” Haley says. “I’d love to hear the answer.” “I’m not helping him,” Matt replies, looking at Cooper. “I’m a prisoner too.” “But you helped him get us here,” Brooke points out. “Why?” “What’s he got on you?” Cooper asks again. “Where’re you from? And how does he even know you?” Matt doesn’t answer…he’s too afraid. They finally trust him enough to be around him. He doesn’t want them to hate him again, but they will if they know the truth, if they know about everything that happened. But he was a different person back then and he never wants to be that guy again. No, now he just wants to figure out a way to help them out of this mess and save them from that crazy bastard, Maybe that would make up for what he did back then, for helping Dan escape. They have families too and deserve to be with them. “You won’t like the answers,” Matt finally replies. “And you’ll hate me.” “Try us,” Haley says. Matt shakes his head and still avoiding answering their questions, says, “It’s a really long story.” “Um,” Brooke says, looking all around the room, “does it look like we’re going anywhere? We’ve got plenty of time to kill. And we really would like to know the answers.” Matt stares at them all. Well, I’ll have to tell them eventually, so why not now? Sooner the better right…. no, who am I kidding? Sooner or later…either way doesn’t matter…. they’re going to hate me. But maybe telling them now, while Dan is away, is better and easier…maybe I’ll have a better chance of smoothing things over with them afterwards.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “What do you mean he isn’t here anymore?” Lucas says angrily to the Chief of Staff of the hospital, Rob and Mike standing with him. “Where is he? Where did he go?” “That’s the thing, we don’t know.” Chief of Staff, Doctor Lure replies, sitting down behind his desk. “He took his vacation time almost three weeks ago, meaning he was supposed to return last week. We haven’t received any contact with Doctor Dager since he left.” “Perfect.” Lucas sighs, forcing himself away from the desk. He covers his head in frustration. “Doctor Lure,” Rob begins, sitting in a chair in front of the desk. “We’re investigating the kidnapping of my daughter-in-law, my grandson and—“ “My wife,” Lucas finishes, walking back to them. Rob continues, “Now, we know who took them, but the last person to ever see him was Matt Dager five years ago. His name is Dan Scott and he was brought to this hospital from an accident along with my grandson James Scott, whom he kidnapped back then. Doctor Dager treated both of them and when he spoke to us about Dan, he told us Dan had died from severe head trauma and internal bleeding.” “Really?” Doctor Lure responds in a tone of surprise. “And you’re sure it was doctor Dager who treated him?” “Positive,” Mike answers. “I wrote everything down on paper that he told us. It was most definitely Matthew Dager, M.D.” “And you’re certain this…Dan Scott is alive?” “Yes, d**n it!” Lucas shouts. “He is alive and he has kidnapped my wife, my sister and my nephew and we need to find him!” “I understand, but I don’t know what you want from me,” doctor Lure defends. “This is the first I’m hearing about any of this, and frankly, I’m devastated by it all and I’m wondering how it’s even possible this could’ve happened, how it could’ve gotten past me.” “Well, you’re not the first to be stuck in a situation involving Dan,” Lucas says more calmly. “Doctor Lure,” Rob says and the doctor looks back at him. “It is very, very important that we find Doctor Dager. If we find him, we may have a better chance at finding Dan and at saving this hospital from a lawsuit of negligence. If we find him, we can strap the lawsuit on him. So any information you have on Dager, anything about him or his family that we can use to get in touch with him, would be extremely vital to this investigation and the future security and existence of this hospital and your job. Is there anything you can give us?” Doctor Lure nods and says, “Yes…there is something.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “I’m sorry, okay.” Matt says as Cooper and Haley walk out of the living room angrily after hearing his story. “Yeah, you should be.” Haley said when she passed him, carrying her baby in her arms. Marcus looks over at Brooke, walking toward him with tears in her eyes and a scowl on her face. She stops in front of him and after staring at him for a moment, lifts her hand and slaps him, leaving a welt upon his face. “d**n you,” she says, “you stupid, selfish son of a pregnant dog. It’s your fault we’re here away from our families. You could’ve put him away and kept him from hurting anyone else, but you let him go. You convinced everyone he was dead, and now he’s back and more psychotic than ever before. I am pregnant and unable to share it with my husband and my children because of what you did. Haley and Cooper and that baby are apart from their family because of you. Nathan will never get those first precious moments with his son because Dan is imprisoning us here against our will. And it’s all your fault. I hope you both burn in hell.” Brooke turns and walks away, back to the bedroom with Haley, Cooper and Henry. Matt sits back down on the couch and bows his head. They have every right to be angry, he thinks. Brooke had every right to say what she said. I was stupid and I was selfish. If it weren’t for me, none of us would be here right now. But…if I hadn’t helped Dan, if I hadn’t accepted his offer, I might be dead right now…The blade was cold and sharp against his neck. He’d never been as scared in his life as he was in that moment when Joe was moments away from decapitating him.
“You owe Willy a lot of money, Matt,” Joe said as he held Matt tightly against him and the blade against his neck.
“I know,” Matt said nervously, swallowing after almost every breath. “And I’m going to get it, all of it. I promise.”
“You really should stop gambling with money you don’t have, Matthew, “ Joe said, speaking in an intimidating tone. “You might just get yourself one of these days.”
“I-I’ll g-get t-the m-money,” Matt stuttered again. “I-I s-swear.”
“Now, how should I believe you? You swore you’d have it months ago, Matt. You keep breaking your promise, and you know Willy doesn’t like it when people break their promises, especially when those people owe him money. Willy doesn’t like it when he doesn’t get his money, and if Willy don’t get paid, I don’t get paid. I don’t like not being paid, Matt.”
Joe tightened his grip on Matt and he flinched when the knife was pressed harder.
“I know, know,” Matt said choking. “I’ve just had a little trouble getting a hold on all of the money. I don’t have enough right now, but I’ll get it. I think I know where to get it now. I swear…I’ll follow through this time. I just…I need a few more days.”
“You better not be playing games with me, Matt.”
“I’m not, I swear. Please…just a few more days…it’s all I need.”
Joe slowly moved the flat side of the knife across and finally off of Matts’ neck and he said, “This is your last chance, Dager…you’ve got three days.”Matt grows sweaty just remembering that night. He had been in so much trouble with that crowd. He’d always been in trouble with that crowd in his gambling days, but that last time was the worst. He came this close to losing his life. Had he not been working the following day in the hospital, had Dan not been brought in that day, Matt would not be alive today. He had just finished caring for a young boy who had come in from an accident. Then, he had to check on his first patient from the accident…a John Doe. He entered the room and saw right away that he was still unconscious and had been put in restraints. He walked slowly to the bed and picked up the chart.
“Okay, John Doe,” he said, looking through the chart. “Let’s see how you are doing.”
He looked up from the chart and examined the cuts and bruises on the patient’s face. Then, he checked the reflexes by shining a tiny light in his eyes. Nothing.
Then, while he was recording everything on the chart, the patient opened his eyes and spoke.
“Who are you?”
Matt looked at him and replied, “I’m doctor Dager. You’re in St. George Memorial Hospital. Do you know what happened to you?”
“An accident…the car rolled.” His patient said.
“Good…can you remember your name as well?”
“Dan…Scott.” The patient answered and Marcus wrote it on the papers. Dan remained quiet while he did this. But when he noticed the police patrolling the hallways, he grabbed Matt’ hand on the bed rail and said, “I need your help.”
“What? Are you in pain?”
“No,” Dan said. “I need to get out of here. I need to get away…far, far away. I need to be dead.”
Matt only stared at him, confused.
“Name your price.” Dan said and it perked Marcus’ interests. “I’ll pay whatever you want if you make me dead and make it known that I am.”
Matt continued staring at Dan, disbelieving. His offer couldn’t have come at a more desperate needed time.
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 6, 2007 22:14:59 GMT -5
Chapter Fifteen: Left With Nothing Lucas rides silently in the passenger seat of the car as Rob drives back to Tree Hill. He cannot stop thinking about what a wasted trip this had been. They hadn’t gotten any closer to finding Dan by coming down here. Sure…they had gotten information on that doctor and how he had come to be involved in all this, but they still had no idea as to where Dan had taken Brooke, Haley and Cooper. Dan is being much smarter in hiding this time than he had been when he kidnapped James. Frankly, without any leads, Lucas isn’t sure how they will ever be able to find them. That doctor in charge of the entire hospital couldn’t give them anything but Dager’s address and his wife’s name. But even his wife couldn’t give them anything useful… “I have a feeling this is going to lead us nowhere,” Lucas said as he, Rob, and Detective Campbell walked up to the door of a large house. “Well, you never know,” Detective Campbell says, “sometimes we get a lot more useful information than we expect, and sometimes we get nothing useful at all.” “Well, for the sake of our family,” Rob said as his friend rang the doorbell, “let’s hope we do get something useful.” All three of them looked at the door as a young, pregnant blond opened the door, holding a blond headed toddler boy on her hip. “May I help you?” The woman asked as she and her son stared at the three of them. Detective Campbell stepped in front of Lucas and Rob, held up his badge and said, “Yes, m’am. I’m detective Mike Campbell and this is Lucas Scott and Chief Robert Stevens from Tree Hill Police. We’re investigating a kidnapping and we’d like to ask you a few questions.” “Me?” The woman replied, shifting her son higher on her hip. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know—I haven’t been—“ “No,” Detective Campbell interrupted, “maybe not you, but we do believe your husband, Doctor Matt Dager is involved.” Dager’s wife got very nervous then and invited us inside. She left her son in the playpen in the living room and then sat in a chair across from them on the couch. “Mrs. Dager,” Detective Campbell began, “how long have you and your husband been married?” “About three years,” Mrs. Dager replied. “And how long had you known each other before you were married?” “Oh, we knew each other for many years. We, um…we met about ten years ago while he was in med school. I had just started as a nurse at the same hospital he was working at. We hit it off as friends right away. We started dating about three years after we met. I fell right in love with him and him with me. But as great as I thought he was then, I always knew he was hiding something…something that seemed to control him.” “Did you ever find out what it was?” Lucas asked. “Yeah,” Mrs. Dager replied, nodding her head. “Gambling. He had a huge problem with gambling back then, which explained why his money was always disappearing. It took me quite awhile to figure it out, but I did. And I tried to talk to him about it several times, but he would always get angry with me. “I would tell him over and over again that he had a serious problem and that he needed to take control of it before it hurt him or hurt us, but…he just wouldn’t stop. He just got more and more in debt and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I finally told him that I would leave him if he didn’t quite. I told him it was either the gambling or me, that if he wanted a real future with me, he would have to stop gambling first…for good.” “That must’ve been why he helped Dan,” Rob inferred as Lucas leaned back on the couch. “Dan probably offered him the money to cover up for him and Matt must’ve taken it to clean up all his debts.” Mrs. Sager nodded again and continued, “He came back to me about a year after I left him, pleading with me to please forgive him and take him back. He said he’d paid off all his debts and hadn’t gambled in months. Of course, I didn’t believe him right then because I didn’t know that I could trust him. Then, he told me what really convinced him to stop…nearly being killed because of his many debts. I knew then that he was sincere and I forgave him because I still loved him.” “But he didn’t tell you about what he did to get the money to pay off his debts?” Detective Campbell asked. “No…not until about a month ago, right before he disappeared.” “Disappeared?” Rob repeated curiously. Mrs. Dager put her hands on her pregnant stomach and she explained, “He came home from work, really freaked out and he said he needed to tell me something. So we sat down and he told me that when he paid off all his debts back then, he had gotten the money from a patient who had offered it to him in exchange for a lie…to help him fake his death. Matt told me how he struggled with that offer, how he knew how wrong it was, but that he did it because he knew he would have no other way to pay back all the money he owed in time and that if he didn’t…he would be killed. “I couldn’t believe that he had kept that from me. And then I wondered why he had decided to tell me then. He told me it was because the patient he had taken the money from had come back, after five years for more help. He said he couldn’t tell what Dan needed his help with or how long he would have to be gone. And he said hi didn’t know when he would be able to contact me. “ Mrs. Dager was in tears, but she still went on, “I couldn’t believe it, any of it, and I was so angry. I told him not to go, not to let this man control him, but he said he had no other choice and that if he didn’t go, Dan would hurt us.” Everything came together with her story. Doctor Dager had helped Dan escape five years ago to cover a debt, and now he was another hostage of Dan’s. This game Dan is playing only getting worse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So Lucas and that d**n cop husband of Deb’s are following my trail…I guess they’re smarter than they look.Dan smirks as he drives his van on the open road, heading back to his hideout. He’s spent days driving back to Tree Hill and then to Georgia to see how well his plan for revenge is working. And from what he’s observed so far…it’s working perfectly. Nathan is completely lost without Haley…at least that’s how he’s looked. I haven’t seen even an inkling of a smile both times I’ve been back since I took Brooke and Haley away. All he can do is mope around…and Lucas too.Lucas really seems to be hurting after his little visit to the hospital in Georgia. Good…it’s exactly what I’ve wanted, for him to go looking with all hopes of finding me and then be crushed when he comes out with nothing. And nothing is exactly what they got from that little trip of theirs.
They still know nothing about where I am or where I’m keeping their loved ones. And they’ll never know…unless I tell them. But I can’t tell them unless they find me, which they never will. And even if by some odd strike of luck they do find me, I can still keep them hurting. This torturous game is so entertaining. I’m finally getting mine just from watching them suffer.“You might as well give it up boys,” Dan says to himself. “You’re not going to win…not this time. They’re my family now.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So you pretty much found out nothing?” Nathan concludes after hearing what Lucas and Rob had to tell him about their trip. “Nothing that will help us find Dan,” Lucas replies, leaning back on the couch. “So we’re pretty much back to square one.” “Of course.” Nathan says through a sigh. “So what do we do now?” Deb asks her husband. “I don’t know,” Rob answers. “To be honest, I don’t think there’s much we can do. I mean, we have nothing to go on. The best we can do is notify the FBI and put out a description of Dan. The FBI is probably our best and only shot now.” “Well, we have to do anything and everything we can to find them,” Nathan says. “We have to think outside of the box, just like Dan would. We can’t give up…we can’t let Dan get away with taking them.” “What do you mean Dan taking them?” Another voice enters the conversation. Nathan turns around and faces whom everyone else is staring at…his son. “You told me you didn’t know who took them,” James says angrily, glaring at his father. “You said you would tell me if you knew.” “James, I—“ “How could you not tell me, Dad? How could you not tell me whom it was that took my mom and brother? Why didn’t you tell me it was him?” “I didn’t want you to…I was trying to protect you.” “By lying to me? That’s not protecting me, Dad, that’s hurting me. Mom would have told me…she wouldn’t have lied to me like you did.” “James!” Nathan calls out to his son as he turns away out of the room. He quickly follows him and stops at the stairs as James continues climbing them. “Jamie!” He sighs and starts up the stairs, hoping James will let him in to explain when he reaches his room.
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 6, 2007 22:15:20 GMT -5
more soon!
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 7, 2007 11:11:09 GMT -5
Chapter Sixteen: Small Thread of Hope It’s the beginning of September now…a month since his wife, son, sister-in-law, and now newborn infant son were taken. Everyday without them is harder and harder to keep living. It’s gotten especially harder in the last few weeks…ever since that blow out with James… “James,” Nathan said outside his son’s bedroom door that night. “Jamie, please open the door. I want to talk to you about this.”
“I don’t want to talk to you right now!” James shouted from inside.
Nathan sighed and said, “At least let me explain.”
Only a few seconds after those words, James opened the door and glared at his father.
“No explanation is gonna make this right, Dad,” he said angrily. “You lied to me.”
He turned away and went back to his bed and plopped down on it. Nathan stepped inside and closed the door so they wouldn’t wake the girls.
“Look,” he said as he walked closer to the bed. “I know you’re mad at me, but you need to understand that I thought I was protecting you by not telling you. It was wrong, I know, but you’re not even eleven yet, Jamie. You’re still a kid and I didn’t want you to have that on your mind constantly. I didn’t want you to be hurting more than you already were. I didn’t want Dan to cause you any more pain. I’m sorry.”
James sat up on the bed and stared at his father…crying.
“But you just made it worse, Dad,” he said. “Because I was already hurting because of Dan.”
“I know, that’s why I—“
“No, I’m not talking about the pain he caused me when he kidnapped me, or at least not only that. When I was with him, he would tell me that you and mom didn’t want or love me anymore, and that haunted me for a long time. I had nightmares for years. But I grew up fast because of that, and that’s why I’m not just a normal ten year old, Dad. I understand a lot more then people think I do and I bear more pain than most kids my age. But you still don’t think I can handle it. But you’re wrong. Being around you and mom and family after what Dan did to me helped lessen those nightmares I had until they finally stopped.”
Nathan stared at his son as he listened carefully.
“I didn’t have nightmares for a really long time…right up until that last one when you and mom had to wake me up because I was yelling.”
“And you said you didn’t remember the dream.” Nathan said as he sat down in the desk chair across from the bed.
James nodded and said, “I didn’t want to remember it. And I didn’t want you and mom to know what it was about because it felt so real. It really freaked me out and I was scared to talk about it because I thought talking about it would make it come true. But it didn’t work…the nightmare still became real. Dan came back and he kidnapped mom.”
“That was your dream, that Dan would kidnap her?”
James nodded again.
“Part of it.” He paused and looked up at Nathan again. “I’m praying we find them before the worst part of it can happen.”
“We are going to find them, James, I promise. I’m not going to let Dan hurt your mom or the others.”
James stared back at him with all the hurt and betrayal in his eyes as he said, “But you already let him take them.”James blames Nathan for what happened. It hurts him, hearing his son blame him for something that was out of his control. But then again, maybe it could’ve been in my control. Maybe if I had just been with Haley that day or gotten to the bank sooner…maybe I could’ve stopped Dan, maybe…“Daddy?” Katie’s voice rings out to Nathan as he stares at a family photograph taken a year ago. He looks down at Katie, standing in the archway between the kitchen and living room and dressed in a denim squirt and pink tank top with wink sandals on her feet. “What’s up, Kate?” Nathan responds, walking closer to her. “We’re gonna be late for school and it’s the first day,” Katie says, slipping on her denim jacket and then her purple butterfly backpack. “You don’t want me to be late on my first day of first grade, do you?” Nathan smiles. Again…just like Haley. “No,” he replies. “I don’t want that, I’ll just wake Chloe up. She fell back to sleep after breakfast. Where’s your brother?” “He’s in the car already,” Katie answers, taking her purple BRATZ lunch box off the table. Nathan nods and a turn to enter the living room again to get Chloe, but Katie speaks again. “Daddy?” Nathan looks back at her and she asks, “How long is Jamie gonna be mad and not talk to you?” Poor kid, Nathan thinks as he stares at his little girl, his min Haley. She’s stuck in the middle again and aware of everything going on around her.“I don’t know, Katie,” He answers honestly. “Hopefully not forever.” Katie walks over and hugs him. Then, she looks up at him and says, “Well, you don’t have to worry about me Dad. I’ll never be angry with you. I know it wasn’t your fault. And I know we’re gonna find mommy…I can feel it.” And she turns and walks toward the door to the garage, leaving Nathan with a smile and holding tighter on that small thread of hope. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Come on girls,” Lucas says as he enters the twins’ bedroom, where his sister is helping them get ready for school. “You’re going to be late for your first day.” “Luke,” Kelsey says as she stands up from helping Megyn put her sandals on. “It’s only preschool. I don’t think they’re going to miss much if they’re late.” “Maybe not,” Lucas says with a smile (something he doesn’t do much anymore) “But Jess starts third grade today too and you start junior year in like half an hour.” “That’s okay,” Kelsey says, sticking her hands in her jean pockets. “I don’t mind being late.” “Well, I do. Mom and dad will kick both our asses if you’re late.” “Awe,” Ashlyn says, walking up to Lucas, hand in hand with Megyn. Both are dressed in sundresses, Megyn’s purple and Ashlyn’s pink. “You said a bad word, Daddy.” Lucas looks down at his daughters and says, “No, I didn’t…I said ‘apples’.” Kelsey smiles at her brother as Megyn says, “No, you didn’t. We heard you, Dad. You said the bad word.” “Yeah, “Ashlyn adds. “Do you think we’re deaf or somethin’? That was potty mouth.” “I’m sorry, “Lucas says. “It slipped out. Are you two ready?” “Yes.” The girls reply in unison. “Where’s Jess?” Lucas asks his sister. “I think she’s still in her room. You want me to get her?” “No, I will. Can you just—“ “Yep, I got it.” Kelsey looks down at her nieces and says, “Come on, ladies…let’s go get your lunches and meet daddy and Jess in the car.” Both girls take Kelsey’s hands and walk with her downstairs as Lucas makes his way to the next bedroom, Jessilyn’s. “Knock, knock,” he says, tapping his knuckles on her open door before he enters. When he does enter, he enters a total little girl’s room. Nearly everything in the room is pink, red or white, with the exception of the light, polished, wooden bed frame, dresser and desk, all matching. The walls are pink with white boarders and the closet doors are white as well. Posters of different bands are taped on different walls. “You’re going to be late for school,” Lucas says as he walks over to Jessilyn, sitting on her pink and red striped bedspread. “I don’t care,” Jessilyn replies sadly with her head lowered as she holds a stuffed monkey in her lap, petting it. “I don’t really want to go anyway.” “Well you have to go, honey. Isn’t Anna in your class this year?” “I still don’t want to go.” Lucas sits down next to his daughter and says, “Come on Jess…you were so excited for school to start earlier this summer so you and Anna could finally be in the same class. What changed?” Jessilyn looks up at him with tears in her eyes and she whispers, “Mommy’s not here.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brooke stares at the photo of her family, which she keeps now with her all the time. She stares at it for hours now, everyday, and wishes she could wake up from this nightmare she’s living in. She wants so badly to be home with them, all of them, especially today. Her girls start school today, her twin daughters’ very first day ever, and she wants to be there, with Lucas, helping them get ready. She wants to be there with him, crying over how grown up their little princess is as she heads inside for her first day of third grade. She wants to be there with Lucas, holding their baby girls as they cry because they’re too afraid to go to preschool alone without mommy. But she can’t tell them it’ll be okay, that they’ll be okay or that she loves them…she can’t be there at all. “You’ve got to stop thinking about them so much,” Haley says across the bedroom, interrupting the silence and Brooke’s thoughts. Brooke looks up at her as Haley walks over. “It only makes it worse. “ Haley finishes as she sits down next to Brooke. “The more you think about them, the more it hurts, the more you cry, and the longer the days are stuck in this hell.” Brooke tucks the picture back under her pillow and sits up to talk to Haley. “I can’t not think about them, Haley.” She says, laying her hands over her slightly extending stomach. “They’re my family…the only real family I have and the family I’ve dreamt of having my entire life without a family.” “It’s going to be okay, Brooke.” Haley puts an arm on her sister-in-law’s shoulder. Brooke looks back at her with the same swollen, wet, red eyes she’s had for weeks. “How can you say that, Haley? How do you believe that? How can you believe that when we are stuck her with two maniacs in the middle of nowhere?” Haley doesn’t answer right away because she is concentrating on pushing back her own tears. But it doesn’t work…they still roll off her cheeks as she answers, “Hope…a small thread of hope. It’s all I have left to believe in.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He won’t leave them alone…either of them, not Dan or Dager…no way. It’s his job to protect his mom, brother and aunt, and that means watching out for the bad guys’ every move. “You’re awfully quiet, Cooper.” Dan says, sitting on the couch. Cooper is sitting across the room on a chair with a notepad and pencil. He spends his days now writing lyrics for songs and mostly drawing, like he used to as a kid. Dager is sitting on the other end of the couch, writing in a notebook…something he’s been doing a lot lately. “Have you finally nothing to say?” Dan finishes, turning the page of his newspaper. “Not to you,” Cooper retorts. He looks up at Dan, making eye contact with him and he says, “I’m supposed to curb my tongue, right? If I don’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all, right?” Dan smirks and nods his head. “Right. Sounds like you’ve finally realized who’s in charge here.” “Whatever.” Cooper goes back to his drawing. “Your mother and aunt haven’t left their room since breakfast,” Dan says after a few minutes. “In fact, they don’t leave that room at all except for meals and the use of the bathroom. Why is that?” Cooper looks up again and so does Matt. They exchange glances before Cooper looks back at Dan and says, “They just want to be far away from you and that room is the furthest away they can get.” Dan nods and says, “Well, they’ll learn to stand to be around me in time. They can’t live in their forever.” “Don’t hold your breath,” Cooper says quietly as Dan stands up. “What was that?” Dan asks as he stands up. Cooper glares at him as Dan approaches him. He leans down and whispers in Cooper’s ear, “You’re starting with that attitude again, Cooper. Need I remind you of our last conversation about it?” Cooper swallows. He remembers. It’s what’s kept him from saying much worse things to Dan. “No,” he answers sternly. “It won’t happen again.” “Good,” Dan says, as he stands straight up. “Now…I’m going out for awhile, but I’ll be back sooner than before. I just need to replenish our supplies. You all behave yourselves while I’m gone. And someone please liven up this place too…. it’s much too quiet.” Matt and Cooper watch as Dan leaves and listens as he locks every lock behind the door. Cooper puts aside his drawing, grabs the remote and turns on the television, knowing nothing else to do to occupy his time. After a few minutes, Matt stands up from the couch with his notebook in hand. “Where are you going?” Cooper asks him when he notices him walking away. Matt turns around nervously and replies, “Just…to the bathroom. And then I think I’ll go down for a nap. I’m quite tired.” He pretends to yawn before walking away, down the hallway. Cooper stares at the hallway for minutes after he departed. I don’t think he went to the bathroom…I didn’t hear that creak of the stairs, unless he used the bathroom down here. Even still…I think I should see what he is really up to.He stands up and begins down the dark hallway until he reaches the door at the very end. It is opened a crack and he can see light shining through from the basement behind it. He slowly pulls the door open and starts down the stairs, being careful not to let them creak and make Dager aware of his presence. Finally, he reaches the floor of the basement, but there is no immediate sight of Dager. He walks all around the basement and still does not see him, though he is positive this is where he came. And then, there comes a noise over by the stairs. Cooper returns to the stairs and he looks down and notices more light shining through underneath, he looks up and notices a door, blending in as part of the wall. He walks closer to the door, turns the latch and finds Dager inside and his jaw drops. “What the hell are you doing?”
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 7, 2007 11:16:14 GMT -5
Chapter Seventeen: Guilty Inside Lucas steps up on the porch and knocks on the door. Thirty or so seconds later, Peyton is walking to it, holding seven month old Ellie on her hip. “Hey Luke,” Peyton says as she holds the door open for him. “Hey,” he says as he steps inside. He smiles at the baby and says, “Hey gorgeous. How’re you doing?” Ellie smiles as Lucas tickles her. Peyton smiles at her daughter and says, “She’s keeping mommy very busy. But that’s good…it keeps her mind off of other things.” Lucas nods, understanding exactly what Peyton is referring to. Keeping busy…it’s the only way to keep himself from thinking about Brooke every second he’s without her. “Where are the girls?” He asks, quickly changing the subject as he follows Peyton into the living room. “In the backyard with Anna and Ryan,” Peyton answers as she sets Ellie down in the playpen. “Thanks for picking them up from school and watching them. Both my mom and Keith were busy with work today, and Kelsey with school stuff and I had to take my grade book and lesson plans to my sub at school and then take care of the store, so I really appreciate your help.” “Oh, of course. You know Jake and I are here to help with whatever you need.” “I hope they weren’t too much trouble.” “No…they were great. They’re always good for me.” Lucas moves over and sits down on the couch as he says, “I know. They’ve been so good lately, which is great, but…” “You’re worried about them,” Peyton finishes. Lucas nods again and says, “Especially Jessilyn. She just…hasn’t been herself lately. She’s so quiet at home now, and she’s been in school barely a month and her teacher says she’s really distant and pays little attention in class. That’s really not her Peyton. She’s always done so well at school. This is really hurting her…she was so close to Brooke.” “Not ‘was’, Luke…they ‘are’ close. Brooke is still out there…somewhere. And we’re going to find her…she’ll be back with us soon.” Peyton can see the hurt in her friend’s eyes as he says, “I know…but what if I can’t find her in time? What if he hurts her before—“ “You can’t think like that, Luke. You have to believe it’ll be okay…you have to have faith. You taught me that, remember?” Lucas nods, but remains quiet. He’s trying so hard to push back his tears, but it’s not working. “I don’t know how I can believe in it, Peyton,” he says softly with a glisten in his eyes. “I don’t know how I can do it, especially when it’s all my fault.” “What? Luke, none of this is your fault.” “But it is. The last time I saw or talked to Brooke was during a fight. She was so pissed at me for not being home and she was right. I hadn’t been home much and maybe if I had been she wouldn’t have stormed out like she did. Or maybe I could’ve been with her too—“ “Luke, stop…you can’t do this to yourself. She would’ve left the house anyway. She had plans to go out with Haley even before you got home. Trust me…I know how you feel.” Peyton’s eyes grow heavy too as she continues, “I feel so guilty too, Luke. I talked to her before she left. I was supposed to meet them. And I’ve been thinking a lot lately…what if I had met them sooner? Would this have happened? But Jake has helped me figure out that I couldn’t have had any control over the situation, and neither could you. Dan would’ve just hurt or taken anyone who got in his way, like he did Cooper. Now we just have to deal with what happened and get through it. We have to have faith, Luke.” She takes his hand and he squeezes it. He sits up and hugs her tight. He hsn’t even realized he’d been holding in so much guilt before now. And he never thought Peyton might be holding in guilt too. And if both he and Peyton are holding guilt inside, chances are his brother is holding some in too. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He stops in front of the first bedroom door on the left wall. He stares at it for a moment with his hand frozen on the knob, trying to decide if he can go in, if he’s ready to go in. Finally he completes the turn of the knob and pushes the door open, deciding that maybe going in will allow him to be closer to them in some way. Nathan enters the room…the brand new nursery with walls painted baby blue, white painted clouds spread out on the four blue walls. Against the back wall near the windows, is the white wood crib with blue Winnie the Pooh crib liner. Against the wall opposite the door and next to the closet, is the white changing table, also with Winnie the Pooh liner. On the wall adjacent to the door is a white dresser. Sitting on top of the dresser are three picture frames. Nathan steps up to the dresser to get a closer look at them. The largest frame holds the photo of the whole family. He smiles at it. He remembers Haley insisting that they buy an extra one so the new baby could have one to look at. Another picture is of Nathan and Haley together, outside, Haley with her arms wrapped around his neck from the back, leaning her head against his as they both grin. God…is she beautiful, he thinks. I love that smile…I miss that smile. Before his thoughts of her can bring more tears, Nathan focuses in on the smallest photo…the second sonogram photo inside a white picture frame with red, blue and yellow letters spelling out “I get my good looks from my daddy.” He smiles again and remembers the day they bought that frame, right after they went for that sonogram… “Are you excited?” Haley asked him as he helped her onto the table in the doctor’s office.
“You know I am,” he replied with a smile.
Haley laid back on the table as Nathan pulled a stool closer to her and sat down.
“It feels strange, though,” she said after a minute, “this is our last baby. This is the last time we’ll ever do this.”
“Well, it doesn’t have to be,” Nathan reasoned. “WE can always make another one after this little one, if that’s what you want.”
Haley smiled and said, “No…five kids is just the right number for our family I think.”
Nathan smiled back as he took her hand in his. They both looked at the door as it opened. Doctor Mitchell entered with a chart.
“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Scott,” she greeted as she closed the door. “How are you today?”
“Great,” they replied in unison and smiled when the doctor smiled at them again.
“You’re both excited to find out the sex today, aren’t you?” Doctor Mitchell asked as she set the chart on the counter.
“Yes,” Haley replied.
“We need to know what color paint to buy,” Nathan added with yet another smile.
Doctor Mitchell chuckled and said, “Okay, then, I guess we’ll get started.”
She moved back over to the door to turn out the light. As she returned to Haley’s side with the ultra sound machine, she asked, “So Haley, have you been feeling okay? Everything feel normal?”
“Yeah…I feel great.”
“Good,” doctor Mitchell squeezed the gel on Haley’s stomach and said, “Now, let’s see how your little one is doing.”
Doctor Mitchell turned on the machine and after she turned up the volume, they heard the rapid heart beat. Haley and Nathan both grinned again when they saw their baby on the screen.
“Everything looks fantastic Haley,” doctor Mitchell said. “Strong heartbeat and healthy weight…and it looks like, in about five months, you’ll be welcoming another son into your family.”
Nathan smiled again as he looked at Haley. Tears were in her eyes too as she smiled at him.
“We’re having a boy…another little boy,” she said. “Can you believe it?”
He touched her face and said, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
And he kissed her…He turns away from the dresser as a tear slides down his cheek…again. He sits down n the rocking chair in the corner, first picking up the blue teddy bear and holding it in his lap. His mind goes back to them, to his family, especially Haley. He can’t stop thinking about it…he can’t get over it…he can’t forget about it…the feeling inside of him telling him this is all his fault. “I should’ve been there for you, Haley,” he says out loud to himself. “I should’ve been there…for all of you.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The house is silent and dark. Everyone is asleep…well, Haley, Brooke and Henry are asleep. And he, Cooper is hoping Dan has finally gone to sleep too. He on the other hand, cannot sleep anymore. He’s too anxious about the idea that if Dager’s plan works, he and his family may finally be getting out of here… “What the hell are you doing?” Cooper asked when he found Marcus in the basement under the stairs. “What is all this stuff?”
“Shh…” Matt urged, holding his hands up. Cooper walked in closer to the tables built onto the wall.
He looked down at the junk on the table, among it all, were wires, plastic, screwdrivers, pliers, assorted batteries, cords and…
“What the hell…”Cooper picked it up from the table. “You have a cell phone?”
“No, Cooper, let me explain,” Matt said as he closed the door again.
“Explain what? That we’ve been stuck here for three months and you’ve had a way out the whole time?”
“No…I mean…yes, I’ve had that, but it doesn’t work. I’ve been trying to fix it and build a charger so it will work.”
“Right…you really expect me to believe that’s what you’ve been doing? You’re the reason we’re even in this mess.”
“It’s the truth, I swear. I’ve been working on it every day, whenever I can get away since we got here. It’s why I’ve been so tired…I’ve been staying up all night while Dan’s asleep trying to figure out what I need to do to fix it and then actually fix it. And if I can fix it, then we can call someone and tip them off to where I think we might be.”
“Why?” Cooper asked, staring at him with a furrowed vrow.
Matt stared back at him for a minute and answered, “Because I want to help. None of you would be in this situation if I hadn’t taken Dan’s offer when I could’ve put him away. I was selfish back then, but I’m not anymore, and I want to prove that to you and your mom and your aunt. I want to make up for what I did and helping you get out of here is the only way I can make amends.”That was a month ago. Since then, Cooper has been helping Dager with anything and everything he can, whenever he can sneak away without Dan or his mom and Brooke finding out what they’re doing. Like while everyone is asleep…it’s the perfect opportunity. He quietly climbs out of his bed and walks over to the door, passing the play pen with his sleeping brother inside. He looks over at the bed across the room where his mother and aunt are sleeping as he slowly and quietly turns the knob and pulls the door open and close it gently after slipping outside. Once outside the room, Cooper makes his way down the hall to the basement. Again, he is careful to be quiet as he walks down the stairs and sighs relief when he reaches the bottom. He knocks softly twice on the door. “It’s me, “he says before opening the door. Matt glances at Cooper as he enters, but goes back to his work at the table. “How’s it going?” Cooper asks as he closes the door and pulls up a stool next to Matt. “And progress?” “Not much. I mean, I finally got the phone part working, but it’s still dead. And now, the hard part is building a working charger with scarce supplies.” “Well, are you going to be able to do it?” “Yeah, I think so. I’ve written out all the calculations and the drawn out figures of what I need to do, so not it just comes down to actually building it, which could take even longer to do then it took to fix the phone itself.” “But it’s not impossible, right? You’ll be able to pull it off?” “Yeah…I’m not going to stop trying until it’s done.” Cooper nods and says, “Thanks…thank you, for doing this.” Matt nods and says, “Yeah, well, I owe you.” They don’t say anything more for a few minutes until Marcus asks, “Have you told your mom and Brooke about this?” “No, not yet. I don’t think I should say anything until it’s done, or close to being done. I know mom will flip and Brooke probably too, and I don’t think she should stress herself out with worrying about it. I don’t want her to have the baby too soon or here without my uncle by her side.” Matt nods again and says, “yeah…good idea.” Cooper stays with Matt awhile longer, talking about the plan again, before he heads back upstairs as quietly as he came down. He sneaks back into the bedroom and closes the door again. He looks down in the playpen and pulls the blanket higher over the infant’s tiny body. “Sleep tight, baby brother,” he whispers, touching his brother’s soft brown head. He stands up to return to his bed. “Where’ve you been, Coop?”
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 7, 2007 11:21:12 GMT -5
Chapter Eighteen: Baby Steps Cooper turns quickly at his mother’s voice. She’s sitting up at the end of the bed where Brooke is still sleeping. “Mom,” he says, sighing relief. “You scared the crap out of me, I thought you were asleep.” “Yeah, I could say the same thing,” Haley says. “I heard you get up and leave the bedroom, and I figured you were just going to use the bathroom, but you’ve been gone for 45 minutes. What were you doing?” Cooper sighs again. He doesn’t want to tell her about the plan before he knows for sure it will work. “Cooper,” Haley interrupts his thoughts. “What’s going on? Where were you?” I guess I have to tell her now, he thinks as he stares at his mother. I wanted to wair a little longer, but I don’t want to lie to her either. She deserves to know. “I was talking to Matt,” he answers finally. “About what? It’s three o’clock in the morning. Cooper hesitates again, but he says, “I want to tell you, Mom, but we should wait until later…aunt Brooke deserves to know too.” “Know what?” Haley asks impatiently, walking toward her son. “I really think we should wait to talk about it until Brooke is awake,” Cooper says as Haley stops in front of him. “Go ahead,” Brooke says from the bed as she sits up. “I’m awake.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After ringing the doorbell twice, Nathan opens the door to his brother’s house and steps inside. “Luke? You home?” He bellows as he closes the door. “Yeah, I’m upstairs,” he hears his brother holler back. Nathan makes his way upstairs and finds Lucas in his office, putting his files and other things from his now bare desk in boxes. “Hey,” he says when he sees him, “ You deaf? I rang the bell twice.” “Yeah…I didn’t feel like going down to answer the door. I didn’t know you were coming over. I thought you were starting back to work today?” “No,” Nathan says, shaking his head as he leans against the wall. “I’m not ready to go back, not while Chloe’s still afraid of her own shadow and James isn’t talking to me. I need to get through to both of them first. So I took a sabbatical. Besides…if I went back to work, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate.” “I know what you mean,” Lucas says, stopping to look at his brother. “So where is Chloe anyway?” “With my mom. I’m on my way to pick her up…we have another appoint with the psychologist today.” Lucas nods, “How’s that going?” Nathan sighs as he stares at Lucas and remembers the last appointment… Doctor Caller had him bring Chloe over to a little art table where she had paper and crayons set out for her.
“Okay, Chloe, “Doctor Caller said as she knelt down to face her. “Your daddy told me you like to color, so do you think you can draw me a picture?”
Chloe stared at the doctor as she held Nathan’s hand, but she didn’t respond.
“Can you draw me a picture of your family, Chloe?” Doctor Caller asked again.
Chloe looked up at Nathan, as if asking permission. Nathan nodded and said, “Go ahead, honey. Sit down and draw the picture for Doctor Caller. Draw your family.”
He sat her down in the chair and he and the doctor watched as she picked up a crayon and started drawing.
“Nathan,” Doctor Caller said after a few minutes, “can we talk over here for a few minutes?”
She stood up and Nathan started to, but Chloe stopped drawing and looked up at him. He could tell from her expression that she did not want him to leave her at the table alone.
“It’s okay, Chloe,” he said. “I’ll just be over there on the couch talking to the doctor. You keep drawing. I’ll be right there.”
He kissed her dark head before meeting the doctor on the other side of the room.
“What’s up?” He asked as he sat down on the couch.
“I wanted to bring you over here because we need to give Chloe some time to herself. She needs to learn to be by herself, to not be afraid to be by herself so that once she works through this, she doesn’t panic whenever you’re not there by her side.”
“Okay…but I thought we were going to have her work through what happened first?”
“We are…that’s what I’m having her draw the picture for, and we’ll get to that part with her when he’s done. But fear of abandonment is another part of the PTS. She needs to overcome that fear and be able to be by herself. It is very important that we help her get through that as soon as we can so that she will be able to be away from you when she starts school. But it’s going to take quite awhile before she’ll be ready for that, so we need to start slowly and now. The more we practice with her, the more we help her.”
Nathan nodded again. He turned his head when Chloe tapped his knee.
“Hey,” he said. “Did you finish your picture?”
Chloe nodded as she shyly held her hand up by her ear.
“Great,” doctor Caller said as she stood up. “Can you show it to us, Chloe?”
Chloe took Nathan’s hand and he stood as she pulled him over back to the table. She let go of his hand and sat down in front of her picture as Nathan sat in the chair next to her, and doctor Caller across from her.
Nathan looked down at his daughter’s picture. It was very colorful and she drew very well for a three year old. But as colorful and well draw as the picture was, it still made him sad to look at it. Doctor Caller had asked Chloe to draw a picture of her family, and she did. She’d drawn her father, James and Katie off to the left side bottom of the paper, and herself on the right side bottom, with a tear puddle at her feet. But the most depressing and disturbing part of the picture was what she’d drawn at the top; Haley and Cooper and someone else, who Nathan had to assume was supposed to be Dan, as Chloe had drawn him in black and very close to Cooper with hands wrapped around Cooper.
“Is this your family, Chloe?” Doctor Caller asked after looking at the picture.
Chloe nodded. Doctor Caller pointed to the child sketch of Nathan.
“Is this your daddy?”
Chloe nodded for him, as she then did when the doctor asked about James, Katie and herself.
“And this is your mommy and your big brother?” Doctor Caller pointed to them at the top.
Chloe stared at that point on the paper with the longest frown Nathan had ever seen from her. He watched his daughter as the doctor continued speaking to her.
“So who’s this man holding your big brother?”
Chloe didn’t answer. She merely stared at the spot on the paper. But they waited for her to say something…she was so close, closer than she had been at previous sessions. Finally realizing that she was not ready to speak yet, the doctor continued.
“Is this the man who took them Chloe? Is he the one who took your mommy and your brother?”
Chloe nodded slowly…finally.
“And it scared you when he took them, didn’t it?” Caller continued. “You didn’t want him to take them or hurt them, or to leave you all by yourself. You were—“
“No!” Chloe screamed as she grabbed the paper and ripped it. “Mommy! Cooper!”
“Hey, hey, shh!” Nathan said as he stood up wuickly and tried to calm his screaming daughter. “Chloe, Chloe, it’s okay!”
He got a hold of her and picked her up as she settled her screams to heavy sobs.“Wow,” Lucas says after Nathan tells him of Choe’s last session with the therapist. “That’s quite a breakthrough for her.” “I think it was more of a breakdown than a break through,” Nathan says. “I mean, yeah…she finally said something for the first time in four months, and she finally made herself aware of what happened, but now she feels the pain from it Luke…all over again, the same pain she felt that day. And she hasn’t gotten any better since that day with the doctor…she hasn’t said anything since.” “Yeah, but at least she’s making some progress…it may not be much, but it’s some. She’s remembering what happened, and now maybe she can deal with what happened.” “Yeah, maybe, but she still won’t be over any of it until she sees Haley and Cooper again and knows they’re both safe.” Lucas walks over to his brother and hugs him. “I guess we can all understand that feeling, then. She’ll be okay, Nate. She’ll be the same, bouncy, happy Chloe again….when they’re home…and they will be.” Nathan nods and Lucas returns to his work. “So what are you doing in here anyway?” Nathan wonders as he walks up to him and the boxes. “I am moving my office down to the basement so I can turn this room into a nursery for the baby when we bring him or her and Brooke home, which hopefully we’ll bring Brooke home first before the baby comes.” “You’re doing this now?” “Yeah…I’ve been outing it off, hoping that we would find them first and then Brooke and I would decide on all this together, but I need something to do, so…you know.” “Yeah,” Nathan said nodding. “ So what about the girls then? Have you told them about the baby yet?” “No…not yet,” Lucas answers after a sigh. “That’s something else I’ve been avoidin. I don’t know how I’m going to tell them, how I’m going to explain it to them when they’re confused, but I am going to.” “When?” “Today…when they get home from school.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Hey,” Haley says as she enters the bedroom with Henry forward against her waist, the way she has figured out he prefers to be when she carries him. “What are you up to?” Brooke looks up at Haley from the bed and smiles as Haley sits down next to her with Henry, who is wide awake. “Hi…hey handsome!” Brooke says to her nephew, touching his tiny nose. “You’re awfully bouncy today.” “Yeah, he is,” Haley says with a smile as she stands her son up on the bed, but still holding on to him under his arms. “He’s usually ready for a nap by now.” “I bet he’s just in too good a mood to sleep,” Brooke suggests. Then she whispers more quietly, “He probably knows we’ll be getting out of here very soon.” “Well, that can’t be the reason you’re so chipper,” Haley says, looking at Brooke as she sits Henry in her lap. “At least not the only reason, ‘cause you know this plan of Dager’s might not work.” “Yeah, I know…that’s why I’ve kept my mind on other stuff.” “Like what?” Haley smiles. “I felt the baby kick for the first time today, “Brooke says with a smile as she touches her stomach. “It’s what woke me up today.” “That’s great, Brooke. It’s good to finally see you smile about something.” Brooke nods and says, “It feels good to finally be smiling about something. Oh! And check this out too…” She leans over and picks up something from her nightstand. It’s a a piece of thick string with a ring tied at the end of it. Haley smiles as she watches Brooke hold the string above her baby bump. “You’ve heard of this old wives tale, haven’t you?” Brooke says as she watches the string begin to swing. “Where you hold it above your stomach, and if it swings back forth, it’s a boy…but if it swings in more of a circle, than it’s a girl…or so they say.” “Yeah, I’ve heard of it.” Haley says as she watches as sits Henry in her lap again. They both remain quiet as they watch the string, waiting to see which direction it will swing. Finally, it appears to swing… “Back and forth,” Haley says, and she looks up at Brooke’s face with a smile. “Do you think it’s boy?” “I don’t know,” Brooke says as she slides the string with her wedding ring back around her neck, since her fingers have gotten to swollen to wear the ring. “It’s just an old wives tale, right? I mean, Lucas wants a boy, but I’m so used to girls, and I relate to them better, but I do think a little boy with Lucas as his daddy and me as his mother would be so adorable.” “Oh, of course,” Haley said with a smile. Brooke chuckles and says, “I’ll be happy with a boy or a girl, as long as it’s healthy and safe.” Haley looks down at Brooke’s lap and says, “What’s that?” “Oh,” Brooke said as she took the notebook in her hands. “I was just trying to think of some names, boy and girl, and I’ve thought of a couple, but my mind is kind of all over the place right now, so…” “You can’t concentrate?” “No, I just really have to pee.” Haley chuckled as Brooke slid off the bed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Lucas, we’re home!” Karen shouts as she follows her granddaughters into the house through the garage door. Lucas steps off the last stair and meets his family in the kitchen. “Hey girls,” he says with a smile. “Hi Daddy!” the twins say in unison as they run over to hug him. As they finish their hug, Jessilyn returns to the kitchen from the living room. “Hey Jess,” Lucas says as he stands again. “How was school?” “Same as always,” Jessilyn replies sullenly as she takes off her book bag. “Well, will a hug make you feel better?” He asks as he moves closer to his daughter as Karen helps the twins remove their book bags. Jessilyn smiles at her father as he hugs her. “I missed my Jessi bear today,” Lucas says as he holds her in the hug. “I missed you too, Dad,” Jessilyn says pulling out of the hug. Lucas looks over at the twins and says, “okay girls. Why don’t all three of you take your stuff upstairs and then come back down. I need to talk to you about something.” “Okay,” the twins say as they run for the stairs with their things. Jessilyn following behind. Lucas walks over to his mother as she asks, “What’s going on? Did you hear something?” “No,” Lucas says as he leans against the counter. “I’ve decided to tell them about the baby.” Karen nods her head and asks, “Do you want me to stay with you?” “No, thanks,” Lucas says, touching his mother’s shoulder. “I think I need to do this standing on my own. It’s time for me to the parent.” “Okay, honey. I’ll get going back to the café then.” She kisses his cheek and walks away. “Lucas,” she says, stopping at the door. “You are, you know.” “What?” Karen smiles and finishes, “A great parent.” “Thanks, Mom.” He watches as she leaves again through the backdoor. “Okay, Dad,” Megyn says as she and her sisters return to the kitchen. “What do you want to talk about?” “Come on,” he says, ushering them to the living room. “Let’s sit down.”
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 7, 2007 11:25:23 GMT -5
Chapter Nineteen: Acceptance & Forgiveness This isn’t how it’s supposed to be, Dan thinks as he sits alone in the living room. The others are in their rooms, away from him like they have been more and more often now. They’re supposed to surround me, not stay far away from me. Haven’t they realized that this is their life now? That this home and this family I have offered them is as good as it’s going to get? This is how it’s going to be from now on. Why don’t they understand that? Why won’t they accept me?“They will,” Dan convinces himself. “They’ll accept me. It’ll just take a little prodding…a little coaxing.” He stands up and walks to the bedroom door. When he opens the door, Cooper is playing with Henry on the floor, and Haley and Brooke are sitting on the bed talking. “What do you want?” Haley asks, glaring at him. “I ‘m going out for a few things,” Dan says, nicer than he’s spoken to them before. “Do you need anything?” “You mean other than to be home with our families?” Brooke says nastily. “I’m trying to be nice here,” Dan says. Still glaring at him, Haley says, “Yeah…we need more diapers, formula, and—“ “Batteries,” Cooper says. Dan looks at him strangely. “For my CD player and for the remote to the TV, “ he recovers quickly. “What else would I need batteries for?” Dan nods slowly and then looks over at Brooke. “How about you?” Brooke continues glaring at him, holding herself back from asking for anything. She doesn’t want a single thing from him other than freedom. But her hunger and pregnancy cravings overrule her answer. “Ice cream,” she finally answers. “Moose tracks and cookie dough…lots of it.” Dan nods again, “Okay…I’ll be back in awhile.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “What are you watching?” Nathan asks James as he enters the living room and sits on the couch. James glances at him from the chair in front of the television , but he doesn’t answer. Nathan sighs and says, “Come on, James…I can’t take this anymore. I can’t take you not talking to me. I admit I made a mistake, okay, a huge mistake by not telling you and I’m sorry. If I could change my decision, I would. I would do anything to have you talking to me again…just like I’d do anything to help your sister and to have been there to save your mom and your brother and Brooke.” Nathan waits for a response, but he gets none. As he stands and leaves the room, James turns his head and watches. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lucas carries two paint cans up the stairs and enters the room previously his office. He sets the cans down next to the paint trays and stares at the blank walls, deciding where to begin. Jessilyn quietly enters the room. “Hi, Dad,” she says. Lucas looks at her and smiles, “Hey Jess. What are you up to?” “Nothin’…just thinking.” “About what?” “Mommy.” Lucas walks over to her and sits next to her on the floor against the wall on which the door is hinged. “Are we gonna find her before she has the baby?” Jessilyn asks, looking up at her father. “I hope so,” Lucas replies honestly. “The police in every state are looking for them and we’re looking everywhere here, and no one is going to give up until we find them.” “You don’t think the man who took mommy will hurt her or the baby, do you?” “I won’t let him.” “But how can you—“ “Trust me, Jess, okay? I would never let anyone hurt your mom or any of you. You mean to much to me…you girls are my whole life.” Jessilyn nods. She looks around the room and says, “So this is gonna be the baby’s room?” “Yeah,” Lucas says as he stands up with his daughter. “I was trying to decide what color to paint it. What do you think?” “Is it going to be another sister, or a brother?” “I don’t know.” She looks around the room again, then looks back at her father and asks, “Can I make another suggestion?” Lucas smiles…he loves her big words, and her suggestions. “Sure.” “Maybe we should just leave it like this for now, and then when mom is home and after we find out if the baby is a boy or a girl, we paint something really special on the walls, something that fits his or her personality. I like painting things with aunt Peyton and she’s taught me a few things… I could help.” Lucas nod, still with a smile, and he says, “That…is a great idea.” Jessilyn smiles back. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Katie enters the kitchen and stands next to her brother at the counter. He’s pouring milk into a glass next to a plate of cookies. James looks down at her and smiles. “Do you want some?” He asks. “Yes please,” Katie replies. James pulls down another glass from the cupboard and fills it half full of milk for his sister. Katie waits for him at the table. First he brings the milk to the table and then grabs the cookies from the counter and sits down across from his sister. “Did nana make these?” Katie asks before biting down on her chocolate chip cookie. “Yep,” James answers through a mouthful. “They’re good, huh?” Katie nods and after she swallows she asks, “Jamee, can I ask you a question and you promise not to get mad?” “Yeah, Kate. What?” “How come you still don’t talk to daddy?” James is quiet while he finishes another bite. “It’s kind of complicated, Kate,” he answers once finished. “He lied to me about something really important.” “What did he lie about?” “It’s kind of hard to explain.” “Does it have to do with whoever took mom, Coop and aunt Brooke?” “Yeah…why are you so curious about this?” “’Cause I’m worried about dad. He’s so sad, Jamee. He’s sad over mom and Coop and Chloe and because you won’t talk to him. I can tell he is really sorry about whatever he did. So maybe you should just forgive him. Mommy would want you to.” “I can’t, Kate…I’m too scared.” “I’m scared too. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them. But being scared and angry all the time and blaming daddy doesn’t help. It wasn’t his fault.” James continues staring at his almost seven year old sister, amazed by her wise words. “We weren’t even there that day and we’re scared. Think about how Chloe feels…she saw what happened and look what it’s doing to her. She’s only three, so she doesn’t know what to do, but you do. So why are you letting what happened hurt you and daddy too.” “I’m not.” “Yes you are. You don’t talk to dad anymore and that hurts him. He’s trying really hard to find mom and Coop and take care of us and you’re just making it harder for him. Maybe you should be making it easier instead.” Again, James stares at his little sister as she walks away from him and out of the room. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- James stares at the ceiling of his dark bedroom as he lays in bed with his headphones on, trying to fall asleep. But he can’t sleep…he can’t get out of his mind everything his little sister had said to him earlier. He’s too afraid to talk about what happened…he doesn’t want anything worse to happen…that’s why he’s still not talking to his father. He’s still angry at him for lying to him, but he understands now that he was just trying to protect him. And he knows that what happened isn’t his dad’s fault, but he just felt like he needed to put the blame somewhere, take it out on someone. Unable to sleep and tired of laying awake, James removes his headphones and climbs out of bed. He leaves his room for the bedroom across the hall. He slowly opens the door and closes it quietly after he enters. He makes his way to the bed where Chloe sleeps. Two nightstand tables stand in between her bed and Katelynn’s. James sits down on the floor with his back against Chloe’s bed. He wraps his arms around his knees and turns his head to look at her fast asleep. “I’m glad you’re sleeping okay, sis,” he says quietly. He looks ahead of him again. “Maybe it means you’re getting better.” He’s quiet with his thoughts a few minutes, deciding what he wants to say. “I hope you do get better soon, Chlo,” he says. “I hate seeing you so scared and lonely…I remember feeling like that. I hate that you had to see Dan take mom and Coop…I hate that he even took them. But he’s not going to hurt them…dad’s going to make sure of that. I know he will…he didn’t let him hurt me. And he loves them too much to let anything happen to them.” He looks back at Chloe and continues, “Just like he would never let anything happen to you. You’re safe with us, Chloe. No one is going to hurt you or take you, not while I’m your big brother and me and dad are protecting you. I promise…you’ll be okay. They found me when Dan took me, so I know they’ll find mom and Coop.” He turns around on his knees and touches his sister’s head, moving her black hair from her face. “I know you can’t understand anything because you’re sleeping, but I hope that maybe you can hear me. And if you can, then you will understand when you’re awake and maybe it will help you get better. You can help yourself, Chloe…I know you can.” He leans up and kisses her head. “I love you, sis,” he says before standing up. He stops at the door when he hears her move in bed. “Love you…” he hears her voice. He can see that her eyes are still closed, yet he smiles. She heard him…and that’s a start… ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let’s see…if I connect this wire to this wire, and—no…that won’t work.With everyone asleep and Dan away, Matt continues his work under the stairs of the basement. It’s the only time he has to work on it. Dan’s been keeping a closer eye on him lately and looking at him suspiciously, so Matt has made sure not to let him find out anything. And he’s been napping more in the day now so he can be awake at night. But what if I…yes, maybe this battery and this wire…and then connect these two wires, and…no way…“It can’t be…not this soon,” he says out loud. “It can’t be that easy.” He quickly puts the back on the charger he’s spent weeks building and adjusting trying to get it to work. He plugs the fatter end of the cord (which he found and attached to the charger) into the wall. He reaches over and brings the phone to him and plugs the skinnier end of the cord into it. The phone beeps, lights up and across the screen flashes CHARGING… Matt smiles… it’s working.
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 8, 2007 14:50:37 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty: Thank God for That Nathan has his head lowered when James enters the kitchen. He is working on paperwork he brought home from the station when he stopped in earlier. Occasionally, he will look up and in the living room at his daughters watching cartoons, waiting to go to school. James walks over and sits down in the chair next to him without his notice. “I’m sorry,” James says Nathan looks up at him. “For what?” Nathan asks, so relieved to be looking at his son and having him finally speaking to him. “For not talking to you for so long…and for blaming you for what happened. I know, I have known it wasn’t your fault. I just…I was just so mad at you for not telling me Dan took them, but even more angry and scared at finding out that it was him who took them. And…I guess I was kind of angry at myself too.” Nathan curled his eyebrows in curiosity and he says, “What? Why?” “Because maybe if I had just listened to Dan and not tried to runaway from him back then, he would never have taken them. He would’ve had me instead.” “No, Jamee,” Nathan says, turning his chair. “this is not your fault. You can’t think like that. You were five years old and Dan…he’s psychotic and just messed up in a really twisted way. And now we just have to find him so we can lock him up so he can’t hurt anyone anymore. And we will Jamee…we will find them, I promise.” James nods and says, “I know, Dad…I believe you. After all, you believe in me when I need you too. Now it’s my turn to believe in you…and I do.” Nathan smiles and stands up to hug his son. James stands up too for the hug. “I love you, son,” Nathan says as they hold their hug, James as tall as Nathan’s chest. “I love you too, Dad.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Thanksgiving is in two days, “ Haley says as she stares down at Henry on his stomach on the floor. Brooke and Cooper are on either side of her on the couch, watching the television until they heard her speak. Dan and Matt look at her too. Haley looks up at Brooke and finishes, “It’ll be Henry’s first one. And it falls on the 23rd this year.” “Katie’s birthday,” Cooper remembers. Brooke rubs her friend’s back and says, “It’ll be okay, honey.” Dan watches them from the other couch. He sighs, stands up and walks over to the closet by the front door as the others watch him. “What’s that?” Haley asks as Dan pulls from the closet, a large brown packing box. Dan closes the door with his foot and sets the box on the couch where he had just been sitting. “This,” he says as he begins to open the box, “is some stuff I got the last time I went out. I was saving it for Thanksgiving, but you’ve all been really good lately. I think you deserve it.” Cooper and Matt stand up and move over to the box as Haley helps Brooke up before bending down and lifting her son from the floor. Cooper pulls from the box CDs and a handheld video game. Then, Marcus pulls out a big book. When Haley and Brooke search the box’s contents, they find baby clothes, blankets, disposable cameras and toys. “What the hell is all this?” Brooke asks, looking at Dan. “Well, they’re presents, I guess…to thank you for being here with me.” Matt and Cooper glance at each other as Brooke and Haley do the same. Then, Haley looks at Dan and says, “Are you serious? No, I’m sorry…are you nuts? You’re thanking us for being here with you?” “Yeah,” Dan replies. “I thought you’d like these things.” “Well, we don’t like them, “Brooke says. “We don’t like any of this. What we would like is to be home.” “This is home, “Dan says. “Don’t you see? This is what I’ve been trying to make for you all this time…a home…a family.” “A family?” Brooke says as the four of them stare at Dan like he’s crazy. “You have got to be kidding me. You will never be our family. We have families and you’re keeping us from them. You’re psychotic, mean and twisted, and we hate you more than any person on this planet, in this universe. No one could ever love you like family…you messed that up a long time ago.” Dan looks away from them, wanting to hide the pain in his expression that he was feeling inside. No, wait…I will not let them hurt me…no way.“Fine,” he responds as he turns back quickly and stuffs everything back in the box. “if you don’t want it, then I’ll take it back.” Once the box is full again, Dan closes it and storms out the door, though not forgetting the locks. Brooke, Haley and Cooper stare at one another as Haley moves Henry to her right hip. “Good,” Matt speaks and the others look at him. “He’s out of the house. Now we can hurry and get downstairs.” They continue staring at him, waiting for him to finish. “The phone…it’s ready.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So you and James are good now?” Lucas asks Nathan, sitting next to him and across from Peyton and Jake at a table in his mother’s café. They had all decided to meet for lunch while the kids were at school and daycare. It’s been awhile since they all got to be together to talk. “Yes,” Nathan replies, leaning back in his chair. “We talked this morning, and we’re going to be okay now. I think we may even understand each other better.” “That’s good, Nate,” Jake says. “Yeah,” Peyton agrees. “I’m glad you two worked things out.” “Me too.” Nathan says, nodding. “Speaking of working things out,” Lucas says, “what are we all doing about Thanksgiving? We haven’t made any plans for that.” “Wow…” Nathan says. “I forgot about it, which is bad since this year it’s Katie’s birthday too. Everything’s just been so…” “Crazy?” Jake finishes. “If that’s not the biggest understatement of the year.” “Well, whatever you guys decide you want to do,” Peyton says, “you need to make sure it’s normal for the kids. God knows they’ve been through enough not normal, chaotic stuff the last few months.” “I agree,” Lucas says. “So what will we do?” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “How did you get it working so soon?” Cooper asks Matt as they enter the room under the stairs, along with Brooke and Haley, with Henry in her arms. “I have no idea, to be honest,” Mattreplies. “I just kept working and working, trying everything, every connection I could think of until I found the right one. I guess I’m better at this than I thought.” “So…” Brooke starts with disbelief in her voice. “does it work? I mean, will we be able to use it? Will we be able to reach someone?” “I think so,” Matt answers with a sigh. “I mean, if there’s a tower anywhere near, we should hopefully be able to get service and make the call. The only thing I’m not sure of is how well the call will go through or how long the phone will hold out. It’s still a very old and damaged phone and we were very lucky to get it working this far. But I think it should last for at least one phone call. So whoever we contact may be the only person we will get to contact. It just depends on the life of the phone. “ “We need to do this quickly though,” he continues after a minute, “before Dan comes back. So you guys decide who you want to call.” Cooper looks over at his mother, who looks at Brooke. “I think…” Haley began,” …that you should call Lucas first.” “Me? First? Really? But what about you? What if we don’t have enough power to call Nathan?” “It’ll be okay,” Haley replies, shifting Henry higher. “If we get a hold of Lucas, then he’ll tell Nathan we’re okay. Besides, it’s been longer since you’ve gotten to talk to Lucas. I talked to Nathan right before we got to the bank that day. And you and Lucas ended your last conversation badly, so now you can tell him you love him, and tell him about the baby too.” Brooke takes her friend’s hand and with watery eyes she asks, “Are you sure?” “Yeah, honey,” Haley replies softly. “It’s okay…really. You go first. Call his cell…maybe he and Nathan are together. “ Brooke nods and looks at Matt “Okay…so if this works, if the call goes through and I reach him…what do I tell him. Do you have any idea where we are?” “Well, I’m not positive where,” Matt starts. “but I’m pretty sure we’re in Canada. I remember crossing the border and Dan had to provide birth certificates for the both of us. That’s why he got the van with no windows too…so he could hide all of you.” “Do you know how far into Canada we are?” Cooper asks. Matt shakes his head, “No, sorry. I wish I did…it would make it a hell of a lot easier for them to find us. “ “Well, we can at least tell him where we think we are” Haley says. “So go ahead, Brooke. We have to do this before Dan returns.” Brooke nods and picks up the phone still attached to the cord. Her hands are trembling as she lifts it and dials the number stored in her own memory and in her heart. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So Jenny is coming home tonight to be here for Thursday,” Jake says to his friends with his arm wrapped around Peyton’s shoulders as they sit on the couch in the café. Nathan and Lucas are sitting in chairs next to the couch. “Yeah, and my dad will be home tomorrow night and he’s going to spend the holiday with us this year,” Peyton adds. “That’s great,” Lucas says. “I know you both really miss both of them.” “Yeah, we do,” Peyton nods her head. “I think Rob said Tyler is coming home too. I bet he’s driving up with Jenny,” Nathan says. “You know, my mom is making a big dinner and Lucas and his family are coming over, why don’t you guys have dinner with us too? My mom loves a houseful. And you know, having all of us together will definitely make this whole holiday without Haley and Brooke and Cooper a lot easier on the kids.” Peyton and Jake both nod and Jake says, “Okay, yeah…count us in. Thanks.” “Thank you.” Nathan replies. Someone’s phone rings an unfamiliar ring and they all check their cells. Lucas stares at his strangely. “Who is it?” Nathan wonders. “I don’t know…it says out of area.” “Well, you don’t get those often,” Peyton says. “See who it is.” Lucas flips open is phone and holds it up to his ear. “Hello?” At the other end, Brooke sighs with relief and tears rolling off her cheek as she holds Haley’s hand and she says, “Lucas?” His heart stops…at least that’s what it feels like to him when he hears that voice. “Brooke?” He says into the phone and his friends and brother move closer to him. Brooke smiles as the tears continue. She is so happy to hear his voice, and even happier to have him recognize hers. “Oh my god…Brooke is that you?” “Yeah, Luke…it’s me.”He can feel his eyes swell with tears as he speaks back to her. “Oh my god…baby, are you okay? Are Haley and Coop okay? Where are you?” “Are you serious?” Nathan says in shock from listening to his brother’s conversation. “Is it really them?” Lucas holds a hand up to silence his brother, wanting him to be quiet so he can hear Brooke. “I’m okay, Luke…we’re all okay.”“You’re not hurt? Dan hasn’t hurt you? And the baby…are you and the baby okay?” Again, Brooke smiles as she lays a hand on her stomach and answers, “Yeah, we’re fine. What about you, and the girls? Are the girls okay?”“Yeah, yeah, the girls are fine. Brooke…” “Ask her where they are,” Nathan says. “Is Haley okay? Is Cooper okay? And the baby?” “Brooke,” Haley says, passing Henry to Cooper. “You need to tell him where we are before the phone loses power.” Brooke nods and says, “Luke, listen…I don’t know how much time we have to talk. This phone we have could die or cut out any minute and I want Haley to be able to talk to Nathan.” “Okay, well Nathan is right here with me,” Lucas says, sitting on the couch. His brother, Peyton and Jake move over to sit next to him as Karen and Keith rush over from the counter after seeing his fast moves and expressions when he answered the call. “We’re all at the café.” “He is?” Brooke looks up at Haley and says, “Nathan’s with him.” Haley smiles. “Brooke, do you have any idea where Dan took you? Do you know where you are right now?” “We’re sure we are somewhere in Canada.”“Canada? Where in Canada?” “We don’t know…somewhere…in an old house in what feels like the middle of nowhere.”“Okay…well, we can at least work with that.” “Is Haley okay?” Nathan asks again. “Are they all okay?” “Tell him they’re okay,” Brooke says, hearing her brother-in-law. “And I’ll put her on so she can talk too.”“Okay, but—“ “I’m okay, Luke. You can rest easy now…I’m okay.”“No, I can’t…not until you’re home.” Brooke smiles, “I love you, Lucas.” “I love you too, baby…with all my heart.”Lucas passes the phone to his brother, “She’s putting Haley on, but they don’t know how long the phone will hold out.” “Nathan’s dying to talk to you,” Brooke says as she passes the phone to Haley. Nathan takes his brother’s phone as Haley takes the phone from Brooke. “Haley?” “Oh my god, Nathan!” Haley says when she hears his voice. She breaks down, not even trying to hold back her tears. “Oh baby…” Nathan responds, letting his emotions run haywire too, “I miss you so much. Are you okay?” “Yeah, baby, I’m fine…we’re all fine. We are all looking out for each other.”“The baby…is he…” “He’s okay too,” Haley looks over at her baby in her oldest son’s arms. “Nathan Henry Scott is happy and healthy from what we can see, and he is beautiful and every bit his father’s baby boy.” Nathan smiles, “Henry? Henry….i can’t wait to finally see him and have all of you home again. What about Cooper? He’s not hurt is he? Dan didn’t…” “Almost…when he took us, but he didn’t…Cooper’s okay. He’s watching out for us, protecting us…you’d be proud of him.”“I am proud of him.”“Nathan, is Chloe okay?” Haley asks, still so scared for her baby girl. “I heard her screaming inside the van, but I couldn’t help her, and I…is she okay?” Nathan hesitates, “She’s not hurt, Haley.” She can hear that worry in his voice and from his hesitation and she says, “But she’s not okay, is she?” “No,” he finally answers. “She’s still traumatized and in shock from what she saw, but she will be okay when you’re home. We’ll all be okay when you’re home.” BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP“What was that?” Nathan asks, growing fearful again. “d**n it,” Haley responds. “The phone…I think it’s dying. We don’t have much time left.”“No…we have to keep talking. I can’t let go of you again. I need to know where you are.”“Somewhere in Canada…that’s all we know. Nathan, the phone is about to die. Please give James and the girls the biggest hugs for me, and an extra one for Katie on her birthday.”“What? Haley, I…I can’t hear you…you’re breaking up.”“I love you, Nathan,” Haley says only a few seconds before she loses contact with him. “Haley…Haley!” “What happened?” Peyton asks as they all gather around Nathan again. Nathan lowers the phone from his ear, looks at them and says, “The phone, their phone…it died.” “At least they got a hold of you,” Keith says. “Now you know they’re okay.” “No,” Lucas says, shaking his head, “we know they’re not hurt.” Nathan, thinking the same as his brother, adds, “They won’t be okay until they’re out of there.” “Out of where?” Peyton asks. “Where are they?” “Some where in Canada,” Lucas answers. “Nothing more specific?” Karen wonders. “No,” Nathan says. “But it’s a hell of a lot more than we had ten minutes ago.” “Thank god for that.” Lucas says. “Thank god for that.”
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 8, 2007 14:57:04 GMT -5
WARNING: This chapter contains language and actions not suitable for children under the age of 13. Twenty-One: Hold On Deb opens the back door and enters her home with Chloe on her hip and a big duffel bad on her shoulder. James and Katie follow her inside with their bulging book bags. “Okay,” Deb says as she sets Chloe down. “You guys want a snack before homework?” “Yes, please.” Katie agrees and she takes Chloe’s hand and follows her brother and grandmother into the kitchen. “I made some fresh cookies while you two were at school,” Deb says when she brings the snack to the table where the kids are sitting. “Chloe helped, didn’t you?” Deb smiles at her youngest granddaughter, who looks up at her before taking a drink of milk from her plastic cup. “Grandma,” Katie says, taking a cookie when Deb offers one. “Is dad gonna stay the night here too when he’s done working?” “I don’t think so, honey,” Deb replies as she sits down next to her with another glass of milk for herself. “He’ll probably come over for dinner when grandpa Rob does, but then they’ll both go back to work. And you guys will be staying for a few days so I can take care of you while he works.” “But why is he gonna be working so much now?” “Because he’s trying to find mom, remember?” James answers his sister. “Remember dad telling us on your birthday last week that they know where mom is?” Katie nods and James continues, “Well, that’s why he’s working so much now…he’s trying to do everything to find them, and he will. You believe that, right?” “Yes. But I just wish I could help too.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since getting the call from Brooke and Haley, Nathan, Lucas and Rob have been working even harder together with the entire police force and FBI. “So we’ve done all we can here then, right?” Lucas asks his brother and Rob as they sit together in Rob’s office. “Right,” Rob says leaning back in his desk chair. “We’ve got authorities in all the other states at work, the FBI, the media…” “What about in Canada?” Nathan asks. “Have we made the contact with Canadian polic forces and media?” “Yes,” Rob says. “The FBI knows everything we know and we have to let them handle everything in Canada until we know something more from them.” “In other words,” Lucas begins, “they don’t want us going up there looking for them until they find them?” Rob nods again. “Well, what happens when all this information is released there and Dan hears or sees it? He will run…he will try to take them further away. He tried to with James.” “Yes, but there is a difference this time.” “How?” Lucas wonders. “What’s different?” “If he runs, if he tries to escape…sooner or later, he will have to cross that border.” Rob leans forward at his desk again and finishes, “And that’s where we catch him.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanksgiving this year was not like I wanted it to be…Dan stands alone with his thoughts in the kitchen as he prepares himself a turkey sand which, a leftover meal for himself from the turkey he froze after cooking last week. They sat down with me and they ate some of the food I prepared…but they were quiet throughout the entire meal…all of them. I don’t get it…I’ve done everything I can to try to make this a home and a family for them. What more could they want?“To go home,” Dan answers himself as he stands in a trance. Well, that’s definitely never happening.“Never,” he repeats out loud as he moves his plate to a tray and carries it out of the kitchen to the living room. He sits down on the couch and pulls the tray to him. He turns on the television in the corner with the remote. He picks up his fork and knife to start in on his meal. As he begins to cut a piece of the gravy soaked sand which, his focus is stolen by what he sees and hears on the television. “The Ontario Provincal Polic, as well as other authorities throughout the country, are now searching for six people and their kidnapper, all from the United States. The OPP are working with the FBI to help locate Dan Scott, who kidnapped his sons’ wives, two children and a doctor from Georgia just five months ago.
“Police from all over the States have been searching for them without any knowledge of where they were taken, and with absolutely no leads…until last week. They received a phone call, the contents of which have not been disclosed, other than the fact that it led them to believe that the captor has them hostage somewhere in Canada. Authorities will continue searching everywhere and anywhere until they are found, putting additional security on the Canadian border. If you have any information or have seen any of the people pictured, we ask that you please contact your local authorities immediately.”Dan stares at the television blankly as their pictures are brought up on the screen. No…no…this can’t be happening. They’re not supposed to be found…no one is supposed to find out where we are. How can they…“Son of a pregnant dog,” he says, growing angrier as he realizes what’s happened. He flips his try in anger, sending everything on it to the floor as he stands up and shouts, “Dager!” It’s not long before Matt appears in the living room, along with Cooper, Brooke and Haley, holding Henry. All of them are worried about the expression on Dan’s face and the anger in his voice. “How’d you do it?” He asks angrily. “Do what?” Matt answers innocently, but nervously too. “Don’t play dumb with me! I know it was you. Police here are involved now…it’s all over the news stations here. Someone made a call, and I know it was you. How did you do it? Where’s the phone?” No one answers as they look around at each other. “Where is it?!” Dan shouts again. “It’s downstairs,” Matt answers finally. “But it doesn’t work anymore. It died after we made the call.” Dan nods and says, “so that’s why you’ve all been so nice to each other…I should’ve figure it out. You were all planning it out, trying to find your ticket out of here?” He looks at all of them, keeping his eyes for a moment on Henry, asleep against Haley’s chest. He looks back at them all and continues, “Well, you know what? They aren’t going to find us here.” “So you’re going to try running with us again?” Brooke asks. “Oh no…” Dan replies. “They’d catch me if I tried that. No…you’re all staying right here. And whatever food and such is here is all you have left. You are never leaving this house…but I am.” They all stare at him, watching him look and sound more and more psychotic. And what he demands next shocks them and scares them all. “And I’m taking him with me.” Dan points to the sleeping infant and Haley steps back, clutching her son closer to her body as he wakes and begins to cry. “No…” she responds pleadingly. “You’re not…you’re not taking him.” “Yes I am,” Dan says moving closer slowly as the others form a wall around Haley and the baby, protecting them. Dan stops and says, “And you’re going to hand him over to me without a fight.” “No,” Haley shakes her head. “I won’t. He’s mine.” Dan reaches under his shirt and from the back of his pants, he pulls out his gun, thingys it and points at the group. They draw their breaths. “Oh my god…” Brooke responds, holding her stomach in fear. “You are going to bring him over here and put him on the floor, or I’m going to start shooting to kill…possible even him.” “Please…don’t…” Haley please, more and more tears falling down her face. “You’ve got ten seconds before I pull this trigger.” Haley starts moving slowly to the middle of the living room as she cries. She kisses her screaming son’s head before putting him down. She walks back over to the group and Brooke quickly holds her as they both cry. Dan lowers the gun and begins moving to the baby. I can’t let this happen…Cooper panics in his mind. I’m supposed to protect him, all of them…he’s not taking another brother.Matt tries to stop him, to pull him back, but it’s too late. “Cooper, no!” Brooke and Haley scream as Cooper leaps onto Dan’s back. “You leave him alone, you son of a pregnant dog!” He pulls back on Dan’s head and scratches his face before he can reach Henry on the floor. “d**n it!” Dan shouts in pain as he throws Cooper off of him and landing him on the floor. He turns and looks at him, out of breath and he says, “I warned you, boy…” He looks over and sees it there, on the floor by the couch, so he reaches down, picks up the knife and quickly plunges it into Cooper’s right side and pulls it back out just as quickly. “Cooper!” Haley screams, rushing to his side on the floor. “Oh my god, Cooper!!” “I warned you all what the consequences would be if you didn’t cooperate and listen to me. Now he pays the price.” Dan picks Henry up from the floor and runs out of the house. Brooke and Matt are quickly down at Cooper’s side too as Haley holds his head in her lap, with blood on her hands from touching his wound. “Stay with me, baby,” she cries. “Mom…” Cooper utters in pain. “Okay,” Matt says after quickly examining the injury. “We need to apply pressure to the wound before he loses too much blood. Brooke, help me get some things…we need towels, blankets, the first aid kit from the bathroom…whatever you can find…hurry!” “You have to hold on baby, “ Haley says to her son as the other two begin their search for supplies. She runs a hand over his head, his soft, short hair which she had just cut per his request an hour ago. “We’re going to help you, we’re going to make you better, but you have to hold on.” “Mom…” Cooper struggles for his breaths. “I…I love…you.” Haley cries harder. “d**n it, Cooper! Don’t do that to me! You stay awake, you stay with me! Don’t you dare die on me!! I’m right here with you, okay? I’m not going anywhere…and neither are you. You stay with me…you hear me? Please, Cooper…don’t leave me. I love you, baby…you have to stay with me. So just hold on…just hold on…”
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 8, 2007 15:04:29 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty-Two: End of the Line How can everything have gone so wrong? I had it all worked out so perfectly. It was working…nobody had any idea where we were. And now the whole plan is ruined.Dan glances at Henry, finally quiet and asleep in the car seat in the passenger seat next to him. So I guess it’s plan B now. They didn’t want to be my family, than that’s just fine. I will make Henry my family. I’ll go where no one can find us for sure and I’ll raise him as my own. He’ll never know about his real parents. “Oh nuts!” He says after a few minutes of staring out the windshield at the road. d**n border control…and even more police…U.S. police too, I’m guessing. How did I forget about them? Of course they’re going to put added security along the border to trap me inside. But it’ll be okay…I won’t give anything up…I can work this out…I can get past them.Dan slows the van as an officer stands in his way from moving forward. The police cars are parked along the border so that only one vehicle may get through at a time, once they’ve been cleared to pass. Once he stops the car, Dan rolls down his window as the officer walks to his side. “Good evening officers,” he says casually. “How are you?” “Fine,” the officer replies with a stiff expression. He glances at the infant fastened into a car seat, which is strapped into the front passenger seat… completely unsafe for such a young infant. He wonders if this is the man they’re looking for. They have received only pictures of the hostages, not of the kidnapper. Of him, they have only a description. And looking at this man in the car, the description seems to fit. Yet, he only has an infant with him… unless he’s hiding the others in the back.“Do you have anyone else traveling with you in the back?” He asks. Dan shakes his head and answers, “Nope…it’s just me and my son, heading back to Michigan. I brought little Danny up here last week to meet his grandparents.” Well, he’s got a story…But is it true, because it still doesn’t sound believable to me. Well, just go with it for a few more questions, Mike… he tells himself. “Okay, well in order to cross the border, we need to see both your birth certificate and your son’s.” d**n, Dan thinks. I have mine, but I don’t have one for him. “Sure,” he replies anyway. He pulls down the visor above him an starts to look through the papers, pretending to search for birth certificates. “Is there a problem, sir?” The cop asks after a few minutes. “Yeah…it seems I may have left the documents at my parent’s place.” “Well, you see, now that’s a problem,” the cop says, realizing this man has to be exactly the man they’re looking for. “I’m afraid we can’t let you cross the border without those documents. It’s law.” “I understand,” Dan says, trying desperately to think of another way out. “Well, I can just turn back around, head back for it and—“ “No, I’m sorry, we can’t let you leave.” The cop motions other officers to come over. “You’re going to have to come with us, sir.” No…no…I can’t let this happen, not again. I can’t let them catch me, not again.Seeing the rest of the officers approach the van, Dan panics and decides the only thing left to do, his only way out now is to run. He quickly opens the door with all his might, taking the cop standing in front of it by surprise and knocking him to the ground. Dan runs from the van, away from the cops as more and more of them chase him down the street, shouting orders to each other. Faster…faster…just keep running and I can escape. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let them catch—“Ugh!” Dan grunts as he hits the ground They’ve tackled him. It’s the end of the line.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Is he going to be okay?” Haley asks Matt as she sits holding her son’s hand as he lay unconscious on the bigger bed in the downstairs bedroom. After Matt treated Cooper’s wound, he and Haley moved him to the bed there to make him as comfortable as possible in the situation. Now, all three of them are sitting by his side, stricken with worry and guilt. “He’s lost a lot of blood,” Matt answers, moving his hands from his face. “It’s a very deep, serious wound and I’m not sure what the internal damage may be.” Haley stares at him and asks again, “Is he going to be okay?” “I don’t know,” Matt answers after a moment and Haley begins crying again. “He needs a lot of medical attention, possibly even surgery and the sooner he gets it, the better his chances will be.” “So what are we going to do?” Brooke ask, sitting on the opposite side of Cooper as Haley sits on the left side. “Well, I think I’m going to try and see if I can get that phone to charge again, but I don’t know if I can.” “What good will that do him if it does?” Haley asks angrily. “We have no idea where the hell we are!” “I know…but I don’t know what else to do. There’s nothing more I can do for him now but try to make contact with someone.” Haley rolls her eyes and looks back at her son again. He’s so innocent, so helpless…my baby boy. How can he be laying here so hurt? How couldi have let this happen? Why didn’t I protect him? You didn’t deserve this, Coop…all you did was try to protect us. I don’t know what I’ll do if you’re not okay.A FEW DAYS LATER…“That was an excellent dinner, Mom,” Nathan says, leaning back as his mother takes his plate. “Thank you, honey,” Deb replies, carrying three plates to the sink at the counter. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” “I’ll get that,” Rob says, standing up when they hear the phone ring. He stands up and heads for the living room to take the call where it’s quiet. “I thought it was good too, grandma!” Katie says, sitting at the table next to her father. “Especially since you were finally here to eat dinner with us, Dad.” Nathan smiles at her and pulls her into a hug as the doorbell rings. “I got it!” James hollers from the hall. “Thank you!” Deb hollers back with a smile. She loves having a house full of voices…her family’s voices. “Dad, do you think you can read me and Chloe a story before bed?” Katie asks. “I would love to,” Nathan says with a smile, touching his daughter’s cheek. “Uncle Luke’s here,” James says as he enters the kitchen with Lucas. “Hey guys,” Lucas greets. “Hey Luke,” Nathan says. “How was dinner?” Deb asks him as she loads dishes into the dishwasher. “It was excellent,” Lucas answers with a sigh. “It was really nice finally getting tp sit down with my girls, Kelsey, mom and Keith for a big family dinner. And the girls were really happy to have me give them their baths and put them to bed…I haven’t gotten home in time to do that for a few days.” Nathan nods and quickly says, “Speaking of bed…you two should be getting ready too. It’s a school night.” “But what about the story, Dad?” Katie asks. “Get cleaned up and in your pajamas first, and then I’ll read to you. Don’t wake Chloe if she’s asleep though.” “Okay,” Katie says before kissing his cheek and running upstairs. “James, I want you in bed by 10:00, okay?” James nods and begins walking for the living room. Rob bumps into him as he rushes back into the kitchen. “Sorry, buddy,” he says and moves over to the table. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Deb asks with concern after witnessing his quick entrance. Lucas and Nathan stare at him curiously too, Nathan now standing next to his brother at the counter. “That was the station on the phone,” Rob begins. “They got a call from Detective Owens, the detective working with FBI. And, um…he, um…” Rob is trying to get the words out faster than he can catch his breath. “What? What’d he say?” Lucas asks, he and Nathan growing impatient. “Did they find them?” Nathan asks with hope. “Well…yes and no. Haley, Brooke and Cooper are still missing, they’re still looking for them, but the Ontario Provincal Police and the police stationed at the border caught him and arrested him when he tried to cross the border. He tried to run, but they caught him before he could. “ “You’re kidding?” Nathan responds in relief as well as disbelief. “This is a dream, right?” Lucas says, his heart beating faster and faster as he looks at the others. “Nope, they have him, he’s in custody.” Rob grins and continues. “There’s more…he had the baby with him, Nate. I guess he was trying to run with him, but he ran in the wrong direction, right into the trap and now they’re holding him and your son is safe.” Nathan feels the tears well up in his eyes as he says, “Henry? They found my son…they really found him? Is he okay?” “Well, he was checked out by the police and then the doctors in Ohio, and they all said he’s fine.” “Ohio?” Lucas says. “Yeah, um...they kept Dan in a jail in Canada for a few days, waiting for some direction, for someone here to bring him back. Detective Owens was in Ohio when he got the call, so he went up with back up and brought him back there, and eventually, soon he’ll be brought hear for his trial. And Henry is with social services up there too. He’ll be staying with a foster family there until we get up there to pick him up.” “Oh my god!” Nathan says with a smile as he hugs his mother. Rob goes to the closet to get his coat as Nathan turns and hugs his brother. After their hug, Nathan lets his smile fade as he notices the sullen expression upon Lucas’s face. He touches his shoulder and offers some comforting words, like Lucas has done so many times for him, “Hey Luke…don’t give up yet. We’re going to find Brooke, okay? And Haley and Cooper too. We’re going to bring them all home. We’re one step closer now.” Lucas nods and Nathan puts on his coat from off the chair where he’d just been sitting. “I’ll call you as soon as we get there,” Rob promises Deb before kissing her lips. “Okay,” Deb replies as Lucas steps outside with his cell phone to call his mother and let her know what’s going on. “Are we taking one car?” Nathan asks, grabbing his cell, wallet and keys from the table. “Doesn’t matter,” Rob replies. “I’m taking my car and you can come with me or Luke.” “I think I’ll ride with Luke in his truck and we’ll just follow you. WE ca ncall if we get lost.” “Fine with me,” Rob says as they both head for the door. “Dad?” Nathan turns at his son’s voice. James walks closer to him. Nathan stares at him, afraid he is angry at him again for not running to tell him first before he leaves. He had to have heard their conversation. “Yeah, Jamee?” James throws his arms around him and Nathan holds him in the hug as James says, “Be careful, okay?” Nathan smiles, pulls out of the hug and says, “I will…I promise.” James smiles back. Nathan heads for the door again, but turns and says, “hey, do me a favor…read Katie double her usual story tonight. I promised I’d read her one, but…” “Don’t sweat it, Dad…I got it.” “Thanks, Sport. I’ll call you.” And finally he is out the door. And within a minute, he, Lucas and Rob are in their cars and on the road to Ohio, more than ready for a confrontation with Dan, and more for Nathan…the meet with his son.
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 8, 2007 15:11:39 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty-Three: Interrogation “I’m going to ask you one more time, Dan,” Detective Riley Owens asks him in the interrogation room. “Where are the others?” “The others?” Dan replies innocently. “I have no idea who you’re talking about.” “Come on…” Detective Owens says annoyed. “We’ve already been through this with you several times since we picked you up. You know exactly who I’m talking about. Brooke, Haley and Cooper Scott…” He lays out photographs of them. “You kidnapped them from a bank in Tree Hill, North Carolina over five months ago. And you had Haley’s baby with you, so you must know where his mother is.” Dan nods, “You’re right…I do know. But I also know my rights and I don’t have to tell you anything. I think I’ll plead the fifth.” “You can’t! Not on this! You’re withholding vital information from the police, and that’s a crime too…piling right on top of the kidnapping and child endangerment charges you’re already facing.” “Well, you know…I don’t think I’m quite ready to talk.” Detective Owens nods and says, “Fine. We’ll just wait until your sons arrive. I know they have more than a few words and questions for you. And maybe, if you have kind of a soul left, after you see how much pain they’re in, you’ll feel sympathy enough to finally give in.” “Don’t count on it,” Dan mumbles, watching the detective leave the room. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “This is all my fault,” Haley admits out loud to Brooke as they sit together against the wall on the smaller bed, both unable to sleep. Brooke looks at her and replies, “Haley…don’t do that to yourself. This is not your fault.” “But it is, Brooke,” Haley argues. “I should’ve done something to stop Dan from hurting him and from taking Henry, but I didn’t. I just stood there…I’m the worst mother in the world.” “No, you’re not.” Brooke takes Haley’s hand and continues, “You are a great mother. You tried to protect them as best you could. You tried to keep Dan from taking Henry until he threatened his life. If you hadn’t let him go when you did, Dan may have shot and killed him…and you.” “But he stabbed Cooper. Why couldn’t I have stopped that?” “Because that boy is every bit his father. From the day he was born, Cooper has always been so much like Nathan, even more now as he gets older. We’ve all seen it in him. His personality is almost identical to Nathan’s and his attitude and behavior are completely identical to Nathan’s at his age. “He’s got a lot of fight in him, Hales. And he’s got a lot of love too. That’s what made him jump on Dan’s back. He wanted to protect you and his brother, just like his father would. And Dan stabbing him happened all too quick for anyone to stop. But he’ll be okay…just like his father too. Nathan made it through that horrible accident when no one thought he would, so I know Cooper will survive this.” Tears sliding down her cheek, Haley says, “He has too, Brooke…he has to be okay. He’s my little boy.” “I know, honey,” Brooke says pulling her into a tight hug, “I know.” They hold their hug for a few minutes, until they hear groaning from the other bed. “Mom…” “He’s waking up,” Brooke says and Haley looks at her. “That’s the second sign he’ll be okay.” Haley smiles before rushing back over to her boy’s side. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “What are you going to say to him when we see him?” Nathan looks back at his brother in the driver’s seat and replies, “I don’t know. I was kind of just thinking about beating the hell out of him until he tells us where Haley, Brooke and Cooper are.” “Funny…” Lucas says, glancing at Nathan for a second. “I was thinking of doing the same thing. “ Nathan smiles and says, “Well, I guess we’ve got a few more hours to decide what we’re going to say.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- How did I end up here…alone in a jail cell? How did it all go so wrong? I had it all worked out so perfectly and now…“I guess I’ll have to do better next time,” Dan tells himself, laying on the cot in his jail cell, wearing an orange jumpsuit. Next time? Who’re you kidding? There’s not gonna be a next time, Danny. You blew it…your looking at life in prison with all the felonies you’ve racked up.“No, I won’t,” Dan argues with himself. “I’ll find a way, a loophole. I’ll play it crazy…the mentally ill card. Yeah…I’ll make the judge believe I didn’t know what I was doing, I’ll—“ Don’t kid yourself…that’ll never work. Your life is over. Besides, you don’t have to play crazy…you ARE crazy/“Shut the hell help!” Dan shouts. “I’m not crazy!” Then…why are you talking to yourself?“Okay, Mr. Scott…” the guard says as he unlocks the cell door. Dan looks over at him. “Let’s go.” “Where?” “Upstairs,” the guard answers as he slides the barred door open. “There’s a few people waiting to have a few words with you.” The guard cuffs him and leads him out of the cell and up the stairs.
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 8, 2007 15:15:38 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty-Four:[/u] The Devil is His Loyal Friend “Rob Stevens?” Rob, Nathan and Lucas all turn when they hear Rob’s name called out. They’ve been waiting only a few minutes upon arriving at the police department in Perrysburg, Ohio, for the detective to meet them. “Yeah?” Rob answers to his name as the detective walks up to him, holding out his hand. “I’m Riley Owens.” He shakes his hand. “I’m glad to finally meet you in person.” “Yeah, same here.” Detective Owens looks over at Nathan and Lucas, standing together exhausted but determined. “And you must be Nathan and Lucas?” Both nod as they accept his handshake. “The guard is bringing Dan up to the interrogation room now, so we’ll be able to go in a few minutes. I know you’re all anxious to have a few words with him and figure out where he’s keeping your family. But…I can tell you right no, getting that information out of him is not going to be easy. He’s already avoided the questions as best he can.” “Well, how’s the search going?” Lucas asks. “Do you have any other leads that might help?” “Unfortunately, no. But it’s been my experience in past situations that when people are taken as hostages, they’re usually taken somewhere small with not a lot of people. So we’re looking in the smaller areas. What doesn’t help though, is Canada is made up of small towns.” Nathan and Lucas look away. “I’m going to head back up there tomorrow afternoon to help with the search. I would still be up there now, but I wanted to meet you all and try to get something from Dan.” “You’re all set, Owens,” an officer says when he passes him. “Okay, thanks John.” Riley looks back at them and says, “You guys ready?” “Hell yeah,” Nathan says. “We’ve been waiting and ready for this for five months.” “Okay…this way then.” Detective Owens turns and walks away with Rob, Nathan and Lucas following vlose behind. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “You just rest, baby…” Haley says to Cooper as she runs a hand through his hair. “Get some more sleep. You need your strength.” Brooke enters the bedroom again and walks over to Haley and the bed. “How’s he doing?” Brooke asks as Haley stands up. “Not good, Brooke. Staying awake is getting harder and lasting a short time whenever he does wake up. We need to get him to a hospital. Is Marcus having any luck with that phone?” “I don’t know, he—whoa…” Brooke touches her stomach. Haley looks at her with concern and says, “What? Are you okay?” “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. This baby just likes to catch me by surprise with his kicks. I never expect it.” “Well, you need to sit down anyway,” haley says, ushering Brooke to the bed. “Yopu’ve been on your feet way too much.” “Haley, don’t worry about me…I’ll be fine.” “not if you don’t take it easy, honey. You have to be careful under this stressful situation…trust me, I know. So just sit down and rest so I can rest too.” Brooke smiles and sits down with Haley. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Normally we only allow the officers inside,” detective Owens explains as they stand outside the interrogation room. “But considering the circumstances, and me being in the authoritative position that I am in this case, I’m going to allow all three of you inside.” Nathan and Lucas nod their thank you. “And I know it’ll be very hard for you to do, but I need to ask that you both stop yourselves from attacking him.” “You can’t be serious,” Lucas responds. “You expect us to go in there and sit back quietly after what he’s done to us?” “Of course not. You can say anything and everything you want to say to him…you just can’t hit him. Do you think you can hold yourselves back from that?” The brothers glance at each other. They look back at detective Owens and Nathan answers, “Yeah…let’s just do this.” Detective Owens opens the door and all of them enter the room and find Dan sitting at the table, waiting for them. Dan watches them as they enter. Nathan and Lucas glare at him as they stand before him, with only the table between them. Boy, are they pissed, Dan thinks as they all stare at him in silence. Good…now they know how it feels. “Hello, boys,” he says to them, finally breaking the silence. “Long time no see.” “Don’t,” Nathan says angrily. “Don’t you dare speak to us unless we speak to you first, you got it?” “Sure.” “Let’s cut to the chase, Dan,” Detective Owens says, moving over to the table. “We’re tired and sick of dealing with you here.” “Alright, then let’s get this over with,” Dan replies with a sigh. “Well, it can be as quick as you want, Mr. Scott,” Detective Owens says. “All you have to do is tell us where you’re keeping the others.” “Oh…I’m afraid I can’t answer that. You see…I don’t know that answer. Can we try another question?” “You lying, evil son of a pregnant dog!” Lucas shouts angrily, slamming his fists down on the table. “You know where they are! You put them there. So where the hell are they? Where is my wife?” Dan grins, happy to have gotten this reaction from him. “Well…” he replies. “Let’s just say she’s in a better place.” Lucas stares at him with shock and anger all in the same expression. “What the hell does that mean?” “Just what it sound like…they’re all in a better place now.” “You’re full of it,” Nathan says, stepping up next to his brother. “They’re not dead.” “Well, you’re right…Brooke and Haley aren’t, but I’m assuming Cooper’s about ready to let go.” Now Nathan stares at him with the same angry expression as his brother. “Why? What did you do to him? What did you do to my son?” “I don’t think you really want to know that, Nathan. Knowing the truth, knowing what happened will just make it harder for you at the funeral if you ever find them.” The anger has built up in him too much now. And the thought that Dan has hurt, possibly killed his son, is the last straw. He can’t hold it in anymore, nor does he want to. Every bit of anger, pain and fear inhibiting him is released through one fistful of rage straight into Dan’s face. He tries to move over to him, so he can release more and let all his anger go, but two other bodies are holding him back. “God d**n you, you son of a pregnant dog!” He says as Rob and detective Owens pull on him, trying to get him to the door. “I’ll kill you! If you hurt him, if you hurt any of them, I swear to god I’ll kill you!!” “Nathan!” Rob says sternly, pulling on his stepson’s shoulder’s as Detective Owens opens the door. “Come on, Nathan!” “I’ll kill you!” Nathan continues shouting as Rob and the detective pull him out of the room. After watching his brother beat up his father, Lucas walks over and closes the door. Dan pulls himself back onto the chair and wipes blood from his nose and his lip. “How’d you get to be so evil?” Lucas asks, putting his hands in his pockets as he paces the room. Dan smirks again and replies, “Well, the devil is my only loyal friend.” “Why don’t you just tell us where they are? I mean, there’s no escaping now, No one is going to let you out of their sight, and you know that. So why won’t you just tell us?” “Because then it wouldn’t be fun anymore. I would have nothing left to torture you with anymore, nothing left to make you suffer.” Lucas shakes his head and he says, “Well ,you know what…it doesn’t matter anymore whether you tell us or not. We’re still going to find them. It may be harder, but we’re not going to give up.” He lays his hands on the table and brings his face only inches closer to Dan’s and he says, “We’re going to find them before this year is through. And I promise…if you’ve hurt them, any of them…you won’t have just a bloody broken nose anymore because they’ll be carrying you out of your cell in a body bag.” Lucas walks away and slams the door closed after he leaves the room. “I’m sorry,” Nathan says to Detective Owens, sitting in his office in a chair next to Rob’s. “I know I told you I wouldn’t hit him, but I lost control. Thinking that he hurt Cooper, that he may have killed him, it just…” “It’s okay,” Detective Owens says with a sigh. “I understand. I would’ve done the same thing if my wife and child were involved.” The door to the office opens and Lucas enters. “Hey,” he says as he closes the door behind him. “Did you get anything out of him?” Rob asks him as he plops down in an empty chair, “Nope…and I didn’t really expect to. I just wanted to say to him what I needed to say and of course, watch Nathan beat the nuts out of him.” Nathan smiles with his brother. “Anyway,” Lucas continues, “ now that we’ve done all that, I don’t want to ever see him again, not until I see him finally behind bars for good.” Nathan looks back at detective Owens and says, “So, um…where’s Henry? When can I see him and take him home?” Detective Owens leans forward in his desk and answers, “He is with a very wonderful foster family about ten minutes away from here. I called them this afternoon and informed them you were on your way up to get him, so we can head over there tomorrow morning.” Nathan nods and says, “Okay, thanks. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us.” “Well, I’m glad we were finally able to help.” “Well, Nate,” Rob says standing up. “Maybe we should get going and find somewhere to crash for the night.” “Yeah…” “Oh, don’t even worry about it,” Owens says as he stands up too. “There’s a room waiting for you at the Holiday Inn down the street. My brother-in-law manages the hotel, so he’s set you up with a good room, complete with two big comfy beds and a couch bed too. And there’s a free continental breakfast in the morning.” “Really?” Rob says. “Thanks, Riley.” “Oh, it’s no problem. You deserve it, all of you after everything you’ve been through. So go on…go get some sleep, have a good breakfast and I’ll see you back here in the morning.” “Thanks.”
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 8, 2007 15:20:12 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty Five: Long Way to Go “Brooke…” Haley rubs her friend’s shoulder as she sleeps on the couch in the living room. “Hey, Brooke…” Brooke opens her eyes slowly. “Hey,” she says through a yawn as she stretches. “Hey,” Haley responds as Brooke sits up. “You’ve been asleep a long time. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” “Yeah…I think I was just more tired than I thought.” Brooke runs a hand through her hair. “What about you? Did you get any sleep?” “A little bit…but not half of what you did. You know, you’re still kind of pale. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” “Yeah, I’m just…is it burning up in here, or is it just me?” Haley touches her friend’s forehead. “Well, you are a little warm, but not warm enough for a fever. It’s probably just another one of those crazy annoying pregnancy side effects.” Brooke returns a smile. Then, she asks, “So how is he today?” Haley’s smile fades and she replies, “Either the same or getting worse. He hasn’t woken up since the one time he did yesterday.” Brooke takes her friend’s hand and after a minute she asks, “So where’s Matt? Is he still working on the phone?” “Yeah…he took a break to make breakfast and change Cooper’s bandages, but now he’s back at work. Only he’s moved the work upstairs…I guess he thinks he might get better reception up there.” “Maybe he will and we can find out where the hell we are so someone can help us find our way out of here.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even with being in a nice hotel in a warm, comfortable bed, Nathan still had a hard time getting to sleep. He was still stricken with worry over whether Cooper was really hurt and if he was, then how badly? Plus, he couldn’t stop thinking about what it was going to be like, finally getting to hold his young son in his arms, to see him for the first time. But he did fall asleep eventually and even slept for a good six hours. And after breakfast, he, Lucas and Rob checked out of the hotel and left to meet Detective Owens at the police station. From there, they are following Riley to the King’s home…where baby Henry is being taken care of. Lucas parks his truck behind Riley’s patrol car, on the street in front of a tall, light blue house with a snow covered roof, and a blanket of snow in the yard. He and Nathan climb out of the truck and meet Rob and Riley on the shoveled sidewalk. “So this is it,” Riley says when they all meet. “This is the home of Kristin and Noah King, the most loving, kind, caring people I know. I guarantee your son has been very well taken care of here.” Nathan nods before they all walk up on the porch. Detective Owens rings the doorbell. A tall man with light brown hair opens the door. “Hey Riley,” he greets as he holds the door open for everyone. “Hey Noah,” Riley says as they enter. “It’s good to see you.” “You too,” Noah replies. “It’s cold out there, huh?” “Sure is.” Riley looks at Rob, Nathan and Lucas and says, “Noah, this is Rob Stevens and Lucas and Nathan Scott.” “Nice to meet you,” Nathan says when he shakes Noah’s hand. “I appreciate you and your wife taking care of my son, keeping him safe.” “Oh, it was our pleasure. We love kids, and this is something we both have dreamt about. When Riley here called us and filled us in on the situation, we were more than happy to help. And your son is a very good baby…handsome too. He looks just like you.” Nathan smiles and Noah says, “Kristin should be down with him in just a minute. She’s getting his things ready for you. He didn’t have anything when we picked him up at the hospital, so we’re giving you some of our son’s old baby clothes and toys, and some diapers too, so she’s getting all that together for you.” “Okay, thanks.” All of them look up the stairs when they hear a woman’s voice. “Sounds like some people are waiting to meet you, little one,” they hear her say as she walks down each step. Nathan swallows when he sees them, when he sees his son in her arms. And when he sees his little face, he just melts. Oh my god…he thinks as he stares at him. It’s him, it’s really him…my son, my little boy.Kristin smiles at Nathan as she carries the baby over to him. “He’s so big,” Nathan says, cracking a wider smile than he was wearing before as the baby boy focuses his eyes on him. “I can’t believe it’s him.” “He’s beautiful,” Kristin says. “He does look just like you.” She holds him out and Nathan slowly takes him. And as he pulls him against his body and leans his head against his, Nathan lets his tears finally go. “Oh, Henry…” he cries. He kisses his son’s soft, dark head. Lucas, Rob and the others watch Nathan with smiles as he bonds with his son. Nathan sniffles and holds Henry on his hip to get a better look at that little face. He chuckles and says, “Look at him, Luke…look how cute he is. It’s like looking at Haley.” “Yeah, he’s handsome,” Lucas agrees. He touches his nephew’s cheek and says, “Hey bud, I’m your uncle Lucas. I’m really happy to finally meet you.” “Look at those eyes,” Nathan continues admiring his son’s every feature. “He’s got Haley’s eyes…they’re so intense, so bright and focused.” Nathan admires a few more minutes before realizing the others are still in the room. “Sorry,” he says, looking at Riley, Kristin and Noah. “I didn’t mean to ignore everyone, I just…I’ve waited for this for a long time.” “Don’t be sorry,” Noah says with his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “ We understand. Is he your first?” “No,” Nathan smiles again. “I’ve got two more boys and two little girls.” “Oh, wow,” Noah responds. “You’ve got a houseful.” “Yeah,” Nathan chuckles. “Well, here are his things,” Kristin says, holding out a blue diaper bag. “There’s some paperwork in there too, from the hospital where we picked him up. They started a birth certificate for him, but they didn’t really have much to put on it, so they said just take it to a hospital back in your hometown and have them fill out the rest and document it. I guess that’s something you and your wife can do together when she comes home.” Nathan nods and takes the bag. “I guess we should get going then,” he says. “It’s a long drive back to Tree Hill and a lot of people are waiting to meet him. “Yeah, and we’ve got a long drive up to Canada,” Rob says, looking at Lucas and Riley. “Right,” Riley says. “We should get going too. We’ve got a lot of searching to do yet.” “All right,” Noah says. “Oh, let me get the car seat for you, Nathan.” “Oh, thanks. That might help.” The others chuckle as Kristin helps Nathan bundle Henry up in a light blue baby snow suit. After they have him dressed, Nathan smiles at him again. He kisses his cheek as Noah returns with the car seat. “Here, I’ll take it,” Luca says, taking the car seat, “I’ll go get it buckled in for you, Nate.” “Thanks, Luke.” “Hey, put it in my car,” Rob shouts to Lucas before he leaves. “Nathan can take my car back and I’ll ride with you.” “Okay.” While Lucas leaves to get the car seat ready, Nathan, Rob and Riley say their goodbyes to the King’s. Then they leave the house. Nathan fastens Henry into the car seat in the back of Rob’s silver Sudan. “Okay,” he says when he’s finished. “You’re all set buddy.” He touches his head, covered by the hood of the coat. He smiles as his son kicks his little feet and moves his arms all around happily as he makes baby noises. “I guess he’s excited to finally be going home,” Rob says as Nathan stands up. “Yeah…I’m definitely ready. Listen, you guys, um…you’ll let me know the moment you know anything, okay?” “Promise,” Lucas says before going in for a hug with his brother. “Give your mom a big hug for me, okay?” Rob requests. “I will,” Nathan agrees as he hugs his stepfather. “Drive careful,” Rob says as Nathan walks around to the driver’s side of the car. “You too,” Nathan says, opening his door. “I’ll see you guys soon I hope.” Lucas and Rob wave and watch Nathan pull away and turn the corner. Then, they turn to Riley and Rob asks, “So, what’s the game plan?” “Well, I was thinking we’d grab a quick lunch and then head on up to Toronto to meet the team. Do you both have your birth certificates with you?” “Yep,” they reply. “Okay, then let’s get going. You guys can follow me. We’ve got a long way to go.”
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mausbrucas
Hooked on the Show
4 MONTHS TIL JANUARY :)
Posts: 148
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Post by mausbrucas on Sept 8, 2007 15:23:11 GMT -5
Chapter Twenty Six: Something, Somewhere Deep Inside “Okay, honey…we can’t wait to see you…drive careful…I love you too.” Deb smiles as she hangs up the phone. “Was that dad?” James asks as he enters the kitchen, holding Chloe. “Yes it was,” Deb replies as Katie climbs up on a stool. “He just left Ohio, so he should be home early in the morning.” “That’s awesome!” James says with a smile, setting Chloe down. “Did he find mommy and Coop?” Katie asks with hope in her yes and in her voice. “No, honey, not yet,” Deb replies, touching her granddaughter’s hand. “But the man who took them is in jail for good, so he can’t hurt them. And…” Deb smiles and James asks impatiently, “What?” “He’s got your baby brother with him.” Finally, a smile spreads across on Katie’s face and she looks at James, grinning again too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Hey,” Brooke says as she walks up the last stair and enters the open room where Matt is working. “How’s it coming?” “It’s not,” Matt sighs as Brooke sits down on the bed with a plate in her hands. “I don’t have all the materials I need and I don’t know how to get it working again because the charger has stopped working.” “So take a break…have some food.” Brooke hands him the plate with a sandwhich and chips, “Maybe you just need a little nourishment.” “Thanks,” Matt says accepting the plate. Brooke watches him as he takes a bite. “This is good,” he says through a mouthful. Brooke chuckles, “ You sound like my kids.” Matt sets his plate down as he asks, “How many do you have?” “Three girls,” Brooke says with a smile. “The three most beautiful, wonderful little girls on the planet.” “How old?” “Jessilyn will be 8 in February, and Ashlyn and Megyn will be five in April.” Matt nods and looks down, feeling guilty again for her not being able to be with her family. “What about you?” Brooke interrupts his silent thoughts. “Do you have any kids?” “Yeah…I have a son, well a son and a daughter now. Jonah turned three December 1st, and my wife Jessica was seven months pregnant with Olivia when Dan showed up.” Matt looks back at Brooke on the bed. She has fallen asleep, sitting up against the wall. He smiles, stands up from his chair and covers her up with a blanket from the end of the bed. “I’ll get you guys out of here,” he says when he sits back down. “I promise…if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll get you guys out of this mess.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, after nearly six hours of driving, Rob, Lucas and Detective Owens reach their destination in Canada. Together, they enter the Ontario Provincial Police station and meet another detective and a few more officers involved in the case in a large meeting room. “So how’s the search coming guys?” Riley asks, walking over to a large stand where a map of Canada is being displayed, with pins sticking in it to locate different spots. The red pins mark areas already searched, and the green ones represent places not yet searched…and the red pins greatly outnumber the green ones. “Well,” another detective begins to explain as he stands next to Riley. “We’ve searched the more populated areas and even a few of the surrounding smaller areas. So far, there’s been no sign.” Riley sighs and Rob and Lucas glance at each other, but they all listen as the other detective continues. “We are looking into this secluded area of the provence about an hour or so away. Only a few families I think actually live around there. It’s more like a woody camp ground, really. There are a few cabins spread throughout the area and it’s not really camping season, so we were thinking, if this guy was really trying to keep them from civilization, then this would definitely be somewhere he might’ve taken them. And besides that…this place is about the only place left we have to look.” “Okay,” Riley says, nodding his head and looking up at the officer. “Then that’s where we need to go. Do you know how to get there?” “Well, I haven’t been in a few years, but I’m sure I remember the way. You can follow me.” “Great. Then, Rob and Lucas will come with me in my car, and I want another team to follow us, as well as a paramedic squad in case this is the place we’re looking for. And something deep inside is telling me it is.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan quietly opens the backdoor to his mother’s house, and he enters just as quietly with Henry asleep in the baby carrier car seat. He is careful not to make too much noise so early in the morning. He sets the baby and carrier on the floor by the door so he can remove his own coat and shoes. “Oh my goodness…” Nathan hears his mother’s soft, yet excited whisper and he looks at her standing the kitchen in her bathrobe. “Is that him?” She asks, coming closer. “Is it really him?” Nathan smiles and lifts his son from the floor. “Yep, it’s him. This is Henry.” “Oh, Nathan, he’s beautiful.” “Wait ‘til you see him without all this winter stuff on. Come on…let’s take him to the living room.” Deb follows Nathan with her grandson. Nathan stops when they enter the living room and he smiles. Katie is asleep with her blanket, pillow and teddy bear on the smaller couch across the room and James is asleep on the longer couch, with Chloe cuddled up, fast asleep next to him. “They, um…they didn’t want to go to bed,” Deb says as Nathan looks at her. “They wanted to wait up for you and their new baby brother, so I made them a compromise. I told them they could sleep down here as long as they tried to get some sleep.” Nathan chuckles and says, “It’s okay. We’ll wake them up later. Come on…let’s get this little guy out of this stuff so you can hold him and see how adorable he is.” Nathan carries Henry over to the empty chair, sits down and sits the carrier on the floor in front of him. He folds the lever down until it clicks. He unfastens the belt, unzips the coat and carefully pulls his son’s arms from it. “Wow,” Deb says as she watches Nathan pull the other arm out. “He’s a hard sleeper, isn’t he?” “I guess so,” Nathan says. “Come here, buddy…” Deb pulls the rest of the coat off Henry’s feet as Nathan lifts him from the seat, He begins to fuss as Nathan brings him to his body. “Maybe not,” Nathan says with a chuckle as he stands up to rock his son. “Shh…” “Awe…” Deb says, a hand over her chest as Henry continues crying. “He’s got a heartbreaking cry though, doesn’t he?” “Who’s crying?” Katie says groggily as she stretches on the short sofa. “Dad?” James says, sitting up on the longer couch. “Dad, is that you?” “Yeah, bud,” Nathan replies as Henry settles his own cries. “It’s me, I’m home.” “Daddy?” Katie says, sitting up for a better look. “Daddy!” “Hey, Kate.” Nathan smiles as Katie climbs off the couch and rushes over to him. He sits down in the chair again so Katie can kiss his cheek. “I missed you, Dad,” Katie says as James hurries over after carefully scooting a still sleeping Chloe away from him. “I missed you too.” Katie and James both look down at the baby boy now wide awake in Nathan’s arms. “Is that my baby brother, Dad?” “No, Kate,” James answers. “ Dad just brought home someone else’s baby brother.” Deb and Nathan smile and Nathan says, “Yes, Katie…this is your baby brother, Nathan Henry Scott.” “Hey, that’s your name!” “You don’t say?” Nathan jokes. “It’s also your great great grandfather’s name,” Deb tells her grandchildren, “well, Nathan Henry is.” “Wow, Dad,” James says, staring at his baby brother. “He looks just like you.” “Really? You think so?” Nathan looks at Henry. “I think he looks more like your mom.” Chloe sneaks around Katie and joins the rest of the group as she rubs her eyes sleepily. “Hey princess,” Nathan says, touching her head. “Good morning…I missed you.” Chloe stares at him, before focusing in on the baby. “Look, Chloe,” Katie says, putting an arm around her sister’s shoulders when she bends down. “It’s Henry, our baby brother. Now you’re a big sister too.” The others watch as Chloe stares at Henry. “What do you think of him Chloe?” Nathan asks after a minute. Chloe looks up at Nathan. And from somewhere deep inside herself, she finds her will to speak again as she answers him with heartfelt question. “Where’d mommy?”
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