Her baby. Gone again. Elizabeth let out a sigh with all the breath in her body behind it. Her oldest daughter was stolen again by the same monster that took her thirteen years ago. David rubbed his face and wiped tears out of his eyes angrily. Suddenly, he turned towards his wife. "H-how could you let this happen!? She was taken right under your nose! How could you be so stupid, Elizabeth?"
Taylor slid between her parents and grabbed her mother's hand. She glared at her father. "Don't blame her! Mom didn't know she was going to take Carter. Nobody did."
Grant looked around the square where the world had again gone dark for his family. The sun had just set, the sky a mixture of blue, violet, orange, and pink. It would have been beautiful if Carter was here. She would've tried to spot shapes in the clouds and make up a story about why it was there. His elephant was gone. He hated the words that came out next.
"Carter did. She knew and she left without saying goodbye to any of us." The harsh words tasted bitter in his mouth. Elizabeth sniffed and shook her head, ponytail swishing. "Carter did not leave voluntarily. I know she didn't. She finally saw what Lori was capable of. She was becoming scared of her!"Taylor nodded at her mother's words. She felt awful because of all the time she had been spending with Max… who was too painful to think about. In the past few days, she had said some awful things to her sister.
A traitorous thought crept into her mind. What if all those horrible words made her sister leave? Was it Taylor's fault her parents were reliving the worst day of their lives again? Elizabeth noticed the pained look on her daughter's pale face. She pulled her close and kissed Taylors' temple. She whispered softly, "I promise I am going to get your sister back, Baby Girl. I promise." A fresh wave of tears threatened to spill over, but Taylor took a deep breath and pulled away. Elizabeth moved towards her young son next. Grant looked up at her, his eyes wide and scared. Her heart melted at the sight and she wrapped her smallest baby in a hug.
Grant nestled his head against his mom's shoulder. He hadn't hugged her like this since he was a little kid.
Elizabeth smiled and rested her cheek on his head. "Everything will be fine soon, I'm sure of it, sweetheart."
David watched his tough-as nails-wife crack as she comforted their children. The two I have left. The bitter thought entering his mind without permission. He would get his daughter back. There was no doubt in his mind about that. But at what cost?
The family dispersed as soon as they got home. Grant went to distract himself with destroying aliens. David practically flew to his office while Taylor grudgingly did school assignments. Elizabeth told her children goodnight. She let out the flood of tears she'd been holding in all afternoon in the shower, the hot water washing the tears down the drain.
Elizabeth climbed into bed and closed her eyes. The day's events came rushing back at her. Both days she had that she had lost her daughter merged and led her into her nightmares.
*flashback*
Elizabeth woke up to the sound of giggles. She opened her eyes with a smile and swung out of bed. Two pairs of toes stuck out from underneath the curtains. "Shush, Taylor! Mommy gonna hear you!" Elizabeth put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. She walked toward the window saying, "I wonder where my Little Lyndon and Tiny Taylor are. I hear their sweet little voices but I can't find them."
More little giggles erupted from the little girls. Elizabeth stood in front of the twin bulges in the window. "Hmm, maybe they're behind the curtain!" she swept back the fabric to reveal her daughters. "Ah! I found them! Such a clever hiding place girls. I thought I'd never find you!" Lyndon hopped into her mother's arms while Taylor wrapped herself around Elizabeth's leg. Elizabeth pretended to struggle and fell back on the king-size bed. The trio had a tickle fight until the girls were red in the face.
Elizabeth sat up and sighed. "I'm sorry babies, but I have to go to work now. Those bad guys aren't going to catch themselves!" Taylor and Lyndon were proud that their mommy went out every day and caught bad guys but they missed her. The twins pouted and pleaded with their mother to stay. Elizabeth truly hated leaving her daughters, but they needed the money. David's book-writing wasn't bringing in the cash like they had hoped. She finished putting on her uniform and bent down to be eye level with her babies. "how bout I leave work early and come play with you two all afternoon? Sound good?"
Taylor nodded vigorously, but Lyndon leaned in close, so she was eye to eye with her mother. "You promise, Mommy? You'll really come home early?" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and whispered, "I promise, sweetheart. Three o' clock and I'll be here." Lyndon grinned and threw her arms around her mother's neck. She refused to be put down as her mother got ready. Elizabeth managed to get ready with one arm and headed to the kitchen. As she held one daughter in her arms and grasped the other's hand, she thought, I really need to start pushing David to get a real job. I want to be at home with my girls more…
She'd just started making a pot of coffee when David came in. He smiled at the sight of all his girls together. "So the Twin Terrors were with you. I thought it was strangely quiet while I wrote." He scooped up Taylor and kissed her cheek. She giggled then, while hugging him back, said, "Hi, Daddy."
Father and daughter had a whispered conversation before both laughed and turned towards Elizabeth. She fixed the now ready coffee in a to-go mug. She quirked an eyebrow, but went back to her coffee when David shook his head. He watched her struggle stirring her coffee. "why don't you put her down?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"I've been trying for a half hour. She won't let go." David rested his chin on Lyndon's shoulder. "How 'bout you let Daddy hold you for a while, huh?" Lyndon's brown eyes got wide as she held tighter to her mommy, her Capri-covered legs wrapping tighter around her waist. She buried her face into Elizabeth's neck, saying, "No! I stay with Mommy!"
Elizabeth winced and set down her coffee. She comforted her daughter as she said quietly, "I don't know why she is being so clingy. They both begged me not to go to work. I'm coming home early to spend time with them." David nodded and set Taylor down. Elizabeth placed Lyndon down on the counter and kissed her face. She swooped down and put Taylor next to her sister. "Girls, I know you don't like when I leave, but I have to. I'll be back before you know it." She hugged them both and Lyndon took this as an opportunity to latch onto her mother again. The little family walked outside to the green beat-up minivan. David hugged and kissed his wife. "Please be careful, Lizzie. Just last week you were punched by a suspect. The girls don't nee-"
Elizabeth held up her hand to cut him off. She cuddled Lyndon closer and said with exasperation dripping off her words, "I know the drill, David. I'll be fine. I'm more concerned about you spending the day with these two. They're being quite the handful this morning." David smirked. "I'm pretty sure I can handle two three year olds, Elizabeth. I've done it before, you know."
The blonde held out one hand in defeat. She leaned forward to tickle Taylor's belly and pepper her face with kisses. Finally, she addressed Lyndon. "Alright, Sweetheart, you need to let go now. Mommy has to go." Lyndon looked at her mother. "No, I go with you. I be good! Promise!" Her big brown eyes filled with tears as she pleaded with her mother. Elizabeth shook her head with a sad smile. "No baby. You can't go with me. It's dangerous and you could get hurt."
Lyndon looked down and played with her mother's necklace. "You protect me, right Mommy? That's what you s'posed to do."
Elizabeth frowned and grabbed her daughter's chin to make her look at her. "Of course, Lyndon! I'll always protect you. You and Taylor. I'll protect my babies with my life. So will Daddy. That's how much we love you."
The toddler nodded and wrapped her small arms around Elizabeth's neck. David put Taylor down and tried to take Lyndon out of his wife's arm, Lyndon started sobbing and screaming as she was separated from her mother.
Tears rolled down her face as clung to Elizabeth. Taylor began to whimper when her sister became upset, adding to the chaos. David finally got the fighting child in his arms. As he tried to calm her, Lyndon's flailing arm smacked him in the face. In shock, his grip loosened and she slipped out of his grasp. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she took off. Lyndon's tiny legs carried her down the driveway. Elizabeth took off after her, calling her name. Just as she reached the street, a pair of arms scooped her up.
A woman with short dark hair was holding the hysterical child. Her back was to Elizabeth and not seeing who was holding child made her run faster. She gasped out her daughter's name as she approached the woman. David, who stopped to pick up Taylor, sighed with relief.
"Thank you, Janet. You have to be pretty quick to catch Speedy Gonzales over here."
Lyndon had since stopped screaming, but tears kept running down her face. Janet reached up and wiped tears on the little girl's cheeks.
"There, there, Baby Girl. You're okay."
Elizabeth held out her hands and Lyndon reached for her. Janet glanced at Lyndon then back at her mother. She seemed to be reluctant to hand the young girl to her family, but finally did so. Elizabeth hugged Lyndon tightly to her as her heartbeat steadied. She made her rebellious girl look at her in the eye.
"Lyndon, you don't run away from mommy and daddy like that. You can definitely not run towards the street. My life would end if I lost you. My babies are my world."
Lyndon nodded and wiped her face. "I won't do it anymore, mommy. I'm sorry." Elizabeth held her close and kissed her cheeks.
Janet cleared her throat. "If you don't mind me asking, why was she so upset?"
David spoke softly so not to upset his daughters. "Elizabeth was heading to work and Lyndon wasn't too happy that her mommy was leaving."
Janet smiled sympathetically at the blonde woman. "It's a shame you can't spend more time with them, Elizabeth. You have such a demanding job."
Elizabeth frowned at the words. "Yes, it is."She turned towards David, and before her daughter knew what was happening, she was in her father's arms.
She almost started crying again, but Janet slipped in front of her to make funny faces. It distracted the little girl and made her laugh. The woman began tickling her, effectively making Lyndon forget she was ever upset. Janet finished playing with girl and offered to play with the twins so they wouldn't even notice their mother leaving. Elizabeth was somewhat offended at the assumption that her daughters would just forget about her as soon as someone else would play with them, but nodded.
Janet grinned excitedly at the girls. "Did you hear that, ladies? You get to play with me today!"
David had put Taylor and Lyndon down but held tightly to their hands. They looked at each other and smiled. They both simultaneously shouted, "Princesses!" Lyndon reached forward and began tugging on Janet's hand, instructing Taylor to do the same. The twins pulled her into the yard and began singing and dancing, while pretending they were wearing long skirts. Elizabeth and David smiled fondly at their blessings. Elizabeth's brow crinkled when Janet pretended to curtsy. She leaned towards her husband and quietly said, "This is weird right? Her just happening to be outside our house when we were? Her constant interest in our daughters? I don't like it."
David smiled softly and wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders. "She's harmless, Liz. You just feel that way because you're so protective… and rightfully so. The world is a very dangerous place. It's just your cop instincts." He added quickly when his wife raised her eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. I don't think so, David. I think it's my mommy instincts." She suddenly turned towards him. "Don't let them out of your sight, David. I mean it. Not for a heartbeat."
Her tone was so serious; he promised and hugged her quickly. They whispered I love you's and kissed. It was the first kiss they shared in months unaccompanied by twin ewws in protest. Husband and wife walked arm in arm toward the car. Elizabeth opened the passenger door to put her bags down before saying goodbye to her family. She had barely put her foot down on the fresh green grass when two tiny forms began charging her. Elizabeth squatted down and caught a daughter in each arm. She hugged Lyndon and Taylor close and kissed their cheeks. She whispered her promise once more before standing. When Elizabeth rose, she saw Janet standing a few feet away, just staring at her as she interacted with her children. Elizabeth looked down at the twins with a smile. "Alright my little ladies. Mommy will be home early to play with her girls." They pouted a little as she walked away, but they didn't follow.
Elizabeth kissed David and got in her car. She rolled down the passenger side window and called I love you's as she backed down the drive way. The little girls watched their mother drive away sadly. David picked up Taylor and Janet scooped Lyndon, following David into the house.
Elizabeth sighed as she filed the last piece of paperwork. It was 1:30 and she'd only been on one call. Her partner, Kyle, had just started a month ago, and at first, she had hated showing a rookie the ropes but Kyle had learned quickly. She had just locked the filing cabinet when the phone rang. Kyle answered it quickly. He wrote down the information and slammed the phone back on the cradle.
"We got a missing child. They asked for you."
Elizabeth frowned but grabbed her gun out of the desk drawer. "Give me the address. I'll drive."
Kyle handed her the scrap of paper and she quickly scanned it as they left the station. She had to grab onto the car when she read the address. The detective had to read the numbers three more times before she could speak again.
"No. Please God no."
Kyle glanced at her half concerned, half puzzled. "Everything okay?" She shook her head and swung into the car. "Get in."
Elizabeth barley paid attention to speed limits and stop signs as she drove to her house. She slammed on the breaks outside of her taped-off home. The frantic detective raced past the yellow caution tape that surrounded her yard. Cops tried to stop her but she swept past, flashing her badge. Elizabeth ripped open the door to see David standing in the foyer. She flew towards him. "Please tell me that this is a mistake, David. Tell me our daughters are not missing."
Her distraught husband shook his head while he looked down at his feet. "Our girls aren't missing. Not both of them."
Elizabeth gasped a ragged breath. "Who- who's missing, David? Which one of my babies is missing?"
Tears rushed down his face before he spoke again. "Lyndon."
Her knees crumpled like paper beneath her. The graceful fingers ran through the shoulder-length blonde hair. Elizabeth closed her eyes and counted to ten. She knew the best way to handle this was in cop-mode not mom-mode. It was the only way she was going to get her daughter home. She wiped the tears off her cheeks and turned towards her husband. "Okay. What happened? I need to hear exactly what you did from the moment I left to the moment you called 9-1-1."
David nodded and collected himself. Thoughts were running rampant through his mind. The last moment he saw his daughter was imprinted in his mind and he saw her every time he closed his eyes.
"The girls were playing outside when Taylor-"
"Where's Taylor? Where is she?!" Elizabeth frantically looked around the room for her daughter. David sighed and touched his wife's hand. "Your mom came and got her five minutes before you got here."
Elizabeth's relief was visible as she slumped her shoulder. At least one daughter was safe.
"The girls were playing outside when Taylor fell and scraped her elbow. She was crying and screaming and begging for boo-boo bunny. She'd only let me take care of her so I left Lyndon-"
"You left Lyndon outside by herself!? What the hell is the matter with you?"
David glared at his wife. "I didn't leave our daughter outside by herself, Elizabeth I left her with Janet."